Soulful Strut

Yesterday, I recorded a version of an old tune called Soulful Strut,  also known as "Am I the Same Girl". Here is the YouTube link: 
http://bit.ly/sJ0lP4

Playing a Bongo 6 with Hunni and the Wasps

It was written by Eugene Record and Sonny Sanders. First recorded in 1968 by Barbara Acklin, it charted most successfully in the US as a 1992 release by Swing Out Sister. Also recorded by Dusty Springfield in 1969 and George Benson in 1979, the song was a 1968-69 instrumental hit single by Young-Holt Unlimited under the title "Soulful Strut". 
I recorded into Cubase 6. For bass I played my old 1987 Warwick Streamer 4 into an EBS 650 head which I DI'd into my little Mackie 1642 VLZ3 mixer. Guitar is a Campbell American Precix into a Boss GT10 processor into the Mackie. Dums are from BFD2 with a tambourine from Stylus RMX. All other parts are from Native Intruments Kontakt 4.
The track isn't quite finished, I am think about putting a short solo just after the key change but haven't decided whether to play it it on keys or guitar. I was hoping to persuade my band to play it  because it has a great feel and would go down well with the audiences we play to.

 

Rant 1 The cult of the tube screamer

Ibanez TS9

You know, there is nothing special about a pedal just because it is 25 years old. Its not like it was an antique. Most people have all sorts of crap lying around at home which is that old and not worth anything, even though it functions as well as it did the day it was made. A few electronic components in a metal box don't suddenly become magical so why do people spend so much money on old Ibanez TS808 and TS9s? TS-808s can sell easily for $450. It's commonly thought that the secret was in the JRC4558D chip. Analog Mike of analogman  is one of the leading pedal designers, builders and modifiers. As he points out, 'NOS' chips can be bought cheaply as can nearly all of the original components. There are hundreds of TS clones out there. Why not buy a new one like the Maxon OD9? - actually the Maxon is not a clone: after all, Maxon made the Ibanez original tube screamers - you can see their name on the circuit boards. OD9s sound great and if you want you can get them modded to the EXACT same spec as an original TS9 or 808 from the 70s or 80s. Analogman and Keeley and any number of others will do the mods for you at a reasonable price. Then you get the original sounds without the worry of having a rare pedal stolen.
Actually, the merits of many old guitars are doubtful too - they often look cool but prices have become ridiculously over-inflated.  Fenders were relatively simple, production line instruments. There are some dodgy old instruments out there amongst the nice ones. Perhaps sometimes magic happens as the wood dries, the finish cracks and the magnets weaken. It's hard to see why this would improve anything but I do accept that it could happen. However, I have never heard anything particularly different or special from an old pedal. They might crackle more. Some pedals were made with  parts that were substituted in later versions for cheaper or different parts that affect the sound but there are many pedal builders making TS clones with the best NOS parts which are every bit as good as the originals. I would prefer to spend my money for example on a new Maxon pedal which is hand made in Japan rather than take the risk of having an elderly pedal fail on stage.

Maxon OD9

For more info on tube screamers see an excellent article by Stinkfoot
http://stinkfoot.se/archives/713

I have 2 modded Maxon OD9s - One has the so called 'brown sound' mod along with a socket so I can swap chips - whilst this is interesting, the differences in sound between different chips is subtle. The other is an Analogman Silver mod pedal http://www.analogman.com/ts9silv.htm.

I also have a Maxon OD9 pro+ which is a modified and updated OD9 with a boost switch for more gain and the ability to run at 18 volts rather than  9 volts in the original, allowing more dynamic range and headroom along with higher output and less emphasis on the midrange. I like this pedal.

analogman pedals

Analogman Bi-Chorus

Analogman ARDX20 Dual analog delay

Analogman Bi-comprossor

Analogman King of Tone

I have acquired a handful of Analogman pedals over the last few years. I also have an Analogman Silver modified Maxon Tubescreamer OD9.

I do not know if these are the best pedals you can get, because everyone has their opinion of what sounds good but I think they are as good as you can get. They are beautifully made with the best components.  They are all very quiet and I think they sound great. The silk screened case designs look fantastic. Analog Mike is very helpful and responsive to questions

I was on waiting lists for the Bi-Comprossor and King of Tone for more than a year: the Bi-Comprossor arrived a few weeks ago.

The Bi-Chorus is my favourite of these pedals - I can switch from a slow subtle chorus effect to a fast leslie effect which is not easily done with a standard chorus. Many years ago I used a Boss CE2  almost all the time on clean tones. Eventually, I decided it altered the basic sound too much and I switched to using an uncoloured sound without any effect. The quality of this pedal has encouraged me to start using chorus again. I particularly like to use a fast setting as a special effect to emphasize certain lines rather than leaving it switched on all the time. On the slow setting you can get a John Scofield lead sound.

The King of Tone is essentially two independent distortion/OD pedals in one box. There are lots of options - you can adjust the overall gain settings with internal dipswitches on each side. Mine has the high gain mod on both sides.The way the two sides interact with each other gives a huge range of possibilities. You can set one side to mild boost and the other to a medium distortion, you can switch each side on independently and then together for a higher gain setting. Or maybe have a high gain setting on both sides together for humungous distortion and feedback! These are highly desirable pedals - they are great value for what they are and hold their value - often selling for more than the new price. 

Analogman have recently started shipping Prince of Tone pedals. These are one half of a King of Tone in a smaller box. They are made in China, unlike the KoTs but that shouldn't matter. The components are the same and they are checked in the US and there are some extra features over the KoT. Also, there is no waiting list for the Prince of Tone! You could always buy two.

For more info http://www.analogman.com/

No 3 Yamaha BB2004

This is a white 4 string thru neck active bass with pj pickups. It is a high quality instrument, largely the same as the still current Nathan East signature Yamaha 5 string.  In fact I saw Verdine White with Earth Wind and Fire last year - he was playing what looked like one of these basses. It has individual bridges for each string and quality unbranded machine heads. The are are very smooth - possibly by Gotoh. The preamp is based on the Yamaha Nathan East NE-1 EQ pedal, with a sweepable mid control making it easy to get that jazz bass Jaco style growl from the bridge pickup. It can also do a good impersonation of a precision bass. The neck through build means it has no heel and acess to all 24 frets is easy. The neck is a medium C shape and it has a low action. The fretboard looks like rosewood, with jazz bass style block pearloid markers.

I don't know exactly what these basses cost when new but I think the list price was over £1,000. I got mine on EBay for just over £300 in about 2004. It came in a Yamaha hard case and it was in mint condition!

Immaculate construction

Through neck construction

Its a nice instrument and sounds good. Made in Taiwan rather than Japan but very well made nonetheless. This is a versatile professional instrument. I have played a few gigs with it and it sits really nicely with a band mix on-stage, the sound being punchy and clear.

However, these days I have pretty much given up going to gigs with 4 string basses. I play in covers bands playing parties and corporate functions. Whenever I turn up with a 4 string at rehearsal, within a few songs, I have to swap to a 5 string because I need to play a synth bass line which drops to Db or even lower. I have become so used to playing 5 string bass that I have no use for a 4 string - I can slap just as well with 5 string when the occasion demands. I know it is popular to disparage 5 string players. I don't really understand that kind of gear snobbery. For me, they do everything a 4 string does with no downside except a bit of extra bulk and weight but that doesn't amount to much. In fact I have a 5 string bass which is lighter than most 4 strings at just over 8lbs.

Yamaha BB2004

This model was discontinued in around 2006. I guess it may have been very expensive to build and didn't catch the imagination of enough players to sell in sufficient numbers. I know that it was well reviewed in magazines and on bass forums.  It's a medium weight bass at just over 9lbs.

I think they were made in black white and natural and in 4 and 5 string versions (BB2005),  although the 5 string version had two jazz pickups rather than the precision/jazz combination on the 4 string.


I reckon if you see one of these at the right price you should snap it up

No 2 Greene and Campbell Precix

Greene and what??? you say...

I introduce the Precix ....dah..dahh

This is a seriously high quality instrument. I first encountered them at the London guitar show in 2006 - when I bought a rather lovely fretless bass but that is another blog.

 I am not sure exactly when this was made, maybe 4 or 5 years ago - I bought it about 3 years ago from Mr Music in Massachusetts on E-Bay (my E-Bay experiences will be in a later blog) . It was kind of 'new old stock' - it came in a gig bag and cost about £400 when we were getting $2 to the £. It was an amazing bargain - if you can find one in the UK expect to pay £1200 or more but I'm not selling mine. The company is now called Campbell American although the models are still the same. From New England, every one is different, handbuilt by Dean Campbell and a small team.  Dean  is very responsive to any questions. I believe he was formerly a Fender custom shop employee  He is also responsible for Angry Angus  guitars, high end Fender replicas.


This guitar is as light as a feather with seymour duncan humbuckers which split by pulling the tone control, nitro finish, maple neck with ebony board and the lowest action you could need, with the most playable neck. It is a very compact guitar. Simple but effective. I cannot recommend this guitar enough...but its not a strat,  Les Paul or PRS so what do you care...  Seriously though, you must try one. It can do anything!

The story goes that when Fender bought Guild they eventually closed down the New England Guild guitar factory leaving some experienced luthiers looking for work and they went to Greene and Campbell. To my mind there is a hint of Brian May's Red Special in the outline of the Precix and when you recall that Guild produced a very high quality Brian May model a few years ago maybe it is intentional? I dunno...it's just a thought.

1987 Fender Stratocaster USA standard

In 1985, a group of employees and investors led by William Schultz purchased Fender from CBS. This sale put Fender in the hands of a small group of musically dedicated people. The 1987 NAMM saw the introduction of the American Standard Stratocaster which started everything from scratch again. This is one of the first of them, almost certainly made in 1987. I bought this guitar new from Carlsbro in Nottingham in 1987 for about £350 with a non-Fender hard case. An interesting thing about this guitar is the serial number. Only a few guitars like this with the "EE" serial number prefix were made from after the CBS sale to 1988. One E stands for eighties and the other for export. Otherwise specs are the same as other American Standards.

This guitar is number 1 in my blog list because it immediately became my main guitar and to me it is the most significant guitar I have owned because of its age, feel, sound and the fact that it is a classic.

At that time I also owned a 1984/5 Japanese Strat. I had  Chandlers in Kew install a Kahler locking tremelo. I also fitted a Dimarzio preamp - it was a unit which was a straight swap for the usual strat jack socket - it locked the jack and gave a huge gain boost. Along with the Seymour Duncan quarter pounder in the bridge position which I later replaced with a hot rails pickup it was a bit of a hooligan although the fact is that I never liked it much it with the Kahler fitted which did something to spoil the tone. Incidentally, when I was having the Kahler fitted, Charlie Chandler handed me a gorgeous goldtop guitar I had never seen before. It felt and played beautifully even without a locking trem (which was all the rage at that time). He told me he had just had a few of these guitars arrive from the states and this one was for Andy Summers of the Police. He asked me if I wanted one. Of course I couldn't afford it, as it was about £1,200. It was the first time I had heard of Paul Reed Smith and the guitar was a custom 24. That would be worth a few quid by now.

The American Strat standard was a much nicer guitar than the Japanese version, that I had rather spoiled and which I sold without any regrets at about that time.  However, I soon replaced the standard Fender single coil pickups (I still have them!) with Seymour Duncans - a hot rails at the bridge and two strat stacks which are still in the guitar. I used the guitar on hundreds of gigs, playing in working men's clubs, pubs and student unions in and around the East Midlands. No matter how many other guitars I have played since this strat feels familiar and comfortable whenever I pick it up. The weight is right and the neck and edges of the rosewood fingerboard have smoothed out perfectly. The joins in the 3 piece body are visible through the sunburst finish but it doesn't matter - everything fits tightly and it is a great instrument, aging nicely as it approaches its 25th birthday. I also replaced the tuners with locking Sperzels, as Fender fitted to the strat plus model of the same vintage, along with a graphite nut, fitted by Sheehans of Leicester who always did a great job. I invariably take two guitars to gigs (unless I am on bass when one is ok) and this would almost always be one of them.

I may blog later about amplifiers but I mostly played this strat through a c.1982 Mesa Boogie Mk2b 60/100 head and matching EV 1x12 - it was lethally loud but sounded great!

Guitar obsessed

So, I decided to start a blog. I have a large guitar and bass collection by most standards.  I have been acquiring them for over 30 years. I never really intended to have so many guitars but, like most obsessive gearheads, I bought and sold a few over the years. Some of those I sold I look back at now and regret. Like my beautiful 1980s blueburst stingray. It had a great birdseye maple neck with rosewood fingerboard and I think I sold it for about £300...not a lot of money even then but I was a poor(ish) student desperate to buy the next bit of kit. I am not entirely certain but I think I just had to have a Roland R8 drum machine, a great thing at the time but long since gone.  I would definitely prefer to have my Ray now.

The Stingray was sold about 20 years ago and the Aria before that and I don't have pictures so these 2 aren't my actual guitars. My Stingray had a transparent scratchplate and 2 band EQ. 

I learned my lesson the hard way, selling in haste and regretting at leisure.  Sveral other nice instruments passed through my hands, such as an original Aria SB1000 bass, stupidly sold to fund some other hi-tech toy that became obsolete within a week or so.  I realised that I didn't like to sell my guitars so I decided to keep them. As time passed and I had a bit more money I acquired more and inevitably my collection grew.
So, what do I collect? I only ever buy guitars or basses I want to play, never as an investment. I don't have any really old guitars The oldest are from the 1970's. None of them are seriously expensive although they have all appreciated modestly in value over the years and I like to buy secondhand so they have been a reasonable investment, should I ever decide to sell - which I cannot! However, they are all professional instruments, mostly well maintained and I have gigged them all at some time or another. Which brings me to introduce myself. I have been playing music since I was a child. It has been my obsession ever since. I am not a professional musician although I have done hundreds, if not thousands of gigs and I play every day so it is more than a hobby to me. By profession I am a lawyer. Oh yeah! you might say...no wonder he can afford all of those guitars. It is true that I probably couldn't have afforded them if I was a pro musician but many of them I bought before I was a lawyer. However, I am fortunate to have my own business so I can weave music into my job as I want.  Anyway, I am nothing like as rich as Keith Richards...

I remember a friend of mine, Slim (Jim) who used to listen to jazz rock such as Allen Holdsworth and Bill Bruford. He bought an early CBS white strat with the large headstock and 3 bolt neck.  I was an envious teenager particularly as I thought I was a better guitarist and deserved a Fender more than he did, which I am sure wasn't true. In fact, I don't think it was a great guitar and I don't think Slim thought so either. He took it to a guitar shop to have the action sorted out but it was stolen from there. The guitar shop gave him a Peavey T60 as compensation. I didn't think that was a great deal at the time and today a 1960s strat would have been worth quite a bit more than any Peavey. However, Slim sold that T60 to me when he was a student in London. I kept it for a few years. It was actually a very well made guitar but to me it was too polite and I didn't like the look so I sold it on. I believe they are very popular so  maybe I should have kept it.

Anyway, I intend to blog mostly about one guitar in each blog and I will post pics, talk about how I came to have it, who made it, gigs it has done or anything else I want to chat about. Some blogs might veer off onto other topics - amps, pickups, pedals, rants, EBay, recording, gigs etc.  Please feel free to comment and discuss with me and let's see how it goes...