matthew_colreavy

The C to D neck of this guitar feels superb in all playing positions. Although I use it mainly to play modern blues and genres with lots of Strat-style string bending and tones, its S1 switching system permits it to be used for much more than this. It came from the factory with all the modern appointments, strap locks, locking tuners, etc. - no upgrades required. The Maple Fretboard Ocean Turquoise Metallic finish with its white pearl pickguard is stunning to look at.

I bought this guitar brand new in 2011 and have had it ever since. It is super! This guitar comes with a functionality called the "Passing Lane" switch (an extra button between the tone controls). The "Passing Lane" feature is awesome in a live setting when also singing. E.g., when I need to turn the guitar volume on or off quickly to avoid feedback without looking down, or while I'm busy with my hands not touching the guitar. I set up all max tone requirements in advance at the amp, pedals, or Helix with the "Passing Lane" switch set to 'on'. Set my guitar's volume dial to zero. When I need guitar volume I press the "Passing Lane" switch to 'on' and get tone at the level that I set in the amp. When I want silence I switch it 'off' and my signal is dead. Obviously, there are many applications for this feature, but this is how I use it. I haven't seen a "Passing Lane" feature on any other guitar since. Regarding the normal features, the tone from the two Noiseless N3 pick-ups and Humbucker are super. There is the additional feature of a push-on/off S-1 switch located in the volume dial. This permits extra tone possibilities through the wiring configuration of the pick-ups by arranging alternative combinations not available on normal Stratocasters. I.e. this guitar has twice as many sound creation possibilities as a non-S-1 switch Stratocaster. Other non-standard features of this guitar are: - the neck/body join is comfort-cut to fit your hand better up to the higher frets - the nut is set with a row of ball bearings instead of bone or plastic This is a top-shelf Guitar!

I had a set of zebra colour Pearly Gates professionally installed into my "Inspired by Gibson" ES-335 - Figured Blueberry Burst replacing the original set of Alnico Classic PRO's. I was motivated to install Pearly Gates because despite really liking this guitar it was annoying me to have to consistently change the settings on my Marshall JVM amp to get anything near the response I was getting from my 'real' Gibson guitars. (I play live in indie & rock bands) The Pearly Gates Set plus installation cost more than half the price of Epiphone "Inspired by Gibson" ES-335 brand new; relatively speaking these pickups are expensive! On this basis, my expectations were very high. Nevertheless, the Pearly Gates have significantly improved the sound of the guitar as described in the Seymour Duncan product description. Since changing to the Pearly Gates Set I play this guitar more frequently than my other guitars.

I use this for live playing and recording of: Guitar, Bass, Keyboard, Vocals I also use this as a mixer and interface for the above instruments in any constellation i.e. all connected to separate channels of the Helix concurrently or each set up individually depending on the need. I would have given five stars except that the Helix Floor does not have 2 separate XLR inputs. This limits microphone recording to mono only, and solo live mic applications.

Very lightweight, and fits easily in a gigbag pocket. At venues, I go straight to the PA. I use this mainly for bass or acoustic guitar without a pedal board where I need only set and forget effects/amp settings and only one or two at-call effects. Sound quality and effects top. I/O are adequate. I give this 4 stars because: - despite permitting dozens of effects in the signal chain, it permits only a single reverb to be active at a time, (it has several very good reverbs to choose from). - The Editor won't work on my Laptop.

I use this mic for live vocals with a loud rock band with playback via floor monitors. (The Band has a drum kit, multiple half-stack Marshall guitar amps, bass, etc.) It produces much better vocal quality and sound rejection than my SM58. It's less prone to feedback issues than a handheld condenser mic (e.g., Neumann KMS105, etc.) while being very responsive to plosives and other live vocal techniques.

among applications I use TLM 103 for are: 1. to hear crystal clear vocal playback in headphones 2. to record vocals and guitar I use it regularly. The TLM 103 is extremely sensitive and does both of these jobs very well. The downside was the price. Everything else about it exceeds my needs.

I've owned MPC Live 2 for about 6 months. Before buying it I was relatively unskilled with this type of device. I use it together with an AKAI MPK mini mk3 four to five times a week in 'standalone mode' primarily as a sequencer, to compose songs & loops, and make backing tracks for use in band settings or solo performances. I use it mostly when I can't be bothered with Ableton Live, or carrying around lots of additional hardware items, e.g. Ableton Push2, a large keyboard/synth, audio interface, laptop, drum machine, cables, etc. I have many situations where the gear quantity and weight must be minimal. Likes: - In Standalone mode, there are NO POP-UP DISTRACTIONS e.g. the news, internet, email, Facebook, Youtube, whatever. You can concentrate exclusively on using the device! - Easy to transport in a backpack. - Battery-powered; you can take this anywhere e.g., around the house, park, cafe, etc. I take mine all over the place to sketch out ideas using the internal instruments and audio. - If I want to pimp sounds later it's easy enough to connect it to another device and let the recorded MIDI use external sounds. (The included sounds are ok, however, my Yamaha Montage is much better.) - The internal speakers are very convenient. The touch-sensitive drum pads are a good size. Not for everyone: - MPC Live 2 is massively capable. If you are new to this type of device expect it to take a while (maybe a few weeks/months) to learn how to drive it. MPC Live 2 is not a tool for people with short concentration spans or for folks who don't want to invest time learning how's, what's, where's, and why's about it, PLUS, all the other devices that they might connect to it. - While it works with Audio, for my applications I'm more impressed with its other features. Summary: By comparison, it would seem that the MPC Live 2 is easier to achieve results with than a DAW (Ableton) over the same learning period. This arises perhaps as the MPC Live 2 can function as a completely standalone instrument. In standalone mode using internal instruments and the built-in connections & speakers/headphones, you can bypass much of the set-up & system option selection guesswork that a DAW requires to get started and just move on with making music. The portability of the unit and the multiple applications that it fulfils make it a go-to piece of kit!

I use this together with my MPC Live2 or laptop with Ableton Live. Wherever my MPC Live2 or laptop go, this goes too. Planes, trains, or cafes. Pro's: The pads are velocity-sensitive & backlit of MPC Live2 quality and can be mapped to match the MPC Live2 layout. Built-in features, e.g. arpeggiator etc., (I don't really use these but they're nice to have). USB powered, no extra power cables required. It fits easily in the same backpack together with my above hardware items. It's very portable and light. Was relatively inexpensive. Con's: With only 2 octaves, it's more suited to record/play either the left or right hand of a track at a time. (If you want to play both hands together get a board with more keys.) Mini keys, love them or hate them. Overall: A useful piece of kit.