cunnins4

cheers man, can't wait to build it and get it all running. at the moment i've been just plugging my guitar into my laptop, and using the speakers. I'll get an extra lead to run it through my amp, and then i'll make the switch at the weekend. I'm studying engineering in college, and i was discussing it with a friend, and we got to a more complicated solution using transistors and other such elaborate devices. I knew it could be done much easier! thanks again.

So what Desopolis suggests would work yes? BTW, anyone use a setup like this at all? I really like some of the sounds the effects software gives me, and it's a hell of a lot cheaper than buying effects. oh, and would i need to shield the enclosure (it's plastic), and do you guys think the switch would cause much distortion of the sound, or create much noise? cheers.

Hi guys, i was just wondering if someone could help me here: Basically i want to make a bypass switch for use with my laptop because i've started using an effects processor software i got recently. It should go like this: So the switch has to be a footswitch, not a toggle switch, but not a basic on/off one. It has to switch between the two leads, effectively bypassing the laptop and going straight to the amp when i want it to. Would this work? http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?Module...S&doy=21m11 cheers, bouli

Thanks man, really appreciate the help. I got the pot there and installed it. My dodgy soldering caused a couple of hickups, but she's playing great now. Ah, it's beautiful. So powerful compared to the stock ones. tee hee...... thanks again.

BRILLIANT! Wish I'd thought of that before. I don't have alligator clips, so i just used some wire, and it worked a treat. Gonna buy a pot now. What value do i need to get? Quality, thanks man! Bouli

Hi guys, i just installed two 57 classics in my Epi Les Paul. The neck one sounds fine, just need to adjust the height. However the bridge one doesn't sound good at all. I've read all of the other posts on this, but no one seems to have had this specific problem. When i select the bridge pickup, the sound does come through to the amp, but it's very weak. Compared to the neck, it's on a 0.5 out of 10, the neck being 10. When i was installing them i wired the inner wire to the lug on the pot, just like the old pickup and soldered a piece of wire to the back of the pot to the wire mesh around the connecting wire to ground it. It worked fine, but my brother (Electrical Engineer) told me to redo the soldering because he didn't think they looked very good. Then the whole pickup stopped working. Urghhh. We spent ages last night trying to get it to work. Soldered, resoldered. Removed, cleaned. Restripped the wires. I did everything again, checked everything, and nothing. Then i tried fiddling with the wires while my brother plucked a string on the guitar and i would momentarily get a sound. It sounded perfect when it came through, but would disappear too quickly. This suggested to me that the connections were bad. I left it until this morning, and installed the neck pickup. It worked perfect first time. No problems. Tried the bridge again, redid everything, still nothing. The only thing i could think of is that i damaged the pot when i repeatedly applied heat to it to solder and resolder it. Would this be right? The signal that comes through is clearl enough, just really, really weak. Any help would be greatly appreciated as i've been looking forward to upgrading my guitar for ages. Thanks guys.

thanks for the advice. i actually intended the tempo change, although it was supposed to go from a slow intro beat to a faster one, but not to get gradually faster which did happen! Gonna give it another crack when i get some free time, and try to get away from the repetition and i've got a few things i wanna try out. It's a really cool feeling to make up something on your own, it's given me a small kick to get going at learning theory again! cheers!

Ok, so i made my first ever recording of me playing. It's only a minute long, and it's just a blues rythym in e, with a little soloish kind of thing played over it. i used a program called "audacity" to make it and convert it to an mp3. would anyone mind taking the time to listen to it and give me an honest opinion? i've uploaded it to a geocities website, here's the link:(it's a megabyte in size!) http://www.geocities.com/cunnins4/stephen1.mp3 Don't be too harsh as it is my first effort. I also did it in one take, and i did fudge a couple of notes as it's really just an improvisation, but i am kind of proud of it as i think it sounds decent and might be a starting point for me! thanks! quick edit: i just noticed the other thread for the shred recording, now i feel crap(he's infinitely better than me)! but please still take a listen to it cos i wanna know where i'm going wrong!

cool, cheers lads. I'll make a stab at it myself. Didn't consider ebay for the kit, but i'll take a look. Ah, stompboxes! i really wanna try building one! I'm studying engineering and i design circuits all the time, but i've no experience building a circuit! i'd say that'd be a nice project to take on! I'll give the les paul wiring a try first though! Hope the guitar sounds as good as i think it will! although, i like the sound with the stock pickups anyways, so i'd say it'll be deadly! thanks guys!

right, so i'm finally getting round to sticking a set of 57 classics in my epi les paul, but it was said to me in here to buy and electronics upgrade kit? Can anyone say how good these are? My neck pickup sometimes goes a little quiet and a quick mess with the toggle switch usually sorts it out, so i figure that needs replacing. Also, the one i was looking at didn't include capacitors or an input jack. should i get them too? My main question is, should i get it done pro in a music store, or just do it myself? i'm handy enough, but i don't think i'd be able to solder the lot together. finally, when i'm ordering my pickups, do i need to specify neck/bridge? or is it a one fits all job? thanks, bouli

ok, so i noticed something interesting just a moment ago. When i'm tuning the g string, it doesn't change pitch at all for about a half turn of the machine head, then it "clicks" or "pings" kinda as though it was skipping along some part of the string. I assume this is the nut binding ye lot are talking about. I'll try widening the slots. How's best to do it witout messin it up? cheers lads. bouli edit: ah ha, found it. I went to the epiphone website and found a tech support page. It recommended adding some pencil lead to the nut to lubricate it and it seems to have worked a treat! I was going to use olive oil or bicycle oil to lube it up ha ha! ah well, here's to learning something new! cheers for all ye'r help, i was gonna bring it to a guitar shop on monday to get it looked at. so.....back to playin like crap and not havin an excuse.....

1. Cheap tuners - dunno if they are, how can i find out what type they are? I figured it was pretty standard? 2. Sloppy windings around the tuner posts - nope, pretty clean 3. Hanging up in nut slots - what's this? 4. Cheap strings - Ernie balls, so nope 5. All of the above .... 6. None of the above .... I didn't change guages, they're extra lights, but the same thing was happening with the original strings. I'm gonna try restringing it again today and see how that goes. What exactly do you mean when you say "nut binding"? Cheers for the responses. Bouli

I've been having a serious tuning issue with my Epiphone Les Paul standard. After having it a while i noticed the G and D strings were always out of tune after i took it out of the case. I thought maybe something in the case was knocking the machine heads, but nothing was even near them. Then it started to get worse. The two strings would go out of tune pretty quickly (bout 15 minutes of play), and i just figured i'd change the strings, but now the problem's become worse again. I literally can't play a note on the G string without it going completely out of tune(flat, not sharp). The D string follows closely behind and does the same. After re tuning maybe 10 times they start to hold the notes, but not for long, and it's pretty much the luck of the draw when they might go out again. Has anyone had this sort of trouble? My squire strat never goes out of tune, nor does my acoustic, well it takes about a week for a considerable change, so this is really strange to me. I've tried changing the strings, and i've watched the machine heads as i bend the notes really far and they don't move, but the strings still go out of tune. The bridge never moves, and the knots at the ends of the strings are in all the way into the bridge, so they're not slipping. I really can't understand it. Has anyone had this sort of trouble before? any advice is welcome as i'm considering selling it if i can't fix the problem. cheers, bouli

Well boys, after over 4 years of suffering with my meager 10watt vantage piece of muck, i got myself a decent amp. And all I can say is outstanding. This amp is really quite a bit of kit. For €220, I really feel i got my money's worth. I had a Zoom 707II pedal but my "mate" lost it on me, so I was quite worried the built in effects wouldn't suffice, but I was wrong! They're all excellent. I especially like the Acoustic modelling. Obviously it's not as good as the real thing, but hey, it still sounds great! I'm playing with my beloved Epi LP Standard, and it all just sounds brilliant. Next on my shopping list is a set of pickups. I was thinking '57 Classics as recommended by someone here, but I was also looking at those bareknuckle ones either. Next question: does anyone who has a cube30 use a footswitch? If you do, which one, and is it possible to go from clean to let's say acoustic then to maybe metal and then classic, and then back again? Or is it just simply switching between whatever effect you have selected with the knob and back to clean? Also, Crybaby wah pedals. How on earth do you get that Hendrix sound out of these strange black boxes? I got one when i splashed out on the amp, and I really don't seem to be able to get it right. Anyways, cheers to those who recommended the cube in my previous thread. Quality recommendation! Bouli

Swearing? I do tend to worry more about technique too, but i just like the sound to be the best possible sometimes when i just want to crack out a quality song. technique's great and all, but if you're an excellent player but your amp sounds pants, well, you're not gonna sound too great.

Hi, i've been noticing recently that the position i put my amp (only a feeble 10w) in my bedroom has had a dramatic impact on the sound i get out of it. The first thing i've noticed is that when i put it on my bed, leaning against the wall with my stereo just above it i get the best sound. Then when i play with it on the floor (carpet), about 7ft to the right and in front of my stereo and the same again below it (my stereo is up high on the wall) i get a slightly less decent sound out of it. However, i played it in my brother's bedroom yesterday and he has hardwood flooring and it sounded shite. So my question is, what exactly is the best place to put your amp in relation to your stereo if you're playing along to it? under, beside, facing the same direction etc... and what is the best surface to have under it? carpet, wood, mattress? Anything else anyone knows about the acoustics of a room that can improve the sound would be helpful. cheers.

When i twisted the tone knob, while it was loose, the amp made that scratchy sound you get if you touch the end of your lead. that about the best way i can describe it. but i got the knob off, and i tightened up the bolt underneath and the scratching went away. But then, when i put it back together, the pickup went kind of dead. the amp needed to be put up to 10 just to get that pup to make any sound at all, let alone a decent one, so i undid what i'd just done, took off the back plate, and turned the base of the pot so that the prongs weren't touching anything, and tightened it all up again, problem solved. everything seems fine now, although i nearly **** myself when the screwdrive slid accross the back. thankfully not a scratch! phew! cheers for the replies lads bouli

Howdy, I just got an Epiphone Les Paul yesterday. The tone knob for the Treble Pickup is loose, and it's affecting the sound (it makes it a bit scratchy, is that how you'd describe it?) kinda like if you slowly move the 5way switch on a strat and it makes that static scratchy sound. Me being the moron that i am, i thought it'd pop off easy like the knobs on my strat copy, which it didn't and i cracked the knob a little. It's not that noticable, but i'll replace it anyways. My efforts didn't tighten the knob up at all, and i then tried taking off the back cover and tighten it that way but to no avail. How do ye lot get these knobs off? and how can i prevent this from happening again. I can't really send it back as i bought it from musicstore.com (germany) and i'm in ireland, so it'll take ages just to get such a tiny problem fixed. Edit: Apologies, i found a post on this subject and managed to get the knob off. Mods feel free to lock this one. sorry.

Yeh, that damn zoom pedal's a nightmare! sooooo complicated! still good though! thanks for the replies. Think it's a definite purchase, just gonna keep my eyes on ebay and in the local papers to see if i can get me one of those little boxes. once i get that i just have to become a better player! God knows i won't be puttin down the lp much so lots of practicing!!! ha! cheers, bouli

I was really impressed, but as i said, that doesn't mean anything! Does anyone have the footswitch for it? is that any use? cheers for the replies! bouli

Hi, I'm finally upgrading my ultra terrible setup from an absolutely dogshit strat copy and a "vantage" 10w muddy useless no tone block. I've just bought an Epiphone LP Standard, and i'm gonna stick better pups in it, and so i've about €250 to splash out on a new amp. I've read reviews on the Roland Cube 30 and everyone seems to think it's a great amp. I was just wondering what anyone else thought? I tried one with an epi lp standard in the guitar shop yesterday and i was very impressed, but i'd be impressed by pretty much anything after that other block of crap i've been using for five years. I didn't get a chance to play with it as much as i wanted to in the shop, so i didn't get a chance to sample everything it can do. I just want an amp for practicing, not gigging just yet and i play classic rock and some metal. I also have a zoom 707II to use with it. Does anyone have any experience with these amps? Cheers lads, bouli

Hey guys, i'm looking to get an Epi LP to upgrade etc...and found this one on ebay. it's got a chip at the bottom of the body on the front unfortunately. I was just wondering if it's repairable? I don't want to refinish it, i'd just like to touch it up. Take a look at the pics at the bottom to see the chip: http://cgi.ebay.ie/Gibson-Epiphone-Les-Pau...1QQcmdZViewItem Any advice on how i'd go about repairing such a chip would be great guys, cos i'm new to the whole finishing business. Regards, Stephen

Cheers lads. I checked out the bareknuckle and rg websites. I didn't consider completely changing the electronics, but now that it's been highlighted i'll definitely be getting a kit to replace the lot. As for the pups, i'm even more confused than when i started out. I'm going to contact that guy at bk because everyone speaks highly of him for his help. I think i'll be buying there. Just one more question: what on earth is braided wire? what's the difference between it and regular wire? Thanks again for the help. Bouli

I'm more into my classic rock too, but i'd also be looking for something that can handle a fair bit of distortion from time to time. I mostly play zepellin, thin lizzy, ac/dc, sabbath etc... i'd sometimes crack out some metallica, but none of that slipknot nu metal nonsense. At the same time, i love a nice clean tone too, so would the setup you described above deliver that too? what sort of price am i looking at to get those pups? Cheers for the reply. Bouli