Rocket Science

My attitude is... most stuff IS rocket science. If you approach everything professionally, with the attitude that
it's rocket science, it not only becomes easy, it becomes cool. Take a professional pedal board and matching case...
I just went down the hill in Hollywood, to A&S Flight Cases... and picked myself up my first pedalboard and case. If you are going to assemble a nice little collection of high-end (or low) pedals, why not protect the tools of your trade? And just like
gearmanndude says... get a nice Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 to power it all up.

Way Huge....

Way Huge™ pedal (from the past) on the way... more info soon....

GEARMANNDUDE...

Whether you think Gearmanndude is Jack Black or not (some of his ... or maybe MOST of his famous youtube videos seem to have his voice-overs, in any case this guy has some seriously great humor... you can watch 'em all for some great entertainment, and learn a lot about guitars and pedals too) I just bought his 'custom painted' version of the 'Lutherdrive Overdrive'... based on the vintage TS-808 Tubescreamer cicuit. The Luther circuit is modified to have a tighter bottom end (in the demo's I've seen...it DOES), and it DOES have better clarity too... and all the artwork to boot....anyway... check 'em out.... more on it when I get it.

Lovepedal 'Toxic'

I have a Lovepedal 'Toxic' on the way... it's secondhand, with the chips to prove it...it has been described as 'way unique'.. and even with just one knob, is 'not a one-trick pony'. One reviewer said 'turned all the way up the toxic wants to rip my head off with massive, raging distortion/fuzz'. I'll have more to say when she arrives....

Little Green Wonder

Here is my latest addition to my growing pedal collection...made by BJF pedals. They are made by Bjorn Juhl... apparently his pedal genius started with his father ... who told him "What you need you can make yourself". This led to Bjorn using his mother's radio to build his first amplifier. His naming of the pedals is based on 'Adjective + Color + Device Function'... hence other pedals like 'Baby Blue Overdrive' and 'Dyna Red Distortion'. The 'Baby Blue Overdrive' gives overdriven sounds to a clean amplifier... for blues, fusion and country players. My 'Little Green Wonder' is for people who don't like TS Type Pedals (Tube Screamers... like the Ibanez Tube screamer which is an overdrive effect pedal with light distortion similar to the sound created by an overdriven tube amp... and sort of bluesy). Bjorn describes the Little Green Wonder as having high headroom overdrive and a stackable TS of sorts... and it's very much up to overdriving distorting amplifiers, but can also be used on it's own as a smoothing pedal for fuzzes or bright amplifiers (he says... ). Anyway, go to the link to read more about his 'Honey Bee OD' and 'Blue Berry Base Overdrive' too. Also his 'Dyna Red Distortion', 'Emerald Green Distortion Machine'.... 'Candy Apple Fuzz'...'Pink Purple Fuzz'... 'Pale Green Compressor'...'Red Rooster Booster'...'Baby Pink Booster'....hmmmmm...and all the drawings on the inside are made by Eva Juhl.... (Mrs. Bjorn)....my sister-in-law is Swedish, so I totally get all this.

Neat Pedal- Love Pedals

I found this Little Darling pictured on line... if she sounds as good as she looks, I bet she's worth the price. (I know this isn't a swear word... just the technical term for my dog). Go to Love Pedals to see what they currently have...

ZENKUDO

I was checking my bank account today, and found that I might (currently) be a little short on cash to afford the $55,000.00 to get a nice Dumble Amplifier head... but 'No Worries'... there is always ZENKUDO...Toshihiko Tanabe manufactures these pedals in Japan as a hobby, and you can order them directly from him. The Dumkudo (overdrive) is better suited to what I play (Telecaster with a singlecoil pickup)... so I am readying my $330 in a pile so I can get my 'Dumble' in a box. There are 3 modes.. LED RED = Marshall mode, LED BLUE = DUMKUDO MODE, and LED GREEN = DUMBLE MODE. And hey... I just saved $54,700, so I am going out for dinner tonight. Seriously though... check them out.

Dumble?

What is a Dumble Amp? I have heard a lot about these amps over the past couple years. He is rumored to build amps that cannot be discribed in
mortal words... I never really followed up on what Dumble was all about... until today. He has been building his amps for
many years. If you go to this link here... you can read a lot of rumors. Stories include odd clauses in your build contract (when you order the amp) that specify that if you call Mr Dumble before he is done building your amp, he keeps the amp. There is also another story that you must make your own shipping arrangements, and then send someone to Mr Dumble's door with a specially built box to pick your amp up (when it is ready). Prices are spoken of in urban-legend-type-tones... and supposedly range from $2500 (if you don't mind waiting... probably a long time)... to $5000 (for faster service... maybe, I am guessing, still in your lifetime)... to $15,000 (rumored... but possibly untrue). Wikipedia says his amps are now worth roughly the price of a condo in Florida, and there are still only a few hundred out there (to date). Since the 1980's he has been sealing his circuitry in some sort of 'goop' to prevent people trying to copy his secrets. Someone joked online that you have a better chance of making friends with John Mayer (who owns most of the Dumble amps out there supposedly)... and having him randomly give you
a Dumble... that of actually getting Dumble to build you one... As you know (if you read my posts) I am a follower and player of Louis Electric Amps, and own an early KR12, and a Buster Amp. I find my Louis Amps all I could ever want... but who knows... maybe one day I'll also have a Dumble (as long as I can resist calling him of course, before it is ready).... I guess I should also start saving. Someone on-line says that your best bet (remaining in reality here folks) is to get yourself a Kelley amp if you can find one, if you love the sound of a Dumble (and probably John Mayer).... also apparently try Two Rock Amps... they managed to get the 'goop' off a Dumble and find out what goes into them... apparently John Mayer agrees... he sent them his credit card. Buy a Two Rock 'Jet' Amp here. For further Dumble research... you can go here. Also, if you really want a Dumble, but lack 55K lying around your house.... maybe buy a Zendrive... for more info on these great pedals known as "Dumble In A Box" go here.

The Strength of A Gorilla

Higher gauge strings (ie. "thickerer" strings) can rock your world. I have .09/.11/.15/.30/.42/.52 on my Tele right now. I was having fun with The Black Keys "Thickfreakness", and noticed that thicker strings, and bare fingered playing... led to some really enjoyable tone. It seemed to feel much better having more string to play. Higher gauge strings supposedly result in slower attack and increased sustain... but that would depend on how strong your hands are, and how you play, but I guess it is all relative. If I use the same force on lighter strings (still playing Thickfreakness) they vibrate too much. Some claim that heavy strings have a clearer and more lively tone than lighter strings too... they also sustain longer, and have more effect on your pickups (same as moving your pickup closer to a light string). Some say they have stronger harmonics, more compressed attack, and a higher output, which I would agree with. Other ways to get compressed sound is through the use of a pedal... but the a pedal will not give you that great thick-string feel when you go play (if that is what you crave). You can also put a higher output pickup in your guitar... if that is what it is all about... or move the one you've got closer to the strings (as mentioned).
Heavier strings are more uncomfortable to play for some, but that would depend on how you like to play. If you have the strength of a gorilla, it's only going to feel better with thicker strings. If, on the other hand (no pun here) you begin to get signs of carpal tunnel syndrome.. you're not the gorilla you thought you were... so back off on the string gauges.
As we all know, Stevie Ray Vaughan loved heavy strings, and is rumored to have put Crazy Glue on his finger tips, to make it more comfortable to play those big cables.... anyway... give it a shot (but don't forget to have someone file your nut slots to fit those new strings!). Go here for more on this topic.

Build-it-yourself...

Why not build your own pickup? Alright... maybe you got a lot of things to do... like make a living, and don't want to save the $80 for someone else to do it for you...but if you want to learn how it goes together, and rejoice when it actually works... go here.