Brooks

same here. i tried a 335 years ago, too big. same thing w/ the newport. tried hamer anniversary and artist, both were great but kinda bright. my fave guitar is a duotone; great jazzy neck pup tones (esp w/ phatcat), great bridge bucker rawk tones (esp w/ BBQ). plus acoustic output. perfect.

unless i'm missing something, the axe-fx is not super tweakable on the fly; takes ~20 seconds to open a patch up, flip to a parameter, change it, & save it.

+1 Brooks. you gotta let us know how that box is working for you. mike works great for me. i'm using it w/ the rush tribute project, so i set up the following patches; tight rhythm- "brown" amp (EVH) w/ noise gate. flange rhythm- "brown" amp (EVH) w/ flanger. lead- "brown" amp (EVH) w/ delay & volume boost. wha lead- "brown" amp (EVH) w/ wha (auto sweep), delay, & volume boost. clean chorus- brownface (old fender) amp w/ chorus and compressor. these get me thru most of alex lifesons tones. i tried all the other amp sims (vox, mesa, etc) but didn't care for them. i also have a few "fun" patches for shits and giggles (talkbox, harmonizer, etc) that i'll prolly never use in a gig/recording. i have yet to try recording w/ it, but i set it up to go direct to recording or PA, w/ 4x12 greenback cab sims & close mic'd sm57 sims; this is what it was designed for, and it's supposed to excell at it. you can split the signal so one output has cab & mic sims (direct to recording or PA), while the other doesn't (i send this to my SS carvin poweramp & vertical slant 2x12 cab). some folks say it doesn't "feel" like a tube amp. i messed w/ the "sag" and other tube amp variables, dunno how "real" it feels w/o doing a side by side comparison, i really don't care either. i like the sound. i really like having all the amp/cab/mic/FX sounds in one unit, w/ no tubes to replace. i'm prolly done as far as amps go.

saw oz noy in NYC awhile back, check out his monster rig; my pedalboard days are done since i got my axe-fx, now i just use a 2 button footswitch to toggle between presets.

PM stike thru the board and give him your specifics.

he doesn't post much (and has never owned a hamer), but steve (bruiser brody, on left) is one of my best friends, i've known him for 20 years. we had a band one summer when i was at north texas, and we hung out & partied nonstop. steve went to G.I.T. for a year, took lessons from andy timmons, and has some killer chops. HHB has been one of my best pals since 2002. we've done a few recordings together, and i've sat in w/ his bands a bunch. now that i travel w/ my dayjob, we see each other a few times a month. bill is a full time guitar teacher & a very rounded player; blues, rawk, sightreading in theater pit bands, etc i've known stike just as long, he has done a buncha free work on my guitars (his refins are LEGENDARY; PM him if your ax needs a facelift). we've played a few thrown together party gigs. we go out for grub or to see a show now and again. JeffR played tourguide and got hammered w/ me & my wife when we were in new orleans a few years ago, whata blast that was! DavidB lives 2 towns over. a few years ago i bought a special from him (later i briefly met stokesdead when i sold it to him). dave's kickass band SPANK & my band have played a few gigs together, and we get together for drinks or whenever he gets a new hamer (he has the most impressive collection i've been in the same room with). they don't post much, but jon & laura press invited me to NYC and let me stay w/ them when i got laid off a few years ago. they know alot of folks in the NYC jazz/studio scene, we saw some great shows. bought an artist then later sold it back to bobbymac, and we've hung out several times. he & his beautiful wife have come out more than once to some charlotte gigs that he hooked me up with; actually, i just got home a little while ago from one (where i briefly met HGB5000 yesterday). i traded some gear and spent a fun afternoon of pizza & beer w/ mike m. (monocosis) a few years ago. saw kings x last summer, & had food/drinks w/ JackC & steve (rockola) several times in the last year, cool dudes. bought a chap and briefly hung w/ steve haynie earlier this year. i met a buncha guys at phoenix' BBQ a few years ago, i won't list all of 'em for fear i'll leave someone out. i've hung w/ steve (phoenix) more than once, he's cool and super generous w/ his hot sauce and other treats. great thread!!! sorry if i left anyone out. everyone i've met has been super cool.

tone-wise, the wooden bridge on the duotone. besides the acoustic output, it gives the electric tones a nice woody roundness that sounds great. fun-wise, hands down its the floyd. sounds like ass, but soooo much fun to play with.

kickARSE!!!!!! stike is my boy.

dave, i'll buy your black floyd (as long as it fits).

didya get haynies?

the jtm's sound great, but have the exploding tranny syndrome (sounds like the title to the worst porno ever). i also had a jcm800 combo, it sounded pretty good.

saddest song ever; Waiting Around to Die, by Townes Van Zandt

uglier than a phantom (didn't think that was possible).

no pickguards. ever.

yep. 2nd show of the tour was awesome (except for the much reported out-of-tune keys on jump). lotsa great artists are assholes. ed van halen's a jerk, who cares? van morrison's bad demeanor is legendary. yngwie will unleash the fookin' fury. it still doesn't take away from their art. you don't have to sit thru dinner and drinks with them.

cheers!

cheers!

CHEERS!

I actually like the ipod "download-a-few-tracks-from-an-album-shuffle-play" shit. even before i had an ipod, i always made mix compilations (tapes for years, then cd's). as for "downloading a few tracks from an album" devalueing music; well, i disagree. i've downloaded songs in the last few months by bands that i'd NEVER buy a full album from (slipknot, bee gees, machine head, hot chocolate, primus, sir mix-a-lot, testament, white stripes, etc). i might only dig a tune or 2, so w/ itunes i can just buy what i want from those artists (instead of NEVER buying ANYTHING from them). the only time i really listen to a whole album nowadays is the 1st week or so after i buy it. all that said, some albums that i think hold up all the way thru are; zep - physical grafitti sabs - sabbath bloody sabbath scofield - a go go will bernard - blue plate special charlie hunter - charlie hunter thin lizzy - live & dangerous ac dc - highway to hell VH - fair warning pantera - Far Beyond the Great Southern Cowboy's Vulgar Hits rush - spirit of radio *yes, the last 2 are greatest hits, and yes, they are good all the way thru (more so than any of their "proper" albums, IMFO)...

i call bullshit!!!

took a long time. didn't have to, it just did. it was kinda fun, tho.

i did one awhile back, kramer w/ warmoth 24.75" birdseye/ebony reverse CBS neck, mirror pickguard, floyd, dimebucker & lace sensors, and a kickass stike sparle finish. it looked amazing, but didn't play or sound great. cost a lot by the time i was done, kinda a disapointment. on the other hand, HHB's main guitar is a partscaster w/ GFS pups and a thick neck, its a killer strat. so, the partscaster route can be a gamble, there's both winners and losers.

this is almost exactly what i was going to post. even though i know what i really like (thin setneck, hardtail, 24.75"), i have bought many guitars in the last 10 years that fall outside these parameters, just to "give it a shot". but, no more; they seem to always get sold (several were very outstanding specimins, including bobbymac's artist, mr fuzzy's newport, & jeffo's G&L).

last year i bought a cd w/ the last 2 of pantera's 4 self released 80's hair metal releases, "i am the night", & "power metal" (which was their last home made record, and their 1st w/ phil anselmo). think i paid $25... i burned a copy and ebay'd it for ~$40. amazing to hear a 18 year old darrell shred w/ such badass chops for a mere teen. great pinch harmonics verse riff. i think this sounds like ratt. vocals by terry glaze, later of lord tracy; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Z41ltDowEU a young phil before he developed his own vocal style (total rob halford clone at this point) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbMjlEt8z4U...feature=related

1st was an excellent slammer series sunburst flattop (on right), i bought it in the mid 1990's as a gig backup for my les paul studio; i ended up using it all the time so i sold the LP. second hamer (1st usa) was the 25th annv on left, very nice but slightly bigger neck than i like, and it was surprisingly bright for a semihollow mahogany guitar (i eventually sold the slamer and the 25th). 3rd (and still my #1 guitar) is my duotone (shown here before phatcats); it is the only piece of gear that i will never sell, everything else i own is temporary.