santellavision

Price Drop $400 Shipped.

I rock this one all the time...

Where did these guys go! Love this album!

My Thoughts on Amp Modeling and Neural Captures A kinda’ long read as I have way too much time now that I’m retired and am lucky to have some extra cash to try all this new stuff. 😉 And, most know me, I have absolutely no affiliation with any of these companies, I have no dog in this. I just love the thrill of trying new gear. Love to hear your thoughts on the whole recent Modeling/NAM capture thing. I know it's skyrocketed the last couple of years. First off, please don’t flame me for my personal experiences. (Please feel free to correct me if I’m wrong on anything, I probably will be – thx) Some of my experiences certainly might just be my error, but, this is what I’ve heard and felt. I am sure many of you probably will have differing results depending on how you are using it or the environment your using it in. Here we go... I've been chasing home recording amp simulators since they came out. Remember Rockman, Pod, Tech21 Sansamp, Digitech, Voodoo Valve, Atomic AmpliFire, Art Power Plant etc. I pretty much tried any box that had a 'Cab simulated' output jack. Most early units were all analog. I used my Art Power Plant for years on a lot of recordings. It has great, realistic crunchy Marshall tones, a one trick pony for sure. I also have my Digitech 2101 studio tube processor. I still play it and it makes me smile even today. I used it on my last album for some parts. There is crazy magic in that box. I had a buddy over last week and played it for him and he was floored by how great it sounded, especially compared to the new digital stuff. Huge, warm, fat tones that no modeler matches. I started down this new, digital rabbit hole almost 20 years ago now! I got my first Fractal Axe-Fx when they came out in 2006. Can you believe that was 20 years ago! The Fractal uses proprietary modeling and not actual amp captures. Yes, they do have a ‘Tone Match’ feature that can do something similar. I thought it might be just the thing for recording as it’s so much easier than mic’ing a cab and blasting away at at home and way easier on my poor wife, who works from home and doesn’t want to hear me recording the same damn guitar riff over-and-over, rattling pictures off the wall and driving the pooch crazy - haha. One cool thing was, it was fast saving patches vs remembering analog knobs for matching sounds when re-doing parts. Let’s start with early recording. When I got the first Fractal, it’s was a freakin’ blast. So many patches that are fun to play and yeah, I could sound like EVH or Gilmore or Jimi. Jamming’ at home with albums was fun, especially sounding just like those LP tones. But, after close scrutiny, they really didn’t sound that great. I just wasn’t getting tones that sounded better than my live amps mic’d. I tried using the Fractal live, but, using it was a challenge. I ran it through two, Atomic Reactor FR, Full-range 50 watt 6L6 tube-powered cabs which at the time were the best sounding full-range FRFR cabs available. I do have to say, it was damn cool hearing everything in stereo through two big-ass cabinets! Delays, Chorus, Rotary etc was mind-blowing. Programming the Fractal wasn’t too hard, I figured it out pretty quick, even without using the manual. My biggest complaint was getting all the patches’ volume to be consistent. I know that sounds easy, and should have been, but damn, I had the hardest time programming them to all match in a live setting. I would do my best programming at home but, at the gig, all went to hell. The band and the FOH sound guys hated me for a while as I would be tweaking the levels all night. Not fun. Thinking back now, I probably should have maybe added an Expression pedal block for overall volume to make it easy to adjust on-the-fly. I ditched that rig live and just kept the Axe-Fx at home. Then, the Kemper Profiler came out. This was before they had a floor version. It was either a rack unit or the toaster oven-size thingie. It came with or without a built-in power amp, which was easier to incorporate into a live rig. But, OMG, I hated it, hated it! I still have freakin’ nightmares about it. For the life of me, I could not figure out how to create what I wanted. Must have been me or the way my brain works, but programming it made absolutely no sense to me. Forgetaboutit trying to use it for live work. Plus, I didn’t think it sounded any better than the Axe-Fx for recording. I still see a lot of bands on Premiere Guitar 'Rig Rundowns' using them live. I gave it a shot and finally passed it along to someone who was smarter than me - haha. So, after not rocking my world, I gave up on this digital modeling/capture stuff. Yeah, this was all early tech and still growing for sure. Stay tuned, more to come… I just went back and rocked my old amps. Lots of cool tube stuff: Matchless, Bogner, Carr, Amplified Nation, Headstrong. Recording wise, I am also totally into the Synergy inter-changeable module gear. All tube, all analog and records amazing. I used it on 90% of last album and the sounds I recorded were as good as mic'ing my cranked amps. And, way more dog/wife-friendly too. After my so-so intro to modeling, fast forward to now. Like many any of ya’ll, I read about 3-4 guitar mags a month and follow a bunch of YouTuber sites. The whole digital technology has evolved crazy fast lately, even in just the last year. There are so many new units from old standards: Fractal, Fender, Line6 Helix etc. And, newcomers: Headrush, Lava, IK Multimedia ToneX, Dark Glass Anagram, Neural Quad Cortex, plus a bunch of new companies too. I bought the latest Fractal AM4 Amp/EFX floor modeler. I read it has the same amp sounds as the Fractal's big brother - Axe-Fx III , but only 4 programming blocks. So, you can’t create big complex patches. Probably fine for most peeps. I thought the sound quality was far better than the first Axe-Fx based from my memory, but I wasn’t floored. It did ‘feel’ good, probably the best of all the units I tried. It reacted the best to volume control and picking dynamics, which was nice. But, no touchscreen!! WTH? Everyone else has a touchscreen LCD. That bugged me. I kept trying to touch it, but I would forget that it didn't have that feature. I messed with it for a week and ending up returning it to Fractal as I was still in search of finding the holy grail of matching an analog amp. Next, I read a ton about the Neural Quad Cortex as being the new hot shit. So, I bought one and right out-of-the-box, the amp tones were very good. I thought maybe even a little better than the Fractal. The QC uses actual amp captures vs. modeling. You can use the QC box hardware to capture your own stuff (or download them from 3rd party sites) The QC doesn’t use generic NAM which the world seems to be moving toward. (Neural Amp Models - I know that is confusing terminology) Who know, maybe with a Firmware update, they could accept NAM captures. I liked the QC. It had some really nice sounding factory patches to show off the box. (One of my pet peeves, why do companies include preset patches that SUCK. Drenched with reverb or totally over the top with effects. How about just show us a basic amp and maybe a little room ambience. Everything doesn’t have to have crazy ping pong delay! Sorry, I digress) It wasn’t the easiest to program. Downside, I found it hard to download new captures and more so, how to find them once you downloaded them! Some downloads come with or without IR cabs baked in, which is also a bit confusing. The unit is not very intuitive for programming, lots of sub-menus to do stuff. I had to search YouTube videos to figure it out. It should have been much easier. Maybe someday with new firmware. It has MIDI control for adding additional foot-switch controllers for live use. From a sheer tone and EFX standpoint, I can certainly see why it has rocked the gigging world. Overall, it was still slightly digital sounding when critically recording to my old-school, analog ears. And, I've read there has been some reliability issues with bands using them on the road. The search continued. I bought the new Dark Glass Anagram w/Guitar Essentials. This unit uses open format NAM capture files. And, it uses both regular NAM files as well as the newest NAM A2 captures. (OMG, my brain is starting to hurt again). This new NAM A2 thing, seems to be where the capture world is going. There are a lot of 3rd party programmers selling NAM A2 captures of amazing boutique amps. Plus, there is a cool site called Tone3000 where you can download and share free Amp, EFX, IR NAM captures, which is amazing and will keep the Anagram fresh. Plus, you can purchase some new amps and EFX off the Dark Glass site too. The Anagram doesn’t have internal hardware to capture your own gear like the Quad Cortex, so, that might be a downside. I did find it super easy to download stuff from Tone3000. The Anagram has the most programming power of any unit yet. Funny, even being the smallest size of all the pedal units, it has by far the most processing power, 6 cores for pretty much any complicated patch you could ever come up with. Programming the Anagram was a a no-brainer. Super simple to program without having to open the manual. Amazing graphic representations of each amp, EFX etc. LOVE THAT! Check out the cool, touchscreen graphics! Sound-wise, I thought it was even a another notch up from the Quad Cortex which doesn’t use A2. When you get into using amp captures, of course, a lot rides on the quality of those Captures and cab IRs. The sonic quality behind the latest high quality A2 amp models are the best yet. I didn’t mention this yet, but a lot of these digital units tend to have a slight bit of latency on pick attack to sound output. The Anagram felt great with virtually no latency. The Anagram doesn’t come loaded with a ton of amp captures, but the ones it does include are the bread and butter stuff and all sound killer. It does have a few cool ones that the others don’t have, like Hiwatt, Victory and Matchless amps. And with the Tone3000, you can find just about anything you crave. Live, this unit would be nice... The smallest footprint for a pedalboard, great sounds, easy programming for patches, scenes and EFX modes. It only has 3 foot-switch buttons, less than the other units, but does have MIDI so, you would probably need an external controller to access everything live. I’ve seen a few users that have them setup with a small external controller that lets you have discrete buttons for song change, scene change inside that patch and also can also turn on/off EFX. OK, I feel this is the nicest unit yet. These are only a few of the current crop of digital amp options. I haven’t tried a Headrush, Fender ToneMaster and Helix which seem to have a big following and most accept NAM A2 now. Plus, a bunch of Chinese units that pop-up day-by-day and also use NAM A2. Who knows, there might be a sub-$100 stomp with NAM A2, it's still early this morning. But wait, I have to add one more cool option to share... I recently tried the latest Two Notes ‘Genome 2' software simulator. (They just released v2.1 as I posted this) It’s available in a Free ‘Intro’ version with just a few amps and effects. But, I was BLOWN AWAY by it. So, much so, I bought the full Suite Version (FYI: If you download the free Intro version first, you can upgrade to the full suite at a huge discount over buying the big suite first!) I know it’s not practical for live work, but I have to say, the recording tones are stunning and 1ms latency which is virtually nothing. You do have to use some sort of Interface I/O box (I have a Scarlet Solo) Sure, you have to have a computer to use it which is not as easy as a floor stompbox. Genome uses both their own TSM-AI captures but can also use NAM A2 captures. The full ‘Suite’ comes with a ton of great amps, cabs and EFX supplied. And, with NAM A2 import, it’ll stay fresh. I can honestly say, the Genome sounds the best I have used yet. It might also have to do with the Two Notes DynIRs cabs. They are big on their cab IR capture technology which can make or break the overall tone. Simple block programming too. For home use, the Genome is perfect for recording. Trust me, try the Free Intro version and you will be amazed. ernie

Bad Cat Purepath Analog Reactive Load Cab Simulator Really cool amp attenuator/cab sim. It was was voted the best piece of gear at the 2026 NAMM show. Mint condition, not a mark or scratch on it. I am the original owner. Bought new. Barely used in my non-smoking home studio. Works perfectly, sounds exceptional - no issues. Pure analog, no digital or modeling. Just plug your amp into it and get a super-accurate tone directly to DAW/Mixer/FOH etc. Simple, 4/8/16 ohm inputs to match any amp up to 150 Watts. Amp in, Amp thru to your cab. Sim XLR out. No A/C power required. You can run it with your speaker cab or no cab for silent recording. Tonal options for Open/Closed Cab, Mic Edge/Center, Ceramic/Alnico, Presence, Phase and Gnd Lift. Comes with original box, mounting brackets/screws (never used). Everything that originally came in the box is included. $400. shipped/Paypal (Friends & Family) and NO TAX Not interested in any trades on this one. Message me with any questions Thx, Ernie --------------------- Bad Cat PurePath DI Features: Designed at Bad Cat in Costa Mesa CA Up to 150 Watts Impedance Options - 4, 8, and 16 Ohms Load Selction: Silent or Extension Cab Input from Amp Output to Speaker LEVEL: 0 dB / -20 dB A 20 dB pad for very loud amplifiers. Use -20 dB if your mixer/PA/interface input is clipping. MIC: EDGE / CENTER A tonal contour based on common mic position. EDGE = smoother, rounder. CENTER = brighter, more attack. CAB: OPEN/CLOSED A low-end contour. OPEN = looser, more airy. CLOSED = tighter with more thump. SPKR: CERAMIC / ALNICO A speaker character control. CERAMIC = more modern bite (think "V30" type response). ALNICO = sweeter, more vintage-style top end. PRESENCE: 0 / 1 A presence boost. Use 1 if you want more cut in the mix GROUND: LIFT / NORMAL Use LIFT if you hear hum or ground noise through the PA/interface. PHASE: NORMAL / REVERSE If your direct sound feels “hollow” when blended with a mic’d cab, flip phase.

Amazon also has it for $79 and easy returns if you don't dig it. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BWM571Q?lv=shuf&hvlocphy=9030615&hvptwo=&hvnetw=g&mcid=&hvext=373924202697&hvadid=812933472958&language=en_US&hvpone=&hvlocint=&hvcampaign=23946707677&hydadcr=9302_13966043_2505206&hvpos=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvocijid=12832803625610843942--&hvqmt=a&hvexpln=0&tag=smgglusdsadts-20&hvtargid=kwl-2484167636399&adgrpid=197821152655&hvrand=12832803625610843942&channelId=500&ref_=&plpRedirect=mhFallback

Musician's Friend String deal of the day. D'Addario EXL120 XL Nickel Wound Electric Guitar Strings - 12-Pack, Super Light 9-42 $49.99 https://tinyurl.com/3w7v578c

SOLD!

I'll just cut to the chase... This is the greatest tone I have ever heard in my life. End of review. OK, a bit more. This Bad Cat ERA 30 is basically an improved Matchless DC30 or C30 amp. I actually owned 3 of them over the years (One was formally used on the first Third Eye Blind record) If you ever played one, you know. You can't get a bad tone out of a DC30. And, pretty much every pro player and studio seems to own a DC30. They are just great amps with 2 channels: a 12AX7 Preamp channel and a Voxy EF86 Preamp channel. This new Mark Sampson amp (RIP, he recently passed) is basically taking that DC30 and improving it. Both channels are now foot-switchable, a cleaner signal path, better EFX Loop, a tweaked tone stack and now, you can mix/combine both channels by foot-switch! You all know how much I LOVE my Bogners (Goldfinger has been my gold standard) Side-by-side, this ERA tone-wise just killed it. Killed it!!!! (I just sold the Goldfinger) The detail and depth of the tone is so amazing, especially the tightness of lower end frequencies is mind blowing. If you live in the slightly dirty clean to classic rock world, this is it peeps. I can honestly say, with 67 years and owning 100+ amps later... there is a Nirvana and I am here. Sure, it doesn't cover every base. It's not a Twin Reverb country clean or Mesa Rectifier tear your face off metal. It just does the middle ground like no other. If I had one thing, I wish it had reverb. But, I put a simple Electro Harmonix Holy Grail in the loop and done. After getting the head and digging it so much, I got the matching 1x12 Cab with a custom Bad Cat voiced, Celestion speaker. A perfect match for the head. I highly recommend checking one out. Here's a YouTube review that shows it and Mark Sampson's interview (Plus, I love all of Paul's videos, they guy is a monster player)

Korg DTR-2 Rackmount tuner Industry standard tuner. Works great. Inputs on both front and back. Has some light marks from normal use, but very clean overall. Kept in non-smoking home studio rack. Message me with any questions. $60 Shipped/Paypal F&F and no tax. Thx - ernie

They were from my neighborhood in East Northport, LI. My high school girlfriend used to baby sit one of their kids. haha.

Sold to PaGator!

Went to see Carlos live last night in El Paso. The Doobies opened for him. Good, solid show, I would recommend catching both bands if you can. They both brought it, tons of hits and great players. Carlos is 80 and still played well. Definitely not the Carlos of youth. He had to sit for most of the show due to age, but, I still enjoyed his moments of greatness last night. OK, got to mention this... When they were switching bands, Carlo's tech brought out his rig and fired it up. OMG. Now, I've seen a LOT of shows in my 67 years. I have NEVER heard a live amp that loud. Not through the PA, this was just the rig on stage. I was over 100' away and it was insane. I have to repeat, it was INSANELY loud and CLEAN. Looked like an old 100w Boogie combo on top of a 4x12 cab. I've google'd a bit and his last rig had some Blutotone and Dumble amps off-stage, So, that 4x12 cab might be a mix of amps. The Boogie was mic'd as well as the 4x12. But, the stage volume was crazy. When the band started, he was no where near being put through the PA. It was just his rig live. We're talking a basketball size arena stage show. You could hear him direct. In fact, even the full band through the PA was not as loud has he was! Not sure who I felt bad for, the FOH mixer or the band dealing with that stage volume! One more shout out, but his wife on Drums was off-the-chart great. Wowza. Here's a quick clip. https://youtu.be/ZLKZdzQNEHE

Tone Tubby 12" Red Alnico 8ohms Excellent condition, I am the original owner. Only used in a low wattage amp, never abused. Works perfectly, no noises or issues at all. $160 Shipped/Paypal F&F AND NO TAX! Message with any questions. Not interested in any trades on this one - thx ernie

I believe that was mine. I ordered it in Flamed Redwood.

Better grab it before it's $10k. haha. Seems like everything Hamer is going through the roof.

FSA: A nice Monaco III for sale. Also at Empire Music. $1999. (No affiliation) https://empiremusic.com/products/used-hamer-monaco-iii-2003-red-transparent-52593-with-original-hard-case?_pos=3&_sid=9d5621169&_ss=r

That is very pretty. I bet someone could get a better price if they contact Empire Guitars directly at the shop (Sneaky trick, I know)

Price Drop! $1,850. Shipped

PRICE DROP! Carr Rambler 1x12” Combo w/Reverb and Tremolo Black w/Tan grill. All hand-wired. 28 watts in triode and 14 watts in pentode. 100% original, nothing touched or changed. 6L6 power w/cathode bias for easy tube replacement. No tech biasing needed. Has tube-driven spring reverb and bias tremolo. 1x12 Carr speaker. Excellent condition. I went over it from top-to-bottom and not really a mark on it. Works perfectly and sounds great – no issues. These are Deluxe Reverb killers. Way better in every way. Huge, tight with full tonal range and no flabby bass. Also, great headroom, perfect for a pedal platform type rig too. Used in my non-smoking home. Comes with Foot-switch and original Carr shipping box for safe shipping. $1,850. Shipped & Paypal F&F. Message me with any questions. ----------------------------------------- Manufacturer Specifications: - Class A cathode bias 6L6 output stage - Zero feedback - All hand-wired - Tube reverb and tremolo - Pentode-Triode power switch - 28 watts pentode - 14 watts triode - 1x12" Carr speaker - Dovetail-jointed North Carolina yellow pine cabinet - Floating speaker baffle - Footswitch

Today is a UK Cub combo. Last day of the sale. 40% off! https://www.quilterlabs.com/products/aviator-cub-uk?se_activity_id=200396472610&syclid=d94gu929h9ic73dc00s0&utm_campaign=🎆+THE+GRAND+FINALE+—+40%+off+the+Aviator+Cub%2C+today+only_200396472610&utm_medium=email&utm_source=shopify_email

Quilter Amps is having a sale. The 101 Reverb head is on sale for $370 in your cart. Friday Only. Great sounding amp. EFX loop and Reverb. A priceless small backup to have in your car. https://www.quilterlabs.com/products/101-reverb?se_activity_id=200396177698&syclid=d93qpljp10dc73d91ie0&utm_campaign=🎆+DAY+3+—+30%+off+the+101+Reverb%2C+today+only_200396177698&utm_medium=email&utm_source=shopify_email

On the Verb (No affiliation) Price is a bit like Snoop Dog - haha. Seller also has a '81 Standard for sale. https://reverb.com/item/98841933-hamer-sunburst-bound-and-crowned-1980-sunburst?utm_campaign=Feed-Email&utm_content=feed_listings&utm_medium=email&utm_source=braze&utm_term=Feed+Email

Hope you got the Dimension. I LOVE that pedal.