Archive for Guitar Gear
Cool Tremolo Alert; The Wilkinson/Gotoh VSVG Vintage Tremolo
Posted by: | CommentsI have finally replaced the stock tremolo on my MIM (Made In Mexico) Fender Strat with the Wilkinson/Gotoh VSVG Vintage Tremolo.
I ended up purchasing it for $110.00 (shipping included) on Ebay from a seller in Virginia with a 100% positive feedback rating.
Right off the bat, the installation was a piece of cake. I just simply swapped out the stock tremolo unit.
Not only was it easy to replace, but the intonation was set perfectly right out of the box. I did not have to adjust one saddle. In no way can I guarantee perfect intonation if you buy the VSVG tremolo unit. This particular case was a flat out miracle.
Before taking off the stock tremolo unit, I plugged the Strat directly into ProTools and recorded some chords & licks. After installing the new Wilkinson/Gotoh trem, I went straight back to ProTools and recorded the same chords & licks.
The results were quite revealing. At fist glance, the waveforms of the stock tremolo appeared to be larger than the waveforms of the VSVG tremolo. My first thought was “Oh great, I’m losing volume with the VSVG”. But that was not the case at all.
I tend to be a pretty “percussive” guitar player which means that I regularly “hit” the the guitar as I strike the strings. If I’m doing R&B (which is real common on a Strat), I hit the guitar harder with my right hand than if I do jazz.
Upon closer scrutiny of the audio, the stock tremolo was picking up my right hand movements and transferring that onto the strings. When listening to the Wilkinson/Gotoh VSVG audio, I just heard more of the guitar without the right hand “hits” against the body. The Wilkinson/Gotoh VSVG Tremolo filtered out the “percussive” hits and let more of the guitar tone ring through. The stock trem was picking up the low end of the “thuds”.
The next day, I played the Strat at the Saddleback Church services with guest country artist Billy Dean. At the end of the service, we played a “Country 10 Step” blues jam for the congregation to walk out to. Somebody told my wife, “I didn’t know Dave could play Country”. I normally do not…it was the Mexican Strat finally being able to speak correctly.
New Pickup Alert Part 2
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After a couple of months, I have finally completed the installation of the DiMarzio Area 58′s & Area 61 pickups on my MIM (Made In Mexico) Fender Strat.
The pickup configuration is; Area 58-neck, Area 58-middle, & Area 61-bridge.
The DiMarzio’s have made a huge difference in the sound of my Strat. They are extremely quiet & sound incredibly “vintage” (Yes, that is possible!)
The Area 58′s (Neck & Middle) have a very warm, yet big sound whereas the Area 61 (Bridge) has a very bright (but not thin) tone .
When the Area 61(Bridge) is combined with the Area 58 (Middle), you are in “Strat-land”. The warmth of the Area 58 combined with the “bite” of the Area 61
is simply amazing. Soloing with the Area 58 in the neck position is also an incredible experience. The notes & the sound are “all there”.
With the aid of a small DPDT switch, I’m able to get a semi-Telecaster type tone by combining the neck & bridge pickups.
With the pickups now working beautifully, they are doing a great job of showing off an inferior stock tremolo bridge.
I’m looking into getting the Wilkinson/Gotoh VSVG Vintage Tremolo as a replacement bridge.
I’ll keep you posted when that installation comes along.
Reuniting With An Old Friend – The MXR Dyna Comp (76 Reissue-Script Logo)
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A great friend of mine at Saddleback Church recently became a Dunlop (Pedals & Accessories) distributor. He provided me with 5 brand new MXR pedals to try out and review.
One of the pedals was a reissue of the 1976 Vintage MXR Dyna Comp with the script logo. Apparently, a batch of the old integrated circuits (CA3080) used in the original Dyna Comp were located and the reissues were made.
I had purchased my first Dyna Comp in the early 80′s for $40.00 from an ad placed in the South Bay Recycler (I was 16 at the time). I originally intended for the pedal to act as a volume boost for soloing but, I came to find out that it did much more that.
It also acts as a very cool “brickwall” limiter for doing the “funky chicken pickin & chord” stuff. It will also calm down an “out of control” Wah pedal when the Dyna Comp is plugged in after the Wah.
The coolest feature of this particular pedal is the way the compression releases after you hit a sustained chord. Your first initial hit gets a little “ducked”, and then the chord musically and magically appears.
My first Dyna Comp started dying (distorting real bad) when I was in college and I tried replacing it with Boss Compressors (CS2 & CS3). The Boss Comps did not have that Dyna Comp “vibe”.
When I first plugged in the reissue Dyna Comp a couple of weeks ago, I was 16 all over again (but without the LA Banning High School Drama).
Here is a link to a great video comparing a regular MXR Dyna Comp to the 1976 Reissue Dyna Comp.
The pedal is “true bypass” so if the battery starts to go or if you have a power supply malfunction, switch the pedal off and your signal is till there.
Of course, the only drawback to the Dyna Comp reissue is that there is no LED indicator to let you know if it is on. I guess that’s what ears are for.
New Pickup Alert; The DiMarzio Area 58
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A few years back, great friend and worship bassist Rey Garguena gave me a 1998 Mexican Fender Stratocaster. It was all stock so, of course I had to swap out the pickups.
I put a Duncan Hot Rail in the bridge position and Duncan Classic Stack in the middle. I rarely use the neck pickup on the Strat so I left it stock.
A couple of weeks ago, I was asked to do the Los Lonley Boys song, My Way, so I needed to use the Strat with the neck pickup. Of course the stock pickup was noisy and horrible sounding so I needed to do some research for the replacement process.
Fellow worship guitarist, Mike Parsons, had made the proclamation that the DiMarzio Area 61′s & 58′s were the ultimate Fender Stratocaster replacement pickups. When Mike speaks, I usually listen since he buys and uses a lot of guitar gear.
During the NAMM show in Anahiem, I caught the Lincoln Brewster concert at the Roland Exhibit. His Strat sound is pretty impeccable so I went to his website to see what he was using for pickups. Lo and behold, he also uses the DiMarzio Area 61 & 58.
The final journey led me to YouTube. I found some pretty awesome demonstrations of the DiMarzio 61 & 58. Here’s one of the more informative reviews from Paul from GuitarWorld.
So off to Sweetwater I went to purchase a DiMarzio Area 58 for my Mexican Strat’s neck position.
I installed the pickup and wow, what an incredible sound.
After installing the DiMarzio Area 58 in the neck, I noticed that the pickup sounded out of phase with the Duncan Classic Stack in the middle position. I had to switch the green ground wire (of the DiMarzio) to the 5 way position switch and the red wire to the ground terminal. Phasing problem solved.
Cool 2009 NAMM Find: Voodoo Labs Switchers & Power Supplies
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Had the Voodoo Labs PX-8 or PX-4 Switchers been around a while back, I would probably be using a larger pedal rig today. These switchers are a great idea for effectively stringing stomp boxes together.
When stomp boxes are bypassed, they seldom allow for a pure guitar signal to get to the amp. They have a tendency to color your guitar sound, and not for the better. Most boutique pedal companies have dealt with this problem by creating a “true bypass” circuit. A majority of stomp boxes are not “true bypass”.
Voodoo Labs has created a couple of units that will allow for a great guitar tone even if you have a bunch of pedals between your guitar and amp.
The PX-4 and PX-8 Switchers allow for having a “true bypass” circuit on each pedal or effect unit that is routed into the loops. When the button for that effect is on, the pedal is nicely placed in your signal chain. When the button is off, the pedal or effect is completely removed from your signal chain.
A great feature on the PX-8 is a tip-ring-sleeve insert point between loops 6 and 7. This would be a great spot to place a volume pedal or, a preamp with a volume pedal. Loop 7 and 8 could then be used for delays or reverb. The PX-4 also has an insert between loops 3 and 4.
Another great feature is the Switcher’s ability to be controlled via MIDI. This allows for several different pedal combinations with the hit of one button. This is also great news for guitarists who want to integrate stomp boxes into their rack systems.
Voodoo Labs has also created some great power supplies that will take care any noise issues that arise from less than quality power.
USB Ground Loop Noise Eliminated!
Posted by: | CommentsHappy New Year Everyone!,
If you play the electric guitar, sooner or later you will have to deal with ground loop noise. As your guitar rig grows, so does the potential for unwanted noises & hums in your system. The upside to having noise problems is learning how to deal with them. I’ve found that dealing with noise problems requires more imagination & creativity than technical knowledge.
As for ground loops, the rule of thumb is, do not have multiple grounding sources (i.e- Don’t plug your amp into one wall socket and your pedal board into another wall socket – plug them into the same power source with the same ground.)
If you have noise coming from an individual pedal, chances are the pedal is not receiving the correct amperage. The voltage might be fine but your power supply may not have enough amperage.
Another noise problem can arise when a line cable is too close to a power source.
Gear companies design their equipment to “see” grounding sources in vastly different ways. That usually leaves us asking the Heavenly Father for guidance in putting “quiet” rigs together.
Today, I was working on eliminating a ground loop noise coming from a USB cable plugged into a Mac G5 and a Korg X50 keyboard. The noise sounded like digital jibber-jabber combined with a high pitched whine.
When I unplugged the USB cable, the noise disappeared. I needed the Korg X50 on the USB port for MIDI and patch editing purposes. Unplugging the USB cable to track keyboard parts was not an option.
After looking at different internet sites, forums and blogs, I took a shot at a creative solution. I had to sacrifice 2 USB cables but, the problem was eventually solved.
In the middle of the USB cable, I stripped away a section of the rubber coating to expose a 1/2 inch of the braided shielding. I then cut the shielding entirely away exposing the 4 wires in the middle. I made sure the shield was completely disconnected by testing for contact (continuity) on the opposite metal ends of the cable. I then proceeded to cut the “black” wire that supplies a ground source through the USB cable via pin #4.
After the surgery, I plugged the altered USB cable between the Korg X50 and the Mac and “voila”, no more high pitched jibber-jabber.
Another ground loop bites the dust!
The Ultimate Bass For A Guitarist!
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When asking one of my fellow worship-bass-guitarist collegues, Steve Araujo, about purchasing a bass guitar, he enthusiastically directed me toward the Fender Vintage Modified 70′s Jazz Bass (It also just happens to be a Squire).
I went out and gave the bass a test drive. All I can say is that this bass absolutely sings!
Needless to say, I bought it (for a little over $200).
Steve Araujo affectionately calls this bass, the anomaly since it is so inexpensive and yet plays so well.
After a good set-up, this bass is extremely easy to play. If you are not a good thumper, this bass will surely help you to become more funky.
I initially did some research on the Fender Vintage Modified 70′s Jazz Bass at Harmony Central. It seems that some pro players had actually made the Vintage Modified Jazz Bass their primary axe over their more expensive basses.
All I can say is that I’m having a blast pretending to play like Melvin Davis (also a worship-bass-guitarist colleague at Saddleback Church) and Marcus Miller.
And The New Delay Pedal Is….
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After doing some research and some serious listening, my new delay pedal is the TC Electronic ND-1 Nova Delay. This thing sounds absolutely three dimensional. Each repeat of your sound is more of an added layer rather than just a simple repeat.
As a rule of thumb, I sonically run my gear choices by my wife before a purchase is made. If she says it’s good, it’s usually really good. If she says it’s bad, it usually stinks. My wife was not home at the time I was listening to various delay pedals at www.proguitarshop.com, but, my daughter happened to be in the kitchen so I asked her what she thought of the different delay sounds.
When, it came down to choosing between two delay pedals, my daughter picked the sound of the TC Electronic ND-1. When my wife came home, she also made the same pick. The biblical rule of “two or more witnesses” works again!
I gave the TC Electronic Nova Delay a good run yesterday at four Saddleback Worship services. It was incredible!
If you purchase this pedal, the most important thing to do when you first plug it in is to calibrate the input signal. The TC Electronic ND-1 automatically adjusts itself to your guitar signal so it will give you the best signal to noise ratio for your particular setup. I run my pedals through the effects loop of my Fender DeVille so an input calibration was definitely in order for me.
So I went from having ambient delay by the Danelectro Dan-Echo to a three dimensional reshaping of sound by the TC Electronic ND-1.
By the way, just a little warning. The display on the TC ND-1 is absolutely blinding so sunglasses may be necessary when using this pedal.
Ready, Set, Stop
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Last Sunday, I had the opportunity to do worshipguitarist duty at the Saddleback Church Corona Venue. Since I had not played there before, I was a little sketchy on where to park for load in. After an unsuccessful phone call and a little wandering around, I finally figured out where to unload, setup, and barely make the 7:30AM downbeat.
After quickly setting up, I hit my amp’s “on” switch and heard nothing. Thank God for long in ear monitor sound checks because that gave me enough time to troubleshoot the problem.
It turned out that my DanElectro DanEcho Delay Pedal had finally given up the ghost. When I purchased it from Ebay a few years back, it had always seemed a little quirky yet, I liked its funky delay tones.
One of the little quirks that this pedal had was a high pitched whine that I was able to make disappear with my Voodoo Labs Pedal Power Supply (SAG output). Fellow worshipguitarist John Scott Evans (on acoustic duty that morning) was watching me scramble to get my amp working and inquired about my sound issues.
When I informed him about my particular DanEcho, he told me that the whining sound was a sign that the pedal was on its way out and that I probably extended its life by giving it less power than it needed over the years.
The service still went well without the DanEcho. We played in a gymnasium so the delay tones were au natural.
Now I have this really cool looking paper weight.
On to the next Delay Pedal (It will not be a DanEcho!).
Tuning Your Guitar Can Be Tricky!
Posted by: | CommentsPrior to the start of a worship service I was playing at, I was listening to the Worship Leader tune his acoustic guitar. When he gave the guitar a good strum, I noticed that some of his strings sounded out of tune.
Why on earth did his guitar sound out of tune since he was using an electronic tuner? Being that I was once his guitar teacher, I kindly asked him to take another shot at tuning. When he started re-tuning, I noticed the problem that led to his guitar being slightly out of tune.
Anytime you strike a guitar string, its initial sound is always slightly sharp. When you use a pick (or your fingers) to strike the guitar strings, the initial “pulling” from your strike briefly makes the string go higher in pitch. The string will then settle into its actual pitch after the initial strike. Now, here is where the problem occurs.
All guitar tuners “hear” slowly. When using an electronic guitar tuner, notice a slight delay from the time you strike the string till the time you receive the pitch readout. The tuner’s pitch reading delay combined with the string’s initial sharpness will cause you to tune incorrectly.
The sound of your strings will sound flat (lower in pitch) because you were trying to tune the guitar to your initial strike – which is always sharp (higher in pitch).
When using an electronic tuner, strike the string you want to tune and wait 3 seconds until you begin tuning that string. By waiting 3 seconds, you are allowing the string to settle into its actual pitch.
Watch what happens to the needle & lights when I play a “tuned” guitar through a electronic tuner.
