New Gear!! Korg Pandora PX5

I just picked up the Pandora Px5 guitar effects processor and amp modeler. This is one cool little piece of gear! The sound quality on these things is truly unreal... I would easily put it up there with a Pod XT for recording. These are great for practicing and/or quick recordings of scratch tracks or musical ideas. If handled properly even final guitar parts could conceivably be done with it.

Click the link below for a quick demo I did using only the Korg Pandora Px5 for drums, rhythm guitar tones and lead. I used the free Ableton software included in the box to record everything.

Korg Pandora Px5 recording test (mp3, 2.02 MB)


Unlike previous versions you can now plug in to your computer via USB for updates and also to create and organize patches, drum loop chains and more. It is a very cool little device that is not much bigger than a cellphone! I highly recommend one of these for someone looking for a great practice tool that can also double as a piece of serious recording gear.

Deluxe Strat Overhaul

After the resounding success in cutting a new nut for the used Music Man Sub1 I recently purchased, I decided to go ahead and replace the nut on my '02 Candy Tangerine American Deluxe Stratocaster. Some years ago the original nut was replaced with bone by a local luthier soon after I bought the guitar, but I quickly realized how badly bone nuts can bind with tremolo use so I had it changed to Graph Tech by another local luthier. This nut was very poorly installed, with a large empty space underneath most on the length of the nut! This practically killed most of the open string notes on the guitar.

Cutting the new nut took me two tries to get right, mostly because of the funky nut slot in this guitar. It was not a nice, neat slot like the one on the Music Man. I finally got a good fit and I am very pleased with the result! Of course, I used my favorite nut material (Slip-Stone) since it works so well with tremolo use... plus, it is creme colored for a stock Fender look.






Next I took off the horrible Graph Tech hybrid saddles I installed some time ago and went back to the stock stainless steel bridge saddles the guitar originally came with. Not only do these sound better, but with a small application of 3 in 1 oil on each saddle at the point of string contact they also bind less than Graph Tech saddles. No kidding!

One last thing I did was to put back the original string tree that came on the guitar. My goal with the nut material color, original saddles and original string tree was to get the guitar back to its stock look. And I succeeded. ;) It plays and sounds better than ever.

Les Paul Boutique Pickup Shootout!!

I was privileged to get to try out some fantastic boutique humbucker pickups that a great guy from the Gear Page was kind enough to lend me to try in my Les Pauls (thanks, 70sRocker!). Two of the specimens I received were WCR humbuckers designed specifically for Les Pauls (though they'd probably sound good in other guitars, as well), and the other was a Voodoo Florence. Each one had its own flavor and tone, and they all sounded good. I installed all these for testing in my '06 R7 Goldtop.

The three I had were the Peter Florence Voodoo (bridge pu), the Crossroads (neck pu) and the high-output Ironman (bridge pu). I really liked the Ironman due to the massive sound and output. This thing is a monster! :) Overall, though, it was a bit dark for my taste.

Test recordings done with the Ironman bridge humbucker in my 2006 Les Paul R7 Goldtop:

Dirty Lead (mp3, 1.2 MB) - Lead over a backing track I laid down - both tones recorded with Line 6 TonePort

Clean Tone (mp3, 434 KB) - Clean tone using Mesa Boogie Mark III, Bogner 2x12 cab mic'ed with SM57 straight into the computer, no EQ.

Next up was the Crossroads neck pickup. This thing was warm and creamy... just the perfect thing to fatten up the neck position in a Les Paul. Sometimes Les Paul neck pickups can be a bit on the bright side, and I like that sound, too... but this pickup was just gorgeous and fat.

Test recordings done with the Crossroads neck humbucker in my 2006 Les Paul R7 Goldtop:

Dirty Lead (mp3, 1.2 MB) - Lead over a backing track I laid down - both tones recorded with Line 6 TonePort

Clean Tone (mp3, 434 KB) - Clean tone using Mesa Boogie Mark III, Bogner 2x12 cab mic'ed with SM57 straight into the computer, no EQ.

Test recordings done with the Voodoo bridge humbucker in my friend's 2003 Les Paul R9 Dark Burst:

Dirty Lead (mp3, 1.2 MB) - Lead over a backing track I laid down - both tones recorded with Line 6 TonePort

I did a control test using my beautiful 2007 R9 Cherry Burst Les Paul with stock Burstbucker pickups. I think the Burstbuckers in this guitar sound every bit as good tonally as the boutiques. Let your ears be the judge. ;)

Test recordings done with the BurstBucker bridge humbucker in my 2007 Les Paul R9 Cherry Burst:

Dirty Lead (mp3, 1.2 MB) - Lead over a backing track I laid down - both tones recorded with Line 6 TonePort

Clean Tone (mp3, 434 KB) - Clean tone using Mesa Boogie Mark III, Bogner 2x12 cab mic'ed with SM57 straight into the computer, no EQ.

Test recordings done with the BurstBucker neck humbucker in my 2007 Les Paul R9 Cherry Burst:

Dirty Lead (mp3, 1.2 MB) - Lead over a backing track I laid down - both tones recorded with Line 6 TonePort

Clean Tone (mp3, 434 KB) - Clean tone using Mesa Boogie Mark III, Bogner 2x12 cab mic'ed with SM57 straight into the computer, no EQ.

Well, that is it for the boutique pickup shootout. ;) It was a lot of fun and very eye opening in terms of tone and pickup types. I really enjoyed this a lot, and if it weren't for 70sRocker from the Gear Page, I'd never have gotten the chance to play with these.

New Guitar!! James Tyler Classic Strat

Yes! It finally happened... I got a Tyler. I've been wanting one of these for a couple of years now, but I could never just pull the trigger and buy one. It turns out that Jim Tyler is now sick with a number of ailments and the future of Tyler guitars is uncertain. It is rumored that he may even decide to stop building instruments altogether, so naturally I just had to snap this one up when it came along.

A very nice friend from the Gear Page (that also lives right down the road from me) grabbed this brand new beauty at a guitar show in Nashville, TN over the weekend (this guitar was unplayed and still in factory packing). At $3200.00 and some change the price was slightly less than retail with no tax, which I was happy about. ;) This particular specimen is a Candy Apple Red Classic model with a covered humbucker in the bridge position and two singles in the middle and neck with a 5 way switch, a volume and two tone knobs. It has a Wilkinson vintage tremolo bridge, standard Graph Tech nut and awesome quality Kluson tuners that I've never seen before. Not sure if these are Schaller, Sperzel or Grovers... but they are very nice tuners.

The whole guitar is a work of art from the ultra smooth finish to the precise fretwork and perfectly sculpted neck and body. It is a real pleasure to play and it sounds fantastic! The bridge pickup is low output, very clear and not too bright (not sure yet if this one is a Tyler creation or a Duncan). However, it sounds more like a single coil on steroids than a true humbucker. The two single coil pickups are almost certainly DiMarzio Virtual Vintage singles. I have two of these in another Strat and so I am pretty familiar with them. The overall sound of the guitar is nice and dark with Stratty overtones... this is definitely a modern sounding Strat... no ice pick here. This a pure progressive rock, fusion guitar with plenty of balls for when you need it, but still gentle and elegant when you're going for the melodic lines.

The weight is nice at 7.69 lbs. and the fat neck is dream to play on. With tall wide frets, multi-radiused fret board and neck join cut-away shred licks are a breeze and the satin finish guarantees fast playing action. The only mod I've done so far was to drop a Strat tremolo arm spring into the Wilkinson trem arm holder to keep the tremolo arm from sinking too deep into the hole. This is a design flaw on vintage style Wilkinson tremolos, but a super easy fix nonetheless. I have the trem float set to about one full step of pull-up on the G string at the 12th fret. This is usually where I set my floating Strat tremolos as a rule, and this guitar is no exception. This gives me enough pull-up for good vibrato and cool 80's style flutter effects when desired. ;)

This is a fantastic guitar and I am so happy to finally have one in my collection. I waited to the last minute to buy one, that's for sure. But had I bought sooner I'd have surely paid too much, so it really did work out in the long run.

New Locking Tuners for R9 Les Paul

Based on the success of the TK-735-001 Gotoh Locking Tuners for Les Pauls that I put on my R7 Goldtop, I decided to purchase another set for my R9. The installation was just as smooth as it was for the R7, and tuning stability is much better, even though this guitar was pretty stable to begin with.

Apart from the tuning stability, I also love the ease of string changes. Much faster and easier to slide a string in, lock and tune up than to have to deal with multiple wraps. I can't stress enough how good the quality on these things is and how much they look like original equipment.

These can be rather difficult to track down, but can usually be purchased at Elderly Instruments or Allparts.com and Amazon:

Music Man Sub1 Gets a New Nut

Well, I finally had the nuts to make a nut. ;) After all this time of thinking about it, planning and imagining how I would do it I finally got some basic nut making tools and just did it! I had so much fun in the process, too. I ordered a very affordable set of 8 nut files from Warmoth, part #NFS8 for only $64.00. These would have cost a fortune on Stew Mac, so do some shopping for things like these before just assuming (like I do most times) that the only place you can find luthery equipment is Stew Mac. ;)

I also purchased the String Spacing Rule (this time from Stew Mac) that is simply incredible. Click here to go to the product page and view the video on how this thing works. It really is a time saver and makes it easy for even a novice like me to cut a perfect nut the very first time! Awesome. I also bought a bulk of six "Slip-Stone" nut blanks from Stew Mac... Slip-Stone is my favorite nut material. It has a more mellow sound than bone, but it cuts easily and is extra "slippery" making it perfect for tremolo equipped guitars and players that bend a lot (I fit both categories). It also has a cream color instead of black like Graph Tech, so these are great if you prefer the appearance of the original stock plastic or bone nut your guitar came with.

Armed with these tools, a sheet of 180 grit and 1500 grit sandpapers (plus my trusty Dremel tool) I was able to fashion a nut for my Music Man Sub1 out of a Slip-Stone blank. I started by loosening the strings on the guitar and laying them off to each side of the neck. I then lightly tapped the old nut out with two screwdrivers... one with the handle end on the end of the nut like a chisel, and the other to tap the screwdriver held in place. The nut loosened and slid out of the slot a tad bit and I then was able to get it out completely by pulling it like a "tooth" with a pair of needle nose pliers (it did break in half in the process, however). Once the old nut was free I was able to examine it carefully and use it as a template to copy for my new nut. ;) I thoroughly cleaned and trued up the neck slot with sandpaper to remove old glue, lacquer and any other debris that might prevent my new nut from fitting snugly.

I started sanding on the nut blank to reduce thickness (so it would fit in the slot on the guitar neck) by laying the blank down flat on my 180 grit sheet of sandpaper and sanding it evenly (I double-sticky taped the sandpaper to my workbench for a makeshift sanding block). Once I had the thickness reduced enough for a nice tight fit in the slot, I then laid the old nut on top of the blank and marked in pencil how much to sand off vertically to get the overall height of the blank down closer to that of the old nut. Once the overall height was reduced I placed the blank back on the neck and made sure it was pressed firmly and evenly in the slot. This neck slot was curved to match the neck radius of 10"... so I needed to add that curvature to the bottom of the nut in order for it to fit properly. So, with the blank firmly and evenly pressed in the slot, I drew the neck radius right onto the nut using a pencil. This gave me the exact shape I needed to sand away the excess from the bottom of the nut to create the curve. I used my Dremel tool for this and it worked beautifully. Once I was done I cleaned and trued up the Dremel work with a small sheet of 180 grit sandpaper followed with 1500 grit. I had a perfect radius that fit the slot exactly!

I was now ready to mark the string slots. Here is where the Spacing Rule I just bought saved me the aggravation of marking slots with formulas. I marked my two E strings at the recommended 1/8th inch measurement from the two outside edges of the nut. I measured and discovered that this is where the previous nut had the two E strings slotted, as well. Once this was done I lined up the ruler marks until I found a set that matched my outside slots, and then I marked the four inner strings with pencil... perfect string spacing! :) How easy was that?

From here all I needed to do was slot the marks with my new nut files and then take up any remaining nut length so I didn't have any overhang... then I Dremel'd down the height and shaped the nut until it looked attractive and had a nice form. All this was very quick and easy work. Caution must be taken when cutting slots, however, as it is very easy to over file a slot and ruin a nut. And believe me, after doing all that work you'd be very upset if you got all the way to cutting slots and then ruined the nut by going too deep! ;) After the nut was completed and I tested the strings in place and was pleased with the spacing and slot height, I placed three small drops of water diluted wood glue in the neck slot for the final bond. I pressed in the nut and placed the remaining strings (that hadn't broken in the process) into their respective slots and tuned them up to keep pressure on the nut while the glue set.






I am very proud of my work here, and now feel like I could make a nut for any guitar. For about $100 in tools and materials I just saved myself $50 - $60 on a nut job by a pro. With the next job I do on my Deluxe Strat I will break even on my monetary investment in tools. There's nothing like being your own guitar tech! :)

New Eminence Legend GB12 Speakers for Bogner Cabinet

I had an Eminence Legend GB12 8 ohm speaker just laying around from when I had my Blues Jr. amp. I ended up selling that amp, so I had this speaker stored in the closet doing nothing. ;) I figured I could buy another one and experiment with these in my Bogner 2x12 cabinet. It came loaded with Celestion Vintage 30's, which are notoriously harsh and "fizzy". The Legend GB's are voiced similarly to the classic Celestion Greenbacks, which are warmer and less harsh than Vin 30's. So I figured I'd give them a try in my Bogner to see if I liked them.

I soldered them in wired parallel. The old speakers were 16 ohms each wired in parallel for a total load of 8 ohms. The new Emi's are 8 ohms each, so wired in parallel the cabinet load now totals 4 ohms. My Boogie has one 8 ohm speaker out jack and two 4 ohm speaker out jacks. The Boogie does prefer an 8 ohm load when possible, but it can and does run comfortably on a single 4 ohm load.

The first thing that struck me about the sound of the Eminence Legend GB12's was the total elimination of the fizz I had been hearing in my Mark III since I bought it (this includes using the amp's own preamp distortion, as well as the Jekyll & Hyde pedal!) . It turns out that this fizziness was, in fact, caused mostly by trebly and harsh speakers, not so much by the amp itself. I only wish I had known this 16 years ago. ;) The Legends have a nice round, warm tone to them with a good fat low end that, surprisingly, does not bottom out with high gain riffing. I actually found that I needed to add treble via the Mark III's graphic EQ, whereas before I always needed to cut those frequencies. I also hear a very different and distinct midrange tone... very "wood" like.

I am really pleased with these speakers. As far as I am concerned these speakers took a good amp and turned it into a great amp! I can't wait to hear my Kingsley through them. ;)

New Locking Tuners for R7 Les Paul

After getting my first Les Paul and doing several string changes I remembered how much I dislike 3-on-a-side pegheads. They're terrible for restringing because you have to go "backwards" on the treble side, which always requires me to pick the guitar up off the bench to string that side because I can't switch hands for winding (yes, I am mentally challenged). Plus, keeping a Les Paul in tune with the stock tuners can be a challenge, depending on the guitar. This one definitely could use the locking tuners. ;)

After doing some research I found some fantastic Kluson tulip-style locking tuners to replace the stock ones on a Les Paul. The TK-735-001 Gotoh Locking Vintage Kluson tuners. These are a perfect replica of the Les Paul Klusons and they retrofit without any need for drilling new holes. Most people would never even realize you changed them unless they did a really close inspection. ;) They work great, too, which is the most important thing.

I can highly recommend these... and I'll surely be ordering another set for my R9 Les Paul, asap. I got mine at Allparts.com but they are also available at Elderly Instruments and on Amazon: GOTOH VINTAGE STYLE LOCKING TUNER 3+3 NICKEL

New Guitar!! Ernie Ball Music Man Sub1

My buddy, Nik, bought a used Ernie Ball Music Man Sub1 recently at Guitar Center at a blow-out price of $200. It was in rough shape (mostly dirty) and was in dire need of a new nut and a good setup. I agreed to help him clean, repair and set it up, so he bought it. These guitars have been discontinued by Music Man because they were having trouble making a profit at the low prices they were selling them for (around $600 -$700 street price new).

After cleaning the guitar thoroughly and getting some fresh strings on it, I realized just how good these guitars are. The Sub1 line was made in the USA and they sport some pretty fantastic necks, very reminiscent of the Silhouette Music Man models. The stock pickups sound great... this particular model is the dual humbucker version with Music Man "vintage" style tremolo. The tremolo works unbelievably well, and with a new nut it will be even better. The trem versions of the Sub1 even come with locking tuners!

I had to order a new trem bar because the previous owner lost it, no doubt. Other than that there is nothing else to buy or replace on this guitar except the nut. This will be my first foray into nut making, but I am ready. I have some nut files on order (they should arrive today, in fact), and I have also purchased various Stew-Mac rulers and other goodies to facilitate the procedure. I'll get the whole process up on the blog as soon as I can. Learning the art of nut making will be a big step for me in becoming my own completely independent guitar tech and repairman.

I have decided to buy this guitar from Nik, since I feel that it will be a great "beater" guitar to take places where I'd be concerned about having some of my nicer gear with me. It plays and sounds every bit as good as my higher-end guitars. My only complaint is that the pickguard feels a bit rough to the touch. I may replace it with a Silo pickguard at some point, if it will fit. Otherwise, I am very pleasantly surprised with this guitar (especially for $200!).

$22,500 Eddie Van Halen Frankenstein Replica!!

No, I didn't actually buy it. :) I wish I could have, though. This thing was awesome to behold... an exact replica of the guitar that the man Himself made. It was stunning to see all the detail that they were able to put into this thing... and what stunned me the most was just how "real" and "frankenstein" it looked in person. I think most of us are used to seeing this guitar in photos of Eddie playing, posing for ads, etc. But to see this guitar in person it literally looks like a cheap, slapped-together piece of crap (and it is!).

And that is one of the many inspirations of Eddie Van Halen on my playing. That he could actually put together a guitar made of cheap, second-hand parts and still play like a virtuoso on it is a testament to skill and talent over quality of instrument, or "name brand" labels. If you're good you can make music on anything.