Jon Levy

It'll be interesting to see if Fender adds an effects look to future iterations of the Tone Master amps. I've played through several different models (not in a rehearsal/recording/gig setting, but playing on my own at very loud volume) and the built-in attenuation was really good. A lot of guitarists will welcome that option. I hope to get an opportunity to gig with one of these and test out the XLR outputs / cab sims too. Anything that can make life easier for the soundman/woman is much appreciated.

I plan on being at NAMM in June.

I am LOVING the look of these! Maybe it's because I'm an old geezer, but the retro look of these pedals is absolutely intoxicating. Anyone else out there feel the same?

Exactly -- that's a perfect analogy!

I appreciate the humor in this Hard Times satire. Of course, I'm not advocating gear theft -- or any other type of theft -- but a bit of tongue-in-cheek humor is always welcome. Full disclosure part 1: my main gigging amp for the past 10 years has been a Peavey Classic 50 4x10...and I have the chiropractic bills to prove it. It is worth the suffering. This amp's clean sound is wonderful, and it's a great pedal platform, IMHO. Full disclosure part 2: my current favorite electric guitar is a 2021 Epiphone Crestwood. This guitar is a ton of fun, especially for the affordable price! The Hard Times gag reminded me of another joke. A banjo player is driving to a gig and stops at a 7-11 to get a drink. He leaves his banjo on the passenger seat, thinking "I'll only be gone for a minute." As he's leaving the store to return to his car, he sees that his windshield is smashed out. In a panic, he runs back to his car -- terrified that his beloved banjo has been stolen. When he gets to his car, what does he find? Someone has put two more banjos onto the passenger seat. [Disclaimer: no banjos were harmed in the making of this joke. I apologize to any banjo players who might be offended.]

FWIW, I received a press release from the German firm Tube Amp Doctor earlier today. I'm certain that they have been receiving a ton of inquiries regarding tube availability and they addressed it here: Current Situation Regarding the Supply of Amplifier Tubes (As of 16 March 2022) Without a doubt, the current situation on the tube market can be classified as dramatic. In any case, for years, there have been only three noteworthy manufacturers of audio amplifier tubes such as 12AX7 / ECC83, EL84, EL34 and 6L6GC. In August 2019, the largest manufacturer Shuguang closed its factory in order to move to a larger and more modern location. Unfortunately, the new production facility has not been granted permission for two years now. In the meantime, leading employees have left or have been compensated. This probably means the end of the Shuguang Electron Tube Factory. The second major manufacturer in Russia, known mainly for the Sovtek, Electro Harmonix, Tung-Sol and Gold-Lion brands, can no longer export tubes since the Russian sanctions came into force. This leaves only JJ as the smallest of the three big manufacturers. And their delivery time was already up to 18-20 months, even before the Russian sanctions. REDBASE® As we anticipated the development with Shuguang at a very early stage, we had already intensified a new cooperation with a small manufacturer in China in 2020. We knew that they had acquired the production facilities of another tube manufacturing plant that had been closed in the early 2000s, but had not yet used them for the types of tubes we required so urgently after Shuguang ceased production. Working closely together, we facilitated a massive expansion and modernisation of the production facilities and started with the TAD 6L6GCM-STR REDBASE in spring 2021. This was followed by the TAD 6L6WGC-STR, the TAD EL34-STR, the TAD 12AU7A / ECC82 and the TAD GZ34-STR. Currently, we are expecting the start of volume production of the new TAD ECC83WA, 7025WA, 12AX7A/7025, 12BH7A-STR and KT88-STR right now, followed by more models such as the 6V6GT-STR, 6550A-STR, 12AT7 / ECC81 and EL84-STR REDBASE series in the near future. # # # #

Mistakenly referring to the wrong brand in such an iconic product is a bit baffling. I'm fairly certain that Universal Audio did not refer to the 1176 as a "Neve" product in their promotional copy. Full disclosure: I work for Premier Guitar magazine, and I'll be the first to admit that we've made our fair share of gaffes over the years. But we always try to correct our mistakes promptly.

Seems that Nyatoh 1171 lbf is roughly comparable in hardness to Swamp Ash 1320 lbf. I looked up more info online and was surprised to see Basswood at 470 lbf and Mohagany at 800-900 lbf. I learn something new every day on this forum!

That Sarah Cargill performance is great! On this topic, I will try to refrain from using descriptions such as "organic" or "down-to-earth". I'll show myself out the door now....

I don't know if this topic has already been covered on this forum, but I found this article pretty interesting -- it explores how some folks are connect plants to synthesizers to create new sounds/music: https://www.theverge.com/22922189/plant-music-sythesizers I'm a guitarist, not really a keyboard player, so I'm definitely at elevated risk for losing my keyboard gig to a plant!

This is a damn good question! Worldwide supply of dependable, quality tubes has been problematic for years. Russian sanctions could create a new "supply shock" in an already troubled marketplace. Will this end up pushing more guitarists to try non-tube amps like Fender's ToneMaster series, or pedalboard-mounted amps?

The economics are unavoidable. Musical instruments have seen a significant spike in demand during the pandemic, while supply of new instruments has been constricted due to factory shutdowns, shipping delays and scarcity of components. Because the supply of new instruments is constricted, prices have gone up. Plus, buyers have turned to looking for used instruments and those prices have been driven upward as well. I have a feeling it's going to take a pretty long time for supply chains to recover to pre-pandemic levels, alas. On a side note, I probably would've lost my mind during the pandemic if I hadn't been able to play guitar. I never appreciated the healing power of music as much as I have during the past two years. I'm guessing that plenty of other people on this forum feel the same way!

My two Les Pauls have an inherently different sound from each other due to wood/construction. Having said that, I've come to believe a couple of things -- one of them obvious, one of them not. (1) Finding the right pickup / electronics is the most important choice, because they can radically change the electrified tone of a guitar. The wrong choice can make a great guitar sound dull and crappy; in contrast, the right choice can make a mediocre guitar sound surprisingly good. Of course, it all depends on what you consider "good" tone. (2) The size/heft of the neck has a noticeable (and underappreciated) impact. All things being equal, a thicker, heftier neck seems to bring better resonance and depth to a guitar's tone. I don't have scientific evidence to back this up -- I'm just an intuitive knucklehead on a lot of topics -- but I've gradually come to this conclusion over the years. I used to obsess over sexy body woods. Now I obsess over neck wood and heft. I think I'm de-evolving, TBH.

I gotta admit, I found Jim Lill's video pretty compelling and very well executed. It also spurred a cool discussion. I'm not sure if it completely changed anyone's mind on the importance of tonewoods (or lack of importance) but I appreciate a smartly provocative missive. I still find myself drooling over guitars with highly figured wood tops. I'm a sucker for gorgeous wood, regardless of the tonal properties.

Wow, that is a gorgeous guitar!

I love the sheer variety of artists in this thread. Some truly inspiring stuff I've never heard before!