Gear Updates / Latest acquisitions

7/16/05: Made several changes to the pedalboard, specifically to the OD / Distortion section. I got to try out several different pedals, including the Menatone King of the Britains and a Skreddy Zero, although they weren't for me. I'm very pleased with what I ended up with though.

- My low-gain needs are now being served by the Timmy. What a great pedal. This replaced the AC Booster in the low-gain department. The Timmy is less compressed, no EQ'd 'humps', and just sounds a bit more open, alive, and dynamic. Not that the AC Booster is bad at all, just that I prefer the Timmy's more transparent tone - it sounds just like my guitar's regular signal, but with some grit.

- My high-gain needs are still being served by the ReezaFRATzitz. But this time, I ordered a true-bypass version from Jan at EMMA Electronics. The original Reeza was, in bypass mode, somehow lightly boosting the signal going through it... this decreased my amp's headroom a skosh, as well as significantly reducing the amount of headroom in my AM Clone Chorus and in my Tremulator. Now, I'm back in business! Great rock tone, very versatile, sounds great with the gain low or cranked.

- Somewhere in-between those 2 above, I'm using the Sub-Decay Stupid Box. Where the Reeza has bite, thump and grit, the Stupid box is smoother, has a mid-bump, and doesn't have the chugga-chugga bass of the Reeza. It's great for Cream, Pink Floyd, and plenty of modern rock as well. I find myself using it a lot for leads, and it sounds great stacked with the Timmy. Does the low-gain thing really nicely, and cranking the drive will get you into a warm fuzzy area. A great find at a great price.

- I picked up the Octron. The hype is true, it's pretty friggin' great, especially when it's goosing the Stupid Box or Timmy. Just listen to the clips on Dave's page!! You can loose yourself for quite a while in there... that singing upper octave is just hypnotic.

- And last but not least, I bought a TopHat Ambassador 50 head. I got it used for a really really excellent price. I couldn't pass it up. Like all my other recent heads (Rivera M100, Mesa F-50, Egnater TOL, and Reverend Kingsnake), it doesn't like the Avatar 2x12 with Celestion Vintage 30's for OD / Distortion sounds. Rather than go into my spiel about the tone I didn't like, let's say I ended up ordering a cab from TruTone that will look very much like the first picture on their main page. Rob was a real pleasure to talk to on the phone, and definately knew his stuff. I ended up loading the cab with one Celestion G12H80, and one Eminence Legend 125. Can't wait to try it out!

Let's break it down...

Electric Guitars:
Ibanez RGT3120TV with DiMarzio Air Norton/Tone Zone combo
1996 PRS Custom 24, Emerald Green, Gold Hardware
Fender Elite Strat, Transparent Green, with Sperzel locking tuners and a bone nut (1983)
Parker NiteFly, Black, H-S-S, 1999 'FireFly' edition = pearloid pickguard
Gibson Les Paul Studio, ebony & chrome (1993)

Acoustic Guitars:
Yamaha CPX-15E; NICE quilted mahogany back and sides!
Takamine EN12C-12; NICE Lacewood back and sides.

Bass:
G&L Tribute L-2000 in transparent blueburst

Amps:
Fender DeVille 2x12
TopHat Ambassador 50 Head with an Avatar 2x12 Custom cabinet

Pedals in use and in order:
Teese RMC2 Wah - SIB! Mr. Fazeadellic - FoxRox Octron - Timmy - SubDecay Stupid Box -
Emma ReezaFRATzitz (w/ true bypass mod) - Analog Man Clone Chorus - Demeter Tremulator -
Boss DD-6 (w/ Analogman Hi-Cut mod) - Peterson StroboStomp - Xotic RC Booster

Current cable of choice:
Bayou cables