Mariano Provenzano

It's two years now (2017) that I have this guitar and I still haven't understood it. It's a good guitar, and I haven't played it a lot, but I am still not able to fully control its sound, its harmonics. I don't know if its a matter of pickups, or what else. It's a good guitar, but still a stranger to me...

I changed the original pickups with some Gibson '57, and I had a big surprise about how little was the sound change on this Sheraton. I've played a lot this guitar with a guy playing a genuine 1967 Gibson 335 dot. The 335 is lighter, and has a great feel. And a good smell. But on the same amp the two guitars, with the same settings, sounded identical for an external listener. So, the great difference isn't a matter of sound, but a matter of feel. You can play this Epiphone, or you can make love with a vintage Gibson 335.

It's not a top end acoustic guitar, but once I started to play it, I forgot to have any other acoustic guitar. Maybe is for the quality of what you ear through your earphones, with that mic sound and a shade of digital reverb, you have the feeling to listen to a studio recording with any stupid thing you play on your SLG200.

Mine is Whale Blue, hand I changed the nut, the tuners (I put the PRS locking type for SE), and I changed the tremolo saddles and the inside block and springs. And believe it or not, it's a completely different guitar, a longer sustain, a sound richer of harmonics... I'm in love with this guitar, it changed my way of playing.

This guy takes wonderfully any kind of pedal, and even if I haven't still understood its construction details, it sounds definitely "tube", with an evident blackface tone (even when you try to play other amp simulation, to be honest....). I love its tones, anyway. The only big issue with my SuperChamp X2, it's its reliability. Three times in the first 18 months simply stopped workin, and I had to send it back to the factory (excellent and free service, by the way) for repairs, but in the first 18 months I had it with me just for 6 months, and I had to buy a backup amp. Now, it's running fine (knock on wood) and I love it for its sound, its dimensions and weight. And that's really something...

I got the regular, the mini and the clip version. And the iPhone app. It's great. The only con is the addiction to the PolyTune experience, you'll never go back to a standard tuner. And that's not good for your pockets...

Ok, it's a cheap pedal, one of the cheapest I have. But it's great when you have to go straight into a DAW and make a recording. I use this pedal, or the Joyo American, after the compressor and the overdrive, and then I go into a chorus, a delay and the reverb, all the three pedals in a stereo chain. Then I pass one of the two channels in a cabinet simulator and then into the DAW, and the other channel straight into the DAW. So I have a different signal on the two channels, and more options in the mix.

This is the evolution of the pedalkind. A stomp able to transform itself according your needs. Maybe it's a bit too elaborate to make that in a live gig, but try to imagine at home, or in a studio session, to have somewhat like twenty high quality overdrives or boosters with you. Or strange ambient effects for your acoustic guitar. All that in an astonishing high quality pedal. It isn't a multistomp, again, it's an X Man able to transform itself according to your needs.

The versatility and the quantity of controls of this compressor, together with its high end quality, make the HyperGravity, IMO, the best guitar compressor in a box. The only cons are the price, a bit higher than other good and simpler compressors, and the complexity, for guitarists not used to studio compressors.

Very simple compressor, does its job. Not too invasive, acts just a little to better control your sound and adding a bit more sustain. That's all you can ask to it, and it will do it very well.

I got the regular, the mini and the clip version. And the iPhone app. It's great. The only con is the addiction to the PolyTune experience, you'll never go back to a standard tuner. And that's not good for your pockets...

I have this small pedalboard I use alone at home for practicing, all made of old style pedals, with an Electro Harmonix Soul Preacher compressor, a Soul Food, a The Glove Overdrive, a Neo Clone and a Memory Toy, all nano versions. Why I did that, having already a lot of better pedals? Because of a weird sense of nostalgia for my old times. So now a can say something about these nice toys. First of all, I had to work on internal trim pots of some of these pedals, before having an acceptable sound, the factory settings can be really awful. The controllability of the Memory Toy and the Neo Clone are limited, but that was the way we played in our old times... the Soul Pracher strives to be a bit too invasive even at lower levels, the Glove Overdrive has a nice sound, becoming too muddy already at medium level. Finally, I can say these pedals are really nice toys, especially for older people like I am, but, except for the Soul Food, I wouldn't use any of them in a recording session. My personal opinion, of course.

I have this small pedalboard I use alone at home for practicing, all made of old style pedals, with an Electro Harmonix Soul Preacher compressor, a Soul Food, a The Glove Overdrive, a Neo Clone and a Memory Toy, all nano versions. Why I did that, having already a lot of better pedals? Because of a weird sense of nostalgia for my old times. So now a can say something about these nice toys. First of all, I had to work on internal trim pots of some of these pedals, before having an acceptable sound, the factory settings can be really awful. The controllability of the Memory Toy and the Neo Clone are limited, but that was the way we played in our old times... the Soul Pracher strives to be a bit too invasive even at lower levels, the Glove Overdrive has a nice sound, becoming too muddy already at medium level. Finally, I can say these pedals are really nice toys, especially for older people like I am, but, except for the Soul Food, I wouldn't use any of them in a recording session. My personal opinion, of course.

I have this small pedalboard I use alone at home for practicing, all made of old style pedals, with an Electro Harmonix Soul Preacher compressor, a Soul Food, a The Glove Overdrive, a Neo Clone and a Memory Toy, all nano versions. Why I did that, having already a lot of better pedals? Because of a weird sense of nostalgia for my old times. So now a can say something about these nice toys. First of all, I had to work on internal trim pots of some of these pedals, before having an acceptable sound, the factory settings can be really awful. The controllability of the Memory Toy and the Neo Clone are limited, but that was the way we played in our old times... the Soul Pracher strives to be a bit too invasive even at lower levels, the Glove Overdrive has a nice sound, becoming too muddy already at medium level. Finally, I can say these pedals are really nice toys, especially for older people like I am, but, except for the Soul Food, I wouldn't use any of them in a recording session. My personal opinion, of course.

It's my cheapest pedal, but you'd never say that. It's a mellow and smooth overdrive, in the Mad Professor Sweet Honey style, that lets pass together with its creamy sound the clean guitar one. Elegance.

To be honest I personally prefer the natural Ultex Jazz III (the yellow one), but this is a good pick too.

Among all the Jazz III type made by Dunlop, for me this is the only one producing a classic Jazz tone, very smooth and with a noiseless attack. Maybe too "soft" for more aggressive genres, I love this pick for its mellowness.

The Ultex Jazz III XL is my main pick, and I met it after a Ing tried a lot of them. In my opinion picks affect sound more than we could imagine, and not only thickness, but also the material they are made of is important. I find Ultex very natural, and similar to finger nails sound, and I use this kind of pick for Blues, Fusion and Rock solos.

With the John Mann's upgrades, I changed the nut, the tuners (PRS locking type for SE), the tremolo saddles and the inside block and springs. And believe it or not, it's a completely different guitar, a longer sustain, a sound richer of harmonics... I'm in love with this guitar, it changed my way of playing.