West Coast Blues Thread - Version 2.0

[jimfog]

New P-13's!

http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=351327

The bridge sounds too hot to me, but the rest sounds great.

Interesting...........and 'spensive!

[Strat-O]

I don't know, they don't sound anything like the ones in my H62. The guitar may make a difference though. Wood versus metal bridge/saddles too.

[mikelaw]

Speaking of fiddle, this was one of the coolest acts at the IBC. Not strictly blues I guess but they were just freaking cool.

http://www.myspace.com/thenouveauhonkies

I missed Watson/Nemeth in Cocoa last night and probably won't get to see them on this leg of the tour. Oh well.

funny you should mention them. they seem to be there every year. last year it was one of the few bands i stopped and actually watched for a while (not only because of the hot tattooed female band member) they were great!!!!! VERY good musicians. they are from FL like you rob, i think. great stuff.

[fretshop]

Fred, same thing happened to me last year at the 2007 IBC. I got to sing and blow harp at a after hours jam at Mr. Handy's Blues Hall with a group of stellar musicians. There was a fiddle player I played with from Nashville that was playing blues on that fiddle like something I'd never heard. Everything he played was all blues form played with perfection. He played on every song, not just 2 or 3 and step down. Club owner would not let him stop. She kept bringing him beers and he kept playing. He was that good. He could make that thing sing. At one point he played a solo that sounded like BB King. It was so remarkably good and on point you could'nt believe it if you were'nt seeing it with your own eyes. It was a packed house with standing room only. A night I'll remember forever. Shawn

We have an equally talented blues violinist here in Jersey, Perry Leandro who fronts The Killer Blues Band. The combo works as a three some, violin/vocals, B-3/Piano, Drums.

[safecracker]

Speaking of fiddle, this was one of the coolest acts at the IBC. Not strictly blues I guess but they were just freaking cool.

http://www.myspace.com/thenouveauhonkies

I missed Watson/Nemeth in Cocoa last night and probably won't get to see them on this leg of the tour. Oh well.
Feets, I saw The Nouveau Honkies performing at IBC last year. They were very good IMO. They sounded better live than their site clips I think. Hate you missed Watson and Nemeth. Saw them last week, even got a t-shirt. Black with a JT-30 bullet mic on the front. Watson was so cool to see in person.

['56 Merc]

zappafrank: Does Marco Savo also play bass with Suburban Slim? It's hard to tell from that vidio but looks like the same guy. Great player.

Wood bridges for me.

[zappafrank]

Poppa---thanks---glad you liked it---not my absolute fave song they/we do, but solid playing there for sure.
56' Merc---Yes---the same gent---Marco picked up bass later---Guitar is/has been his main thing, but he is a GREAT Blues bass player, probably since he knows what's usually missing in bassists when they attempt trad blues----he has put the time and ears in for sure.

ac

[fretshop]

Do you archtop players prefer a wooden bridge, Tuneamatic, Bigsby bridge, or otherwise?

The rosewood and ebony adjustable bridges are my favorites, but in many instances they promote a faster note decay. I like the tunematic with a wooden base as well....for certain instruments. The T.O.M helps to compress the low end, and promotes better string to string balance on various archtops, but not all. I like the response of a T.O.M best when used on plywood top shallow depth archtops like the Silvertone #1627 (shallow H-62), and the Gibson 135's and 137's. To my ears though, the T.O.M. sounds beamy on a deep body H-62 or similar instruments with a ply wood top. These are just my preferences. It doesn't hurt to experiment.

[THINSOCKS]

Hey Guys, - I just put up a bunch more West Coast, Chicago, Memphis & Texas blues LPs on the bay. I also listed a signed copy of the William Clarke, George Smith, Hollywood Fats "Blues from Los Angeles" LP and a rare live in 1964 Mojo Buford LP. Check it out. Seller = Jankety.

[Scott Miller]

I recommend that Jerry McCain LP that Thinsocks is selling. Some truly raunchy guitar on there.

[HappyValley]

Hey Guys, - I just put up a bunch more West Coast, Chicago, Memphis & Texas blues LPs on the bay. I also listed a signed copy of the William Clarke, George Smith, Hollywood Fats "Blues from Los Angeles" LP and a rare live in 1964 Mojo Buford LP. Check it out. Seller = Jankety.

Check yer PM's brudda....

[KBR]

I have Big Bill Clarke's first LP signed, He took me into Crown studios in LA, and I played rhyhtm
on a bunch of tunes, (No credits on lp, but I believe I have some rhythm Guitar on it. Fats did all the solos)
I could sell this lp, (anyone?)

[THINSOCKS]

I recommend that Jerry McCain LP that Thinsocks is selling. Some truly raunchy guitar on there.

Indeed. That guy sounds like Willie Johnson. He's playing a H-44 too... or at least he is in the pictures I have seen from that time period.

[valcotone]

Indeed. That guy sounds like Willie Johnson. He's playing a H-44 too... or at least he is in the pictures I have seen from that time period.


Frank - Can you post those pics? I'd love to see them... not many vintage pics around with guys playing H44s, or H62s, or Espanadas, etc.

[THINSOCKS]

Frank - Can you post those pics? I'd love to see them... not many vintage pics around with guys playing H44s, or H62s, or Espanadas, etc.

Sorry, Sean. I don't actually own that picture. There is a McCain CD comp (On the Atom-Bomb label) from a few years back that has the same picture I saw of the guitar player with a H-44. They printed it really small in the cd booklet, but you can cleary see the distinctive pickguard shape, body shape and atomic headstock. Also, there is a Living Blues magazine from 5 or 6 years ago that has a picture of Jody Williams playing a H-44 with Memphis Slim. I may have that magazine somewhere.

[KBR]

Why wouldn't these Cats play an H-44, they cost $57. back then.
Lot's of Dan O's and Silvertones around, too, back then.

[Strat-O]

I've never seen a Lowell Fulson vid before!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoQFBagsNRg

[GOLDENSTRAT]

Yeah, that's a good one but it and the Pee Wee Crayton one are both way too short!!!

[Goldie295]

Lazy request:

Would anyone be able to tab the riff(s) to Fab Thunderbirds Runnin' Shoes. I need to do it for a friend but don't have time between now and then to sit down and transcribe it.

If anyone can help that would be great - otherwise I'll just have to wing it...which might be interesting...

Cheers,
Phil

[RickyKing]

Hey Guys, - I just put up a bunch more West Coast, Chicago, Memphis & Texas blues LPs on the bay. I also listed a signed copy of the William Clarke, George Smith, Hollywood Fats "Blues from Los Angeles" LP and a rare live in 1964 Mojo Buford LP. Check it out. Seller = Jankety.
Nice stuff,Sox!:drool

[mikelaw]

Lazy request:

Would anyone be able to tab the riff(s) to Fab Thunderbirds Runnin' Shoes. I need to do it for a friend but don't have time between now and then to sit down and transcribe it.

If anyone can help that would be great - otherwise I'll just have to wing it...which might be interesting...

Cheers,
Phil

general jist in E bouncing to the IV chord as well would be

E
B --2- 0
G --2- 0
D --------2
A
E -------------3^ --0

[mikelaw]

and the IV
E------------------3--3
B------------------2--2
G------------------2--2
D
A------------0
E---0--3^

[Schwalbe]

I just saw this headline 'Truck leaking hydrogen shuts Conn. highway'.
Guess they're evacuating several homes. I hope everybody on this thread is OK.

http://www.kjct8.com/Global/story.asp?S=7858887
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23125962/

[mikelaw]

thanks dan, my better half laura works in waterbury....a teacher. thank god she is off today for lincolns birthday!

[dukeh62]

I just saw this headline 'Truck leaking hydrogen shuts Conn. highway'.
Guess they're evacuating several homes. I hope everybody on this thread is OK.

http://www.kjct8.com/Global/story.asp?S=7858887
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23125962/

Thanks Dan...luckily we're all on the other side of the state...a whopping 1 hour drive away.

[Schwalbe]

thanks dan, my better half laura works in waterbury....a teacher. thank god she is off today for lincolns birthday!
I shoulda known you'd have to have a better half. How could you not???????:roll
Thanks Dan...luckily we're all on the other side of the state...a whopping 1 hour drive away.
Wow, cross a state in an hour ? I've never had a car that fast.:roll

Glad to hear you guys are alright.

[mikelaw]

dudes, new paladins dvd and new johnny guitar watson cd from ace records on the way. full report to come. the jgw stuff looks great....stuff ive never heard.

i can NEVER get enough JGW :)

[TwoFeets]

dudes, new paladins dvd and new johnny guitar watson cd from ace records on the way. full report to come. the jgw stuff looks great....stuff ive never heard.

i can NEVER get enough JGW :)

SPEAKING of the Paladins - if any of you guys are into vintage Guild archtops with the Franz pickups in them, our other guitar player just picked up a mid-60's Epi Riviera and is dumping some of his vintage Guilds. He just sold a couple of thinlines but still has a 1957 X150 that's up on Ebay right now. The thing is gorgeous, has original hardshell case and all that good stuff. Beautiful archtop. If interested, let me know and I can put you in touch with him, maybe you can come to some kind of deal outside of the 'bay.

[aja]

Cool I love the Paladins !! I've been wanting to get the Powershake DVD for a while too. Just got a Harmony H-45. Its on the way :crazy.Anybody played these before ?

[pete kanaras]

i can NEVER get enough JGW

same here, oh man. a kind of freaky story, but i played on the very stage that guitar watson dropped dead on; the Yokohama Blues Cafe in japan. the owner, a lovely japanese woman, was a very old friend of johnny's. she saw me setting up and came over and asked if i was a fan. i said i was a huge fan forever and that i definitely realized the significance of where i was playing. we hit it off, and then she told me the story:

the club was large and spacious, with a wraparound 2nd level and beautiful sight lines all around. johnny was onstage, totally packed house. he was singing(can't remember what tune) and she was on the upper level dead center, looking down and just loving it. but when it came time for the guitar break he instead looked up at her, smiled that gorgeous smile of his and said "baby, i'm going home" and bang, hit the ground just like that. whew. i was speechless and staring, then we simply hugged because there was nothing you could say. i had to excuse myself and walked outside to get my shit together....

[Scott Miller]

"i can NEVER get enough JGW"

We've been doing "Love to Love You" lately. Nasty, tricky licks, impossible breaks, I'm up there counting in my head, 1 - 2 - 3 - GROINK! but worth the effort.

[Strat-O]

i can NEVER get enough JGW

same here, oh man. a kind of freaky story, but i played on the very stage that guitar watson dropped dead on; the Yokohama Blues Cafe in japan. the owner, a lovely japanese woman, was a very old friend of johnny's. she saw me setting up and came over and asked if i was a fan. i said i was a huge fan forever and that i definitely realized the significance of where i was playing. we hit it off, and then she told me the story:

the club was large and spacious, with a wraparound 2nd level and beautiful sight lines all around. johnny was onstage, totally packed house. he was singing(can't remember what tune) and she was on the upper level dead center, looking down and just loving it. but when it came time for the guitar break he instead looked up at her, smiled that gorgeous smile of his and said "baby, i'm going home" and bang, hit the ground just like that. whew. i was speechless and staring, then we simply hugged because there was nothing you could say. i had to excuse myself and walked outside to get my shit together....

Damn! :eek: I just had to go outside and get MY shit together. :worried

[valcotone]

Thanks for sharing that story, Pete.

[mikelaw]

great story pete! he was a legend. LOVE me some jgw!!!!!!!

[Franklin]

Wow, crazy story!!!

[bbarnard]

On the Piedmont Talent website:

http://www.piedmonttalent.com/news.cfm?ID=120

[rjkohrs]

Here's a photo, that I found on the internet, of the "Middle Walter Band" in action back in the day. Appears to be an Aldens' branded H44 with a choker at 6th or 7th fret....?
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i50/rjkohrs/MiddleWalterBand1950s.jpg

[zappafrank]

Pete----great, great story!

Miklaw---is that the Ace collection called "Hot Like T'N'T", or something alltogether new? I have to have it if it's new!

bbarnard---awww, man---at least he'll play sometimes---end of a HUGE era for me---

ac

[mikelaw]

its new!!!!!!!!!

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:hnfixzrgldje

Like many a journeyman bluesman, Johnny "Guitar" Watson led something of an itinerant recording life during much of his career, wandering from label to label in the 1950s and 1960s with just a little chart success. Untouchable! does a great service to collectors by assembling 27 tracks from 1959-1966, many of which, surprisingly, had not only never previously come out on CD, but had never been reissued in any form. While in general these are blues/R&B crossover sides, there's more variety than one might think, and though the hopping between styles makes it a little uneven, it makes for a better listen in one gulp than you might expect. There's some relatively straight blues, particularly in the earlier sides; there are rather more blends of blues/R&B with pop than many blues fans might realize exist, sometimes on covers of pop standards, and sometimes employing strings; and there are cuts, particularly in the mid-'60s selections, that verge on out-and-out soul. It's true that the three songs most likely to be familiar to general blues and rock fans are among the very best material here, those being "Looking Back," which was covered by John Mayall's Bluesbreakers (http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:kjfyxqygldje) (with Peter Green (http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:hnfwxql5ldte) on guitar); "Cuttin' In," a 1962 Top Ten R&B hit and one of Watson's most effective fusions of blues (with biting guitar) and orchestration; and "Gangster of Love," one of Watson's signature tunes (though this 1963 King single, fine as it is, is not his original version). But everything here is at least OK, and much of it is above average to excellent, even on some tracks where the influences of others like Clarence "Frogman" Henry (http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:anfpxqt5ld6e), the Olympics (http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:kifyxqr5ld6e), the Temptations (http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:kifqxqr5ldse), and Ray Charles (http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:kifuxqw5ldfe) are obvious. There might be a little less guitar pyrotechnics than some straight-ahead blues fans would like, and it's unfortunate that a few interesting cuts referred to in the liner notes from this period were not available for licensing. But overall it's a solid overview of a time when Watson was among the more interesting (and certainly overlooked) artists building bridges between the blues, R&B, and soul.

[zappafrank]

Nice! thanks for the linky---my wallet shall shrink a bit this payday--

ac

[nmontz]

I know a lot of you guys are tele players. I have been thinking of getting another one and have been looking around for a good one. I have a 71' tele thinline with the seth lover humbucker pups, but it doesn't necessarly sound like a tele. How heavy do you guys like them? Under 7 lbs or over 7lbs? Ash or Alder? Maple neck or Rosewood? Vintage frets for chicken pickin' or 6100's for big bends? I know what a good strat should sound like....but I'm not sure exactly what to look for in a good tele. I'm just kinda curious how you guys prefer your teles.....

[pete kanaras]

what i like means nothing to anyone but me, but here goes anyway

alder- as light as possible. my alder body was under 3#6oz raw, so it Is possible. ultra sharp body edges, flat jack area

neck- quartersawn maple, all maple or maple/rosewood makes no diff to me. bottom truss rod adjust, 7 1/4" radius end to end, 1 5/8" nut width, as huge a round profile as possible(my current neck is a full inch end to end, huge shoulders), 6105 frets with high and tight shoulders, fingerboard edges rounded over after fretting, then shot with 2 coats maximum of very lightly tinted water white pure nitro.

neck/body joint as tight as humanly possible. i am now treating all bolt-ons as if they were set neck instruments. i can unstring and unbolt this guitar, lay it down and lift it from the headstock to full standing and the neck does not budge one iota, a first for me. i remove the neck pup to make rod adjustments if necessary(which it is'nt).

trad appointments, trad style pickups, modded electrosocket that will accept either a right angle plug or a large barrel switchcraft shorting plug. i settled on fralins - a 2%overwound covered neck and 5%over bridge, both phenomenal pickups.

lastly, for me tommy at USA Custom Guitars is The Man. none better

hope this helps

[pete kanaras]

i should also say that the guitars and pickups of my old friend Dominick Ramos in Catskill NY are simply as good as it gets and then some. a true master luthier/bona fide pickup genius. my next "tele" project with sport a pair of his custom charlie chrstian pickups, which he offers as either a hum cancelling type or as a straight single coil. brilliant

[nmontz]

Thanks Pete...info like that was just what I was looking for!

[Strat-O]

I love my Tele and play it ton, but I won't be much help. I don't know how much it weighs or what kind of wood it is. Just a Highway 1 Tele body off ebay, and an Allparts Fat Tele all maple neck. Don't know what size the frets are. Pickups are Don Mare 0038s...fat and nasty. Sounds like a bad ass Broadcaster style Telecaster. Don't know what the pots and caps are in it either. I do have a Glendale bridge on it with brass saddles though. The Glendale is because I had so much trouble with the stock Tele saddles and string buzz.

[fretshop]

Noel:

Bodies : My preferences are either a 3.5 lb S.E. Swamp Ash body, or about the same weight Alder body. You may also want to think about a Paulownia Pine body. All bodies should be up to 50's specs, especially the routes and the edges. I created a pine body for a recording industry client who is very Tele savvy, and was very impressed with the tonality and response of the wood. The pine bodies are very resonant, and also very stable. They are not cheap though.
Necks: the Allparts Fat Tele neck is an outstanding choice if you can handle a large neck. Otherwise go to USA Custom. The neck should be a snug, but not a force fit into the neck pocket, and all paint should be removed from the pocket. Frets : I have no use for vintage frets...just my personal taste. Dunlop 6105's are nice, and a standard fret in most shops. Going to Jumbos (eg) 6100's and 6000's can take a lot of work to ensure smooth playability, and they also will buzz and rattle more than thin frets. I use # 6000's in my Tele, Strats and archtops.

Hardware: I prefer the stock OEM Fender bridgeplate and I love brass saddles. I deal with several music industry heavies and have tried most of the aftermarket bells and whistles bridge plates on their request...The stock magnetic bridge plate is fine, if you or your tech has the experience, and talent with tools to install it properly. IMO : Forget about the cup jack, it's a pain in the ass. Get the Electrosocket. Specify The Gotoh special ratio Kluson Knockoff tuners....well worth the extra $$$. Available at Allparts. Pots: Standard OEM Fender R.I. pots are fine.

My personal "main" Tele. Ancient S.E. Swamp Ash body...rings like a bell, not as subdued as Alder. The body is finished in a very hard, standard thickness correct tint Butterscotch finish
Neck : Fabricated from old Warmoth maple neck billets I got from USA Tommy when he was at Warmoth. The neck has an 18 " radius and # 6000 frets. Very light tinted hybrid finish, and a Mil-Spec Micarta nut.
I use slightly longer stainless neck screws, and removed all the paint from the neck pocket. The guitar is a monster. Pickups : Right now I'm using a Fralin 5% over wound bridge, and a Fretshop tele neck pup wound to 9.0K ohms with an accurate deep drawn flat top cover. That pickup has Archtop tone qualities, and hits the front end of my amp very nicely for W.C. burp tone. I also use a 5 position super switch with the neck pup wires reversed to give me both in series out of phase, and standard out of phase. Pots: OEM Stackpoles from the early 60s. Tone cap: 039mf. The .047/.05mf is a waste....IMO. A .033 or .039mf will give you a little more useable sweep on the tone control, and a bit more mid range than a .05mf cap.

Here's my take on pickups :

Fralin Standard Tele...not much Ice Pick, and just slightly warmer than a real Tele pickup. The 5% over wound is a real versatile pup, and works beautifully with slight volume and tone pot adjustments. Neither Fralin pickup has the real snappy, throaty tone of a standard Tele wind...neither do they have the annoying tone and gain drop issue present in standard spec Tele pickup E&B strings. I love the Fralins for their impolite and gritty tone, just the right edge to the tone for guitarists who need versatility.

Van Zandt : The Broadcaster Bridge pickup is a dyed in the wool recreation of an old B'Caster pup....but there is some Ice Pick. I've used some of these in pedal steels and they are awsome. The neck pickup is one of the most toneful and balanced Tele neck pups I've heard...but they come with no cover. If you're looking for Albert Collins tone, James Burton chickin' Pickin' snap, or are taking requests for Spaghetti Western Anthems...The VZ's will do it. I found that when I use the Vanzandts, the controls are very responsive to minute adjustments.

Dimarzio : Twang King Bridge and Neck....Almost all my clients love 'em. ALOT of work and detail went into the creation of these pickups...but some folks snub them because they are not Boo-Tique. IMO, the standard Twang Kings posess hallmarks of the most desirable Tele and Broadcaster tones, and they are beautifully balanced. NO ICE PICK, but enough snap to keep the most ardent Chickin' Picker happy. Dave Gross, Arthur Neilson, Joe Taino and I have been using them for years, and the non-BooTique thing does not phase us (no pun intended).

Stevens Design : All great, and worth the $$$$...Can't decide which of his Tele B'Caster pickups I like best...they're all superb. NO ICE PICK

Lollar : Standard Tele stuff IMO is a little "Hi-Fi", but great for recording and T.V. work. Jason will wind anyway you desire...also $$$$. Endless possibilities if you are willing to experiment. Jason is a very dear friend, and a very patient listener with his clients.

Don Mare : Endless possibilities. Also $$$ for the expertise. Don will work dilligently to make you happy.

[bluesbreaker59]

Noel, get your happy ass down to Des Moines and try out my USA Custom Guitar "feather weight" Southern swamp ash body (3.5 lbs), Allparts Fat Neck, Tele, loaded with a Broadcaster bridge pickup and brass saddles.

BTW, who does Janiva Magness have on guitar??? Does Jeff Turmes tour with her? She's at our local blues club tonight, and I was thinking of going, but wanted more info first. I love her voice, but have no idea who's in her band, etc.

[hasserl]

It's all in the pickups. I agonized over all the advice from all various Tele afficionados all over the net. I figured I was either going to custom build it, or buy a Fender as close to what I wanted as I could get, then parts swap to get it the rest of the way. But I eventually just pulled the trigger on a cheap assed Squire Tele off the bay. It looked and played rather nice, but sounded like crap. I had Don Mare clone a pair of '59 pickups for me and swapped out all the electronics. That's all it took. The axe is an incredible player, sounds freakin great, and it's just a cheap assed Squire with the cheap assed flat bridge plate and six saddle bridge. It'll still outshine many, many Teles because IT'S ALL IN THE PICKUPS!

Seriously, it's fun to get all anal about body weight, wood type, quarter sawn, brass barrells, etc, etc, etc, yadda, yadda, yadda. IF that's what you want to do, knock yourself out. BUt if you want the best sounding Tele, just get ahold of Don and tell him what you want and let him wind you a set of pups. Stick them in any old Tele and you'll be where you want to be. The rest is all icing.

[valcotone]

Yeah... but with all due respect - if I had a boat anchor of a body with a skinny neck and small frets and goopy poly finish, I wouldn't be happy with it no matter what pickups I put into it.

The pickups are super important, but all that other stuff does matter too.... for tone, as well as feel and playability. Excluding the pickups from the equation, there are still better and worse sounding guitars.

IMO, of course, and YMMV.

[safecracker]

Found this clip a few minutes ago and had to post it. It's from the 2007 IBC. I was watching it and it shows a second of footage of the fiddle player I was telling you guys about at 1.09, and a few seconds later at 1.16, there I am. It was at Mr. Handy's Blues Hall is where we were playing. It's a cool clip that shows all the clubs up and down Beale and footage of people playing. Watch it,you may see yourself too. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5-dd4jAtUE&feature=related

[straightblues]

I know a lot of you guys are tele players. I have been thinking of getting another one and have been looking around for a good one. I know what a good strat should sound like....but I'm not sure exactly what to look for in a good tele. I'm just kinda curious how you guys prefer your teles.....

Here there are a ton of tele tones on this thread. Pick the one you like then call Don Mare and ask him to make pickups to copy that tone. He will do it. http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=352122&page=4

I look for an ash body around 4 lbs. It most have a wide open end grain. I also love pine teles.

As far as necks, they just have to be big. Allparts, Warmoth, USA Custom or a cast off Fender neck.

Needs to be a 3 barrel bridge. I think Glendales sound the best. I like harden steel barrels.

Pickups have to be Don Mare. (I have tried them all and Don's are in a different league.)

[KBR]

Valco Tone is right.
I agree with his statement.

[Dave Orban]

I've got two parts Teles now:

My CC Monster
ONE-PIECE Swamp ash body (Musikraft), about 3.25 pounds
Exquisitely thin Mary Kaye nitro, done by Rich Rice
Musikraft boatneck of solid African Kingwood (like rosewood)
6105 Frets
Black aged Callaham Bakelite Guard
Callaham Bridge and compensated saddles
Pete Biltoft's amazing Charlie Christian neck pickup
Pete Biltoft's also amazing Tele Bridge pickup wound to match the CC
Reversed control plate
Electrosocket Jack
Klusons
My Inca Silver Beast
Swamp ash body, about 3.5 pounds
Aged Inca Silver over a thin translucent blonde nitro, done by Mark Jenny
Musikraft boatneck of solid African Kingwood (like rosewood)
6105 Frets
Aged Single Ply White Guard
Stock Fender bridgeplate and 3-barrel saddles
Don Mare's extraordinary Roy Nichols wind pickups
Reversed control plate
Electrosocket Jack
Vintage-style Gotoh Staggered Tunershttp://www.oydesign.com/guitars/teles_0511sm.jpg


Both are strung with 11-56 strings, and both are tone monsters! All the Tele I will ever need!

[millerlitefan]

:BEERHey I'm a newbie, and have spent the last week reading up on this thread. Yo guys have some great information.....thanks..!!!
I have a question I'm sure someone here can answer.

I have an old Valco amp , that you all know sounds great wit all of my archies...(150, 350, Silvertone-13), however it doesnt quite have enough volume. Has anyone tried one of these in a 2x10 cab? And what speakers are goo dreplacement for these amps....
thanks guys.....

['56 Merc]

I play arch tops and Strats but Teles' are "THE" guitar. The one I always go to and would not be without.

Fat maple 7 1/4" neck with vintage frets.

Brass saddles.

.047 tone cap with trebble bleed.

Fender '52, Duncan Antiquity, Twang Kings all good.

Ash or alder,light or medium weight it has to have resonance and talk to you unplugged, if it doesn't it won't matter how much you spend on pickups it will never sound great, good maybe, but not great. There are as many dead sounding Teles' out there as there are the ones that have it.

Allparts fat necks and USA bodies= great combo.

[straightblues]

I have an old Valco amp , that you all know sounds great wit all of my archies...(150, 350, Silvertone-13), however it doesnt quite have enough volume. Has anyone tried one of these in a 2x10 cab? And what speakers are goo dreplacement for these amps....
thanks guys..... I have a line out on mine. I run it into the front of a bigger amp for larger rooms. I got the idea from Rick Holmstrom. It works well. Ask your amp tech to put one in for you. It is a pretty simple mod and couldn't cost more than $50.

[millerlitefan]

I actually played through similar set a few years ago. A guy had a line out of his Silvertone into a Vibrolux reverb...sounded fantastic. thanks for the tip!!!:rolleyes:

[Goldie295]

I would recommend getting an 80's 52 reissue. They sound great and no need to swap the parts. You can start enjoying it right away. All you need to do is make sure it is vibrant. When hanging on the peg, pluck the B string and feel the body by the jackplug. If you feel a lot of vibration you have a good one. My favourite setting is the bridge pup with lots of tone rolled off. Very Kid Ramos.

Cheers,
Phil

[Goldie295]

A question for you all regarding the original Fender Reverb Tanks:

Feets and others, I know you use original Fender Reverb Tanks. Do you suffer a little signal loss when going through them? By this I mean, if you set your amp volume on - say - four and plug in direct, does the guitar sound louder than if you plug in via the Reverb?

A pet project of mine has involved installing an entire Champ circuit, valves etc into a repro '63 Reverb. My tech is doing it for me. Despite it being a bit of a squeeze, he has managed to do it with all the correct valves and seperate transformers etc (but obviously without a speaker) and I essentially have a line out situation like the Valco suggestion above, but with a Champ and Fender Reverb.

Now to my ears it sounds truely righteous. Problem is, I am getting a lot of signal loss, and even thrown into a very loud repro 59 Bassman (built by the same guy) I am struggling to get a loud gigging sound without wacking the Bassman right up (to just below half volume - when three/four will normally do).

My tech tells me that all the standalone 63 Reverbs he has built demonstrate some signal loss. Now before I started fiddling, I had one of those and never noticed a signal loss problem, but then in those days I used to run a booster/overdrive after it...

Anyway, I just wondered if those of you with originals have the same problem or if I need to press my guy to try a little harder.

Thanks.

Cheers,
Phil

[TwoFeets]

A question for you all regarding the original Fender Reverb Tanks:

Feets and others, I know you use original Fender Reverb Tanks. Do you suffer a little signal loss when going through them? By this I mean, if you set your amp volume on - say - four and plug in direct, does the guitar sound louder than if you plug in via the Reverb?


Yes, there is some signal loss. I find it more of a feature than a problem. It seems to add a little gain and whacks the signal back some. For me it serves the multi-purpose role of being a reverb unit, slight attenuator/very subtle drive. It's not a very drastic difference, but there is a difference.

[safecracker]

Yesterday I ordered the new Sean Costello, new Mike Morgan w/ Lee McBee, Tiny Grimes, and a very talented R&B style English dude named James Hunter, all from our good friend Charlie at bluebeat.:AOK

[nmontz]

Jason did you end up going to see Janiva last night? Was Matt Stubbs still playing guitar for her? I'm gonna see her Friday night at Riverside as it's free at the Casino. I also wanted to see the harp player in the opening band as Jim and I always get to talking about amps.

Thanks everyone for the tele advice and info. A lot of things to think about....interesting but not suprising that a lot of your favorite teles were home grown. There are so many ingredients and factors in the tone recipe that make for a good guitar! I think if you get it locked in on most of the main points you will get a great one. I've noticed from playing good player's guitars that they all felt and played very similar and had a characteristic tone and feel for whatever model of guitar. Growing up with not very many options for new guitars I would get whatever was available or took whatever guitar that I had to order in. I got stuck with some guitars that I thought were maybe ok until I played guitars that did have it and were great. It was a crapshoot to find something decent. I've since culled the questionable guitars from the herd and have been slowing replacing things. It's great to be able to pull from everyone's experience here on teles.

Thanks safecracker for the heads up on the new Mike Morgan/ Lee Mcbee cd....I had been waiting for that one to come out.

[mikelaw]

i like orban's tele the best with the charlie christian pickup in the neck spot!!!!!!!!!

[bbarnard]

bbarnard---awww, man---at least he'll play sometimes---end of a HUGE era for me---

ac

Me as well.

FYI, it looks like I'll be in Portland twice in June, once early and once at the end of the month. Perhaps we can meet up or I can catch you guys playing?

[aja]

What new Sean Costello is that ? The one with Nappy brown ?

[mikelaw]

no not the nappy brown, 'we can get together' on delta groove records. it is killer! i bought it off itunes a few weeks ago, havent stopped listening to it since.

[fretshop]

Yeah... but with all due respect - if I had a boat anchor of a body with a skinny neck and small frets and goopy poly finish, I wouldn't be happy with it no matter what pickups I put into it.

The pickups are super important, but all that other stuff does matter too.... for tone, as well as feel and playability. Excluding the pickups from the equation, there are still better and worse sounding guitars.

IMO, of course, and YMMV.

In forty years of building guitars, I don't think I've heard anyone say it better....

I guess I'm spoiled in one sense, having had alot of access to great old No' /B' / and Telecasters. So I expect alot more. And yes, certain luthiers are usually very anal about their work, and we do obsess about minutae. I would never offer my clients less.

BTW: The " Goldie B string Test " works, an Pete K is right about the neck / body fit.

[Dave Orban]

i like orban's tele the best with the charlie christian pickup in the neck spot!!!!!!!!!
Me, too...! I'll try and post some pictures later tonight...

[Schwalbe]

Me, too...! I'll try and post some pictures later tonight...
That would be very cool.:drool:BEER

[THINSOCKS]

My vote for Tele necks goes with USACG. USACG's "The '54" neck profile is a lot closer to the neck profile on my old '56 Esquire then the neck profile on the Allparts boat necks. IMHO USACG fret work is better too. Plus, they will roll the edges for you for free and will do the tighter early 50's 12 fret dot spacing (if your anal about that sort of thing). I've ordered 3 Tele necks (2 maple & one Brazilian slab) from them so far and personally they all feel more comfortable to me then the Allparts or Warmoth 1" boat necks, which IMHO tend to feel like the shoulders are made just a little to big/clubby.

[bluesbreaker59]

Noel,

No I didn't go to the show last night, my girlfriend got back in town early, after being gone a couple days, so I went to her place before the show, and just never left. That makes 5 times I've missed Janiva now!!! I only partially wanted to go, so it wasn't a big deal. When I found out Turmes wouldn't be there, I pretty much didn't care. That guy is a monster Baritone player

I'm tellin ya lets get together and compare Teles. Tom has a really nice one too, just FYI.

[musicofanatic5]

Was Matt Stubbs still playing guitar for her?

Stubbs is currently "slumming" on bass with Nemeth.
Hey, when you get the right tele, crank it through that old Showman for some King Kleen tone! Careful with your ears!

[Dave Orban]

That would be very cool.:drool:BEERGo back to page 587... I added a picture of both guitars.

[valcotone]

Gorgeous Tele's Dave!

Here's my current favourite... details here:
http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=169203

You can't really see it in the pics, but there's a nice amount of grain showing through the aged blonde finish...

http://www.kilback.net/pics/blondetele4.jpg

[Dave Orban]

Gorgeous Tele's Dave!

Here's my current favourite... details here:
http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=169203

You can't really see it in the pics, but there's a nice amount of grain showing through the aged blonde finish...

http://www.kilback.net/pics/blondetele4.jpgYup. That's the way I like 'em, too! :dude

[pete kanaras]

My vote for Tele necks goes with USACG. USACG's "The '54" neck profile is a lot closer to the neck profile on my old '56 Esquire then the neck profile on the Allparts boat necks. IMHO USACG fret work is better too. Plus, they will roll the edges for you for free and will do the tighter early 50's 12 fret dot spacing (if your anal about that sort of thing).

me too. tommy is also to my knowledge the Only guy that curves his fret slots rather than flat saws them, thus no air gaps between the tang and slot bottom.

like i said, da man!

[dukeh62]

My vote for Tele necks goes with USACG. USACG's "The '54" neck profile is a lot closer to the neck profile on my old '56 Esquire then the neck profile on the Allparts boat necks. IMHO USACG fret work is better too. Plus, they will roll the edges for you for free and will do the tighter early 50's 12 fret dot spacing (if your anal about that sort of thing). I've ordered 3 Tele necks (2 maple & one Brazilian slab) from them so far and personally they all feel more comfortable to me then the Allparts or Warmoth 1" boat necks, which IMHO tend to feel like the shoulders are made just a little to big/clubby.

I'll 3rd that one. I replaced my Nocaster neck with a USACG and couldn't be happier. I bought it unfinished second hand (along with a matching strat neck), so I don't know the EXACT specs, but both have a big and beefy V to them...9.5" radius and 6105 frets. Just SOOOO much more comfortable and playable vs the Nocaster neck.

[valcotone]

USACG - I have one of Tommy's alder hardtail strat bodies lined up for a special partscaster project and it's a nice 3lb 7oz hunk-o-wood!

[dukeh62]

USACG - I have one of Tommy's alder hardtail strat bodies lined up for a special partscaster project and it's a nice 3lb 7oz hunk-o-wood!

Me too! The sister strat neck to my USACG tele neck went on this super-light USACG hardtail. I've since unfortunately had to change out the anodized guard b/c it was filing my nails down to the bone when I played! Those are Dave Stephens' Staggered Texas Mojo pickups in there. AMAZING pups!
http://www.theguitarmechanic.com/EDwhl.jpg

[flyingvees]

How is Nemeth doin? I havent seen him since Nampa Idaho years ago we did a harp show together...Love that guys voice...

[safecracker]

How is Nemeth doin? I havent seen him since Nampa Idaho years ago we did a harp show together...Love that guys voice...
He and Junior Watson were in excellent form last week.

[valcotone]

Now playing on the ipod: I Don't Care Who Knows... by Harrold Burrage (Cobra recordings). The alt take has some ripping fat lead guitar going on! I know someone redid this recently too, Lynwood Slim? GREAT TUNE!! (Thanks Frank).

[Dave Orban]

Now playing on the ipod: I Don't Care Who Knows... by Harrold Burrage (Cobra recordings). The alt take has some ripping fat lead guitar going on! I know someone redid this recently too, Lynwood Slim? GREAT TUNE!! (Thanks Frank).
Lynwood, on Kid Ramos' "West Coast House Party"... :dude

[sethr]

very talented R&B style English dude named James Hunter

That's a great CD, but if you ever get the chance, see him live. Amazing band, killer vocals, and some of the coolest guitar work I've seen.

[Scott Miller]

"How is Nemeth doin?"

Touring all over the place with a great band, enjoying local-hero status around here, and he has a really cute wife. The rotten bastage.

[safecracker]

That's a great CD, but if you ever get the chance, see him live. Amazing band, killer vocals, and some of the coolest guitar work I've seen.
I went to his myspace site just the other day, listened to him and was immediately floored. Super impressive singer and guitarist. He was online so I sent him a message and he wrote back thanking me for the kind words. Super guy, can't wait for that cd to arrive.

[Schwalbe]

Gentlemen, there are some fine Telecasters around here.
Mine's kind of rat by comparison, an '04 Hwy1. But it's under 7 lbs and very resonant, I can't complain and it didn't cost much.
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a122/RockinDaddy/Gear/Hwy11.jpg

[valcotone]

Fine lookin' Tele, Dan!!

[Strat-O]

Me too! The sister strat neck to my USACG tele neck went on this super-light USACG hardtail. I've since unfortunately had to change out the anodized guard b/c it was filing my nails down to the bone when I played! Those are Dave Stephens' Staggered Texas Mojo pickups in there. AMAZING pups!
http://www.theguitarmechanic.com/EDwhl.jpg


sweet! I have one just like that! Don Mare's Watson pickups though. I'll buy that pickguard offaya if you need to get rid of it.

[Goldie295]

BTW: The " Goldie B string Test " works

Cool - something I worked out for myself has the backing of our top cat.

It's gonna be a fine weekend !!

Cheers,
Phil
:BEER

[mikelaw]

orban, i thought your charlie christian tele had a tiger print pguard??? that MADE it bro! maybe im thinking of another guitar?

[Dave Orban]

orban, i thought your charlie christian tele had a tiger print pguard??? that MADE it bro! maybe im thinking of another guitar?Actually, yes. I loved the pickguard, but wasn't happy with either the butterscotch body (a Nash body) or the maple neck. Just never really bonded with that combination.

So that body (a Nash body, routed for the CC pickup), the pickguard, and the neck are currently in my "for sale" parts bin.

Obviously, the CC ended up in the Mary Kaye body in the pic on page 587... ;)

[nmontz]

Jon......I haven't been brave enough to try the showman with a guitar. It sure sounds great with my SCPB though. Darn I wish Matt was still playing guitar with Janiva but it's a free show as long as I can stay away from the slots.

Jason.....I've heard that tele of Tom's when I saw him sit in with Anson Funderburg a few years ago. I think I played yours briefly when you foolishly sold me that ga-20! :-) But, yeah we all need to get together sometime. Have an Iowa tone fest or something.....

Valcotone....you should take glamour shots for people's guitars or for magazines! Your pics look great!!

[Swingblues]

Hey Guys,

There´s a video of my gig last week in Brasil:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrmWOSHjinQ

The Sax Player have 19 yrs old!

All the best
Igor Prado

[HappyValley]

Hey Guys,

There´s a video of my gig last week in Brasil:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrmWOSHjinQ

The Sax Player have 19 yrs old!

All the best
Igor Prado

Tone. Chops. Taste. Beautiful stuff.

[valcotone]

Valcotone....you should take glamour shots for people's guitars or for magazines! Your pics look great!!

Haha, thanks Noel. I just set them up and point and click.

OK, everyone... send me all your guitars and I'll take some pictures... :D

-Sean

[bluesbreaker59]

Jason.....I've heard that tele of Tom's when I saw him sit in with Anson Funderburg a few years ago. I think I played yours briefly when you foolishly sold me that ga-20! :-) But, yeah we all need to get together sometime. Have an Iowa tone fest or something.....


That was the Esquire I built and THAT was a true star. I had to sell that when I got divorced, and forum member ToneKing ended up buying it at Dirk's, and he plays it with his Matchless amps.

So after I realized he was never selling that back to me... I decided to build a Tele, using the same parts as I used on the Esquire. I even got a lighter weight body from Tommy at USA Custom. However, I must say the Esquire had more magic. This Tele is great, but that Esquire was phenomenal.

That GA-20 STILL haunts me, I'd love to get that one back, or find another one for the same price as I originally paid to Steve.

If we do an Iowa tonefest, I could smoke some meat for it too...

[Echo Are]

Gentlemen, there are some fine Telecasters around here.
Mine's kind of rat by comparison, an '04 Hwy1. But it's under 7 lbs and very resonant, I can't complain and it didn't cost much.
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a122/RockinDaddy/Gear/Hwy11.jpg

Cool, great minds think alike? I have one of these too, same fretboard wood and body color. It's an '03, I think, I'll have to check the serial number. Mine's stock except for 500k pots. When I took it to a local guitar tech to have it set up, I had the tech change out the 250k pots for 500k. 500ks are supposed to let more signal through, but I never noticed much of a difference in either tone or output.

[millerlitefan]

Hey Guys,

There´s a video of my gig last week in Brasil:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrmWOSHjinQ

The Sax Player have 19 yrs old!

All the best
Igor Prado

Great playing Igor!! Can you tell me about you amp setup. Is that a narrow pannel Princeton into a 2x10, 1x 15 cab.....just curious
thanks.....:dude

[KBR]

I want to say, Sean, (Valco Tone has some awesome Grey Tiger .02 oil caps for Guitars, and they really have a wide range of Tones that can be drawn out from Your Guitar.)

For a Tone player with not alot of Chops, they make me sound even Cooler.

[hasserl]

Oooh, we're posting Tele pics?!?!

Here's one: http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/8236/caseopen3ue9.jpg

A '59 I"ve owned for a about 30+ years (the finish was already stripped when I got it way back when).

I still say all the extra's are icing on the cake. Get a decent axe and put some good pickups in it and you'll be in spank and twang city. If you want to agonize over minutia the Tele is a great guitar for that. They're like Volkswagons. Buy all the parts and put it all together in your driveway. If you're into obsessing you can obsess over every little detail to your hearts content.

On the other hand, if you just want a guitar to take out and play it's not that difficult to come up with a winner, and it doesn't take a lot of dough. Decent body, decent neck, good pickups, the rest is icing.

Here's my player that gets used in the shop while testing amps and out to jams and band gigs:
http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/5673/frontlargeak1.jpg

I've gotten more compliments on that Squire than any other guitar. I love to watch the jaws drop when I tell them how much (or little) I've got into it.

[Strat-O]

I tend to agree with Hasserelli. I respect all the attention to detail some of you guys invest in your Tele's, and maybe all your guitars. I know all that attention to details adds up to something important. But great pickups can make a mediocre to lame Tele sound great while crappy pickups can ruin a great Tele (or any other great guitar for that matter). Don Mare made a believer out of me with his pickups. Made me realize how great pickups can totally change a guitar.

The Highway One body on mine is very light and resonant. I don't know what kind of wood it is though. The whole thing is resonant including the Allparts neck. Its a huge neck but is so resonant it seems like its hollow. It didn't fit the neck pocket, it was too big, so the luthier who put it on for me had to shave the sides down to get it into the pocket. It looks like hell, but seems to be a really tight fit. Maybe that's why it sounds so good...ultra tight fit in the neck pocket like what Kanaras was saying. That and the pickups.

Nobody has a Muddy Waters styled Tele?

[mikelaw]

paladins dvd highly recommended! killer stuff. dave is the best at filling space with a trio. lots of volume as always and what i call 'chord soloing' to keep things fat without another guitar/keys...etc... i learned alot and have lots of chords to learn.ha

new johnny guitar watson cd is killer too! SOUL to the bone.

[mikelaw]

http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/7473/guitasonhh2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[KBR]

That's a Martin Electric, I remember em.
JGW is a Bad Mutha for ya.

Tele alert/FS
you can hear the Tele on the song that comes up, Gator Ride, a tribute to Albert Collins, here.
http://www.myspace.com/kennyblueray

[HappyValley]

That's a Martin Electric, I remember em.
JGW is a Bad Mutha for ya.

Tele alert/FS
you can hear the Tele on the song that comes up, Gator Ride, a tribute to Albert Collins, here.
http://www.myspace.com/kennyblueray

Kenny- great playing, brudda. I enjoyed the other clips, too- BIG tones!

Can some one PM me and tell a techno-moron like myself how to post pics? Thanks!!

[pete kanaras]

ultra tight fit in the neck pocket like what Kanaras was saying. That and the pickups.

i believe that it's the single most critical detail for any bolt-on guitar. wood/pickup/finish choices are wholly personal but this is the one constant that all bolt-ons share. and it's not some subtle, "chasing after that last 5%" kinda stuff either. i became convinced of it with my main strat, which i know better than any other instrument. i've had for or five different necks on it over the last 20 years, and all of them had a LOT of slop in the pocket. the one on it now is a mij maple, and it's measured metrically. it was slllightly wider than the pocket but fit more snugly than any other neck. it was also slightly thicker so i had dominick take down the body pocket slightly so that the string height adjusters were'nt up on their tip-toes(bad idea for tone). the profile was only slightly bigger than what was on there before but the difference in roundness of tone and sustain was immediate and remarkable. i attribute it almost entirely to that tight pocket join. then adding a full Callaham 6hole trem made all that even better. the allparts Fat Tele neck/USC body was the same thing but much more so and we took it as an opportunity to make it skin tight. yeah man...

Nobody has a Muddy Waters styled Tele?

with that Fat Tele neck you're already there, for all intents. muddy's tele had a huge non-original neck that someone installed because the original one could'nt take the gauges he was using. pop some 12's or 13's on that sucker and you're done. i remember johnny winter saying in a GP interview "man, that guitar won't let anyone touch it but muddy. you pick it up and it says "NO!"". too bad allparts does'nt offer that profile with a proper thickness slab rosewood cap....

[rjkohrs]

"Can some one PM me and tell a techno-moron like myself how to post pics? Thanks!!"

and send me a copy also......one time I'm able to make it happen(the photo included in the post)....next time all I end up with is the Url....?
Double Thanks!!!!
Hey Nick, nice stuff on Hope Radio......

[KBR]

Thanks, BackAlley,

[jimfog]

Since KBR is the subject, I'll put in my semi-regular plug for his AWESOME cd, "Soulful Blues" w/ Jackie Payne....great tone, playing, singing, songs, etc, etc........

Sometime we buy cd's to support fellow buds.....and sometimes we just DIG the SHIT out a cd, no matter the connection........"Soulful Blues" (along with Monster Mike's "Cryin Hey") fall under the latter category.

[zappafrank]

I KNEW that was Nick on Hope Radio!---But I did not read any credits that mentioned you, Nick!---Am I just blind?

Great A. Collins tone, KBR--

ac

[zappafrank]

Good GOD Igor! Ridiculosly cool and swingin, mman---GREAT vid!!!

Hats off and a deep bow!

ac

[zappafrank]

I want to say, Sean, (Valco Tone has some awesome Grey Tiger .02 oil caps for Guitars, and they really have a wide range of Tones that can be drawn out from Your Guitar.)

For a Tone player with not alot of Chops, they make me sound even Cooler.


Could not agree more---put 2 of those Grey Tigers (Sean's da man! Thanks again!) in my new 60' TV Yellow LP Special (reissue)---and it came to life---traded the GoldTop for it (lighter, wraparound---what's not to love?)

Thanks, Sean!!! I finally put em' to use!

ac

[Ryguy]

Speaking of caps, I have a p90, Les Paul Special style by Guild (chambered) that is would like to try out some different stuff in. It has vintage Vibe p90's in it which I kind of like, but I think it is still a bit muffled and dark. I was thinking of trying some of Lollar's 50's winds, which sound like they might do the trick, and would also like to try out some NOS caps to see if that opens things up a bit. What should I be looking for? I have no f***ing clue!

[monstermike]

Since KBR is the subject, I'll put in my semi-regular plug for his AWESOME cd, "Soulful Blues" w/ Jackie Payne....great tone, playing, singing, songs, etc, etc........

Sometime we buy cd's to support fellow buds.....and sometimes we just DIG the SHIT out a cd, no matter the connection........"Soulful Blues" (along with Monster Mike's "Cryin Hey") fall under the latter category.

Thanks!

[jumpnblues]

Since KBR is the subject, I'll put in my semi-regular plug for his AWESOME cd, "Soulful Blues" w/ Jackie Payne....great tone, playing, singing, songs, etc, etc........

Sometime we buy cd's to support fellow buds.....and sometimes we just DIG the SHIT out a cd, no matter the connection........"Soulful Blues" (along with Monster Mike's "Cryin Hey") fall under the latter category.


Yep. Killer CDs by killer players.


Tom

[KBR]

Thanks, and I really Dig Monster Mike's work! & Igor's.
Master players!

[Strat-O]

Its time for a...Group Hug!

:rotflmao

Sorry I couldn't resist. All this brotherly love floating around. Seriously, all these El Gatos deserve the accolades. Lotsa great talent hanging around here. Even got guitar playing harp players for crying out loud.

[zappafrank]

And a few harp playing guitar players, Strat-O---

Ryguy---those Grey Tigers are the shiz---ask Sean, maybe he can tell ya more--

ac

[mikelaw]

posting photos on here. go to imageshack.us and follow the prompts!

click browse on the front page, add the photo. check resize image and use the message board option. then click host it. then copy and paste the url for the hosting and paste that here....there are 3-4 url's on there, if one doesnt work try the next url.

mess around on there.

[valcotone]

I still have some nice NOS .02uF Grey Tiger caps left... PM or email.

Thanks for the positive feedback on them guys!

-Sean

[nc slim]

did you guys catch this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ranm9B5LKq0

[jumpnblues]

did you guys catch this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ranm9B5LKq0


Man! Don't get no better! Thanks slim. :AOK:AOK:AOK


Tom

[HappyValley]

I KNEW that was Nick on Hope Radio!---But I did not read any credits that mentioned you, Nick!---Am I just blind?

Great A. Collins tone, KBR--

ac
AC!!!! I noticed that too...LOL.
My photo w/ Ronnie is obviously in the center of the 'graphics portion' of the CD case, but my name only appears on the piece of paper in the opposite disc sleeve/ pocket- so no, your eyesight is fine, sir.....that'll be a $5.00 co-pay for your HMO...:BEER

[jimfog]

Hey,

Just got in from the Pa-NJ West Coast Jam thing in Glenside.......

Wish I could have stayed, but have a solo gig soon......bummer. I'm sure they're still rockin'.

Highlights:

Louis Electric Tremulux.......wow, just wow. Daddy likes.

Fretshop on tele through that amp......just awesome.

Pete Kanaras through said amp.......equally awesome.

Dave Orban didn't bring his infamous Head Rag....awesome!!! Oh yeah........kicked ass through the Louis as well.

Lots and lots of great folks......even the harp players! Very high quality, as these jammy things go.....

Hope this can be semi-regular hang.

Thanks to George for the idea and being point guy, and Melissa and Jerzees for hosting.

Ok.....off to pay some bills..........."wasted away agin in margaritaville......."

ARRRRRGGHHH!!!!

[Dave Orban]

Hey,

Just got in from the Pa-NJ West Coast Jam thing in Glenside.......

Wish I could have stayed, but have a solo gig soon......bummer. I'm sure they're still rockin'.

Highlights:

Louis Electric Tremulux.......wow, just wow. Daddy likes.

Fretshop on tele through that amp......just awesome.

Pete Kanaras through said amp.......equally awesome.

Dave Orban didn't bring his infamous Head Rag....awesome!!! Oh yeah........kicked ass through the Louis as well.

Lots and lots of great folks......even the harp players! Very high quality, as these jammy things go.....

Hope this can be semi-regular hang.

Thanks to George for the idea and being point guy, and Melissa and Jerzees for hosting.


Indeed, on all counts! A fine time was had by all!

[bluesjuke]

Good to see the Jimmy Rogers vid- Thanks!

[Jeff Michael]

Real good time in Glenside...great to meet/see again so many good folks, great to hear so much good music. Just a fine fine night. Can't wait to see any pics/video or hear any audio from that.

Thanks again, George, for being the driving force behind such an awesome event.

JAM

[Short Bus]

John Németh and company put on another great show in St. Pete at Dave's Aqua Lounge on Saturday night. Most of the crowd hadn't had but one or two on John's songs, let alone Junior and the rest of the guys. Very good show. Thanks again to them for coming down to the neglected FLA!

http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/9484/junior2cq5.th.jpg (http://img166.imageshack.us/my.php?image=junior2cq5.jpg)

[TwoFeets]

John Németh and company put on another great show in St. Pete at Dave's Aqua Lounge on Saturday night. Most of the crowd hadn't had but one or two on John's songs, let alone Junior and the rest of the guys. Very good show. Thanks again to them for coming down to the neglected FLA!

http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/9484/junior2cq5.th.jpg (http://img166.imageshack.us/my.php?image=junior2cq5.jpg)

....and I missed that one to play for a completely disinterested Port Canaveral crowd at some seafood deck/pickup joint. Oh the humanity!

[safecracker]

....and I missed that one to play for a completely disinterested Port Canaveral crowd at some seafood deck/pickup joint. Oh the humanity!
Feets, I hope they at least fed you free seafood!

[KBR]

I put a few new tunes up, so you can hear how I do it.
I even attempted some West Coast Blues on Git It my song from 1995.
Hope you like em? Mostly Blues done all live in the studio (one takes, I am too old to do 2 takes, and can't afford time in studios)

http://www.myspace.com/kennyblueray

[jumpnblues]

"[Hey,

Just got in from the Pa-NJ West Coast Jam thing in Glenside.......

Wish I could have stayed, but have a solo gig soon......bummer. I'm sure they're still rockin'.

Highlights:

Louis Electric Tremulux.......wow, just wow. Daddy likes.

Fretshop on tele through that amp......just awesome.

Pete Kanaras through said amp.......equally awesome.

Dave Orban didn't bring his infamous Head Rag....awesome!!! Oh yeah........kicked ass through the Louis as well.

Lots and lots of great folks......even the harp players! Very high quality, as these jammy things go.....

Hope this can be semi-regular hang.

Thanks to George for the idea and being point guy, and Melissa and Jerzees for hosting.

Ok.....off to pay some bills..........."wasted away agin in margaritaville......."

ARRRRRGGHHH!!!!]"



Ya' know, Jim, I kinda' quit toutin' Lou's amps here 'cause I thought people were gettin' tired of hearing it. I'm just glad you, Fretshop, Pete and Dave got to try one out. The Tremblelux is my next amp. I'm puttin' my Vicky Pro with Weber 15A150 (P15N) up for sale. It was my holy grail amp...until I got my Louis KR-10/12. Although I know Fretshop is familiar with them. Superb sounding amps.


Tom

[jimfog]

Ya' know, Jim, I kinda' quit toutin' Lou's amps here 'cause I thought people were gettin' tired of hearing it. I'm just glad you, Fretshop, Pete and Dave got to try one out. The Tremblelux is my next amp.

Yeah, it was really nice. It's rare that I plug into an amp and immediately GET it, but this was satisfying and giggable, even with a brief run-through.

What I liked was, it was never too bright, even with the tone dimed.....my P90 Tuxedo, George's tele and Dave's ES-175 all sounded right. Don't think we heard any humbuckers through it, though.....

Lou and George had just put it together the night before the jam, so it's still a work in process. I know they want to try one with a 15" speaker.......which would be cool.

Dave Gross' KR demo has me interested in trying one, as well.

[Strat-O]

Ya' know, Jim, I kinda' quit toutin' Lou's amps here 'cause I thought people were gettin' tired of hearing it. I'm just glad you, Fretshop, Pete and Dave got to try one out. The Tremblelux is my next amp. I'm puttin' my Vicky Pro with Weber 15A150 (P15N) up for sale. It was my holy grail amp...until I got my Louis KR-10/12. Although I know Fretshop is familiar with them. Superb sounding amps.

I'm sure they sound good but you've got to have a freakin' co-signer to buy one don't you? Aren't they in the $3000 range?

[jimfog]

I'm sure they sound good but you've got to have a freakin' co-signer to buy one don't you? Aren't they in the $3000 range?

Yeah....there IS that minor detail.

Probably the thing that would keep me from getting more serious about them.

My problem, not the amp maker's, however.

[jumpnblues]

I'm sure they sound good but you've got to have a freakin' co-signer to buy one don't you? Aren't they in the $3000 range?


My KR-10/12 was $2650. But it was a one-off custom amp at the time (another Gear Page member has one now too) and involved some sending the amp back and forth for mods and tweaking (changed from EL-34s to 6L6s and changed the master volume). I was thinking the Tremblelux was going to be around $2150.? I heard part of a phone message Duke Robillard left regarding the Tremblelux. Let's just say he wanted one...now. I'll let the other KR-10/12 owner talk about his...Dave are you out there?


Tom

[flyingvees]

Monster Mike is a great player along with the others mentioned...Never have heard that thing we recorded in Jersey (Harpin Help) way back when....Did you?

[valcotone]

Here's the pride of Vancouver, BC: The Twisters at a blues fest in Belgium.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrO6fF5QNZw&feature=related

[mikelaw]

$2000+ for a new amp is retarded. there i said it. $500-1000 you can get BITCHIN' tone for. new and old amps included.

come play my $200 1484 silvertone head through my 4-10 cab and tell me you need to spend 2K for a FLIPPIN amp.

i know my friends play expensive amps---nick adams juke amp, duke old pros that arent cheap....but all's i can say is come play my rig and then talk to me.

duke plays all old pas now. $300 GEMS! tone to the bone. old silvertones, ampegs, pa heads, NEW fender blues jr's and pro jrs. its endless the amount of good toned amps for decent prices.

[pete kanaras]

yeah george, that was fun yesterday! met some fine players and had a good time. now git your butt down my way for one of my first thursdays at the Cat's Eye. your turn mate....

[Dave Orban]

yeah george, that was fun yesterday! met some fine players and had a good time. now git your butt down my way for one of my first thursdays at the Cat's Eye. your turn mate....
You were killin' it yesterday, Pete...! Great tone, great comping, great playing all around! :dude

[nc slim]

Here is what I love to here what you turn people on to real blues. I sent my college roomate to see Watson in St Pete here is email from him

BP, those guys were unbelievable Sat. night. Thanks for the heads up. What web-site can I go to
To see who is playing?

[HappyValley]

$2000+ for a new amp is retarded. there i said it. $500-1000 you can get BITCHIN' tone for. new and old amps included.

come play my $200 1484 silvertone head through my 4-10 cab and tell me you need to spend 2K for a FLIPPIN amp.

i know my friends play expensive amps---nick adams juke amp, duke old pros that arent cheap....but all's i can say is come play my rig and then talk to me.

duke plays all old pas now. $300 GEMS! tone to the bone. old silvertones, ampegs, pa heads, NEW fender blues jr's and pro jrs. its endless the amount of good toned amps for decent prices.

Uhmmmm, Hi Mike.....where to begin....1st of all, not that it matters, but I sold my Juke almost a year ago; Secondly, although I agree that there are good amps with good (or was it "bitchin' ") tones for short $$, I'd also ask you to refrain from labelling those who choose to spend their $$ on quality gear that may be more pricey as 'retarded'.
I've owned 'cheap' Silvertone amps,Valco amps,Ampeg amps, Gretsch amps, Gibson amps and Fender amps of all years, shapes,sizes and varying price tags; I consider myself an experienced consumer who chooses amps not only for the tones(plural) they deliver, but for reliability and consistency, as I've played almost every weekend, year round, for over 10 years.
I, like others on this thread, prefer newer amps based on classic designs for that precise reason. I've watched too many old, cool looking amps (that usually do ONE sound well, BTW) blow onstage and I don't have the time or patience to maintain a 50 year old tool. I'm told that Anson switched from BFSR's to Dr. Z's for similar reasons, my boy....
There, I said it. :drool

[valcotone]

It's an interesting question.... do you gather a collection of cheap-ass cool old amps (or just one) that might self-combust at any minute, or do you buy the best sounding and most reliable vintage reproduction available? For the same cash as a new $2K amp you could have several of the cheaper off-brand vintage amps, but you just know they may not hold up as well... or at least they are probably more unpredictable even if well maintained.

But,... I haven't seen a 1484 go for $200 in a long time, and the Valco amps are increasing in price rapidly - even some of the 5W amps are selling for $500+. Silvertones and some Ampegs (I miss my M12 Mercury) still seem to be cheaper though. And have you seen the Supro amps selling for $4000+ on ebay?

To me, I only have old amps between 1948-1966, the only exceptions being the 2 clones I've built myself (5E3 deluxe, 5E7 bandmaster). I like old amps because they sound great (amazing in some cases), look funky, and I don't worry about taking them apart to work on them myself. If I didn't have any amp electro-chops I'd be more worried about buying old amps though. And even then, I always take a backup head to gigs - but I probably would even if I gigged a new amp.

I have to admit though, recently I've been jonesing for something like a Louis Amps KR or Victoria Regal II or similar, but that would mean selling a bunch of my favourite amps (like the Holmes/Backalley 2x10 '53 Pro) and I can't see that happening soon.

In any case, it's ALL good.

[Schwalbe]

Here is what I love to here what you turn people on to real blues. I sent my college roomate to see Watson in St Pete here is email from him

BP, those guys were unbelievable Sat. night. Thanks for the heads up. What web-site can I go to
To see who is playing?

I'm so confused!!!!!
:jo

[nmontz]

I don't think this "cheap gear" argument holds sand....here is why. If 50's and 60's strats and tele's were still cheap we all would be playing them. If you could get 50's les pauls, 335's, 345's for under 5k we all would have one. If 50's gibson archtops were in the 2k range....I'd have a es-5, es-295 and a es-350.

Same with vintage amps. What if tweeds were under a grand? Original BF amps are not much more expensive than fenders new ri's. What does a vibroverb ri cost...$1750 or something...you can get SR's and Pro Reverbs all day for that. Your old silvertone or PA has the same age problems that any old fender would have. You have players that are still using this "pricey vintage gear".....they didn't pay 10k for a bassman or 50k for a 57' strat. They got them when they were just guitars and amps and used them and loved them for years. Personally I have never bought a vintage anything that cost more than a new one of the same thing.

There is nothing wrong with the gear....just the vintage guitar and amp market. "Market" being the key word!! For those that still have old gear there is nothing wrong with the way the market is either. Now is just not the right time to buy your way into it. I don't understand why people would rag on the old good stuff....even if cost has kept them out of players hands who probably deserve them.

Most amps are one trick ponies....you like how a super reverb sounds and want that tone you buy a super reverb and pay what it costs. A 4x10 blues deville ain't the same thing. Same with most classic amp tones.

Also my old super reverb and bassman are gonna outlive me, and if they do blow up they are easilly fixed...I owned an gigged a blues deville for 10 years and that thing was in the shop more that all my vintage amps combined. Even with my limited amp tech skills I can get my old amps running again. I look at that big circuit board in a newer amp and ahh crap I'm stuck. Input jack was directly mounted to the board on my little bro's blues deluxe....it broke loose and do you think I could fix it. Nope, he had to live with it loose that way the whole time he owned the amp, if it was a vintage amp I just would have soldered in a new jack and it would have taken me 20 min.

You want a new louis amp or similar new botique amp...you are paying for that guys overhead, hand work, customer service, and.....most importantly...... experience. Very few things of quality come cheap.

Lastly....gear prices are relative. My college professor and symphony musician had two violins...one his beater, was 175K....his other good one was over half a millon bucks. He had them morgaged against his house and even though he was in his 60's, had been and was going to continue to pay on them his whole life. Makes guitars and amps seem downright cheap!

[KBR]

I have good luck with Ron Ott building me a tweed from Scratch, like I have used a 2x10 Super, a 3x10 Banmdmaster and a stock 59 Fender BM.
Last 7 years I have been using Allen Amps, they are my choices.
Hear em on

http://www.myspace.com/kennyblueray

[pete kanaras]

hey dave, right back atcha. you were driving that schweet 175 like andretti. yeah in those situations i just like to find a simple contrasting part and stay outta the way! when it works it's pretty cool. again, i enjoyed myself. the ride home however....

[Short Bus]

Here is what I love to here what you turn people on to real blues. I sent my college roomate to see Watson in St Pete here is email from him

BP, those guys were unbelievable Sat. night. Thanks for the heads up. What web-site can I go to
To see who is playing?


I turned a few people on to the show in Cocoa and St. Pete. I even made sure the DJ for the local community radio afternoon blues show, WMNF, knew about the Canned Heat Instrumentals CD. Which BTW Junior said he got no $$$ for. In fact, he hadn't even seen the CD until I showed it to him Saturday.

Among the 1000s of things that amazed me seeing him play was that even though he uses fat strings he uses a thin pick. He said he's got 12's on the H44 and that pick looked like a thin tortoise-shell.

Feets, sorry you had to play for zombies! This was a great show.

I'm done raving now. I'll go back to lurking.

[hasserl]

There's no reason in the world why a new Dr Z would be any more reliable than a BF Fender with fresh caps and resistors in the power supply and a three prong cord. None.

Same with the converted PA amps.

I don't know about these Louis Electric amps, so I can't/won't comment on them. But 3K for an amp, that's a lot of dough. A fella should be able to get a custom built amp for quite a bit less than that. The last amp I built, which is my current fave, cost me a lot less than a grand for parts, including the custom cabinet, 15" alnico Weber speaker, tubes, everything. I wouldn't hesitate to put it in a lineup with any amp.

[jumpnblues]

"[$2000+ for a new amp is retarded...]"


Wow Mike. I'm painfully aware I'm not the brightest bulb on the tree...but "retarded"? Man, is my mom ever goin' ta be disappointed!?! ;) ;)


Tom

[valcotone]

There's no reason in the world why a new Dr Z would be any more reliable than a BF Fender with fresh caps and resistors in the power supply and a three prong cord. None.


I could think of a few: old speakers, old transformers, old resistors, old coupling caps, old pots, old wiring, old solder joints, etc. Not to say you can't refurbish old amps so they are in fighting shape, but inherently on average they aren't as predictable as a new amp, IMO.

But that said, some of those same reasons are why I think the old ones sound they way they do... so fantastic. And, I still prefer using and owning old amps!

[fretshop]

yeah george, that was fun yesterday! met some fine players and had a good time. now git your butt down my way for one of my first thursdays at the Cat's Eye. your turn mate....

I'm already packed.

Pete...we're still talking about your Kay archtop. I think you only hit a first few intro notes on that axe while backing Deb Callahan on vocals to raise a communal " Jesus Christ....Man...do you hear the tone from that guitar !!!??? "

Planning stages for soiree #2...soon.

[fretshop]

I could think of a few: old speakers, old transformers, old resistors, old coupling caps, old pots, old wiring, old solder joints, etc. Not to say you can't refurbish old amps so they are in fighting shape, but inherently on average they aren't as predictable as a new amp, IMO.

But that said, some of those same reasons are why I think the old ones sound they way they do... so fantastic. And, I still prefer using and owning old amps!


Hey Sean....everything is looking good. I blew off the Watson gig this coming weekend for reasons I don't want to get into...but I'll be around if ya wanna call.

Amps: Winter, 2001....Anson Funderburgh east coast tour. Three Super Reverbs on the bus. John Street and I had at least one of them apart on any particular day. In the middle of a packed house one evening, a noise fest commenced out of one of the amps...it then went Fizzzz !!! Anson put his hand in the amp to wiggle the power tubes...not knowing that one 6L6 had already exploded due to a failed component....the razor sharp glass sliced up his right hand. Enough....

It just so happened that Buddy Whittington called a bit later to say "hey".... and after hearing the story, suggested a call to Mike Zaite at "Z". We were all somewhat skeptical at first....we all know the gig....the image of playing out of a BOO-TEEK amp... rather than being seen with just the right vintage Mojo. It took some learning to dial the Maz 38 in (and BTW they are HEAVY suckers), but once the speakers were worn in...our attitudes changed. The amp has what I would describe as a constant sweet spot. Anson immediately ordered another one. Over the next couple years, the tool boxes just got plain dusty from not being opened.

$2000 plus for an amp is alot of dough, granted. But...for the sake of argument, let's take a look at down time. Down time is expensive in many ways, especially when it happens in the midst of a performance. The possibility of re-booking your act, and making decent CD/peripheral item sales depends on satisfied patrons AND club owners who want a quality show for thier money, and shouldn't be subjected to technical issues and problems.

Now let's take a second to total up the cost of a complete refurb on a vintage amp....by a QUALIFIED specialist who knows what he's doing....and gets paid accordingly. Any guesses ? Oh, by the way...the re-furbished vintage amp may NOT sound just like it did before the re-furbishing, not matter how much attention is paid to detail.

I just got off the phone with Backstreets...one of my favorite N.E. Guitar men. Congrats on the Brown Sugar Bro' !! Listen....I'll store the Clark at my house, no problem.

[mikelaw]

dont make me come up to boston and whoop your lil 6 foot 6 butt nick.
:)

lol

[HappyValley]

I have good luck with Ron Ott building me a tweed from Scratch, like I have used a 2x10 Super, a 3x10 Banmdmaster and a stock 59 Fender BM.
Last 7 years I have been using Allen Amps, they are my choices.
Hear em on

http://www.myspace.com/kennyblueray
Kenny- sentcha an email, bro!!

[HappyValley]

dont make me come up to boston and whoop your lil 6 foot 6 butt nick.
:)

lol

I've contacted the moderators and have initiated a WCBAT witness protection program; I don't know who this "Nick" is and I don't know where he lives.
But where ever that may be, he can still beat you like a fool's mule...:moon

LOL x 10........luv ya bunches Mikey....retardation notwithstanding...

[pete kanaras]

i figured there'd be a lot of teles so i thought i'd bring something different. it's a really special instrument; $220 from sal's music, wappingers falls ny in 1987. the kleenex box pups hummed so bad there was nothing we could do(potting,etc) so i said "screw it, i'll turn it into a K-mart version of an ES-5". this was back in the day when you could'nt give a guitar like that away. but i was already thoroughly knee-deep into fats and watson, who very few people in my part of NY even knew about. the best guitar for backing a harp player ever, man fughettaboutit. that guitar with a (first production run)RI bassman and '63 tank was my whole world before i moved to DC, but it was not a Nighthawks guitar at all so out came the strats and teles. in fact rich sussman made that bootleg of me backing guyger with that same guitar(wooden bridge)thru my super reverb at the North Star Bar in Philly in '94. i just flipped on sunday when he told me that HE was the guy who made that tape, because it was my nighthawks audition tape! they wanted to hear something ahead of time, i had nothing to speak of but i did have that tape. i figured well hell, if they don't like This they simply won't like the way i play, no big deal. but they dug it, the rest is history and so thank you rich! so for me it was kinda sweet that i had that very same guitar with me on sunday. small world

[mikelaw]

moderators! lmao

i am laughing so hard i am crying.... oooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhh

[fretshop]

Thanks!

I'm Cryin' hey....for Soulful Blues...and there's lots of Soulful blues in Cryin' hey !!

[GOLDENSTRAT]

Ha Pete, I remember Sal's music, still have a couple straps I bought there in the mid 70's. I looked for it this summer as I rolled down the hill but didn't see it anymore. fred

[fretshop]

Real good time in Glenside...great to meet/see again so many good folks, great to hear so much good music. Just a fine fine night. Can't wait to see any pics/video or hear any audio from that.

Thanks again, George, for being the driving force behind such an awesome event.

JAM

Hey Jeff....

Yes, there is video and audio. Mike Schwartz from Guitar Storage recorded a sizeable amount of the afternoon. He advised me that he wants to do some editing to the mix, etc, and then we'll preview it. I'll keep you posted. Mike really put himself out for us that Sunday, and I know he checks out this thread. Maybe he'll post just to say hello. We're also looking at negotiating a Harmony dealership.

BTW, Mike just sold two of his storage racks to A. Schultz. You go Mike !!

[fretshop]

Ha Pete, I remember Sal's music, still have a couple straps I bought there in the mid 70's. I looked for it this summer as I rolled down the hill but didn't see it anymore. fred

Sal's Music...Wappinger's Falls ? If that's it....Hah...memories. I worked for a while as a weekend bartender at a nearby Dude Ranch...what a small world. You could get Hohner harps there for less than $5.00. He also had a couple mint old Premier red knob amps there.....who knew back then.

[Strat-O]

Sal's Music...Wappinger's Falls ? If that's it....Hah...memories. I worked for a while as a weekend bartender at a nearby Dude Ranch...what a small world. You could get Hohner harps there for less than $5.00. He also had a couple mint old Premier red knob amps there.....who knew back then.


A dude ranch in New York? :crazyguy


I am very sorry for my actions here but...:roll

[Strat-O]

Okay seriously, does the Allen Brown Sugar sound like a tweed Bassman or Pro with a reverb tank? Is it loose and nasty sounding?

[monstermike]

$2000+ for a new amp is retarded. there i said it.

At one point, I wanted to make up T-Shirts that said "Voodoo Chile (Slight Retard)." Good taste prevailed.

Now, "I'm Elmore James, B*tch!" on the other hand, is still tempting...

[pete kanaras]

Sal's Music...Wappinger's Falls ?

yep, great place. my old bass player jimmy lived in wappingers. he called one day and said "greek, sal's got a guitar that only your crazy ass would lust after!" i bought that Kay on the worst snow day of the year, it took me an hour to get there from po-town(normally 10 minutes). total Nanook of the North kinda snow that day, hardly anyone on the streets. man i slid down that damn hill but i was not to be denied! got my '63 tank there too, ex peter frampton. my old tech chris davis was peter's tech for 15 years. frampton would have fire sales from time to time and so it all wound up at sal's, right around the corner from chris'. i remeber i coulda had my choice of a 59 bassman or a center volume concert, each in a brand new anvil roadcase, for $750 each. eek. but by the time i got the scratch together they were long gone. ahh the days....

dude ranch? remember a country joint called Moog's Farm?

[GOLDENSTRAT]

Fretshop jogging my memory.. I still have 2 Marine band harps from Sal's although the screws just fell out of one last year, can't find the harp rack anymore though. Saw lots of good shows up at the Last Chance on po-town. fred

[jimfog]

Planning stages for soiree #2...soon.

Hey George,

Not sure what/where you have in mind for #2, but here's a couple thoughts I had.......

While it was real nice crew, and a great time was had by all (I hope), I know I wish there had been a bit more mixing and matching and chances to play with others............I was hoping to get to trade licks with you, Dave and Pete, especially.

Also, the talent level was pretty darned high, as these things go...........but I definitely could have stood to hear more "West Coast" and "Jump", which I thought was the idea. It seemed there were only a few of us doing it, and then things got a little generic (not quality, just material-wise).

Anyway, thanks again for the idea..........and thanks to everyone who helped put it on. Special shout-out to Melissa and Jeff for lugging all the gear and PA crap by themselves afterwards, when I had to split.

Trust me, I should have stayed............my 2nd gig was basically non-existent. Blah.

- Jim

[TwoFeets]

And now for something completely different:

What do you guys recommend in a good, yet reasonably priced, trem pedal?

Obviously the Austone Vibrostomp is the Rolls Royce, but I'm looking for more of an Oldsmobuick. (not that I wouldn't love to have the Rolls, but...)

The only real consideration is that I would like to have a volume control on it, preferably a knob rather than an internal trim pot, to compensate for perceived volume loss when the unit is engaged. (many of the ones with an external volume can also be used as a boost when the depth control is turned all the way down, which is a nice added feature)

The Dano Tuna Melt is actually a pretty good sounding pedal but has noticeable signal loss and no way to compensate. I have owned an Ibanez Soundtank TL-5 before but it wasn't quite what I wanted.

The Swamp Thang sounds intriguing, but at $200 is still out of my price range. I'm thinking $125 and under, and the more under, the better!

I've looked at some of the DIY kits from Build Your Own Clone and General Guitar Gadgets, but I am NOT good with a soldering iron whatsoever and would probably end up making a very expensive ashtray.

[KBR]

Backalley,

The Brown Sugar is a great Amp, Turn em up and the 30 Watts sound awesome, The verb is good, too.

Kenny "Blue" Ray
http://home.earthlink.net/~blueray

http://www.myspace.com/kennyblueray

[jimfog]

And now for something completely different:

What do you guys recommend in a good, yet reasonably priced, trem pedal?

Feets,

The Voodoo Lab trem from the last few years has a volume control and sounds real good.......not too spendy, either.

......at least it's not RETARDED spendy........or should we say "MikeLaw Priced"?!?!?!?

:roll

[GOLDENSTRAT]

I have the Guyatone little white trem and it has a slight volume boost which is nice but it has a super touchy speed knob, goes from slow to too fast in a blink. fred

[jumpnblues]

"[...LOL x 10........luv ya bunches Mikey....retardation notwithstanding...]"


Hey, wait a minute...I thought that was me?!? ("retardation notwithstanding") :D


Tom

[Scott Miller]

Trem pedal: I have one from 4MS pedals, a bunch of total geeks who make really weird stuff. Mine "colors" the sound a bit, in a good way. I have the double-trem mod, which causes epilepsy in small animals, and an expression pedal input to change the speed. It looks like they no longer make pedals out of junction boxes, but they might if you asked them.

http://www.4mspedals.com/tremulus.php

[pete kanaras]

i have 2 tuna melts and they're not bad at all. but for a total world beater cheap trem get a plain jane boss tr2 trem, and then remove the C4 capacitor. it's the biggest cap on the board, clearly marked. just clip it out and be amazed. it then becomes jaw dropping better. it is a killer no excuses trem. it is now very versatile(from totally useable at gig volume full soft wave to hard stutter), and muuuch more open sounding over stock. also greatly reduced signal drop over stock; it's now on par with an amp's built-in trem, which is perfect for me. it definitively ended my journey for a great, cost-no-object trem. i would'nt take a demeter over this. no kidding....

[TwoFeets]

i have 2 tuna melts and they're not bad at all. but for a total world beater cheap trem get a plain jane boss tr2 trem, and then remove the C4 capacitor. it's the biggest cap on the board, clearly marked. just clip it out and be amazed. it then becomes jaw dropping better. it is a killer no excuses trem. it is now very versatile(from totally useable at gig volume full soft wave to hard stutter), and muuuch more open sounding over stock. also greatly reduced signal drop over stock; it's now on par with an amp's built-in trem, which is perfect for me. it definitively ended my journey for a great, cost-no-object trem. i would'nt take a demeter over this. no kidding....

Thanks for the suggestions so far - keep 'em coming guys!

I've been looking at the Boss TR-2 and also thinking if I go the used route, the Keeley mod to add the volume control might be a good way to go. Any experiences with that here?

I'm also intrigued by this offering on Ebay.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Blue-Bird-Tremolo-Pedal_W0QQitemZ250217585664QQihZ015QQcategoryZ2266 9QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[fretshop]

"[...LOL x 10........luv ya bunches Mikey....retardation notwithstanding...]"


Hey, wait a minute...I thought that was me?!? ("retardation notwithstanding") :D


Tom

Now I'm confused...there is a pricey hand made amp in my living room. Are we related ?

Hmmmm....maybe we're in-bred ? Well....does that mean if my cousin and his wife get divorced...they won't be brother and sister any more ?

[Scott Miller]

The very coolest tremelo I've heard is a DeArmond unit from the 40's. It has a little rocking vial of mercury in it. Might not be so good in the durability department, but it sounds great.

[valcotone]

For trem I really like the Auralux King Trem, but they are hard to find because the company is basically non-existant. Really swampy trem... kind of a mix between a brownface Fender and a vibe of sorts. Nice swirly and phasey quality to it. I liked it better than the more precise Tremulator. It's got on/off and a speed switch so you can toggle between variable fast and slow settings. It is a bit noisy but I don't notice that when playing with the band.

[Echo Are]

The very coolest tremelo I've heard is a DeArmond unit from the 40's. It has a little rocking vial of mercury in it. Might not be so good in the durability department, but it sounds great.

Scott, is this the one you're talking about(see link below)? How gloriously crude, but clever and intriguing. I didn't know there ever was such a thing.
http://homepage.mac.com/danielformosa/dearmond.html

[btg]

This months Guitar Player has a bunch of reviews on Tremelo pedals. I took a quick glance at it. I have the Austone Vibrostomp. Highly recommend it.

[Schwalbe]

I had a Voodoo Labs Trem, I liked it a lot. I sold it to a pedal steel player in NYC when I built the ToreVibe. the ToreVibe easily goes from woofwoofwoofwoof to KaKaKaKa and all points inbetween.

Feets,

The Voodoo Lab trem from the last few years has a volume control and sounds real good.......not too spendy, either.

......at least it's not RETARDED spendy........or should we say "MikeLaw Priced"?!?!?!?

:roll

[fretshop]

Pete's right...the C-4 mod will radically increase the "pulsing" effect of the TR-2, while also adding some bottom end, thus increasing the intensity of the effect.

I bought a vibrostomp, after trying out Nick's. I very rarely use the Magnatone pitch-shift effect, but t