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Archive for the ‘Guitars’ Category

New Gear: TC Helicon VoiceLive Play GTX

Posted in Guitars, tagged , on January 19, 2012| 1 Comment »

Just got a news release the other day that I just had to share:

VoiceLive Play GTX is the world’s first multi-effects unit dedicated to rocking the world of the singing guitarist. Pro-level TC-Helicon vocal effects and state-of-the-art harmony processing is just half the story. With VoiceLive Play GTX, you also get top-of-the-line guitar effects from TC Electronic. Quite simply, as a singing guitarist you will feel like you have a dedicated vocal producer and an experienced guitar tech sitting inside the box.

I’ve been looking for a great harmonizer to replace my DigiTech VL4 for quite awhile now. I originally was looking at the VoiceLive Touch, but didn’t like the fact that it had a separate switching unit. With the VoiceLive Play GTX, it’s an integrated unit, which is very appealing to me. And at $349.99 when it comes out this spring, I think I’ll have found my next harmonizer unit. Add to the fact that you have great TC Electronic effects, and I think we’ve got a winner!

The unit also has 10 different amp models. I’ve never been a big fan of amp modeling, so I’ll reserve judgement until I test the unit out. But for now, as a regularly gigging musician, this is fantastic news!

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The Risk of Reviewing

Posted in Guitars, tagged on January 12, 2012| 3 Comments »

A fellow blogger who focuses on wine recently got a hate letter from a winery owner who went a bit overboard with an email response to a review that he wrote of her wine. There was some pretty lively discussion around the letter, with people in support of either the author or the winery owner. But one commenter said something that struck a chord with me: “You reap what you sow…”

That saying couldn’t be more true, and which is why at the outset of this blog 5 years ago, I made the conscious decision to never post bad reviews. If I didn’t like some gear a manufacturer sent me, I’d let them know privately, and I wouldn’t write a review. My choice was to post reviews about interesting and/or “best in class” gear, as opposed to writing a review on something I find mediocre or just plain bad.

As a Wine Enthusiast reviewer, Steve Heimoff has to publish his reviews for the magazine, but I do have to question why he chose to publish this particular review. After all, he boasts tasting over 4000 wines per year; a huge amount from which he can choose the stellar wines. And though he defends himself in his article, and he’s right to question the sinister email, the question still remains why he chose to publish that. I suppose he could argue that he wants to give his readers the full range; a complete picture of what’s out there, but I don’t buy into it completely.

Part of the reason for me to publish only gear that I would rate 4 and above was time. Not so much now, but in the earlier days of this blog, I was reviewing LOTS of gear, and working full-time, I just couldn’t keep up, as my review policy had evolved to providing demo clips as much as possible. And so it goes with gear – and wine for that matter – that I wanted to buy. I just don’t have a lot of time to devote to searching, so I look for reviews of stuff that gets a high rating from a reputable source.

For instance, with wines, I don’t even think about buying wines in 80’s point range because I don’t drink wine everyday, and when I want to enjoy a glass, I want it to be good, so I tend to lean on the scores a bit in my search for wines. Admittedly, there are times where I question how the hell can this be a 90+ wine? But for the most part, the wines scored in that range have tended to be pretty damn good.

With guitar gear, I look to good, reputable sources for gear reviews. I’ll look at negative reviews as well, but once I detect ranting or unsubstantiated complaints, I’ll immediately dismiss the particular review. Stuff like, “This sucks…” or “This is just useless crap” with nothing to explain why are completely useless input for me in my buying decisions. That’s why forums are a bit dangerous. A lot of the feedback you hear – both positive and negative – tends to be plain opinion with no real testing. So buyer beware! Don’t buy into the hype if you can avoid it.

I know I talk about it a bit, but my Timmy pedal was a “hype” item. I originally heard about it on a prominent forum, and dismissed it because of all the hype surrounding it. But it wasn’t until I actually saw and heard it in action and got feedback on it by the player that I made my decision to get on the waiting list.

Anyway, back to reviewing, as a reviewer myself, I think it’s important to play nice. After all, at least in my opinion, you attract more bees with honey.

ROCK ON!

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Wednesday Meanderings…

Posted in Guitars on January 4, 2012| 9 Comments »

I just read an interesting post on The Gear Page about playing in a cover band, and the poster questioning, along with some friends, why anyone would want to play in a cover band. This, of course, stirred up a hornet’s nest of debate. After reading that post and many of the replies, I thought of my own weekly solo gig that I’ve been playing for 11 years at the same place that consists of 99% cover material and a bit of my own music. I didn’t post an answer there, but I’ll post it here. The reasons I play covers is actually many-fold, but here the primary reasons:

  • Most importantly, I play for the pure joy of playing and entertaining. There’s nothing like making people smile. As an artist, I put my own twist on songs that I cover to “own” them a little, but they’re covers just the same. But who cares? I love what I’m doing, and people seem to like to listen.
  • Doing covers is lucrative. The restaurant pays me very well for what I do, and I make pretty good money in tips. The “salary” pays for gear and other stuff like my cell phone and wine club memberships; I use the tips for walking around money for the next week. It’s all good. But on top of all that, customers of the restaurant hire me for private gigs to do exactly the same thing.
  • Also, doing covers exposes me to a very wide range of musical styles, and pretty much forces me to learn how to effectively present the music according to the intent of the particular style. In other words, doing covers makes me a better musician. At my weekly gig, I play all sorts of songs from different genres: Classic Rock, Folk, Jazz Standards, Broadway, neo-Classical, and even Opera. The effect that has had on my own original music has been immense, and has allowed me to mix different styles into my own music.
  • Finally, and obviously, doing covers keeps me sharp.

———-

Wow! Lots of lively and angry discussion around Faustine Amps and Tim Gregoire’s bankruptcy announcement. If I’ve come off as defending Tim, I apologize. But I do understand his position and choices he and his wife made because I’ve been in that boat. It doesn’t make what he did right, and for sure, he acted pretty unethically, but financial desperation makes you do funny – and questionable – things. Criminal proceedings may occur, but probably not. What will be for sure is that Tim’s future prospects for doing business in the music world will be seriously curtailed if not completely non-existent.

———-

So Mitt Romney narrowly wins Iowa… with the same percentage that he lost in Iowa in 2008. And it’s roughly the same percentage that he’s had his entire campaign. Oh well… No, I’m not a fan, but it’s just interesting. Don’t believe the spin!

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Faustine Amps Has Filed for Bankruptcy!

Posted in Guitars on January 2, 2012| 12 Comments »

A friend of mine referred me to a thread on The Gear Page forum about Faustine closing its doors. Then I went to the Faustine Amp web site, and lo and behold, the site is gone and in its place is a heartfelt letter from Tim, Faustine’s founder. I really feel for Tim, having come close to bankruptcy 10 years ago, so I’m familiar with the pain and anguish he must be feeling.

What is clear is that there are lots of unhappy people who have lost their deposits. Some are rather nasty about their anger, and perhaps understandably so, but as others pointed out, the $550 deposit was discretionary for most people, so yeah, it’s a pisser, but it’s probably best to move on. I call experiences like this a “learning tax.” Got that term from a former business partner when we were ripped off of over three grand in a bogus server purchase. You get angry, you call the FBI for wire fraud, but in the end, there’s not much you can do about it. No, I’m not apologizing for Tim, but I’ve been in this situation, having given my hard-earned money to someone; only to lose it due to fraud. And I’m not saying that Tim was intentionally fraudulent either; a bad businessman perhaps, but not necessarily fraudulent. That’ll be up to the courts to determine, considering lots of people are trying to get their money back from their credit card companies.

But I think there’s an over-arching issue here from which we as boutique gear lovers can all learn. There was a LOT of hype built up over the Faustine Phantom attenuator, and several well-respected professionals personally endorsed the product. As a result, a lot of people pulled out their wallets and dropped $450-$550 on their down-payment; knowing full well that they’d have to wait – a long time, and in some cases over a year.

Obviously, wait time wasn’t an issue, but a good lesson to take away from this would be putting a down payment on any gear; especially on gear from a small shop; not necessarily that the proprietors are dishonest, but at least for me, I have to call into question why you’d need a down-payment in the first place. Experience tells me that when there’s a down-payment involved AND a super-long wait time, it’s clear that the company has cash-flow issues. What appears to have ended up happening with Faustine is that Tim had to “rob Peter to pay Paul” as he indicates in his letter:

“I continued taking new orders and attempted to maintain a tight control on my cash-flow so that production could continue while I searched for new funding to get Faustine back on track.”

Tim’s cash flow issues aside, here are some things to consider when getting gear:

  • Personally, I’d avoid ever having to pay a down-payment unless it was absolutely clear what its purpose is; and more importantly, only if there weren’t any issues surrounding the down-payment. There was lots of discussion on the boards about the requirement of a a down-payment for the Phantom. That would be a red flag for me.
  • If you’re willing to wait, then wait. I waited 6 months for my Timmy, but Paul Cochrane didn’t require a down payment, and once it was done, I had the option of not getting it. So for me, there was very little risk.
  • I’ve said this many times: Don’t buy into the hype! Do your research, play the gear if you can, and if you can’t, talk to as many owners of that gear as possible. The Timmy was highly hyped, but while I didn’t have the opportunity to play it before I got it, I did have an up close look and listen to it being used by a professional guitarist at a concert. After that, I knew I had to have it, and I haven’t looked back.

In closing, I do feel for Tim, though I’m not apologizing for his actions in any way. At best he was naive in how he ran his business; at worst, he knew full well what he was doing when taking people’s money. Either way he’ll have to answer for it. But personally, he’s a really nice guy, and I have been in his position, starting a company that was completely funded by myself. It was just more work than I could handle. I wish him well as a person. I’ve played his amps, and they’re very nice. Never cared too much for the Phantom, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t build a quality product. He in way over his head.

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My 2012 Gear Resolution(s)…

Posted in Guitars, tagged on December 31, 2011| 8 Comments »

One thing that I have hated about New Year’s resolutions is that many of them are about denial. For instance, one of my sons said, “For 2012, I’m going to stay away from fast food.” That’s not really a bad thing, considering how unhealthy fast food can be, but it’s still a denial. It’s like a year-round Lenten sacrifice. Bah-humbug!

Me? Since I don’t like the negativity of New Year’s resolutions, I haven’t made one in years. But this year, I’m turning 50 (on January 5), so I’m going to make a resolution. Actually, several… but on the positive side.

In 2012, I resolve to:

  • Buy a DV Mark Little 40
  • Sell my Les Paul Replica
  • Replace my sold Les Paul Replica with a Les Paul Standard Traditional Plus
  • Get all my tube amps that aren’t working serviced (there’s actually only a couple)
  • Buy a 2 X 10 cabinet and house it with Jensen Jet Electric Lightning speakers
  • Buy a Fender ProSonic head

Now those are resolutions that I can deal with! 🙂

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Can a “Travel” Guitar Actually Sound Good?

Posted in Guitars, tagged , , on December 30, 2011| 2 Comments »

If you’re Voyage-Air Guitars, it can…

When these guitars first came out, I was a little dubious about them. Sure, they offered a travel convenience with the folding neck, but at around $500 at the time, I kind of felt that what I’d be paying for was a premium for the hinging technology attached to a cheap guitar; no matter the repute of the luthier behind the guitar nor the artist endorsements that the manufacturer may have (which I’ve found are often dubious in many cases).

But Voyage-Air Guitars has been around for awhile now, and they have a much wider selection of guitars, including a Premium Series line which are actually quite nice. In particular, their VAOM-2C is a guitar that has caught my eye. This is their top-of-the-line model with a cutaway, and it seems to have everything I like in an acoustic guitar: East Indian Rosewood back and sides, Sitka spruce top, and solid mahogany “C” profile neck; plus a bright, rich, full tone from what I could gather from clips and videos.

Premier Guitar was very impressed with this guitar, giving it a 5.0 rating, which is a VERY rare designation.

Here’s their video review of the VAOM-C1, which was the preceeding model to the 2C:

By the way, I DIG that carrying case that not only has room for the guitar, it also has amp storage space to carry a mic, cables, and even a laptop!

There’s a VAOM-C1 over at Gryphon Stringed Instruments. I’m definitely going to check it out!

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Hehehe… Where Do I Spend My Christmas Money?

Posted in Guitars on December 26, 2011| 5 Comments »

My good buddy Phil and I each received a Guitar Center gift card for doing the soundtrack for one of his friends for a flash mob that her company was doing for a convention. The gift card arrived in time for Christmas, and it is literally burning a hole in my pocket. I could get a few pedals, I could get another nice Classic Vibe Tele (the semi-hollowbody)… But I think what I’ll do is layaway a DV Mark Little 40 L34 amp.

I dig this amp. Since I first discovered it a couple of months ago, I’ve played with it a few times at Guitar Center, and the more I play it, the more I want it. It has a great feel and tone, and the built-in features make this one heck of a versatile amp. The Continuous Power Control – which allows you to vary the output power of the amp – aside, I dig that I can put in a different power tubes, from 6V6, 6L6 and EL34’s to get different sounds; and the amp will automagically bias them and keep them at their optimum settings! NIIIICE! Here’s a nice video demo of the amp.

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You Gotta Love Environmental Responsibility

Posted in Guitars, tagged , , on November 19, 2011| 2 Comments »

I dig it when I read about companies that take the environment seriously. No, I’m not a tree hugger, but I realize that the better we take care of our environment today, the longer it’ll last and continue to provide a world for following generations. And I think we as consumers need to constantly evaluate our consumption and have a mind towards restoration and recycling.

So when Prestige Guitars contacted me about a reforestation initiative they’ve taken, I had to share it here. Here’s the press release:

Prestige Guitars Launches Reforestation Initiative

In an effort to recognize global reforestation needs, Prestige Guitars – the Vancouver based guitar manufacturer – is launching a unique reforestation initiative where a tree will be planted for every guitar manufactured.

Prestige Guitars is also taking further environmentally conscious measures to only use recycled paper stock for warranty registration cards, as well as shipping cartons that are from recycled cardboard – that are also 100% recyclable.

Reforestation is an economical solution to many tough environmental problems, including air and water pollution, climate change, wildlife protection, habitat restoration and more.

According to a recent report from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization; between 2000 and 2010, some 13 million hectares of forests were converted annually to other uses, such as agriculture, construction, or lost through natural causes; down from 16 million hectares annually during the 1990s – according to an assessment which surveyed 233 countries and areas. Ambitious tree planting programs in countries such as China, India, United States and Viet Nam – combined with natural expansion of forests in some regions – have added more than 7 million hectares of new forests annually. Despite the
recent downward trend, an area roughly the size of Costa Rica is still being destroyed each year.

“By launching our own reforestation initiative, we hope to do our part for the environment, and also persuade and motivate other companies in our industry to follow suit. Although trees play an integral part in manufacturing a guitar, it’s frightening to imagine the state of our environment and our industry in the near future if we don’t start taking action now” – Michael Kurkdjian, President of Prestige Guitars Ltd.

Way to go, Prestige! This is something of which to be extremely proud!

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It’s Nigel Tufnel Day!!!

Posted in Guitars, tagged on November 11, 2011| Leave a Comment »

In celebration of 11-11-11, here’s a classic from This Is Spinal Tap:

Gotta love Nigel Tufnel!

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On Stairway to Heaven and It’s Affect – At Least On Me

Posted in Guitars, tagged on November 9, 2011| 3 Comments »

Yesterday marked the 40th Anniversary of the release of Stairway to Heaven, a tune with a riff that whether or not you’re a Zep fan is a moral imperative for any guitarist to learn.

As for myself, I was never that much into Zep. I dug certain tunes like Stairway, Black Dog, and Lady, but never bought a Zep album. But I do have to admit that the Stairway riff had a huge impact on me becoming a guitar player. It’s so simple, but it’s beautiful.

Another riff that compelled me towards playing guitar was Black Water by the Doobie Brothers. I was so proud of myself when I learned that riff. That gave me my first taste of alternate tuning; albeit it was only dropping the low E to D.

And I have to say that it wasn’t necessarily full songs that drove me to learn guitar, but rather little riffs that I thought were cool. Of course, the musician in me wouldn’t just settle for the riff, but I would have to say I was riff-driven. 🙂

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