Pedal Boards of the Stars – Guthrie Govan

I thought I’d start this new feature – Pedal Boards of the Stars – with a guitar player that may just be from another planet. If you don’t know him, the English guitarist Guthrie Govan has been dropping jaws all over the world since his debut CD “Erotic Cakes” came out in 2006. Quite simply, one of the best guitar CDs released this decade.

Besides being a stellar player, Govan has a very nice tone – much of this has to do with his boutique Cornford amp (he is an endorser) and his custom Suhr guitar. But a nice selection of analog effects pedals also play a role.

I’ve seen a number of pedal board photos so his rig seems to be changing, but as far as I know the photo above is the latest incarnation. It features:

• Analogman Chorus
• DigiTech Whammy
• T-Rex Replica Delay
• Guyatone WR3 Wah Rocker Envelope Filter
  
• Menatone J.A.C. JFET Compressor
• Hermida Audio Zendrive Overdrive
• Ernie Ball Volume pedal
• Pedaltrain Junior pedal board

Can’t wait for the next CD.

Product Review - Boss FT-2 Dynamic Filter

In the late 1980s and early 90s, Boss decided to discontinue a number of esoteric pedals like the Dimension C, Xtortion, Slow Gear and Dynamic Filter because they were not big sellers. Fast forward 20+ years and due to their relatively low initial sales, these pedals are quite collectible among analog pedal enthusiasts with a price to match. The Boss Slow Gear for example regularly sells for over $200 on eBay. When I saw a Dynamic Filter come up for auction a couple of months I was very interested mainly because the guitar player Alex Gunia from Matalex (a killer German fusion band - check out the "Jazz Grunge" CD) had one on his pedalboard and I really liked his guitar sound. $75 later and the Boss FT-2 was mine.

According to the promotional verbiage the Boss FT-2 is an auto wah pedal that fits into the company’s line of auto wahs between the TW-1 and the AW-2. I think this is a little misleading because in essence the Boss FT-2 is an envelope filter and produces quite a different effect than an auto wah.

There are four controls on the pedal: Sensitivity, Cut Off Frequency (high – low), Q, and Up/Down/Manual modes. You also have an “Exp In” jack, which provides the option of plugging in an external expression pedal so you can control it like a traditional wah, although I did not bother to do this.

The keys to this pedal are the Cut Off Frequency the and Q, which controls the peak bandwidth. By finding the right setting you can get some decent “quack” from this pedal, especially with single coil pickups, but try as I might I never really found “the sound” to make it a keeper. The pedal is an obvious choice for funk guitar, but it is more subtle and less usable to my ears than the Electro-Harmonix Dr Q or its Micro Q-Tron, which I think are much better sounding effects pedals in this genre.

When engaged the Boss FT-2 also destroys your tone – not really surprising because it is a fairly aggressive filter effect. My favorite setting was using full on distortion from the amp – it produced a very subtle wah effect, which could spice up solos and with the distortion cranked tone loss was less noticeable. I did try this pedal with my Ibanez bass and I think this may be where it shines best. Despite being a rare and somewhat collectible effects pedal, it didn’t make it on to my pedalboard so back to eBay it goes.

King of Tone - Scott Henderson

Scott Henderson - founder member of the ground breaking jazz fusion band Tribal Tech and former GIT instructor - has always been one of my favorite players. And his tone is killer. These days he is using a beautiful Suhr Strat and a variety of analog effects.

There's a great video interview up on YouTube where Scott talks about his gear, what effects he uses and how he uses them. Check it out at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeJYAH-Kiy8

If you are not familiar with Scott's playing and want to hear more, these CDs are all highly recommended:

Tribal Tech - Face First
Tribal Tech - Reality Check
Scott Henderson - Dog Party
Scott Henderson - Live!
Vital Tech Tones (with Steve Smith and Victor Wooten)
Zawinul Syndicate - The Immigrants

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Better Tone for Under $50 – Graph Tech String Saver™ Saddles

I had mid 90s USA Peavey Reactor (Telecaster copy) lying around and decided to make some upgrades because the neck just feels so good to play. I’ll cover some of the other upgrades in other posts, but here I am going to focus on a change that was fairly minor and cost-effective, yet resulted in a big return on tone – adding Graph Tech String Saver™ saddles.

I was somewhat doubtful about the Graph Tech claims (reduces string breakage, increases sustain, improves midrange depth) and was really more interested in the fact that these were black in color, which would fit the theme of my black and white “Tuxedo Tele.” So when I saw a set come up on eBay for $25 I took the plunge.

Once installed, I was pleasantly surprised. The new saddles brought a somewhat dead sounding Tele to life with a big boost in tone and responsiveness. The guitar really sings now – it is extremely vibrant and sustain is much improved. Graph Tech claims an increase in sustain by up to 25% over brass saddles and 15% over steel and that’s probably about right.

I think the company could do a better job marketing these because they focus heavily on the fact that because each saddle is impregnated with Teflon, friction and string breakage is dramatically reduced. I think they would be better off focusing on how these saddles improve tone. But that's just me.

If your guitar sounds somewhat flat and lifeless I would definitely check these out as they do deliver a nice tone upgrade for relatively little cost. I’m thinking I might also install them on my FrankenStrat, which would take better advantage of the Teflon coating.

You can find more info on this product here:
http://www.graphtech.com/products.html?CategoryID=3

The Dunlop JH-1 CryBaby Saga – Part One

I admit it. I made one big mistake with this CryBaby pedal – buying without trying.

When I plugged in, the first red flag to go up was the narrow sweep of the pedal. I like a nice wide sweep (like the ‘70s Morley units) for a more vocal-like quality, but on this JH-1 the sweep was so narrow it was barely useable. After thinking about this for a while it occurred to me that I could adjust the sweep by rotating the potentiometer. After some trial and error I did manage to make the sweep much wider, but still not anywhere near as wide as I’d like.

As for the tone, let’s say it was mediocre at best. This particular pedal was voiced in the upper midrange so it wasn’t too shrill, but it did not have any body or depth to it at all. It is also a dramatic tone sucker (particularly the high end) whether on or off. When playing with fuzz or distortion I have even picked up the occasional local radio station – reminiscent of the infamous Nigel Tufnell scene toward the end of the Spinal Tap movie.

I think these faults are a reflection of the cheap components used – no DPDT switch to make it true bypass and no fasel inductor anywhere to be found. To be fair, since this model was released, Dunlop has made some significant quality improvements to their line and brought out a number of more expensive models with higher end components that are endorsed by star players like Zak Wylde, Dimebag Darrell and Slash.

So what do I do? Do I sell it on eBay and lay out $200+ for a Fulltone Clyde Deluxe from Michael Fuller or a Picture Wah or Wizard Wah from Geoffrey Teese – probably two of the best boutique Wah builders around at the moment? Or do I try and salvage this sonic train wreck of a pedal with one of the many mod kits that are available?

My soldering skills are very limited so I don’t feel comfortable adding and removing components on the circuit board. After some fairly extensive research on the different options available I think I am going to remove the entire circuit board and replace it with a pre-soldered Vintage Italian Wah Kit from Area 51. At least I can salvage the metal casing of this Dunlop pedal (which I will probably spray bright red). There are cheaper options, but the mod kit from Area 51 seems the best solution and best sounding Wah to my ears.

Once I get this ordered and installed, look for a review of the “new” pedal in Part 2 of this gripping saga.

More info at:

http://www.area51tubeaudiodesigns.com/index.htm
http://www.fulltone.com/index.htm
http://www.realmccoycustom.com/index.htm

Build Your Own Virtual Guitar

Sometimes it’s fun to dream about building your ultimate guitar. Or perhaps you’d prefer to build a hideous looking Frankenstein made up of leftovers from the parts bin. In real life, customizing any guitar takes a lot of time, money and patience. Fortunately the kind folks at USA Custom Guitars in Puyallup, Wash., have a super cool virtual guitar program on their web site that enables your dreams – or nightmares – to become a virtual reality.

In just a couple of minutes you can create your own custom axe by choosing from a variety of woods, colors, special paint effects, pickups, necks, bridges, knobs, jacks and even string trees. The program enables you to create whatever you think is the most perfect looking guitar based on three main body styles. The only problem is that you’ll never get to actually hold and play your creation. But you can at least print it out and dream about what could have been.

You can find the fun at:

http://www.usacustomguitars.com/virtualguitar.html

Product Review - Timmy by Paul Cochrane

Yes, it has a ridiculous name. But it also has ridiculously good tone. I’ve been through more dirt than Caterpillar in my quest for the ultimate distorted tone and after a few months of heavy usage, the Timmy has now been super glued to my pedal board. It’s not coming off anytime soon.

So what does Timmy offer that the others don’t?

First, let’s qualify what the Timmy is – and is not. The Timmy is an incredibly transparent overdrive pedal that provides mild to mid-level crunch. It can deliver a decent amount of drive, but it is not your Marshall stack in a box (like the Fulltone OCD or Keeley modified Boss DS-1) or any of the heavy metal-focused boxes. If that’s what you want, look elsewhere. However, if you are seeking a more restrained and very organic, creamy tube-like overdrive (think classic rock) then the Timmy might just be one of the best pedals of the genre.

Designed and built by hand in limited numbers by Paul Cochrane, the simple controls take a little getting used to because the bass and treble controls are “cut” style – they work in reverse of what we are all used to. Flat (wide open with no cutting of the frequencies) is at about 7 o’clock and as you turn the knobs clockwise you take out (roll off) the bass and treble frequencies, not increase them as with most pedals. Unity gain is about 1 o’clock on the volume so besides overdriving your signal you can also use the Timmy as a clean boost. Nice.

In the notes you get with the pedal, Mr. Cochrane explains these controls in more detail and better than I ever could. I’ve never read a good explanation of the thinking behind the pedal’s design so I am going to quote him directly:

“The bass control is pre-distortion. Most pedals roll off the low end before you distort the signal to keep things tight and clear. A lot of low-end distortion can get real muddy real quick. But what this means is you don’t have the low end when you need it for cleaner settings. The bass control will allow you to keep the low end for the cleaner settings, and dial it out for the good crunchy stuff.”

And here’s what he says about the treble side of the house:

“The treble control is post distortion. Like the bass circuit most pedals will have a preset hi end roll off to keep the pedal from being fizzy and noisy when distorting, but you’ll lose the hi freqs for the cleaner settings . . . Being able to control the pre and post EQ gives you the ability to kill the evil mid bump a lot of pedals have preset into them.”

I’m not a big fan of mid-range-centric Tubescreamer-type pedals so for me, this make a lot of sense. Sounds good in theory, but how does it really sound?

In my opinion, this is one of the most transparent dirt boxes I have come across and it works well with both single coil pickups and humbuckers. It also stacks very well with other overdrive and/or distortion pedals. Because it is true bypass, when not engaged there is no tone sucking at all. Even better, with the Timmy on, your exact guitar tone, and every subtle nuance of it, is still there – just with more volume, bass, treble or gain, depending on your settings. It can get pretty crunchy with the gain cranked – although not enough to make it a good choice for metal – and playing with the controls provides a wide variety of very useable tones for classic rock, blues and fusion. As a convenient bonus, it takes a standard Boss 9vdc power supply.

The only downside to this pedal is that they are hard to come by as demand has been fueled by many positive comments in online forums. Mr. Cochrane is not a high volume manufacturer so you will have to wait approximately six months after you place your order before you can plug in. Alternatively, you can buy one used at a premium on eBay or guitar-focused web communities . . . but I don’t think many owners are selling.

The bottom line: the Timmy sounds like a boutique, high-end pedal and I am sure Mr. Cochrane could charge much more than the $129 he does so it represents great tone for your dollar. Other high quality overdrive units worthy of consideration around this price point include the LTD or Direct Drive from Barber Electronics (http://www.barberelectronics.com).

And about that name. It’s nothing to do with the infamous Timmy character from South Park, but is instead based on Tim the Enchanter from the “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” movie. The Tim was the first pedal and has more bells and whistles; the Timmy is the smaller boxed version of just the main section of Tim.

Here is a decent product demo on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AViMnHAV-lw

You won’t find much info on the web about ordering so it's best to contact Paul Cochrane directly at 615-896-8555. Just be prepared to wait a while.

Bargain Hunting for Chorus Pedals

This has been an interesting journey that is by no means over. Beyond thickening your guitar sound (making a 6-string sound like a 12-string) a chorus pedal can do so much more - spanning that super clean, 1980s icy shimmer favored by Andy Summers of The Police to swirling Leslie tones used by players like Stevie Ray Vaughan, Michael Landau and others.

After a lot of research and trials at local music and pawn shops, I narrowed my search down to two main price points. First, there's the $50 group where you will find the likes of a used DODFX65, a used Boss CH-1 Super Chorus and the brand new Danelectro Cool Cat CC-1.

Jump up to around the $100 mark and you could pick up two pedals that have become the industry standards for their respective sounds. There's perhaps the most famous chorus pedal ever made - the Made in Japan Boss CE-2 - which you can pick up for around $100-120 on eBay. For the swirling Leslie sound, the industry standard is the made in Japan Arion SCH-1 despite the plastic case and knobs that fall off. It is/was used by both Scott Henderson and Michael Landau so who am I to argue.

If your budget doesn't stretch to $100+ you could also consider the very popular Small Clone from Electro-Harmonx, which gets consistently good reviews and is priced around $80. The good news is that these are all decent units and all would work well.

So what's on my current board? While I seriously considered the Cool Cat CC-1, which I felt was decent on many chorus tones but never excelled at any of them, I picked the DODFX65 based on its great price and excellent performance.

I think the DODFX65 is a screaming (and somewhat unknown) bargain. I believe it has the same BBD chip/clock driver as the CE-2 and is almost $100 cheaper. I got mine used for $25 and it is an excellent unit overall and amazing value for money at this point in time. It has a heavy, metal casing and is built like a tank. In addition to the Rate & Depth controls like the CE-2, you also get a Delay Time control which gives you a bit more versatility. I am noticing a slight volume increase when engaged and the on/off switch is not as good as the Boss units, but overall I am very happy with its very warm and lush analog tones. With the speed set at 11 o'clock and the Delay Time and Depth both cranked it is super thick and rich. With the rate control set fairly high you can also achieve a decent Leslie sound. I am not noticing any additional noise when engaged or tone suck, which is very welcome.

I also purchased the Boss CH-1 for $40 and it is almost the polar opposite of the FX65. It sounds very cold, sterile and somewhat digital in comparison, but it does the 80s clean sound quite well. Besides the Rate and Depth control, you also get very useful Level and EQ controls which provide great insurance against tone sucking and volume drop/boost when engaged. With four controls you have a lot of control at your feet, but the overall tone is mediocre at best so this pedal is going back up on eBay.

I'm extremely happy at this point with the "tone per dollar" I am getting from the FX65. I can see myself using this chorus pedal for many years - assuming I don't get a killer deal on a Boss CE-2 or Arion SCH-1 in the meantime.