We get it. Every time the earth rotates the sun again, people start with the "New Year New Me" or "Out With The Old and In With The New" mantras that make your social media newsfeed intolerable. I'm about to insert that same level of cringe to my blog feed, why not? So what am... Continue Reading →
As talked about in a previous post where I lay out the background to my love of partscasters, here is a rundown of one of my more recent partscasters. It's a combination of a Squier '51 body and an early 90's Peavey Predator neck. As with many of my partscasters, there really wasn't a master... Continue Reading →
Let's talk Clean Boost pedals. It's a relatively simple circuit, usually one knob, and it's main goal is to take whatever signal is being fed to it and, well, boost it. You can find boost pedals that have have EQ controls for further tone sculpting, or boost pedals that only boost the treble. For purposes... Continue Reading →
The quest for tone is neverending. I've had my fair share of rigs over the years, some great, some crap, but they have all been part of the journey. Sometimes I'll show up to a gig with an amp just to see if I can get away with it. Whether it's just the "dirt cheap"... Continue Reading →
So you spend months or years dialing in your tone alone at home to what you think is just right before you get out gigging regularly. You’re convinced you need that 100-watt stack to have those tubes cooking like your heroes of yesteryear did in stadiums. After all, you spent summers mowing lawns and begging... Continue Reading →
Eddie Van Halen, Eric Clapton, David Gilmour, Stevie Ray Vaughn. I’m not just name dropping, they’re all guitarists that have something in common: their most iconic guitars were partscasters. They did all this in the days before Warmoth, eBay, and Reverb.com. When you would have to cannibalize guitars to get a neck you want with... Continue Reading →
Sometimes I play solo acoustic gigs. Usually they're in a restaurant where I'm just a bit of background music while people are eating and conversing with friends and loved ones. A gig is a gig, and part of ensuring the best possible gig and being booked again is realizing what your role is in the... Continue Reading →
The speaker is often the most overlooked part of the signal chain. Unfortunately, that means it’s also the weakest point in most signal chains. This is true especially in the lower end of the amp market. Now, I’ll be the first to admit my own ignorance on just how a magnet, a voice coil, and... Continue Reading →
Murphy’s Law: Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. Nowhere is this truer than in the world of a gigging musician. Those strings that you’ve been twangin’ on for months? They’ll choose to snap bending that first note during your sweet solo. That seemingly indestructible amp you’ve been cranking since the 80s? A fuse... Continue Reading →
