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Danzilla

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About Danzilla

  • Birthday 08/03/1968

Converted

  • homepage
    http://www.terrafirmataband.com
  • occupation
    Mortgage Banker & Bass Player
  • hobbies
    Bass, cooking, God, family; not necessarily in that order
  • Location
    Baltimore, MD
  1. I was just watching a video about pedal order earlier today. I think he spends too much time talking about buffers, but he gives some good ideas. [video:youtube] I usually put my wah after the overdrive; but I might switch it around, if I ever get enough energy to do it...
  2. I don't know the story about Carvin - they may have been a subcontractor to some of those companies at one time - speaker cabinets, circuit board assembly, and such - but I can assure you that Mackie, QSC, and Behringer, as well as PreSonus, Focusrite, Allen & Heath, JBL, etc. are made in their own factories and designed by their own engineering teams. Interestingly, there's less "me too" in designs of similarly functional products than there was 20 years ago. Most are manufactured in China, but this isn't as fearful regarding quality as it was 20 years ago either. This gives you more reasons to buy one over another, based on a unique feature or two that you might find useful. I'm trying not to be TOO jingoistic and strictly "American Made Only" partly because almost nothing is anymore. Looking at stuff online, features & layouts between the current Carvin Audio powered speakers, and those by Harbinger, Mackie, Behringer, and others, all look very similar and have super similar features. Thus my question. As to Kuru's points... My old PA is a Peavey MD II - 12 mixer (12 channels; great sounding pre-amps, real spring reverb on it!) into a dual EQ and BBE Sonic Maximizer, to power amps (Carvin 1000 watt for mains; Samson 400 watt for monitors); mains are two old Peavey 10-12-H passive cabinets; and two passive Nady 12+Horn monitor wedges. Due to the mixer's limited outputs & monitor capabilities, I just scored a used Carvin 16 channel mixer (same model as I had used at my church years ago) which has great sub busses, 4 band EQ per channel, 2 graphic master EQ's, multiple on board effects (but I'll only use reverb), and 6 monitor outputs, as well as a sub woofer out. I loved using it at church, and should be able to mix efficiently with it for the band. I also bought some QSC CP12 powered speakers, that can be used for either mains or monitors, so I'll swap their purpose as needed. So mainly looking for either powered mains with 15" speakers. Not super concerned about subs due to us only being a trio, having smaller footprints (both on stage and in storage at my house), and not being a "kick drum in the chest is all you need" band. The mains all seem similar, so I don't want to blow more money than needed just for a name; but I am staying away from certain brands on principle.
  3. In one of my bands, the guy who had the great PA moved out of state and had the nerve to take his personally owned system with him. It fell to me to dust off my old, cobbled-together PA rig for a couple of gigs. Nothing pretty, but it works. I am slowly replacing some pieces, and have noticed that a lot of items look all the same, but with a different name badge. So, are they all really made in the same place nowadays? Just like most overseas guitars are made by Samick or Cort, are Mackie, QSC, Harbinger, Behringer, etc. all made in the same factory? And does anyone know if the current line of Carvin gear is made in the USA, or are THEY part of those overseas factory lines as well?
  4. I've only got 2. Pigtronix Mothership 2. Haven't really woodshedded with it enough to do more than make annoying sound effects that piss off the band. But it SHOULD be cool, when set right and in the proper hands (or feet). So ... Maybe Yes? Tech 21 FlyRig. the filter in it is also tied to the fuzz and octave effects, so it's a matter of trying the sample settings in the manual and going from there. It's pretty decent; using it on Joss Stone's "Fell In Love With A Boy and the band thinks it fits well. So YES.
  5. Lee Ritenour uses one; saw him playing it in a concert video the other day. So there's a ringing endorsement.
  6. So, how many times over the past two decades have you heard me talk about my love of Phil Jones Bass amps, and my never-ending hunt for a fretless 5 string? Guess you'll have to hear me talk about them a little bit more. I started a new job in December. February, I went above & beyond, and they gave me a bonus. My wife agreed that I could spend it on music gear. I'm always keeping my eyes peeled in the local ads and stores, so I started salivating. Hoping that there would be some more gigging opportunities in the summer months, I thought about getting another Phil Jones cabinet to match with my Six Pack combo. One of my sort-of-local stores (Coffey Music) was a dealer, so I stopped in to see what they had. They had the 4x7 and 2x7. Cut me a really good deal, so I took the 4x7. I love the array of 5" speakers in my other PJ amps, but these 7" speakers do seem to give a little more warm low end. Still super articulate in the upper end, but just a little extra down below (that's what she said). These are rear-ported, so that may play into it. But I'm digging it, both with the Six Pack (for quite a wallop) and on it's own. Which leads me to the next acquisition... I figured I might as well get a small head to use with the 4x7 cab, when not using the Six Pack. Thought about the Trace Elliott ELF, and a few others, but decided to stay above 300 watts. Almost got the Peavey MiniMega, but a few bad reviews made me question it. Want to stay brand loyal, so considered the Phil Jones PB800; but couldn't quite justify the price. Then I stumbled on a few Traynor amps, the Small Block series. This is 500 watts at 4 ohms; 250 at 8. 4 band EQ, DI out, effects loop. and a "low extension" knob. Plus, it's actually made in Canada rather than China. Found a new open box model on Reverb, that was discounted; plus it had the "make an offer" button. So I took a chance, made an offer, and they accepted it. Got to tell you, with the volume knob at only 9 or 10 o'clock, it adequately kept up with the drummer at rehearsal. Totally giggable as-is. Of course, I am now tempted to go back to Coffey Music and grab that 2x7 cabinet, too. Maybe. So while looking at these items, I found two fretless Carvin 5 strings on Craigs List. One was a bolt on, the other is a neck-through LB75. After contact with the owners, I went with the through neck for only $50 more than the bolt. Not sure of the year, but the pre-amp circuit board is marked © 1997. It has an oil finish, which has a few bumps & bruises, but nothing major. 2 stacked single coil pickups, same as I had put in my Schecter T5. 3 band preamp. And the volume knob is push-pull for passive/active. It has the old Wilkinson locking saddle bridge. Ebony fingerboard does have fret lines. The neck had some bowing to it; but I've been able to finesse the truss rod to get it pretty much straight. Neck is super comfy; similar in feel & taper to my Gibson EB5, but a bit thinner. Currently it's strung with flats, which are fine; but I'm probably going to put on some D'Adarrio half-wounds or Ken Smith compressors next time I'm at a store. Plus, it came in a Pro-Tek gig bag embroidered with Mike Lull on it; closest I'll come to owning a real Lull for now. Hopefully I'll get a picture or three in the next couple of days to share with you. So of course, now the wife asks if I'm going to sell any of the old gear. Silly lady! OK, I might sell the Carvin Redline amp & 1x15 cab. Might.
  7. Sorry I'm late to the party and missed this initially; but glad it wasn't anything major. Take care of your eyes, so that you can be a 20/20 Visionary". [video:youtube]
  8. I also bought Mothership II a couple of years ago as the Stupid Deal. I just haven't really bonded with it. Nor taken the time to really explore it either, so that's on me. one of these days...
  9. My first guitar was a Kay acoustic that mu uncle ( who was a keyboard player and piano repairman) "fixed up" for me. Super rough fret ends; it's a miracle I didn't sheer off a finger. The bridge had a few cracks in it near the string pegs, which after a year and a half got pretty treacherous ( my teacher had to tell my parents it was time for an upgrade). And yes, it had the standard high action. My first electric was a Kramer Striker. Got it in white to be kind of like Richie Blackmoore, or so I thought. It was decent, but I sold it when I had a chance to get my Gibson ES-335.
  10. We recently watched the British comedy series "Plebs" on Amazon Prime. Low-brow comedy set in ancient Rome. And we thought it was hilarious. Well, the first 3 seasons were. Didn't like the new character, Jason, in seasons 4 & 5; but still quite enjoyable. Especially when they put together a band - a trio called "Cerberus"; then inevitably split up and become a duo - Gemini..
  11. I'm fighting the temptation to buy a Reverend Descent baritone that's at a local store. I really don't need it. I really don't need it. I really don't need it. but I like it.
  12. I still have an E-Bow, and pull it out when channeling my inner Steve Hackett/Steve Rothery moods. It's a good tool to have available.
  13. Cool. Those early Peaveys are solid players. I just saw a local ad for a 5 string Dyna bass that almost has me tempted, if only to de-fret it.
  14. Late to the party but... I use the Tech 21 CompTortion as a Marshall-in-a-box. Works great with P90 and humbuckers. Former guitarist in my band had a JHS Paul Gilbert pedal that worked really well in certain situations, but he said it was kind of a one-trick pony. As in one setting worked great; but other than that it was not what he wanted. Could be that is sounded great with his Schechter (with humbuckers) but not so much with his Strats & Teles, which he started using more... He also had a Walrus Iron Horse that I liked, for "classic" metal tones; kind of sounded like old Judas Priest.
  15. "Pardon me, but can you help a fellow American who's down on his luck?"
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