…was the question my wife recently asked me, to which she added, “You already have a bunch of guitars, and amps are sometimes stacked like a wall in the garage, and you’ve got pedals on the floor that aren’t even on the board that you gig with. It’s not that I want to you to get rid of anything, I’m just trying to understand your obsession with gear.”
I replied, “I’ve been trying to understand that myself, and for years. Just when I think I’ve found the perfect tone, I come across some piece of gear that really turns me on, and well, I just have to get it.”
That brief conversation led me to into a bit of introspection, and I asked myself, “Is there a perfect tone out there?” And the answer I came up with is: Yes and No.
“Yes” from the perspective that for certain periods of time, I totally dig my tone. But “No” from the perspective that that satisfaction is fleeting. It’s not that I get tired of my tone, it’s just that I periodically want to enhance it; add a different kind of distortion color, try out a British-style amp. Fundamentally, it still sounds like me, but just different. Sometimes the changes I make are good, and they become permanent, other times, I tire of them. And there are times where I go practically bare-bones, and strip back to the basics.
So I guess it’s not really about searching for the perfect tone, but exploring the different types of tones that may tickle my fancy from time to time. Sometimes it involves buying gear. But the kicker is that I won’t get rid of anything because I never know when I might return to a different tone from days gone by. Besides, who doesn’t like a bit of change from time to time?
I love serendipitous moments, when I stumble upon something new when I’m doing something else entirely. Such was the case of me stumbling upon Tone Freak pedals. I was seeing if the domain name “tonefreak.com” was taken, and at the top of the search results was Tone Freak Effects. You know me and overdrive and distortion pedals. I LOVE ‘EM! And Tone Freak Effects specializes in two kinds of overdrive, two kinds of distortion pedals, plus a buffer/booster and a really nice trem pedal.
The OD and distortion pedal clips I listened to demonstrate a very diverse set of pedals that have a classic character, but also sound fairly unique as well. For instance the Abunai 2 clips sounded a lot like a classic Tube Screamer – nice and open – but with a bit more low-end while maintaining that openness. In fact, all the pedal clips I listened to portrayed familiar OD and distortion sounds, but were also wonderfully different in very good ways. This could likely be because almost all the pedals are the result of collaborations with various guitarists.
No matter, these pedals sound awesome!
I’m particularly interested in the Buff Puff, a signal buffer, plus a clean boost. The buffer is on all the time, and helps restore the signal loss that can occur in a long effects chain. When you switch the pedal on, you get some clean boost. Not sure how many dB, but that is something that I find totally cool. In addition to my love for OD pedals, I’ve really started getting into clean boost – not just to up my volume, but to also slam the front-end of an amp. It’s wonderful!
Ran across this site today called SpeedPicking.com that actually looks pretty interesting. In their words:
The Speed Picking Workshop is for any Guitarist looking to vastly improve their Speed, Accuracy and Coordination using an alternate picking technique. The online workshop allows you to develop this technique using a measured and methodical approach. This method promises fast, solid and measurable results for the guitarist that demands real progress and has the determination and patience to achieve their goals.
Introduced at Winter NAMM, the Lava Cable CPS (Configurable Pedal Board System) is what Lava Cable claims is the first fully configurable pedalboard system ever. They may be right, and are certainly on to something. The CPS consists of individual, notched pedal “blocks” that fit flush together. You then screw the pieces together in whatever fashion you wish. Imagine growing or shrinking your board at will! For pedal junkies like me, this system could be a bit dangerous. The limited size of my current board makes getting more pedals prohibitive, and that’s a good thing. A system like this would allow me to expand it ad infinitum!
In all seriousness though, being able to flexibly lay out your board is a totally cool concept to me. You’re not reliant on the shape of the board nor, if you’re into doing it yourself, must you cut out your own templates. For more info, go to: http://www.lavacable.com/lavacps.html
…to give up on a dream, or perhaps, maybe an illusion. I wrote a new song yesterday for Mass based on Psalm 32, called “I Turn to You.” Give it a listen:
Anyway, when I uploaded it to iCompositions, and wrote the song summary, I included that the song and lyrics were free for the taking. I was just going to put it out there, and let whatever church musicians who come across it use it to their hearts’ content. As I said, “This was a gift to me, and I want to pay it forward.”
Let me qualify about “giving it up.” It’s more like giving up an offering to the universe. I’m not going to stop putting my music out there to get it heard. It’s just that I’m not going to be attached to a particular style or genre of music as a vehicle. I’m going to write what I write, and if happens to be religous, fine. If it’s not, also fine. I’ll basically take whatever inspiration I can get, and let that inspiration dictate the direction I go in.
The new song is the result of just giving it up to the universe. I looked at the verses of the Psalm in the Bible, and suddenly the music came to me. Likewise, I was re-listening to an instrumental I came up with to demonstrate how “Goldie” the Saint Guitars Goldtop Benchmark sounds, and got the idea for an entire song built around that phrase. I’m writing this entry as a break from tracking right now. 🙂
I guess the point to all this is that I released my emotional attachments to the direction I’m taking my music, and letting it just be what it is: Music; irrespective of religion or philosophy. I’m just going to write about things I’m compelled to write about, and share the story.
You ever pick up a guitar and just can’t seem to put it down? For the past few years, that has been “Pearl” my Blizzard Pearl Strat. I just love the way she sings, and she sings oh so sweetly. But ever since I got “Goldie,” a Saint Guitars Goldtop Benchmark to test out, I just can’t seem to put her down. It’s tough because ever since she arrived, I’ve been splitting my time between the two… Wish I had the problem with women when I was single. 🙂 <sigh> Oh well…
“Goldie” is a very special guitar, with a mahogany body, maple top, and solid rosewood neck. I know, I’ve already reviewed her, but she’s absolutely the perfect guitar – at least to me. The tone from the woods are so balanced and warm that when you play her, you have to just close your eyes and let her take you for a ride. And her neck… ah, her neck! What a thing of grace and beauty. The open-pore finish of the rosewood is so wonderful to the touch, you just want to run your hands up and down the fretboard and feel the sensuousness of her gentle curves. I know, I’m sounding kind of weird, but it’s the best I can come up with to draw a metaphor of how it feels to play this guitar!
Tonight, after I returned home from a quiet date for a cup of tea with the love of my life for Valentine’s Day, I retired to my studio to play around with Goldie. I was just noodling when I played a phrase that just begged to be laid down. So I figured out the chord progression that would go with the phrase, and here’s what I came up with:
Goldie has a bright, big voice, and true to all Saint guitars that I’ve had the priviledge to play, she has an even, dynamic range in all strings, up and down the fretboard. Unlike other guitars where you pluck the top two strings, and you get a loss in volume, forcing you to dig in when you play those strings, especially about the 12th fret, not so with any Saint guitar – it’s uncanny, and a mark of the care Adam Hernandez has put into his designs to ensure his guitars are resonant in any frequency!
Having a great amp to bring out the best in a guitar doesn’t hurt either. The amp I used is a soon-to-be-released prototype Aracom Amp, based upon the RoxBox 18 Watt, but with different tubes, and slightly different power handling. Sorry, I can’t be more descriptive at Jeff Aragaki’s request. You can be assured that once Jeff gives me the go-ahead, I’ll be writing a review of it, and it will be good. 🙂 This amp in particular is very pedal friendly, and I used a Tube Screamer to give me some grit on the lead, plus my new Hardwire Reverb.
In any case, I just wanted to share my excitement about this guitar. It simpy kicks ass, and paired with a dynamite amp, I’ve got a winning combination on my hands!!!
When my son Bennie was tested and diagnosed with a form of Attention Deficit Disorder – the attention kind, not the hyperactivity kind – I realized that I had grown up with the same problem. Parents and teachers used to just call it “getting easily distracted.” I’d be doing something then someone or something would distract me, and I’d point my attention on the new thing. It was difficult, but I was able to compensate for it, and my attention deficit hasn’t really affected me too much. In fact, it has probably helped because my over-active mind switches gears – a lot – probably a huge reason I keep this blog up to date with new stuff at least five or six times a week. I’ll be doing some coding, then I’ll take a break to sniff around the web for new gear, and voila! A new article appears on the site! 🙂
Such was the case with this new Jam Track. I got the inspiration for a new song this morning, and laid down the main riff to a metronome. While experimenting with different rhythm parts, I ran across a really funky bassline, and it turned out to be perfect. Then I added some funky drums, layered on a walking double-stop run, pulled out the Goldtop and started to JAM!!! So here it is. You have about 6 and a half minutes to play! As with all my Jam Tracks, it’s best to loop the song so you can play ad infinitum.
Gear Used
Aracom 22 Watt Prototype with 6V6’s – freakin’ awesome amp! (Sorry, can’t say any more at this time.)
Summary: Super-fast, super-responsive plectrums that will take your guitar playing to another level!
Pros: Whether you play with pointy or rounded corners, these picks will give you more technical accuracy, and sweeter tone than you can imagine!
Cons: None.
Price: $4.00 ea
Specs:
Hand-ground and hand-buffed
Various thicknesses available
Tone Bone Rating: 5.0 – Like Red Bear picks, once you play with picks like these, you’ll never go back to your old picks.
Okay, I’m sold. V-Picks are absolutely awesome! Yeah, I’m a Red Bear lover, but I love these equally, but for kind of different reasons and applications. For acoustic, my Red Bears absolutely rule. I couldn’t wait to get home to do yet another comparison test, and for flatpicking and strumming on an acoustic, my Red Bears (Style B Medium and Heavy), completely did it for me. They produce rich and warm tones, and chime like I’ve never heard from my guitar. They really are a strummer’s dream come true. But for all-around electric playing, V-Picks, especially the medium sized pointed and rounded picks, just make my heart sing! Not that the Red Bears sound bad on electric- they don’t. But there’s something about the brighter tones the V-Picks produce compared to the natural, warm tone of the Red Bears, that sound much more pleasing to me on electric guitar. Of course, this all boils down to personal preference as I mentioned in my previous article from earlier today.
So what’s the big deal? It’s all in the sound, baby! And to demonstrate, I created a sound sample. In the sample, I play a scale in E major starting on the 3rd string on the 9th fret. The first clip is with the Dunlop Tortex Medium (Orange), to provide a reference point. The second clip is played with the V-Picks Medium Rounded, and the third clip is played with V-Picks Medium Pointed.
If you listen carefully, the difference in how the clips sound is subtle, but important. With the Tortex, there is actually a very slight delay between when a string is struck and when sound is produced. It kind of screwed me up when I moved to the medium rounded, but the thing to notice there is that the tone is thicker and much more well-rounded. In the third clip, I moved to the pointed pick. I got the same bright tone that the Tortex produced, but the tone is much smoother and more refined and defined.
Another huge difference in playing the three scales was that with the Tortex, I didn’t feel like I had much control. Even though I stayed on tempo (I had a metronome set at 120bps that I was playing to), I no longer felt confident with that pick. On the other hand, with the V-Picks picks, I felt like I was in total control, and in fact, felt like I could go A LOT faster!
I could write more, but why? The sound bite says it all! And no, I didn’t purposely play bad with the Tortex. In fact, if anything, I tried to be as accurate as possible with the Tortex so I could give a fair representation. I was even a bit sloppy with the second clip, using the medium rounded, but the tone was so much smoother than the Tortex, despite my technical mistakes.
My days of buying bags of cheap-ass picks are over, folks! With my V-Picks and Red Bears, I’m now in tonal heaven! I can’t say enough about these picks, folks! You gotta go out and try them!
As many may know, after 35+ years of playing, I switched from my favorite picks, medium Dunlop Tortex, to Red Bear picks. Since then, my playing has really taken on a different dimension. I feel a lot more confident with my playing as these thick, natural feeling picks have made me much more accurate, and really bring out the tone of my guitars. It’s truly amazing!
But over the past weekend, my friend Adam Hernandez of Saint Guitar Company, called me up and told me about his friend Vinni Smith, creator of the V-Pick, another high-end pick. In our conversation, he shared that he had told Vinni about my site, and told him to contact me to see if I’d review his picks.
I had heard of V-Picks from people on the various forums I either lurk or participate in, and I was very curious about them, and wondered how they’d compare to my beloved Red Bears. So I beat Vinni to the punch, and contact him, at which point he said he’d send me a few to check out.
I finally got them yesterday. I guess Vinni’s idea of “sending a few” is much different than mine. I was thinking he’d send maybe three or four; instead, he sent me pretty much the spectrum of the picks he makes! What a guy!
Anyway, I was too tired to test them out last night, so I decided to try a few out at a church service I did this morning. I also took my Red Bears to do a head-to-head comparison. Just as expected, these picks had the same effect on me that the Red Bears have. When you’re playing effortlessly, and the strings chime like they’ve never chimed before, it evokes a visceral, almost primitive feeling that takes you to another dimension. That’s what playing with a great pick does for me, at least.
So considering how V-Picks also evoke the same type of emotions in me as my Red Bears, how do I rate them? Well, of course, I have to give them a 5 Tone Bones score. But if you were ask me which are better, I’m going to be completely non-committal and say that it really boils down to personal preference. To me, they both kick ass! But let me take some time to share some of my insights on how they stack up against each other:
Feel
With respect to feel in my hand, both Red Bear and V-Picks feel great. But the big difference for me is that the Red Bears feel – for lack of a better word – natural. They really do feel like natural tortoise shell. Please don’t read this as a negative with respect to a V-Pick. It also feels great. It’s just different.
Tone
For this test, I chose a similarly sized and pointed V-Pick to compare against a Red Bear Style B Heavy pick. With strumming, both picks produced gorgeous, warm and ringing tone. But I could detect a bit more highs out of the V-Pick, which made the tone sound just a tad bit more lively, while a strum with the Red Bear was much more balanced. Both tones were fantastic, though, so no clear winner in this department. However, I did also test out a couple of the really pointy V-Picks that Vinni sent to me, and whoa! These sounded awesome for picking individual strings. They also produced a very bright, almost jangly tone during strumming. Since I didn’t have anything equivalent with a Red Bear, I couldn’t make a comparison, though I imagine the response would be similar.
But here’s a very interesting thing that I found myself inadvertently doing during my little gig this morning. Depending upon the song, I’d use a different pick to elicit different sounds from my acoustic. When I wanted a really bright sound, I’d use the V-Picks pointy. When I wanted a warm, rich strum, I’d use the Red Bear. Something in the middle, I’d use a rounded V-Pick. I don’t know how practical that is with a full band, but it sure worked for me working solo, where it was just me and my acoustic.
And the winner is…
Neither or Both. Er… There is no winner. For me what it boils down to is personal preference. Both picks are awesome-sounding. And based upon my experience this morning, I’m going to start buying both kinds because of the different shades of tones I can get out each. I’ve read some lively discussions comparing these, but frankly, most of the people who contributed to these discussions had played only one kind of either. I’ve had the fortune to play a few styles of both, which explains while I’m very non-committal about declaring a clear winner; because from my point of view, there simply isn’t one with respect to feel and tone.
So I’m going to endorse both picks because they’re both great. But if you’re after advice on which to choose, then choose one based on how it feels. I love the feel of the Red Bear, maybe a tad bit better than the V-Pick. But that doesn’t necessarily make it a better pick, which is why I recommend you play both kinds and make a decision on what feels best for you. I will add that Red Bear doesn’t have a super pointy pick, so if you’re after something like that, then V-Picks is what you’re looking for!
Notice I didn’t mention anything about price. If it boiled down to that, then V-Picks wins hands-down. Most V-Picks cost $4.00, while Red Bears cost $20.00. But be aware that Red Bear picks are rough-cut, then hand shaped, so there’s lot of labor that goes into them, plus you’re dealing with a polymer made from a natural source. On the other hand, V-Picks are molded, then buffed, so the labor is a lot less.
CORRECTION: (2/11/09 )Vinni contacted me about how he makes his picks. Actually only a few are molded, the rest are cut and hand ground. So my bad…
Personally, price of the picks is one topic on this blog where I’ll say that is less important a factor in the decision-making process, which kind of goes against the grain of what GuitarGear.org is all about. The reason I’m de-emphasizing price is because on the grand scale of things, once you’ve spent a few grand on guitars and amps, whether you spend $4 or $20 on a pick is pretty inconsequential. So the decision should rest on how the pick feels and sounds to you.
Finally…
The one thing that V-Picks does have over Red Bear picks, is that because the picks are made from acrylic, Vinni can offer a much greater range of thicknesses with his picks. For instance, he can go all the way down to .5mm. I have one of these and while it flexes like my Dunlop Tortex, it still beats the shit out of it. On the other hand, because of the material, Red Bear picks start at 1.0 mm. But I do have to say that I don’t know for sure if there is a lower limit. It could be there is, but perhaps there’s just not demand for picks thinner than a millimeter. Be that as it may, with either V-Picks are Red Bear, you have a variety of styles to choose from.
Another thing you might consider is durability. V-Picks are acrylic, and that is a VERY hard material. It’s tough to scratch, and from what I could tell, these picks will not wear down very quickly. Red Bear picks on the other hand, do wear down, and as they are made from a natural material, need some special care. You occasionally have to rebuff them. But frankly, it’s something I’d expect from a more expensive pick made from natural material. But if you don’t want to fuss with that kind of stuff, then V-Picks is the answer.
As a special treat, I found a video of Vinni Smith giving a lesson on YouTube. This dude is a BAD-ASS guitar player! Rock on, Vinni!
I love serendipitous moments, when I stumble upon something new when I’m doing something else entirely. Such was the case of me stumbling upon Tone Freak pedals. I was seeing if the domain name “tonefreak.com” was taken, and at the top of the search results was Tone Freak Effects. You know me and overdrive and distortion pedals. I LOVE ‘EM! And Tone Freak Effects specializes in two kinds of overdrive, two kinds of distortion pedals, plus a buffer/booster and a really nice trem pedal.
Guitar Gear 