Winston Psmith
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Posts posted by Winston Psmith
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BF-2 was my main Flanger for years, and a lot of those 80's bands probably used it, too. It was really hard to get a bad sound out of it.
Robert Smith and Billy Duffy were big Boss fans, and Duffy still is, AFAIK.
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13 hours ago, KuruPrionz said:
Sounds like you need to sit down with your goodie and tweak a bit. Does it have a headphone jack?
If it sounds smooth and full on headphones it should sound pretty darn good through the PA.
In general, yes, if everything sound good through the headphones, it should sound good through the Main Outs; at the very least, you can be fairly sure the noise and distortion aren't coming from your Guitar, or the Patch itself.
However, one possible difference, at least with some of the Boss MFX; if you use the Headphone Jack, the Speaker Emulator or some other element of the Amp Modeling defaults to always On, to produce a more "naturalistic" sound. In short, it's not exactly the sound being routed to the Main Outs. What level of processing is being applied, and how, will vary somewhat, depending on which of the GT-series MFX you have.
Later Edit/Addition: On some models, the same applies whenever you Select Line/Phones as your Output, even if you're using the Main Outs, and not the Phones Jack.
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10 hours ago, LumpyCotton said:
We had a rehearsal today and decided beforehand to run direct into the PA without using a microphoned amp.
I ran the guitar into the Boss GT 6 and out to the Roland direct drive to the PA.
However, the guitar sounded wrong. There was no middle and on my Country Crunch setting it was highly distorted with too much high.
Anyone out there ever have success in getting the correct sound?
There is an EQ button on the Boss GT 6 but I have never used it before.
I've done this before and it sounded ok.
I've been using various Boss GT-series MFX* live for years, with no issues, although I don't have a GT-6. I had a GT-6B for a while, but wasn't really pleased with it, overall. Generally, I use the Main Outs direct to the FOH system, whatever that may be.
Two questions from reading your post: First, were you using an Active Direct Box (". . . out to the Roland direct drive to the PA.") between the GT-6 and the PA? Second, had you used your GT-6 before with this PA, and is it possible that someone else had changed the settings on the PA since the last time you used it?
If you've used your GT-6 before, with no problems, it's possible that the issue was with the EQ or other settings on the PA. No, I'm not in the "blame the sound engineer" camp, but if you're certain that your part of the system was set up and working properly, that eliminates one set of possibilities. You shouldn't need a Direct Box between the GT-6 and your PA, or any FRFR system.
My general approach to EQ and Compression, particularly with the Boss MFX, is "Less Is More". However, if you're relying on the settings within the Factory Presets, like Country Crunch, that could be part of your problem. One thing I'd check is the Country Crunch Preset itself: if the Compressor is ON, turn it OFF to start with. IME, the Compressor adds a good bit of noise to the Boss Factory Presets, and clamping down with the Noise Suppressor at the other end of the signal chain to compensate is like playing slice-&-dice with your signal. I'd also look to see what other tone-shaping effects are at work in that Preset: is the Crunch Pre-Amp within the patch set to High Gain, or is the Bright switch On, for example?
FWIW, I don't use any of the Factory Presets on any of my MFX, I program my own sounds, so I know they'll work with my Guitars and Synths.
*GT-3, GT-10, GT-1, & ME-25. I had a GT-6B, which I'd gotten mainly for my Synths, and found it disappointing, no matter what I used it with, Guitar, Bass or Synth, or how I programmed it. The GT-6 somehow struck me as a Pedalboard revision/expansion of the rack-mount Roland GP-100; it even had a similar brushed-metal look for the faceplate.
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Some things you just can't let get away . . .
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1 hour ago, RABid said:
I don't remember the last time I picked up a physical magazine. I used to get a log of digital mags on Amazon. Now I rely on what is included with Apple New+ which is pretty limited on music.
Like I said, I know I'm an atavist. I still prefer a real book over any tablet, and a good part of one wall of my Music room is taken up by two rather large, and rather tall bookshelves.
I don't blame anyone who prefers the digital format. Even the most devoted bibliophile reaches a point where something's gotta give, and digital publications don't take up room, or gather dust; I get that. I also get how the digital format is appropriate to a magazine devoted to tech, and technology is integral to Electronic Music. I have more Synths and Signal Processors than Guitars, by a very wide margin.
OTOH, I wouldn't have paid for a 2-year subscription, or even 1 year, if I'd been told that they were converting to an all-digital format within less than a year, and I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in that.
Lest I forget, my thanks to Dave Bryce, and anyone else who helped keep MPN away from Future Music. The new format looks good, no crashes or freezes, no more endlessly waiting for the site to load, or not load, as happened all too often. Well done, thank you!
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Just called to cancel the remainder of my subscription to Electronic Musician. I'm supposed to get a refund, someday, but I'm not counting on it, based on how Future Music seems to regard its customers, and the fact that they're based in the UK, with no local offices in the U.S.. Anybody else remember when GP was published by Miller/Freeman, who also published real books, like the Guitar Player Repair Guide?
FWIW, Future Music was still soliciting new subscribers to EM, with no hint or warning that the magazine was going to go digital, until I got the May issue. I'd paid for a two-year subscription renewal to a print magazine, but six months after I renewed, there's no print magazine anymore, so what exactly did I pay for? A digital "bait-&-switch", I guess?
Like Neil Young sang, "You pay for this, and they give you that." No thanks . . .
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I'm not sure that The Ohio Express' "Yummy, Yummy, Yummy, I've Got Love In My Tummy" ever qualified as Art, nor was it intended to, and that's just one example. The same could be said for much of what came out of Tin Pan Alley, back in the day. "Commercial" Music has been with us for a long time.
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10 hours ago, Mark Schmieder said:
Wood prices have skyrocketed; that's the main cause.
I'm sure shipping costs have gone up, as well, with the price of gas, and a shortage of workers. Supply chain issues are cutting into the availability of raw materials of all kinds. That still wouldn't account for the major price bump in used Guitars, unless it's an aggressive example of "what the market will bear" pricing.
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Nektar meets Blue Cheer . . .
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I only subscribe to two magazines, Guitar Player and Electronic Musician. I've been subscribing to both for over 20 years.
Today, with my May copy of EM, I got a notice that the May 2022 issue will be the last print issue of EM; after that, all further issues will be digital, sent to my email. My subscription was supposed to run through December, 2023, but I'll be calling them to ask for a refund on the remainder of my subscription. FWIW, subscribers are being told that their subscriptions will be extended by a whole month - WOW, one extra email!!! - and we'll also be getting two free e-books.
Forgive me if I'm not impressed. First of all, getting a "Surprise, This Is Your Last Print Issue" note shows how little they care about customer relations, and suggests that they're trying to avoid a run on cancellations. Second, email, AFAIK, is free, and e-books cost nothing to ship - no printing costs, either - so in return for taking money I paid for a print magazine and signing me up for a monthly email newsletter, I'm being offered what's essentially more email. That's one way to cut costs and lose customers, I guess . . .
Maybe GP will hang on a bit longer, as the target audience tends to be older - just look at the cover features and the lead articles - but I give it maybe another year, if that.
I know I'm an atavist - one day, right before the pandemic, I was riding the bus, and realized I was the only person who had a real book in my hands - but I keep my old copies of EM and GP for reference, and I often look back through them for gear reviews, song transcriptions, old lessons, what-have-you. I've already had the experience of trying to find old articles and other materials in the EM archives, and it's not generally worth the effort.
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8 hours ago, Dannyalcatraz said:
I wonder what would happen if you took a pickup designed for extended-range guitars (like the Lace Alumitone Deathbar) and mounted it diagonally on a 6-string.
I think part of the answer would depend on where the pole pieces landed, and how far their respective magnetic fields extended, relative to the position of the strings? A bar or blade-style PU magnet might be worth experimenting with.
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Having taken a look at the Manual online, it seems that the Fever Pitch will allow you to generate Pitch Shifted tones +/-2 Octaves: that gives you a 4-Octave range for each Pitch-Shifted voice. That's a LOT of room to move, so I have to wonder why we aren't hearing more complex harmonies, or even some One-Finger Chords? With four voices available, and 4 Octaves to move around in, your input signal doesn't have to be the Root of a Chord, so you can also build some interesting Chord Inversions.
Among other questions, I had to go look at the User Manual, to see if the MOD & Delay effects were positioned after the Pitch Shifter, and they are. It doesn't appear that you can add Delay + Regeneration to the Pitch Shift effect, which is an unfortunate omission, IMHO: I often use Pitch Shift with Regeneration to generate Cascade Pitch Shifting, and Barber-Pole Flanging.
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Great find!
The Classic Vibe and Vintage Modified series are the hidden gems, among the Squier line.
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Got this sound stuck in my head for a while - Am I crazy for thinking this is beautiful?
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I have a "Lockdown" Guitar, a Taylor 110CE that I brought home on Friday, March 13th, 2020: that was the day the world really pretty well shut down for our household. Most of the Spring and Summer of 2020, whenever I wasn't out working, I sat in my backyard with that Guitar.
Funny thing, it was one of the very few affordable Taylor models - the 110E, without the Cutaway, is still available, for around $800 - and I don't really see many of them for sale on Reverb or Ebay? I guess I was just lucky to find it when I did . . .
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First off, I LOVE Pitch Shifters, and this thing looks impressive. (I also follow the woman doing the demo on FB.)
In fairness to the product, it's clear that you can create downward Pitch Shift effects with it, as well, but for the purposes of this demo video, we're hearing a LOT of upwards Pitch Shifting. That could just be a matter of user preference, but I'd really like to hear some dense down-shifted tones, as well.
Looking at the display on the pedal, you can see that one or more of the Pitch Shifted voices are set to +24, two octaves above the input signal's original pitch. I know that "Shimmer" effects are popular, but I would expect a Pitch Shift device like this to be able to generate complex chord structures and dense harmonies, as well? Again, it could be just a matter of user preference, but I'd like to hear more of what the box can do, and I expect it can do more than we're hearing in this demo.
Watching this makes me want to power up my Studio 5000 (4-voice Pitch Shifter, plus MFX), which isn't a bad project for a rainy day.
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13 hours ago, Shamanzarek said:
I find it hard to believe many of the items on Reverb and eBay are actually selling at those inflated listed prices. I often list equivalent items at half the price on CL and FB Marketplace and it still takes forever to sell. Only on a really choice item can I hold firm on my already low asking price.
I know that some Reverb and Ebay prices are just absurd, but I've only been looking at the Reverb listings for my FLUMS, because it's easier than driving out there to browse. The prices they're posting are really the prices they're asking, and because I check in nearly every day, I've seen a lot of Guitars moving out at those prices.
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Thanks, everyone, for responding. I can't say I'm happy to see that this is happening to all of us . . .
I look for used gear for a few reasons, the main one being that I generally can't, or won't, pay the prices for new gear. Depreciation has been my friend, in that regard. Used gear also tends to hold its value, or even go up in value, which is part of what we're seeing now.
While this might seem like an opportune time to sell off any unwanted gear, selling or trading gear to finance other gear is likely to be a losing proposition. I saw a used Epiphone G-400 going for more than I paid for my used Gibson, at the same store where I bought the Gibson. I'll stick with what I've got, and be glad that I got it when I did.
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I don't know if this is just in the D.C. area, but I've noticed that the prices on used Guitars have gone way up, since the pandemic.
I regularly scan Reverb , to see what's at my FLUMS - that's how I found the Mandobird, and the Infinite Jets. It's a great store, with good folks, and a lot of my gear came from there, which gives me some good points of comparison . . .
A few years back, I got a used Ovation Custom Legend, in good shape, in the original case, for under $400, at my FLUMS; the other day, in the same store, I saw a beat-to-hell used Legend, with some really worrisome cracks in the top, for nearly $600, no case? My used Cherry Red 2003 SG Special was $550, around the same time: now, it would cost me more like $1,100.
Looking at other used Guitars that I knew, and had been keeping track of, I saw much the same pattern; nearly everything had gone up in price.
I still see reasonable prices, even the occasional bargain, on effects and Electronic gear, which are the only other things I keep track of. I haven't really kept up on the Electric Bass market, so I'm not sure if the same thing is happening there.
Outside of thrift stores, pawnshops, and yard sales, where there are always bargains, is anyone seeing the price of Guitars and gear going up where you live? Has anyone talked themselves out of getting a new/used Guitar recently, because of the prices? On the flip side, has anyone sold any gear recently, because the market value had gone up? I'm really wondering what's going to happen next . . .
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Just to muddy the waters even further . . .
My favorite Acoustic and A/E Guitars are Ovations. Yes, they sound much better plugged in, but I've been playing Ovations since the mid-1970's, and it's still my main A/E Guitar, even unplugged. The Legends and Custom Legends that I like tend to have better-quality Maple tops, but they ALL have that composite material for a body. Hard to say how much of a factor the top wood is in their Acoustic sound?
In the solid body world, I've always Mahogany planks with HB's, and SG's in particular. Having said that, I could definitely feel a difference between my U.S.-made SG Specials and my Epiphone G-400. The G-400 felt . . . spongy is the best word I can come up? Even unplugged, it didn't have the snappy response of the others. It turns out that Epiphone is a little cagey about what constitutes "Mahogany", when it comes to their solid body Guitars.
FWIW, the G-400 was well-made, with a nice smooth neck, no rough fret edges, decent if not exceptional PU's, in short, there was nothing really wrong with it. I traded it in after I got my second 2003 SG Special, in part because I didn't see the point in having three SG's (not that it's a bad thing . . .), but mostly because I could really feel a difference between the G-400 and the other two, and the G-400 just didn't measure up. In this case, it was really about the feel of the Guitar, and not the sound, but I attribute the feel entirely to the woods.
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@Larryz - Thanks for that thought. Looking at the EMG website, I didn't see anything that would fit the Mandobird. It seems that they did make a narrow SC for Mandolin, but it was more like the PU's on Fender's Electric Mandolins, and wouldn't retrofit the Mandobird.
Working up a new bank of MFX Patches for the 'Bird will be good exercise for my poor tired brain, and it will have me spending more time getting used to the 'Bird, both good things.
Speaking of good things, I took the day off to go visit with some Musician buddies I hadn't seen in much too long. The weather was good, and it was just nice to sit around with people again. Not a big, boisterous gathering, just half a dozen old guys sitting around, playing old tunes. Felt almost like real life, you know? I hope all of you get to go sit with some friends or family again, soon . . .
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It's 270 British Pounds (didn't see a price in $$$?), and it's out of stock. Probably a good thing, for my sake . . . I love devices that de-construct your signal.
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@Larryz - I'd have to look into EMG's, see if they make anything that would fit? There isn't much call for after-market drop-in Mandobird PU's, it seems.
@Caevan - Thanks for the thought, but at $140 for the PU, plus the cost of having my favorite local Repair shop do the installation, I'll have to wait a while. At that rate, it might almost be as cost-effective (and possibly more fun) to buy a used MFX and dedicate it to the 'Bird, and I'm not quite there yet.
After playing the 'Bird through my GT-3 and GT-1, I can do a lot to contour the sound through my MFX, with some creative application of the Modeling effects and EQ. The Boss MFX have extensive tone-sculpting features, like PU Modeling, and Body Modeling. It'll be worth my while to experiment with those features, before adding other effects.
Ah, yes, I did run the 'Bird through the Sonuus, going into my GR-30 Guitar Synth via MIDI, and it works pretty much as well as any of my Electric Guitars. It only tracked up to the "D" at the 12th Fret on the 1st String, but that was more than enough to convince me. I can't wait to try that on an unsuspecting audience, pull out the 'Bird, and start playing sounds like Brian Eno or Tony Banks!
Taking the day to go visit with some friends I haven't seen in . . . IDK how long, but it's been TOO long! Until later . . .
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After some minor adjustments to the action, I plugged the Mandobird into my Boss GT-3 MFX last night. I knew that the EQ and Gain levels weren't really set up for the 'Bird - I designed most of them to go with my SG's - but I just wanted to hear it.
To get right to the point, it's just too much fun! A little OD adds some punch to an otherwise somewhat anemic SC PU, and some creative use of Chorus & Delay make it sound like an 8-string. With a little time and effort, I can probably craft some EQ curves to balance the highs and lows a bit better.
Using it with some of my more extreme Pitch Shift or Ring Mod Patches just takes it into otherworldly territory. You don't expect to hear cascades of thundering lows coming out of a Mandolin body.
OTOH, taming the hum from that little SC is going to take some work. All of my Guitars have HB's, so I don't have to deal with the notorious 60-cycle Hum. Even my Godin has an H-S-H configuration, and I tend to avoid the SC in the middle. Damn, that is obnoxious!
Next experiment is plugging the 'Bird into my Sonuus G2M Guitar-to-MIDI Converter, and using it to drive some of my Synths. That's going to have to wait until this evening, however. I've got good warm weather for work today, and several projects waiting, so I'm out for a while.
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Prince's flanger settings; How you do dat?
in Guitar Forum
Posted
Funny thing with those Boss pedals running 12 Volts off the ACA adapter; if you put them in a daisy-chain, they would run off of the 9 Volt output. I had my BF-2 in one of the original Boss BCB-6 Pedalboards, which basically ran off of a daisy-chain connected through the Boss PSM-5 (Power Supply/Master Switch).
The only significant difference with the HF-2 was that it ran at half the Delay time of the BF-2, which resulted in a higher-pitched Flanger sound, overall. The Delay Time on the BF-2 ran from 1 mS, up to 13 Ms; on the HF-2, Delay Time ran from 0.5 mS to 6.5 mS.
BTW, it is possible to "tune" your Flanger, although I use the term rather loosely. If your Flanger has a Manual control, the Manual control sets the Delay Time of the Flanger; shorter Delay Times result in a higher-pitched Flanger sound, while longer Delay Times produce a deeper, "throatier", Flanger sound.
I've mentioned this before, but for anyone who loves the sound of a Flanger or Phaser, but not the constant LFO noise in the background, try the Keeley Bubbletron; Dynamically-driven Phasing and Flanging. You can get conventional Phaser, Flanger or Envelope Filter sounds out of the Bubbletron, but the Dynamic settings for the Phaser and Flanger may change your opinion about using them.