The Guitar Corner: A Place Where Fellow Guitarists Can Talk Shop

Mirror Image · April 17, 2019, 07:07:07 AM

Hello to my fellow guitarists,

I figured I would start this thread to 1. bring you all out of the woodwork (i. e. your basements

), 2. so we can discuss gear, amplifiers, guitars however we wish, and 3. get to know our each other and our playing styles, etc.

I suppose I'll start:

After 22 years of playing the guitar, I believe I have finally arrived at the sound I've been hearing in my head for so long. Currently, I'm playing a Fender Squier Deluxe Telecaster through a Boss volume pedal which is then ran into a pedalboard of a Boss DS-1 distortion, a Strymon Timeline, and a Strymon BigSky and then my signal is split between two Jay Turser Classic-25RCs amplifiers. I have been thinking of connecting one of my looper pedals again, but I'm not really sure at the moment as the Strymon Timeline has a looping function.

Photos of my setup coming soon!

greg · April 17, 2019, 08:02:50 AM

Cool, will like to see the pics...

My pedalboard is currently in complete disarray, and I'm planning to make a second pedalboard as well and connect the two. Never seen it done before, though. $:-\$

Ghost of Baron Scarpia · April 17, 2019, 08:17:28 AM

Quote from: greg on April 17, 2019, 08:02:50 AM
Cool, will like to see the pics...

My pedalboard is currently in complete disarray, and I'm planning to make a second pedalboard as well and connect the two. Never seen it done before, though. $:-\$

What's the difference between connecting a second pedalboard and having a bigger pedalboard?

Are you also planning an amp that goes to 11?

Ghost of Baron Scarpia · April 17, 2019, 08:34:33 AM

I have three guitars, two of which are in a state of poor repair.

Gibson ES-335 (black)
Gibson Dove (Red sunburst)
Gibson L-5 Super 400 (traditional sunburst).

The one that is in great shape is the oldest, dating to the early 70's. The ES-335.

On the Super-400 all of the gold electroplate on the metal hardware corroded and pealed off, leaving it very ugly. The wood is splintering on the Dove. They were both made during one of Gibson's many low points (early and late 80's). In all fairness they all suffered multiple relocations across the North American continent, and at one point to Calgary, Alberta. Being transported in a moving van through January weather in Alberta can't be good for them.

The bottom line, Gibson was a leading edge manufacturer that made great instruments in its heyday, but later mostly made overpriced crap.

At this point I do not have a guitar amplifier, or even a patch cord. Probably what I need is a gadget to plug the guitar into which would create an appropriately distorted sound for listening on headphones or playing through a stereo system.

I should post photos, if I can find time to get them out of their cases.

drogulus · April 17, 2019, 09:05:36 AM

I have 2 guitars, 2 basses, and a variety of amps and cabs. One of the basses was store bought, everything else was custom made. I tend to be techno-obsessive about my stuff, even though I'm not technical enough to build equipment myself.

Custom made stuff

greg · April 17, 2019, 09:46:32 AM

Quote from: Ghost of Baron Scarpia on April 17, 2019, 08:17:28 AM
What's the difference between connecting a second pedalboard and having a bigger pedalboard?

Are you also planning an amp that goes to 11?

I already have one pedalboard that is full, but I want more pedals... so it's a bit of a dilemma. Moving around a gigantic pedalboard would be impractical, so it seems that the only solution is to make a second one.

There is also a new pedal by Earthquaker Devices that will let you group pedals together so that you can instantly switch between groups of pedals being on/off, which might help. Also, I believe it is supposed to reduce tone loss which may result in having so many pedals hooked up.

Mirror Image · April 17, 2019, 08:04:10 PM

Quote from: greg on April 17, 2019, 08:02:50 AM
Cool, will like to see the pics...

My pedalboard is currently in complete disarray, and I'm planning to make a second pedalboard as well and connect the two. Never seen it done before, though. $:-\$

Interesting. There should be a way you can A/B both pedalboards, but, honestly, as Scarpia pointed out, I don't really see the need for two pedalboards as it sounds impractical. But, if this is what you're looking for, it can be done. The best thing you can do, IMHO, is get to the essence of your sound and figure out what pedals need to stay and which ones need to go. This is what could take some time. I'm kind of an effects junkie. Some guitarists like having a lot of guitars or amps, I like having a lot of effect pedals. The key is to find what pedals suit your style and build your sound through those pedals.

Hopefully, I can get some photos on here by tomorrow.

Mirror Image · April 17, 2019, 08:10:17 PM

Quote from: drogulus on April 17, 2019, 09:05:36 AM
I have 2 guitars, 2 basses, and a variety of amps and cabs. One of the basses was store bought, everything else was custom made. I tend to be techno-obsessive about my stuff, even though I'm not technical enough to build equipment myself.

Custom made stuff

Looks quite nice, drogulus. What is that pedal connected to your Vox pre-amp and speaker cabinet?

Mirror Image · April 17, 2019, 08:13:01 PM

Quote from: Ghost of Baron Scarpia on April 17, 2019, 08:34:33 AM
I have three guitars, two of which are in a state of poor repair.

Gibson ES-335 (black)
Gibson Dove (Red sunburst)
Gibson L-5 Super 400 (traditional sunburst).

The one that is in great shape is the oldest, dating to the early 70's. The ES-335.

On the Super-400 all of the gold electroplate on the metal hardware corroded and pealed off, leaving it very ugly. The wood is splintering on the Dove. They were both made during one of Gibson's many low points (early and late 80's). In all fairness they all suffered multiple relocations across the North American continent, and at one point to Calgary, Alberta. Being transported in a moving van through January weather in Alberta can't be good for them.

The bottom line, Gibson was a leading edge manufacturer that made great instruments in its heyday, but later mostly made overpriced crap.

At this point I do not have a guitar amplifier, or even a patch cord. Probably what I need is a gadget to plug the guitar into which would create an appropriately distorted sound for listening on headphones or playing through a stereo system.

I should post photos, if I can find time to get them out of their cases.

I had no idea you played the guitar, Scarpia. Very cool.

When you used to play a lot, did you use any effects?

drogulus · April 18, 2019, 04:37:47 AM

Quote from: Mirror Image on April 17, 2019, 08:10:17 PM
Looks quite nice, drogulus. What is that pedal connected to your Vox pre-amp and speaker cabinet?

It's a Strymon Flint reverb trem. The amp is only pretending to be a Vox, it's a clone of an amp used by an obscure British band in 1963.

Mirror Image · April 18, 2019, 05:36:37 AM

Quote from: drogulus on April 18, 2019, 04:37:47 AM
It's a Strymon Flint reverb trem. The amp is only pretending to be a Vox, it's a clone of an amp used by an obscure British band in 1963.

Strymon effect pedals are first-rate. I absolutely love my BigSky and Timeline. They've become two of the main ingredients of my sound. I'm thinking of buying the Mobius at some point, but, honestly, I don't really need it as I don't use modulation effects. I bet that amp sounds great.

Mirror Image · April 18, 2019, 06:44:50 AM

Some photos of my setup:

BasilValentine · April 18, 2019, 07:37:14 AM

I have a G&L F-100 electric from 1981, an Ovation acoustic from the 1970s, an old Fender Super Reverb amp, and a couple of small practice amps.

drogulus · April 18, 2019, 07:45:23 AM

Quote from: BasilValentine on April 18, 2019, 07:37:14 AM
I have a G&L F-100 electric from the first year of production, an Ovation acoustic from the 1970s, a very old Fender Super Reverb amp and a couple of small practice amps.

By very old do you mean a blackface SR?

Ghost of Baron Scarpia · April 18, 2019, 07:53:52 AM

Quote from: Mirror Image on April 17, 2019, 08:13:01 PM
I had no idea you played the guitar, Scarpia. Very cool. When you used to play a lot, did you use any effects?

I recall having an Ibanez Tube Screamer, an Ibanez Chorus an and Ibanez Analog delay pedal. I coveted a Wah pedal, but never had one.

drogulus · April 18, 2019, 08:17:13 AM

I had a Rat pedal back in the '90s. It sounded pretty good.

BasilValentine · April 18, 2019, 09:36:31 AM

Quote from: drogulus on April 18, 2019, 07:45:23 AM
By very old do you mean a blackface SR?

No, silver. Guess I should have said old, not very old.

I was never much of a gear head.

Ghost of Baron Scarpia · April 18, 2019, 10:14:05 AM

I used to wish I had a Fender Amp...

I think I threw those Ibanez pedals in the trash just a few months ago after I found them in a box. I hope they are not valuable relics I could have sold on ebay....

drogulus · April 18, 2019, 11:34:59 AM

Quote from: Ghost of Baron Scarpia on April 18, 2019, 10:14:05 AM
I used to wish I had a Fender Amp...

I think I threw those Ibanez pedals in the trash just a few months ago after I found them in a box. I hope they are not valuable relics I could have sold on ebay....

Do you worship Satan?

Mirror Image · April 19, 2019, 06:33:37 AM

Received this guitar the other day:

[Click to enlarge]

The guitar played horribly right out of the box (nothing new there), but my dad (a luthier of sorts) set it up and now it plays like a dream. I'm definitely going to be giving this guitar a proper test run over the weekend.