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Gear Review: Fishman SA220 Solo Amp

Posted in amplifier reviews, amplifiers, amps, Amps/Amplification, GAS, gear, gear reviews, guitar, guitarists, Guitars, Music, musicians, performing, tagged acoustic guitar, amp, amplification, amplifiers, fishman, fishman solo amp, GAS, gear, gear reviews, guitar, guitar gear, guitar gear reviews, guitarists, Guitars, Music, musicians, SA220 on June 17, 2010 | 6 Comments »

Fishman SA220 Solo Amp Summary: Compact and weighing in at just 25 lbs., the SA220 Solo Amp is an ideal PA solution for the solo acoustic guitarist/vocalist, but it’s versatile and loud enough to be used as a PA for a band (if you have a couple of them). Pros: It may not have the [...]

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Why the Fender Champ 600 is a GREAT recording amp!

Posted in amplifiers, amps, Amps/Amplification, fender, guitar, guitar gear, guitar gear reviews, guitar tone, guitarists, Guitars, recording, tagged amp, amplification, amps, fender champ, guitar gear reviews, guitar recording, guitarists, Guitars, Music, musicians, recording on April 13, 2010 | 4 Comments »

Some people may scoff at the diminutive Fender Champ 600. After all, it’s only 5 Watts and has a tiny 6″ speaker. But those naysayers may be missing the point about the Champ or any super-low wattage speaker for that matter. It’s not meant to be a performance amp; though you can certainly hook it [...]

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Tips for Buying Your First Electric Guitar

Posted in amplifiers, amps, Amps/Amplification, effect pedals, Effects, guitar gear, Guitars, tagged amplifiers, buying gear, electric guitar, guitar amps, guitar effects, Guitars on March 30, 2010 | 9 Comments »

So you’re thinking about taking the leap and buying your first electric guitar? Choosing a guitar, amp, and pedals doesn’t have to be as intimidating as it might seem. There are a few things you’ll want to consider and keep in mind though. What are your goals? In other words, what types of music do [...]

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Got GAS because you’re not happy with your amp’s tone? Before you sell it…

Posted in amplifiers, amps, Amps/Amplification, aracom amps, EL84, GAS, gear, guitar, guitarists, Guitars, instruction, NOS, tagged amp, amplification, amplifiers, amps, aracom, aracom amps, GAS, gear, guitarists, Guitars, Music, musicians on December 16, 2009 | 1 Comment »

There are two things you should consider doing before you decide to get rid of it. I’ve done this on two amps, and have ended up keeping them both. 1. Change your speaker(s) Let’s state the obvious: An amp’s speaker produces the sound, but it is amazing how many people I’ve come across who don’t [...]

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It Takes Two to Tango… Revisiting the Fane Medusa 150

Posted in amplifiers, amps, Amps/Amplification, aracom amps, attenuator, EL84, fane, GAS, gear, gear reviews, goldie, guitar, guitar attenuators, guitar gear, guitar gear reviews, guitar reviews, guitarists, Guitars, musicians, PLX18 BB, prestige guitars, PRX150-Pro, speakers, tagged amp, amplifiers, amps, aracom, aracom amps, Aracom PLX18 BB, fane, fane medusa 150, fane speakers, gear reviews, guitar, guitar gear, guitar gear reviews, guitarists, Guitars, Music, musicians on December 2, 2009 | 2 Comments »

When I first reviewed the Fane Medusa 150, though I gave it a pretty good rating at 4.5 Tone Bones, I wasn’t really blown away by its tone because of its big bottom end, and recommended that the speaker be put into a 2 X 12 balanced out by a speaker with more top-end sparkle. [...]

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Gear Review: Aracom Amps PLX18 BB Combo

Posted in amplifier reviews, amplifiers, amps, Amps/Amplification, aracom amps, EL84, GAS, gear, guitar gear, guitar gear reviews, Guitars, Music, musicians, PLX18 BB, PRX150-Pro, tagged amp, amplification, amplifier reviews, amplifiers, amps, aracom, aracom amps, GAS, gear, gear reviews, guitar gear, guitar gear reviews, guitarists, Guitars, Music, musicians, PLX18 BB on November 23, 2009 | 3 Comments »

Click on the picture for a larger view. Aracom Amps PLX BB 18 Summary: Reminiscent of John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, the PLX18 BB is a tribute to the classic Marshall Plexi’s of yesteryear. Pros: Looking for classic EL84 classic rock/blues tone? Look no further. This amp has tons of mojo that’s just waiting to [...]

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Overdrive vs. Distortion

Posted in amps, Amps/Amplification, booster, clean boost, compression, distortion, effect pedals, Effects, gear, guitar, guitar gear, guitar gear reviews, guitar reviews, guitarists, Guitars, Holy Fire, Music, musicians, overdrive, pedals, Tone, tubes, tagged amp, amplification, amplifiers, amps, boost, clean boost, distortion, distortion vs overdrive, effect pedals, Effects, GAS, gear, gear reviews, guitar, guitar effects, guitar gear, guitar gear reviews, guitar pedals, guitarists, Guitars, Music, musicians, overdrive, overdrive vs distortion on November 5, 2009 | 18 Comments »

I had an interesting conversation with a friend today regarding the difference between overdrive and distortion. Talk about two terms that are bandied about interchangeably in the guitar world! If you ask ten different guitarists the difference between them you’ll get ten different answers. But a common theme you’ll hear is what each sounds like; [...]

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Why an Attenuator Will Change Your Life

Posted in accessories, amplifiers, amps, Amps/Amplification, aracom amps, attenuator, GAS, gear, gear reviews, guitar, guitar accessories, guitar attenuators, guitar gear, guitar pedals, guitar reviews, guitarists, Guitars, Music, musicians, overdrive, PRX150-Pro, reason amps, reason bambino, Tone, VRX22, tagged guitar, Music, Guitars, amps, guitar gear, gear, gear reviews, guitarists, musicians, GAS, guitar effects, reason amps, amplifiers, guitar pedals, amp, overdrive, aracom amps, amplification, guitar gear reviews, attenuators, PRX150-Pro, guitar accessories, guitar attenuators on November 2, 2009 | 4 Comments »

Ever since I started this blog, I’ve talked about attenuators, and how they’ve enabled me to get tones out of my amp at reasonable volume levels that I could only previously get at super-high volumes. But before I get into the discussion part of this article, take a listen to this clip (it’s the same [...]

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Amazing the Difference a Tube Can Make…

Posted in Amps/Amplification, Tone, Guitars, amps, Music, guitar, guitarists, musicians, gear, guitar gear, gear reviews, GAS, tubes, amplifiers, aracom amps, overdrive, saint guitars messenger, new gear, goldie, attenuator, guitar gear reviews, NOS, 12AX7, Mullard, tagged guitar, Music, Guitars, amps, guitar gear, gear reviews, guitarists, musicians, amplifiers, new gear, amp, aracom amps, aracom, amplification, guitar gear reviews, PRX150-Pro, Aracom PRX150-Pro, NOS, NOS tubes, Mullard, ECC83, NOS ECC83, NOS Mullard ECC83 on November 1, 2009 | 2 Comments »

Conventional tube-amp wisdom states that you get the most bang for your buck by replacing your pre-amp tubes. I’ve been a believer of this for quite awhile, and have tried out all sorts of pre-amp tubes in my amps over the years. A couple of days ago, I wrote that I had installed a new [...]

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NOS Tubes: It Ain’t All Hype…

Posted in 12AX7, accessories, amplifiers, amps, Amps/Amplification, buying gear, ECC83, GAS, gear, gear reviews, guitar, guitar gear, guitar gear reviews, guitarists, Guitars, Mullard, Music, musicians, NOS, tubes, tagged 12AX7, amp, amp tubes, amplification, amplifiers, amps, aracom, aracom amps, ECC83, GAS, gear, guitar amp tubes, guitar gear, guitar gear reviews, guitarists, Guitars, Mullard, Music, musicians, NOS, NOS tubes, Pre-amp tubes, tubes on October 29, 2009 | 4 Comments »

Just put in a re-labeled 1960′s-era Mullard ECC83 into my Aracom VRX22 this afternoon. I had a JJ 12AX7 in there, and make no bones about it; that’s a great pre-amp tube. But the difference in tone between the two is immense. Where my JJ had a great tone, one thing that I noticed was [...]

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