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Schindler's Fist
Jul 22, 2004
Weasels! Get 'em off me! Aaaa!
Native Instruments Reaktor 5
Price Paid / Price New: $150 upgrade from v4/$449

Year Manufactured: 2006
Specs: Virtual instrument performance tool and authoring environment. Load up synths, beatboxes, and loop mangulators at will. Can process live sound. Graphical authoring tool enables making virtual audio gear from scratch, or just replace the filters on that synth. Likes fast CPU's. Runs stand-alone or as a plugin in various DAW packages. Freakin' unbelievable library of noise-making virtual gear.

Sound: 5/5
Hard to rate, as Reaktor does not use just one method to make sounds. The analogs are plenty fat, the samplers as clear and punchy as what you feed them, and the weird stuff sounds plenty weird. Additive, subtractive, FM, sampling, and granular resynthesis are among the possibilities. Subjective sound quality is excellent.

Instrument Quality: 5/5 (variable)
Reaktor is not one instrument. It ships with over 100 virtual instruments, and there are over 1000 more free for the downloading at the NI user forum. Hundreds of parts for building are included. The NI-supplied instruments are of very high caliber, use thrifty amounts of CPU, and sound great. The user-made ones vary. So, you'll load up one, and hate it, load another, and have a very different experience. Minus the trips to the music store, and the accompanying shoveling of cash.

Playbility: 5/5 (variable)
Reaktor adapts well to your MIDI and audio set-up. Use whatever controller you like. You can feed audio from any instrument through Reaktor, so it's as playable as anything else you have. Mapping physical MIDI controllers to virtual controls can get a bit tedious, and could use a batch mode of some sort.

Overall Value: Example 5/5.
Nothing less than the best value in music technology, period. Reaktor replaces rooms full of synths, and rackloads of gear. Once you are registered, new toys appear on the user site every month, for free, supplied by the community. Many of the creations have no equivalent in the physical world, and Reaktor is known for being a resource for sound designers. Can be a cure for Gear Lust, at least in the synth/sampler/rack gear department.

Downsides:
• Get ambitious enough, and you will run out of CPU. You can lower the sample rate to decrease the load, but your imagination will trump your machine eventually. I will spend hours fiddling, and when I get something good, I'll save an audio file of it. This way I can layer the output of several Ensembles in my DAW program, at the cost of near zero CPU. Then I can load up one Ensemble as a daw plugin, and improvise in real time over the loops.
• The keys/synths part of any music store or catalog will start looking real boring to you.
• Looking at walls of knobs and indicators, trying to figure out what the gently caress is going on, can be challenging.


Any other information you'd like to add, please feel free to do so.
There are different levels to Reaktor. I don't know enough to make instruments, so I load up what others have made and have fun. I do know enough to take ready made parts, and drag virtual wires between them to route audio and MIDI. Routing a beatbox through a granular audio mangler and a reverb is cake, listening to the resulting audio mulch, maybe not so much. :-) If you want sounds no one else has, load up some instruments and start tweaking.

You can record presets, and you can record audio to disk with a built-in recorder. Reaktor is not a recording package or DAW, but it comes close to being the only program you'd need if you are into any form of electronic music. A MIDI controller with numerous sliders, knobs, or what have you is highly recommended. A free demo version can be downloaded from Native Instruments at https://www.native-instruments.com.

The program can be purchased stand alone for $449 MSRP or as part of the large Komplete arsenal of most/all NI products for $1449. I have not popped for Komplete yet, but the rest of the NI line gets sexier every year...

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Tree Wizard
Dec 7, 2006

Fender Music Master Bass Amp
Price Paid (ebay)/ Price New: Example: $285/n/a (out of production)
Year Manufactured: 1970-1982

Specs: http://www.ampwares.com/ffg/musicmaster_bass.html

Sound: 5/5: I'm used to playing on solid state amps, however was in the market for a tube amp for practice and recording. Before I bought this amp I tested out several other vintage amps (most of them Fenders as well). I have to say that this amp was all I ever dreamed of in a nice little 12 Watter. It is a pretty loud amp, and really warms up when you push the volume past 4. It has that classic tube tone that Fender amps are so famous for.

Instrument Quality: 5/5: Its a vintage Fender amp, its built like a tank. The first week I had it it was on an end table and fell off onto a hardwood floor. I almost poo poo my pants, but after checking it over there was absolutely no damage (physical or otherwise). Solid.

Playbility: 4/5: While this is technically a bass amp, many people (myself included) use it as a guitar amp. It plays really well and really complements each players unique guitar sound. There are only two knobs on the amp, a volume and tone, and it takes pedals really well. I have a digitech distortion factory hooked up to it and its amazong how many different sounds I can get out of the thing.

Overall Value: 4/5: The reason I gave this a 4/5 is simply because the speaker in the amp is a bit dissapointing. Don't get me wrong it sounds great, but I have heard amps with weber blue dogs in them that have improved headroom. Overall however the amp is great and I would recommend it to anyone without thinking twice.

TK_421
Aug 26, 2005

I find your lack of faith disturbing.
WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU



(USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST)

Somebody fucked around with this message at 06:31 on Jan 23, 2007

Smiggles
Aug 7, 2006
Ay dios mio!
Fender Aerodyne Telecaster

Price Paid / Price New: $480/ List is $900
Year Manufactured: 05-06

Specs:
- Black with cream binding
- Rosewood fingerboard
- single-coil Tele pickup (bridge)
- single-coil soapbar pickup (neck)
- 25-1/2" scale length
- 1.650" nut width
- 7-1/4" fingerboard radius

Sound: 4/5. Very "punchy", nearly an opposite side of the spectrum from my PRS, essentially the same as your average telecaster but slightly more versatile tonally in my opinion. The medium tone is rich, low isn't quite as prevalent as i'd like.

Instrument Quality: 5/5. Its a Japanese tele however the quality is on an even plane with an American.

Playability:4/5. Versatile, supports most styles of play well. It is very lightweight and well balanced and is a pleasure to play. Relatively thin neck, I enjoy playing it very much.

Overall Value: 4.5/5. My second guitar in this price range, and is a GREAT value in my opinion, you get much more than you pay for, as it sounds just as good as a higher end American tele. I love this thing!

Smiggles fucked around with this message at 21:00 on Dec 29, 2006

Agreed
Dec 30, 2003

The price of meat has just gone up, and your old lady has just gone down

Boss MD-2 "Mega Distortion"


Price Paid ~$90 new

Year I don't know when it came out, maybe 2002?

Features: 4/5

Anyone who has used a stomp box knows what to expect, and it delivers. It has a level knob, inner/outer double ring Treble/Bass rotary knob, and two different gain control knobs (one is labeled Distortion, and to me sounds like the Boss DS-1 through its range of motion, while the other is "Drive Boost" and has a sound somewhat like the Boss BD-2). Tone and Bottom are easy knobs to fiddle with (Tone controls midrange and treble, mostly treble. Bottom controls bass. Duh.), but the two gain knobs take a bit of a learning curve - blending the two types of gain allows for a great degree of tonal versatility, but it also means you have to learn how they react to each other.

The reason this gets a 4 instead of a 5 is because, drat it, I want a semi-parametric midrange EQ knob like the MT-2. That control allows the MD-2 to adjust to differences in cabs, amp EQ curves, and room sizes, apart from just letting you shape your sound how you want it. I wish there was one on every pedal, because different setups respond so differently that it's hard to say "get this pedal!" without knowing what they'll be playing it through.

Sound: 5/5 It is a tragedy of marketing that this pedal is aimed at the "Nu-school metal" (to quote the Boss catalog) crowd, because it isn't a nu-metal or metalcore pedal at all (for that, try the Ibanez SM-7). It has very high amounts of gain available, no doubt about it, but dimeing the knobs doesn't get you the same sort of ultra-high distortion, pinch harmonic-inducing bite you'd want for playing metal leads (for that, try the Boss MT-2). Where this pedal shines is the in-betweens, giving access to a variety of sounds for blues, hard rock, punk, and higher gain sounds as well. Compared to most distortion pedals, it has gobs of bass available, though it allows you to control it well with the adjustment knob. It should have been marketed as a hard crunch versatility pedal, because that's what it is.

I mentioned that it's not great for playing metal lead solos, and while that is true, it's awesome for playing metal rhythm and riffing. Palm mutes are heavier than a real heavy thing, and the thickness of the distortion doesn't ever give way to brittle or thin sound as you turn up the volume.

Playability: 5/5 Stomp it, it turns on. Stomp it again, it turns off. Every time.

Overall Value: 5/5 When I was shopping for a new pedal, I decided to take my guitar and amp with me and line a bunch of 'em up to see what I thought. I had my MT-2, an Ibanez TS-9, a Boss DS-1, a Boss OD-2, a Boss BD-2, and a Zoom Tri-Metal and played each of them one after another. I eliminated the Tri-Metal because I like my MT-2's metal sounds better. I eliminated the DS-1 and BD-2 because the MD-2 can get pretty much any sound either of them can. The TS-9 and the OD-2 didn't really have what I was looking for, gain-wise, and the MD-2 could get pretty drat close to the OD-2's sound (though the TS-9 has its own characteristics that are hard to match without a midrange control, not to mention the difference between asymmetric and symmetric clipping - if you want a TS-9 sound, get a TS-9!). The MD-2's range of gain and tonal variation encompasses a few good Boss pedals and can get close to some non-Boss ones, which to me makes it an excellent value.

THE BOTTOM LINE: For me, this is a killer pedal. It has the capabilities I was looking for. I imagine it will hold up well over time (Boss Everlasting, right?), and it allows a great degree of control over your mid- to high-gain tones, from blues crunch to full-on metal distortion. For me, seeing as I play a lot of metal, it's The Answer to my rhythm question. I run it before my MD-2 and switch 'em when going from riffs to solos.

Plus, since the MT-2 is black with orange lettering and the MD-2 is orange with black lettering, I'm fully prepared for Halloween.

Agreed fucked around with this message at 17:25 on Jan 3, 2007

massive spider
Dec 6, 2006



Electro Harmonix Stereo Pulsar.

Price Paid - Ł49 new

Year-2006

Features: 4/5

This doesent do EVERYTHING you could want in a tremolo. There are more impressive ones out there featurewise, but drat, it does a heck of a lot. In mono its a tremolo, in stereo its a panner. Although I thought the panner mode was something of a novelty for home use (Even if you can carry two amps to your gig, good luck trying to get the sound guy to run you in stereo) I mainly bought it becasue its cheaper than its bigger brother, and yet is smaller and does more. :confused:

Sound: 4/5

The shape knob is a lot of help in getting a trem that wobbles just as you want it, with a little tweaking it sounds great whatever mode its in. Theres a switch for soft and hard edged modes and you can get anything from standard tremolo to decent spacy synth pulse kind of sound by having it clip on and off hard.

I deducted a point because, as a normal trem its quite strange. Theres a small point on the speed knob between 8 and ten o clock where its a reasonable speed, and after that its either too slow or insanely fast. Some people who just want trem will hate this, I love it. Where this pedal excells is not in classic sounds, but in insane off the wall mania. Turing the speed knob right up turns it into a ring modulator, my small stone can do something ring mod-ish with the knob up but this pedal REALLY sounds like a real, robotic, clangy ring mod. Inbetween there are some crazy high speed blender sounds and it generally just has the ability to make your guitar sound like its being mangled horribly.


Playability: 3/5
Although there are only 3 knobs marking your settings is a neccessity. The knobs are hair sensitive so its really easy to find an awesome setting and lose it.


Overall Value: 4/5

If you are into experimentation and crazy synthetic effects a tremolo isnt the first thing youd think to get but I strongly suggest you give this one a try. Its the only pdeal on my board apart from a delay and distortion and I can get some incredible what-the-hell sounds with just them. If you dont care about that kind of thing and just want standard tremolo you should probably look at something slightly more mundane.

ton1c
Apr 30, 2005
Title of Instrument: Tenor Sax - Keilwerth SX 90 R "Vintage"
Price Paid / Price New: $6200 US
Year Manufactured: Around 2005/6
Specs:

# Body in "Vintage" finish, clear lacquered
# Matt nickel plated keywork
# Black pads
# Black mother of pearl finger inlays
# "Vintage" case
# Bell diameter: 6.1” (155mm)
# Weight: 8lbs (3.6kg)
# Tone hole rings
# Adjustable thumb rest
# Adjustable palm keys
# Extra F-arm with adjusting screw
# G# pad cup lifting mechanism
# Stainless steel screws
# Mother of pearl key inlays without metal rim
# Leather pads with metal resonators, waterproof
# Hydraulically formed neck

Sound: 5/5. This instrument is a HUGE improvement over my yamaha yts-82z, though its expected with the price.

Instrument 5/5. It really is a stunning piece of metal. The keys are matte, and for some reason mine looks nothing like the website photos, it has a black bell with a gradient going to a dull brassy look towards the neck. Everyone i've pulled it out on has thought its an incredible looking sax, and are supremely jealous. But of course this isn't why i bought it.

Playbility: 5/5 The keywork is incredibly smooth and easy to play, with loads of adjustable parts, including the palm keys. I find myself being much more comfortable with the lower and higher registers due to the larger bell, and the beautiful layout of the keys.

Overall Value: Example 5/5. Although quite expensive, it's worth every single dollar. This sax outperforms anything i've ever tried before, including an old mark 6 i tried a while ago. I havn't owned it long enough to get the full tone benefit, but its sounding incredible after just a month.

deliverator
Aug 8, 2000
you know i'm your Hiro
Ibanez Prestige RG2550E
Price: $879 from Zzounds
Specs:
• 2 DiMarzio IBZ Humbuckers, 1 DiMarzio IBZ Single-coil
• 24 Fret Wizard Prestige Neck
• Basswood body, 5-pc Maple/Walnut neck, Rosewood fretboard
• Ibanez Edge Pro bridge
• “Galaxy Black” with black hardware
• Comes with hardshell case

Sound: 5/5
All three pickups have excellent tone and sensitivity, and the instrument has pretty good sustain for a non-fixed bridge. The only drawback sound-wise is that there’s not a great deal of difference in character between the neck and bridge humbuckers.

Instrument Quality: 5/5
Everything fits together the way it should, nothing cheap or cost-cutting in the materials or assembly. The pickguard is a little unusual and doesn’t show up well in pictures, it’s semi-transparent with a brushed-aluminum type of surface. The hardware is more of a gunmetal grey than black.

Playability: 5/5
I certainly wouldn’t be the first guy to sing the praises of the Wizard neck. Thin and flat, with easy access to the highest frets. The Edge Pro is solid and low-profile, and won’t get pushed out of tune by the heel of your hand. I don’t use a whammy bar very often, but after a lot of aggressive dive-bombing the guitar unerringly stays in tune.

Overall Value: 5/5
Definitely worth what I paid. It’s about $100 and change more than the very similar-featured RG1570, which I have also played and would recommend, but the pickups on this are a bit hotter with a slightly more robust-feeling bridge. If you’re looking for a good metal guitar without the overwrought design, this is the one for you.

Taco Bill
Oct 22, 2003

by Eris Is Goddess
Alesis Fusion 8HD Keyboard Workstation
Price Paid:
$999 Guitar Center Special ($1499 from musiciansfriend, etc.)

Specs:

88 Weighted Keys
Several Synth Engines, at least one of which is amazing
Built-in Hard Drive, 8-track recorder
Sequencer
Built-in Sampler
Lots and lots of customizability, e.g. assignable control knobs, triggers, switches and wheel; everything about a sound is tweakable in software as opposed to hard-wired.
I forget how much sample memory it has but I can preload everything I want to.
Lots and lots of output options
Full MIDI capabilities


Sound: 9.5 / 10

One of the reasons I got this board is because I'm a pianist and I don't have room for a piano, but I also use it to play with others and occasionally gig out. The live sound is fine (as far as I can tell?). The Holy Grail piano sample is a tiny bit inconsistent velocity-wise; there are 3 samples for each note, corresponding to 3 dynamics. I can hear the step-up between the bottom two and no amount of tweaking has fixed it. In short: don't buy this keyboard just for the piano sample. (Although aside from this minor complaint, I am astounded by how good it does sound through headphones)

The synthesizers are pretty awesome though. It has "Virtual Analog Synthesis," which means that it models analog processes. You can start from the ground up, building on basic wave-forms, combining them, putting envelopes and filters on them... it's really been limited only by my (admittedly mundane) imagination. It's tough for me to describe, so I'll link you to a tutorial put up by the Alesis guys on the VA engine: http://www.alesis.com/downloads/tutorials/ALESIS_FUSION_Editing_an_Analog_Synth_Program_Tutorial.pdf (PDF)

There are two other synth engines, FM (which I guess is standard) and "Physical Modeling" which attempts to model wind instruments in real time. I haven't really touched these yet so I'm skipping them.

I should also mention the tons and tons of free libraries available from Alesis and Hollow Sun, who apparently work for Alesis or something. They sound OK, I guess--I'm new to this whole thing so I don't have a reference, but I've recorded with these sounds and they sound pretty good to me. Alesis has also provided a bit of software that will convert .wavs and other formats into alesis sample format. I haven't used it, but I imagine this would be useful for some folks. Thus because of the built-in hard drive you aren't limited to the sounds that they give you; not even close.


Instrument Quality: 9.5 / 10

For two bass octaves, some of the black keys scrape the chassis just a little bit. Well, scraped--a dremel fixed it easily. It did go clickety-clack though. Everything else seems solid, however. I'm chalking it up to the law of averages.

Here's where I'm going to throw in the bit about it being USB-recognizable. You just plug it in and you can mess around with the hard drive straightaway. It also becomes a Compact Flash Card reader in this way. (CF cards are how you upgrade the OS)


Playbility: 10 / 10

This is what held me back from buying this board for so long. As I've been playing piano for years and years, I was very afraid of getting a keyboard. I didn't even get to try this one out before I bought it (and believe me I tried). Luckily, I am in love. I actually prefer it to my school's practice pianos and I can transition very smoothly from my Fusion to an acoustic piano. So the keybed is extremely playable. In addition, I like the controls a lot; they are well-placed and responsive. The whole thing is wonderful to play on.


Overall Value: 10 /10

I'm so pleased that I got this instead of the Yamaha MO-8 I nearly bought. It has really lived up to all the hype. The price was very right--When I got it Alesis was doing a promotion and giving away some active monitors on top of Guitar Center's crazy 500 dollar discount, so I really got a steal. It's done absolutely everything I've asked it to. Highly recommended.

DEUCE SLUICE
Feb 6, 2004

I dreamt I was an old dog, stuck in a honeypot. It was horrifying.
Presonus Firebox
Price Paid:
$260 @ Guitar Center



Specs:

* 24-bit/96kHz FireWire recording interface
* 2 front panel inputs with preamps and 48V phantom power
* 2 balanced TRS line inputs
* 6 balanced TRS analog outs
* MIDI I/O
* S/PDIF I/O
* Recording and playback through 6 inputs and 8 outputs simultaneously
* Stereo headphone output
* Volume control
* Steinberg's Cubase LE
* Compatible with most ASIO/WDM and Core Audio based applications

Quality: 10/10

For something this small and this inexpensive, I'm really impressed at the build quality of this guy. All metal case, good quality jacks, and the knobs feel really solid.

Sound: 8.5/10

Output: It's been a while since I've listened to music on anything other than the built in sound card of my G4 tower. I sold off my M-Audio MobilePre a while ago, and that thing sounded like poo poo. Before that I had an M-Audio OmniStudio, which sounded pretty nice, but the Firebox blows them all away - and I've had the same set of M-Audio SP5B's the whole time. Absolutely silent.

Input: Plugging my hot rodded jazz bass in sounded like it should, but it didn't add any extra goodness. The preamp is really quiet though, and when I plugged the DI from my Aguilar into it I was able to get some seriously nice bass tone.

Ease of use: 10/10

I'm using OSX and the drivers are built into the OS. I didn't have to install a single thing to get it working. I just plugged it in and went to the Sound control panel to change the input and output device. You need to install the mixer application to get direct monitoring ability, but otherwise you don't need anything. Worked beautifully with Logic Express 7.2, Garageband, and Cubase LE. I didn't have to mess with anything to get latency free recording with no pops or anything.

Overall Value: 9/10

I think I'm going to get a lot of use out of this guy. For a personal studio recording and practice tool it's awesome, and it's small and sturdy enough that I'd have no problems taking it with me anywhere.

ButteryJoe
Dec 17, 2004
"To the dirt room with you!"
Title of Instrument Example: Fender Standard Telecaster

Price Paid / Price New: $375/$400
Year Manufactured: 2006
Specs:

- Alder Solid Body
- Maple fretboard (22 frets)
- 2 Pickups (Single-coil)

Sound: 5/5. The reason I bought it. The Telecaster's sound is completely set apart from all other electric guitars as far as I'm concerned.

Instrument Quality: 4/5. It's a good, well-made, durable guitar. Unfortunately, its intonation could be better. Just about every restringing there is an intonation issue. Not a big deal, though.

Playability: 4.9/5. The top couple frets are weird. It's a little difficult to get your fingers around them.

Overall Value: 5/5. For the price I paid, I don't think I could find a better instrument. I would definitely pay more for it.

The pickups on this thing are really quite good. I raised the bridge pickup closer to the strings to make it sound hotter, and you might find yourself doing a similar modification. For the difference in price between it and the American Deluxe models, it's really amazing. Save your money and just get this: the differences are small and mostly superficial. You can make it look like a deluxe model anyway by putting on a pearl pickguard, like I did. If you must upgrade, don't buy Fender, buy a G & L. But, like I said, for this price, there are very few better guitars. Highly recommended.

---------------------------

Line 6 Spider III

Price Paid / Price New: $199/$199
Year Manufactured: 2006
Specs Equipment's Specifications.

- 30 Watts
- 12 Inch speakers
- 4 Amp models
- 6 effects (2 simultaneous)
- 4 user-programmable channels
- Footswitch jack compatible

Sound: 4/5. The speaker is really loud, and certain guitars (such as the Telecaster reviewed above) can really make her sing. There are amps with more tones, but the effects on this amp beat most other amps I've used.

Equipment Quality: 4/5. Like I said, the speaker is good.

Usefulness: 4/5. Like everything else about this amp, it's definitely decent. It's a useful amp with a lot of tones, and it can really sound professional. It's especially good for a guitarist who doesn't gig and is beginner or intermediate.

Overall Value: 4/5. It's a great amp that a really great guitarist will grow out of very quickly.

I will say that the man who sold it to me said that he's had a few returned to him because they blew the speaker. It's a problem with a lot of amps, but this thing is hot off the presses. That's my disclaimer.

ButteryJoe fucked around with this message at 01:12 on Mar 22, 2007

DrChu
May 14, 2002

Ernie Ball MusicMan StingRay HH
Price Paid / Price New: $830/~$1500
Year Manufactured: not sure, about 2004
Specs:
  • Two humbuckers
  • 5 position selector switch
  • 3 band active EQ
  • 21 frets, rosewood neck
Sound: 4/5
If this were a regular StingRay the rating would be 5/5, but its not and because of that is loses points. The HH model has two humbuckers and a five position switch to allow you to choose different combinations. Starting at position one, closest to the bridge:[list=1]
[*]Bridge pickup only, both coils
[*]Both pickups, outer coils only
[*]Both pickups, all coils
[*]Both pickups, inner coils only
[*]Neck pickup only, both coils
[/list]
1: Classic StingRay tone: sounds like a StingRay should sound, no need to get into further detail.

2: Jazz Bass and a piano - it has the same qualities as a Jazz Bass with both pickups turned all the way up, sort of a nasally, scooped mid sound, but because of the coil placement the lows and highs are more pronounced, and the low notes remind me of a piano.

3: Sounds like a cross between a StingRay and a Jazz Bass and a jar of molasses. This is the setting I had the highest hopes for, and the one that disappointed me the most. With all four coils on, I expected the tone to be very big and punchy, instead it is thick, nasally and quiet. Start with the normal Stingray tone, then add too much of the nasally, scooped mid sound mentioned above, and then increase the bass and lower the overall output level to about half of any other setting and you can approximate this setting. This setting most reminds me of pressing the "bass boost" feature on a cheap boombox, pretending to increase low end response but really just cutting out needed higher frequencies. Maybe with some EQ work and pickup height changes I can make this more usable, but for now it won't be seeing much action.

4: A cross between a Jazz and a Precision. Similar to position 2, but with the active coils closer together and more centered in the mid position, the tone loses its low and high end and gains more midrange. It still has the characteristics of a Jazz Bass, but with a little Precision thrown in. Probably the second best setting.

5: A StingRay with less bite. This is the other setting I was disappointed with, with a big humbucker in the mid/neck position, I was expecting something like a big Precision-like tone. Instead, I got a StingRay sound with a little less of the springy/bite tone and a little more low-mids and bass (and less overall volume). With some EQ changes I can get rid of some of the Stingray sound and make it more Precision-like, and if I play with a pick I can get that clacky P-Bass tone, but there's a hint of StingRay no matter what.

Before I got the bass I played a similar model in a store, I didn't get a whole lot of time with it but I knew I wanted a StingRay and the additional configurations the second pickup brings in just seemed like a bonus, but it turns out not all are as usable as I thought they'd be. Now I think I would rather have the HS model, with a single coil in the neck position instead, though that has its own sound quirks (the HS model has a third pickup, hidden underneath the pickguard).

Instrument Quality: 4/5
It is a big, solid guitar. Mine was shipped from California to Pennsylvania, and when it arrived it was still in tune. The first time I played it it was great, but the second time one of the coils in the bridge pickup went out. I don't know why this happened, I took the electronics apart to try to find a break in the lines somewhere and found nothing. I posted about it on the EBMM forums and got a bit of a :laffo: reply from Sterling Ball about it:

quote:

Jonguitarz and allat ebmm customer service are snorting tums on this one. This is our worst nightmare. Takes everything apart and then attempts self diagnoses and then ends up confused and with a bass taken apart and usually together wrong.

Just wait until the morning and we will sort it out. Please dont do any more surgery on your own.....

I decided to follow his instructions, put everything back together and got ready to call customer support, when I noticed the bridge was fully working again. It briefly went out again, but not since. If it gets to be a problem again I'll actually call next time, but for now it seems fine. I do have an issue with the neck pickup, the springs holding it in place don't seem all that strong, and when I rest my thumb on it while playing it tends to get pushed down some. I'll try to put foam or something underneath to help it out. The only other thing that needs some work is the string height/truss rod, but that's more personal preference than build quality. Hopefully that will get rid of the rattle I'm having on the E string (the previous owner did a poor stringing job as well).

Playability: 4.5/5
Its on the heavy side, but not unmanageable. The biggest problem I have is mentioned above, with the neck pickup moving when I rest my thumb on it. The neck will take a little getting used to coming from playing primarily a Jazz Bass, and for some reason bending strings seems a lot tougher than it should be, but its not something I do often. The bass also has MusicMan's new compensated nut to help intonation, and it does its job pretty well.

Overall Value: 5/5.
Despite the issues mentioned above, I still think the instrument was worth the price paid. The $830 is about average for used regular StingRays, HH models tend to go closer to $1000, and all mine really needs is a proper setup and it will be fine (and maybe a different pickguard, "Moonstone" looks a bit goofy).

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kardinal
Sep 21, 2003

My God, the tools that brought us here are utterly inadequate.
Title of Instrument: Fender (American) Standard Telecaster
Price paid: $650
Year manufactured: Unsure, but I bought it new in early 2006.

Specs:

BODY: Alder
NECK: Maple
FINGERBOARD: Rosewood
BRIDGE: Classic 3-Saddle Telecaster Bridge
PICKUPS: American Tele® Single-Coil Pickups (Neck & Bridge)
FINISH: Vintage White

Sound: 5/5
This guitar sounds simply amazing. The neck pickup is really fat and mellow sounding, but can get really muddy with distortion which kind of sucks. The bridge pickup is really twangy, just what you'd expect from a Telecaster. I wasn't very pleased with this at first and I would only play it with the tone knob turned all the way down, but lately I've grown to love it. You can make a Telecaster sound extremely dirty with the right amount of distortion and reverb. Don't get me started on how it sounds with my Small Stone turned on. :fap:

Instrument quality: 4/5
I've only had this for a year, but it's held up quite well thus far. It travels well and can take a pretty good beating. Its only chip is where I drunkenly dropped my acoustic and a tuning peg caught the corner as it was sitting in the stand. I do have a couple of annoyances though. The metal bridge can be a bitch if you hit it with your hand wrong while strumming. Sometimes I really get into whatever I'm playing and when I'm done I look down and realized I tore some skin off one of my knuckles. My biggest beef though is the 3 saddle bridge. Once the strings start to show the slightest bit of wear the high e string's intonation goes to poo poo, and you can't adjust it because if you do then the intonation on the b string will be hosed up when you try to compensate. That's my only real problem with this guitar. Well... that and I still think telecasters are hideous.

Playability: 4.5/5
I learned to play on one of those crappy Ibanez GIO starter guitars which is setup for newbies. I thought the action on that thing was awesome, but it's even better on the Telecaster. It's extremely fast with no rattling at all. My only gripe, and the sole reason it got a 4.5 here instead of a 5 is that the higher frets are too small for my fingers and it's hard to play extremely high up on the neck. Though, I suppose that's really more of a problem with my fingers being fat than a problem with the guitar.

Overall value: 5/5
I walked into the guitar shop wanting to buy a Strat, or if that failed a Les Paul. I actually hated Telecasters, thinking they were ugly, twangy pieces of poo poo. After playing every Strat, Les Paul and Ibanez guitar in the store I saw a lonely looking Telecaster sitting on the wall and said, "hell why not." I plugged it in, strummed a C, looked at the guy and said I'm buying this. That being said, I love this drat guitar. I don't see what else could get me away from playing a Telecaster. I guess I'd have to sit down and get wowed by another guitar, who knows.

Be Depressive
Jul 8, 2006
"The drawings of the girls are badly proportioned and borderline pedo material. But"
Alesis Multimix Firewire 8-Channel Analog Mixer
Price Paid / Price New: $299/$599
Year Manufactured: 2006
Specs [i][list]

(edit: most of this post got deleted with the forum upgrades? I'll write it again tomorrow.)

Be Depressive fucked around with this message at 02:54 on May 31, 2007

kamapuaa
May 12, 2007
Bulbous, yet agile.
Gretsch G5120 Electromatic Hollowbody



Price Paid / Price New: $700 / $850 (list)

Year Manufactured: Unsure, purchased new in 2007

Specs:
  • Single cutaway hollowbody electric guitar.
  • Laminated maple body
  • Short scale (24.6") 21 fret maple neck, rosewood fingerboard.
  • Bigsby B60 Vibrato Tailpiece
  • 2 Gretsch dual coil pickups
  • Floating Adjust-o-matic bridge
Sound: 4/5. This guitar has the "classic" Gretsch sound, that is to say, very twangy on the bridge pickup, and boomy on the neck.

Instrument Quality: 4/5 Conisdering that this is Gretsch's lower end Korean-made guitar, the construction is excellent. The clear pickguard was a strange design choice - perfectly functional, but a little on the cheesy side.

Playbility: 4/5 Excellent, excellent, excellent. The factory setup was perfect. The wide neck is very comfortable, and feels fast. There are a couple of drawbacks though. First, the short scale neck makes it a little harder to be effective over the 14th fret or so. Also, since it's a hollowbody, it's prone to feedback at higher gain settings (not that most people would choose an archtop guitar for metal anyway).

Overall Value: 5/5 This is the only hollow body Gretsch guitar that I've ever seen that comes in new under $1k. If it's the sound that you're looking for, the deal is unbeatable. As soon as I laid my hands on it, I knew that it had to come home with me.

zorander
Mar 27, 2004

GLASSES
Title of Instrument: Rhodes Mark I Stage 88
Price Paid / Price New: $900/not sure
Year Manufactured: 1979
Specs:

88 keys, volume + "bass boost" controls. Sustain pedal. Instrument level output.

Sound: 5/5

The sound varies quite a bit from instrument to instrument, although with the help of effects modules it's possible to get most conceivable "rhodes" sounds out of most any rhodes from a similar era. Mine is fairly "deep" (e.g. you have to hit it pretty hard to get it to "bark").

Instrument Quality: 4/5

Rhodes models from this era are built like tanks. Mine has needed some pickup rewinding, but other than that is mostly ok. Still, though, some notes on the piano are better than others and a few have "damper kiss" which can be hard to get rid of. The entire instrument was designed to be maintained, tweaked, and repaired by the owner and it has a pretty extensive manual.

After almost 30 years, the exterior of the piano is all but pristine and it still sounds great. If it weren't for the minor issues, I'd have rated it 5/5.

Playbility: 4/5

I would take the keyboard on the rhodes over pretty much any synth keyboard. It's not as "perfect" feeling as a real grand piano action, but it's more forgiving...it provides less resistance than a real piano during fast passages. Still, it's not 100% consistent across the board, providing a constant reminder that the rhodes action is a compromise.

Overall Value: 5/5

I don't have an issue with what I paid for this. I would have been happy to pay another $300 on top of it if I'd have known how well this would turn out, particularly for one of the more rare 88 key models. I bought this on ebay, sight unseen, after one popped up 4 blocks away from me. Given how much a pain and expense it was going to be to ship one of these babies into the city, I jumped on it.

Innocent Bystander
May 8, 2007
Born in the LOLbarn.
Line6 Vetta I Combo v2.5
Price Paid / Price New: $625/$1699
Year Manufactured: Early 00s
Specs:
  • 150 Stereo Watts, Solid State
  • 70+ Amp Models
  • 50+ Modeled Stompboxes
  • 2 x 12" Custom Celestion Speakers
  • MIDI Implementable
  • Stereo Effects Loop
  • Stereo XLR Balanced Direct Outs and 1/4 Stereo Unbalanced Direct Outs
  • Built In Tuner (which is actually very fast)
  • 65 lbs.

Sound:4/5
This is a modeling amp. Its models are certainly not perfect or exact. However, they do sound quite good on their own. If you want a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier, get a Dual Rectifier. If you want a vintage Fender Bassman, get a Fender Bassman. If you want to get sounds that are close those without spending many thousands of dollars, get a Line6 Vetta. Personally (since this is a fairly subjective category), I've found sounds in the Vetta that I haven't found any place else.

Its cleans vary so much from amp model to amp model. Its dirty tones vary so much from amp model to amp model. Its high gain tones vary from amp model to amp model. If you sit down with this amp and work with it for a while, you WILL find a tone that is very close to the tone you want, if not THE tone you want. Line6 basically takes a shotgun approach to tone; It gives you many thousands of combinations of tone altering tools. This approach ensures that you will find something close to what you want.

Equipment Quality: 4/5

I bought this amp second hand from a retired gigging musician. He claimed he had no problems with this amp in the 3-5 years he had used it. (He bought it new, but couldn't remember the year.) I've had it for a year and just recently had a problem with it. The memory had corrupted and I needed to reflash the Vetta's software, which fixed the problem.

I've run the amp with mismatched loads for a couple hours four months ago and have seen no ill effects. All of the knobs/plugs still function very well.

The amplifier gets quite loud with minimal noise. The cabinet seems to be a weak link. It certainly isn't terrible, but under very high gain and high volume the cabinet starts woofing, perhaps a combination of the cabinet and the speakers. I've never encountered this problem except under extreme conditions. At practice with my band I've never encountered the woofing (we play pop rock that occassionally calls for some chugging.) So bottom line; if you play bass heavy, high gain music with the amp dimed (this combo is painfully loud over a hard hitting drummer at around 5/10) then you will need a separate cab.

Playbility: N/A

Overall Value: 4/5

INCREDIBLY versatile. The range of tones you can get out of this amp is pretty amazing. That alone gives this amp a 3/5 rating for overall value. The other things that add the extra point are certainly not subtle either. The amp is incredibly loud. This, like the Roland JC120, does not suffer from weak SS power amp syndrome that plagues lower end SS amps. This amp can compete in a band situation.

The FX setup on this beast is pretty tough to beat. A footswitchable stereo FX loop plus all of the Vetta's internal FX make it incredibly liberating. If you use a lot of effects, this amp will certainly be of some interest to you. Most of the FX models are usable, but they are missing some things. The Phasers in particular are quite average, and I still use my Boss PH-3 in place of any of the Vetta's phasers. Reverbs are nice as well, and also very configurable. There is really too much to go into on the subject of Vetta FX, but none are throw aways. Seeing as how this amp uses MIDI, most effects can use the tap tempo function. Sequencing the phaser, delay, tremolo, chorus, flange, or [insert time dependent effect] can be controlled via tap tempo.

The two amps at once feature is why I initially bought the amp, and its something that makes things much easier as a lone guitarist. Live at band practice, it thickens up the sounds A LOT. Its quite easy to achieve the wall of guitar sound by oneself. The Double Tracker feature is interesting, and usable, but definately not jaw dropping. Its nice to have, but thats about it.

The direct outs from this amp are also better than any direct outs I've heard on any factory amp (Mesa Boogie's direct outs make me shudder.) It makes home studio recording artist's (like myself) lives much easier. Plug in a 2 1/4" cords from the amp to the computer and viola, silent, stereo guitar goodness. The direct outs certainly aren't perfect, and will need tweaking between your live, loud tone and direct in tones, but they are better than most.

The downsides are that this is not a tube amp, to be quite frank, which I guess can be good and bad. Repairing this amp is not going to be simple it will MOST LIKELY require a Line6 certified amp repairman. It will not get that exact saggy tube feel, it will come close, however it will not achieve it exactly.

Innocent Bystander
May 8, 2007
Born in the LOLbarn.
Mesa/Boogie Studio Caliber DC-2
Price Paid / Price New: $400/$???
Year Manufactured: Early 00s
Specs:
  • 25 Watts - 2 x EL84 / 6 x 12AX7
  • 2.5 Channels (will explain)
  • FX Loop
  • 1 x 12" Vintage Black Shadow
  • Footswitchable Channels
  • Recording/Heaphone Out

Sound:4.5/5

Small tube amp. drat loud for 20 Watts. Both channels have separate EQ and Reverb controls. The Lead channel's tone can be changed by hitting the "Contour" button on the footswitch or by changing the channel selector switch on the front of the amp. The Clean channel is somewhat Fender-ish while still having some of the middy Marshall cut. With the gain 2 or 3 nice clean mellow tone. Nice semi-breakup with the gain dimed. Very reactive to playing dynamics and volume control on the guitar. When cranked on the clean channel, it breaks up beautifully, really something to behold.

The Lead channel ranges quite a bit in tone. With the gain around 2 its Bluesbreaker-ish. It winds all the way up to 10, which can almost chug. It needs some sort of overdrive pedal to get it up there, but it gets quite high gain sounding with the gain dimed. The Contour switch makes it sound less nasally, less Boogie Lead sounding. The Contour switch makes the amp sound newer, I find it works well when trying to achieve sounds similar to the Black Album rhythm with the gain at 10. I usually keep the Contour switch off when playing lead lines because that sweet Boogie lead tone cuts through so well.

Equipment Quality: 5/5

Built like a tank. Aluminium tube guard on the back. Footswitch incredibly well built. Nothing out of line here folks.

Playbility: N/A

Overall Value: 5/5

I really can't find a price for these new. However, for 400 dollars, this amp was very much worth the money. Superb clean, superb rhythm and the coveted and sought after Boogie lead. Very nice amp. Quite versatile as well, being a rocker I would've liked a little more gain on the lead channel, but this amp is very well suited for rock and classic rock.

acidpark
Jul 19, 2007

Behringer Xenyx 502 mixer
Price Paid / Price New: $45/$55
Year Manufactured: '06
Specs:
  • 1x mono input , mic-preamp
  • 2x stereo input , stereo out
  • cd/tape stereo in/out , send to phones/mix (push-button)
  • board: db meter, basic chan levels, high/low eq, trim, pan, stereo bal
  • small, lightweight, sturdy, and cheap
Sound: 4/5
It's a great sounding board at such a low price. As well, it's features give it a great versatility: I've used it for everything from house shows to powering my home music system. The british eq isn't too bad but I wish it were more in depth. This mixer can really put out the db, however it does have a tendency to clip, but the trim takes care of that.

Equipment Quality: 4.5/5
Overall the mixer is very durable and fall-resistant. I've dropped it from good heights a few times with no consequence. Even though the board is fairly small it's got a good weight to it. The knobs have great resistance and don't feel loose at all nearly a year later, and the inputs are also of high-quality. Unfortunately the underside of the mixer is the only metallic part of the case, with the sides and top being a hard plastic. As others have said before me there's really no reason to fear Behringer, their units are well made, perform well, and stand the test of time.

Usefullness: 5/5

Overall Value: 4.5/5
While the lowest end of the Xenyx line of mixers, the 502 has been a surprisingly great tool for me over the past year. My needs were small and so the xenyx filled them out perfectly. The versatility and size of the mixer has allowed me to use it in more than one setting which makes it very much worth my money. Mind, it doesn't have phantom power so if you need that then look to its older brothers. Overall the xenyx 502 is a great tool for small projects and serves well as a first mixer.

CandyCain&Abel
Oct 21, 2006

by Fistgrrl
Electro-Harmonix Little Big Muff
Year Manafactured: 2007
Price Paid: $65



I bought this pedal to replace a 2005 black russian Big Muff Pi which I stupidly broke. I looked around for Big Muff replacements, and finally decided that I should buy the Little Big Muff. I heard that its tone lied somewhere inbetween the Russian Muff and the NYC Muff, and it had a bassy tone to it, so that sounded good to me!

Sound Quality: 4.5/5 I give this pedal a 4.5 because I think it could use a bit more edge in some places. That being said, this can be remedied with the tone knobs on your guitar so that's ok. It sounds great for a bunch of different applications. That classic Big Muff tone. That being said, I wouldn't use any other distortion pedal (and I tried out a bunch) except maybe for one of those old green Sovtek Big Muffs. I should add it gets pretty drat loud too - the volume knob at about 20% is equal to that of your clean channel. I don't dare turn it above 30% yet.

Build Quality: 4.5/5 It's in a die-cast aluminum box that looks and feels pretty drat sturdy, although it is a bit light. I'd trust it gigging more than my russian Muff though (the newest black one is made out of crappy parts).

Features: 3/5 A sustain knob, a tone knob, a volume knob, and an on/off switch. What can I say? You have to be pretty stupid to get confused using this pedal. It gets a 3/5 because there's no battery compartment - AC adapter only (the opposite of the russian Muff :wtf: )

Playability: 5/5 You can get a great sound out of this pedal for just about any application. It didn't take me that long to dial in a tone I liked before I was yelling "gently caress YES" and dancing around me room playing some metal tunes.

Overall: 5/5 $65 well spent. I'd recommend it to anyone who plays anything from blues to indie rock of all kinds to metal. It's got a nice sound for everyone. It can be bassy and subdued or edgy and biting. I loving love fuzz pedals.

I wrote this mini-review for another site before I got my guitar back from the shop. I will add, though, that my views do not differ much from how it sounds with the bass to how it sounds with the guitar. After a bit of experimenting, I can get everything from great indie rock tones to an amazing wall-of-sound-shoegaze type sound to some good ol' stoner metal crunch.

I personally like the Little Big Muff better than the Black Russian. I've only played my bass with it because my guitar's been in the shop for a while. I thought I couldn't get a good blunt bass sound out of the Black Russian when I wanted one. It would sound muddy and still kind of gritty in that Sovtek kind of way. I was able to get a great blunt tone that made my smile on the LBM with the Sustain at 3 oclock, Tone @ 12 oclock. The LBM is definitely bassier than the BR, and the sustain is insane. I don't know if the LBM is hypersensitive to string vibrations or my bass has a recently developed case of Stratitis, but I had some sustain going on at a good volume for well over 2 minutes. My normal playing setup (max sustain, tone 3 oclock) definitely sounded bassier than the same settings on the BR - but it sounds great. I don't remember exactly how it sounded on the BR, but on teh LBM the tone dial seems to be half of that kind of underwater fuzz feeling, and the other half that great signature Big Muff tone.

i tried playing the song "Supersoaker MD50" by Moistboyz if any of you know them - the bassline just sounded too overwhelming with bass at times with hand mutes and all and it got a bit muddy. I put the tone on max, and the sustain at about 2 oclock. Talk about motherfucking crunch. I was very happy when I found that I could get some delicious crunchy fuzz sounds with the sustain at 12oclock and the tone at 3oclock - I always used to have the sustain at max on my BR for real crunch fuzz.

Overall this pedal is a lot bassier than the Russian Muff, and I'd say it was a good purchase.

CandyCain&Abel fucked around with this message at 20:38 on Aug 5, 2007

Vannaroth
Aug 5, 2005
I'll see you on the darkside of the moon
Pearl Eliminator Single Bass Drum Pedal (double chain drive)
Price: Around Ł100

Quality: 10/10. What more could you expect from one of the top pedals? This thing is built drat solid, but not so much that it becomes heavy to the foot as some may find with the Iron Cobras. Though some are put off by the plastic cams, don't be fooled: they are exceptionally high quality, and only the front part of the cam is plastic so there's not much chance of breakage anyway. The double chain drive feels strong and reliable.

The Eliminator is often marketed as the most adjustable pedal around, and I don't doubt it. In addition to the standard pedal adjustments, the thing comes with 4 easily interchangable cams for 4 very different feels (I use the red one), with 2 additional cams available seperately. The 'PowerShifter' (sliding footplate) is a very nice feature, changing the pedal's feel from heavy to light. In fact, the pedal even allows you to remove the individual grip pads from the footboard to alter the amount of friction on your foot. It's just that adjustable.

Playability: 9/10. The Eliminator is impeccably smooth and silent, and with a little bit of tweaking, will begin to feel more like an extention of your foot than a pedal. The reason it doesn't get a 10 is because like all pedals, it won't be perfect for everybody.

Overall Value: 9.5/10. Sturdy, smooth and responsive, the Elims seem to be the happy medium between the tank-like Iron Cobras, the ultra-light Flying Dragons and the powerful DWs. With all the adjustments, it'd difficult to find a setting you won't like. But remember: always try before you buy.

Vannaroth fucked around with this message at 02:23 on Aug 9, 2007

gdoggmoney
Mar 6, 2006
Volks junkie.
Fender American Stratocaster Plus/Deluxe?


Price Paid / Price New: 600$/1200$
Year Manufactured: 1989
Specs: 3 single lace sensors, 2 silver and a blue in the bridge. Rosewood fretboard, wilkinson roller nut. Hipshot tremsetter, TBX tone cut(?) Sperzel locking tuners.... Hope I am not forgetting anything.

An alder body I believe, with a basswood, or some other sort of top, there's two slabs together, I am really having a hard time finding information on these guitars in general. It seems it was random that some strat plus models got the single wood body, others got this body....

Before we get to ratings let me preface this by saying I AM VERY VERY VERY PICKY AND CRITICAL!

Sound: 3.5/5 This guitar sounds great with nickel strings. It has a really great deep crisp bell like bluesy tone from the silver neck lace sensor, and a nice crunchier dirtier tone from the bridge blue lace sensor. The TBX cut is either not working or something, I can not hear a difference when rolling the tone knob to where it clicks.

As a note this guitar sounded like absolute garbage with steel strings, even moreso with dean markley blue steels. Loads of sustain, seriously I can play this thing unplugged and it has loads of sustain. In fact I hate to say it but I do practice unplugged most of the time.

Surprised me quite a bit since a stratocaster is like 40% pickguard with pickups in said pickguard. Before I bought this I had been taking all my extra money and giving it up to a layaway on a Gibson VOS 1957 goldtop les paul. I found this and broke the layaway immediately. Yes they are two totally different instruments, but this thing was way more flexible, and much cheaper. Sure it does not sound like that les paul, but it is just as great in it's own stratocaster way.

I think fender should have put 500k pots in this from the factory, I think the laces are a little damp with the 250k's in it.

I had swapped some different electronics in it for a while, two duncan humbuckers, matched 1meg pots, and no caps, the guitar screamed but the duncans I did not like. I ended up going back to the factory electrics. I am currently searching for dually lace sensors to replace the duncans. A dual red for the bridge and a dual silver for the neck.



Instrument Quality: 3.5/5 The guitar has aged well. the finish is great, it seems the top layer of whatever wood is a little soft as it has some dings that did not break the finish but dented the wood some. The neck wood.... jesus. The quality is insane..... It is just great. Very solid. I am overly impressed. Being almost 20 it has aged very well. Neck is straight as an arrow. It is fairly heavy for a stratocaster.

If you flick the neck hard and then the body, you can hear the woods have been closely tonally matched.... It seems like the fender folks put a lot of thought/time into these, or I just got lucky with this one.

Playbility: 3.5/5 Very very playable. I have short fingers and fat hands so I enjoy a 50's style les paul neck. It actually sucks for me to play something like an ibanez. The finished neck also makes slides happen fast. This guitar with it's current electrics is slightly limited, the bridge pickup sounds great with some crunch and distortion, as does the neck, but it's still not a humbucker sound.


Overall Value: 4/5 I really think that the late 80's and early 90's deluxe/plus american strats are an insane value. This thing not setup right blows any new american strat I have played completely out of the water in sound. Let alone build quality...... I am considering buying another one of these exact models because of just how great and inexpensive they are for what you get. It seems they are at their low point.

I vowed at one point in time to never buy a strat because of how common they were. I changed my views and even though it's like the ford mustang of guitars, these things are a very great value used. They seem to go on ebay/pawn shops for anywhere from 500 in poor rough shape to 1000 depending on trim. I think the strat ultra was the same guitar just with a dual lace sensor in the bridge position.

killyourownfood
Sep 23, 2007

by Fistgrrl
Kramer Imperial 404

Price Paid / Price New: Ł150/Ł339
Year Manufactured: N/A
Specs:
- Solid alder Explorer-type body in matt black
- Natural Maple bolt-on 25.5" scale neck with 24-fret rosewood fretboard, dot inlays
- Kramer quad-rail pickups (H-H)
- Tune-O-Matic stop-bar and bridge
- 3-way pup selector
- 1 volume, 1 tone (with push-pull coil tap)
- Aluminium diamond tread faceplate completely covering the guitar's top, sprayed matt black


Sound: 4/5 - The rating I'm giving this is in function of its price. I have owned and played many Explorers, including a standard Gibson '76, a Gibson Gothic, an Epiphone Korina, a Dean Z and an ESP/LTP EX. This has probably one of the best sounds I have gotten from any of them - The quad-rail pups are extremely beefy and have stupid amounts of rich and tight gain, but remain warm and clear in clean sound. The wood selection keeps the tone bright but full and grainy, and the sustain on the thing is better than many set-necks and thru-necks I've had. The only truly superior in every aspect Explorers to this one I've played are the original White ESP Hetfield model and the KL Explorer.

NB: Quad-rail pickups are essentially two hot-rails stuck together, therefore this guitar has four humbuckers in it, working two at a time unless you coil-split. For the record the coil-split only really makes a difference in bridge position clean sound, but you can almost get that mid-rich strat twang from it if you dial in a bit of EQ on the amp.


Instrument Quality: 2.5/5 - It's half-and half - The wood selection on this guitar is exceptional. It's very tidy and the setup is great, however the electronics are scandalously bad. I am going to have to rewire it as soon as possible, once it has new pots, a new switch and all new wiring it will be fantastic. I'm pondering installing EMG 81/85s in it, but we shall see. This is a HEAVY guitar, and this in one case in which I'm glad for it - Explorers are not supposed to be Ibanez-light, they're supposed to be beefy and big, and have sustain to match. This one is the heaviest guitar I've owned, heavier than my Les Paul Classic, and it feels like it would be pretty much indestructible. It will also need a respray at some point, but that's only because the paintwork has gone a tad shiny.


Playbility: 4/5 - It's extremely playable. The neck is a midrange slightly flattened C-shape, not too thin but not LP Custom-bulky. The setup, as above, is spot-on, it feels essentially like a Gibson Explorer, and the added length of the neck and the 24 frets means that it's possible to solo on it reasonably well without dislocating your thumb or having to reach under it. The only hindrance is the diamond-plate, if you're a bit of an enthusiastic strummer you'll skin your knuckles on it, but personally I keep the heel of my hand resting on the bridge, Hetfield-style.


Overall Value: 5/5 - I'm giving it a 5 simply because if I sold it, what I got for it wouldn't even be 5% of its real worth as an instrument. It's one of those cheap guitars where you occasionally find one and it makes you wonder why people shell out thousands of dollars on top-of-the-range stuff. Once I'm done renovating it I'm confident it will compete with high-end ESPs. It's down and dirty, but it sounds and plays great, and what more can you expect for Ł150 of guitar?

SuccumbToUsHeretic
Dec 4, 2005
Life is short...
Dynex DX-M1111 Dynamic Microphone
Price Paid: $9.95

This Microphone is the poo poo. Its very, very inexpensive, and it has a very similar frequency range as the SM58 and PG58 I've used.

Sound: 4/5 Probably. You're not getting a microphone that is the best quality for sure, but for what its worth, this mic will get the job done for most people producing music for themselves. Mix is more important than the mic in this case.

Equipment Quality: 5/5. This blew my mind. This microphone is all metal, no plastic, and has XLR connection at the base, like most high priced microphones. The on/off switch is very durable, and it comes with a nifty little case as well. The problem is that the cable it comes with is cheesy and useless. I suggest replacing the cable right away, but you're buying a mic, not a cable.

Usefullness: 5/5. But of course, usefullness is relative. For me, its very useful. For the guy with $50,000 worth of microphones, this one probably won't be used often enough. But this mic gets the job done, and sounds pretty drat good in doing so.

Overall Value: 10/5. Yes, I went above the scale. For $9.95, even sounding like poo poo would be a bargain, but in this case, it sounds great. That's a hell of a deal!

Exploded
Sep 13, 2002
I TAKE ATTRROCIOUS AMMMOUNTS OF ACID SO EVERYBODY will LIKE IT AND BE FNIE
Title of Equipment: Seymore Duncan JB Jr for strat, Bridge
Price Paid / Price New: $40/80
Year Manufactured: 2005
Specs Equipment's Specifications. It's basically a single coil sized version of the Seymore Duncan JB Humbucker which is a sweet rear end humbucker, bro.

i don't have a lot of experience with single coil pickups. I've tried out a lot of humbuckers. Basically i bought a strat because i love the way it feels but can't live without the sound of a crunchy rear end humbucker. I like what single coils do but i find myself mostly using humbuckers.

Sound (or applicable): 5/5

This Pickup is awesome.

-It has superior string separation when playing power chords and even open chords at high gain levels. I tested it on my fender hotrod 4x10. When i drive the front end on the clean channel hard with an overdrive pedal, the string separation is ideal. On the drive channel it's good, and on the more drive channel (which personnally i don't like at all) you can still hear separation in some power chords but the more bass is in, the muddier it gets.

-Excellent harmonics in a single coil pickup. My stock single coils and most single coils i have tried report harmonics in a much different way than humbuckers and this one gets very close to what a really hot humbucker sounds like when you do a pinch harmonic or natural harmonic. It sounds really sweet.

-Awesome crunch. This isn't as good as the real thing but it's really close man.

Equipment Quality: 5/5 I bought it used and it still sounds perfect.

Usefullness: 5/5 I was almost shocked by how good this pickup is and how much it sonds like a humbucker. Not just that, but a really good humbucker.

Overall Value: 5/5 It seems like the kind of thing i'd pay 80 dollars to have in my guitar and it was more than worth the 40 i paid for it. It's not perfect but it's just a hair off, and for the compromise in form factor and the price i do think it's about perfect.
Extremely impressed.

I'll write two more reviews for a dimarzio hs-2 (neck) and a lace sensor red (middle) tomorrow.

Pumpkin McPastry
Mar 8, 2004

What else do I have to do to impress you people?
I recently had to make the decision between a Washburn J7 and a Rickenbacker 360JG. Can anybody comment on their take on these instruments?

The Mechanical Hand
May 21, 2007

as this blessed evening falls don't forget the alcohol
I was looking into getting a bass synth pedal and came across this guy:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Ibanez-SB7-Synthesizer-Bass-Pedal?sku=150237

It would be decent for me for now due to the price and I've heard good things about it but I'd like to hear more from someone who has one or used one. I can always get a much better one at a later point but for right now this fits my budget.

Clockwork Sputnik
Nov 6, 2004

24 Hour Party Monster
Title of Instrument: PDP 805 Series Shell Pack (black with black hardware)
Price Paid: $649.00
Year Manufactured: 2007
Specs: 24 X 18" Kick, 13 X 8 Tom, 16 X 14" Floor Tom, 18 X 16" Floor Tom, 7 X 14 Snare

Sound: 5/5.

I bought these with the intent of building an electric kit from them, and was mostly interested in shell sizes and hardware quality. Got it home, set 'er up, replaced the crap heads with Evans EC Reverse dot on the snare, EC2's on the toms and bass, and, well, my 2001 DW set has now been delegated for electronic duty.

Seriously, these guys are amazing! The unique sizes certainly add a lot to the shape of the sound you get out of 'em, and despite what I thought, the sound from the kick is focused, punchy with TONS of fat headroom and low frequency. It's still a very dynamic kick, as well. It responds dreamily to light dynamic playing in the quiet parts of songs.

Contrast to my DW 22 X 20 its only slightly less punchy but you make up for it in the sheer force of the low frequency. Loosening the batter head just a smidge gave me exactly the sound I was looking for without gaining unwanted resonance i fought with in the deeper kick.

The 13 X 8 tom is a godsend, sizewise, and again brings with it an instantly recognizable tone. I bet I'll be able to pick it out of a lineup when more people start recording with this kit.

The downside is the 18 X 16 Floor tom. It's a little too big for its britches. I dont think it's PDP's lugs, or the heads, but it simply does not want to resonate much at all. When mic'd it sounds a lot like an old Tama Rockstar Kick... I'm considering porting the bottom head and seeing what happens there. It could also be the hoops, but that's just a guess. On that tom, (and only that one), though the hoops really seem to want to bend.

The birch here helps alot, as well as the fact that these are painted, not wrapped. Everything comes together to form a kit that outshines anything else PDP has done thus far, and equals (in sound) and exceeds (in shell sizes and value) my DW kit.

The snare is the heart of this kit and what PDP built their 805 series around, and is a warm, cracky/poppy snare with some nice undertones, and with new heads on it, is everything you'd hope for, tonally, from a 7 X 14. I'm glad people are moving away from the 5" range for snares. The extra depth gives you so much more feeling from the drum and takes it out of that atonal "oh god not another piccolo" range.

Another thing to note for persnickity folks, is that the black hardware (specifically the floor tom legs) are gonna scratch something nasty from your first setup onward. Of course it's only very astetics that nobody else will notice.

Instrument Quality: 4/5

Everything performs as expected, the quality is there in the paint, hardware, assembly, and fit/finish. PDP's take on DW's lugs (and their love of rubber around everything) makes for great isolation.

I knock 'em down a point here because the bearing edges could DEFINITELY have been done better, and I may take them to my tech to have them redone, and I'm not too keen on the mounting arm for the tom. The Suspension on the tom itself is great, as expected. The stock PDP arm they give you seems at times flimsy and underthought.

Playbility: 4/5.

A significantly taller kick will take you some getting used to, as you have to readjust your tom height, and thus, its relation to the snare. Fortunately the rack tom being shallower means you can approximate the setup you're accustomed to, but odds are you'll have to change the mounting angle to accomidate this setup.

Overall Value: 5/5.

Amazing. Seriously. Forget your Tamas, your Pearls, your Mapexes, and don't even consider Ddrum. In terms of bang for the buck, I'd have gladly paid $2,500 to get this sound, this easily.

I'd happily record with these after a little fine tuning, and will be touring with them shortly.

Both of my bands love the sound of 'em, and they're smack in the middle, tonewise for my darker, heavier post-punk band, but light, punchy and resonant enough for my more rock oriented garage/indie project.

I wager you'll be seeing/hearing a lot more 805 kits at shows and on records. No more are they "DW's eager but stupid Chinese cousin".

Steiler Drep
Nov 30, 2004
what?
I'm really split between an Ovation Celebrity CC44 Acoustic-Electric or a Ibanez AEF18ETWS, what should be the better option?

So I bought the Ovation... I'll be posting a review shortly (starting December) (January I mean)

Steiler Drep fucked around with this message at 04:10 on Dec 14, 2007

awkward_turtle
Oct 26, 2007
swimmer in a goon sea
Title of Instrument:Takamine GS-330S Acoustic
Price: ~$250/$300
Year Manufactured: Dunno. 2000 I think but the serial number dating doesn't seem to be right for my guitar.

Sound: 4.5/5 God this guitar sounds beautiful for such a cheap acoustic. It retails at around 300 but the value is simply amazing. The tone has the nice warmth you'd expect from all ceder construction with plenty of loudness, clear ringing highs, and decent bass thanks to the slightly larger than usual bottom bell. I'd place this guitar with $800-$900 dollar range Martins and Yamahas.

Instrument Quality: 4/5 A simply matte finish with good matching and no pickguard. It's survived a lot of abuse at my hands including spending too much time in a stand and being dropped on a tile floor by one of my suite mates. There's some slight warping in the neck, but not enough for me to bother with the truss rod yet. Some people online have reported problems with the tuners and I'm starting to experience it with mine, but again not bad yet. There's no on board Preamp though.

Usefulness: 3.5/5 The lack of a preamp is the big hamper here, since it has to be mic-ed to play anything larger than a small room. The action was also too high initially. I had to get the bridge reduced by nearly an 1/8 of an inch. Once that happened the playability increased markedly with no buzz.

Overall Value: 5/5 Buy one now. It's an excellent workhorse guitar and I prefer to play with it more than my electric most of the time. The lack of preamp is a bite in the rear end but otherwise the playability and sound are simply amazing for a guitar this price. For 300 you don't have to worry over it quite as much as your Yamaha either.

Hella Paunchy
Jul 25, 2007
More fun than a stick in the eye.


BOSS ML-2 MetalCore Distortion Pedal

Price: $100 USD give or take

Specs: Level control, High/Low controls, Dist. control. Uses 9V battery or AC adapter.

Sound: 4/5. This pedal produces more distortion than pretty much anything else out there. The distortion knob set to six oclock (lowest setting) distorts harder than a DS-1's highest setting. I bought it because I didn't want to sound like everyone else and their mom who bought an MT-2, which it doesn't. It's great for rhythm playing because it's VERY crunchy and warm, especially with the low control turned up.

It definitely has a few problems though. Mainly, it's not very versatile. If you want to radically change your tone all the time, buy an MT-2. The lack of any mid control at all makes it difficult to make subtle adjustments to the tone; it's basically a one trick pony.

Also, like most any high gain pedal (and this one has higher gain than most) it can get a little fuzzy. You can remedy this problem by turning up the low control, adjusting the tone control on your guitar, and not playing with the distortion set all the way up. Playing through a tiny crappy practice amp will make it worse.

Quality: 5/5. Like all Boss pedals, it's basically indestructible. Don't run over it with your car, but it can probably take being dropped etc.

Usefulness: 3.5/5. I love it, but it's somewhat limited. If I suddenly decided to totally change my style tomorrow, I would have to buy a new pedal. It's great for playing crunchy rhythm (think Lamb Of God, Children of Bodom, etc), but if you want to shred/tap/whatever at the 20th fret, this is not the pedal for you-too chunky.

Overall Value: 4/5. Go to your music store, try it out, and if you like it, buy the drat thing. It was definitely worth the money for me, but it does have limitations; whether those limitations are a dealbreaker is up to you. I recommend giving it a chance at least.

Hella Paunchy fucked around with this message at 06:33 on Jan 12, 2008

blkmg5
Aug 8, 2007
need a medic
Gibson Historic Cloud 9 '57 Les Paul Custom (2004 reissue)



Price: $2400 new

Sound: 5/5

Due to the combination of its tone chambers in the limited edition Cloud 9s and the lighter wood used in the Historic models, this guitar is very light (under 8 lbs), and one might think that as a consequence, it has a lighter tone and less sustain--this was fortunately not the case when I bought this guitar. I was very pleasantly surprised by the fullness of its tone and its singing sustain. On overdrive, the '57 classic pickup at the bridge provides a very raw rock'n'roll sound while the neck pickup is good for smooth leads and sings like a beautiful flute with the tone turned down. This guitar also has a very velvet-like clean sound on the neck pickup that is great when playing jazzy solos.

Instrument Quality: 5/5

The finish and workmanship on this guitar was flawless when I received it. As is mentioned below, however, I had a problem with the neck finish at first that cannot be counted as an instrument quality defect because apparently this is a universal problem with most Gibsons, so I will instead list it under playability.

Playability: 4/5

This guitar had one major problem when I first got it: the neck finish was way too sticky for me to play it comfortably. While I loved the sound I was getting out of it, I could not for the life of me play even remotely fast on it because the finish kept me from moving up and down the neck. This, of course, is present in almost every new Gibson and as time went on, the finish smoothened out. Now, after two years, it is very smooth and quite playable.

Another problem I had with the guitar is due to its weight--although the light weight, which is comparable to a Gibson SG, is great on the shoulders and allows me to play for hours on end standing or sitting, it also makes the instrument very neck-heavy. If the neck is not held, it will drop. It took a little while for me to get used to keeping the neck from plowing into the ground, and even now it's a little bit of an annoyance.

Overall Value: 5/5

All in all, this guitar is the one I use the most for both recording and live playing, and I could not imagine being without it now. It was a very good buy (normally over $3000 new) and even came with a cool limited edition case (tweed with blue lining). It certainly lives up to its standard as a rock'n'roll guitar.

blkmg5 fucked around with this message at 05:47 on Feb 2, 2008

Butt Reactor
Oct 6, 2005

Even in zero gravity, you're an asshole.
Title of Instrument:Epiphone Dot Studio

Price:picked it up for $250

Year made: Sometime in 06 I think

Sound: 4.5/5
I was definitely impressed by how nice it resonates (its a semi-hollow body guitar), and because of how great it sounds unplugged I practice with it more than my Ibanez acoustic. The twin pickups give it some crunch, which is good for a lot of stuff I play, mostly rock and some country/jazz. There's onl two control dials, which might bother some who are really picky about their sound. A little buzzing here and there on the fretboard, but that's probably because I haven't taken it in to be set up properly yet. :)

Instrument Quality: 4/5
Mine has a really nice cherry wood finish, which shines when the lighting is right. The guitar is pretty solid, and it stays in tune pretty well. The only complaint I have is that the tone and volume dials were loose, but that was fixed by twisting them until they didn't spin freely like they did before. There were some wires visible when looking into the f-soundhole, but reaching in and tucking them back fixed that. The action and fretboard were smooth, and the neck is solidly connected to the body, not a bolt on like some cheaper guitars. Not bad for a guitar from China.

Usefulness: 4/5
I probably wouldn't use it for gigs unless your main rig breaks or something, but its drat good for practice. It's designed to be a simplified studio guitar for working on stuff, hence the "Dot Studio" in the name.

Overall Value: 5/5

If you want a cheaper electric to get started on or for using as a backup/workhorse, get this one. They originally sold for $400~$500 when they first came out, and it looks like some stores are clearing them out for newer gear.

Pic of goodness (click for big):

Butt Reactor fucked around with this message at 05:53 on Feb 6, 2008

Exploded
Sep 13, 2002
I TAKE ATTRROCIOUS AMMMOUNTS OF ACID SO EVERYBODY will LIKE IT AND BE FNIE
Danelectro DJ14 Fish and Chips 7 band equalizer

Price: 20 bucks

Sound: 4/5
Honestly, it sounds like any other equalizer, but i think that's a good thing. This pedal was 20 dollars and it was worth every penny. As high as i can go on my gain (for reference fender hot rod deville) i can notice a very tiny amount of noise from the pedal, but it's just barely noticeable at the very highest gain settings.

Instrument Quality: 3/5
The case is made of plastic. It's not really lovely, thin plastic though, so it's not really a big deal. Overall it feels really solid for a plastic pedal and not
like it will fall apart.
My only gripe with this pedal and the reason i gave it a 3 is because of the button. It's clumsy and hard to press. This isn't the kind of thing i worry about because i almost always leave this pedal on, but if i were turning it on and off, it would be a little frustrating.
The sliders are nice and feel pretty solid.

Usefulness: 5/5
I think equalizer is probably the most overlooked type of effects pedal while at the same time being possibly the most useful one you can buy.
Many different effects are available with an EQ on board, but the three band equalizer offered on most amps just doesn't cut the mustard for reducing noise or boosting frequencies.

My setup is:
Current model lefty mexican strat, w seymore duncan jb jr, lace red, dimarzio hs2
Bad monkey overdrive
Dunlop crybaby wah
Fender hot rod deville
Fish n chips equalizer in the effects loop
4x10

The fish n chips just makes my amp come alive, that's all there is to it. Honestly, it's just exactly what the hot rod deville needs. When placed in the effects loop, i use it to not only reduce noise from my guitar (cutting certain frequencies can eliminate a lot of buzzing) but to boost frequencies and get an entire different group of sound shaping tools. I am honestly thinking of going and buying a ten band eq because of this pedal, but i'll probably still use this one anyways, to shape the signal coming out of my guitar, and put the ten band in the effects loop. Typically an eq is used in the effects loop to allow you to control your power amp distortion and the crunch from your speakers.

Using pre and post distortion eq is great because your amp will make sounds you did not think it was possible for your amp to make. It's a lot of fun to experiment. Try an eq with heavy mids, some bass and less treble on your amp, then put an eq pedal with a mid scooped curve in the effects loop. Now reverse it, double it, honestly with some tweaking i did some amazing poo poo with this pedal.

Overall Value: 4.5/5

The pedal does exactly what eq pedals two and three times the price of this pedal do, and it does it at a price of only 20 dollars.
I think this product is great because, for people who are not sure what an eq even does, it's something that's cheap and if you hate it you can sell it or just cut your losses easily. I can almost guarantee if you've never had the pleasure of using an EQ on your signal before, you will not regret this purchase.
The only reason i deduct .5 from overall value is that, since it does have one flaw (that stupid button), it has made me desperately want an mxr eq, i've been using it for a few months now, though, and have only now decided this. The fish and chips is a drat good pedal for an unbelievably cheap price. If you don't have an eq pedal, you'd be stupid not to pick this one up.

Spaghett
May 2, 2007

Spooked ya...

Bach Stradivarius model 42BO (it's a trombone!)

Price Paid / Price New: On sale when I got it for $1,800 (now it's around $2.5k)

Year Manufactured: 2004

Specs: Standard 42 model with F attachment (standard valve) and open wrap tuning slides

Sound: Example 3/5.
This all really depends on your individual playing. While most people who are decent can pick up the instrument and pop a couple of notes out with ease, tone comes from the player. The mouth piece affects the sound A LOT! One of the LARGEST problems is the intonation between different harmonics. For example, when you tune the middle Bb, the F's below and above and the D above are very out of tune. To adjust, since they are sharp, you have to move the slide out about half an inch+ depending on how far away from the Bb harmonic you are. Most trombones have this problem, but this one seems to be much farther out of tune (usually 20 cents on the middle F below said Bb).

Instrument Quality: 5/5
Opened it up and found no problems. Only complaint is if you abuse it while it's in the case, chances are you'll bend the slide lock and make it click when you move the slide. I'd recommend you bring it to a shop and not bend it yourself...

Playbility: 4/5
You can easily play on it. I would recommend it for a second trombone and as a nice intermediate level horn.

Overall Value: 5/5
I got exactly what I was looking for; a working and easy to use Intermediate trombone. Two years after buying it, I'm still able to play it and produce a professional sounding tone.

Notes:
I would like to note that this horn is almost identical, in terms of playability and feel, to the Conn 88H. If you've got one, don't buy the other since it's like buying the same thing twice.

gotly
Oct 28, 2007
Economy-Sized
Blackheart Little Giant BH5-112 Guitar Combo Amplifier (5 Watts, 1x12 in.)
Price Paid / Price New:$250/$250.


(click for huge)

Year Manufactured: 2007

Features:
5 watts single-ended, Class A
4, 8 and 16 ohm speaker outs
Solid state rectifier
Volume with 3-Band EQ (The Epi Valve Jr. doesn't have an EQ)
Pentode (5 Watts)/Triode (3 Watts) Switch
12 in. Blackheart model 1216A by Eminence speaker has an American voicing and is optimized for open back cabinets
DC power to filaments for super quiet operation
15-ply (18 mm) thick-void free plywood cabinet construction
Approx. 45 lbs.

Sound: 5/5.
I've played through $1000+ Marshall half stacks and this sounds just as good to me. I live in an apartment so it works really well in a solo practice setting. I took it over to a buddies today to jam and yes, it works fantastically with drums and bass. When I turned it to about 3/4 volume I was heard above everyone else. If your drummer is a metalhead with double bass pedals then it might not cut it but for most everyone's needs this is just great. The 3/5 watt switch is pretty useful. You can get pretty loud with minimal breakup with the 3 watt setting and the 5 watt setting will really push the tubes into that great classic distortion.

Equipment Quality: 4/5
I've only owned it a couple weeks and it seems extraordinarily well made. It looks great also. The reason I gave it 4/5 is there is some crackling when I turn the volume dial.


Usefullness: 4/5.
Just an awesome tube amp. For what it offers, it gets 5/5 but lost a point due to no effects at all. You'll have to buy pedals for any effects you want. This was fine with me because I prefer all my effects be on pedals anyway.


Overall Value: 5/5
This was just a great find. Everyone who has heard it has been blown away with the sound quality and can't believe I only paid $250. I'm completely converted, I'll never buy a solid state amp again. I highly recommend this to anyone looking to get away from the compressed sound of a solid state amp. I don't see myself upgrading from this for a very long time.

Hella Paunchy
Jul 25, 2007
More fun than a stick in the eye.


Electro-Harmonix Metal Muff
Price Paid/New: $70/$90 USD

Specs: Level control, Top Boost control and on/off switch, bypass switch, high/mid/low EQ controls, dist. control. 1/4" i/o jacks, optional 9V AC adapter.

Sound: 5/5 If you play metal, any kind of metal, this is the last pedal you will ever need. The EQ controls are so sensitive that you can go from AC/DC to Cannibal Corpse with a few flicks of a knob.

Quality: 5/5 Sturdy metal construction, sturdy jacks, no knobs falling off.

Usefulness: 5/5 I can play skull crushing death metal riffs in drop C, I can play screaming slide solos ala Duane Allman, I can play Metallica, you name it.

What sets this pedal apart from the rest is the Top Boost. It boosts a very narrow band of high frequencies, so even with the bottom control turned all the way up, it adds an extra bite. Yum.

Overall Value: 5/5 Way better than the Boss pedals, DigiTech XMM, whatever, and it costs less. Buy this pedal now.

Zapato
Jun 18, 2004

He'll warn you when danger's coming, fast or slow.

Title of Equipment: Carvin BRX212 Bass Amp Combo
Price Paid / Price New: $800 (new direct from manufacturer price)/discontinued, it looks like they want you to buy a stack now.
Year Manufactured: 2006
Specs
• Sealed enclosure for tight high power low end response
• Two NT12 Neodymium 12" 300w speakers - front and 45 degree down-firing port loaded
• Heavy-duty compression horn tweeter for crisp-slap highs up to 22khz
• Bi-amp high requency amplifier for horn tweeter and level adjustment
• Road worthy black Duratex™ covering
• Deep recessed steel handles, buildin casters and tilt back handle
• SPL 102dB 1W/1M
• Frequency Response: +/- 3dB 42 Hz - 22 kHz and -10dB@36Hz
• Dimensions: 30.25 inches high x 16.5 inches wide x 18 inches deep
• Weight: 69lbs
• Made in San Diego, California

Sound (or applicable): 5/5.
This thing sounds amazing. Crisp and clean, good punch, all around perfect bass sound, and it really lets the growls through with my Boss ODB-3 pedal.

Equipment Quality: 5/5.
Rock Solid. Heavy duty recessed luggage wheels, a retractable handle, solid metal mesh screen, I don't think they could have made it any tougher.

Usefulness: 5/5.
Amazing. I've never turned it past about 4, and when I got that high, the whole drat house shook. I haven't taken it out yet, but I expect I won't need a PA for anything short of coliseum-type venues. The wheels and handles make it super easy to move around (considering it's a 70lb monster)

Overall Value: 5/5.
Hell yes. I love this thing to death. It is probably the best purchase I have ever made. I'd have been happy paying the retail $12-1300 price tag for this thing, but of course it was way cheaper direct from Carvin.

The only downside is the thing weighs 70lbs, but with those wheels and the handle, you only have to pick it up to get it in and out of the car. It'll even clear stairs and curbs with a good tug. I guess you wouldn't want this if you're gigging near daily or you can't/won't leave it in the practice space, but if it's gonna be relatively stationary, I'd recommend it to anyone.

Gramps
Dec 30, 2006


Crosspost from Harmony Central.

Ibanez RG2550z Prestige


Price paid: 'twas a gift from my wife, but if you aren't a lucky bastard like me, expect to pay between 850 and 900 bucks.

Features: 10
2008 model
Japanese manufacture (Team J craft)
Basswood body in Galaxy white with a sweet brushed black pickguard, 25.5" scale 24 fret Wizard prestige neck with rosewood fretboard and nice big jumbo frets. This is pretty much the neck you want for shred.
H/S/H configuration with Dimarzio/IBZ pickups. 1 vol, 1 tone w/ 5 way switch. Brand new Edge Zero double locking tremolo w/ZPS3 zero point system. Gotoh tuning machines. Includes a team J craft hardshell case.

Sound : 8
I play a bit of everything with an emphasis on hard rock/punk/metal.
I play through a Hughes & Kettner Tube 50 with my pedalboard in front of it that is in this order: Boss tuner->Boss OC-3 octave pedal->Modded Dunlop Cry Baby->Wasabi overdrive->HK with a Boss DD-2 Delay in the Effects loop. I also use a Line6 PodXT for practice and recording.

The pickups in the guitar are nice and warm with a medium-high output. The harmonics are much better than I expected, even using the neck pickup. The 5 way switch provides some killer single coil sounds for super glassy clean tones in the 4th position, and some nice twang in the 2nd position, in addition to the standard humbucker tones. This thing is quiet as a tomb in the humbucking positions and seems resistant to any microphonic squealing even at extreme levels of gain.
The controls are smooth and free of scratching, and seem to give usable sounds at all parts of their sweeps.

A few caveats though- the output isn't super hot and the pickups could be a bit more articulate. Take that with a grain of salt however, as I am used to Dimarzio Evolution pickups in my other guitar. Also the acoustic tone seems a bit anemic, but I'm not finished tweaking my setup just yet.

Action, Fit, & Finish : 8
This guitar has a nice crisp finish on it with no flaws- the paint even looks decent inside the cavities. The pickguard is perfectly cut. Frets are seated and dressed immaculately. The neck has the silkiest finish I have ever felt on a brand new guitar. The inlays are pretty well done with minimal filler showing.

The hardware however is a slightly different story. The bushings on the tuners were slightly loose and they all required approximately 1/8th of a turn to be completely snug. The new Edge Zero bridge is a beautiful unit, but the height adjustment studs were bottomed out in their ferrules with no more room to lower the action- which was .5-1mm too high. When I removed the studs it appeared that the treble side stud had been ground down by someone at the factory and touched up with a sharpie. (The purple tint is a dead giveaway.) It wasn't enough though-I have since shortened the studs by approximately .20" to allow for proper adjustment. This is a MAJOR issue- most people don't have access to a machine shop. Also- the manufacturer supplies locking screws for the height adjustment posts, but they don't install them at the factory. Other owners less experienced than myself will have difficulties installing them because the entire tremolo unit has to be removed to be able to access the holes on the bottom of the studs.

Regarding the tremolo unit- this is a fantastically designed piece of hardware. The Zero point system pretty much assures that the tremolo is always at the proper angle, and is really resistant to tuning issues. The action of the tremolo is smooth and returns to zero every single time-even with ridiculous abuse a la Steve Vai. It is a little on the stiff side however. The thumbwheel for adjusting spring tension is a welcome addition as well. I just wish that the zero point system was adjustable as well.

Reliability/Durability : 9
This thing is built like a tank and absolutely will not go out of tune. That said- gigging without a backup is a bad idea because of the Floyd setup. You break a string, it takes several minutes to replace it. I will say that the ZPS system will let you finish the song if you break the b or e string because the trem is not fully floating.

Customer Support : No Opinion
Never dealt with Hoshino, but I've heard horror stories.

Overall Rating : 9
I've been playing for 12 years. I've sold guitars since I was 17 and I've played a million RGs. This one stands up with the best of them. The nice thing about RGs is you can get one off the shelf anywhere and if you know what you're doing you can get it playing perfectly in short order.

Get one.

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Rifter17
Mar 12, 2004
123 Not It
Epiphone Allen Woody Rumblekat Bass
Price Paid/New: After shopping around, I bought it new for $550 with hardshell case.
Year Manufactured: According to the serial number it was made in 2006. I bought it in mid-2008.
Spec's:
Short scale
Chambered body
Humbuckers in neck and middle position (quite rare for a bass to have)
Gold hardware
Volume, Volume, Tone Controls

Sound: 4/5
I special ordered his bass after thinking about the sound I want and how I could get it. I wanted more of a vintage tone with a little bit of the quirkiness that a lot of the cheap vintage instruments have. The first thing I did was put flatwound strings on it. This bass did miss the quirky aspect, but is very deep sounding.

The pickup configuration on this bass is a little odd. Instead of the more traditional middle and bridge pickup layout on most basses (or even a neck and bridge like the Hofner Club Bass), this bass has neck and middle position pickups. I wanted to get away from EQ'ing my sound, so I decided to look into a bass that has pickups in the places that will give me the sound I want. Since I wanted deep bass, I needed a neck pickup at least, but I wanted some definition, so I opted for the more punchy middle. I think only three basses have this pickup configuration without going custom (This bass, the Hofner Club Reissue [discontinued], and the Yamaha Attitude II Billy Sheehan Signature Bass).

The neck pickup solo'd tends to lose definition. The middle pickup solo'd sounds wonderful by itself. So I typically max out the middle and add the neck in for a little bit more bassy. The tone knob doesn't really do much, just roll of the highs a little bit, but neither of the pickups really get too much highs to begin with.

Don't expect this bass to cop any tone in the book. Its not diverse at all, but I bought it with a single sound in mind: to be very deep.

Instrument Quality: 4/5
For being a Korean instrument, this is a superb bass. The short scale neck is easy to get around without it feeling like a kids instrument. The fit and finish is quite good. The neck is straight and the frets are properly dressed. The electronics work wonderfully and there is no scratchy sound. The only issue is that I'm worried about the gold hardware becoming crummy. Other than that, the bass looks and feels amazing.

Playability: 4/5
The neck is quick and the short scale makes huge intervals more manageable. There is very little neck dive (I attribute this to the light body and the strap button not being at the 12th fret), but it is very manageable. The body is light, which is one of the reasons I bought it. I was at a jazz gig playing my Sting Ray 5 for about 1/4 of it and my back was giving me flak. So I switched to the Rumblekat and I could've gone on all night.

Overall Value: 3/5
I love this bass. It feels great, it gets the sound I want, and it doesn't hurt that it looks sharp. I wanted something a little more vintage-y sounding to replace my Italia Mondial. It sounds wonderful and makes playing a joy.

For me the value of the bass is great. It has many of the features of I was looking for (short scale, neck and middle pickup, and light) in a reasonable price range. However, with the sound being so...niche, I guess is the best way to put it, I can easily see this bass being a mistake purchase for most players. If you're into the sound it gives, then go for it.

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