Listen Up: Frank Marino @ Showcase Live, Foxboro, MA 11/04/10

Today I've been spinning a fantastic audience recording of this legendary, but underrated guitarist. I've been buying Marino/Mahogany Rush albums since 1977 and have a few unofficial live recordings and this is by far the best audience capture in circulation among bootleg collectors. Frank may have found the Lord in the last few years, but he's also rediscovered his immense chops. Hendrix was always a huge influence and if that wasn't obvious he drives the point home by playing a 20+ minute version of "Voodoo Chile" along with extended versions of "Red House", "Are you experienced" and the rarely played "Axis: Bold as Love". While I like Hendrix a lot, I would have preferred that he played some more of his own material. But these are minor complaints because overall this is a killer show.

CD 1
01. Voodoo Chile - Somethings comin' our way
02. Red House
03. He's Calling
04. Dragonfly
05. Are You Experienced

CD 2
01. Axis Bold As Love
02. Poppy - She's Not There - Crossroads
03. Strange Universe

CD 3
01. Stories of a hero
02. Rock and roll hall of fame
03. Drum Solo
04. Guitar Solo-Electric Reflections of War - World Anthem
05. Try For Freedom - Amazing grace

Listen Up: Hiromi – Voice [2011 release]

Been spinning the latest [Japan only] CD by stellar Japanese pianist Hiromi Uehara today. This is an excellent album with a nice variety of tunes – some fusion, some straight jazz, and some solo and classical pieces. What elevates this above other similar albums is the supporting cast: English drum legend Simon Phillips (Toto, Los Lobotomys and 100s of sessions) and contra bassist Anthony Jackson (Al Di Meola, Steve Khan, etc.)

Despite being just a trio, this stripped down band really cooks and swings. While Hiromi spends most of her time on piano, she does add some tasty synth textures to some songs to spice things up. Sounding at times like the Chick Corea Elektric Band, this CD is full of interesting melodies and grooves with enough changes to keep your attention without being too self-indulgent.

The recording is superb with some great low end presence from Jackson’s bass and Phillips' double bass kit. On “Voice”, “Labyrinth” and “Desire” Phillips really stretches out and works his kit to great effect.

There’s only one significant issue with this CD – it’s a Japan only release and costs around $40. Still worth it though. Great stuff.

Vintage Stereo - Pioneer SX-780 Receiver

I like old guitars. I like "old music" especially jazz-fusion from the 70s, so why not old stereo equipment? And the more I started to read up about vintage stereo in forums like Audiogon and Audiokarma, the more interested I got in collecting a few pieces before the prices go through the roof like they have for vintage electric guitars.

The '70s were the golden age of receivers - usually silver faced designs pumping out 100 watts per channel or more with enough buttons and lights to match an aircraft cockpit. These receivers were created with a passion for design and build quality you just don't see in today's lowest cost, disposable approach to business. Quite simply, they don't build 'em like that any more and you can tell because these things weigh 50 pounds or more. Like many of my favorite guitars, they are made in Japan - a sign of quality right there. For whatever reason, the '80s ushered in a different era of [lesser] quality and black plastic.

It's amazing how many '70s receivers are still around in great condition by Marantz, Pioneer, Yamaha, Luxman, Harman Kardon, Sansui, Kenwood . . . the list goes on. When I saw a Pioneer sx-780 for only $50 on Craigslist I decided to take the plunge. At "only" 45 watts per channel it does not have the appeal [or price tag] of the 100+ watt monster receivers that everyone wants, but I figured it was a good place for me to start.

It was in good condition overall, but super dusty and dirty - but for $50 it's hard to complain. It obviously sat in someone's basement for at least 10 years. Maybe 20. Surprisingly [or perhaps not surprisingly when you consider how well designed and built these pieces are] everything still worked, even every light bulb. I ordered some Caig DeoxIT and a can of compressed air, opened the case and went to work. I managed to get the knobs and face plate off so I could clean behind the glass and deoxidize all the switches. As you can see, it's really cleaned up nicely and I love the black meters - especially the two VU meters which bounce around based on how loud you crank it.

So how does it sound? I would say it's mid-fi rather than hi-fi. It sounds fairly neutral, but not super clear or detailed like my Cyrus amp. It has some powerful, deep bass though - always a good quality in my book. Of course, with equipment that's approaching 35 years old, some of the components are on their last legs and probably need replacing to get it operating to the manufacturer's original specs so any judgments on sound quality have to be made with that caveat.

I am not sure I will keep this unit long-term or put any more money into it, but I am enjoying it for now. I am currently playing FLAC files from my laptop through it and it sounds so much better than my mini PC speakers. Plus it has a phono section so I can play my '70s vinyl again!

Online Pedalboard Planning Tool

Ever wondered if that next pedal you buy will actually fit on your pedalboard? Or if you completely revised the layout of your board what it would look like? Now there’s a new online tool where you can create your own virtual pedalboard with to scale graphic representations of many vendors’ pedals.

Sponsored by Pedaltrain, makers of the excellent industrial strength series of pedalboards, it’s a fun and useful planning tool.

Check it out at http://pedalboardplanner.com/

Product Review – Digitech Synth Wah/Envelope Filter

Sometimes you need to add some unique textures to a song or surprise people with an unexpected tone. When I’m in those situations I grab my Digitech Synth Wah/Envelope Filter.

As the name suggests, you essentially get two pedals for the price of one in a compact package – a traditional envelope filter and some interesting synth-like tones that are triggered and controlled by your guitar.

The biggest plus point for this pedal is its variety. There are four controls: Sensitivity [which controls the trigger sensitivity of the envelope, synth, and filter effects], Control [which controls the attack, wet/dry mix or sweep, depending on the effect selected], Range [which controls the parameters of the effect], and finally a selector for the seven different effects, which include:

1. Envelope Up – Decent wah-like envelope filter, which is good for funk chording
2. Envelope Down – Sounds like an open “cocked” wah, but it sounds wimpy; this patch is good for reggae chords though
3. Synth 1 - Monophonic synth tone generator with opening filter envelope; a good basic bass synth
4. Synth 2 - Monophonic synth tone generator with closing filter envelope; this is one of the best sounds, great for ‘70s progressive rock synth sounds
5. Filter 1 – Powerful bass synth sound that is good for single lines
6. Filter 2 – Another bass synth option
7. AutoWah – Continuous wah sweep, but it’s a tone killer and a poor autowah IMO

While there are seven different effect options, many of them sound quite similar – basically wah variants or bass synth tones. Some of these effects sounds better than others. I like the Envelope Up tone, but compared to my Tone Factor Analogue Filter it is not as transparent, clean or organic and it does cut some high end from your tone. The Synth 2 and Filter 1 tones are both very cool sounding synths, which can really add some bottom end. The pedal tracks single notes surprisingly well, but it gets lost with chords on many settings. The biggest disappointment for me is the autowah. I found that all settings worked better being driven by the stronger signals from humbucker pickups.

This pedal lists for $90 and I would not pay that for it because I just don’t use these effects that often. I picked mine up used for $50 and for that price it’s a fun novelty pedal that you can play around with to get some really weird, but very cool synth like sounds from your guitar. The pedal eats batteries so you’ll need to run it of off a power supply and it is made in China, so it is doubtful it will last like the 1980s Boss pedals. I use it on my second mini bargain basement board mainly because it sucks some tone and sounds, not surprisingly, very digital. However, if you are into electronica, drone tones, ‘70s progressive rock and shoegazing, this pedal could be a nice addition to your collection.

Telecaster Modification – 4-Way Switching

I love the sound of a Telecaster. It’s a great workhorse to have in your arsenal because you can use it for so many styles of music – country, of course, but also, blues [Albert Collins], rock [Jeff Beck], fusion [Mike Stern], Jazz [Ed Bickert], and the list goes on. I believe you can never have too much of a good thing and I wondered if I could work the horse even more to get additional tones out of those two pickups.

I picked up a very nice USA Peavey Reactor [Telecaster copy] and wanted to upgrade the pickups and electronics. That seemed like a perfect time to try out a common modification – adding a four-way switch.

Here’s the wiring diagram I used



I replaced the stock 250k pots with 500k pots because I wanted a really bright sound and added a Sprague Orange Drop 047µF Capacitor. I love this mod because you get the three classic Tele tones, plus the more powerful, Humbucker-like sound of the pickups in series. If you’re playing rock or blues, it’s nice to have the option of a more beefy tone at the flick of a switch – something most Tele players don’t have.

This is one mod that’s definitely worth doing. Highly recommended.

Peavey Foundation Bass - Craigslist Pickup

I've been using a Korean Ibanez Soundgear SR300 bass for home recording since 2007. It's a nice playing bass, but the pickups are really weak sounding. I looked at some import basses for around $400, but they didn't impress me. That's also more than I wanted to spend as I am just laying down some bass lines occasionally so I turned to Craigslist and picked up a made in USA Peavey Foundation bass for only $125.

It's a great bass and I am really happy with it. The neck is thin and fast and the super ferrite pickups are excellent - powerful, deep and with a nice growl. It's really improved the sound of my loops and backing tracks. Build quality is superb - rock solid maple neck and a solid ash body. IMO the quality of this bass beats out the imports and you'd be looking at $600+ to get something better. Definitely worth checking out if you see one.

Here's an interesting thread on how great these basses are:

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f8/1980s-peavey-foundation-appreciation-thread-520164/

I'm building up quite a collection of Peavey guitars as I also have a USA Reactor (Tele) and USA Predator (Strat) - both heavily customized. All great value for money guitars that can be had cheaply.

Electro-Harmonix Small Stone - Analog.Man Mods

I am a phase junky and I always have a phaser on my board. Always. After a lot of research I decided to upgrade to an Electro-Harmonix Small Stone version 2 - one of the classic '70s phasers.

If you include the new Nano series I think there are five versions of the Small Stone and #2 is supposed to have the warmest circuit. I found one on eBay for $75 in very good condition. As advertised, it had a very lush and warm tone - unlike any other phaser. But it was a H-U-G-E tone sucker. It really cuts the higher frequencies and even at low volumes you can hear it sweeping - even when it is not engaged. If ever there was a poster child for true bypass this pedal is it. But the tone was so good I didn't want to give up on it - even though there was a noticeable volume drop when engaged.

So I sent it along to Analogman for his true bypass, volume and feedback mods. It's guys like Mike that enable you to have your tone and crank it. An adjustable trim pot is added to the circuit so you can easily set the engaged volume to taste. The Feedback mod tones down the squeal and feedback with another trim pot when the "color" switch is up. On reflection, the volume mod is essential, but the feedback mod didn't do much for me so I would suggest not bothering with that and saving yourself some money. I also had a red LED added so you know when the pedal is engaged - a huge oversight by the EH designers.

All in all, these mods bring an already great sounding vintage pedal up to modern day specs and usability levels. Customer service from Analogman was also excellent - I had the pedal back within a week. It now reigns supreme as my go to phaser on my main board with it's deep, rich and chewy tones. Love it.