I borrowed this amp while up in JHB while on tour and I brought along a smaller tour pedalboard with me.

This was at 5FM for Live@5 last year:



The Craig's cabinet was really light. The head is super solidly built.

WIP

Check out the Avantone Mics. They're Chinese made and you can pick up a valve condenser or a ribbon mic for like 1.5-3k!

Hello!

I'm making the rounds while I have some time spare!

A while ago I made my own DIY board and used it heavily for about 2 years or something. I've played all around the country with it and it's done me extremely well.

Unfortunately, the rigors of touring with tuba players have taken their toll on the poor thing and it's begun to fall apart.

I decided to invest in something solid that would last me ages and that would (hopefully) tour well.

Sp after following them (Temple Audio/Templeboards) for a year or so I ordered this as a Christmas present to my wonderful self last year:



It has 4 locking jacks and a power connector for your underboard PSU and an LED strip light (9v powered by your PSU) to help back light everything (very #swag).

It also comes with a very, very, very nice flight case made by Pelican:



The pedals are not mounted with velcro but instead with Templeboards patented pedal mounting plates. Basically you put a plate on a pedal and lock it into position with a thumb screw.

It's a really solid set up and the flight case is great. My main quams: 1) make sure you properly clean the glue from your previously applied velcro (washing powder and hot water soak works) or the plates won't stick right. 2) the floorboard seems a bit more flexible than I'd like but it hasn't bothered me at all at gigs and since I'm mostly using my loop switcher I don't notice it at all. Perhaps the flexibility is needed? Dunno, but its flexible.

It's super solid and it has loads of storage space. The back lighting is also a cool feature that I find I'm missing when it's not there. I didn't realise how helpful it would be!

---------------

JHS Morning Glory

So I ordered a MG and SB a while back. Shipping and duties made them expensive. (Protip: Get Craigamps to make you a clone)

The enclosures have a nice feel to them since they're taller and wider than the traditional hammond enclosures but this also makes them take up more space. You also can't put a 9v in them. Sometimes it's nice to just be able to grab a single pedal and put a 9v in it for a smaller gig, but you can't with these.

The MG sounds great. It's a "transparent" drive. That doesn't mean it doesn't alter your tone, it just means that all the notes ring out nice and clearly and individual notes in a chord are discernible.

It sounds pretty awesome. The high cut feature is actually quite desirable for me too.

Unfortunately after only 4 days the LED would intermittently cut out and now it's permanently out. Pretty annoying. And it's not a dry solder joint either... Maybe the LED is broken or something, IDK. Sending it to Craigamps this week.

-------------

JHS Superbolt

This was a trendy pedal for a while and I opted for this because I wanted a "coloured" overdrive that wasn't a TS. TS's sound great but that makes everyone buy them and personally it's just too familiar for me.

The SB is based on the old Supro/Valco amps. Basically it behaves badly at higher input volumes and starts to sag and compress in a squishy sort of way.

It has an 18v pump so you can select to have more head room and use it as a clean boost too if you like.

What I've been doing is running a clean boost (Craigamps trem/boost, but a SHO will do fine) infront of it to hit it much harder. The result is that as you dig in really hard it starts to compress extra hard and sound like a fuzz.

It's a pretty reactive pedal that gets some sweet tones. I've been using it to soften harsher lead tones but in it's 18v mode it can actually make them more piercing in either a good or presence range ouch kinda way so just watch out for that!

----

Here's a pic of the board and pedals in action at Red Bull Studios:



PS

I think I'll fill the final gap with a JHS colourbox. Also wanna swap out the Jimi Octave fuzz for that new purple MXR fuzz thing maybe?

Hello!

I'm back for a bit, been away a while, busy gigging, writing and getting engaged and planning a wedding.

I have some time so I'm posting about STUFF.

So I saw this in JHB around Christmas:



It sounded incredible and I did a shootout with a cream-tolex'd PCB AC15 with a cream back Celestion. It flattened it.

Birch cabinet is roughly the same size as a Fender Deville and it's got a Alnico Blue in it. It's not that light, but its not that heavy. It sounds open and full. It's got Ruby Tubes and it's covered in some kind of 60s couch material.

It has a normal channel with bright switch and a top boost channel with a "hot/cool" switch. Tone cut and bypassable master volume. No Verb, no trem (small tear was shed).

I wasn't interested until Stuart (good ol' Stu) told me he'd whack off a whole whack of price on it for me and that's when unexpected GAS hit.

Long story short, it was recorded week after last at the new Red Bull Studios in CT.

(Yes, I know the Nuemann is backwards, it did something cool, so I left it.)



On a scale of 1-10 I'm this happy with my purchase:



Normal channel is the business, master bypass rocks. Still getting used to the TB channel. It sound great but I'm used to playing much cleaner than this thing tends towards. Can't wait until the speaker is broken in.

Just checking in to say that my Trupass looper AKA "The Chalkboard" is working excellently. LOVE IT!

Colour is awesome!!

I'd recommend the Deluxe Reverb. The Twin is stellar for cleans but it's just TOO loud and TOO heavy!

AC15 and AC30 can get pretty sweet, chimey, cleans and the tone cut on the Voxes seem to warm up the sound rather than the Fenders' treble control on the just reducing brightness.

The JC is also solid for cleans.

I'd avoid a DeVille due to the fact that they're also too loud and too heavy and most of the time you're either off or too damn loud.

If you have any RCA, Sylvannia and Mullard 12ax7's I'd like to buy some!

The J+H is buffered as far as I know, so use that to your advantage! Fuzz before WAH. Aweh(wah)

Fixed it! Added a pic.

Here's a pic:



It's with Rob Drake right now getting a bridge fitted and a check up.

Paid R1k for it, so I'm pretty sure it was a good deal since even a crappy uke is that price in most shops.

STOKED TO GET IT BACK!

I'll be the Emperor of Lankishire!

afehrsen wrote:

DDR4LYF wrote:

Sean wrote:
TruPass5 Superhero

What is up with the knob on the TruPass? What does it do?

It's an LED dimmer - dim for dark stages and bright for day time gigs, etc ?

MY IDEA! ?

I'm actually delving into this drive thing at the moment.

I originally bought a Jeckyl and Hyde TS9 + Distortion Combo which I used for a long time but have since really fallen out of love with.

I now use an EHX English Muffin valve distortion. It sounds great on british amps but harsh on american ones. Incredibly touch sensitive and amp-like but it uses its own PSU and it's HUGE!

I just ordered a JHS Morning Glory and a JHS Superbolt which I expect to arrive early but my main idea is to have two "unique" sounding pedals that I'll blend with my slightly unusual preference of guitars and sounds.

I don't use Tube Screamers and at this particular point, I don't really want one. They're very versatile but the sound is just too recognizable for me. One thing they are VERY good at is helping you cut through the mix.

Distortion might give you the TONE you are looking for but the TubeScreamer will help you cut through the mix.

Often metal guitarists slap the Metal Zone on and pay no attention to the mids required to be heard.

Maybe the HM before the TS? get the majority of your tone from the HM and then use the TS to EQ, it was suggested previously and I think it's the best option.

THe HM has been made famous by Swedish metal bands. Can't recall the name but I remember one band building their entire sound on vintage HMs.

Bottom line is, how BRUTAL are you wanting to go?

My 2 cents.

Arjun Menon wrote: There are a few...

I dig that actually!

I remember seeing Jack White playing a hollow body once and thinking "that's such an ugly guitar, why would he play such an ugly guitar? It's so big and ugly.". I also HATED sunburst guitars. At the time I wanted a black, flame/quilted maple Custom 24 PRS. I was 15.

Now I have 3 hollow bodies and my main gigging guitar is a bright orange, gold trimmed Gretsch 6120 with a bigsby and a cowboy trim. My current favourite home/practice/studio guitar is a '66 Gibson ES-330 in sunburst.

These days if I had R5m suddenly to spend on guitars, the first thing I'd buy would be a Tele, the second an ES-335 and the last would be a Strat and I wouldn't even go close to a PRS.

MURPHY STRUCK ME HARD!

Thanks!

The neck isn't joined at the 19th fret like the 335 and later 330s. It doesn't hinder my playing at all tho, I'm using to nylon string (classical) and my 6120, so accessing anything past the 12th fret without having to do some hand tricks is pretty convenient for me!

It plays REALLY well.

Does have some headstock wear that you can't see in the picture, will post more pics.

It certainly has mojo, altought, unlike other vintage stuff I've played, it feels like it's mine. I've play a bunch of vintage Gibsons, but they didn't feel like they belonged to me. This one, somehow, does.

It sounds INCREDIBLE! The neck pickup has a great, warm tone. It's pretty much an excellent jazz guitar right out the gates.

Just need to fix this bridge pickup's height.

330's are great, I know 335s have the block and are more collectable and versatile, but I've been playing hollow Gretsches for a while now and I never have any feedback issues because I play very low gain, just on breakup, so I don't envision any issues with the 330 that I haven't already encountered on the Gretschs.

P.S. P90s are the perfect pickup. Just sayin'

It's far from mint, but that way I'll actually get to play it outside:




Some issues it has/had that made it cheaper:

-Didn't have original knobs. I replaced with modern Gibson Gold Top Hat Reflectors until I can afford real vintage stuff.
-Scratch plate is original but has had holes drilled into it, bracket is missing. Ordering a modern Gibson equivalent until I feel that paying for neat original is worth it.
-Crack on upper f-hole, not going further, but it's there.
-Chip out of binding on the 6th fret.

Couple of nice things:

-Tuners haven't disintegrated like they do some some of these guitars.
-Original pickup selector knobs (those things normally go missing FAST).
-Plays beautifully with 11s after I set it up.
-Not to clean to play outside.
-Fully hollow.
-P90s!

I just need to organise a shim for the bridge pickup and on that note, I'm considering buying the Lollar package of shims, but I have to buy like 3 of them to get over his 20$ minimum purchase limit.

Would anyone like to buy some of them from me should I order them?

-Greg

Been sold already maybe, I just saw it.

I'VE ADDED AN UPDATED VERSION!

Viccy wrote: Very cool as usual! I like the whammy bar bits. It reminds me of Gorillaz a bit, seems to have the same sense of humor ?

I'd like even more of a departure from the original rhythm and feel towards the end of the song. I know there was the metaphorical dying at about 2:40, but I'd like it even more realistic. Maybe there can be more panic and struggle preceding it, and then (change the key?) and . .slow. . down the beat till it stops before you resuscitate it? I know my opinion can be a bit out there, but you asked ?

My Gretsch's Bigbsy gets thoroughly abused on a regular basis! Sometimes I don't even know I'm doing it...

I'm planning on making the brass dirge a bit more epic with a Gospel choir. The tubular bell could come up a bit too. I think the gospel choir and bell will make it more dirge-like! Will also look at adding a bit more reverb just for that moment.

The slow down and speed up would be cool, it's something I'd want to do in a live situation but don't feel like putting in the effort for these demos! ? (lazy!) I'm also going to make a shorter "radio edit" after the last tubular bell and just before the guitar solo.

Alan Ratcliffe wrote: Nice. Trip-ska!

Hmmm....