this is a sample of HOW to post a stupid ad.

(c'mon, how can you NOT make fun of this?}

I have been buying and selling items on Craigslist for some time now, and for the most part its been very beneficial. It provides a straight route for selling items locally and fast, and it can be a boon to bargain hunters, waiting for those item(s) that someone just wants to get fast cash for, without the hassle of going to an auction site or waiting for it to appear in the local newspaper (which no one reads anymore). Best of all, its FREE.

But ever so often you do come across some of the dumbest ads ever. Some have seriously misspelled simple words repeated throughout the ad, some whose grammar seems to have been written by a louse (even a 2 year old can sound more coherent). Some have the amazing audacity of posting what they believe is the overinflated sense of value for an easily researchable price and common enough item to be found in stores for cheap, brand new. Its a free market, and people can command whatever price they deem fit for whatever item they post. But as it IS a free market, we also have the freedom to do this: make fun of them.

This section is dedicated to framing those works of (f)art. We aim to put in a capsule the ads that i believe are timeless in their stupidity, whose only worth to the reader is the mirth and ...... Read More

What better record to start this section off than with Norah Jones' new album The Fall?

This came out a couple of months ago, but the vinyl did not ship til a few weeks back. It was a birthday gift from one of my concert buddies (D-MAN!), and damn if the album didnt come with lots of audio AND VISUAL surprises!

The first thing out of the vinyl folds was the record itself (of course!), weighing in considerably heavier than most of the records made back in the 70s. It did not feel thin and flimsy, but very hefty. Maybe due to the fact that not many people buy vinyl these days that its not a big cost issue to produce such records with surprising thickness. Amazingly its not priced much more than if you bought the CD.

As the record started to spin and play, you can hear the subtle difference compared to a CD or digital playback. Theres no sterility and hyper-cleanness to it - something a lot of people are conditioned to look for, and in the ears of the amateur, this sound would be rated badly. But to the trained and jaded ears, this comes as a fresh breath of air. The warmth that ...... Read More

This is my very first tube amp, in my awakening from my guitar coma. Im kinda sad about letting this amp go, as it held a sentimental value, but i dont play it as much, and only used when my buddy comes over and uses it with his modeling guitar unit.

It wasnt a bad tube amp at all. It was very transparent- it allows modeling units and stompboxes come through and flavor its sound nicely. It was quiet at its maximum levels, and it was LOUD.

But one reason that i gave it up was that it was TOO transparent. It had no specific tone to me, especially when i run its Lead Channel. Its Clean Channel was as classic a clean tone as you can get, but once the Lead Channel is kicked in, i had to futz around with its settings a bit much jut to dial in a useful tone. I guess i got spoiled from the other tube amps ive gotten, where getting a great overdriven tone was easy - all i did was turn up the volume and start getting a great tube growl. The kind of distortion and overdriven sound you look for in a tube amp. Dont get me wrong - the great tones are there, just too much dialing takes place when i play it, and i prefer to simply plug and play. Or plug, turn it up, and ...... Read More

This was pretty much an impulse buy, mainly because it was cheap! Also, musician's friend labeled it as Condition 4. The description said " neck needs adjustment". Nothing was said about anything broken, so i pulled the trigger and bought it. 4 days later, it arrived.

It came in pretty much brand new, just without the box. It included the hex screws for the bridge adjustments, a 1/4" phono guitar cord, and an aria manual. It also still had the protective plastic cover on the P-90 pickups and the pickguard.
Upon initial strumming, there was completely no sound but the clunk of the string hitting the neck. I checked the bridge and it was already adjusted as high as it can get. A rifle-hold inspection against the light shows the neck to be arched so far back you can see it bend. NOT GOOD!. Immediately i took off the truss rod cover, and of course, the one hex screw for it is not included. Rummaging around i found one that fit, though it kept slipping as i try to make a turn. Seems that the primer and finish  had gunked up the hole, making the truss rod wrench slip. A simple firm push and a shove got the hex bit to grip, and slight turns ...... Read More

Scouring Musician's Friend's site, i stumbled on a bunch of neat amps that are USED. Among them was the Epiphone Blues Custom 30. One thing that intrigued me was the use of a tube rectifier - not always seen on modern tube amps, its mostly considered by engineers to make amps unreliable, one reason why most tube amps are built with solidstate rectifiers. Also another consideration for NOT using them is the increase in power that an amp can generate, which in these days, something that majority of users seem to prefer. Or something that amplifier manufacturers seem to perceive is where the market is. People want more power, lets make one that can do give them that. Tube rectifiers eliminated, amps can push farther out in its power handling.

Tube rectifiers do change the way the amp handles its power, and consequently affect the tone it produces. Theres always what is called a "sag" when teh amp is pushed. In a nutshell, when an amp is turned up as in guitar amps, playing notes seem to produce a compression-like effect, sustain on a note a lot longer. The other effect is that picking isnt as respinsive as with a solidstate rectifier. Jazz and metal ...... Read More

Ever since i can remember (or at least when i got to find out there is such a thing as an electric guitar), ive always been fascinated by the shape of the Gibson Firebird. The soft curves of its body, the neck-thru construction, and most especially the bird-head-shaped headstock. Everything just flows in this guitar's looks. Yet at a reverse look, it seems like you're playing a dead bird, with its belly up. Instead of flying with the bird, youre holding it dead in your arms. Screams of fowlness (nyuk nyuk!). Kidding aside, i always wanted a firebird, but in a flipped over version. I come to find out they DO make it, in the  NON-reverse version. Just by its name, even gibson acknowledges that the original firebird is upside down.

But heres the rub - its a disappointing lame-looking version! not even an exact body shape, just what looks to be a poorly cut shape of the original. They DID retain the shape of the headstock, a good thing, since its what sold me in the first place. Why they didnt just flip it over to save on cutting costs is beyond me. The guitar neck is really a neck-thru construction, and for those who dont know it yet, from the tip of ...... Read More

To start off this section, im writing down my thoughts on this pedal.

Regardless of what the manufacturers claim, all overdrive effects/pedals color your original tone. Whether subtle or overt, it adds or subtracts certain frequencies from the original sound, and ultimately alters it.

The Transparent overdrive ENHANCES the tone, in my opinion, and it does it so well, its scary.

being a tube amp snob (ha ha), ive always wanted to coax guitar tones straight from just the tube amp and the guitar. The less effects between, the better. Or i should say the less non-tube effects the better (Ive always like the sound of tube reverb). I do admit adding color time and again, to spice things up.

Ive tried several distortion, overdrive, and fuzz pedals before, and ive always been able to tell the difference between straight-tube tone, and that with a pedal. Theyre not bad per se, and it all depends on what youre looking for, and/or how you use them.

It so happens ive been looking for an overdrive pedal that straight up amplifies the original sound, with very little to no sound coloring. Ive owned a TS-9 for years (the cheap ibanez ...... Read More

Here i explore the world of the MORE INTERESTING guitar sound effects. I do not aim to review every single effect or pedal i own or come across, just the ones that stand out either by superbly enhancing an already great tone (straight guitar-amp), or twisting that same tone into something bizarre, insane, unconventional, and FUN!

The list for upcoming reviews:
Tel Ray Super Organ Tone (oil can tube reverb)
Danelectro 9100 (spring tube reverb)
Line 6 FM4 (filter modeler)
Morley PWO Power Wah (early BIG chrome housing)
Boss T-Wah
Danelectro Transparent Overdrive v.1 (as of this writing, a version2 is about to be released)
Danelectro French Toast (octave fuzz)
Behringer TP300 (tremolo)
Ibanez PH5 Phaser (Soundtank Series)
Line 6 Space Chorus
Danelectro Wasabi Rock-A-Bye (Echo/Overdrive combo pedal)
Line 6 DL4 (Delay Modeler)

The way theyre set up, i have most of them sitting on a big-ass pedal case, running thru a home-made FOURTEEN-LOOP BYPASS effects loop. TRUE bypass, i might add (yep, im quite proud of this creation). This keeps the original dry tone untouched until the footswitch is engaged for whatever effect i want to use.

Though not an effect unto themselves, i ...... Read More

Yet another gem from CL: a mid to late 60's Sears Silvertone tube amp, model 1470.

From some online research this puts out a whopping 2W, from a very non-traditional set of tubes: 12AU6, 35E4, 50C5. Nontraditional for guitar tube amps, that is. The trio is usually found on tube radios. Plugged in it pushes the sound thru an 8" speaker (unknown brand), with only ONE volume knob. Its as simple as it gets.

What i wonder about is why most of these low-wattage amps have TWO inputs. I guess back in tube heyday, theyre enough to power an instrument and a mic. This IS afterall a small amp, and light enough to travel with.

Plugging in another 1/4 plug thru the other 1/4 input jack doesnt increase the volume level, as is the case with most older tube amps. if you have an older tube amp with at least 2 inputs, try it. Plug your guitar in input 1, then find another 1/4 plug and plug it in the other input. Dont plug any instrument on the other end of the second 1/4 plug/cord. Most cases, the bigger amps get a noticeable volume boost.

This one i got for ultracheap - so cheap im not even going to mention it here. Lets just say it wasnt free, but the price i got it for was insane.

The cabinet itself is in ...... Read More

Jumping over several tube amp projects is this gem of a CL find: the CORDOVOX CG TUBE AMPLIFIER. or more precisely, tube amp AND tone generator. Research shows the amp is rated at 30W, using TWO sylvania and RCA 7591 power tubes, and TWO 12AX7 preamp tubes (that look to be telefunkens!). The tone generator uses 60 (yes - SIXTY!) tubes (6X8 and some other kind that arent useful for guitar amps), not including six other preamp tubes (a mix of 12AU7 and 12AX7 tubes, some branded Mullard, Lafayette, RCA, and a couple im unable to discern the name off). The 2 speakers are TRUE vintage C12R jensens, dated in 1964.

back up: what the hell is a tone generator?

Let me first preface that in the 60s, CMI (Chicago Musical Instruments) had several brands under its name, such as Gibson (for high-end guitars), Maestro and Kalamazoo (for their economy line), and Cordovox, for accordions.

Accordion manufacturers at the time (1960s) are scrambling to compete against the skyrocketing popularity of electric guitars. They tried to follow the concept of plugging in an electric guitar to an amplifier, but it was not easy to amplify an accordion back then (other than to simply mic it). Unlike electric guitars that simply had at least one pickup for ...... Read More

One can feel the excitement and anticipation building up to one of the most significant releases in rock n' roll history. Though it HAS been announced for about a year, just by its mere mention the Remastered Beatle's FULL CATALOG has generated the buzz that even the well-oiled machines of corporate hype can only dream about. In this, no hype is even needed, just by its own the release will promote itself into the stratosphere of record sales.

I know *I* am getting the STEREO boxed set.

Hello, internet ghost world! how have you been?

not much going on here, except a full-steam-ahead decision to get serious/ get more focused with guitar tube amps. Repairs, mods, building, playing, selling, buying - you name it, i want to do it! I have collected a bunch of vintage amps from the unlikeliest places, and im currently studying/refurbishing them to get educated with an arcane and VERY OLD technology.

why? I LOVE music, most especially rock n' roll. Tube amps powered the birth of rock in the 50s and its global musical domination from the 60's on. Silicon chips and transistor/solid-state came in around the late 60's, ushering in a different era of technology. Smaller, faster, sleeker, cooler/less heat, easier to power amps, less bulk in a more powerful small package.

But solid-state has not quite gotten that "mojo tone" that tube amps produce - after 4 decades of solid-state guitar amplification, recording and performing artists have come to find out where they can get "that tone", and have always come back to tube amps each time. Or they start out with transistor amps, and eventually move on to tubes, as that realization hits home of what a true guitar tone should sound like.
 ...... Read More