A quick improv over a backing track. Music Man JP15 into a Marshall Code 25, recorded on a cellphone 🙂
HD500 Looper Jam
A random little jam using the POD HD500 looper and the new Plexi amp models:
I’m quite impressed with the sounds in the new 2.02 firmware!
Testing out the new Telecaster
So, I broke one of my two rules of guitar; never get a Telecaster! Â I picked up a new Fender Blacktop Telecaster recently, as I think it will come in handy in the recording studio (who knows, I might even play it live one day). Â The guitar felt and sounded really good, and it had humbuckers so was instantly more in my stylistic ballpark than most Teles.
Within minutes of taking it home I had set to work replacing bits on it 😉  So far I’ve replaced the bridge pickup (with a Rio Grande ‘Bastard’ P90), the 3-way pickup selector switch (standard one wasn’t very good), put an orange cap in and replaced the tuners with some locking ones.  Tuning stability wasn’t great with the standard tuners.
A bit more about the pickup; the Rio Grande one is designed as a neck pickup, but I thought I would try it in the bridge. Â After trying it out, I’ve decided I’ll move it to the neck and get a Rio Grande ‘Fat Bastard’ P90 for the bridge. Â Really liking the sound of the P90, but I need a bit more roar in the bridge. Â I had also forgot about single-coil hum! Â I’ll learn to deal with it…
Here’s a video of the guitar through my Splawn Street Rod head into a Mesa Recto 2×12 cab. Â A little bit of delay from an MXR Carbon Copy delay pedal.
No explanation will be given for the John 5 finger nails 😛
Mojo Hand Colossus demo
A video demo of me playing the Mojo Hand Colossus fuzz pedal:
Nothing too over the top with the playing, just a few runs through of some similar chord and leads bits to try and show the different sounds you can get with the pedal.
A quick video test of the Frankenstrat
I had a couple of minutes spare, so threw the camera in front of myself and did some noodling on the Frankenstrat.
The lighting makes the guitar looking a much lighter shade of red than it actually is!
Amp is the lead channel on my Crate V30H through a Marshall VS112 cab. Volume was quite low on the amp as well.
P.S. yes, I know I spelt Frankenstrat wrong in the video intro…
The Frankenstrat is finished!
Adrian at ASH Custom Works finished the paint job on the Frankenstrat last week and I received the completed body earlier this week 🙂
It was all wired up, ready for final re-assembly. Â The paint has turned out great!
Quite possibly, the best part though is the custom-made pickup he made for the guitar. Â It’s based on the specs of Ed’s original pickup, and boy does it sound good. Â Very clear and defined, loves tons of gain, but cleans up really well with the volume backed off.
Anyway, here’s the photos:
I’ll get round to making a video of it in action soon!
A new amp is coming…
This week I ordered a new Splawn amp from Custom Audio Boutique. I have wanted a Splawn amp for a while now, and decided that the time was right to order it now 🙂
I managed to get my choice down to either a Quick Rod or a Street Rod head. There are other great options, but I need a clean channel, and several of the Splawn models are single channel only.
Splawn Quick Rod
- 100 watts – w/ half power switch
- Channel 1 (clean) – independent EQ and gain controls
- Channel 2 (overdrive) – solo boost, OD1 (rhythm) /OD2 (lead) mode, 3 gear modes
- Gears – 1st – Hot Rod Plexi, 2nd – Hot Rod 800, 3rd – Super Hot Rod 800
- 3 Button Footswitch – #1 Clean/Overdrive – #2 OD1/OD2 – #3 Solo Boost
- Transformer – Heyboer
- Series Effects Loop – w/ true-bypass and adjustable +4db/-10db switch
- Impedance Selector – 4/8/16 ohms
- Main Voltage Selector – 100, 120, 220, 230V
- Tubes – EL34B
Splawn Street Rod (head)
- 40 watt – w/ half power switch
- Channel 1 (clean) – independent EQ
- Channel 2 (overdrive) – solo boost, OD1 (rhythm) /OD2 (lead) mode, 3 gear modes
- Gears – 1st – Hot Rod Plexi, 2nd – Hot Rod 800, 3rd – Super Hot Rod 800
- 3 Button Footswitch – #1 Clean/Overdrive – #2 OD1/OD2 – #3 Solo Boost
- Transformers – Heyboer
- Series Effects Loop – w/ true-bypass and adjustable +4db/-10db switch
- Impedance Selector – 4/8/16 ohms
- Main Voltage Selector – 100, 120, 220, 230V
- Tubes – EL34B
So, the big (only?) difference between the two amps is that the Quick Rod is 100 Watts and the Street Rod is 40 Watts. Currently I’m using a 120 Watt head, running at 60 Watts, and it is very loud! Even on-stage I’m only running the master volume at around 2-3 and it’s loud enough to hear over the band. So I decided that 40 Watts is more than enough for me, and ordered a Street Rod head.
As it is a custom made amp, the build and delivery time is anywhere from 6 to 12 weeks. The great thing about it being a custom amp, is that things like the colour scheme are very customisable. I’ve decided on a basic black/silver layout. Black Levant, silver control panel, black chickenhead knobs, silver piping and black grill cloth on the front. It should all look very nice matched up with my Mesa Recto cab
I’m really hanging out to play through it with some sweet Plexi settings! Once my EVH guitar is all put together, I may go back into my Van Halen phase again