The Ever-Expanding Gear Thread

[kid_runningfox]

Greetings all, since my departure from these climes a couple of years ago, I've made a few alterations in my guitar set-up. Nothing major, but it is interesting to note how these things continuously evolve and change. Sadly, with my now being in China, much of this kit is now either at my mother's or in storage in Sheffield. Really looking forward to the day I can get it all back. Be interesting to learn what everybody else is rocking these days. Anyway, here's my inventory at the moment:

Guitars:
Ibanez Prestige S1625TKS
Ibanez RS1010SL Steve Lukather Signature
Much-modded Ibanez RS530
Much-modded 'Fender' Stratocaster
Bitsa Thinline Telecaster
Colin Kendall 6-string acoustic
Faith Saturn II 12-string acoustic

Basses:
Guild Pilot 6-string fretted
Yamaha RBX270F 4-string fretless

Amps:
Laney VC50 (fitted with Celestion GT speakers in place of the useless HH originals and running EL34B power tubes)
Ashdown Blue 130 bass combo

Effects:
Alesis Quadraverb GT Multi-FX
Blackstar HT-Metal Tube Overdrive/Distortion pedal
Joyo 6-band Graphic EQ (cheap, surprisingly good and true bypass, too!)
Morley Volume
CMI Wah
Behringer Midiboard (forget the model number)

Here in China I'm mostly playing a cheap, locally made 6-string electro-acoustic by a company called Dove. Whilst it's not exactly on the same level as my Colin Kendall, it's actually perfectly playable, stays in tune (especially after I put a set of Elixir 11-52s on it), and sounds pretty good, both electrically and acoustically. As I was only meant to be here for a year it does the job. However, now that I'm going to be here for longer, I'm in the process of importing a Charvel Strat-style So-Cal electric through a friend of a friend who runs an instrument store here. one the whole, unless you play the piano or the violin, instrument availability in China is still a serious problem. Even though Shanghai is on our doorstep, an inspection of the main musical instrument district there quickly revealed that rock instruments especially are not only considerably more expensive and scarce than in the West, but even when available they're often in poor or neglected condition. You can imagine my bafflement when, on entering one of the largest instrumental retailers in China, I discovered that most of their high-end US Fenders had been put on display with no strings fitted! Lord alone knows how customers were expected to be able to try an instrument before parting with a not-inconsiderable sum of money. Anyway, what gives gear-wise out there in PE Land right now?

[No Pride]

unless you play the piano or the violin, instrument availability in China is still a serious problem. Even though Shanghai is on our doorstep, an inspection of the main musical instrument district there quickly revealed that rock instruments especially are not only considerably more expensive and scarce than in the West, but even when available they're often in poor or neglected condition.

Very weird, especially considering how much of today's American gear is made in China. Apparently they make this stuff for everybody but themselves.

My musical equipment is much less interesting than it once was. I never thought I'd see this day, but I rarely have to bring an amplifier to a gig anymore. Out of the two bands I work with the most, one of them always tours out of state or country and they always rent me an amp (the Mesa/Boogie Triple Rectifier half stack is what's on my rider; not my favorite amp in the world, just my favorite out of what's commonly available from backline rental companies). I fly with my Suhr guitar (basically a sing-sing-hum Strat) and my Line 6 M13 (a "virtual" pedalboard). In the other band, the leader decided he doesn't want amps on stage, so I bring my Line 6 Pod HD500, which goes direct. And I have a once a month jazz gig where I bring my Epiphone Sheraton (an ES-335 type guitar) and plug straight into the P.A.; no effects necessary. I still have about a half dozen amps; they're all collecting dust in my storage space. Weird, huh?! Oh well; I used to think my demise would come from getting a heart attack while dragging an amplifier out of my car's trunk while in my 60s (and I'm 61 now); at least that's not so likely anymore!

[progeezer]

I was just a frontman in cover bands. This exchange is way above my pay grade, gents!;)

[Rarebird]

On my birthday a Waldorf Blofeld was added to my collection of instruments, thanks to my dad.

[Plasmatopia]

That's a lot of guitars, Mark.

The last few years (until sometime around last September) I've been playing mostly bass. So my bass rig is:

Basses:

Fender Precision Highway One
Fender Precision - cheap-o MIM...and now Frankensteined with a Warmoth neck, snazzy pickguard, and upgraded silver knurled knobs (all of which cost more than the bass did originally). I might upgrade the pickup one of these days when I want to throw more money down a rathole.

Amp:

Ampeg B-2RE head (solid state)
Ampeg 1x15 cabinet
Mesa 2x10 cabinet

Effects:

Tech 21 SansAmp Programmable Bass Driver DI
Boss LMB-3 Bass Limiter/Enhancer Pedal

Mostly I don't bother with the effects, but the Sansamp helps as a DI box if I'm playing through both my rig and the PA. Which I don't do anymore since switching to guitar last September.

Guitars:

Fender American Standard Strat - just bought this from the lead guitarist in my band. Modded with some sort of Seymour Duncan humbucker in the bridge position, tone pot can be pulled out for single coil.
Fender MIM Strat - cheap-o Frankensteined thing I've had for a long time. All pickups are now stacked humbuckers of various brands.
Guild S-300-AD - more of a Gibson-y deal. Has two different Dimarzio humbucker pickups in it, not sure which ones. Might be PAF and Super Distortion. I bought this back in '83. It has a Tune-o-matic style bridge which replaced the original...and they did an absolute hack job. Intonation could not be properly set. I fixed that and it's a much better guitar now, but I don't use it with the band.

Amps:

Marshall Valvestate 65R - makes a decent practice amp and stays at home, although I did actually play a couple gigs with it over the years when I had nothing else!
Mesa Boogie Mini Rectifier - my main amp these days. I use it with a Marshall 4x10 cabinet. Nice light setup!
Mesa Boogie Royal Atlantic - awesome amp but way too heavy - just sold it.

Effects:

Ibanez Weeping Demon wah
Boss TU-3 Tuner
Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor
Boss GE-7 Equalizer (in the effects loop as a boost)
Electro-Harmonix Soul Preacher compressor/sustainer
Danelectro Cool Cat Chorus
Danelectro Daddy-O Overdrive

I bought a Pedal Power power supply and built my own pedal board which so far I am pleased with. Not that crazy about the Daddy-O and would love to upgrade to something better at some point. Also, I'm not sure the Chorus pedal is doing much for me. It sounds nice, but it's not a sound I need in the live setting.

A couple of alternatives might be a delay pedal, or something like the Strymon El Capistan, or maybe something like the Electro-Harmonix Pitch Fork, but I can see I might start to need more real estate for an expression pedal with that. For overdrive the Folkesson Raptor looks cool, but maybe the same sound can be had much cheaper?

[Rarebird]

Just ordered Cubase Pro 8 and a Steinberg UR12 audio-interface, which came for free with this order.

[Supersonic Scientist]

Latest GTR list:

1976 Strat (3-tone SB)
1966 Gibson ES-335
1947 Gibson ES-300
1992 Sebring (L-5 Copy)
1967 Gibson ES-125
1979 Gibson ES-1275 (white 6/12 double neck)
1995 Gibson Nighthawk
1991 Lowdon S7C Acoustic
1978 Gianinni Craviola Acoustic
1971 Rickenbacker LS-331 Light-show GTR
2011 Gibson Les Paul Traditional
2010 Epiphone Les Paul Ultra II
NO-name 6-string lap steel
200x Hewett 11-string Harp GTR
2010 Fender Telecaster (Heineken logo)

[Gizmotron]

Latest GTR list:

1976 Strat (3-tone SB)
1966 Gibson ES-335
1947 Gibson ES-300
1992 Sebring (L-5 Copy)
1967 Gibson ES-125
1979 Gibson ES-1275 (white 6/12 double neck)
1995 Gibson Nighthawk
1991 Lowdon S7C Acoustic
1978 Gianinni Craviola Acoustic
1971 Rickenbacker LS-331 Light-show GTR
2011 Gibson Les Paul Traditional
2010 Epiphone Les Paul Ultra II
NO-name 6-string lap steel
200x Hewett 11-string Harp GTR
2010 Fender Telecaster (Heineken logo)

Dang! A lightshow Rickenbacker? VERY cool!
And the Harp guitar! That must be a real treat. I have always wanted one. I will go research Hewett now.
(EDIT: What a beauty!)

[Pekka]

Bought another LAB Series amp, it's the one in the middle. L4, 200 watts and 200 euros. Still dead cheap . :)
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/4322198/IMG_0231.JPG

Oh, the list. Here comes:

Basses:

1976 Gibson Thunderbird IV
2010 custom non-reverse Thunderbird IV
1991 Rickenbacker 4003 JG
1981 Aria Pro II SB 700 de-fretted
1981 Ibanez Roadster RS900
2008 Danelectro Longhorn
1983 Squier JV Jazz Bass
2006 Tyyster Jazz Bass w/additional neck pickup
2004 Tyyster Telecaster Bass
2002 Hamer Chaparral 12-string bass w/custom built B12 -style body
2004 Waterstone TP-2 12-string bass
1980(ish) Aria Pro II SB700 modified as a 6-string bass (Bass VI style)
Frankenstein P-bass w/ '75 Fender neck and 2011 Hosco body
Frankenstein P-bass w/ Allparts Telecaster neck and '75 Fender body with two reversed P-pickups

Amps:
1977 Hiwatt DR103
1977(ish) LAB Series L2
late 70's LAB Series L4
90's Ampeg B100R combo

Cabs:
1994 Ampeg SVT 810E
90's Hartke XL115 w/EV speaker
2014 EBS CL112

Pedals include:
Hughes&Kettner Rotosphere II (great for a 12-string bass!)
Ernie Ball stereo volume/pan pedal
Digitech Hardwire stereo delay
Ibanez DCF10 Chorus/Flanger
MXR Phase 90

Synth:
Yamaha CS-5

[Gizmotron]

Sweet!

I have looking at bass amps recently. There is something seductive about a fine bass amp powering a nice cabinet...such tight, focused bass tones!

(You guitarists have it easier than we bassists!)

[Pekka]

Sweet!

I have looking at bass amps recently. There is something seductive about a fine bass amp powering a nice cabinet...such tight, focused bass tones!

(You guitarists have it easier than we bassists!)

I don't play guitar except at home and when trying ideas but still I have amps that work for guitar and bass.

[Gizmotron]

oh sorry...I forgot that you are a bassist.

[Pekka]

oh sorry...I forgot that you are a bassist.

Usually people don't...and then they start telling me all the ancient bassist jokes...:)

[Gizmotron]

Usually people don't...and then they start telling me all the ancient bassist jokes...:)

Dang! Why waste time with jokes when there is so much GEAR to discuss!
For instance, I have a first generation Fender Rumble 100 (that I bought used). It sounds fairly good down low but the upper third of the register on a 4-string seems to have a slightly unpleasant coloration of the sound...not quite a distortion, not quite a buzz...something sort of in-between. And this is at low volumes so I am not pushing the thing. I assume it just had a long, hard life before I got it. (It must be one of the early ones because there is no switch on the back that turns off the red LEDs at the bottom (or allows the lights to track the playing).

Me want new, powerful amp!

[nosebone]

I bought a Mini Vent Leslie pedal last year that really kills!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eixNobmIgcY

[trurl]

The Lab Series and HiWatt are pretty much my two dream amps. Nice rig!

[kid_runningfox]

I bought a Mini Vent Leslie pedal last year that really kills!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eixNobmIgcY I've been meaning to pick up a decent Univibe/Rotovibe-type pedal for years. The Leslie simulations on my ancient Quadraverb are actually surprisingly good (and you can vary the rotation speed via Midi expression pedal), but it can't really do that seriously gut-churning 'Bridge of Sighs' sound that I'd love to have! Might be something I pick up when I return to the UK in January...

[Pekka]

I've been meaning to pick up a decent Univibe/Rotovibe-type pedal for years. The Leslie simulations on my ancient Quadraverb are actually surprisingly good (and you can vary the rotation speed via Midi expression pedal), but it can't really do that seriously gut-churning 'Bridge of Sighs' sound that I'd love to have! Might be something I pick up when I return to the UK in January...

Just looking at those latest small-sized simulators makes me cringe at the size and weight of my Rotosphere II. Anyway, it sounds good and I also use it as a pre-amp for the 12-string bass as it somehow smoothens the edge a bit whether the break is on or off.

[trurl]

From what I can tell you can get away with a mildly less authentic Leslie sim on guitar than you seem to be able to on an actual organ... maybe it has to do with harminically complexity or maybe I'm just more tuned into the organ sound.

[Pekka]

The Lab Series and HiWatt are pretty much my two dream amps. Nice rig!

I used both in the studio a week ago. The sound clip has the non-reverse T-Bird, L4 and 15" EV cab mic'd with that microphone (Electro Voice?) seen on the low quality pic.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/4322198/Kuva0995.jpg

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/4322198/str.mp3

This has the Hiwatt and P-Bass with the same cab:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/4322198/cweal.mp3

[Gizmotron]

I picked up a Fender Rumble 500 Combo.
Most tasty!

[Dean Watson]

sold my 1980 Tube Screamer a while back, and now I want another one! I'll probably get the new mini version though. Also looking at building my first ever real pedal board, something I have never had, ever, in 45 years of guitar playing!

[Mikhael]

Mine hasn't changed much. As I get older, it gets bloody hard to find a decent job, both musically and professionally (I hit the big six-oh).

My guitars are modified (by me) to the hilt. A Hamer Chaperral with DiMarzio, Carvin, and Graphtech Ghost pickups (on a FR bridge), stereo out.
A Parker P-38 pretty much the same, except a Wilkinson vibrato instead of the locking FR.
A Godin SolidAC with a switch for going between acoustic and electric sounds (they didn't put a switch on it originally [?]).
A Yamaha built to compete with Vai's guitar by the same guy.
A Gibson S-1 with a Washburn WonderBar on it (and totally different pickups)
A FrankenStrat I just finished assembling out of spare parts lying about in my garage. I built it to try out a neck with a 1-7/8" wide nut I had.
A very nice inexpensive Seagull acoustic with both soundhole mic and piezo bridge pickup.
An Ibanez classical that plays perfectly in tune for some reason.
I have some other guitars lying about, but they're inconsequential (Goya Rangemaster, anyone?).

Amps? Pearce all the way, a G1 and a G2r. I use the G1 for just a preamp now, as most of my live work requires no cabinet; an ADA Cabinet Simulator takes care of that nicely. A 2x12" and a 4x12", both stereo with Celestions. Three wireless units, and two bulging pedalboards with a whole lot of crap on them, and two smallish racks with the amps and their associated FX crap.

Aria Fretless bass (new pickups of course), an Alesis and Korg keyboard rig, 7-piece Tama and Sabian drumkit, and a 4800 watt PA system, bunches of mics, blah blah blah...

I play in two bands, an original one kind of like a bad King's X, and a cover band that pays for this crap. Gambit was my best effort, a prog band I was in for almost a decade. Sadly, I think time, family and jobs created a wandering interest, and it collapsed. No good proggy goodness for me anymore.

[kid_runningfox]

A Godin SolidAC with a switch for going between acoustic and electric sounds (they didn't put a switch on it originally [?]).

Because I clearly don't have enough gear already, I decided to buy this. I'll be picking it up later this month when I return to the UK and taking it back to China with me:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/272083203659?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2648&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[dgtlman]

I just scored one of these! Always wanted one, but you know...

6583

[Yodelgoat]

I recently bought an Electro Harmonix B9 organ machine guitar pedal, and its limited, but you could get away with playing it live for certain parts. I'm not that sensitive a player, but some of the samples by better, more polished guitarists are quite good. I may use it some in place of MIDI keys which I use quite a bit of in my compositions. Just for creating different sounds. It has a Melotron setting and that actually is really useful and has given me some pretty unique sounding parts (unique is sometimes very very cool) It has a good Farfisa sound as well. The "Lord Purple" setting is really good, but you have to use an external leslie setting to really get a realistic sound. Whats cool about the pedal is you can bend notes while soloing and its works and that makes the organ sound really unique. A four piece band with 2 guitars could add fair keys and not have to use a keyboard, and they would probably pull off cover tunes pretty well.

[Gizmotron]

[QUOTE=dgtlman;505657]I just scored one of these! Always wanted one, but you know...

6583[/QUOTE

Wow! That looks stunning! I have not kept up with the newer units; please tell us what makes this version tick. It doesn't still use actual tapes, does it?

[dgtlman]

[QUOTE=dgtlman;505657]I just scored one of these! Always wanted one, but you know...

6583[/QUOTE

Wow! That looks stunning! I have not kept up with the newer units; please tell us what makes this version tick. It doesn't still use actual tapes, does it?


The M4000D, which I have, is all digital no tapes. Check out their website for the products they make & the specs. http://www.mellotron.com/

[Gizmotron]

Very cool stuff!
I had a roommate from 1978-80 that had an original 400D and I loved being able to play it and see those tapes move past the heads and then slither back up at the end of the note. These digital versions sure look to be better than keeping an old unit in operational shape.

On the old unit one could put the voice selector knob between two voices to get a blend of two sounds...do the new units allow something like that?

[dgtlman]

Yes you can combine two "flavors" at once... seamlessly in fact. All of the samples are from original tapes & even have some of those subtle nuances that only an analog tape can deliver. These are boutique instruments, like guitars & are very well built... handcrafted in fact, made from wood, not plastic. Although it wasn't cheap I am very happy with my purchase.

[Gizmotron]

Yes you can combine two "flavors" at once... seamlessly in fact. All of the samples are from original tapes & even have some of those subtle nuances that only an analog tape can deliver. These are boutique instruments, like guitars & are very well built... handcrafted in fact, made from wood, not plastic. Although it wasn't cheap I am very happy with my purchase.

Very cool. There was a real art in goosing the selector knob to get just the right blend. A tiny difference in the knob would make a huge difference in the blend. (Blending the violins and cellos was one of the best examples of this...with the right setting it had the cellos more prominent at the bottom end and at the top the violins stood out but they were enriched by a bit of the cello huskiness.)

I love to see someone spring for something so well-made and focused as these new machines. Good on ya!

[Dean Watson]

I used to have a mellotron. I can't remember the model now, it was soooo many years ago. The darn thing was brutal to maintain, I took it into a repair shop that specialized on them and the sign over the workbench said "Labour $20/hr if you leave me alone, $40 if you watch, $80 if you assist!" I got the message.

Now, years later, I use the GForce Mtron Pro. It's a wonderful piece of software. A lot lighter too!

[Sean]

This past year I made some changes for the better when it came to tone. I went from 9s to 11s for starters, which was an instant improvement. I also ditched my mulit-effects processor (that big, black Korg thing...) and put together a pedal board with pedals that each did one thing well, rather than the "jack of all trades" I had been using.

Here's a vid or two where I discuss the pedals and such...

That's my '82 Les Paul Standard there too.... Had it since I was 17 and it's still one of my best axes.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gDoBMeuKC0

Also, I did a vid just for the Electro Harmonix C9 "Organ Machine"


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOyl_k-3xcc

How many classic licks/riffs can you spot?

[dgtlman]

Thanx Giz! It's fun to talk gear with a fellow gearhead. If I bring up stuff like this at home it produces a thousand yard stare from the wife, as well as a slack-jaw & maybe some drool out of the corner of her mouth. Of course if I mention price then she suddenly snaps to attention & proceeds to berate me for spending "that kind of money" on something she has no idea what it is... lol.
Seriously, I am in the process of dumping a lot of gear in order to get back to basics & capturing that "vintage" sound. Building a Franken-Hammond right now

[Gizmotron]

I used to have a mellotron. I can't remember the model now, it was soooo many years ago. The darn thing was brutal to maintain, I took it into a repair shop that specialized on them and the sign over the workbench said "Labour $20/hr if you leave me alone, $40 if you watch, $80 if you assist!" I got the message.

Now, years later, I use the GForce Mtron Pro. It's a wonderful piece of software. A lot lighter too!

Yup! To understand why they were such beasts all it takes is to take the back off of one and then press a note. The wooden and metal mechanism looked liked something out of a Steampunk movie...it appeared ancient and modern all at once.

[Gizmotron]

Thanx Giz! It's fun to talk gear with a fellow gearhead. If I bring up stuff like this at home it produces a thousand yard stare from the wife, as well as a slack-jaw & maybe some drool out of the corner of her mouth. Of course if I mention price then she suddenly snaps to attention & proceeds to berate me for spending "that kind of money" on something she has no idea what it is... lol.
Seriously, I am in the process of dumping a lot of gear in order to get back to basics & capturing that "vintage" sound. Building a Franken-Hammond right now

Well, this IS the place for this kind of talk! What are you getting rid of? What are you keeping (or getting) to go "vintage"?

I have a combo of old and new stuff, especially in the keyboard/synth category. At the very retro end I have an ELKA Rhapsody 490 (well, that is if I ever get it back from my local Hammond tech...she has had it for 11 months now!) The spiritual center (cue thousand-mile stares) is my ancient Yamaha KX-88 controller. It is a heavyweight and is old but it has such a great feel (weighted, wood keys). I have a fair bit of Yamaha modules (TX-7's, 81-Z's, TX802, FB-01), some Roland modules from the 80's and 90's, Korg boards (KARMA, Triton, M-3), a Kurzweil K2500XS, Roland Super JX, Roland Handsonic, Moog Taurus 3 pedals, a few other controllers, etc. You can imagine what my wife thinks! But it is better than spending it on frivolous things like groceries and mortgage payments.

Oh, that old college roomie? He also had an ARP 2600. Sure wish I had THAT now! (But my original college roomie still has a 2600 and several extra modules!)

[Gizmotron]

This past year I made some changes for the better when it came to tone. I went from 9s to 11s for starters, which was an instant improvement. I also ditched my mulit-effects processor (that big, black Korg thing...) and put together a pedal board with pedals that each did one thing well, rather than the "jack of all trades" I had been using.

Here's a vid or two where I discuss the pedals and such...

That's my '82 Les Paul Standard there too.... Had it since I was 17 and it's still one of my best axes.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gDoBMeuKC0

Also, I did a vid just for the Electro Harmonix C9 "Organ Machine"


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOyl_k-3xcc

How many classic licks/riffs can you spot?

Cool stuff, Sean. I wondered what you fooled around with. I look forward to watching the video.

[Mikhael]

I saw an interview with Jeff Beck where he was talking about heavy strings and tone, and BB King told him, "You know, they make lighter strings than that." He said yeah, but the tone suffers. BB said something like, "Have you noticed that amps have this newfangled thing called a 'volume' knob? Turn it up!"

[Sean]

There's truth in both thoughts there and the combo of the two works for me.

[Mikhael]

Yeah, I use .009s, simply because I cut the tip of my index finger off a couple of years ago, and I couldn't stand to play anything larger anymore; it hurts. But I did discover that between the gain and tone controls of my amp, I get pretty much the same tone now. It DID take some recalibrating, though.

[Sean]

I still use 9s on a few guitars and use them when I play songs that take a lot of bending over a step or more. Most Floyd solos usually have a few and we cover some. The minute I put on the guitar with the 11s I hear and feel a difference, but I doubt the crowd does.

[Rarebird]

[QUOTE=Gizmotron;507247]


The M4000D, which I have, is all digital no tapes. Check out their website for the products they make & the specs. http://www.mellotron.com/

I would like the rackversion. If I only won a big price in the lottery. I would also buy some Moog and Roland stuff, like the Mother 32
http://www.moogmusic.com/products/semi-modular/mother-32
and the System 1m
http://www.roland.com/products/system-1m/

[Mikhael]

I still use 9s on a few guitars and use them when I play songs that take a lot of bending over a step or more. Most Floyd solos usually have a few and we cover some. The minute I put on the guitar with the 11s I hear and feel a difference, but I doubt the crowd does.

Probably not. That's one of the reasons why I no longer use a cabinet. Yes, I miss my 12"s. But the crowd actually hears a more hi-fidelity sound without the cabinets onstage, with everything pumped through the mains. So the difference between string gauges would most likely be inaudible to the masses...

[No Pride]

I still use 9s on a few guitars and use them when I play songs that take a lot of bending over a step or more. Most Floyd solos usually have a few and we cover some. The minute I put on the guitar with the 11s I hear and feel a difference, but I doubt the crowd does.

I went from .009s to .009 and a halfs to .010s on a Strat scale length guitar (which has more string tension than a Gibson scale). At first, I couldn't do major 3rd Albert King-style bends with .010s, but I pushed myself to get my fingers stronger. It was well worth the effort. You notice it the most on the E and B strings above the 12th fret.

[Plasmatopia]

I also ditched my mulit-effects processor (that big, black Korg thing...) and put together a pedal board with pedals that each did one thing well, rather than the "jack of all trades" I had been using.



I have a multi-effects unit that just confused me and caused problems, lol. (Yeah, it was probably just me.) So I made a pedal board. It worked a lot better for what I do...which is to NOT use a lot of effects. But the downside is that I still have a sort of clunky pedal board to carry around which has no case since I designed and built it myself and then, in the final analysis, I realized that I only ever step on 5 out of the 8 items on the board (the remainder being set and forget or unused altogether).

Now I'm not playing in a band so I'm thinking I'll make one monster setup using both the pedal board and the multi-effects for use in my music room.

I wish I had one of those Line 6 Helix boards to play with for a couple of weeks...I might be able to replace everything with that.

[Gizmotron]

I have a multi-effects unit that just confused me and caused problems, lol. (Yeah, it was probably just me.) So I made a pedal board. It worked a lot better for what I do...which is to NOT use a lot of effects. But the downside is that I still have a sort of clunky pedal board to carry around which has no case since I designed and built it myself and then, in the final analysis, I realized that I only ever step on 5 out of the 8 items on the board (the remainder being set and forget or unused altogether).

Now I'm not playing in a band so I'm thinking I'll make one monster setup using both the pedal board and the multi-effects for use in my music room.

I wish I had one of those Line 6 Helix boards to play with for a couple of weeks...I might be able to replace everything with that.

Yup, the newest Line 6 stuff looks impressive.

[Mikhael]

For FX I use a combination; a t.c.electronic G-Major for time-based FX (chorus, delay, etc.), because it does those REALLY well. Plus, it switches amp channels for me in response to MIDI. I use a Xotic SP compressor (LUV that thing) and a Morely wah/volume pedal. I also have a Rocktron compressor/hush inline that I use for solo volume boost (very little compression), and a Digitech IPS-33 pitch shifter that I hardly ever use.

But mainly, it's guitar->compressor->volume/wah->preamp->G-Major->power amp-> speakers (stereo). Dirt simple to operate, using a Rolls MIDI Buddy.

[Soc Prof]

Anyone excited about the new OB 6? Unfortunately, it's out of my price range at the moment. I'll probably stick with Arturia softsynths for awhile.

[Dean Watson]

Just picked up the TC Electronics Flashback X4. Large for a pedal ( ie takes up LOTS of real estate ) but I was toying on purchasing two regular flashbacks anyway, and this one does more than two, having 3 presets. Which is awesome.

[Sean]

It's AWESOME! Totally worth the space. Man cannot live on one delay setting alone!

[Gizmotron]

I just grabbed a Korg SDD-3000 delay pedal.

[eporter66]

It's AWESOME! Totally worth the space. Man cannot live on one delay setting alone!

Sean - two questions on the Flashback x4. I am looking at a couple delays, as I am not happy with my Boss DD-6. Everyone says Boss makes great delay pedals, but it just does not click with me. It's ok, and I am still playing around with different settings.

Anyway - I am going through the TC offerings,
1. Did you try the Flashback Triple, which you can play multiple delays on, can you do that with the X4?
2.The Alter Ego Vinatage delay sounds great too.
3. Have you tried out any toneprints, or tried creating your own? This seems like an amazing feature - if it works great there are so many options.

I've been checking out youtube videos of all of them, and trying to decide which one to get. Did you try a number of them before choosing the Flashback X4. I doubt I need the multiple delays, I really like using delay to thicken my tone a bit for rhythm and lead, and every once in awhile a song might call for a more prominent delay - but for the most part I love the additional ambience a delay creates for your sound.

Anyway - just interested, because I think this toneprint thing could be really fun. Also, did you try the viscous vibe before getting the MXR? Just wondered what people thought of that pedal, I need a "uni-vibe" pedal for a few songs we do, trying to decide on one.

Thanks,
Eric

[kid_runningfox]

I seem to be going back in time at the moment and buying pedals, given that my venerable and much-missed Quadraverb is presently in storage in the UK. I picked up a couple on my recent trip back home, those being a Boss CH-1 chorus and the pimped the Boss analogue delay (the Wasa Craft BD-2W). These have now come back to China with me where they will receive much use! They're both actually a salutary reminder that whilst it's always tempting to spend the big bucks on boutique pedals, the bog-standard Boss units actually sound pretty damn good, and the chorus especially is the definitive chorus sound, imho. Of course, I'm now experiencing the difficulty of NOT making everything I play sound like Andy Summers...;)

http://www.bossus.com/products/dm-2w/

http://www.bossus.com/products/ch-1/

[eporter66]

I seem to be going back in time at the moment and buying pedals, given that my venerable and much-missed Quadraverb is presently in storage in the UK. I picked up a couple on my recent trip back home, those being a Boss CH-1 chorus and the pimped the Boss analogue delay (the Wasa Craft BD-2W). These have now come back to China with me where they will receive much use! They're both actually a salutary reminder that whilst it's always tempting to spend the big bucks on boutique pedals, the bog-standard Boss units actually sound pretty damn good, and the chorus especially is the definitive chorus sound, imho. Of course, I'm now experiencing the difficulty of NOT making everything I play sound like Andy Summers...;)
http://www.bossus.com/products/dm-2w/

http://www.bossus.com/products/ch-1/


I agree, I think BOSS does a really good job with their pedals, but they always get slammed by everyone. Although, in fairness, I think BOSS usually get high compliments for the SD-1 Distortion (pretty universal from what I have read). The only BOSS product I was ever unhappy with was my DD6 Delay, and I think it may have been defective. It never seemed to have a high enough level, I felt the initial repeat when the level was on full never matched the signal level. I've had BOSS Chorus, Tuners and a Compressor (along with the Delay) and have been happy with all of them. And they are built to last - my Chorus pedal is going on 20 years old - and still going strong.

[Sean]

1. Did you try the Flashback Triple, which you can play multiple delays on, can you do that with the X4?

I didn't and I am pretty sure that feature was unique to it- layering various delays.

2.The Alter Ego Vinatage delay sounds great too.

I'm curious about that one.

3. Have you tried out any toneprints, or tried creating your own? This seems like an amazing feature - if it works great there are so many options.

No, I admit I have barely scratched the surface on this one. I am almost tempted to get two small flashbacks and get rid of it since it takes up so much real estate on my pedal board. Then I could layer two. And squeeze in one more pedal too. This thing takes up the room of three pedals.

It is great sounding! For sure!

[Dean Watson]

Honestly, how much variation can you get out of a delay pedal? I think the toneprint option is a bit hyped. I have the X4, never used the toneprints. It's a great pedal though.

[Gizmotron]

Honestly, how much variation can you get out of a delay pedal? I think the toneprint option is a bit hyped. I have the X4, never used the toneprints. It's a great pedal though.

With a decent delay unit, there are zillions of possibilities. From short, single delays to medium-length and super-long delays (with regeneration), the possible results are wide.

[Sean]

I have not tried the Toneprints.

[Mikhael]

I never cared for the Boss compressors; not enough make-up gain, squashed-sounding, weird attack... I used the old DOD Milkbox for the longest time, then I got a Xotic SP, and I REALLY like it. Quiet, powerful, small, no weird artifacts... good pedal. But for the rest of those, yeah, Boss is ALWAYS serviceable. It may or may not be the best, but it's far from the worst, they're everywhere, and they WORK.

[kid_runningfox]

With a decent delay unit, there are zillions of possibilities. From short, single delays to medium-length and super-long delays (with regeneration), the possible results are wide.

I generally have two principal criteria for delay pedals, namely "can I do a good David Gilmour/Steve Hillage with it?" I've never been a fan of slapback delays, so that's less important to me, but I generally look for a smooth, musical-sounding long delay. To be honest, I still think the original Boss digital delay pedal from the 80s takes some beating. I also had a couple of Vesta Fire units back in the day that were excellent, too. You couldn't use them with batteries though!

[Supersonic Scientist]

6893


I use this: Digitech Tonebender. ENDLESS possibilities. (sadly, discontinued)

[Progbear]

In case you didn’t see my separate thread: M-Audio Keystation 49e. Found at a thrift store for $10! Score!

[Dean Watson]

That's a deal!

[Progbear]

I was in the market for M-Audio’s 88-key controller, but I think it’s out of production. This just fell into my lap. Has full-sized keys, is light and portable and doesn’t sound like a Casio? I’m there!

[eporter66]

I was in the market for M-Audio’s 88-key controller, but I think it’s out of production. This just fell into my lap. Has full-sized keys, is light and portable and doesn’t sound like a Casio? I’m there!

Nice - you see a lot of pros using the M-Audio gear, I'm sure it will treat you well

[Plasmatopia]

I have a little Oxygen 25...probably a bit too small and I paid way more than $10, lol. But at least it doesn't take up too much real estate in my tiny music room.

[Rarebird]

I have a M-Audio Keystation Pro 88, which has a few small problems. It doesn't function anymore as an USB midi-interface. It gets its feeding from the USB-port, but that is all. besides I have to correct a few octaves, because it's a few octaves of.

[Pekka]

I didn't buy a new bass but had an old one modified and that helped quite a bit with the GAS. :) My Telecaster bass has now a bridge pickup and since the mod was inspired by Chris Squire's old white Telecaster (and I can blame also Jimmy Bain, Charlie Tumahai and some others...) I played a little Fish medley with it. It has a refreshingly different sound than a Jazz Bass even though the pickup locations are the same.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/4322198/Tele1.jpg

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/4322198/Fish%20Soup.mp3

[Gizmotron]

Speaking of basses, I just had the amazing fortune to be in the right place at the right time to nab a 2008 Ron Clement "Jon" bass. Mine is a 6-string fretless made of a solid swamp ash body, 1-piece maple neck, and bloodwood fretboard. It is lovely and the TONE is simply sublime.

He is a custom builder (basses and guitars) based in Florida that has a rep for being extremely easy to work with and his instruments are very well-priced. His instruments regularly get compared to basses that are three to five times the cost. He usually has a few basses in stock and ready to go.

I am so knocked out by my bass that i want to get the word out. here is his site.

http://www.clementbass.com/

I will take some photos of mine and try and post them here.

[dgtlman]

Here's a little Hammond diddy I am building. First mock up with an XK2 as the lower manual. I have since purchased an XLK3 lower manual & chopped the H100 frame a bit. I will post more pix as the project PROGresses.7532

[Plasmatopia]

That's pretty cool! Sort of what one of my friends who is into modifying cars might call a "sleeper" - no one really knows what's under the hood. :)

That Tele bass is really cool as well.

I spent the weekend watching YouTube clips of the Kemper Profiling amp (well, not the entire weekend). They go for about $2000. Considering I've been thinking about other fairly expensive amps, the Kemper might ultimately save me money. I hadn't realized until this weekend, but it also works pretty well for bass. So it could prove pretty useful for home recording.

[Sputnik]

I had an interesting experience yesterday. I was visiting Chicago after being at a conference last week. My wife and I were going to the ballgame at Wrigley, so we stopped by Chicago Music Exchange which is nearby. Wow, what a store. All the boutique brands that you rarely get to see, let alone play, are there for you to try out (well, no LSL, but you can't have everything. Some super nice stuff. I was particularly interested in trying the Nash line, and they had them in spades. I focused on their Teles for guitar, and tried out their Jazz basses as well, looking for an upgrade for my Mexican Fender 60s model.

Nash makes some beautiful stuff, but it is pricey. Interestingly, for the money, I didn't see such a gigantic improvement in playability on their basses compared to my Mexican J, let alone my USA made Jaco bass. Also, all the Nash necks were super fat. I like a fat neck, but some of these were just crazy, particularly on the Teles.

The best thing I played was actually the new Fender American Elite Tele. It had a great feel, was super-light, and I liked the compound neck which really helped playability. I didn't have time to plug it in and really put it through its paces, but that guitar spoke to me. I don't really need a Tele, but since when did "need" ever enter the picture? :D

Anyway, if that store was closer to me, I'd be much poorer, and have way more guitars than I do already.

Bill

[Yodelgoat]

I just picked up the Yamaha MX49 keyboard - wow! what an upgrade from my old PSR - It got destroyed because I had it plugged in during a severe thunderstorm. I have to unplug all my gear and shut everything down during these Texas amazing thunderstorms we have. Its killed a lot of my gear over the years. But I'm just blown away by the sounds from this keyboard. I havent actually sampled them all, because there are just so many. I was loking to get my VTS's hooked up to a keyboard controller, and was looking at the Akai -(cant recall the name) It had supposedly, a Killer set of VST's but I found out how difficult it is to get the software installed (VIP) - and since my studio PC has never been on the internet, I would not be able to install the software. So I went in this direction - and WOW! I am blown away by how good these sounds are - even the classic synth sounds are just killer. Now the trouble is I have to redo all my synth tracks with this new keyboard. - Chalk up another 3 years in getting a song done...

This is what sold me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3nx8LS2EuQ

[hFx]

...so now you got a decent keyboard for your Rush tribute project! :)

[Sputnik]

I just got an interesting pedal, the Mad Professor Evolution Orange Underdrive: http://tonereport.com/reviews/mad-professor-evolution-orange-underdrive

In short, it works subtractively by reducing gain on a cranked tube amp, creating a cleaner - but not squeaky clean - tone. It's supposed to be a replacement for cases of a single channel amp where the player likes to get a fairly high gain sound and uses the volume knob to back it off for cleaner sounds, without the loss of tone that results from lowering the volume. I just got it yesterday and fired it up. It definitely performs as advertised.

I run my Blackstar HT-1R with reasonably high overdrive, think of a cranked Stevie Ray Vaughn sound. I still get a lot of fundamental, but it's a good overdriven rock/blues tone. I push it with my EP Boost for solos, and add my Open Roads overdrive if I want a more saturated sound. All well and good, but there's really no good option for a cleaner sound. Backing off the volume sucks tone, and low and high end, not to mention volume. So this pedal seemed a good option.

So far I'm happy with it. It cleans up the sound and if there is a little tone loss, you can compensate with the bass/treble/mid knobs. You lose FAR less tone than adjusting the volume, and I added back just a touch of treble and bass. It basically sounds like a lower gain version of my basic tone, which is exactly what I wanted. My only concern with it is that I have the volume at full, otherwise there is too much volume loss. That may just be they way it is interacting with my amp/setup. Fortunately, at that setting, it gives me a good balance with my overdriven sound, but I have no headroom to adjust it further.

So, a pretty innovative pedal idea that really suits my needs. I sort of feel like it's made my single channel amp into a two-channel, with far less tonal difference between the two channels. And since I never use a really squeaky clean sound, it works for me.

Bill

[Yodelgoat]

...so now you got a decent keyboard for your Rush tribute project! :)

Yep! I'm going through the synth sounds, and I've found everything except the Tom Sawyer Sweep synth sound - and I may be able to adjust something already there to get it. If not, I'll set it up on my Minimoog VST and sample it. Another day of just going through patchesand I cannot be more impressed with the sounds on this synth.. I will probably NEVER need another keyboard. Whats great is its integration with the VST's on the PC - I bought a bunch and also grabbed some pretty cool freewre synths, and the Yamaha really interfaces nicely with all of them. This is enough to make me become a Keyboardist. As I play, I get the urge to start learning more and more complex keyboard parts. - Like I dont already have my hands full with Drums, Bass Guitar and woodwinds(Sax and Flute). I've always kind of been a hack at keys, but I think this will motivate me to become more keyboard centric in my songwriting. They have always kind of been an after thought and "filler" - although I do use a fair amount of keys in my music.

Oh, In addition to the Key's I'm also purchasing a headless bass - A local store had one of these "Court" fake Steinburgers that was sitting under their stairs for 15 years without strings. I bought a set of strings for it and I'm having the Luthier set it up for me - All new active pickups and anything else it needs to be at least playable. I've been brushing up on my Geddy bass parts - and I simply can't keep up with him - He's such an incredible monster on bass. But I recall that I could play quite a bit faster on the headless bass than on my Ibanez. YYZ is almost impossible for me, but I used to play it using the Headless, and along with some really light strings, I bet can at least hit the notes - most of them anyway. Tone? Well, I'm not expecting much, but we'll see. My Boss ME-60 lets me dial in tones pretty well, and I get a great Geddy-Jazz tone with my Ibanez. I may have to turn the Boss up to 11 to get anything decent out of the Court, but we'll see. I'm paying 200 for it, so expectations are low. I may post some sounds once I get it dialed in. If I spend some real money to get some good pickups, Who knows?

[hFx]

...regarding speed on a bass - I prefer playing bass with a pick - it works well in progressive, metallic rock and really no other genre. I hate go get my right hand fingers bruised - quite differently compared to playing classical guitar :D I really admire people that can get decent speed and precision with their bare hands on the bass.

[Yodelgoat]

I know a bass player who has learned to play using his "noisy bahsterd" pointer finger like Geddy, but he puts super glue on his finger to get a more percussive attack, and it kind of protects the finger from getting tore up. I would have to see it to believe it. I bet Geddy is going to have one hell of an arthritic finger when he retires (I hope thats not for a long time) I kind of go back and forth between picks and fingers. I also find a pick faster, but I prefer the tone from the finger.

[Plasmatopia]

...regarding speed on a bass - I prefer playing bass with a pick - it works well in progressive, metallic rock and really no other genre. I hate go get my right hand fingers bruised - quite differently compared to playing classical guitar :D I really admire people that can get decent speed and precision with their bare hands on the bass.

I don't do well with a pick on the bass because I learned guitar first. The string spacing is just too wide for me to pick accurately since I'm subconsciously still thinking guitar spacing. And instead of confusing myself further (I can make plenty of mistakes without the added hassle, lol) I have chosen to stick with fingers only for bass. "Speed comes with familiarity" or so my guitar teacher said once a long time ago.

[Sputnik]

I don't do well with a pick on the bass because I learned guitar first. The string spacing is just too wide for me to pick accurately since I'm subconsciously still thinking guitar spacing. And instead of confusing myself further (I can make plenty of mistakes without the added hassle, lol) I have chosen to stick with fingers only for bass. "Speed comes with familiarity" or so my guitar teacher said once a long time ago.I'm lucky I can switch pretty easily from pick to fingers on bass. The key for me is having something on which I can lock my thumb when I'm playing with my fingers. I've gravitated to the 51 style P bass over the 57 P for this reason. Also have started using Jazz basses where I can lock my thumb on either pickup (mostly the neck pickup).

In Eccentric Orbit, I always use a pick with my Tobias Growler and I always play fretless with my fingers. I use Dunlop Jazz III picks exclusively for both guitar and bass. Something about the small size, shape, and width makes them perfect for me. I picked one up by accident one time at a store over 30 years ago and was instantly hooked. I've never since used another type of pick.

Bill

[Plasmatopia]

That seems like a very small pick for bass! For guitar I seem to be equally comfortable with a Dunlop Jazz III or one of those normal-size Fender picks.

[Yodelgoat]

I absolutely love the tiny teardrop Gibson heavy bass picks - they are hard to find anymore and I think I'm down to my last 3 or 4. the smaller the pick the better for me. At least down to the size of those.

[Sputnik]

That seems like a very small pick for bass!Yeah, though I'm not sure why you'd need a big pick for bass. As long as you have enough pick to hit the string, it doesn't seem to matter much. The smaller pick is easier for me to control and allows me to play faster and with more precision, on bass or guitar. You should give it a shot. Obviously, different things work for different people, and if one prefers a bigger pick on bass, that's great. But discovering the small pick was nothing sort of a revelation for me and my playing, so it may be worth experimenting even if the common wisdom says bass would imply using a bigger pick.

Bill

[Plasmatopia]

Yeah, though I'm not sure why you'd need a big pick for bass. As long as you have enough pick to hit the string, it doesn't seem to matter much. The smaller pick is easier for me to control and allows me to play faster and with more precision, on bass or guitar. You should give it a shot. Obviously, different things work for different people, and if one prefers a bigger pick on bass, that's great. But discovering the small pick was nothing sort of a revelation for me and my playing, so it may be worth experimenting even if the common wisdom says bass would imply using a bigger pick.

Bill

I was sort of thinking a bigger pick might allow me to leave more exposed to possibly bridge the huge chasm between strings, lol. Not sure it would make much difference since, to my picking hand, the strings aren't where they ought to be. :)

[Sputnik]

I was sort of thinking a bigger pick might allow me to leave more exposed to possibly bridge the huge chasm between strings, lol. Not sure it would make much difference since, to my picking hand, the strings aren't where the ought to be. :):D

You could try a bass with narrower string spacing, like a Hofner, or some 5 string basses. I find the Hofner a bit hard to play with fingers it's so narrow. Another possibility might be to just put away the guitar for a period of time and focus only on bass with a pick. I think you'd acclimate fairly soon and not experience such a dramatic difference in feel moving back and forth with the guitar.

But really there is no specific need to play bass with a pick, unless you want that sound or feel. So sticking with fingers if that works for you is fine too. What kind of bass do you have?

Bill

[Plasmatopia]

I have two Fender P-basses. One is a Highway One series and the other is a MIM which I bought almost 20 years ago and now has a Warmoth neck I put on it a couple years ago. It's one of those things (for me) where you get used to something and it's hard to change.

For about 4 or 5 years I had a nice US Masters 5-string bass and just never got used to that 5th string. It was always flopping around when I least wanted it to and despite playing it a lot and using it on a ton of gigs I never developed any way of dampening that B string effectively. I love the look and sound of Jazz basses, but the string spacing near the nut is weird. I think I could probably get used to that though.

I really don't have a need to use a pick. At this point it just feels right to have my fingers on the strings and I can vary the dynamics quite a bit. It's not quite the same as using a pick, but I can get a very aggressive sound by really digging in to the strings.

[Sputnik]

I have two Fender P-basses. One is a Highway One series and the other is a MIM which I bought almost 20 years ago and now has a Warmoth neck I put on it a couple years ago. It's one of those things (for me) where you get used to something and it's hard to change.Those sound nice, the Highway Ones are good instruments, I like the finish they used on these.


For about 4 or 5 years I had a nice US Masters 5-string bass and just never got used to that 5th string. It was always flopping around when I least wanted it to and despite playing it a lot and using it on a ton of gigs I never developed any way of dampening that B string effectively.I'm with you, I hate the low B sting on 5-string basses. I re-strung my fretless Tobias with a high C string, which is actually super useful, and I don't have to re-learn technique with a string below my familiar low E string.


I love the look and sound of Jazz basses, but the string spacing near the nut is weird. I think I could probably get used to that though.In theory, I'm a P bass guy. But the flexibility of the J is such that I now play two of them, one fretless one fretted, on a regular basis in one band. Like you, I was always a bit dubious about the thinness of spacing near the nut, but I pretty quickly got used to that.

I've actually had a real love/hate relationship with the sound. To me, the J bass is all about the bridge pickup, but you really have to be crafty in working with the tone and your amp to get a sound out of that pickup that is not shrill, but still clear and has nice pop. Right now I'm running the bridge pickup on full with just a small touch of neck, with the tone control completely off on the fretless and just barely dialed in on the fretted. I use my Boss GT-10B using the Acoustic 360 model to dial in high mids and enough treble to have some clarity, then use the flat out speaker sim so it can go into my amp or into a board for recording. This sounds great with the fretless and OK with the fretted except when popping where I need a bit more clarity. I'm working on that.

But it has been far harder for me to get the "right" sound out of the J than the P. When I had a '57 style P, I actually used a pick a lot to get a Dave Hope-like sound. That was great! I never had any difficulty with tat bass dialing in a sound that I liked, but I didn't like playing it with my fingers as much because there was nowhere to lock my thumb. I now have the '51 style P bass, and use my fingers exclusively with that, also with tone dialed fully off and Boss unit compensating. This give me a warm, full sound with zero string noise even with nickel round strings, and I can add a touch of tone if needed. That bass is surprisingly bright, so this works quite well.

I'm totally satisfied with the fretless J sound now (with basically a "Jaco" approach to the controls). I'm still working with that fretted one to get the right balance of smooth tone and good pop. But it's a different experience from the P bass, unless you just run the neck pickup.


I really don't have a need to use a pick. At this point it just feels right to have my fingers on the strings and I can vary the dynamics quite a bit. It's not quite the same as using a pick, but I can get a very aggressive sound by really digging in to the strings.Yeah, sounds like you're good. Though those P basses with a pick can sound wonderful!

Bill

[Plasmatopia]

Yes, I really like my Highway One bass. I did get a bit screwed when I traded my US Masters bass for it since the truss rod had been stripped out where you insert the hex wrench. I finally found a 4.5mm wrench that works. And I do need to adjust the truss rod often as the neck changes quite a bit with weather conditions. But it's a great feeling neck so I'd hate to replace it. By comparison the replacement neck on my MIM P-bass is a huge slab of wood. I should have opted for the slim taper profile, although the difference seemed (on paper) like it was going to be almost unnoticeable. It's still a very nice neck and made a huge difference in the sound and is super stable in terms of being sensitive to environmental changes.

Your detailed description of trying to dial in the perfect sound is just the sort of thing I like to avoid if possible, at least in a live situation. One thing I didn't like about the US Masters bass was the separate bass/mid/treble controls. I probably should just take a deep breath and deal with that sort of thing, but I really have little patience. Maybe I use up all my patience with fiddly stuff at work, lol. The P-basses are perfect - volume and tone, plugged straight into the amp. Sometimes I've used a Sansamp Bass Driver as a DI and just adding that can drive me batty.

For recording at home I've spent a little more time and have been playing around with different signal chains where I've used the Boss LMB-3 Bass Limiter Enhancer and also experimented with a mic in front of my amp (Ampeg B2R), through an M-Audio DMP3, then through the LMB-3. I'm also just about to pull the trigger on a nice large-diaphragm tube condenser mic (I'm thinking a Rode K2) to use on guitar, bass, vocals, etc. so that will be fun to try.

I was inspired to pursue better sounds in the home studio after mic-ing up my son's drum kit and being blown away with the quality we got even with a "cheap" set of Shure drum mics.

[Mikhael]

I absolutely love the tiny teardrop Gibson heavy bass picks - they are hard to find anymore and I think I'm down to my last 3 or 4. the smaller the pick the better for me. At least down to the size of those.

You can probably get them from D'Andrea. They are the original pick maker, and most sizes/shapes of pick came from them. I use the 358 size for guitar; it's a small teardrop pick, and may be the size you're after. You can get them a lot of places, including Musician's Friend.

D'Andrea USED to make picks for just about everyone, including Fender. I used to use Gibson and Fender picks of that size, then they changed; Gibson stopped selling them, and Fender had them made cheaply overseas. The quality changed - the edges weren't as smooth, and the whatever they're now made from caused me to constantly drop them. So I ordered the D'Andrea picks, and I'm back in happyland.

[Plasmatopia]

After being conscripted back into the band I quit 6 months ago (only for 2 gigs and on bass this time) and with several upcoming steel band gigs this summer (where I also play bass) I decided to make a bass pedalboard with a couple handy bass-related pedals and also integrating the wireless unit I was previously using for guitar. In the past for bass gigs I had just relied on a little handheld tuner and would unplug the cable from the amp to tune. This will be much more convenient and the Sansamp provides a handy direct-box function if necessary.

I cut all these parts out with a waterjet using scrap materials left over from other projects I cut for people. The first two pics show the pieces just placed on top of each other and were not screwed together yet. There are two layers of 1/4" Makrolon polycarbonate in the photo. I wasn't sure if one layer would be stiff enough, but after screwing everything together with a single upper and lower piece it was fine. The white pieces are 1" thick high density polypropylene (HDPE) and are the same shape as the 3/4" aluminum ones I used on my guitar pedalboard. I'm surprised how light and strong this turned out to be. It's basically done except I need to find some soft rubber feet with adhesive backing to prevent slipping.

I thought it would be funny to get some sort of LED strip that constantly changed colors to put underneath the upper level, but it would probably get annoying. :)


http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o33/plasmaguy7/2016-06-08%2018.40.25_zpsdpqklrw4.jpg (http://s116.photobucket.com/user/plasmaguy7/media/2016-06-08%2018.40.25_zpsdpqklrw4.jpg.html)

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o33/plasmaguy7/2016-06-08%2018.40.35_zpsclbkk8ag.jpg (http://s116.photobucket.com/user/plasmaguy7/media/2016-06-08%2018.40.35_zpsclbkk8ag.jpg.html)

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o33/plasmaguy7/2016-06-21%2021.22.02_zpshp9q5isq.jpg (http://s116.photobucket.com/user/plasmaguy7/media/2016-06-21%2021.22.02_zpshp9q5isq.jpg.html)

[Yodelgoat]

Wow, now thats an interesting setup. Do you play direct, or into an Amp?

[Plasmatopia]

I use an amp on stage. With the rock band I also go direct.


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[Sean]

At first I was like "That's a really modern coffee table!" Then I realized it was your space age pedal board!

[Sputnik]

At first I was like "That's a really modern coffee table!" Then I realized it was your space age pedal board!I thought it was a TV stand! :p

[Plasmatopia]

At first I was like "That's a really modern coffee table!" Then I realized it was your space age pedal board!

It doubles as a coffee table (or TV stand) for cats.


Sent Via PE's Mobile App

[Sputnik]

It doubles as a coffee table (or TV stand) for cats.Ooooh, now my cats are jealous. :p

Actually I just spent a bit more time looking at this, and I have to say you did a fantastic job. Very economical use of space, and the board itself looks totally professional. How will you transport it? Just cover it somehow?

Bill

[Plasmatopia]

Ooooh, now my cats are jealous. :p

Actually I just spent a bit more time looking at this, and I have to say you did a fantastic job. Very economical use of space, and the board itself looks totally professional. How will you transport it? Just cover it somehow?

Bill

Thanks, Bill. I drew the whole thing in a 2D CAD program. I took measurements of each pedal and drew little boxes so I could shift 'em around and figure out where everything would fit. I also had the benefit of having made something similar for my guitar pedals so I was able to just edit the pre-existing drawing. Later I loaded the finished drawing into CAM software (a product sold by my employer which I work with quite often) which spits out the G-code for the CNC. So I credit the software with anything that looks "professional", lol. Also, I basically stole the concept from these guys:

http://www.chemistrydesignwerks.com/holeyboards.html

As far as transporting (aside from building in a handle) I haven't gone that next step to figure out a better way to protect it. I thought about getting some sort of padded bag to put it in. Mostly I just try to be careful. I just noticed that Holeyboards sells cases...I might have to snag one of those.

[Onomatopoeic]

I absolutely love the tiny teardrop Gibson heavy bass picks - they are hard to find anymore and I think I'm down to my last 3 or 4...



From your description, those are actually Gibson Jazz / Mandolin or Les Paul flatpicks. The Les Paul model pick is slightly rounder and wider than the Jazz / Mandolin pick.

You are correct, neither the Gibson Jazz nor the Les Paul picks are being produced by Gibson at this time. I'm still working on a small supply of Gibson medium and heavy jazz/mando flatpicks and a few thin and medium Les Paul picks that I've had since the late 70s. I tried buying some more, back around 2002 or so, and found they were no longer available at the time.

Since then, I started using Dunlop Jazz I, Jazz III Carbon Fiber, and Eric Johnson Signature Jazz III picks.

In any case, there is a similar and interesting plectrum, the Pickboy Mandolin Pick that I have not gotten around to sampling. It is 0.75mm and is made of celluloid. 0.75 mm is medium light, which is what I like, but probably thinner than what you need.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/Picks/46682/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=pickboy+mandolin+pick&_sop=15

[Onomatopoeic]

At first I was like "That's a really modern coffee table!" Then I realized it was your space age pedal board!



There are some pedal board builders out there, if you are willing to part with some significant cash.

Otherwise, if you are handy with a router, you can build your own with top grade plywood and use Formica for the working surfaces...



http://www.chemistrydesignwerks.com/


http://www.chemistrydesignwerks.com/images/holeyboard%20std%20326-crop-u39733.png

http://www.guitarthai.com/picpost/gtpicpost/A3143945.jpg

[Sean]

7903

Check out this used Strat I picked up a few months back. This is the guitar my 17 year old self would have drooled over. My pushing 50 self digs it quite a bit too. It was someone's fire-breathing DiMarzo laden beast, I suspect. Has a great clean tone too though which is what made me want it. The mirrored pickguard is a little dated, but it really makes the guitar, IMO. It's got two single coils and a humbucker. It's from Mexico and was just made for a year or so about 10 years back. "The Big Block Strat" they call it because of the rare, square inlays.

[Plasmatopia]

One can never have too many Strats I suppose. :)

That neck seems so weird. It's like the guitar is half Les Paul.


Sent Via PE's Mobile App

[Onomatopoeic]

Check out this used Strat I picked up a few months back.


And not too different than the Fender & Squier John 5 Telecasters that came out a few years ago -- also with a mirror pickguard.

The Squier John 5 Signature Telecaster was actually a very nice guitar and *way* less expensive than the Fender (Custom Shop) version.


http://image.rakuten.co.jp/chuya-online/cabinet/item38000/37600.jpg

[rapidfirerob]

Just discovered this thread. I still have my 85 Alembic Spoiler. I had an Eve IONA made for me in Scotland and received it early this year. I've been looking for an ash bass for some time. Beautiful instrument. Active/passive and series/parallel. Sounds kind of Jazz like. Not crazy expensive. I had a tumor in my leg over four years ago. Had surgery and radiation. Could no longer lift more than 30 pounds. Had to sell my SWR Super Redhead. Luckily for me, Class D amps and neo cabs sound great and are very light. I picked up a Genz Benz Shuttle 6.2 and 6.0 and two Gallien Krueger 1X12 cabs, 30 pounds each. Couldn't be happier, except that Fender bought and shut down Genz Benz. Jeff Genzler is back making amps and cabs. I'm sure they're great, though pricey. I have a pedal board with BOSS pedals, but playing in an Allman Brothers tribute band, it sits in the closet.
http://www.notreble.com/buzz/2014/11/06/eve-guitars-announces-iona-bass/

[No Pride]

My latest acquisition, the Line 6 Helix. I think this is the most significant piece of gear Line 6 has created in over a decade. I feel like I need to explain why I got it: A few years ago, I bought a Pod HD500 and a DT-25 amp, both Line 6 products that were designed to work together (or apart). The DT-25 is a 2 channel amp with an all tube power amp and a digital front end and you all probably know what the Pod HD500 is, another update of their old invention, the Pod. So the two items work pretty well together via something called Line 6 Link. But when the leader of the wedding/corporate party band I work with decided he didn't want amps on stage anymore (to control the volume) I had to start using the HD500 by itself, straight into the board. I've never been satisfied with how it sounds like that (to put it mildly) and I've had to grin and bear it for the last few years, at least for that band.

Enter the Helix! Though Line 6 pretty much spearheaded the digital amp and effects modeling revolution, a company called Fractal Audio upped the ante with more advanced technology, resulting in more realistic sounding digital models. A lot of Line 6 enthusiasts jumped ship, even though Fractal's flagship product, the Axe FX II was considerably more pricey. So... finally Line 6 finally got competitive and fought back with their new flagship, the Helix. I think they must've learned a thing or two from Fractal Audio, like using dual DSP chips and higher grade components. They apparently worked on the Helix for 5 or 6 years before finally releasing it. A buddy came over recently with his Axe FX II and we A/B'd both it and Helix though a powered monitor, using the same amp models and cab sims and dialing them to identical tone, volume and drive settings. The differences were so subtle that they were barely perceptible! But even my friend had to admit that Helix was way more intuitive and easy to program.

This thing can be used in a myriad of ways for live or studio performance, by itself, with an amp (or two), a powered monitor or for DAW recording. I won't go into the details, suffice to say that I'm getting MUCH better tones than I could dream of getting with my Pod HD500. And I can program patches so much faster because the digital models sound great right out of the box.

Check out L.A. studio and touring artist, Pete Thorn demonstrating the Helix. It's a long video where he goes into details of how he got the tones, but at least check out the first 2 and a half minutes, where he performs a song he wrote to demonstrate Helix, layering 9 different guitar tracks. I'd been interested in the Helix for months, but seeing and hearing this vid closed the deal for me! Of course, it helps that he's a great guitar player and rather decent composer!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQUmE0TfC4I

[Gizmotron]

My latest acquisition, the Line 6 Helix. I think this is the most significant piece of gear Line 6 has created in over a decade. I feel like I need to explain why I got it: A few years ago, I bought a Pod HD500 and a DT-25 amp, both Line 6 products that were designed to work together (or apart). The DT-25 is a 2 channel amp with an all tube power amp and a digital front end and you all probably know what the Pod HD500 is, another update of their old invention, the Pod. So the two items work pretty well together via something called Line 6 Link. But when the leader of the wedding/corporate party band I work with decided he didn't want amps on stage anymore (to control the volume) I had to start using the HD500 by itself, straight into the board. I've never been satisfied with how it sounds like that (to put it mildly) and I've had to grin and bear it for the last few years, at least for that band.

Enter the Helix! Though Line 6 pretty much spearheaded the digital amp and effects modeling revolution, a company called Fractal Audio upped the ante with more advanced technology, resulting in more realistic sounding digital models. A lot of Line 6 enthusiasts jumped ship, even though Fractal's flagship product, the Axe FX II was considerably more pricey. So... finally Line 6 finally got competitive and fought back with their new flagship, the Helix. I think they must've learned a thing or two from Fractal Audio, like using dual DSP chips and higher grade components. They apparently worked on the Helix for 5 or 6 years before finally releasing it. A buddy came over recently with his Axe FX II and we A/B'd both it and Helix though a powered monitor, using the same amp models and cab sims and dialing them to identical tone, volume and drive settings. The differences were so subtle that they were barely perceptible! But even my friend had to admit that Helix was way more intuitive and easy to program.

This thing can be used in a myriad of ways for live or studio performance, by itself, with an amp (or two), a powered monitor or for DAW recording. I won't go into the details, suffice to say that I'm getting MUCH better tones than I could dream of getting with my Pod HD500. And I can program patches so much faster because the digital models sound great right out of the box.

Check out L.A. studio and touring artist, Pete Thorn demonstrating the Helix. It's a long video where he goes into details of how he got the tones, but at least check out the first 2 and a half minutes, where he performs a song he wrote to demonstrate Helix, layering 9 different guitar tracks. I'd been interested in the Helix for months, but seeing and hearing this vid closed the deal for me! Of course, it helps that he's a great guitar player and rather decent composer!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQUmE0TfC4I

Very cool. Thanks for taking the time to post this. I will check out the video later.
It is an excellent option and gives the guitarist so many possibilities with a minimum of gear.

I have various, earlier Line 6 products but recently got a Hughes & Kettner amp so I am digging the more traditional approach for now.

[Sputnik]

My latest acquisition, the Line 6 Helix...DUDE, You're psyched! Awesome piece of gear, and I know you've been using the Line6 stuff successfully for a while, so this is awesome! The most surprising thing to me that you said is how "intuitive" it is to program. Historically, this is definitely not a Line6 strength. So it's interesting to hear how they may have taken that to heart as well. Couldn't be happier for you, this is a big purchase, big investment, and I know you'll use it. Hope it works for you, and I sense it will!

Bill

[Gizmotron]

DUDE, You're psyched! Awesome piece of gear, and I know you've been using the Line6 stuff successfully for a while, so this is awesome! The most surprising thing to me that you said is how "intuitive" it is to program. Historically, this is definitely not a Line6 strength. So it's interesting to hear how they may have taken that to heart as well. Couldn't be happier for you, this is a big purchase, big investment, and I know you'll use it. Hope it works for you, and I sense it will!

Bill

I think Line 6 realized that their older gear was a bit hard to program and they certainly knew the Fractal stuff wasn't easy either. Smart designers know that gear needs to be intuitive.

[Supersonic Scientist]

WOW. pretty cool demo. sounds fantastic.

[Plasmatopia]

I was just reading Helix reviews a couple days ago. I have a friend who got one a few weeks ago, but I haven't heard how they liked it. I wonder how it works on bass... :)

[Yodelgoat]

Juts picked up an old Court headless Steinberger replica. Cheap (150.00) but I really enjoy playing it. For some reason I can really fly on this thing. It makes the Geddy Lee parts I'm learning much easier to play. Great sound too through my effects box. Strings will be a little bit of a pain because you cant use the Elixirs, that last for decades on my other bass. I guess I'm back to the old trick of boiling my strings to get some longevity out of them.

[No Pride]

The most surprising thing to me that you said is how "intuitive" it is to program. Historically, this is definitely not a Line6 strength. So it's interesting to hear how they may have taken that to heart as well.

The interface is pretty different from previous Line 6 products. Funny, I had heard about how easy and user friendly it was supposed to be and on the first day, I thought it couldn't be further from the truth! But I was trying to figure it out by myself. It comes with a two sided "cheat sheet" which quickly explains the most essential functions and after looking at that, I found the unit pretty easy to navigate. There were a few things I had to look up in the manual, but not a lot. I'm really grateful that programming is so quick and easy on the Helix, because I gradually got very burned out on tweaking their other products and really didn't want to go through that long process again.


I was just reading Helix reviews a couple days ago. I have a friend who got one a few weeks ago, but I haven't heard how they liked it. I wonder how it works on bass... :)

Well they do have about a half dozen or so bass amp models and cabinet simulations; mostly Ampeg and Mesa/Boogie amps.

[Sean]

What amp are you playing this Line 6 through, Ernie?

[Plasmatopia]

Well they do have about a half dozen or so bass amp models and cabinet simulations; mostly Ampeg and Mesa/Boogie amps.

Now I'm really going to need to do some investigation. And sell off some things I don't need.

[No Pride]

What amp are you playing this Line 6 through, Ernie?

Well, it hasn't been out of my home yet, Sean. I'll mostly be using it directly to the mixing board and I've been programming it with headphones and/or my in-ear monitors. I did get to hear my Helix through an FRFR (full range flat response) powered monitor and it sounded great! I may use it with one of those in the future, or maybe with the Mesa Triple Rectifier half stacks that my touring band rents for me (in which case I'd probably only use it for effects models); we'll see.

[Plasmatopia]

I found some decent YouTube demos of the bass presets. Sounds really nice and I can imagine this would make recording bass direct much easier. I've struggled to get good recorded bass sounds with what's currently available to me.

The only problem I see now is that I will probably have to sell my Mini Rectifier 25-watt head to finance this purchase. I probably won't need it, but I have sort of developed a strong like for the thing in recent months. I would likely need to then start thinking about what I would use for my bass and guitar rigs in terms of power amps.

[kid_runningfox]

Has anybody here tried Joyo pedals? They're, in effect, cheap Chinese clones of classic designs from yesteryear, but built like tanks and with true bypass, too. I've using one of their graphic eq pedals in my main (now in storage) guitar rig for quite some time now, but I picked up a digital delay and phaser pedals whilst at home in the UK over the summer as stopgaps until I return permanently. Both are excellent and unbelievable value for money. The phaser is especially good, as it's in essence an MXR Phase 90 for about a third of the price of the real thing. Warmly recommended.

Incidentally, now I am back in China, I've decided to pick up an amp, as playing through PAs (even with the speaker-compensated out on my Blackstar HT-Metal pedal) is becoming increasingly dissatisfactory. As they're in remarkably abundant supply here, and I need something I can easily put in the back of a taxi, I've decided to buy an Orange Tiny Terror. It's been warmly recommended to me by a couple of people whose opinion I generally trust on matters of tone, but I wondered if anybody has experience of them. I will of course try before I buy, but comments of those with familiarity would be welcome.

[Plasmatopia]

I've never tried one and ultimately that's what I would recommend - use your own ears. But all I can say is that I wasn't impressed with the demos I heard on YouTube (take that for what it's worth). The demos I heard struck me as a bit cold and harsh, which was also my experience in hearing a particular guitarist in a live situation (using a much larger model Orange amp) making unpleasant sounds. I've also seen them (larger models) used to great effect as well, so...it's obviously a lot down to the skill of the user.

[Thebigdipper]

Has anybody here tried Joyo pedals? They're, in effect, cheap Chinese clones of classic designs from yesteryear, but built like tanks and with true bypass, too. I've using one of their graphic eq pedals in my main (now in storage) guitar rig for quite some time now, but I picked up a digital delay and phaser pedals whilst at home in the UK over the summer as stopgaps until I return permanently. Both are excellent and unbelievable value for money. The phaser is especially good, as it's in essence an MXR Phase 90 for about a third of the price of the real thing. Warmly recommended.

Incidentally, now I am back in China, I've decided to pick up an amp, as playing through PAs (even with the speaker-compensated out on my Blackstar HT-Metal pedal) is becoming increasingly dissatisfactory. As they're in remarkably abundant supply here, and I need something I can easily put in the back of a taxi, I've decided to buy an Orange Tiny Terror. It's been warmly recommended to me by a couple of people whose opinion I generally trust on matters of tone, but I wondered if anybody has experience of them. I will of course try before I buy, but comments of those with familiarity would be welcome.

I'm OK with these. I've not got anything with Joyo written on it, but I've got a Fulltone OCD clone (can't remember the brand name) which can produce similar (but not quite the same) sounds and a MoSky XP Boost which is a clone of the Xotic EP Boost and that is very good indeed. I'm positive these different Chinese brands all come from the same factory, just with different labels on them, as they all look identical.

I've used a Tiny Terror at rehearsal studios. For crunchy sounds and beyond, I think they're pretty good. I didn't like the clean sound much and it didn't have a lot of clean headroom. It's not an amp for my musical tastes but, as you already know, many people love them. (I'm not sure I'm helping you here, but anyway... ).

[Onomatopoeic]

Has anybody here tried Joyo pedals? ...


I've played three different used Joyos last year. They functioned and sounded okay. Nice appearance and plenty tiny for deployment onto cramped effects boards.

Other than that, I suspect they can't take much abuse, such as the on/off switch.

[Yodelgoat]

I just upgraded my V-drums. Getting rid of the TD-3 and replacing it with a TD-12, It will play through my TD-11. Now I can have 4 tracks out and separate out my snare and kick from the rest of my drums. Plus the sounds on the TD-12 are a huge leap from the TD-3 I may have to buy more pads, because its got 6 toms and 7+ cymbals. I think I'll be going a little bigger! The drums sound amazing and they make me a better drummer. I gave up on acoustic drums about 3 years ago, and now my drums do sound much much better. I have a kit that is huge and gives a not so great drummer more things to hit, which makes me sound busier. This is going to be fun! I dont know what I'll do with the TD3 - I may create a separate drum kit to play live with so I'm not tearing down my kit for any live gigs. I may keep it for really obscure sounds - triangles, bells wind chimes etc... Or I may just sell it. Cheap.

Drums are my fourth instrument - (Bass, rhythm Guitar,Vox then drums) and I'm not terrible - I practice just about every day, because its fun. Great buy! I picked up just the module for $500. I think I have all the pads I need.

[nosebone]

Just scored a 2016 historic Les Paul from Reverb.com

I'll post pics when it arrives!

[Supersonic Scientist]

Just scored a 2016 historic Les Paul from Reverb.com

I'll post pics when it arrives!

...drooling now......pix pls.

[Yodelgoat]

I am looking for a good Rockabilly guitar - any suggestions? Gretch perhaps? What about those Tele's? Love the one shown above!

[Gizmotron]

I just upgraded my V-drums. Getting rid of the TD-3 and replacing it with a TD-12, It will play through my TD-11. Now I can have 4 tracks out and separate out my snare and kick from the rest of my drums. Plus the sounds on the TD-12 are a huge leap from the TD-3 I may have to buy more pads, because its got 6 toms and 7+ cymbals. I think I'll be going a little bigger! The drums sound amazing and they make me a better drummer. I gave up on acoustic drums about 3 years ago, and now my drums do sound much much better. I have a kit that is huge and gives a not so great drummer more things to hit, which makes me sound busier. This is going to be fun! I dont know what I'll do with the TD3 - I may create a separate drum kit to play live with so I'm not tearing down my kit for any live gigs. I may keep it for really obscure sounds - triangles, bells wind chimes etc... Or I may just sell it. Cheap.

Drums are my fourth instrument - (Bass, rhythm Guitar,Vox then drums) and I'm not terrible - I practice just about every day, because its fun. Great buy! I picked up just the module for $500. I think I have all the pads I need.

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?

[nosebone]

...drooling now......pix pls.

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

[eporter66]

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.

8409

[Yodelgoat]

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.

[Gizmotron]

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!

[Yodelgoat]

Oh yeah. My kids are always asking me "What's this worth?":lol

[Gizmotron]

Oh yeah. My kids are always asking me "What's this worth?":lol

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.

[Onomatopoeic]

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/search.php?s=electromatic&sb=low2high

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/search?typeAheadSuggestion=true&typeAheadRedirect=true&sB=r&Ntt=electromatic#pageName=search&Ntt=electromatic&N=0&Nao=0&recsPerPage=20&v=g&Ns=pLH&profileCountryCode=US&profileCurrencyCode=USD



Epiphone has affordable competition with the Swingster model...

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/search?typeAheadSuggestion=true&typeAheadRedirect=true&sB=r&Ntt=swingster

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/search.php?s=swingster&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.


http://cdn2.bigcommerce.com/server4400/9wqpckx/products/115/images/299/GRETSCHFILTERTRON__98140.1367676084.1280.1280.jpg? c=2

https://www.thomann.de/pics/bdb/306786/11254190_800.jpg

http://www.guitar-parts.com/sites/default/files/styles/uc_product_full/public/825c.jpg?itok=-02WjKlD

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l303/setzersigns/Gretsch%206124%201961%20Modified/HiLoTronDynaSonicFilterTron6124.jpg

[Gizmotron]

Great info there, Ono. Thanks!

[kid_runningfox]

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!! :)

[Yodelgoat]

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?

[Yodelgoat]

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!

[Supersonic Scientist]

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.

[Plasmatopia]

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.

[Gizmotron]

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).

[Yodelgoat]

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.

[Gizmotron]

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!

[Sean]

8477

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....

[kid_runningfox]

8477

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.

[kid_runningfox]

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!! ;)

[Plasmatopia]

8477

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.

[Sean]

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.

[Gizmotron]

8477

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!

[progmatist]

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.

[kid_runningfox]

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.

[Supersonic Scientist]

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 ???

[Gizmotron]

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.

[Mikhael]

Hey - anybody got an Alesis QSR? Our keyboardist left, and I'm floundering around trying to come up with sounds. I have one of these, and it has some pretty good sounds and programming capability, but it doesn't seem to be capable of MIDI MAPPING! I need it to do this, based on my controller's inability to call up different banks and mixes on the QSR. But the manual mentions NOTHING about mapping program numbers, and I can't find a way to do it by sifting through the menus. Anyone have any ideas?

[Yodelgoat]

I just bought (to go along with my new TD-15) six Dauz 6" (http://secure.pacificforce.net/dauz/index.php) drum pads. My kit is going to be HUGE!!!! More stuff to hit. (a bad drummers dream come true) I bought the three pads,but after I bought them they sais they dont make them any more, so they are sending me 6 with the swivels - Nice!! - Now I have to figure out how to mount all those little buggers. The guy said they dont sell the triple (trinity) mounts any more because of crosstalk. I have a pair of the earlier double mounts and they are very very good pads. Built like a tank.

[Gizmotron]

I just bought (to go along with my new TD-15) six Dauz 6" (http://secure.pacificforce.net/dauz/index.php) drum pads. My kit is going to be HUGE!!!! More stuff to hit. (a bad drummers dream come true) I bought the three pads,but after I bought them they sais they dont make them any more, so they are sending me 6 with the swivels - Nice!! - Now I have to figure out how to mount all those little buggers. The guy said they dont sell the triple (trinity) mounts any more because of crosstalk. I have a pair of the earlier double mounts and they are very very good pads. Built like a tank.

Very cool, Yodelgoat!
Please give us a review of the pads when you set them up.

[Rarebird]

I ordered this:
https://www.arturia.com/products/analog-classics/v-collection/overview
for myself
And a set of tenor banjo strings for my dad.

[Gizmotron]

I ordered this:
https://www.arturia.com/products/analog-classics/v-collection/overview
for myself
And a set of tenor banjo strings for my dad.

Very cool! I bet you will love it. I prefer the real deal but this is a great alternative.

[Rarebird]

Very cool! I bet you will love it. I prefer the real deal but this is a great alternative.

In some ways the real deal may be to be prefered, but it's to expensive, to big and it doesn't have the possibility to use it with the computer. I like to compose and I like to create sounds, but playing is something I never exelled in.

[Plasmatopia]

I just bought a tuner and a string winder, lol. :)

[Vic2012]

I have a cowbell and a tambourine. A friend gave me an old, POS Jackson guitar with three strings.

[Plasmatopia]

Yeah, I think I should get some percussion instruments - they might be within my current budget.

(would love that Arturia collection, but it would feel a bit weird/ironic to play on my little 25-key keyboard)

[Rarebird]

Yeah, I think I should get some percussion instruments - they might be within my current budget.

(would love that Arturia collection, but it would feel a bit weird/ironic to play on my little 25-key keyboard)

I have a M-Audio 88 weighted keyboard and an old 49-key keyboard standing in the corner.

[Gizmotron]

In some ways the real deal may be to be prefered, but it's to expensive, to big and it doesn't have the possibility to use it with the computer. I like to compose and I like to create sounds, but playing is something I never exelled in.

There are some great concepts implied in the last five posts. First, I understand why virtual synths (and all the other computer-based recording/arranging/sequencing programs) give so many cool and useful options.

Second, never underestimate the power of the most simple percussion instruments. Rhythm is...everything. It is the foundation of all music. Some of my most sublime moments have been delivered to me through simple percussion. One of my favorites is something I made myself. When an old, ethnic tambourine started to fall apart on me, I took two of the jingles, an old nail, and a Champagne cork and fashioned a simple mini-tambourine. I always took it with me to drum circles and jam sessions. The amount of techniques and subtle sounds that presented themselves to me never ceased to amaze me. Even just spinning the two jingles was musical. I have seen master percussionists floor audiences with simple things like that or with other simple instruments such as claves or a tiny hand drum.

And instruments like Vic2012's three string guitar can jolt complacent musicians out of their normal thinking patterns. Some of my breakthroughs have occured on "broken" instruments. (Mr. Eno knows a thing or two about the value of quirky or broken instruments).

Tuners and string winders? Valuable things...tuning is everything. A tuner that works for you is a must. My trusty old Korg is always close by (over a hundred strings on my hammered dulcimer and 54 strings on my hand-made psaltery make its importance clear).

And Rarebird, never let your mind or your lack of formal training or technique hold you back. The most simple melodies are often the best. A good idea overcomes any lack of technique.

Music is waiting inside all of us.

[Plasmatopia]

Love it! Great points.



There are some great concepts implied in the last five posts. First, I understand why virtual synths (and all the other computer-based recording/arranging/sequencing programs) give so many cool and useful options.

Second, never underestimate the power of the most simple percussion instruments. Rhythm is...everything. It is the foundation of all music. Some of my most sublime moments have been delivered to me through simple percussion. One of my favorites is something I made myself. When an old, ethnic tambourine started to fall apart on me, I took two of the jingles, an old nail, and a Champagne cork and fashioned a simple mini-tambourine. I always took it with me to drum circles and jam sessions. The amount of techniques and subtle sounds that presented themselves to me never ceased to amaze me. Even just spinning the two jingles was musical. I have seen master percussionists floor audiences with simple things like that or with other simple instruments such as claves or a tiny hand drum.

And instruments like Vic2012's three string guitar can jolt complacent musicians out of their normal thinking patterns. Some of my breakthroughs have occured on "broken" instruments. (Mr. Eno knows a thing or two about the value of quirky or broken instruments).

Tuners and string winders? Valuable things...tuning is everything. A tuner that works for you is a must. My trust old Korg is always close by (over a hundred strings on my hammered dulcimer and 54 strings on my hand-made psaltery make its importance clear).

And Rarebird, never let your mind or your lack of formal training or technique hold you back. The most simple melodies are often the best. A good idea overcomes any lack of technique.

Music is waiting inside all of us.

[Soc Prof]

I ordered this:
https://www.arturia.com/products/analog-classics/v-collection/overview
for myself


Since I had an Arturia account, they offered me that package for $250 when it came out. It was an offer I couldn't refuse. :)

Sure, a real Minimoog, Prophet, B3, etc. would be great, but I can't justify spending that kind of money on a hobby. I might pick up a less expensive VA, like a Studiologic Sledge 2.0, just to have something a little more hands-on to mess around with.

[Rarebird]

Since I had an Arturia account, they offered me that package for $250 when it came out. It was an offer I couldn't refuse. :)

Sure, a real Minimoog, Prophet, B3, etc. would be great, but I can't justify spending that kind of money on a hobby. I might pick up a less expensive VA, like a Studiologic Sledge 2.0, just to have something a little more hands-on to mess around with.

Yesterday I experimented with the Hammond B3 from Arturia and compared it with the Nord Electro and I think the Arturia B3 sounds better, more organic I would say.

[Gizmotron]

Yesterday I experimented with the Hammond B3 from Arturia and compared it with the Nord Electro and I think the Arturia B3 sounds better, more organic I would say.

Wow. That is impressive.

I have a Nord C1 and love it's sound.

[Rarebird]

Wow. That is impressive.

I have a Nord C1 and love it's sound.
I love my Nord as well. I suppose I should one day write something employing both the Nord Electro 2 and the Arturia B3 Hammond.

[Gizmotron]

I love my Nord as well. I suppose I should one day write something employing both the Nord Electro 2 and the Arturia B3 Hammond.

Absolutely!

[Rarebird]

Absolutely!

Something like 'Eating organs'.:)
Actually there is a Dutch group wit 2 Hammond players, named Orgel Vreten, which roughly translate as 'Eating Organs'.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53ppFe0fb9Q

[Gizmotron]

NSD!

Roland JD-800!

Very, very excited!

[Jerjo]

For those who need a little gear envy here's Joe Bonamassa's collection of guitars and amps. I can't imagine the insurance premium on what he's got here.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctx86V-GI8A

[kid_runningfox]

Picked up a heavily-modified Peavey Triumph tube head and a Marshall 2x12 cab whilst I was at home in the UK over the Christmas period, intended as a stopgap for my Laney VC50 which is presently in storage. Must admit I was very pleased with it when I took it out for a blast with the improv trio I play in when at home. The clean channel was particularly good (no doubt in part due to its use of 6L6s as the power tubes), and took pedals vey well. Moreover, the two gain channels were MUCH better than I would usually associate with Peavey, which I suspect that was largely a result of having one gain stage removed as part of the amp's modifications. With the solid-state Blackstar dual OD pedal I have it effectively made for four stages of gain to work through. It was also pleasingly loud!! :)

[Gizmotron]

Picked up a heavily-modified Peavey Triumph tube head and a Marshall 2x12 cab whilst I was at home in the UK over the Christmas period, intended as a stopgap for my Laney VC50 which is presently in storage. Must admit I was very pleased with it when I took it out for a blast with the improv trio I play in when at home. The clean channel was particularly good (no doubt in part due to its use of 6L6s as the power tubes), and took pedals vey well. Moreover, the two gain channels were MUCH better than I would usually associate with Peavey, which I suspect that was largely a result of having one gain stage removed as part of the amp's modifications. With the solid-state Blackstar dual OD pedal I have it effectively made for four stages of gain to work through. It was also pleasingly loud!! :)

Congrats! There is nothing like a new head and cab! Rock on!

[Sputnik]

Just scored this bass on Reverb for $600:

95499550

It's a Michael Tobias Design Kingston. Korean made, but is essentially their "entry-level boutique" bass. I have a Korean made Tobias Toby Pro five string that I've used for years, but in most music I play I don't really use the 5th string (I string it with a high C, I hate having a low B string). I'm also not such a fantastic fretless player that I won't benefit from the fret lines on this one, my Toby Pro is unlined.

The book on these is that they are great basses with somewhat weak pickups and preamp. An Aguliar Op-Amp supposedly fixes the preamp issue, and that's just $140, so I'll play with it for a while and see if I feel that is necessary. There are lots of drop-in options for these pickups too, so I'm not that worried about the electronics.

I'll A/B this and the Toby for a while and keep the one I wind up liking best. At $600, I figure I can turn this one around pretty easy if I don't like it, and that's probably near what I could get for the Toby.

Bill

[Plasmatopia]

Nice looking bass, Bill!

I'm looking to get rid of a bunch of stuff that I'm not using (something we've been trying to do with our furniture and such as well - we have way too much junk for two people). I really want to reduce clutter and simplify as much as possible. I have three electric guitars, an acoustic, and two basses...but I'm really having a hard time parting with any of those. Mostly I want to have a much smaller, lighter bass rig to save my back. I just started playing bass with an "acoustic" trio. They were two acoustic guitar players and they both sing (they have little acoustic guitar amps which have an extra channel for a vocal mic), but they both also play drums (they'll use a Yamaha Hipgig set). Could be fun and I like that it will be pleasant volume levels. :)

But I'm having a hell of a time getting any equipment to sell on Craigslist or Facebook. I'd like to finance any new equipment by selling off some unused stuff first.

[Sputnik]

Nice looking bass, Bill!

I'm looking to get rid of a bunch of stuff that I'm not using (something we've been trying to do with our furniture and such as well - we have way too much junk for two people). I really want to reduce clutter and simplify as much as possible. I have three electric guitars, an acoustic, and two basses...but I'm really having a hard time parting with any of those. Mostly I want to have a much smaller, lighter bass rig to save my back. I just started playing bass with an "acoustic" trio. They were two acoustic guitar players and they both sing (they have little acoustic guitar amps which have an extra channel for a vocal mic), but they both also play drums (they'll use a Yamaha Hipgig set). Could be fun and I like that it will be pleasant volume levels. :)

But I'm having a hell of a time getting any equipment to sell on Craigslist or Facebook. I'd like to finance any new equipment by selling off some unused stuff first.I hear you on the heavy equipment issue. That is one of the motivations for selling the Toby, it weighs 10.3 pounds. It wasn't as much of an issue when that was my "second" bass, but in this other band I'm playing in now, I find myself playing more fretless, and this MTD is only 7.5-8 pounds. I also use a Carvin MB10 with and extension 15" cabinet. These units are super light, and I have the flexibility of just taking the MB10 if I don't need a lot of volume, or hook up the extra 15" when I do. Very versatile, and they sound awesome.

As far as selling gear, I can't recommend Reverb.com more highly. I listed three items in December, and had two not sold on Craigslist I'm sure they'd have all been gone by now on Reverb (one item did sell on Reverb). They take a fraction of what e-Bay does, and their site is super easy to use and navigate.

Bill

[Gizmotron]

Nice looking bass, Bill!

I'm looking to get rid of a bunch of stuff that I'm not using (something we've been trying to do with our furniture and such as well - we have way too much junk for two people). I really want to reduce clutter and simplify as much as possible. I have three electric guitars, an acoustic, and two basses...but I'm really having a hard time parting with any of those. Mostly I want to have a much smaller, lighter bass rig to save my back. I just started playing bass with an "acoustic" trio. They were two acoustic guitar players and they both sing (they have little acoustic guitar amps which have an extra channel for a vocal mic), but they both also play drums (they'll use a Yamaha Hipgig set). Could be fun and I like that it will be pleasant volume levels. :)

But I'm having a hell of a time getting any equipment to sell on Craigslist or Facebook. I'd like to finance any new equipment by selling off some unused stuff first.

Lighter bass rig with quality sound? Not too expensive?
Two words:

Fender Rumble.

They have lots of sizes and they are superb values with excellent sound. Very light weight. I love my 500 Combo.

[Gizmotron]

Just scored this bass on Reverb for $600:

95499550

It's a Michael Tobias Design Kingston. Korean made, but is essentially their "entry-level boutique" bass. I have a Korean made Tobias Toby Pro five string that I've used for years, but in most music I play I don't really use the 5th string (I string it with a high C, I hate having a low B string). I'm also not such a fantastic fretless player that I won't benefit from the fret lines on this one, my Toby Pro is unlined.

The book on these is that they are great basses with somewhat weak pickups and preamp. An Aguliar Op-Amp supposedly fixes the preamp issue, and that's just $140, so I'll play with it for a while and see if I feel that is necessary. There are lots of drop-in options for these pickups too, so I'm not that worried about the electronics.

I'll A/B this and the Toby for a while and keep the one I wind up liking best. At $600, I figure I can turn this one around pretty easy if I don't like it, and that's probably near what I could get for the Toby.

Bill

Congrats! Looks to be an excellent bass. How is the "mwaaah" factor?

[Sputnik]

Congrats! Looks to be an excellent bass. How is the "mwaaah" factor?Haven't gotten it yet, just ordered it last night. I'm eagerly awaiting a shipping notice and will keep you posted. :)

I can get good mwaaah out of any fretless that has a bridge pickup and is equipped with roundwound strings. The big question mark for me will be the harmonics and whether I can balance a tone that produces good harmonic clarity with a non-brittle low end. It's a delicate balance. It has a three band EQ, which should help, though I tend to center my instrument's EQ and do most of my tone shaping with the amp or pedals. With this bass, though, I could potentially see making more use of the EQ.

That Rumble 500 Combo looks very nice. The only problem is I really want a 15" speaker when I'm playing loud, and that is a 2X10. Also the horn is just on/off, where on the Carvin it is dimmable as well. So the Carvin works for me, plus it is modular - you don't have to bring the whole thing if you don't need it. Carvin appears to be running almost the same special as when I got mine (I actually got two sets because they were so incredibly cheap), the MB10 plus the 15" extension cab for $468. I think I got mine for around $350 each, which was insane.

Bill

[Gizmotron]

Haven't gotten it yet, just ordered it last night. I'm eagerly awaiting a shipping notice and will keep you posted. :)

I can get good mwaaah out of any fretless that has a bridge pickup and is equipped with roundwound strings. The big question mark for me will be the harmonics and whether I can balance a tone that produces good harmonic clarity with a non-brittle low end. It's a delicate balance. It has a three band EQ, which should help, though I tend to center my instrument's EQ and do most of my tone shaping with the amp or pedals. With this bass, though, I could potentially see making more use of the EQ.

That Rumble 500 Combo looks very nice. The only problem is I really want a 15" speaker when I'm playing loud, and that is a 2X10. Also the horn is just on/off, where on the Carvin it is dimmable as well. So the Carvin works for me, plus it is modular - you don't have to bring the whole thing if you don't need it. Carvin appears to be running almost the same special as when I got mine (I actually got two sets because they were so incredibly cheap), the MB10 plus the 15" extension cab for $468. I think I got mine for around $350 each, which was insane.

Bill

Thanks for all the info! I have a high opinion of Carvin gear.
I too like the sound of a 15" and have had my eye on a Rumble 15" cab to pair with my combo to unleash the full 500 watts and add the distinctive tone of the 15.

Please update us when you get the bass and put it through its paces.

[Sputnik]

Thanks for all the info! I have a high opinion of Carvin gear.
I too like the sound of a 15" and have had my eye on a Rumble 15" cab to pair with my combo to unleash the full 500 watts and add the distinctive tone of the 15.That would be awesome. That would make its capacity 150 watts louder than the Carvin which is 350 watts when paired with the 15, but a bit heavier overall. Still, a very nice setup!


Please update us when you get the bass and put it through its paces.I will! :D

Bill

[Plasmatopia]

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. When the time comes I definitely will be making the effort to try out several different bass amp options. I am currently using an Ampeg B2-RE with an Ampeg 1x15 and a Mesa/Boogie Powerhouse 2x10. They are both 8ohm cabinets and when I use both it's 450 watts. The 1x15 cabinet is a pretty reasonable weight, but the Mesa 2x10 is nearly 70 lbs.! Maybe I'm just being a perfectionist, but this rig just doesn't seem to do anything as well as I'd like. I'm not sure if it's my bass/pickups, the limitations of the amp/speakers, or just my inability to find the right combination of EQ settings, but I can't really get a satisfactory "Ampeg" (prog bass?) sound or a satisfactory sound of the less trebly, punchy, growly funk type sound.

When I first started playing bass I used my friend's G-K 700RB which was bi-amped (1x15 on the low end, 2x10 for mids and highs). I jammed with another friend a couple years ago and used his G-K (not sure which one). Both of those sounded warmer and punchier than my Ampeg.

I've tried recording bass with various methods. I've mic'ed the amp, I've gone direct to the mixer, I've used my Sansamp Bass Driver. None of those satisfy for some reason. The Sansamp always seems to lack warmth. All this leads me to think that I either need new pickups in my basses or a really nice (read: expensive) tube preamp/compressor or both.

But it's two different problems really. I can deal with slightly imperfect sound in the live setting (I have for years), but the problems when recording are far more obvious.

I will have to take some time to check out Reverb. I don't want to get into shipping big pieces across the country though.

[Sputnik]

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. When the time comes I definitely will be making the effort to try out several different bass amp options. I am currently using an Ampeg B2-RE with an Ampeg 1x15 and a Mesa/Boogie Powerhouse 2x10. They are both 8ohm cabinets and when I use both it's 450 watts. The 1x15 cabinet is a pretty reasonable weight, but the Mesa 2x10 is nearly 70 lbs.! Maybe I'm just being a perfectionist, but this rig just doesn't seem to do anything as well as I'd like. I'm not sure if it's my bass/pickups, the limitations of the amp/speakers, or just my inability to find the right combination of EQ settings, but I can't really get a satisfactory "Ampeg" (prog bass?) sound or a satisfactory sound of the less trebly, punchy, growly funk type sound.

When I first started playing bass I used my friend's G-K 700RB which was bi-amped (1x15 on the low end, 2x10 for mids and highs). I jammed with another friend a couple years ago and used his G-K (not sure which one). Both of those sounded warmer and punchier than my Ampeg.

I've tried recording bass with various methods. I've mic'ed the amp, I've gone direct to the mixer, I've used my Sansamp Bass Driver. None of those satisfy for some reason. The Sansamp always seems to lack warmth. All this leads me to think that I either need new pickups in my basses or a really nice (read: expensive) tube preamp/compressor or both.

But it's two different problems really. I can deal with slightly imperfect sound in the live setting (I have for years), but the problems when recording are far more obvious.

It's hard to know what the issue is. You seem to want more "warmth and punch." In theory, an Ampeg would deliver the warmth. Have you tried it with only the 15" speaker? Maybe that would help create a warmer tone, but I'm not sure it would help with "punch." With Ampeg, I'm not sure you're going to get the "Prog Bass" sound from anything but an SVT, which is a very unique enclosure. The focus on most Ampeds is mids, with the flip-tops being a bit warmer, and the SVT having those absolutely screaming mids that cut through anything.

If you liked the GK, that is almost exactly the opposite of the Ampeg. It's known for the scooped sound, deep lows and intense highs, with very little in-between. Of course, this is adjustable (as it probably is on your Ampeg with the EQ), but amps do tend to have sweet spots, and maybe what you really want to hear isn't as much of a natural fit for your amp and speaker setup. Perhaps you need a horn or tweeter as well? I'd recommend going somewhere you could try a variety of things, and see if something catches your fancy. It's tough, though, because what sounds good with bass in isolation is often too little (or occasionally too much) when you're playing with the band. Very frustrating.

With the Carvin amps I bought, I chose the elements that were important to me and just figured I could tweak them to get the sound I wanted. I wanted a 15" bottom, but also wanted some speakers that would give me a bit more top-end definition with a dimmable horn. And I wanted it to be light. And cheap. The Carvin fit the bill, but believe me, I'm constantly tweaking things to get the perfect sound. By and large, though, I've been happy with them, and only if I wanted to move fully to a more "vintage" sound would I move away from them. Also with multiple basses and multiple styles I play in, I need different settings. I've actually moved to trying to keep the amp very flat and use a multi-effects pedal to do most of the tone sculpting, with different patches for different basses to help even out the volumes. It actually works well, and at times I've thought of getting rid of the amp altogether and going with more of a "powered speaker" approach. But I have the Carvins, they work, and are light, so it's not a big priority.

All that is to say that perhaps by trying different amps, you could identify the elements that are important to you and pick a proper combination of them, with the assumption you'd be tweaking it from there. My sense is you just don't have the right amp, or speakers, or both, and I'm skeptical that a pickup change would really do much to help your situation... but who knows?


I will have to take some time to check out Reverb. I don't want to get into shipping big pieces across the country though.You can do local pickup on Reverb. It won't attract as broad attention, but it's another avenue for you to sell.

Good luck!

Bill

[Gizmotron]

Great post, Bill!
Thank you!

[Plasmatopia]

It's hard to know what the issue is. You seem to want more "warmth and punch." In theory, an Ampeg would deliver the warmth. Have you tried it with only the 15" speaker? Maybe that would help create a warmer tone, but I'm not sure it would help with "punch." With Ampeg, I'm not sure you're going to get the "Prog Bass" sound from anything but an SVT, which is a very unique enclosure. The focus on most Ampeds is mids, with the flip-tops being a bit warmer, and the SVT having those absolutely screaming mids that cut through anything.

If you liked the GK, that is almost exactly the opposite of the Ampeg. It's known for the scooped sound, deep lows and intense highs, with very little in-between. Of course, this is adjustable (as it probably is on your Ampeg with the EQ), but amps do tend to have sweet spots, and maybe what you really want to hear isn't as much of a natural fit for your amp and speaker setup. Perhaps you need a horn or tweeter as well? I'd recommend going somewhere you could try a variety of things, and see if something catches your fancy. It's tough, though, because what sounds good with bass in isolation is often too little (or occasionally too much) when you're playing with the band. Very frustrating.

With the Carvin amps I bought, I chose the elements that were important to me and just figured I could tweak them to get the sound I wanted. I wanted a 15" bottom, but also wanted some speakers that would give me a bit more top-end definition with a dimmable horn. And I wanted it to be light. And cheap. The Carvin fit the bill, but believe me, I'm constantly tweaking things to get the perfect sound. By and large, though, I've been happy with them, and only if I wanted to move fully to a more "vintage" sound would I move away from them. Also with multiple basses and multiple styles I play in, I need different settings. I've actually moved to trying to keep the amp very flat and use a multi-effects pedal to do most of the tone sculpting, with different patches for different basses to help even out the volumes. It actually works well, and at times I've thought of getting rid of the amp altogether and going with more of a "powered speaker" approach. But I have the Carvins, they work, and are light, so it's not a big priority.

All that is to say that perhaps by trying different amps, you could identify the elements that are important to you and pick a proper combination of them, with the assumption you'd be tweaking it from there. My sense is you just don't have the right amp, or speakers, or both, and I'm skeptical that a pickup change would really do much to help your situation... but who knows?

You can do local pickup on Reverb. It won't attract as broad attention, but it's another avenue for you to sell.

Good luck!

Bill


Thanks for the note, Bill. That's a great point about the GK versus the Ampeg. This probably points out the fact that I don't really know what I want and I will know it when I hear it. And also that I can be happy (I think) with either type of amp as long as I feel that they're doing what they do in a quality way, if that makes sense. I basically like what the Ampeg does in a broad sense, but I feel like the upper mids and highs are kind of harsh - not smooth and warm. And the low end wasn't punchy and tight. I was thinking a 4x10 cabinet might help that?

The guy who took over playing bass in the band I was in last year got a much more clearly defined sound that was more or less of the same general character of the Ampeg, but he was using all Mesa stuff. In contrast, my Ampeg sounded great while I was standing right in front of it (in the same, very loud band), but the sound fell apart after you got about 12 feet away.

But I think you're right - the only way is to try a lot of amps and speaker combinations.

[Sputnik]

This probably points out the fact that I don't really know what I wantLOL, what musician does? And even when they do, it eventually changes! :lol


I will know it when I hear it. And also that I can be happy (I think) with either type of amp as long as I feel that they're doing what they do in a quality way, if that makes sense.Totally. You're far more likely to question cheaper gear, or gear that doesn't have much pedigree, than a tried and true brand or model. Your Ampeg model is not really one I know much about, unlike several others, and there's probably a reason for that. Not that it's bad, but there may be better stuff by Ampeg out there, or another maker that suits you better.


I basically like what the Ampeg does in a broad sense, but I feel like the upper mids and highs are kind of harsh - not smooth and warm. And the low end wasn't punchy and tight.That's not the Ampeg reputation. This may well be your specific model amp, or your specific amp, or your specific amp setting. But Ampeg, to my mind, is known for clear, articulate mids and warmth. Punchiness, perhaps not so much if your talking slapping, etc. But they are usually super clear on fundamental notes.


I was thinking a 4x10 cabinet might help that?Really, the sky's the limit in terms of possible solutions to your issue. You'll just have to try different things and see what gets you closer to what you want to hear. Personally, I've never been a fan of 4X10 cabs. I find them brittle. But that may be the perfect solution for you, though you already have the 2X10, so I wonder what benefit the 4X10 will really get you. But who knows?


The guy who took over playing bass in the band I was in last year got a much more clearly defined sound that was more or less of the same general character of the Ampeg, but he was using all Mesa stuff. In contrast, my Ampeg sounded great while I was standing right in front of it (in the same, very loud band), but the sound fell apart after you got about 12 feet away.Mesa stuff is pretty killer. I've actually never played with their amps because I know I can't justify paying what they want for their amps. But their reputation precedes them.

One thing I do at rehearsal is stand as far away from my amp as possible. I often set it at the other end of the room, so it's facing me. I want to hear what the other people in the band are hearing. This helps me shape the tone, especially since I'm doing a lot of the sculpting with EQ on my multi-effects pedal. Sadly, you can't do this as easily at a gig where your amp is really serving as your personal monitor. But at least if you've sculpted the tone in rehearsal for a good sound at a 12-15 foot projection, you can assume that it at least sounds better to the audience, particularly in a small room.


But I think you're right - the only way is to try a lot of amps and speaker combinations.It's either that or just take a chance on something different that you think might or should work. But it sounds like you have enough ambiguity that some experimentation would be worthwhile. I was pretty set in what I wanted when I got the Carvins. It doesn't sound like you're at that point just yet.

Good luck, keep us posted. I just got the ship notice on my bass, it arrives next Thursday. :)

Bill

[Plasmatopia]

Totally. You're far more likely to question cheaper gear, or gear that doesn't have much pedigree, than a tried and true brand or model. Your Ampeg model is not really one I know much about, unlike several others, and there's probably a reason for that. Not that it's bad, but there may be better stuff by Ampeg out there, or another maker that suits you better.

Looking around on Reverb my Ampeg model isn't fetching great prices. Some reviews I've seen mentioned reliability problems associated with build quality (made in China), but the ones that work more than a few minutes out of the box (the vast majority) seem to keep going, lol. It's not a bad amp, just not great and I also heard this head is finicky about what speaker cabinet one uses (as you mentioned might be the case).



Really, the sky's the limit in terms of possible solutions to your issue. You'll just have to try different things and see what gets you closer to what you want to hear. Personally, I've never been a fan of 4X10 cabs. I find them brittle. But that may be the perfect solution for you, though you already have the 2X10, so I wonder what benefit the 4X10 will really get you. But who knows?

I found one reviewer that felt a 4x10 (at 4ohm for max power) was the best cabinet for my Ampeg head. That is originally what I demoed it with. Maybe I should've held out for a 4x10...when I went back to actually buy the rig a couple weeks later they didn't have any Ampeg 4x10 cabs like the one I tried out, so I went for the 1x15.



One thing I do at rehearsal is stand as far away from my amp as possible. I often set it at the other end of the room, so it's facing me. I want to hear what the other people in the band are hearing. This helps me shape the tone, especially since I'm doing a lot of the sculpting with EQ on my multi-effects pedal. Sadly, you can't do this as easily at a gig where your amp is really serving as your personal monitor. But at least if you've sculpted the tone in rehearsal for a good sound at a 12-15 foot projection, you can assume that it at least sounds better to the audience, particularly in a small room.

Great idea!



It's either that or just take a chance on something different that you think might or should work. But it sounds like you have enough ambiguity that some experimentation would be worthwhile. I was pretty set in what I wanted when I got the Carvins. It doesn't sound like you're at that point just yet.


You're right, I'm not there yet. I sold one piece of gear yesterday, so hopefully the equipment sale floodgates are opening and I can buy new stuff soon. :)



Good luck, keep us posted. I just got the ship notice on my bass, it arrives next Thursday.


Will do. Let us know how the new bass treats you.

[Plasmatopia]

Lighter bass rig with quality sound? Not too expensive?
Two words:

Fender Rumble.

They have lots of sizes and they are superb values with excellent sound. Very light weight. I love my 500 Combo.

I've been reading some reviews on these and I like what I'm seeing. For example they seem to compare favorably with the more expensive Aguilar stuff. I will definitely be looking to demo one of these.

[Gizmotron]

I've been reading some reviews on these and I like what I'm seeing. For example they seem to compare favorably with the more expensive Aguilar stuff. I will definitely be looking to demo one of these.

Cool. Let us know what you think.

[kid_runningfox]

A quick question to my fellow guitarists: When I head back to the UK in the summer I'm thinking of getting some work done to my Strat to make it more usable - it's a great guitar, but one I've barely played for several years owing to its current pickup configuration. At present, it's fitted with a Seymour Duncan Invader at the bridge, and two single coils of unknown origin, that I suspect are Kent Armstrongs. Not being a big fan of single coil pickups, but liking those 'in-between' Strat sounds, I've been thinking of replacing the bridge (the Invader is horribly unsubtle and ridiculously overbearing) and neck pickups with a Seymour Duncan JB and 59 combination. The neck pickup would require some routing to fit a full-size humbucker, as the pickups are direct mounted into the body. I was wondering, therefore, if anyone has experience of the 'Little 59,' single-coil sized humbucker that SD manufactures. To be honest, I'm rather dubious that anything other than a full-size humbucker would actually sound like one, but if it's good and saves me needing to get the top of the guitar carved into then I might consider it. Any thoughts?

[Plasmatopia]

A quick question to my fellow guitarists: When I head back to the UK in the summer I'm thinking of getting some work done to my Strat to make it more usable - it's a great guitar, but one I've barely played for several years owing to its current pickup configuration. At present, it's fitted with a Seymour Duncan Invader at the bridge, and two single coils of unknown origin, that I suspect are Kent Armstrongs. Not being a big fan of single coil pickups, but liking those 'in-between' Strat sounds, I've been thinking of replacing the bridge (the Invader is horribly unsubtle and ridiculously overbearing) and neck pickups with a Seymour Duncan JB and 59 combination. The neck pickup would require some routing to fit a full-size humbucker, as the pickups are direct mounted into the body. I was wondering, therefore, if anyone has experience of the 'Little 59,' single-coil sized humbucker that SD manufactures. To be honest, I'm rather dubious that anything other than a full-size humbucker would actually sound like one, but if it's good and saves me needing to get the top of the guitar carved into then I might consider it. Any thoughts?


It might depend on how picky you are. I probably won't be able to give you much of a useful opinion on this subject, but I liked the results of the JB Jr. I installed in my Strat. I didn't install it in the correct position though. This is a MIM Strat that I replaced all the pickups in. I was mostly looking to get rid of the horribly cheap and noisy single coils and wasn't holding onto any idea of maintaining some sort of sacred traditional Strat sound. The other pickups in that guitar are a Dimarzio HS-1 (Yngwie pickup intended for bridge position), a Dimarzio Paul Gilbert Injector (intended for bridge position), and the JB Jr. which I think was intended for the neck position (I can't seem to locate my old receipts for verification).

I ended up trying several configurations and finally landed on the HS-1 in the neck position, the Injector in the middle position (I thought it as pretty "meh" in every position, but it does the least harm in the middle), and the JB Jr. in the bridge. To me it's not very much like a standard Strat sound, but is close enough at times. I have another nicer Strat that does a better job of that.

[Plasmatopia]

Yesterday I borrowed my buddy's Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0 class D bass amp. Nice little amp and if I had to pick right now I'd have to say I prefer the Shuttle to my Ampeg B2-RE. I still need to test this theory, but I think I could take the line out of this amp and immediately have a much better recorded sound than I seem to be able to get with the Ampeg or my Sansamp. I'm not sure why this is, but with the Ampeg or the Sansamp I don't seem to be able to easily dial back certain frequencies in the low mids that contribute to muddiness. The Shuttle comes across as much clearer sounding even with the Bass control cranked up and even with the Bass Boost button pushed in.

I want to go back now, knowing how the Benz sounds, and try to approximate that sound with the Ampeg. Maybe there is a way to EQ out the mud sufficiently which I simply have not stumbled upon yet.

[Sputnik]

A quick question to my fellow guitarists: When I head back to the UK in the summer I'm thinking of getting some work done to my Strat to make it more usable - it's a great guitar, but one I've barely played for several years owing to its current pickup configuration. At present, it's fitted with a Seymour Duncan Invader at the bridge, and two single coils of unknown origin, that I suspect are Kent Armstrongs. Not being a big fan of single coil pickups, but liking those 'in-between' Strat sounds, I've been thinking of replacing the bridge (the Invader is horribly unsubtle and ridiculously overbearing) and neck pickups with a Seymour Duncan JB and 59 combination. The neck pickup would require some routing to fit a full-size humbucker, as the pickups are direct mounted into the body. I was wondering, therefore, if anyone has experience of the 'Little 59,' single-coil sized humbucker that SD manufactures. To be honest, I'm rather dubious that anything other than a full-size humbucker would actually sound like one, but if it's good and saves me needing to get the top of the guitar carved into then I might consider it. Any thoughts?I can't comment on the SD Little 59, I've never heard it. SD pickups are good, though probably not the best out there. Generally, I'm never satisfied with the sound of a split humbucker in the notch positions, even when paired with a single in the middle position. To me, they just don't have the "sparkle" of a real single coil neck or bridge pickup. Whether the Little 59 does a better job of that, I'm not sure, and like you I'm not sure whether it would capture the sound of a real dual coil humbucker.

I'd also be dubious of routing the guitar. It seems to me that the odds of getting a configuration you like is 50/50 at best, and then if you sell the guitar you've likely decreased the resale value. There have to be a zillion Strat-like models out there with built in bridge and neck humbuckers. Were I you, I'd sell the Strat and look at something like that, hopefully one you could try out to see if the humbuckers sound good by themselves, and if the notch positions work the way you like. That's just my opinion, though. It's your guitar, and your money, so if you're willing to take the risk, go for it.

Bill

[Sputnik]

So I got my MTD bass on Thursday. I didn't have it long enough to take it to a little gig we had on Friday, but I played the hell out of it this weekend. In all I'm happy with aspects of it, and still on the fence about others.

I'm happy to have the fret markers, and I definitely noticed spots where my intonation was better with this bass. The sound of the bass is very bright, so I used the preamp to boost the low and mid frequencies and left the treble at detente. This sounds great on the bridge pickup, which is the one I use primarily (with just a hint of the neck mixed in). There is a far larger tonal range to work with on this bass than my other fretless, and I can soften the brightness further with patches on the multi-effects unit, or I can dial in a bit more of the neck pickup if I want a more traditional (as opposed to a "Jaco-like") sound. In all, I'm thrilled with the sound, but we'll see how it sounds with the band. It's also a really beautiful bass, probably the prettiest I've ever owned, and despite being used, doesn't seem to have a scratch on it.

I'm not as thrilled about the weight. The MTD website said the 4-string models of this bass would be 7.5-8 pounds. Mine is about 9.5 pounds. Not as heavy as the Toby, but way heavier than I'd wanted. The other thing I spent a lot of time with was setting the action, and it's still not exactly where I want it. Admittedly, I like ridiculously low action, but I've largely been able to get that with any bass I've owned. I'm having trouble getting this one to be as low as I like. At first I had to tighten the truss and raise the bridge, but now in increments I've needed to loosen the truss and lower the bridge because it was buzzing on the lower frets. I've got it pretty close, and the intonation is perfect, but it's not exactly where I want it action-wise. It may take longer to get it set perfectly, of I may need professional help to optimize that last step. Despite the action being a bit high, I can still play everything pretty easily, so maybe I'm just being super picky.

So, that's were I'm at with it. For what I paid, I'm not crying if it doesn't work out. I now know for sure I want a 4-string fret-lined fretless, and I want something with a brighter tone, like this one. Hopefully this one proves itself over time, if not, I can flip it pretty easily.

Bill

[Gizmotron]

So I got my MTD bass on Thursday. I didn't have it long enough to take it to a little gig we had on Friday, but I played the hell out of it this weekend. In all I'm happy with aspects of it, and still on the fence about others.

I'm happy to have the fret markers, and I definitely noticed spots where my intonation was better with this bass. The sound of the bass is very bright, so I used the preamp to boost the low and mid frequencies and left the treble at detente. This sounds great on the bridge pickup, which is the one I use primarily (with just a hint of the neck mixed in). There is a far larger tonal range to work with on this bass than my other fretless, and I can soften the brightness further with patches on the multi-effects unit, or I can dial in a bit more of the neck pickup if I want a more traditional (as opposed to a "Jaco-like") sound. In all, I'm thrilled with the sound, but we'll see how it sounds with the band. It's also a really beautiful bass, probably the prettiest I've ever owned, and despite being used, doesn't seem to have a scratch on it.

I'm not as thrilled about the weight. The MTD website said the 4-string models of this bass would be 7.5-8 pounds. Mine is about 9.5 pounds. Not as heavy as the Toby, but way heavier than I'd wanted. The other thing I spent a lot of time with was setting the action, and it's still not exactly where I want it. Admittedly, I like ridiculously low action, but I've largely been able to get that with any bass I've owned. I'm having trouble getting this one to be as low as I like. At first I had to tighten the truss and raise the bridge, but now in increments I've needed to loosen the truss and lower the bridge because it was buzzing on the lower frets. I've got it pretty close, and the intonation is perfect, but it's not exactly where I want it action-wise. It may take longer to get it set perfectly, of I may need professional help to optimize that last step. Despite the action being a bit high, I can still play everything pretty easily, so maybe I'm just being super picky.

So, that's were I'm at with it. For what I paid, I'm not crying if it doesn't work out. I now know for sure I want a 4-string fret-lined fretless, and I want something with a brighter tone, like this one. Hopefully this one proves itself over time, if not, I can flip it pretty easily.

Bill

Thanks for the review, Bill. Sounds like a lot of great aspects. I am surprised it weighs so much.
I hope it ends up being a "keeper."

[Plasmatopia]

That bass sounds cool, Bill. I'm getting more sensitive to the weight of my basses due to back issues that started 20 years ago and haven't improved as I age. Maybe it will be okay as long as you switch basses around between songs?

[Sputnik]

That bass sounds cool, Bill. I'm getting more sensitive to the weight of my basses due to back issues that started 20 years ago and haven't improved as I age. Maybe it will be okay as long as you switch basses around between songs?

Historically, I always played primarily fretted bass and only used the fretless for a few songs. So having a heavy fretless was no big deal, in fact I never much noticed it. In one of the bands I'm playing in, I use almost exclusively fretless and recently switched to using the Toby. That's when I really noticed the weight issue. Additionally, in that band, I was trying to phase out using the fretted bass for simplicity sake, less gear to lug around, less setup time, etc. So in some cases, switching is possible, but in others not, or at least I was trying to avoid it.

I did lower the strap a bit, and I have a very wide 4" strap, which also helps. I'm just going to have to see how it goes. I did a little one hour gig last Friday with the Toby, and it was fine. I'm sure this bass would be fine for an hour or so as well. Where I was noticing it was after a ~2 hour rehearsal. I would take it off and my back was just seized up... but I didn't notice because I was concentrating on the music. Never had this problem with my Tobias Growler. Interestingly I also don't have the problem with my 51 P bass, which must not be all that heavy even though it's a slab ash body (I'll weight it at some point).

Like you, I'm also getting more sensitive to this kind of thing. I'm in pretty good shape and go the gym three times a week. But holding a weight for that long is taxing. You'd think bass makers would be more sensitive to this kind of thing, and I even thought I'd found a bass that was "weight conscious." I'll just have to see how it goes as I use it more.

Bill

[Plasmatopia]

Historically, I always played primarily fretted bass and only used the fretless for a few songs. So having a heavy fretless was no big deal, in fact I never much noticed it. In one of the bands I'm playing in, I use almost exclusively fretless and recently switched to using the Toby. That's when I really noticed the weight issue. Additionally, in that band, I was trying to phase out using the fretted bass for simplicity sake, less gear to lug around, less setup time, etc. So in some cases, switching is possible, but in others not, or at least I was trying to avoid it.

I did lower the strap a bit, and I have a very wide 4" strap, which also helps. I'm just going to have to see how it goes. I did a little one hour gig last Friday with the Toby, and it was fine. I'm sure this bass would be fine for an hour or so as well. Where I was noticing it was after a ~2 hour rehearsal. I would take it off and my back was just seized up... but I didn't notice because I was concentrating on the music. Never had this problem with my Tobias Growler. Interestingly I also don't have the problem with my 51 P bass, which must not be all that heavy even though it's a slab ash body (I'll weight it at some point).

Like you, I'm also getting more sensitive to this kind of thing. I'm in pretty good shape and go the gym three times a week. But holding a weight for that long is taxing. You'd think bass makers would be more sensitive to this kind of thing, and I even thought I'd found a bass that was "weight conscious." I'll just have to see how it goes as I use it more.

Bill


I had a feeling you had more than one band situation. I have noticed wide straps help reduce the shoulder discomfort with heavier basses. I've been going to the gym at least 3 days a week as well and have drastically improved the strength of my core, but until recently I couldn't exercise my lower back without aggravating the situation. Now, in the last month or so I'm beginning to gain some lower back strength. I just have to be careful not to push it too much.

I've considered getting one of those walk-up stands to put my bass on. Seems kind of limiting though.

[Sputnik]

I had a feeling you had more than one band situation.

I'm in three bands. A bit insane but none are super full-time. Eccentric Orbit is my Prog band (www.eoband.com). We've been inactive for a while and are trying to scope out our next move. I'm in a band called D-Tuned (http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/detunedmusic1) where I just play bass. This is the one I'm trying to move to only fretless. And then I'm in a band called Brave Pursuit (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgdG1-9-VGc) where I'm playing bass and singing lead vocals. This is the band I use the 51 P.


I have noticed wide straps help reduce the shoulder discomfort with heavier basses. I've been going to the gym at least 3 days a week as well and have drastically improved the strength of my core, but until recently I couldn't exercise my lower back without aggravating the situation. Now, in the last month or so I'm beginning to gain some lower back strength. I just have to be careful not to push it too much.

Yes wide straps help a lot! And good for you on the gym! It takes a while to build up strength, particularly in the core which is hard to isolate. But there's just no substitute. I also suggest using a foam roller, which feels great on your back. I did that a couple of times when I got home from those log rehearsals and my back was seized up, it helped a lot!


I've considered getting one of those walk-up stands to put my bass on. Seems kind of limiting though.I'd never get used to that. If if got that bad, I'd just get a stool and sit. If Fripp can get away with it, so can I dammit! :cool

Bill

[kid_runningfox]

I can't comment on the SD Little 59, I've never heard it. SD pickups are good, though probably not the best out there. Generally, I'm never satisfied with the sound of a split humbucker in the notch positions, even when paired with a single in the middle position. To me, they just don't have the "sparkle" of a real single coil neck or bridge pickup. Whether the Little 59 does a better job of that, I'm not sure, and like you I'm not sure whether it would capture the sound of a real dual coil humbucker.

I'd also be dubious of routing the guitar. It seems to me that the odds of getting a configuration you like is 50/50 at best, and then if you sell the guitar you've likely decreased the resale value. There have to be a zillion Strat-like models out there with built in bridge and neck humbuckers. Were I you, I'd sell the Strat and look at something like that, hopefully one you could try out to see if the humbuckers sound good by themselves, and if the notch positions work the way you like. That's just my opinion, though. It's your guitar, and your money, so if you're willing to take the risk, go for it.

Bill

Thanks for the advice in both posts, Bill. To be honest, routing the guitar doesn't bother me in the slightest; the body's home-made (not by me, I hasten to add - I have precisely ZERO woodworking skills!), so resale value really isn't an issue. I've also had the guitar for 16 years, and it was my main gigging guitar for about 5, so I have absolutely no plans to sell it. (I also have an Ibanez J-Custom in HSH configuration, so that's not an issue, either.) However, what I AM keen to do is to reconfigure the Strat in a manner that will make me want to USE it again. Even before I came out to China, the Strat had very much become the runt in the litter, thanks to my growing dislike of the HSS configuration, and my frustration with the weediness of the single-coils fitted to the guitar (especially in comparison to the Invader in the bridge), and it's spent a number of years sitting in its case as a consequence. I'm therefore ruminating on ways of bringing it back to life, and the conversion to HSH is at the moment quite appealing, hence my wondering about the single-coil size humbuckers over the full fat versions. Pickup issues notwithstanding, it's a great guitar that I'd like to start playing it again, and I'm also an inveterate tinkerer - as my much-butchered Ibanez Roadstar will testify!

[Sputnik]

Thanks for the advice in both posts, Bill. To be honest, routing the guitar doesn't bother me in the slightest; the body's home-made (not by me, I hasten to add - I have precisely ZERO woodworking skills!), so resale value really isn't an issue. I've also had the guitar for 16 years, and it was my main gigging guitar for about 5, so I have absolutely no plans to sell it. (I also have an Ibanez J-Custom in HSH configuration, so that's not an issue, either.) However, what I AM keen to do is to reconfigure the Strat in a manner that will make me want to USE it again. Even before I came out to China, the Strat had very much become the runt in the litter, thanks to my growing dislike of the HSS configuration, and my frustration with the weediness of the single-coils fitted to the guitar (especially in comparison to the Invader in the bridge), and it's spent a number of years sitting in its case as a consequence. I'm therefore ruminating on ways of bringing it back to life, and the conversion to HSH is at the moment quite appealing, hence my wondering about the single-coil size humbuckers over the full fat versions. Pickup issues notwithstanding, it's a great guitar that I'd like to start playing it again, and I'm also an inveterate tinkerer - as my much-butchered Ibanez Roadstar will testify!OK, that makes a lot more sense in terms of routing, so that isn't an issue.

I definitely think your sense is right that the Invader is not a good pairing with single coils, so replacing that seems like a good idea. I'm not personally sold on the JB in the bridge. This is also pretty high output, and with a DCR of 16.6K, I think it's going to overpower the 59 at a more modest and traditional 7.6K, just like the Invader would. If you're set on the 59 in the neck, which isn't a bad choice, then something like the Pearly Gates in the bridge might be a better match. Alternatively, at 11.7K, the Little 59 in the neck is perhaps a better match with the JB in the bridge. You'd then have to identify a middle position single coil that would keep up, a Quarter Pounder perhaps? For my tastes, that's a lot of really hi-gain, but that may suit you.

It's just hard to know how all these would sound together, and whether your notch positions would have that "Strat quack." At some point, you'd just have to try it and see. It sounds like you're not too worried about losing the single coil in the neck sound. I would be, as that's one of my favorite sounds from a Strat. I'd be more likely to try the 59 in the bridge and then try to pair some better single coils with that. But I like more of an "old-school," low-output sound, and like the sound of single coils. But what you're thinking about may work well for you, it's just hard to know until you try. I would, however, try to match a bit more closely the output of the pickups. I think even just replacing the Invader with the 59 would make the guitar sound more "even," and might be a good first step.

It will be fun to hear what you wind up doing.

Bill

[Sputnik]

So, I had an interesting weekend with the new MTD bass. On Friday, I got it professionally set up. The guy who did it said I'd done a pretty good job, but it was good to get a professional to look at it. After fiddling with it, he determined the neck has a slight warp on the treble side about 2-3 fret marks from the end of the neck. It prevents me from getting the action as low as I'd like. He said it wouldn't be a big deal to sand down, but I wanted to ponder that.

I took it home, played it a bit Friday, then Saturday dug it out and was just really unhappy with it. I was in the process of changing strings on my Toby, when I found a set of medium light (.100 gauge) DR Lo-Riders that I'd taken off my P bass. Figuring, "what the hell," I slapped those on to replace the .095s that were on there. Obviously I had to tighten the truss a tiny bit, but then I was able to lower the bridge and damn if it wasn't an improvement. I don't think the higher gauge strings resonate as much, so you can set the action a bit lower without buzz. Also, even though these DRs are hex core, I think they are a bit lower tension than other hex core bass strings. They certainly feel more flexible.

So now I'm liking the bass a bit more. I'm actually thinking about having the neck sanded to fix that problem, and then trying out either some DR or GHS round core strings, that have lower tension but still at .100 gauge. I'm surprised going up the gauge helped that much, I usually have great luck with the .095s, but the bass just felt way too stiff set up with those.

It's still heavy, my back was sore after playing that bass all day Saturday, then a three hour rehearsal with my P bass on Sunday. But I'm OK now. Maybe it will make me stronger! :p

Bill

[Plasmatopia]

Maybe you could strap it on and do some exercises with it every day. :)

I get frustrated making all those adjustments to my basses. I really only started digging into that sort of thing myself 2 or 3 years ago. Both of my basses are difficult to adjust the truss rod. One requires a 4.5mm hex wrench because that's just what seems to work since the previous owner semi stripped out the internal truss rod hex. The second one is a replacement neck from Warmoth and the adjustment is at the other end, near the body. I have to remove the pick guard to access it. I just need to stop being lazy, pull everything off the pick guard, and bring it to work where I can cut a notch out of the pick guard with a dremel tool or maybe my waterjet (just because I can).

[Sputnik]

Maybe you could strap it on and do some exercises with it every day. :)You laugh, but it isn't a half bad idea! :D


I get frustrated making all those adjustments to my basses. I really only started digging into that sort of thing myself 2 or 3 years ago. Both of my basses are difficult to adjust the truss rod. One requires a 4.5mm hex wrench because that's just what seems to work since the previous owner semi stripped out the internal truss rod hex. The second one is a replacement neck from Warmoth and the adjustment is at the other end, near the body. I have to remove the pick guard to access it. I just need to stop being lazy, pull everything off the pick guard, and bring it to work where I can cut a notch out of the pick guard with a dremel tool or maybe my waterjet (just because I can).That drives me nuts too. Vintage Fenders are all this way, and so are their reissues. If you can do a nice job cutting the pickguard, I say do it. It just makes things so much easier.

Mercifully my '57 Strat reissue and my '51 P bass reissue have been super stable, so aside from one tweak when I got each of them, neither has had to be adjusted again. I'm considering changing gauge on the Strat, and it will definitely need a tweak then, but I think I'm going to have that done professionally.

But I vastly prefer guitars that either have truss adjustment at the headstock, or have easy access to the truss at the base of the neck via a plate (like my MTD and Tobias Growler).

Bill

[Plasmatopia]

I've removed the pick guard and I'm ready to cut it tomorrow. I guess this thread motivated me. The bass is kind of a Frankenstein situation anyway, so I'm not too worried about appearance. You should see the hack job I did on the body just in order to be able to access the truss rod adjustment. It's pretty ugly. So cutting away that part of the pick guard might reveal a bit of that nastiness. This bass only needs adjusting because I previously had it tuned down a whole step. Once I get it set up right it shouldn't move much.

My Strats have both been really stable and I've never had to adjust the truss on either one.

I did a test recording using the line out of my buddy's Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0 straight into my Mackie mixer and while I would want to dial in the EQ a bit better, it was easily the best recorded bass sound I've come up with so far. Much warmer sounding than my Ampeg. I needed to practice tonight (learning Black Dog for the first time....tricky!) and tried to dig into the EQ on my Ampeg more, trying to alter things radically, thinking I just hadn't hit upon the right settings. It's not a terrible amp, but I still just can't get it to where I'm completely happy with it. There's a sort of nasally honk factor I can't quite eliminate. Not as warm as the Genz Benz.

[Sputnik]

I did a test recording using the line out of my buddy's Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0 straight into my Mackie mixer and while I would want to dial in the EQ a bit better, it was easily the best recorded bass sound I've come up with so far. Much warmer sounding than my Ampeg. I needed to practice tonight (learning Black Dog for the first time....tricky!) and tried to dig into the EQ on my Ampeg more, trying to alter things radically, thinking I just hadn't hit upon the right settings. It's not a terrible amp, but I still just can't get it to where I'm completely happy with it. There's a sort of nasally honk factor I can't quite eliminate. Not as warm as the Genz Benz.

I assume you're using a line out and a direct box (if needed) going to the board?

Personally, I never liked the sound of going direct on bass unless I'm using some kind of amp modeling. For recording, I always demand mics on the speakers, even if that is mixed with a direct sound. I even prefer that on stage. I'm surprised it's so important to you to get a direct recorded sound. Is the rhythm section playing everything live for recording? If so, then I guess I could see it. If not, I'd just get a cheap modeler and record the bass that way. I'm astounded how good a recorded tone you can get going that route.

Bill

[kid_runningfox]

You laugh, but it isn't a half bad idea! :D

That drives me nuts too. Vintage Fenders are all this way, and so are their reissues. If you can do a nice job cutting the pickguard, I say do it. It just makes things so much easier.

Mercifully my '57 Strat reissue and my '51 P bass reissue have been super stable, so aside from one tweak when I got each of them, neither has had to be adjusted again. I'm considering changing gauge on the Strat, and it will definitely need a tweak then, but I think I'm going to have that done professionally.

But I vastly prefer guitars that either have truss adjustment at the headstock, or have easy access to the truss at the base of the neck via a plate (like my MTD and Tobias Growler).

Bill


Neck stability is the bane of the guitarist/bassist's life here in China, where the variations in humidity are such that the action on instruments can vary from day to day, never mind, month to month - and no amount of trussrod adjustment will cause the damn things to settle down. For example, my otherwise excellent Charvel So-Cal regularly suffers from a dead spot on the 2nd fret as a result of the neck swelling and moving in high humidity, which can vary from a mild buzz to the strings being almost completely choked - not good, and often extremely irritating. At the moment, however, it's cold and the humidity is relatively low, and it's entirely disappeared, the downside to this being that the action has raised itself quite significantly, however. The bassist in my band, who has offered to set the Charvel up for me again after Chinese New Year, has mentioned that it's a constant battle with his own basses (one of which is a very high-end Warwick) to keep the necks straight and actions constant and playable. Not fun, quite frankly.

[Sputnik]

Neck stability is the bane of the guitarist/bassist's life here in China, where the variations in humidity are such that the action on instruments can vary from day to day, never mind, month to month - and no amount of trussrod adjustment will cause the damn things to settle down. For example, my otherwise excellent Charvel So-Cal regularly suffers from a dead spot on the 2nd fret as a result of the neck swelling and moving in high humidity, which can vary from a mild buzz to the strings being almost completely choked - not good, and often extremely irritating. At the moment, however, it's cold and the humidity is relatively low, and it's entirely disappeared, the downside to this being that the action has raised itself quite significantly, however. The bassist in my band, who has offered to set the Charvel up for me again after Chinese New Year, has mentioned that it's a constant battle with his own basses (one of which is a very high-end Warwick) to keep the necks straight and actions constant and playable. Not fun, quite frankly.You ever given any consideration to a graphite neck? I have a Rainsong acoustic, and I absolutely love it. Action is the same regardless of humidity, and we have some pretty severe swings here in New England (though probably not as severe as what you're up against in China).

I have had temptations to try a graphite neck bass, but I'd want it to be fretless, and the selection out there is limited. So it might have to be custom for me to get just what I'm looking for.

Bill

[Plasmatopia]

I assume you're using a line out and a direct box (if needed) going to the board?

Personally, I never liked the sound of going direct on bass unless I'm using some kind of amp modeling. For recording, I always demand mics on the speakers, even if that is mixed with a direct sound. I even prefer that on stage. I'm surprised it's so important to you to get a direct recorded sound. Is the rhythm section playing everything live for recording? If so, then I guess I could see it. If not, I'd just get a cheap modeler and record the bass that way. I'm astounded how good a recorded tone you can get going that route.

Bill

The methods of recording I have tried:

Bass --> Ampeg B2-RE --> Shure PG52 close miking the speaker cabinet

Bass --> Line out of Ampeg straight into mixer

Bass --> Sansamp Bass DI --> mixer

Bass --> Boss LMB-3 bass enhancer/limiter --> Sansamp Bass DI --> mixer

Rode K2 about 4 feet from speaker cabinet (picks up way too much room sound)

Bass --> Genz Benz Shuttle --> line out (tried both pre/post settings) --> mixer


Perhaps I just haven't found the right DI box. Even the Shuttle line out in the Pre setting was better than the other methods I tried, so that tells me my basses aren't lost causes.

[kid_runningfox]

You ever given any consideration to a graphite neck? I have a Rainsong acoustic, and I absolutely love it. Action is the same regardless of humidity, and we have some pretty severe swings here in New England (though probably not as severe as what you're up against in China).

I have had temptations to try a graphite neck bass, but I'd want it to be fretless, and the selection out there is limited. So it might have to be custom for me to get just what I'm looking for.

Bill

Sadly, such things are impossible to find over here - even in nearby Shanghai - and would be hideously expensive even if available, as the Chinese government imposes truly draconian levels of taxation on what it deems high-end luxury goods like these.

[Gizmotron]

The methods of recording I have tried:

Bass --> Ampeg B2-RE --> Shure PG52 close miking the speaker cabinet

Bass --> Line out of Ampeg straight into mixer

Bass --> Sansamp Bass DI --> mixer

Bass --> Boss LMB-3 bass enhancer/limiter --> Sansamp Bass DI --> mixer

Rode K2 about 4 feet from speaker cabinet (picks up way too much room sound)

Bass --> Genz Benz Shuttle --> line out (tried both pre/post settings) --> mixer


Perhaps I just haven't found the right DI box. Even the Shuttle line out in the Pre setting was better than the other methods I tried, so that tells me my basses aren't lost causes.

I am sure you don't want to throw more money at the situation but I really like my EBS Microbass II.

[Plasmatopia]

I am sure you don't want to throw more money at the situation but I really like my EBS Microbass II.

I'm not completely against throwing more money at it, but my wife is. :) But seriously, if something like the EBS did the trick I'd consider it. I have two goals I'm trying to achieve at the moment (which may or may not conflict...short term they may conflict due to availability of $$$) and that is a recorded bass tone that I like as well as a lighter and/or smaller bass rig to take to gigs.

So far I'm not having too much luck selling gear (I haven't gone the Reverb route yet). I got 6 or 7 emails from a guy who saw my Craigslist ad for a mixing board I'm selling. This guy was telling me he could get the same thing used at Guitar Center for much less than my price and he'd have a 45-day return guarantee. I told him to go buy it there. He still kept arguing with me, let a week pass and made the same low offer, etc. These people are a pain!

[Gizmotron]

I'm not completely against throwing more money at it, but my wife is. :) But seriously, if something like the EBS did the trick I'd consider it. I have two goals I'm trying to achieve at the moment (which may or may not conflict...short term they may conflict due to availability of $$$) and that is a recorded bass tone that I like as well as a lighter and/or smaller bass rig to take to gigs.

So far I'm not having too much luck selling gear (I haven't gone the Reverb route yet). I got 6 or 7 emails from a guy who saw my Craigslist ad for a mixing board I'm selling. This guy was telling me he could get the same thing used at Guitar Center for much less than my price and he'd have a 45-day return guarantee. I told him to go buy it there. He still kept arguing with me, let a week pass and made the same low offer, etc. These people are a pain!

I don't want to hear that. I have about 4 items I'd like to sell and my hunch is that it'll be difficult.
I hope you find the Holy Grail for your recording. :)

[Plasmatopia]

I don't want to hear that. I have about 4 items I'd like to sell and my hunch is that it'll be difficult.
I hope you find the Holy Grail for your recording. :)

It's a fairly small and relatively low population area I live in. There probably just aren't that many people looking for the stuff I'm selling.

[Gizmotron]

What mixer, Plasma?

[Sputnik]

The methods of recording I have tried:

Bass --> Sansamp Bass DI --> mixerOut of curiosity, what was wrong with the SansAmp? What didn't you like about it?


Sadly, such things are impossible to find over here - even in nearby Shanghai - and would be hideously expensive even if available, as the Chinese government imposes truly draconian levels of taxation on what it deems high-end luxury goods like these.Hmmm, I'm surprised there aren't any Chinese manufacturers experimenting with graphite necks. But I'm sure you're correct if you can't find any. They are pricey over here, I can't imagine what they'd be like buying them in China given what you say. Oh well, so much for that idea. :p

Bill

[Plasmatopia]

What mixer, Plasma?

I'm selling a PreSonus Studiolive 16.0.2.

[Plasmatopia]

Out of curiosity, what was wrong with the SansAmp? What didn't you like about it?



To my mind it sounds quite a bit like the Ampeg and has the same problem of not sounding all that warm and has some aspects that I can't dial out with the EQ controls. It could just be that the combination of my P-basses and the SansAmp (or the Ampeg) just doesn't work for me, but the P-bass is just fine with the Genz Benz for some reason.

[Gizmotron]

I'm selling a PreSonus Studiolive 16.0.2.

A nice board!
Good luck selling it!

[Sputnik]

To my mind it sounds quite a bit like the Ampeg and has the same problem of not sounding all that warm and has some aspects that I can't dial out with the EQ controls. It could just be that the combination of my P-basses and the SansAmp (or the Ampeg) just doesn't work for me, but the P-bass is just fine with the Genz Benz for some reason.Yeah, I don't think it's your basses. You can usually get a good sound out of P basses of any provenance. I'm a little surprised the SansAmp didn't work, but I don't doubt your experience with it.

I have no experience with Genz Benz at all. They certainly have a good reputation, but their gear isn't that widely available, and I've never had the opportunity to play with one. Those Shuttle amps look nice. The Shuttle 6.2 has a tube preamp. I'll bet that would sound nice direct into a board, especially with all the output capabilities of that little head. Parametric EQ and lots of tone shaping options on the front panel as well.

Hmmmm, tempting.

:lol

Actually all the money I made selling off a few things is gone now, partly on my MTD, and then my wife just got a Nord Electro 5. She was due a new board, she's been on the Electro 1 since 2001 or 2002. It's served us well, but it was time for an upgrade. It arrived today, I assume she's at home playing with it now!

Bill

[Gizmotron]

Yeah, I don't think it's your basses. You can usually get a good sound out of P basses of any provenance. I'm a little surprised the SansAmp didn't work, but I don't doubt your experience with it.

I have no experience with Genz Benz at all. They certainly have a good reputation, but their gear isn't that widely available, and I've never had the opportunity to play with one. Those Shuttle amps look nice. The Shuttle 6.2 has a tube preamp. I'll bet that would sound nice direct into a board, especially with all the output capabilities of that little head. Parametric EQ and lots of tone shaping options on the front panel as well.

Hmmmm, tempting.

:lol

Actually all the money I made selling off a few things is gone now, partly on my MTD, and then my wife just got a Nord Electro 5. She was due a new board, she's been on the Electro 1 since 2001 or 2002. It's served us well, but it was time for an upgrade. It arrived today, I assume she's at home playing with it now!

Bill

A new Nord! Good for her! (But yeah, that would deplete the funds quickly.)
I have a Nord C1 and I love its classic organ tones.

[kid_runningfox]

Out of curiosity, what was wrong with the SansAmp? What didn't you like about it?

Hmmm, I'm surprised there aren't any Chinese manufacturers experimenting with graphite necks. But I'm sure you're correct if you can't find any. They are pricey over here, I can't imagine what they'd be like buying them in China given what you say. Oh well, so much for that idea. :p

Bill

There may well be, but it's all exported (same with consumer electronics, home appliances, computers, etc.). The stuff you can buy in China isn't a patch on the stuff made in China and then sent overseas. It IS a great idea, though! :)

[kid_runningfox]

I'm not completely against throwing more money at it, but my wife is. :) But seriously, if something like the EBS did the trick I'd consider it. I have two goals I'm trying to achieve at the moment (which may or may not conflict...short term they may conflict due to availability of $$$) and that is a recorded bass tone that I like as well as a lighter and/or smaller bass rig to take to gigs.

So far I'm not having too much luck selling gear (I haven't gone the Reverb route yet). I got 6 or 7 emails from a guy who saw my Craigslist ad for a mixing board I'm selling. This guy was telling me he could get the same thing used at Guitar Center for much less than my price and he'd have a 45-day return guarantee. I told him to go buy it there. He still kept arguing with me, let a week pass and made the same low offer, etc. These people are a pain!

Do you have a relatively local music store you could trade/PX gear at? It sounds to me like your struggles with the Ampeg are turning into a bit of a lost cause. Sometimes it's best to concede defeat and move onto something else.

[Plasmatopia]

Do you have a relatively local music store you could trade/PX gear at? It sounds to me like your struggles with the Ampeg are turning into a bit of a lost cause. Sometimes it's best to concede defeat and move onto something else.

I really think it's somehow just a bad match-up of the various pieces of equipment compounded by me just getting sick of that sound or being ready to move on. I watched a YouTube review of the Ampeg last night where a guy set up a looper pedal just repeating a riff while he messed with the controls on the amp. It sounded better than my amp. So it's possible I just kind of have a dud or that guy had a bass that worked better with the amp. But that demo also seemed to show that the amp was not capable of what I'm after.

Since EBS was mentioned I checked out a YouTube demo of an EBS class D type amp (EBS Reidmar 750) that sounds like an even more "hifi" version of the Genz Benz Shuttle. It was so hifi that it was almost too revealing and intimidating! But I think something along the lines of the Shuttle or Reidmar is where I'd like to end up.

For now I'm only holding onto the Ampeg because it's my only bass amp and I need it for band practice. Even if I sell it, they don't seem to be fetching much more than $200-$250, so they have not held their value well. It won't contribute that much toward any solution. I may be better off keeping it as a backup.

[Plasmatopia]

I assume you're using a line out and a direct box (if needed) going to the board?

Personally, I never liked the sound of going direct on bass unless I'm using some kind of amp modeling. For recording, I always demand mics on the speakers, even if that is mixed with a direct sound. I even prefer that on stage. I'm surprised it's so important to you to get a direct recorded sound. Is the rhythm section playing everything live for recording? If so, then I guess I could see it. If not, I'd just get a cheap modeler and record the bass that way. I'm astounded how good a recorded tone you can get going that route.

Bill

I guess I'm thinking of the old stories of "going direct" from way back in the day. But they were going direct into some super amazing old mixing board, not some super clean and high quality but relatively characterless modern mixer. I'm really encouraged by what I heard from the Shuttle's line out. Use of the tube circuit didn't hurt, that's for sure.

[Plasmatopia]

Yeah, I don't think it's your basses. You can usually get a good sound out of P basses of any provenance. I'm a little surprised the SansAmp didn't work, but I don't doubt your experience with it.



Feel free to doubt my experience! Personally, I am having a hard time reconciling the fact that some of the equipment I bought got rave reviews (the SansAmp as one example) but my experience is "meh". Makes me feel like I'm doing something fundamentally wrong, which is why I'm trying to go back now and make sure I've covered all the extremes of the different variables (EQ settings, signal path options, etc.) to make sure I'm not missing anything that should be obvious. I'm not an expert or professional, only a part time hobbyist.

[Plasmatopia]

Actually all the money I made selling off a few things is gone now, partly on my MTD, and then my wife just got a Nord Electro 5. She was due a new board, she's been on the Electro 1 since 2001 or 2002. It's served us well, but it was time for an upgrade. It arrived today, I assume she's at home playing with it now!

Bill

Sweet! Would love to have such a toy around. :)

[Sputnik]

Feel free to doubt my experience! Personally, I am having a hard time reconciling the fact that some of the equipment I bought got rave reviews (the SansAmp as one example) but my experience is "meh". Makes me feel like I'm doing something fundamentally wrong, which is why I'm trying to go back now and make sure I've covered all the extremes of the different variables (EQ settings, signal path options, etc.) to make sure I'm not missing anything that should be obvious. I'm not an expert or professional, only a part time hobbyist.LOL! I'd have to be there with you to hear what you're hearing and see what you're doing to diagnose any further. I'd say trust your ears. You know what you want to hear, and who gives a crap how well reviewed a piece of equipment is, or how expensive it is? If you can't make it work for you, then it doesn't work. Sounds like you're being reasonable diligent about checking some basics, which is probably smart. But don't doubt your ears, and try to find equipment that it isn't such a chore to get a good sound with.

Do others in your band have the same issues you do with the recordings? if so, do they have any suggestions? If not, does their happiness make you any happier? :D


Sweet! Would love to have such a toy around. :)Yeah, she's psyched, but the poor girl has been so busy she hasn't played with it much. We'll have some time this weekend. I haven't heard it at all yet.

Bill

[Rarebird]

Sweet! Would love to have such a toy around. :)

Me too. I still do with the Electro 2

[Plasmatopia]

Me too. I still do with the Electro 2

I used to have a Korg 01/W for many years, but just didn't use it that much. I gave it to my niece who plays piano.

[Rarebird]

I used to have a Korg 01/W for many years, but just didn't use it that much. I gave it to my niece who plays piano.

I have a bit more than that.
Keys:
Nord Electro 2
M-Audio Keystation Pro 88

Modules:
Nord G2 Engine
Akai Z4 Sampler
Yamaha TX81Z
Kawai K1rII
Proteus/1
Waldorf Blofeld

And on the computer
Arturia V Collection

Not in use
Roland System 100 model 101 synthesizer
Target TRG-MKI49

[hFx]

G2 Engine! Nice! Expanded?

[Rarebird]

G2 Engine! Nice! Expanded?

No, alas not.

[hFx]

I had an expanded G1 rack for a while, but sold it to look for a G2 Engine. However the investment went elsewhere. I'd still get one if the price is right... Fabulous device!

[Plasmatopia]

I have a bit more than that.
Keys:
Nord Electro 2
M-Audio Keystation Pro 88

Modules:
Nord G2 Engine
Akai Z4 Sampler
Yamaha TX81Z
Kawai K1rII
Proteus/1
Waldorf Blofeld

And on the computer
Arturia V Collection

Not in use
Roland System 100 model 101 synthesizer
Target TRG-MKI49


Wow! That's a lot of nice toys. :)

[Rarebird]

Wow! That's a lot of nice toys. :)

Yes, music is my first love and it probably will be my last (quoting John Miles)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Nz7gtCArOw

[Plasmatopia]

Yes, music is my first love and it probably will be my last (quoting John Miles)


Absolutely!

[Sputnik]

Finally got to hear a bit of the Electro 5 last night. Organ sounds are a huge improvement on this board compared to the Electro 1. Acoustic pianos as well. Rhodes piano is oddly a bit weaker, though we haven't tweaked with it that much yet, and there is possibly a better sample on their site for download. I'm sure we'll get that worked out.

But I was floored by the organ sounds, and they are much smoother than on the Electro 1, which gets a bit shrill in the higher registers.

Bill

[progmatist]

Another thing I like about the Electro 5 (and 4) is the presence of physical drawbar faders. I didn't much care for the virtual drawbars of the Electro 3, 2 or 1.

[Sputnik]

Another thing I like about the Electro 5 (and 4) is the presence of physical drawbar faders. I didn't much care for the virtual drawbars of the Electro 3, 2 or 1.Yeah, that is cool, and is a real incentive to play around with the drawbars in real time to see how they effect the sound. it was definitely more a chore to do that on the Electro 1 (and 2 and 3).

My wife got the Rhodes sound cranked up, so the board is really starting to sound good. The organs continue to blow us both away.

Bill

[Gizmotron]

Yeah, that is cool, and is a real incentive to play around with the drawbars in real time to see how they effect the sound. it was definitely more a chore to do that on the Electro 1 (and 2 and 3).

My wife got the Rhodes sound cranked up, so the board is really starting to sound good. The organs continue to blow us both away.

Bill

I've got the virtual on my C1. My boss' daughter has the C2D with the "real" drawbars.

[Yodelgoat]

Just bought a 12 string! I have been missing my old Jay Turser 12 string electric, so I did a little search and found this rather lovely thing...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAqJeXE_njQ

(thats not me in the vid, by the way)

I picked up the Tele version as it seems to be a nice thing. People seem to be impressed with the overall quality. I'll only use it while recording. I'll try to remember to update this once It comes in. I paid 175 with free shipping.

Cozart Guitars... I'm giving them a try

[Gizmotron]

Just bought a 12 string! I have been missing my old Jay Turser 12 string electric, so I did a little search and found this rather lovely thing...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAqJeXE_njQ

(thats not me in the vid, by the way)

I picked up the Tele version as it seems to be a nice thing. People seem to be impressed with the overall quality. I'll only use it while recording. I'll try to remember to update this once It comes in. I paid 175 with free shipping.

Cozart Guitars... I'm giving them a try

Very cool! An electric 12 has been on my list for a very long time but I have not made it happen yet.
How is the intonation?
Congrats!

[Sputnik]

Just bought a 12 string! I have been missing my old Jay Turser 12 string electric, so I did a little search and found this rather lovely thing...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAqJeXE_njQ

(thats not me in the vid, by the way)

I picked up the Tele version as it seems to be a nice thing. People seem to be impressed with the overall quality. I'll only use it while recording. I'll try to remember to update this once It comes in. I paid 175 with free shipping.

Cozart Guitars... I'm giving them a tryFor that price, you can't really go wrong. I've seen some Cozarts on Reverb, and they certainly look cool. You've got to wonder when something is that cheap, but the reviews are generally positive. I think occasionally someone gets a total dud, but that seems to be the exception. If the neck is solid and the body is made of decent wood, then everything else is up-gradable, should you choose to do so. Definitely keep us posted on how you like it.

I took a chance on a fairly cheap guitar recently, a PT Berger Rodeo King (http://www.ptbergerguitars.com/rodeo-king, I got the one in transparent red), and for the most part I was extremely pleased. Some of the pickguard cosmetics were a little "rough," shall we say, but the basic body and neck are extraordinary, and those Telsa VR-60 pickups are freaking unbelievable! Those are $95 pickups each retail on a guitar I paid about $400 for! The guitar sounds and plays great, and scratches my Tele itch and then some.

So I'm not opposed to trying a cheap instrument. I hope yours works out!

Bill

[Gizmotron]

For that price, you can't really go wrong. I've seen some Cozarts on Reverb, and they certainly look cool. You've got to wonder when something is that cheap, but the reviews are generally positive. I think occasionally someone gets a total dud, but that seems to be the exception. If the neck is solid and the body is made of decent wood, then everything else is up-gradable, should you choose to do so. Definitely keep us posted on how you like it.

I took a chance on a fairly cheap guitar recently, a PT Berger Rodeo King (http://www.ptbergerguitars.com/rodeo-king, I got the one in transparent red), and for the most part I was extremely pleased. Some of the pickguard cosmetics were a little "rough," shall we say, but the basic body and neck are extraordinary, and those Telsa VR-60 pickups are freaking unbelievable! Those are $95 pickups each retail on a guitar I paid about $400 for! The guitar sounds and plays great, and scratches my Tele itch and then some.

So I'm not opposed to trying a cheap instrument. I hope yours works out!

Bill

Well, after all, isn't that THE main issue when researching and buying an instrument? Will an inexpensive instrument be a solid, long-lasting asset or will it be a disappointment that needs to be sold/traded/given away at a loss so that one can get the instrument that we should have bought from the start?

Many times I have bought an inexpensive instrument and then realized it just doesn't give me the sound I need. That wastes money in the long run.
Yet I do have a number of inexpensive instruments that were just perfect for me at the time and remain so to this day.

But, when I have waited and saved for a better instrument (instead of getting a cheaper version), I have never, ever gotten rid of the piece.

It really is a tough choice sometime.

[Sputnik]

Well, after all, isn't that THE main issue when researching and buying an instrument? Will an inexpensive instrument be a solid, long-lasting asset or will it be a disappointment that needs to be sold/traded/given away at a loss so that one can get the instrument that we should have bought from the start?

Sometimes. There are times when I'm simply not looking at cheap instruments, I want something nice. And likewise times I'm just not looking to pay a lot, but want something serviceable (or a "great bang for the buck" if you get lucky). So I think it's the times when you really are torn between spending more to get something "really nice," or spending less to get something that may be largely just as good that this quandary comes into play. Will the American Strat at $1,200-$1,400 be that much better for me than the Mexican Strat for $400-500? Sometimes that decision is easy, sometimes not so much.

Generally I agree with you, cheaper instruments are "stepping stones" to nicer things, but I've gotten rid of my share of nice guitars. And I've had my fairly cheap Tobias Toby fretless for 14-15 years, so sometimes you really do get lucky. The cheap instruments are also great if you're not really sure you want something. Often you'll let the cheap item go, but not get a more expensive replacement. So they have their place.

But when you're certain, and it's worth the scratch to you, nicer instruments to tend to have greater staying power.

Bill

[Gizmotron]

Sometimes. There are times when I'm simply not looking at cheap instruments, I want something nice. And likewise times I'm just not looking to pay a lot, but want something serviceable (or a "great bang for the buck" if you get lucky). So I think it's the times when you really are torn between spending more to get something "really nice," or spending less to get something that may be largely just as good that this quandary comes into play. Will the American Strat at $1,200-$1,400 be that much better for me than the Mexican Strat for $400-500? Sometimes that decision is easy, sometimes not so much.

Generally I agree with you, cheaper instruments are "stepping stones" to nicer things, but I've gotten rid of my share of nice guitars. And I've had my fairly cheap Tobias Toby fretless for 14-15 years, so sometimes you really do get lucky. The cheap instruments are also great if you're not really sure you want something. Often you'll let the cheap item go, but not get a more expensive replacement. So they have their place.

But when you're certain, and it's worth the scratch to you, nicer instruments to tend to have greater staying power.

Bill

Well stated, Bill.

[Yodelgoat]

I bought the 12 string mostly because I had a song in my head that requires one. the reason I got rid of my Turser, was that it was not that durable, and it had started to rust(no kidding). The bridge was bending because of the string tension. If this one doesnt work out - I havent received it yet. I'll record the song and then, if its pretty, it will wind up on my studio wall, where I'll take it down once or twice a year. If the wood is decent, I will probably just upgrade the hardware, so it doesnt rust. I would love to have a Rick 12 string, and I have a friend who would probably loan his to me, but that is way out of my budget at least for now. any guitar over 2 grand is just not in the cards. at 175, this is not a real risk. I'll probably be able to get the song done, and possibly never have to buy another 12 string. I may not "need" one. but I can probably resell it at a bit of a loss, or just hang on to it. I have been wanting a Tele, but I have strat, so this is a happy compromise. I will definitely let y'all know if its worth it - How can it not be?

[Gizmotron]

I bought the 12 string mostly because I had a song in my head that requires one. the reason I got rid of my Turser, was that it was not that durable, and it had started to rust(no kidding). The bridge was bending because of the string tension. If this one doesnt work out - I havent received it yet. I'll record the song and then, if its pretty, it will wind up on my studio wall, where I'll take it down once or twice a year. If the wood is decent, I will probably just upgrade the hardware, so it doesnt rust. I would love to have a Rick 12 string, and I have a friend who would probably loan his to me, but that is way out of my budget at least for now. any guitar over 2 grand is just not in the cards. at 175, this is not a real risk. I'll probably be able to get the song done, and possibly never have to buy another 12 string. I may not "need" one. but I can probably resell it at a bit of a loss, or just hang on to it. I have been wanting a Tele, but I have strat, so this is a happy compromise. I will definitely let y'all know if its worth it - How can it not be?

Sound logic!
Let us know, Yodel.

[kid_runningfox]

I took a chance on a fairly cheap guitar recently, a PT Berger Rodeo King (http://www.ptbergerguitars.com/rodeo-king, I got the one in transparent red), and for the most part I was extremely pleased. Some of the pickguard cosmetics were a little "rough," shall we say, but the basic body and neck are extraordinary, and those Telsa VR-60 pickups are freaking unbelievable! Those are $95 pickups each retail on a guitar I paid about $400 for! The guitar sounds and plays great, and scratches my Tele itch and then some.

Bill

That is one fine-looking guitar - congratulations!! :)

[kid_runningfox]

Sometimes. There are times when I'm simply not looking at cheap instruments, I want something nice. And likewise times I'm just not looking to pay a lot, but want something serviceable (or a "great bang for the buck" if you get lucky). So I think it's the times when you really are torn between spending more to get something "really nice," or spending less to get something that may be largely just as good that this quandary comes into play. Will the American Strat at $1,200-$1,400 be that much better for me than the Mexican Strat for $400-500? Sometimes that decision is easy, sometimes not so much.

Generally I agree with you, cheaper instruments are "stepping stones" to nicer things, but I've gotten rid of my share of nice guitars. And I've had my fairly cheap Tobias Toby fretless for 14-15 years, so sometimes you really do get lucky. The cheap instruments are also great if you're not really sure you want something. Often you'll let the cheap item go, but not get a more expensive replacement. So they have their place.

But when you're certain, and it's worth the scratch to you, nicer instruments to tend to have greater staying power.

Bill

On this note, it's worth pointing out that, of all the (sometimes very expensive) guitars I own, the one I most often come back to is my old (1985) Ibanez Roadstar RS530. I bought this for about $275 in 2001, and have subsequently changed pretty much all of the hardware - to the point where about the only original aspects of it left are the body and the neck. It's now an absolutely brilliant instrument - sounds incredible (it has a Duncan Allan Holdsworth in the bridge and an Ibanez USA F2 in the neck), plays amazingly well, with a truly butter-like action, and is incredibly stable tuning wise (it's on its third trem system, which is a Kahler, following on from the original Ibanez Pro Rocker and a Wilkinson). I'm sure some would argue that I would have been better off just buying a more expensive instrument from the off, and saving all of the money I've spent on tinkering and modifications over the years. This misses a number of significant points: 1. The whole on this guitar is much greater than the sum of the parts, something which has been reached by a long process of what one might call 'methodical trial and error; 2. It's indisputably my guitar, reflecting my own personal tonal and playing priorities and how these have changed over the years; 3. I've had an awful lot of (expensive) fun getting there!; 4. I would have been much more reluctant to make the same number of alterations to a more expensive instrument that would have had a serious effect on its potential resale value. I have absolutely no issue, however with tweaking a cheap, but fundamentally sound guitar, however. And I love what I now have.