Step on it - Part Three

With a collection of about 25 pedals; distortions, modulations, delays, reverbs and filters, I can probably make 2 complete pedalboards out of what I have in stock as well as modify and alter my main board depending on the musical situation. The bummer is that there is always a new pedal that I HAVE to get, or my life won’t be complete. Thankfully the ability to really alter your sound drastically for such a small amount of cash is pretty cool.

It seems like big and small companies have a new pedal out almost every month, which makes it even tougher. Right now my wish list is pretty big, and means I may need to re-adjust my pedalboard:

OK, this is the big mama-jamma. I never saw this one a comin. The JB-2 Angry Driver. Boss has partnered with JHS Pedals, cramming a modded BD-2 Blues Driver (one of my fave pedals I have already) and a JHS Angry Charlie in one box. The Angry Charlie goes after that Marshall JCM 800 sound (my fave marshall, btw). I've always loved how the BD-2 reacted and sounded like an amp, and the Angry Charlie sounds like a good compliment to it. The demos of it online sound amazing, and the sounds it generates are right up my alley.

All the Switching/routing options really excite me as well. I've never signed up for a pedal that wasn't out yet, but I'm putting aside the $200 already, as well as enough dough for the remote, which allows a couple of functions to be controlled a bit easier.

 Speaking of pedals that sound like amps...

I’ll be honest, I’ve never seen, much less played through a Dumble, as the price of one is easily 5 figures, and super rare. I have heard a few though on recordings, Robben Ford, Santana. I heard Eric Johnson had one for his crunch sound for a bit as well. Apparently a guy in Japan, Shin, is the Dumble Amp Guru in Japan, and he made a pedal that supposedly captured that sound, and is available in Japan:

It kind of has a bit of that Early 2000's Starting "bouteek" Pedal vibe, with the labeling and hammertone paint finish. I've seen some great demos on Youtube, and it does seem very interesting, especially how the accent and Jazz/rock controls interact, However I bet finding one of these to just try out would be difficult.

But as Yoda said in Return of the Jedi "There is another":

 This is a mass produced version made by MXR. I’ve seen some videos on it, and it does sound cool. Zendrive makes a similar pedal, but the price is a lot more reasonable on the MXR. however, Mooer makes a version as well, that is much cheaper. But Asthetically the green MXR has a great look to it. I’ve bought some pedals in the past just because they looked cool, thankfully 9 out of 10 sounded cool too. Besides I could Always use another distortion pedal. (not really)

I have been lucky enough to get my mitts on Mad Professor's Twimble, which is a similar Dumble-esque pedal, which I dig alot, It's not something I have a use for in my bands, sound wise, but I do dig that kind of transparent-ish tone. I'm curious as to the differences and similarities compared to the Shin and MXR, as the Mad Professor works in a bit of a different fashion than a typical drive pedal. the MP seems to nail the tone that they feel captures that amp, and the controls give a bit of adjustment, but don't really go outside the lines. It's like "you will get this tone, and this is how you will like it!" Thankfully it does sound great tho. A review is available HERE in our August September issue of Performer Magazine on Page 44.

And then there's Mel:

EHX has made a lot of pedals recently that alter the guitar sound into Keyboards or synths. This version follows that idea, this time emulating a Mellotron. A Mellotron was an early synth that used recordings of other instruments on tape. Press a key on a keyboard and it engaged a tape of that sound, after the key was let go, the tape rewound itself. Any late 60’s band used one, The beatles, Rolling stones, pretty much every progressive rock band that had a keyboard player. I could easily justify this for my cover band, the “In-Betweeners”, to really fill out the sound. EHX really hit it out of the park with their Synth 9, as well as the C9 & B9 pedals, so I'm assuming it can hang with those ones.

Keeley workstation-In theory this could clean up my board a lot. With 2 modes of distortion, as well as 2 modes of boost functionality, and a modulation section that has tremolo, phased, flanger, auto filter, chorus and rotary modes. It’s the “3 pedals in one” thing. I checked it out at 2016 NAMM, and It’s a great idea that sounded really good. There’s also a effect loop in there as well, so in theory I could put a delay in there as well for those ambient, swirling effect with the chorus on!

Some of these will probably end up on my board in the future, hopefully. A lot of it depends on what I'm shooting for musically. Thankfully my pedalboard can evolve with me!

Smaller Is Better (in some cases)

 

 

Back in the day, in the peak of my playing in a heavy rock band, my rig was a Hughes & Kettner Triamp with matching 4x12 cabinet, A rack case that held a power supply, and acted as a holder for small items like T shirts, set lists. I had 2 guitars in hardshell cases, and a guitar stand as well. Whew! just typing that makes me tired! I managed to cram all of that into a 2 door Honda Civic.

Back then, Alot of the clubs we played had stages large enough to accommodate my 4x12, My singer's amp, a Bass rig, and a Drumset (sometimes on it's own riser). Since then, alot of clubs have closed, and the new places that have opened don't really have a committed space for a band. In most cases, they just move a few tables off to the side, and have a semi portable PA system set up. Although I have downsized slowly over the years, my old school rig would take up too much real estate in most current venues, never mind, deafen the people within 30 feet of my 4x12.

A few years back I retired my Honda, and got a Mini Cooper Coupe. It has just 2 seats, a small shelf behind the seats, and a trunk. I can fit my Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, pedalboard (in a road case) 2 Guitars (in gig bags), a Backpack, and my amp stand in there. Its a slightly difficult game of tetris, but it works.

Yes, it all fits in there, with space for a passenger!

I'm trying to make that game easier. I picked up the Fender HRD because of it's power. In most cases it has TOO much power. I have JHS's lil Black Box in the effects loop to lower the volume. If you have an amp that sounds great, but have to keep the volume hyper low, and not sacrfice the overall tone for volume, this is an easy solution.

Check it out HERE

I've been debating getting one of Seymour Duncan's powerstage amps. It's a pedal sized power amp with a 3 band EQ and volume level. It's around $399 and would fit on my pedalboard easily. Alot of guys are using these for fly dates where the venue has a backline already and uses their cabinets. I could easily forgo my Fender and use a 1x12 cabinet, which is alot smaller. I've heard some great things about these sound wise.

I've been using a pedaltrain pedalboard since 2010, and I purchased the ATA case with it. I kind of realized that the ATA case is a bit overkill, bulky and kind of a pain to move around. Especially considering 90% of it's movement is from my house to my car, my car to practice/studio/gig, and doesn't need that much protection. It also takes up alot of space in my trunk. Insert "junk in the trunk" jokes here, I dont mind.  I have asked Pedaltrain for years if they would sell just the gig bag, and I always got a no from them. Their reasoning they sell it as a complete set, and don't have spares.

Recently pedaltrain announced that they will sell separate cases and bags for their pedalboards, finally. But after looking at the prices the bag for my board will be $129, and that's just the bag. A NEW Pedaltrain board (and gig bag) that's a similar size is $149. In theory I could buy a new board and bag combo, and I could sell my old board and case for $100 and basically get a new pedalboard for under $50.

Mono makes a gig bag that fits, but again, for what I would spend on it, the smarter move would be get a new board and bag combo. They do make excellent bags, especially their guitar gig bags. but considering what I really need, it's still alot of dough to cough up. I've thought of getting their dual guitar gig bag, and that could also make packing gear to fit in my MINI even easier, and be less junk in the trunk. Again, insert second "junk in the trunk" joke here, seriously, do it.

Smaller is better when it comes to unexpected bills, zits, and guitar rigs (when they sound good). I'm hoping I can get small real soon.

Tuning

Tuning

I spent some time at a music store recently and talking to one of the guys there, the subject of tuning and staying in tune came up.
 

We compared a few techniques, and some stories and I thought I’d share them with you all.

First off, the standard guitar, and how the western music scale interact, means the guitar really can’t be in tune 100%. This is a deep concept, and I don’t want to cover that subject, but it’s true. There are nut’s that can be installed, such as Buzzy Feitein or earvana. They do compensate for these inconsistencies. However this falls into the “if it was good enough for all those before me, I can live with without those modifications” category. 
 

When tuning up, it’s tune up, not tune down. If you leave an instrument unplayed, depending upon all sorts of factors like heat or cold, on a stand, or in a case, some strings may go sharp. Using a tuner and then lowering the offending strings to pitch, not really a good thing. You’re basically loosening a string. Ever loosen up a bolt, it’s like that. Once it’s loosened, it can detune further easily. Sharp strings, should be detuned flat, below the desired pitch, then tuned up to pitch. There’s less chance for slippage. Same thing if dropping the E string to D. on wound strings it’s really noticeable. I can’t say how many times I detuned, and then during the song it went really out. 
 

Also it’s my preference to start tuning any guitar from the G string (insert underwear jokes here). Then doing the D, then the B, then the A, followed by the high E string, and finally the low E string. Piano players tune from the center octave out, to evenly spread the tension, and this is the same concept.
 

When playing around the house, I usually tune by ear. If I’m trying to learn a song, I try to tune to the recording. In these cases a tuner isn’t a necessity for me. As long as I’m in tune with everything else I’m OK. I have a couple of inexpensive clip on tuners, as well as a pedal on my main pedalboard, and an old Boss TU-2 nearby my recording work area.

If I’m recording at home (and anyplace else), I use a tuner. Trying to lay down additional tracks to an out of tune guitar is a nightmare.

 I talked to a friend at a music store and he recalled a session where a singer songwriter shrugged off the suggestion for an electronic tuner for his acoustic guitar. He tuned to a Pitch fork. The engineer insisted he use an electric tuner. The artist insisted that a true musician should be able to tune his own instrument by ear. His Guitars and Vocals went down easily, but when it came time to add acoustic piano, it wasn’t working. It was out just enough to be annoying. The engineer pointed out that if he used an electronic tuner this wouldn’t be the case. The artist had to re-tune his guitar to the piano, and re-do his tracks for all of the songs he had already done, as well as the vocal takes. At the end of the sessions the Engineer gave a clip on tuner to the artist as a gift. The artist responded, “Why do I need this?”

Someone on Facebook recently posted “A tuner is like a breath mint, if you’re offered one, you need it.”I don’t remember who, but it’s still true.