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
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Sunday, July 6, 2008
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
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
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
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
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
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