Posts

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Tackling First Fret Buzz

Ben and Christopher from Crimson Guitars tackle a viewer’s question, and one that certainly bugs me about a couple of my guitars: why do we get string buzz on the first few frets of a guitar?

They call this the impossible question, because once a couple of simple things have been eliminated, the list of possible causes quickly balloons out to a crazy extent. Watch the video to see just how many things can be causing the problem.

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

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Studying David Gilmour’s String Bends

David Gilmour’s lead phrasing is amongst the most iconic ever recorded, instantly recognisable whenever we hear it. But just what is he doing? Paul Davids shows us.

Be warned: this video features extreme 5 semi-tone string bends. Just watching Paul’s fingers getting caught under the strings made me wince!

Please head over to YouTube to leave a like and a supportive comment if you enjoyed Paul’s video. Or even if you just felt sorry for his poor abused fingers.

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Leo’s Shuriken / Helix Live Setup

Leo from Frog Leap Studios has posted a demo of his Line 6 Shuriken Variax, and how it enables him to perform his famous metal covers live.

It’s really cool how far the Variax has come from the early days. I had the original Variax – boy was that a long time ago – and it was so bad it ended up in the recycling. I couldn’t even give it away. But the Shuriken – especially paired with the Helix – looks worlds apart. Check out Leo’s video to see just what it can do.

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

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Comparing Two Fender Custom Shop Teles: 52 and 63

Dan and Mick have posted a video all about Dan’s new Fender Custom Shop Telecaster 52 Reissue, and how it compares to the Custom Shop 63 Reissue that he’s been using on That Pedal Show for the last couple of years.

This video is full of surprises: side by side, the 52 reissue doesn’t sound anything like they (or I) expected. It’s nowhere near as bright or sharp as a modern maple-boarded Tele would be, and of course it doesn’t rock like Dan’s red Tele famously does – yet it still has its own thing going on.

Even if you’re not into Fender Teles, it’s still worth watching just to watch them geeking out over gear, and trying to learn licks off each other. There’s an important lesson there: it’s no different to the last time you and your mates did exactly the same thing.

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

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A Wall Of Marshall Stacks At Home

What would a wall of 100W Marshall heads, with eight 4×12 cabs, sound like at home? Johan Segeborn has found out for us, so that we don’t need to upset the neighbours.

I swear that you can see the camera shaking from the amount of air that these Marshall stacks are moving!

I think it sounds glorious too. The room looks (and sounds) very lively – it’s adding a lot of reflections to the recording, because Johan’s using a room mic to capture this. Treat the room to take some of that away, and it would sound truly immense.

Please head over to YouTube to leave a like and a supportive comment if you enjoyed Johan’s video … or if you’re just jealous that he has somewhere to do this 🙂

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Fender Reliced Guitars Discussion

Ariel and Danish Pete are back with another Guitar Paradiso. This episode, they’re looking at reliced Fender Custom Shop Stratocaster.

This one quickly turns into a wide-ranging discussion about the whole concept of relicing Fender guitars, how different guitar finishes do (and don’t) wear over time, and why a reliced guitar might be a good choice.

Both Ariel and Pete are hugely experienced touring musicians, and it’s great to hear them sharing their experiences and personal preferences. Along the way, Pete digs out several of his personal Strats to help demonstrate the points he’s making, including guitars that he’s toured all round the world.

Please head over to YouTube to leave a like and a supportive comment if you enjoyed this Andertons video.

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Squier Contemporary Series Telecaster Demo

Shane’s posted a first look at Squier’s Contemporary Series Telecaster. This demo is a bit different, as we get to hear it alongside live bass and a live second guitar.

We can’t all play Custom Shop guitars, and the days of “budget brand” guitars being utter trash are long gone. Whether it’s Squier, Epiphone, PRS SE, or other budget brands, these are perfectly usable instruments to learn on and use as a home hobbyist. And they’re getting better and better each and every year.

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

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Kammer TinyK Pedalboad Amp In A Produced Track

Henning’s just put up a quick demo of a very interesting piece of gear – a 40W that sits on your pedalboad. Not a drive pedal – a full-blown amp, complete with FX loop!

If you’re a gigging musician, having a backup amp of some kind is essential – especially if you gig with real valve amps. Lugging a spare amp around isn’t fun. And depending on what you buy, that’s a lot of money tied up in it, especially as you hope to never actually have to use it.

Some kind of backup that can sit on your pedalboad – just in case – has a lot of appeal.

And for us home tone chasers, if you can’t have / don’t want a traditional amp at home, this kind of thing is well worth looking at as an alternative to using modelling amps or software amp sims.

I’ll post the full review when Henning uploads it. This could be one to watch.

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

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Mercuriall Spark Demo

Pete Thorn has posted a demo of Mercuriall’s Spark Marshall amp-sim plug-in. Check out these tones!

The Spark plugin models 4 classic Marshall amps: a Super Bass, Super Lead, JCM 800, and the AFD. The JCM 800 and Super Lead heads are still in production. Looks like the Super Bass isn’t made any more. The AFD was (if memory serves) a limited run – Captain Anderton did a video about his.

Amp plugins are well worth looking at if you can’t afford a real amp, don’t want the hassle, or don’t have the physical space for a collection of big and heavy vintage amps. They run inside your DAW software (I always recommend Reaper – it’s great) and all you need is an interface (like the Focusrite Scarlett) to plug your guitar into.

And, as you can hear on Pete’s demo, they offer very usable tones these days.

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

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Here Come The Strats

Before you order that new PRS Silver Sky, you might want to check out these custom-order Fender Stratocasters from Andertons:

These Strats are the sister models to the Telecasters that Andertons recently had made. They feature a 59 neck carve – based on guitars made by the late John English – rosewood fingerboards and ash bodies. Pickups are Custom Shop 69, reverse-wound Custom Shop 65, and a Texas Special for the Bridge. The end result should be a Strat that you won’t find anywhere else.

Tone-wise, there’s a certain something that they seem to share with the original run of Telecasters from the earlier video. There’s a clarity and definition that even survives what YouTube does to video audio tracks. I suspect that, in person, these’ll exhibit that 3D sound quality that marks out the very best-sounding guitars.

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