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Posts Tagged ‘saint guitars’

When recording, use the tools you need!

Posted in amplifiers, amps, aracom amps, attenuator, gear, goldie, guitar, guitar attenuators, guitar gear, guitar gear reviews, guitarists, Guitars, Music, musicians, new song, tagged , , , , , , , , , on December 28, 2009| 5 Comments »

I’ve been working on a new instrumental for over a month now, called “Strutter.” I think I’ve probably made 50+ recordings of the song, and even though I dig the melody I’ve come up with, I’ve always thought it needed something… more… Couldn’t put my finger on it, but none of my recordings of the song were working for me completely. After I finished recording this final cut which I’ll share below, I believe a lot of my “frustration” had to do with me wanting to only use a single guitar and amp for the recording since I play this song live with only a single guitar.

But it’s different in the studio. I have a lot of options open to me, so I decided to break down and instead of recording the song in its entirety with a single take with a single guitar and amp, I recorded the two different parts of the song with two guitars and two amps. The result knocked my socks off! So the lesson learned is in the studio, you can be truly creative, and for me, I’ll use the tools I need in favor of what I’d like to have. Anyway, here’s the song:

Gear:

Rhythm: Fender MIM Strat / Aracom VRX22 (6V6) Clean Channel
Lead 1 : Squier Classic Vibe Telecaster 50’s (bridge) / Aracom VRX18 (EL84) Channel 2 (Master cranked / Volume 3pm)
Lead 2 : Saint Guitars Messenger (bridge) / Aracom VRX22 Channel 2 (Master 4pm / Volume 3pm)

All guitars were recorded at bedroom level using the Aracom PRX150-Pro attenuator, with no effects. Estimated output of any of the amps was less than 1 watt! That unit is absolutely amazing!!!

Small room reverb was added during production to give a more spatious effect to the lead tracks, and absolutely no EQ was applied to the guitars.

Description:

This song was originally inspired by an image of a supa-mac-daddy-pimp dude struttin’ his stuff down the avenue. 🙂 At least that was the kind of vibe I wanted to capture: 70’s-style guitar-plugged-straight into the amp. It’s a raw kind of tone.

From a structure/feel point of view, what I was after with this song was a contrast in textures. The Rhythm track uses the VRX22 clean channel for that snappy clean attack. For the Lead 1, I wanted use the creamy smoothness of the VRX18 combined with a single coil, and take advantage of the awesome decay of the tube rectifier. For Lead 2, there’s nothing like the pure balls-out sound of the VRX22 drive channel played with a bridge humbucker. The distortion though is ultra smooth, but very complex.

I should be the Aracom Amps poster boy!

I just realized that this song could be an Aracom Amps VRX amp line demo! I make no secret that these are my amps of choice (I have three of them). Jeff Aragaki’s amp designs are absolutely killer – that’s why I buy his equipment.

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Gear Announcement: Saint Guitars Releases Its New Vintage Series

Posted in gear, gear announcements, guitar, guitar gear, guitarists, Guitars, Music, musicians, new gear, Saint Guitar Company, Saint Guitars Vintage, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on October 8, 2009| 4 Comments »

This announcement is so new that Saint Guitar Company hasn’t even put it up on their web site! I first caught wind of this new series a few months ago when Adam mentioned to me in a conversation that he was starting to work on a new style of guitar. This new series was to be a mild departure from the modern rock-inspired designs he has been building for the past several years, and roll time back just a bit to create what he was coining his new “Vintage” series, which would be chambered, have retro styling, and employ P-90 pickups. I don’t have any final build details as of yet, but his first in the series sure looks fantastic. Here are some pictures for your enjoyment!

I can’t wait to do an evaluation on one of these. It’s really exciting! I love the body style on this, with the less pronounced horns, and rounder lower bout, and I dig that flat top! Very cool!

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Goldie Just Inspires Me!

Posted in aracom amps, custom guitars, GAS, gear, goldie, guitar, guitar gear, guitarists, Guitars, Music, musicians, new song, reason amps, reason bambino, Saint Guitar Company, saint guitars messenger, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 11, 2009| 2 Comments »

goldie41I spoke about Tone with a capital “T” the other day and how your Tone is the combination of your gear plus what’s in your heart. One thing that I didn’t discuss is that when your heart and your gear are in alignment, the visceral effect it has on you borders on a religious experience. Put simply, you become truly inspired. I got Goldie back from Saint Guitars a few days ago to correct some wiring and action issues, and plugging her into my amp, I was immediately floored by her tone. I already was in the first place, but with everything working right, the effect it had on my spirit was tremendous!

So I decided to completely re-write and re-track a song that I had recorded earlier as a demo of the Reason Bambino – turn it into a real composition. But I also wanted to demonstrate the wonderful voice she has. Here’s the song. It’s called “Sunset By the Bay” because it reminded me of sipping a mojito on the beach at sunset:

The opening of the song and the first “verse” demonstrate Goldie’s neck pickup in single-coil configuration. Man, it’s chimey like a Strat! The second part of the song stays in the neck pickup but with both coils working, and adding a bit of crunch in the second channel of my Aracom VRX22. I recently had a mod done to the amp to add channel switching, and remove the Master Volume control from the first channel so it acts more like a Class A amp in channel 1. Continuing on, in the bridge of the song, I switch both pickups and remain in channel 2, then I finally finish up back on the neck pickup.

I can’t believe the sounds that come from this guitar, and my VRX22 just sounds so sweet with it!

By the way, as far as the recording of the melody goes, I recorded Goldie completely dry, just plugged right into my amp. I then added some reverb and a tiny bit of delay to give the melody an airy feel. The rhythm part was recorded using my Strat directly plugged into my Reason Bambino and played entirely in the Bambino’s Normal Channel. I love the natural presence of the Bambino – it was if it was made for a Strat!

I also recorded the entire song at bedroom level using my Aracom PRX150-Pro attenuator. I just love the purity of my tone at any volume level!

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Progress Report: I Now Have Goldie!

Posted in GAS, gear, gear announcements, goldie, guitar, guitarists, Guitars, Music, musicians, new gear, Saint Guitar Company, saint guitars messenger, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on August 12, 2009| 4 Comments »

It is so hard to believe, but I finally have “Goldie.” I met Adam Hernandez this evening to pick up the guitar, and she is absolutely gorgeous in both looks and sound! I’m still kind of pinching myself because I can’t believe I finally have her. There is absolutely NOTHING like having a guitar that is custom made to your specifications.

Below are just a few pictures that I wanted to share for now. I will take more pictures of her in the morning. I need to play her a bit more before going to bed. 🙂

To see the full pictorial, check out my page dedicated to Goldie!

Sound Clip

I quickly recorded a sound clip of how Goldie sounds clean. In the “rhythm” part, I have both humbuckers going. It has a sweet, chimey, and big tone. The first part of the solo features the bridge pickup in single-coil mode. The second part to the end features the bridge pick in full humbucker configuration. The tones I’m able to produce with this guitar are just amazing!

This guitar has exceeded ALL my expectations, and her sound is so unique. With the coil-tapped humbuckers, I can get a gorgeous, chimey, Strat-like tone to incredibly beefy breakup! The neck is absolutely perfect. It is a perfect “C” at the nut, then tapers out to a flatter “C” at the joint. In fact, with Goldie, Adam discovered a new way to taper the neck that he will be using in future builds!

Goldie was an experiment with wood combinations. What I wanted to achieve with her was a bright toned guitar that had the ability to grow some big, hairy balls, yet at high gain, would retain its clarity. With its solid walnut back, maple top, rock maple neck, and ebony fretboard, Adam achieved exactly the tone I was after. And with Adam’s proprietary and unique neck joint, this guitar sustains for days! I’m absolutely in love with this guitar!!!

For more information about Saint Guitars, visit the Saint Guitar Company web site!

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Progress Report: My Saint Guitars Goldtop Messenger

Posted in custom guitars, GAS, gear, goldie, guitar, guitar gear, guitarists, Guitars, Music, musicians, new gear, Saint Guitar Company, saint guitars messenger, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on July 31, 2009| 3 Comments »

Well, Goldie is in her final stages, the clear coat is cured, and Adam is ready to install the pickups. This is amazing! Here are the latest pics:

I just love the open pore finish of the walnut back!!!

Click here to see the whole pictorial story

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Progress Report: My Saint Guitar Goldtop Messenger

Posted in announcements, GAS, gear, gear announcements, goldie, guitar, guitar gear, guitarists, Guitars, Music, musicians, new gear, Saint Guitar Company, saint guitars messenger, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on July 18, 2009| 2 Comments »

Goldie’s ready for her clear coat! OMG! I just can’t believe it! We are so close now! Had a bit of a setback because Adam, in addition to being a luthier is also a professional forest firefighter. What a guy! Anyway, enjoy the pics!

To see all the progress pictures, see my “Goldie” dedication page.

For more information about Saint Guitar Company, see their site! FYI, Adam’s come up with a Vintage series. I believe this is going to be a semi-hollowbody, with real classic styling.

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Progress Report: My Saint Guitar Goldtop Messenger “Goldie”

Posted in gear, goldie, guitar, guitar gear, guitarists, Guitars, Music, musicians, new gear, Saint Guitar Company, saint guitars messenger, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on July 9, 2009| 5 Comments »

Sorry, no pics today folks… But I did speak with Adam this afternoon, and he said the guitar is ready to go into color coating. I kind of jumped the gun last time I wrote an entry on this… I thought it was going in for finishing! Actually it was going in for its base coat. When Adam got it back, he had to block sand it down. It took awhile because he had a family emergency that he had to take care of the last couple of weeks. But the guitar’s close to being done now – real close. The color coating will go on, cure for a bit, then the first coat of gloss will be applied to the top, block sanded down, then the final thin coat of gloss will be applied. Hopefully I’ll have the guitar in a couple of weeks! I’m so jazzed!!!

In case you’ve missed the previous pics, either click on the “Goldie” tab above, or just click here.

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Progress Report: Goldie gets her body

Posted in GAS, gear, guitar, guitar gear, guitarists, Guitars, Saint Guitar Company, saint guitars messenger, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 30, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Just got these pics in. Goldie is really starting to take shape now. Adam took a couple of weeks for the glue to cure between the mohagany and maple top and the ebony fretboard and maple neck, which explains the temporary hiatus of pictures on the build progress. I am SO amazed about how it’s looking!

I really love the first shot where you can see how the body was cut from the mahogany and maple billets. I’m so stoked about this!

For more information on Saint Guitars, check out the web site!

Note that I am not affiliated with Saint Guitar Compay, but I have gotten to know both Adam and Jon (who runs their ops), and they’re a great couple of guys who are totally passionate about what they do. Be sure to drop them a line!

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The Making of a Guitar: Goldie Gets Her Neck

Posted in custom guitars, GAS, gear, guitar, guitarists, Guitars, inspiration, Music, musicians, new gear, Saint Guitar Company, saint guitars messenger, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 12, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Wow! Goldie’s, my Saint Guitars Goldtop Messenger is really starting to take shape. In this next set of photos, Adam has cut and shaped the general profile for the Goldtop’s neck, and the neck is ready for final shaping. As the pictures progress, the neck curve is really becoming evident. As far as the neck profile is concerned, the radius at the nut is 12″. Adam typically uses a wide profile, but as my fingers are kind of short, playing up high on the neck can be difficult. So to compensate, Adam will gradually tapered the neck curve to be a flatter C near the body than at the nut. By the way, the wood here is rock maple.

Every time I see pictures of the progress of this guitar, I start to salivate in anticipation.

For more information on Saint Guitars, go to the Saint Guitar Company web site!

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The Making of a Guitar: My Saint Guitars Goldtop Messenger

Posted in custom guitars, gear, guitar, guitar gear, guitarists, Guitars, Music, musicians, new gear, Saint Guitar Company, saint guitars messenger, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 4, 2009| Leave a Comment »

It’s hard to imagine that I’m actually having a guitar custom made for me from Saint Guitar Company, but it’s happening. This post will be a “sticky” post so you can follow the progress of the guitar with me. By the way, with this guitar, I’ve picked a fairly unconventional combination of woods: Walnut back, maple top, rock maple neck and ebony fretboard. Adam Hernandez and I are hoping the result will be a brightly voiced guitar that will have the incredible sustain Saint Guitars are known for.

Progress Report

May 4, 2009 – With the first set of pictures, the billets have been selected and cut, and the neck is being shaped. Forgot to mention that the headstock plate is koa. I know that I chose a bunch of woods, but I chose each wood to achieve a specific tone profile that I’m hoping the woods will produce, and this was done with literally a couple of hours of discussion with Adam. Working with Adam is just so easy. The cool thing is that he’s so open to exploring different things at this point in his luthier career, so it has been really fun discussing the building of the guitar with him.

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