GodBlessTexas

OK, here's a picture of my control cavity on one of my S-470's. Ibanez S470 control cavity The two red wires from the pickups are soldered to the red wire from the battery clip and then covered with shrink tubing. The black lead from the battery clip leads to the terminal on the Ibanez jack (conveniently equipped for such use). Pickup output wires (white) have the shielding (which is ground) grounded to the volume pot, with the inner white wires running to the selector switch. The selector switch output is then wired to the input of the volume pot, and the output wired to the jack. Tone pot is grounded to the volume pot and there's a capcitor running from tone middle lug to volume first lug (not sure from the pic) Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas...

Yep, I remember that. It's a silly argument to take unless you view purchasing the physical disc as nothing more than a license to access the actual content. That is exactly the way software is licensed, and it looks like music and movie studios are looking to take the same approach with their products. And speaking of Garth and his hatred of used CDs, I just picked up a used copy of No Fences for $1 at Half Price Books. GBT

OK. I can also post a picture of one of my EMG setups if you want, though I can't do it until I get home around 8:00 PM CST. GBT

Do you have pictures? Is your output jack a stereo jack? GBT

Mixing passives and actives is a complicated matter. It can be done, but to just wire them both together into the same circuit is not a good idea. You need 25k pots with actives, but they don't work well with passive pickups. If you've got them, use them and just disconnect the passive pickup entirely and use the active. GBT

Newbies using the search function is a good thing. Please, do not discourage him from doing so. GBT

I don't know which one I'd be embarrassed about more. Whistling it, or getting caught. GBT (That's not to say I don't like the tune, mind you)

Awesome find! Congratulations and Merry Christmas. GBT

Do we have that in the US? I've known a couple of touring bands who did covers, and I don't remember them ever having to pay a fee to perform a cover live, only to record and sell a record with covers. I've also seen bands who break into at least a small part of a cover that wasn't on the set list during a break in the set. And speaking of covers, my favorite live cover has to be Moby's punk cover of Sweet Home Alabama that he did on the Lollapalooza tour back in 1995 when he was doing his transition back to guitar rock with Animal Rights. It was just surreal, and surprisingly good. GBT

Scott, my sincerest condolences on the loss of your friend, and my prayers go out to his friends and family. I've had to bury too many of my own friends, so I can empathize. I'm sure your friend wanted someone to take care of those axes, and especially wanted someone to play them, so it is a great responsibility you have been given. But I'm sure he felt you were up to it, and there is no doubt a good reason why he chose you. May you never be forced to part with them. I'm the sentimental type. I like to think that the guitars I've owned have all been imparted with a little bit of me, just as all the used guitars I've owned have been imparted with their previous owners. So when you play those guitars, a certain part of your friend still lives on in the memories you have of him, the things he left behind for his friends, and the impact that knowing and losing him will have on your playing. Knowing the connection musicians make with their favorite instruments, I'm sure his soul will rest easy knowing that his favorite guitars are in capable and caring hands. GBT

You don't happen to be related to Dan Quayle, do you? On the topic of combustible liquids and tonewoods, I'm a big fan of lighter fluid. it doubles for cleaning bodies and corroded metal parts as well. GBT

Well, are you talking about the old SYB-3 or the new SYB-5? Also, the GS-10 is a pretty powerful unit, and is not a pedal. They are using a backing track, but you can plainly see Roope Latvala (the guitarist on the right) hitting the notes that correspond to the string notes. He even does some tapping and you can hear it as strings. Alexi Laiho (on the left) is just playing his normal distorted guitar sound. As long as he doesn't do any string bends or whammy work the synth should track fine. Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas...

OK, dug up a list of his gear. According to this interview with Roope Latvala, he owns a Boss GS-10, which has a guitar synth. He does not claim to have a harmonizer. Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas...

Nope, that's definitely a synth. A harmonizer will get some interesting sounds, but I've never heard one sound like actual strings before. Also, that video has to be old since Alexi's Jacksons, including the Wild Child RR in the video, were stolen three years ago. Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas...

The good: The singer has a decent voice on the parts where he sings. At 2:34 in, you switch from the chorus to the verse music, and that transition is the best of the entire song. See below. The mellow breakdown at 3:20 is a very nice touch. Instead of switching back to the screaming part at 3:41, build it up increasingly from the mellow part, getting louder and closer to screaming with each verse. Start soft like the first mellow line, then work up. Example: The bad: First, the vocalist needs to watch his plosives (p, d, and t type sounds where you can hear something extra when he says it, almost like he's breathing into the microphone.) It's a common problem. Back away from the mic and get a windscreen to help. The fills during the clean/chorus part don't fit at all. Work within the chords you are playing during the verse to figure out what to play. The bass player is always playing the root notes of the power chords/triads. Try having him alternate between the root note and the fifth interval that make up the two notes in a power chord or triad and try coming up with a phrase or melody line. At about 37-38 seconds into the song it seems to transition from the verse to the chorus. The distorted guitar switches in way too early, and there's no real transition between the two. Either have the guitar cut out until he start playing the rythm part again, or have him play something that transitions between the two. The solo doesn't work. It's an off-key repeat of the vocal melody. Get it on-key and loosen up with it a bit because it's stiff. Then it transitions into another part that doesn't fit musically or by its phrasing. I didn't hear a single bass drum in the entire thing. There's a hi-hat in there, but no bass/snare to go with it. Those need to be louder if they're there, and put there if they're not. But whatever you do, don't stop writing and recording. You'll improve, and one of my most treasured posessions is a tape of my playing from high school and college. Some of it is downright awful, but there are some jems in there that make me smile. Start with the suggestions you're getting here, and keep on going. BWT, it's really hard to get a good distortion sound recorded. Just remember that sometimes you have to change your settings when you record to get a sound close to what you sound like live. Sometimes a volume tweak up or down helps, but other times you have to adjust your EQ or lower the gain settings to sound good on a recording.

Yeah, it's an awesome guitar, but I'm a little too frugal to spend that kind of money. I tend to stick with RG 5xx/1500 series guitars (RG570 and RG520QS) and S470's. If you want to spend that kind of cash, go for it. The RGT220H is definitely a nice guitar. But since my guitars tend to get used and acquire dings and scuffs here and there, and I am also cheap, I'd rather get a lightly used RGT42 and put EMG's in it with money left over.

I'm VERY interested! Post it up! Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas...

As someone who lost his father around the same age, I must say thank you. I wish someone like you had been around for me then, because it took a couple of years of therapy later on to fix a lot of things that were wrong with me after he died because. I had no one and nothing good to channel all that destructive energy into. Instead of giving him a Pro, you might want to look for an original Pod or Pod 2.0. They're going pretty cheap these days. I've seen a couple for less than $100 recently. The RP50 doesn't sound too bad either, and the price point is pretty nice, plus he can use it with his amp. Same wit the RP100, as both are under $100. As for upgrading to the XT Pro, I can tell you that it does sound better than the older Pod Pro, but I don't think it sounds good enough to spend the extra money if you already have a Pod Pro. Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas...

OK, just as a follow up, I picked up the three Grimoire videos off of the Bay in a package deal. They're informative, but the whole hooded guy with distorted voice being evil thing is a bit annoying. I was hoping for a tool that my kids and I could use, as they're getting into music and playing, but I can't put this kinda stuff in front of them. Also, the corresponding books contain most of the information, not the videos, but the videos are still good at giving you a visual aid when studying the books. So, the library is as follows: Rock Discipline: John Petrucci - Even my wife complimented me on how much better my playing has gotten since I started doing the exercises in this one. My playing is a lot faster and more precise than it used to be, and I economy pick now without thinking. I also think aliens have abducted my wife and replaced her with a decoy... Guitar Grimoire 1: Scales and Modes Guitar Grimoire 2: Chord & Voicings Guitar Grimoire 3: Progressions & Improvisations Good info, but very cheesy presentation. If you can get past that and aren't put off by the whole gargoyles, burning torches, and hooded dork with distorted voice giving you guitar lessons, then more power to you. Next up is "Accelerate your guitar playing" by Tomo Fujita, instructor at Berklee. It comes highly regarded, and I've been exchanging e-mails with him. If you purchase it from him directly, he'll ask you about what you're into and what you like to play and then send along custom materials to you, though it's about $10 more than if you bought from Amazon or eBay. GBT

I only own one pedal now, which is an old DOD 18v distortion pedal that's built like a tank. Other than that, I sold off all of my other ones, including my Big Muff, Metal Zone, various compressors, flangers, etc. Now I just use my POD XT Pro. Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas...

The only thing missing is the bow-tie inlay, but other than that it looks great. I've always loved that guitar. Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas...

Well, it depends. Older EMG pickups have wires coming out of them just like regular pickups, which means you'll need however many 25k pots you want to use for volume and tone controls, a 9v batter clip, and a stereo output jack, as well as possibly needing some 22 gauge stranded core wire in two colors to run ground and other stuff. The newer EMG pickups use the quickconnect system, so you'll need those components. You can purchase them on ebay pretty cheaply. You may or may not still need the pots depending on what you buy from ebay. Also, be sure that they are the long or short shaft pots, depending on what you need. You need the longer shaft pots for guitars like Les Pauls, while the shorter shaft pots work for everything else. A lot of people buy the EMG ZW sets, which come with both sets of pots pre-wired, and then sell off the set they don't use. So be sure to find out before you buy so you get the right thing. Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas...

Same here. I know I'll buy them eventually, I just won't like doing it. I saw a set on eBay months ago, but they went for as much as new copies, so I didn't bid. Remember the Alamo, and God bless Texas...

Well, anything you buy would likely be able to be resold should you find that your heart isn't in it. I'm sure that at least a few of us here would be interested, so you'd recoup some of your money. If you don't know if you're into it, you'll never know until you learn and do it. But the books don't necessarily have to be the first step in learning. Most of the tube amp projects out there are fairly accessible and have a strong user community. Honestly, if you want to do a project tube amp, do it and then buy the books to learn more if it tickles your fancy. Just be sure to read up on all the project literature, especially safety stuff, before beginning. Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas...

+1. I went from having no guitars with EMG's just 3 months ago to now having 4: My Frankenstrat has an S set. One of my RG520QS's has two 81's. One of my S470's has the venerable 81/85 combo. My Fender Jazz Bass has a Jazz Bass set. All I can say is that I love the clean sounds I get out of all of them. A touch of reverb and the sound is heavenly. I bought them because I wanted something that could handle high gain, but the clarity on low gain settings is also nice. The real issue is that tone is subjective. One person's "perfect tone" is another person's "sterile sound." You're going to have to spend some time with setups similar to yours or experimenting to find out what sounds good to you. I dont' even want to think about how much money I now have invested in aftermarket pickups, but I've really found what I think works best for me and I'm happy. And if you buy used, you get the added benefit of cheaper costs and the ability to sell off what you didn't like with minimal investment. Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas...