Gearhead

[WalshFan88]

I've been getting back into my "pedal obsession". I just love those old analog stompboxes!

The great thing is - there are a lot of small one man businesses (little guys) building pedals they way they were made back then and also nailing that vintage tone. There are SO many options right now.

For instance if you wanted an Ibanez TS-808 Tubescreamer - you'd be insane to buy one off the shelf at "Guitar Center". The RI pedals don't sound anything close to the originals SRV used. BUT there are plenty of alternatives. One of my favorite pedal makers, Wampler, has a great TS-inspired pedal that basically is a Tubescreamer but with the REAL vintage wiring and circuit board and HANDMADE and it also has none of the problems Tubescreamers have such as the lack of bass or brightness.

I just love the fact there are so many so called "boutique" gear builders out there now. Handmade in the US, and vintage-correct and accurate to the gnat's behind. There are pickup makers (handwound pickups made to vintage Fender/Gibson specs), pedal builders, guitar builders, amp builders, you name it).

I love that there is SO much out there right now for vintage sounds. The people that love modern rock music just go to Guitar Center and buy a cheapie DIGITAL distortion pedal. Bam, they have the sound of their modern artist hero from Megaslayer or whoever. BLECH! Give me an ANALOG overdrive and boost any day and vintage styled amps and guitars with vintage style pickups. I'm old school, but not too old school. 70s/80s is my stuff. I love that dirty rock n' roll. Not too much distortion to where you can't hear what they are playing, but a nice thick crunch. There is some good 60s too. I'm not a 90s music fan whatsoever and the only modern music I like is new albums from old artists that still sound good and sound like their old stuff.

If only I had some money to spend on a nice new ANALOG pedal right now. I'm a sucker for analog pedals that recreate those 70s rock tones. But I never go for that digital distortion. I go for a nice crunchy overdrive where you still can hear that its an "E" chord being played and that my guitar solo stands out. I always play with crunch, but depending what time it is in the song it goes from light boost to heavy blues overdrive (ala SRV, Joe Walsh, etc).

[MikeA]

I wonder why "they" (the Boss people and others) don't make them like they used to make them. Surly they could replicate exactly those old pedals. And if they did a really good job on the replication they should have a great market.

I can't imagine that the vintage results wouldn't sell. Good Grief...just look at the ads in the catalogs....All of them are claiming that "same sound Jimi had." It never is "the same" but they still claim it. Why don't they actually MAKE the same pedal Jimi (and others of course) used? Are the materials not available? Would it really drive their profit margin down too far to make it worthwhile for them? Or is it that by cutting corners and prices for the materials, and the fact that 90% of the potential customers couldn't hear the difference in quality or just don't care?

Heck, they could even have a Gibson/Epiphone approach....A line of Analog pedals that really were "like the old days" that were labeled with the Platinum Logo and then a line of Copper labeled pedals that are what they are making today but a LOT cheaper then the Platinum ones.

[WalshFan88]

I wonder why "they" (the Boss people and others) don't make them like they used to make them. Surly they could replicate exactly those old pedals. And if they did a really good job on the replication they should have a great market.

I can't imagine that the vintage results wouldn't sell. Good Grief...just look at the ads in the catalogs....All of them are claiming that "same sound Jimi had." It never is "the same" but they still claim it. Why don't they actually MAKE the same pedal Jimi (and others of course) used? Are the materials not available? Would it really drive their profit margin down too far to make it worthwhile for them? Or is it that by cutting corners and prices for the materials, and the fact that 90% of the potential customers couldn't hear the difference in quality or just don't care?

Heck, they could even have a Gibson/Epiphone approach....A line of Analog pedals that really were "like the old days" that were labeled with the Platinum Logo and then a line of Copper labeled pedals that are what they are making today but a LOT cheaper then the Platinum ones.

Exactly Mike... I wish they would do that too. Seems like all of the mass produced stuff is all focusing on modern stuff and IMO not sounding that great.

[WalshFan88]

A picture I took of my "babies" tonight. Ruby and my Twin Reverb. I need to come up with a name for that amp!!!! "Ruby" came to me naturally and I want that amp name to come to me in the same way!

[MikeA]

Looks like "Reverend" to me.

Really speaks out to it's congregation and the sound of his voice reverberates throughout the sanctuary.

[WalshFan88]

Looks like "Reverend" to me.

Really speaks out to it's congregation and the sound of his voice reverberates throughout the sanctuary.

Yeah it does me too! I'll keep that one in mind!

[WalshFan88]

I'm really wanting one of these to go along with my Fender Blackface '65 Twin Reverb Reissue. It's a Fender Blackface '65 Super Reverb Reissue. The Twin and the Super were used a LOT by Joe both live and in the studio.

[MikeA]

That's another sweet one Austin! You'll be peeling paint with those two! It's kind of hard to get the tubes saturated in your bedroom isn't it? Get some good earplugs for you and for anyone else living within 3 blocks <LOL>

[WalshFan88]

That's another sweet one Austin! You'll be peeling paint with those two! It's kind of hard to get the tubes saturated in your bedroom isn't it? Get some good earplugs for you and for anyone else living within 3 blocks <LOL>

Well actually that room isn't my bedroom. It's my separate guitar studio. My bedroom is much more laid back and quiet! That's where I keep my Taylor acoustic!

I use an "overdrive" pedal Mike, which pushes the tubes for me so I can get nice overdrive saturation at lower volumes.

The Super can get natural overdrive when cranked. It's the most famous blues club amp. Its 40 watts.

But the Twin is a strictly CLEAN amp at 85 watts. Even on 10 it has very little breakup at all. It was intended for use with an overdrive pedal or set completely clean.

I got the Twin for gigging though. It's great for those outdoor venues! I love it though at home with my overdrive pedal (Paisley Drive). I got it back when I was doing the Eagles tribute band and playing those bigger venues.

[WalshFan88]

I saw this today... I know Joe has been a long time endorser of Dr. Z Amps



He used Z's first amp on the Hell Freezes Over tour as his only amp. It was the SRZ-65 model. That is the amp in the pic. It was Z's first production model.

Joe now has a JAZ 20/40 from Z. He has it onstage with him, but now has a Carvin Belair amp and a Fender Deluxe Reverb RI too.

I really would love a SRZ-65. Dr. Z is owned by Mike Zaite and is a boutique amp company. It'll be a long time before I could afford one though. But if they are good enough for Joe - they'll do just fine for me!