The 1970's Stratocaster

The 1970's are generally considered to be the darkest days of Fender guitars. Depending on your political views and tastes in music and fashion, you may deem the 70's a decade worth forgetting entirely. I however am not so quick to write them off... for example, the Dead were playing arguably the best music of their careers and countless other bands managed to get their rock on during the decade before disco took hold.

As for the oft maligned 70's CBS-era Stratocaster, I happen to love them. I'm well aware that many were boat anchors, unpopular design elements were being introduced, and the general quality of Fender guitars was down, but man oh man, do I love those big headstocks. Of course there are many who consider that to be an example of said undesirable 70's design elements. 

As far as the three bolt neck, when you had a guitar with a neck that actually fit the pocket correctly they worked great. I guess it's the esthetics of the instruments that I like from that era, and big headstock is a big part of that. It was also a time when many players were experimenting with hot-rodding their Strats to get bigger bolder sounds that could compete with the Les Paul. With that said, many of the 70's Strats got routed for humbuckers, and later had Floyd Rose tremolos installed. Perhaps players were just trying to make the best of the 70's. 

One of the first Strats I ever put together looked like the one above. I used a '75 neck that someone had converted to a four bolt and paired it with a Mexican Strat body. I don't remember what I had it loaded with for pickups but the tone of that guitar was incredible. On the down side, it was one of the worst playing instruments I have ever owned, it literally hurt to play it. I could never get the thing set up and intonated correctly, and as a result it was always going out of tune and the action was terrible. I played it for a couple of years before parting it back out and selling it.

My next big headstock adventure was this guitar... a Warmoth neck (with late 60's/early 70's decal) paired with a Highway 1 body. I used Fralin Blues Specials with a Dimarzio DP223 (36th anniversary PAF) in the bridge. I never liked the Fralins, they lacked personality and always seemed sterile to me. The bridge pickup I loved however and sold me on both Dimarzios and the H/S/S strat configuration. The neck featured a thin profile and a compound radius and I never warmed up to it either. I ended up trading this guitar for a Les Paul Special. I had attempted to sell it locally on Craig's list with no luck and then a month or so later a guy contacted me regarding a trade. I checked out the LP and we traded straight across... I think we both feel like we got the better end of the deal. 

Being unhappy with the Warmoth neck, I decided to try a Fender HWY 1 neck... Fender used the same necks for the American Special also. It has jumbo frets was I wasn't sure I'd like but it just so happens I did like them. The guitar pictured above has GFS 70's pickups in it... they weren't great but better than ceramic single coils. The body was from a Mexican Blacktop Strat which features a pool rout. They're inexpensive bodies on ebay and fit the bill as far a project bodies go. 

Not being able to leave well enough alone, I found a loaded American Standard Strat body on ebay for cheap and so I installed the neck on that body. I loved the Charcoal Frost finish but did not care for the American Standard pickups. This was before Fender changed over to the Fat 50's which are amazing pickups. 

I picked up another American Special/HWY 1 neck (in rosewood this time) and wired up what was the most challenging project to date. I paired two Fender Tex-Mex single coils (the best bargain pickup I've found) with a Dimarzio Super Distortion in the bridge. I also added two mini toggles; one was to turn the neck pickup on so that it could be used in conjunction with only the bridge or so all three pickups could be used at once, and the other toggle was to split the bridge pickup so it could be used in single coil mode. IMO, this is the holy grail of Strat wiring setups... all your bases are covers. If I were to have a "signature model" this wiring setup would be the one I'd use... although I'd probably pass on (or move) the "neck on" toggle as it gets in the way of using the volume to do swells with your pinky. The perfect Strat was beginning to emerge.

After spying this MJT body on ebay I knew what had to be done. I sold the Candy Aplle Red body and pulled the trigger on this one. The plastic all needed to be aged and so I got busy with that. I had never aged a black guard and wasn't sure exactly how to go about it. It made sense that there wouldn't be much wear under the strings and so I only made a few light passes with a Scotch Brite pad and focused on the rest of the guard. I nicked a little of the lower bout and yellowed some of the edges with my trusty ochre Sharpie so that the sandwiched white layer looked a little less white. 

I also gave the other white parts the Sharpie treatment so they'd match the level of aging on the body and pickguard. 

I used a Callaham Vintage/Narrow bridge and for a finishing touch, added some Fender locking tuners and put some pearl buttons on them. 

There's nothing very 70's about this guitar, perhaps the large headstock and general vibe but there aren't actually any vintage parts on it. This is the electric guitar I generally always gig with these days.

I ended up selling the loaded Charcoal Frost American Standard body and kept the neck. I never played it because I was beginning to loath the tone of the pickups. I still wanted a maple board Strat and decided to build one in keeping with the look of a mid 70's Strat. I've always liked the black and white plastic scheme that they used briefly and so this is what came about. It's the exact same electronics setup as the sunburst one minus the neck-on toggle. I used a Fender American Special ash body, complete with thick poly finish (an undesirable but accurate 70's detail), and loaded it with another Callaham Vintage/Narrow bridge. Because of the jumbo frets, it really helps to get the strings away from the edge of the fretboard and this particular model of bridge does exactly that. I also happen to believe a lot of the hype about using high quality bridges on a Strat... my Callaham bridge equipped Strats are both articulate and have amazing sustain.

This guitar is my backup stage guitar when I'm playing the sunburst one. They're both set up exactly alike (with 10s), feature the same basic neck, and have essentially the same electronics. The only difference being that the sunburst one is an alder body and rosewood board, and this one has an ash body and maple board. Tonally they are quite similar, though as you might guess, the ash/maple combination is a little brighter. 

I should have known that as soon as I tried to recreate a 70's Strat I'd actually end up with one. Actually it's an '81, and quite likely one of the last of the big headstock Strats made at the Fullerton plant. This was a CraigsList score that I drove about an hour to grab. The guitar is essentially new... it shows absolutely no wear, finish checking on the headstock (they were still using a nitro overspray), scratches on the plastic, or oxidation on the hardware... it's a true time capsule guitar, complete with hang tags, strap, tremolo arm and unopened springs, hell, even the silica pack is still in the case, and even the case is in mint condition. 

By this point in history, Fender had gone away from the chunky necks and were using a slimmer, more modern feeling shape. The nut width also seems a bit more narrow to me, perhaps an "A" instead of a "B". I have not touched a single screw on it and likely will not. I know these guitars are not the most collectible in the world but I do think it's a fine specimen. Interestingly, there looks to be a little overspray at the 12th fret... like a little nitro finish ended up on there somehow. It would certainly be in keeping with the lack of attention to detail that was plaguing Fender at this time in history, as would the less than cozy neck pocket. 

I do play it occasionally and it has an amazing tone and feel about it despite having the funky cast trem and block and other "70's maladies". It just makes me nervous to play it too much for fear the first scratch or ding will be the one I put in it. 

Say what you will about the big headstock era but I'd imagine there were plenty of guitars to come out of Fullerton during the 70's that weren't the dogs we all hear about. With anything done by hand, there is always a margin of error. My suspicion is however, that QC might have been a little tighter during 50's and 60's and fewer of these duds might have made it to market. 

Long Live the 70's

Fender Telecasters

The Festival Express ~ Canada 1970 ~ Jerry playing a Telecaster

For those of you who haven't watched Festival Express, it's a who's who's of musicians (Janis, The Band, The Grateful Dead, Buddy Guy, etc.) crammed onto a train rolling across Canada from show to show in 1970. Buddy Guy provided the standout performance of the film IMO, he just kills it, but I digress... 

Like the Strat, SG, and Les Paul, the Telecaster is another of those iconic guitars that will be with us forever. There is no way to really improve upon something so simple and utilitarian. Fender has made many attempts, including recently adding a belly contour to the back of the body, but essentially it's the same as it has been since 1951. 

My first Telecaster was this natural ash American Standard. I remember going to Musicians Friend for strings and coming home with this guitar, joking that I had in fact got strings, but they happened to be attached to this guitar. For whatever reason I changed the white guard to this tortoise one... taste's change I suppose. I would much prefer it with the original white guard now if I still had the guitar.

Much like my love affair for making Strats from spare parts, I have often enjoyed building Teles as well, though not quite as much. It wasn't until a few years ago that I built one that I'd consider to be a "keeper", though it underwent a significant metamorphosis before I settled on something I really liked. 

This was the original project... a Fender Highway 1 Tele body paired with an MJT finished Allparts neck. At the time I thought I wanted a Bigsby, and so that was part of plan. In retrospect, the Bigsby looks really cool but does't do an awful lot but add extra weight to what was already a heavier than average body. 

At the heart of this project however is the electronics. I used something called the ToneShaper system available from Acme Guitar Works. Without going into great detail, it takes advantage of a 5-way switch and lets you tinker with capacitor values, pot values, and volume mods. It's a slick little setup if you like to tinker. There's a little PCB board with mini sliders and you can adjust  these elements with relative ease. For pickups, I opted for a Fralin Unbucker in the neck, and a Fralin Stock bridge Tele pickup. I kind of wish I'd opted for the hotter bridge pickup now but it's fine as it is. It's pretty easy to coax everything from rock to jazz to chicken pickin' Tele tones from the guitar. I also opted for a reverse control layout... the Bigsby arm however was always in the way of something and that's another reason I bagged it.

And so, I decided to just unload the body and Bigsby as one and put it up for sale on ebay. Once sold, I ordered a Lake Placid Blue body from MJT. In the picture it looks very true to LPB but in person it has a slight tint of Ocean Turquoise thanks to the slightly yellowed clear coat I had them spray. While MJT is known primarily for their aged and relic'd bodies and necks, I ordered this one "closet clean" with no checking or wear. Nitro is interesting stuff... it takes a while to truly set and harden and this guitar was showing signs of aging in no time. The finish was still a little fragile when it arrived and it has sustained a little buckle rash on the back, as well as a fair amount of finish cracking. It's all good, it wasn't meant to be a museum piece but be aware that even a non relic'd body from MJT will age quickly without an extreme amount of caution and delicate handling.

The bridge on this guitar is a little unique as well. If you look carefully the sides of the bridge are notched which is a nice touch. I found it on ebay and the guy selling them has a few variations of these notched bridges. 

The neck has a beautiful dark rosewood board and only minor aging done by MJT. It was another neck that I just waited for... they have a lot of necks come up for auction so I have never felt the need to special order one. This one is the SRO-C which feels a little small in my hands (especially compared to some of my other "Fenders"). Ideally, I wish I'd used the SRO-FAT neck but this one is easy enough to live with.

Up next is another MJT "Fender" Telecaster. The body and neck were both MJT ebay auction scores. The color is one you'll either love or hate. It's heavily aged Ice Blue Metallic which has taken on a very greenish hue. It is also reminiscent of aged Inca Silver but if you look carefully, you can see a little IBM where your forearm would rest. I guess this one could be the cousin to my IBM Strat though the color of both is slightly different. The plan here was to go vintage with the exception of the fat neck (Allparts SRO-FAT which has a 9.5" radius and vintage tall frets). Like the SRO-FAT Strat neck I have, the thickness is a solid inch from nut to heel so it's not for small hands. For pickups I installed a neck pickup from one of the new American Fender Vintage Series '64 Telecasters. It has a period correct grey fiber bottom and sounds fantastic. The bridge pickup is from a Fender American Vintage '62 Tele Custom. Everything else is pretty cut and dry with the exception of the brass and aluminum string ferrules I ordered from Glendale. 

The body,neck, and hardware on this guitar are so convincingly aged that my luthier's jaw dropped when I opened the case. I was having him install the nut on the neck and he couldn't believe that it wasn't a real 60's Tele. 

Of my two Teles this one is my favorite. I love the neck pickup... there's just something about a Tele neck pickup that can't be duplicated by splitting a neck humbucker. The bridge pickup on this guitar is great sounding too, it's got all the classic Tele tone you could hope for. 

I know a lot of Tele purists love maple necks but I really prefer rosewood. It slightly tames the bridge pickup and adds just a hit of warmth to the whole instrument which I feel this model of guitar benefits from.

The Gibson SG

Jerry Garcia playing his SG

The Gibson SG is one of those guitars as iconic as the Strat, Tele, or Les Paul. While Jerry was certainly more well known for playing his custom built Irwin and Cripe guitars, many of the early Grateful Dead recordings and bootlegs I listened to featured him playing the SG, and this no doubt attracted me to them. And who can forget watching Santana tear into his SG at Woodstock? 

I also remember in college a friend of mine used to house sit for a guy who had two vintage SGs and he'd have me over and let me play them... there was something about those guitars that seemed magic to me. 

After years of contemplating purchasing one, I finally decided to get an Epiphone G-400 in worn brown. It was a cool little guitar but it was no Gibson, and all it really did was wet my appetite for a real one. I swapped out the tuners, changed the pickups, and re-wired the whole thing using better electronics and parts. Despite being a screamer, it just never spoke to me like the classic Gibson models. I really missed the look of the neck binding that the Epiphone was lacking. I eventually sold the guitar and began hunting for a Gibson.

I seriously considered the Gibson SG Standard, as it seemed to feature all of the elements I was looking for but at the time, Gibson had made the switch to the baked maple fretboards and I really wanted rosewood. Then Gibson had their big sale at the end of 2012 and I discovered a Derek Trucks Signature model at Wildwood Guitar. I was taken with the Lyre tailpiece and didn't mind the absence of the pick guard. The price was right and I pulled the trigger.

Now, supposedly this model is just a '61 Reissue with no pickguard and a Lyre tailpiece but the contours seem even more pronounced to me than the '61 RIs. 

I've been contemplating adding a pickguard to the guitar, as well as a "Les Paul" truss rod cover to give it more of the appearance of an early 60's SG. However, it's not high on my list of priorities right now and I'm torn on whether or not I want to cover any of the beautiful finish with a pickguard. 

Quite by accident I eneded up with a second SG in a matter of weeks. This one was an ebay score. I placed a lowball bid on a 2003 '61 Reissue that had a broken knob and some wear and tear on the body. There were also a few minor dings on the headstock and one of the plastic pickup rings was cracked. I lost the initial auction but the seller sent me a second chance offer for the bid I had placed and I jumped on it. $680 with the original case.

                               

When the guitar arrived it was clear that it had been played, and played hard. The finish was fairly scratched and it was filthy. There was also a swath of scratches on the pickguard below the neck pickup from some heavy handed chord work. I removed all the parts and hardware and hand polished the body using automotive scratch remover (the stuff in the orange bottle, NuFinish). The finish came back to life, as did the fretboard after a few applications of lemon oil. I replaced the broken plastic parts with Gibson parts and she was really looking quite nice.

Upon closer inspection I noticed two cracks around the neck pocket, one on each side, and my heart sunk. Had my great deal gone bust? SGs are renowned for their somewhat delicate neck pockets. Where the neck tenon is glued to the body is under a great deal of stress because of the deep cutaways featured on the SG. I frantically searched the web for information about cracking in the neck pocket and thankfully, the cracks seem to be only in the finish, though I do still find them slightly disconcerting. The guitar remains in tune just fine, but like all SGs, if you manhandle the neck while playing, you can achieve some dangerous vibrato. 

With all that said, it was still a screaming deal. This is the SG I would gig with if I was going to, not my Derek Trucks model. The DT has a slightly flatter neck but the feel and sound of both guitars is fairly similar (they both have '57 pickups) and I can jump back and forth between the two with ease. The only other real difference is the body contour. The DT has a much deeper and smoother contour. I'd suspect that these bodies are all hand sanded so perhaps  they all vary a bit. It's hard to say, and I'm no expert on the nuances of every model of SG. What little research I've done has not provided me with any insight into the differences in body shape between the two models.

I think Gibson has done a great job reinventing the SG. The new Standards are back to using rosewood boards and using the small pickguard again... no more batwings. I was never opposed to the larger style pickguard but it is a shame to cover up that beautiful mahogany with black plastic IMO. They are very close (with the exception of the smaller headstock) to the '61 Reissues which I believe have been discontinued. The new SG original is also a nice nod to the vintage SGs of the early 60's but it's a lot of extra coin for the addition of a Lyre vibrato. 

Santana gettin' after it at Woodstock on his SG

                 

Short Scale Fever...

Enough with all the amps and effects, let's get back to guitars! 

David Byrne ~ 1978 ~ Playing his Fender Duo-Sonic

So, this spring I got a severe case of short scale fever, more specifically, I got a hair to recreate a vintage Fender Duo-Sonic. I almost hate to share the fact that these vintage bodies and necks (as well as other parts) can be found on ebay for a song, at least when you compare Strat or Tele parts from the same year. For example, I just did a quick search on ebay for Duo Sonic bodies and they range in price from about $200 up to $360. Now consider the going rate for an early 60's Strat body... even early to mid 70's bodies are going for almost $1000. You could safely double or triple that for a late fifties to early 60's Strat or Tele body. 

Now consider necks... you can get a sweet late 50's through mid 60's Duo-Sonic or Music Master neck for less than $400, much less in many cases. Some of them feature the same sweet rosewood slab boards found on you're favorite vintage Strats. What I'm getting at is this, if you like vintage Fender guitars but feel like you've been priced out of the market, the Duo-Sonic and Music Master may be your ticket in. 

This olympic white example became the first of what ended up being two simultaneous projects. What we have here is a late 60's Duo-Sonic (or Music Master) body paired with a '74 Music Master neck. To give you an idea of how affordable these can be to put together, I paid $225 for the neck (which is in mint condition) which had reproduction "F" tuners already installed. That's a pretty sweet deal in my book. 

This dakota red example was the second of the two projects. It features a mid 60's body paired with a '66 neck... more about this particular neck in a moment. 

So what "happened" was that I originally bought the white body and the '66 neck but then ended up winning this red body on ebay as well... it was less than $200 so I couldn't say no. Then I decided that I'd look for another neck and that's when I found the '74 Music Master neck, and so before I knew it I had two projects rolling at the same time. 

A quick word about these DS and MM necks, basically they come in two lengths, or at least they did up until the late 60's... the really short ones are stamped 3/4 and feature a 22.5" scale length. They're short, and most have a narrower nut width, denoted by the "A" stamped on the butt of the neck. The other (and more desirable necks IMO) are the 24" neck... the same ones used on the Fender Mustang. Many of these are also the narrower "A" width necks but there are some to be found with the more comfortable "B" width... these "B" necks are the same width as your basic Strat. If you want more info on neck stamps check this out. This is a good resource too regarding Fender necks. Since finding my 24" "B" Duo-Sonic neck on ebay, I have not seen another come up for auction so I feel lucky to have grabbed it when I did. 

Close up of finish checking

Before cleaning up the body

After cleaning up the body. I used automotive scratch remover, the stuff in the orange bottle called Nu-Finish. It's safe on both nitro and poly finishes but I'd recommend doing it by hand, not a buffer. You can burn through a thin vintage finish in no time. As with most things, patience is a virtue.

After routing for the toggle

After applying the shielding paint

So basically there were two versions of the vintage Duo Sonic. The first generation which had a unique body shape, unique bridge, and a 3-way toggle on the lower horn. As you can see, there were other differences too. The second "60's" version adopted the body shape of the Mustang, lost the 3-way in favor of the Mustang style slide switches, and featured a redesigned bridge.

 

     Original Version                         Mustang Inspired Version        My Version

I happen to like/dislike elements of both designs and decided to blend the most favorable into one guitar. I don't care for the electronic scheme on the newer version and decided to use the old style 3-way, which meant so routing was necessary. The body on these guitars is thinner than a Strat and so I needed to use 3-way toggle switches like those used on Gibson SGs. I caught a little grief form forum users about routing these two bodies but it had to be done, and besides, the red one had already had a deepened pickup cavity. I understand the argument for not hacking up vintage guitar parts but I think I did a good job and it's not as though I killed value (they aren't worth too much to begin with). 

The parts were pretty easy to source out, I just scoured ebay for the bridges and control plates (one was vintage, the other a vintage RI). The pickguards for both guitars were ordered from WD Music... I've heard that the "WD" stands for wrong dimensions and I can see why. The guards themselves were alright but the hole patterns were WAY off. I plugged the original holes in the body with toothpicks and wood glue and just re-drilled them for the pickguard holes. Not something you'd want to do on a vintage Strat but for these guitars I wasn't too worried. 

I wanted to try something different as far as pickups and decided on GFS Pro Tube Lipsticks. The neck pickup features a pretty low output but the bridge has a little more juice. You can hear them in action here. Anyhow, they were a good choice. I used the following wiring scheme if anyone is interested in using it. 

I also shielded the pickguard with that sticky aluminum stuff available from StewMac (that's where the shielding paint came form too). I'd highly recommend both products, both of these guitars are dead silent, something their stock vintage counterparts are not known for.

Other than that I aged the neck plate and knobs a bit to match the rest of the guitar but that's about all. And so, the first of the two DS/MMs was complete.

On to big red...

The neck on this guitar makes it for me. I love a comfy neck and this one is just to die for. The nitro has worn off the back and it's SMOOTH to say the least... the cheesy metaphors and similes just fill my mind but I'll leave it be. Second, the thing just looks killer... a very nicely aged amber tint that simply cannot be replicated by artificial aging. MJT does a great job but real vintage necks have sweat, beer, and god-only-knows what else caked on them from years of being handled. 

This neck did not come with tuners but I aged up det of period correct Kluson "two-rows" using the muriatic acid double boiler method and ochre colored Sharpie which I've previously mentioned on my blog. The results were pretty good, good enough anyhow.

The body is pretty straight forward. It arrived totally grimed out and I used the Nu-Finish and some elbow grease to breath some new life into it. The finish had tons of checking, dings, scrapes, and bruises but the neck pocket was solid. Actually, the neck pocket did have a one issue. There was so much overspray in the pocket that the neck sat crooked in the pocket so I carefully scraped and sanded it out. 

Before...

And after...

I kind of hated to do any sanding in there for fear of sanding off the factory stamps but they remained intact for the most part. 

Speaking of stamps, anyone know what this "C" stamp denotes? It could be something, or it could be nothing. I've looked high and low and found no information whatsoever. You can also see the routing work that was done previous to my getting ahold of the body.

I had to do some routing of my own to accommodate the 3-way and to get the Dimarzio pickups to fit. And so, lets talk pickups.

I wanted to retain a more vintage look but turn this guitar into a screamer. I opted for Dimarzio Strat sized humbuckers, a Fast Track for the neck, and a Super Distortion for the bridge. As I mentioned they did require some extra routing of the pickup cavities but I think I did a relatively clean job... another case of good enough being good enough. I also wanted to add a coil tap toggle which I positioned between the two knobs. The wiring provided a challenge but it was do-able and came out fine. I'll try to refresh this post with the schematic once I find it. 

In any event, once I got her wired up and assembled I was in awe... this thing is an all out rocker. The pickups are HUGE sounding in humbucking mode and both sound good split too. The coil tap toggle added some nice new flavors to the standard neck, neck/bridge, bridge settings. It's not the clearest video I've shot but you can have a listen...

And so, my short scale fever has been officially cured. While I love these two little Fenders, I don't see myself building any more student model Fenders in the near future but they sure are fun. They're the closest thing to a "real" 60's Fender I'll be able to afford unless I hit the lottery. 

Amps

Before I get back to talking more about my guitars, I thought I might mention my amps, now that I've given you a look at my effects chain. I do have a "mini chain" too which I will share at a later date... a handful of effects that I have set up in another corner of the studio for use with the SCX2 head/custom cab rig. 

My primary amp is a Fender '65 Twin Reverb Reissue. This is the second TRRI that I've owned. I traded the first for a Mesa Boogie Blue Angel which was a great trade until the Boogie died. I took it in countless times to be serviced but to no avail. In any event, I had a 70's Silverface Twin briefly before deciding to trade it in on a new TRRI. The Silverface was noisy, and just too loud. And so, I've had this current TRRI for about 8 years now. It's recently been re-tubed with JJs and is now good to go for another number of years. 

As you can see in the picture, the speakers were replaced. No, they aren't JBLs, the ones in this picture were Eminence Commonwealths, which are supposedly similar to the vintage JBLs with aluminum dust caps. I was interested in experimenting with speakers and was well aware of the fact that Garcia and Kimock use(d) JBLs. Not wanting to spend a fortune of vintage JBLs, I tried the Commonwealths. They were crisp and loud but they were just way to heavy... each one weighed about 25lbs, bringing the weight of the amp up to what seemed like a ton (I'd guess between 90-100lbs). Now, I'm not an old man, but nor am I still in my 20's. I do still play the occasional gig and moving this beast around was just too much so I decided to explore other speaker options. 

About 6 months ago I decided to try some Eminence neodymium speakers. They're light and I love them. I opted for one Lil' Texas and one Tonkerlite. The pair seems well balanced together and best of all, I can lift my amp again.

The Commonwealths are sitting in my shop and I have contemplated loading them into an extension cabinet but even that may be more weight than I want to tote around. Time will tell...

As far as the Twin goes, I can't imagine playing through another amp. The thing just rocks. Yes, it's loud but it just sounds so sweet and clean that I couldn't live without it. 

I also have a few Fender SCX2s. After a brief foray with a Fender Mustang III (which suffered from the dreaded fizz which plagued the first generation of Mustang amps) I traded it in on this little number. These SCX2s are fantastic amps. The clean channel is great and the amp models (and reverbs) are usable and flexible. I don't use the other effects on the amp. I spent a little time using the FUSE software when I first got it to dial it in and I've got it set up just the way I like it now. There's no mid control on the front face of the amp so using the FUSE software is the only way to dial in your miss. Some of the amp models also have features that can only be dialed in using FUSE, but once they're set, you're good to go. It's an awesome little 15 watt amp. Having once owned a Fender Blues Jr., I can honestly say I prefer this model. It does everything that amp does and them some.

The cabinet is the real story here. I found an old stereo cabinet at a used furniture store for $28. It was in rough shape and the grill cloth was pretty ragged but I got the idea to turn it into an extension cabinet for an amp. I refinished the cabinet after tightening it up and adding a new baffle and semi-enclosed back. I also put some new basket weave grill cloth in it and loaded it up with an Eminence Cannabis Rex speaker. Of course, with the cabinet completed, I needed a little head for it. I liked my SCX2 combo so much that I decided to try the head version. 

It's definitely not something I'd gig with but it's pretty sweet sounding in the studio. I discovered that there's more to making a guitar cab than throwing a speaker in a box. This cabinet has a lot of low end, too much probably, but for home studio use it works fine. 

This project is still in the works but I had so much fun doing the first custom cab that I thought I'd try another. This one was only $20 bucks at Goodwill and was in pretty rough shape all the way around. It required some re-glueing at a few of the joints. It still had the old radio and tubes in it when I purchased it but I yanked all that out and covered the hole with a cool old California license plate. I used an adhesive felt on the back of the plate before mounting it to try to reduce the possibility of vibration. Given that I have not made the baffle or installed a speaker, we'll see if my efforts were successful. I used a super heavy duty black paint (for metal) and so it really sealed the gaps and little cracks in the wood and formed a bulletproof finish. The plan is to use one of the Jensens that was originally in my Fender Twin. I suspect that this cabinet will also suffer from too much low end but it'll be fun to goof around with in the studio. The plan to to just run it using the SCX2 combo or head. At this point, it's being used as a table in my studio. It's not hot on my list of things to do right now but I'm sure I'll get around to it eventually. I'll keep you posted...

Effects Pedals

I thought I'd change things up a bit and explore my primary effects chain... it's lengthy and decidedly boutique, but after years of experimentation with various pedals, I've settled on what you'll see here for use in the studio. 

How it came to be...

For as long as I've been playing guitar I've loved effects pedals. Just like guitars however, they seemed to come and go as I chased the tone I was seeking. I'm a huge fan of Jerry Garcia and Steve Kimock (among others) and my current rig allows me to nail just about any Grateful Dead or classic rock tone. 

I set out a few years back buying and selling effects pedals on ebay. I'd find good deals on popular pedals, relist them for more than I paid, and used the profits to purchase the pedals I now have. It was a lot of work but now I have what I consider to be a "best of the best" for the tone I want.

So here they are...

The G-Lab Wowee Wah. More than any other pedal, I found it most challenging to find a Wah pedal that I was happy with. Over the years I experimented with countless Dunlop, Vox, and Keeley Modded versions and they all left me wanting something more. I decided to think outside of the box and bought myself this little tank. It has enough switches and options to nail just about any wah tone I could want and it's optical rather than using a band/pulley system which I like. If you can get over the looks of the thing, it's an awesome choice if you're looking for a do-it-all wah pedal.

Next up is the Electro-Harmonix Micro Pog. Unlike the Boss OC pedals, the tracking on this pedal is smooth, and it features both octave up and down sounds. It can go from weird organ sounds to convincing bass tones depending on the settings. I usually play with it with the the dry signal nearly fully intact and the sub octave at about 2 o'clock, with no octave up. It's a critical effect for nailing some of the Garcia/Kimock tones that I love... especially when coupled with an envelope filter. There are other EH POG (and HOG) effects which expand on the features of this pedal but for what I want, this model does the trick.

Sadly, this envelope filter from Emma has been discontinued for a few years now. I was hoping that perhaps they were working on a new and improved model (though I strongly believe they got it right the first time) but I have not seen one. This is hands down the best modern envelope filter I've tried. It's been said to be more Mu-Tronish than the Mu-Tron itself and I can believe it. Having only tried one vintage Mu-Tron, I can say that I'd rather have this than the original. It absolutely rocks on every level. It's simple to use and works well with single coils and humbuckers  (when you adjust the sensitivity). You can get that nasally quack that's just on the edge of blossoming that Jerry used so often on tunes like Fire on the Mountain and Estimated Prophet... it's perfect. It also does full on funk assaults if that's your thing. Having experimented with various Q-Trons, there is no comparison... this is the envelope filter to get your hands on!

Another discontinued pedal, this one from Maxon. Why they discontinued it is beyond me because it's amazing. I experimented with vintage Boss Phasers and a few from MXR and this one plows them under. It can nail any phase tone you're after, from gentle ambient swirling to cosmic rotary weirdness. I usually opt for the gentle but I always like fiddling around with this to find new textures to add to my playing. My only qualm is that it adds a little bass to the mix regardless of which setting you use. When used in combination with the octave and envelope filter, it's tonal bliss.

This is a an odd duck in terms of my effects chain. Let me start by saying that I have no interest in playing in the "metal zone" but the EQ section of this effect is superb. This is the Keeley Modded version of the Boss MT-2. I use it to boost the output of my overdrive pedal and color it slightly. It adds a nice little crunch and sizzle to my lead tones. I never use it as a stand alone OD/distortion effect but if searing metal and crunch is your thing, it would certainly fit the bill. After trying countless combinations of OD/distortion in my rig, the one I have going now is the one I like the best.

It's hard to improve on the classic TS9. It's no surprise that it's as popular as it is. I had a Keeley modded version of the regular TS9 but actually prefer this stock version of the TS9DX. It has some extra features (higher gain modes) but I always have it set on the TS9 mode. I've contemplated sending this one to Keeley to have them mod it but I like it so much as-is that I'd be disappointed if the tone of it changed in any way. I have it set to add just a slight boost with very little OD. 

The T-Rex Replica is hands down the sweetest delay I've used. I'm a delay junkie, I almost always play with this effect on. The "brown" setting is fantastic and the overall tone of the thing is just stunning. It's almost transparent (where I have it set) but adds a richness to my tone and allows the occasional repeat to sneak through. I don't mess with the setting very often but when I'm in the mood for weird backing tracks to jam over, I do use the subdivision switch and up the echo and repeat knobs... it can do some pretty cool stuff with some experimenting. Yeah, it costs a fortune but I got mine used and it is a truly perfect delay pedal IMO. It also has an out for a tuner... a nice touch.

What can I say about this one? It does what it needs to do and like all Boss pedals, it's built like a tank.

Where would I be without my good ol' Boss RC-20 Loop Station? I've had this since they came out with them and have probably laid down thousands of loops with it. (I also have a newer RC-30 but I still use the old one the most... more about that later) Being that I'm not in a band anymore, I do a lot of jamming at home in my studio and basically taught myself how to play lead my laying down loops and jamming over them. For me, this pedal is indispensable. They're may be a better looper out there but I'm happy with this one. 

And last but not least, the BBE Sonic Stomp. Given that my effects chain is a mile long, I decided to try one of these to see what all the fuss was about. It's one of those pedals that doesn't really do anything but I can tell you that whatever it does, or doesn't do, it brought some clarity and definition back to my guitar tone. Just when I think it's not doing anything, I click it off and realize it's doing something after all. If you play through a lengthy effects chain it will reintroduce some of the tone that's being sucked from all those other pedals and countless feet of guitar cables.  

Secondary Pedal Chain

This is the rig that I often gig with, these days I find it to be a royal pain in the ass to drag everything out for a short set. Sometimes I mix it up and bring a few pedals from each rig but I can usually get by with the following. This is also the pedal chain I use in my studio with my little Fender Super Champ head and custom cab. 

For whatever reason I don't primarily use my newer Loop Station with my main guitar rig. Actually, it being used but often not for guitar. This is the pedal I use to loop keys and bass with so it gets moved around a lot. I record whatever backing tracks I'm going to play on this one primarily because it has two tracks and more drum tracks. It seems to work well for this. I miss having the reverse button on this model and honestly find the loop effects to be useless but the addition of all the extra memory and an extra track makes up for it.

The Earthquaker Devices Disaster Transport delay is an awesome little pedal. The modulation section can be clicked off which is a very nice touch given that I don't use it all that much. It does offer a nice chorusy warble that I do occasionally use to flavor my tone but I could live without. I really just like having solid and flexible delay that can be left on to thicken my tone a bit. It's not quite as nice as the T-Rex Replica but it's a close second.  

The decision to purchase an Empress Multidrive was an attempt to replace my TS9 and MT-2 that I use in my regular rig to shorten up my effects chain. It didn't quite fit the bill but it was worth hanging on to. First of all, this thing dishes out three analog flavors of dirt which is pretty sweet. There are more knobs and switches on this thing than the space shuttle but it's surprisingly easy to dial in usable presets. Inside the pedal is a series of toggles that lest you choose which of the three effects you want to use for each preset. For the first preset I simply use the overdrive. I have it set for a slight boost and a very little dirt when you dig in. For the second preset I use all three effects. With all three set on, you can use the volume to dial any of them out (or up). I add some distortion to my OD signal, just enough to give a nice lead tone. I often experiment with using some fuzz too which sounds fantastic. Despite being easy to use, I get distracted by having so many options. I do love the filter toggles however. I use the low pass filter on the fuzz and the high pass filter on the distortion which makes the overall tone melt into one well balanced lead tone. If you're looking for a do-it-all drive pedal, this could be what you're looking for. Short of uber-metal, it covers any flavor you might be looking for and if you're into tone tweaking, this thing will keep you busy indefinitely. My only grips is that the knobs feel a little fragile and that everything is pretty tightly arranged, you have to stomp carefully to avoid hitting the knobs.

The Line 6 M-Series pedals are superb. The M5 has 100 various vintage (and modern) stomp box models all arranged by type (modulation, delay, reverb, od, etc). Programming the thing to get your 20 (or is it 25?) presets dialed in and labeled correctly on the LCD is a royal pain but once it's done it's done. The effects themselves are what you'd expect from Line 6... pretty spot on. There are some fantastic models of way-out that pedals and all the classics are there too. For example the MXR Phase 90 and Boss choruses are well done, as is the MuTron setting. The delays are also top notch. One of my favorites in the Colorsound Wah... I wish I could have found a stand alone wah that I liked as much as the Colorsound setting. I considered an actual Colorsound but they are both expensive and lack any adapter plug. It's hard to say how accurately the pedal actually models some effects given that I've never used the originals but these clones seem pretty close in the instances where I have. It's been a very fun and useful tool for experimenting with different effects, and at $129, it's an amazing value too. 

I'd HIGHLY recommend getting an expression pedal of some sort too... it allows you to make on-the-fly adjustments to most effects while you're playing. You can get some unreal cosmic shifting by messing with delay settings with the expression pedal. I opted a Mission Line6 specific pedal. It's built like a tank and works flawlessly. My only grip with the M5 is that the knobbies feel a little fragile but they're pretty well protected my the little roll bar.