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Thread: The Ever-Expanding Gear Thread

  1. #126
    Member eporter66's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by nosebone View Post
    Just scored a 2016 historic Les Paul from Reverb.com

    I'll post pics when it arrives!
    Congrats!!!! Hope you love it.

    Picked up my first Les Paul this summer, 85 Standard. A lot of people don't like "Norlin-era", but this one plays and sounds great to me, and was well cared for by the previous owner.

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  2. #127
    Member Yodelgoat's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gizmotron View Post
    Very cool. I didn't realize you drummed also, Yodel.
    I am still very in love with my acoustic kit but between my synths and my Roland Handsonic 15 I have access to great electronic drum sounds. I also have two Roland mesh pads to interface with the Handsonic so i can do trigger things quite realistically.
    But I'd love to hear/play a modern set like yours to gauge the improvements in sound and in the triggering tech.

    So you perform on vocals and drums at least...don't you also play bass and/or guitar and keys?
    I do pretty much everything - mostly because no one can stand to play with me.... But In High School I did a bit of everything, and got pretty good at everything - except playing lead guitars. I was always surrounded by lots of guitarists and no one wanted to play anything else. Ithink I am probably almost as good at drums now as I was in high school. But When I became a pro musician I played bass and sang. So I kind of dropped the drums. I played for almost 20 years with an incredible drummer named Jeff Wade (Metal Church, Presto Ballet) and he always did the drumming for me. No need to practice. When I moved to Texas, I couldn't get him to play any more, so I bought an acoustic kit and had to start over. Most of the drummers here in FT Worth are blues or country drummers and really dont "get" prog, with strange time sigs and odd tempo changes. So in a few years I was embarrassing myself on a huge acoustic kit that I couldn't get decent sounds out of in my studio. So I went with V-drums. I put two together (TD3 and TD11) and was able to build a pretty decent sized Ekit to replace the Acoustic. I still miss the Cymbals - because acoustic cymbals are so much more expressive than the Vdrums, but overall it was an improvement. I can play my own parts now and I enjoy the practicing. I have always played guitar to write music, and so I've been a decent "rhythm" guitarist. I've only recently picked up a Taylor T5 and a strat. I have always played on crap guitars, but I can finally afford to own some decent ones.

    If you're ever in the area, I'd love to let you try out the kit. Its Double Kick, 4 crash, 3 splash, 2 pangs, ride, 6 toms, HH and two Percussion pad that I can assign to anything... Its a pretty big kit but is nice and compact. Lots of stuff to hit, easy for a squat little troll like myself to get around. A Neil Peart type drummer could play just about every Rush song on it. I'm hoping to get a better improved sound out of the TD12. The TD3 is very limited. You cant tune your toms or cymbals, you basically have a volume control and some sensitivity and thats it. The TD12 I can change the mic placement and shell types. I expect I'll get the Killer snare sound I have been trying to get for years that has always evaded me. (basically, its a Gavin Harrison/Bill Bruford-ish sound). I'm also looking to add 2 more high toms to the kit

    Anyway, My dream was to get the TD-30 sound module, but this is way more affordable, and will get me mostly there. having two very decent sound modules to work with will be a big improvement to my overall kit sound. As usual, my skills are the weakest link in the chain. Hopefully, someday I'll get some music completed and I will be happy enough with it to share it.

  3. #128
    Member Gizmotron's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Yodelgoat View Post
    I do pretty much everything - mostly because no one can stand to play with me.... But In High School I did a bit of everything, and got pretty good at everything - except playing lead guitars. I was always surrounded by lots of guitarists and no one wanted to play anything else. Ithink I am probably almost as good at drums now as I was in high school. But When I became a pro musician I played bass and sang. So I kind of dropped the drums. I played for almost 20 years with an incredible drummer named Jeff Wade (Metal Church, Presto Ballet) and he always did the drumming for me. No need to practice. When I moved to Texas, I couldn't get him to play any more, so I bought an acoustic kit and had to start over. Most of the drummers here in FT Worth are blues or country drummers and really dont "get" prog, with strange time sigs and odd tempo changes. So in a few years I was embarrassing myself on a huge acoustic kit that I couldn't get decent sounds out of in my studio. So I went with V-drums. I put two together (TD3 and TD11) and was able to build a pretty decent sized Ekit to replace the Acoustic. I still miss the Cymbals - because acoustic cymbals are so much more expressive than the Vdrums, but overall it was an improvement. I can play my own parts now and I enjoy the practicing. I have always played guitar to write music, and so I've been a decent "rhythm" guitarist. I've only recently picked up a Taylor T5 and a strat. I have always played on crap guitars, but I can finally afford to own some decent ones.

    If you're ever in the area, I'd love to let you try out the kit. Its Double Kick, 4 crash, 3 splash, 2 pangs, ride, 6 toms, HH and two Percussion pad that I can assign to anything... Its a pretty big kit but is nice and compact. Lots of stuff to hit, easy for a squat little troll like myself to get around. A Neil Peart type drummer could play just about every Rush song on it. I'm hoping to get a better improved sound out of the TD12. The TD3 is very limited. You cant tune your toms or cymbals, you basically have a volume control and some sensitivity and thats it. The TD12 I can change the mic placement and shell types. I expect I'll get the Killer snare sound I have been trying to get for years that has always evaded me. (basically, its a Gavin Harrison/Bill Bruford-ish sound). I'm also looking to add 2 more high toms to the kit

    Anyway, My dream was to get the TD-30 sound module, but this is way more affordable, and will get me mostly there. having two very decent sound modules to work with will be a big improvement to my overall kit sound. As usual, my skills are the weakest link in the chain. Hopefully, someday I'll get some music completed and I will be happy enough with it to share it.
    Thanks for all the info!
    I very much understand all of your points. While I love my acoustic kit, it IS hard to capture that on tape in a less-than-perfect room. Electronic kits solve that and also offer very quiet practice conditions that don't scare the neighbors.

    But of course, in an electronic kit, the cymbals are probably the hardest to accurately reproduce. Sure, you can get basics: gentle ride sounds, bells, and crashes. But in the past many of the subtle or unusual sounds that can come from a real cymbal were not easily reproduced. I bet the new modules offer many more cymbal sounds. That would be where my focus would be on a kit like yours (I have a decent collection of cymbals because I just love the sound of bronze).

    I am very impressed with being able to alter shells and mics on the newer modules. That is very cool. And of course, zeroing in on just the right snare sound is key. Sometimes, it is the sheer amount of sounds and options that make an electronic kit a challenge. Just working through all of the sounds and remembering the differences can be hard. But I'd rather have too much than too little!

    One of these days I'd love to do a Big Bend trip...if so, I'll give you a nudge and bring some maple sticks!

    In the meantime, good on ya for keeping up on so many instruments. I too try to do that but it is really hard to stay good at anything when being a jack-of-all-trades. The satisfaction of having the various instruments is really the pay off. When I kick it somebody is going to get a big collection of gear!

  4. #129
    Member Yodelgoat's Avatar
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    Oh yeah. My kids are always asking me "What's this worth?"

  5. #130
    Member Gizmotron's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Yodelgoat View Post
    Oh yeah. My kids are always asking me "What's this worth?"
    Funny!

    The joke most guys say is that "I hope my widow doesn't sell my gear for what I TOLD her I spent on it (instead of the actual costs)"

    But seriously, one of my most precious instruments is my late father's 1920's Roth violin. It isn't terribly valuable in the traditional sense but it means the world to me.
    Your kids will feel the same about your gear.

  6. #131
    Cookie Monster Guitarist Onomatopoeic's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Yodelgoat View Post
    I am looking for a good Rockabilly guitar - any suggestions? Gretch perhaps? What about those Tele's? Love the one shown above!

    If you mean "affordable" rockabilly guitar, then it will be something from the Gretsch Electromatic model lineup. Otherwise, a Gretsch will cost $2K or $3K, instead of $300 ~ $900...

    http://www.sweetwater.com/store/sear...ic&sb=low2high

    http://www.musiciansfriend.com/searc...rrencyCode=USD



    Epiphone has affordable competition with the Swingster model...

    http://www.musiciansfriend.com/searc...&Ntt=swingster

    http://www.sweetwater.com/store/sear...er&sb=low2high



    The common theme for the classic rockabilly sound is a hollowbody guitar loaded with Filtertron humbuckers -- the sound of Duane Eddy and Brian Setzer (Stray Cats).

    The secondary choices for rockabilly pickups are the Hi-Lo-Tron or DynaSonic single coil pickups, if you prefer more o a treble-y cutting single coil sound.









  7. #132
    Member Gizmotron's Avatar
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    Great info there, Ono. Thanks!

  8. #133
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    Well, I bought a Tiny Terror and matching cab, and took it up to my local jam night this Sunday evening. Have to say I was enormously impressed - great tone, and surprisingly full sound given its diminutive stature. No, it's not a full-one 4x12 half stack, but then that's the last thing I need in China. Loud enough to keep up with drums/percussion, too, with a bit to spare. Very pleased!!

  9. #134
    Member Yodelgoat's Avatar
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    THanks for the rundown on Rockabilly Guitars... I was a fan of Joe Ely for a while, but I lost all his CD's, but I thought he played a Tele. Is that a bad Rockabilly guitar?

    A hollowbody Tele perhaps?

  10. #135
    Member Yodelgoat's Avatar
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    I just got my Roland TD-12 Drum unit today! - Amazing!!! compared with the TD8 there is no comparison. I can tune every drum sound to my hearts content. I have to take some time off to get this bad boy tuned up. - YEAH!

  11. #136
    Quote Originally Posted by Yodelgoat View Post
    THanks for the rundown on Rockabilly Guitars... I was a fan of Joe Ely for a while, but I lost all his CD's, but I thought he played a Tele. Is that a bad Rockabilly guitar?

    A hollowbody Tele perhaps?
    YG,
    I don't think you can go wrong with an American-made Fender Telecaster hollow-body.

  12. #137
    Member Plasmatopia's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Yodelgoat View Post
    I just got my Roland TD-12 Drum unit today! - Amazing!!! compared with the TD8 there is no comparison. I can tune every drum sound to my hearts content. I have to take some time off to get this bad boy tuned up. - YEAH!
    Not sure how the sounds compare, but the drummer in the band I did a couple of gigs with this summer had a TD-30 which sounded amazing. He had no idea how to use it and a couple of times inadvertently altered the sound on one of the pads. He didn't have the manual so we had to try to figure it out on our own and I was amazed at how intuitive it was. I never felt like we had to get really deep into a bunch of menus.
    <sig out of order>

  13. #138
    Member Gizmotron's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Plasmatopia View Post
    Not sure how the sounds compare, but the drummer in the band I did a couple of gigs with this summer had a TD-30 which sounded amazing. He had no idea how to use it and a couple of times inadvertently altered the sound on one of the pads. He didn't have the manual so we had to try to figure it out on our own and I was amazed at how intuitive it was. I never felt like we had to get really deep into a bunch of menus.
    Very good to hear that they have improved the interface. When I tried helping my friend with his older Roland kit back around 2000 I found the interface awkward (but not as bad as their digital recorders...my goodness they were difficult beasts).

  14. #139
    Member Yodelgoat's Avatar
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    I find the new Roland Interface completely intuitive. Of course, I have had to deal with other interfaces before, and this is just as easy as pie, comparatively speaking. Since I am running one drum module through another in order to get a really big kit, the easy interface is important. With my old setup I had to be very careful, because the limitations of the TD8, limited my ability to get things tuned just right. It didnt have any effects, like room settings, or reverb, so I would have this wet sound on some toms, but others were dry. I was able to minimize the difference, but it meant a sacrifice of overall sound on the kit.

  15. #140
    Member Gizmotron's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Yodelgoat View Post
    I find the new Roland Interface completely intuitive. Of course, I have had to deal with other interfaces before, and this is just as easy as pie, comparatively speaking. Since I am running one drum module through another in order to get a really big kit, the easy interface is important. With my old setup I had to be very careful, because the limitations of the TD8, limited my ability to get things tuned just right. It didnt have any effects, like room settings, or reverb, so I would have this wet sound on some toms, but others were dry. I was able to minimize the difference, but it meant a sacrifice of overall sound on the kit.
    You have some real fun ahead of you, Yodel!

  16. #141
    Moderator Sean's Avatar
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    amo.jpg

    Anyone tried one of these?

    I picked one up a few weeks ago and like it so far. My Twin has been a bit of a lemon and seems to act up as much as not. It goes through tubes too quick, basically. It has issues.

    I've used a Fender 2x12 modeling amp set to Twin on stage the past year. I picked it up as a practice amp but it turned out to be a great backup. Handy amp but lately I have been playing gigs with other guitarists with tube amps and side by side on stage it's clear how blase the one I have been using was.

    So I got this and it reminds me of my Twin, but a little less heavy. Not by much. The gold tweed is a bit retro looking for my tastes (I prefer that black and silver look) but that's a minor gripe....

  17. #142
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sean View Post
    amo.jpg

    Anyone tried one of these?

    I picked one up a few weeks ago and like it so far. My Twin has been a bit of a lemon and seems to act up as much as not. It goes through tubes too quick, basically. It has issues.

    I've used a Fender 2x12 modeling amp set to Twin on stage the past year. I picked it up as a practice amp but it turned out to be a great backup. Handy amp but lately I have been playing gigs with other guitarists with tube amps and side by side on stage it's clear how blase the one I have been using was.

    So I got this and it reminds me of my Twin, but a little less heavy. Not by much. The gold tweed is a bit retro looking for my tastes (I prefer that black and silver look) but that's a minor gripe....
    Not tried the Blues Deluxe, but I've gigged with a number of borrowed Hot Rod Deluxes over the years, which I assume are very similar. Summary of my opinion: very loud, great clean channel, awful, nasty-sounding crunch channel, and passable hi-gain sound. And the fact that there's no facility to turn the reverb off via footswitch is a real pain in the arse. They take pedals very well, though, which is definitely the best way to get a driven rhythm sound with this amp. I thought about buying one about 13-14 years ago when I was looking for an amp that would sound good, but be easily portable for Vietgrove gigs. In the end, though, I plumped for a Marshall DSL401, as, with the exception of the clean sound (and this was marginal) it was a better-sounding amp in every way, and better specified, too.

  18. #143
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    My Twin has been a bit of a lemon and seems to act up as much as not. It goes through tubes too quick, basically. It has issues.
    This may be a very unpopular opinion, but I absolutely HATE Fender Twins. This might be because I've played through too many that were massively-abused, rehearsal room horrors, but even with well-looked after examples, I've always found their sound to be headache-inducingly toppy, even with the treble wound back. And they're just too damn clean!!

  19. #144
    Member Plasmatopia's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sean View Post
    amo.jpg

    Anyone tried one of these?

    I picked one up a few weeks ago and like it so far. My Twin has been a bit of a lemon and seems to act up as much as not. It goes through tubes too quick, basically. It has issues.

    I've used a Fender 2x12 modeling amp set to Twin on stage the past year. I picked it up as a practice amp but it turned out to be a great backup. Handy amp but lately I have been playing gigs with other guitarists with tube amps and side by side on stage it's clear how blase the one I have been using was.

    So I got this and it reminds me of my Twin, but a little less heavy. Not by much. The gold tweed is a bit retro looking for my tastes (I prefer that black and silver look) but that's a minor gripe....
    I used to have the Blues DeVille which was sort of the big brother to the Deluxe. Actually, now that I think of it, I had two at one point. The one I had the longest was the 4x10 version and later bought a 2x12 version from a friend of mine. I believe my plan was to run them in stereo, but I guess that was a much younger me with a lot less back problems, lol. I did a bunch of gigs with the 4x10 version and I can't say I was ever really happy with the sound. Yes, it was very clean, but another buddy of mine with the Blue Deluxe got a much better sound. That was partly due to pedals he used but also because he could turn it up further and, knowing him, he probably played around with different tubes. I did a little of that later on but still was never satisfied. I never changed the power amp tubes though and I think that's where I went wrong.

    I remember now why I bought the second DeVille - it was due to the first one dying mid-gig on more than one occasion. I never quite got my hands on the right pedals to use with it either and wasn't happy with the sound which was always too cold and somehow dull. I just didn't have the money to throw at it then.

    I remember trying the Hot Rod series in a store when they came out and I had the same reaction as Mark...horrible, horrible god-awful sound.

    Come to think of it I do know someone locally that uses a Blues DeVille (with a Telecaster) and it sounds truly amazing. It turns out he had a ton of work done on it to tweak it into submission.

    If I was going to get a Fender amp I'd definitely consider a Deluxe though. They seem like the right size for just about any gig. But I'd plan on doing something with tubes or mods.
    <sig out of order>

  20. #145
    Moderator Sean's Avatar
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    I just use it for the clean tone and use pedals for everything. I haven't even tried to hear it's natural distortion because I know it's gonna be lame.

  21. #146
    Member Gizmotron's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sean View Post
    amo.jpg

    Anyone tried one of these?

    I picked one up a few weeks ago and like it so far. My Twin has been a bit of a lemon and seems to act up as much as not. It goes through tubes too quick, basically. It has issues.

    I've used a Fender 2x12 modeling amp set to Twin on stage the past year. I picked it up as a practice amp but it turned out to be a great backup. Handy amp but lately I have been playing gigs with other guitarists with tube amps and side by side on stage it's clear how blase the one I have been using was.

    So I got this and it reminds me of my Twin, but a little less heavy. Not by much. The gold tweed is a bit retro looking for my tastes (I prefer that black and silver look) but that's a minor gripe....
    Sorry, no experience.
    My Fender amp experience is limited to my Fender Rumble 500 combo (bass amp) which I like very much. For geetar, I am a Hughes & Kettner man. Love that sound and the blue glow!

  22. #147
    Man of repute progmatist's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by kid_runningfox View Post
    This may be a very unpopular opinion, but I absolutely HATE Fender Twins. This might be because I've played through too many that were massively-abused, rehearsal room horrors, but even with well-looked after examples, I've always found their sound to be headache-inducingly toppy, even with the treble wound back. And they're just too damn clean!!
    If I'm not mistaken, the Fender Twin is an open back amp. The low end coming from the back cancels out the same from the front. That's why they sound so trebly.
    "Well my son, life is like a beanstalk, isn't it?"--Dalai Lama

  23. #148
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    Quote Originally Posted by progmatist View Post
    If I'm not mistaken, the Fender Twin is an open back amp. The low end coming from the back cancels out the same from the front. That's why they sound so trebly.
    I think there's more to it than that. I've played through open-back combos for most of my gigging career, and yet none of those have been anywhere near as toppy as the piercing shriek of the average Fender Twin. Indeed, the Laney VC50 I have now (which has been retro-fitted with a Celestion GT65 and GT75 in place of the original HH speakers) is actually a very dark-sounding amplifier. True, it doesn't have the out and out bass thump of a closed-back 4 x 12, but it's not a shrinking violet in the low-end department, either. To me, it seems to be the speakers that Fender fit Twins with - especially the silver-faced ones from the 70s, which are the ones that I've most commonly encountered. Not sure if they're Jensens, Electrovoice or JBLs, but whatever they are they're truly nasty.

  24. #149
    Quote Originally Posted by nosebone View Post
    When I get it I'll post some pics.

    I've played many historic's, and think 2016 is their best year so far. YMMMV
    Has the LP arrived yet ???

  25. #150
    Member Gizmotron's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by kid_runningfox View Post
    I think there's more to it than that. I've played through open-back combos for most of my gigging career, and yet none of those have been anywhere near as toppy as the piercing shriek of the average Fender Twin. Indeed, the Laney VC50 I have now (which has been retro-fitted with a Celestion GT65 and GT75 in place of the original HH speakers) is actually a very dark-sounding amplifier. True, it doesn't have the out and out bass thump of a closed-back 4 x 12, but it's not a shrinking violet in the low-end department, either. To me, it seems to be the speakers that Fender fit Twins with - especially the silver-faced ones from the 70s, which are the ones that I've most commonly encountered. Not sure if they're Jensens, Electrovoice or JBLs, but whatever they are they're truly nasty.
    "Piercing shriek."
    Yowsers. Sounds terrible.

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