Axe-FX Chronicles 4 : Initial impressions

So my Axe-FX Ultra arrived last Wednesday... I totally had to resist the urge to leave the office when I got my "UPS delivery notification" email (which was probably a good thing to let the package sit for a few hours so the temperature could equalize). But, of course, that evening I rushed home to rig it up as quickly as possible... curious to see if it would live up to expectations.

My first trial was running the Axe-FX through a Carvin AG100D, which is essentially a self-contained PA system designed for small acoustic gigs (has 3 channels for acoustic guitar, bass, and vocals/line in). Overall, I wasn't exactly blown away by the tone or feel of the amp simulations... that didn't matter at the time, though, because I was completely distracted by the quality of the effects. I spent the better part of an hour messing around with the pitch shifter... first with the "Brian May solo" patch, then the "Owner of a Lonely Heart solo" patch, and finally the "Ballerina 12/24" patch. (FWIW, "Ballerina 12/24" is my standard for evaluating effects units... If I can dial in that tone without having to open the manual, then an effects unit has good staying potential.) Needless to say, I was pretty impressed by the tracking & tonal quality of the intelligent harmonizer, but didn't quite know what to make of the amp models yet.

By Friday, my Carvin TS100 power amp had arrived, so I was able to rig up the Axe-FX and a couple Randall 2x12's into a suitable guitar rig. This meant disabling the power amp + cabinet simulations on the Axe-FX. All of a sudden, the amp simulations started to come to life... the "Blackface" model had the right bounce, the "Top Boost" model had the right sparkle, and the "Plexi" model had the right snarl. I was particularly impressed by the "USA" models (which were based on Mesa Mark-series amps)... they pretty much nailed the tone and feel of the Mark IV (sadly, they nailed it better than my Mark V did). I spent a bit of time with some of the more boutique models as well (e.g., Matchless, Trainwreck, Budda, Dumble), though admittedly had no real basis for comparison there. Overall, I found myself thinking "um, what do I need all these amp heads around the studio for?"

(We now interrupt this regularly scheduled post for some pictures...)





(We now return to the post in progress...)

Saturday I didn't really play the Axe-FX any, but I did install the AxeEdit software on a Dell Mini (Inspiron 910) netbook, checked to make sure the latest firmware (v9.0) was installed on the Axe-FX, and restored the factory default patches. The Dell has somewhat of a non-standard screen resolution--many programs require more screen real estate than the Dell offers--however, AxeEdit fit perfectly on the screen, almost as if it was designed to be used on a netbook. In the words of Peter Griffin, "Freakin' sweet!"

Finally, Sunday was science project day... knowing how many folks on the Axe-FX forum use solid state power amps with their Axe-FX rigs, I pulled the Carvin HT150 and QSC RMX850 power amps from the PA rig, inserted 'em between the Axe-FX and Randall 2x12's, enabled the power amp simulation on the Axe-FX, and wailed away. Impressions here were so-so... the rig just didn't have the presence of a standard guitar rig... perhaps the combination of solid state power amps with full range speakers is a better pairing. So I switched the rig back to the TS100 power amp and disabled power amp simulation once again.

So based on a few days of fiddling around, here are my take aways...

1) The Axe-FX is a keeper based on the feel and tone of the amp simulations + the quality of effects

2) The AxeEdit software is an amazing productivity booster when getting started

3) I prefer the tone of the Axe-FX through a tube power amp and guitar cabs

Next up will be putting the Axe-FX through its paces in the studio to see how it holds up for "direct to console" recording.

--B

Axe-FX Chronicles 3 : What could I get rid of?

Following a lot of discussions related to Axe-FX owners, there seems to be a trend where the Axe-FX starts out as an effects-only device in an existing amp rig and slowly takes over more & more of the rig's capabilities as time passes. This often leads to a major gear de-acquisition phase in which small mountains of amps + cabs + FX units are gradually unloaded.

This got me thinking a bit... if the Axe-FX really does live up to my high expectations, how much gear could I possibly get rid of? (Note: This blog post contains forward looking statements that may imply that I would sell dozens of pieces of gear. We all know that'll never really happen, or in the event that it does, it would simply lead to the acquisition of dozens of other pieces of gear. Carry on...) So here's a quick inventory of amp & recording-related gear I could probably unload...

Amps & cabinets: Egnater 1x12" cabinet, Egnater/Mojo JTM45 head, Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier Roadster head, Mesa/Boogie Electra Dyne head, Mesa/Boogie Lone Star Special head, Mesa/Boogie Mark Five head, Mesa/Boogie Stiletto Ace head, Rocktron Vendetta 4x12" cabinet, Soldano SL-60 head, Traynor YBA-1 with Fuchs ODS mod

Effects & accessories: Axess Electronics BS2 buffer/splitter, BBE Freq Boost treble booster pedal, Carl Martin compressor/limiter pedal, ISP Technologies Decimator noise reduction pedal, Johnson J-Station modeler, Rocktron PatchMate MIDI switcher, TC Electronic Nova System multi-FX, Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive overdrive pedal

Studio gear: Blue "The Ball" dynamic mic, Kel Audio HM-2d condenser mic, Line 6 GearBox Plug-in Gold Bundle, Shure SM57 cardioid dynamic mics

So tally 'em up... 22 pieces of gear & counting, probably close to $10K in amps alone. Kinda scary, eh? Again, I don't know how much of the above gear I'd actually get rid of, but it's interesting to think about scaling down & starting from scratch. Maybe I'll have to rename the blog to "Gear De-Acquisition Syndrome." (Unlikely!)

--B

New Gear's Resolutions (ha!)

Being a new year and all, I thought it would be appropriate to recap my personal New Year's Resolutions here, especially since several of them relate to my musical hobbies...

1) Jennifer and I will finish recording our Conundrum CD, even if it means I have to hold her captive in the basement for 2 weeks - We started recording in fall of 2008 and managed to get 10 songs done in time for Christmas. For the entire year of 2009 we kept talking about finishing the CD (recording a few more songs, putting final touches on the mixing/mastering) but never did anything. So in 2010 we want to finish the CD for real and get the tracks available on iTunes.

2) I will get back into teaching - Not related to G.A.S., but I used to teach college business classes at night, and recently got connected with a new college and new teaching opportunities. I'll be starting mid-January.

3) In order to do something productive with photography, I want to have 12 killer pictures by the end of 2010 to make a 2011 calendar - Ok, it's not musical G.A.S., but photographic G.A.S. is almost as dangerous. Last year I picked up a new digital SLR camera (Nikon D90) and several new lenses (Nikon 16-85mmVR, Nikon 70-300mm VR, Nikon 85mm macro); in 2010 I plan to put all that gear to good use.

4) Get more proactive about taking advantage of the cultural stuff Cinci has to offer and making plans with friends, hopefully both at once - Um, perhaps this means spending less time in the studio...

5) To "get good" at all the random stringed instruments I've been accumulating over the years... mandolin, banjo, lap steel, violin - Yeah, for those of you who have followed the blog for a while, I think this was my resolution in 2007 as well (and I was too lazy to make resolutions in 2008). What's different this time? For starters, I've actually been listening to a bit more country / bluegrass music, so I'm a bit more inspired. I've picked up a few new instruments including a Dean Backwoods 6-string banjo, a Dobro Hound Dog resonator, a Silver Creek violin, and a Peavey Power Slide lap steel. Finally, I've loaded up my Netflix queue and Amazon wish list with all sorts of instructional DVD's and books. So maybe I won't "get good" at all of the above, but hopefully at least I can "get better".

6) To get my bike and rollerblades cleaned/fixed up and actually start using them when the weather stops sucking - Uh oh... this also means spending less time in the studio...

7) And finally, not make more New Year's Resolutions than I can reasonably keep in 2010

And, of course, not a true resolution, I guess, but I am making a concerted effort to blog more regularly and not get so behind on posts/videos. We'll see how that goes...

--B

New FX gear - MXR Custom Audio Electronics MC-404 wah

It's a bit amazing/overwhelming how many wah pedals are available on the market today... everything from classic to modern, from simplistic to infinitely tweakable. Having tried a lot of them over the years, there are some features that (IMO) are must-haves when it comes to wah pedals... 1) switchable voicings - to handle everything from super-clean funk to 7-string riffs, 2) true bypass - to prevent tone suck, 3) indicator light - to remind me when it's on. So the new Dunlop MXR CAE MC-404 wah pedal caught my attention as soon as it arrived on the scene.

From a specs standpoint, the MC-404 has switchable inductors (red is more subdued while yellow is more biting), adjustable/switchable boost, true bypass operation, and four indicator LED's to show the status (red/yellow lights to show which inductor is selected, green/blue lights to show when wah & boost are engaged). For tweakers, there are internal pots to adjust the "Q" of the two modes. My only wish is that it would be cool if the boost could be independently engaged from the wah (e.g., give me 10db of full range boost when the wah is off). Like most Dunlop pedals, it's solid from a construction standpoint. One thing that's kinda irrelevant but not obvious from any of the pictures on the website/brochure is the finish... it's got a brushed metal look that is unique and classy, and there's a large CAE logo on the treadle which adds to the unique look.

To put the wah through its paces, check out the following video of me working through Joe Satriani's "Summer Song" with a PRS Standard 24 and Mesa/Boogie Stiletto Ace:



More reviews & videos coming soon...

--B

Axe-FX Chronicles 2 : Pulling the trigger

So having spent what feels like a vaguely unreasonable amount of time over the past few days researching the Axe-FX (e.g., reading dozens of reviews on Harmony Central, watching hours of video clips on YouTube, reading the manual + the Wiki, and browsing hundreds of posts on various forums), I've decided to make a go of the Axe-FX rig like so...



First, I decided to go with the Fractal Audio Axe-FX Ultra vs. the Standard model, mostly as a future-proofing exercise... While some players are perfectly happy with the Standard, others use the Standard for a few months then start yearning for the Ultra. So to save myself the hassle of buying a Standard, getting it configured + dialed in, then deciding to trade it for an Ultra later and have to start over with setup & configuration, I decided to bite the bullet and get the Ultra from the start.

From a "live rig" standpoint, I am working with many components I've already got, including a Sennheiser EW172 wireless, Rocktron MIDIMate footcontroller, and Randall R212C cabinets (one is loaded with CL80's, the other with V30's). From a power amp standpoint, I chose the Carvin TS100 over the Randall RT2/50 for two reasons... 1) cost and 2) the TS100 is a pretty "flat" sounding tube amp--I had one many years ago when I assembled my first Randall MTS rig, and the TS100 didn't have as much "character" as the RT2/50 did. As it turns out, however, lack of power amp "character" can actually be a good thing with the Axe-FX!

For recording purposes, I'll be connecting the Axe-FX (with power amp + speaker sims enabled) directly into the Presonus DigiMax FS preamp/converter... no more futzing around with mic placement! The cool thing is that I will be able to run both setups at the same time... run the "live rig" with the TS100 + 2x12" cabs from one pair of Axe-FX outputs to get the right "feel" in the room when recording while capturing the audio direct to disk from the second pair of Axe-FX outputs. For after hours recording sessions, I can still record direct without using the live rig for in-studio monitoring.

So, that's that... after several days of research + several online transactions, I'm well on my way to having an Axe-FX rig together. I expect to have all the gear in-hand and wired up by next weekend, at which point I'll be ready to start an in-depth review of the Axe-FX's capabilities. Stay tuned...

--B

Axe-FX Chronicles 1 : To buy or not to buy... that is the question

So today's post is a bit more "philosophical exploration" than typical, but after months of reading reviews and listening to clips of the Fractal Audio Axe-FX, I've finally reached the tipping point where I'm seriously considering buying one.

Why? Well, for starters, I've got a lot of amplifier + effects + recording gear... 8 amp heads, 4 speaker cabs, 6 FX pedals, MIDI switchers + foot controllers, over a dozen mics... there are many days I look around the studio and ask "What the heck do I need all of this gear for?"

For recording purposes, I like the variety of having all the gear on hand, but collectively it takes up way too much studio space. It takes time to wire up and mic up correctly for impromptu recording projects... half the time the "inspiration train" has left the station by the time all the recording gear is ready to go. And it's too inconsistent... if I get a killer tone one day, the next day it's practically impossible to find again.

For gigging purposes... well, let's face it... I'm not gigging much these days. Half the recent gigs I've played have been coffeehouse-like venues, where high volumes are frowned upon. The other half have been club gigs... they give me the opportunity to turn things up to "11" (so to speak), but then I'm too lazy to haul multiple amps + cabs out for gigs anyway. So 95% of the gear stays home while a select 5% ever sees the stage.

Obviously, the Axe-FX has a lot of appeal, then... In the studio, having 100% consistency in tone day to day, being ready-to-record on a moment's notice, having access to an even wider variety of amps + effects, and being able to get killer tones at low volumes are all selling points. On the stage, the idea of having less gear to haul to gigs and having better control over what guitar tones actually come out through the PA are major benefits as well.

The biggest potential downside I see at this point is that the Axe-FX won't live up to expectations / hype in terms of tone + feel. I've had a lot of modeling gear over the years... I started with the Johnson JM-150 (a great unit for its day) and have since owned other Johnson (JM-120, J-Station), H&K (Zentera), Digitech (GSP1101), Boss (GT-6, GT-8), Line 6 (M13, Gearbox), Behringer (V-AMP), Roland (VG-8, MicroCube), Vox (Tonelab, ST, SE, AD15), etc. modelers, in addition to a great deal of Randall & Egnater modular gear. While the Egnater modular gear was truly the "holy grail", most of the digital modelers left something to be desired, so I guess I'm "cautiously optimistic" that the Axe-FX will be better than the other digital modelers and almost as good as the Egnater gear. The upside to the downside... with a 15-day return policy and relatively good resale value for used Axe-FX's, that's not much of a long-term risk (provided I don't sell all my amps + cabs in the interim).

So my plan is to try to find a used Axe-FX Standard, first to audition in the studio for direct recording purposes, then to incorporate into a standard guitar rig (perhaps with a Randall RT2/50 power amp and pair of Randall R212C cabs). If that goes well, I may look into either a pair of powered monitors or the Atomic Reactor FR for further downsizing/simplification.

Over the next few weeks I'll be posting updates of my Axe-FX journey. Stay tuned...

--B

Pre-Black Friday Clearance! Everything must go!

Ok, maybe not, but it's fair to say that all the emails I've received advertising pre-Black Friday deals have been wearing off on me. I've got a small mountain of gear up for sale... everything works great and is in generally excellent condition (email me for details on any particular item). Things will probably start showing up on e-bay later in the week.

• Taylor Solidbody Classic guitar - classic white finish, 2 mini-buckers, includes gig bag - $925 shipped/PP'd
  
  

--B

VLOG: New guitar - EBMM Steve Morse

Pretty high on the list of amazing but generally unknown guitarists (well, aside from among other guitarists) has got to be Steve Morse... he's played with Kansas, Deep Purple, Dixie Dregs, and cranked out a handful of solo instrumental albums as well. For as long as I can remember, he's had a signature series guitar model manufactured by Ernie Ball/Music Man. A few months ago, curiosity got the better of me, and I picked up an EBMM Steve Morse model on e-bay to see what it's made of.

Literally, it's made of poplar (ha!) with a bolt-on maple neck, 22-fret rosewood fretboard, fixed bridge, and locking tuners. Two things stand out... first is the trademark blueburst finish, which almost takes on a greenish tint at times given the natural yellowish tint of poplar. Second is the pickup configuration: the Morse model has two humbuckers, two single coils, 2 knobs, and 3 switches. Most interesting, though, is how it's wired up in such a seemingly illogical manner... the 3-way blade switches between the bridge humbucker, the neck humbucker, and the bridge single coil (in that order); the 2-way toggle adds the bridge humbucker to whatever's selected on the 3-way blade; and the 3-way toggle adds the neck single coil to the mix (or solos the neck single coil). It sounds good and provides a lot of versatility, but requires way too much thought to keep track of "what switch does what" and "what position each switch is in."

So aside from needing a PhD to operate it, the Morse lives up to the typical high quality I've seen from Music Man guitars... flawless finish, tight tolerances, good stability (thanks to the 5-bolt neck). The neck is smooth (I'll admit I could use a bit more "meat" on the neck, but apparently Steve and I differ in opinion), and the body is well-balanced. Again, the tonal versatility is killer... the humbuckers are relatively hot and compress easily (great for soloing), the single coils provide a nice amount of twang. If only it could actually make me sound/play like Steve Morse...

Here's a demo clip of the guitar running through a Mesa/Boogie Electra Dyne head... I think I manage to use maybe 2 of the 11 different pickup combinations here...

"This Way for Good" by Conundrum:


And, of course, gotta have a couple of pictures of the guitar, too... check out that sweet blueburst finish...





As always, I'll have more guitar & amp reviews coming soon...

--B

VLOG: New amp gear - Hughes & Kettner Triamp head

Between when I first discovered Mesa/Boogie amps and recently re-discovered them, I tried dozens of amps in an effort to find something that fit my style better (challenging, if only because the style of music I was playing seemed to be changing on an almost weekly basis!). On the journey, I went through a Hughes & Kettner phase where I tried a variety of models (e.g., Triamp mkII, Zentera, Switchblade, Edition Tube), most of which were sold off when I started assembling the monster rack rig. So this summer when I started jamming around with Almost Lifelike I took a look around the studio and realized... all my high-wattage multi-channel amps were gone. I started the search for a flexible amp and was stoked to find an original H&K Triamp mkI up for grabs on the local Craigslist.

The Triamp is one of the most impressive amps I've ever seen from a specs standpoint... 6 channels, 12 tubes (8 preamp tubes + 4 power tubes), spring reverb, dual FX loops (series + parallel) and optional MIDI switching. Compared to the Triamp mkII, the mkI is loaded with 6L6 power tubes... having owned both, I found the mkI to be much smoother in comparison to the mkII model. With 6 channels, pretty much everything from crystal clean to nu-metal chunk is available: I had mine dialed in for a skinny (funky) clean tone on channel 1A, a "pushed" clean tone on channel 1B, a JCM800-ish crunch on channel 2A, a fat "brown" lead tone on channel 2B, a heavier rhythm tone on channel 3A, and finally a full-on metal lead tone on channel 3B. Plus, let's face it, there's something cool about being able to see all the tubes glowing through the plexi-glass front (though admittedly, not as cool as the blue neon in the Triamp mkII).

So here are a couple of videos that show me putting the Triamp through its paces with a Ernie Ball Music Man JP 7-string guitar and a Rocktron 4x12 cabinet:




And, of course, can't have a post without the obligatory picture...



Stay tuned... I'll have some new guitar & amp videos posted soon...

--B

VLOG: New amp gear - Mesa/Boogie Lone Star Special head

Yet another Mesa/Boogie amp to recently arrive on my doorstep... the Lone Star Special head. Both the Lone Star and Lone Star Special offer similar features (2 channel preamp with additional "drive" stage on the second channel, footswitchable solo boost, spring reverb with bright/warm voicing switch, FX loop, etc.). The primary difference is that the Lone Star has a 6L6-based power section, while the Lone Star Special has an EL84-based power section. Each channel can be independently set to 5 watt (single-ended class A with tube rectifier), 15 watt (class A with tube rectifier), or 30 watt (class A with solid state rectifier) operation. In the grand scheme of Mesa's, still relatively simple (only 2 channels!), easy to dial in (no shared EQ), and chock full of vintage tones.

I've got the first channel dialed in for a "pushed" clean tone, largely inspired by my Vox AC30CCH head's normal channel (with brilliance switch engaged). The second channel has the additional drive stage engaged for a fat, warm solo tone. In theory the amp takes pedals quite well, though I haven't tried it yet... I've got both a Sparkle Drive and BBE Freq Boost that I'm anxious to audition with the LSS.

Here's a short video that puts the Lone Star Special through it's paces with a G&L ASAT Classic. Only downside is that there's no reverb on the track as the original tank was damaged in shipment (it's since been replaced, but took a few weeks for the replacement part to come in).

"Turn & Run" by Conundrum:


And, finally, here's the Lone Star Special on top of "Mesa Mountain"...



Next up, clips of the Stiletto Ace, Mark Five, Roadster, and maybe even a couple non-Mesa amps...

--B

VLOG: New amp gear - Mesa/Boogie Electra Dyne head

The most recent amp to join the ranks is a Mesa/Boogie Electra Dyne head. The Electra Dyne is one of the newer Mesa models and represents a departure from some of the more complex designs of recent years (such as the Mark Five and Road King). The Electra Dyne has 3 channels (clean, vintage LO, and vintage HI), a 90 watt (switchable down to 45 watts) SimulClass power section driven by four 6L6's, spring reverb, FX loop, and that's about it. :) Compared to other models, both the front and back panels look a bit "stark"... all three channels share a common set of volume / tone / master controls. The controls, however, used "ganged" pots that allow for different tapers in each mode, making it relatively easy to find settings that work well across all three channels. (Having owned a handful of amps with shared EQ controls--Mark III, Mark IV, TOL100, etc.--over the years, I will say this is the first time I've not felt seriously compromised by shared controls across multiple channels.)

Sonically, the Electra Dyne claims to have American-voiced cleans and British-inspired distortions. I would agree with that assessment, though I'd say the Electra Dyne sounds more like an Orange amp than the typical British contenders (e.g., Vox, Marshall). Setting the volume (i.e., gain) around 3:00 delivered a perfect blend of clean, crunch, and smooth lead tones--there's plenty of gain on tap for hard rock, though not quite as much as the Mark or Recto series amps. Honestly, this amp's been a shocker... I expected good tone, but didn't expect it to be so easy to dial in. As such, I expect it will see its fair share of use in the studio and on the stage due to its relative simplicity.

So if you want to check out the Electra Dyne's tone, here are a couple of videos that show how the amp sounds in the context of a couple of recordings...

"Perspective" by Conundrum:


"This Way for Good" by Conundrum:


And, of course, here's the latest picture of "Mesa Mountain"...



More Mesa reviews and video clips to come...

--B

Dismantling the monster rack

It was about a year ago that I embarked on a project to assemble the biggest rack rig I'd ever owned... it started with researching a lot of preamp/power amp/MIDI switcher/FX unit options in August 2008 followed by a major gear acquisition phase in September. By January everything was collected & connected, just in time for a second round of gear acquisition in March. When all was said and done, I had nearly filled a 20-space rack with 9 preamps (4 Mesa's, Marshall, Soldano, Frenzel, Hiwatt, ENGL), 2 power amps (Randall, Mesa), several MIDI switchers (Rolls, RJM, Rocktron), and various other accessories (Monster power conditioner, Lexicon FX + MIDI controller, Axess Electronics buffer, Sennheiser wireless). Check out the pictures of the final result below...





All things considered, the rack rig saw its fair share of use for jam sessions and recording, however, it was so heavy that there was no good (safe) way to move it. Also, it took a considerable amount of MIDI programming time to get all the switchers and FX units cooperating. Any rig where I spent more time tweaking than playing is doomed in the long run...

So in April I began the slow process of dismantling the rack by selling a few of the preamps. Over the summer, I continued to unload gear. Now, the rack is back to the size it was last September with 3 preamps and a power amp, all of which are currently for sale. I expect that everything will be cleared out by the end of September, and I'll be on to the next big thing.

So what is the next big thing? I've currently re-discovered my love for Mesa/Boogie amps and have picked up several heads (Lonestar Special, Mark V, Roadster, Stiletto Ace, and Electra Dyne) over the past few weeks. I'm digging the relative simplicity of the guitar --> amp --> speaker setup compared to mountains of MIDI switching gear, yet still getting the tonal versatility I need for gigging and recording projects. There still is a rack, though it's a much more humble 5-spacer with a power conditioner, Rocktron PatchMate, and a shelf with an Axess Electronics BS-2 buffer, Sennheiser EW172 wireless, and Damage Control Glass Nexus multi-FX mounted to it... definitely much simpler than the 20-spacer to wire up and program!

Will the big rack make a return someday? Most likely... I tend to go through cycles of relatively simple setups followed by big rack rigs. Will I ever settle down and keep an amp for 5-10 years? Hard to say... no matter how many great amps I've got around the studio, I'm always interested in trying the next great thing. It's not so much a case of "grass is always greener" syndrome, but rather, the undying curiosity I've got when it comes to researching and auditioning new gear. Does that make me crazy? Perhaps ;)

--B

Mesa Acquisition Month

Well, in case there's been any doubt... yes, I'm still alive; yes, I'm still collecting lots of gear; and yes, I'm still blogging about it. This has unofficially been dubbed Mesa Acquisition Month around here, as after a lot of gear exploration and general soul-searching, I've come to realize (once again) that Mesa/Boogie amps just get the job done for me on stage & in the studio. So I've been selling off many other amps (including the monster rack!) to pick up Mesa/Boogie Lonestar Special, Mark V, Roadster, Stiletto Ace, and Electra Dyne (not pictured below) heads. More to come (including videos) in the coming weeks, but here's a picture of "Mesa Mountain" to give you a taste of what's coming...



--B

Spring cleaning time!

With a day off work and a growing pile of gear to unload in the basement, I decided today was a good opportunity to get a few things posted on e-bay. Check it out...

• Behringer Ultra-G GI100 active DI's SOLD!
  
• Behringer V-Tone BDI21 bass preamp/DI SOLD!
  
• DigiTech JamMan Looper/Phrase Sampler w/ FS-300 footswitch SOLD!
  
• ENGL E530 preamp SOLD!
  
• Frenzel FM-800 preamp SOLD!
  
• G&L ASAT Semi-hollow SOLD!
  
• Mesa/Boogie Formula preamp SOLD!
  
• ‘95 Paul Reed Smith Custom 24 grey black, 10-top, birds, Dragon II pickups SOLD!
  
• ‘97 Paul Reed Smith Custom 24 cherry sunburst, 10-top, birds, gold hardware
• Radial Dragster load corrector SOLD!
  
• Weber MiniMass 50w attenuator SOLD!
• + a little camera gear: Sigma 15-30mm and Quantaray 135-400mm Nikon-mount lenses SOLD!
  

--B

VLOG: Virtual Studio Tour

In an effort to show off a bit of the recording, guitar, and amp gear in the studio, here's a short video tour of how things are set up...



Getting pretty good use out of the video camera these days, eh? Aside from the fact that the upload to YouTube from the studio PC takes a small eternity, it's a lot less effort than writing small novels for every blog post!

--B

VLOG: Anatomy of a home recording - Never be Free

In the spirit of things that are kinda useless and mildly entertaining (to me, at least), I present the following...



Having been working with the Sony HDR-UX5 camera for a few weeks, most of my videos have gone straight from the camera to YouTube with only a bit of trimming. But I knew at some point I'd actually have to learn how to use Adobe Premiere Elements, so this is my sandbox project... managed to get four videos sync'ed with an audio track and a few (minor) special effects thrown in.

For the most part, the gear in the video is actually the gear used on the recording, so it should give a good idea of what particular guitar/amp combinations sound like...

- Left rhythm guitar - PRS McCarty Korina into Egnater JTM45 head
- Right rhythm guitar - G&L ASAT Classic into Hughes & Kettner Edition Tube 20 combo
- Lead guitar - PRS McCarty Korina into Mesa Studio preamp + Randall RT2/50 power amp
- All of the above - through V30-loaded Randall R212C cabinet mic'd with Cascade Fat Head ribbon and Blue "The Ball" dynamic into Presonus DigiMax FS
- Acoustic guitar - Takamine EF-385 12-string mic'd with Kel Audio HM-1 and Audio Technica AT2020 condensers into Presonus DigiMax FS
- Bass guitar - G&L Tribute L-2500 direct into DigiMax FS
- Vocals - Studio Projects C1 condenser into DigiMax FS
- Drums - Drums on Demand

(OK, so technically I used the same McCarty for rhythm & lead tracks on the recording but used different ones in the video... just seeing if anybody's paying attention. :p )

--B

VLOG: New rig update #6 - filling in the empty spaces

With a 20-space amp rack and only 12 spaces worth of gear, I naturally started looking for other cool pieces of amp gear to add to the rack, thinking "what other tones would be nice to have in the studio yet different from the tones already in the rack?" Here's what I've managed to fill in the gaps with over the past few weeks...

ENGL E530 preamp - The E530 is one of those preamps that seems to have a strong following with metalheads. While I don't play a lot of metal these days, it's actually a rather versatile preamp... 2 channels with independent EQ and switchable boosts (so it acts like a 4-channel amp). The higher-gain channel has a 4-band EQ (pretty uncommon) and switchable contour as well. What can I say... classic German (over-) engineering. I'm only using one tone out of the ENGL currently... the lead channel with the boost engaged and a scooped EQ for an over-the-top metal tone. (Honestly, the clean and lower gain tones have been less than inspiring... they sound a bit flat in comparison to the other preamps in the rack.)

Frenzel FM-800 "Rocker 800" preamp - While Frenzel mostly produces amp heads, the FM-800 is a dual channel preamp where the "F" channel is based on the Fender Bassman circuit and the "M" channel is based on the Marshall JCM800 circuit. And while I've never owned a genuine Bassman or JCM800 (for purposes of direct comparison), I was able to dial in some pretty convincing tones. Overall the design is pretty simple... each channel has its own gain, 3-band EQ, and master volume controls... no effects loops, no channel switching, no MIDI implementation. Overall, I've been pleased with the tones, though it did take me a while to dial in, as the Frenzel is relatively low output compared to the other amps in the rack and is comparably dark sounding.

Hiwatt Series 2000 PRE-1 preamp - While I hesitate to call things "rare", I'm not afraid to call something "uncommon". The Hiwatt preamp is one of those items... not too many folks are aware of it and, of the few who have actually tried it, reviews were pretty mixed. Nonetheless, after one seller described it as a "British-sounding Mesa Mark I", I was intrigued and had to give it a try. It's a 2-channel preamp with shared 3-band EQ and an FX loop. This one's a keeper (in the sense that nothing I own will probably ever be a "keeper")... channel I is a pushed, chimey clean; and channel II makes a great alternative lead tone compared to the Mesa Studio preamp.

Mesa/Boogie Formula preamp - In theory, the Formula preamp is derived from the old Mesa Heartbreaker heads/combos... it's probably as many knobs, switches, and tubes as you could ever hope to squeeze into a single rack space. The Formula's got 3 channels... a green channel (with pull boost on the gain control) and its own 3-band EQ plus orange & red channels which have independent gain & volume controls but share a 3-band EQ. In addition, it's got a parallel FX loop and a switchable 5-band graphic EQ. For a Mesa preamp, it takes a lot of heat... perhaps because it doesn't sound like any of the "standard" Mesas (e.g., Mark, Rectifier). That said, I've been using it for lower gain tones and really digging it... the green channel is a bright clean tone, the orange channel is a darker/warmer blues tone, and the red channel (with the graphic EQ engaged) has a more biting blues tone.

When all's said and done, I had to add a second Rolls/RFX RP-93 Patchwork to handle the routing and switching for the new preamps. I've still got two empty spaces in the rack, though no more available loops on the Rolls... not sure what's next, but I'm pretty sure I won't stop until I find one or two more pieces of rack gear to finish the job! Maybe it's time to pick up a couple of FunkLogic units...

So here's a new video clip of me demoing the ENGL, Frenzel, and Mesa Formula preamps...



And here are a couple of pictures, both of the updated rack as well as the complete amp/cab collection...





--B

VLOG: New guitar - PRS Starla

A few weeks ago I made a field trip to Sam Ash and had a chance to play a Paul Reed Smith Starla. My initial impressions were pretty positive... I thought it would be a great addition to the studio, so I started searching for deals on a Starla. Just last week I managed to hunt down a deal on a like-new Starla in vintage orange with the new (hollow) bird inlays.

(Since I talked a lot about the Starla's features last time, I'm just gonna cut right to the chase...)

Here's a video clip of me playing the Starla (and a G&L ASAT Special Deluxe) through a Vox AC30CCH head...



Also, here are a couple pictures of the new acquisition...





There's probably not much on the acquisition horizon... having picked up a few guitars and amps over the last few weeks, it's probably time to get serious about selling a few guitars and amps that haven't been getting so much attention lately.

--B

VLOG: Truly new guitar - G&L ASAT Special Deluxe

The latest acquisition as part of my recent obsession with G&L's is a USA-made G&L ASAT Special Deluxe. The Deluxe has several of the standard ASAT features (large MFD pickups, saddle-lock bridge) but with a mahogany body and maple top (plus no pickguard!). This particular Deluxe is finished in blackburst and has a rosewood fretboard and chrome hardware.

While I've totally fallen in love with my ASAT Classic for recording, I've tried several ASAT Specials in the past (alder body, ash body, semi-hollow ash body) and none of 'em have quite done it for me... they all sounded a bit too thin & sterile for my taste. The ASAT Special Deluxe, however, is just the trick... the mahogany body gives a warmer, thicker tone, and the maple top adds a little extra bite. Not to mention, it plays great and looks sweet in person.

Here's a video clip of me playing the ASAT Special Deluxe (and a PRS Starla) through a Vox AC30CCH head...



And as always, here are a few pics of the new ASAT...





Pretty sweet, eh?

--B