Message Board

Once I figured out that the instructions to adjust your pickups as close to the strings as possible are not the best idea for tone, I LOVE using EMG pickups in my Strat and Tele. They will still hum if you are too close to the monitor but are pretty quiet otherwise and the low magnetic field correct...

Finishing up a recording of acoustic guitar and vocals. We opted for a very intimate sound meaning no reverb or added "room" ambiance. So far, hard panning the guitar left and right with one track slightly delayed (12-30 ms), no feedback and mixed all wet is sounding nice. It leaves the vocal strong...

I was tracking, did not pay attention to the equipment beyond the guitars and amps I brought to get the job done. It was a decent studio, I know they had some nice mics but not sure which ones. Yes, we mic'ed the body of the guitar and also around the 10th fret. The stray notes were REALLY loud and ...

Kenny, I was cutting a track with the Rainsong. The engineers had it mic'ed up with SDC mics and we were getting a hot signal but the mic on the neck was picking up all sorts of stray chimey dissonance. So one engineer came in and started touching the guitar in various places while I played. When he...

I really like my HHB Radius 40, made in England. It has a mic pre, compressor and EQ in a 2 rack space box, sounds great since I replaced the Sovtek tubes with some premium NOS tubes. Should be able to pick one up for around $400 on fleabay.

You are on the right track with the Fender Champ, Class A single ended tube amps can have amazing and beautiful low end if you don't push them too hard. Look for a homemade champ clone on ebay with a larger output transformer. Try putting a 6550 in the output, a 5ar4 in the rectifier and a 5751 in t...

Put a decent set of headphones in your car and start haunting your local pawn shops and thrift stores relentlessly. I got a Kurzweil K2000 at Goodwill for $150 and it was much better than a Casio. Some of the higher end Yamaha all-in-one keyboards sound and play pretty good too. I am not a keyboard ...

Keith Olson. Google is your friend. Don't gimme no points, too easy. As for the Eko, watch the neck joint and make sure the electronics get cleaned. The switches and jack can get a bit funky on you. I have two basses for recording, a bass I built using Warmoth and Zolla parts, generic P-bass with Ja...

Been playing for 43 years and repairing guitars for 40. The Seagulls offer great value for the money beyond any doubt and it sounds like you have done well. I have had a personal quest for a 12 string acoustic that meets my needs for over 30 years. I built one from scratch that was destroyed in a ba...

I have a pair of Sennheiser HD 535s that have fairly generous ear cups. I am 6'3" and have pretty big ears and these are not bad at all. Good sounding cans too, plenty good enough for tracking.

That I paid $1 for them at Goodwill and $17 for a new cord from Sennheiser doesn't hurt either.

Sure, I'll play. Lots of my favorites have already been mentioned so these are some of the remaining: The solo(s) on "Streamline Woman" by Muddy Waters. Muddy Waters The solo at the end of "King Harvest Will Surely Come" by the Band. Robbie Robertson The solo on "My Best Friend's Girlfriend" by the ...

In your first post you describe hearing an overwhelming sound of metal finger picks. In his reply we learn his system has a microphone. I am sort of surprised nobody suggested finding the sweet spot for the mic? Better yet, there is a Fishman banjo pickup that uses the head of the banjo for a microp...

I've been playing guitar for 42 years, have owned dozens of amps of all descriptions including 6 different Mesa, who knows how many Fenders, converted PA systems, movie projector amps, solid state, tube, hybrid etc. I just sold a mint Emerysound Stagebaby with the Superbaby option, have played throu...

We are all different. I would never consider trying to record the "perfect" music that you describe as your quest. I am pretty sure I would not enjoy listening to it either. For me there is a failure to connect without some trace of the human element. The story being told is more important for my li...

Not a fuzz but I love my Tech 21 Tri-AC for distortion tones. A great variety and with three footswitches and nearly instant programming it is great for live work. The Boss Metal Zone is an interesting pedal if you are looking for nasty, unrefined tones. The sweepable midrange makes is possible to s...