Music - the second helix / Triple Threat

I really love and hate this thing.

DOWNLOAD TODAYS PATCH - TRIPLE THREAT

I was noodling around and found a few progressions I liked last night, still trying to put at least one song together or find my new groove, and ran downstairs to setup the Helix and get a sound going. With my Pod HD500 this would take 10 minutes, if that, and I'd be onto recording. 2 and a half hours later I was done writing my patch and was too tired to lay tracks... that and my ears turned to mush.

I have come up with with what I believe to be a very versatile patch. I should be able to do a lot on this and there is still some tweaking to be done. I need to adjust some EQ stages to just tweak the sound a bit to get it where I want it. But I'm pretty happy overall... and it's the power of the Helix which really showed up in these 2 hours of tinkering...

This thing is powerful, and once I made the mental disconnection with the POD HD I was really able to dig in and figure that out myself. I've done some reading of other sites but never really took notes, luckily my brain somehow retained some of this info and I was able to use it in my patch creation process... So like everything, lets start at the foundation. I plugged in my Telecaster and went to work.

I grabbed a clean amp, normally I go straight for an AC30, but today I decided to grab the Archon clean channel. For a cab I went with the Orange 412 box, because well... I need some citrus in my life. Good for a healthy life you know? I tweaked the bejesus out of it and got what I thought at the time was a nice smooth modern clean.

I wanted a good drive tone to go with it, but as I mentioned on the last blog post I wasn't thrilled with the distortion options on tap, and I'm still not overly happy with them. The Archon reacts very differently than the AC30 so I did give them a go, but still didn't really like what I was hearing. So I decided to add the Archon Lead channel to the mix. I created a second path and now my signal chain splits before the amps and the rejoined before heading out the cab.

The Archon Lead is super powerful and I really dig it! I think I may want the real thing, this is a fantastic sounding patch. Really thick and heavy. Makes my Telecaster sound like a humbucker equipped lead machine! I decided to run both amps in tandem for my lead tone and just have a foot switch take the Archon out of the signal path. At this time I put a reverb behind the clean amp only.

Ahhh... the clean Archon and the Lead Archon get pretty thick and heavy together but loosing a lot of definition... thus the heavy tweaking commences. I swapped out the clean side for a bright Fender Bassman patch and edited it until I got some nice chime in with the lead tone. Very complex and dynamic tone. I adjusted the lead tone some more and started diving into bias and sag settings to get a good feel and response. I then went clean... holy ice pick!

I played with the Bassman some more. I really like this amp, but I don't know if its idea for what I'm trying to do... So I swapped it for a blackface Fender Deluxe normal channel. I don't like how the drive control gets this amp dirty so quickly, so I have it set to 1.0 or below to get what I'm looking for. A lot more EQ tweaking to get the clean sound I wanted but still retain some top end definition. Merged with the Lead channel I was super happy.

I wanted another gain stage however, so I started to go back to the overdrive and distortion pedals. I put these in front of the Deluxe so they wouldn't affect the Archon. I don't know how long I played with the, but I never got something I overly enjoyed... I figured it was the Deluxe itself and how the pedals interact with that amp. This is where I threw out the Pod HD mentality and wondered if I could create another amp path... I was right.

I took an AC30 Essex model and threw it in behind the Deluxe along the same "clean" signal path. I setup a foot switch to hot swap between the two amps. Dialed in a chimy crunch from the AC30 and done. I added a little boost with the Exotic EP Booster and the foundation was done.

There is some bottom end flub I get from this patch that I need to go in and fine tune with some EQ patches, but overall I'm really liking the tones I'm getting from it. So it was time to fill in the rest.

I added a trem, put the speed on the expression pedal, then added my usual phaser and delay pedals. Reverb got moved to the master channel, and all done.

All of a sudden its midnight and I have to work in the morning... so it's time to pack it up and record tomorrow.

But before I do that I look at my signal chain for recording that I've fine tuned and slap myself a little bit....

My signal path is:

Guitar -> TC Electronic Hyper Gravity -> Ernie Ball Expression Overdrive -> ABY Box

ABY Box A -> TC Sub n' Up -> Maxon Ad999 delay -> Orange Rockerverb 50 -> Cabclone

ABY Box B -> Helix

The compressor was on the whole time.... oh well, it sounded fantastic.

You can download the patch from my dropbox at the link at the top of this post. I'll be updating that folder as I add patches as you come with me on this journey. Thanks for reading.

Music - Gibson RD

1978 Gibson RD Custom

I'll be doing a lot of photography stuff very soon, just going to talk about one of my favorite guitars for a moment.

To your left is the 1978 Gibson RD Custom. This was mine, I sold it in 2015 as we we're buying a new home and lawyer fees are a thing. I wish my Gretsch would have sold, but really out of 5 guitars listed this is the only one that got any bites. Very sad. It's a beautiful guitar, a very unique guitar, but something very cool that Gibson has fucked right up with the reissues.

The original RD series launched in 1977, and the top of line the Artist was truly a work of art. Stunning in every respect with some really cool features. Ever since I saw "Choke" use one back when I was going to punk shows in the early millennium I was fascinated and wanted one badly. The Artist had an active EQ, treble boost, bass boost, a compressor, and an expander built into it thanks to some fancy Moog electronics that took up a large part of the back of the guitar. It also had really fancy trim and beautiful inlays in the headstock. The shape was the coolest part for sure.

The Custom, which I owned, had the active EQ for treble and bass, as well as a treble boost (which was just offensive sounding). It had really short frets, a Fender scale length, and was all maple. It was a very bright, powerful sounding guitar. I ended up swapping pickups with a Gibson Dirtyfingers in the bridge and a Seymour Duncan P-Rail in the neck that lived in P90 mode just so I could get rid of the brightness. The sustain and response was incredible and this easily became one of my favorite guitars in my stable. My only issue was the wide fretboard which sometimes wouldn't cooperate with my shorter fingers. But it was awesome and I loved it. Once I got this guitar my PRS Custom 24 and this became my primary guitars.

For the last few years Gibson has been reissuing this guitar. It has received an incredible cult following and it looks like Gibson noticed.The 2018 RD Artist shares only it's shape with the original as far as I am concerned. While it's an incredibly cool shape, it only tells part of the story.

Eastwood RD Artist

First the neck. A big part of the RD for me was the Fender scale length. This gave some extra tension on the strings for down tuning and helped with what feels like a quicker attack. This made the guitar sound that much more aggressive. The neck material also used to be maple with a maple board on the Custom and a ebony board on the Artist. Now it's a standard Gibson 24.75" scale length (as it was in 1979) and it's a mahogany neck with a Granadillio finger board (alternative to rosewood due to harvesting bans)

The body also went from maple to mahogany. While the maple/maple/maple!!! construction was a big part of the guitar I am mostly okay with this change from a modern updating stand point. Mostly because all that maple made the guitar stupidly bright and this really helps smooth that out.top end.

The electronics have been changed up, understandably it's been 40 years. It now has GEM Active pickups. wowie.... no boost circuit, that would have been awesome. Then the dressup is weak too, the headstock inlay just doesn't exist. Really... this reissue is pretty far from the original sharing just the body shape.

But there is good news! There are some other makes recreating this fantastic beast!!

Hagstrom Fantomen

Eastwood Guitars is doing their own version of the RD. This is fairly inexpensive compared to the current Gibson reissue and is in the sub $1000 USD range which is almost half of the Gibson branded version. The body is very close to the original shape. It has a treble boost and active pickups. Offshore made at this price point, and the finishing is not as pretty as the original, but just from the spec sheet alone I'd say it's closer to the original than Gibson's re-imagining. Oh and it's got a maple neck and a basswood body. So it's going to be bright and snappy! Reviews say the electronics should be changed out because they sound like butt, and a few bad reviews on the hardware. It's an offshore, so it would be like buying an Epiphone and upgrading it. Nothing too bad there.

 Hagstrom has also done an RD style guitar that they call the Fantomen. This is essentially the signature model for the guitarist from "Ghost" who at one time played a Gibson RD Artist. Spec sheet shows the 25.5" scale length that I keep harping on as being very important for this guitar. The body shape has a sharper lower horn and slightly warped shape at the back compared to the original. It has passive pickups with coil taps. So nothing fancy electronics wise. All mahogany construction. Price is around $1000. So not bad.

So it has more in common with the Gibson reissue than of the originals, but should not be overlooked.

We cannot talk about RD's without talking about Epiphones signature series reissue.

This is the guitar used by Lee Malia from "Bring me the Horizon". It has a coil tap, a humbucker in the bridge and a P90 in the neck. He I like this one! The control scheme is more Gibson Les Paul than RD. It has some nice inlays, and it is a sharp looking guitar. Mahogany construction with a maple cap, and the 24.75" scale length. This maybe better than the Gibson one spec wise in my opinion, it's for sure prettier. Under $1000. So a very solid alternative to the Gibson too. Comes with a gig bag...which I never understood. Come on Gibson, these things need hard cases!

Dunable R2

The last RD remake I want to touch on is the Dunable R2. They took some liberties with the body design, but it has the same essence of the original. I personally don't like the sharpened lower horn, but overall the rest of it is pretty sweet. This is more of a custom build style guitar, and the price reflects that. You can choose your body work, neck woods, pickups, controls, colour, all the fun stuff. It has the longer scale length but no crazy electronics aside from the phase/coil taps that are available.

I configured it out to be $2800+ with a flame maple top, satin translucent finish, gotoh locking tuners, 2/2 control layout with the coil taps and phase push/pulls, maple/ebony neck, maple/swamp ash body, and block inlays. So it's pricey... at that price, why not get an authentic RD Artist off of Reverb?

This has to be the coolest guitar I've ever owned and will always be an old favorite of mine. I miss it, and I'll own another RD at one point in my life, that is for sure. But for right now I'll enjoy what I got. If you get a chance to play one of the originals, do it, it's fantastic!

Music - CLONE IT! part 1

Well I did it. I went to the place where the majority of my gear was stored and took my Marshall 412 box, a few pedals I got no use for, and an old bass to L&M for trades. I was treated with almost double of what I was expecting to get...which grabbed me some nice toys... two in fact.

So I brought home that American Pro Telecaster I mentioned in my last post, and I'm going to focus on that primarily here for reasons I'll explain later.

The factory strings, or I am sure they are factory because they were a bit rusty and gross feeling came off right away and I tossed on some D'Addario NYXL 11-49 gauge on. After letting it settle overnight I came back to it and just had some minor adjustments to make for intonation and returning. It's plays beautifully, no height adjustment needed as I got very little if any buzz, even when really digging in. It's a just a joy to play.

I booted up my POD 500HD and built something as close as I could to my optimum stage rig. Unfortunately Line 6 does not have a Emma Reezafratzitz distortion, Crowther Hot Cake, or Xotic BB/RC/AC preamps in their modeling lineup, so I had to figure something else out. I took a standard AC30, tweaked the EQ for taste and started adding pedals. I took a Proco Rat Distortion model and cranked the output and lowered the gain just to get a feel of tube drive from the amp model which was mostly successful. I actually really liked it for a low gain tone with some crunch. Then I took the tube driver model and made a big fat high gain tone out of it. Distortion done.

I hate Line 6's delays. I don't know why, I just haven't enjoyed them much if at all. I did put an analog delay together as a generic delay. I'm not happy with it currently, but will tweak. A script Phaser was added, easy done. MXR Flanger, easy done. A seek trem, and an opto trem we're also easily added. Finally a '63 Spring reverb for taste.

With the Telecaster I got some very versatile tones and some inspiration flowing right away. I need to actually finish a song, but I'm going to figure out which one of all the different riffs I've been jamming on will come together first. The Tele will probably be featured a lot in this rejuvenation of song writing for me as it will contrast nicely with my other guitars. Right now I'm feeling my ES-335 and the Telecaster will be my primaries for most of this project.

Speaking of the project, I'm finding a lot of inspiration from different sources... but not really feeling like I'm getting out of my "box". I'm wanting to push my musical envelope here. A lot of what I've been writing has been very generic for what I've done in the past, not really coming up with anything "new". I'm on the hunt for a few of my old theory books (Guitar Grimoire) to see if I can find anything tasty.

My other purchase was a Mesa Boogie Cab Clone 8ohm. It was a floor model so half price off retail, and only 8ohm which is kind of sad because it means I won't be able to use it with my AC30 at this time. But I can use it with my Orange Rockerverb 50! If I like it I may exchange it for a 16ohm in the near future. Alas, I forgot to grab a speaker cable, and while I have a few extra power cables kicking around, there is no point in firing up until I can do so safely. I do love this amp tho, very much. I've heard mixed things about the cab clone... some are saying it's awful, others are saying it's more than serviceable. Rob Chapman did a video with Andertons here and while the cab clone makes a much tighter and sterile sounding recording, I still found it pretty serviceable. It was kind of unfair too because the boys at Andertons were using a dual mic setup with an SM57 and a ribbon mic which really makes a very open and engaging sounding capture.

Devices like the Cab Clone, which is a speaker simulator that gives you a direct in to your PA or recording system without having to use a speaker cabinet safely. Normally running a guitar amp without a speaker cabinet is not healthy for the amp. This is perfect for me as I'm doing most of my writing and playing late at night. However, it does have limitations that I am very well aware of going into this phase of my creative journey.

The Cab Clone specifically is a passive box that has a bunch of circuitry in it to simulate the sound of micing up your guitar cabinet. The problem is, it's just a bunch of resistors that are putting a load on the amp head and changing the output signal into something safe that can be run into your computer. This is very much like a passive DI for bass, which has been a standard way of running bass live for years. so what's the problem?

First off, you loose the sound of the room. Even if you are close micing the cabinet you will find that if you move the cab/mic around the room it will change the tones. A live mic will always sound more open compared to a DI. Then there is the fact that all those analog resistors will suck the top end out of your tone. I am expecting a major drop in thump, top end response, and mid range openness from my amp. I am not expecting to be overwhelmed here, in fact I plan on "fixing" as much as possible in post with EQ.


Anyways, I mentioned my music inspirations as of late... here is where I'm drawing ideas from:

Thrice - The Weight 
Mary Spender - Melancholy Parade
Dinosaur Pile-Up - 11:11
Closure in Moscow - Sweet#hart
Protest the Hero - Drumhead Trial
Rx Bandits - Wide Open

Music - Tele hunting and Music Man guitars are amazing

I promise I'll do some photography stuff in the near future.

I went to go pickup some strings yesterday for two of my guitars and spent some time trying some of the pretty instruments before taking off. Since I have no real need for my 412 Marshall cab right now, and don't really want a 412 anymore for gigging when/if I get back to it, I decided I'm going to trade it in. I also have a few other items too that I plan on dropping off. I got a sight unseen estimate and started checking some stuff out.

I'm really disappointed in the quality of guitars that have hit the shelves lately. I've been out of the game for 5 years or so, and even then I was kind of choked that I had to look at three Les Pauls before I found one I thought was acceptable enough to spend they money on. Even then that one was missing a pickup height spring. Guitars have gotten a lot more expensive (everything kind of has). I was going to checkout the replacement for the Telecaster "deluxe" model, now called the elite, but they are upto $2500 Canadian, which is almost $1000 more expensive than 5-7 years ago. That's a pretty big jump. Granted, that guitar does play like butter.

Music Man St. Vincent

One of the salespeople recommended I check out the Ernie Ball Music Man guitars as an alternative. They are way out of my price range, but I decided to take a peak anyways. I'm really impressed. Fit and finish across the line was immaculate. Setups and tuning stability was nothing short of perfect.

The first one I picked up was the St. Vincent model. I've been watching a lot of Mary Spender on YouTube lately and she has gotten a hold of a really pretty one. I wasn't sure about it at first but I keep on liking it more and more whenever I look at it, so I had to give it a rip. It's a very light guitar, lighter than expected, and that rosewood neck was an absolute dream to play on. Thin, but not too thin, a really comfortable feel. Plugging into an Orange Rocker 15 combo I found the tone really fat,
but defined through all the pickup selections. It's a very round tone that brings visuals of a woolly mammoth to mind. It's cool! But very different from what I'm looking for tonally. A guitar one should really check out for later tho...

I then picked up the Valentine. This had a thin neck as well, a bit chunkier and rounder than the St. Vincent, but maybe a bit thinner than a 60's neck Gibson. Very comfortable. A bit heavier than the other guitar too, but still very light. Finish was flawless, but boring, actually the whole guitar is kind of boring looking to me. It's kind of like a Les Paul Special that is trying to pretend to be a Telecaster.  So it's got a humbucker in the neck, which is coil tappable, and a slanted pickup in the bridge to try and produce telecaster twang. It also has a built in preamp to give some boost. It was a very versatile guitar to play, but not at all Telecaster like. Too smooth on the top end. Wicked playing guitar tho. One I would love to add to my collection, but at almost $3000 CAD I felt it was overpriced. Sure it plays brilliantly, but it seems like it's an "almost there" guitar.

Music Man Valentine

The Music Man Stingray RS tho, that was a wicked guitar. Still pricey, but cheaper than the first two I tried. The neck is huge, very thick D shape. I'd almost say too thick. I'm no shredder, but I play a lot
of big stretchy chords and it was a little crampy. It sounded and played fantastic tho. Finishes we're cool, modern styling. I really like this guitar! I would like more pickup switching options tho. I think with the neck, push/push boost and push/push coil taps from the Valentine on the RS would be an absolutely brilliant guitar. I would seriously consider this guitar if I started gigging again as those options are easy enough to add. I would even consider parting with my Gretsch Firejet Pro for it if I could get it in a thinner neck.

But, back to Telecasters!

Man do I love Telecasters. I've gone through them like water, but they are always like a nice pair of jeans, a no frills, no gimmicks, nice and basic guitar. But they have gone up in price... I remember when an American Telecaster could be had for around $1200 or so Canadian Dollars for a "standard" model. Deluxe models got close to $2000, but to crest that price point you we're often looking at reissues or custom shop guitars. Now, a Standard starts just under $2000 Canadian. Out of my price point.

There are three major levels of American "standard" telecaster in the lineup, as far as I can tell, right now. The Special for around $1300. The Professional for just under $2000, and the Elite for $2500. I played all three and a mexi.

The special is the entry level American. They used to be HWY1's before my hiatus, but had a matte finish, now glossy. The frets are a bit taller and wider than the others, but the neck familiar. Americna hardware, including a 3 brass saddle bridge, which I like. The texas special pickups are brash sounding, and on the verge of ice pick offensive. The fit and finish of this guitar was...well lacking. You could saw a tree down with the frets poking out of the neck for starters. The action was good, but intonation was way out. Whomever strung it wasn't pay attention and the winds were stacked at least two deep. It wouldn't stay in tune at all. I tried doing some adjustments to it myself and stretched out the strings, but no, it just wasn't cooperating. I know this is easily fixed stuff tho. It wasn't wowing me with it's play-ability, but it felt like the work horse it is.

The Professional ups the game with compensated brass saddles and V-mod pickups. Frets are a bit smaller and more familiar to what I had on telecasters 5-10 years ago. The neck has a similar shape but felt a bit different. It is very comfortable and more inviting to play for sure. Stretchy chords are easy to play and single note runs are effortless. The setup was a lot better, but still had tuning stability issues, so I'm wondering about the standard tuning heads now. I stretched out the strings and it got a bit better, but still kept pulling slightly out of tune. Maybe it's the 9 gauge strings, I'm an 11-50 guy myself, and like a wound third as well.

Fender Telecaster American Professional

The pickups are much calmer than the Special. The neck pickup is a bit rounder, smoother, and generally more flute like in it's tone. Sounds beautiful. Still has some top end definition, but also has that tele spank we have grown to know and love. The bridge pickup gets rid of some of that ice pick cutting, but has that growly clashing twang that just screams telecaster. It's great, it really is.

I then picked up the Elite, the best playing guitar of the bunch. The fit and finish we're nearly flawless, setup needed a bit of adjustment, but it stayed in tune very nice. Very light, felt like air, a guitar you could play all night for sure. The only big play-ability issue I could feel is that the finish on the neck may get sticky once you start sweating... Through the Rocker 15 Combo the tone was warm and full but still retained some Fender charm. Notice I said Fender charm, not Telecaster... that's because it sounded more like a strat to me than a Tele. It could still twang if I messed with the amp EQ, but just hot swapping between the three Tele's it was quite warmer and rounder in it's tone. I actually like it a lot, but admittedly not what I'm looking for. That being said I'm playing these in a vacuum and not on my usual Rockerverb 50 or AC30 rig. maybe the guitar would sound more tele like with my regular setup and EQ's set for my other guitars.

Finally the mexi. action was skirting low and just buzzy, but the neck felt good, nice and chunky. I'd argue it felt better than the American Special I played earlier. The pickups were abrasive and bright, but growly and full as far as single pickups go. You could really work this thing into a solid players guitar on a budget for sure.

Overall I preferred the Professional for sure, which means I'm going to hold out for a used version I think. The pickups are more balanced than the others and retain that telecaster tone, but are easily changed with the standard control layout. The compensated brass bridge is vintage/modern beauty and very comfortable. The neck feels comfortable like and old pair of worn jeans. It's just a really well designed guitar.

Music - Telecaster dreaming

Custom Warmoth design

The Telecaster has been in my top five of favorite guitars of all time. I've always lusted over these beasts, and I think I've owned a dozen...

I had a 1962 replica in daphne blue, it played splendidly, sounded great, and... I sold it for an SG Supreme. Which I sold for my Taylor 310 CE Koa Limited. One of my favorite guitars.

I had an American HH Deluxe in candy apple red. This was a really badass tele. Which I sold for the '62.

I messed around with a dark red mexi telecaster for a while, but it felt like garbage. It had to go.

From there I picked up a Parker Fly with a telecaster setup... that was a strange ass guitar. But it was really cool with a piezo bridge. Someone threw a dimarzio super distorion in the bridge and a Fender CS Twisted Tele in the neck. I ended up hating everything about that guitar in the end aside from that Twisted Tele pickup... so I yanked it and threw a squire pickup in there and sold it off.

Finally I picked up a Tokai Breezysound. Originally believed to be a Japanese 52' knockoff. Well, it wasn't. Thankfully I didn't pay lawsuit era prices for it. I still own it, and I've beat the ever loving shit out of it. It doesn't play overly smoothly, it buzzes, and the american tele bridge that I tried mounting myself is a little offset. But it stays in tune and it growls sweet Tele growls, then cleans up for that jangly smooth tones. I threw that Twisted Tele pickup in the neck and found a Seymour Duncan Jerry D which went into the bridge. It stayed like that for a long while, but then I needed more output so I swapped that JD out for a Hot Rails.

Fender Original 60's Telecaster

But I want something that really rocks, something with classic Tele tone and styling. I'd love another '62 because I'm a total sucker for double bound bodies. I could grab the new "Elite" or the Original 60's from Fender in Lake Placid Blue to give me that sexy sexy double bound body... But have you seen the current prices on these things?! $2500 CAD for a Telecaster?!?!

So I went back to designing my dream tele's on Warmoth. For the most part over the past 10 years I've been doing this... I haven't changed much in my design. I start off with a standard alder telecaster body.. I've played with the ideas of going Mahogany to give it a bit more bottom end... or maple for that extra bright jangle. But I decided to stay in the center with alder. More versatile, more like an original Telecaster.

I then throw in the double bound body... either a metallic Candy Tangerine, Lake Placid Blue, or Alpine White. Throw in a standard telecaster control setup...but a humbucker in the bridge. The recent change tho has been for that bridge pickup to be a Seymour Duncan P-Rail! Which I had in my Gibson RD, a really cool pickup. Before it was a Gibson Dirty Fingers. Go from smooth Twisted Tele in the neck to dirty as fuck power in the bridge. Love it.

But... with the Canadian exchange rate... that Warmoth Telecaster...just the body... $880 USD is like $1200 CAD. I'm into Fender American Standard territory... and that guitar (aside from the double bound body) now has my favorite neck pickup stock. So just swap in a hot rail or little '59 or something into the bridge with a coil tap.... Or even better, save a few hundred dollars and get the Fender Classic Baja.

This is something I've been wanting to do for years. I still don't think I'll be doing it anytime soon... but maybe by the end of 2018. It's hard to justify buying a new guitar right now when I got quite a few and I'm not gigging... but a nice Telecaster has been something I've wanted to add to the stable for a while.


Fun fact:
Top guitars I've dreamed of owning since I first started loving guitars.. in order of love!
1: Fender Telecaster
2: Gibson ES-335
3: Gibson Les Paul
4: Gibson RD Artist
5: Gretsch Jet

I have 3 out of the 5 currently. Had to sell my RD unfortunately.