Category: YouTube

Sure is a lot of TV to watch for listening to guitar tone :)

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What’s More Important For Les Paul Tone? Saddles Or Bridge?

Johan Segeborn is back with another of his comparison videos – and minus his beard. Today, he’s comparing the difference between bridges and saddles from the 50s and 2008.

There are whole sections of major Les Paul forums devoted to the endless discussion – and decrying – of trying to capture that legendary 50s Les Paul burst tone with modern instruments. (Yours truly might be a lurker and occasional contributor *cough* to those debates …)

Johan’s comparisons are always interesting, and certainly add fuel to the debate 🙂

I don’t chase that 50s tone per se. I’ve never played an original Les Paul burst, and likely never will. And if I did, I’d need to have it through my rig (that I’m most familiar with) and have the chance to A/B it with my own Les Pauls to really understand the difference anyway.

The key thing I chase is the 3D aspect of those old vintage tones. That’s the magic for me. My own experience is that sometimes a pickup upgrade will unlock that without any other changes at all. How much of it is the pups, and how much of it is the guitar they’re going into, I don’t know.

Please head over to YouTube to leave a like and a supportive comment if you enjoyed Johan’s video. Or if you miss the beard – which seems to have generated the most comments so far!

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Dr Z AMA: 12ax7s vs EF86

In this week’s Ask Me Anything, Dr Z from Dr Z Amps looks at the difference between the popular 12ax7 preamp tube and the lesser-known EF86 preamp tube.

I’d never heard of the EF86 tube before. They were originally used in microphone preamps, because of their ability to take a large input signal without clipping. Sounds great for pedal players like me.

I’m going to be visiting a few new places over the coming weeks. I’ll keep an eye out for any amps with EF86 preamps, and report back if I find any!

Please head over to YouTube to leave a like and a comment if you enjoyed Dr Z’s video.

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What’s On The Bench?

Ben’s back with his weekly look at what’s being built down at Crimson Guitars in Dorset. These videos need no further introduction 🙂

https://youtu.be/AQ4A7Iu3Qpg

One of the things I love about these regular videos is watching how Ben’s business has evolved over the years. And it’s great to see guitars being designed and built here in the UK.

They’re currently hiring for an apprentice. As Ben says, it’s a proper UK apprenticeship. Check out the video for more details.

Oh, and many of the guitars shown in the video will be at the Birmingham Guitar Show at the end of February. A great opportunity for you to check out their work in person.

Please head over to YouTube to leave a like and a comment if you enjoyed Ben’s video.

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Donner Green Land Pedal Demo

Shane’s back, with a demo of Donner’s Green Land Pedal. Even if you’re not interested in the pedal, it’s worth watching just to listen to Shane tear it up in the opening jam.

This pedal reminds me of the Mooer micro preamp pedals that came out last year or the year before. They were designed to offer two channels from classic amps, complete with built-in cab sim for direct recording.

With this pedal, Donner has done something a little different with the concept. Instead of offering two channels from the same amp, this pedal offers Fender and Marshall tones all in one box. It’s also got built-in reverb. I don’t remember that being on the Mooer preamps?

Fender vs Marshall are two classic tones. Having them both available with the press of a foot switch sounds like a winning idea. How come no-one else has done this before?

Please head over to YouTube to leave a like and a supportive comment if you enjoyed Shane’s video.

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How To Riff With The Major Scale

Over on his YouTube channel, Sean Daniel has posted a lesson all about how to  use the major scale in your playing.

He focuses on the basics, which are always good to know. The video’s short and sweet, so you’ve no excuse for not leaning them here!

Please head over to YouTube to leave a like and a supportive comment if you enjoyed Sean’s video.

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Way Huge Are Smaller

An interesting piece of news from Fluff – Way Huge are shrinking down the size of their pedal enclosures.

Over the last couple of years, we’ve seen a lot of moves to make the most out of pedal board space. Mini-pedals have become a popular thing, and brands like Wampler and Earthquaker Devices have been moving the cable jacks from the side to the top.

Looks like Way Huge are joining the trend!

Please head over to YouTube to leave a like and a supportive comment if you enjoyed Fluff’s video.

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24K Magic

The latest metal cover is up from Frog Leap Studios – and its 24K Magic by Bruno Mars.

I declare the weekend officially here 🙂

PS: if you’re new to Frog Leap Studios, you’ll want to watch all the way to the end of the video …

Please head over to YouTube to leave a like and a supportive comment if you enjoyed Leo’s cover.

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Wampler Q&A

Brian Wampler – the genius behind Wampler Pedals – has posted a Q&A video up on his channel. He talks about the hardest circuit to work on, collaborating with other pedal builders, introducing midi to future Wampler pedals, and what makes him decide to revise a pedal circuit.

One of the great things about the music world is how accessible people like Brian are. He talks about how everyone’s comments online and via customer support reaches him, and is a major influence on what he does.

Please head over to YouTube to leave a like and a supportive comment if you enjoyed Brian’s video,

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Spectre Sounds Viewers Comments

Over at Spectre Sounds, Glen has posted his latest answers to comments left by his viewers. This week, instead of answering the questions himself in his own inimitable style, he’s asked a bunch of his friends and famous YouTubers how they would answer instead.

The question that caught my eye was about whether or not to go with Apple for recording music (rather than use Windows). A lot of Apple’s decisions in the last few years have been very unhelpful to creatives in many fields, including music. On Twitter, I see a lot of people talk about moving away from Apple when it’s time to buy their next computer. Over the next couple of years, I guess we’ll find out how many people actually take that step.

Please head over to YouTube to leave a like and a supportive comment if you enjoyed Glen’s video.

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Customising The Mouse In Reaper

Over on Reaper TV, Paul Charlton has posted a great video on how to customise Reaper to speed up your workflow. He shows you how to setup macros that you trigger via a keyboard shortcut – and that act on whatever the mouse is pointing at.

Yeah, it’s difficult to summarise succinctly. Paul does a much better job than me on explaining it:

Reaper’s low price makes it seem like a baby DAW, but as you can see in this video, it’s anything but. If you’re recording at home and looking for a DAW that you probably won’t ever outgrow, Reaper should be the first DAW you check out.

I’ve been using Reaper for several years now, and I’ve barely scratched the surface of what it can do. I’m a huge fan of Reaper TV. I think it’s one of the best resources out there for learning what Reaper can do, and how to use Reaper.

Please head over to YouTube to leave a like and a supportive comment if you enjoyed Paul’s video.