Vintage Fender Bassman Cranked up to 10

For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of sitting down and cranking up a vintage Fender this video will be a treat. This is real rock and roll tone. I myself have a Bandmaster which sounds a little different but these old amps can do some serious growling. Check out the video, not only is the tone great, the playing is nice and tasty too. 

The only thing the video can’t capture is that punch in the chest feeling of all that air moving when this thing is searing like that.  Thanks to Tyler Grund for posting this on his YouTube channel. There are many more great videos there too so check them out.

http://www.youtube.com/user/gamedojo

 

Guitar Blog Roundup July 3rd

Happy 4th of July Weekend everyone. Here is this week’s roundup of my favorite posts from the guitar interwebz. 

Guitarren has some cool sketches of potential guitar designs. He’s done a few of these posts and each one has some really cool ideals.

Boutique Guitar Resource has a great post about a new guitar from builder Nado Bailo.  The Whale guitar is one awesome looking axe.

Guitar Noise has some great tips on playing live. If your goal is to perform guitar in front of people then this is a good place to read up on some of the necessary things to do to be successful

Guitar International has a review of the new documentary about famous rock photographer Robert Knight. He’s photographed all the big names for the past 40 years.

Guitar World has some behind the scenes video from their 2011 buyers guide shoot. 

Play a little guitar has some guitar nightmares for you to ponder. I think I may have lived through a few of these. 

guitar blog round up June 26th

Welcome to the weekend.  It’s been a buys week in the guitar world and here are some of my favorite posts from the many great guitar blogs out there.

What’s that dude play has a great video of  anew Vibe pedal by WIlson Pedals. I love the swirly pedals and this one sound great .

300 guitars has a cool post about a Valco amplifier site they found. If you dig old funky amps check it out.

I Heart Guitar has some video of the big 4 playing am I evil together. If you don't know who the big 4 are, you better check this out. 

Mark Wein has a great lesson on hammer on and pull off technique.

My Fender Champ has a cool post documenting the baffle board on a vintage champ.

Guitar Blogstar has an article about micing an amp. This is always a topic worth looking at again.

Forte Speaker Cabinets

We all want big sound out of small packages.  The typical gigging musician does not have room for stacks of amps. What if you could get some real big dispersed sound out of a small cab.  You can.

Forte Musical Instruments is making some cool cabs.  These thing are closed back but side vented to get some of that sound that’s bouncing around inside the cab out to the stage.

The inside of the cabs has angled reflectors to direct the sound out the sides.  According to Forte this provides a big sound with focused mid range and tight bass.  The construction is 5/8 “ 13 ply baltic birch with locking miter joints.

They offer 1x12, 2x12,and a vertical 2x12. They have lots of tolex  options and the prices are pretty reasonable.  With the 3D112 starting at $399 this big sounding cab won’t break the bank.

Check out Forte Musical

Set it up, tear it down

In the world of rock and roll there are some great stage crews out there. These guys put up the stage, the lights, the rigs, and the sound for the big boys. These top notch roadies know what to do and get it done right. Unfortunately for the rest of us, we are the roadies.  We have to set up and tear down our own gear. If you working a multi band stage you may have to do it in mere minutes.
Here are a few of the things that I have found to work well when setting up and tearing down at your gig.

The Set up
First, stage the stage.  What that means is, don’t drop your guitar over by the bass player and put your pedal board by the drums while you get your amp.  Put things in their logical place on the stage as you unload them. This will make things flow much better.

Work from back to front.  Get your amp plugged in. Get the footswitch to your amp plugged in. Get anything of yours in the back line plugged in.  You can then run power and cables to the front of the stage to get your pedals up and running.  Now you have a completely wired rig. But wait, don’t open that guitar case yet.
 
If you sing, get your mic stand up and your mic plugged in.  If you’re working on the house PA the  sound guy probably wants to get everyone leveled up as soon as possible.  Give your mic a quick check and your good to go. 

Now you can pull out your guitar.  The worst thing to have happen is to have your guitar sitting on a stand on a busy stage with people moving about. It’s just asking to get knocked off.  Now that your sure everyone is relatively set up you can plug in, tune up and make sure you have your sound. 


The Tear Down
I know, you just played the set of your life. You are hyped and you want to get to the schmoozing the crowd and having a drink.  You still have to tear down your gear though.  First, put that guitar in it’s case. Remember we don’t want it sitting on the stand just waiting to get knocked down. 

I like to go from back to front again. Turn off your amp, unplug anything in the back line and start coiling up your cable runs to the front of the stage.  Now you can pack your pedal board and grab your mic.  The sound guy will have them turned off if you using the house PA. If your using your own PA, make sure the PA is off so there are no pops when you disconnect the mic. 

Make sure you un-stage the stage.  Get your gear off as soon as you can.  Stack it neatly near the door you will be unloading out of so it will not be in the way of the next band. If there is no next band you may be able to leave it for a while.

These are my tips for what works for me. If you have any great tips for the load in or load out at a gig, leave a comment.

Guitar Blog Roundup June 19th

Welcome to the weekend everyone.  It’s been a long week and there was a ton of great stuff in the guitar blog world.  Here are my favorites.

The Fifth Fret has a post about the etiquette of browsing in a guitar shop. It’s about time someone laid down the law with the do’s and don’ts of guitar shopping.

Trufire.com has some cool classic rockabilly licks.  These are always fun to have in your arsenal of fretwork. 

Not playing guitar has some info on portable guitar recorders. These little digital recorders are a valuable tool for recording your practices or lessons.

Fretterverse has a list of classic must have metal guitar CD’s.  I own several of these so I am totally behind this list.

Effectsbay has some cool video of Zakk Wylde’s rig.  I love it when you can get a run down of the big boys toys.

 Playgtr.net has a cool post about a shirt that plays like a guitar. I’m not sure what this is all about or what the application is but hey, it’s guitar geek stuff.

Tube matching simplified

As I was going through some boxes in the closet today I found a couple of old power tubes. One was on it’s way out so obviously I pulled both and replaced them with a new matched pair. My son happened to be in there with me and asked me what they were. I tried to explain but he though they just looked like some cool Star Wars thermal detonators or something. I told him I was throwing them out because one of them was no good. That left him with an even more shocked look on his face.

To try to explain to a 7 year old why one power tube is no good by itself is a difficult task. If one of them technically works why do you have to throw it out?  I tried to explain that the pair needed to work together and that if one could not then the other would be no good.  I tried to explain that tubes all have their own special characteristics and that you need to use two that are just the same to make an amplifier work properly. 

At this point I though I was done, but he asked one more question.  Why do the two have to be the same and why are they all different.  The first part just came to me, “Its like getting on the see saw”. If  a 7 year old and a12 year old get on the see saw together they will be way out of sync.  One will push or pull more than the other. The second part was left as, “Tubes are like people, we are all basically the same in that we are all humans, but each person has their own traits”  I think he bought it. 

While this is very over simplified I think it works. I am still mystified by this sometimes too but I understand the importance of matching your power tubes to get the most out of your amp.

Here are a few more technical articles on tube matching.
http://www.tubeaudiostore.com/virofpowtubm.html
http://www.tubeaudiostore.com/tubmatdem.html

Guitar Blog Roundup June 12th

Its the weekend and it’s time for a roundup of my favorite stories and posts from the guitar blog world.

Have a great weekend.

Mark Wein has a great post on fake pedal steel licks.  This is a great technique to have in your bag of tricks.

Guitarless has some info on how truss rods work. This is helpful for understanding what needs to be done to make an adjustment.

I heart guitar has a cool video about hacking a fuzz pedal. Nothing is more hackable than a good old fashioned fuzz pedal.

Guitar Collecting has some info on insuring your  guitar collection. We spend a lot of money on our gear so lets make sure we protect it.

Boutique guitar resource has a some great photos of a custom Frank Hartung guitar. This is a great looking axe.

A few How To video's for guitarists

Youtube is a wonderful thing.  You can spend hours watching videos of people doing silly things.  You can watch your favorite hair metal videos from the 80’s too.   You can also learn a few things.  The ability to watch how to videos on demand is a great tool. There are plenty of good how to videos out there on just about every subject.
Here are guitar related how to videos for you viewing entertainment.

Rock out on your cruise

Whoa buddy, when I heard about this I was thinking I might have  a good opportunity here.  Rockguitarlife.com is the URL but we all know this site called “Rock and Roll does not take a vacation!!”.  I get it, you get it, and so does Norwegian Cruise Lines. 

The cruise line will be offering Guitar, POD, and Amp rentals on their cruises.  Even while on vacation, you can rock out.  That is really what Rock and Roll does not take a vacation is all about. The "Check-In-Rock-Out" program will be available on their new ship Epic.  The POD’s will be pre programmed for various styles of music so you can dial up your sound and get to the noise making.

Man if you thought being stuck in a Hotel with a wile rock band across the hall was bad imagine being out in the middle of the ocean with the guy next door wailing away on “Stairway to Heaven” or “Smell like teen spirit”.  Actually the rental comes with headphones which you are most likely required to use so you don’t disturb the couple next door.  The rental is only $10 a day. A small price to pay to keep up your chops at sea.

Norwegian Cruise Line official site.

Lego Guitar Gear

Since I posted last month about the Lego Kiss figures I have been thinking about music related Lego’s.  Once again the world of Lego and music collide with Lego Instruments. 

First we have a very detailed Lego amplifier.  This is an amazing creation.  It has all the bits and pieces that go inside the amp too. This creation by Dave Chatterson first appeared in the Fender site last spring.   You can check out the whole story and more pics there.

Some enterprising individual also created a Lego Guitar.   I can’t tell from the pics but it almost looks like it is meant to be a fully functional axe.  I’m not sure where this picture was first posted.  I have seen it circulated through emails and on several sites for a while now. If anyone knows who made this I’d love to give them credit.

Gain Freaks beware

This picture popped up over at The Gear Page on their amp guts appreciation thread.  I’ll tell you what, that would be some serious gain.  I count 40 preamp tubes.  But what is it?

Is it a new prototype?  Is this the future of High Gain amplification? Is this some experiment by a mad Scientist? 

 

 

Actually it’s a tube burn in unit used by Roccaforte Amps.

Doug Roccaforte makes some great amplifiers. If you haven’t checked them out you should.  If your in the market for an old school Marshall type amp Roccaforte probably has what you are looking fore. 

Roccaforte amps site

Guitar Blog Roundup May 1, 2010

Mark Wein Guitar Lessons has a great lesson on the Dorian and minor pentatonic scale. I have always loved the Dorian mode as an alternative when playing in a minor key.

Jemsite has a cool article on one man’s search for the tone in his head and the revelation he had when he found the Dimarzio Norton pickup.

 Fretterverse has a guest post by Sommatone Amps on guitar woods. This is quite a comprehensive article covering a lot of ground. A must read for tone junkies.

We have a duo of Jeff Beck videos this week. The Guitar Column has a video from the studio when Jeff was cutting a track for Jon Bon Jovi’s Blaze of Glory.

Not to be outdone, Stratoblogster has some video from Jeff Beck’s guitar tech. This guy gives up the goods on the guitar god.

 Effects bay has a post on designing pedals featuring a video from Wampler effects.  This shows Brian Wampler with a breadboard prototype.  Good stuff for all you circuit benders out there.

I Heart Guitar has created a guitar word search.  This may be the first time the words Alnico, Bigsby, or Fasal have appeared in a word search.  Then again, with words like Way Huge, Fuzz, Big Muff, and Rotovibe, this word search could be taken in a whole different way.

Guitar Blog Roundup

I’ve been inspired by some of the other guitar blogs that I read lately.  There are  a lot of good ones and I think my readers should check them out too.  Some of them have been doing weekend roundups of cool stories from the past week.  I will be doing the same in an effort to spread the word about Rock and Roll, Guitars, and Life, one link at a time

Truth in Shredding posted a cool video from American Idol this week.  The show had some big names on to perform and raise money for charity. In this clip, Steve Vai, Orianthi, Mary J. Blige, Travis Barker, and Randy Jackson perform Stairway to Heaven.  And make sure to check out the cool double neck Acoustic Electric Vai is playing.

The Rock House Method blog has a great lick of the week from Rob Balducci.  His tips on practicing at home are cool and the playing is top notch.

Billy Penn’s 300 guitars has a great article about a cool Dan Armstrong site.  Dan Armstrong guitars were pretty revolutionary in their day and this site has some cool info about the company.

The Fifth Fret has an interesting article about signature guitars. This is something I have written about before but I like Pappy’s take on this subject.

My Fender Champ has a story about an old tweed champ found new in the box.  I mean this is guitar archeology at it’s best.  I love hearing stories like this.

Guitarnoize has a guest post about songwriting practice.  There are some good insights into listening and analyzing the music.

Orange Amplifier – a Computer too?

Almost all of us have migrated to the computer recording world.  With tons of recording software, plug-ins, amp sims like Guitar Rig and Amplitube it only makes sense.  Orange Amplifiers is taking it to a new level by making the amplifier a computer instead of the computer virtually creating the amplifier.

This is incredibly cool, incredibly geeky, or incredibly gimmicky depending on who you ask.  It’s not going to  replace you regular rig or your recording PC but this would make a cool little addition to dorm rooms or man caves for those of us who love the guitar and love to surf the web.  It looks cooler than a grey box sitting on your desk and you can say  you did your term paper or TPS report on an Orange. That’ll raise your bosses eyebrows a little.
Premier Guitar got some video of the O PC in action. 

There is no word on the Orange Amplifiers site as to what pricing or availability will be so we’ll have to wait and see.

Yestergear - Gallien Krueger 250ML

The guitar amplifier world is exploding with all sorts of mini amplifiers.  From the tiny digital powered amplifiers like the Roland Micro Cube or the Vox DA5.  We also have quite a few choices in tube amplifiers in the lunch box category.  Well back in the 80’s, Gallin-Krueger launched the tiny power house the 250ML.

The Gallien-Krueger 250ML was a 50 watt per channel stereo guitar  amplifier with quite an array of features.  The pint sized box gave players  channel switching between clean and overdrive channels.  There was also a built in compressor, echo, and chorus effects.  The sound was pumped through two 6.5” speakers. 

The features don’t stop there.  The 250ML  also had an effects loop, a line out, a headphone jack, and a speaker out for use with an external cabinet.  There  was also a mic stand adaptor so you could place the amplifier on a mic stand for better projection.

I remember wanting one of these little wonders back then.  They offered a lot of features for a small amplifier but could still be used as a gigging amp.  The sound as I recall was typically 80’s.  I don’t know that I would dig the tone now but it still would be a fun little amp to play with.

As of this writing there are is one on EBay with a buy it now price of $250 although there are no bids.  I’m not sure what the real world value of this little amplifier is today but if you can find one cheap, it’s probably worth picking up.

Kasha Amplifiers QUICKMOD Mini

Kasha amplifiers has announced the a new product aimed at guitarists who are looking for additional functionality out of their single channel amplifiers. It is something guitarists have struggled with for many years.  Have a tech modify their vintage amplifier and forever reduce the resale value or try to make due somehow.  Now you can have your cake and eat it too.  The Kasha Amplifiers QUICKMOD Mini’s simply replace the V3 preamp tube in you amplifier. It’s as easy as that.

The Line In QUICKMOD allows you to use a modeler or pedals straight into the power section of your amplifier.  this is a great option if you have to work a gig that requires a lot of different tones. You can still use your favorite amplifier and add the various flavors via your favorite pedals or modeler. 

The Master Volume QUICKMOD allows you to get control of the overall volume of your non master volume amplifier. Change out the V3 preamp tube and wail away without shaking the paint off the wall. 

Visit the Kasha Amplifiers for complete details.

Reeves Amplification Super 78

The EddieVan Halen tone is the stuff of legends.  In fact, Eddie himself used to tell some tall tales of modifications to his gear which in turn fed the legends of the amazing tone.  Many amp manufacturers have made some pretty good attempts at producing amps that get that classic Van Halen tone.

Reeves amplification has thrown their hat into the ring with the Super '78.  This is a 50 watt EL34 driven head that aims to capture the Brown Sound.  The head features hand wired turret board construction.  A master volume helps to get the saturated sound without blowing out the windows.

Check out the video from the Reeves site as well as the sound clips.  Some of them are dead on EVH.
At $1799 this thing is only a hundred bucks more than a Marshall JVM but gives you some serious tone and a fit and finish up to the highest standards.

Scott Ian plays Angus

Check this out.  For all of you who question what the real deal is with Angus Young’s rig, here is a quick video of Scott Ian from Anthrax playing Angus’ rig.  Now this is one case where the tone is all in the gear. This is what electric rock guitar should sound like.  Even Scott Playing the rig sounds like all the classic AC/DC we all love.

A moment of magic

We all look for the magic tone in our gear.  We tweak and re-tweak our gear.  We search for the right combination that will sing sweetly to us.  And just when we think we've found the perfect pairing of guitar,effects, amp, and speaker we start all over again.

I've found a great combination of things that works for me depending on the situation.  I have a few go to guitars. I have a couple of good amps. I can coax just about any tone I need out of my gear.  With that said, a few weeks ago at a rehearsal I was dumb struck by my tone.  Now I'm not a tone snob and I don't like to pat myself on the back but for a moment I really just was dumbfounded.

So what was the magic combination?