Post Musical Equipment Here....

[|iR|Focalor]

I want this amp.

[Disco Ditto]

Some new gear, my friends.

[Disco Ditto]

and their cousins....

[|iR|Focalor]

Finally got me a bass guitar. It's old 2001-ish (not sure) ESP LTD C-304 4string. 5-piece maple and walnut neck, neck-through-body neck joint (which is FUCKING AWESOME), maple body wings, quilted maple top, rosewood fretboard, EMG HZ humbuckers. This beast fucking ROARS. I tripped out the fresh from Sunday church black dudes shopping in the music store hammering out some speedy Lemmy style full blast overdrive chords, haha! They'd never heard anyone play a bass that way before. The bass is a beauty though. Paid 360 for it. For a neck-through bass... that's a fucking steal. I'll post pics later.

Also got a Fender Rumble 100 combo to play it through. 100 watts solid state loaded with a 12" Eminence ceramic magnet speaker. Thing weighs reeeeally light. Also discovered this thing works great as a nice vintage sounding blues amp with a regular guitar, because the onboard bass overdrive breaks up at just the perfect zone, not too overly distortion-y like regular guitar amps.

[|iR|Focalor]

These are the pics of it from the stores webpage.







If you notice in the last pic, there's a little spot near the tail end strap peg where it looks like it's maybe gouged or split or something. I was kinda worried about that when I saw these pics, but it's actually just a dark spot in the maple grain.

I was either gonna go with an Ibanez SR series (probably an SR370 or SR400) or this one. The Ibanez had true active 9volt powered 3band EQ and a coil tap switch, whereas the LTD's controls are all the same minus the coil tap switch and the 3band EQ is NOT 9v powered, so the treble knob has almost NO effect. But... the LTD had a lot more beef to the sound of it, plus I wasn't gonna find another neck-through bass anywhere else for that price.

[quadz]

Nice   

[|iR|Focalor]

I was kinda wondering how a guitar could have an onboard 3band EQ without being 9volt battery powered. Turns out that it IS 9v powered and the battery is located inside the back cavity with the controls, which isn't so convenient. And all 3 EQ knobs are wired into one pc board. I was hoping this WASN'T going to be the case so that maybe all I'd need to do to get the treble frequency to be more pronounced and flexible would be to wire in a better capacitor or whatever on that knob, but that's obviously NOT gonna work now.

But upon opening it up in the back, I see that ESP has taken the time to properly sheild the cavity and routes with conductive paint, a small but very meaningful enhancement for any guitar. Gibson Les Pauls, as nice and expensive as they are, don't have conductive paint shielded cavities, and they buzz like a motherfucker if you're not touching something metal on it.

A couple issues with this thing so far. It sounds to be buzzing and losing sustain around 6th to 8th frets more than I'd like, probably a truss rod adjustment would cure that. I dunno if I can raise the string action via the bridge, it an odd looking bridge I'm not familiar with. I've never set up a bass either so I have no clue what to measure for adjusting anything. Any advice, Dr. Q?

[|iR|Focalor]

Saw something yesterday that made me absolutely sick to my stomach.



These damn things sell for anywhere from 300 bucks on up to 400 or more. Are you fucking kidding me? They were made from probably 1994 until about 1998. I remember back when these things were brand new on store shelves. And it wasn't all THAT long ago. They sold for like 80 bucks I think. In the late 90's, they came out with a different version in a black housing and the previous issue green ones that were still brand new started selling for 100 or a little more depending on the store.

I remember seeing it sitting on the shelf at the guitar store, very drab and uninteresting looking compared to the other pedals. But something made me want to give it a spin. I was instantly blown away by the terrific vintage sounds that came out of it. With the distortion/sustain knob cranked, it made me start playing old Black Sabbath riffs almost involuntarily. There's nothing really fancy about the pedal, it's not tube driven or anything, just clever usage of transistors. But the distinctive honky midrange to this particular pedal and the way it handles the signal is almost tube-like. The first time I heard one, I fell in love with it. The 90's Big Muff pedals were all made in Russia, and ALL of the different versions of them sound terrific.

The same company, Electro-Harmonix, makes a Big Muff pedal today, but they're all made in New York, and they DO NOT sound like the 90's Russian pedals. The new ones have all that sweet midrange honk scooped out of them and the treble is ridiculously exaggerated. They say the current USA made Bass Big Muff pedals are a suitable substitute for the old Russian ones, but... nah. They're close, but they still don't have the same honk.

I wanted to buy one of these things back in the 90's, but instead I opted for a Boss Metal Zone distortion instead (because I read in a magazine that guys like Cannibal Corpse etc were using it). STUPIDEST decision ever. Because today, I absolutely NEVER use that damn Metal Zone pedal, and it's so common that you just about can't GIVE them away much less get anything for them on a trade at a used music shop. Whereas if I had gone with one of those green Russian Big Muff pedals, I'd still be using it CONSTANTLY today. And it would be worth 3 to 5 times what I paid for it, too. Fuck me sideways.

[|iR|Focalor]

So I managed to track down one of the "black russian" 90's Russian-made Sovtek Big Muff pedals. The black ones I've seen online seem to be selling for anywhere from $100 on up to $200 or more depending on the condition and... whatever mood the seller happens to be in at the time I guess. Kinda wild how wide the price range is on these 90's Big Muff pedals.

Anyway, I ended up jewing the clerk at Sam Ash in Atlanta down from $99 to $89. It sounds and operates perfect. But it's missing the 4 rubber feet and the battery compartment door. Looks like the previous owner drilled out a hole in the bottom side panel to route a 9v battery to AC adapter plug through it (1st pic, bottom left side). No biggie though. I'll rig something up to it at some point to keep the battery from falling out. Other than that, it's in surprisingly decent cosmetic shape. No big scratches in the black paint, some small chips of black paint missing on the corners. Some dirt and grime around the knobs, but it cleans off. So happy to finally have one of these things in my arsenal after all these years. And for a great price too.

[quadz]

I pre-ordered one of these "Precision Drive" pedals last month. Not sure when they're shipping, might be a couple months more yet.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucI7e0j_Mfg
<span data-s9e-mediaembed="youtube" style="display:inline-block;width:100%;max-width:640px"><span style="display:block;overflow:hidden;position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%"><iframe allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" style="background:url(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ucI7e0j_Mfg/hqdefault.jpg) 50% 50% / cover;border:0;height:100%;left:0;position:absolute;width:100%" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ucI7e0j_Mfg"></iframe></span></span><br /><a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/ucI7e0j_Mfg" target="_blank" class="new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/ucI7e0j_Mfg</a>

I don't currently use any pedals (besides wah) on my amp, which is a Blackstar HT Metal 60 watt tube combo I'd bought about a year ago, and I'm still having a blast playing through.



The speakers it ships with stock are middle-of-the-line Celestion Seventy-80&#039;s
Celestion Seventy-80's which sound alright. I'm considering upgrading them to Celestion Vintage 30&#039;s
Celestion Vintage 30's at some point.

This is the first real tube amp I've owned, and it's a lot of fun. (Glad I'm no longer living in an apartment!)

[|iR|Focalor]

Interesting. Now that I see it, I kinda wonder why it's taken someone THIS long to put a noise gate on a overdrive/distortion pedal. I guess they figured it'd just be more profitable to sell a separate noise gate pedal. Sounds very subtle though. And he's running through a fucking Mesa Rectifier head. Jesus Christ, if you need more filth than what a Mesa Rectifier has on-board, then it really doesn't matter what kinda OD pedal you use.

Hell yeah, those Vintage 30's are great. Whenever I get around to either making a speaker cab or just buying a used one, I plan on loading it up with either Greenback 25's or Vintage 30's, or maybe a combo of both. Some people think, "Speakers are speakers, fuck it." But nah, there IS a difference. I dunno what kinda magic mayonaise Celestion is smearing on their Greenbacks especially, but it makes em sound creamy and delicious.

I was digging around in another music shop Saturday... yeah, literally digging around. Rabbit trailing here. There's this place called Sound Associates in Lawrenceville GA where I've bought 2/3rds of my current rackmount rig in the past. His store literally looks like you took a guy from that old tv show Hoarders and told him to go run a guitar store. There's shit EVERYWHERE! You can barely walk around in there. But if you can get over that and take your time and look around, he's always got some hidden treasures buried somewhere in all the mess for someone to find.

He had some kinda 1964 Gibson acoustic that had a few scratches and dings, generous checking in the lacquer all over, but the lacquer on it is nice and razor thin just like I like, so it vibrates and rings absolutely beautifully. I typically hate Gibson's acoustics no matter when they were made, but this one sounded killer. I think he was asking 1300 for it, which is what you'd probably pay for most brand new Gibson acoustics, if not MORE... and they wouldn't have the cool-factor of being an antique.

I also noticed he had one of those old 90's Fender Roc-Pro heads buried in the rubble. Never played through one, but I know lots of people these days are going back to those because they've got tube preamp sections with solid state poweramp sections and have the reputation of being damn near 100% reliable.

I was on my tip toes peering over the mountains of combo amps he had in one room, and I spotted about 3 different types of what looked like old 70's and early 80's Marshall 2x12 combos, all of them had price tags hanging off them saying 350 or 400. Definitely gonna head back there and check those out when I have more play money in my pocket.

[|iR|Focalor]

I'm sure I use the phrase "Holy Shit" a lot, but for once I reeeeally mean HOLY SHIT.

If anybody here is ever in the Atlanta area at any point, there's one guitar store that you must visit. You must see it to believe it. I DID see it, and I still don't think I really believe it yet. Did I mention holy shit yet? I think I did. Anyway.

http://www.righteousguitars.com/

Righteous Guitars - Roswell GA

OH MY FUCKING GOD! I think they have more guitars than the Atlanta Guitar Center. And NONE of them are shitty. Not one. Every last one of them are high-end works of fucking art. Out of all the guitars they have on the wall, I think only TWO of them were priced under 1000 dollars, are both were Gibsons. They have more genuine PRS (not the cheap PRS "SE" models) and PRS Private Stock than... like, anyone EVER. I shit you not, they don't sell ANYTHING that isn't absolutely awesome. Suhr, K-line, lots of Gibson Custom Shop and new-old stock Les Pauls, several other brands you hardly ever see. WOW.

[|iR|Focalor]

http://www.righteousguitars.com/

Righteous Guitars - Roswell GA

Awesome awesome awesome awesome wet dream awesome breathtaking awesome holy shit awesome etc.

I didn't even mention their amplifier selection. More holy shit. Nothing but the best. (Mesa Boogie? Mere trash that's not even worthy of being a doorstop in this store! Marshall? Not good enough for this store. Maybe if it was a genuine vintage JTM45 or a '69 Super Lead in pristine condition.) Mahalo, Dr. Z, 3rd Power, Divided By 13, Paul Reed Smith Amps, a few others. Usually, you're doing lucky to find just ONE Paul Reed Smith Amp in any store, but this place had 10 or 20, and one of them was hand wired by Mr. Paul Reed Smith himself. I played a 1995 Gibson Les Paul Classic Premium Plus top in cherry sunburst through some kinda 3rd Power amp. I remember the first time I ever played a Les Paul, I was at the Guitar Center in Atlanta back in 1995 I think, and I played a Les Paul Classic into a 100 watt Marshall Slash signature Silver Jubillee head through two 4x12 cabs loaded with Celestion Greenback 25's. Nothing has ever sounded that good since. I've played SEVERAL new Les Paul Standards, Classics, Traditionals, and Studios lately, and NONE of them sound as good as the Les Pauls that Gibson used to turn out in the 90's. Honestly, my cheap-ish Les Paul Studio Faded sounds better than the Les Paul Classics they're putting out now.

Also... a question.

Who is Floyd Rose? Is he still alive? Or is he dead? God, I hope so. Fuck that guy. The most pain in the ass bridge and tremolo system to properly setup ever. Fuck me in the ear hole, man. For the first time since FUCKING EVER I decided to actually attempt a proper setup on my old worn out 1996 Ibanez JS100 with a Floyd Rose style Lo-TRS II trem system. Holy fuck, what a pain in the ass. And I didn't even get to experience the joy (that's sarcasm) of trying to adjust the saddles to intonate the bridge. When I took the old strings off, I completely disassembled the bridge and cleaned all the parts good with Q-tips, then stuck all the saddles back on in some fashion where I thought it might be reasonable to expect a good "rough intonation". Once I got the new strings back on it, I took measurements and luckily my guess was pretty spot-on for all the saddles. But then I spent probably 4 hours tuning and tuning and tuning and tuning and attempting to balance the bridge properly and get the action set to something other than fucking SKY HIGH like it was before.

I've finally got it set right and all the strings in tune. If anybody so much as fuckin' breathes hard near it, it'll probably go out of tune again. If I ever meet anyone named Floyd Rose, whether he's the REAL Floyd Rose or not, I'm gonna kick him right in the balls.

[quadz]

Also... a question.

Who is Floyd Rose? Is he still alive? Or is he dead? God, I hope so. Fuck that guy. The most pain in the ass bridge and tremolo system to properly setup ever.

A friend had this goofy poster when we were teens:



So, there he is, apparently!

[|iR|Focalor]

Yeah, kinda looks like some of the pics I've seen searching Google images. There's surprisingly few pictures of him. You'd think that a guy who has his name stamped on nearly half of the electric guitar tremolo bridges in existence would have enough fans to warrant more than 2 or 3 different pictures of himself.

On the other hand, maybe the people posting the pictures are as angry as I am about having to spend a full day intonating, balancing, and tuning their guitars. I'm talking *"HOURS"* it took to get this shit right, several hours. And while it certainly did suck to have to take that much time to set it up properly, the end result is quite satisfying. This thing has never sounded or played as good as it did when it was brand new back in '97,... until now. It sounds and plays better right now than it EVER has, even with the frets all worn as fuck and needing replacing. Nobody at the Ibanez factory back then actually set the guitars up properly before they shipped. They had jigs that they set the bridges in as they assembled them to supposedly make the saddles be placed in the correct position, and the jigs were way off. The manual that came with the guitar said the action on all Ibanez 6-string electrics from the factory is set from the top of the 14th fret to the bottom of the string, 2mm on the low E side, and 1.5mm on the high E side. It was never anywhere near that low, even when it was brand new. I've currently got it about .75mm higher than that to eliminate most of the fret buzz. It's amazing though. It actually DOESN'T sound like a piece of shit anymore!

It's been quite a spell since I picked it up and played it. But after playing a Les Paul for 2 months and then going back to the old Ibanez, I can notice things about it that I didn't notice before. Neck size and scale length, obviously. And at one point back in the early 00's, I had accidentally broken the mounting bracket that comes off the neck pickup to attach it to the adjustment screw off the pickup ring. So I replaced that neck pickup with a Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates coil tap pickup. And I didn't notice it before now, but apparently I wired the fuckin' thing in there wrong. Whenever you flip the 3-way switch to the middle to play both pickups together, it plays them both out of phase I guess. Sounds like 2 humbuckers in a glass tube. So I fucked it up, but I actually kinda like how I fucked it up. Sounds neato.