Connor Keen
GearIQ 1017
Joined Jun 2020
Primarily a metal musician, and I do each part of it. I am a guitarist first but play everything on guitar and bass, a fair bit of vocals and keys, and occasionally (rarely) drums. Check out Perfect Candor / @perfectcandormusic on all platforms!!
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Create your EquipboardGuitars 11
The RESQ:D series is great for people looking for less of a devotion to spending 2k to try a Strandberg. Regardless of the difference it is worth it. Love the OEM pickups and switching, feels and plays great for anything from black death metal to sent to pop and jazz. I dig the EndurNeck and cuts for different playing positions. Super cool innovation, the multiscale is natural and doesn't need getting used to. I have brought this many places and despite the prices wasn't afraid to damage it as it is high quality and strong. My favorite guitar I have ever owned, as it looks amazing too!!
I love the soft v neck. As a strat, it is easy to mod. Mine has had trem routing chiseled further, new everything from the switch to the string tree. Unique (in a positive way) playing strat as the neck isn't so vintage feeling it is slow. Fantastic if you want a more one-of-a-kind strat with vontage feel and custom everything else.
While I have moved to multiscale favor, this was the best spec'd straight scale at this price point when I bought it. Many similarly-priced models had a non-favorable and even unforgivable 26.5" scale but this reaches to 27". Everything is better than you could expect at this price after adding a graphtech nut. Pickups stand up alright, they're no fishmans or bareknuckles but they certainly work.
Got mine used with a hot rails in the bridge and a kahler. Mine is a 1981 with the black pickguard. It still has it almost 45 years later!
I love the 5 way switch. Stock pickups are strong and like chameleons, sound great clean and can have volume and tone rolled back for a more vintage tone but are hot enough to do modern metal. Super comfortable first headless model.
Not as great as a Strandberg or something but it is very compact. The rails sounds nice and it is good to just grab before a weekend trip.
The Epiphone Les Paul Studio LT is a great beginner electric guitar. It has a wonderful tone for heavier music like rock and into metal, as long as you set it up and maybe adjust the pickups to your needs. I am very content with mine, as after a setup it plays very very well.
Love the ability to just plug it in without a preamp as the electronics are great, but with the Tim Henson plugin it really shines. Beautiful instrument.
I mean it's a 40s archtop, mine isn't perfect but it works. It's mostly a conversation piece.
Keeping forever because it was my dad's It looks cool but the electronics didn't last and the body just slides off you! Still neat.
Basses 5
Forgiveable pickups because everything else is perfect. Would be better if it had a 35" scale but you can't ask for much different from old standard on a Fender. Super nice bass overall, may just require some extra EQing.
Overall most versatile bass I have owned, the 35" scale helps a lot! It does it all.
I'm a 5 string guy but man this is cool epsecially for the price. I dig its hardcore sound,
Interesting bass. Not the best but at this price it's a project buy. Made mine fretless just to experiment.
Short scale isn't a preferred spec of mine but it plays well. Good for beginners, sounds solid.
Amps 14
I've had some tube heads. This gets loud and sounds legit. Fantastic head and not super heavy, fully reccommend!
Can't think of a good reason for the 2-cable design. I love Orange but come on. Gets the job done though.
Wish it had better speakers, but it works super well. I just bump up some lows.
It sounds in between Fender and EVH to me, kind of like a less mid-centric "British" speaker, maybe not fully "American". Super fantastic speaker that really lets your sound shine on its own with less of the British coloration you can experience with Celestions and that means that it is great for all genres and sounds while retaining Celestion quality.
I put it in a cab I made from an ammo crate of 5.56 M27 links (for the M249 SAW). Becayse of the higher resonant frequency it works better with this cab than even most speakers do with better manufactured cabs.
Great for modelers. I use it alone for electric, acoustic, bass, standard and extended range. Gets loud enough for a small gig without other connections.
I genuinely favor this over more expensive modelers, especially with newer updates. This and a 15" pa speaker will get you far with anything from an amped classical guitar to an 8 string to a 5 string bass.
I used to think it was fuzzy and muddy but good through a 4x12. After using with more cabs and pedals I realize it is fantastic and responds very well, just better for pairing with less mid and lower mid focused speakers. It is great dirty and clean and with an effects loop is actually very versatile. Loud enough for gigging through ang reasonable cab.
Also good for bass. Interesting programming. Wish it had a gate since it seems high gain focused.
Sounds good, lacking some rumble. Not bad for a beginner bedroom amp, won't get too loud.
Pre-amp Pedalboard 10
Can't think of a good reason for the 2-cable design. I love Orange but come on. Gets the job done though.
I love the REVV sound and the Swedish chainsaw vibe. The blend is nice. Sounds gnarly!
This, boosted and running into a clean channel, competes even with Soldanos and 5150s using 8 string guitars. Good stuff and looks cool as hell.
Great as a boost and fuzz. I like a decent fuzz now and again but it is a fantastic boost for high gain sounds.
I use this for switching between a REVV Northern Mauler, and a boost into a Joyo Dark Flame (slightly higher gain REVV G4 clone). This allows me to have a more vintage crunchy distortion blended with a Swedish chainsaw sound and switch to a more modern sound, or a boost on its own. Great utility and build quality. Doesn't need power except for indicating lights as it is truly passive.
Accurate tuner, and great as a mute. Also dig the different modes. Not too big, conserves board space.
Great for strat positions 2 and 4. Also helps to boost an amp a bit more, and great for switching between singles and humbuckers.
Not sure if it is truly isolated as I had problems in the past with noise but with a buffer first I haven't had any recently. Certainly better than any other supply in the price bracket and it has lasted me for 2 years now.
I have the white 20" x 12" board that came with a bag. It is a good large size and maybe 1/3 as much as a bigger name brand board of the same dimensions, fulfilling all my needs with loop switching and amp footswitch in addition to pedals. Good angle and the bag makes it more than worth it as there is plenty of room for the board, pedals and cables. Has lasted me a good year and a half by now, and being made of aluminum it is durable but again not too hard to carry around even when already transporting a half stack.
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Mod+Effects Pedalboard 7
My favorite analog delay that I have been able to buy without guilt. Try it out in your effects loop as it's worth twice the price at least.
This is a sub-$30 pedal but it is a functioning noise gate. Fast enough to use for metal when dialed in properly. Works as well as you could ask for.
Other Pedals 5
I genuinely favor this over more expensive modelers, especially with newer updates. This and a 15" pa speaker will get you far with anything from an amped classical guitar to an 8 string to a 5 string bass.
Other than Darkglass stuff, my favorite distortion for bass. Good to have a preamp in a case.
Works well for EQing but a bit noisy. Not noticeable in a buffered effects loop so still useful.
Love the switchable A/B to Y function. Good value and good for wet/dry setups.
Synth Gear 4
Eurorack 9
Recording and Production 14
I use for vocals, and electric guitar amps. Some acoustic guitar work. It has good volume handling and sounds fantastic as compared to similarly-priced mics. Gets the lows of brutal vocals nicely.
Can't ask for much more at this price. Sounds passable. Okay for all uses but don't crank an amp if micing as it is not super hardcore.
It seems like it may have been hard to drive (as in, running the drivers) in addition to everything else you run while recording, for older systems. It runs flawlessly with modern equipment without any issues and is super usable. The one downside to some may be lack of preamps but I honestly prefer something transparent so I can run mics through my own preamps without additional coloration, as that is not necessarily the job of an audio interface unless you need to consolidate gear features in less units.
Handy and works well. Hub is a nice addition to use a controller while using multiple outputs.
I reccommend getting a linsoul cable. Brought the lows in mine to life. Great for tracking vocals.
These don't have a ton of lows and need a sub for reference. That's fine. I love the bluetooth function for music listening as well.
Processing Rack 6
It seems like it may have been hard to drive (as in, running the drivers) in addition to everything else you run while recording, for older systems. It runs flawlessly with modern equipment without any issues and is super usable. The one downside to some may be lack of preamps but I honestly prefer something transparent so I can run mics through my own preamps without additional coloration, as that is not necessarily the job of an audio interface unless you need to consolidate gear features in less units.
Software 8
I love Ableton's features and UI. Considering updating to 12. Easy to learn and feature-packed!
This plugin's features that make it stand out are the multi voices and time effects. You can go from simple lush cleans to full ambient synth sounds controlled by a guitar. Most of the time it is just a versatile and fantastic sounding guitar plugin with the white clean-edge of breakup, pink low-high gain drive-distortion and acoustic amp. The IRs are great too.
I wish they sounded thicker so they could be used for some black-fusion stuff but J understand that isn't the most general use for these. I got them on sale and am learning how to eq them and get them to fit in as I did my old drums and they're doing well. Recommend for black metal.
I love this for metal bass as the distortion is very modern bass pedal-like with the darkglass sound. The switching to vintage and clean sounds is legit, this covers it all. Currently just using for bass cab sims after a darkglass sim in my modeler and it is great for Irs while recording too, especially when blending with non-cab's sounds for things like harsh black metal.
I am not the biggest filter or wah fan but the functions work very well, I like them over any other digital ones I have tried. This has great features like the tuned for 4th position compressor and many great sounding clean amps.
This has one of my favorite extended range sounds and is perfect for groove/sheet styles, obviously anything meshuggah-like.
Not as good as Nameless for djenty stuff but this is my favorite of the Fortson suites for everything else. This fits well in any black/grind/death/core kind of environment.
Not my favorite as it isn't as precise as what I like Fortson for but very useable sound especially when trying to get a high gain wall of sound feel. I use it for death metal every once in a while.
Bonus Guitar Items 20
I have tried a number of lower-tier wireless units. This keeps a good charge and doesn't cut out easily. Super handy and cuts down on confusion and complexity while adding mobility in a rig.
For me, these have the perfect thickness and the bevels help with any challenges you might think that creates. Nice and articulate but clean attack, not pinky, but no give which I love.
This is just a mute. Good for reducing noise behind the nut or when recording tapping parts. The black with gold logo is classy.
I am a sucker for gold hardware so I love this on my guitars. I have large and small for 6-strings, 8-strings, and they work with 4- and 5- string basses.
I have this on my strat, the iridescent look is super cool and funky. Functional and pretty!
I think Gator cast their net a little wide, but it works. The neck support doesn't really work for 8 string Strandbergs super well but they tried to fit every number of string of every headless model with a body so I'm not too surprised. That being said, it is nicely adjustable and still works as the fretboard pad up top gives and my Strandberg still fits. It is very protective, light for a hard case and looks good. Looking forward to using this for my more serious travels.
I liked it enough I got a second, one on each of my headless guitars. It easily adjusts long for basses (I used as such previously) and short enough for my Strandberg. It looks fantastic with anything that has black hardware or plastic parts. Most importantly, it's comfortable. Nothing too revolutional but it feels good enough to have on for a couple hours if needed, even when it was on my heavy 2001 standard 5 string Fender jazz bass (the headless guitars are obviously comfy no matter what).
I love stringjoy sets. I think a custom set is a must in the extended range realm when you use weird tunings so here is what I use.
On my straight 27" scale 8 string I use from CFCF to DgDG tunings, I used to keep in EAEA but these strings and a diff setup work perfectly for the lower tunings: .010-.013-.017-.030-.042-.054-.072-.085
On my Strandberg 26.5"-28" multi scale 8 string I keep in EAEA but am not afraid to use in DGDG: seven string set gauges .009-.012-.016-.022w-.030-.042-.056 with the .085 Strandberg tapered end string singles ordered from Sweetwater
34" scale 5 string Fender Jazz Bass V in drop A, willing to go to A standard and standard and 35" scale Jackson 5 String Spectra in drop G and F for those deep lows:
.045-.065-.085-.105-.145
Nice to find anywhere which is needed for floating bridges. Solid strings that are about the best quality for the price other than custom Stringjoy sets.
These are common which is important imo to keep the same feel without setting up. These always get the job done.
These seem to keep tension when dropping. These are what I use for D standard on 25.5" and work perfectly without setting up from standard.
I love these for a bit more tension and projection with a hollowbody. They are good for downtuning too but man are these my favorites for anything that swings.
The 11s, 12s and 13s are my favorites for drop tuning guitars with shorter scales like Les Pauls. I have one in B right now sounding and feeling great.
I suppose there aren't a whole ton of 5 string flatworms users out there but these are great and don't cost a ton. Good for fretless playing!
Different sound than the EXL series but equally high quality. They don't seem to last as long though.
These seem to be good quality but Pro Arte are better. These just don't last as long but they sound good.
This is my favorite capo for electrics. I don't use capos often but this always seems the most stable and is easy to move with its grip.
Misc. Items 6
Holds its own against similarly priced ukes. Not a huge uke dude tbh but it's alright.
Really cool concept. Not the mostly widely useable but I love it for use with my cajon when someone has a small (acoustic) amp with an input they aren't using. Great for small amped acoustic jams and on the street. Also interesting for creating effect sounds.
Brought life to all of my records. This really helps me enjoy my collection!
Was odd with an Android, better with an iPhone. Like the switching noise cancelling function.
Past Gear 10
This is a super great feeling guitar. It stayed in tune super well. That being said, it isn't really contemporary at all with the smaller radius of the fretboard, TOM and stop piece and the lowest output actives ever. I tried more active pickups before realizing they aren't my thing and while I loved how this guitar played, and it and the newer models are perfect for trying actives, had to let it go to get a guitar I would want to play more and fit me better. Recommend with a pickup swap for sure.
This was my first extended range guitar. I play a whole lot of 8 string stuff now so that was a big door opener. I loved the wood grain and the coil split that aren't found in other cheap ERGs. This was super stable and was my number one metal guitar until J let it go when I graduated to 8s.
I was never a phish fan but I love this guitar. I upgraded everything that wasn't wood and the frets were fine as is. It was great before though. Since I like longer scales the 25.5" on a hollowbody is refreshing. The 24 frets is neat and it has cool inlays. Super fun with all new locking tuners/nut/lipstick humbuckers/wiring including push/pulls. Neat and cool for a hollowbody since they are all pretty similar lol!
Sounds fantatstic plugged into anything... Even distorted!! I can sweep and do a lot of things that are difficult to do on acoustics, it plays super well.
Mine came with the bridge misaligned. I slightly solved the problem but there isn't much you can do that's worth it. Fun to have around.
Portable midi controller. Works well with Ableton. Still useful while locked in at home despite it seeming like it's only good for on-the-go.
About all you can ask for from a 1x8. It is nice to keep in a backpack.
This is a great amp for people who don't need a ton of effect control, although it can get some pretty good dirty tones on its own. It sounds great (and looks great) for a 1x6 speaker and 12 watt power. The EQ works very well.
Sounds good through a cab. Not bad for a small low wattage head. Not enough power or gain on its own but it is a toy.
