Archive for category Gear
Pedal Profile: Xotic Gold AC Booster Limited Edition
Posted by Jed in Gear, Pedal Profile, Uncategorized on March 31st, 2010
BACKGROUND: Where the BB Preamp is supposed to be a cranked Marshall, the AC is supposed to be more like a cranked American amp (Fender). The Limited Edition Gold AC Booster is the same thing as the regular, just gold with only 500 in existence.
GUITARS: PRS Standard 22, 1986 Fender MIJ Tele ’62 Reissue
AMPS: ’97 Rivera R-55, 65 London
FIRST IMPRESSION: When Q brought it over the first thing I thought was “It’s gold!” I like the way it looks. Gold may be the new silver. It has really good-sounding low end, not too punchy and not too sloshy. It just sounds natural and you can feel it through a wood floor.
It is a very smooth-sounding pedal, very Tube Screamer-esk. It emphasizes the mid-range of the guitar tones;this characteristic is always welcomed in my book.
PROS: When you roll the bass down and turn the treble up (3 o’clock), it doesn’t sound brittle. It is still a very usable tone.
When set to a clean boost setting (volume maxed, drive at its lowest), it gives the tone more attack and a pinch more sustain than the clean tone.
CONS: Q tried the Booster through the 65 London and said the two didn’t play well together. For whatever reason, when I plugged it in through the R-55, it sounded amazing. Through the London, it was less smooth and more sterile.
FINAL THOUGHTS: This pedal is like a top quality Tube Screamer that won’t sound bad. I messed around with the EQ and couldn’t get it to sound bad. Obviously I preferred some settings over others, but for the most part this pedal was just giving me usable to amazing tones. This pedal doesn’t play favorites with its settings. If you’re sick of the Tube Screamer you bought at Guitar Center, seriously look into this pedal.
Keep Sharp,
-Jed
Pedal Profile: Xotic EP-Booster
BACKGROUND: The EP-Booster is yet another offering from the Xotic, a company that seems to have a knack for coming out with the right pedal at the right time and making it a top quality product. The EP-Booster is based on the “legendary echo machine EP-3″ (I’m told this is the Maestro Echoplex) which the likes of Van Halen, Jimmy Page, and Eric Johnson (I’m assuming Eric Johnson, perhaps it is another Johnson) have all used as preamps -ecause, of course, who wouldn’t think to use an echo machine as a preamp. The EP-Booster is the reincarnation of EP-3 as a peamp (no echo here). This pedal is not only a boost but seems to have an aura of being that almost mythical tone-enhancer-in-a-box we all look for, a pedal that doesn’t change your tone but somehow makes it better.
GUITAR: 1986 Fender MIJ ’62 Tele Reissue
AMP: 65 London Combo, 1985 Mesa Mark III
FIRST IMPRESSION: For such a small pedal it is heavy and feels very sturdy. If you were to throw it at someone’s head you would knock him out cold. I’m not sure if there is a single Boss pedal that can boast that. It has a silver black tint, which is always good.
PROS:It is probably one of the most sturdy pedals I have ever played which gives me quite a bit of confidence as a guitar player when I step on it. I have replaced one too many (truth be known, three too many) switches in my Line 6 DL-4 so that is a big issue for me.
It does everything a boost should do. That is, it boosts the signal. It does a very good job of this, but I wouldn’t expect anything less. After all it’ as boost. If you screw that up, maybe you shouldn’t be making pedals. Fortunately, Xotic should be making pedals.
It does kind of feel like a “tone enhancer.” I say “kind of” because it is so abstract that it is hard to put concrete words to. Nevertheless, I played my church’s worship set with it turned on (set as low as possible) the entire time.
This pedal is also an impecable paper weight.
…and it has a nice hint of silver…I’m a fan.
CONS: This pedal is so simple I would be worried if there were cons to it. It doesn’t suck tone, feels sturdy, doesn’t take up a lot of space, and does everything it promises. Even the LED is blue. Nothing to complain about here.
FINAL THOUGHTS: The Xotic EP-Booster is everything a boost should be and then some. Sturdy and durable, this pedal is like a little tank on the board that doesn’t mind sharing space with other pedals. This pedal is not only an exceptional boost, it is also that highly sought after yet very allusive tone enhancer.
Keep sharp,
-Jed
Pedal Profile: Xotic BB Preamp MB
Posted by Jed in Gear, Pedal Profile on February 19th, 2010
BACKGROUND: Xotic is owned by PCI, a company based in in Los Angeles, California, that specializes in exporting high end music gear to Japan. Xotic was founded to make high-end basses in 1996. In ’99 Xotic started producing effects for both guitars and basses.
The first BB Preamp was a main staple for Xotic and based on Marshall Plexi tones. Later, Xotic teamed up with Andy Timmons to create the Andy Timmons Signature BB Preamp which is a little warmer and more compressed than the original. The BB Preamp MB came out in December as the first offering from the new Xotic Custom Shop.
GUITARS: Gibson Les Paul Custom Classic, 1986 Fender ’62 Tele Reissue with Texas Special Pickups.
AMPS: 65 London 2×12 Combo
FIRST IMPRESSION: Hmmm…silver. Always good.
The MB seems cleaner and clearer than the original BB Preamp and less compressed. I still haven’t compared it to the original, and it’s been a while since I have played the Andy Timmons signature, so we will see how I feel once I play those.
PROS: This pedal has a great Marshall Plexi sound to it. It still has a very transparent sound yet includes the Marshall attitude. It has a distinct Lincoln Brewster quality to it. So if you love Brewster but can’t stand Line 6, check this pedal out.
The EQ control on this pedal is a breath of fresh air. While most pedals just have a tone control, the BB Preamp gives the user control of treble and bass separately. The MB takes it one step further with the much needed Mid control and boost. The mid-boost makes for some great clear attack to help the guitar cut through the mix with out sounding frail and brittle.
This pedal plays well with Tube Screamers. I used a TS9DX set to the TS9 with the clean boost setting (Drive at 0, Level at max). It was great for solos, a little bit of volume increase, a little bit of gain increase and hardly no change in tone.
CONS: The LED is red. Not blue, not green…red. Can a pedal be considered boutique if the LED is the same color as the LED in the Boss Metal Zone? Some how this is effecting the sound. It probably would sound more “Dumble” if the light was blue. That said, it would probably sound less Brewster.
I really am having a hard time finding more “cons” on this pedal. It is a Marshall-sounding pedal with a rarely seen mid boost control. How can you mess that up?
FINAL THOUGHTS: This pedal really does have a Brewster feel, which is great for someone like me who can never get modeling gear to sound good.
Every guitar I plugged through it sounded great and kept it’s unique character. It was articulate, clear, Brewster-like and gave me a mid control that I’ve never had on a pedal. I love this pedal. It’s not going to replace the Zendrive, but Zendrive is going to have to share some room on the pedal board.
Keep Sharp,
Jed
Pedal Profile: Malekko Ekko 616
Posted by Jed in Gear, Pedal Profile on February 16th, 2010
BACKGROUND: Malekko is a company built on the idea that making mistakes is learning faster. This young five-year-old company, started by two musician friends, has a track record of tirelessly creating prototypes until they finally come up with a special pedal.
The Malekko Ekko 616 is the result of that signature determination that has become the DNA of Malekko. It was designed to be the brightest analog delay on the market with a modulation that can go from smooth and subtle choruses to full-on Lesly sounds. It should be noted that there are two types of 616s out there: original and modified. Due to a bad batch of components, the first 616s had a lingering repeats problem. If you turned the pedal off during a delay, the pedal would finish the remaining repeats when you turned it back on. If you have or end up with one of these pedals, Malekko has offered to fix it for free. For this profile I lucked out, thanks once again to my friend Q, and had the opportunity to play both.
GUITARS: Gibson Les Paul Custom Classic Silverburst, Fender Eric Johnson Signature Strat, 1986 Fender MIJ ’62 Reissue Tele with Texas Special Pickups.
AMPS: 65 London 2×12 Combo
FIRST IMPRESSION: It’s not silver. This is never a good sign. However, the red looks like it was taken from a really fast sports car, say a Ferrari 458 Italia. This usually is a good sign.
The repeats are clear and rich and with the Strat, can get some very cool Joshua Tree sounds.
At this point the modulation seems out of control. It takes a while, but I finally get a setting that is usable but for the most part, I just keep it turned off.
PROS: Much richer and less sterile than a digital delay. So many digital delays sound tiny with every repeat computer perfect. This delay has great highs without being brittle and the bucket brigades make for a just- less-than-perfect repeats which gives the 616 so much character.
The true bypass/buffered knob is a really cool option to have on a pedal and I wish more pedals had it. On the modified pedal the buffered is a little brighter than the true bypass.
CONS: The Regen knob is a case of controlled chaos. If the knob is at eleven o’clock or higher the repeats keep going and keep getting louder.
The true bypass mode is supposed to have a darker sounding delay then the buffered mode. On the original 616, it seems like it doesn’t just make the tone darker but alters the tone of the guitar itself. It feels like there is actually a decibel level decrease.
FINAL THOUGHTS: The oscillation and modulating effects make for some great Mute Math sounds. Not the most useful when playing “Inside Out,” but cool if you like the random wacky sounds pedals can make.
Rich and clear are the best words to describe this pedal. It is a great delay if you use a none tap-tempo digital delay and are looking for something with a richer tone that doesn’t sound muddy. In fact, even if you’re not looking for a richer, warmer delay, I would still recommend the 616.
Keep sharp,
-Jed
Pedal Profile: Durham Sex Drive (The Most Awkward Post Yet)
BACKGROUND: This pedal is made by Alan Durham of Durham Electronics. As the story goes he never intended to mass produce boutique pedals. Alan’s friend Charlie Sexton, a guitar player who played for Bob Dylan, David Bowie, and others as well as an award-winning producer, asked Alan to make him a clean boost pedal that wouldn’t alter the tone of his amp, adding a pinch of bottom end as to avoid the common “nasally” sound of many clean boosts. When demand for this pedal became too high to ignore, the Sex Drive was born (Sexton, Sex Drive get it? Of course you did; you’re smart).
AMPS: ’85 Mesa Mark III, 65 London Combo
GUITARS: Gibson Les Paul Custom Classic (It may or may not have been a Guitar Center “Exclusive”), ’86 Fender MIJ Telecaster ’62 Reissue (Candy Apple Red with binding) equipped with Texas Special Pick-Ups
FIRST IMPRESSION: The first impression was based on the name. And it was probably the same impression you have right now. I asked my friend Jeff, the owner of the pedal I borrowed, how he felt about playing a pedal called the Sex Drive in church. He chuckled and said “I’m married so I think its okay.”
They say not to judge a pedal by its enclosure but on first touch this one screams quality. Plugging it in before I did any research, I was surprised by what I heard. I thought with “Drive” in the name that it must just be a Tube Screamer clone with true bypass. I was wrong.
PROS: The true bypass, Telflon wiring, and Switch Craft jacks makes this a quality pedal from the get-go. This quality translates into tone. It doesn’t tamper with your tone, but lets you if you want to.
One very cool thing about the Sex Drive is the “Comp” switch. A built-in compression switch at the top of the pedal gives you the option of “Off,” “Soft,” and “Hard.” The built-in compression makes this pedal great for when you need to boost for a solo.
Also, it’s a good looking pedal…sexy…sort of.
CONS: The title makes for an awkward moment when my pastor starts a conversation about “All those pedal you push. What are they?” “Well, Pastor, let me show you–wait. How’s the wife?”
It would be nice to get a bit more grit and dirt from the gain knob. If the gain gave more grit it would be like having a clean and dirty boost in one pedal. Volume up and gain down and there is the clean boost. Gain up and volume down and there is the dirty boost. With the way the pedal is designed, it is strictly a clean boost with a pinch of bite when you crank the gain.
FINAL IMPRESSION: Inspired by a recent Brad Paisley concert, I plugged in my tele and played the only two country licks I knew. I’m not a country guitarist by any means, but my instincts tell me that this is a great pedal for country solos.
As a clean boost it is top notch. There is no nasal sound unless the Tone knob is cranked. The compression switch makes for one less pedal to push for a solo and gives flexibility to choose what level of compression to use.
If your interested in more check it out at http://durhamelectronics.com/sexdrive.html.
Keep sharp,
-Jed
Pedal Profile: Tanabe Dumkudo
Posted by Jed in Gear, Pedal Profile on January 29th, 2010
BACKGROUND: This pedal is handbuilt in Japan by Toshihiko Tanabe. The flagship pedal is the Zenkudo meant for humbucker style guitars. The spawn of this pedal is the Dumkudo, a higher gain version of the Zenkudo, meant for single-coil bolt-on style guitars. Some of us make a big deal about blue LED lights in pedals. If it is blue it must sound better (color and tone are inexplicably linked). With the Dumkudo, not only do you get a blue LED, but you also get a little switch on the side that can change this light from blue to red and then to green. Yes. Green. That’s amazing.
Better yet, these color changes are not just aesthetic, rather they signify changes in tones and modes.
Red: This is a Marshall-like tone. It is the most punchy out of the three modes.
Blue: This is more of a Dumble tone, softer sounding then the Red mode and has a Zendrive flavor.
Green: This mode is supposed to be more of a Dumble/Tanabe tone. The most noticeable difference is that it has a much higher output than the other two modes.
GUITARS: Gibson Les Paul Silverburst, Fender Eric Johnson Signature Strat, ’86 Fender Telecaster ’62 Reissue
AMPS: ’85 Mesa Boogie Mark III, ’97 Rivera R-55, 65 London Combo
FIRST IMPRESSION: When my friend Q said he was looking into this pedal, I had to admit that I had no idea what it was. When I first looked at Tanabe’s website, the first thing I noticed was his return policy. When that’s is before the actual product itself that tells me that Tanabe is pursuing this “hobby” with an eccentric zeal. When I first saw it, it was surprisingly light and very pretty with its black case and mother-of-pear-like top, definitely a solid pedal with solid tone.
PROS: This pedal sounds amazing, which is probably the most important feature of a pedal. In fact, it sounds better the more I play it. It sounds as much like a real amp as any pedal I have ever heard. There seems to be more low end than the Zendrive yet it never feels muddy or murky, always clear even with a Les Paul.
While every mode sounds great, the Red Marshall mode is my favorite through the Mesa and the 65, and the Blue mode sounds great through the Rivera. All of the guitars sound great through this cool customer.
CONS: This is a short list. This pedal has a surprising lack of sustain at full saturation. I’m a little hesitant to say this is a short-coming. The green mode has such a high output that it is almost unusable if you are switching between the pedal and the clean channel on your amp unless you use a clean boost when the Dumkudo is turned off. This does make for an extra box to stomp on when switching channels. It should be said that the higher the pedal’s volume is turned up the better sounding it gets.
FINAL THOUGHTS: No matter how I turned the knobs or what amp or guitar I used, this pedal sounded amp-like, articulate, and just plain good. And it looks pretty. This pedal is a great core tone for any worship, church-oriented pedal board.
Keep Sharp,
-Jed
Does Tone Really Come From The Hands?
Posted by Jed in Advice, Gear, Technique And Practice on January 18th, 2010
I have heard this phrase since I was a teenager first learning how to play a D and G chord. People would talk about the great Stevie Ray Vaugh or Jimi Hendrix and how their tones moved there souls and it came from there magical hands.
“It’s all in the hands” repeated in my brain. So instead of buying a tube amp I would practice scales. Instead of getting a Tube Screamer I stuck with the Boss Super-Overdrive. Instead of looking into better guitar manufacturers I kept looking at my fingers and wondered why they sounded horrible.
I was in shredder mode. And that was the last thing my church needed. What my church needed was someone who could just play the solo for “God of Wonders” as it was written with a good quality tone (i.e. gear) behind it.
Back to the Greats and their Magical Hands. Sure Stevie Ray’s sound is amazing if you are a Texas blues player who loves gauge 14 strings, but I’m not. Sure Jimi’s tone was amazing for it’s time, but I’m pretty sure if I rolled into my church with a Marshal Stack cranked to ten, no, eleven and a Fuzzface, people would give me a weird stare (or grimace…or look of complete anguish).
Do you remember that scene from John Mayer’s concert DVD where he is playing on a bluff overlooking LA?
When I first saw this I couldn’t believe his tone, neither could my buddy who said “Man that guy’s tone is amazing. How do I get my hands to sound like that?” It was a rhetorical question so I didn’t draw attention to Johnny’s Signature head that goes for $8500.00. Even the Greats use great gear.
I think the core message the phrase, “tone comes from the hands” is trying to convey is that technique makes good gear sound great.
Any guitar rig is just going to sound better in the hands of a seasoned player who listens to Eric Johnson and Joe Bonamassa than it will given to a teenager whose idea of a good guitar player is Billie Joe Armstrong. But I would also bet that the seasoned player will sound better playing through a Dumble ODS-100 than a Marshall JVM.
Now tone without technique is useless so please don’t misunderstand me. There must be a solid foundation of technique and skill to support any guitar rig; however, don’t tell yourself that just because you are not a virtuoso that you don’t need or deserve good gear. If you can play the riff to “Hosanna” smoothly to a metronome and you play in front of your church then you and your congregation deserve the best gear you can get your hands on.
Does tone really come from the hands? I guess it’s true, but don’t let that be an excuse from getting good gear. If the “Greats” need it, you do too.
Love you guys, keep sharp,
-Jed
Pedal Profile: Hermida Zendrive
BACKGROUND: This pedal is built by Alfonso Hermida, a gear head who wanted nothing more than to work for Electro Harmonix. Tragedy struck and Electro-Harmonix went out of business so Hermida settled for second best: NASA. Retiring from NASA, Hermida set out to create a Robben Ford-tone-in-a-box. His creation: the Mosferatu. As rumor has it, Hermida sent the pedal to Robben Ford and his reaction was “It’s great but it has too much gain.” So Hermida created the Zendrive, which has earned a huge following.
THE AMPS: 1985 Mesa Boogie Mark III and a 65 London.
THE GUITARS: Gibson Custom Classic Les Paul (Silverburst; the color is important because, as everyone knows, silver Les Pauls have more sustain than black Les Pauls) Fender Eric Johnson Sig Strat.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS: I love that it is silver. I love silver gear, so this pedal has it good with me right away. At first though, it didn’t sit well with me at all. It sounded sterile and lacked character. I felt like I was just putting a blanket on my tone. I think that was because I had only used a tube-driven pedal, I wasn’t used to using a pedal based on circuits and transistors. Once I started getting used to how the pedal worked, I started to become a huge fan.
PROS: This pedal can be hard to make muddy and since I am primarily a Les Paul player this is a strong plus. The Les Paul sounds clear and smooth. The high frequencies are articulate without getting harsh. The low frequencies are tight and perfect for blues and worship players. Metal players, don’t even bother with this one. The EQ is very well rounded; although it leans more on the bright side, no frequency dominates another. It has a beautiful and unique sound “color.” It is no wonder it has such a loyal fan base.
CONS: The voice knob is one very noisy piece of plastic. The more I turned it clockwise the more hum and hiss I got. I didn’t start to really like the pedal until I started to turn the Voice knob all the way down. I have since turned it to 10 o’clock and appear to be finding a sweet spot that way. My thought is that the voice knob should be used sparingly.
Gain is designed to be low on this pedal. At first I felt this pedal had too little gain and thought I would be more happy with the Hermida Distortion or the Mosferatu, but I wanted an overdriven flavor. I then experimented with stacking the Zendrive with a tube screamer. It gave it more saturation without losing it’s original identity which is great for solos or whenever you need to go to eleven.
FINAL IMPRESSION: Quality little pedal with a Dumble flavor (I should confess that I have never actually played a Dumble or heard one live, so perhaps I am completely wrong). It is currently the core of my tone right now. For a Dumble-in-a-box type sound this pedal delivers and deserves the hype.
Keep sharp,
-Jed
P.S. I’m working on a post for Monday called “Does Tone Really Come From The Hands?” It promises to be an interesting read. Keep on the look out for it.
Taking Tone To The Next Level: Pt 2
In a frenzy of tonal expectancy, I ordered the speaker. Scouring the warehousespeakers.com I decided on the 12” HM75 speaker because it was the closest speaker to the Celestion G1T2T-85 already in my R-55.
It felt like it took longer than it really did to be delivered. When it did arrive, I immediately texted my friend whom we’ll call Jason. I am the least handy person in the world so Jason offered to help me put it in. This turned into him putting it in and me watching and making wise-cracks about solid-state amps (thanks, Jason).
The first thing we had to do was give a proper A/B test of the old speaker vs the new. I set up my rig and let a nice E chord ring. The R-55 is a mellow, smooth-sounding amp and has always sounded a little shallow. The shallowness of the amp is partly due to the depth (or lack thereof) of the cab. From what I have been able to find out, this is also the reason why Rivera discontinued the model in favor of the Chubster which is the same amp with a deeper cab.
The other reason for the shallowness was my blatant neglect of the amp.
Jason and I got tired of hearing the old sound, so we (he) got to work installing the new one. It was a fairly simple process especially if you are just sitting watching someone do the work. It looked like it was pretty much just unplugging the old speaker, loosening a couple screws, pulling out the old speaker and then repeating the process in opposite order with the new speaker.
My friend whom we'll call Jason ripping off the grill of my Rivera R-55
Getting that old speaker out of there
We (he) got the new speaker in and the sound was incredible. It really was power-stance-inducing tone. Everything sounded bigger and more expressive. Highs and mids were clear and distinctive and after messing with some dirty contacts in the EQ nobs, the bass came out like it had been hiding all this time.
Me doing an interpretive pose to express the magnitude of the power-stance-inducing-tone we were hearing after the new speaker was put in. This is also me committing the number-one sin for the internet: showing your face.
Me, being so engulfed in the tone coming out of the new speaker that I forgot I was still in a power stance.
Both my friend, whom we call Jason, and I were freaking out at this point. The combination of face-melting tone and the school-girl-like giggles that were coming from both Jason and me must have been a strange sound so Jason’s wife (whom we’ll call Shari) came up to investigate. After hearing the amazing sounds coming out the Rivera, this was her reaction.
Shari dropping her jaw after the jaw-dropping tone from the amp. (All pics used with permission, especially this one. Thanks for being so cool Shari-if that’s your real name.)
This whole experiment has proven to be the biggest single leap in tone advancement I have ever made. No pedal, no guitar, and certainly no instrument cable has made such a difference in the sound quality of my rig. My conclusion is if you really want to take your tone to the next level, research replacing your stock-tone-sucking speaker with a better quality one.
Keep sharp.
-Jed
Taking Tone To The Next Level: Pt. 1
This is the question that is on my mind most of the time and I’m guessing on yours as well. No matter where we are on the tone hierarchy we are always trying to get to the next level.
Getting to the next level can often feel like inventing the light bulb. You try a thousand things and nothing seems to work and then one time you flip on the power switch and better tone is coming out of your amp. You don’t even play better, but you feel like you do. You crossed over to another level of tone.
Yesterday I crossed over to another level of tone. I am so excited. You guitar players know what I mean.
A couple of weeks ago a friend who we’ll call Jason (which is convenient seeing as his name is Jason) crossed over to the next level in tone.
He plays through a 15 watt 1×12” Trainor Combo. He has had it forever (God said let there be light and there was Jason with his Trainor) and it has always been a decent little amp.
Then a couple of weeks ago we were hanging out at his house and the discussion veered towards gear. His face lit up (which happens a lot when we talk about gear), “Jed, you have to see what I did.”
We went to his “rehearsal space” where he had his guitar, pedalboard and amp set up and ready to go. He handed me the guitar like a kid on Christmas afternoon, turned everything on and told me to play. So I did.
There is no expletive I could say to describe what I felt at that moment. It was one of the most humongous tones I had ever heard coming out of a little 1×12 combo. The low end had an amazing tight response and everything just sounded clearer and bigger.
I turned to Jason to enquire what was making the difference. He began to tell me that he had replaced the speaker with a speaker from warehouseguitarspeakers.com.
I was impressed. It was the kind of tone that kept me from putting the guitar down. It is amazing how good tone inspires faster playing.
Since that day I have completely rethought tone, amps, pedals and even guitars. For exploratory research I have bought a speaker from the same company that Jason bought his from, and am planning on putting it into my Rivera R-55.
The next post will be an update on this tone trek and I hope to have it up in a couple days.
Until then, keep sharp.
-Jed