Guitars and Gear (and other lesser instruments)

Dropbear said:
I might have told my Lemonheads story already but here it is again: we were huge fans of the original line-up and specifically all of Deily’s material. When they broke, Deily’s song Name In Vein pretty much summed up everyone’s dislike for Dando and his decision to keep using the band name.

Anyway, on his Australian tour he stopped in our city for about a month and shacked up with a girl in the some circle. We were all over there at the share house and a few people were swooning over the celebrity. When I was introduced to him I said (totally rehearses in my head): ‘oh hey, you used to be in Ben Deily’s band, right?’. I got a grunt and ignored after that (until he wanted a heroin connection). I told that story to Ben years later, who thought it funny - though they are friends again these days.
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That's fucking phenomenal.
 
Dropbear said:
I might have told my Lemonheads story already but here it is again: we were huge fans of the original line-up and specifically all of Deily’s material. When they broke, Deily’s song Name In Vein pretty much summed up everyone’s dislike for Dando and his decision to keep using the band name.

Anyway, on his Australian tour he stopped in our city for about a month and shacked up with a girl in the some circle. We were all over there at the share house and a few people were swooning over the celebrity. When I was introduced to him I said (totally rehearses in my head): ‘oh hey, you used to be in Ben Deily’s band, right?’. I got a grunt and ignored after that (until he wanted a heroin connection). I told that story to Ben years later, who thought it funny - though they are friends again these days.
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In amusing band stories, this just came on my radio and reminded me that my dad's band opened for Wild Cherrys last show ever. Never fails to make me lol.

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doghouse said:
So in actual gear talk, if you guys ever are looking for something different, check out Nightowl. Boutique amps and pedals that are hand made in very small batches. It's done by my best friend growing up, who was other guitarist in our old band.

www.nightowl.industries

Night Owl Industries

Hand Fabricated Vaccuum Tube Amplifiers
www.nightowl.industries www.nightowl.industries

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These are badass
 
Rambo said:
These are badass
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They really are. He is a super creative type. Also put himself through legit metal working school to do this. I have the first two things pictured, plus couple other bits not show.
 
I borrowed a cheap acoustic six string from a mate while I dither on which guitar I want.

Right now I’m kinda stuck on whether to try the iRig and AmpliTube thing or just get a little practise amp like Boss Katana and a few used pedals (chorus, some sort of fuzz and maybe a flanger)
 
Dropbear said:
I borrowed a cheap acoustic six string from a mate while I dither on which guitar I want.

Right now I’m kinda stuck on whether to try the iRig and AmpliTube thing or just get a little practise amp like Boss Katana and a few used pedals (chorus, some sort of fuzz and maybe a flanger)
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Positive Grid Spark
 
Dropbear said:
So that’s basically a practise amp that interfaces with a tone platform? Are there in-app purchases or do you get everything for $270?
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You get a certain number with the amp ( alot IIRC) and can buy and expansion pack that's like 200+ different amp models
 
doghouse said:
You get a certain number with the amp ( alot IIRC) and can buy and expansion pack that's like 200+ different amp models
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Cool. That costs quite a bit more than the others I was looking at, but the reviews are all good.
 
I was just looking at the free stuff in GarageBand and it doesn’t look bad. Also much more intuitive than a AmpliTube
 
While I wait for the guitar I bought to arrive, I’m just messing around on a borrowed student acoustic and playing with some tone apps.

Garage Band and AmpliTube both show promise, though having to buy additional pedals in-app without getting a sample first doesn’t appeal.

The big surprise for me has been Tonebridge. Users create a custom rig for a specific song and then share it with the community. You get access to pre set-ups for thousands of songs or you can create your own custom rig. And it’s all free.

For example, this is the one for the Stooges Search and Destroy:

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Signing guitars turns the m from instruments to collector items. Stop it! Sign boobs and flyers.

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YouTube is a godsend for wannabe guitarists who don’t have the ear to learn songs from the radio and need someone to transcribe and teach! I’m noodling on several songs right now and having a blast. So much more fun than when I first started playing … and getting frustrated!
 
The feel of the new guitar is really good. It was dirt cheap but feels like a much more expensive guitar. The string are nice and low and the frets just perfect.

I’d thought I could use the iRig to play out of the iPhone speaker or a Bluetooth speaker connected to it, but it looks like I need a small jack headset or speaker. Edit: I found some headphones connected to the Xbox that never gets used, I think I’m gtg
 
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I’ve been playing some jangly, shoegazey sort of stuff lately. I’d like to get a semi 12 string, but a Rick 330 is way out of my range. Looking for a budget alternative.
 
Dropbear said:
Cool. That costs quite a bit more than the others I was looking at, but the reviews are all good.
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So I ended up getting this thing. I am officially a dinosaur who is staggered by what the kids have these days. It basically sounds just like any amp you want and you just run it right off your phone via bluetooth. The only difference between this and my Marshall or Bassman stacks is the physical feeling of high volume sound waves. I really want to be full on get off my lawn old guy but jeez this is nice.

Dropbear said:
YouTube is a godsend for wannabe guitarists who don’t have the ear to learn songs from the radio and need someone to transcribe and teach! I’m noodling on several songs right now and having a blast. So much more fun than when I first started playing … and getting frustrated!
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Yeah, and this too. When I was starting you would maybe get lucky and Guitar World would have a tab of some song you wanted. I guess the upside is we developed a really good ear, and very early on at that. But christ it's so easy now.
 
I mostly play my solid body electric unplugged, but when I do amp it I just love the free Tonebridge app. There’s a huge library of songs that people have contributed. Just chose the one you are playing and it’s all set up with the right apps and pedals. Or you can customize and upload your own.
 
Dropbear said:
I mostly play my solid body electric unplugged
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I'm not quite that lame yet...

I may have to actually amend my earlier statement. I still do love these new emulators. Compared to the first ones I played in the late 80s and early 90s, it's amazing how far this stuff has come. But I just finally got my ADAT back up today, at least for the moment, to try and hurry and get some of our old masters off the ADAT tape and on to my computer before it's too late. Hearing the '57 Goldtop through my Silver Jubilee Marshall was pretty eye opening. I'm seriously reconsidering the shit I have bought in the meantime and the attenuator especially.

So I still do like the Spark, it's for my son really anyway, and around the house it will be good, but goddamn a cranked Marshall is an entity unto itself. Same for my '66 Blackface Bassman.

Incidentally I just had the Bassman serviced by a really good dude outside Nashville named Mike Scaggs, who I cannot recommend strongly enough. Absolutely fantastic dude who knows Bassmans better than anyone. Does a lot of the Nashville guys work. He called yesterday and told me the good news is no one has ever touched my amp, which I honestly never could say for certain on my own, but the bad news was nobody has ever touched my amp, and it was not advisable to turn it on lol. Replaced all the caps, which were leaking, and resistors. Two new Sylvania 6L6 power tubes, and he just gave me the 12AX7s for the pre amp tubes. And shipped it back on a Sunday. Amazing guy. Can't wait to fire this thing up.
 
Current project is trying to get all my old masters off this ADAT and on to my computer before it spontaneously combusts.

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Fender is having a pretty awesome Labor Day sale. When I get a chance, I’m going to have a poke around the website for a cheap practice amp.
 
Dropbear said:
Fender is having a pretty awesome Labor Day sale. When I get a chance, I’m going to have a poke around the website for a cheap practice amp.
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Yeah there were some ridiculous deals. Makes me wonder what the markup is on those things.

In other news that would make belinmad belinmad proud, going to do some bass tracking. Borrowing a parts J Bass my pops built.

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So you could string it with normal strings for traditional guitar octave E tuning? Are the pickups more ‘bassy’?
 
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