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Archive for the ‘Guitars’ Category

There’s an app for that: Guitar Jam Tracks

Posted in Guitars, tagged , , , on August 25, 2012| 1 Comment »

The great thing about the iPad or iPhone is that there are lots of apps. The bad thing about the iPad or the iPhone is that there are lots of apps. Though all apps loaded to the app store are vetted by Apple, they’re only vetted for general functionality, and not on the quality of the user experience or making sure the app doesn’t do anything illegal. As a result, there are lots of crappy apps in the app store. That’s to be expected, but it takes a lot of time wading through user reviews to make a decision if you’re looking for a particular type of application and there are several that do the same thing.

Such was the case when I was looking for an app that would help me replace my song binder which over the years, had grown to about three inches thick. It was pain lugging that thing around. But then recently, I discovered LINKSoft SongBook, a wonderful app that has allowed me to put my binder away, and use my iPad to display charts. It’s so convenient! And inputting music? No problem. With its integrated web browser, you can search songs on the internet, and you can import them into the app!!! That’s the feature that sold me on the app!

So along comes Ninebuzz wanting to promote their new app, Guitar Jam Tracks. I’m usually pretty leery of being contacted out of the blue, but in this case, I figured it was just an app, and I was willing to check it out. So I downloaded the app. I was not disappointed in the least.

At first blush, I found myself saying to myself, “Is this all there is? Just the pentatonic scale in the major keys?” But then I realized that that’s the power of this application. You get five jam track styles: Acoustic Blues, Humbucker Blues, Jazz, Reggae and Rock; in both major and minor styles, so 10 tracks in all. Pick a key you want to play in and the five pentatonic scale patterns and their respective positions on the fretboard appear on the screen. Press the play button and start jamming.

More experienced players may poo-poo this app, but I actually found it to be a very cool way to review the different positions. Also, the more experienced and adventurous can use this as a way to explore variations and joining and linking other types of scales. For me, especially when I’m playing live, if I’m not quite “feeling it” when it comes time to do a lead break, I will almost invariably revert to a 1st position pentatonic in the key that I’m playing. Then I’ll use that to break into other scales; not that I actually think, “Okay, I’ll now go from this major pentatonic into a Mixolydian.” I’ll admit that I use the pentatonic as a crutch, but it’s a good crutch because it gets me comfortable, and helps me get my mind off of thinking about what I’m playing and really trying to feel the music.

Such was the case when I started playing through the jam tracks yesterday before work (and just prior to writing this article). I picked a key, started following a pattern, then when I felt comfortable, started playing outside the patterns and exploring different possibilities. I’m not very academic with how I jam, I typically just go for it, and I found that the app actually helped me a lot.

For beginners, this can be an invaluable tool for learning how to improvise. I was originally looking for more with this app, but then realized that it’s absolutely perfect for what it’s trying to do. The problem you see with lots of instructional stuff is all the extra fluff like, “In this situation, play this, unless you’re faced with this, then you should play this…” That’s fine for more advanced instruction. For instance, Chuck D’Aloia of “Blues with Brains” fame completely changed my approach to playing. In his series of instructional videos, Chuck is all about situational awareness, and that has been more helpful to me than memorizing scales.

Circling back to Jam Tracks, it doesn’t give you any of that fluff because it’s not important. What I realized is that they give you the patterns, then it’s up to you play around, plain and simple. Some players may stay within each box, others may figure out that they can use the patterns to “walk” the fretboard. It doesn’t matter. The idea behind this app is to simply PLAY. More than anything else, with guitar, you can learn things intellectually, but until you actually start putting it to practice, your learning will not be complete. Jam Tracks gets you “doing” very quickly.

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Gibson Custom Shop Les Paul “Green Widow”

Posted in Guitars on August 21, 2012| 6 Comments »

Gibson posted this on Facebook today… I love the green burst, but I’m not sure about the mint-green binding. White or black would work for me. But green? Anyway, they’re calling it the “Green Widow.” With that binding, I’d call it the Lucky Leprechaun because it reminds me of Saint Paddy’s Day. Since it’s a Custom Shop model, I wonder if you could request ivory-colored binding or even black binding. Other than that, that green burst is totally different, and something I’d consider. But with that green binding, the jury’s out for me…

Update 8/22/2012

Dammit! The more I look at that guitar, the more it grows on me. Binding aside, this is the one of the coolest burst patterns I’ve seen in awhile. The Manhattan Blue was gorgeous to me, but this Green Widow looks a little sinister as well as being gorgeous. IF I got one of these, I’d probably call her Morgana or Maleficent, or after some beautiful woman that has a touch of darkness to her. Joan d’Arc would be a cool name as well.

In any case, I’ve been looking for details on hardware and such, and even the Gibson site doesn’t have information that I could find. I’m hoping this isn’t a one-off because this would be a great guitar to check out. That translucent green burst is sexy as hell!

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Gig Report: TC Helicon VoiceLive Play GTX

Posted in Guitars, tagged , , on August 18, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Can you say Yowza?!!!

This is going to be a quick report, but all I have to say is that I’m totally sold on the VoiceLive Play GTX! I used it last night at my weekly restaurant gig where I play on the front patio of the restaurant in a rather expansive breezeway. The sound was incredible!

First of all, it was an absolute snap to set up, and a HUGE plus was the dual mono output setting that allowed me to have independent control over vocals and guitar. That was always an issue with my DigiTech Vocalist Live 4 when using it alone. Getting the right volume balance was always an issue, so I invariably had to run out of the guitar thru into the PA to control my guitar volume.

Even with light compression, my sound projected out and filled the space. It “felt” so much fuller and richer than with my old DigiTech Vocalist Live 4. I still have to tweak the presets’ reverb amounts a bit (they’re a little low for my liking), but I’m at a good starting point.

As far as the guitar processing was concerned, it’s good, and more importantly, good enough to use without having to run out to a pedal board. I’ll still probably run out to pedal board anyway, but there’s really nothing to complain about with the guitar sounds.

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First Impressions: TC Helicon VoiceLive Play GTX

Posted in Guitars, tagged , on August 17, 2012| 9 Comments »

The other day, I received a shipment of a few pedals from TC Electronic to evaluate and review. I wrote a review of the MojoMojo Overdrive Pedal yesterday and this evening started evaluating the TC Helicon VoiceLive Play GTX vocal and guitar processor. Out of all the pedals I received from TC Electronic (I received four total), this pedal – or should I say unit – was the one that was going to be real important to me, because I use a vocal processor for my solo acoustic gigs for harmonies. For the last few years, I’ve been using at DigiTech Vocalist Live 4, and I still love it. But it’s showing its age now, and is pretty beat up, considering I gig with it weekly, and I’ve been getting nervous using it as of late.

My interest in the VoiceLive comes not only from needing a new unit, but also from listening to the demos out there, and also seeing/hearing its sibling, the VoiceLive Touch in action at a live demo done by Christine Havrilla, one of TC’s American demo artists (she’s the chick with the great voice in all the demo videos). What struck me about the VoiceLive technology then was how natural the harmony voices sounded. While I dig my VocalistLive box, I have to admit that the harmonies can sometimes sound almost chipmunk-like; but I wasn’t hearing any of that with the VoiceLive. So I was absolutely excited to receive the shipment because I finally had a chance to try out the unit myself, and see if I could get it dialed in so I could use in my gigs this weekend (I have three).

I “cheated” a bit before I hooked up the unit this evening by reading the manual online earlier this afternoon to get myself familiarized with the control possibilities; there are LOTS! But as I messed around with it tonight, while having read the manual was useful, with how easy it is to access all the parameters, I could’ve saved myself some time. It really is that easy to use!

The VoiceLive Play has 235 presets based upon various popular songs.  Presets aren’t my thing, so instead of using the, I paged through presets and found three presets that would work with acoustic guitar. I then edited them, removing most of the vocal processing (I did keep some compression because that’s always a good thing), then tweaked the modulation effects so all the normal voicings would be the same. I would then construct harmonies for the “Hit” button. I also matched the guitar settings for two of them so I could switch between them in a single song. For instance, one of the presets has a single vocal harmony with “Hit” activated, while the second preset has two voices of harmony plus a doubling voice.

I edited these so I could switch between them mid-song, as some songs have sections that only require a single harmony voice, but other sections may requite more. A good example is the Eagles’ “Peaceful Easy Feelin.'” I recorded a sample of that:

I was concerned that I wouldn’t have the ability to switch presets mid-song while keeping “Hit” active as I was able to do that with my Vocalist Live 4. But the fact that I can do that with the VoiceLive is a HUGE plus. In fact, that might’ve been a deal-breaker for me if I couldn’t do that because having to tap dance from the preset selector to the Hit button would make things difficult while playing.

With respect to sound quality, the VoiceLive absolutely shines. The problem I’ve always had with my Vocalist Live 4 is that the guitar processing absolutely stunk. Admittedly, I’m not too impressed with the dirty amp models in the VoiceLive, but I’d never use them. But the mere fact that you can finely adjust the guitar sounds is absolutely huge for me because it means that I can choose not to use my pedal board with the unit. Sometimes I play in places where real estate is a premium, and having a couple of floor units – however small – takes up valuable space. For my larger venue gigs, I’ll probably still bring my board because my modulation effects are way better than the onboard effects of this unit. But the effects here are good enough. This coming weekend, I’ll be playing three gigs, and even though there will be space, I’m going to make it a point to not bring my board. From what I can tell so far from this unit, it’s going to work just fine with my Fishman SA220 SoloAmp.

Another place where this unit shines is in vocal doubling. With my old unit, I never used it because it did not sound at all natural. You can tell that a lot of work went into getting the VoiceLive’s vocal processing to a very high quality. Even recorded direct into my DAW, the vocals sound natural. Plus, there are all sorts of params that you can adjust that affect vocals; a big one for me being compression. Apparently, TC modeled their compression after a very well-known compressor (don’t know the name, but they mention it). I personally don’t use much compression, maybe 2.1 – 3.2 to 1 compression so I can retain dynamics, but it’s a necessity to have at least some, especially when playing in an open environment. Here’s a short clip of the Beatles’ “In My Life” that demonstrates the fantastic doubling and light compression:

All in all, my initial impression is simply this: I see a VoiceLive Play GTX in my immediate future and beyond!

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Hmm… Cranked Amp? Booster? Overdrive? Distortion?

Posted in Guitars, tagged , , , on August 15, 2012| 4 Comments »

The answer is: It depends… 🙂

More likely than not, when I want dirt, I just crank my amp or at the very least get it to the edge of breakup, then use input volume and attack to get it. For some people, a cranked amp is all they need. Absolutely nothing wrong with that. And for a few years, I didn’t use any dirt pedals for overdrive; just my amp. But overdrive slut that I am, I eventually returned to using them. But unlike many players who use overdrive and distortion through a clean headroom amp, relying entirely on their dirt pedal(s) to give them their distorted tone, I use my overdrives, distortion and booster to enhance the overdrive tone of my amp. Here’s how I set my drive pedals up…

In front of my amp

I’ll usually have three drive pedals that I place in front of my amp. First in the chain is always a transparent overdrive. I use a Timmy for that. Next in line is an overdrive that adds color and that I can stack on top of my transparent overdrive. The longest in that position has been my Tone Freak Abunai 2, which has a great compressed tone in its asymmetrical mode, plus a nice bottom-mid. But I will also switch it out with either a GeekMacDaddy Geek Driver (based on the original ColorSound Overdriver circuit – originals sell for about $1200), a Doodad Check-A-Board Red (kind of a brighter TS-808), or when I’m feeling nostalgic, I’ll put my TS-808 re-issue in that position. Last in that chain would be a distortion pedal. I only have one and that is the incredible EWS Little Brute Drive.

At the end of my effects loop

I place my booster (Creation Audio Labs Mk.4.23 Transparent Boost) at the end of my effects loop, which means it’s the last pedal before my power tubes. This gives a modest volume boost, but if my power tubes are already overdriving, it’ll knock them into full saturation, and I can get some nice power tube compression. This is great when I want to add some drama to a lead.

Some people prefer the “amp in a box” type of overdrives, letting overdrive pedals produce their distortion. I rarely use the overdrive pedals with a clean amp as I love the interplay between the natural distortion of an amp and the distortion of the pedals. What this also means is that because I use these pedals with an already breaking up amp, I rarely crank up the gain on these devices. I think that this where the true power of the overdrive pedal resides, as it is half booster, half soft-clipping device. The boost part can push an amp into breakup, then the clipping section will add another dimension to the distortion. Using an overdrive like this, it can be difficult dialing in a good balance between amp and pedal overdrive, but once I’ve found the sweet spot, it’s total ear candy.

I’ve talked previously about how I use my booster in my effects loop, so I won’t go into detail here, but with a booster, it gives me a secondary area to push my amp: after the preamp and before the power section. I like having two independent ways to introduce more gain into my amp. It’s a little finer control.

This is what works for me right now. A few years ago, that arrangement changed practically weekly as I was experimenting with different things. But I’ve pretty much established how I like to use my pedals, and haven’t changed much other than swapping out in specific positions.

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First Impressions: Keeley Luna Overdrive

Posted in Guitars, tagged , , , on August 13, 2012| 1 Comment »

One of my bandmates showed up at our weekly church gig this past weekend with the Keeley Luna Overdrive on his pedal board. He normally plays clean, and wanted to have something that he could get a gritty sound with, but he hadn’t really set it up, and frankly, it didn’t sound all that good, but I knew that it had more to do with the pedal being new and him not having time to dial it in than with the pedal himself. So I gave him a few pointers on how to set up his amp and the pedal, and we were able to get some real usable overdrive tones out of it.

After service, Dave handed me the pedal to do a test drive on it. He wasn’t sure he’d keep it, as it was pretty expense (he paid $219 for it and wasn’t sure it was worth it), but wisely, he wanted to get my feedback on it before he made a decision. It’s still a bit early to give him a definitive answer, but I’m probably going to recommend that he keeps the pedal after I had a chance to play around with it last night. Or if he still doesn’t want to keep it, I’ll take it off my hands and add it to my board to play after my Timmy. 🙂

So what’s so special about this pedal? It’s the same thing that I find special about the Timmy: It’s the tone controls. With the Timmy, to get a flat response you keep the tone controls wide open, then bleed off the highs and lows to adjust for amp/guitar. The Keeley on the other hand uses a Baxandall tone stack. Flat response is with both bass and treble knobs at noon. Moving either knob past noon adds boost, and vice-versa for moving the knobs before noon. Turning them all the way down will give you a big mid-hump, and cranking them will give you a scooped tone (though note that you’re boosting, so you’ll get more gain as well).

And it’s a different overdrive sound altogether. I detected a slight coloring, even at low gain settings, but it was very pleasing. High gain settings get you into fuzz/square-wave stuff, but nothing like a real fuzz pedal. Furthermore, try as I might, I couldn’t get any compression in Classic mode; even the Timmy compresses ever-so-slightly. This is a different overdrive animal entirely. Though it does add a bit of color (I heard it as a little top-end sparkle; almost like the sparkle you get with an optical compressor), it’s really made to work your amp, and your fundamental tone doesn’t really change all that much. That’s what I dig about the Timmy, though the Timmy is pretty transparent.

No, I don’t have any sound clips – yet. I just spent an hour twiddling knobs and finding the sweet spot on my LP. One thing that I can say that also impresses me is that it’s VERY responsive to input gain and pick attack, and it’s truly a joy to play with low gain settings. Then turning up volume knobs adds more grit and drive – very responsive and VERY expressive.

With respect to the Classic/Modded switch, since I didn’t have any documentation on hand, I can only tell you that it seemed to me that the “Modded” side added more gain and a bit of sustain. I suspect a little compression is also happening as the tone seems to be much more full and “in your face” in Modded mode.

I have to admit that before I played it, I really was trying to be unimpressed with this pedal, but after just playing with it for a short time, I can’t help but to be impressed. Just when I thought I’d heard everything with respect to overdrive, the Keeley Luna Overdrive provided yet another way of looking at overdrive.

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Sometimes You’ve Got to Get Through It, Get Done, The Get Outta There…

Posted in Guitars on August 12, 2012| Leave a Comment »

It happens to me rarely, but I just wasn’t feeling it at Friday night’s gig. I generally did a good job, but I just didn’t have the passion that I normally have. I hate when that happens because try as I might, I just couldn’t get inspired. But when it does, I just tell myself to get through it, get done, then get out.

Things didn’t start out well. I forgot to bring my harmonizer unit; the bag in which it’s carried also contained my stage mic. So I had to use an old SM58 from the restaurant that is long past its prime. Without my harmonizer, I lost the ability to compress my vocals (I compress very minimally, but some compression adds some oomph), and that combined with the lifeless mic, just didn’t sound quite right. Then on top of that, the brand-new singing waiters weren’t prepared with their music (read: they didn’t bring any), so they kept on trying to cherry-pick from my repertoire, which the experienced ones know irritates the shit out of me. Then during one number with one of the newbies, my mic muted for some reason, so we had to stop the song. If that wasn’t bad enough, the girl’s family was there, and her obnoxious father came up and said, “What do I have to do?” and started reaching for the mic cord.

Already having a bad day, and already annoyed with the singer for not being prepared, I said rather sharply, “Nothing. Please keep your hands off my gear and sit down.” The saving grace came from a couple of faithful fans that come to the restaurant regularly to listen to me play, and I was able to sit and have drinks with them on breaks to calm down. But despite that, the night was a wash. I shared my lack of passion with one table (only saying I wasn’t feeling it that night), and they said that they couldn’t tell. And that brings to the crux of this article.

It happens sometimes. I’ve been performing for over 40 years, and despite that, sometimes you just don’t feel it. When that happens to me, I follow my three G’s:

  1. Get through it
  2. Get done
  3. Get Outta there

The Three G’s mean nothing more than to execute the performance; you know, “the show must go on.” A long time ago, I was a dancer, and I’ve gone through this. My artistic director just told me, “Just remember focus on your dancing. Remember, you’re dancing for them <pointing to the audience>.” It’s not fun being in a funk during a performance, but I’ll still muddle through it. I may not make as many tips as I normally would (people can key into your energy or lack thereof), but I still muddle through it. And with The Three G’s, I also remember that I’m not just performing because I get paid to perform. I do it because I love to gig. That helps me a lot, and remembering that sometimes breaks me out of the funk.

At Friday’s gig, nothing could get me out of my funk. But I just told myself to get through it. I’ve had better gigs in the past, and I’ll have better gigs in the future…

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The SRT System Is Here!

Posted in Guitars, tagged , , , , , , on August 8, 2012| 3 Comments »

Yamaha APX900 Thinline Acoustic/Electric Guitar

Click to enlarge

Shown to the left is my trusty Yamaha APX900. When I bought it a couple of years ago, what sold me was the Acoustic Response Technology pre-amp which, at the time, I felt was unmatched for playing live and plugged into an acoustic amp. Before I finally chose the APX900, I had evaluated several acoustic guitars from high-end Martins, Taylors and Collings to the low-end. The cheapos just wouldn’t do even though some sounded pretty good, they were set up pretty poorly. I almost sprung for a Martin dreadnaught, but would’ve had to install a pickup system in it. I didn’t want to go through the hassle. So I narrowed my search to purely acoustic-electric guitars.

The first time I played an APX900, I knew my search was over. My primary criteria for choosing an acoustic was not for its acoustic sound, but how good it would sound plugged in as I would use the guitar as my on stage acoustic. Nothing, and I mean nothing sounded better than the APX900 plugged in; everything else sounded flat and mid-rangy. It was the Acoustic Response Technology (ART) pre-amp on the APX900 that completely sold me on the guitar. The only drawback of the guitar was that acoustically – without sound reinforcement – the guitar being a thinline concert jumbo didn’t have much oomph, and I knew that if I was going to use in the studio, I’d have to do a lot of tricks to make it sound bigger (like close-micing). But studio work was going to be a secondary use for the guitar, so it didn’t really bother me too much that its acoustic performance was okay at best. The guitar by no means sounds bad acoustically, but it has a higher voicing as compared to a dreadnaught or even a full bodied concert jumbo. Besides, it got me thinking that where the guitar was lacking could be made up with the purchase of a higher-end guitar where I didn’t really care much about the electronics. Just more gear… 🙂

In any case, a couple of months after I got my APX900, I started looking for a higher-end guitar. One of the first places I sought out was the Yamaha site, and what should I discover but a line of higher-end Yamaha guitars that included a new pre-amp system called the Studio Response Technology (SRT). This pre-amp system was even better than the ART, upon which I didn’t think could be improved. With SRT, Yamaha introduced microphone modeling as well as multiple pickups, and the recordings they provided got me salivating to try out a guitar that had this system. On top of that, the SRT system included a knob to adjust the amount of body resonance the system picks up. OMG! To me, it was absolutely ground-breaking! Unfortunately at the time, you could only get the the model that I wanted to try out – the LJX26C – via special order. Even the LJX16C, which is their “Professional” model wasn’t available in the States except via special order, or from small, online dealer of whom I had never hear. The end result is that I’ve just had to drool at a distance all this time. But no longer.

When I first started writing this article, it was going to be an article about the APX900, but more of a discussion of how I use the guitar on stage and in the studio. In the process of writing, I wanted to see the current price of the guitar, and it is now incredibly priced at $549! I paid $799 for it two years ago, and was happy as a clam that I got the guitar at that price. Figuring that Yamaha had come up with an upgrade, I perused Musicians Friend and discovered the new APX1000 which sports the SRT system!!!!! Folks, this is big, Big, BIG news, and as the APX series guitars are Yamaha’s mid-range commercial guitars, there’s a high probability that I can try one out at my favorite local music store! It’s hard to describe the excitement I’m feeling. The ART system totally blew me away when I first played it, and I thank the stars every time I gig with my APX900 that I have a pre-amp system like the ART. But the SRT system promises even better plugged-in performance, and I just can’t wait to try it out!

But on that note, I’M TOTALLY PISSED AT YAMAHA because they do such a crappy job of marketing their incredible products technologies. Those of us “in the know” understand just how good Yamaha instruments are, but Yamaha has always been rather modest about its products. You have to actively search out what they’re doing. Had I known about the APX1000, I would’ve written a review a long time ago! Perhaps “annoyed” is more accurate, but if Yamaha was more active in marketing, I think a lot more people would be using their equipment!

All that said, here is a GREAT demo of the SRT. Read the comments on YouTube, they’re hilarious!

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Gentlemen Prefer Blondes…

Posted in Guitars, tagged , on August 6, 2012| 1 Comment »

…and acoustic guitar players prefer California Blondes…

I have an original California Blonde by SWR that I use for my acoustic gigs. The “Blonde” is actually a portable PA, capable of handling any acoustic instrument as well as vocals at the same time, though I’ve never had the occasion to use it in that capacity. But for playing my Yamaha APX-900 through it, there’s no better amp!

Since I first heard a California Blonde, I have always been impressed with its sound. Not only is the sound HUGE, but it’s warm and clear, with lots of bass response, which could be a bit problematic, but luckily the EQ is very reactive, and getting a balanced tone out of the amp that’s suitable for a particular instrument is super easy. And when I finally got one, for playing clean, it became my go-to amp. For my solo acoustic gigs I normally use my Fishman SA220 SoloAmp, and it works like a dream. But when I’m just playing my acoustic with my band, I invariably go with the Blonde.

During summer, my church band operates with a fairly skeleton complement of musicians, and today was no exception as we only had our bassist, another guitarist, and me, so I decided to forego my normal electric rig, and go with an acoustic setup, which consists of the California Blonde, my pedal board, and my Yamaha APX900 acoustic-electric guitar.

Talk about a match made in heaven! My Yamaha APX900 is a concert jumbo, and as with that size guitar, bass response can be an issue. But plug that guitar into a California Blonde, and there’s no issue at all. The Blonde’s 12″ speaker has no problem generating lows, so the guitar sounds so much bigger than what you might guess at first blush with a concert jumbo. Add to that the other-worldly SRT pickup system of the APX900, and the combination just oozes tonal goodness. On top of that, the Blonde also has a little tweeter driver (you can see it in the upper right-hand corner behind the grille cloth in the picture above) that adds some sparkle to the output. The end result is a rich, complex acoustic tone that makes a gig totally enjoyable.

If there is a drawback to a California Blonde, it’s the weight, which is 50lbs. But considering the sound that you get out of it, it’s a small price to pay. Besides, I have a hand cart that I use for transporting it to and from my car, which makes it a lot easier to bring to gigs. But weight aside, I’ve never played through a better acoustic amp.

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Greasing Your Sound

Posted in Guitars, tagged , on August 4, 2012| 1 Comment »

As I do practically every Friday night, I did my solo acoustic gig last night. Normally, I use a PedalTrain Nano board on which I put my modulation effects so I don’t have to lug around a big board. But because I re-wired my main board (shown above) and had to use the 5-plug extension that I use on the Nano (didn’t have enough time this week to get a replacement), I lugged my main board to the gig. As an aside, during summertime, I play in the middle of a fairly busy area at the Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto, CA, and even though my area is partially roped off, it was funny yesterday to watch people’s reactions to my board, with all the different colors, but also pretty cool, as there were a few obvious gear sluts who passed by and saw all the boo-teek bling on my board and looked at me with knowing smiles. Must’ve been fellow TGP members. 🙂 But I digress…

Anyway, what I was absolutely loving last night was my ToneCandy Spring Fever. Tone-wise, I’ve never heard a pedal so closely simulate a spring reverb tank. It’s absolutely uncanny the reverb sound that the Spring Fever produces. But it’s also absolutely finicky with power supplies. But admittedly, I’ve had a bit of a love/hate relationship with that pedal ever since I got it. If you don’t match it with a power supply that it “likes,” it’ll hiss. It’s also sensitive to dirty power sources. Oy-vay!  The weird thing is that it hated my Dunlop DC Brick, but since I re-wired my board and power it with a simple 1-Spot, it somehow likes it. Go figure. The 1-Spot is not regulated like the DC Brick, but for some reason, the Spring Fever works great with it. Oh well, mine is not to question; mine is to simply appreciate and enjoy the goodness this pedal produces. 🙂 One thing I also discovered last night is that the Spring Fever takes awhile to “warm up;” like 20-30 minutes of being switched on. When it’s cold, switching it on and off will cause a bit of a pop. But once it’s warm, it’s absolutely silent. As far as last night was concerned though, I was loving it so much that I simply kept it on all night (I played for 5 hours with only two breaks), and adjusted the amount of reverb as needed.

Now I don’t want to paint a bad picture of this pedal. Although I discussed its idiosyncrasies above, and those could be construed as negatives, they’re not negative enough – especially once I found a power supply that it likes – to make me poo-poo the pedal. Now that I’ve worked through the issues, I don’t think I’m going to ever get rid of it. I actually had it up for sale on CraigsList, but have since removed the listing because last night made me a total believer in this pedal, which brings me to the crux of this article.

Reverb is an interesting effect. As Doug Doppler puts it, reverb adds a bit of “grease” or smoothness to your tone when used sparingly. But setting it is tricky. Add too much and it makes your guitar sound like it’s in a cavern with sound bouncing all over the place, turning your tone to mush; add too little, and it’s like you’re not adding anything. But dialing in just the right amount into your signal provides a certain smoothness and a subtle touch of reflectivity that seems to make your tone float in the air. Plus, that reflective quality gives the perception of your volume being louder as there’s seems to be more presence. That’s the “grease” as your tone seems to just slide right out of your amp as if on greasy skids.

And there’s a lot to be said about an analog circuit versus a digital. The Spring Fever utilizes an analog circuit. What has always struck me about it is that it just seems to have so much more sonic content than the digital versions I’ve used. For instance, I have another fantastic reverb in the Hardwire RV-7 Reverb. But having done a side-by-side comparison between the two, the Hardwire’s digital spring – Lexicon model, no less – is lifeless compared to the Spring Fever’s. That said, I don’t use the spring setting on the RV-7. I love the RV-7 for its hall and plate reverb settings, of which I have found no match. But for spring, ain’t nothin’ mo bettah than the Spring Fever, save an actual long-spring reverb tank.

Yeah, I can get Dick Dale surf with the Spring Fever, but I use it mainly for “grease.” When I want a more expansive, ambient tone, I’ll kick in the Mad Professor Deep Blue Delay. With the Spring Fever set for grease, I can use the DBD with the Spring Fever on, and not produce mush.

So you might be wondering at this point – since I’ve mentioned it a few times – how the hell do I get a “grease” setting? The bottom line is that it boils down to personal preference. However, for me, it’s the point just short of where the reverb feeds back, producing that familiar reverb “bounce.” But just before that point, at least how I perceive it, my tone is more expansive but it doesn’t reverberate a lot or “bounce.” Kind of hard to explain. It’s a setting that while you’re playing, you don’t really notice it. But if you turn it off, you know something is missing. The effect is similar to using an aural enhancer like the BBE Sonic Stomp, or even using mild compression. You don’t really hear what it does while you’re playing, but you know when it’s off. That’s the nature of adding reverb “grease.”

I have to admit that it took me a long time to find that point – like a few gigs till I got it dialed in. And that’s with any reverb that I used. It was a bit easier to dial in the Spring Fever as you only have Reverb (Dwell) and Mix. It took me longer to dial in the RV-7 to the grease point because it has Level, Decay and Liveliness, plus different reverb voicings. But once I got the settings to the grease point, I just keep the reverb on all the time.

When I need more reverb, I just turn up the mix. But usually, what I really want is more ambiance, so I kick in my Mad Professore Deep Blue Delay. I think that’s the reason for me keeping the reverb sound subtle. When I want a more ambient tone, I lean towards a more haunting color. To me, a delay does that much better than just adding more reverb. And set for “grease,” the reverb’s touch of reflectivity really enhances the delay, which is also why I run it after the delay. It’s all about the grease…

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