radrobgray

i hear this term used alot with tube amps. is it "voodoo-tone" marketing hype? im not sure exactly how this pertains to tone in a real world situation. for example when i bought my VHT 2902 poweramp the guys at the store said it had lots of headroom, i would assume because of the KT88s?

Amazingly he brought over a new cymbal and 2 new heads for his kit. we actually played thru our set (only 4 songs) in one try with only minor mistakes, no forgotten parts. if he keeps it up thats great but we told him if he gets lazy again hes out!

sweet becker guitar, now you should have the owner post a video of him playing Serrana! ive kinda been wanting one (single neck) like that for a while.

Looks like you've got a 24 fret neck with almost a full fret position of "extra" board after it (the fretboard ends just about where you'd stick a 25th fret) - that's what pushes your pickups just a little close together, at least, that's the problem I had on my first build. It takes a suprisingly small amount of that to at least make your pickups visually appear cramped. As long as the gear you have fits, you're fine though, right?

hmm...good point i think i forgot to account for the binding when cutting the boad to final shape. i could probably just shave it down and glue a new peice on. i was thinkin maybe the shape of the routes too most single routs nowadays look symetrical (not bumped out in the fron), if you know what i mean.

well the reason i stray from the 5 way is i hate the way blade switches look. i prefer toggles... if they made a 4 position toggle id be in business..

I agree - they do look a little nasty, but hey - another one of Leo's lack of corners!

Why not turn the tone knob into a 5 way rotary switch a la prs, nobody ises tone anyways

never though of that, but, how do these work in a performance situation? it seems it would be hard to switch from neck to bridge pup in the middle of a solo/lick.

i may just abandon the middle pup as ive never used one. then i could use a toggle and it would solve my cramped pickup issue.

Also do you guys know any links to neck joints on neckthrus? I want to oil this neck but i dont want do the transition like Carvin or ESP. Have any suggestions for a more asthectically pleasing transition from paint to oil on the neck joint area?

ok made some progress hit one speed bump. shaped the neck, volute, transition from neck to body, and belly cut. drilled the "b" string tuning peg 3/32" off the mark, its close enough to be covered with the washer so ill plug it and re-drill. also on the full shot do those pickup outlines look too close or is it just me?

Full

Neck Transition

Belly Cut

EVH has not aged well has he?

IIRC, he had a struggle with cancer that has kept him from touring and recording much over the last decade or so....

and severe alcoholism

well update...i talked to Chad (other gutiarist) today, he was pissed just like I so he decided to call the drummer. I guess when he called our drummer said he was on his way out. so chad asked "where to?" and drummer ses "guitar center (to buy cymbals)?" Either hes lying to get us off his back or he got my point when we talked yesterday, i hope its the latter. Chad and I figure if he doesent have at least one new cymbal and a better attitude come next practice (monday) hes basically out (untill we get a new drummer) unless during this time he proves his dedication and care for the band.

if he brings the cymbal i wont say a thing, if he doesn't, i'll give'em the rundown on his month timelimit and what not.

although this conflict is not over yet, thanks to all who have chimed in. ive never been in a situation like this before and its really helped me out a ton. once again thanks!

ok so weve come to the conclution that we should give him a set time period for him to step up to the plate. im not sure how long we should set it up for. our goals are to get him to: 1)play good again, 2)stop forgetting parts of songs, 3) buy the required equipment (new heads for the messed up ones, new cymbals etc).

how long sould i give him? 1 month?

although you may want to share songwriting duties, maybe he doesn't feel like a lyricist? And then when you make the effort to extend it into the drum parts, instead of saying, "Yeah, THIS is where I really get to contribute!" he's just feeling pressured or that you're just making excuses to involve him. And if you ARE just using the drum thing as an excuse, he might be detecting it and feeling condescended to.

But yeah... that's just Devil's Advocate... overall he seems disinterested.

Not too many drummers around. If he's any good, you might want to at least give him a bit more time to shape up.

not sure where your going with the "make my effort to extend into the drum parts," also did i make an excuse to involve him and what do you mean by that? (I'm not being defensive just honestly trying to get what you mean.)

none of us feel like lyricist. we came to the agreement long ago that we all contribute even if it doesn't work out, I've written tons of stuff that we all look at and go this sucks and throw it out, lyrics, vocal melody, and guitar parts. how i see it is were not asking him to do something that were not willing to do our selfs. for example if he wanted me to help him come up whit drum parts, hes asked and i have, even though i suck.

thats the thing tho hes good but hes overall a lazy person. this used to be the only thing he was motivated for. this is harder than breaking up

heres the rundown, I've been playing with our drummer for about 5-6 years. recently, for the past 5-6 months, hes been really flaky, forgets parts to songs, and doesn't seem motivated. we talked to him about that and hes been putting more effort like he used to.

now about 2 months ago he got a job, he said "my first check I'm getting new cymbals, a new beater, snare head, and drum mics." so we we way excited because two of his cymbals are cracked and missing chunks and his snares head is all dipped in. payday comes and he buys a Xbox360. were fine with that, hes entitled to do what he wants with his money. i may also note he has to pay rent and car insurance, but we don't care thats necessity.

a month or so later, he like "im gonna get em this pay check." so we once a gain were excited because we(including him) want to record our stuff and don't want a shatty head or cymbals on the recording (mind you hes know this for several months prior). So I give him a call today to ask about practice and he told me he cant because he has an appointment for a new tattoo. i ask him about the cymbals he ses i cant because the tattoo, its only $100 tho. Then awkward silence and the I'll see ya laters....

now this is my side and i understand it may be different for him but bare with me. but, we have talked to him and explained what we expect because we put forth the same amount of efforts, he agreed....

The other guitarist and I are kinda pissed because we just bought new equipment for the band. we both bought racks worth about $2000 each and then he bought a computer and Pro tools, i bough the mics, cords, and stands for the guitar, a book/dvd on how to use pro tools, and a 8 channel fire wire interface. the other guitarist and i also were planning on going halves on a P.A.

we feel like he doesn't really care to play with us or about getting out there anymore, but he still insists he does. hes not contributing, for example we all sat down to write lyrics, i pass out the paper and pencils. the drummer goes "i don't need this this is all up to you guys". he does the same thing when we ask him how a part sounds or if he likes how the song sounds.

I'm fed up with it and I'm this "><" close to just telling him to pack his drums up and leave, but, its hard for me because I've played with him for so long and until recently he was awesome. sorry to be so long winded, so heres the big question...

WHAT WOULD YOU DO IN THIS SITUATION!

i did this , dont use too much water, when i dries it will crack.

do you happen to know anything about the High-Octane amp kit? i think its from ax84.com, is sounds good on paper, but does it actually SOUND good?

When I see you type "blaaaast" (I was going to say "hear you say" but that's wrong) all I can imagine is Nathan Explosion growling BLLLAAAAASTT!!

speaking of nathan explostion, im phsyched for the season DVD i think it comes out either the 25th or a week afer. not sure which date because their cd comes out this month too. "clean up ile 6, rotten body land slide! special on all bone broken chicken, dont forget to try the tasty hammer smashed face"

actually i run my mids quite high compared to most metalheads that i know. my tone controls are: Bass-8, Mid-7, Treb-5.3, Pres-7.3 on pre. then on my power Pres-5, depth-5 and volume usually 7. maybe someday ill find what im looking for..or i'll build it

to tell you the truth i dont like ANY of the mesaboogies ive tried (roadking, single, double, and triple dual rectifiers). id dont really like any of the marshalls ive tried TSL etc. ive owned a JCM900 for a couple years it was ok but not great. im a VHT and ENGL kinda guy, but only when theyre cranked abit.

i run a (rack) rocktron prophesy II to VHT 2:90:2 (2 kt88 tubes per side) power amp to avatar 412 w/ v30's. i dont have my gain set really high on my pre about 6-7 is for my crunch and when i play with my band i crank my amp to about 7ish.

so im guessing i like ac ombo of pre and powertube dirt, maybe? im looking for megadeth/slayer/metallica in a small powered combo.

looks really cool, but its all bout sound and price, i like how i has switchable watts from 1 -120.

i thought this was worth sharing if you guys havent already seen it.

SHARPENING JIG

i mean like 1/2watt, 1 1/2 watts, 2 watts, the most id go is 5 watts. i have a rocktron prophesy II thru a VHT 2:90 power amp switchable to 60/90watts per side. im looking for a small tube amp i can crank and get similar sounds to my rack at 7, but without the ear plugs/deafness.

like these but more metal:

ZVEX Nano

Gilmore Jr.

Torres Tiny Tone

this one has the most interest for me, i just wish it was a combo Bumbox Lead 1

theyre all about $400

is ther any other options..?

i saw a thread round here bout some low watt tube amps, not its got me wondering if theres any high gain, low watt tube amps that you dont have to build your self(i guess if i couldnt find one prebuilt id make one)? i looked on google but only thing i found was the Zvex nano, its awsome just not what im looking for. im not expecting VHT/ENGL tone but something a little less classic rock sounding.

thanks

i have tried both and i feel the sustainiac is a better choice also.

Oh alright sorry about that.

I thought it was another person going on about someone who is regarded very highly really isn't that special.

PS Dean guitars were really "off-brand"?

No offense taken. My point was that it takes a lot more than gear to sound like most of these guys--Dime included. I would agree that I'm 100% sure that I would never be able to reach his skill level or match his tone, but I really wouldn't want to anyway. While I'm not the ultimate Pantera/Damageplan fan, I respect who they were and what they did and Dime's overall musicianship over the course of his career.

Dean was effectively DEAD when Pantera hit it big. So was Bill Lawrence USA. That's why Dime signed with Washburn and later Seymour Duncan. Only in recent years and just before his death did Dean make their comeback and that's when he went back to them. Krank and Duncan haven't been as bad about it, but I just find Dean and Bill Lawrence USA's trodding on his corpse to be more than a little distasteful. But that's how it goes with endorsements, and if you wanna make money, some times you gotta be that way.

i feel that way too, they're basicaly riding his corpse like a surf board over a sea of money to the bank!

i been thinking about modding my phase 90. its a new one and i want more Van Halenish style phase, so ive been looking at different mods. i was just wondering if any of you have tried either and have acheived the decent results.

heres the two that ive been looking at:

1) removing the feed back resistor(24K), .01uf, and 680pf capacitors. as seen HERE** or

2) the "Script Mod" which is slighly more compicated wich can be seen HERE

** it ses right at the top of the page that this one doesnt make the "reissue" a "script", so im not sure if its wat inlooking for. im not hellbent for the EVH phase sound i just want something less whooshy and in your face.

i does get muddy when the vol is rolled down, which i do not like, so i may change it... i like it this way tho so i can use it to blend the two pups according to how is sounds on a clean setting in the middle position.

Either, you have no vol pot ground connection, or, are you using a reverse wired volume pot system? (eg, two independent volume controls, wired backwards to avoid one cutting out the other) - If so, although they are often suggested, it could explain the problem.

John

i am infact using the reverse wired vol for two independant volumes...is that the cause? if so will sheilding make it better?

i checked my grounds w/ the meter, they all check out fine.