jimmarchi1's forum posts 8022

But then surely by the time you've, bought an AC4HW, and then a decent 2x12, you could just buy an AC15. How about this for utter idiocy. This guy I know has been given seven hundred to buy an amp. HE GOES AND BUYS A LINE 6 SPIDER. I laughed myself to death. He's loaded though; he can't do a pentatonic, but his Dad bought him, an American Les Paul.

I was suggesting he get the cheap ac4tv, i got the HW because i already have 3 ac30s, 2 of which are recent with 1/2 power switches...

An ac4tv and decent 2x12 is way less than an ac15hw or better. Might be less than a bugera v22 as well.

They're 1 take per track demo recordings to go with the charts for my friends who are going to play bass and drums on them with me. No corrections, no frills, needed them done in avery limited amount of time. Points well taken, of course. Not to be defensive, I wasjust sharing the writing on EB because listening back it seemed worth getting feedback on from other songwriters and maybe getting some structural ideas as the songs are on the short side. I guess i shouldn't have posted anything so scrappy that was mainly recorded for transcription purposes (i always find ot easier to transcribe guitar lead sheets and vocal melodies from recordings while sitting at the piano, the guitar is more about doing than thinking).

heavy music just periodically dips into silliness ever since 70s glam opened the door a bit and kiss kicked it wide open

I know someone who does that.

I have run my ac4HW through a 2x12 on a few occasions with a bassist and a drummer when I don't need a clean tone at all.... its got volume to spare in that situation and I am sure the ac4tv head they make will cut the mix fine too if you use efficient speakers in a quality cab

in practice it takes a good 30 watts to produce double the dB of a 5 watt amp assuming they use similarly efficient speakers

not sure, the picture is really crap... but that idiot is dressed as Dr Doom, did anyone tell him he looks really foolish? I hope do.

There hasn't been a REAL danelectro since the 60s. The Korean ones from the 90s are quite good, the newer Chinese ones are not. The originals are very hit or miss -- some are pretty playable, most are not (without lots of work). None of the imported reissues sound like a real one. I have owned some silvertone branded ones here and there and in spite of their warped necks with no truss there was literally no comparison in sound, even when played acoustically. If you just want the guitar to look cool then buy a 90s model. They seem to run around 400USD. More than I would pay, but the market for them is steady, so if you are unsatisfied you can sell it with no loss. Whether they are vintage or not, the double cuts are always a little more money because of the Zep connection. The U2 is, in my opinion, a more stable guitar even though I usually prefer double cutaway designs.

Vintage danelectros were made partly from wood and partly from formica (a popular material for kitchen counters in the 50s and 60s). It was a joke at the time, but the weird body construction gave them a unique tone that's added to by the outstanding lipstick pickups with the wire wound directly on an Alnico 8 bar magnet and jammed in those surplus lipstick tubes with no wax potting. They are a really unique pickup design. the only thing remotely similar is the burns trisonic, but that coil is tape wound, uses a different wire gauge, and the magnet is a completely different alloy and isn't even magnetized the same (trisonics are awesome, vintage single coils though). There are lots of Dano features that add up to make them a really unique instrument that ahs found a place in modern music even though it was originally designed as a toy for kids who would quit after a handful of lessons.

the micro terror is not really a tube amp, but its one of the better hybrid designs I've ever heard (that's not saying a lot), particularly in its price class

It also has no resale value. Never invest in interim gear on the road to what you REALLY want unless you expect to be able to flip it at a profit when you are ready to trade up. This can be an expensive hobby, be smart about it.

There are a lot of affordable single-ended amps out there for beginners that sound really good. I particularly recommend the Vox AC4TV. It really sounds pretty good. It can sound even better if you upgrade it, but more about that when you are ready.

Yes , I understand perfectly what you say. The thing is it's my first electric guitar; I started playing on electric a year ago or so; so I'm quite new in this world. It's clear that investing in a tremolo is an investement; in my case not very intelligent if I leave it on that guitar. That's why a Vibramate kit or a stetsbar would be perfect; when I change guitar one day I can keep the tremolo. Otherwise, I'm happy with the sound of my LP; I do not have something to compare it to; apart the affinity Telecaster of my sister; which sounds not particulary good.

leave well enough alone if you are happy with the sound... also, as a beginner, using a vibrato will distract you from improving your touch... focus on adding color to your notes and chords with your hands first. Focus on doing everything you can with the features your guitar already has... I am positive there are capabilities of the Les Paul design you haven't scratched the surface of yet.

I really like stetsbars, or Wilkinson trems, because Floyds do nick the tone, and Bigsby's (In my experience) just send the tuning to another planet. I had an Aria with a Bigsby, and the tuning was just horrific. One slight movement, and it was just gone.

that's more due to it being an Aria than it having a vibrato. Bigsbies are stable if you have a well-cut nut made form the right material and a suitable bridge. Even a stock Gibson bridge will work well if you keep up with de-burring the string notches in each saddle. Unless you want to dive more than a whole step and don't pull back on the trem arm close to a fulls tep to return the strings to proper tension, then all bets are off, but that's the case with all non-locking systems. You have to know its limitations and how to use it.

Well we have woodworkers in the family, that would not be the problem, but it sounds quite scarry when I see the amount of wood you have to remove for a Floyd ... Otherwise, I've checked out the Vibramate, it looks like a great kit, but the price of it and a Bigsby is more than the actual value of the guitar (300 euros).

I am not a fan of the Floyd, it works well but it subtracts a lot from the tone of your guitar. Like I said when I summed up, its probably not worth making costly modifications to a guitar that is cheap when new and that has poor resale UNLESS you absolutely love, plan to keep it forever and do not expect to invest in another, better guitar. I am going to say something that might upset you, but you made a poor investment in a modern Epi LP for the price you paid. At the current exchange rates you spent between 325 and 350 USD on your epiphone. For about 100USD more you can get a much better LP copy on the used market. If you are happy though.... but if tis not a keeper don't sink another penny into it. Or whatever the Euro equivalent of a penny is.... I forget.

unless you are an experienced woodworker do not attempt to add your own locking vibrato system to a guitar, especially a carve top.... if you really want to add a Floyd to your LP take it to a pro luthier, it will cost, but it will be done right. Installing the locking nut properly is of the utmost importance, go to someone with Floyd Rose experience... ask the shred guys at the local guitar store who they trust to work on their poodle-metal guitars. Some people do a Floyd without the locking nut and just use locking tuners, but the strings still bind in the nut unless you replace it with a self-lubricating material such as graphite or tusq. Also, if you go the locking vibrato route, be prepared for the hardware to this your tone substantially and change the balance of your guitar.

If you want to go the bigsby route and want it t be reversible and require no drilling then check out a Vibramate. Its a plate that allows you to mount certain bigsbies with existing holes on your Gibson or Gibson-alike guitar. The Bigsby won't have a lot of affect on your tone, but it will play havoc with the tension, so if you really like the way your guitar plays please keep in mind that adding a bigsby tailpiece, even one with the 'keeper bar' that adds downward tension to the strings behind the bridge, will make it so that you can't set it up to feel exactly the same as it did. That said as a former gretsch duo jet owner I can say the bigsby works very well on arch topped guitar (though I used mine sparingly and never miss it now that I am back to LPs and 335s). Also consider a roller bridge like the Wilkinson model you see on every parts website. I used that one on my duo jet and it held tune wonderfully even after prolonged bigsby abuse whereas the stock melita did not and the bigsby bar bridge was not intonatable. A stock Gibson ABR1 or Nashville bridge is not very vibrato friendly unless you are VERY tasteful with your bigsby use (which I assume you will not be since you mentioned the Floyd Rose).

Also check out the Stetsbar, its a really great vibrato alternative that works with all your existing post holes, keeps the Gibson style bridge, but allows it to pivot like the bigsby bar bridge (only it works much better than the bar bridge). It doesn't have the vintage cool factor of a bigsby, but its a better design for Gibsons in my opinion.

Your Epiphone can use any of these designs as long as you make sure to purchase a product with metric spacing instead of Gibson USA's English system spacing. Most aftermarket vibratos are available with the import metric sizing. Hope I helped you figure this all out.

All this said, you might want to just save your beans and buy a quality LP-style guitar with a stock bigsby (check out older, used Gretsch Electromatic Pro-Jets that were made in Korea, they were very good and are not worth much). The amount of money it will cost you to add a reliable vibrato to what you have is probably more than your Epi is worth.

Didn't think someone would be able to spot something like. I can't tell for sure; However, even if you're right, It's not quite that important.

none of its that important, but we keep coming on equipbaord anyway when we have nothing better to do, right?

anyway, they are definitely the molded plastic SKB cases, I had 2 or 3 of them at one point before I upgraded to one larger Calzone case and dumped all the extraneous processors I didn't use in a closet (I seem to just accumulate junk, even when I try and sell it off, more stuff turns up).... I see three fractals in there, not sure which model axe fx they are though, there's a multi-space furman UPS-type conditioner and a single space furman in another rack... I also see 4 wireless units in the bottom right rack, not sure of the brand at a glance because I ahte all wireless systems apart from maybe the line6 one, which isn't totally intolerable in sound.... but there are three or four 1RU processors in there I can't ID

Alright, anybody tell me what's underneath the guitars?

SKB racks?

Personally, I don't understand why people put computers on this site, they're really just a means of getting to a software that is in no way affected by the computer itself.

However, at the very least, it would be good to categorise them.

if you are going to put guitar cables and picks on the site you might as well have PC monitors and such

We actually get a lot of requests for that! We're gonna work on it. You're right, member Equipboards need to be organized like pro artists. Great gear collection by the way! :)

you should definitely make 'em consistent looking if only because you never know when some rando user might post a track to the old interwebs and go viral.... and you should start trying to entice some low level professionals on to manage their own board or eventually the techs for the high profile guys.... I know the music biz keeps you busy, but there are huge periods of puttering around between dates waiting for inspiration where one can maintain a simple gear page like this

welcome new guy, thanks for psoting to the forum, it deserves more activity like the established nerd forums (gear sluts etc) but will hopefully stay more friendly

knocked out another set of lyrics (more or less) so I made another scrappy acoustic demo.... I am feeling very indie today

Yeah Jim very true. I'm in a band, we had a little slot tonight, and all off our songs are of higher quality than my solo stuff. We are currently doing a SoundCloud, but we have no decent mixes of anything. I hope to upload some decent stuff, to my SoundCloud at some point soon rather than that substandard floaty crap

its hard to make recordings when you aren't old enough to drive

I've lost all of the parts.

If I can't remember a part in 10 minutes giving the demo a quick listen or glancing at my scribbled sheet music (when I bother) I assume its not good enough to remember and scrap it.

you look impossibly young, maybe 14 or 15? I think I joined my first non-school band when I was your age. Maybe go that route? Playing and writing with other people is really good for you.

Maybe I'll stick with mahogany, always wanted a mahogany strat body with a quilted top and back routed :P

there are plenty of exotic woods with interesting tonal properties and awesome grain

but mahogany is a good allaround wood for building guitars, makes a heavy strat and seems to be better suited to a glue in neck than bolt on usually, at least to my ear... Jeff Beck lieks basswood because its super lightweight and has a similar frequency response to a similarly sized piece of mahogany(though it isn't particularly attractive or durable if dropped)

a friend of mine owned a mahogany strat that never quite sounded as nice as my alder one even though his was an ostensibly better model... I really like swamp ash for strats too and should build one like that, maybe all to 54 spec with the alnico 3 pickups too....

nah

you'll think of something.... or not

either way

I feel as if Tad is the epitome of grunge. They are as grungey as it gets, particularly their album "8 Way Santa"....

A little bit but all the things I've read on forums are inconclusive mainly people that have never heard of it being used in guitars but did see an acoustic built from it

typically you don't want oily or waxy woods as guitar bodies, particularly acoustic or semi-acoustic instruments

so maybe olive wood just looks waxy/oily in that picture.... honestly, spalted maple has a similar swirly quality thanks to the spalty grain and maple is an old school tonewood for electric guitars....

honestly, as much as wood species effects tone I feel like choosing nice, resonat pieces of wood of any suitable species is what makes a good guitar... that's why I shop around a long time for mass produced guitars. No one at the Gibson Nashville plant is sitting and tone testing the mahogany blanks or mating them to a neck with a tuning fork..... you need to play a pile of them to find one where the odds worked in your favor and produced a superior guitar at a mediocre guitar price point..... literally took me years to find an SG at a good price that met my standard (ugh, no pun intended)

Is olive wood a good tone wood? I love the grain and would love to save some money up and get a body built from one.

not that I know of.... maybe it would make a good unfinished neck, it looks oily and durable

did you do a google search?

Dang, those sound really good, but like what was aforementioned, you should raise your voice.

thanks, I am self-conscious about singing

Thought about using your electric in any demoes?

nah, I was just going to do them all fully electric with a couple friends, track live apart from vocals.... maybe in January... that's why I demoed them at all and put them on soundcloud, so people could listen and decide if they wanted to play on them with me.... so far so good actually

I don't have my home studio set up properly to record loud guitar at home and even 4 watts of tube power is pretty loud for a residential neighborhood.

are you that Josiah luck who I just noticed on soundcloud?

so they're not weak songs according to you? good, that works for me because I have zero objectivity after a long period of writer's block...

for your tunes, try simplifying the difficult parts a little to make them easier to play every night, often making a decision like that makes your arrangement more accessible to non-musicians anyway

aww man, don't be a teenager, I tried it for 7 years and I don't recommend it at all

I feel really good about these mopey pop tunes I've been making bad demoes of for the last few days, so apart from the bad singing and guitar mistakes how bad are they? Huge chunks of them wrote themselves, which can be good or bad....

I read DC vs Marvel and I just thought shit the internet anything versus anything else means flamewar. I just wanted to say that before I even start to read this thread.

sadly, no.... all of us who posted to this get on pretty well even if we disagree about who would win in this comicbook battle royale (ahem, marvel), so no flame wars

I was going to add the melvins, but got sidetracked. Not familiar with tad though.

There is definitely what I'd call grunge on the double LP, and slightly less on Siamese dream. Zero, BWBW, Muzzle.

really, you think those tracks ound 'grungey'? I mean, maybe. I am not the arbiter of grunge.... I think that's Neil Young. Or was he the godfather of grunge?

The best is undoubtedly the smashing pumpkins. They're amazing musicians, composers, and rockers, who can write beautiful, emotionally touching, ugly, and intricate pieces of music. (I've had dawn to dusk on repeat, for the last two hours though, so I could be slightly biased)

I too am a huge Pumpkins fan (original pumpkins, I don't know what BC is up to now, but its lame). I don't know if I would call them a grunge band, especially during their strongest period (Siamese Dream and the double LP).... they ahd so much going on

are you familiar with Tad or the Melvins?

Yeah, I think a reverb/trem is a multi-effect as long as the 2 effects are independently selectable like on a blackface fender amp. If its both on or both off then I would say that its all one effect.

hold on while I summon the guys in white coats to your house to get you help

there's a veneer on the outside that looks like one piece of wood and under it they coulda glued all manner of pieces together with whatever haphazard glue joints they needed to utilize every last scrap of wood left over at the factory from the real guitars.... I wouldn't drill into that clusterfuck of modern 'craftsmanship' for any amount of money... glue joints are stronger than wood unless you pierce them.... curved chunks of laminated veneer does not like to be disrupted either

preferring audioslave to soundgarden is your right, but its also utter madness.... 1 word: badmotorfinger

no debate needed

what about a category for "amps that will change your life" ?

why don't you go the whole 9 and separate the men from the boy---err I mean tube amps from solid state amps?

maybe separate channel switchers from traditional amps? a bogner ecstacy covers a lot of ground that a plexi or 2203 cover, but its a totally different animal because of the channel switching (especially the crazy hot rodded red channel)

I was also in dog & pony, by all accounts the loudest band in philadelphia.... we just gave up on vocals and produced a garage-rock guitar onslaught.... I wish I had a copy of that record, it was like a train wreck of slop with tons of microphone overloads that we just left in there on purpose when we spent those 2 hours mixing while drunk.... oh to be young again

I do like some electronic stuff. But more CHVRCHES, and decent underground stuff, than your average garage, house, trance crap

I was a huge skinny puppy fan as a kid. Depeche mode, new order, human league, you get the idea....

And "September 1985". Were you some kind of prodigal EDM toddler?

nah, its a gag... my exwife said it sounded like it was done in 1985 so I named it that... its an old track though.... I am not sure if we were even married when I wrote it

I've been doing the electronic thing a long ass time though.... mid 90s?