Way Huge Green Rhino Giveaway

Hey everyone! Who here likes free stuff? Well, Way Huge is here to help out by giving out this LINK for the new Green Rhino Overdrive.

Sign up to win! I did. Their Fat Sandwich is quickly becoming my favorite overdrive so when I got this email I HAD to sign up!

-Pappy

Mono M80 Review

Cases are funny things. It seems like the more protection you get, the more money you spend and the more the case weighs. More weight means transporting you guitar is more of a pain and this might lead to a lack of motivation to go out and play more.

So the more money you spent to get a more durable case is wasted because it's too much of a pain to go out with it.

But now there are companies that are releasing gig bags and cases that are light weight and as protective as a non-solid case can be (which turns out to be a lot tougher than one might think).

Mono is one of those companies. Their M80 gig bag is a great example of practical use of space and more than enough strength and durability to go around. It seemed to me, taking a close look at the case, that Mono is looking to show other case companies who the boss is and who they now have to live up to. They even allowed me to use their photos which were far more able to capture what I'm talking about than my attempts!

Every pocket in the gig bag makes sense. There is a slotted pocket on the back of the bag under the straps that are perfect for music books and assorted pages (or the straps themselves!), there's a pocket in the front that has a flap with a strap of velcro specifically designed for a cable, there's a pocket toward the headstock for pens, ID, and assorted things you do not want to be stored at normal arm's height (like your wallet and keys). Since you wear it like a backpack, your wallet would be WELL above where most pick-pockets would be reaching and it would be very conspicuous indeed to see someone following another person, arms outstretched to the sky to slyly unzip this pocket, reach in and take your stuff. Someone would be bound to say "hey, I think the guy behind you is trying to jack your stuff!"

Inside the bag there is a padded block for the neck to rest on and a velcro flap to go over the neck to increase stability and hold the guitar firmly (but not roughly) in place. This is especially pleasant if you have a guitar with a tilted headstock. And IN this flap is a small velcro pocket with a see through plastic window for - what else? - picks. In one smooth move, Mono offers an easier way to get to your picks without lifting the guitar's neck (or even moving it at all) or leaving them out to go wherever the winds of fate bring them.

Personally, it's a pet peeve of mine to have picks stored out in the open in a case. Seems like an easy way to get your guitar scratched or lose your picks when you open it up.

The model sent to me to review was the semi-hollow bag and the web-site says that the maximum depth of the case is 3.5" and I believe it, but if you have a guitar that features a size below that, you have to take the hardware on top of the guitar into account. My Gretsch 6118T features a 2.5" depth at the edge but the Bigsby certainly adds some height to the equation. As a result, it's a bit tight when I zip it up, but it still feels good and it's not so tight that you would think the pressure is going to hurt your prized guitar.

The case also boasts upgrades in the construction of it. The zippers, for instance, features a nice bend to them at the edges so they're easier to grab and hold as you zip/unzip the case. It features a bottom that is made of solid rubber that is concrete-proof. They say it's the same stuff Navy SEALS make their rafts out of. I'm a sucker for that kind of stuff. If it's good enough for a SEAL, it's certainly good enough for me. The same rubber is on the piping of the case. it also features an ABS shell that's integrated into the case that improves the strength and protective qualities along the top and bottom of the case. And it's not just the bottom and piping that is tough though because the case is waterproof. Finally after a great gig on the way home you don't have to worry about your guitar or your case being ruined by the rain.

I really like this case. It's everything that I like, really. It's light, it's strong. It's waterproof and wearable as a backpack (because it makes more sense to me to WEAR the guitar than CARRY the guitar) so if a friend calls and says it's time to jam, it's as easy as zipping up and heading out. No latches, locks, oversized dimensions that make fitting it in a car impossible, why, with this you could ride your BIKE to your friend's house.

And buskers will love it.

You can get this case normally for $250.00 but it's on sale right now for $199.99. You can buy directly from the website and when you're there you can also check out their really cool looking guitar straps, laptop bags and even wallets. There's no doubt that Mono makes some really cool-looking gear, but if all of their offerings are as well-built as this gig bag, they're a company to contend with.

Many thanks to Mono for sending the gig bag to review! If you would like more information, or want to see even more pictures, you can visit their site here.

-Pappy

Back from the DEAD

I think I'm pretty understanding when it comes to posthumous products. Some of them make sense. Guitar reproductions for instance. I have no problem with seeing tribute model after tribute model comes out. They fill a niche and perhaps gives someone closer to the "everyman" an opportunity to play something that is as close as humanly possible to their hero's guitar.

Some others are a laugh. A Jimi Hendrix energy drink for instance. What a joke.

There's no harm in that though, right? No one seriously thinks that Jimi Hendrix was endorsing this product, correct? I hope not.

But I DO kind of have a problem with people saying that they THINK an artist would really like a particular sound or product and then putting the artist's name on it even though the artist had absolutely ZERO to do with that product while he was still alive.

The biggest culprit? Dean Guitars with Dimebag Darrell. Before Dimebag died he was just about to release the Razorback, a vicious looking take on the ML he was known for playing and I think it's perfectly fine that Dean released the guitar. I think it's flat-out RIGHT. There have been changes in finishes that I personally thought were questionable and would have loved to know that Dime was behind those choices but seeing as how no-one can ask him, we just have to go with it. And besides, it's just a finish and how important is paint, really?

Then Dean released the Razorback V and even though it's a killer looking guitar that I imagine just about every V fan would love to either try out or own, how much of Dime went into that model? Dean says that Darrell designed it back in 2004 (prominently, I might add). Perhaps it's true. Perhaps Darrell, even though he wasn't known for playing V's in his career was looking for a new design or perhaps he was looking to offer something to a different crowd who weren't into the ML shape.

Personally, I think being a guitar designer is probably the coolest job ever, and maybe Darrell was seeing the fun of making new shapes for different crowds.

So I accept the Razorback V, albeit a little grudgingly. I like it fine and if Darrell did come up with the idea, that's all the better but if NOT, I think the shape would sell just as good without his name. I'm not saying Dean's lying at all, but if they were insecure about the selling power of this guitar and thought that putting a name on it would make it a hotter commodity, I think they would be doubting themselves too much.

I say "whatever" to all of this, honestly. We all know Darrell loved Dean guitars, the ML, designed the Razorback, etc. etc. If the guitar company wants to release the guitars in a billion shades of lilac and pink, that's up to them (personally, I think a lilac Razorback V would be pretty awesome. such a contradiction in shape and color. Like a prom queen wearing brass knuckles). I accept it.

But the idea that Darrell would be game for having Dean make a signature AMP? Not so much! Darrell had a signature amp from Randall called the Warhead and then moved to Krank to make the Krankenstein+. He made the move mere weeks before his death saying he was planning on changing his sound for the new Damageplan album. So if he was looking for a new sound, made from tubes, why is Dean releasing an amp that's solid-state and designed with the assistance of Grady Champion, Darrel's guitar tech during the Pantera (not Dameplan) years?

I can swallow the guitars, but this seems wrong. This seems like an indication that Dean is trying to break into a new category and fill a niche (the niche that posts on internet forums "how can I sound like Dimebag Darrell?") and it's crap, pure and simple. The fact that it was designed with Darrell's tech and not Darrell himself should speak for itself.

I think Krank has an honest, legitimate claim to the Dime name for amps. It makes sense, pure and simple. Darrell went to them before he died and designed this amp to fit his needs and then he regrettably died. I don't think Krank should have to give up using his name as a signature artist, nor do I think Dean should stop making the guitars that Darrell designed, but the Dean amp is a load of presumptuous crap. Making an amp with a tech who wasn't involved in the most recent tonal desires of a guitarist to emulate the sounds that the guitarist isn't looking for on his newest projects SMACKS of pure money-making scheme.

The Hendrix energy drink is funny because it's so far from what Hendrix was known for and the products that were available at the time. No one can say "well, I think he would prefer Red Bull," because there's no point of reference, but this is so close to something that makes sense that it's insensitive to what Darrell was going for when he left Randall and left solid-state amps and insulting to all parties.

Normally I hope all products succeed but this strikes me as so wrong that I hope it's a flop and that no fan of Darrell is suckered by this ridiculous attempt to capitalize even further on a man's death and this time with NO reason to WHATSOEVER!

-Pappy

Albums by the Letter: Part B

Part Two of one man’s quest to listen to his entire iTunes library, album by album.

Wow, the letter B. I was a little intimidated by this one. Why? Two words: Best Of.

It turns out that I only have about four greatest hits albums that actually start with the words ‘Best Of’. Which is good since it means I’ll get the occasional greatest hits album sprinkled throughout the rest of this journey.

I have 58 albums that start with the letter B. There where some discoveries and some rediscoveries this month. Here are the highlights.

Band of Joy by Robert Plant – If you haven’t checked out this 2010 album, do yourself a favorite and give it a spin. It is Plant sounding like Plant should and backed by some great musicians. Really solid disc.

BBC Sessions by Led Zeppelin – Maybe I’m in a Zeppelin kind of mood today. This is Zep at their peak with some great live performances.

Beyond by Dinosaur Jr. – I’ve never really heard any of this band’s ‘back in the day’ stuff, but I sure love what they are putting out these days. All their songs sound melancholy yet somehow hopeful at the same time. I want them to play at my funeral. How’s that for morbid?

The Big Black by Orange Goblin – Perfect Monday morning metal! I love metal that doesn’t forget it is rock n roll. Give me something aggressive, but it’s gotta have a great beat.

Big Screen Bliss by Various Awesome People – One of my favorite albums! Breakfast Club. Edward Scissorhands. Axel F. Top Gun. Magnificent Seven. And it’s all free! What’s not to love? Go get it at sixstringbliss.com.

A Bigger Piece of Sky by Robert Earl Keen – Great country songwriter. Check out Jesse With the Long Hair and Blow You Away.

Billy Breathes by Phish – I really like this album. That said, this is the only Phish album I own and probably the only one I will ever own.

Birth of the Cool by Miles Davis – Davis purists would probably kill me for saying so, but this is the best music to put on when I want to zone out to the world and really get my head into whatever I’m working on. Pressing play on this one is like closing the door to reality. Plus listening to this makes me feel like I’m Don Draper or something.

Bitchin’ by the Donna – This album is rockin and dead sexy. Still not sure why these girls aren’t the richest and most famous band in the world.

The Black Album by Metallica – Definitely one of the most important albums of my formative years. On listening back now, it leaves me a little cold. It used to seem profound – now it seems a bit trite. Not the case with Master of Puppets, but this one doesn’t hold up for me as well. It still has its moments though.

A Blissful Christmas by Various Awesome People – Aw, yeah. This is where the Six-String Bliss album began. It’s like everyday is Christmas when I am listing to this one. The Pipes version of ‘What Child Is This’ is a standout.

Blood on the Tracks by Bob Dylan – I think Shelter from the Storm is my all time favorite song.

Blues Dream by Bill Frisell – The only album on this list I had to start over and listen to again when I was done spinning it the first time. What tone! What soul! I am eternally grateful to my buddy Snoozy for turning me on to Frisell, who I would have otherwise dismissed as only for jazz snobs.

Born on Flag Day by Deer Tick – Great haunting Americana with a voice that sounds kinda like Van Morrison. These guys are going to be big, mark my words!

Boys and Girls in America by the Hold Steady – As you may have guessed from the Hold Steady worship in previous posts, I really love this album. Massive Nights is my Power Song on Nike Plus, so when I am running and need a boost of energy I can push the button on my iPod and got an instant shot of the Hold Steady. Citrus and Stuck Between Stations are both pretty powerful songs.

Bricks Are Heavy by L7 – Who remembers these ladies? Rocking. A great doubleheader with the Donnas. The band name comes from the 1950s slang for a square. “Don’t be L7, man.” I think I am going to try to bring that back into popular usage.

Brothers by the Black Keys – I hate it when this happens. A mere week after I make my picks for the top 5 albums of 2010, I get this album. If I would have heard this a few weeks sooner, my year end list would have been completely different. The same thing happened when I heard Boys and Girls in America shortly after I made my best of 2006 picks. So let me just say belatedly that Brothers is one of the top albums of 2010. Pick it up!

Brown Album by Primus – I wouldn’t call myself a big Primus fan. I don’t think I’ve ever said to myself ‘You know what I’m in the mood for? Primus!’ That said, every time I do listen to their stuff I thoroughly enjoy it. Other bands in this category for me are Cheap Trick, the Flaming Lips and the Rolling Stones. That’s right, I said the Rolling Stones. Whachu gonna do about it?

The Budos Band III by the Budos Band – I’m not sure how to define this band. Funk? Soul? Latin? Swinging Jazz with lots of horns? The one thing I do know is this: Put The Budos Band III on at your next party and the cool factor will instantly be raised by 14.5%. Different from most of the stuff I listen to, but great a album by one of the coolest bands working today.

That’ll do it for the B’s. I only have 38 albums that start with C so next month will be a short one. See you in February!

- PT

PT is the co-host of the guitar talk podcast Six-String Bliss and the Guitar News Podcast. He also writes fiction and has been known to throw a little disc golf. He lives in the birthplace of country music.

GarageBand '11

Macs are growing in popularity. It probably helps that whenever you see someone associated with making records or recording, they seem to always have a MacBook or iMac that they're working on. Also, they're becoming more and more of a staple in the college crowd and there's probably going to be a ton of people buying them or convincing their parents to get them "for more efficient studying" when they're also thinking that the Mac can be used for more and hey! If it HAPPENS to come with a recording program that features loops and amp sims, that's just a bonus right?

RIGHT!

The problem is that most people think that if something comes free with a computer it's crap. I say that you shouldn't look at GarageBand or iLife as free software at all (let alone chaff) because Macs are pricey. Just consider it putting usable software on your computer at a charge that is incorporated into the cost of the machine (and perhaps this will make the sell easier to parents should you be one of those folks about to embark on college life).

And while there are a ton of amp simulation software packages out there, GarageBand does a pretty decent job of offering good tones without forcing you to shell out even more money.

Is there a better amp sim package? Well, I don't think any one amp sim package is the BEST but they all have areas where they're stronger or weaker than others. The only way to find out is to get around and explore the programs.

Perhaps this will become Sound SampleS (emphasis on the "s") but for now I was just stoked that

1) I figured out how to use the new M-Audio Fast Track USB with GarageBand (tip: select "mono 2" in the preferences. "Mono 1," which is the default, is the mic jack, not the guitar's) and

2) Was pointed to Sound Cloud by my good buddy Jon at Guitar Noize (thanks, Jon) and that was pretty cool too.

Now it looks like I won't have to clean up any rooms to make video recordings featuring my ugly mug!

Anyway, I used a Parker Fly into the Fast Track and then used the "Spy Movie" setting and didn't tweak a thing. This is how the setting is naturally and it's pretty cool. I like it, anyway.

Spy Movie Sample by Fifth Fret

Remember, this is solely a factory setting and while it's great, it may not be for everyone but if it seems like it's a good jumping-off point, you're free to fiddle with the knobs and find the tones you like. Amp sims are all about taking those factory settings and making them your own.

So if you have a Mac or are planning on getting one, don't disregard GarageBand's amp sims so quickly! Check them out. You may love them.

-Pappy

Strattoos Decal Review/Giveaway

The guitar is a special thing. It has a lure in many ways, tone, feel, looks, mojo, etc. but I think the coolest thing it has is potential. There are songs locked away in guitars just waiting for you and once you find a guitar you like, you can bond with it and make it your own in a variety of ways, from keeping it in its case all the time when not playing, giving it thorough cleanings after gigs and basically trying to make sure it looks brand new for as long as possible. You can not care about it looking new and thrash about on stage with your keys and belt buckle chipping away piece by piece of the finish. You can get artists to do custom graphics (indeed, you can get a luthier to build you a custom guitar!) on it too.

But if you're looking for an inexpensive, reversible way to make you guitar stand out from the pack, you can get a non-adhesive decal from Strattoos.com. They have 12 designs for both acoustic and electric that feature the same designs, but the ones for the acoustic line are transparent so you can see the beauty of the wood underneath.

Strattoos offered to send a free one to review, so I picked out the Embrace for my Les Paul and it arrived soon afterward. The instructions were easy: clean your guitar with a damp towel before application. That's all. After that, it's a mere pull and stick process and because it's a non-adhesive decal, you don't have to worry about getting the location wrong and losing your $20.00 decal because you THOUGHT it looked straight when you applied it. I know, because it happened to me and fixing it was as easy as pulling it off and starting again.

Also, the warning of cleaning your guitar before application is a good one. I deliberately left the bottom and top left of where the decal would cover uncleaned when I prepped the guitar and the decal had a significantly more difficult time sticking to the guitar (if you can say a non-adhesive can "stick") so the instruction is a good one and I recommend using it as an opportunity to wipe down your whole guitar, just in case.

The decal stands out, too. My Les Paul Studio is wine red with chrome hardware and black plastic parts so it's a little dark and doesn't really grab the eye at all. The Embrace changed all that and now it's an eye-catching piece of gear.

Pictures to come this weekend!

And at $20.00 it's a good price too. You can find them in a growing number of shops or order directly from the web site so if you're looking for a low-price reversible mod to help make your guitar your guitar, this is probably the best place to start. The decals have a high level of quality, they're easy to apply, the colors are bright and the result is noticeable. What more could you want in a visual modification?

So that's all for the review, but if you are thinking of getting one of these for yourself, Strattoos would like to hook you up with a FREE one on Monday. To enter, just send an email with what guitar you plan to put the decal on and "Strattoos Giveaway" in the subject line to rhythmandboos@gmail.com and I will use a random number generator to pick the winner and announce on Monday.

The best thing about the giveaway is you have access to all of the decals from Strattoos so you can pick your favorite and they'll send it your way.

Good luck, everyone!

-Pappy

True Improvement Pt. 2

In Auckland, New Zealand resides a guy who has what some consider the greatest job in the world. He's a guitar tech and his job is to go around the world, helping guitarists get the most out of their gear night after night. Some may contest that being the guy playing guitar would be a better job, but I disagree. I think there's more job security and significantly less pressure being a guitar tech than being a guitarist. After all, the guitar tech isn't sweating out the riffs for the next album hoping it will be a success is he?

But that's just an outsider's perspective.

And I digress.

Anyway, Gavin, guitar tech extraordinaire and blogger, has been doing this guitar tech thing for a while and has taken the lessons learned from asking himself if there are any easier ways to do certain things and has started to incorporate these tangible solutions and sell them to the guitar-playing community.

The first thing he came up with was a handy way of setting up a mic to your cab.

Now he's teamed up with a buddy of his to start an amplification company. Being a guitar tech and seeing what amps can survive on the road with the least amount of upkeep and the best tones has given Gavin all sorts of lessons learned that he is now applying to the amps that he has started making.

And honestly, who could you possibly trust more to start an indie amp company? This is a guy who knows what works, knows what sounds good and knows what survives the dangers of the road. If you were to tell me that my amp would be designed by a touring guitar tech, I'd rest easy thinking I'd never have to bring another amp to a gig as a backup.

Of course, other amp companies have reports and find out about the survival rate of their amps, but this comes AFTER releasing them into the wild. They find out that the tubes aren't lasting nearly as long as R&D said they would, or they're catching fire and these are fixed in the next iteration, but it seems like Gavin's going to be one step ahead of this by knowing most of that already.

Of course, Gavin isn't the only member to this team. He's joined by ex-Somerset singer/guitarist Ryan Thomas. He's a bit of a technical guru and offers a unique point of view from the front of the stage.

Does this strike anyone else as the ideal team to start an amp company? You have the guitar tech who knows what keeps everything moving and stable and roadworthy and you have a guy who plays on stage and both have enough experience that they've gone through the crazes of more and more rectifier stages, more and more watts and not a whole lot of tonal benefit.

If you told me that my amp would be built by a guitar tech AND a seasoned performer, I'd rest easy thinking I'd never have to bring another amp to a gig as a backup and the one that I DO bring is going to sound great.

Another great point for me is that the amps the company will offer are their dream amps modified to their specs and in the future there may be room for custom customer requests. The fact that they aren't trying to make point for point clones is a good thing, at least to this blogger.

What they aim to offer besides solid tone is affordability. People in the US have it easy with most boutique amplifiers being in the $1,500-$2,500 range but in New Zealand, most boutique amps START at $3,000.00. Gavin and Ryan are aiming to offer their amps in the $1,200-$1,300.00 range though and at that price more guitarists are going to be able to get their hands on a point to point amp head and be introduced to the boutique world and be honest, who doesn't like boutique and the attention every amp gets in the creation of it and the ease of repair of a point to point amp?

Gavin and Ryan like to ask what the shortest distance is between your guitar and a killer tone and the answer is a straight line hence the name of the company StraightLineAmplification. They're going to feature aesthetics that are either not used very often (loud colors) or at all (cab designs and a missile safety switch) in the amp world and they already have a triple-platinum endorser, Jason Kerrison of the NZ band OPSHOP.

Right now they're working on their versions of an 18 watt Marshall-type head called the Dark Horse, The Pony which is a 2 watt / 4 channel amp based around the JJ EEC99 tube and a double triode tube and a take on the Fender Brownface sound that they're still developing.

Personally, I hope some of these amps wash up on US shores so I can check them out! This company shows nothing but promise.

-Pappy

True Improvement

We're told that we should always try to improve when we play, but that is an awfully vague statement. What exactly are we supposed to improve on? Are we supposed to have an easier time having practiced the same song for an hour or are we supposed to try to incorporate new techniques into our daily playing life or are we supposed to have longer legato stamina etc. etc.?

So I offer this: Whenever you practice, you should walk away with a lesson learned.

You certainly aren't limited to one lesson learned either.

Here's how it works: You pick up the guitar and play and instead of shifting to autopilot and plinking around on the strings for thirty minutes as you watch TV you should pay close attention to what you're playing to the best of your ability. If you know theory, focus on not only WHAT you're playing but WHY and ask yourself would it be easier/sound better if you played it here or there. If you don't know theory but you're working on a lick and playing it staccato, why not try to incorporate a hammer-on or pull-off?

The GOAL here is not just to "get better" but to apply critical thinking that has you looking for options and in the end, walking away saying "the lesson I learned from today was that if you incorporated legato playing to the pentatonic scale I had to pick significantly less, could play faster and I liked/didn't like the sound." And then you can build on it. "Today I learned that yo don't need to try to kill the neck with pressure when you're doing a hammer-on or it will make the note go sharp."

Successes AND failure are all dumped into the "lesson learned" bucket and it's up to you to think about them and try to further your playing ability based on them because these are all logical steps. If you're running into a problem then you can figure the solution out mentally and apply it at your next practice session and see if your solution worked or failed and WHY it worked or failed. Are you any closer to solving your problem or have you been going about the answer the wrong way?

The best thing about Lessons Learned is that you'll probably retain them longer than, say, going to a teacher because you're actively thinking about it and not just while you practice.

This is true improvement of yourself as a player.

Of course, this isn't to say that sitting on the couch watching TV and running through scales isn't still a good time and a fun distraction for your otherwise motionless fingers, but I think you'll find the benefit is much greater when you spend just a little while practicing and paying attention to what you're doing and collecting your lessons learned.

And this is just for the player. What else could you use the lessons learned mentality with?

Tune in next time to see where I'm going with this!

-Pappy

Guitar Rooms

There's something to be said about guitar collectors. I'm not talking about people who are most interested in versatility or picking the prime examples of certain tones, but collectors. People who just love to buy guitars for whatever reason.

I'm intrigued!

There's a thread on the Gear Page that has pictures of collections that do no less than stagger my fragile psyche (and make wallets and pocketbooks everywhere quiver in fear) so I'd like to open up a dialogue with you guys. What are your feelings about guitar collections? Is there a number of guitars that could ever be considered too much or too few? What do you look for in your own collection? What is the goal?

I'm pro-guitar collecting, myself. I figure, if you're going to collect something, nothing could be better than collecting guitars (well, only one thing and that would be money but it's not like you can PLAY money or appreciate the ART of money or get into conversations about the different TONES of money, just a random fllllliiiiiiiipppppp of a stack of bills). I'm just curious what the rationale behind guitar collecting is.

And I know that everyone's different so everyone's got their own idea of guitar collecting and I'm interested in them all. I like to hear rationale and guitar stories separately so together they're even better!

Also, if you'd like to share your pictures of your guitar rooms or collections, feel free to email me at rhythmandboos@gmail.com with them for possible inclusion in a future post!

-Pappy

Parker Pt. 6: Epilogue

Welcome to the last section of the Parker Fly Review! Here are the links to the previous five parts:

Part 1: My History

Part 2: Parker's History

Part 3: Guitar Art

Part 4: Ahead of the Times

Part 5: The SOUND

I played my seven string for four to five years and eventually found myself going back to my Les Paul more and more and this will sound odd, but I felt less restricted with six strings than I did with seven. I know it doesn't make sense because there's more you can do with seven strings, but you can't argue with feelings.

I was also older and more into regular metal, punk and a growing fascination with classic rock and roll and rockabilly. I wasn't as angry as I was a few years ago or perhaps I was still angry but was able to focus and examine to the best of my abilities the "why" behind it. Insane levels of hormones and general frustrations of a teenage youth are probably the best culprits. Worrying about grades and girlfriends and being grounded and all that - the usual stuff. Now as an adult getting closer and closer to the big three-oh, I realize it wasn't a big deal but that doesn't change anything now, does it?

I sold the Ibanez to a friend at work and wished him well with it. I had had a good time with it, written what I could and passed it on when it wasn't working for me anymore so someone else could explore the possibilities (much like a magic monkey paw).

During this time where I was transitioning, realizing more and more every day that I just didn't WANT the seven string anymore, I began to think more and more about the Parker I had seen on Oahu. I had moved to a place not nearly as stocked with guitar stores and had to drive to New Orleans to see another one and it was still as light as I remembered, still as easy to play but now I had a job and a grasp on how hard it is for a teenager to make the kind of money a Parker called for.

So I left. Again the Parker stayed behind but never left my consciousness. I think it's fate that one day I'll end up with one of these. I've wanted one on some variable level now for 13 years so it's only a matter of time. When I may have had the money to afford one, I would talk myself out of it. The shape is weird, perhaps too weird to be comfortable, I still didn't know what the exposed wheel was for (setting your tremolo between floating, down-only and fixed), the amount of knobs and switches and a button were intimidating, how well would the steel frets last when they were glued to the fretboard, would the guitar be durable with such a thin body and light weight etc. etc.

Now that Larry's let me borrow it I see that the Parker is something that you need to play for a while before deciding if it's right for you. Some players hate the shape yet are so pleased with the tone that they can't play anything else. Some players have bad backs and shoulders and this is among the - if not the ONLY - option for a continued playing of the guitar.

And sure, it's not for everyone. Not everyone is going to love the knobs and switches, the tonal possibilities, the feel of the carbon/glass fingerboard or steel frets. Not everyone is going to like being poked in the sternum with the upper handle (to these folks I say I COMPLETELY understand that complaint!) and not everyone is going to like the general feel or tone of the guitar.

But I think you should really consider giving it a shot if you think the guitar can be better than it is - that there's room for improvement. I'm not going to be giving up my Les Paul or Gretsch and go Parker Only anytime soon because I think they can live together in harmony, but if you ever thought that there's a more efficient way of making a guitar, or a way to get more usable tones out of a guitar while still having a control set-up that's easy to get used to, by ALL means, get a Parker.

If you have to get new, get it from a store with a good return policy just in case you don't like it. If you buy used and get a model from the same era as Larry's (the only era I have any experience with), perhaps you can find it from a friend that's willing to loan it to you to see if you like it or a seller that will agree to a longer approval period. My point is to try it out and really give it a shot because if you end up liking the guitar, you're going to be glad you did and if you DON'T like the guitar, well, at least you can say you tried and you're no stickler for tradition just for tradition's sake.

Most new Parkers go from $1,499.00 up (way up) and you'll have to decide what you want to pay for (like asking yourself if you want a bolt-on neck and a wood fingerboard which - to me at least is very much NOT in the same field as what I reviewed) based on the specs.

If you're after a guitar like the one I reviewed (this is what I'm going to go for, personally) used is the only way to go because of the changes that have been made to the model when the company changed hands (good or bad, the new ones are more cost-prohibitive to me and isn't what I was interested in 13 years ago) you can find examples like Larry's for about $1,000.00 which is such a great price, some may consider a steal once they factor in the abilities of the guitar.

EDIT: Phenomenal guitarist Dave Martone said that he had gotten used to a Parker and couldn't go back to his normal guitars. While I'm sure I'm still able to play a normal guitar, I have been away from the Parker for a little while now and when I picked it up, I was impressed all over again with the light weight, smooth feel and insane level of playability. Perhaps I'll be saving for a guitar like this sooner than later.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Well, everyone, six parts and so many weeks later, here we are! I'm pretty sure this is the longest guitar review ever (6,309 words or FIFTEEN pages at 12 point font) and I'm glad you stuck around and truly hope you enjoyed it as much as I've enjoyed writing it.

And many, many thanks to Larry for sending it to me for so long so I can really see if it and me clicked. I really appreciate both the kindness and the confidence.

Well folks, I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted now! I'll see you in a day or two!

-Pappy

Amplitube 2 for iPad Review

Way back when, our fearless leader Pappy took a good hard look at IK Multimedia’s iRig and Amplitube app. Since then IK Multimedia has been hard at work at a 2.0 version of the app.With the expanded functionality and all-new features of Amplitube 2, the Fifth Fret decided it was time to take another look.

I have an iPad, so my perspective here will be a reflection of that platform. However, all the same features are available for the iPhone and iPod Touch.

First let me say that this app is beautiful. It is intuitively laid out with a look that is congruent with the rest of the Amplitube line while at the same time taking advantage of the functionality of the iPad. Ah, and what a functionality it is. Being able to reach out and physically touch and manipulate the knobs on the pedals and amps is great. It seems like a small thing, an inconsequential thing, but I kid you not, it somehow seems to me that I am able to dial in the sounds I want better when I can reach out and move the knob with my fingers than when I am dragging them up or down with a mouse.

The app sounds great. All the presets are usable and some are downright perfect. I like that IK Multimedia went the route of including a few great presets instead of including 100 okay-to-good presets.

The biggest addition to Amplitube 2 is the inclusion of in-app recording. First of all, the recording laying is mighty fine looking. Check it out:

You really digging a sound you’re getting? Why not lay down a quick track? It’s as easy and tapping the recording button and rocking out. Re-amping is also possible in the app, which opens up all kinds of cool possibilities. The app then allows you to email the track or export it to iTunes on the iPad or another computer on the same network.

Amplitube 2 also includes a song trainer which lets you play along to any audio file on your iPad as well as slow it down for learning purposes. IK Multimedia also says they have upgraded the sounds in this version. I never played the previous version of the app so I can’t speak to that.

Now the part of the app that may be a tad bit controversial…the in-app purchases. The $20 version of the app comes with 1-track recording. For an extra $14.99, you can add on an 8-track recorder and some nifty mastering software. There are also five pedals available for the impulse-friendly price of $2.99 each: compressor, reverb, parametric EQ, graphic EQ and limiter.

I am a little bummed out that these options are available a-la carte instead of being included in the app. Part of the fun of amp sim software is that it’s an all-in-one solution. One price gets you everything you need. Still when you break it down – iRig $40, Amplitube app $20, 8-track 14.99, five a-la carte pedals at $2.99 each – you are still only looking at a total of less then $90 for the whole kit and caboodle. That’s a TON of bang for the buck.

With Amplitube 2 for iPad, IK Multimedia has successfully upgraded this already impressive product from practice software to a legitimate recording tool. If you got version one based on Pappy’s recommendation, good news! It’s a free upgrade. If you have an iPad, iPhone or iPod touch and don’t have Amplitube yet, the time has officially come to take the plunge. You will be happy you did.

- PT

PT is the co-host of Six-String Bliss, the guitar talk podcast and the Guitar News Podcast. He also writes fiction and has been known to throw a little disc golf. He lives in the birthplace of country music.

Pappy's Falcon

OK, nuts to waiting, here's the picture!

You can click on it to get an even BIGGER, more luscious version!

So Joel, owner and proprietor for Shanghai Music & Sound, found himself in a position where he could order a Gretsch guitar that was custom made by FMIC master builder Stephen Stern. I believe that it's just Stern that works on the US custom Gretsches and I'm pretty sure he also handles all of the tribute models and made his first splash onto the Gretsch scene with a limited run of relic 6118T's.

The thing that I liked about his relics - just the relics, mind you, not the tributes since they're obviously different in this regard - is that he goes easy on the relicing and the end result doesn't feature a neck with finish worn through to the wood, nor a billion lines of checking (though that does pop up quite a bit on real vintage instruments), nor a ton of rust or patina. Everything on the guitar looks like it was taken care of - like what you would expect with a guitar that has always been on the higher end of the price bracket and as a result you aren't holding a guitar that's been to hell and back, but a guitar that feels old and taken care of.

They say that no one knows how to build a vintage Gretsch today like Stephen Stern.

Anyhoo, Joel was able to order a Penguin made by Stern that is Joel's perfect mixture of Jet and Penguin. Here's the actual page with the pictures he got from the custom shop. He's over the moon about it and who wouldn't be? It's a completely custom Gretsch, made by a master builder in the US! There's all sorts of bragging rights involved here!

And Joel is what I consider to be a normal guy meaning he doesn't strike me as the kind of guy that blows his nose with hundred dollar bills and has four Ferrari's in the driveway parked next to two Bentleys and an Aston Martin so there's HOPE at the very least of being able to do this myself (or yourself).

He does mention in the thread that hollowbody Gretsches are much more expensive which causes some doubt for sure, but there's another avenue of approach! If you're willing to sacrifice the made in America by an FMIC master builder, you can get together with a bunch of your buddies and place an order together and order a batch of the custom guitar from Japan for what I assume is a much more reasonable price.

So with this in mind, this... attainability level if you will, I asked the Gretsch Pages for a volunteer to photoshop me a dark blue Falcon with feathered hump-block inlays and silver sparkle trim and LOOK at it! Geoff Vane from the GDP did an AMAZING job with it and the logo with my name ALSO looks killer. The whole picture has a very "this needs to be made into a poster and framed to stare at all day" look to it! Truly top notch and when it arrived in my email box, that was it - I was toast. GAS in the highest degree struck me and I started working on the details of the model, the behind the scenes stuff and came up with

THE SPECS!

Well, a pretty face will only get you so far in this world so a custom guitar, even a custom guitar ordered in batches needs something special to it, something that sets it apart beyond an amazingly gorgeous color. It needs a little more uniqueness (after all, if it was just color, what's stopping you from doing a re-fin instead?) but (mostly for the batch jobs) this is a difficult task because now you have to come up with a guitar that no less than, say, twelve people total would like to own. No one's going to want to do a pickup swap on a guitar they bought brand new for the cost of a Falcon! Nor are they going to really WANT to swap out the Bigsby to what they like to accommodate you.

So you're not just pleasing yourself with the specs and you need to find a balance here that you all can agree on unless everyone is willing to roll the bones on your tonal ear.

With this in mind, the specs and reasons for my choices are as follows (I think it's got enough uniqueness to validate the model and is pleasing enough for most hollowbody palettes):

- The top of the guitar is spruce. Spruce features a tighter sound, which sounds beautiful when played clean and can handle gain with the same aplomb as maple but with the tightness and increased resonance, it's something special to the recipe. And some vintage Falcons also featured a spruce top before the Country Club took it as an exclusive spec so if you're in to Gretsch history, this is a pretty cool addition.

- The guitar features a treble bleed mod on the master volume. This is so you can turn down the volume and not lose your treble, JUST the volume (I hate how rolling off a volume usually means rolling off your highs as well. If I wanted to do that, I would use a tone control).

- The pickup selector is the switch closest to the bridge and the tone switch is closest to the headstock. This is backwards from Gretsch's usual set-up but having a guitar with the standard set-up, I think it makes more sense to have them backward. I don't know about you, but I use a pickup selector way more than I use a tone control.

- The bridge is a rocking bar bridge that is custom made to match the radius of the fretboard (12") and is made from stainless steel. SS is a good material for a bridge to be made from and it matches the aesthetics! There are a few out there who don't know this so I'll explain: Regarding intonation, how can a bar create good intonation when a normal Tune-O-Matic or Adjust-O-Matic needs to be adjusted just so? How can a bar offer anything close to that?

The answer it because the bridge base floats. You just move the treble and bass sides accordingly until the note at the 12th fret matches the note with the string played open on the first and sixth string and everything else should line up with the intonation being at the very worst CLOSE to spot on. Close enough for rock an roll any way. And these are MUCH more comfortable to palm mute with. I tell you, these are miracle bridges.

- The neck features an ebony fingerboard and engraved (with feathers) hump-block inlays.

- The pickups are a TV Jones Classic+ in the bridge and a TV Jones Powertron in the neck. Pickups are the BIGGEST pain in the neck when you think about ordering a batch of custom guitars because it seems like EVERYONE wants something different. The good thing is that you order the batch through a shop (Japan doesn't just ship you the guitar) and they arrive at the shop first where any good shop-keep will inspect, set up and possibly (if you ask nicely) change the pickups to ones of equal value. That's what I'm hoping for anyway, because I could see this being one of the biggest road blocks and source of squabbling.

- The bracing of the guitar, probably the most important thing of all that separates it from the current FilterTron-loaded Falcons, is a sound-post bracing. That means there is VERY little bracing inside the guitar (structural integrity is kept intact, don't worry) with the top being connected to the bottom with two small pieces of wood allowing for a more open, airy sound and more acoustic liveliness. One of the things that make Country Clubs so popular is the great tones that the spruce mixed with the lack of heavy bracing can bring you and like I said, the guitar is still strong - certainly strong enough to lean in with the Bigsby without worrying about it going through the top of the guitar.

- Speaking of the Bigsby! The guitar would feature what's known as a Duane Eddy handle (or Bigsby B6CBDE) that is the most comfortable Bigsby handle you've ever felt and the ergonomics makes for more authority when you use it. You don't have to push it for a while and THEN hear the response, the response is immediate which is how it should be.

Conclusion

Much like Wayne Campbell, this guitar WILL be mine (oh yes, it WILL be mine). I just have to figure out how I'm going to get it. If it means saving up advertising money (because there's no WAY any self-respecting spouse would say yes to the idea of spending hundreds (or *shudder* thousands) more than you would on a guitar that looks the exact same to her/him and their non-guitar-playing eyes, then I will do it, even if it takes until 2015 . But perhaps the US custom shop will be cost prohibitive in which case I'll probably have a lot less to save up and then I can come to the masses and say "Wouldn't you feel more complete in your life if you were playing this amazing guitar I dreamt up?"

You never know. Just to be on the safe side, you should start saving too. ;-)

-Pappy

Edit! Hey everyone, what you've just read is a good example of writing before you research! There's no WAY I would EVER be able to save up for a one-off guitar built by Stephen Stern (the price is MUCH higher than I ever thought) but that's not to say that anyone else can't. I know that even if I could save up that kind of money (which is super doubtful because I'm incredibly fickle and a bit of a spender so saved money never seems to stick around) I have a no-fail system that would keep me from spending that amount of money on a guitar and I happen to be married to her. :-)

Still, even though I'm probably never going to get this guitar, it DOES look VERY pretty and perhaps one day you'll see a physical version of it (though perhaps not with the same specs). I know that if I worked at the Custom Shop and saw this, I may be inclined to build it and see how quickly it sold at next year's NAMM.

In the end, a dream guitar is all this guitar is probably ever going to be for me, but I'm happy to share that dream with you and the response I've gotten already from posting the pictures on various sites has been overwhelmingly positive with only one or two people questioning my taste (which is always encouraging).

Take it easy!

-Pappy

NAMM Squier Vintage Modified

While other blogs are focusing on other cool, new guitars, ready to be unveiled at NAMM, I thought I would offer a much more budget-friendly and still really cool offering instead!

Squier has decided that in 2011 they will be offering multiple new entries into the Vintage Modified series, but the ones that interest me most are the new Jaguar and Jazzmaster.

Purists respond as vampires would to sunlight, but these are wicked cool to me and I have never been one to be a purist to the extent where I would miss out one something as cool as these!

The one that strikes me most of the two is the new Jaguar HH. I've always been a fan of the Jagmaster but had some issues with it, mainly the location of the toggle switch on the lower bout, right where it's prone to get hit when you unleash punk rock hell on your guitar and the location of the jack. I've never been a fan of flat on the face jacks. There's just something about them that seems... fragile. I've always been more happy with jacks that are on the side of the guitar like a Les Paul, Telecaster, Parker, Grestch, Ibanez, the list goes on and on and on, but if it couldn't be on the side, having an angled Strat-style jack is fine with me.

I also love the fact that there's none of the frills associated with Fender's Jaguar. I've never been a fan of mutes, a ton of switches, or the fairly thin tone that seemed to be all I could raise from the guitar (though some can get amazing tones, don't get me wrong) and I guess I'm just a fan of simple guitars that are easy to use and this looks like it was made for me with simple aesthetics, an offset body and everything located in just about the right place (or close enough).

I'd love to take a closer look at this guitar, especially with that bridge. THAT needs to be examined more closely! Initially though, based on looks alone, it looks like it could be QUITE the guitar and with Squier churning out guitars that are getting better and better in quality and more and more respect in the guitar community, I hope this is carrying on in a similar manner. If it is, you'll have a great option for a short-scale, humbucker-loaded guitar and it looks good too! I'd have no shame strapping this one on and playing for a crowd - even one filled with guitarists. Though it doesn't come in daphne blue or surf green (or even black!), the Jaguar is looking cooler and cooler by the second.

Also, many thanks to Walter Broes for pointing out that Dave Gonzalez of Paladins fame (now playing with the Stone River Boys) just had a custom shop baritone made for him that looks an awful lot like the inspiration for these guitars and feature a LOT of the same specs. This photo's a good example (found at fluf.net and taken by O.) and you can see that some things are different, but the similarities are certainly there!

-Pappy

Parker Pt. 5: The Sound

This is part 5 of a 6 part series. Here are the links to the other parts:

Part 1: My History

Part 2: Parker's History

Part 3: Guitar Art

Part 4: Ahead of the Times

Part 6: Epilogue

To me, the Parker Fly is the ultimate step forward in guitar innovation. The way Ken Parker attacked upgrading the guitar and trying to make everything better but not at the cost of having a billion knobs or two dozen switches on the body. There's an art to it, like I said before and I think he struck the perfect balance of innovation and being user-friendly.

And because of the fact that it's so user-friendly, it's easy to get a variety of tones out of it.

At first it may be a little intimidating, two switches, four/five knobs and a red button can do that.

I'm pretty sure that JUST a red button can do that.

But I understand that the first time you hang this insanely light guitar on your frame and look down at the controls you may feel a little... lost. have no fear though, because if there's one thing us guitarists do well, it's tweak knobs. We're born to do it. It's in our BLOOD. Nothing is ever good ENOUGH and everything can always be a LITTLE bit better so we tweak and tweak and tweak.

And like everything other piece of gear we play with, tweaking is easy and after a while you start finding sounds you can use. Larry likes to say that he bought the Parker to sound like HIM and I can see that it's easy to find so many great tones, that surely buried in there somewhere is a tone that you can beam proudly on and call your own.

It's an interesting beast, this control set up and the sound this guitar is capable of. Pretend for a second that it DOESN'T feature the Piezo pickups and we'll just focus on the DiMarzios. They shocked me, honestly. I was raised to think that with mass comes tone. I was taught that this is why Les Pauls are heavy and why a guitar like the Affinity Telecaster is a quarter-inch thinner (thinner guitar and less awesome tone = budget guitar) but the Tele should have been a clue that this isn't the case and the Parker nailed the point home.

This guitar is ridiculously thin and light yet the bass response in particular is amazingly thick and in your face. It's got the presence and punch and the pickups can certainly be tuned to be bright via your amp (some would say "articulate") and perhaps if you go really nuts with the EQ it can be considered too bright, but that's just a knob-tweak away from being fixed.

Personally, my usual set-up with amps is bass and mids at about noon and the treble turned all the way up. I found that I needed to back the bass off to about ten and turn down the treble to noon to get a tone more in line with what I usually go for which proves that if you set up an amp like you would for any other guitar, you may be disappointed with the tone, but once you figure it out and adjust, you're fine and you can then move on and find even MORE awesome tones.

The neck pickup is bright enough to not bog you down in darkness when you're in the middle position yet dark enough that you can pull off some great jazz tones (especially when you back the tone off just a bit) and the bridge pickup can slice through just about any mix and leave you with plenty of room to play your solos and have the notes heard clearly.

That's one of the things that the Parker excels at: Clarity. While if you turned the tone all the way down and manipulated the amp to sound flat-out bad, notes can get lost, most players won't do that and you'll see that just about any REAL setting provides plenty of clarity and you're left hearing all the notes that comprise the chords and the guitar becomes... more beautiful. I found myself playing chords more slowly, savoring each note and being thankful some drummer wasn't yelling at me to pay attention to the beat.

But we all know that while the magnetic pickups are great, they aren't what REALLY sets a Parker apart and we can turn on the Piezo pickups.

First off, like I said in the previous post you have an option to either plug into one amp or two and if you play through two amps you can channel the magnetic pickups to one and the Piezo pickups to the other and blend accordingly and with whatever levels of gain you want. The obvious starting point is using the Piezos as an "acoustic" setting through a nice clean amp and the magnetics as your "electric" sound, but that's just a starting point and no one's saying you can't move away from that set-up.

That's the beauty of all these options is it's really a load of freedom Parker's given you.

And it sounds good. Even when you play through just one amp and blend the magnetic and piezo you have a HUGE sound coming out of your amp and what I was doing was using a clean setting on my amp with a distortion pedal and then switching with both my foot and my hand to the Piezo's to play clean and then back to the "electric" with the pedal and my hand. After a while, this was easy stuff and I got used to the knobs and switches and never confused them once I had played it for about twenty minutes and during those twenty minutes, I was trying to focus on the music, not the knobs. I wanted to see how long it took for it to become second nature and it was very pleasingly easy.

Not only is it easy to get great tones while you're playing but it's also a great vessel for recording as well and you can use your wealth of attainable tones and stack them in the tracks and come out with something that sounds like you spent a ton of time finding different guitars and amps, setting them up so the volume is matched, then recording only to do it all over again when in reality, the mic stays in the same place, the amp stays at the same volume and you're just twisting knobs and flicking switches. It cuts down on time and leaves you with an impressive result.

NOT bad!

EDIT! A member of the Parker forums wanted to hear sound samples and, to be honest, I'm currently deployed so recording new sound samples is out of the question, however I do have sound samples that I previously recorded USING the Parker and I hope this satisfies everyone to a limited extend. I'm sorry I didn't record more!

Orange TH-30 Through Parker Fly by Fifth Fret

Spy Movie Sample by Fifth Fret

-Pappy

The Quest for Style: The Eureka Moment

I clearly remember the most exciting moment of my guitar-playing life. It happened when I was fourteen years old. We were sitting around a campfire, playing an acoustic guitar and singing some songs. I was listening to another player as he ripped out an amazing acoustic solo. I remember watching him, staring at his fingers as if they held the secrets of the universe, wondering what it was that made his playing so much cooler than mine. There was this sound he got on some notes, it was pure rock n roll and I had no idea how he did it.

He played another note, and that’s when it happened – my eureka moment. I saw exactly what he had done, and I was pretty sure I could do it too. I was so excited that I couldn’t keep quiet. I turned to the girl sitting on the log next to me and said, “I know how he did that! I think I can play like that!” Having heard me play before, she gave me an understandably skeptical look and said, “Yeah right.” But her lack of enthusiasm couldn’t crush my elation. I couldn’t wait to get a guitar in my hands and try what I had just seen.

The girl sitting on the log next to me that night is now my wife. Every time I use the technique I figured out that night and bend a string I want to give her a Nelson-esque “Ha ha”, though I usually restrain myself.

As I wrote in last month’s Quest for Style post, I have decided to dedicate much of my playing in 2011 to learning a new style of guitar playing. The main reason is that I want to try something new. I want to change up the way I play and maybe even have one or two of those eureka moments this year.

The biggest challenge of the last month has been deciding what that new style would be. I had a number of ideas, but at the end of the day, I remembered what Larry had commented on this very blog last month: “If you want to be successful, just listen to your heart to determine what style to lock into – that’s where you’ll find your calling.” So I did just that. I thought about the music that moves me and I thought about what type of music I would most love to play if my skill and knowledge were no limitation. Then the names of some of my favorite guitar heroes started popping into my head. Keb’ Mo. Eric Sardinas. Robert Johnson. If I could play some licks like those guys… on an acoustic guitar no less… that would be magical.

Another big factor in my decision is the performance aspect. I am a family man. I’ve got a full-time job. I host a couple podcasts and write some blog entries on the side. While I do have a super-hero band I like to play with occasionally, I simply do not have the time to commit to a regular band. Most of my guitar playing time comes in twenty to thirty minute increments at odd times of day. If I selected a style that is dependent on having a rhythm section backing me up, I am probably setting myself up to fail. However the acoustic blues can be played very satisfyingly as a solo performance. I don’t need other musicians to complete the sound. It’s all right there under my fingers.

I’ve also decided to give myself something to look forward to – a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. At the end of the year, if I’ve stuck with it and decided I like the style enough to make it a permanent part of my repertoire, I am going to reward myself with a new guitar. I don’t know if it will be an arch-top or a flat-top or maybe a resonator. Part of the journey will be researching and trying gear to figure out my dream acoustic blues guitar.

So there it is. This year I will be majoring in acoustic fingerstyle blues with a minor in slide. I will still be playing my electric from time to time, but I don’t intend to go more than a couple days without picking up the old steel-string and thumping away on it. Feel free to recommend me any fingerstyle blues guitarists. The more I can immerse myself, the better. I’ve already gotten a couple of instructional DVDs and begun working my way through them. Join me next month for an update and a more in-depth look at the one thing I’ve learned about fingerstyle blues so far – the beat is boss.

- PT

New Jensen Speaker for NAMM

NEWS RELEASE

FOR 2011 WINTER NAMM

Jensen® Jet Falcon 10”

Jensen® Musical Instrument Speakers is pleased to announce the latest addition to the Jensen® Jet series, the 10” Falcon. With its 40 watts of power, a ceramic magnet, and a seamed green cone made from all natural materials, the 10” Falcon is specially designed to ensure optimum tone for all styles of music.

The Falcon 10” tone is warm and straightforward with a pronounced low end. Its mid frequencies are slightly enhanced over the Falcon 12”, and it has a very sweet, yet cutting, high end. When presented with overdrive distortion it creates some mean fuzz.

This new Jensen® speaker once again demonstrates Jensen®’s tradition of giving players what they are asking for in tone. Watch for more Jensen® Jet series speaker designs on the horizon.

jensentone.com

Stripping Down

I have been inspired!

I recently saw a ska band set up at an outdoor mall and as far as I was concerned, they did everything right. They played a short set of high energy, fast paced songs, they were all into the performance, looking like they were having a great time and wouldn't rather be anywhere else and they made room for the guitarist when it came time for solos or accents which I think is preferable to a guitarist just turning on a boost pedal or volume pedal in order to "cut through the mix." They worked together as a band to make a great show and it didn't look like any one member was being favored and I had a great time watching them play.

It also didn't take them long at all to pack up which made me start thinking about how much is lugged around to shows and how much is really necessary.

Now, this band, consisting of six members, all of which played instruments and included two singers (both are also horn players) had a volume that was easy to hear but wasn't really loud, especially when you compare it to other "normal" bands that for some reason, even though they have less members, are still playing at louder volumes.

It left me wondering why playing so loud is the norm. Is it because there are great tones to be had when an amp is turned up? Well, there's no doubt - especially with non-master volumes - that great tones reside in the higher volumes, but what's stopping you from using a master-volume amp or a distortion/overdrive pedal? Is it a tone snob thing? I don't mean any offense by that, but do you really think that the audience is caring about the nitty gritty details of your tone? To me, it seems like if that's what they're focusing on, they're not having a good time listening to the music.

So perhaps it's not the tone (though maybe it is, I'm always up to hear from live acts and the rationale behind just about everything they do).

Is it that when the volume is low people can talk to each other? I'll admit it's a little cynical of me to think that a band would be so attention-hungry that they would turn up just to make outside conversation impossible thereby forcing all attention to be put on them. Still seems like a possibility though.

Anyway, I'm not sold on the whole "crank it up" attitude. It's not the first time that I disagree with the majority of the guitar playing community (I'm not a huge fan of high-wattage amps either).

Hey, it just occurred to me that perhaps I'M the problem. It's obvious I'm not a huge fan of volume after all. Still, the band was playing at a reasonable volume so if that's the case, maybe I'm not the only one.

But I didn't come here to JUST talk about volume and band dynamics.

The band packed up and left in no time flat too.

This got me thinking about the Mesa Boogie ad for their Transatlantic amp that says something along the lines of "from cab to stage in one trip and you'll still have a free hand to pay the driver." The method shown is by carrying an external cab and using gig bags for your guitar and the TA amp (which comes with the amp).

I like this philosophy. Small amps, big tone, maybe not an INSANELY expensive rig? I mean, it's 2011, right? These things are possible even with technology from a year or five ago.

I started mentally building a rig that was simple and deliberately stripped down. I want to go from car to stage in one trip and set up or tear down in minutes. MINUTES.

So here's the game, folks: Build yourself a rig that's as stripped-down as possible that will still make you happy with your tone. You can't just say "Crate Powerblock and a 1X5 cab" unless that's what you're genuinely after (and if so, I'm sure your back will thank you).

To make it even easier for you, we'll assume you're bringing ONE guitar and it will be in a gig bag that's wearable like a backpack. This game is dedicated to getting the heavy lifting as light as possible.

Here's mine:

The cab would be a Port City 1X12 which features an amazingly fresh outlook on cab construction and, even though I've never played one, I'm pretty sure this would be a great choice to make the most out of a 1X12.

The amp head would be an Orange Dual Terror. The way I figure it, it's not complicated, it sounds great, it's light enough and it comes with a gig bag.

I think I know what you're thinking: A combo amp would be even easier to lug around. True. A combo amp would make the car/stage move even easier BUT that's not what I want because honestly, I like the idea of mixing heads and cabs at home in a recording setting and with a combo amp, it's kind of a one trick pony unless you want to go replacing speakers (more work than I want to do).

So that's what I would choose and I would have one hand free (not to pay the cab though, but instead to be able to open up the door to the club or maybe even to help the poor drummer).

Would I need pedals? I doubt it. I play a lot of punk after all and there's nothing in the genre that a Dual Terror can't handle sans pedals. I guess if I wanted a little versatility, I could pack up a Tavo Vega Atomic Brains pedal and an MXR Carbon Copy (or Pro Tone PE Delay if I had a little extra room and few extra bucks) and with those, I could get clean tones and more than that, clean tones I LIKE and those two pedals can EASILY fit into a guitar gig bag pocket.

But enough about my amazing choice of tonal goodness! What about you? Could you get from the car to the stage in one trip and still be tonally satisfied? If so, what would you use? If NOT, what would you use?

I'm excited to hear your responses!

-Pappy