Mix Tape -- September

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A Couple of Cool Websites

Now Play It is an online subscription music tuition site with a twist. Now Play It features an original band member as your tutor as they guide you through one of their songs. Tutors include Alex James (Blur), Gaz Coombes (Supergrass), KT Tunstall and many more.

There also in-house tutors that guide you through many popular songs by showing the chords on screen whilst the film clip plays in the background. Tutorials are not restricted to guitar though. Piano, bass and drums are also covered.

Click on the logo for a link to a preview movie of what the site has to offer.

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The website Vintage Pedal is an online search tool that can help all pedalphiles track down that one highly sought after score.

By tracking the Most Watched Items on eBay (a search function not found on eBay), the most popular items, therefore the more rarer pedals, are at your disposal. These are separated in categories such as Delay, Compressor etc.

So go track down that Ludwig Phase II Synthesiser now!

The ToneQuest Report

Got told about a great online subscription mag: The ToneQuest Report. In a previous issue, there is a great interview with Neil Young's guitar tech, Larry Cragg (pictured with Young's Old Black).



Here's an excerpt...

TQR: Some might wonder why go to all that trouble
instead of just turning down the guitar volume…

Are you kidding me? No! When you turn down the volume
of your guitar you’re dumping so much of the tone and high
end to ground that it’s just a terrible thing to do. A volume
pedal does the same thing. You’ve got to leave the guitar volume
on 10 and control it from the amp. Remember that both
volume controls on the tweed Deluxe are interactive, so we
have controls on both volume pots. With the volume on the
input that the guitar is plugged into cranked, you get some
something extra special from the second input being turned
up as well, in a very special way. The idea for all this was
Neil’s, and it was up to us to figure out how to make it work.

There are some sample issues available for download and subscription info can be found here.

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Best. Pants. Ever

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Circuit Bending and Electronics Workshop

Last weekend I had the pleasure of spending time doing an electronics/circuit bending workshop led by Nick from Toydeath. Toydeath are a band that play songs exclusively with toys - circuit bent toys.

I have found a whole other world out there. A world that can be very addictive where you feel the need to solder and de-solder everything.

Below is a short video of what a circuit bent instrument sounds like. Gearwire have demonstration videos on circuit bending as well and they can be found here. My story (here) can be found at The Brag website.



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Two New Fender Artist Series Guitars: J Mascis Jazzmaster and Joe Strummer Telecaster

Fender are to release two new Artist Models Series guitars this season.

The Clash front man and rhythm guitarist, the late Joe Strummer, is having is DIY '66 Black Telecaster immortalised by Fender with this re-issue. Complete with sticker and stencil customisation kit, the re-issue is a faithful recreation down to the body wear marks.

Click on the pic for a link to the Strummer Tele and specs.

J Mascis, singer/guitarist of alt/indie 90's band Dinosaur Jr., has also had his purple-sparkled Jazzmaster re-issued in the Artist Models Series having the privelege of the first Jazzmaster re-issue.

Click on the pic for a link to the Jazzmaster guitar and specs.

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Reverse Flying V??

Gibson's Guitar of the Week.
Click on the pic for the details.

Click here for a link to the previous Gibson's Guitar of the Week.

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Shin-ei Companion FY-2 Fuzz

I recently picked up a pedal I have wanted for awhile now - the Shin-ei Companion FY-2 Fuzz. The FY-2 was sold under a number of brand names, such as Jax, Apollo and Kimbara but was designed by the same company that made the Univox Super-Fuzz.



This fuzz pedal is not for the tone enthusiasts. It manages to create a sound more similar to a construction site than a musical instrument. It can definitely be categorised at the opposite end of the spectrum of the many, many boutique overdrives in the market. The fuzz can be described as a violent splutter rather than a long, sustained overdrive output.

This pedal currently populates the board of Radiohead bassist Colin Greenwood and can be heard on bass lines from tracks such as "Exit Music (For A Film)" and "Myxomatosis". The pedal has also been an instrumental sound on The Jesus and Mary Chain's Psychocandy.

These Japanese fuzz pedals were discontinued in the '60s and have become a highly sought after dirt box, in part for its NPN Silicon 2SC536F transistors, and for the passive mid-scoop between the fuzz-generating circuitry and output level control. These features fuse together to give the notorious "chainsaw cutting a beehive" sound.

Here's a quick demo of the FY-2.
Clip Details: Fender Jazzmaster > FY-2 > Line 6 TonePort (1953 Small Tweed model - clean)> Ableton Live 6.
Guitar Settings: Rhythm played with volume knob turned down. Lead with volume knob maxed.
Pedal Settings: Volume set to Max, Fuzz to 2:00.



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UPDATE #2 - Electro Harmonix Pedals and Rumours

Here is a video demo of the previously posted Electro Harmonix Soul Preacher Compressor pedal. The clip has been linked from Gearwire and was recorded at the recent Summer NAMM at Austin, Texas.



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Mix Tape -- August

Here's a selection of songs for August. I'll be seeing most of these bands in a two week period. Especially can't wait for The Cure.



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