The Madness Continues!

Remember that Les Paul that I said was a keeper?! Yeah.. It wasn't. It had a great feel and great balance/weight but something about it just didn't work. It was too damn bright and lacked the low end that I am used to. Three different pickups were tried with no luck in fixing the problem. Sometimes, you have to acknowledge that certain guitars have characteristics that you cannot modify. So that's gone.

I got my Axe-Fx and home recording setup. That Axe-FX is awesome. Here's the summary of that rig.
*Axe-Standard
*Carvin HT750 Poweramp
*Atomic Reactor Passive Cab.

I have never been so amazed by a single piece of equipment. When going in direct, you get the feeling and sound of playing through a mic'd rig. The free Axe-Edit interface makes things painfully easy to edit your patch and compare tones. Also, you can turn off the cab and poweramp simulations with ease. It's perfect for both a live rig and direct recording. I was so impressed that it led to my next purchase...

Mesa 295 Poweramp.
This thing is massive. I picked it up for 450, which is pretty fair considering that could use a retube within the next 6 months. What's great about it is that it was made prior to Mesa adding Presence controls. With the Axe-Fx, I want to edit everything through the unit itself. This includes the Presence.

Purchased a Voodoo Amps CP100. This was made for Ken from Unearth and was built into a Marshall 2210 headshell. SUPER loud and sounded pretty decent. However, with the Frenzel, Mako, and Titan.. it wasn't doing anything that I didn't already have somewhere else. It will be sent tomorrow for a 2003 Gibson Les Paul Swamp Ash Studio. I don't really need a fourth guitar right now so it's probably going to be traded. In fact, I believe that it's traded already.

With the acquisition of the Mesa 295 poweramp. I want to add an actual preamp to the mix. I've had my eye on a Mako MAK4 since I heard Mako was going to come out with them. I should find out today if I made a deal for that Swamp Ash LP for one. *fingers crossed*. I am going to need another 4 space rack case...

Other News
When I first thought of doing a gear blog, I wanted to get other people involved and interview other fellow nerds about their rigs. Well... I found my first person to interview in an old friend. I should be able to get that done and posted within the next two weeks.

Updated Gear List

New (to me) Les Paul

After three years of trying, I succeeded in getting my friend and former roommate, Shane, to sell me his Les Paul. While it's a Studio, I have never seen one with this finish and play so well. Of course, I can't be happy with how things come to me. The pickup is getting swapped with a Gibson 500T. It's a keep for sure.

As far as other updates, the Mark IV beat my original expectation and last over 4 months. It's gone. I arranged a trade yesterday for a custom Titan Dual Lead Channel rack head. Here are the specs from his forum post:

Feature-wise, this amp is pretty similar to the Cerberus, but without the clean channel, and with some more poweramp voicing options. Basically,
- 100w via KT88 x 2 (fresh JJs)
- 2 CH (both hi-gain, but can do clean with gain lowered)
--> Blue channel is TITAN's signature, super dynamic hi-gain channel
--> Red channel is a custom-voiced, more compressed hi-gain channel that shares some characteristics w/ the ENGL SE & VHT UL
- gain / vol / bass / mid / treb / contour controls per channel
- master vol / presence / depth / damping controls
- rear input (seriously, why don't more rack amps have this)
- switchable fx loop
- lot's o' speaker output options
- 5U, includes front handles (very nice to have getting it in / out of a rack)
 Pics will be posted as soon as I get it.

I have some funds set aside for a few purchases within the next month. Some are decided on already.. some are not. Hopefully, I will be able to do some minor recording and tracking at my house within the next few weeks.
Axe-Fx Standard *decided on*
Atomic Reactor Active 50w Cab *decided on*
Custom built Les Paul Copy
21.5in iMac
Verellen Skyhammer

Here's a quick picture of what my setup was as of last night:

New Acquisitions!

On my way home, I stopped by Guitar Center in Tukwila to trade in that Ibanez Rg I just got (we didn't mesh well) for a 4 space rack case for the Mark IV. I also picked up an Xotic BB Preamp. I have heard nothing but good things and they one used. Why not pick it up?!

The FJA Marshall is no longer. I traded it for my old Mako Dorado. I did like the Marshall quite a bit but I was finding myself frustrated because the bottom end wasn't tight enough, even with the Marshall cabinet. I only got rid of the Mako to try something different. I did that and now I'm glad to have it back. I am hoping to hear back from Andrew Solner (the man behind Mako) soon about sending it in for the latest circuit updates and get some 6550s in that bitch, I think those will tighten it up a bit. Thanks to my friend, Morgan... I now know that the amp is from the time when Andrew did PTP wiring (no turret boards).

I came home today to find my Mark IV waiting for me to unbox. As always, UPS damages something. Fortunately, it was just the rack ears. No biggie. After about 20 minutes of packing, putting in the tubes, and outing the head in it's rack case... I was able to try it out. Granted, it was 11pm so I really couldn't turn it up much but I'm beyond stoked on this thing. All the clips I've heard doesn't do it justice. It's got tons of gain, super tight feel and low end, and a lot of versatility. I was perfectly happy without an overdrive on the Lead channel and that never happens. I put the BB Preamp in front of the Rhythm 2 channel and the fucker is mean! It made me miss playing in a few of my previous bands.

In other news, I got Visio on my PC finally. I am using it to map out my pedal boards and my signal path. This, and taking pictures, will hopefully allow to map out my entire rig. Fuck I'm nerdy.

That's it for now. Gear List has been updated

I have to laugh at myself

Since my initial post, I haven't posted a single thing. When I thought of this blog, I had every intention of keeping it updated and actually posting a detailed list of my stuff with pictures. I had everything in one room and I started snapping pictures and I didn't like how any of the pictures came out. I get easily frustrated and defeated. So I stopped. I swear that this thing will happen by the end of the year. In the meantime, I will go through the latest happenings.

• I sold my Matamp 4x12. I didn't think that having 3 cabinets was really necessary and the money would allow me to search for some different heads. 
• Traded by ESP 7 String for an Ibanez RG. I immediately blocked the Floyd Rose System and changed the pickup. I have no idea what I am going to use it for.. but I am sure I can figure it out.  
• I got the itch to to try a different head. I started looking at high gain amps with more of a vintage voice. I looked at the following:
• Mako Makoplex - I had it before and I really miss it. 
• Roccaforte Vintage/Modern - I heard some clips via Youtube and it sounds exactly what I am looking for.
• Fortin Modded Marshalls - It's a dude out of Canada that just does amazing mods. Search for them and you'll be impressed
• Put my FJA Marshall on the chopping block to see if I can use it to prompt a trade situation for one of the above heads. I didn't have much luck.
• On one of the gear forums I frequent, I came across a guy looking to trade his Mesa Mark IV for a 5150 plus cash. I have always wanted to try one of these as they are versatile and while I can pick apart Lamb of God's tone.. it does have some really good qualities. I offered the  head and 600 (from the Matamp sale) and he accepted. I now have a Mark IV on the way and I am pretty excited about it. However, I can see it on the chopping block within 2 months unless it blows me away completely.
• In response to Twitter/Facebook post, Justin reminded me to check out Verellen. I called Ben and told him what I was looking for and what I have tried. He recommended his Skyhammer amp. First off, Ben is an extremely nice guy. When we talked, he offered to get a Skyhammer in his shop that he already built for someone (he doesn't have demos of each amp). I stopped by Friday of last week and tried it out. I am now trying to find out what I need to save/sell to place an order for a half stack (maybe even a full stack). Here are my impressions:
• The controls are very easy and very intuitive
• The Presence control is actually pleasant to work with. It doesn't just dump a bunch of ear piercing highs as you turn it up
• The Master Volume taper is great. You can get great tones at bedroom levels and it is effective the entire way through. Most amps reach maximum output around the half way point and then just add bottom end afterwards. With the Skyhammer, when you turn it up to 10.. it's actually at 10.
• His cabinets and headshells are beautiful. 
• If/when I place an order, I want...
• A tad more gain on both the crunch and lead channel
• More bottom end as I tend to like a darker tone with higher end bite
• Tighter attack/response. 
• While playing, I wondered how it would sound with a Vintage 30/gt75 X Pattern in the cabinet.  
•  Last night, I purchased one of my old Marshall cabs back. With having to cart both Mesa Cabs back and fourth, it's easier to have a third cab I can leave at home that I don't have to worry about moving. After plugging it in this morning with the Marshall... I kinda prefer this cabinet over the Recto cab. Makes me want to get another one. Or! If I go the Verellen route, I could make this cabinet mirror the Verellen with the same speaker mismatch.

I think that's pretty much it for now. Next post will be actual detailed information on my setup.

A first post seems appropriate

I am a big nerd. Plain and simple. As long as I have been playing guitar, I have been interested in different guitars, effects, amps, cabinets as well as what other players use in the studio and live. This little blog will serve as my outlet and excuse to appease this curiosity.

I don't really know what this will become as I go on. My immediate goals are pretty simple:

• Document my current rig in detail
• What is used live
• What has been used in studio (that's going to be difficult)
• Upload my Gear List (this is an all encompassing history of what I have owned
• Interview other players and document what they use, in detail

Here's a link to my Gear List.