jwhitcomb3

I own three outstanding 21st century Fujigen guitars (two Ibanez Prestige and a Vox). Just superb.

I'm late to the party - the singer in my band just sent one of their videos. LOVE IT! They balance the trance-y repetition with a good feel for when enough is enough.

Thanks. I only use the GM-800 (synth) for a handful of songs with my band, typically horns, organ, strings/pads, and pianos, with the occasional analog lead. Just enough to add spice here and there. I use the effects and amp models in the VG-800 for my basic guitar tones and effects (think a slightly pared down Boss GT-1000 CORE), and the VG-800 guitar modeling for songs where I need acoustic guitar, sitar, or open tunings for slide.

This is pretty much it.

The moderator of the vguitarsforum.com site posted this video showing guitarist Kenny Vaughn demonstrating some crazy licks and chords with a creatively tuned electric 12 string guitar. Check out starting at around 32 minutes: Apparently the tuning Kenny Vaughn uses is a variant of an earlier tuning by Jimmy Bryant (Google the "The Stratosphere Boogie" and "Stratosphere 12 String Tuning"). There are disagreements about the exact tuning Jimmy Bryant used, but here's one I've been messing with from https://www.tdpri.com/threads/stratosphere-12-string-tuning.154839/ The Jimmy Bryant tuning Low E -> Ab - E C - A F - D B - G D - B High E > G - E and the Kenny Vaughn tuning. Low E> A/F A> C/A D> F/D G> A/F B> C/A High E> E/C Jimmy Bryant's tuning is based off a standard tuning for the fat strings, while the Kenny Vaughn tuning is based on an Fmaj9. The string pair intervals are the same (major or minor 3rd) except for the high E, where JB has a minor 3rd and KV has a major 3rd. If you've got one of the wonderful Hamer 12 strings and some time on your hands, these tunings are really inspiring! I no longer have a 12 string, so instead I've programmed the (rather amazing) Boss VG-800 virtual guitar modeler to emulate these tunings. I've attached a brief damo. If you happen to have a Boss VG-800, you can download my presets here: https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=39279.msg289103;topicseen#quickreply_anchor Les Paul Multitrack Demo 16.mp3

Yes. I have a desktop computer, an iPhone, and an iPad - I greatly prefer the iPad. I have an iPad holder on my mic stand that wirelessly sets up my Boss GT1000CORE on the floor when I tap the song title in the setlist. The Korg Gadget app on my iPad has been my main compositional tool for the last ten years. I no longer have (or miss) having a laptop computer.

I hear you. On the other hand, my nightmare is a huge pedalboard with each device only delivering one sound (without fiddling with the knobs), and then having to re-organize and re-wire the whole setup when I make changes. I want a small board with a maximum of 5 foot switches that perform the same kind of function for each song so I can sing and play without having to tap dance or otherwise think about my gear while performing. The trade-off is it requires much more thought and setup ahead of time. I just want to think about my performance at a gig - and a small footprint (battery powered) for small stages and fast setup/teardown for multi-band gigs. My choice if I want to use my amp of just go front of house with the same foot rig.

So if you have the Plethora X3, you have three effect slots/blocks available. Say you have a delay in block 1, a tremolo in block 2, and a phaser in block 3. You have to set the tap tempo for each of these individually which is a hassle, and then it is nearly impossible to get the same tap tempo for all 3. Not a big deal if you set and forget, but it is if you need to change the tempo for each song (for example, to match to the drummer's tempo). For me the frustration is that while the capabilities of the toneprint effects are amazing, most of the really cool stuff is under the hood and only accessible via the editor, where there are a TON of parameters, and you can set up each knob to do exactly what you want (set a single knob to crossfade two parameters, and set the whole range of the knob to be useful). For example, the HyperGravity compressor lets you do things like 3-band compression, and is one of the few pedal compressors that lets you control or defeat automatic makeup gain (so it acts like a real studio compressor rather than a noisy sustainer). Here you can boost and compress the midrange for a solo without getting a fizzy high end or a farty bass. I've dialed in some great sounds on it, but the editor interface is much better on the computer than on the phone. So if you edit and save your toneprint on your computer, you cannot transfer that toneprint to your phone, and even if you only use one device, you can't move your toneprints to your next phone when you upgrade. Even if you don't edit the individual effects, the real power of the Plethora X3 is being able to have a different set of 3 effects available for any particular song or gig. If you spend any time setting this up, it can't be backed up and restored from your phone/computer. So if your X3 needs a factory reset (and these things are buggy), or if you replace a broken unit, you have to set up the whole fucking thing again from scratch. Note that these were limitations of the devices when I looked into them when they were released. I don't know if t.c. electronic (now owned by Behringer) ever addressed these problems. But the Sweetwater reviews of the Plethora X1 (released earlier this year) are a shit show. Edit: It looks like this spring they released an update that addressed some of the tap tempo issues.

I looked into the Plethora X5 and X3 when they were announced. I'd owned some tc toneprint pedals and thought they sounded good and were very flexible, but t.c. electronic really botched the tools for editing and restoring toneprints - you could only back them up to a specific computer, phone, or tablet, and there was no way to transfer those backups to another device. So unless you keep the same phone forever, you'll eventually lose any of your toneprints. While individual slots could have a tap tempo, it was on a per-block basis. And their documentation and support was terrible. So if you are happy with the toneprints that ship with the unit and don't want to use the editor, go for it. I decided to steer clear.

Cool toy for the menu averse. Boss multi-effects have been the core of my rig for years (MS-3, GT-1000, GT-1000CORE, now VG-800).

The Quilter Superblock has active tone controls (boost and cut), so setting the treble to noon is akin to diming the treble on an amp with passive tone controls (cut only). Same goes for the MicroPro, Mach 3, and others. Great amps - just gotta get use to the way they work! They can really nail an edge-of-breakup Fender Deluxe tone (my bread-and-butter).

The Neural DSP Tone King Imperial plugin is my go-to for my DAW. I record three signals when I'm tracking: DI, pre-amp out, and mic'd cab. If the mic'd cab isn't doing it for me, I can run the pre-amp track through an IR, or run the DI track through the plugin. Sometimes I'll combine them to simulate a dual amp rig. I like the plugin so much I occasionally fantasize about getting a Tone King Imperial amp. Then I come to my senses and realize I'm good with what I've got. The Neural DSP Morgan amp suite plugin also sees some mileage.

I expect the Korina Eclipse will drum up some interest here (mine included).

So great to see Tony Levin completely rocking it at age 78!

I took my son to the New Hampshire show last night. MIND BLOWN. Four peerless musicians playing their asses off, having a ball. There was extended technical difficulty with Belew's rig (the 20 minute intermission stretched to nearly an hour as four worried crew members furiously tinkered away - what happens when you tour with rickety 40 year old guitar synths), but otherwise brilliant. My son (who was not familiar with the material) was effusive all the way home - and now wants a Chapman Stick. We were thrilled, and so grateful to be able to see this performance. BRAVO!!! FWIW, Belew's "noise" has always been an integral part of the glorious cacophony that is King Crimson, essential glue that holds the sound canvas together. But I could say that for each of them. King Crimson's sound is so much more than the sum of its parts (and the parts are awesome). Now waiting for the THRAK tour...

Crashed and burned this year. Sold three, bought five. Sold: 30th Anni, Eclipse 12, Huss & Dalton 00SP Bought: Vox SSC-55, 3 Bedell acoustics (dread, grand auditorium, parlor), 1 Alvarez Masterworks acoustic 000 Overall quite pleased with the gits, and netted mucho clams

My family bought me an engraved BlueChip pick. Love it. Best of all, my 13 year old daughter took it upon herself to learn ukulele (she's already a capable violinist), and led us through several carols. We spent Christmas afternoon calling relatives and singing at them, even my 16 year old son, who normally avoids singing. My wife bought me a cocktail shaker that leaks terribly, but has a cap with a wonderful ringing tone when struck, which was lovely for "silver bells." So for Christmas, we became a family band with my daughter on uke and my wife on lead cocktail shaker. Awesome.

Ah, the poor, deformed Eclipse, with its anemic little stump for a lower horn, and only partially developed humbuckers. This is what happens when Specials have abortions. And my last Hamer standing. Love it to pieces.

BlueChip picks came to my attention for non-musical professional reasons (I'm a patent lawyer, and the patent application process for these picks caught my eye). They are made of a VERY expensive material used in electronics and medical devices that has some very interesting properties. It is self lubricating, so extremely low wear characteristics, and is super smooth yet is very grippy on the fingers. Musically, it produces very little click on the strings (important for acoustic players), and very nice flexibility characteristics so the picks flex enough to very your attack, but they snap back to position quickly, so they never feel "floppy." These are marketed to bluegrass players as a tortoise shell replacement, and are pretty thick picks. Reading the patent prosecution and the discussions on the Acoustic Guitar Forum got me interested enough to spring for one. I now have two, and am considering a third. It turns out they have another benefit I'd never read about before: very clean attack which results in very accurate tracking on Roland guitar synths. Some folks seem offended that a pick has the audacity to be so expensive.Yeah, they are stupid expensive. Are they worth it? It depends on what you need in a pick. I like mine and have no regrets.

Serious zombie thread! I only have one electric guitar from when I started this thread, so clearly I swap guitars more often than I swap pickups. I dropped Bill Lawrence pickups in my Dean Tonic because the plastic stock ones imploded when I was adjusting them. Major improvement. My USA Eclipse has the DiMarzio minis it had when I bought it, and they sound great, although I also love the Duncan Antiquities in an Eclipse. My other three electrics have stock pickups. I thought about changing out my MIM Strat pickups several times for no real reason, but I like 'em fine. The S22 pickups in my Carvin Fatboy 2 work really well with it - very versatile (I rarely like full sized humbuckers). And the stock Coaxe pickups were a major reason I bought my Vox SSC-55. As an aside, more often than not, I am fine with stock pickups on an electric guitar. On acoustic, I have never found a pickup I like, except when I run it through a Fishman Aura system, but even then only when an well matched image is available.

My Carvin Fatboy 2 with synth access is getting a bunch of play. I put flat wound strings on it which lets me pull cool jazzbox tones from it, but it can also twang and jangle just fine. The flatwound strings also improve synth tracking. Overall, just a joy to play, and very versatile.

"Lost the first round"? Rubbish. What shoddy journalism. The judge denied a motion to dismiss the case for lack of jurisdiction. There has not been a hearing on the merits.

Kasim Sultan (Utopia).

Dunno where it fits on the curve spectrum above, but my Carvin Fatboy 2 has a very hefty neck, and it is super comfy. Not much V to it at all, so I'm guessing it is in the "Fat" ballpark. Never been married to a particular neck profile, and I've enjoyed everything from the Fatboy to the super skinny Parker Fly Deluxe. Similarly, I like flat Hamer boards and 7.25" radius Fender boards. My Gurian S3M has a 1-5/8″ nut, and my Lowden O32 has a 1 25/32" nut.They all take my playing in different directions, which for me is a good thing. The only thing I can't do is a super thin (fretboard to back of neck) acoustic guitar neck. I had to sell my Composite Acoustics OX guitar, because it killed my hand.

I sold two of my three most valuable guitars this spring, which leaves me with the Lowden O32 as my most valuable guitar (I'm guessing somewhere north of $2K). It is a strange time for guitar valuation, and I am finding it harder to predict what my guitars will sell for. Also, I'm finding the quality of lower priced imports is making me less tempted by higher priced instruments. I am getting at least as much pleasure playing the two Asian made guitars I purchased with the proceeds (Korea (Vox) and China (Bedell)) as I did the USA built guitars I sold, and had enough money left over for a nice family vacation and two weeks at camp for my daughter. As a heads up, if you are looking for a quality, all solid wood acoustic guitar, Zzounds and American Musical Supply are blowing out Chinese made Bedell guitars at very low prices: http://www.americanmusical.com/Bedell-Guitars http://www.zzounds.com/prodsearch?q=bedell&pa=29&key=q&form=search I have played about a dozen Chinese made Bedells, and have been very impressed. I purchased a parlor (OH-12-G) and have an orchestra (MB-17-G) and dreadnaught (TBCE-18-G) on order.