Sami Ghouri

we are using the Mackie firewire interface (satellite onyx) and it's working very well with our laptops! and tracktion comes free along with it. We use sonar though (been using it for over 4 years).

not sure if this will make sense, but one volume without compensation for the DC resistance of a tone pot??? isnt one supposed to make up for the absense of the resistance that comes from the tone pot? what value are you using for that volume pot?

yeah since you do know the calculations things are a bit easier now =D your solder joints probably suck because you're using a crappy soldering iron, trust me been doing this stuff for long enough now and i had a $2 soldering iron that gave me hell (coz i for some reason thoguht that the only better stuff was the close to $70 variable temp ones) and then i got me a $10 soldering iron and a rosin core solder spool.... and voila! Mattia explained it pretty well! that's exactly my case too, i like the kinda vintage sound and i like the gruesome ultra high gain brutal sound, so i have both! i did make my own circuits (if you recall your last electronics course that taught you how to do small amps with either transistors or opamps then this shouldn't be tough with some research) but my circuits weren't size-wise efficient coz i didn't have access to multi layered PCBs. so i abandoned them! hehe...

don't like repeating what has been said earlier but i feel that this has to be mentioned.. what guitar2005 said was true because their grounded to the negative term of the battery and hence have a closed circuit and don't need your body to close it. Actives dont need extra shielding nor a ground wire to be soldered to the bridge/strings. I have a variety of passives and my warlock has an EMG set (81/85 with the 20dB booster set to around less than 10dB) and i tell you, that thing is DARN SILENT! eventhoguh the output is more than enoguh to drive the cleaner than cleanest clean effect i have on my amp! and unless we're talking about the railed pickups (as much as i detest that pickup, but think SD SH-13) they have a better overall string balance than polepiece passives. harmonics sound MUCH nicer on actives (pinch harmonics that is) but that's imho. however if you don't have a pretty firm control over your pick it'll get quite messy with the shreds due to teh high output. I'd rather use my prestige with the DMZ/IBZ passives (they even have a mid-output level) for soloing coz i am pretty new to actives myself so i haven't got the hang of playing them recording-level-clean yet. apart from that, actives have very low impedence... but don't know how to exactly describe that in non-electronics204 terms =( one last difference that i noticed, dunno if its just me but passive pickups seem to have sliiiiightly more punch at the bass side.... so if you don't have the effects processor/amp to back that part up, u'll end up with a pretty flat response from actives...

Hi all! I don't live in the US nor in Europe so I do have to think a million times before ordering something because warranty somehow never covers this area and shipping rates are insane. My rant is, i've read so many mixed reviews about the Warmoth products. They are pretty damn expensive for replacement/DIY parts that COULD get bad reviews! so anyone had a solid experience with them and can actually recommend the effort and ultimately the money to invest in a full warmoth guitar? (or mainly their necks, coz i'm planning on at least making my own bodies, can't afford the time for necks =( ) i've also heard that they don't finish their frets, which is kinda surprising for necks that go for as much as $400 on average! (24 fret necks). And it's kinda problematic coz i'll have to yet order more tools from stewmac and have them shipped here (Dubai, UAE) which will add more to the cost. any ideas? Best regards, Sami

Current Setup: Guitars: Ibanez RG2570 (Prestige) BC Rich 2001 NJ Warlock (with KFK EMG set: 81-85-PA2) Aria Pro II 1979 LP refinished Greco "The Device" 1985 Jackson replica (almost done refinishing it) with bartolini Hi-A pickup in the bridge some bastard guitar with an unknown body origin (i believe it's an Aria Pro II magna series) and an Aria Pro II inazuma V neck that i'm using on an RR copy body that i'm building for my girl. Fernandes Function strat copy (almost done refinishing + full scalloping) amp/effects: Behringer V-Ampire 112 Boss GE-7 Wishlist: VHT Pitbull Ultra Lead! or some other high-gain monster that i can't afford/get shipped to dubai

okay, no epoxy for me!!! couldn't easily find any and the d00dz at ACE haven't even heard of it...... nao, i was thinking i'd try out a titebond layer!!!! *ducks the missiles launched by almost every member of the forum* anyone not considering this blasphemous? coz i really have no current choices except for that and using hte ordinary Elmer's wood filler (the one that comes in tubes) either thinned or as is..... i only have a couple of hours on weekends to do this stuff and i can't afford skipping work during the week to search around workshops in industrial areas and stuff...... thanks a load! Sami

Cort guitars are VERY GOOD cheaper-than-ibanez instruments! Cort is basically Ibanez Korea.... all those korean ibbies are made in the cort factory... the one with seymour duncans costs less than $400 here in Dubai, so i'm guessing if you're in north America you should be able to get it for a cheaper price since that seems to be the case with every brand i could find here... good luck!

thanks you guys!!! i shall definitely check for all that stuff above!!! more humour, the only store i was able to find was indeed ACE hardware!!! and they know nothing about anything! you have to use sign language sometimes so they can understand!!!! and for some reason everything is out of stock!!! (we have about 4-5 branches in one city, Dubai that is)... i guess if they don't have z-poxy i'll have to check with furniture makers to see what they use... hope it's not some home-made stuff or imported stuff from india (indian population in this place is over 30%) coz i'll have a hardtime finding this stuff by myself.. that's it, i'm never working with mahogany and open-pore woods anymore!

thanks a lot! i never thought epoxys would work!! now assuming that i do find the glorious z-poxy.... what are the steps for use? sand current poly, stain, z-poxy, poly-its-ass again? or does staining come after the zpoxy? dont laugh but i've never actually delt with epoxy so i wouldn't know *blush* thanks again!

i could fit a KFK set into a control cavity of a BC Rich NJ warlock which is half the size (the cavity, that is) of the LP. That set comes with the PA2 switch as well which adds to the wiring and space loss.... i have to admit it looks horrible but it worked! so i don't think u'll have to route anything, you should have plenty of space. Enough of it so u can even shield the battery with foam. edit: you won't need extra wires and stuff coz the pickups come with pots and wires that should be enough. i needed something like 4 cms of extra wire but that's because i didn't wanna strip/cut any of the original wires coz i wasn't sure if i wanted to keep this set on that guitar.

hail! I live in a place where the term "grain fillers" is not heard of apparently. I can get hold of normal thick-paste wood fillers easily though. Can i fill a mahogany guitar with this stuff? it was my first ever guitar to complete and i have to refinish it as i was a complete noob and thought that spraying enough lacquer would fill it up.... which didn't work out as well as i thought.... so now i'm sanding the whole thing again (after wasting so much money on numerous minwax poly cans) and redoing the guitar completely. any info would be great! heard that u can also mix the thick paste with some water (or alcohol) to make it a bit softer... any truth in that?

i've used Krylon fluorescent yellow on an old 1985 Greco device..... turned out insanely bright and annoying =D whcih did the job perfectly fine.... haven't clear coated it yet.... but i've used ACE white enamel as a base coat and it made it as bright as i expected. it has to be a matt surface though so i bought the gloss one and sanded it smooth and matt then applied the krylon.... i'll post pictures whenever i finish teh whole thing. p.s. the krylon finish dries completely in less than an hour!

i did the same but in a way uglier/facepalming manner.... after refinishing a 1970's Aria ProII LP and sanding the whole thing perfectly fine, i bought this polishing compound that pretended to give an "ultra shiny surface" but it turned out to be sand paper in paste form! and i ended up sanding through the headstock and messing up the custom logo i had on (the transparency method described here).... horrible stuff.... i'll refinish it once i'm done with the rest of the guitars i have lying there.... i also tried fixing a minwax poly sandthrough..... unless u're way experienced (at least much more than me) u'll end up with an okay result but u're still gonna see it everytime u grab that guitar and feel bad about it... so i'd say refinish it if you have the heart to do so... i'm personally refinishing the whole guitar once again coz some friend of mine bumped a table edge with the body and dented the finish AND the wood =S good luck mate!

Hails!!! I know you're all thinking BLASPHEMY! BURN HIM! and other nice stuff.... but i'm doing this as a favor and don't really have the time to sand/strip and then repaint and wait for ages.... and it's a cheap guitar anyway so it's not worth all the effort... i was thinking of spraying monochrome hot rod flames on it (as is, without any sanding) or follow the transparency method (print, stick, lacquer) or something like that..... would that work??? if no, any better ideas?? thanks a lot! Sami