In Case You Missed it - 2017 Recap

What a wild and crazy year in gear! It started off for me at Winter NAMM in Anaheim in January 2017. As I'm prepping for NAMM 2018, I figure i'd share some of my NAMM experience, as well as a couple of cool items we checked out in the last year!

First off, at the NAMM show, I'm working. I'm a product reviewer for Performer Magazine (www.Performermag.com) , so I'm meeting with companies that would want their products reviewed by our magazine. It's a media event, and since I'm in the media, I'm their target. There are music store owners there as well, looking at companies that they may want to carry their products for their stores. Technically it is a "Music Business" event. 

My friends often suggest to me "hey check out these guys.." and I welcome the suggestions. It's tough but I do make notes to see them, and hopefully develop a relationship, but it's very difficult.

However in recent years,NAMM into a bit of a "comic-con" like event. There seem to be more and more people there that just want to check out the new gear, like it's a mega guitar store, as well as possibly meet musician/celebrities for autographs and photos.

As I'm in my mid 40's, I also don't really have any desire to wait in line to meet anyone. It's almost more fun for me to meet or see someone in passing. While walking down an aisle, munching on an overpriced wilted BLT wrap, I saw Dug Pinnick from King's X. I was able to wave and say "Hey Dug", He responded, "whats up man?" I was able to get out a "livin the dream!" between bites. He laughed and moved on. That's the kind of NAMM experience I like when it comes to meeting people.

But the big deal is the gear. It sets the tone for what we'll be able to see in the magazine in the upcoming year. I usually don't get a chance to really try stuff out, nor do I want to, unless It's relatively quiet (a rarity at NAMM), or it's something I can't control myself. Time is a factor, and I usually have meetings every hour. It's like drinking from a firehose that's shooting Jack Daniels. It's fun, but It's gonna be rough. I estimate I walk about 10 miles a day. Usually around November I start doing more cardio at the gym, just to get my legs in shape. It made a difference this past year, as I wasn't as beaten at the end of each day.

So I wanted to share with you all the items we reviewed in 2017, there are links below. Personally I have to say we're lucky to check out so much cool gear from great companies. A few items really stuck out to me though:

1. Fuzzrocious Moth. I love this pedal, it's a great blend of Distortion and fuzz, along with that weird oscillatior. I used this a bit with my cover band when we played "shake it off" by Taylor Swift. It's a fun and wild pedal. LINK

2. Vertex Dynamic Distortion. I like pedals that "blend" and this one does alot, with the sweep of the drive knob; Boost, TS, RAT, Fuzz, all with a really musical tone control. I'm not a fan of the stock tone controls on those kinds of pedals, but this one really works well. LINK

3. EHX Canyon. I always liked simple delays like the boss DD3 and the MXR Carbon copy, but I kind of dreamed of more expansive stuff like Strymons and TC and Lexicon type stuff. But getting such a big box on my pedalboard wasn't my deal. This is a great way to get tons of delay options as well as some extra functions like Octave and string like sounds, while being a smaller pedal! LINK

4.Taylor Guitars. Yes these can get expensive, but the Academy Series we reviewed were Pretty Frickin Sweet (PFS). and quite affordable. Their 810E was positively amazing, but had a amazing price tag at $3400. But it did make me consider selling an internal organ to get one. LINK

5. Supro Amps. we got their 1606R amp, and for a 1x8 combo it really rocked. Enough for me to really consider getting rid of my Fender HRD. Small size, big sound. and all tube. Alot of non amp companies used these to demo guitars, and effects pedals at their booths, as they were low volume, and sounded great! (link to come)

6 Chase Bliss Audio Brothers. You wanna pedal with drive options, yeah they do options on their options. LINK

We got a lot of gear to review this past year, well over 50 items; guitars, amps, basses, effects, microphones, and some cool accessories. So this list above is just a sampling of the stuff we got to check out! I can't wait to see what comes up this year. Drop me a line if anything interests you!

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A Matter of Scale

I remember starting out playing guitar, and one of the tunes I wanted to learn was "Crazy Train" By Ozzy Osbourne. At 14 years old my hands weren't that big (insert your own joke about small hands here, laugh at me, and move on), and that opening riff on a strat, with the longer 25 1/2" scale was tough for my barely mid teen hands. I struggled to play it. Years later I borrowed a friends Les Paul copy for a weekend, and the shorter scale of the Gibson 24 3/4" made it so easy! I eventually realized the Gibson scale was a bit more comfortable. 

Years later after playing my first PRS, I realized it's 25" scale was a nice balance between the Fender and Gibson camps, and was something I really favoured.

A few years later I got a Fender Kurt Cobain Jaguar in for a review. To jog your memory, HERE is a link to the review I did for it.

I dug the short 24" scale length, the Fender neck shape, and the humbuckers. It was fun, and finding fun in small packages is key. Mazda Miata's, Apple Mini computers. USB drives, Multi tools, are great examples of fun and functionality in a small form factor.

One of my pipe dream guitars is a Fender Mustang. They have done some great new versions recently, and offer up the mix of classic and modern with some versions with humbuckers. The price is a reasonable $499 list price, and has a 24" scale length. Even better is Squire has a HH version for $149. One cool thing about a shorter scale length is generally a smaller instrument, and makes it a good candidate for a travel guitar. All of the above instruments are great, but might be too big to be considered a travel instrument.

Ibanez makes some cool guitars, and in the 1980-1990's I really dug their RG series. I Imagined myself with one in my teen years, with day glo colors, ripping it up like Steve Vai. Unfortunately I'm no Steve Vai, and even their Low end RG series guitars were well out of my reach, especially wallet wise when I worked in a supermarket part time. One of my fellow bag boys had a all black RG, with a maple board, and I have to say I was so envious of that guitar.

Recently I did notice some player buying the Ibanez Mikro Guitars, and modding them with better pickups, with some coil tapping options and using them as travel or busking on the subway guitars. It's like a mini RG. I know they're meant for students or small children. With a list price of $150ish means it's not that expensive and the 22" scale is pretty short, even at standard tuning. Allan Holdsworth-ish reaches would be hyper easy. 

They come in a few interesting colors, and the rosewood fretboard model comes with the classic "metal" shark tooth inlays that were the more desired in the halcyon days of metal. There's even a Paul Gilbert version, and there is a Destroyer variant. Those might be out of my comfort zone shape/aesthetic wise. I think I'd aim for the maple fretboard model, just to squeeze a bit more high end out of it.

A set of coil tappable humbuckers with push pull tone and volume controls, or a superstrat switch would bring alot more tonal options. Perhaps this could be an interesting platform for a pair of Seymour Duncan P-rails, a hybrid of humbucker, P90 and Single coil pickups. 

It's an interesting concept, like a Mazda Miata with a V8 under the hood. Yes, the mods could be more expensive than the guitar. If I could find one used, as well as some used pickups, it could be had for alot cheaper. I've seen travel guitars, at full scale that are alot more expensive. One of these, with some mods, could be kind of interesting sounding as a unique instrument, and it would be a functional travel guitar, which kills two birds in one guitar.

Yes I know I have other guitar related projects that take priority, but this one is one of those pipe dream projects that might not fade away so easily.

Some Days are Diamonds

I know this is kind of a guitar/music gear blog, but I'm gonna stretch out a bit on this one.

Rest in Peace

Tom Petty

1950 - 2017

I'm not gonna bore you with my first time hearing Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, we all have one. If you want the complete (and I mean COMPLETE) history of TP&TH, I suggest watching Peter Bogdanovich's "Running Down A Dream", all 4 hours of it. Long, yes, but well worth it, and after watching it, the realization of TP's Passing will probably leave a broken feeling in a certain sense. In the same breath, he's shared alot of music with us, and hearing so many people share their stories really rings true to how good he was musically.

He's kind of the Ferris Bueller of Rock N Roll; Any musician I ever met always said "I dig Petty". Metalheads, Folksy Americana types, Alt Rockers, Classic rock stalwarts. They all found something in there to connect to.

When I started playing guitar I knew I would always be playing, til my dying day. I relished in the dream of sitting on a sunkissed porch with a beat up Telcaster, with a little amp, playing Tom Petty Songs. I'm getting closer to those days. 

We're at the point where life's taking more than it's giving, but TP's given us alot of good tunes. This is probably not my fave song, but I think it's fitting for today:

Walls

Some days are diamonds

Some days are rocks

Some doors are open

Some roads are blocked

Sundowns are golden

Then fade away

But if I never do nothing

I'll get you back some day, 'cause

You got a heart so big

It could crush this town

And I can't hold out forever

Even walls fall down

All around your island

There's a barricade

That keeps out the danger

That holds in the pain

Sometimes you're happy

Sometimes you cry

Half of me is ocean

Half of me is sky, but

Some things are over

Some things go on

Part of me you carry

Part of me is gone, but

You got a heart so big

It could crush this town

And I can't hold out forever

Even walls fall down

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. 

No Regerts (and no I'm not eating a Milky Way)

No Regerts

I’ll be honest, in the years I’ve been a guitar player, I bought A LOT of gear. Too much. A lot of it has since moved on to other people, and I’ve settled on what I have now out of necessity and not gluttony. But back in the day I used to put my then ample tax return to treat myself to something special. Usually it wasn’t a lot of money but one year it was just enough to cover the cost of a new guitar. A Reverend Rocco.

Reverend was started by Joe Naylor of Naylor amps fame. It was a cool design concept; a Single block of wood in the middle to anchor the neck and bridge together, a plastic edge, and a phenolic top and back. They looked very retro, almost danelectro-ish, with a bit more art deco/streamliner era to the overall look. The Rocco model had 2 humbuckers, each splittable with their own mini toggle, and a 3 way switch. There were other models, that had the same overall design, but the big difference was the pickup configuration between them all. One had a tele configuration, another a pair of p90’s, you get the idea.

I got mine for $690-ish. Black with a white edge, Rosewood fingerboard and Locking tuners. They were starting to get popular, due to their price, and the features. When “my” guitar arrived at the store, it didn’t have locking tuners. The dealer asked me if it would be ok, if I would overlook this. I stood my ground and said to him “It’s not what I wanted, I’ll wait for the one I ordered” he was kind of bummed, but didn’t press it with me. I don’t remember that guitar being in his store for long anyway. He did offer to install some sperzels for free. I knew that the difference between the tuners would mean some extra holes in the headstock, and I didn’t want to deal with that so I opted out on that as well.

(The image above isn't my actual guitar, mine had uncovered zebra pickups)

When you order something, and it doesn’t arrive as promised, you have a right to refuse. I know every time I would have picked up the guitar, the fact it wasn’t how I wanted it, would gnaw at me. More than likely I would probably not reach for that guitar as much, knowing it would bum me out.

So when mine came in a few weeks later, I was beyond pleased. It played great, with an amazing neck that was really vintage-ish. The pickups were amazing. I loved the individual mini toggles that allowed the humbuckers to be split. For cleans I’d split them both, for a bit more spank, Leave the bridge full on, and split the neck. It was ultra light as well, and really resonated nicely. I did a recording session at a high end studio that had a few notable clients, and the producer suggested I use one of his Les Paul Classic’s for it. When the engineer and I were dialing in sounds, we were really happy with the Reverend, and spent the day tracking with it, no problems. When the producer showed up again he heard the tracks, and said "Aren't you glad you used my Les Paul?" When we told him it was the Reverend, he was kind of shocked. When I showed him it, he was blown away, on first glance he thought it was a Danelectro.

So why part with it? Money. My band at the time was working on our CD, and to cover some of the expenses, I parted ways with it. Back then I wasn’t too bummed tho, as I got what I paid for it. Besides I made the decision after getting my PRS back from a partial re-fret, Im sure that swayed me. In later years I did regret parting ways with the Rocco, and by that time Reverend had moved beyond their oddball construction to traditional wood bodies. Now even worse, those older ones, like mine, have gone up a bit more in value. I do kinda kick myself on the butt for this one.

(me and my rocco back in the day)

A friend of mine and I used to have a list of pipe dream guitars; in most cases they were guitars we liked, but never got super attached to, and would like to re-acquire. This is one of mine, maybe some day another one will come across my door, and I'll pull the trigger.