Opinion on Laney IRT studio 15watt head?
Use it all the time, so I do believe that speaks for itself. :) Great unit!
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Nikolaos Ntakgas
Ask @FredBrum777
I've been thinking about the Stephen Carpenter 7-string Tele. I however, dislike EMG's. Do you still have yours, and did you ever swap out the pickups?
I have sold my SC some time ago, but I did swap the pickups for Laces back in the day, as I was never a big fan of the 707 or 81-7 to be honest. Modern active offerings like the superb Fishman Fluence sets and EMG's own 57/66 combo are a different story altogether, but as it was, off they went.
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Gerardo
Hello Fred! Bought an irt studio -- however having an issue with noise on the 15 watt input. Do you think this is normal? http://goo.gl/TDrTTr And most importnatly, do you generally find solid state amps to be more reliable?It'd be interesting to hear about what you live rig consists of these days!
The noise you're experiencing sounds like a ground loop of sorts, so before sending the amp out to be checked, just plug it elsewhere where no other stuff is plugged in as well and see if you still experience it, just to be safe. If it's still there, off to maintenance it goes.
Solid state amps are more reliable in the sense of them not really depending on glorified lightbulbs (which will die like our regular lightbulbs) to operate, but with trivial maintenance a tube amp can last virtually forever and not screw you over. The differences here are mostly down to the sort of tones you'll want, so don't let the odd retube be the decisive factor.
As for my live rigs, they will vary a bit depending on what I'll be doing, but I have 3 possible rigs that get used the most: either Laney IRT 60, Randall RD45 or Rocktron Voodoo Valve + matrix GT1000 through a HESU 2x12" loaded with V30's. Pedal assortment varies as well, and it's a spartan affair for the most part, consisting of just a Rocktron noise gate, Wampler FTE delay, Taurus Zebu delay / reverb and Taurus Dexter octaver. If I'm doing fly-ins and just taking a board along, I'm likely to have a dedicated distortion box in there, Amptweaker Big Rock Pro and Wampler Triple Wreck / Plextortion are the most frequent ones. Rest is just cables, a decent power supply for the board and whatever guitars are needed for the gig!
Solid state amps are more reliable in the sense of them not really depending on glorified lightbulbs (which will die like our regular lightbulbs) to operate, but with trivial maintenance a tube amp can last virtually forever and not screw you over. The differences here are mostly down to the sort of tones you'll want, so don't let the odd retube be the decisive factor.
As for my live rigs, they will vary a bit depending on what I'll be doing, but I have 3 possible rigs that get used the most: either Laney IRT 60, Randall RD45 or Rocktron Voodoo Valve + matrix GT1000 through a HESU 2x12" loaded with V30's. Pedal assortment varies as well, and it's a spartan affair for the most part, consisting of just a Rocktron noise gate, Wampler FTE delay, Taurus Zebu delay / reverb and Taurus Dexter octaver. If I'm doing fly-ins and just taking a board along, I'm likely to have a dedicated distortion box in there, Amptweaker Big Rock Pro and Wampler Triple Wreck / Plextortion are the most frequent ones. Rest is just cables, a decent power supply for the board and whatever guitars are needed for the gig!
Related users
Writing music is usually a fable cycle of interest, excitement, meh, frustration, hate and here we go again. It keeps me back from finishing a song. How do you deal with these emotional fluctuations?
Usually, if I feel I am not approaching a song in the way I envisioned it (be it arrangements, structure or a melody that I feel are preventing the song from reaching it's true potential), I just step back and work on something else. Tunnel vision on THAT ONE TRACK is not good if the work on it isn't flowing properly, so when that happens, balance it with other songs or even other activities if needs be, just to give you enough room to breathe and have a different outlook when you have another go at it.
Your music does a lot for me, but let me just say that what I admire the most about you is the focus on ethics and clear thinking. And to the question: atm toaster vs irt studio. Would you say either is above the other, tonally, or it's just a matter of what voicing one prefers? Cheerios
Both have flexibility in spades when it comes to tonal variation, but the Laney takes the cake in the end with the built-in USB and reamp capabilities, in my opinion. The IRT loves pedals as well, which is something to consider if that's your thing. :)
hi Fred, thank you in advance for an answer :) I'm wondering about pickup height. when do you know it is correctly set? what should I be looking for?
Honestly, all I tend to go for is to have proper tonal balance and good output without the magnet pulling the strings in a noticeable way (it'll cause loss of sustain and eventually some undesired artifacts).
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Timmy Witchfinder
when picking a custom with a fairly new company, what are your main concerns when it comes to what could go wrong?
Hey Ryan! Typically, my main concern is, of course, the quality and reliability of said company.
A lot of companies these days obtain their following via copious online promotion using mockups, fancy pics and a horde of endorsers that, more often than not, have never even used the product yet. To me, until I see enough examples of the things that show me they are capable of consistently making solid guitars, I tend to pass. There were very exceptions over the years. and my gut feeling was right in the end, fortunately.
Another thing is, of course, the vision itself and the feel of the instruments. While I am lucky enough to be able to test drive stuff at NAMM, Musikmesse and other occasions, there's this element no detailed description can mitigate until your hands are on the actual guitar, and it pertains everything from neck profile to how they like to approach the fret ends to how the finish feels to how the guitar balances - that is one of the crucial reasons I pick every builder's brains. An excellent luthier with a completely different compared to my is not a good choice as the norm - it'll lead to me AND the luthier being frustrated, and to a wasted great guitar that simply isn't for me.
A lot of companies these days obtain their following via copious online promotion using mockups, fancy pics and a horde of endorsers that, more often than not, have never even used the product yet. To me, until I see enough examples of the things that show me they are capable of consistently making solid guitars, I tend to pass. There were very exceptions over the years. and my gut feeling was right in the end, fortunately.
Another thing is, of course, the vision itself and the feel of the instruments. While I am lucky enough to be able to test drive stuff at NAMM, Musikmesse and other occasions, there's this element no detailed description can mitigate until your hands are on the actual guitar, and it pertains everything from neck profile to how they like to approach the fret ends to how the finish feels to how the guitar balances - that is one of the crucial reasons I pick every builder's brains. An excellent luthier with a completely different compared to my is not a good choice as the norm - it'll lead to me AND the luthier being frustrated, and to a wasted great guitar that simply isn't for me.
RIP Fred's ask fm. It's been good.
Considering the nature of the vast majority of questions and no point at all in answering them (not helpful or even that amusimg), it's pretty normal that I don't post that much. It's not just the answers that matter here, as you know.
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Dans Huang
Dio Henda Puspita
When thinking about inviting somebody for a guest solo on your tracks, what's your thought process? Is it solely, "I think it'd sound really cool if...", or is there an element of, "If had a guest spot, it'd probably sell more copies..."?
Honestly, tje only thing going through my mind when I ask for a guest lead is how cool it would be if player X, whose playing I love, would solo here instead of myself. I'm sure there are pretty well founded commercial approaches to this and we do see a ton of them often, but I have no delusions of grandure pertaining my reach or how "big" an artist I'll be, so I don't worry too much about that - it's really as simple as "what would I like to hear here?". :)
Subject : Kemper or real amp ? If you don't have any one these . It's preferable to buy the amp of your preference / choice or Kemper with power amp with a 4x12 cab ?
This is heavily dependent on the application you have in mind, first and foremost. It's also worth mentioning that should you prefer to go the Kemper route you do have versions with built-in power amps as well, so that might be worth pondering. Personally, when possible, I do use the real deal, but the Kemper is an amazing studio tool in its own right, and a true lifesaver as you store the tones you used to record with as they were then, so no more pain and horror trying to replicate "that" tone if you need to add bits or solve a fuck up, for example.
With 7 string guitars, is there a noticeable difference between the sound and feel between a 25.5" scale and a 26" scale? Or even 27"?
You will feel more tension for the same string gauge at the same tuning the more you increase the scale length, yes. Also, the longer the scale, the tighter and brighter the tone becomes, as you are changing the harmonic content of every note you play by doing so.
You can perceive this in increasing fashion as you increase the scale on one guitar, but the tonal bit also needs you to take into consideration that the guitar brighter when compared to itself should it have a shorter scale length to begin with, and that string gauge can fatten the tone again, so there's a whole balancing game at stake.
You can perceive this in increasing fashion as you increase the scale on one guitar, but the tonal bit also needs you to take into consideration that the guitar brighter when compared to itself should it have a shorter scale length to begin with, and that string gauge can fatten the tone again, so there's a whole balancing game at stake.
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Luca Moqi
Francesco Filigoi
Fucking love your music man! Looking forward to more music.
Thanks, man! :)
I just watched the recording of your live stream from last month where you mentioned you have been working with Jaden Rose Guitars for three years. What made decide to buy one of those guitars originally and then what lead to you endorsing them?
First time I heard of Jaden he had GuitarWorkshop UK going, which was pretty much a parts / guitars business dedicated to building high quality aftermarket Ibanez parts and full instruments, and he made some absolutely stunning looking axes. I got there as I was looking for a cool neck for an old RG I had and there was some really good feedback about the quality and the like. Fastforward a couple years and my mate Lee tried his hand at a 7-string guitar, which was a Jaden built absolutely stunning UV / JEM hybrid with a spalted beech top you may have seen on a few of my vids - it was a rocking guitar, and I was convinced the man could REALLY deliver the goods.
In 2010 I went to the UK to do some clinic stuff for the Rob Chapman forum and hang out with some of my friends there. My friend Dave Thompson, who organized the whole ordeal, Jaden and I arranged for us to drop by his old place in Cambridge, where I toyed with the 7's he had there (fun fact: own both I tried, one of which is my beloved ash JHM) and I was fully convinced - consistency was there, tone was there, comfort was exemplary and, also quite important, the man's very accessible and easy to do brainstorming with. Endorsing his stuff was a natural step as I was using his guitars above every other brand I owned, and that continues to this day, really. It only makes sense that he was the chosen to do my sig model, as he knows what I like inside and out and has yet to disappoint me! :)
In 2010 I went to the UK to do some clinic stuff for the Rob Chapman forum and hang out with some of my friends there. My friend Dave Thompson, who organized the whole ordeal, Jaden and I arranged for us to drop by his old place in Cambridge, where I toyed with the 7's he had there (fun fact: own both I tried, one of which is my beloved ash JHM) and I was fully convinced - consistency was there, tone was there, comfort was exemplary and, also quite important, the man's very accessible and easy to do brainstorming with. Endorsing his stuff was a natural step as I was using his guitars above every other brand I owned, and that continues to this day, really. It only makes sense that he was the chosen to do my sig model, as he knows what I like inside and out and has yet to disappoint me! :)
Hi Fred, what's going on in life right now? In terms of music and guitar
Got a demo video going up today, a few more on the way. Other than that, bombarding Matt Crawford with renders to finish mixing and mastering for Transcendence, preparing CD printing, etc., all this while going about with my typical "mercenary" gigs. Busy as hell, but all good!
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TheInsurgent
Fred! What are your favorite pickups? Sounds like "Bare Knuckle Pickups are the shizzle" What are your favorites? Do you like the Juggernauts?
Love the Juggernauts - have them on 4 guitars at the moment, and they'll make their way to others, as they are quite versatile and I haven't had any wood combos that didn't dig them that much.
hey, if i'm correct, you are using Hufschmid plectrums. i was wondering: do they shatter when you drop 'em on a tile or concrete floor? do they wear over time? i bought a stone (some kind of) one from Timber-tones, dropped it and it broke into pieces...
The first thing to understand is that Hufschmid plectrums are NOT made of stone, but ridiculously resilient thermoplastics. What this means is that you are not going to break them on impact in any sort of normal condition, nor wear them down easily (they will wear with time, albeit a lot slower than delrin and the like - some picks I have are 2 years old and still going strong).
A stone pick is fragile when confronted with violent, localized impact (which you don't really have a lot of when playing), and it will shatter easily. I broke an obsidian one the other day, but such is the nature of that particular material.
A stone pick is fragile when confronted with violent, localized impact (which you don't really have a lot of when playing), and it will shatter easily. I broke an obsidian one the other day, but such is the nature of that particular material.
With all the negative changes being made to youtube like the destruction of the comment section and the stricter copyright enforcement, do you think it'll be poor place to promote music in a few years?
Copyright enforcement is actually positive in concept, i.e. ensuring 3rd party content authors are duly credited. Problem is when this enforcement simply consists of muting / removing said content as opposed to royalty sharing (not to mention said royalties are often contractually almost not there at all for the authors).
The hastily made merger of the comments section with Google+ has taken a toll, and the way it currently functions makes it impossible for me to answer questions from people who have certain settings to protect their G+ account's privacy carry over to YouTube, for example. Google is still a fast acting company, so I do have hope they won't botch YT completely, but as always, time will tell.
As an independent artist, I find the "evolution" on Facebook a lot more worrying, as there is just no alternative as of yet and, judging from the evolution of things, the amount of money I'd have to invest to have a chance of captivating a significant amount of people in the target audience (for something like the Transcendence preorders) would most likely result in a loss for me. What's worse is that the "target" is people that already like the page and don't see most content unless... I pay for that as well.
The hastily made merger of the comments section with Google+ has taken a toll, and the way it currently functions makes it impossible for me to answer questions from people who have certain settings to protect their G+ account's privacy carry over to YouTube, for example. Google is still a fast acting company, so I do have hope they won't botch YT completely, but as always, time will tell.
As an independent artist, I find the "evolution" on Facebook a lot more worrying, as there is just no alternative as of yet and, judging from the evolution of things, the amount of money I'd have to invest to have a chance of captivating a significant amount of people in the target audience (for something like the Transcendence preorders) would most likely result in a loss for me. What's worse is that the "target" is people that already like the page and don't see most content unless... I pay for that as well.
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Robert Percy
If you have time, can you tell me what you think of this video? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mH5hwLkxCI
Quite a few people claim that there is no difference at all pertaining tonewoods in electric guitars, and go to great lengths to show it. That being the case, with the same electronics I'd expect the same attack, sustain and decay provided equal pickup height and the like once the plugged in tone was captured. That hasn't happened to me once, but there is a ton of misconceptions pertaining what is having an effect on the string vibration and being passed on to the pickups as a consequence for sure, and more so about the actual properties of each wood and how they are to interact with one another.
There is also a defining factor to all this, namely what you are using to capture the guitar's tone, and many devices will have an inherent compression that nullifies the subtle nuances between guitars. Having said this, and while disagreeing with the irrelevance of materials translating to,the end tone, it's a well structured and non-confrontational type of approach, which is commendable in light of the numerous "look at me!" vids made for the sake of being controversial.
There is also a defining factor to all this, namely what you are using to capture the guitar's tone, and many devices will have an inherent compression that nullifies the subtle nuances between guitars. Having said this, and while disagreeing with the irrelevance of materials translating to,the end tone, it's a well structured and non-confrontational type of approach, which is commendable in light of the numerous "look at me!" vids made for the sake of being controversial.
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Yaresh-Bartholomeus Soekhlal
Scott Fernandez
Hi Fred! Are Squirrels vegetarians or do they also eat meat....like insects for example?
While I'm sure you can find the answer to this in numerous sites (including pet squirrel dedicated ones), here goes: they are omnivores and will, given the opportunity, go for maggots and grubs as supplement to their vegetable primary food source. If the idea is to have a pet squirrel, there are differences between species and their needs, so always check what particular needs the little furry bastard you're getting has!
You should come to play to Spain, specifically to Galicia, any chance? (You are from Portugal so it's easier than doing clinics in Sweden for ex.)
Plenty of chances, as I love Galicia and its people, and the abundance of Orujo and good meat is yet another "win!" in my book, so do nag people to get me booked there! :D
Good evening,Fred. I was just wondering on a somewhat unclear topic regarding youtube, that you may know more about than me? Say I got this YT channel with guitarcovers, decent amount of subs and views. Can I remove the covers, upload my own music, and make 'profit' from that channel? Or am I better
Ask.fm truncated the question, but I assume you meant "better off opening a new channel for that" or something along those lines.
My honest opinion is that you should do as you believe will work better but, more importantly, that you should be realistic concerning things. There is no harm in having covers made for fun in a "pro" channel, and the opposite applies as well, so removing the content looks a bit on the drastic side of things, wouldn't you agree? :) Just go with your gut feeling on this, depending on whether you feel that the original music requires its own dedicated channel or not, as in a "interwebz facelift" of sorts.
My honest opinion is that you should do as you believe will work better but, more importantly, that you should be realistic concerning things. There is no harm in having covers made for fun in a "pro" channel, and the opposite applies as well, so removing the content looks a bit on the drastic side of things, wouldn't you agree? :) Just go with your gut feeling on this, depending on whether you feel that the original music requires its own dedicated channel or not, as in a "interwebz facelift" of sorts.
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animalia
Why did you sell your Blackmachine? Did it disrespect your woman??
In spite of people often deifying guitar brands and attributing mystical powers and whatnot, I'm a practical man and tools are to earn their keep to stay with me. It is quite a special instrument, yet conditions were more in favour of letting it go to the right person than keeping it myself, and so it was.
The only way in which it wronged my woman was in not being red and black, as she prefers the same colours I do. :P
The only way in which it wronged my woman was in not being red and black, as she prefers the same colours I do. :P
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Icarus Lives ☪
Robert Percy
tens o axe fx 2 ?
Nope!
Hello fred , thanks for your work generally ! I use to rec my amp through my sm57 and a line6 ux2 soundcard but the sound I produce is not so cool . Is it the interface the problem ? Is it nessecary to buy a better one and which you suggest ? Secondly a pair of decent monitors for mixing ? Thank you
Hey man! There are many reasons that can lead to a less than stellar tone, and while the UX2 isn't a fantastic interface, it shouldn't be the cause of your troubles unless it's faulty or the drivers have some issue. The main culprits as far as "crap mic'd guitar tones" are usually mic positioning and amp settings being less than adequate for what one is trying to record, so make sure you are dialing the amp tones with your mic on the sweet spot, and that you're not doing so at an angle that throws you off (for example, if you're really close to the cab and your ears are above the level of the speaker cones, you'll hear a far sweeter and less trebly tone than the one that's being produced by your rig.
Other than that, experiment with the above mentioned "sweet spot", and don't have the mic shoved against the grill cloth. Usually, fiddling with the mic's position when the amp's already dialed in is best, as it allows you to choose the way the microphone is colouring the signal and which parts of it are gaining prominence or being attenuated. If you are 100% sure that's all sorted, the amp settings are spot on and you tuned the mic's position to 0.0000001mm precision and whatnot, then leave it be and test it with another interface to be on the safe side.
As far as interfaces go, we're pretty spoiled for choice right now, with Presonus, and Focusrite making some pretty cool units that don't cost you an arm and a leg. Monitors are also a pretty subjective thing, but I'm used to KrKs myself.
Other than that, experiment with the above mentioned "sweet spot", and don't have the mic shoved against the grill cloth. Usually, fiddling with the mic's position when the amp's already dialed in is best, as it allows you to choose the way the microphone is colouring the signal and which parts of it are gaining prominence or being attenuated. If you are 100% sure that's all sorted, the amp settings are spot on and you tuned the mic's position to 0.0000001mm precision and whatnot, then leave it be and test it with another interface to be on the safe side.
As far as interfaces go, we're pretty spoiled for choice right now, with Presonus, and Focusrite making some pretty cool units that don't cost you an arm and a leg. Monitors are also a pretty subjective thing, but I'm used to KrKs myself.
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Yaresh-Bartholomeus Soekhlal
animalia
followed | follow back maybe??????
I honestly think you are choosing a very poor approach to building a following - you should capture the attention of people who identify themselves with what you do and are willing to interact, unless the point is to get 293823 likes from the whole "YOLO SWAG!!!" related questions...
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Leonardo Faria
Metzger Dark Ambient
Oli
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