Guitar/gear Reviews, Reviews of Guitars and Gear that I've owned/used for gigging/recor Options

[Todd Simpson]

P.S. If you get a chance, try the new Guitar Rig 5 demo, and Amplitude Free. Both are really good. Also, try the OVELOUD products Th1 and Th2. I have some presets available for download. They were created with zero additional input gain so they should rip hard!

Here is my TH2 Preset Thread

http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_fo...showtopic=42250

and my TH1 Preset Thread.

http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_fo...showtopic=42013

Todd

Hi Todd,

I noticed that "guitarRigMonsterGain" isn't in the tone vault thread.

It seems like without the 20db gain the tones are muddy. I have an M-Audio Mobile Pre which offers a 40 db gain boost to my guitar. I see a little difference. But overall, I am not pleased with the tone that I hear when I record on the PC. I think I may just continue to mic my 4x12 amp, even though I'd prefer to use Guitar Rig because it is easier.

[Todd Simpson]

MEGA CHEAP DISTORTION PEDAL/BOX

$20 U.S. For this "Danelecto D-3 Metal" Distortion Pedal

It honestly can't be very good for this price, but at that price I had to try it Also, I want to evaluate it as a really really really cheap preamp to be used with software emulation patches like Guitar Rig etc. I know most folks don't have rack mount preamp like I"m running to spice up my custom Guitar Rig/Overlour TH1/TH2 patches, so I figured I'd look for something really cheap that does the job well enough.

To be sure, if you bought a tube based stomp box/preamp it would sound WARMER/BETTER/etc. but those are pricey and out of immediate reach of many players so I wanted to find a "Make Do" pedal that would get you most of the way there. I'm going to review this one and try to use it in Next Saturday's Video Chat.!





This post has been edited by Todd Simpson: Feb 21 2012, 04:21 AM

[Sinisa Cekic]

It's really bargain! You sure it's not plastic toy ? .. I mean- it is, but anyway !

[Todd Simpson]

It's really bargain! You sure it's not plastic toy ? .. I mean- it is, but anyway !

For $20 U.S. you were expecting a Metal case? Nope. My goal was to find the cheapest possible way to to put a little more gain ahead of a software emulator the same way people put a tube screamer before a mesa boogie, to give it more punch This far from a Mesa and Tube Screamer, but again, going for minimum dollars spent.

Here is an Audio Demo!

1.)FIRST SOUND BIT IS GUITAR RIG 4 PATCH ONLY (No blue light on Pedal)

2.)SECOND SOUND BIT IS GUITAR RIG 4 PATCH WITH PEDAL ( Blue light is on)

(PEDAL SETTINGS: GAIN 0% - TONE 25% - VOLUME 75%)

BOTTOM LINE:

It really punches up the sound of a emulated patch. I was pretty impressed that it gave the patch this much chunk and crunch for only $20. I'm all for great pedals that cost $300 each, but with a cheap pedal and a decent emulator (EVEN A FREE ONE LIKE AMPLITUDE FREE) you can have just TONS of CRUNCH!

Todd

This post has been edited by Todd Simpson: Feb 21 2012, 04:26 AM

[audiopaal]

Great, thanks for sharing!
Good read

[Todd Simpson]

Great, thanks for sharing!
Good read

Happy to do it It was a fun test and I was shocked how much punch that little pedal added and it's sooooo cheap!

[Todd Simpson]

IBANEZ XIPHOS XPT700

Todd here with a review of the IBANEZ XIPHOS XPT 700

First up. The Features.

The Ibanez XPT700 is a Xiphos series electric guitar model, introduced in 2007 as part of the Ibanez X series. It is the first Xiphos model introduced by Ibanez. Featuring include a neck-through-body construction, a double locking tremolo and DiMarzio pickups.

Body material:
Mahogany
Neck joint:
Neck-thru
Bridge:
Edge III tremolo
Hardware color:
Cosmo Black


NECK
Neck type:
Wizard II
Neck material:
5-Piece Maple/Walnut
Fingerboard:
Bound Rosewood
Inlays:
Reversed Sharktooth
Frets:
24 / Jumbo

ELECTRONICS
PU Config:
HH
Neck PU:
DiMarzio D Activator
Bridge PU:
DiMarzio D Activator
Controls:
1 Volume / 1 Tone / 3-Way Toggle

REVIEW

This is a SHREDDERS guitar plain and simple. First off, it's pointy. Jazz/Blues men, seldom walk on stage with reverse head stocks, and pointy star shaped guitars. This Axe looks the part of what it's built to do. Play METAL. Not to say you couldn't play jazz or blues on this guitar, because you certainly could. You could honestly play pretty much anything on it. The neck is VERY thin and VERY fast, and the pickups are DIMARZIO ACTIVATORS and can go from super clean to FACE MELTING with the turn of the volume knob. So it's a sonically flexible instrument. But one look and you know what it wants to do. It wants to Kill and Destroy

I really like this guitar. The neck is one of the best I"ve played and reminds me of my precious RG560. So fast and thin it's crazy. Also, the pickups SCREAM and the double locking trem is stable and smooth. The NECK THROUGH BODY construction aids in sustain and playability. The large body points also seem to help with sustain and overall tone. Pickups are hard mounted so that helps a bit as well.

I had bought this guitar instead of saving a bit more and getting either an original Ibanez RG565 or the Reissue version. And while I really dig the guitar, I still prefer the body on my RG560, perhaps because I"ve been playing for 10 years. So I"m going to part with this shredding beast and try to find it a good home and start saving again.

**VIDEO REVIEW TO FOLLOW
(For now here are some pix!)

[Todd Simpson]

Here is the first of my ORANGE TINY TERROR JIM ROOT EDITION videos that I'm working on. The Video is unliested and not released yet, but you guys get a preview!!

[korblitz]

Here is the first of my ORANGE TINY TERROR JIM ROOT EDITION videos that I'm working on. The Video is unliested and not released yet, but you guys get a preview!!

Whoa..just whoa!

Amazing video review, amazing player, amazing video editing. I love the off-axis interview part...I love that you said it like it is..."not a lot of clean headroom", people usually skip the "negative" parts of the amp.

Looking forward to see new gear videos.

[Todd Simpson]

Thanks man! I think your the only one who saw the post Or at least the only one who commented. Thanks for the feedback! We really put a lot of work in to this vid so I honestly thought it would generate more response. It turned out great '

Whoa..just whoa!

Amazing video review, amazing player, amazing video editing. I love the off-axis interview part...I love that you said it like it is..."not a lot of clean headroom", people usually skip the "negative" parts of the amp.

Looking forward to see new gear videos.

[Todd Simpson]

[b]DEAN RAZORBACK CUSTOM PROJECT:

[/b]


I"m doing some work on my Dean Razorback and I have to share how AMAZING the neck turned out. I had a luthier re-profile the neck so it's more like my IBANEZ RG560, which has the fastest/thinnest neck I"ve ever found on a guitar. It's finally been put back on the guitar and I"m gonna give it a whirl!!!

Here is a pic. Is that not the thinnest Dean Neck you've ever seen?

*Next Up!!! Pickup Replacement. The stock pickups in the razorback are just not doing the trick for me. I"m going to try some custom, hand wound, crazy output pickups. More to come!!

[Todd Simpson]

BLAKHART CUSTOM GUITARS

This is my FIRST CUSTOM BUILDER GUITAR!!!!. I usually buy off the rack and I"ve been wanting to try a guitar from a custom builder for a while.

As you know they are not cheap. This particular guitar (if you went on the site and bought it today) would run $1200.00 plus $100 for the case. So $1300. ouch!!!! And I have never seen one in a store so I have no idea how it might play.

So!!!! What to do? Well. Patience is key. I waited nearly a year until until they had a HUGE blowout sale and got one of these pre built with the options I'd have requested for only $350!!!!! which is what I like to generally pay for a guitar

Now keep in mind, they do no setup on "blowout guitars" so I"m going to have to have the frets leveled and finished, full setup and intonation, etc. The fretwork is not complete. But for the price I can't complain. once I have it fixed up, it will still be a HUGE deal and I'll finally have at least one "micro builder" axe in my collection. Here are some pix.

QUESTION: Anyone else have a guitar from a small builder/vendor/custom shop?