Guitarists?

Pedals have come a long way I think. I recently picked up a ZVex Distortron which is, despite the name, not really a distortion pedals as much as an overdrive and it more or less covers jtm45 marshall tones. It sounds very very nice and it cleans up nicely with the guitar volume so you can get wide ranging levels of overdrive right from the guitar all at the same apparent volume. And unlike most od/distortion pedals there isn't that harsh artificact in the background as the note decays.

I'm also getting into looping. I have a Boss RC2 looper and I used to have, but stupidly sold because I needed the $, a zvex lo fi loop junky. They are so fun but I want to get some sort of looper that you can switch in and out different loops live so it's easy to go from a verse to a chorus back to a verse then to a bridge. Would be fun for live coffee house gig kinds of things.

Also really coming around to fender blackface tones…and the reverb and trem that goes along with them. On a bit of a Smiths/Johnny Marr kick right now so that's a part of it. Might pick up a princeton reverb at some point although perhaps I should go with a Deluxe reverb so it's at least somewhat giggable. If I could find a silverface of either of these I'd be pretty stoked. Might even go with a reissue. Don't have money for original blackface tho.

Pedals have come a long way I think. I recently picked up a ZVex Distortron which is, despite the name, not really a distortion pedals as much as an overdrive and it more or less covers jtm45 marshall tones. It sounds very very nice and it cleans up nicely with the guitar volume so you can get wide ranging levels of overdrive right from the guitar all at the same apparent volume. And unlike most od/distortion pedals there isn't that harsh artificact in the background as the note decays.

I'm also getting into looping. I have a Boss RC2 looper and I used to have, but stupidly sold because I needed the $, a zvex lo fi loop junky. They are so fun but I want to get some sort of looper that you can switch in and out different loops live so it's easy to go from a verse to a chorus back to a verse then to a bridge. Would be fun for live coffee house gig kinds of things.

Also really coming around to fender blackface tones…and the reverb and trem that goes along with them. On a bit of a Smiths/Johnny Marr kick right now so that's a part of it. Might pick up a princeton reverb at some point although perhaps I should go with a Deluxe reverb so it's at least somewhat giggable. If I could find a silverface of either of these I'd be pretty stoked. Might even go with a reissue. Don't have money for original blackface tho.

BOSS makes a great looper for a minimum price, and the Digitech Hardwire series of pedals is also quite noteworthy. If you're aiming to throw down different portions of songs and the like, your previous RC2 could do two parts…if that was your thing, keep an eye out on the eBay.COM site (as opposed to the .CA site) as the odd BOSS RC300 does come up for sale. Better to buy used in this case to same some bucks.

Pedals are great. I have about 30 or so boutique units - but I've come to love my amps with a "less is more" approach for the last couple years. I mean, sure, you can always do with some nice delay and a bit of modulation, but outside of these, I'm finding reliance on the amps' natural movements better than using stuff up front. BUT!! As there are some fine pedals out there, check out these for some fantastic options:
- Xotic BB Preamp
- Creation Audio Labs Mk.4:23 Pro (discontinued pro model, standard is still avail)
- Fulltone OCD

As for delays and modulation, I rely on Eventide TimeFactor and PitchFactor

Electroharmonix "Big Muff Pi" is a nice fuzz option too, for little money (get the tone wicking model).

Enjoy.
Dirty

Actually for looping I'm thinking of the Boomerang. It's sort of the mother of all live loopers. Doesn't save any loops though which is fine with me. Although I've saved a bunch on my RC2 just because I liked them.

Actually for looping I'm thinking of the Boomerang. It's sort of the mother of all live loopers. Doesn't save any loops though which is fine with me. Although I've saved a bunch on my RC2 just because I liked them.

If you want mackdaddy goodness, pick up a used Axe-II or even an older Axe-Ultra.

Thank me later :coo:

Do tell.

Should have my ESP NT-7 loaded with Bareknuckle "Holy Divers" here by the weekend. Stoked. Also working on a '56 goldtop lester loaded with P90s

Working on a custom head from Dave Friedman - looking for the "Brown Eye" circuit with an additional toggle to kick in the "Naked" circuit, made famous by Billy Howerdel from APC. Luscious sounding amp. Hopefully we can make the head a reality.

Anyways - let us know what you've got in the pipe.

ESP pics? My new axe is ordered. Not the Carvin though.

ESP pics? My new axe is ordered. Not the Carvin though.

i hope you snuffed Cookie

ESP pics? My new axe is ordered. Not the Carvin though.

Here are some pics, loaded with BKPs "Holy Divers" with the burnt chrome covers:

Dave Friedman "Naked" incoming.
Two Notes Torpedo Live incoming.
Friedman STFU attenuator incoming.
As well as a couple other studio goodies.

Peace,
Le Dirty :smokey:

Here are some pics, loaded with BKPs "Holy Divers" with the burnt chrome covers:

Dave Friedman "Naked" incoming.
Two Notes Torpedo Live incoming.
Friedman STFU attenuator incoming.
As well as a couple other studio goodies.

Peace,
Le Dirty :smokey:

hmm mixed feelings on the pickups, definitely different. Interested in how that Attenuator works out for you. My hotplate got dropped and the clay pieces inside are smashed into smithereens :(

Wonder if I should take that to Ho electronics to fix.

hmm mixed feelings on the pickups, definitely different. Interested in how that Attenuator works out for you. My hotplate got dropped and the clay pieces inside are smashed into smithereens :(

Wonder if I should take that to Ho electronics to fix.

Mixed feelings in the "look" of the pickups or the actual model? A lot of peeps aren't familiar with BKP, I've got them in over half my guitars, maybe more. I've got a couple burnt chrome covered BKPs on other "metal'esque" guitars - personally it's just cosmetics, it doesn't do jack-jimmy to the tone. I like the look, it's unique. But more importantly, these Holy Divers are crushing when paired with an Uberschall or Diezel Hagen. Thunderous lows - and the pups track insanely fast.

As for Ho's - if the clay/medium broke - the machine is shyte. That said, he actually has some homemade attenuators in house that kick ass. Probably better than going for a repair. I've got an in with Friedman out of LA, hence the reason I'm loading up on a bunch of his wares - his stuff kicks.

Anyway - have a great day.
Peace,
Le Dirty :bandit:

Yeah. Get a Ho. I've got one and it really sounds good. Warning though, it gives the amp a 32 ohm load so it's best to use it with an amp that has a 16 ohm output since a 2:1 missmatch is pretty safe in most cases. I have used 8 ohms and not had any problems but always worried a bit. If you use a fender with 4 ohm or 2 ohm (vibroking ha!) with the Ho you're going to blow an output transformer bloody quick.

Yeah. Get a Ho. I've got one and it really sounds good. Warning though, it gives the amp a 32 ohm load so it's best to use it with an amp that has a 16 ohm output since a 2:1 missmatch is pretty safe in most cases. I have used 8 ohms and not had any problems but always worried a bit. If you use a fender with 4 ohm or 2 ohm (vibroking ha!) with the Ho you're going to blow an output transformer bloody quick.

It won't blow in that direction - only the other direction: Output impedance greater than input impedance. For instance, you can jam 4, 8, 16ohm from amp out to a load of 32ohm. But you CANNOT send a 16ohm amp out into an 8ohm or 4ohm load. THAT'S where the OT will fry.

That said, having a load 2x that of the output impedance means there'll be less clarity in the reproduction of the amp's voice and tonal characteristics. It works, and that's fine, but there'll be artifacts and ghosts within the mismatch that will make your sound sound different than it would if it were going into an equally matched load. As for attenuators, it's a good rule to keep with matched impedances, but historically, many of the power soaks were just massively rated impedances unto themselves with the addition of a thermal transfer.

If you got the cabbage: http://www.two-notes.com/en/hardware/torpedo-reload/

As mentioned, I've got the Torpedo Live coming onboard, this attenuator looks incredible. May have to see how it compares to the Friedman STFU.

No guitars in the house currently. Strange feeling considering I haven't been without one since I was 9. Looking forward to a new axe though.

No guitars in the house currently. Strange feeling considering I haven't been without one since I was 9. Looking forward to a new axe though.

Whatcha eyeballing?? Lemme know - I have an arsenal as well as dealer pricing on many brands.