Guitar Discussion V10 - February 2013 edition - General

ButtsexV4 will probably happen. Started looking for a Vandenberg on Ebay. Only one and it is limited to Austin, Texas at 1500 dollars. Fuck.

Was listening to it on youtube when I clicked on this thread Spooky [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkJrBBD3xpE[/url]

[QUOTE=J Paul;39772246]How do I make original stuff that sounds good to me, though? That's my biggest issue so far, I haven't written any songs because I feel that everything I come up with isn't good enough. I compare it to what I like to listen to or what I like to play and it's not even in the same ball park.[/QUOTE] A common problem with people who make things, be they music, books, videogames, whatever, is that they don't ever "feel" the same way as when you experience someone else's work. You didn't have to listen to whatever you enjoy a few hundred times listening for flaws and changing a few things around and augmenting some chords and changing the rhythm again and etc. It's why one of the best ways to ruin something you enjoy is to work on it. Not that you might not be making something bad or otherwise undesirable and objectively taking note of it. I'm just saying if you feel like you're only outputting shit, ask other people for an evaluation to make sure it isn't just overexposure. Also haha [URL="http://www.peavey.com/products/at200/"]autotar[/URL]. I don't entirely mind the idea of autotune on guitars (you're out of tune by a large amount just by virtue of not being fretless) but I can't see why you wouldn't just use pickups with individual string outputs and run it through a proper AT rack.

yeah for me I gain the most pleasure from music when I don't know what's going to happen next or it's so complex that it takes several listens to figure it out which is real fuckin hard to pull off when I'm the one writing it

I've had the same set of D'addarios for 3 or more months, but i don't want to replace them before breaking at least one. I'm gonna spend my guitar time picking with retard-strength from now on to see how long they last.

I actually only ever broke one by doing really hard fiddling around unplugged.

Does anyone have experience with tube amps? Some tips for me on how to treat and work it etc.

drop it a lot. throw it down a flight of stairs to be sure. then soak the tubes in water for a week and reinstall them without drying them. then set it on fire. serious: Don't give it any nasty drops or shocks and there's a whole thing about letting the tubes warm up and shit before you play because that makes the tone better or some shit (that could be lies). Basically, treat it like any solid state but be more careful when moving it.

The thing about warming up is simple. It's not to make the tone better (although the tone does get better as the tubes get hotter), it's just to get the tubes up to operating temperature before you throw the high voltage at them. Tubes get hot because they must be at a certain temperature to function properly. So always turn your amp on in standby mode, wait like 30 seconds, then disengage standby mode. This should keep your power tubes going as long as possible. If your amp doesn't have a standby switch, it's not a big deal, it's probably a small Class A amp where there's only one power tube that's self-biasing so replacing it is a piece of cake - it's an inefficient design, but it's supposed to work like that. Old tube amps should definitely be serviced before handling or use. I got lucky recently with getting a couple vintage 60's amps that were in very good condition, they still functioned and sounded just fine, but it was still a good idea for me to replace all of the capacitors inside of the amps and to install a new grounded plug. They still sound great, but now they're safe to use. If the amp starts to make funny noises or starts to act foolish, you can get a pencil or a piece of wood, something non-conductive, and very [i]gently[/i] tap the tubes while the amp is in operation. Whichever tube is going bad will make itself known by making its own sounds when you touch it. Microphonic tubes make like whistling noises where malfunctioning or arcing tubes generally crackle, pop, and cut out.

To turn on, make sure it is in standby. Then flip the power switch on. Let it warm up for two minutes. take it off standby and play. Turning off, just reverse that.

[QUOTE=J Paul;39783734]The thing about warming up is simple. It's not to make the tone better (although the tone does get better as the tubes get hotter), it's just to get the tubes up to operating temperature before you throw the high voltage at them. Tubes get hot because they must be at a certain temperature to function properly. So always turn your amp on in standby mode, wait like 30 seconds, then disengage standby mode. This should keep your power tubes going as long as possible. If your amp doesn't have a standby switch, it's not a big deal, it's probably a small Class A amp where there's only one power tube that's self-biasing so replacing it is a piece of cake - it's an inefficient design, but it's supposed to work like that. Old tube amps should definitely be serviced before handling or use. I got lucky recently with getting a couple vintage 60's amps that were in very good condition, they still functioned and sounded just fine, but it was still a good idea for me to replace all of the capacitors inside of the amps and to install a new grounded plug. They still sound great, but now they're safe to use. If the amp starts to make funny noises or starts to act foolish, you can get a pencil or a piece of wood, something non-conductive, and very [i]gently[/i] tap the tubes while the amp is in operation. Whichever tube is going bad will make itself known by making its own sounds when you touch it. Microphonic tubes make like whistling noises where malfunctioning or arcing tubes generally crackle, pop, and cut out.[/QUOTE] I know jack shit about tube amps, just that it's best to let them warm up v:v:v I suppose all that makes sense. Both the guitarists in my band run Marshall tube heads, an MA50 and a Vintage Modern.

How is the MA50? Does it brutals? Does it also do some warmer stuff?

[QUOTE=dcalde78;39784075]I know jack shit about tube amps, just that it's best to let them warm up v:v:v I suppose all that makes sense. Both the guitarists in my band run Marshall tube heads, an MA50 and a Vintage Modern.[/QUOTE] I know jack shit also, but I found out about most of this through using a Valve Junior. It's a very small Class A amp that often came from the factory with sub-par sovtek tubes, so due to the lack of a standby switch and a power tube that wasn't very good to start with, that power tube eventually malfunctioned. The amp would go DUDUDUDUBAM............PAP......... and the guitar sound would sometimes come back, but usually not. I diagnosed it like I said above, when I moved the power tube it would trigger that reaction, so I replaced it with a new jj el84, which will eventually go bad as well but let's hope it lasts a lot longer than the stock sovtek. A standby switch would ideally lengthen the lifespan of the tube.

[QUOTE=cpt.armadillo;39784211]How is the MA50? Does it brutals? Does it also do some warmer stuff?[/QUOTE] The new Marshall DSL series is such much better, it is the replacement for the MA series and they did a very good job on it. It goes from classic marshall crunch to a more gain than you would need, or at least I would need.

I tried out the DSL15H through an MG's straight cab. I used the triode mode though.

do you guys know anything about how the axe fx handles pedals I'm still looking for an amp upgrade from my little fender g-dec and I don't want to risk making my pedals irrelevant

[QUOTE=cpt.armadillo;39784211]How is the MA50? Does it brutals? Does it also do some warmer stuff?[/QUOTE] Not sure about brutals. We usually run it about 10 or 11 o clock on the gain (depending on the pickups in the guitar he's using). Not sure about the EQ but it's got a nice warm crunch. It sounds great. I don't know why a lot of people didn't like that series, it's a really nice sounding amp, especially through the Celestion V30 loaded 2x12 cab he has.

[QUOTE=absinthe;39791373]do you guys know anything about how the axe fx handles pedals I'm still looking for an amp upgrade from my little fender g-dec and I don't want to risk making my pedals irrelevant[/QUOTE] It's [URL="http://wiki.fractalaudio.com/axefx2/index.php?title=Input_impedance"]variable impedance[/URL] and apparently has an automatic setting, so your pedals can be run ahead of it.

[QUOTE=absinthe;39791373]do you guys know anything about how the axe fx handles pedals I'm still looking for an amp upgrade from my little fender g-dec and I don't want to risk making my pedals irrelevant[/QUOTE] It seems kind of redundant to have pedals in front of an Axe-Fx

holla at the guy who plays post-rock and posted a jam video in the previous thread, I forgot your name Also, if you repost the jam video would be cool.

[IMG]http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y99/aqua-lover/spaceex.png[/IMG] The Space Explorer will now launch a Minuteman III at Moscow every time I use the front pickup. Now I need a warning sticker that says something like "Do not engage unless you really, really mean it".

[QUOTE=Used Car Salesman;39797250][IMG]http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y99/aqua-lover/spaceex.png[/IMG] The Space Explorer will now launch a Minuteman III at Moscow every time I use the front pickup. Now I need a warning sticker that says something like "Do not engage unless you really, really mean it".[/QUOTE] Why black out the book titles, you got some fun Japanese material there? :downs:

[QUOTE=Nazereth666;39797515]Why black out the book titles, you got some fun Japanese material there? :downs:[/QUOTE] Family scrapbook stuff. Ain't none of your business. Except the smaller books. That's my tentacle porn collection. I keep it next to the guitars so I can multitask.

[QUOTE=Used Car Salesman;39797551]Family scrapbook stuff. Ain't none of your business. Except the smaller books. That's my tentacle porn collection. I keep it next to the guitars so I can multitask.[/QUOTE] [img]http://i1.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/002/081/long-neck-reaction.jpg[/img]

Picture is dark. What's up with that neck pup?

[QUOTE=cpt.armadillo;39797813]Picture is dark. What's up with that neck pup?[/QUOTE] Looks normal to me, just the pickup switch has the safety cover on it. I used one of those for a buddies guitar for the Ace Frehley smoking mod I did on it. I hope he brings it back soon so I can grab some pictures, it turned out really well. No permanent modifications to the guitar, I might end up doing it to my Ibanez or I will find a cheap les paul on craigslist or something.

look at the toggle switch, you'll get it. edit; nazareth was faster. Anyone else runs a stereo rig except me? sounds so good

[QUOTE=HoldenC;39797920]look at the toggle switch, you'll get it. edit; nazareth was faster. Anyone else runs a stereo rig except me? sounds so good[/QUOTE] I would if I had the option right now.

[QUOTE=Nazereth666;39797909]Looks normal to me, just the pickup switch has the safety cover on it. [/QUOTE] Yup, just threw it on there to match the whole space theme. Switching to the back pickup to get loud is approximately 87% more satisfying now, because it's accompanied by a loud SNAP when I smack the cover down.

Oh wow. I could do stereo if I had enough outlets.