Is your penis as extended as the usual range of your guitars?
Oh, heavens no! Impaling my girlfriend isn't my idea of fun! Hahaha!
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Latest answers from Fred Brum
Opinion on Laney IRT studio 15watt head?
Use it all the time, so I do believe that speaks for itself. :) Great unit!
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.
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!
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).
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.
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.