Concert-induced G.A.S. & gear ambiguity - courtesy of King's X & Extreme

The concert of the month, perhaps the concert of the year, was a free concert at last weekend's Union Center Boulevard Bash... King's X followed by Extreme. Granted, as a guitar player I'm probably morally obligated to shell out $30+ to see either of those bands when they come to town, but both of 'em for free? Seriously? (Note: I did not go to see David Cassidy for free on Saturday night... someone would've probably had to pay me $30 to sit through that show.)

Anyway, King's X took the stage about 6:45 (about 15 minutes early) with "Groove Machine" (one of my personal favorites) and played for a solid hour... even had time to sneak in "King" for an encore. They did a great mix of old tunes with a few tunes from the new record (which I don't have yet). As always, it amazes me how three dudes can generate such a huge sound... big drum + bass + guitar tones and massive vocal harmonies. Ty was sporting the full Egnater rig... four 4x12 cabs, at least two loaded M4 preamps, and (what appeared to be) a Randall RT2/50 power amp... the Egnater gear was pretty familiar looking based on the M4 rig I played earlier this year. Less familiar, however, was Ty's guitar, which had an unidentifiable body shape with (again what appeared to be) a Fender headstock. Had some pretty funky looking pickups, too... after doing a little Google searching I'm guessing they are the Motor City pickups. Nonetheless, the combinations of the mystery axe and the Egnater gear (with modules built/tuned to Ty's specs) was hard to argue with.

Extreme also put on a heck of a show... they had 3 of the 4 original members (the new drummer was quite good, but let's face it... everybody was there to see Nuno) and did a nice mix of songs from all the albums (including the new album to be released tomorrow). It was a great performance all the way around... high stage energy/showmanship, super-tight musicianship (also with killer vocal harmonies), and a pretty good tone/mix to boot. Nuno as always was playing a Washburn N4, but had some super funky-looking amp (two cabs, six 4x12's) that I'd never seen before... again after a little Google searching I'm guessing they're some new Randall model?!? Who knows... all I know is that I can't remember the last time I saw a show where there were so many pieces of gear I'd never seen before. :) BTW, kudos to Extreme for dusting off "Cupid's Dead", which might just be the best rock song ever written. (Ok, maybe not the best, but definitely one of the catchiest!) Now if only they'd go on tour with a horn section...

All in all, it was quite an evening... lots of great music for free, good friends to chill with, and to top it all off, a near-perfect night from a weather standpoint (rare for Cincinnati in August). Doesn't get much better than that!

--B

New guitar - G&L ASAT semi-hollow

For those of you who have read a few posts around here, it's probably no shocker that I'm a fan of G&L guitars... over the past couple years I've had a handful of ASAT (Classic, Special, Deluxe) and Legacy (Standard, Deluxe) models, and I've still got my original ASAT Classic and Legacy Standard in the studio. Given my recent strange interest in country music, however, I found myself eyeing different ASAT models once again, and jumped at the opportunity for a good deal on a G&L ASAT semi-hollow.

The ASAT semi-hollow is actually more similar to the ASAT Special than ASAT Classic... it's got the larger MFD soapbar-like pickups and saddle-lock bridge; this particular one has a swamp ash body with f-hole (some semi-hollow G&L's have no f-hole, similar to the PRS Custom 22 semi-hollow), rosewood fretboard, tortoise-shell pickguard, and (what I'm guessing to be the) honey finish. As always, the look & feel are top notch...





The tone, much like the other ASAT Specials I've had, is best described as unique... the large MFD pickups don't sound like either traditional single coils or soapbars... they're somewhere in between. Fat, but sterile. Ok, maybe sterile's a strong word, so flat may be more appropriate... somehow they remind me of the EMG single-coil tone (which isn't necessarily a bad thing). The semi-hollow design gives the tone a bit more character than the solidbody ASAT Specials, though, so that's a bonus.

So now the number of guitars in the house considerably exceeds the number of spaces in the guitar racks, so I've gotta unload a few guitars. Of course, with the LIFO (last in, first out) mentality around here, this ASAT and the Legacy Deluxe will probably be the first guitars out the door, but hey... such is the nature of G.A.S.

--B

Trying a new multi-amp setup...

Probably about a year and a half ago (after going to the first Egnater amp building seminar) I took a crack at my first multi-amp setup in years... it included both the Egnater JTM45 head and a Fender Deluxe Reverb re-issue (mounted in a head shell), a couple Avatar 2x12 cabinets, an Axess GRX4 for switching, and a Vox Tonelab out front for effects. That was more of the pure amp-switching setup... I never ran both amps in parallel, just switched between them. So I'm not sure what encouraged me to try a multi-amp setup again... perhaps it's the idea that going back to a single-guitar lineup in Necessary Distraction could merit a slightly thicker guitar tone that two (or more!) amps running in parallel could provide, or perhaps it's just my constant obsession with trying out new gear...

I spent a bit of time a few weeks back splitting my guitar tone with an Axess BS2 buffer into two amps... the Zinky Superfly driving one 4x12, the H&K Switchblade driving a second 4x12, both being switched in unison via MIDI... essentially a wet/dry setup taking advantage of the Switchblade's built-in FX. It got me thinking... how much more could I fatten up my tone? After doing a bit of reading, I decided to pick up a Boss PS-5 Super Shifter to be used as follows: The guitar signal is split using the BS2 buffer. One side feeds the Superfly (dry); the other side is slightly detuned (~10 cents) and delayed (~10ms) before running into the Switchblade (wet). Both heads are running into a Randall stereo 4x12 cab loaded with V30's. Kind of a Van Halen-ish setup, just swapping out several thousand $'s worth of Eventide rack units for a $90 Boss pedal. :)

Initial impressions are pretty good... the combination of two amps with slight detuning/delay definitely fattens up the sound, even at very subtle settings. Wednesday will be the real test to see how it sounds in the context of band practice. If it sounds funky on our original tunes, then we'll just have to spend the rest of the night doing VH covers.

--B

Impending project - building my own boost & compressor pedals

Was turned onto this a couple of months ago through Pete at MTSForum...

B.Y.O.C. provides complete kits and schematics for a variety of guitar FX pedals... everything from overdrives to compressors to modulations to delays. Having built the Egnater JTM45 clone a couple years ago, I thought it would be fun (and a good refresher for my rapidly-decaying electronic soldering skills) to build a couple pedals and (if all goes well) unload a couple somewhere-between-mass-produced-and-boutique pedals in exchange.

So what did I pick up? First, I ordered the B.Y.O.C. Triboost. It's the mother of all boost pedals with three separate boost circuits (a silicon-based clean boost, a MosFET-based boost, and a germanium boost with 3 modes of its own: full range, midrange, and treble) with true bypass operation. Next, I ordered the 5-knob Compressor which is loosely based on the (infamous) Ross compressor with additional controls for attack, blend, and tone. Both are unique designs to B.Y.O.C.

While I don't have the kits yet, there are a couple of things that impress me already about B.Y.O.C. First, the full directions/schematics for every kit are available online... this gave me a chance to look through them to understand what I was getting into before purchase. Also, for folks who are relatively new to DIY projects, B.Y.O.C. includes a couple free starter projects, including a signal tester and "Confidence Booster" (simple buffer/boost circuit). Finally, there's an online forum for when technical difficulties occur during pedal construction. Very cool from a customer service standpoint!

Of course I'll report back once I get the kits in and get the pedals assembled. Also, if these projects go well, I may consider building one of the B.Y.O.C. wah kits.

--B

Summer NAMM - where's the love?

Was just checking out the Harmony Central press releases for Summer NAMM '08 and realized one of two things... either 1) I must have too much gear because no new gear appeals to me or 2) nothing really cool is released at Summer NAMM. I'm thinking it's the latter, because I don't know if it's possible to have too much gear...

Seriously, though, about the only thing that caught my attention is the Vox Satchurator, an analog dual-distortion pedal designed by Joe Satriani. Kinda cool (and probably kinda necessary, since Steve Vai just got a dual-distortion pedal through Ibanez last year), but still nothing earth-shattering.

The coolest thing I've seen recently, though, is the PRS Mira Maple Top, taking the streamlined design of the Mira and adding the classic PRS figured maple top, the option of gold hardware, and some new finishes. Since I picked mine up a few months back, the Mira (standard) has become one of my go-to guitars... it's light & well balanced, tonally versatile (has great single-coil tones for funk & blues), and still manages to feel like a PRS. Part of me wants to trade my Mira for the new maple-topped model, but what can I say... the one I've got now just "feels right"... no need to mess with it.

So that's it... no major NAMM-inspired G.A.S. this summer. Clearly Winter NAMM has a much greater impact on my pocketbook!

--B

New guitar - PRS Singlecut Satin Trem

For a couple months I've been on a mad hunt for a PRS Singlecut Satin Trem. I'm not sure why good Singlecut Trems are so hard to find... if it's because they were introduced later (compared to the original Singlecut), they were not produced for a couple years during the Gibson lawsuit, or they were recently discontinued when the SC245 and SC250 were introduced. On top of that, the Satin Trem models are even harder to find. So I was pretty pumped up to find a good deal on a 2006 Singlecut Satin Trem in emerald green with 10-top and bird inlays.

So how does it stack up to the other Singlecut I've got? For starters, it's a bit lighter due to the satin finish and slightly thinner body. Obviously, it has the trem, but it also has the PRS locking tuners (vs. the vintage-style tuners). Finally, the electronics package is different... there are two #6 zebra-coil humbuckers, only one volume and tone pot, and a coil-tap switch on the tone pot... just a touch simpler than the original Singlecut setup. It's different enough tonally to make a unique addition to the collection, and what can I say... the matte finish looks pretty sweet, too...

This probably marks the last guitar acquisition for a few months... I need to unload a bit of guitar, amp, and recording gear before I make any more purchases. Plus (gasp!) I honestly can't think of any guitars I'm in the market for right now. We'll see how long that lasts...

--B

New guitar - G&L Legacy Deluxe

Having my fair share of dual-humbucker guitars around here, recently I'd been jonesin' (for no apparent reason) for a guitar with an HSS setup. After looking briefly at the Fender American Deluxe FMT/QMT Strats, the Yamaha RGX-TT (Ty Tabor Model), and some old Ibanez Radiuses (Radii?), I found a good deal on a NOS G&L Legacy Deluxe. Based on the current (Legacy Standard + ASAT Classic) and past (ASAT Special + ASAT Deluxe) models I've owned, I had relatively high expectations. :)

The Legacy Deluxe has a mahogany body with flamed maple top (vs. the ash or alder body of the Legacy Standard), bolt-on maple neck, 22-fret rosewood fretboard, no pickguard (rear-mounted electronics), and G&L vibrato. This particular one is finished in cherryburst. It has an electronics package consisting of a Seymour Duncan TB-4 (JB) humbucker + 2 G&L single coils, volume pot, 2 tone pots, 5-way switch, and mini coil tap; before it arrived, I had already started plotting to replace the G&L single coils with a couple Seymour Duncan Vintage Rails, similar to the Yamaha Ty Tabor model.

Overall, the construction & craftsmanship is what I've come to expect from G&L models... tight tolerances, clean fit & finish, good attention to detail. Feel (neck profile, setup) is very similar to the other Legacy I've got (Strat-like)... it's not a shredding machine, but more of a classic rock machine. So it's probably a 10-out-of-10 for some folks, but not quite my style (what can I say... I need a humbucker in the neck position!)--I'm not sure how long it'll stick around here, once I realize I could cash it in towards another PRS. :)

Finally, for the record, here are a few pictures of the latest acquisition...

--B

New guitar - PRS McCarty Korina (Brazilian!)

Another recent addition to the ol' guitar collection is a 2007 Paul Reed Smith McCarty Korina model. This, like the 513 Mahogany and Mira, was one of the formally announced models at 2008 NAMM, even though some McCarty Korina's shipped prior to that. From a construction standpoint, it's basically the same as the now-discontinued McCarty Standard... carved body (slightly thicker than the PRS Customs), 22 fret wide-fat neck profile, PRS stop tailpiece, vintage tuners, and McCarty electronics package (2 covered McCarty pickups + 3-way switch + volume + tone + push-pull coil-split switch). The primary difference is that it is carved out of korina (obviously) instead of mahogany, which gives a slightly brighter tone and somewhat lighter weight. Also worthy of note is that the first ~500 McCarty Korinas were produced with Brazilian rosewood fretboards (vs., Indian rosewood), so this particular McKorina is equipped with the BRW fretboard. And, of course, it's finished in vintage natural with bird inlays. Can't forget about the birds...

So I've gotta start by saying... I've heard a lot of people rant & rave about Brazilian rosewood fretboards & necks over the years, and never knew if any of the hype was justified (or if it was simply a matter of folks thinking "I spent $xxx more for a guitar with Brazilian rosewood, so I've got to talk it up to make myself feel better"). Well, after playing the guitar for a whopping 5 minutes, I'd say the hype is well deserved... BRW has the smoothness of ebony with the warmth of Indian rosewood. Slides, vibratos, bends are effortless, and there is less loss of sustain when doing so. It plays like the whole fretboard has been greased down. Very cool! After playing the guitar for 30 minutes, I was already plotting... "If I sold all the PRSi I have now, how many could I buy with BRW fretboards/necks?" But that's a topic for another day...

As always, pictures are in order...





--B

Studio switch-up - another Presonus Digimax FS

About 9 months ago I picked up a Presonus Digimax FS to add to the studio rack. It gave me the ability to record up to 24 simultaneous tracks (which I don't think I've ever used more than 16 simultaneous tracks), but also, gave me the ability to patch in the ART MDM-8L compressor/limiter for a little extra protection during the recording process. In an effort to make things a bit more consistent from a studio setup standpoint, I decided to sell both my Focusrite Octopre LE and Presonus Digimax LT and pick up a second Digimax FS. So while I've dropped from 24 to 16 simultaneous tracks, all 16 channels are now identical (all XMAX preamps with compression/limiting in the inserts).

I spent a bit of time on Saturday afternoon re-wiring the studio rack... removing the Octopre & Digimax LT, installing the Digimax FS, patching in the ART MDM-8L, and verifying that everything's wired up correctly by recording some test tracks in Sonar.



While I don't have any big (full band) recording projects on the horizon, I am planning on doing a bit of solo recording over the next few weeks, so that will be a good opportunity to put the new Digimax FS through its paces.

--B

The dust has settled...

And after buying & selling close to 30 pieces of gear, here's where I netted out in amp-land...

• On the amp front, I'm actually up to five amps from four amps but somehow ended up putting $ back in the bank. How did that happen? I've got three heads in the studio (Egnater JTM45, H&K Switchblade, Zinky Superfly) and two combos in the living room (H&K zenTera 2x12, H&K Edition Tube 1x12). Tonally, each has its niche... The Switchblade and Superfly are ultra-modern high-wattage tube amps. The Switchblade has a bit more edge along the lines of Marshall/Soldano, while the Superfly is extremely smooth along the lines of Fender/Mesa Mark-series. The Egnater JTM45 head and Edition Tube combo represent the other side of the spectrum... relatively stripped down designs with high gain at relatively low tube power levels. In this case, the JTM45 is smooth and Marshall-esque (an atypical combination) while the Edition Tube is raw, gritty, and Vox-esque. Finally, the zenTera fills in the gaps with a wide variety of modeled tones that sound good at a variety of power levels with no tubes to be found.


• On the cab front, I've downsized a bit, putting the Rocktron 4x12 up for sale to pick up a Randall 2x12 (loaded with Celestion CL80's), which is a good fit with the Randall 4x12 XL (loaded with V30's) that I already owned.


• On the effects front, I sold the Digitech GSP1101 processor, Control Two footcontroller, and a few random pedals. While I still kept a few pedals (Fulltone wah, Sparkle Drive, Carl Martin compressor), all the digital multi-FX I have now are integrated into the zenTera and Switchblade amps... no more rack gear, no more massive pedalboards!


• Net, I'm now (with the exception of a couple random modules to sell) completely out of the Egnater modular amp system. Clearly things have been simplified a bit, as I also have a giant bag of unused George L's patch cables that were previously used to wire up the rack and/or pedalboard.
  
• Finally, in addition to having the new amps available in the studio, I traded in the Behringer V-AMP on the Line 6 Gearbox Gold bundle, which includes both a direct box and software plug-ins for amp & effects modeling. It'll definitely come in handy for recording demos & scratch tracks, and who knows... maybe it'll show up on a few finalized tracks as well.

What's next? Certainly no more amps! I've still got a few pieces of amp gear, a couple guitars, and a bit of recording gear to sell. So over the next few weeks I'll be focused more on unloading some gear on e-bay, craigslist, and other forums and less focused on getting new toys. But, of course, once everything has been sold, I'm sure there will be some new acquisitions on the horizon. In the mean time, here's a pic of a mountain o' amp love piled up in the studio...

--B