G.A.S. (Gear Acquisition Syndrome)

New guitars - G&L Legacy + Legacy Special + S-500 Deluxe + ASAT Classic Bluesboy Semi-hollow + ASAT Deluxe + ASAT Z-3 Semi-hollow

2010-08-19T12:21:00.000-04:00

Over the past few months I've been on a bit of a G&L buying spree (or should I say, "rampage" ?). What's not to like about G&L's... they've got unique tones, great construction, and "modernized vintage" designs (as in, they bear a lot of resemblance to old Fender designs but address some of the Fender design "quirks" that have been around since the 50's). The upside (if you're buying)/downside (if you're selling) of G&L's is that they fly a little below the radar and don't seem to command the same premiums as genuine Fenders. For my recent purposes, though, that's good news. :)

While I've had a handful of G&L's over the years (both ASAT's and Legacy's), it's taken me a while to figure out "what works for me" from a G&L standpoint... I've owned a few that I haven't been able to bond with. This collection, though, represents a great variety of guitars that I have in fact bonded with.

G&L Legacy

This Legacy is probably the most traditional of the bunch... it's got an ash body, bolt-on maple neck with rosewood fretboard, dual-fulcrum vibrato, and three vintage single coil pickups with 5-way switch and G&L's PTB (passive treble/bass) tone circuit. It's finished in a subtle yellow-tint, even though it looks more "natural" in the pictures below.

G&L Legacy Special

The main difference between the Legacy Special and base Legacy is in the pickups... the Legacy Special has three Gotoh dual-blade (noiseless) pickups in it. Otherwise it's similar from a construction standpoint... this particular Legacy Special has an alder body with maple neck/fretboard and is finished in just-plain-black (er, none-more-black?).

G&L S-500 Deluxe

The S-500 Deluxe is probably the "high-end Strat clone" in the G&L lineup... it's got a basswood body with a flamed maple top, maple neck/fretboard, three single coil MFD pickups (which are hotter yet quieter than the vintage single coils in the Legacy), and a push-pull switch for additional pickup combinations. This one is finished in blueburst (yes, it's actually blue!).

G&L ASAT Classic Bluesboy Semi-hollow

Turning to the tele-like designs, the ASAT Bluesboy is similar in construction to the ASAT Classic with a Seymour Duncan Seth Lover humbucker in the neck position. This particular Bluesboy has a semi-hollow ash body finished in tobacco sunburst and baseball bat-ish maple neck/fretboard.

G&L ASAT Deluxe

This is the hot-rodded ASAT... the Deluxe features a mahogany body with flamed maple top, two G&L Alnico humbuckers with 3-way switch + coil-tap switch, and the G&L saddle-lock bridge. This particular Deluxe is finished in cherry sunburst with a maple neck + rosewood fretboard.

G&L ASAT Z-3 Semi-hollow

Finally, the ASAT Z-3 sits squarely in the "can't decide if it's more strat or tele" category... it's got the standard ASAT body shape with saddle-lock bridge, but has three Z-coil noiseless pickups (similar to the Comanche) with a 5-way switch and a push-pull pot for additional pickup combinations. This one is finished in honeyburst with a maple neck/fretboard (check out the figuring on the neck!). Also worthy of note is that it has a semi-hollow body without any F-holes on the top.

Here's a pic of (most of) the new G&L's lined up with my good ol' ASAT Classic & ASAT Special Deluxe:

More to come on the G&L front... in the coming weeks I plan on recording some comparison videos to demonstrate the differences in tones between these models.

--B

New guitar - Schecter USA California Custom Sunset 7-string

2010-08-19T12:17:00.000-04:00

Ok, so I even find myself asking, "Why on earth would I buy another 7-string?" Pretty much 99% of what I'm playing these days is 70's classic rock / 90's alternative / modern country... all genres where the 7-string is pretty much taboo. (Heck, if I showed up to a country gig with a 7-string, I'd probably get smacked upside the back of the head with a fiddle.) But, c'mon... just look at this one...

This is a Schecter USA California Custom Sunset model. Unfortunately, Schecter has come to be known for a bunch of low-to-mid-range Korean guitars that seem to proliferate the racks at Guitar Center. What fewer people know (generally speaking, of course) is that Tom Anderson (who has since spun off his own custom shop) worked for Schecter in the early days and that Schecter continues to produce a short supply of custom-shop models in the US to this day.

This particular axe was built in 1998. It has an ash body finished in transparent red satin and a bolt-on maple neck with 24-fret pao ferro fretboard and medium jumbo frets. Hardware includes a fixed strung-thru bridge and Sperzel locking tuners. Electronics include two direct-mounted humbuckers, 5-way Schaller mega-switch, and volume + tone pots. Compared to the EBMM JP 7-string I've got, I prefer the slightly more "substantial" feel of the Schecter, though I dig the tone of the EBMM a bit more (not sure if it's due to the wood choice - basswood vs. ash - or pickups). Not sure yet if that means I'll be selling one or the other or keeping both... only time will tell...

--B

New guitar - Ibanez 540R-LTD

2010-08-19T12:15:00.000-04:00

So looking around the ol' blog, it's probably somewhat obvious that I'm obsessed with PRS and G&L guitars but somewhat less obvious how obsessed I was with Ibanez guitars a few years back. I've owned just short of 50 Ibanez models over the years... mostly a combination of signature models (JPM's, JS's, Jems/UV's, PGM's) and high-end RG's (Prestiges, J-customs). While I certainly dig the vibe of the PRSi and G&L's for the majority of gigging & recording I do, there is nothing quite as "shreddable" as a late 80's/early 90's Ibanez. I recently got the urge to shop for a JS, but after finding a good deal on a super-clean Ibanez 540R-LTD and realizing they were pretty close from a specs standpoint, I decided to pick up the 540R to add to the collection.

The Radius models were basically the pre-cursor to the Satriani signature models, so the basic construction is similar with a contoured basswood body and bolt-on maple neck with 22-fret rosewood fretboard. The key differences between the JS and the 540R: the 540R has the lo-pro edge tremolo, bound fretboard with sharktooth inlays, and an H-S-H pickup configuration with a 5-way switch (vs. the JS's original edge tremolo, small dot inlays, and an H-H pickup configuration with a 3-way switch and push-pull pots). This particular 540R is finished in jewel blue and has been signed on the back of the headstock by Reb Beach (Winger!).

Of course, it was only a matter of time before I started messing with the electronics... I removed the stock humbuckers and replaced them with a Dimarzio Mo' Joe and PAF Joe pair. I also installed a Schaller 5-way mega-switch to essentially take the middle single coil out of the circuit... the 5 combinations are 1) neck humbucker, 2) neck single, 3) neck single + bridge single, 4) bridge single, 5) bridge humbucker. The new pickups + the available switching combinations are now closer to the JS electronics than the original 540R electronics.

Here are a few pics of the recent acquisition... note the great condition for being almost 20 years old...

Next up... given my recent history, it's more likely to be another PRS or G&L than another Ibanez. But in closing I've got to admit that it is kinda fun having a shredder in the house once again!

--B

New guitar - Breedlove Pro C25/CRH acoustic-electric

2010-08-19T12:13:00.002-04:00

I tend to play a disproportionate amount of electric guitar than acoustic guitar... not sure if I play less acoustic because I own fewer acoustics or if I own fewer acoustics because I play less acoustic. ( - ponder - ) Nonetheless, I've learned over time that I tend to compose better songs when I write on acoustic and later add in the electric parts to give the song more drive / chunk / oomph / etc.

That said, I still appreciate high-end acoustics and can remember being wowed the first time I picked up a Breedlove at Guitar Center. It was only a matter of time before I looked at the price tag and sat it back town... many of the Breedlove custom shop models were too rich for my tastes. So when Breedlove started to produce the less-expensive-but-USA-made Pro and American series, it caught my attention pretty quickly.

The most recent acoustic acquisition is a Breedlove Pro C25/CRH acoustic-electric. It has a concert-sized cutaway body with cedar top and rosewood back/sides. Trim includes ivoroid body binding with herringbone top purfling, abalone soundhole rosette, subdued pearl dot markers, and black fretboard binding. Finally, it has a built-in L.R. Baggs Element pickup system with soundhole-mounted volume & tone controls.

The best part, of course, is that it has the characteristic "Breedlove sound"... remarkable projection and clarity. Even though the concert-sized body is comparably smaller and cedar is generally warmer in tone, this guitar's tone still fills the room like nothing else. I can't help but think that it would be a great "acoustic soloist" guitar (especially now that I've set it up with super-low action). After 5 minutes of playing this, both of my Guild acoustics sound like they're made out of cardboard. :(

As always, here are a few pictures of the Breedlove in its new home...

Also, somewhat worthy of note, this is the first time I've purchased a "pre-owned" instrument through Musician's Friend. The experience was quite positive... the price (with sale + coupon) was extremely competitive, the shipping was quick, and the guitar arrived in super-clean condition. Based on this experience, at least, I wouldn't hesitate to buy other pre-owned instruments through them in the future.

Alright, that's enough acoustic talk... time to get back to the electrics!

--B

New amp gear - Rocktron Vendetta head (again)

2010-07-06T19:05:00.000-04:00

This post is dedicated to one of the most "mis-understood" amps on the market... the Rocktron Vendetta. I had a Vendetta a few years back and it was one of those few amps that I immediately bonded with. Of course, like most things, I ended up selling the Vendetta to pick up other gear. But recently I ended up on a mission to pick up a simple-but-versatile 100 watt head, and I became hell-bent on finding another Vendetta (inspired in part by the fact that I've had a Vendetta 4x12 cab loaded with V30's around here for the past few years).

So what makes the Vendetta so great? For starters, it's basically a "modernized" version of the Egnater TOL100... it has a similar 4-channel, 100-watt architecture, but with more gain on tap and a slightly more aggressive voicing. Compared to the original TOL100, it is much easier to dial in (to find good tones without compromising too much on the shared EQ's). From a features standpoint, it's got dual effects loops (series + parallel), built-in MIDI switching, and bias points on the back panel.

So why is it so misunderstood? Perhaps because it looks like a TOL100-wanna-be. Perhaps because Rocktron only produced a handful and never really marketed them. Perhaps because Rocktron introduced a second line of solid-state Vendettas that paled in comparison to the original 100-watt all-tube version. Perhaps because (as some point in time) Rocktron shifted production of the amps from the US to China. Who knows?

While my first Vendetta was made in the USA, this is one of the made in China models. What's different? Nothing's noticeable from a tonal standpoint (which is a good thing). I haven't yet taken it apart to look at the build quality. The key differences are that the Chinese model includes a road case and has LED's installed behind the tubes for that cool "glow-in-the-dark" effect.

So I've got the Vendetta rigged up with a MidiMate for channel switching and running through a Vendetta 4x12 cab... it's about as much Rocktron gear as I could have in a single rig without having an Xpression in the FX loop. Shortly after receiving it, I upgraded the stock Ruby tubes with Svetlana 12AX7's and JJ 6L6's. After spending a bit of time to dial it in, I put together the following quick demo videos to show off it's capabilities...

Vendetta with PRS Sunburst 245:

Vendetta with PRS DGT:

Here's a pic of the Vendetta head on top of the Vendetta cab, reunited after all these years:

Anyway, for anyone who's in the market for a versatile but straightforward 100-watt tube head, this is definitely one to check out (assuming, that is, that you can find one to check out).

--B

The "revolving door" of gear - amp edition

2010-07-06T12:09:00.001-04:00

Continuing in the "revolving door" series, today we look at some of the guitar amps that have come & gone from the studio in relatively short time...

H&K Switchblade 50 combo
The good: infinitely versatile... like a Triaxis combo (MIDI programmable tube amp) with built-in effects (modulation + delay + reverb)
The bad: sounded buzzy/brittle/harsh, particularly when compared to the Switchblade 100 head I used to own--not sure if it's a function of the 50-watt power section or something else, though I did try swapping tubes/speakers to no avail; effects (particularly modulations) are not overly tweakable

Laney TT100H head
The good: lots of amp for the money... 3 channels with lots of voicing switches, spring reverb, footswitchable solo boost, MIDI control
The bad: kinda sterile and therefore uninspiring... sounded more like a solid-state amp than a tube amp

Marshall JMP-1 preamp
The good: 4 different Marshall-esque circuits in a single rack space MIDI-programmable preamp... kinda like a gold-plated version of the Triaxis
The bad: not overly dynamic; general consensus is that the tubes are probably more "marketing tubes" than "preamp tubes"

Mesa/Boogie Triaxis preamp
The good: 8 different Mesa circuits crammed into a single rack space MIDI-programmable preamp with 1/4" relays for switching other rack gear and stereo FX loop; endless array of LED's on the front panel look like something out of Back to the Future
The bad: again, nothing truly "bad"... not as dynamic/responsive as some of the Mesa combos I've owned, but still more warm & tubey than the JMP-1

Peavey Penta head
The good: a couple of the voicings (star, cactus) have a lot of vibe; amp is self-explanatory as it gets from a controls standpoint; retro green vinyl covering looks like an old school bus seat
The bad: the other voicings are less than inspiring, with "mudflap girl" being the worst; amp sounded a bit sterile regardless of how I tweaked it and which tubes/speakers I paired with it, perhaps because 140w is too loud for just about anything

Reason Bambino 1x12" combo
The good: kudos for being able to cram 3 footswitchable channels into a 1x12" all tube combo that can be switched between 2-8 watts
The bad: not overly tweakable... hard to dial in good tones across all 3 channels simultaneously due to the shared controls; the tone of 6AQ5 power tubes is unique (not necessarily bad)

Soldano SL-60 head
The good: forerunner to the Hot Rod series, claimed to be similar to the SLO in circuitry and tone with a lower output (less deafening) power section
The bad: it's a one-trick pony (single channel amp) with a pretty good trick... not much in the way of features/flexibility but gets the job done

The "revolving door" of gear - guitar edition

2010-07-04T16:00:00.001-04:00

I think that some folks who read my blog are left with the impression that I have an unlimited amount of money & storage space and simply collect gear like there's no tomorrow. It's worth pointing out, though, that for as much gear as I tend to buy, I also tend to sell roughly the same amount of gear. So there are some guitars, amps, etc. that stick around for years, while there are others that don't last more than a couple of weeks. This post is dedicated to some of the recently-acquired guitars that have had a relatively quick trip through the "revolving door" of gear...

Danelectro 56-U3 Reissue
The good: inexpensive; versatile/unique electronics package (pretty much nothing else sounds like lipstick pickups); sharp looking sparkle black finish
The bad: feels really cheap (masking tape for binding--pretty sure the body is made out of plywood, too!)
Picture:

G&L ASAT 25th Anniversary
The good: understated but stunning finish (like a cross between vintage cherry and walnut); great craftsmanship and attention to detail
The bad: G&L MFD humbuckers have a very unique sound--not bad, per se, just not right for me
Picture:

G&L Comanche
The good: once again, great finish (blueburst) + great craftsmanship and attention to detail; G&L MFD Z-coil pickups are essentially hum-canceling single coils
The bad: MFD Z-coil pickups sounded "sterile" to me in this guitar (which is something I've also experienced with the larger MFD's in ASAT Specials as well)
Picture:

Paul Reed Smith 305
The good: something "unique" from PRS with an alder body, maple neck, and 3 single coil pickups; standard great craftsmanship and attention to detail associated with PRS
The bad: while technically not "bad," I wanted this to be a guitar that looked & played like a PRS but sounded like a strat; oddly enough, it didn't sound quite enough like a strat for me
Picture:

Paul Reed Smith SC250
The good: modernized Singlecut features (locking tuners, adjustable bridge, weight-relieved body); as above, great craftsmanship + attention to detail; cool-but-understated gray black finish
The bad: is it shallow of me to admit that I never bonded with this guitar because it wasn't a 10-top? or maybe I just never got into the previous owner's choice of replacement pickups in this guitar (SD Jazz + JB)
Picture:

Taylor Solidbody Classic
The good: innovative take on electric guitar design with flexible electronics and extremely solid construction; completely understated and therefore impossible to photograph transparent white finish; "plug & play" pre-loaded pickguards make electronic swaps a piece of cake
The bad: played more like a hot-rodded acoustic than electric guitar, though admittedly, if I was looking for an electric that was able to stand up to heavy playing, this would be it
Picture:

Outdoor gee-tar photo shoot

2010-07-04T10:15:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago I took a bit of time to polish up most of the guitars in my collection, and upon realizing how beautiful the weather was that day, I took the time to drag all the guitars outside to take a few pictures. The guitar colors just tend to "pop" much more in the sun than under indoor lights, and the "natural" backdrop just looks much cooler than the guitars leaning up against the studio wall.

Here's the first half of the PRS collection...

L to R: Starla (vintage orange), Custom 22 (vintage yellow), Custom 22 semi-hollow (tobacco sunburst), Standard 24 (cream), Custom 24 (violin amber burst), Custom 24 (whale blue), Mira (vintage cherry)

...and the other half of the PRS collection...

L to R: DGT (cherry sunburst), McCarty Korina (vintage natural), Singlecut (black sunburst), Singlecut Satin Trem (emerald green), Sunburst 245, McCarty Soapbar (black), McCarty Rosewood (natural)

...here's the G&L collection...

L to R: ASAT Classic Bluesboy Semi-hollow (tobacco sunburst), ASAT Special Deluxe (blackburst), ASAT Classic (vintage white), Legacy Special (black), Legacy (natural yellow tint), S-500 Deluxe (blueburst)

...and the "neither PRSi or G&L's" collection...

L to R: Gretch G6120-1959, Gibson Firebird Non-Reverse, Ibanez 540R-LTD, Voodoo Guitar Works custom archtop, EBMM John Petrucci 7-string, Carvin DC120 12-string, Heritage H-535

...and finally the "basses and baritones" collection...

L to R: Yamaha RBX800AF fretless, G&L Tribute L-2500 5-string, Danelectro Dead-on '67 baritone

After snapping those pics, I started setting up for an all-acoustic photo shoot, however the rain clouds starting moving in and put a damper on the remainder of the photo shoot. Oh well... will have to wait for another sunny day to drag all the acoustics outside to finish the run.

--B

VLOG: New amp gear - Traynor YBA-1 with Fuchs ODS mod

2010-07-04T10:04:00.000-04:00

Here's another one that I can't technically say is "new amp gear" since I bought the amp last year, fiddled with it for a few months in the studio, and just recently sold it. But once again I figured it was worth a bit of discussion given how unique it was...

So this amp started out as a Traynor YBA-1, which is a pretty old-school amp design (somewhere between a Fender Bassman and Marshall JTM-45). It was a 50-watt bass amp driven by two EL34's with MASSIVE transformers. Because of this, it has become a popular platform for modding and hot rodding. This one was modded by Andy Fuchs to have the ODS circuit installed, turning it into a low-cost Dumble clone clone. Post-mod, it has two footswitchable channels, footswitchable mid-boost, full/studio power setting, and various voicing switches installed.

To put the amp through it's paces, I recorded the following video of me jamming along through the modded Traynor to one of my original tunes... the guitar is a McCarty Korina and the cab is a 1x12" Egnater cab loaded with a WGS ET65 speaker. This will give you an idea of what the modded amp sounds like...

So this was another amp to be unloaded as part of the post-AxeFX downsizing (since the AxeFX has some compelling Dumble models), but all-in-all, the Traynor/Fuchs delivered a lot of tone/vibe for the money. If you've got an old Fender/Music Man/Traynor amp that you're looking to breathe some new life into, the Fuchs ODS mod may be just the trick.

--B

VLOG: New amp gear - Mesa/Boogie Stiletto Ace head

2010-07-04T08:43:00.001-04:00

I technically can't say this is "new amp gear" since I bought this amp about a year ago, fiddled around with it for several months, and sold it already. But, I figured it was worth a "retroactive shout out" since it was one of the cooler amps I've owned over the years...

The Mesa/Boogie Stiletto Ace is a 2-channel amp--each channel with 3 modes and selectable rectifier--with footswitchable solo boost, bold/spongy power switch, 50 watt power section... on paper it looks like a scaled-down version of the Stiletto Trident/Deuce. What sets is apart from other Mesas is that it was designed around EL34's (vs. 6L6's), and therefore brings a whole new crunchy vibe to the Mesa lineup. To say that it is Marshall-esque would be to sell it short... sure it can get great mid-gain Plexi-ish and JCM800-ish tones, but the Stiletto also delivers clean tones that would put any Marshall (and just about any other EL34-driven amp) to shame and incredibly smooth high-gain solo tones. After a few days exploring all the Stiletto's modes, I realized that my dream amp may be a 3 or 4 channel Stiletto (sort of a Stiletto-meets-Roadster hybrid)--or at the very least two Stiletto Ace heads with an amp switcher! I hauled this one out for a gig last year, and it was a true head-turner, both because of the killer tone + the unique look (maroon leather with tan piping).

So if it's so cool, why did I get rid of it? Well, let's just say it was part of this year's AxeFX downsizing... there were enough great crunch tones between the AxeFX's Marshall and Soldano models that I really didn't think I'd use the Stiletto much for recording. Before I sold it, though, I had to get at least one demo of the amp in action... the following video gives a good idea of what the amp's "fluid drive" mode sounds like:

(It's also worth pointing out that the amp's gain is only at 1:00 in that video without any OD pedals, so there is still a lot more available gain on tap!)

Finally, here's a picture of the Stiletto in the middle of Mesa Mountain... kinda sticks out like a sore thumb with the maroon leather...

--B

My Keyboard & MIDI Gear

2010-07-04T08:30:00.000-04:00

last updated: 2010-Jul-4

Perhaps this is long overdue, since I actually started my music journey as a keyboard player... I took piano lessons when I was in 3rd grade (I didn't start guitar lessons until 8th grade), took music theory/composition classes in high school (which introduced me to the world of sequencing and ultimately home recording), and even spent most of my high school graduation money on a keyboard/sequencer rig, which gradually expanded to the keyboard rig below (none of which, of course, is around here today)...

Granted, I've invested a lot more time, money, and effort in guitarsmanship (?) over the years, but I still enjoy playing keys and composing keyboard parts for many original compositions.

Recently I've dusted off a few pieces of keyboard gear (and picked up a couple new pieces) to put together a more "complete" rig. Chances of taking anything on the road are pretty slim, since it's mostly for purposes of jamming around in the studio. The rig is assembled as follows: Both the M-Audio Keystation 61es and Fatar StudioLogic SL990-XP controllers are wired into the MOTU MIDI Timepiece AV patchbay/router. For those days when the guitarist in me is dominating the keyboard player in me, I've also got a Casio MG510 MIDI guitar, Yamaha EZ-EG tutorial guitar (makes a great MIDI controller!), and Sonuus G2M guitar-to-MIDI converter--all of which are different/good in their own ways. The MOTU routes the MIDI signal out to one of several rackmount sound modules: Korg Triton (with Z1-inspired MOSS expansion board), Yamaha Motif ES, Roland Fantom-XR, Clavia Nord Lead 2 (for old school analog tones), and Yamaha TX81Z (kinda obscure FM synthesizer). All those modules feed into a Roland M-120 rack mixer and a TC Electronic M300 for effects. Getting it all rigged up has served as a good reminder of exactly how much I've forgotten about MIDI over the years!

red indicates recent acquisitions
purple indicates items for sale

Keyboard/MIDI gear:

Baldwin Acrosonic console piano
Casio MG-510 MIDI guitar
Clavia Nord Rack 2 virtual analog synthesizer module
Fatar Studiologic SL990-XP MIDI controller
Korg Triton rackmount workstation/sampler w/ EXB-MOSS expansion board
M-Audio Keystation 61es MIDI controller
MOTU MIDI Timepiece AV patchbay/router
Roland Fantom-XR rackmount sound module
Roland M-120 line mixer
Sonuus G2M Universal guitar-to-MIDI converter
TC Electronic M300 multi-FX
Yamaha EZ-EG Tutorial Electric Guitar
Yamaha Motif Rack ES sound module
Yamaha TX81Z FM synthesizer module

Axe-FX Chronicles 4 : Initial impressions

2010-01-11T09:55:00.001-05:00

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?

2010-01-03T10:39:00.002-05:00

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!)

2010-01-03T02:19:00.001-05:00

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

2010-01-03T02:02:00.000-05:00

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

2010-01-02T14:20:00.003-05:00

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

2009-12-31T11:43:00.005-05:00

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!

2009-11-07T09:01:00.014-05:00

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.

everything has been sold...

--B

VLOG: New guitar - EBMM Steve Morse

2009-11-06T17:47:00.001-05:00

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

2009-11-06T14:11:00.002-05:00

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

2009-09-29T00:06:00.002-04:00

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

2009-09-28T23:22:00.001-04:00

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

2009-08-15T22:51:00.006-04:00

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

2009-08-11T20:22:00.005-04:00

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!

2009-04-10T16:06:00.013-04:00

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

2009-03-12T21:42:00.002-04:00

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

2009-03-08T09:13:00.003-04:00

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

2009-03-03T00:29:00.000-05:00

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

2009-03-03T00:14:00.001-05:00

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

2009-03-03T00:06:00.001-05:00

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

VLOG: New amp gear - Vox AC30CCH and Tonelab

2009-03-02T23:55:00.001-05:00

So it's officially Vox week in the studio... picked up a couple new (to me) amps and finally got a chance to put 'em through their paces...

Vox AC30CCH head - Having played guitar for close to 15 years, I've had plenty of Fender-ish designs and Marshall knock-offs that have been relatively convincing, but I've never had anything that's delivered a convincing Vox sound. The AC30CCH is part of the Vox Custom Classic series... upside is that it's got a lot of cool features, downside is that it's produced in China (which, granted, usually isn't a big deal for me, but there's just something about Vox's English heritage that's hard to shake on this one). While the AC30CCH inherits several features from the old school AC30's (4xEL84 power section with GZ34 tube rectifier, tremolo, normal & top boost channels), it adds several more modern features including channel blending, spring reverb, master volume, switchable FX loop, and various voicing switches (brilliance, standard/custom EQ, warm/hot output bias, smoothing). I wasted no time putting it to use in the studio... it dishes up the stereotypically chimey cleans and overdriven grind that Vox amps are famous for. The AC30CCH, much like the Egnater JTM45 head and Mesa Studio preamp, will probably get used on virtually every recording project I do from now until the day I quit playing.

This video shows me putting the AC30CCH through its paces with a couple recent guitar acquisitions... a G&L ASAT Special Deluxe and a PRS Starla...

Vox Tonelab - This isn't the first Tonelab I've had... A couple of years ago I had one of the Tonelab SE floor-based units, which I used primarily as an FX box & MIDI controller (and secondarily for any recording projects). This one, however, is the desktop version, which I picked up for the studio to put down scratch guitar tracks on demo recordings. Overall, I've been really impressed with the Tonelabs... the tonal quality of the amps and the effects are top notch, probably closer to the tone/feel of a real tube amp than any other modeler on the market. The downside is in flexibility... it has nowhere near as many effects as a Boss GT-8, not as fancy of routing as a Digitech GSP1101, and not as many models as a Line 6 POD. But simplicity has its advantages, as it's a lot quicker and easier to dial in good tones using the Tonelab than the competition. And at the end of the day, it's all about the tone, right?? I bought this to replace the Line 6 Gearbox that I've been using in the studio for demo/scratch tracks. While the Gearbox has tons of options (amps + cabs + effects), it's just never "felt" quite right to me.

As always, here's a picture of the new toys...

Stay tuned... in the next week or so I should be posting a couple of studio-quality tracks that feature the AC30CCH in action.

--B

Post-Dramatic gig recap - 2/24 Music Cafe @ Fitton Center, Hamilton, OH

2009-03-02T23:29:00.001-05:00

Last Tuesday we had our inaugural gig as Post-Dramatic (formerly known as Polarity, also formerly known as Necessary Distraction) at Music Cafe, held at the Fitton Center for the Performing Arts in Hamilton, OH. We were one of the five acts that performed, and we played about half an hour of original tunes (many of which have already been posted here, including "This Way for Good," "Rock of Gibraltar," "Perspective," "Empty Walls", "Never Be Free," and "Undone." Overall the gig was a success... there was a decent crowd and we received quite a few positive comments on our songwriting and musicianship afterwards. Score!!

From a gear standpoint, I kept it relatively simple considering the short length of the set and quick set up/tear down times: I took two of my PRS Custom 24's (whale blue w/ trem and violin amber burst w/ fixed bridge), though one never made it out of the case--always gotta have a backup! For an amp, I used the Bogner Alchemist 1x12 combo--no extra pedals or cabs necessary, though I did put the Alchemist's built-in boost, delay, and reverb to good use. Sounded pretty good, although I probably didn't crank it up much more than I have during the past few weeks of practice at home.

Of course, here are a couple pics from the gig...

While there's nothing else on the gig horizon at this point, this has inspired us to get a bit more proactive about booking gigs, so hopefully we'll get something on the calendar soon.

--B

VLOG: Several guitars for sale

2009-03-02T07:56:00.003-05:00

In the spirit of doing some preliminary spring cleaning (or at least selling off a few items to cover recent acquisitions), here are a few guitars up for sale. Check out the YouTube videos for a run-down of the specs and condition of each guitar.

'97 Paul Reed Smith Custom 24 - cherry sunburst, 10 top, bird inlays, gold hardware, tremolo, wide/thin neck $1,750 shipped/PP'd - SOLD

Danelectro 56-U3 - black sparkle finish, 3 lipstick pickups w/ 6-way rotary + 2-way toggle switches, fixed bridge, chrome hardware, Gotoh tuners $275 shipped/PP'd - SOLD

If you're interested in anything, shoot me an e-mail. Not really looking for anything in trade at this time since I'm really trying to thin the herd. :)

--B

VLOG: New rig update #5 - a tour of the rack with sound clips

2009-01-20T22:53:00.001-05:00

In an effort to get more familiar with the new Sony HDR-UX5 camcorder, I thought it would be an interesting exercise to create a few videos walking through the rack rig. The rig is pretty much unchanged since the last update, with the addition of a Hiwatt Series 2000 PRE-1 preamp and some minor reorganization of items within the rack (to make space for more stuff!).

The first video talks through the components, what they do, and how they're wired up...

The second video has sound clips of the four preamps in the rack (Mesa Studio, Mesa Recto, Soldano SP-77, and Hiwatt)...

And the final video has sound clips of some of the Lexicon MPX-G2's effects...

The sound quality isn't too bad for using the built-in camcorder mic, though at some point I'll figure out how to "do it right" by mic'ing the guitar cabs, recording separate audio tracks on the computer, and marrying up the mic'd guitar tracks with the video. But for now, this'll do...

--B

VLOG: Several guitars + amp for sale

2009-01-19T23:23:00.006-05:00

I'm trying something new this time... instead of posting dozens of pictures or writing lengthy descriptions for each guitar/amp for sale, I've put together some short videos walking through each item's condition. Here's what's up for grabs...

2007 SC250 - Platinum metallic finish, bird inlays, 9.5 condition SOLD

G&L ASAT Special semi-hollow - Honey finish, ash body, MFD "soapbars", rosewood fretboard ~9.0 condition $900 shipped/PP'd

Hughes & Kettner Switchblade 100 head - includes MIDI controller, power cable, original shipping box & paperwork SOLD

If you're interested in anything, shoot me an e-mail. Not really looking for anything in trade unless it's a PRS Starla (vintage mahogany with bird inlays--picky, I know) or maybe a 57/08 model.

--B

Videography-induced G.A.S. - Sony HDR-UX5 HD camcorder

2009-01-19T16:20:00.000-05:00

While I didn't get many Christmas gifts directly related to music, somehow I managed to find a good deal on an HD camcorder during some of the post-Christmas sales, so I kinda bought myself a gift. :) While I've never done much with video production outside of work, with my interests in both digital photography and audio recording, it feels like videography should be somewhat natural (although I've pretty much acknowledged that the time investment in good video work is probably equivalent to the amount of time I'd spend on photo editing times the amount of time I'd spend on audio editing... net, a considerable time investment).

So my weapon of choice is a Sony HDR-UX5 HD camcorder...

While there are far more feature-laden camcorders out there, this one had several good points (in addition to a remarkably low price)... HD 1080i & 5-channel surround support, easy integration with the other Sony components (TV, receiver, PS3) in the home theater, and simple software for pulling video clips from the DVD down to PC for editing.

This, of course, meant a few upgrades to the studio PC to turn it into a video editing machine... I added a second GB of RAM, picked up a Seagate FreeAgent 1TB external hard drive, and installed Adobe Premiere Elements.

While I haven't read the manuals for anything yet, I've managed to figure out how to record videos, do basic editing, and get them uploaded to YouTube (which means I probably won't be reading the manuals anytime soon). This means, of course, that you can expect to see some of the blog posts accompanied with videos in the not-so-distant future. Ah, the transition from BLOG to VLOG...

--B

G.A.S. makes Wikipedia...

2009-01-09T07:45:00.002-05:00

While surfing around this morning I noticed there's now an entry about Gear Aquisition Syndrome on Wikipedia. And no, I did not post it there...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gear_Acquisition_Syndrome

My favorite snippet:

GAS hasn't received any major medical attention. GAS is not a clinical, but a psychological condition. However, numerous articles address GAS issue and try to propose an methods to plan one's desires, incomes and expenses better.

--B

New rig update #4 - some assembly (& programming) required

2009-01-04T11:40:00.000-05:00

It's been a few months since the last update on the new rack rig... I've been pretty busy with recording, so haven't had as much time to work on the guitar rig recently. But nonetheless, here's what's happened...

First, I picked up a new rack case arrived courtesy of Hybrid Cases... it is a 20-space latchless ATA rack with casters. I mounted all the gear in the rack, plugged it all into a Monster Power 900 power conditioner, and connected it with George L's red cables. Looks a little bit (or actually a lot) like this...

I also picked up a second Randall R212CS cabinet loaded with V30's to match the other R212CS (loaded with CL80's) that I already had...

Pretty quickly, I realized that the idea of running multiple preamps/power amps/cabinets in parallel was probably more of a pain than it was worth... so I simplified (yes, a rare event) and sold the Mesa 20/20 power amp, opting instead to use the Rolls RP-93S to switch between the 3 preamps (Mesa Recto, Mesa Studio, and Soldano SP-77) instead of running in parallel.

Last week was the first chance I got to sit down and do some serious programming... it consisted of programming the loops & relays in the RP-93S as well as creating a few patches for the Lexicon MPX-G2. Again, I kept it relatively simple, building three patches... one for clean tones (touch of plate reverb with switchable wah, overdrive, chorus, tremolo, and delay); one for crunch tones (touch of chamber reverb with switchable wah, overdrive, flanger, tremolo, and delay); and one for solo tones (delay + plate reverb with switchable wah, overdrive, flanger, and detune).

So what's next for the rig? First, I'll be putting it through its paces at this week's band practice, so I'll probably be making a few "tweaks" to the Lexicon patches. Also, I've got a couple other rack preamps on the way (more details coming soon) that I'll be adding to the mix.

--B

Tuesday's G.A.S. field trip - auditioned a PRS Starla

2009-01-04T11:30:00.001-05:00

Having the day off work Tuesday, guitar-player Dave and I took a road trip to check out the new Guitar Center as well as check in at Sam Ash. While neither of us bought anything, there was a rather intriguing Ibanez at Guitar Center (a semi-hollowbody EX-series ?? with real Duncan pickups and Grover locking tunes for $200--clearly priced at less than the sum of its parts). And Sam Ash had a new vintage mahogany Paul Reed Smith Starla in stock, so I jammed around on it for about 20 minutes to see if it would be purchase-worthy.

The Starla is one of the guitars introduced at this year's PRS Experience. It's one of the more vintage PRS designs, following in the footsteps of the Mira last year. Some specs are similar, such as the solid mahogany body with set mahogany neck and pickguard-mounted electronics. But the Starla comes with a few unique features... Starla pickups, a Bigsby vibrato with tune-o-matic bridge, and 24.5" scale neck (compared to 25" on most PRSi). At first glance, it's definitely inspired by Gretsch guitars in the same way that the Mira appears to be inspired by some of the Gibson SG/Les Paul DC designs. Some folks would say the Starla is the Ugly Duckling of the PRS lineup, but based on how much I love my Mira (last year's Ugly Duckling), I knew I had to check a Starla out in person...

Initial impressions were quite positive: The 24.5" scale makes for slightly easier chording & string bending. Tonally, the Starla definitely is Gretsch-derived... it was the brightest, sparkliest sounding PRS I've ever played, which contributed to great clarity for both chords and lead lines. Granted, it's no shredder... the neck is chunky, the Bigsby bridge is "quirky" (was a bit hard to keep in tune, though it could've just been old strings, or perhaps I've been spoiled by the relative tuning stability of the PRS trem and locking tuners on other PRSi), and the pickups are on the vintage/low output end of the spectrum. As always, attention to detail (finish & setup) were top notch, and I was surprised by how much I appreciated the subtlety of the simpler vintage mahogany finish.

Overall, the Starla's got a lot of "vibe"... if I was trapped on a desert island, it wouldn't be the one guitar I'd take. But if I was locked in a studio with 10 other guitars, it would be cool addition to the collection... it's probably one I'll keep an eye open for on the used market (that is, once a few more Starla's reach the used market).

--B

Today's recording project - Last Forgiveness (2008) + mastering work in progress

2008-12-21T20:44:00.001-05:00

The latest recording to surface from depths of the studio is Last Forgiveness, which (if memory serves me correctly) is the first song I brought to the table in Necessary Distraction. This is a slightly modified version... while it begins (laid back) and ends (gratuitous solo) similar to the original arrangement, the second verse has been re-worked with a new heavier guitar riff--in retrospect, I don't know how we managed to play the song for close to 2 years without that riff!

Enough reading... start listening: Last Forgiveness 2008

Here's the breakdown of the gear used on the recording:
- Left rhythm guitar - PRS McCarty Korina into Mesa Recto preamp + Randall RT2/50 power amp
- Right rhythm guitar - G&L ASAT Classic into Egnater JTM45 head

- Lead guitar - PRS Standard 24 into Fulltone Clyde Deluxe wah + Mesa Studio preamp + Randall RT2/50 power amp

- Slide guitar - Hamer Eclipse into Hughes & Kettner Edition Tube 20 combo

- 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 guitars - Guild F47M-CE and 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 Line 6 GearBox

- Keys - Fatar Studiologic SL990-XP into Korg Triton rackmount

- Vocals - Studio Projects C1 condenser into DigiMax FS
- Drums - Drums on Demand

Once we finished recording this one, I made a few edits & mix changes to the other tracks and started the mastering process. I loaded all the .WAV files into Cakewalk Pyro, fixed the fade-outs, adjusted the timing between tracks, and then discovered that Pyro didn't support the plug-in I wanted to use for mastering. Ugh! So I loaded the .WAV files back into Sonar, applied the plug-ins I needed (VintageChannel for light EQ and iZotope Ozone for loudness maximization & such), exported new .WAV files, and loaded those .WAV's into Pyro (once again) to fix the fade-outs and adjust timing between tracks. It took a few hours to finish (a couple more hours than I originally estimated). Now I've got a couple of CD's that I can listen to in the car, at work, etc. I'm giving one of the copies a test run on the home stereo now, and it sounds pretty good... just a touch louder and brighter than the original mixes. Of course I've already found a handful of things that need to be fixed, but for a first attempt, not too bad. I probably won't get around to tweaking things until after the holiday, but at least it sounds good enough as-is to make copies for folks as stocking stuffers.

--B

Today's recording project(s) - I'll Find You Hiding / Through the Years

2008-12-21T00:22:00.003-05:00

Today was a good music day... I spent the morning jamming around with some friends, worked on a couple new song concepts in the afternoon, and spent most of the evening recording final tracks and mixing songs down.

Through the Years takes the cake for both "newest composition" and "least like anything else we've written or recorded": "Newest" in that all the music and lyrics have been composed during the past month (compared to many of the songs that we've been playing in one form or another for a couple of years); "least like anything else" in that the song is all acoustic, mostly down-tuned 12-string with a couple 6-string tracks added for additional texture.

The second song is I'll Find You Hiding, which is a tune we've been jamming around on with Necessary Distraction for just over a year now. This is probably one of the more "odd" songs we've got... rather dark & droning compared to everything else we've written & recorded recently. (I think I wrote the music after re-discovering Heart's Mistral Wind.) The wide-open nature lends itself to layering of different textures, so there are probably more audio tracks in this song (and more gratuitous use of effects like phaser & delay & reverb) than anything else we've done. Oddly enough, the guitar solo was a scratch track that I ended up liking more than any of the "official" takes that followed.

Through the Years:
- "Lead" acoustic guitar - Guild F47M-CE mic'd with Kel Audio HM-1 and Audio Technica AT2020 condensers into Presonus DigiMax FS

I'll Find You Hiding:
- Left rhythm guitar - G&L ASAT Classic into Egnater JTM45 head
- Right rhythm guitar - PRS McCarty Korina into Hughes & Kettner Edition Tube 20 combo
- Lead guitar - PRS McCarty Korina into Hughes & Kettner Edition Tube 20 combo
- Slide guitar - Hamer Eclipse into Mesa Recto preamp + Randall RT2/50 power amp
- other "texture" guitar - Ernie Ball JP7 into Mesa Recto 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

Common gear:
- 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 Line 6 GearBox
- Vocals - Studio Projects C1 condenser into DigiMax FS
- Drums - Drums on Demand

As of now, we've got nine songs complete, one more song that's 90% complete, and a handful of concepts in the hopper... hopefully we'll get two or three of those concepts finished by the end of the year.

--B

New amp gear - Egnater Rebel 20

2008-12-12T19:44:00.002-05:00

The latest amp to join the ranks in the studio is the Egnater Rebel 20. Obviously (if you take a quick look around the blog) I've long been a fan of Egnater gear, having owned a real Egnater (M4 preamp) and a small mountain of other amps designed by Bruce (hot-rodded JTM45 head, Randall RH50T/RM20B/RM50B/RM100C/RM4/RT2-50, Rocktron TOL100/Vendetta). So, once again, I took advantage of the Microsoft/e-bay 30% cashback offer to pick up a practically new Rebel head.

The Rebel, considering its small size and low weight for a tube amp, is packed with cool features... two of the coolest have got to be the "tube mix" and "watts" controls. Tube mix allows you to blend the two EL84's and two 6V6's in the power section in pretty much any combination--the 6V6's provide a smoother tone compared to the edgier nature of the EL84's. Watts is essentially an attenuator that allows the wattage to be dialed down from 20w to 1w--this is in addition to a standard master volume control, which has a different impact on the amp's tone and feel. Of course, it's finished in the standard Egnater "black & tan" tolex.

Admittedly, curiosity got the better of me on this amp... lots of folks on different forums were raving about the tone, but nobody could offer up a good comparison. Hot-rodded Marshall? Hot-rodded Vox? Hot-rodded Fender? All of the above? None of the above? (well, at least with Egnater, you know it's hot-rodded something) Needless to say, with the Egnater JTM45 head around, I was hoping it was more hot-rodded-anything-else than hot-rodded Marshall. Turns out the Rebel's still got a Marshall-esque vibe, but it's a bit thinner sounding (more like a real Marshall) than the JTM45 head. With the bright switch engaged and the EL84's full-on, it does a great sparkly clean/overdriven tone. Yet with the gain cranked up, tight switch enaged, and mids dialed down, it can pull off metal tones. A little fiddling around in the studio has proven that it'll sit nicely in the mix with the JTM45--distinctive enough to be distinctive, but not too distinctive.

Here's a pic of the Rebel on top of the JTM45 head from the first Egnater amp building seminar...

Since the Vox-like tone is unique compared to the other preamps I've got in the rack, I've been debating wiring the Rebel into the rack... basically taking the speaker out from the Rebel into a Weber MiniMass attenuator, then feeding the line out from the attenuator into the Lexicon FX section and Randall power amp. Overkill? Perhaps... but in the true spirit of G.A.S. and "rig complexity," I think I'm gonna have to give it a shot at some point. Though I think I'm gonna need more cables... rats!

--B

New amp gear - Bogner Alchemist 1x12 combo

2008-12-12T19:30:00.002-05:00

A few weeks ago I had the chance to audition a Bogner Alchemist 2x12" combo at Guitar Center. Since I was rather impressed with what I heard and have been looking for a compact living room amp for a while, I jumped on the Microsoft/e-bay 30% cashback offer to pick up an Alchemist 1x12" combo. The Alchemist 1x12" is similar in specs... only considerable difference being that the two Celestions (G12H30 and Greenback) have been replaced by a single Vintage 30... otherwise it's got the same switchable 20/40 watt power section, two channels with independent EQ and voicing switches, footswitchable boost, and digital delay/reverb.

Here's a pic of the new Alchemist...

Overall, it's turning out to be a great living room amp, especially compared to some of the more powerful (read: obnoxiously loud) living room amps I've tried. Right now I've got it dialed in for a crisp clean tone and borderline-heavy-overdriven tone, but I know it'll work well for jazz gigs (fat/thick cleans & leads) with a bit of tweaking.

--B

You know you've got too much gear when...

2008-12-12T19:16:00.001-05:00

...you clean out the closet in the studio, pull out 23 guitar cases, then realize there are still half a dozen guitar cases hiding in the other closet...

--B

New guitar - PRS SC 250

2008-11-26T10:06:00.003-05:00

Ever since I saw the Collective Soul Home DVD, I've had a strange desire to pick up a PRS Tremonti in platinum metallic like Dean Roland's. Only downside of the original Tremonti model, though, was the eye-sore "Mark Tremonti" inlay on the 12th fret. So when I managed to find a deal on a Paul Reed Smith SC 250 in platinum metallic, I jumped on it.

The SC 250 is similar in construction to the original Singlecut model with a few updates, including a weight-relieved body, hotter (uncovered) pickups, adjustable stoptail bridge, and locking tuners; technically, this makes it closer in specs to the original Tremonti model than the original Singlecut model. Compared to the newer vintage-inspired SC 245 model, the SC 250 is geared towards modern rock players. This particular SC 250 has the wide fat neck profile, bird inlays, and the platinum metallic finish with "scraped" natural binding around the maple top.

As always, here are a few pics of the new acquisition...

All in all, it's a sweet addition to the collection... it's definitely one of the most "modern" sounding guitars I own. There's something about it that makes me want to tune down to drop-D and chug away.

--B

New guitar - Hamer Eclipse

2008-11-26T10:03:00.001-05:00

For a while I've been talking about learning how to play slide guitar (perhaps even lap steel), though slide guitar has always been a challenge since all of the guitars I've got are set up with obnoxiously low action. I decided, therefore, that it may be a good idea to pick up a relatively inexpensive guitar and set it up for 24x7 slide. While doing my daily poking around on e-bay, I found a relatively clean Hamer Eclipse on deal. The Eclipse is about as straightforward as it gets... solid mahogany body, fat mahogany neck, wraparound bridge, (2) Seymour Duncan minibuckers with volume + tone + 3-way switch... not a lot of sizzle, but an extremely solid American-made guitar for the money.

In addition to the standard "guitar readification" that all incoming guitars go through (e.g., setup, polishing, fretboard conditioning), the Hamer received a few special treatments: First, I installed a Golden Gate resonator guitar extension nut, which raised the action on the fretboard to ~1/4" (gasp!). Next, I restrung the guitar with a set of GHS acoustic slide strings, which are specially polished (ground wound?) to reduce slide noise and provide ridiculously high tension (16-56 gauge) across all strings. Finally, I picked up a real steel slide, a Shubb-Pearse SP3. The difference all these treatments make is considerable... the Eclipse is now officially a slide machine (and unofficially not good for much else!).

As always, here are a few pictures of the Eclipse:

Inspired so far by how much difference a small investment has made in my electric slide playing capability, I'm now thinking about buying a second Golden Gate extension nut and pack of GHS acoustic slide strings to install on my old Gibson Country Western acoustic so I can get my acoustic slide on without investing several hundred $$$ in a true resonator guitar.

--B

Traditional pre-holiday gear purge

2008-11-26T09:09:00.012-05:00

In an effort to move a few things I've been tripping over before the holidays (and capitalize on e-bay's half-price listing sale), I posted the following gear on e-bay last night. Check it out:

Boss PS-5 Super Shifter pedal SOLD
B.Y.O.C. 5-knob compressor kit SOLD
B.Y.O.C. Triboost kit SOLD
Digitech GSP-1101 FX (NIB) SOLD
Focusrite OctoPre LE w/ ADAT card SOLD
G&L Legacy Deluxe SOLD
Hughes & Kettner Edition Tube 20th Anniversary 1x12" combo SOLD
Hughes & Kettner Switchblade head SOLD
Hughes & Kettner zenTera 2x12" combo SOLD
Presonus DigiMax LT preamp/AD converter SOLD

--B

Today's recording project - Rock of Gibraltar

2008-11-25T13:36:00.003-05:00

Here's the latest track to emerge from the studio after adding a few final touches and doing a bit of mixdown this weekend... The tune is called Rock of Gibraltar, and it's a song we've been jamming around with Necessary Distraction on for just over a year. It's probably one of the more uptempo, straight-ahead rock songs we've got. Oddly enough, while the majority of the tracks were recorded during the past couple weeks, the guitar solo was flown in from a scratch track recorded in January 2008 to showcase my long-gone Egnater M4 preamp... I always liked the tone and feel of that solo take and figured it was easier to steal it from myself than try to nail it again.

Anyway, without further ado, here's the MP3: Rock of Gibraltar

Also, here's the rundown of the gear used:

- Left rhythm guitar (distorted) - PRS McCarty Korina into Egnater JTM45 head

- Right rhythm guitar (distorted) - G&L ASAT Classic into Hughes & Kettner Edition Tube 20 combo

- Left/right rhythm guitars (clean) - G&L ASAT Classic into Carl Martin compressor + Hughes & Keggner Edition Tube 20 combo

- 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

- Lead guitar (recorded during a previous session) - Voodoo Guitar Works custom archtop into Egnater M4 preamp (EG3/4 module) + VHT 2/50/2 power amp + V30-loaded Randall RA412XLT cabinet mic'd with Cascade Fat Head ribbon and Blue "The Ball" dynamic into Presonus DigiMax FS
- Bass guitar - G&L Tribute L-2500 direct into Line 6 GearBox

- Vocals - Studio Projects C1 condenser into DigiMax FS

- Drums - Drums on Demand

This week I've been working on revamping Last Forgiveness and putting down scratch tracks for a couple new concepts... more to come soon.

--B

This week's recording project(s) - Empty Walls / Perspective

2008-11-22T22:11:00.001-05:00

Here are this week's tracks from the depths of the basement studio, hot off the press, er, mixer: First up is Empty Walls, which is a tune we wrote earlier this year with Necessary Distraction that was pretty much forgotten about until the past few weeks. We've been jamming around on Perspective for just about as long; however, the chord progression is about 10 years old... turns out it was one of the first songs I wrote and attempted to record in my apartment back in 1998.

Empty Walls:
- Left rhythm guitar - G&L ASAT Classic into Egnater JTM45 head
- Right rhythm guitar (clean) - Gretsch G6120 into Hughes & Kettner Edition Tube 20 combo
- Right rhythm guitar (distorted) - PRS Singlecut into Mesa Recto preamp + Randall RT2/50 power amp
- Lead guitar - PRS McCarty Korina into Fulltone Clyde Deluxe wah + Mesa Studio preamp + Randall RT2/50 power amp

Perspective:
- 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
- Harmony guitar - PRS McCarty Korina into Egnater JTM45 head

Common gear:
- 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 guitars - Guild DC5E-NT, Guild F47M-CE, and 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 Line 6 GearBox
- Vocals - Studio Projects C1 condenser into DigiMax FS
- Drums - Drums on Demand

Next up... I'm taking the week off work and am planning on spending a good chunk of time in the studio. There are three more tracks that need to be finished up (Last Forgiveness, I'll Find You Hiding, Rock of Gibraltar) and several new song ideas to be explored.

--B

Today's G.A.S. field trip - auditioned a Bogner Alchemist

2008-11-15T01:31:00.003-05:00

While killing some time in the Raleigh-Durham area today, I made a trip to the local Guitar Center to scope out used guitar deals. Didn't really find anything worthy of note, though I did spot one of the new Bogner Alchemist combos and decided to put it through its paces as a potential living room amp. The Alchemist is Bogner's first "mass produced" amp... rumor is that it is built in a Line 6 factory in China. Unlike the Line 6/Bogner Spider Valve, however, which is more of a digital modeler connected to a tube power section, the Alchemist is all-tube preamp/power amp with a digital effects section thrown in for good measure. So having been less than impressed with the Spider Valve (too much gain, not enough tone!) and Egnater Tourmaster (versatile, but just couldn't find tones that worked for me), I didn't get my hopes up for the Alchemist.

That said, having spent half an hour with an Alchemist 2x12" combo today, I'm pretty sure it will be the next amp I add to my arsenal. :) First off, the amp has some great features... half power (40/20 watt) switch, selectable delay (ducking/analog/tape) and reverb (spring/hall/plate) voicings, footswitchable boost, parallel effects loop, even mixed Celestion speakers (G12M Greenback + G12H 70th Anniversary). Each channel has independent 3-band EQ plus a variety of tone-shaping switches... the gold (clean) channel has bright/deep/crunch switches, while the mercury (lead) channel has bright/punch/mid-shift switches. The plethora of switches is reminiscent of a Mesa Mark IV, but (good news) the Alchemist was much easier to dial in than most Mesas.

Tonally, all these options givethe Alchemist considerable versatility: Starting with the gold channel, I dialed in a fat, warm, jazzy tone. Tweaking the EQ a bit and engaging the bright switch yielded a thinner, funkier tone. Engaging the crunch switch added additional gain, bringing a plexi-like bite to rhythm tones. Similar versatility was found on the mercury channel... while the to-be-expected Bogner high-gain tones were present, disengaging the bright and punch switches delivered an amazing fusion lead tone. All-in-all, the tone exceeded my expectations: it was warm, fat, and dynamic with plenty of edge available for cutting through in a band situation. It's one of the few amps that could go from a rock gig to a blues gig to a jazz gig and (tonally) deliver. (And, I might point out, I auditioned it with a so-so guitar... a PRS SE Custom. So I'd expect even better tone & response from a guitar with higher quality electronics.)

So it probably is only a matter of time before I sell a couple of amps around here and pick up a used Alchemist... for the money, there are few amps on the market that deliver comparable versatility and tone.

--B

This week's recording project(s) - Turn and Run / Undone / This Way for Good

2008-11-15T00:46:00.003-05:00

During the course of the past week, Jennifer and I spent a good chunk of time in the studio recording & mixing tracks down. This week we polished off three tracks (below) and made good headway on three more. The tracks below actually sample a couple of years of songwriting efforts... Turn and Run is close to two years old from when we were trying to form a blues band; Undone is just over a year old from the second batch of songs we wrote in Necessary Distraction (though the concept for the outro dates back to the Naughty Butterspoon song Too Far from 2002); and This Way for Good is relatively new (a few months old).

Here are links to download the tracks with a run-down of the gear used...

Turn and Run:
- Left rhythm guitar - PRS McCarty Korina into Egnater JTM45 head
- Right rhythm guitar - G&L Legacy Standard into Hughes & Kettner Edition Tube 20
- Lead guitar - PRS McCarty Korina into Mesa Studio preamp + Randall RT2/50 power amp

Undone:
- Left rhythm guitar - PRS Singlecut into Soldano SP-77 preamp + Randall RT2/50 power amp
- Right rhythm guitar (clean) - Ernie Ball JP7 into Carl Martin compressor + Mesa Studio preamp + Randall RT2/50 power amp
- Right rhythm guitar (distorted) - PRS McCarty Korina into Mesa Recto preamp + Randall RT2/50 power amp
- Lead guitar - PRS McCarty Korina, Ernie Ball JP7 into Mesa Studio preamp + Randall RT2/50 power amp

This Way for Good:
- Left rhythm guitar - G&L ASAT Classic into Egnater JTM45 head
- Right rhythm guitar (clean) - G&L Legacy Standard into Hughes & Kettner Edition Tube 20 combo
- Right rhythm guitar (distorted) - PRS Singlecut into Hughes & Kettner Edition Tube 20 combo
- Lead guitar - PRS McCarty Korina into Mesa Studio preamp + Randall RT2/50 power amp

Common gear:
- 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 guitars - Guild F47M-CE and 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 Line 6 GearBox
- Keys - Fatar Studiologic SL990-XP into Korg Triton rackmount
- Vocals - Studio Projects C1 condenser into DigiMax FS
- Drums - Drums on Demand

The goal for next week is to polish off the next three originals, including Perspective, Empty Walls, and Rock of Gibraltar.

--B

Cover tracks from the depths...

2008-10-23T23:04:00.003-04:00

About 3 1/2 years ago, Jennifer and I embarked on a project to record a CD full of songs to give away as a wedding favor. We did have a good recording session with drummer Scott Pirk where we managed to knock out four tracks in one evening. As the wedding approached, though, we became too busy with wedding planning, buying/selling houses, moving, etc. to finish ever the CD. While poking around on the studio computer last weekend I found the original Sonar project files, did a bit of re-mixing, and viola... have now got four new (old) tracks to share.

Barracuda (Heart)
Heartbreaker (Pat Benatar)
Magic Man (Heart [again])
Sweet Child O' Mine (Guns N' Roses)

The "full gear report" is a bit tricky, since it's been awhile, but here's what I used to the best of my memory...

Guitars: PRS Custom 24 or McCarty Rosewood --> Ibanez WD7 wah --> Randall RM4 preamp (Blackface, Top Boost, SL+, Recto, and Ultra Lead modules) --> TC G-Major in series FX loop --> Randall RT2/50 power amp --> Avatar 2x12 cabs (one open back with G12T75's, one closed back with V30's) --> each mic'd with an SM57 --> ART Tube Channel preamps --> M-Audio 1010LT --> Sonar 2.2XL

Everything else: either mic'd (Nady DMK7 kit for drums, CAD GXL1200 condenser for acoustics, Nady SCM900 condenser for vocals) or ran direct (bass through Trace Elliot head, acoustics direct from onboard preamps) --> ART TPS preamps --> Behringer compressor --> M-Audio 1010LT --> Sonar 2.2XL

Enjoy!

--B

Today's recording project - Never Be Free

2008-10-05T22:50:00.008-04:00

Here's the latest from the depths of the studio... I came up with this chord progression a couple weeks ago, the lyrics came to Jennifer pretty quickly, yesterday I did a quick scratch track using Line 6 Gearbox, and today we got a chance to record everything in a "proper" fashion.

The new track can be downloaded here: Never Be Free

And, of course, it wouldn't be complete without a discussion of the gear used...

- 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

--B

New rig update #3 - wire it up!

2008-09-22T23:59:00.001-04:00

While I'm still waiting for the rack to arrive, I had a bit of free time tonight to wire up the new rig in an 80-for-20 manner... I started by replacing the power tubes in the Randall RT2/50 (with matched pairs of SED Winged "C" 6L6's and EL34's), connected everything with George L's cables, programmed the RP-93 to switch channels on the amps, and optimized the levels on the Lexicon MPX-G2. While there's certainly a lot of programming to do with the MPX-G2, I was at least able to dial up a basic patch with some light detuning and delay to get a sense of how the multi-preamp rig would fare... in a word... fat!

So a few things have changed since the original plan I put together a month ago... first, I've added the Mesa Rectifier recording preamp and 20/20 power amp to the rig; second, I switched out the Digitech GSP-1101/Control 2 pair for the Lexicon MPX-G2/R1 pair; finally, I decided to work with the Randall cabs I already owned instead of buying new Avatar cabs. Here's what it all looks like, courtesy of PowerPoint...

And here's how it's all wired up... basically the guitar signal is going through the Axess BS2 and ISP Decimator pedal into the front-of-amp FX section of the Lexicon MPX-G2. The Rolls RP-93 is used to split the signal out to multiple preamps. The Mesa Studio preamp (dry) feeds the Mesa 20/20 power amp and the Randall RA412XL stereo cab. The other preamps (Mesa Rectifier & Soldano SP-77) have post-FX added by the MPX-G2 then feed the Randall RT2/50 power amp and Randall R212C cabinets. This gives a wet/dry/wet setup where everything is wired up as follows...

Hopefully the 20-space rack will be here by the end of the week so that everything can be "formally" mounted & wired up!

--B

New rig update #2 - Mesa/Boogie influx!

2008-09-21T00:50:00.000-04:00

A little over a week has gone by since the last post, and, once again, I've been keeping the delivery guys busy. And, quite frankly, I've been keeping myself busy, too... I took a few hours on Saturday to accumulate all the new gear and go over each piece with a fine-tooth comb: I cleaned (and tightened up any loose) tube sockets/pots/switches/jacks and wiped everything down on the outside. So things may not look as good as new, but at least they look one step closer to new. :)

With that being said, on to the new gear...

Mesa/Boogie Studio preamp -Here's one out of the "vintage" bin... the Studio preamp is based on the Mark-series amps with 2 channels, switchable graphic EQ, and spring reverb. Of course, in Mark-series fashion, both channels share tone controls but do have independent gain controls and bright/fat switches. Tonally, "liquid" is the best way to describe this preamp... while the lead channel is classic Boogie, even the clean channel somehow manages to sustain for days. Setting the graphic EQ in the classic Mesa "V" shape delivers dead-on old-school Metallica crunch. Definitely reminds me of everything I liked about my old Mark IV and Triaxis rigs back in the day!

Mesa/Boogie Rectifier recording preamp - Another preamp?!? In the spirit of trying new stuff (or rather, revisiting old stuff that I had about 5 years ago), I picked up the Recto preamp to dish up everything that is the polar opposite of the Studio preamp... thin & crisp cleans, gritty mid-gain tones, and (why everyone buys Rectifiers to begin with) aggressive modern chugga-chugga tones. The preamp has 2 channels, each with 3 modes (clean + fat + brit on the green channel, raw + vintage + modern on the red channel) and a switchable solo boost. Unlike the Studio preamp, both channels have independent tone controls, and there is no reverb or graphic EQ. The range of tones across all 6 modes is impressive, although I've been gravitating towards the clean and vintage modes. This preamp blends beautifully with the Soldano, and sounds killer through the...

Mesa/Boogie 20/20 power amp - Another power amp?!? Ok... maybe the third preamp wasn't overkill, but the second power amp definitely is! I wanted to experiment with the 20/20 for several reasons... first, to see how a low-wattage power amp sounds compared to the higher-power RT2/50; second, to see how the texture of EL84 power tubes compliments the preamps; and finally, to experiment with a wet/dry setup using all three preamps and both power amps in parallel. While I did clean the 20/20's tube sockets and pots, I've got a bit of odd behavior going on... one channel is darker (almost muddier), while the other is brighter... I need to do a bit more troubleshooting to see if one of the sets of tubes is mismatched or if only one side of the amp was modded by a previous owner (there's a little known "deep" mod for the 20/20).

Finally, here's a pic of everything stacked up, anxiously awaiting for the rack to arrive...

Don't be fooled... everything's still wired up in a half-a$$ fashion... nothing will really be wired up right until it's installed in the rack (which should arrive either late this week or early next week). In the mean time, I'm just hoping the puny little table doesn't collapse under the weight of all the amps!

--B

New rig update #1 - Rolls/RFX RP-93 Patchwork, Soldano SP-77 preamp, Lexicon MPX-G2/R1 effects, and Randall RT2/50 power amp

2008-09-11T21:12:00.001-04:00

Well, pieces of gear have slowly been showing up courtesy of UPS and Fedex the past few days, so today was the the first chance I've had to get everything unpacked, stacked, and wired up in a half-a$$ fashion... no point in spending too much time over-doing it while I'm still waiting for the second preamp (Mesa Studio) and the rack to arrive. Of the four new pieces of gear, I've already owned three of 'em in the past, so I pretty much knew what to expect...

Rolls/RFX RP-93 Patchwork - This is basically the poor man's GCX or Rocktron Patchmate... it costs about 1/3 as much, but performs the same basic tasks. It provides MIDI control of four relays (for amp channel switching) and four loops (for taking effects in/out of the signal chain). Right now it's switching channels on the Soldano; it will also be used to switch channels on the Mesa when it arrives. The downside of the RP-93 is that it doesn't switch the loop sends, only the loop returns, so if all the loops are used it can create considerable drag (tone suck) on passive guitar pickups--I'm overcoming this with the generally-lifesaving Axess Electronics BS2 buffer/splitter.

Lexicon MPX-G2 FX and MPX-R1 footcontroller - This is, without a doubt, one of my top five pieces of gear of all time (yes, that's quite an accomplishment). The G2 was the first FX processor designed with a send/return so that certain effects (wah, distortion, compression) can be placed in front of the amp while others (delay, reverb) can be placed post-distortion in the amp's FX loop. When the front-of-amp effects are bypassed, a hardwire bypass is engaged. The effects roster includes modulations, delays, reverbs (with a dedicated processor), compression, EQ, wah, and even analog distortions. Plus there are several features I pretty much ignore, including a solid-state preamp and speaker simulator. The MPX-R1 footcontroller perfectly compliments the MPX-G2, providing the ability to switch banks & patches, toggle individual effects on/off, control wah & volume with the built-in expression pedal, and view the tuner readout on the floor. (NOTE: While functioning Lexicon MPX-G2's/R1's are getting pretty hard to find, the Digitech GSP1101/Control Two is the next best thing... it allows the same front-of-amp vs. post-distortion effects configuration, even though the Digitech is not quite as flexible in terms of effects routing or depth of parameters to tweak.)

Randall RT2/50 power amp - (yea, something from this century!) This power amp, oddly enough, also makes my top five pieces of gear of all time list. Kind of a hidden gem, the RT2/50 was designed by Bruce Egnater to work with the Randall M4 preamp. So what's so cool about it? Both sides can be user-biased for different power tubes... the amp ships with 6L6's on one channel and EL34's on the second, but can take pretty much anything from 6V6's to KT77's. The amp is MIDI enabled, to allow switching between the channels (and switching between whatever cabinets are connected to those channels)... enabling you to do cool things like switch between 6L6's through an open-back 2x12 (Fendery) and EL34's through a closed-back 4x12 (Marshally). Another cool feature is the depth control on each channel... basically a low-end presence control that allows extra bass to be dialed in without muddying up the tone. And, of course, it sounds great (and weighs a ton!).

Soldano SP-77 preamp - This is the one piece of gear I haven't owned before. It is also one of the simplest pieces of gear I've owned in a while... 2 channels, each with dedicated tone controls, not much else. Perhaps it's even a bit too minimalist... there's no button or switch to change channels--they must be switched with a footswitch. And, of course, it's bright purple, which is about as "big 80's" as it gets! The clean channel has a considerable amount of headroom... with the bright switch off the SP-77 takes on a fatter blackface tone, while engaging the bright switch adds a considerable amount of Voxy chime & sparkle (almost too much sparkle). The distortion channel has tons of gain (I doubt I'll ever need to turn it up past 1:00), delivering the overdriven Marshall vibe but not as harsh. After a minute's worth of tweaking I had dialed in the perfect "Crazy Train" tone; a little more fiddling was dishing up dead-on 80's Van Halen tones. Sweet!

So for purposes of tonight's messing around, I routed the guitar through the Axess BS2 and Decimator, then into the SP-77 and RT2/50... I didn't do much with the MPX-G2 tonight (aside from using it as the world's biggest, most expensive rack tuner). Again, no point in over-engineering it until the Mesa Studio preamp arrives. But, of course, I had to take a picture of everything stacked up..

Of course, more of an update will be coming as soon as the Mesa arrives and everything gets wired up as planned... stay tuned!

--B

Well, then again... (more musings on rack rigs)

2008-08-31T17:55:00.002-04:00

About a week and a half ago I was pondering... was it time to make the return to rack gear? Mesa and Egnater preamps? TC effects units? Randall power amps? Avatar cabinets?

After a bit more research and a lot more shopping around, I've changed my gear "wish list" a bit. Why? Perhaps because some of the gear I was looking for is rather hard to find (and I'm rather impatient), or it could be the desire to make things even simpler (yeah, right). While I still want to build a multi-preamp rig, I'm now going with even simpler preamps: a Mesa/Boogie Studio preamp and Soldano SP-77 preamp. Both have only 2 channels... the Mesa adds graphic EQ and spring reverb, while the Soldano is (for me, at least) about as stripped down as they come. Both would be switched using a Rolls/RFX RP-93 Patchwork, controlled via a Lexicon MPX-R1 footcontroller, fed through a Lexicon MPX-G2 for digital effects, continuing with the Randall RT2/50 power amp and Avatar 2x12 cabinets previously discussed.

Routing, then, becomes a bit more complex, due to my simultaneous desires to take full advantage of the MPX-G2's inputs & outputs and avoid any unnecessary AD/DA conversion. The guitar signal will first hit the Axess BS-2 buffer, then proceed into the RP-93. If front-of-amp effects (wah, overdrive, compression) are needed, the signal will be routed to the MPX-G2's guitar input, with the MPX-G2's loop send returning to the RP-93. The RP-93 will feed (and switch) both preamps. The preamp outputs will connect to the MPX-G2's stereo loop returns, proceeding to the RT2/50 and cabinets--similar setup to before: the Mesa running through the 6L6 channel on the power amp into the open-back CL80-loaded cab, the Soldano through the EL34 channel into the closed-back V30-loaded cab. The MPX-R1 will be the only piece on the floor, running into the MPX-G2 using a 7-pin MIDI cable, then switching the RP-93 (and RT2/50 if needed) via MIDI.

Once again, I've mocked up what all the gear will look like in a rack...

... and thought through how everything will be wired up...

Now it's time to get down to business with buying & selling... I've already found deals on the Mesa Studio, Soldano SP-77, Randall RT2/50, and Lexicon MPX-G2/R1 pair; still need to hunt down deals on the 2x12 cabinets.

--B

Back to Mesa? Back to Egnater? Back to Randall? Back to the rack?

2008-08-21T19:51:00.001-04:00

Ah yes, such is the nature of Gear Acquisition Syndrome, or rather, Gear Indecision Syndrome (GIS ??)... it probably wasn't 6 months ago that I unloaded all my Egnater/Digitech/VHT rack gear to pick up several amp heads. Now, having spent several months messing around with the amp heads, I'm once again missing the versatility of the rack rig. Not that I haven't learned anything over the past few months... I did discover the benefits of running a multi-amp rig, particularly as the only guitar player in the band right now.

So here's the plan... instead of going with MIDI-enabled preamps with dozens of channels and hundreds of presets (e.g., Mesa Triaxis, Marshall JMP-1), I'm starting out with preamps that are a bit simpler in architecture: the Mesa/Boogie Quad preamp and Egnater/Rocktron IE4 preamp. The Quad provides 4 channels of classic Mark II/Mark III tone with spring reverb and dual graphic EQ's. The IE4 has 4 channels based on the TOL100 hot-rodded Marshall tones, though improved since each channel has its own 3-band EQ and presence controls. Both are more analog than digital... tones can easily be tweaked on the fly by turning knobs... no need to scroll through dozens of parameters and presets for a simple change.

The two preamps will feed into separate sides of a TC Electronic G-Force for stereo effects (including detuning & delays for EVH-style fattening), or quite possibly (if I can get a deal) a Fractal Audio AxeFX or Eventide Eclipse. The Quad side will feed the 6L6 side of a Randall RT2/50 power amp driving an open-back Avatar 2x12 cabinet loaded with Celestion Classic Lead 80's. The IE4 side will flow through the EL34 side of the power amp and a closed-back Avatar 2x12 cab loaded with Celestion Vintage 30's.

Control is a slightly more cumbersome issue... the Rocktron MIDIMate I've got can already switch the IE4, G-Force, even the RT2/50 if needed. But the Quad is pre-MIDI, so I'll probably need to employ a Rockman MIDI Octopus to handle the 8 relays on the back of the Quad (4 channels + 2 EQ's + 2 reverbs).

Part of the process for me is visualizing what everything will look like when stacked up in a 12-space (or probably 16-space for proper ventilation) rack:

Also, part of the process is visualizing how everything will be wired up... helps me think about how to integrate the gear to maximize its potential, plus (practically) helps me do a "cable inventory" to ensure I won't be missing anything as the new gear trickles in:

So that's the basic idea... means I'll probably be unloading the heads (Zinky Superfly, H&K Switchblade) and cabs (Rocktron 4x12, Randall 4x12, Randall 2x12) I've got around here now in the coming weeks.

--B

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

2008-08-11T23:38:00.002-04:00

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

2008-08-02T13:09:00.000-04:00

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...

2008-07-20T15:52:00.001-04:00

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 head driving one 4x12, the H&K Switchblade head 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

2008-07-06T10:15:00.001-04:00

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 B.Y.O.C. 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?

2008-07-01T22:41:00.003-04:00

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

2008-06-23T23:32:00.001-04:00

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

2008-06-23T23:19:00.002-04:00

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!)

2008-06-23T23:16:00.002-04:00

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

2008-06-23T23:12:00.002-04:00

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...

2008-06-18T22:48:00.002-04:00

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

New amp gear - Hughes & Kettner Edition Tube 1x12 combo

2008-05-29T00:23:00.001-04:00

The most recent (and most likely last) amp acquisition was purchased in an attempt to have a relatively small combo--something that could easily be thrown in the trunk for impromptu jam sessions--that would have unique enough of a tone (compared to the other amps around here) to merit owning. I started looking at 1x10" and 1x12" combos, primarily with class A EL84-driven power sections. Several amps caught my eye, including the Orange Tiny Terror, Vox AC15, and Zinky Blue Velvet, but when all was said & done, I found a good deal on a NOS Hughes & Kettner Edition Tube 20th Anniversary. This is actually the second Edition Tube I've owned... I had one a couple years back when I went through my first H&K phase.

The Edition Tube is considerably simpler than most of my amps these days... it's got 2 footswitchable channels (clean/lead), shared EQ, built-in spring reverb, 20w EL84-driven power section, and a 12" Eminence speaker. The 20th anniversary model in particular has gold grillecloth that's pretty pimp looking, IMO (not sure if there are any tonal differences aside from the obvious cosmetic differences vs. the original Edition Tube). The tone is considerably larger than its size, with massive amounts of low-end from the closed back, ported cab. The two channels cover considerable ground... the clean channel provides the chime, the lead channel can handle everything from classic rock to over-the-top saturation--it's hard not to draw comparisons to Vox amps. The reverb is perfect... there when you want it (clean channel), subdued when you don't (lead channel). It's definitely an under-rated amp... not a lot of bells & whistles, but mops the floor with many less toneful amps in the same price class.

Here's the Edition Tube, sitting next to the also-recently-acquiried H&K zenTera combo...

What's next? Who knows, although at this point I expect it'll be clearing out a bit of guitar/amp gear and maybe turning my attention to finding a nice PRS Satin/Trem... I'm pretty sure I don't need any more amps around here now!

--B

New amp gear - Hughes & Kettner zenTera 2x12 combo

2008-05-29T00:06:00.002-04:00

In the recent quest for a living room amp that delivers a lot of tone/flexibility at relatively low volumes, I started my journey by looking at the new Line 6 Spider Valve combo... essentially a tweaked Spider preamp mated to a 40w Bogner-designed power section and two Celestion V30 speakers. It caught my attention because it felt like a considerable step-change in modeling amp design... not since the Johnson JM150 had something come along that felt so innovative. I played the Line 6 a couple times at Sam Ash and Guitar Center and was reasonably (surprisingly) impressed, so I pulled the trigger and ordered one. However, fate being what it is, the amp was damaged in shipment, and UPS returned it before I ever laid eyes on it. Bummer.

While waiting for the amp to arrive, I started reading reviews, many of which said that the Line 6 sounded good at mid-range volumes but began to display its digital nature at both high and low volumes. Got me thinking... maybe it wouldn't be the best choice for a low-volume living room amp. So while poking around on e-bay I found a great deal on another modeler, a used Hughes & Kettner zenTera combo, and hit the buy-it-now button before I had time to over-think it.

I did own one of the H&K zenTera heads a couple years back and was pretty impressed by the tone... it is the only solid-state/digital amp I've ever played that really responds and feels like a real tube amp. Of course, if you look at the price for a new zenTera and read about the massive amounts of R&D that H&K invested to bring the zenTera to life, it had better respond and feel like a real tube amp! In the grand scheme of modeling devices, it's relatively simple on the outside... H&K's goal was to engineer a digital modeling amp that behaves like a traditional guitar amp. So it doesn't have hundreds of amp and effects models built in, and it doesn't have hybrid architecture (i.e., marketing tubes). What the zenTera does have is 17 amp models, a handful of effects, a 12ow stereo power section, two 12" Celestion V30 speakers, and direct outs (theoretically based on the H&K Redbox) for recording. MIDI implementation and a PC-based editor are available, though not really necessary since most of the parameters are easily adjustable from the amp's front panel by clicking a couple buttons or turning a couple knobs.

Again, I largely knew what to expect based on my previous zenTera, but was curious to see how the "all-in-one" zenTera combo stacked up against the head... I took a few minutes to update the amp to the latest software version (v2.34) and install an expanded set of 100 factory presets to explore. Overall, the combo fares quite well... I imagine that it was easier for the H&K crew to tune the combo's models to the two V30 speakers vs. trying to tune the head's models to sound good with a wide variety of cabinets. The models and effects sound great, the tones are relatively easy to dial in... only gripe is that some of the high-gain models are noisy (with such an expansive digital FX section, why no noise gate???). Time to pick up another Decimator!

So in addition to using the zenTera as a living room amp, I also expect to use it for jazz gigs (where I can take advantage of the clean headroom of the Twin/JC120 models) and use it for some "filler" tracks in the studio... I created a very stripped down set of presets--one for each model, all with limited effects--to use as a starting point for recording when I can't quite dial in the tone I'm looking for with one of the other amps around here (or perhaps when I need to dial in a decent tone for recording late at night). Would be nice to find the z-Board dedicated MIDI controller, but I should be able to get by alright without it if since it'll predominantly be used for jazz gigs & studio sessions (where footswitching is kept to a minimum).

As always, here's a pic of the zenTera, next to another recent acquisition, an H&K Edition Tube combo...

--B

MAJOR amp downsizing in progress - Egnater gear up for grabs!

2008-05-27T19:05:00.004-04:00

Updated 8/03/08! -- Last Sunday morning I woke up with a strange realization... I've got ~20 electric guitars and 4 guitar amps, and here's my personal reality...

I'm in a rock band that isn't gigging, is struggling to record a demo, and will collectively be going on "paternity leave" within the next few weeks for an undetermined period of time
I've got a jazz gig with about one rehearsal and one gig a month for 8 months out of the year
I've got a killer home recording setup where very little actually gets recorded, perhaps because very little is actually being written
And, ironically, I've got an acoustic trio that's probably got more "market potential" than any other project I've got going on

So why do I have all this stuff? Mostly carry-over from when I did have a couple of successful bands going + plenty of time for songwriting/recording. So what's the point of this discussion? My amp gear, cool as it is, is grossly underutilized right now. It got me thinking... what if I sold off my modular gear (heck, pretty much everything but the JTM45 head and cabs), picked up a couple simpler (relatively speaking) heads and combos, and in the process put a bit of $ back in the bank (and ended up with a lot less stuff to trip over in the basement)?

Here's what I've got up for grabs now...

Randall RM100C (black) 100w 3 channel 2x12 combo $850 (no modules) SOLD
Rocktron Vendetta 4x12 (Egnater-designed cab loaded with Celestion V30's) $375
Egnater M4 preamp (one year old, dual-channel) w/ choice of 4 modules SOLD
Randall RM50B Palomino 50w 2 channel 1x12 combo SOLD
Egnater single channel B'MAN module SOLD
Egnater dual channel modules: T/D, VX, SL, SL2, E-RECT, COD, EG3/4, MHG SOLD
Digitech GSP1101 effects unit + Control 2 footcontroler SOLD
VHT 2/50/2 power amp SOLD

Several pictures are available below. Send me an email if you're interested in anything or would like a shipping quote. Not really looking for anything in trade at this point. (Um, why? Probably because I've already got a couple new-to-me amps on the way to try out... of course there'll be a full report once they arrive.)

--B

Everything up for sale:

Rocktron 4x12 cab:

Randall RM100C combo:

New amp gear - Zinky Superfly head

2008-04-27T14:56:00.001-04:00

Let me start this one out with a small soapbox... I'll be the first to admit that I've owned a lot of gear over the years, perhaps (some would argue) even too much gear. Some of it has downright sucked; some of it has served its purpose for a couple of years. But rarely does a piece of gear come along that sounds so good that I become an immediate evangelist, zipping from forum to forum to tell the world of my killer find. This post is about one of those pieces of gear...

The latest (but probably not the last) amp acquisition coming out of the "Great Egnater Downsizing of 2008" is kind of an anomaly... sort of a high-tech boutique amp... the Zinky Superfly. It quite possibly could win the award for "campiest-sounding amp name ever". :) The Superfly is the creation of Bruce Zinky, who worked for the Fender Custom Shop for several years (has several amps to his credit, including the Prosonic) before starting his own company. Zinky has since produced several amps including the Blue Velvet, MOFO, Supro series, and Smokey amps (which are the size of a pack of cigarettes).

The Superfly is far & away the most high tech of all the Zinky creations... it's a MIDI programmable amp, similar to the H&K Switchblade or Mesa Triaxis. The Superfly has 6 uniquely voiced channels (clean, vintage, blues, rock, fusion, overdrive), can store/recall 32 user presets via MIDI, has programmable tube reverb, and pumps out 120 watts (!) using four Sovtek 5881's. While it's not quite as high-tech as the Switchblade (e.g., no digital effects), it does have one cool feature that the Switchblade lacks... global bass & treble controls (not clear if they're in the preamp or power amp section) that can be used to quickly adjust the amp's tone to a particular cabinet and/or room--an extremely helpful feature on any amp with presets.

So how does it sound? In a word, AWESOME. Honestly, I can't remember an amp I've owned recently that immediately clicked with me like this. I wired it up through my Randall 2x12" cab with Celestion Classic Lead 80's. The clean tones are just that... CLEAN and warm, nicely compressed, with fatter tones available on the clean channel and brighter tones available on the vintage channel... definitely some of the best clean tones I've ever played. The blues & rock channels step up the gain, once again providing warm, fat, slightly compressed tones--not the typically Marshall-esque crunch, but more reminiscent of a Mesa Mark rhythm channel. The fusion channel continues the trend (more gain, still warm + fat + compressed) making for singing lead tones. Finally, the overdrive channel adds a bit more grit to the mix, yet remains consistent with the Superfly's overall smooth character.

Dialing in great tones was a piece of cake; I was hard-pressed to dial in a bad tone... no matter what I did to the knobs the amp retained its fat, warm, smooth character. While some folks may find the amp to be too compressed, I love it... it practically plays itself, whether at high-gain settings on the fusion channel or at pristine settings on the clean channel. It reminds me of everything I liked about the Mesa Triaxis (warm, fat, compressed tones) but is simpler to dial in; cranking up the global bass control isn't much different from engaging the 2:90's DEEP mode, either. Compared to the recently-acquired H&K Switchblade, it's just different... the Superfly sings, while the Switchblade has more crunch to it. Perhaps the Superfly is more suited to my guitars & style of playing... the Switchblade is fun to play, but the Superfly is way too hard to stop playing.

Um, picture time... here's the Superfly with the aforementioned H&K Switchblade head and Randall R212CS cabinet:

All in all, this is one for my "Top 10 Pieces of Gear I've Ever Owned" list. Oh, wait, I don't have a list like that, but clearly I should. More to come as I get more time to explore the Superfly... perhaps this week I'll sneak it onto a couple of the Necessary Distraction tracks we recorded last Tuesday.

--B

New amp gear - Hughes & Kettner Switchblade head

2008-04-27T13:39:00.002-04:00

The first new amp purchase coming out of the "Great Egnater Downsizing of 2008" is a fine piece of German engineering... the Hughes & Kettner Switchblade. I went through an H&K phase about 2 years ago where I had a Triamp II, Zentera, and Edition Tube combo, all of which were sold off as part of the "Gotta Pay for all this Egnater Stuff Somehow 2006" event--I'd never had a chance to try a Switchblade then (they were pretty new on the market at the time), but it's remained pretty high on my list of amps "worthy of exploring" based on the positive experience I had with the other H&K models.

The Switchblade's a MIDI programmable tube amp, similar in concept to the Mesa Triaxis, but with real knobs (instead of the 80's-style LED display) and a digital FX section. So each patch consists of an amp voicing (four to choose from: clean, crunch, lead, ultra), associated EQ & volume settings, and various digital effects including modulation (chorus, flanger, tremolo), delay, and reverb. The preamp feeds a 100 watt (4xEL34) power amp. Other cool features include a switchable series/parallel effects loop, built in "boost" feature for more gain on any channel, and an included 4-button MIDI footswitch for easy recall of patches. Pretty much everything but the cool blue neon lights from the Triamp II/Zentera models. :)

Overall, the tones are impressive... it's got the "German sound, " sort of a hot-rodded Marshall vibe with more low-mids. The cleans are ok--while there is some sparkle, there isn't a great deal of tubey warmth. (I've read that H&K's generally cater to folks who play single coils, and that seems to be the case here... there isn't much headroom on the clean channel when playing with humbuckers, so almost all cleans are on the "onset of distortion" without rolling back the guitar's volume pot.) The distortions, however, are great... warm & crunchy with great definition even at high gain levels (and believe me, this amp is capable of extremely high gain levels). Anything from classic Plexi-like crunch to heavy Soldano-ish chunk is available. Good tones are relatively easy to dial in, too... doesn't require spending a couple hours scrolling through parameters with the user manual.

But the preamp section is only half the story... the effects section is more than adequate: The reverb and delay effects are both good, with decent tweakability for delay parameters (time, level, and repeat controls). The modulation is a bit harder to dial in, as there is only one knob.. The first 1/3 of the knob is for chorus effects, the second 1/3 for flanger effects, and the last 1/3 for tremolo effects. Turning this knob seems to change some random combination of rate, depth, and mix simultaneously. As such, it can feel a bit limiting if you're going for a particular combination of rate, depth, and mix that wasn't programmed in by the engineers at H&K--I tend to run my modulations at a low mix rate (10-20%), so I've been struggling a bit to find my ideal tones using the Switchblade. However, knowing that nothing perfect exists and that there will always be some form of compromise, the charm of not needing a separate floor or rack-based FX processor still outweighs the inherent lack of flexibility in the Switchblade's modulation section.

The Switchblade comes with 128 patch storage locations in 32 banks of four... half are factory, half are user-programmable. Only a handful of the out-of-the-box patches really spoke to me... many had either too much gain (again, perhaps optimized for single coils) or too many effects for my tastes. At least the patches are easy to adjust (turning a few knobs vs. navigating through multiple levels of menus), so no complaints there. I dialed in 3 banks of patches... the first bank has a Fendery clean (as Fendery as possible given the limited headroom), a Plexi-ish crunch, a Soldano-ish heavy tone, and a mid-heavy (almost like an Egnater TOL100) lead tone; the second bank has a Vox-ish clean with more chime, a pushed JCM800-like crunch, a somewhat over-the-top heavy scooped-EQ tone, and a similar lead tone; finally, the third bank has several clean tone variations with light chorus, flanger, tremolo, and delay.

All in all, the Switchblade's a lot of amp for the money, perhaps one of the best values out there... all tube tone, amazing flexibility, and fine German engineering. Only downsides in my book are the lack of clean headroom and the limited control over modulation FX parameters. But neither of those are worth losing sleep over.

Before I forget about it, here's a picture of the Switchblade stacked up with other new acquisitions... a Zinky Superfly head and Randall R212CS cabinet:

In the next few days I should have some demo tracks of the Switchblade... it arrived Monday, just in time for Tuesday night's Necessary Distraction recording session. As a testament to how easy it was to get dialed in, I managed to create several great-sounding presets before we started the recording process. So the Necessary Distraction tracks will feature both the H&K Switchblade as well as the Egnater JTM45 head I built back in 2006. Of course, once the basic editing/mixing on the tracks is complete, I'll be posting MP3's here.

--B

New amp gear - Randall R212CS cabinet

2008-04-27T13:20:00.004-04:00

Having had two V30-loaded 4x12s for the past few months has led me to a realization... For my purposes, two 4x12's is overkill: 1) I never need to push that much sound for rehearsals. 2) I'll never use more than one speaker cab at a time for recording. 3) We gig pretty infrequently, but even if we did gig more often, I'm too lazy to haul around more than one 4x12 cab anyway. :) So after finding a good deal on a Randall R212CS 2x12" cabinet, I decided it was time to unload my Rocktron 4x12.

The Randall 2x12 is appealing for a couple reasons... First, it has the same width/depth as the Randall 4x12, so it will safely stack to create a 6x12. Second, it will give me a 2x12 to use with the Egnater JTM45 and other heads for a more "portable" rig. From a features standpoint, the cab is pretty basic, but does have a couple of things worthy of note... It can operate as either a closed-back or 1/3 open-back cab by removing a panel. More interesting, IMO, it has the Randall Mic Eliminator, yet another one of Bruce Egnater's creations. The speaker jackplate has the standard 1/4" ins and mono/stereo switch, but also adds two XLR outs, a ground lift switch, and a voicing switch for dark/normal/bright. I haven't tried this yet, but the concept is that you could gig/record by plugging the cabinet directly into the PA system... no need to fuss with microphones, less stuff to trip over on stage. Sounds good in theory... we'll see how it sounds in practice. Overall, the Randall is quite well constructed out of 3/4" birch with heavy-duty handles and casters... definitely feels a bit more durable than the old Avatar 2x12's I had. Aesthetically, it looks pretty sharp too, with a "silver checkerboard" grillecloth that's unique compared to the industry-standard Fender silver grillecloth.

Since this was a used cab, the original speakers (Celestion V30's) had been swapped out for Eminence Texas Heat's, which I ended up swapping out for Celestion Classic Lead 80's--I dig the CL80's in 1x12 and 2x12 cabs because they sound massive without getting either muddy or icepick-y at high volumes. (I actually thought twice about doing the speaker swap... I'd never been overly impressed with any Eminence speakers in the past, but the Texas Heat's have got a warm, round tone and tight bass response, without excessive mids or highs. Only downside is that they were a bit too dark with the Egnater JTM45 head.)

Of course, no acquisition is complete without a pic... here's the cab stacked up with two other new acquisitions... a Zinky Superfly head and Hughes & Kettner Switchblade head:

Um, so know anybody that wants to buy a Rocktron 4x12 cab? Or maybe a couple Texas Heat speakers? ;)

--B

New studio gear - Line 6 Gearbox Gold Plug-in Bundle

2008-04-27T10:43:00.001-04:00

I've always been intrigued by the idea of using Guitar Rig and AmpliTube hardware/software packages for PC-based amp modeling in the studio... while I never envisioned using it much for major recording projects, I could see how it would come in handy for putting down demos and scratch tracks. When the price recently dropped for the Line 6 Gearbox Gold Plug-in Bundle, I decided it was time to make my entrance into the world of software-based modeling.

The bundle consists of 3 components... a Toneport D.I. (essentially a guitar direct box with a USB interface), the Gearbox amp emulation software, and VST plug-in to use with recording software (e.g., Sonar). The Gold bundle has 72 guitar amp & 24 guitar cab models, 28 bass amp & 22 bass cab models, 80 different effects (including stompbox models), and 6 mic preamp models. Pretty comprehensive!

Installation was pretty easy... run the setup CD and plug in the USB cable. Then wait while Line 6 Monkey downloads software/driver updates for approx. 45 minutes over my pokey studio network connection. :) Plug in a guitar, load up the software, and let the gripes begin...

Gripe #1: The Toneport D.I. is designed to be its own audio interface... it has a 1/4" in and several 1/4" outs on it. Needless to say, I didn't buy it to use as an audio interface, since I've already got more Presonus & Focusrite preamp channels than I really need. The challenge... the Gearbox software appears to only be able to use the Toneport as its output. So unless I want to patch my studio monitors into the Toneport (not worth the hassle), I'm left with the following workaround... plug the Toneport's outputs into the Focusrite inputs, then enable monitoring through the Frontier Audio driver. This seems to work ok, but is annoying since I need to fire up the whole rack of preamps just to jam a little guitar. It also increases the potential for latency problems, mis-matched levels, and tone suck by doing more AD/DA conversion than is absolutely necessary. Grr...

Gripe #2: Once I figured out how to deal with gripe #1, I fired up Sonar to start experimenting with the plug-in. My first thought... why not use the Toneport input to record direct guitar tracks into Sonar, then use the plug-in to do virual re-amping, allowing me to tweak amp parameters on the fly during playback? Well, Sonar didn't like that idea... the direct tracks recorded with the Toneport are choppy and distorted--I'm sure it's an issue with sample rate/bit depth, but after checking both my Sonar audio settings and Toneport control panel, all the numbers appears to be in sync. I was able to record a couple direct tracks using the instrument-level input on the Focusrite and successfully re-amp those using the plug-in, but once again, I seem to be missing out on some of the benefits of getting the Toneport to begin with if I have to use the instrument-level input on the Focusrite.

Net of all this, the audio inputs & outputs on the Toneport are probably great if you don't have a decent audio interface; but if you do have a decent audio interface, be prepared to deal with additional setup & configuration time. (It's somewhat ironic that after adding the Toneport interface with one input to my system, I'm actually tying up three of my Focusrite inputs to fully interface with the Toneport!?!)

All griping aside, once you actually get audio flowing in & out of the plug-in, the software itself is pretty cool... bringing up any amp or effect model allows you to tweak parameters on a virtual control panel designed to look like the original (e.g., the JCM800 model has gold & black knobs on a gold faceplate, the Deluxe Reverb model has black knobs with white numbers on a black faceplate, etc.). Changing the order of effects and experimenting with mic placement is relatively straightforward. I can foresee using the effects pedals (e.g., chorus, delay, reverb, etc.) to add post-processing to tracks recorded with real mic'd guitar amps.

As far as the tone & feel goes, I'd say it's on par with anything else I've ever used by Line 6... gets maybe 80% of the tone of the original amp, but doesn't quite nail the dynamics of a real amp. Clean and high-gain tones are pretty good, but the in-betweens just don't have the feel. Again, for my purpose (recording demos/scratch tracks) it's probably no worse than the Behringer V-AMP Pro I just sold, but would it hold up in a mix next to a real mic'd guitar amp? Hard to say...

Having spent Tuesday night recording four tracks with Necessary Distraction, I will be doing some editing, overdubs, and mix-down over the next few days. I may sneak a couple of Gearbox tracks in the mix just to see how they fare with the real amps (Egnater JTM45 and H&K Switchblade heads).

--B

PS--What, no pictures? C'mon... it's a software plug-in. :)

Deciphering PRS MODCAT (hang tag/case sticker) codes

2008-04-20T21:59:00.001-04:00

While I'm sure this is a topic that will bore 99.8% of the general populus, today I came across a good reference on Birds & Moons forum that helps in deciphering the MODCAT codes for PRS guitars. These are the little stickers that are on pretty much every hang tag and guitar case, and if read correctly, describe all the features that a particular PRS guitar has. Kinda useful when talking to someone who isn't sure if the guitar they're selling has an artist grade top vs. a ten-top, or a Brazilian rosewood fretboard vs. an Indian rosewood fretboard. Who knows, maybe it'll be of use to someone else on the Interweb...

--B

PS--The list below is consolidated from several MODCAT lists from past years, thus explaining why some codes may mean multiple things at different points in time.

---

PRS MODCAT Definition

MC M 2 F - H F I M S - MS - N M - M M
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

e.g., the sample code above reads as follows:
1-McCarty model
2-maple top
3-22 fret
4-flamed maple
5-non-10-top
6-mahogany neck
7-wide-fat neck profile
8-indian rosewood fretboard
9-moon inlays
10-stoptail bridge
11-McCarty Sunburst finish
12-nickel hardware
13-McCarty bridge pickup
14-no middle pickup
15-McCarty neck pickup
16-McCarty electronics

1=MODEL
AA=Archtop Artist
B4=Bass
CE=Classic Electric
CH=Chris Henderson
CL=Custom Leftie
CO=Custom Soapbar
CS=Custom Semi-hollow
CT=Custom Twelve-string (22/12)
CU=Custom
DG=David Grissom
DN=Dave Navarro
FT=Five Thirteen (513)
H2=Hollowbody 2
HO=Hollowbody (1/Spruce)
JH=Johnny Hiland
JT=Singlecut Jumbo Thinline
M2=McCarty 2
MC=McCarty
MI=Mira
ML=McCarty Leftie
MO=McCarty Soapbar
MS=McCarty Standard
NS=Standard Satin
S1=Singlecut Hollowbody 1
S3=Santana 3
SA=Santana 2
SC=Singlecut
SM=Santana MD
SS=Singlecut Hollowbody Standard
ST=Standard
SW=Swamp Ash Special
T4=SC245
T5=SC250
TR=Tremonti
TT=Tremonti Trem

2=TOP WOOD
A=Alder
H=Mahogany
K=Korina
M=Maple
S=Swamp Ash
U=Spruce

3=FRETS
1=21 frets
2=22 frets
4=24 frets

4=TOP SPEC
F=Figured
Q=Quilt
- not applicable

5=TOP SPEC
A=Artist
S=Select (SC-J)
T=Ten-top
- non-ten

6=NECK WOOD
B=Brazilian Rosewood
F=Figured Maple
H=Mahogany
K=Korina
M=Maple
R=Indian Rosewood

7=NECK CARVE
A=Santana
D=Custom Soapbar
F=Wide Fat
G=David Grissom
J=Johnny Hiland
S=Standard/Regular
T=Wide Thin
W=Twelve String

8=FINGERBOARD WOOD
B=Brazilian Rosewood
C=Macassar Ebony
E=Ebony
F=Figured Maple
I=Indian Rosewood
M=Maple

9=INLAY
B=Birds (pre-'08)
D=Dots
I=Birds ('08)
J=Johnny Hiland
L=moons ('08)
M=Moons (pre-'08)
P=Paua Birds
T=Tremonti

10=BRIDGE
A=Adjustable Stoptail
B=Bass
B=Bigsby (SC-J)
O=Tune-O-Matic (SC-J)
P=Piezo
S=Straight Stoptail
T=Tremolo

11=COLORS (see below)

12=HARDWARE
G=Gold
H=Hybrid (gold/nickel)
N=Nickel

13=TREBLE PU
3=Santana 3
4=245, Mira
5=250
7=PRS #7
A=Dragon
B=Bass
C=513
D=Dragon 2
E=12 String
F=hFs Zebra
G=draGon Zebra
H=HFS
J=Johnny Hiland
L=RP
M=McCarty
N=Santana
O=Grissom
R=Archtop
S=Soapbar
T=Tremonti
W=Swamp ash
Y=Santana MD

14=MIDDLE PU
C=513
E=12 String (Fralin)
H=Henderson
R=Vintage Rail
S=Soapbar
- not applicable

15=BASS PU
3=Santana 3
4=245, Mira
5=250
7=PRS #7
7=tremonti 7(?)
A=Dragon
B=Bass
C=513
D=Dragon 2
E=12 String
G=Dragon Zebra
H=Henderson
I=Tremonti
J=Johnny Hiland
L=RP
M=McCarty
N=Santana
O=Grissom
R=Archtop
S=Soapbar
T=Vintage Bass Zebra
V=Vintage Bass
Y=Santana MD

16=ELECTRONICS
3=3-way Toggle/tap
5=5-way Rotary
7=Singlecut/Tremonti/SC245/SC250
A=Bass
B=5-way Blade
F=513
H=Henderson
J=Johnny Hiland/Mira
M=McCarty 3-way
N=Santana
O=Grissom
P=McCarty 3-way P90
R=Archtop/Hollowbody/SC-J 3-way
S=Swamp Ash 3-way
T=Santana 3
Z=Piezo

11=COLORS
AM=Amber
AS=Violin Amber Sunburst (stained binding)
BC=Black Cherry
BL=Black
BM=Blue Matteo
BS=Black Sunburst
CB=Charcoal Burst (SC-J)
CH=Charcoal (std satin)
CR=Creme
CS=Cherry Sunburst
DS=Dark Cherry Sunburst
DW=Dark Cherry Wraparound Burst
EG=Emerald Green
GB=Grey Black
GM=Gold Metallic
GT=Gold Top
IS=Tri-color Sunburst
JW=Jet White (Navarro)
LI=Lilac (Mira)
LM=Platinum Metallic
MG=Metallic Green
MR=Metallic Red
MS=McCcarty Sunburst
MT=McCarty Tobacco Burst
MW=McCarty Tobacco Wraparound
NA=Natural
(?) old gold Metallic
OR=Orange
OW=Tobacco Wraparound Burst
PB=Powder Blue (Mira)
PM=Platinum Metallic
PU=Purple
RA=Raspberry (stained binding)
RB=Royal Blue (stained binding)
RU=Ruby
SG=Seafoam Green (Mira)
SR=Scarlet Red
SS=Sandstorm (Mira)
SY=Santana Yellow
TA=Transparent Raspberry
TA=Tangerine (SC-J)
TB=Teal Black
TC=Translucent Vintage Cherry
TE=Tiger Eye
TG=Translucent Emerald Green
TL=Translucent Blue
TO=Tortoise Shell
TP=Translucent Purple
TR=Translucent Orange
TS=Tobacco Sunburst
TT=Translucent Turquoise
TU=Turquoise
TW=Translucent Walnut
VA=Violin Amber (stained binding)
VC=Vintage Cherry
VM=Vintage Mahogany
VN=Vintage Natural
VO=Vintage Orange
VS=Vintage Sunburst
VY=Vintage Yellow
WB=Whale Blue
WM=Wild Mint (Mira)

Spring cleaning sale

2008-04-03T21:10:00.006-04:00

Updated... As always, I've been doing a better job of accumulating than unloading over the past couple months, so I need to clear a few items out that I'm tired of tripping over. All the gear below will be listed on e-bay by the end of the day (before the listing fee sale expires), so if there's anything that catches your eye, you know where to find it...

6-space ATA rack SOLD
Behringer V-AMP Pro rackmount modeler SOLD
Bitmo Triple Bypass kit for Blackheart Little Giant amp SOLD
Boss AC-3 acoustic simulator pedal SOLD
Celestion G12T-75 guitar speaker (16 ohm) SOLD
Crate CPB150 PowerBlock head SOLD
Damage Control Glass Nexus pedal SOLD
(2) Eminence Texas Heat guitar speakers
ISP Technologies Decimator noise reduction pedal SOLD

--B

Setting up for mid-week recording session!

2008-04-02T00:40:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow night we've got the first of several home recording sessions for my band, Necessary Distraction. The last major recording project we did was just over a year ago... we recorded three original tracks as a four-piece. We've since added a full-time bassist and cranked out six more originals, so our goal is to get as many of those tunes down on tape (so to speak) before our drummer goes on "paternity leave".

Tonight I spent my time getting the gear and software set up, which is pretty similar to the Ground Floor project I did a few months back (drummer, bassist, 2 guitarists, and vocals). For mics I use a Shure PG52 for kick, Shure PG56's for toms, and an Audix i5 for snare. Two minor differences on the drums this time around... I'm using an Audio Technica AT2020 (instead of MD421) for the hi-hat, and I'm using the cardioid (instead of omni) capsules on the Studio Projects C4 overheads. Once again, drum mics are fed into a Presonus Digimax FS preamp/converter; each channel's insert is fed through an ART MDM-8L compressor/limiter for overshoot protection.

As for "strings," I'm using a Kel Audio HM2d on one guitar cab and a Blue "The Ball" on the second guitar cab--both are 4x12's loaded with V30's. Bass is running direct from my Yamaha BBT500 amp. Finally, for scratch vocals it's a Shure SM58; final vocal tracks will use a Studio Projects T3 tube condenser. Guitars, bass, & vocals feed into a Presonus Digimax LT preamp/converter with the ART MDM-8L in each channel's insert.

Now all the mics are set up & plugged in and the Sonar template is ready as well (again, started with a direct copy from the Ground Floor project file). So tomorrow night when folks show up, we'll be ready to get down to business. As always, looking forward to it...

--B

Even more fiddling with the Digitech GSP-1101 - parallel (wet/dry) setup

2008-03-31T20:16:00.002-04:00

After last week's update on my progress with the Digitech GSP1101, I noticed at Tuesday's practice I was having a hard time hearing myself. GSP1101's fault? Hard to say, but I hadn't had too many problems hearing myself with the M4 + VHT 2/50/2 + 4x12 cabs prior to getting the GSP1101. In an effort to try something new, though, I reconfigured the rig a bit... now the guitar signal goes through the GSP1101's pre-FX section into the M4, then splits... one side goes straight into the power amp/cab, the other side is returned to the GSP1101 for post-FX then on to the power amp/cab. In all my years of big rack rigs, this is the first time I've ever tried a wet/dry setup.

The upsides of the wet/dry setup are: 1) Maintains better signal integrity than running everything through the AD/DA converters. 2) Easier to control the overall FX levels on the fly at the power amp than tweaking lots of patch parameters.

The downsides of the wet/dry setup are: 1) The GSP1101 isn't really designed for a wet/dry setup (it's designed to handle all the mixing internally), so it's hard to get a pure "wet" tone out of the GSP1101. 2) As such, there's the potential (though I haven't noticed it yet) for phase issues to pop up. 3) Certain effects (swells, tremolo) are less effective than they used to be. 4) Because of the location in the signal chain, the volume pedal and noise gate are also less effective--actually this has turned the volume pedal into more of a wet/dry mix control.

Despite the fact that it looks like there are more cons than pros, I'm digging the tone... with one side being "pure" guitar tone, I can apply additional effects to the "wet" side and still maintain clarity. I've got a pseudo-Van Halen setup where the wet tone has a touch of detuner, doubling delay, and ambient reverb, making the overall tone extremely thick. In theory, this setup would probably be better served by an effects box designed for 100% wet operation (e.g., Rocktron Xpression, TC G-Major, pretty much anything by Lexicon), but I still like the all-in-one design of the GSP1101 + Control 2 too much to bail on it yet.

So based on this experience, here are a few more general observations on the GSP1101:

Last week I commented that dialing in tones is relatively quick... one reason for this is that the GSP1101 has preset parameters for every amp model and effect in the box. So while some FX units default all the parameters to "0" or "12 o'clock", the GSP1101 has the parameters fine-tuned for each model/effect. For example, if you're using the Rectifier model and switch to the Tweed model, the tone parameters are adjusted to a setting more appropriate for Tweed. Same on the effects side... if you're using the digital delay and switch to an analog delay, the delay parameters are adjusted. The good news is that many of the default parameters sound pretty good out of the box, which is why minimal tweaking has been required when building new patches... if I want to add spring reverb to a patch, the default parameters sound pretty good, and with just a little tweaking to reverb mix I'm ready to play.
One feature that would make patch creation even easier, however, is something I've seen in the Lexicon MPX-G2 and Boss GT-8... the ability to "copy" model/effect parameters from another patch. So if I have the "perfect" delay on one patch and want to copy it to another patch, it would be nice to be able to press a couple of buttons to copy the parameters without having to re-create the effect manually. Right now I have a little notebook of "favorite settings" on top of the rack that I use when creating new patches to ensure they're somewhat consistent with my existing patches.
While I haven't had a lot of time to experiment with this, the signal chain appears to pass through the cab simulator regardless of whether the internal or external (M4) preamp is used. The way my GSP1101 is configured, this doesn't impact the 1/4" outputs, but does impact the XLR and headphone outputs. The implication is that I could use the GSP1101's cabinet models with the Egnater M4, running an XLR cable direct to the console for silent recording. Not sure how it will sound (or if it will be worth the effort vs. just using the internal models), but it's an intriguing option to be able to apply any of the GSP1101's cab models to the M4 when recording.

More to come, I'm sure...

--B

More thoughts on the Digitech GSP-1101 + Control 2

2008-03-24T11:15:00.001-04:00

Well, it's been just over a month since I brought home the Digitech GSP1101 & Control 2 to integrate into the Egnater M4 rig. I've had a decent amount of time to mess around with the GSP1101 on its own, but still haven't tried it out in a band context or putting anything down to tape. Here, though, are a few thoughts on my experience of building some patches over the past few weeks...

Initially I was all fired up about X-Edit, the PC-based editor. After fiddling around with it for a couple days, I've stopped using it, not to the fault of X-Edit. The relative simplicity of the GSP1101 (with fewer effects and parameters to tweak than competing units) and its relatively intuitive display/controls means that I don't need to fire up the PC to be efficient at editing patches... it's only taken me a couple of minutes to dial in any particular tone I've been looking for.
That said, I created about 20 patches to use for performance/rehearsal... starting with clean tones from the M4 with spring reverb (and switchable wah), crunch/heavy tones from the M4 with studio reverb (and slightly "pushed" wah), solo tones from the M4 with delay and hall reverb, all sorts of clean variations (chorus, flange, phaser, rotary, autowah, detune, etc), some heavy pitch shifted tones, a guitar-synth patch (loaded with modulation, delay, and reverb), and finally an acoustic simulator patch. They all sound good (high quality effects, relatively transparent) at low volumes, but I'm curious to see how well they hold up at high volumes at tomorrow's rehearsal.
I also created about 25 patches to use for recording... all of these are stripped down with no effects except for a touch of studio reverb. I have a patch for practically every model in the GSP1101 with the corresponding simulated cab enabled (e.g., Fender Champ through a 1x8, Fender D.R. through a 1x12, Vox AC30TB through a 2x12, Marshall JCM800 through a 4x12, etc.). Again, they sound good so far through the headphones, but I haven't tried recording using the XLR outputs--I'm hoping it will stack up favorably against the V-AMP Pro currently in the studio rack.

So my experience with the GSP1101 + Control 2 has been positive so far, but the real test will be in rehearsals and recording sessions.

My one gripe... Having read a lot of GSP1101 reviews prior to purchase, I knew there was an issue affecting some GSP1101's where there is a loud "click" sound through the headphones until the unit gets warmed up. As luck would have it, my unit is plagued with this issue. It's very annoying (since it's relatively loud compared to the audio level), though not a complete show stopper since it goes away after 3-4 minutes of playing. Still, it defeats the pupose of my "instant on" setup for recording. It does not impact the 1/4" line outs, and I have yet to see if it impacts the XLR outs. Hopefully it will be a simple (quick) repair under warranty.

Coming soon... more on the GSP1101, including thoughts on how it holds up with the band, as well as some sample clips of the amp models straight to PC.

--B

New guitar collection pictures

2008-03-24T00:32:00.002-04:00

Every 4-6 months, thanks to the near-constant churn of musical gear going in & out, the time comes to snap a few pictures of the latest guitar collection. While there was a lot of activity in January, things have slowed down considerably... I don't have any guitars on the "for sale" list and only have a couple on the "wish list". So unless I stumble across any killer deals in the next few weeks, the collection should be pretty stable for a while.

Here's a pic of the current PRS collection, including the recently-acquired 513, Mira, and Custom 22:

L to R back: Custom 22 semi-hollow (tobacco sunburst), Custom 24 (violin amber burst), Custom 24 (gray black), Custom 24 (cherry sunburst), Custom 24 (whale blue), Custom 22 (vintage yellow); L to R front: Mira (vintage cherry), Standard 24 (cream), 513 Mahogany (vintage natural), Singlecut (black sunburst), McCarty Rosewood (natural), McCarty Soapbar (black w/ natural binding)

And here's a pic of the non-PRS collection, where nothing is really all that new:
L to R: Gretsch G6120-1959 hollowbody, Heritage H-535 semi-hollowbody, Voodoo Guitar Works custom archtop, Carvin DC120 12-string, G&L Legacy Standard, G&L ASAT Classic, EB MM John Petrucci 7-string

Here's a picture of the often-neglected acoustic collection:

L to R: Gibson Country Western Model, Guild F47M-CE mini-jumbo acoustic-electric, Guild DC5E-NT True American acoustic-electric, Takamine EF-385 12-string acoustic-electric

And finally, in the spirit of taking a "wallpaper-worthy" picture, here's a close-up of the PRS collection in the rack:

L to R: Custom 24 (whale blue), Custom 24 (gray black), Custom 24 (cherry sunburst), Custom 24 (violin amber burst), Custom 22 semi-hollow (tobacco sunburst), 513 Mahogany (vintage natural), Custom 22 (vintage yellow); McCarty Rosewood (natural), Singlecut (black sunburst)

Well, that's all for now... enjoy the pics!

--B

New guitar - PRS Custom 22

2008-03-23T22:45:00.001-04:00

Friday was a good day (in the words of Ice Cube)... I had the day off work and FedEx delivered a new (to me, at least) guitar. My latest acquisition is a 2000 Paul Reed Smith Custom 22. This particular CU22 is finished in tasty vintage yellow with 10-top flame and bird inlays (of course). Options include the wide-fat neck profile, fixed bridge, and ebony tuning keys. The guitar is stock (for now) from an electronics standpoint with covered Dragon II pickups and the 5-way rotary switch--though before plugging the guitar in the thought had already crossed my mind of swapping the Dragon II's for something new to me, such as RP's or #10's. Anyway, this is the first "normal" CU22 I've owned; the only other CU22 I've owned is the semi-hollowbody, which is pretty different from a construction standpoint even if not all that different visually.

So far I'm digging the CU22, even though it has a rather different feel & tone from the CU24's I've got... The neck is shorter & thicker, giving the guitar a "stiffer" feel. The Dragon II's are a bit lower output and darker/warmer than the HFS/Vintage Bass pair. Overall, this gives the CU22 more of a vintage vibe, while the CU24 has a slightly more modern vibe. Again, it's not a night & day difference, but it is noticeable, and I could see how folks could develop a slight preference for one or the other. For my style of playing/music (coming from an Ibanez-centric background), the CU24 is probably more up my alley, but I can tell already that the CU22 will get its fair share of attention.

Of course, here are a couple obligatory pictures of the CU22...

What's next? Hard to say... I'm still on the lookout for a PRS Singlecut Satin Trem or McCarty Korina, or perhaps a non-PRS configured with HSS pickups or mini-buckers. But realistically, the rack is full again, so before I do too much more guitar shopping I'll probably need to sell a couple of the guitars I've got, and looking around, none of them are screaming "sell me!"

--B

P.S.--Updated... I just found a thread on The Gear Page where someone was asking about the difference between CU22's and CU24's, and found the following visual, which shows the difference in construction between the two:

Current gear revisited - Egnater amp seminar JTM45 head

2008-03-21T09:21:00.001-04:00

While I've been spending plenty of time talking about the guitars that have been around here for a while, thought today it would be interesting to talk about some amp gear, the focus being a hot-rodded Egnater/Mojo JTM45 clone I built at the first ever Egnater amp-building seminar back in October 2006. Having already owned several Egnater designed amps at the time (including the TOL100 and a considerable portion of the Randall MTS series), I was pretty fired up about the prospects of building my own amp under the guidance of Bruce, and I have no doubt that spending some time at the Amp Lounge was a key driver in my decision to buy an Egnater M4 last year.

Even though the seminar is now using a slightly different design (believe the new kit has an effects loop, solid state rectifier, and a "clean" input), the original design hasn't let me down yet... it's been very reliable, sounds killer, and over a year later I'm still taking pride in the fact that I built it. For those with the means, it is money and time well spent.

So here are a couple of pictures of the amp, first on top of my Randall RM50B (which often serves as a 1x12 speaker cabinet for the JTM45), and also part of a former amp switching rig with a Fender Deluxe Reverb re-issue head.

Also, below is a review I posted on Harmony Central about the amp just over a year ago... it provides a lot more details for those who are interested.

--B

Product: Egnater JTM45 kit
Price Paid: USD 1175
Submitted 01/04/2007 at 12:29am by Brent
Email: wassupg at gmailcom

Features : 8
I also attended the amp-building seminar in October to build the hot-rodded JTM45 kit. It was described as a ... "JCM800 master volume model on steroids. You get more gain, smoother tone (no ice pick to the forehead high end) and more punch than any stock JCM800. If you are familiar with our Egnater amps, the sound is basically channel 3 of the TOL100 or IE4 or our current EG3 module", which (having owned a TOL100) is a very accurate description.

Anyway, the amp is a tweaked-out MOJO JTM45 kit. Features are relatively basic... 4 inputs (2 for each channel), presence/bass/mid/treble/gain/master volume controls, a couple speaker jacks and impedance selector around back--for anyone who's owned an Egnater TOL100, it's quite the low-tech departure. It will channel switch if you plug a guitar into INPUT 1 and a standard 1/4" footswitch into INPUT 2, which provides a fixed gain/volume boost.

So it's not the most feature-laden amp ever made, but hey... it's a JTM45 clone... I wasn't expecting a laundry list of features. If I wish for any features, it would be reverb and an FX loop. I've got the schematics and a soldering iron, so technically, there's nothing stopping me from adding those features on my own. Bruce provided us with a book of suggested mods, so I actually feel encouraged to try to add/change features on my own.

Sound Quality : 10
Thick. Warm. Aggressive. Smooth. Every guitar sounds unique through it. Every dynamic nuance of playing comes through. Technically the amp can produce clean tones if you roll back your guitar's volume, but let's face it... this amp was not meant to be played clean. We're talking about a crunchy rhythm tone that will take paint off the walls and a singing solo tone that sustains for days. Plenty of gain, heavy on the mids and low-end--sounds like it has a built-in Density/Depth circuit dialed up to '10'. It shakes my house better than any other amp I've owned.

So far I've used the amp in the context of two bands... one 60/70/80/90's cover band, one original "mainstream" rock. The amp works well in both contexts. I also recorded a few original progressive rock tunes and guitar-oriented instrumentals with the amp, and it's delivered stellar results. The simplicity, while it feels limiting at first, is a blessing... with only 6 knobs, it's a relatively quick effort to dial in the tone you're looking for. Try that with a Mesa Mark IV!

For what it's worth, I typically run the amp with presence on 5, bass/mid/treble tone controls on 8, and gain on 4--it's strangely reassuring to know that there's more gain on tap if needed.

Reliability : No Opinion
Well, this is hard to rate... I built the amp with guidance and assistance from Bruce & his crew. I followed the instructions in meticulous detail, Bruce checked over my work several times and burnt the amp in before I brought it home. 3 months later, no problems at all. If it blows up tomorrow, I'd blame myself and my shoddy soldering skills. Good news is that I feel like I have just enough knowledge to try to repair it myself first. But if I couldn't fix it, read on...

Customer Support : 10
The amp-building seminar was my first direct interaction with the Egnater crew (though I'd owned a few Egnater designed amps), and it was a great experience all the way around. Prior to the seminar, some components were swapped out and pre-assembled to save time during the seminar. Also, Bruce sent out a survey in advance to better understand attendees' experience with soldering & electronics. Certainly a lot of pre-work went into this.

The seminar was a day-long event that kicked off with breakfast (lunch was provided as well). Every attendee was loaned a complete set of tools to use for the day. Bruce, Frank, and several other folks were available to provide assistance and check work throughout the day. Nobody went home without a fully functioning amp (which was a bit challenging, since we had a few problematic JJ rectifier tubes). Bruce even provided a booklet of potential post-seminar mods for the amp.

While support was great the day of the event, I'm confident if any problems did pop up with the amp that I could call or e-mail Bruce and he would walk me through fixing it. I believe he even mentioned that we could ship the amps back to him for troubleshooting if necessary. That's the kind of guy Bruce is... Clearly knows his stuff, but takes care of people and stands behind his work.

Overall Rating : 10
I've been playing for about 15 years. I've got more gear than I know what to do with... close to two dozen PRS, G&L, and EBMM guitars, a Vox Tonelab for FX, several other amps (Rocktron Vendetta, Fender Deluxe Reverb, Hughes & Kettner Edition Tube 20), and Avatar cabinets (2x12 with V30's, 2x12 with G12T75's). I typically use the Fender DRRI (for cleans) and this amp (for rhythm/leads) together, which is a match made in heaven. While the multi-amp setup is more complex than a 3 or 4 channel head, it's worth it to have two stellar tones with no compromises. I've tried a lot of amps over the years (Egnater TOL100, Randall MTS, Marshall TSL, Mesa Triaxis/Nomad/Recto/Marks, H&K Triamp II, Rivera Knucklehead Reverb), and this one is a keeper. Partially because of the killer tone, but also because I can take a lot of pride in the fact that I built it. Interestingly, it's given me enough confidence in my amp-building skills that I'm planning on assembling a Super Reverb clone later this year.

Plus, what's it worth to spend a day with an amp guru like Bruce? Priceless. I mean, you could spend $900 on the stock MOJO JTM45 kit and end up with a decent amp. But for a couple hundred dollars more, you get the experience of working with Bruce for a day and the end result is an amp that smokes all the genuine Marshall JTM45/Plexi/JCM800 re-issues for several hundred dollars less. Totally worth it. If Bruce offered another seminar based on another amp model (e.g., a Fender design, something class A, etc), I'd be there in a heartbeat.

Current gear revisited - All the other electrics

2008-03-18T01:40:00.002-04:00

So here's a bit of the "expanded" collection... I spend a solid 80% of my time playing PRSi for rehearsals and gigs, but what fewer people see is the non-PRS collection, which gets a considerable amount of attention in the studio. While most of my PRSi date back to 2004 when I traded in all the Ibanezes for various PRS models, many of the guitars here are from 2006 & 2007, when I cashed in half of my PRSi to "diversify" the collection.

Carvin DC120 - Here's my only 12-string electric, which I arrived at after a brief stint with a PRS Custom 22/12 and Rickenbacker 360/12. While visually basic in the classic white finish, it does have several "nice touches" from Carvin including ebony fretboard, Sperzel locking tuners, block inlays, and an extremely versatile electronics package (2 humbuckers, volume, passive tone, active tone, dual coil-tap miniswitches, phase miniswitch)--this guitar has more tonal variety than anything else I've ever owned! Bonus points for being made in the USA and being extremely cost-effective at that.

Casio MG-510 MIDI guitar - Here's a bit of an oddity courtesy of (you read that right...) Casio. Theoretically, this guitar was made in the same Japanese factory as many Ibanez and Fender models. It has a basswood body, 22-fret rosewood fretboard, Strat-style trem, and HSS pickups with volume + tone + 5-way switch + coil-tap miniswitch. What's most worthy of note, though, is the guitar's MIDI implementation... it has a standard 5-pin MIDI jack instead of the 13-pin Roland jacks--this means it can be plugged directly into a keyboard or sound module or computer for recording. The MIDI-related controls include volume, octave up/down, and fixed pitch/glide, and the MIDI-related circuitry can be powered by a set of batteries or a 9V adapter. And (best feature of all) the guitar has a built-in tuner, using the six-string hex pickup. Very well designed and reasonably well built, it's as much a conversation piece as a useful studio tool.

Ernie Ball Music Man John Petrucci model - Here's my only seven-string guitar, which is a considerable downsizing from the Ibanez days when I typically had 2-3 seven-strings around (and rarely played any of them). This one's finished in carbon blue pearl with the JP shield inlays on the rosewood fretboard and a birdseye maple neck. It is stock with the original Dimarzio humbuckers, locking tuners, and EBMM vintage-style trem that stays in tune remarkably well. Also somewhat surprising... this guitar excels at clean tones, particularly in the middle position where both humbuckers are split. Having owned several EBMM's (including a couple 6-string JP's and an Axis), I'm always impressed by the craftsmanship and feel of their guitars, and this one is no exception.

G&L ASAT Classic - Both of the G&L's (this ASAT plus the Legacy below) were the first guitars purchased during the big diversification experiment in 2006... after a considerable amount of scrutiny (and many other guitars have come & gone), they remain must-have's in the studio collection. The ASAT Classic was Leo Fender's "upgraded" version of the Fender Telecaster--the most noticeable upgrade is the G&L MFD pickups, which are hotter, warmer, & quieter than traditional single coils. Anyway, this ASAT is finished in vintage white with a maple fretboard, not a lot of bells & whistles otherwise. But what it lacks in features, it makes up for in vibe... I can't quite put my finger on it, but this guitar's a blast to play and gets put to use on practically every track I record in the studio. Given the choice between a USA-made Fender and G&L, I'd take the G&L pretty much every time because I have yet to find a G&L where the craftsmanship wasn't spot-on (whereas all you have to do is take a trip to Guitar Center to find a handful of Fenders with shoddy craftsmanship).

G&L Legacy Standard - Yet another "no frills" model, the Legacy was Leo Fender's "upgraded" version of the Fender Stratocaster, including a more stable tremolo design and more versatile tone circuits. This Legacy is finished in Lake Placid Blue with a rosewood fretboard and mint pickguard. Much like the ASAT, it has great tone, playability, and craftsmanship. This one sees a bit less play time than the ASAT (the Legacy's traditional single coils are a bit too "laid back" for me), but it does get pulled out for the occasional funky or bluesy track in the studio.

Gretsch G6120-1959 Chet Atkins model - Not biggest by weight, but biggest by volume. :) This Gretsch is undoubtedly the most "old-school" looking guitar I own, with unmatched levels of vibe and visual appeal. This one's finished in deep orange and equipped with an ebony fretboard, FilterTron pickups, and the relatively obvious Bigsby vibrato. On one hand it's quirky (the floating bridge can bounce around, making it hard to keep tuned/intonated, and the completely hollow design is more prone to feedback than anything else I've got). But it has a gut-wrenchingly big, deep clean tone, which is amazing for jazz & folk tunes. With the tone controls dialed up, it's got that famous rockabilly twang (I expect it would sound equally amazing for country licks, if I actually had any chops). Much like the G&L's, the Gretsch is a staple for studio work... nothing else sounds or feels quite like it.

Heritage H-535 - When I'm not writing original rock tunes or recording semi-obnoxious guitar instrumentals, chances are that I'm playing with a 20-piece volunteer big band. And if that's the case, chances are high that this is the guitar I'll be playing. This one's finished in old-style sunburst with a bound rosewood fretboard, basic dot inlays, and several Heritage features including flame maple pickguard and Schaller hardware. The original Schaller pickups were recently swapped for a Duncan Pearly Gates in the bridge and a Jazz in the neck (not shown in the picture). Overall, it cops the Gibson ES-335 vibe for half the price with arguably better quality, which should be no surprise since Heritage was formed by a handful of Gibson employees after Gibson shut down the Kalamazoo, MI plant to move electric guitar production to Nashville. Given the choice, I'd take a Heritage over a Gibson any day of the week due to more innovative features and better attention to detail (fit & finish).

Voodoo Guitar Works archtop - This is perhaps the coolest guitar I own, perhaps the coolest guitar I'll ever own. It was built by Chris Meade, who was doing US custom shop work for BC Rich at the time. Anyway, it's got a similar body & neck profile to a PRS McCarty, all mahogany construction, bound rosewood fretboard with custom inlays, Sperzel locking tuners, and an Original Floyd Rose trem (odd to think that this is my only Floyd-equipped guitar, especially considering how hard it used to be to find an Ibanez without a Floyd). Electronics include a Duncan Distortion in the bridge, '59 in the neck, volume + tone + 3-way + push-pull coil-tap switch. It is truly one-of-a-kind, and hangs with everything else in terms of craftsmanship, playability, and tone.

Well, that's it for electric guitars... next up will be a bit of discussion on the acoustics and basses I've got around here. Stay tuned!

--B

Current gear revisited - 22-fret PRSi

2008-03-17T22:12:00.001-04:00

Having spent a a bit of time to discuss the merits of the 24-fret PRSi in the last post, it's now time to turn focus to the 22-fretters in the collection. Generally speaking, the 22-fret PRSi have a more traditional tone (more "classic" sounding) and feel (thicker, stiffer necks) with the same top-notch craftsmanship, playability, etc. Even though they have a different vibe than the Custom 24's I've got, they've definitely seen their fair share of use in the studio & on the stage over the years.

Paul Reed Smith Singlecut - This was the first PRS I picked up that wasn't a Custom 24... It's a 2001 (pre-lawsuit :p -- like it matters) model in black sunburst with 10-top flame, bird inlays, and stock electronics. After seeing, hearing, and playing this one, I swore I'd never buy another Les Paul (and although that turned out to be a lie--I've since purchased and sold two LP's--I'm now back to just this Singlecut and am in the market for a Singlecut Satin Trem model). Wins the "heaviest guitar I own" award hands down; also wins the "most likely to sustain for days without being plugged into an amp" award. Nonetheless, it gets a lot of play time because it sounds amazing.

Paul Reed Smith McCarty Rosewood - This one's a 2001 model in natural finish with 10-top flame, bird inlays, and solid Indian Rosewood neck. Once again, everything is stock. While there's always a lot of buzz about the PRSi with the Brazilian Rosewood necks, this one is certainly no slouch... the rosewood brings an extra touch of "warmth & smoothness" to the tone, plus, the unfinished rosewood has a silky feel to it--it doesn't get quite as "gunky" as the finished necks. Classic crunch tone in the bridge position, smooth lead tone in the neck position, and surprisingly, with the coil-tap engaged and the gain dialed down on the amp, it becomes a respectable funk machine. This one's a must-have for studio work.

Paul Reed Smith McCarty Soapbar - This is a 1998 model in "none more black" finish (with natural binding) and bird inlays. It's also the most electronically-simple PRS I've got, with two soapbar pickups, volume & tone pots, and a 3-way switch (no 5-way or push-pull switches here!). Picked this up because I had been playing my then-fiance's (now wife's) Les Paul Pro (loaded with P90's) almost non-stop, but my back couldn't handle it--this has all the tone, better playability esp. on the high frets, and somewhat lighter weight. Like true single coils, hums like a mother around florescent lights and excessive amounts of electronics, but that's part of the charm, right? Still, it sounds pretty sweet... the soapbars have a thicker, warmer tone than traditional single coils, making it great for jazz and blues.

Paul Reed Smith Custom 22 semi-hollowbody - Finally, here's a somewhat uncommon model... It's a 2002 Custom 22 with a chambered body (no f-holes)--slightly thicker than a normal PRS Custom 22/24, slightly thinner than a McCarty. This one is finished in tobacco sunburst with 10-top flame, bird inlays, and ebony tuning keys. It had HFS/Vintage Bass pickups installed when I got it, which have since been swapped for the Dragon II's that were in one of my Custom 24's (now order has been restored in the universe). Also, the electronics have been re-configured like my Custom 24's. Really does sound like cross between a solidbody and hollowbody guitar... it's just a touch more hollow & woody sounding than the normal Custom's.

In addition to those four, I've also got a 2007 513 Mahogany (in vintage natural) and 2000 Custom 22 (in vintage yellow), both of which are recent additions that have been discussed in more detail here over the past couple months.

In the next episode... a discussion of the non-PRSi electrics I've got...

--B

Current gear revisited - 24-fret PRSi

2008-03-17T19:43:00.002-04:00

In my 10+ year history of gear acquisition, I've picked up a lot of gear that hasn't been discussed much in the past 6 months of blogging here. So I thought it would be interesting to revisit some of the "older" gear I've got--stuff that has stood the test of time and will (most likely) not be sold anytime soon--and provide a bit of perspective on it... why I got it to begin with, what I like about it, why I haven't sold it (yet), etc.

When I first got into PRSi back in 2004, the 24-fretters were what originally caught my attention... I had been bouncing back & forth between hot-rodded Ibanez RG's and old-school Les Paul's and thought the Custom 24's would bring a bit of the best of both worlds. So I started by picking up the four Custom 24's below, then gradually started branching out into other PRS models in the following months.

Several of the guitars have had electronic modifications made to them, either pickup swaps or control (knob/switch) reconfiguration. So what's been reconfigured? On the PRSi with 5-way rotary switches, I "optimize" the controls for my personal playing style. I tend to use the pickup selector more frequently than the volume and/or tone knobs while playing. So I do a bit of a round-robin... put the rotary switch in the original volume pot position, put the volume pot in the original tone pot position, and put the tone pot in the original rotary switch position. I find it easier to adjust pickup combinations "on the fly" with this control setup, whle still getting to the volume & tone knobs easily enough when I need to. For PRSi with 3-way switches, I leave them in the stock positions with the pickup selector switch behind the bridge.

Paul Reed Smith Custom 24 #1 - This is the first Custom 24 I picked up... it is a 2002 model in whale blue with 10-top flame, bird inlays, and regular neck profile. It still has the stock (HFS/Vintage Bass) pickups, though I have reconfigured the controls. It is, without a doubt, my "go-to" PRS for gigging and recording, mostly because I prefer the slightly meatier "regular" neck to the wide-thin neck.

Paul Reed Smith Custom 24 #2 - This is the second Custom 24 I bought, very shortly after the whale blue one... it is a 1998 model in violin amber burst with 10-top flame, bird inlays, wide-thin neck profile, and the (now discontinued) fixed bridge. It has HFS/Vintage Bass pickups (though it had Dragon II's in it originally, which I put into the Custom 22 semi-hollowbody to be more "accurate") and the controls have been reconfigured. This one is a close second to the whale blue one in terms of "go-to" status, because it's hard to argue with (and kinda hard to find) a giant chunk of mahogany & maple with a fixed bridge and 24 frets.

Paul Reed Smith Custom 24 #3 - Here's a 1995 in grey black finish with 10-top flame, bird inlays, and wide-thin neck profile. The pickups have been swapped for zebra Artist-series pickups, which are a bit more laid back than the typical HFS/Vintage Bass pair, and the electronics have been reconfigured. This is probably the oldest electric guitar I own, but it really doesn't look like it's 13 years old.

Paul Reed Smith Custom 24 #4 - And finally, here's my last Custom 24 from 1997 in cherry sunburst with 10-top flame, bird inlays, gold hardware, and wide-thin neck profile. Once again, the stock pickups have been swapped out--this time for a pair of PRS Dragon I's--and the electronics have been reconfigured. In person this one looks like the stereotypical cherry-sunburst Custom 24 from old PRS catalogs and advertisements.

Paul Reed Smith Standard 24 - Last but certainly not least is a Standard 24, which is a 2003 model I acquired in 2007. It has the (now discontinued) cream finish, bird inlays, and regular neck profile. Electronically, it is the only stock guitar listed here (with the original HFS/Vintage Bass pickups)--it is equipped with the McCarty-style 3-way switch and push-pull coil-tap on the tone control. Visually simpler and tonally darker/warmer, it provides a nice contrast to the flashier (both visually & tonally) Custom 24's above.

The only other 24-fret PRS I have is the recently-acquired 2007 Mira in Vintage Cherry... I won't say much about that one since I recently gave it a full write-up, but needless to say, it is considerably different in body style/construction and electronics than the Custom/Standard 24's described here.

--B

New FX gear - Digitech GSP-1101 + Control 2 - initial impressions

2008-02-18T12:33:00.004-05:00

Mid-way through last year I'd just about sworn off all-in-one digital effects units... everything on the market seemed to suck too much tone (e.g., Boss GT-8), be too flexibile and therefore overly complicated (e.g., Lexicon MPX-G2), or be a bit too simplistic (e.g., Vox Tonelab SE). So I ended up getting out of the rack business altogether, building a pedalboard with a handful of relatively high-end pedals. But it wasn't long before I got tired of the tap-dancing game, which thankfully was about the same time the Digitech GSP1101 was announced. Looked extremely cool on paper (esp. with its promise to "not suck tone"), and the price-point seemed to indicate a happy medium between complexity and simplicity. At Winter NAMM '08 Digitech released the corresponding Control 2 footcontroller, and then I knew I'd have to give the GSP1101 a shot.

The GSP1101 marks the return to rack-mounted guitar processors for Digitech. I was a bit nostalgic, perhaps, because my first effects box was the original Digitech GSP21 Legend, which after several years I upgraded to the GSP2101 Artist. I sold that when I got a Johnson JM150, which was basically a GSP2112 mated to a power amp and speakers. I think I even had a GSP2120 at some point in time. Needless to say, I've had my fair share of Digitech rack gear over the years and thus had pretty high hopes/expectations for the GSP1101.

From a features standpoint, the GSP1101 is pretty loaded... 30+ amp, 20+ cabinet, 20+ stompbox, and 40+ effects models; XLR and headphone outs for direct recording; USB interface and X-Edit software for recording and modifying patches; and full MIDI implementation. The most cool feature, IMO, is implementation for 4-cable method, which allows certain effects (compressor, wah, overdrive) to be placed in front of the preamp and time-based effects (delay, reverb) to be placed post-preamp (or in the effects loop). This was the best feature of the Lexicon MPX-G2, but the GSP1101 has a simpler (easier to configure) implementation. And compared to the Boss GT-8's four-cable method implementation, much less prone to tone suckage. After wiring the GSP1101 into the rack (signal flow: guitar -> Axess BS2 -> GSP1101 input -> Egnater M4 -> GSP1101 return -> VHT 2/50/2) I walked through the "setup wizard"... it asked half a dozen questions to help configure the correct routing and levels. It worked perfectly the first time, and I was almost immediately up & running with the M4 in the GSP1101's loop. Very cool! Here's a pic of the GSP1101 installed in the rack...

The Control 2 has some cool tricks, too... it uses a proprietary communication protocol over CAT5 cable, which allows for 2-way communication between the rack & floor (so preset names and the tuner are accessible from the floor display). Granted, this isn't new to Digitech gear, but it's nice to use a readily available CAT5 cable instead of the GSP2101's non-MIDI-over-MIDI-cable implementation or the GSP21's completely proprietary cable. The built-in expression pedal has a toe-switch, so it engages like a real wah pedal. Plus there is support for a second expression pedal--I plugged in an Ernie Ball volume pedal (using the EB's OUT jack) and it was recognized and functioning immediately. Of all the controllers I've owned over the years, the Control 2 feels the most durable... the switches and expression pedal have a very solid feel that inspires confidence. Short of spilling a beer into it at rehearsal, I doubt there's anything I could do to seriously damage it. Here's a pic of the Control 2 with the attached EB volume pedal...

At this point, I haven't had a lot of time to explore the tones, although I did check out several of the built-in models and the first impression was positive... the amp models sounded more realistic than the Boss GT-8 and Behringer V-AMP models, on par with the quality of the Vox Tonelab models. But in all honesty, I didn't buy this for amp & cab models (though I may use it for the occasional scratch or demo track in the studio). My goal is to use the GSP1101 primarily as an effects box with the M4 as a tone generator. Again, initial impressions here are positive.. the GSP1101 doesn't seem to mess with the tone or dynamics of the M4, but time will tell... I'm spending the afternoon today creating some patches and will get a chance to try them out at Necessary Distraction practice tomorrow. By then I'll have a much better understanding of both feel and tone quality.

So overall, at this point at least, I'm extremely impressed with the GSP1101 from a bang-for-the-buck perspective... It's all good when it comes to routing flexibility, transparency, model/effect quality, ease-of-use, and perceived durability. Almost too good to be true?!? We'll see... stay tuned for more updates as I start building patches for the M4 rig.

--B

Another truly new guitar - PRS Mira

2008-02-18T11:25:00.000-05:00

When it rains, it pours... seems like every time I buy or sell something, it turns into a buying/selling spree where no less than 15 pieces of gear change hands (actually, it's closer to 25 this month, but who's counting?). Months like this, I swear I keep ebay/Paypal and Fedex in business!

So the latest guitar acquisition (another legitimately new axe) is a Paul Reed Smith Mira in Vintage Cherry with bird inlays. The Mira was introduced late 2007 at the PRS Experience event and was formally released for 2008 at Winter NAMM. It, like the recently-acquired 513, is considerably different than most of the PRS Custom models I've got around here: For starters, it's got an all mahogany body with a different body shape (kinda like a Les Paul DC) and pickguard mounted controls. Electronics include two Mira humbuckers (supposedly similar to the new PRS SC245 humbuckers without covers), volume, tone, 3-way blade, and mini-switch for coil splitting (vs. the typical PRS push-pull tone pot). This particular Mira has the wide-fat neck profile and PRS adjustable bridge (atypical for the Mira model). Unlike the 513, however, this is the least expensive American-made guitar that PRS manufactures. As such, it sports a much simpler (cleaner) design and feature set, with the same top-notch tone, playability, and attention to detail that the more expensive PRSi offer.

So how does it stack up? Pretty favorably, overall... At first I didn't know quite what to think... the pickups had a definite Gibson-esque voicing, and the setup and intonation (as shipped, at least) left considerable room for improvement. But after spending a bit of time to tweak the setup/intonation, I've been playing the Mira almost non-stop for the past few weeks. Why? It's a killer player... it's very light, very resonant, easy to get around, and sounds unlike anything else I own. Net, exactly what I was hoping for.

Before I forget (ha... not likely), here are a few pics of the Mira...

What's next? I'd still like to get my mitts on a McCarty Korina or Singlecut Satin/Trem. But I've pretty much blown the guitar budget for 2008, so I need to unload a few items first. Looks like I'll be spending tonight posting stuff on e-bay. :)

--B

Truly new guitar - PRS 513 Mahogany

2008-02-18T11:18:00.000-05:00

The first guitar acquisition of the new year is in, and--a rare event around here--it's a legitimately new guitar (vs. most of the used ones I pick up on ebay, Craigslist, various forums, etc. And what is it, you ask? Why, it's a new PRS 513 Mahogany in Vintage Natural finish with 10-top and bird inlays! The 513 was originally introduced a couple years ago with a Brazilian rosewood neck... very cool, but expensive for my tastes. With the introduction of the newer 513 model with the mahogany neck, the cost is a little more in-line the other PRSi I've got around here.

So what's the big deal with the 513? There are actually quite a few differences vs. other PRS models... slightly longer scale length, different neck profile & heel, different bird inlays, even different frets. But the biggest difference is in the electronics: At first glance, the 513 appears to have 5 single coil pickups in a 2-1-2 configuration with two blade switches, a 5-way and a 3-way. The 5-way blade does the standard Strat-style switching: neck, neck + middle, middle, middle + bridge, bridge. The 3-way blade switches the neck & bridge pickup pairs between 3 "modes": heavy humbucking, clear humbucking, and single coil. Add it all up... 5 pickups + 13 sounds = 513. Or 18. Depends on how creative you are at math. ;)

Sounds complicated on paper, eh? But how does it sound in real life? Actually, truly unique and extremely versatile sums it up pretty well. The single coil modes deliver sufficient spank & twang for funk and country music, the clear humbucking modes are a bit smoother for jazz and blues, and the heavy humbucking modes deliver straight-ahead rock tones. So far I've used the 513 for a rock band rehearsal and a jazz band rehearsal, and it felt right at home (tonally) at both.

Of course, here are the obligatory pictures... check out that killer flame top and the abstract bird inlays...

--B

New amp gear - Randall RM100C 2x12 combo

2008-02-18T11:11:00.005-05:00

So last weekend Bruce Egnater announced that the long-awaited upgrade for Randall RM100(C) amps was about to hit the market... this being the upgrade that allows Egnater dual-channel modules to be used in the RM100, effectively turning it into a 6-channel amp. Within about 15 minutes of the announcement being posted, I listed my RM50B Palomino for sale, picked up a NOS Randall RM100C 2x12 combo, and got on the official waiting list for the upgrade. While I've really liked some features of the RM50B--the switchable volume boost, the spring reverb, and (most of all) the custom tolex/grille cloth--I'm looking forward to having a few more channels at my disposal, even if I don't always need 50 more watts of power when jamming around.

This isn't the first RM100C I've owned... I had one as my "rehearsal" amp a few years ago when I was playing with The Burning Sensations. My tendency was to keep the RM4/RT2-50 rig (usually with Blackface, Brown, Recto, and Ultra Lead modules) home for recording, then use the RM100C (generally with the JTM, SL+, and XTC modules) for practices. I even had an RM20B around which almost always had the Top Boost module installed. But that's old news...

The new RM100C arrived Friday afternoon... I had a few minutes to unpack it and move it into the studio then; Saturday I had only a few minutes to power it up to make sure it was working. Yesterday, however, I had some quality time to jam around with it, and I'm digging it so far. Of course, it wasn't long before I got out the screwdriver and multimeter to start switching things up...

First I swapped out one of the stock G12T75's for a Celestion Classic Lead 80 I installed in the RM50B last year. (By the end of the week, I'll have a second CL80 here to install in the RM100C.)

Then I did a power tube swap... pulled the stock JJ EL34's (pretty nice for stock tubes, actually) and replaced them with a pair of Tung Sol 5881's and a pair of SED/Winged C 6L6's.

Last thing I did was load up some Egnater modules... while I currently can't take advantage of both channels on the dual modules, I can at least access one channel (the "A" channel). So I installed the B'MAN, COD, and MHG modules, which collectively remind me a bit of my old Mesa Mark IV (especially when paired with 6L6 power tubes and a CL80 speaker).

While I don't really need it yet (since the Randall ships with a 3-button MIDI controller), I also dusted off the Rocktron MidiMate... it'll be a great controller for the upgraded 6-channel amp, especially since it will run on the phantom power generated by the RM100C.

So it'll probably be a couple weeks before Egnater's ready to start doing the upgrades, at which point I'll have to remove the chassis and send it up to Michigan for a week or two. But it'll be worth it when all is said & done to have a Randall that can take advantage of all the dual channel modules I've got around here.

Looks pretty good with black modules, eh? Now I need to hunt down some matching creme knobs for the B'MAN module and the RM100 controls. And I need to resist the urge to change the grill cloth to the Marshall salt & pepper style. But after all, it's more important to look good than to sound good, right? :)

--B

Some new demo tracks - featuring the Egnater M4

2008-01-28T00:43:00.003-05:00

With Jennifer in NYC for the weekend, it was pretty much a self-proclaimed "lock myself in the basement and record some stuff" weekend. The last big personal recording project I worked on was when we did the Necessary Distraction demo tracks about a year ago. Since then, I've swapped out my fair share of studio gear, but I've also completely swapped out my amp rig (was a Rocktron Vendetta at the time) for an Egnater M4 rack with a variety of modules. And I've swapped out a handful of guitars, too. Gotta put all this new stuff to use somehow...

So anyway, I ended up recording two tunes... both still need a few tweaks, but you'll get the basic idea. The first is called "Turn & Run"... Jennifer and I wrote it about a year ago when we were putting together a rather short-lived blues band. Turns out, that song is exactly all the blues I had in me (obviously not much, 'cause you can tell I gave up on the blues by the time the solo came around).

http://studio.depalma-duersch.com/turnandrun.mp3

Here's the breakdown:
- L rhythm: G&L ASAT through the Deluxe side of the T/D module, Lexicon plate reverb added through Sonar
- R rhythm: G&L Legacy through the B side of the VX module, Lexicon plate reverb added through Sonar
- solo (1:38) + fills: PRS McCarty Soapbar through the B side of the SL module, Sonitus delay added through Sonar
- vocals: Jennifer
- bass: G&L Tribute L2500, direct
- drums: Drums on Demand, of course
- signal chain: guitars --> front of M4 --> VHT2/50/2 (class A) --> Randall 4x12 w/ V30's --> double mic'd with Cascade Fat Head ribbon + Blue "The Ball" dynamic mics --> Presonus Digimax FS

-----

The second track is a Necessary Distraction tune called "Rock of Gibraltar". Here is an excerpt--the full-length track will be posted once Jennifer records the vocal tracks.

http://studio.depalma-duersch.com/gibraltar.mp3

Again, the breakdown:
- L rhythm (distortion): PRS McCarty through B side of the SL module, Lexicon chamber reverb added through Sonar
- L rhythm (clean): PRS McCarty through the Twin side of the T/D module, Carl Martin compression + Glass Nexus reverb out front
- R rhythm: PRS McCarty through the A side of the E-RECT module
- solo (1:51): Voodoo Guitar Works custom archtop through the A side of the EG3 module, Sonitus delay added through Sonar
(Bass, drums, guitar signal chain are same as the first track.)

While I was hoping to get 4-5 songs done this weekend, I guess I'll settle for two. Hopefully this week I'll get a little more basement time to record a couple more Necessary Distraction tracks.

While I'm at it, here's a pic of the mic setup... for the tracks above I only used Blue "The Ball" and Cascade Fat Head mics... didn't do anything with the AT2020 (yet).

--B

The Burning Sensations - the lost recordings!

2008-01-26T18:39:00.001-05:00

A couple months ago while cleaning off the studio PC's hard drive I found some old Burning Sensations demo tracks that we probably recorded while preparing for a gig. The tracks are hardly perfect from a performance standpoint (they were recorded shortly after recruiting a new singer and bassist) and recording standpoint (everything was recorded live in a basement with minimal soundproofing). But with a little time invested in mixing & editing, they do provide a respectable "history" of the majority of our original tunes (and, more importantly, guitar solos!) that we had in early 2005.

Though all the tracks are cool in their own way, my personal favs (and some of the better performances, perhaps) are All Comes Down, Dots not Feathers, Goin' On, Majority, Stare, and Tonight.

All Comes Down
Dots not Feathers (I have no idea what the actual name of this song was)
Gettin' it Done
Goin' On
Let it Ride
Live for Today
Majority
Run
Stare
Tonight
Under

Aside from the 3 tracks recorded at Group Effort, we never did any formal recording projects... when I moved into my current house, we switched practice locations to the bassist's workshop and never had easy access to the recording gear from then on. So at least there's some record of these tunes, imperfect as they may be.

--B

It's the most wonderful time of the year (updated)

2008-01-26T08:01:00.000-05:00

Yeah, that's right, it's time for NAMM, the semi-annual music industry trade show in Anaheim where all the big music manufacturers debut their hot new gear for 2008. Of course, I'm stuck in the midwest, but I've been keeping up on the cool new stuff through forums and manufacturer/retailer websites.

Here are my top 10 picks...

TC Electronic Nova System
http://www.tcelectronic.com/NovaSystem
Looks like a cross between the G-System and the Nova pedals... analog overdrive + DSP compression, EQ, modulation, pitch shift, delay, and reverb all in a floor-based unit. Will be interesting to see what the quality of effects is and what the street price in USD is. Very tempting since it would allow me to downsize/simplify the pedalboard considerably!

Boss GT-10
http://www.bossus.com/gear/productdetails.php?ProductId=941&ParentId=46
While on the topic of cool floor-based effects, Boss just released the next generation GT processor to replace the GT-8. Definitely looks cooler than the GT-8, but still not clear what changes have been made inside, or if it sucks any less tone than the GT-8 when using 4-cable method. At half the price of the TC, I'll probably end up checking one out at some point in time.

Line 6 ToneCore DSP Developer Kit
http://namm.harmony-central.com/WNAMM08/Content/Line6/PR/ToneCore-Developer-Kit.html
Ok, let me get this straight... a hardware/software solution that allows folks to design custom effects algorithms and download them to a stompbox? Extra points for appealing to both my musical interests and computer geek interests.

PRS McCarty Korina, Mira
http://www.prsguitars.com/namm08/index.html
Technically both of these models were introduced in 2007, but will really start hitting the stores in 2008. Both sport simpler finishes, simpler electronics than most PRS models (and should therefore have lower prices), but should offer the same high-end tone, feel, and attention to detail as the more expensive models.

Egnater Rebel, E2
Very little info available on these so far... the Rebel is a very compact amp head, the E2 is an 1U expander that allows 2 modules (4 channels) to be added to an M4, MOD50, quite possibly any amp with an effects loop. Hoping for some new modules, too, but haven't heard anything yet, which brings me to...

Randall Kirk Hammett Signature Amps
http://www.randallamplifiers.com/products/amplifiers/mts/hammett/index.asp
An extension to the MTS line that includes new heads and combos, it also includes several modules to emulate Kirk's tone (sans wah pedal) over the years. Am hoping that the KH1 (clean module) has that super-clean JC120 vibe to it. And check out this sweet RM100 with the Mesa-esque flamed maple finish...

Blackheart Engineering Killer Ant head
http://www.blackhearteng.com/bh1h.html
Theoretically designed by the same folks who brought us the Epiphone Valve Jr and marketed/distributed by Crate, the latest features an all-tube circuit that cranks out less than 1 watt. If the Valve Jr and Blackheart Little Giant are any indication, it will probably be a tweaker's delight. And anything that's all-tube with a list price of $139 is hard to argue with under any circumstances.

Digitech Control 2
http://www.digitech.com/products/Control2/
While technically not that exciting on its own, the Control 2 is the dedicated foot controller for the GSP-1101 that Digitech released last year. Having grown up (so to speak) on the GSP-21 and GSP-2101 series, I've been eyeing the GSP-1101 for a while, saying "if it only had a foot controller..." Now it does.

Gibson Custom Shop Alex Lifeson ES-355
While it's official Gibson liquidation week around here (I shipped out the Firebird and LP Standard on Wednesday, then sold the Explorer and SG on ebay today), this one's worthy of attention since Alex Lifeson is one of my biggest influences as a guitar player.

Audix CabGrabber
http://namm.harmony-central.com/WNAMM08/Content/Audix/PR/CabGrabber.html
And finally, in the "why didn't somebody else think of this first" department... an adjustable mic clip that attaches to a guitar cabinet, to reduce the clutter of mic stands when recording (or more importantly, to keep someone from tripping over a mic stand while recording). Should work great with mics with shockmounts (e.g., condensers), but will be interesting to see how it works with dynamic mics... if too much vibration from the cab gets transferred directly to the mic via the CabGrabber.

--B

No more Gibsons?!?

2008-01-21T21:02:00.000-05:00

If you've been paying attention (and even if you haven't), I've been slowly downsizing the guitar collection over the past couple of weeks, starting with the most recent acquisitions. (For you accountants out there, apparently guitar buying & selling is a LIFO thang--probably because the newer guitars are the ones I have the least sentimental attachment to.) It started with unloading the G&L ASAT Special, Gibson Firebird, and Les Paul Standard through online forums; proceeded with clearing out the Explorer Pro, SG Standard, and G&L Legacy on ebay; and wrapped up with selling the Les Paul Classic Antique locally today. So now, almost as quickly as I accumulated all those Gibsons, they're all gone...

The Gibson purchases were near the end of the "great guitar diversification of 2007" in which I sold half of my PRS collection and picked up a dozen other guitars to branch out a bit, mostly for recording purposes. It started with the G&L's (ASATs & Legacys), moved to hollowbodies (Heritage & Gretsch), even snuck in a Carvin 12-string electric before I started checking out the Gibsons. The allure of the Gibsons was two-fold... first, they've got classic tones that would bring a more tonal diversity to the studio; second, with the Guitar of the Week program, Gibson was cranking out some really eye-catching instruments.

So what happened? Overall, I reached a few realizations: 1) The G&L's, Heritage, & Gretsch bring enough diversity to the table compared to the remaining PRSi to be worth holding on to. 2) The Gibsons do not bring enough diversity to the table compared to the PRSi to be worth holding on to. 3) Gibsons always look better to me than they feel or sound. It's personal preference, I know, but (for the money) most PRSi have better tone, playability, and attention to detail than most Gibsons. Once I reached those realizations, I knew it was time to start unloading the Gibsons...

So what next? Well, I'm obviously going to hold on to the G&L's, Heritage, Gretsch, & Carvin that were part of the "great guitar diversification of 2007". But with the money from the Gibsons, I'm planning on picking up 2-3 different PRSi. Not sure exactly what at this point... could be a Singlecut Trem, Mira, McCarty Korina, or 513 Mahogany. Who knows? Kinda depends on what sort of deals I can score on ebay over the next couple of weeks. Stay tuned...

--B

Ground Floor demo tracks

2008-01-17T01:04:00.001-05:00

Took on a Sunday afternoon project to record several demo tracks for Ground Floor, a new local cover band. I spent a bit of time the first week of January to get things ready (getting out all the mics/cables/stands, setting up the templates in Sonar, etc.), it was nice to get down to business that Sunday... folks started showing up around 11:00 to set up gear, started recording the backing tracks (guitar/bass/drums) around 1:00, moved on to recording vocal tracks by 3:00, and started packing things up by 4:30. I spent a little time doing some editing and mixing Sunday and Monday evenings, and although there are still a few things I need to clean up (mostly tweaking bass & vocal levels), overall the tracks are 90% complete. Not bad for a half-day's effort.

If you want to check the demo tracks out, you can listen to them here:
http://www.myspace.com/groundfloorband

(Note: The songs Mustang Sally, Hard to Handle, Jumping Jack Flash were recorded this session; Hey Joe, Knockin' on Heaven's Door were recorded here with a different lineup back in July, but were recently re-mixed a bit.)

--B

Budget stereo speakers a-plenty!

2008-01-17T00:59:00.001-05:00

I've been using the M-Audio BX8 monitors and SBX subwoofer in the studio for a couple years now and been pretty happy with the results (they sound great, and while they're not the "flattest" sounding monitors on earth, I'm learning to compensate when mixing & mastering). But there's still a lot to be said for listening to recordings on a "normal" stereo as the mix is nearing completion (heck, I listen to most semi-final mixes on a boombox and car stereo, too). So after inventorying all the "leftover" stereo parts during the recent home theater roundup, I found a spare (working) Sony receiver, then started the quest for some cheap-o stereo speakers. I ended up ordering the SDAT 5-piece speaker system from Overstock.com. For under $150, it includes a set of LEB-404 3-way tower speakers, LEB-405 2-way bookshelf speakers, and a 3-way center channel speaker (that I don't really need). But it will be nice to be able to alternate between the tower speakers and bookshelf speakers when reviewing mixes.

This, of course, led to a Home Depot trip, so I could install a new shelf above my studio desk for the old Sony stereo (receiver, tuner, tape deck, CD player) + the SDAT bookshelf speakers. Check it out...

I've got the SoundBlaster patched in to the stereo, which is rather helpful... all of the "in progress" mixing in Sonar is output through the OctoPre/M-Audio monitors, and the "final" versions (WAV's, MP3's) can be output through the SoundBlaster/SDAT speakers.

So the big question right now... how do they sound? Well, after blasting some King's X through them for 5-6 hours to break 'em in... not too bad for under $150. The 3-way tower speakers have decent bass & high reproduction; they're bit strong in the upper mids, so they're more "aggressive" than "rich" or "mellow". The 2-way bookshelf speakers (as expected) don't have much in the way of low-end reproduction, so they sound a bit harsh when compared to the tower speakers. Certainly not audiophile-quality, but for the money, hard to argue with, and will get the job done quite well in the studio.

--B

Gearing up for recording project...

2008-01-01T23:20:00.001-05:00

This (upcoming) weekend I've got plans to record a few demo tracks for the local cover band Ground Floor. So I've been spending a bit of time getting the gear and software set up. Thought it would be a good opportunity to talk a bit about the "typical" setup for recording here, since Ground Floor has a pretty typical rock line-up... drummer, bassist, and 2 guitarists who alternate singing lead & backup.

I usually start with the drums, since they take the most time to get set up & dialed-in. For mics I use a Shure PG52 for kick, Shure PG56's for toms, an Audix i5 for snare, and a Sennheiser MD421 for hi-hat. Overheads are a pair of Studio Projects C4's with omni capsules. All of the drum mics are fed into a Presonus Digimax FS preamp/converter; each channel's insert is fed through an ART MDM-8L compressor/limiter for overshoot protection.

For guitars, I use either a Shure SM57 or Sennheiser e609, typically mic'd on axis about mid-way between the rim & cone of the speaker. (For more complex projects, I may run multiple mics on the same cab or run a line from a cab simulator, but will probably not do this on Sunday.) For bass, I'll run direct from the bassist's preamp. Both guitars & bass feed into a Presonus Digimax LT preamp/converter, again with the ART MDM-8L in each channel's insert.

Finally, for scratch vocals I use a Shure SM58; for final vocals it's a Studio Projects T3 tube condenser; both run through the Digimax LT and MDM-8L.

So after getting out all the above mics (plus associated stands and cables), I created a template in Sonar 6 Producer. The first 8 tracks are for drums, followed by bass, guitar, and vocal tracks. The tracks are mixed down into a four buses (drums, bass, guitar, vocals) which are then mixed down to a master bus. I set up a few basic effects, including a low-frequency roll-off for the guitars, iZotope compression/EQ for drum/bass/vocal buses, and Sonitus multi-band compression on the master bus. Of course, all the levels & effects will get tweaked a lot on Sunday, but it's nice to have them loaded and ready to activate.

Now everything is ready to go for Sunday... I can get down to business with checking levels as soon as the drums and amps are ready to play. Looking forward to it!

--B

Stuff 4 sale - post-Christmas clean-out!

2007-12-29T10:44:00.001-05:00

As always, I've been doing a better job of "accumulating" than "selling" during the past few months, so I've got a few guitars and other music-related items to unload. If you’re interested in anything below or need more details, shoot me an e-mail. You can also check out more pics of the gear for sale here. If there's not much interest during the next week or so, I'll start listing the guitars on e-bay.

4-space ATA rack SOLD
Avatar 2x12 closed-back cabinet w/ Celestion Vintage 30’s SOLD
Avatar 2x12 open-back cabinet w/ Celestion G12H-30’s SOLD
G&L ASAT Special SOLD
G&L Legacy Standard w/ EMG DG-20 pickups (Fullerton red, rosewood fretboard, EMG SA single coils + EXG/SPC active tone circuits + PI2 phase switch, case + paperwork) SOLD
Gibson Explorer Pro - guitar of the week #13 (mahogany body, bound fretboard, 496/500 pickups, hardshell case) SOLD
Gibson Firebird V Zebrawood - guitar of the week #12 (mahogany w/ Zebrawood wings, satin finish, mini-buckers, hardshell case) SOLD
Gibson Les Paul Classic Antique Artist Series - guitar of the week #5 (chambered body, custom Tom Morgan finish, '57 pickups, hardshell case) SOLD
Gibson Les Paul Standard Faded (satin finish, Burstbucker Pro pickups, hardshell case) SOLD
Gibson SG Standard Silverburst - guitar of the week #3 (ebony fretboard, 490/498 pickups, hardshell case) SOLD
Gracie acoustic guitar stand SOLD
On-Stage Stands SMS-6000 adjustable studio monitor stands SOLD

--B

Finally! A guitar-oriented Christmas!

2007-12-29T10:20:00.000-05:00

After several years of not getting any guitar-related gifts for Christmas, this year was the year (at least as far as Amazon.com is concerned)... I got several books I've had on my "wish list" for quite a while, including:

Tab books: Guitar Tab White Pages (volume 1) and Guitar Hero
Studio books: Basic Live Sound by Paul White, The Recording Guitarist by Jon Chappell, The Home Studio Guide to Microphones by Loren Alldrin, and Mixing and Mastering Audio Recordings and Becoming a Successful Producer Engineer by Bill Gibson
Coffee table books: The PRS Guitar Book by Dave Burrluck - talk about GAS-inspiring!!

Looks like I'll have plenty of reading material to keep me busy for the next few months and probably enough new tablature to keep me occupied for the rest of the year!

--B

New guitar - G&L ASAT Special

2007-12-23T23:35:00.001-05:00

Here's another semi-recent acquisition... not new, but new to me at least... It's a G&L ASAT Special with naturally finished swamp ash body, birdseye maple neck/fretboard, white pearloid pickguard, and black hardware. It's the 4th ASAT I've owned... a bit different than the ASAT Special with the alder body & rosewood fretboard I had a few months back, and also different than the ASAT Classic with the alder body & more traditional single coil pickups I've got now.

As with all the other G&L's I've owned, tone, playability, and attention to detail are all top-notch. The MFD soapbar pickups have a little more "hi-fi" sound compared to the more vintage MFD's on the ASAT Classic and are marginally hotter. Certainly still has that tele-style twang, though... whenever I plug it in, I start out playing rock riffs and inevitably end up playing blues, funk, and even some country riffs. Definitely a cool addition to the collection... I've been playing it quite a bit (second only to the Les Paul Standard Faded) lately and am planning on taking it as a "backup" guitar to the Necessary Distraction gig this Wednesday.

--B