daveq

OK, I owe a big thanks to you guys. I got a POD pro off ebay for just over $300 and absolutely love it! I can't believe how much of a difference it makes. I have it set up to run in studio mode running into my amp's effects return (nothing in the main input) and use my G-Major in the POD's effects loop. I currently also have my BBE in the effects loop but am planning on moving it to the last unit in line before the amp. I finally get to hear what the G-Major really sounds like also. They recommended using a preamp with the G-Major since my amp has a parallel effects loop. Wow! Huge difference! The delays, reverbs, ... everything sounds huge compared to the way I was running it before. As for the POD, I love the Mesa (#1) setting. There are a few others that sound good to me but that one really stands out for the type of music I like to play. I honestly don't know if I could tell the difference between it and a v-amp - both sound great to me. I decided to go with the POD pro since I don't really have much room left on the floor and would rather put it in the rack with my other gear. So, thanks for the advice - I'm so glad I decided to get one. Dave

Thanks again! In my sleep deprived state, I forgot to bring the camera home again today. I'll post a pic tomorrow. I got to hold him again tonight and he actually had his eyes open for a little while. There's nothing like the feeling of having a little peanut like that in your arms and have him look at you for the first time. I know he can't see much but the moment is still pretty incredible. The only noises he seems to make are the tiniest little whimpers - I love it. That will change soon I'm sure but for now it's just great. I'll post a pic then I'll leave you guys alone about all this mushy stuff and get back to some axe slinging mayhem type talk. See ya. Dave

Thanks guys- I'm off soon to see the little guy again. Can't wait. My 3 1/2 year old son is doing a good job dealing with this. We did have one issue last night when my wife mentioned that the baby was "looking at his daddy" and my other son said "that's MY daddy". Uh-oh. Those are the issues I'm most concerned with right now. Gotta make him feel like he's still the center of the family somehow. Thanks again. See ya!

Sunday night, I was rubbing my wife's belly and telling my son-to-be to hang on for a few more days (since we had a closing on our house, things happening at work,...) - kinda joking. He wasn't due until 12/28 so we didn't really think much of it at the time. Sure enough, at 2:00am, the water broke and we made the scramble to the hospital. There was only one snag during the process where his heart rate dropped significantly (early on). The nurses demanded a doctor come in. During that time, I was completely wiggin out. It lasted for a few minutes and then it returned to normal. The doctor looked over the chart from the monitor and couldn't say for sure what it was. So, other than that it went smoothly. He was born around 10:30am. He's a sweet quite little guy - can't wait to get back to see him.

OK, thanks. I'll see if I can do a tutorial. I'll also need to see if you guys would call it a cariburst. I'll post some pics once the clear has been buffed.

I have a guitar that I'm clear coating right now that might be considered a carriburst. I think I'm a bit late in entering though, huh?

I've just completed a guitar that uses cherry for the body. It's a bolt-on strat style body with a maple neck and rosewood fretboard. For whatever reason, the guitar sounds quite warm to me and not bright at all. Maybe it's just a fluke? I'm using a SD distortion in the bridge and a sustainiac stealth plus in the neck position. It also has a spalted maple top BUT the top is very hard - no "punky" sections - nothing that would be considered soft at all. I was expecting it to sound like my other all maple guitars. Maybe it's the fretboard? Maybe it's the top, maybe it's the cherry - I don't know. I do know that the sound is about the warmest I have built.

Thanks for the samples Wes - Did you also add effects during the recording from your PC software or other gear? That sounds excellent!

Thank you very much for the information. I think I'll drive around tomorrow and see if anyone has one locally. I feel much better about it having someone else who is as much of a distortion freak as me and still gives it a thumbs up. The amp I'm currently using is a Marshall Valvestate. I do like the distortion on it very much but like I said, I don't think I'll be able to use it with us being in a small apartment with a new baby. During the day it wouldn't be so bad but at night, I don't want to disturb the baby or the mom! That's why I'm not real excited about mic'ing the amp option. I'll check it out ASAP - the info is greatly appreciated. Dave

I've been considering buying a preamp. Possibly a POD Pro. I hope to find one locally and check it out but who knows. I don't want to go on and on here but I'm wondering if anyone has an opinion on whether or not the POD Pro delivers high quality distortion. I am a huge, obnoxious snob when it comes to distortion. I can't stand weak or fake sounding distortion. The reviews on harmony central seem pretty good but there's the occasional - this thing is crap review that scares me. I'd probably be using mostly for recording while we are living in the apartment (waiting for the new house to be built). I'd like to incorporate it into my rig if I can find a way to do it. I think you guys recommended that I use the effects return for that, right? Has anyone here used one? Is the distortion high quality? Thick, rich, sustaining with easy harmonics? That kind of thing? Or is it more like a digital multi-effects that basically produces fuzz with various EQ settings? Oh yeah - I was also considering mic'ing my amp if the POD isn't worth the money. The biggest problem with that plan is that I may not be able to turn up my amp enough since we will be living on top of each other.

As Wes mentioned - If you go with 1 3/4" or thinner (all other issues aside), you might need to buy a shorter block for it. The standard block that comes with the OFR and the Schaller Floyds are a bit too big. Some people cut them down themselves and re-drill the holes. I don't have time for that. The shorter blocks can be found in various places - AllParts.com, GuitarPartsDepot.com are a couple that come to mind. I don't personally like the look of a trem cover just screwed onto the back of the body but that's just me. I think Strats do this so maybe it's not such a big deal.

On cnn.com, there's an article saying that Vinnie-Paul wasn't shot - at least that's the way I read it: cnn article His world is completely ruined right now. I can't imagine the horror of the images in his mind.

I have two guitars with silver inlay (sterling silver). I love it.

Was it a hand-gun or a rifle? I'm assuming it was a hand-gun. I wonder if he had it legally and had a permit to carry it? Each state has it's own laws on this and I don't know anything about Ohio's laws concerning hand guns. I'd be surprised if he had it legally (permitted to carry it into the club). In that case, the right to bear arms wouldn't be relavent. I think that's where it becomes very difficult to do anything about things like this. If you make it illegal to own a gun - that certainly won't keep guns away from people who want them. It's all sketchy and impossible to argue with any confidence not knowing if this was thought up in advance or a spur of the moment thing but making guns illegal to own doesn't seem like it would prevent them from getting into the hands of those who want them. Drugs are a good example of what I mean. I had the same reaction though - I wish there was a way to prevent this kind of crap from happening. Something that would make it impossible for this kind of thing to take place ever again. I just can't think of any law or change in government that would do it.

I was checking into finding places that clear coat professionally recently. I checked with GMW guitars in CA and got a rude response claiming that they don't do top coat only jobs. I thought I saw a price list with clear coating as an option but I guess it's only for a full refinish job. I can't spray at home right now since the wife is pregnant. I would try the nitro outside if she wasn't but that's my situation. I'll likely be using Tru-Oil for a while instead. BTW - I am not even close to being a finishing pro but I have finished several guitars using rattle can nitro. I spray them outside and then bring them inside to dry (in the basement). I have an exhaust fan rigged in a basement window next to where I hang them. Now, I've only done this in the summer/fall so I have no clue what to expect in the winter. I have only had one "spit" on me once and it was my fault - my finger was partially covering the tip. Just wanted to share some experience with rattle cans. It's not a vast amount of experience but like I said - several guitars worth.

Alex - I can't give much in terms of comments on the quality since I have no recording experience but it certainly sounds like you put a lot of effort into it and I think the playing/performance sounds great. I can certainly understand why you didn't spend big bucks on it and want to save that for your own stuff some day. I've liked you other samples you've posted and have wanted to ask what you used. I think you posted one recently about new noiseless pickups in a strat, right? I know it's a little off topic but if you don't mind telling me, what did you use for effects on that? Dave

Dan Erlewine finished a nice blue quilt for the stewmac trade secrets in the winter spraying outside with rattle cans. I have not tried it myself and don't have anywhere near his experience but I've always thought it was interesting that he managed to do such a great job in such cold weather. I might be able to find the link if you can't. Here it is Again - I have no idea how practical it is to think that a mere mortal can do the same but this is at least one example of someone pulling it off.

If Vinne-Paul isn't gone and he does come through - can you imagine the emptiness he will be feeling for his remaining days? The flashbacks of that night? It sounded like those two had a very tight bond and everything that his world was about is gone. I hope he gets through - don't get me wrong there - it's just that he will have so much to deal with to move on in life.

Thanks for the info. It sounds like what I have now will do the same thing. I have a TC Electronics G-Major and I use the detune feature for a "kind of - sort of" harmonizer. It sounds very, very good but doesn't do everything a $2000+ harmonizer does. It basically thickens up the guitar and gives it a more polished/pro sound. I appreciate you taking the time to share that info. DaveQ

I didn't know they are selling them also. I bought mine from WoodCraft. If you ever decide to try that method - make sure you have a nice long flat surface to rest the entire neck on as you slide it under the safetplaner. If you try to hold it yourself (on those small square tables that come with the drill press), you'll likely tip it and the planer will take a chunk out. I clamp a 3 foot piece of plywood onto the drill press table and it works fine. Just remember to keep that neck flat on that surface while running it under the planer device - any tipping will result in chunking.

TC Electronics makes some amazing reverb and delay units. I think they used to make a floor pedal reverb but maybe I'm thinking of delay? Their rack mount stuff is incredible though.

For a long time, I always thought that this thing was a joke. I wondered if it was for people who wanted to simulate a floyd dive but didn't have a floyd bridge. As usual, I'm late in understanding what it really is. From what I have read (just a product description from musiciansfriend) - it can be used to detune the instrument. Now, is this really true? Does it really sound the same as if you detuned 1/2 step or more? What do most people use it for? I've noticed that there are tons of professional guitarists out there using them but I don't know what they are using them for? Are the newer models any better/worse than the originals?

Has anyone else heard that the shooter was upset that Pantera broke up and that may have been this nutcase's reason? Someone told me that was the report given on the radio here this morning.

Please tell me this is a hoax. Did his brother survive? This jus doesn't seem real.

Well, your next one should be much better. I think most people make significant mistakes early on so don't feel like you are the only one (I know I did). For the headstock problem - I have used a bandsaw to do this but recently, I've switched to using the Safe-T-Planer. If you don't know what it is, the Safe-T-Planer is a device that you put in a drill press and it planes wood to the thickness that you want. It doesn't leave the wood perfectly smooth though so there is some sanding needed. Always set your depth about 1/32 to 1/16 higher than the desired. Then you your sanding will get you to the proper depth. Doing it this way does help eliminate the problem that you ran into. The bandsaw method can work also though. I just feel safer using the planer method. I know some people also use a router with a jig. I keep wanting to build a jig for this but never seem to have the time. Keep building!