Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Monday, February 18, 2013
Armor Gold Cables Review
I got an email a couple of weeks ago that I had won an online contest for some Armor Gold Cables, sponsored by their sister company Railhammer Pickups. I got my choice of 3 cables. Sweet. I've been using the same brand of cheap cables almost as long as I've played. Why? Everyone's favorite two words Lifetime Warranty. I bought some cable some time in the early 90's and every couple of years I have to get one replaced. I tried some high end cables once and didn't care for what I heard. I have "bright" hands and I'm always fighting brightness, which probably explains my fondness of mahogany and rosewood. The high end brand I tried brightened up the sound of my guitars a lot and even sounded a bit shrill. So when I read that Armor Gold Cables have a smoky top end I was intrigued at the idea of trying out their product.
Let's start with the superficial and then I'll get to the good stuff. There is a yellow gold mesh that looks like a cloth braid, but it isn't, and I'll get to that in a minuet. I like things that look a little different, and most other players don't have gold cables, so if things ever walk off at gigs, these are easy to spot. In fact these cables almost don't look like instrument cables, they look like something you'd find in the contractors section of the local hardware store and they ARE that tough. The gold mesh is apparently a polymer mesh used in industrial and aerospace industries. It has a weird glow under stage lights, not distracting but you will see them. And it is super tough, and helps the cables not get tangled too. Both of those things help the cable itself not get a short, but most shorts happen at the plug. So the guys at Armor Gold took a few more steps. The double shrink wrapped plugs help with strain relief, and after soldering they inject some resin between the ground and the hot to keep them from touching. Talk about overkill. They also use Amphenol Plugs, which I wasn't familiar with, but a quick Google search told me they are industry leaders in wired connections.
Now lets talk about whats important, the sound. Are cables an important part of your tone? YES But finding the right cable for your guitar and amp set up can be tricky. I found an interesting article here that can explain it better than I can. What I found when I plugged in the Armor Gold Cables was interesting. The first guitar I plugged in had active EMG pickups. NO sound change! Which, I've now learned, is because the preamp in the pickups acts sort of like a buffer, active pickups have a low capacitance. So the next guitar I tried had passive humbuckers, I immediately noticed a fuller sound, more details, and more clarity but no overly bright high end. This made me wonder, about my strat. I really love my strat but it's a very bright guitar. This particular stat was built for a country artist, everything on it is made for bright twangy sounds. Wow, the sound was fuller, the top end sweeter, the details from the Seymour Duncan Alnico II's were just beautiful, and the Twang Banger in the bridge just kills it. It's worth noting that I ran these cables through a Marshall JCM800 and a Fender Twin. You can hear the difference more on the clean Fender than cranking up the 800.
Time will tell how long before I have to replace these cables but I have my doubts, they are very well built. These cables not only sound great, but if I do need to replace them, they also come with a Lifetime Warranty. The 20' cable at Armor Gold is currently $44.99. Not a bad deal for a Made In The USA cable. $44.99 may sound like a lot if you've never looked at high end cables, but keep looking and you'll find them well into the hundreds of dollars. You have to try them yourself to see if you like the sound of them, but I don't think anyone can complain about the build quality. For me these are my new go to cable, I love the sound, the fact that they don't bunch up and that they look so utilitarian.
To learn more checkout armorgoldcables. I'd like to add that while I won these, I was not paid or given any other compensation for my write up. So any opinions are strictly my own.
Let's start with the superficial and then I'll get to the good stuff. There is a yellow gold mesh that looks like a cloth braid, but it isn't, and I'll get to that in a minuet. I like things that look a little different, and most other players don't have gold cables, so if things ever walk off at gigs, these are easy to spot. In fact these cables almost don't look like instrument cables, they look like something you'd find in the contractors section of the local hardware store and they ARE that tough. The gold mesh is apparently a polymer mesh used in industrial and aerospace industries. It has a weird glow under stage lights, not distracting but you will see them. And it is super tough, and helps the cables not get tangled too. Both of those things help the cable itself not get a short, but most shorts happen at the plug. So the guys at Armor Gold took a few more steps. The double shrink wrapped plugs help with strain relief, and after soldering they inject some resin between the ground and the hot to keep them from touching. Talk about overkill. They also use Amphenol Plugs, which I wasn't familiar with, but a quick Google search told me they are industry leaders in wired connections.
 |
| Carefully wrapped cable on left, Armor Gold on right |
Now lets talk about whats important, the sound. Are cables an important part of your tone? YES But finding the right cable for your guitar and amp set up can be tricky. I found an interesting article here that can explain it better than I can. What I found when I plugged in the Armor Gold Cables was interesting. The first guitar I plugged in had active EMG pickups. NO sound change! Which, I've now learned, is because the preamp in the pickups acts sort of like a buffer, active pickups have a low capacitance. So the next guitar I tried had passive humbuckers, I immediately noticed a fuller sound, more details, and more clarity but no overly bright high end. This made me wonder, about my strat. I really love my strat but it's a very bright guitar. This particular stat was built for a country artist, everything on it is made for bright twangy sounds. Wow, the sound was fuller, the top end sweeter, the details from the Seymour Duncan Alnico II's were just beautiful, and the Twang Banger in the bridge just kills it. It's worth noting that I ran these cables through a Marshall JCM800 and a Fender Twin. You can hear the difference more on the clean Fender than cranking up the 800.
 |
| Thank You Armor Gold Cables and Railhammer Pickups! |
To learn more checkout armorgoldcables. I'd like to add that while I won these, I was not paid or given any other compensation for my write up. So any opinions are strictly my own.
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
MXR ZW-90 Wylde Phase Review
I picked up the MXR ZW-90 Wylde Phase a couple of months ago. I've never played with a phaser before, even though a lot of my heroes used them. David Gilmour and Eddie Van Halen are two that come to mind. This pedal is a lot of fun, and is stupidly simple to use and get a good sound out of. It's one knob and one switch, and unless you put it in crazy mode it sounds great. While modulations typically lie between distortions and delays, I like this pedal before my dirt. After the dirt pedals, seems to accentuate the phase and make it harsher. But before makes it a bit more subtle and more like a UniVibe type effect, a UniVibe if you don't know is a type of phaser. On top of that there are quite a few "boutique" manufacturers who are making Vibe type pedals using a modified Phase 90 circuit. More on that later.
The first thing I did was try it at 9 O'clock. It was fairly subtle, just a hint of modulation, adding a little bite to solos and chords, think Eruption. When I ramped it up to 11 o'clock and switched to a clean sound I got a pretty good Pink Floyd "Breathe". This is where I think this pedal starts to shine, for faster songs and longer bends I like to kick it up to around 1 o'clock. Anything past this goes into crazy mode. I'm sure someone is using this but it gets a bit much for me. One thing I'm not crazy about is that if your playing through a warm clean sound that is on the edge of breakup, the mid range on this pedal is so pronounced it will kick you into dirtville. Big hard rock and metal distortion? no problem. But cleans? hmmm you might need to play with your settings. OR...
If your handy with a soldering gun, or know someone who is, just look up Phase 90 mods on Google. Seriously, these sound pretty easy. There are apparently several simple mods that people use to get the more subtle sounding "script logo" effect. There are also some "univibe mods" that sound great. Remember I mentioned that there are some boutique builders using modified phase 90 circuits? Seriously, Google is your friend. As of right now I'm not going to attempt any of these, mainly because my pedal is still under warranty and it sounds great. I might try to do the famous R28 mod after the warranty runs out but I haven't decided yet. As of right now it's my go to pedal when I need things to sound cooler.
So why did I choose the Zakk Wylde signature Phase 90? Honestly, I got a good deal on it. It was cheaper than the standard at the time. I've read that the ZW-90 is the standard Phase 90 with a different paint job and I assume that's true. A quick search on the internet will turn up a lot of guys who like the "Script Logo" Phase 90 much better. It is, by comparison, a somewhat more subtle effect. But the guys at Dulop/MXR have said that a lot of people like the more pronounced version of the pedal better and apparently Zakk does too. So it seems there are multiple versions of this same pedal and a quick jump to YouTube will turn up quite a few comparison videos. If you choose the more subtle Script Logo version you may find it works better between your dirt and delays, let your ears decide. I've met Zakk, and he's a great guy. Despite his crazy larger than life image, he's very down to earth and is a much better musician than some people give him credit for. If your in the market for a new modulation and want something simple but versatile, check out a MXR Phase 90 or watch for a good deal and grab the ZW-90 Wylde Phase.
This review was completely unsolicited, I received no compensation for it and all views and opinions are my own.
The first thing I did was try it at 9 O'clock. It was fairly subtle, just a hint of modulation, adding a little bite to solos and chords, think Eruption. When I ramped it up to 11 o'clock and switched to a clean sound I got a pretty good Pink Floyd "Breathe". This is where I think this pedal starts to shine, for faster songs and longer bends I like to kick it up to around 1 o'clock. Anything past this goes into crazy mode. I'm sure someone is using this but it gets a bit much for me. One thing I'm not crazy about is that if your playing through a warm clean sound that is on the edge of breakup, the mid range on this pedal is so pronounced it will kick you into dirtville. Big hard rock and metal distortion? no problem. But cleans? hmmm you might need to play with your settings. OR...
If your handy with a soldering gun, or know someone who is, just look up Phase 90 mods on Google. Seriously, these sound pretty easy. There are apparently several simple mods that people use to get the more subtle sounding "script logo" effect. There are also some "univibe mods" that sound great. Remember I mentioned that there are some boutique builders using modified phase 90 circuits? Seriously, Google is your friend. As of right now I'm not going to attempt any of these, mainly because my pedal is still under warranty and it sounds great. I might try to do the famous R28 mod after the warranty runs out but I haven't decided yet. As of right now it's my go to pedal when I need things to sound cooler.
So why did I choose the Zakk Wylde signature Phase 90? Honestly, I got a good deal on it. It was cheaper than the standard at the time. I've read that the ZW-90 is the standard Phase 90 with a different paint job and I assume that's true. A quick search on the internet will turn up a lot of guys who like the "Script Logo" Phase 90 much better. It is, by comparison, a somewhat more subtle effect. But the guys at Dulop/MXR have said that a lot of people like the more pronounced version of the pedal better and apparently Zakk does too. So it seems there are multiple versions of this same pedal and a quick jump to YouTube will turn up quite a few comparison videos. If you choose the more subtle Script Logo version you may find it works better between your dirt and delays, let your ears decide. I've met Zakk, and he's a great guy. Despite his crazy larger than life image, he's very down to earth and is a much better musician than some people give him credit for. If your in the market for a new modulation and want something simple but versatile, check out a MXR Phase 90 or watch for a good deal and grab the ZW-90 Wylde Phase.
This review was completely unsolicited, I received no compensation for it and all views and opinions are my own.
Monday, February 4, 2013
Armor Gold Teaser
Look what showed up today, I'm going to do a review of these after I run them through a few test but I'll say this much for them they are built better than any cables I've ever seen.
Monday, January 14, 2013
Always Check the Cheap Seats
Just a quick story if your out there. I took my kids to the flea market over the weekend. It was a pretty nice day for the middle of January, the kids were looking at toys, I always check the used CD's and DVD's. There is never any GOOD guitar stuff. NEVER. Always a few garbage practice amps and a few knock off strats. Except this day. As we were walking around, we went to the back, you know the area, where you move from the people who do this for a living to guys sitting on the back of a truck with a few items from their house laid out on a table that they are also selling. Yeah, the way in the back. My son stopped to look at some toy cars, and I saw a Valvestate Marshall and a Hammer Slammer strat knockoff. No interest. Then my son asked, "Daddy, what's that pedal?" It was sitting on top of the Marshall and I had thought it was a foot switch for channel switching the Marshall. But it wasn't. It was an original Marshall Shred Master pedal! And by original I mean Made in England! I tried not to get my hopes up, "Do you know if this old thing still works?" I said blowing off the dust. "I really don't know" he told me. There weren't any outlets around, we were way in the back at this point, and so I shrugged and acted like I was going to walk away. "I don't know man, how much you asking?" He shook his head and said "How 'bout twenty bucks." I did everything I could to contain my excitement. "Twenty bucks, yeah I'll take a chance" As we walked away, I told my wife, "IF it works and I don't love it we can easily sell it for $150." Even if it didn't work I could probably have one of the many pedal guru's on the internet take a look. I kept telling myself all the way home that it wouldn't work, or I won't really like it that much. After all, he probably knew it didn't work and that's why he sold it so cheap right?
Well, it works. The pots are a little scratchy but it sounds AMAZING! For being called a Shred Master there is not a lot of gain. But it sounds huge. Early Van Halen sounds are easy. Any late 70's early 80's classic Marshall tones are there. I'm gonna do a longer review after I've had some time to mess with it, but here is the short of it. It sounds like an old Marshall, it is versatile... sort of. It's not going to sound like anything but a Marshall, but the contour control lets you go from scooped to mid heavy. I'm not telling you this story to gloat and say Hey Look What I Got. This was pure dumb luck. We've all dreamed of running into an old Strat or an old Martin acoustic that the guy doesn't know what he has. And even though it's just a cool pedal, it's a great find. Keep searching, keep your eye out for stuff. And Always Check the Cheap Seats.
Well, it works. The pots are a little scratchy but it sounds AMAZING! For being called a Shred Master there is not a lot of gain. But it sounds huge. Early Van Halen sounds are easy. Any late 70's early 80's classic Marshall tones are there. I'm gonna do a longer review after I've had some time to mess with it, but here is the short of it. It sounds like an old Marshall, it is versatile... sort of. It's not going to sound like anything but a Marshall, but the contour control lets you go from scooped to mid heavy. I'm not telling you this story to gloat and say Hey Look What I Got. This was pure dumb luck. We've all dreamed of running into an old Strat or an old Martin acoustic that the guy doesn't know what he has. And even though it's just a cool pedal, it's a great find. Keep searching, keep your eye out for stuff. And Always Check the Cheap Seats.
Sunday, January 6, 2013
2013 A New Year
If your looking here and wondering if there will be anymore, the answer is yes. I've got a lot of ideas for the new year. Lot's of ideas, lot's of research. Lot's of work, lot's of things in the works. So please check back. For now I'll leave you with this. I had this VHS in high school and it's one of the big reasons I play guitar.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Top Ten Resources for Learning the Guitar
Learning to play the guitar with ADHD is difficult. But learning today on the internet couldn't be better. I wanted to do a quick run through of some of my favorite sites to checkout when I want to learn something.
Paid sites
1) Paul Gilbert If you don't know who Paul Gilbert is then look him up. He is one of the ultimate shredders, and has a great sense of humor about the whole guitar god thing. I've met Paul and can say he was a great, down to earth guy. Together with the site ArtistWorks Paul is now offering class via the internet. He gives personal feedback. And while it isn't free it's a lot cheaper than some of the other internet lessons I've seen with players that are not as well known.
2) Steviesnacks If you want to play Texas blues in the style of the great Stevie Ray Vaughn this is it! Anthony Stauffer has created an incredible amount of material with over 200 FREE lessons on YouTube. He also has premium lessons for those looking to go more in depth that start at just $6 and go up. Anthony has put a lot of thought and work into his lessons, and though he doesn't teach strict scales or crazy jazz chords. He teaches what you need to play Texas blues and classic rock.
Free on YouTube
3) papastache From modern radio hits to classic rock Papastache has it down. From Hendrix to John Mayer, and Iron Maiden to uhm...Lady Gaga? Yep! The guy can wail and doesn't get caught up in specifics. Learn the song and then make it your own.
4)Justin Sandercoe While Justin has a website that is totally free, his YouTube channel is where it's at. He has a lot of great material and is very good at showing you how to play stuff.
5) Pete Thorn Pete is an incredible guitarist who's How to play Eruption series on YouTube has gotten rave reviews across the internet. He also does gear reviews for many of the hottest companies, all while touring with people like Chris Cornell, and Melissa Etheridge.
Gear
6) Speaking of gear I can't go on without mentioning http://www.gilmourish.com/ More than just a tribute site to David Gilmour, Bjorn Riis's passion project breaks down David Gilmour's gear by albums and tours giving you ideas for settings and tips for getting the sound right. I've learned more about how pedals interplay with amps and pickups by reading this site than any of the nonsense you read on most forums.
7) Chord and Tab sites
chordie is a cool site that has quickly become one of my favorites. This site pulls from other sites but has a cool chord transposer tool that is very helpful when learning songs or trying to find a different way to play it.
8) Books
With YouTube and tab sites most people just don't need to learn more. But if you want to get into understanding the guitar more, Fretboard Logic I & II is one book I always keep handy. You can look up the CAGED method and find a basic breakdown just about anywhere on the internet but Bill Edwards straightforward approach will give you a much deeper understanding of the fretboard. Your can check it out here.
Fretboard Logic SE - Special Edition The Reasoning Behind the Guitar's Unique Tuning + Chords Scales and Arpeggios Complete (Volumes I and II Combined) (Fretboard Logic Guitar Method Ser)
9) Metronome
If you want to get faster buy or download a metronome. Practice patterns, scales, picking exercises, whatever. Start the metronome slow and work your way up. When you get fast enough do two notes per click (or beep) then four and so on. You'll be amazed at how fast it works.
10) Play Songs
I can't stress this enough. If your not playing with others create a song list and run through those songs on YouTube or your Mp3 player or something. At night, after the kids go to bed I often run through the headphone jack on my Pod and pull up YouTube and play along with my heroes. Paul Gilbert told me if your not playing songs what's the point. That's why we all got into this right?
Paid sites
1) Paul Gilbert If you don't know who Paul Gilbert is then look him up. He is one of the ultimate shredders, and has a great sense of humor about the whole guitar god thing. I've met Paul and can say he was a great, down to earth guy. Together with the site ArtistWorks Paul is now offering class via the internet. He gives personal feedback. And while it isn't free it's a lot cheaper than some of the other internet lessons I've seen with players that are not as well known.
2) Steviesnacks If you want to play Texas blues in the style of the great Stevie Ray Vaughn this is it! Anthony Stauffer has created an incredible amount of material with over 200 FREE lessons on YouTube. He also has premium lessons for those looking to go more in depth that start at just $6 and go up. Anthony has put a lot of thought and work into his lessons, and though he doesn't teach strict scales or crazy jazz chords. He teaches what you need to play Texas blues and classic rock.
Free on YouTube
3) papastache From modern radio hits to classic rock Papastache has it down. From Hendrix to John Mayer, and Iron Maiden to uhm...Lady Gaga? Yep! The guy can wail and doesn't get caught up in specifics. Learn the song and then make it your own.
4)Justin Sandercoe While Justin has a website that is totally free, his YouTube channel is where it's at. He has a lot of great material and is very good at showing you how to play stuff.
5) Pete Thorn Pete is an incredible guitarist who's How to play Eruption series on YouTube has gotten rave reviews across the internet. He also does gear reviews for many of the hottest companies, all while touring with people like Chris Cornell, and Melissa Etheridge.
Gear
6) Speaking of gear I can't go on without mentioning http://www.gilmourish.com/ More than just a tribute site to David Gilmour, Bjorn Riis's passion project breaks down David Gilmour's gear by albums and tours giving you ideas for settings and tips for getting the sound right. I've learned more about how pedals interplay with amps and pickups by reading this site than any of the nonsense you read on most forums.
7) Chord and Tab sites
chordie is a cool site that has quickly become one of my favorites. This site pulls from other sites but has a cool chord transposer tool that is very helpful when learning songs or trying to find a different way to play it.
8) Books
With YouTube and tab sites most people just don't need to learn more. But if you want to get into understanding the guitar more, Fretboard Logic I & II is one book I always keep handy. You can look up the CAGED method and find a basic breakdown just about anywhere on the internet but Bill Edwards straightforward approach will give you a much deeper understanding of the fretboard. Your can check it out here.
Fretboard Logic SE - Special Edition The Reasoning Behind the Guitar's Unique Tuning + Chords Scales and Arpeggios Complete (Volumes I and II Combined) (Fretboard Logic Guitar Method Ser)
9) Metronome
If you want to get faster buy or download a metronome. Practice patterns, scales, picking exercises, whatever. Start the metronome slow and work your way up. When you get fast enough do two notes per click (or beep) then four and so on. You'll be amazed at how fast it works.
10) Play Songs
I can't stress this enough. If your not playing with others create a song list and run through those songs on YouTube or your Mp3 player or something. At night, after the kids go to bed I often run through the headphone jack on my Pod and pull up YouTube and play along with my heroes. Paul Gilbert told me if your not playing songs what's the point. That's why we all got into this right?
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