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Messages - greenlion

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316
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.

317
The Pickup Place / Re: Pickups that have left you less than impressed?
« on: November 16, 2014, 08:22:28 AM »
I tried really hard to like the AT-1. I bought it twice and tried it in 3 guitars. It sounds thin to me, like the entire tonal spectrum is piled up in the high mids. It worked better "in the mix" but I didn't like it when I was just playing.

318
The Pickup Place / Re: HSS configuration. what works best for you?
« on: October 12, 2014, 10:55:05 PM »
Had a Virtual Hot PAf and two Fender Fat 50's singles for several years. That was a great combo.

319
The Pickup Place / Re: Old timers...Virtual Hot PAF vs 36th bridge?
« on: September 13, 2014, 01:29:41 PM »
I think of "loud" as a function of your amp's volume knob, not the pickup, but I remember the Vhot being noticeably hotter and more aggressive than the 36th. I bought the 36th hoping it would be a good replacement for the Vhot and one thing that disappointed me a bit was its lack of power in comparison.

320
The Pickup Place / Re: Old timers...Virtual Hot PAF vs 36th bridge?
« on: September 13, 2014, 10:14:10 AM »
I looked up what I had said about the 36th back when I had it installed:

I hear really present highs, very bright. Tight but not very fat lows and fairly bland midrange. The neck has a slightly woody tone, but the bridge does not. My hollowbody is a fairly well balanced guitar and my PRS is a very warm sounding guitar ( I had them in 2 guitars). The 36th PAFs sounded very similar in both.

I also commented at the time that is was as bright as my 59 bridge, although that is not the way I remember it now...

I stopped using the VHotPaf when Dimarzio discontinued them because I wanted to have my backup strat set up the same way, and I couldn't find one. I use the Duncan CustomCustom now in combination with 2 Fat 50's single coils, all run with a 300k volume pot and 250k tone.

321
The Pickup Place / Re: Old timers...Virtual Hot PAF vs 36th bridge?
« on: September 13, 2014, 10:04:57 AM »
I wouldn't say that either of them is exactly ZZ-top sizzle. I remember the Vhot being a little more chewy in the middle like a Duncan CustomCustom (which is similar to the 78 in a way) I don't remember much sizzle from the 36th. It reminded me of a more balanced less fuzzy Duncan 59 with more mids. The pearly gates bridge is brighter than either of these but it does have the sizzle you are talking about. The 78 is out of my price range, but I'd like to try it one day.

322
The Pickup Place / Re: Old timers...Virtual Hot PAF vs 36th bridge?
« on: September 11, 2014, 09:50:12 PM »
I've played them both, but not in the same guitar type. I loved the Virtual Hot Paf (run with a 300k pot) in a strat bridge. I tried the 36th bridge in a Les Paul and a PRS SE. Compared to the Seth Lover Bridge and Whole Lotta humbucker bridge, the 36th doesn't impress me. I like the 36th neck better than the bridge. The 36th bridge is definitely not a "replacement" for the Virtual Hot Paf like they said. Its a completely different sound and feel.

323
The Pickup Place / Re: HSS configuration. what works best for you?
« on: July 20, 2014, 12:19:24 PM »
I went through a bazillion different combinations in my HSS strat, and I have settled on 2 Fender Fat 50's single coils and a Duncan CustomCustom, all run with 300K pots. I get SRV/Hendrix out of the neck, Surf and clean chimey strat out of the Middle, Gilmour out of the notched position 2, and Van Halen out of the bridge. I'm happy with that.

324
Guitar Lounge / Re: Tuning problems with Les Pauls
« on: June 29, 2014, 02:52:55 PM »
Something is binding somewhere. How steep an angle are your strings coming up from the tailpiece to the bridge saddles at? Do you topwrap your strings? What is the nut made out of, and did you use the correct sized files when you filed the nut slots? Are the nut slots shaped correctly? How are you winding your strings around the tuning posts? Are you bridge saddles and bridge stable?

Just a few things to look at.

325
I tried those in several guitars years ago and thought they were completely void of personality and very fake sounding. The only one I liked in that family was the Virtual Hot PAF, and that was with 250k pots in a strat.

326
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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