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Topics - greenlion

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The Pickup Place / Review of Dimarzio's Occult Classic 7-String Set
« on: February 16, 2023, 09:48:36 PM »
The description of this new set sounds like something I would like, but I haven't heard anyone say anything about them yet. Anyone know anything beyond the ad copy?

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The Pickup Place / Pickups you have changed your mind about...
« on: June 20, 2020, 12:01:40 AM »
Over the years, my opinion of certain pickups has changed quite a bit. Some pickups like the Air Zone, I have always gotten along with in many guitars. Some that I initially disliked in one guitar, like the Norton bridge, became a favorite when I installed it in a PRS Singlecut. The 36th Anniversary went from bland to amazing when I put them in a Les Paul where they belong. I also found the Breed bridge boring until I put it in a Jackson DK2M. Some that I began playing years ago like the Duncan JB and Jazz are my least favorites now. Every time I retry them, I like them for a few days and then they start getting on my nerves again. Some like the Cruiser single coil I had to learn how to use, and now I love it. I left some, like the Duncan 59, behind long ago thinking I could find something better for an SG Standard only to return full circle and wonder why I wanted anything else.

What pickups have you liked or disliked only to change your mind later?

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One page comparing pickups finally made it past the first page of comments and gets locked down for no apparent reason, other than some moderator got bored with it. There is a reason this forum has been dead for a LONG time....

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The Pickup Place / Install Your PAF Joe the correct way.
« on: October 21, 2016, 11:57:30 PM »
In switching pickups from one Ibanez RG to another, I was reminded of what a difference orientation makes with the PAF Joe neck pickup. I accidentally installed it backward in the cavity and it turned into a badly defined mud bomb with mushy bass and very little pick attack. (If you like the Air Norton, you might actually prefer it that way) Turning it the correct way (with the cable exit toward the upper horn of the guitar restored it to its warm, but articulate self and restored the great pick attack it has. If you have tried it before and found it dull or muddy, it could be because you had it backward in the pickup cavity.

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Guitar Lounge / Deleted
« on: October 10, 2015, 09:40:51 AM »
Deleted

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The Pickup Place / Which Middle for Breed Neck and Bridge?
« on: June 11, 2015, 10:01:40 PM »
I'm loving the Dimarzio Breed neck and bridge in an older Ibanez RG. I have the original Ibanez single coil middle in there now and I usually just avoid it. I would like to find a single coil that is somewhere between the Breed neck and bridge to sort of "bridge the gap" between them. Mostly for old-school shred stuff, but versatile is good.

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Gear Closet / Picking Picks (picks, not pickups)
« on: February 27, 2015, 12:45:06 PM »
I found a guy an eBay called ROBSSTRINGSHACK who lets you order custom packs of 6 guitar picks in most of the popular Dunlop lines. I've had an absolute blast the last two weeks having dozens of picks in different sizes and makes lined up across my desk and shredding a few minutes with each to compare them.

I've used Tortex and Gator Grips for years because the marketing convinced me that plain smooth Delrin picks would slip out of my grip. Well they don't, and the plain Delrin have ended up being one of my favorites as far as tone and feel. They have such a crisp, smooth release and bright tone when shredding.

I found that my least favorite has been the regular Jazz III. It sounds like a cheap piece of plastic and the front edge is almost too sharp and feels like it gets stuck on the string. The same Jazz III made from Ultex is one of my favorites. It is sharper than a normal pick which gives you more precision and a snappier release, but is much slicker than the regular Jazz III and does not have that plastic sounding plink to it. Another that I do not like the sound of is the Ultex Sharp. The regular Ultex is one of my favorites, very slick and fast, but the Sharp version has a pronounced "ping" to it that I find annoying. If it were a lot thicker, I think it would help. I wish Dunlop made the regular Ultex in a thicker 1.5 and 2.0.

The Gator Grip picks feel like they take longer to get over the string and have a more muffled darker tone. I like this for some applications as well. I'm liking these when I am learning a new pattern. The Gators feel like they are slowing your shredding down a little while the regular and Jazz III made from Ultex and the Delrins have a very slick, dry, quick release. The tips are a little more rounded on the Gators too, so they roll over the string more smoothly and feel like they stay in contact with the string longer.

The regular Tortex versions are good all-round picks, not too slow, not too fast, and have a balanced sound to them whereas the Delrin is brighter and Gators are darker. I have some more on the way, and will add these into the mix. It has been a lot of fun and certainly costs less than trying new pickups.

As far as pick SIZE, I haven't found anything thinner than .73 useful for anything but strumming chords. The .73 picks are on the verge of being too thin for the shred, blues, rock, and metal I play. I have found the 1.0 and 1.14 to be a good all-round balance for everything. The 1.5 and 2.0 begin getting really thick and feel like they take longer to get over the string than the 1.0 and 1.14. This is useful for some applications, but I no longer agree that the thickest pick you can find is best for shred. The composition of the plastic and the shape seems to effect the speed of it more than the size.

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Gear Closet / VOX Valvetronix VTX150 Review
« on: November 30, 2013, 02:02:49 PM »
I finally broke down and bought one of the new Valvetronix Pro amps from VOX. I had one of the older Blue Face AD60VTX amps for years and really liked it, and I have one of the newish VT40+ models that I am not thrilled with.

Here's my take on the Pro, and I may add some more since I've only played it for a day:

The amp is VERY light. With that neo magnet in there, it feels lighter than the smaller VT20+ models. It has a much classier looking grill cloth and tolex covering. the handle feels like faux leather. It feels nice and looks sturdy enough. Would it stand up to being dragged to 200 gigs in a year. I dunno.... I don't plan on beating mine up.

The layout is almost identical to the VT+ models. You have the regular led-lit green/orange/red amp models on the dial, but then there is another layer of blue amp models that are new.

I am not going to try and break down each amp model, but I will sum up.

Overall, the amp has a very organic feel to it. Is it as 3 dimensional as a really good tube amp? No. Does the EL84 tube make a huge difference? I don't know. It definitely gives the older Blue face models a run for their money tone-wise and is in a whole other league of versatility. It has a more organic tube feel than any other modeler I have played, and feels/sounds more natural than a few tube amps I have owned.

There is an amazing pallet of clean amp models and they all sound worlds better than the models on the VT+ amps. This amp is definitely NOT the regular VT+ models in a fancy dress. They sound more organic/woody and have a more natural feel. There is also a wonderful selection of amps that do the "just on the verge of breakup" thing well. The EQ tone controls have a real effect on the character of the models.

The Vox Ac15 and AC30 models are well done, but they have never been favorites of mine. At first, I was a little disappointed in the Marshall models, but they sound much better cranked a bit. (haven't been able to play loud due to thanksgiving guests) There are several models on this amp that are in JCM800 and Plexi territory, which are still my favorite rock amps of all time. It also has a few models designed specifically for drop tunning and 7 string guitars. They don't sound bad with a regular 6-string in standard though. There are a few models that I don't like, but then if you made a list of 44 anythings, there would be some I didn't like. They aren't Line-6 insane channel bad, just not my thing.

The effects are very useable and I like the addition of 4 overdrive/distortion pedals and separate reverb. I haven't spent much time really digging into the effects or the effect preset and song preset channels. I've mainly used the 3 reverb types, echo delay, and the overdrives.  I like all of those.

Once again, I would say that VOX is on the top of the tone list when it comes to modelers. I have always liked having the controls layed-out on the amp physically instead of scrolling through digital menus.

Is the pice a little steep at 800 dollars? Probably, but several online retailers have been blowing them out for $500, which is why I bought this one. I feel like it is well worth that price.

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