axeman's Reviews

Reinventing the HM-2

In the world of guitars and guitarists there are pedals that have changed the game so to speak and have become legend. Pedals like the Klon Centaur, the Big Muff, Fuzz Face, and the Tube Screamer. But in the world of metal music, Boss' HM-2 has become legendary through the years and became the standard for metal guitarists along with the ProCo Rat in the world of distortion boxes. Fast forward to just a couple of years ago, when Joe Anastasio at Lone Wolf Audio basically figured out a way to not only improve the HM-2 model, but he blew the original out of the water. Basically the Left Hand Wrath is a modernized version of the famous HM-2. The Lone Wolf Audio site explains:

"The midrange has been decoupled from the high control, and an added presence control has been added a heavier mode is on the 2nd footswitch.

Also added has been a 3 way clipping toggle featuring vintage Japanese diodes used in the MIJ HM2, no clipping, and a hybrid pair of vintage germanium diodes for a softer yet still aggressive tone."

So if you have used or owe your metal tone to the HM-2, you owe it to yourself and your ears to grab a Left Hand Wrath. It'll take you into a whole new world of metal, ripping crazy riffs, and blowing the other metal guitarists off the stage.

Incredible

As a guitarist I think one thing that we all can identify with is idolizing a guitar hero as a kid. We all had em without a doubt. They shape the way you view music, the way you play, and maybe even down to the type of guitar you play. But when it comes to playing guitar there are a lot of guys out there trying to emulate the tone of their guitar heros. People have been trying it for decades for example when it comes to Angus Young from AC/DC, or Tony Iommi from Black Sabbath for sure. Now if you were anything like me, or the fine folks at Lone Wolf Audio, you were trying to emulate the tone of the late, great Frank Zappa. Now with that being said, that's not an easy thing to do whatsoever, considering how much of a tone revolutionary Frank really was. He was on the cutting edge of guitar technology in his day, making it even more complicated to duplicate his tone. That is until now. Lone Wolf Audio now brings you, THE INSIDER. The Insider is a harmonic overdrive that not only enriches your tone, but really adds flavor to your sound. Or if you wanna just sit around and recreate the entire "Shut Up and Play Yer Guitar" series yourself you can with this bad boy. With a switch to raise or lower the gain, or use the middle position to boost the whole signal you have some serious options at your fingertips. You have knobs for Level, Sweep, Gain, and Distortion here with the ability to make some truly funky noises with this one too. So check this one out for a truly one of a kind pedal in a world that has brought us a lot of the same recreations, Lone Wolf Audio truly has an original creation on their hands with this one well worth a purchase. It's one of my favorite pedals I own and it's not going anywhere anytime soon as far as my pedal board is concerned.

Get your Sabbath on!

Through the years there if there is one thing guitarists seem obsessed over is recreating the tone of their favorite guitarists. Very few have been as copied and studied than Black Sabbath's legendary guitarist, Tony Iommi. For years guys have been trying to nail down his signature sound by doing things like oddly tuning their guitars, modding amps, and it's basically created it's own submarket in the world of guitar effects as well. If you've been one of those guitarists seemingly searching to the end of the earth to figure it out, look no more. Through the years people figured out the key components to that classic Iommi sound, which was a custom-tuned Rangemaster based boost combined with the pre-amp section of the Laney Supergroup. The folks at Caitalinbread have managed to put those exact things into this very pedal. Prior to purchasing this one I had heard that the pedalheads at Caitalinbread were aiming specifically for the tone Iommi had on the "Past Lives" Sabbath live record, in that they wanted the tone to be super responsive, LOUD, and to give you the guitarist that huge sound that you want!

The details here are what is really impressive about the pedal. You can adjust the RANGE dial to adjust the amount of treble boost you want added to your guitar, which changes the responsiveness of the pedal, allowing you to have more control with adjusting your volume on your guitar. For me, this is key because it puts adjustments in your hands while you're playing, which is a win/win in my book. Also, to achieve that classic Iommi tone in the past, you would've certainly bothered your neighbors or loved ones cranking that amp to crazy levels, but with the Caitalinbread Sabbra Caddabra, you can keep everyone happy with acceptable noise levels, as well as yourself ripping some of those classic Sabbath riffs!!!!!!!!

Versatility is key

There are GIANTS in the world of overdrive pedals, such as the TS-9, TS-808 and the like. If I told you there was one on the market that could do everything those two do and more, it would be pretty cool. Well that's exactly what Earthquaker's Palisades is. It's extremely versatile, contains and additional buffer, and basically gives you an A/B type deal with your overdrive. Also turning on everything at once gives you kind of a stacking effect, which I also thought was cool. So if you have multiple overdrives on your board and it's killing your space, this is the way to go. It's basically 2 in one, but with the ability to change up what those two overdrives are as needed. This has been the main overdrive on my board since I got it. Recommended.

Best Power Supply I've ever used.

Now when it comes to power supplies, what is there really to say? Does it provide power and is it reliable? Yes and yes. But to me, the big selling point to this one is not only does it have 9v and 18v plugs, but you can also adjust the wattage of each level. Why would you want to do that? Have you ever played a Big Muff or a ProCo Rat with a battery that's dying? Well to get that sound, you can just turn down the voltage to get something similar. Considering this has 8 9v slots on top of the volt adjusting, it justifies the price to me. Not to shabby at all for $150 brand new. You won't be disappointed.

The new Gibson SG Standard T

Obviously if you are a guitarist in any shape or form, you are probably aware of the Gibson brand of guitars. Along with Fender, Gibson makes up the big two in the world of guitars and even if you're not aware of it, it's possible that your favorite guitar brand is owned by them both as they make up a large portion of the market. Well through the years Gibson has been quite the polarizing figure in the world of guitars mainly because of their pricing as well as the sometimes shoddy quality control. That all seemed to come to a head in 2015 with Gibson making a lot of changes to their guitars that players didn't exactly want, that caused quite a price increase for the guitar line. Well, the company has seemingly heard the cries of the public, as in 2016 they are keeping their changes in a line called HP (High Performance) and they are keeping things just the way most of us wanted them to in their T (Traditional) line. With this being said I was personally happy to see this as I've always been partial to the Gibson designed guitars. Then one day I was in a local guitar shop and to my supersede they had the 2016 line in stock and ready to rock! So I tried out a few, such as the new Les Paul Traditionals (played great), the SG Faded T (also really liked the way it played) and the new SG Standard T (fell in LOVE on the spot). So in a frenzy I knew I just had to have one. It took me about a week or so to get the money together, went back and bought the Gibson SG Standard T and took it home. I cannot tell you not only how surprised I was by the guitar the first time I played it, but how much I still love it after having it for almost a month. This guitar plays FANTASTIC!!!!!

First and foremost this guitar comes with period correct knobs, it's has a solid mahogany body, which was hand sprayed in gloss nitrocellulose providing a great looking finish. The mahogany neck is bound with dot markers as well. This neck features the standard classic width that the company reverted away from in 2015 and features a Graph-Tech self lubricating nut. It has trapezoid inlays and is thicker than 2015 as well. The SG Standard T features the 490R pickup in the neck and the 498T pickup in the bridge, with chrome hardware with a tune-o-matic bridge with a stopbar tailpiece, as well as the traditional tuners without the automatic tuner that Gibson got so much flack for last year. The SG Standard T also comes with a deluxe padded gig bag. I'm not the biggest fan of gig bags, but this is probably the nicest ones I've ever seen.

Overall, if you've been apprehensive of Gibson for some of their mistakes in 2015, make no mistake, they've really gotten it all together for their 2016 T line. These are fantastic guitars! Gibson is back!

It's a classic for a reason

There are few stomp boxes and pedals on the legendary level as the Ibanez Tube Screamer. There are different styles and options but this is the Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer. Although this is a reissue of the original, it's exactly the same, and I'm talking components, color, housing, everything. The TS9 has 3 knobs including Drive, Tone, and Level. It's the perfect overdrive for coloring your tone and giving you some extra punch for your leads or just jamming on rhythm.

When the pedal was designed, they used a subtle clipping circuit to create the pedal's sound. The input and output signal of the clipping circuit were mixed and helps to preserve the original sound and to avoid the muddiness. It also makes your guitar to be more responsive and you'll rock out with much more clarity in your tone.

Best distortion I've ever played

Considering the Black Mesa has the option of being tuned for up to 140+ DB of gain, this is one bad boy. LWA says it was "Inspired by 80s and 90s extreme, Thrash and crust metal tones, you can achieve sonic destruction at the push of a button." that doesn't mean that's all this can do. You can get blues tones out of it as well, depending on how much you like to turn those knobs. This one can do a little of everything and it does it all extremely well. It has full on board EQ, hand matched and matched transistors, with extremely sharp clarity of your tone. Wanna blow the crowd away with a wicked solo? This will take you to the promise land while melting faces along the way.

Excellent tool for completing your pedalboard

Prior to purchasing I heard great things about the Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive Mod and now I couldn't imagine my board without it. For those who want to send a clean signal through their distortion this is an invaluable tool. Especially when you're like me and want to hear those notes through the distortion. It also includes 4 amp modes that change up tone with the turn of a knob. Even if that's not the case it can be used as a killer overdrive and you can even get some fuzz tones out of it too with the right knob adjustments. To be honest, this is one of those pedals you won't realize that you need until you have it or try it out.

Classic for a reason

What is there to be said for the original Crybaby that hasn't already been said? This one is a classic for a reason. Honestly a staple on many guitarists board because of the sheer manipulation of tone it gives. Not just for making waka waka noises, you can use it to boost leads, or just change the sound of your guitar with a simple stomp and wiggle of your foot. From rock n roll to metal, punk, hardcore, and just guitar shredding a cry baby is a must for any pedalboard. It has 100k ohm Hot Potz potentiometer that gives it that wah sound, and a die cast casing that allows for some seriously rough treatment as well.

Klon copy?

This one is always billed as a clone or copy of the legendary Klon box, but it really doesn't sound a lot like it at all from what I've heard. However, that doesn't mean that it's not a fantastic addition to your pedalboard. It gives you some rockin overdrive tones which I really dig and matched up with the Boss Blues Driver you can get some awesome tones as well. Always seems to find it's way back onto my board. Love this one.

Shocking for a solid state

Now granted Orange has a fantastic reputation, but that is mainly for their tube amps. But when I needed a practice amp on the cheap in a pinch, I was shocked at what I could get out of this one. Sounds great, simple to use, and overall for a solid state amp it sounds great. No modeling here as it's pretty much a straight up amplifier and there's nothing wrong with that. I'm not a huge fan of solid state amps, but I'd be lying if I didn't say that this one STILL managed to pack a punch for practice without the use of tubes.

This thing ROCKS.

With an Alnico classic pickup and a burstbucker 3 this one is a rock n roll machine. Lots of fun to play, fantastic neck, and overall a killer guitar for a killer price. Also, for those of you who dig this kinda thing, the back is nothing but mahogany wood, no gloss, making for a smooth and fast neck that shredders and bluesman would both appreciate.

Awesome

In this day and age pedal builders are building them smaller and smaller, as they understand that real estate on your pedal board is hard to come by and they've addressed it here. How you say? This is a huge pedal you say? Yes, it's a big one, but it's a two in one distortion/overdrive pedal and it's fantastic. If you have a chance to play with one, check it out.....I doubt you'll be disappointed.

The Germanium Big Muff Pi overdrive and distortiuon pedal is overdrive based around a hand-selected germanium transistor. This pedal is one of those ones where you will find yourself constantly turning knobs and seeing what kind of sounds you can get out of it. One of the best things I can say about it is you get a lot of vintage overdrive tones with this one.You also have control over the Bias to change the attack and helping you find your sweet spot. Gain control is something else you have control over with the Germanium Big Muff. You can literally control how the gain is sent to the germanium transistor effecting the tone of your guitar and the pedal itself is true bypass.

Must have

When it comes to pedals, a lot comes down to personal choice. But for me, I'd be willing to say that the Boss BD-2 Blues Driver is a MUST. It's obviously great for blues, but it's also great for classic rock, punk, metal, and just about anything you want to get out of it. Very versatile and works great with other stomps.

Wrong picture......

I have the regular sized Metal Muff. Solid overall pedal. Brings the distortion, super aggressive and gives any metalhead what they will need. I've heard this one compared as a much more aggressive version of the Boss MT-2 (which is much more lofi than the metal muff). Basically compared to the Germanium Big Muff (which is more rock oriented) and the Big Muff Pi (Fuzz all day) this one is going to take you into a world or metal tones more than any other "Muff" on the market.

Picked one up on sale.....

When I found this one sale for under $200 it captured my attention. I knew going in it was a hybrid amp with a tubed preamp, so I figured I'd give it a shot. Let me tell you this thing was everything I wanted and more. Tons of different amp models, fantastic tone, and overall very versatile. Frankly it's a steal for under $200. Prior to this I was using a Fender Mustang amp and this thing blows it away in EVERY possible way.

I have the Wine Red version

Super nice for a low priced semi hollow. Plays great, the Dogear P90s are super impressive. Overall a very very versatile guitar along with the bigsby this one was a no brainer when I found it for under $400 brand new at a local guitar show. It was the perfect time for me to add a semi-hollow to the arsenal.

I have one in Chicago Blue

I was in the market for a Les Paul with P90 pickups and this was the one for me. It's a 56 Standard Pro reissue, with P90 pickups, and it comes in Chicago Blue. Plays like a dream! Everything from metal, punk, classic rock, rock, and the blues you can get a myriad of tones out of this bad boy!

Picked one up an Alpine White one used.....

So I went to a local guitar shop because I saw they had a used one for sale for under $200. Went to the store, played it, bought it on the spot. I'm a fan of the SG's already but the unique look of the 1966 G-400 Pro was the cherry on top. It has a much different pickguard than a regular SG, features the Alnico Classic pickups, and also comes with the push pull pots for coil tapping fun as well. This thing can play punk, rock, metal, and just about everything in between. Not only that but the coil tapping will get you all of the Strat tones you need as well.