darc

It's good to be deaf.

The Flextone II is still my favorite amp. Uh-oh.

And the last. Yes, plus I'm running a cool VST "Hinge Modeling" plugin. It's got everything: screen doors, can openers, it even models other laptops! I only wish I still had my original "hinged rig" I could record the impulse and pull it up on this one. More cowbell!

I picked up my new amp a couple of weeks ago: It also handles the string section, synthesizers, vocal FXs...

Yes.

It's not the modeling that's got the volume down. It's the increasing age in both the bands and the audiences. (Stewart a la South Park: "oops, pooped my pants again...") Neither want to deal with the migraines they get from loud music anymore. I agree it's pretty sad sometimes. I had a quiet conversation right through a Queensryche concert a couple of years ago. (You have to expect this at a casino where the music isn't the only agenda, though. Usually the stadiums are still plenty loud.) Anyway there's nothing preventing anyone from running a POD or anything else into a bzillion watts and CRUSHING YOUR HEAD. Or turning down a tube amp for that matter. My rig's all digital and I can still hear what I played at rehearsal last week. Meaning, it's still ringing in my ears.

LOL she's halfway there. Anybody got a JPEG of Ronny James Dio with his index finger up one nostril and his pinky up the other? Photoshoppers, start your engines! (Note: I said nostrils. Please keep subsequent posts safe for work. )

Metal is not in the guitar; it's in the hands. Specifically, it's in the tips of the index and pinky fingers.

Nah, I've been hinge-free since the 90's. You cats are just showing your age at this point. (OK, maybe not the 90's, but it's been YEARS already!)

Yeah, I remember hearing that clip a couple of months ago. Very impressive!!!

KeyOfZ, what are you using the laptop for in your rig? Is that for recording? Or for editing Zoom patches? Or what? Always curious when I see someone else suffering... er performing... with a high-tech rig.

I'm tellin' ya, buy a used POD 2.0 and turn everything but the rotary off. I'm using the rotary + cabs in Guitar Rig 2 now and they sound amazing, but I'm the first to admit that playing guitar through a laptop is still pretty much a PITA.

LOL I hear ya. I had just started to "get over it", then we took on a new bass player, and right off the bat he falls in love with the rotary on the old demos. Fire it back up!

I'm starting to get into some wackier stuff now (more guitar synth) but my main staples are pretty simple: reverb, a little delay, the occasional rotary sim.

Is it just the light, or is there very little gloss on that top? Almost looks satin. Man, a Cali like that would be hot.

That's awesome. I've never seen wood even remotely like that on a Hamer.

Our bass player has promised to hook me up with some recommended DT listening. I bought one album (maybe the 2nd to last, can't remember the title) and it just didn't even catch my attention, so I gave up. But he assures me he's got better material that will spin my head around.

"Technically better than" Vai is something I'd have to see to believe. Not saying it's impossible, but that last Vai tour completely blew my mind. Petrucci might be faster, but Vai can put more spin on a 32nd note than most guys put on a whole note.

This reminds me... a couple of years ago I was at a Tony Levin performance at a little venue in CT. This was shortly after Levin had recorded w/ Dream Theater. A crowd of people were staring at me all night, and finally during an intermission one of them ran up to me and asked for an autograph. He thought I was John Petrucci. (I should have just given him an autograph, but I told him the truth LOL. I think my exact words were, "No, I'm not half as fast.") Looking at these pics I can kinda see it.

Jack, have you heard of the Paul Green School of Rock? This guy has set up a school to teach young kids about classic and progressive rock, and they perform w/ guest stars from the original bands - former members of King Crimson, Zappa etc. I'm told the shows are phenomenal. http://www.schoolofrock.com/

Curiosity is killing me. There were no parameters as to what you could/could not request for a guitar? No price cap? No stipulations about "stock" models? I mean first off, there are a lot of guitars that Hamer just won't build. I doubt they'd offer to build *anything* as a prize for a contest, it would just hang them out too far. Like giving away a blank check. (If they've done so, geez, get a 5-neck Improv/Virtuoso/Maestro/Impact/B12!) BTW - Congrats! (Edited to make my recommended custom order even more ludicrous LOL.)

A+ for honesty! Kinda reminds me of when Greg sold me my Fly a few years ago. He said something along the lines of "well, it wouldn't be my first choice, but..."

ROTF.

What's not to like?

With the YGP (lotsa Ovations, no Hamers...) Sunday January 22nd, 2006 7:00PM Rockwood Music Hall 196 Allen Street, New York City Between East Houston and Stanton Street 212-477-4155 Subway: Take the F or V to 2nd Avenue Thursday January 19th, 2006 7:00PM Coda 34 E. 34th St. @ Madison Ave., New York City 212-685-3434 Subway: 6 to 33rd; BDFVNQRW to 34th / Herald Sq. What do you know, the Rockwood invited us back after we... well, I don't wanna say we sucked but we... coulda been better last time.