Back in January, Rhett Shull posted a demo of his Divided By 13 amp, the FTR37. Even if you’re not interested in the amp, it’s worth watching the video just for the opening track.
I’ve seen Divided By 13 amps on a bunch of YouTube demos over years, especially Shawn Tubbs’ videos. They have a striking design, and seem to be an amp of choice for pros. Definitely curious to learn more about them whenever I can,
Please head over to YouTube to leave a like and a supportive comment if you enjoyed Rhett’s video.
For those of us recording at home, drums are a major challenge. We just don’t have the space, nor enough mics to do it justice, nor a great-sounding live room to capture it all in. It’s no surprise that drums went digital first.
So this video from Steven Slate really grabbed my attention tonight. He starts by setting up a drum kit in the middle of the office, and mics it up with only 3 mics. See what he manages to achieve from that.
This has to be one of the better showcases for modelling microphones that I’ve seen so far. I get the whole thing with them and vocals – and I have a small collection of vocal mics because there’s no such thing as one mic suits everyone – but somehow, watching Steven using different models to bring the drum recording to life really turned me on to just how much can be done with modelling today.
Please head over to YouTube to leave a like and a supporting comment if you enjoyed Steven’s video.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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,
