Guitar diaries ep.2: Ibanez EX370

 Today I'm taking care of my second guitar ever and my very first Ibanez.

She's been my mine guitar from 93 to 96 and her actual role is being "my metal strat".

What is a "Metal Strat"? To me it is a Strat guitar that can deliver both stratty/signlecoilous tones and high gain metal one. Just like thoose '80 strats with the black headstock!

The worst thing of this guitar was pickups, but it takes me dacades to understand it.

So I searched the used/lowend market for options. A decent classic single coil that works well with humbuckers and 2 humbuckers that split well..

I choosed a Duncan designed for the bridge. I love this pickup, it is a clone of the Duncan Distortion and works really well. If you dont like it is either not your cup of tea or it has the wrong distance from the strings.

And obviously it split well.

I did my  homework and found that entiwstle pickup are decent and offer a wide range of choice, included modern and high output pickups.

I chosed the HVX for the neck, becaouse it is hot and it is raccomended for the splitting job, and the X62N, that has a classic 60 tone but with an output stay with humbuckers. The HVX is very bassy but without being muddy.

So the guitar now has a very interesting range of tones.

How's the neck? Not stratty at all. it is small and very rounded like a perfect half circle and the fretboard is narrower that the classic Ibanez neck. The frets are small for my test, main drawback for this neck. No tmy actual favorite but it is a nice options to have. I also covered the shark inlays with a fretboard sticket to give it a more clasical look.

The guitar is turning 30 years and ufficially vintage this month so the neck is super stable and also has a very strong yellow acer now.

What's needed? Her very first fret polish is very long due. Maybe some check to the wires.

Guitar diaries ep.1: Jackson Kelly KE3R

 Today i'm dedicating some quality time to my Jackson Kelly 3.

She spents most of the time on his big case since it not so pratical to handle and she has been a "work in progress" to find a new identity for years.

She's the only guitar that has seen live action on a stage, being my main and almost only guitar in that years.

When the bridge duncan designed humbucker died i switch to Ibanez SZ and never looked back.

I tried some EMG because of the plastic cover look but never liked it and i didnt have the experience to understand why.

Recently i upgraded tu an ibanez quantum on the bridge, i pickup that i like a lot and i started likeing what i hear agian.

Today i'm comparing with my Ibby S with the same bridge pickup. What  i've found is that the S has a very warm tone and the Kelly is more on the treble side, more glassy. I think that the poplar wood of the body is making the difference.

I'm ok with that since you should not want all your guitars to sound the same, so same pickup with different result is ok.

I think this trebles richness is the main reason for the EMG fail.

Problem is that it still have the EMG on the neck. Also the soldering on the EMG failed today so some work is due anyway.

I need to make a decision for a pickup on that position.

Rational is: this is a fairly simple guitar, no tone control, simple 3 way switch with no splitting. I plan to keep its soul raw and simple, so i shuld find a good match for the bridge pickup. Usually you have 2 macro options: a creamy lead pickup or a more acustic one. I have some spare for the second option an di really dont know what should sound good here i i lean toward the first option: do i need to compensate the midrange on the neck. Altrough the neck joint isnt real that comfortable. Access is good at 20 fret, accettable at 22 but is a no go on 24 fret. The last to fret are almost aestical.

Is this guitar going for surgery today or i need to wait to find the right pickup?

Steve Lukater - Bogner - (Ampero Weekly Preset 13)

 Being Steve Lukater a session guy it is hard to track down what gear was used in a particular track. If you watch pictures from the studio sessions you will see a parade of amps.

But since many ossociate Lulater with bogner i've watched a demo of the guy using that amp and worked on that tone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouPa5swr610

Side note: You will see 3 amps in the video. You will read a number of explanations for the number of stacks you see on many stages: it's a backup, only the power section is used to have more power on stage (???). I have a different one. A lot of BIG do not change channel, they change amp to get different tones. There are many reason. If you use 3 amps, one for the clean, one for the crunch and one for the rythm, you can feed diffrent cabs with different speaker and mike position. A very good example is the clean tone. Many prefer 2x12 open cab for the clean tones. Petrucci on stage uses 2x12 cab for the clean tone. Vai has been spotted several time using 2x12 fenders for the clean tones.

Lets talk about the Boger XT (aka Bogner Ecstasy). We have 4 option modeled after 2 of the channels of the real amp, 2 different switch position for every channel.

The Blue Vintage is the starting point. Like a Plexi with a fully working eq stack. Its modern counterpart is like an hotrodded plexi: more gain.

The Red has even more gain and it is voiced to have more mids, has you will expect from a lead channel. Some will define the Red Vintage as an hotrodded midboosted plexi and the modern like a trip in the JCM800 territory.

Lets talk about the preset now, this i sthe signal chain:

The first 2 are deactivated, we have:

a touch wah

a MIB distortion that Lukater uses as a lead boost

then we have the amp:

almost default settings with less mids and more gain. Sorta of all round. I've choosen the Blue modern channel because it is the more "in the middle". I can go from the lead tone in the video to almost clean by rolling off the volume.

Then the Fast Gate Noise suppressor and the Boger CAB, default settings:

The usual shelf EQ

Then another disabled effect:

An univibe is always present in Steve's pedalboards! Just switch it on and experiment.

(Also a chorus, if you like...)

Lukater uses a lot of delays with various settings, this is in the ballpark of the standard lead setting:

I've choosen the Ekopress for its vintage subtle character.

And finally the classic studio reverb, a plate:

If you noticed that my icon is different and want to know why, you can find it here:

https://ridingthemustang.blogspot.com/2020/12/amperoeditorhack.html

The preset was made for headphone playing, input level at 0 and not global EQ.

As usual you can download the preset from the user group!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/HotoneAmperoUsers/

If you think that i nailed the preset or i am completely wrong you can write down here in the comment or in the fb group!

John Petrucci - Dream Theater - Peruvian Skies - Clean with phaser Preset (Weekly Preset 12)

 Generally speacking, making a Petrucci preset is not a big deal. I made this one with my "to go" clean preset, the "65 pure". It is a Fender Twin preset, wich is "american voiced" like any MB clean channell. Usualy i go for the Lone star for petrucci but you cant go wrong eather way. My tips here is: Petrucci for its clean tone goes for perfect clean, so do the same. Keep the gain pretty low, use as much treble as you can to get definition on the low strings without hitting the edge of breakup, keep the basses low to avoid mudness and just a touch of mids (or nothing at all). On the fender amp any control affect the others so dont fear to set the mids to zero since they are not really. Or, if you want a perfectly clean tone with no effort, go for the Jazz clean, sound fantastic and always stay clean.

Then my to go cab setting for the black twin:

I also use an EQ to rise another bit the patch volume:

After you create your super clean amp, you just add the magic with a phaser:

To my taste the Twirl P (Phaser with tremolo/pan) is pure magic!

Finally a reverb si needed if you play with headphones like me.

The preset was made for headphone playing, input level at 0 and not global EQ.

As usual you can download the preset from the user group!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/HotoneAmperoUsers/

A list of all my presets can be found here

If you think that i nailed the preset or i am completely wrong you can write down here in the comment or in the fb group!

Surf Spring Reverb Ampero Preset (Weekly preset 11) and Spring reverb tutorial

SPRING REVERBS! Let's talk about it!

Did you know that we have options on the Ampero? The Izumi is modeled after the successeful Malekko Spring.

The Malekko is based on tree PT2399 chips in cascade so i assume that making a model was easy for Hotone. As far as i can ear it is apretty accurate model. The Malekko costs half my Ampero One so it is a good deal!

My guess is that the other Spring reverb in the Ampero is a TC Electronics one (looks like the Ampero Engeeners have a passion for TCE pedals!). I based that on the knobs layout and the tone character. I choose the TCE Drip for the graphics because i found it cool.

Here are my favorite settings for both.

If you noticed that my icon is different and want to know why, you can find it here:

https://ridingthemustang.blogspot.com/2020/12/amperoeditorhack.html

The Izumi gives is best at the end of the chain for 2 reason: it adds some push if you place in front of the amp (unless you like it) and it fakes the DRIP with short delay that emphatise your pick scratch if you put in front. The Spring works better in front (more full and lush) but it is a bit dark (indeed like a TC sping pedal!) and you need to crank the tone knob to get its best DRIP performance.

If you crank the controls on the Izumi/Malekko you can get some pretty cool/weird tone in between a reverb and a chorus.

The way i made the preset this time is different. I didnt copy anything in particular. I just wanted to make it works at its best, make the reverb sound at its best. I choose the Spring because i find it more springy and i wanted to put it in front of the amp. If you want to use the Izumi just set it and move after the cab.

As amp i settle for a Fender Twin:

My idea of surf is a slight breakup but clean so i chose to slightly push a very clean amp. I put emphasis on the trebles because i want to ear the dripp at its best. Do not roll off!

Usually i put i slight Costum gate in every preset. Not here, you dont want to ruin the tail of the reverb and you dont need it.

I used the same cab setting as the Princess preset, just because it sounds good and some time you better choose the easy way!

As usual i placed a shelf EQ next, but i tried to keep much more high frequences to protect the reverb tone:

You may think it is over, but i fell like the spring reverb is not a proper reverb so i added a second one with the usual trick of the Ekoverb:

The delay is off here but if you want it you just have to set it properly. The Rvb setting is subtle, just to add some ambience if you play with headphone (to me it really changes the preset!). Hi Cut set to zero always for the same reason,

The preset was made for headphone playing, input level at 0 and not global EQ.

As usual you can download the preset from the user group!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/HotoneAmperoUsers/

If you think that i nailed the preset or i am completely wrong you can write down here in the comment or in the fb group!

You can see my list of tutorials here:

https://ridingthemustang.blogspot.com/2021/03/ampero-preset-list.html

John Petrucci - Dream Theater - Rythm Ampero Preset (Weekly Preset 10)

 Petrucci equates to Mesa Boogie and when it comes to MB there is few things i would like to tell you.

First thing the tone controls are also gain control (on high gain channels) and they also interact each other (like on many other amps but MORE!). Also the bass setting should be "just the amount you can handle". You put all the control to 12' (50) and then roll back the basses until it sounds good and defined.

One thing about basses and dual rectifiers. The "something special" on rectifiers is that they have big trasformers that allow you to get boomy basses without "falling apart". Indeed waht John does is get a tight tone in the preamp section and then push the basses in the graphic EQ. Because the power amp section can handle it! Obviously any modeler does not have "big tranformers" an cant emulate big volume, air pressure and so on. It is not its job.

I rolled back a bit the middles and push the trebles to get more defined sound and more gain.

This particular preset is my "smooth" one. It is not extreme and works decently for any song, with any guitar and has some more gain for soloing. The classic "not perfect for enything but good for everything".

For a lead tone you will need usually some more bass and gain, some less treble and a lot more middle.

Here is the cab:

The recto cab is oversized for better bass rendition, the ideal partner for a MB high gain amp with its properties. I mic'ed it very oddly with a Dyn112, mostly used for drums but here it seems to be the best obtions. Sometime you just need to trust your ears.

My EQ block does my classic shelf plus the trick of the basses like petrucci does. You can do all the Vshape EQing but i did not find that much difference and i enduo with change only what make a real difference to my ears.

The i "doubled" the track with a delay:

30ms 1 reapeat to emulate a second guitar. I tested various delay, we have plenty with different tones. If you want ot know whats the difference between the various options just set time to 1000ms and play some note with every stomp in the ampero. I choose the sweetie/boss after testing all with this preset because i faound that the change of tone (with ess trebles) in the repeats works best in simulating a second guitar with a slightly different tone. On the opposite the Pure Echo emulates a digital perfect repetition that does not work well in this context making the overall result a bit too arsh. Analog delays works well also for lead delays (3-4 repeats 300-450ms 20-30% mix) because the lack of high frequences separates well the raw signal from the repeats. Someone would say that the delay does not get into your playing too much. Digital delays better use is with modern clean parts, in my opinion.

If you noticed that my icon is different and want to know why, you can find it here:

https://ridingthemustang.blogspot.com/2020/12/amperoeditorhack.html

Petrucci does not like reverbs, but he refers to playing with a 4x12 in an ambient. I am using headphones and i am mainly chasing the recording tone. Obviously in the recording there is some reverb and usualy iti a studio plate. A small amount, especially for the rythm part. Much more for a lead tone, in my taste.

Last tip of this very long post. I am using an ampero one and usually i use the 3 switch for clean, crunch and lead tone. I've found that i can use different reverb setting for different patch, but everything is more natural if i use the same type of reverb for all the patches. It is more natural sounding in the transition to my ears. Not like changing room when i swith patch!

The preset was made for headphone playing, input level at 0 and not global EQ.

As usual you can download the preset from the user group!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/HotoneAmperoUsers/

If you think that i nailed the preset or i am completely wrong you can write down here in the comment or in the fb group!

You can see my list of tutorials here:

https://ridingthemustang.blogspot.com/2021/03/ampero-preset-list.html

Ampero preset list

 Joe Satriani

Metallica

Kiko Loureiro

Fender Princeton

Ac/Dc

John Mayer Clean

Megadeth Youthanasia

Paul Gilbert - Mr.Big - Lean into it

Keith Richards - Rolling stones - Honkytonk woman

John Petrucci - Dream Theater - Peruvian Skies