Cute video sent to me by a reader. Apparently, it’s based on a true story. Yikes! Be careful checking in your axes!
Archive for the ‘guitar gear’ Category
United Breaks Guitars
Posted in gear, guitar gear, guitarists, Guitars, Music, musicians, tagged gear travel, guitar, guitar gear, Guitars, Music, musicians, united airlines, video on July 7, 2009| Leave a Comment »
Fender ’57 Champ Reissue: Are You Nuts?
Posted in amplifiers, amps, Amps/Amplification, fender, gear, gear announcements, gear find, guitar, guitar gear, guitarists, Guitars, Music, musicians, new gear, rants, tagged amp, amplification, amplifiers, amps, aracom, aracom amps, Champ Reissue, fender, Fender '57 Champ Reissue, fender rant, guitar, guitar gear, guitarists, Guitars, Music, musicians, new gear, rant, rants, reason amps on July 4, 2009| 50 Comments »
I’ve had a love/hate relationship with Fender over the years. When I’ve loved Fender, I’ve really loved them, and when I’ve hated them, I’ve really hated them. Right now, I’m really hating them. I’m just aghast at the prices they’re charging for their new gear! This Champ ’57 Reissue from the Fender Custom Shop lists at $1295 with a street price of $999! This for a 5 Watt amp with a diminutive 8″ speaker.
Make no mistake: The parts for this cost less than $400! This pricing is absolutely outrageous. Yeah, I’m familiar with its history, blah, blah, blah. And even though I’m no electronics dude, and couldn’t possibly construct an amp myself, I know a few manufacturers who build hand-wired amps with more power and GREAT sound for even less!
Take for instance, the Aracom VRX22. This is a hand-wired, 22 Watt amp that simply kicks freakin’ ass, and the head sells for $895! Then, there’s the upcoming release of the Reason Bambino. This is an 8 Watt amp that will sport that distinctive Reason sound. This head costs $699! It’s my next amp.
I’m sorry folks, this is the same issue that I had with the Fender Roadworn series of guitars. I’m not really in to reliced guitars, but there’s no way I could justify paying $999 for a freakin’ MIM guitar, especially when I paid less than $400 a couple of years back for my MIM Strat.
MAYBE Fender’s production costs are much higher than the smaller run manufacturers (not likely), which is how they justify the price-point for this amp. But this amp is nothing special from my point of view, and as I mentioned above, the parts for this cost less than $400. Lots of people have built 5F1-based amps. Look at the Valve Train Amps Concord. This is a 6 Watt point-to-point, hand-wired combo with a 10″ speaker. It sells for less than $500.
Go ahead, you can argue all you want about the classic sound and history of the Fender ’57 Champ reissue. But to me, Fender’s just again trying to trade on nostalgia. If that’s what floats your boat, more power to you – and mind you – I’m not questioning the quality or the tone of this classic. It has done much to contribute to the sounds of rock and roll. I just want to make it very clear that there are clear alternatives out there that may not have the name but undoubtedly have great tone, and watt-for-watt, and dollar-for-dollar have A LOT more value.
Note that I have the Champ 600 and it is one of my all-time favorite amps. But it has limited usability outside of my home studio. And that’s another thing that bugs me about the ’57 re-issue. It’s a hefty price to pay for an amp that would see limited if any use outside of my studio.
Like I said, if this floats your boat, and the price of this classic reissue, more power to you. For me, I demand a lot more value for the money I pay.
Recent Update
I’m still not sold on this amp, even though I have indeed played it, and it has some real vintage mojo. The sounds it produces are fantastic, but I still can’t justify buying it for the price Fender wants for it. Besides, I’ve seen some late-50’s originals that sell for the same price on EBay! I would buy one of those before I’d buy the re-issue.
New Gear: Tone Freak Effects Severe High Gain Distortion Pedal
Posted in buying gear, distortion, effect pedals, EL84, GAS, gear, gear announcements, gear find, guitar, guitar effects, guitar gear, guitar pedals, guitarists, Guitars, Music, musicians, new gear, pedals, tagged buying gear, distortion, effect pedals, Effects, GAS, gear, gear announcements, guitar, guitar effects, guitar gear, guitar pedals, guitarists, Guitars, Music, musicians, new gear, pedals, severe, tone freak effects on July 2, 2009| 1 Comment »
Released in May (how did I miss this?), the Severe is “Tone Freak Effects’ answer to high gain distortion.” Oh man… This looks like a incredibly mean pedal. Set up like the Abunai 2 with a 3-way clipping switch, with level, gain, and tone, the Severe also sports a 3-way bright switch so it can be used with different amps. Very cool.
As Derek Tabata mentions on his site, the Severe will never turn your tone into a compressed mushy mess. The distortion can be laid on thick but, remains open. I can attest to this with the Abunai 2. You can lay on thick overdrive with that pedal, but it’ll never turn super thick.
With the Severe, Derek has taken high-gain distortion to another level! I’m amazed at how it sounds in the sound clips! Check ’em out!
Severe Demo Clip
Les Paul
Les Paul
Tom Anderson
Personally, I’m not a high-gain type of player, however, as I’ve gotten more and more comfortable soloing, I’ve found that I’m pushing more and more into high-gain territory. The only problem is that to achieve that with an amp means it has to be LOUD. That’s why I love pedals like this! You get the effect you need at far lower sound levels.
And you can’t go wrong with Tone Freak Effects! You just can’t! For more information, visit the Tone Freak Effects web site!
Pre-Release Announcment: Reason Amps “Bambino” 7/1-Watt Amp!
Posted in amplifiers, amps, Amps/Amplification, announcements, buying gear, GAS, gear, gear announcements, gear find, guitar, guitar gear, guitarists, Guitars, Music, musicians, reason amps, tagged amp, amplification, amplifiers, amps, aracom amps, buying gear, GAS, gear, gear announcements, gear find, guitar, guitar gear, guitarists, Guitars, Music, musicians, reason amps, reason bambino on July 1, 2009| 17 Comments »
What’s handmade, black and gold, and has the potential to catapult you into tonal heaven without breaking the bank and more importantly busting your eardrums? Simple: The soon-to-be-released Reason Amps Bambino! This article is the first news glimpse of this brand-new 7 Watt amp from the Reason guys that has all the tonal goodness you expect from a Reason amp but at volume level that won’t make your ears bleed, and almost as importantly, is easily within the financial reach of most cash-strapped gear sluts.
When I first reviewed the Reason SM25 and the Reason SM40, I knew that what I was hearing was something special. These amps weren’t clone designs, and didn’t sound like anything that I had played before. Yes, they were based on classic 6V6 and EL84 power tubes, but the thing with those amps was that the power handling was magic, and either of these amps sounded way louder than you would expect with low to medium wattage amplifiers. Make no bones about it, what Obeid Kahn has figured out in the power transformer section of his amps is totally proprietary and SICK! Even as well as I’ve gotten to know Anthony and Obeid, that’s a subject they hold close to their chests.
So imagine my excitement when they shared with me several months ago that they were coming out with a brand-new low wattage amp. I wasn’t allowed to say anything about it at the time because Obeid was still working out the design, and hadn’t decided on the power tube he was going to use. All they would tell me was that it would be a sub-$700 amp that would have all the tonal goodness you’d expect from a Reason amplifier. Yeah, really definitive… ☺
But as luck would have it, I happened to give the Reason guys a call to see how they were doing, and much to my extreme pleasure, Anthony mentioned that they were almost ready to release the new amp, and that they were calling it the Bambino. After Anthony described the amp’s features, I started salivating. I LOVE LOW-WATTAGE AMPS! And this amp’s features totally kick the shit out of a lot of the low-wattage amps on the market, boutique and production alike. So let’s go over the features, shall we?
Reason Bambino Specs
Preamp Tubes: Three 12AX7’s
Power Tubes : Two 6AQ5’s in a push-pull configuration.
Output Power: 7 Watts, switchable to 1 Watt
Channels:
Normal – British cleans to Vox-like top-end. Includes a “thick” setting via pull-switch to get thick “Beano-like” grind.
Bright – Very American, SoCal type of bright and scooped tone, with smooth overdrive when pushed. Bass knob scoops the mids when you dime it, and the pull switch will add extra shimmer to the top end.
StackModeTM – As with all amps in the Reason Amps family, the Bambino also sports StackMode, which runs Channel 1 into Channel 2 plus an extra gain stage in a series. Want to get over-the-top grind? StackMode is it!
Sounds basic enough, but wait! There’s more!
Built-in Speaker Load Box Simulated Line Output with Level Control – The line output is not just another line output. It starts with a fully inductive speaker impedance simulator, which then goes onto a complex frequency shaping network that simulates the sound of a classic 2×12 speaker cabinet. The fully balanced TRS ¼” connection allows for connection to any recording devices or slave amplifiers. Can you say “re-amp” anyone? ☺ You can also use this output to perform true silent recording. Of course, nothing beats a speaker moving air, but when you need a straight guitar sound to record, now you have it.
Separate Headphone Output – Want to practice and not wake up the significant other? No problem, mahn!
If you’ve followed this blog for awhile, you know how much I love Reason Amps! They don’t pay me anything for telling their story – all you have to do is play a Reason Amp and you’ll be hooked! And at the price-point that the Bambino is coming in at, there is NO reason (excuse the pun) that you shouldn’t seriously consider this amp when it’s ready for shipping!
Not Your Daddy’s Oldsmobile
It would be so easy to dismiss this amp as yet another boutique amp. But you’d be wrong. One of the reasons I dig Reason amps so much is because they have a sound all their own. It’s also the reason I dig Aracom Amps so much. Manufacturers like these don’t settle for making copies of classic designs. They’re true innovators, taking the classic designs, improving on them, and adding their own special touches. The net result is that you get amps that have tones that are uniquely theirs.
And on top of that, Obeid Kahn is one of the leading amp designers around, the meticulous care and innovative spirit he has put into his designs is evident in the amps he has produced over the years, and with Reason Amps, that skill and innovation are at their paramount. These amps are special!
Stay tuned for more! I hope to get a test amp when they have one available! But for now, check out the Reason Amps site for any updates.
Gear Announcement: Stage Ninja Guitar Straps
Posted in GAS, gear, gear announcements, gear find, guitar gear, guitarists, Guitars, Music, musicians, new gear, tagged GAS, gear, gear announcements, guitar, guitar gear, guitar straps, guitarists, Guitars, Music, musicians on June 30, 2009| 1 Comment »
Just announced today, Stage Ninja (http://www.stageninja.net) has just released a line of guitar straps made from 100% recycled material. No, it’s not paper, folks. 🙂 Actually the specific materials are recycled bicycle tubes, racing tires, and hemp. Because the straps are made of rubber, they stretch a little – up to 1/8″ – which is kind of like having built-in shock absorption. That’s kind of cool, and starting at $49.99, that’s not a price that’ll break the bank.
Now the company claims that the natural tackiness of the rubber makes it like having strap locks. But I’ve learned my lesson: Never leave home without strap locks! I don’t care how “sticky” something might be. Unless it’s locked on, it will eventually come off. But that’s just an aside… 🙂
Considering that Stage Ninja is located in Indianapolis, it’s no small surprise that they would take advantage of the used racing tires that must be piled up outside of the Indy speedway. What a way to capitalize on throw-aways! But it’s also responsible manufacturing. On principle I have to get one of these.
Why get so excited about a guitar strap? Simply because I dig product that are the result of thinking out of the box. Yes, it’s just a guitar strap, but made out of material that was never even envisioned to be used this way!
There’s not much information on these as of yet, and retailers do not have them in stock just yet. But they should be arriving soon!
For more information, check out their web site: http://www.stageninja.net.
Fun With Re-Amping
Posted in amplifiers, amps, Amps/Amplification, aracom amps, fender, GAS, gear, guitar, guitar gear, guitarists, Guitars, Music, musicians, new gear, prestige guitars, VRX22, tagged amp, amplification, amplifiers, amps, aracom, aracom amps, GAS, gear, guitar, guitar gear, guitarists, Guitars, Music, musicians, prestige guitars, re-amp on June 27, 2009| 1 Comment »
My friend Jeff Aragaki, of Aracom Amps is an incredible inventor. Today he brought over a new unit that among other things, allows me to re-amp my amplified signal into another amp. I’ve heard of this being done before – it’s not new. I just never had the means to do it until today. The clip I recorded – and excuse me for the sometimes sloppy areas – is my Prestige Heritage Elite plugged into my Aracom VRX22 into Jeff’s new invention, then out to my little 1 X 12 cabinet and re-amped through my Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. Re-amping through the Hot Rod allowed me to take advantage of its reverb, but with two amps going at the same time, it totally fattened up my sound without making it murky. Freakin’ incredible. Anyway, give it a listen!
Gear Review: Peterson VS-R StroboRack
Posted in buying gear, DigiTech, distortion, effect pedals, fender, GarageBand, GAS, gear, gear announcements, gear reviews, guitar, guitar gear, guitar reviews, guitarists, Guitars, Miscellaneous, modes, Music, music theory, musicians, new gear, tagged GAS, gear, gear reviews, guitar, guitar tuners, guitarists, Guitars, Music, musicians, Peterson Tuners, StroboRack on June 24, 2009| 2 Comments »
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Peterson VS-R StroboRack
Summary: Super-accurate, super-sophisticated, yet super-easy-to-use. With point-one cent accuracy and built-in temperament and sweeteners, plus a huge display, accurate tuning is a breeze with this unit! Pros: The big display makes tuning extremely easy, and the built-in sweeteners (I’ll get into that in a bit) ensure that once you’re tuned you sound great. Cons: None, at least from the standpoint of features and capabilities. But as I’m not really a rackmount guy, lugging this around would mean having to get an enclosure. But in the studio, IT IS THE BOMB!!! Features:
Price: $359 (street) Tone Bone Score: 5.0. I’ve used a lot of tuners, and this by far is the most accurate I’ve ever used. Despite it being a rackmount, my use of it in the studio has proven |
I used to never be into rackmount gear, let alone sophisticated tuning equipment. But the Peterson StroboRack has me reconsidering both those things, especially in my workshop/studio where tuning accuracy is incredibly important.
I received the StroboRack a few days ago, and since I set it up (which required all of two minutes to plug in the cords), I can see why so many people love these tuners. It’s a completely different way to tune an instrument. Instead of lining up a needle or LED, or even using the “strobe” effect on a TU-2, you tune by making the “checkerboard” pattern on the LCD stop moving. If it moves the left, you’re flat. If it moves to the right, you’re sharp.
Tuning with one of these things does take a little getting used to. First off, I had to really lighten my touch with the tuning keys, and also had to make sure I didn’t put any pressure on the neck. At .1 cent accuracy, even a slight pressure throws off the tuning. But once I got used to it, tuning was a breeze!
Do you take sugar with that?
The StroboRack includes what are called “sweeteners” for specific types of instruments. I’m not sure I understand this idea completely, but it has to do with setting the right intervals between notes – compensating for the type of instrument – so that the tuned instrument doesn’t just sound great tuned up, but when you actually chords, the chords are much more tonally accurate. Apparently a lot of math goes into calculating these sweeteners.
All I can say is that my guitars tuned up with the StroboRack, actually sound better than when tuned up with my little TU-2. It probably has a lot to do with the high degree of accuracy, but I have a feeling it has a lot to do with the “GTR” sweetener. For instance, I did an A/B comparison of tuning with the StroboRack vs. my TU-2. I took my time to get the most accurate tuning I could with both tuners. When I struck an E chord after tuning up with my TU-2, I had to make a couple of minor adjustments to my G and B strings – it wasn’t that the chord sounded bad, it just seemed to sound a bit “off.”
On the other hand, the E chord struck after tuning with the StroboRack with the GTR sweetener engaged sounded absolutely right on!
Fit and Finish
The StroboRack is encased in a nice, heavy-duty aluminum casing. It is really built like a tank, so I have no doubts that it could survive the rigors of the road. But I do advise getting an enclosure for it. It’s still a precision instrument, and should be handled with some care.
Overall Impressions
To say The Dawg digs this unit is an absolute understatement! Last night, I used it to set the intonation on a new guitar I got, and I have to tell you, the big display and scrolling checkerboard really made it easy. I know, a lot of folks would say, “But it’s just a tuner.” Well yeah… but the accuracy it affords you – especially you tone freaks out there – just can’t be beat. This is a unit that I will definitely be adding to my rig!
At $359 street, it’s not a cheap proposition by any means, but hell! We gear sluts spend tons of money each year on gadgets to make us sound better. One would think that sounding better also means being in tune. Of course, Peterson has several other tuners, like the StroboStomp that doesn’t have all the features of the rack unit, but it uses the same “Virtual Strobe Technology” as the StroboRack, so you know you’ll get the accuracy you need.
Mind you, I didn’t try out all the other features like outputting to two outputs, which is pretty cool, or using the XLR jack to go into a board. Those are great features, but frankly, they’re secondary to what’s important with this unit: Accurate tuning.
SCORE!!! A Fernandes Late 80’s MIJ for $100!
Posted in buying gear, GAS, gear, gear find, gear reviews, guitar, guitar gear, guitar reviews, guitarists, Guitars, Music, musicians, new gear, tagged Fernandes Guitars, GAS, gear, gear find, gear reviews, guitar, guitar gear, guitarists, Guitars, Music, musicians, new gear, relic guitars on June 22, 2009| 15 Comments »
There are some things in life that you just can’t pass up. About a week ago, my friend Jeff Aragaki of Aracom Amps mentioned people finding great vintage gear in pawn shops. I kind of stored that tidbit away for future reference, mainly because there aren’t any pawn shops really close to where I live. But today, I happened to park in front of a pawn shop (I work about 20 miles from where I live), and after lunch, on a whim, decided to go in. This was a little pawn shop that mostly specialized in jewelry, but they had a number of amps and guitars as well.
I wasn’t overwhelmed by the selection of gear; mostly no-name brands that I had never heard of, and as far amps were concerned, cheapo solid-state practice amps. But tucked in behind some guitars was a Fernandes Strat-copy that caught my eye. It had a nice, white finish with a maple neck (I LOVE maple necks), and it was obviously well-used from where I could see it. The shop owner walked up, and I asked to inspect the guitar. I was really impressed by the workmanship. I had heard of Fernandes guitars being very high-quality for a great price, but upon seeing the workmanship up close for the first time, I was very impressed. And even though this guitar was well-used, I could tell it was taken care of because of only minor scratches and dings on the body.
The tag on the guitar said it was for sale for $115 (sorry… if you came from the gear page, I mistakenly listed it at $125), and I asked if she’d take $100 including tax, and she agreed. Unfortunately, they didn’t take plastic in any form, so I had to decline on the guitar. But that was a good thing because it gave me some time to do some research. From what I could glean, this Strat-copy is a late-80’s (’86 and later) model of this guitar. What’s ultra-cool about this one is that it’s pure white. Almost all the pictures I saw today of late-80’s Fernandes Strat-copies were either tobacco burst or a solid that was other than white. This made the guitar a bit more unique. This was confirmed by a former Fernandes endorser that I hooked up with on The Gear Page.
In any case, I got this guitar for a steal!!! I’m going to fix it up, swap out pickups, give it a good cleaning and setup. Don’t know if I’m going to keep it, but no matter. It was a great deal!
So if you have a chance, take a peak into a pawn shop sometime. Oh wait! Another place you could look is at estate sales. A few years ago, I met an older gentleman and acoustic guitarist who SCORED a 1940’s Martin for a couple of hundred bucks at an estate sale, and had it appraised at around forty-grand! Amazing! Talk about a steal!
Your creativity is uh… Yours and yours alone… So…
Posted in guitar, guitar gear, guitar lifestyle, guitarists, Guitars, Music, musicians, tagged book review, guitar, guitar gear, guitarists, Guitars, ignore everybody, inspiration, Music, musicians on June 16, 2009| Leave a Comment »
IGNORE EVERYBODY
I just finished reading Hugh MacLeod’s fantastic book, “Ignore Everybody,” recommended by my blog-buddy, Ig, of the now-defunct, but well-loved igblog. He said I would love it, and of course, I did. Thank you, Ig!
What’s it about? Mostly it’s about taking personal ownership of your creativity, wherever it comes from, and in whatever shape it takes. Everyone has some sort of creativity inside of them, being it writing, playing music, drawing, painting, what have you. The challenge in life as Hugh MacLeod asserts is owning that creativity, recognizing that it’s yours, giving yourself permission to express it, and not fall into the trap that your creativity should be directed towards what other people say it should be.
I know, it sounds a bit brash and slightly anarchistic, but that’s creativity. You own it. It’s yours. Hell, MacLeod made it big by writing cartoons on the back of business cards! People thought he was crazy, but that’s how he wanted to express himself.
The things MacLeod says in the book are practical; not pie-in-the-sky New Age, metaphorical, metaphysical bullshit. The advice is in your face, and with many of his cartoons interspersed throughout the book, incredibly entertaining.
I was just thinking, what does this have to do within the context of this site? Well, we gear sluts buy acquire as much gear as we do to feed our passion for tone. Guitar is our creative outlet. Reading Ignore Everybody has put an exclamation point on why I play guitar, why I write this blog, and why I spent the countless hours each week sifting through the Internet and trade rags in search of new, compelling gear. I can’t really explain why I love doing what I do. I just love it. And I want to share it.
I encourage you to get this book. It’s a quick read. I started reading it last night, and finished it about half an hour ago. I guarantee it’ll inspire you! And no matter what your particular form of creativity is, you’ll gain a lot of insight into expressing it.
Guitar Gear 