My stereo bass rig.
Playing bass again.
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Gibson Ripper or Fender Jaguar Bass
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Diamond Compressor
Tuner
Zvex Fuzz Factory
Dwarfcraft Dream Mangler
ProCo Rat
EHX Big Muff Pi
Boss DD5
Earthquaker Devices Ghost Echo
Boss DD7
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Ampeg B15
4x10 Ampeg Cab
and
Marshall JCM900
2x15 Fender Bassman Cab
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BOOM.
This is the Squier J Mascis Jazzmaster. I have yet to play this guitar, but it seems alot of younger kids on Tumblr are pretty astounded by it. As I said, I have not played it, but at the end of the day, its a fucking Squier. It’s not the greatest guitar ever, and it doesn’t have incredible tone. It’s made for dirt cheap so it can be sold in mass quantities at a cheap price. I think its great that they made a Jazzmaster that is affordable, and if I was 18 and had a shitty job, I would be stoked to own one, but calm down….its a Squier.
You’d be surprised, man. Squier have upped their game considerably in the last couple years. My very first guitar was a MIJ Squier and it still sounds and plays amazing to this day. Granted most Squiers are made in Indonesia (with the lower end ones made in China), you’re getting a great guitar for the money. Many artists are actually releasing exclusive Squier signatures, and playing them. This last year, I came into a situation where I chose a Squier over a Fender. I was looking for a cheaper Jaguar to buy and upgrade a lot, so of course I picked up the Fender Blacktop Jag. I played it and liked it, other than the covered humbuckers and stoptail bridge. As soon as I put it back though, I noticed a Squier Vintage Modified Jag and it sparked my curiosity. I played it, went home, and ordered it. The point is, it just sounded better. The neck had a nasty, thick vintage tint done to it and the frets needed to be dressed, it had a Strat input jack, and it had a weird Danelectro bridge. I have changed most of those things now and it is my main guitar to this day. I just couldn’t justify spending $200 more for a name when the Squier sounded better. The thing is, higher-end Squiers have better electronics than most MIM Fenders. I not saying that they even compare to American or Japanese Fenders, but I think you should definitely play it and see what you think.
-Ryan
I have just confirmed the purchase of one of these, a Gibson Grabber, but the one I am buying is not just any Gibson Grabber.
The Gibson Grabber I will have in my hands at the end of this month used to belong to Brian McTernan, a record producer who owns a studio called Salad Days Studios.
Many of you may not be familiar with either the person or his studio, but I have been a fan of his work for almost a decade, roughly the amount of time that I have harboured an obsession with the long discontinued Grabber model of the Gibson bass range. Also Salad Days Studios is one of the places on my list of about 15 studios where I wish to have a chance to at least visit before I die.
Now Brian McTernan has produced and been involved with the making of a number of pretty fantastic albums by some pretty brilliant artists. These include bands like:
- Cave In
- Converge
- Circa Survive
- Thrice
- Darkest Hour
- The Movielife
- Sky Eats Airplane
- We Are The Ocean
Amongst many MANY others. Also it is worth mentioning that this bass that will soon be mine has been used on a number of records by these bands, Thrice in particular. It was the bass used on The Illusion Of Safety and also used on a lot of The Artist In The Ambulance. It was when I saw the studio footage of this album being recorded that I decided that I would one day own a Gibson Grabber, and now it seems like that very bass is coming home to me!
I am a very happy boy.
‘63 Fender Duo-Sonic
I am in the process of piecing together a nod to two very strange, underrated guitars, the Squier ‘51 and the Fender Bullet. I am also adding in some other features that will make this a truly interesting build. Features are as planned:
Body Shape:
Stratocaster
Neck
Telecaster
Neck Shape:
“V” Shape
Number of Frets:
22
Fret Size:
Medium Jumbo
Fingerboard Radius:
9.5”
Fretboard:
Maple
Nut Width:1.650”Scale Length:
25.5”
Bridge Pickup:
Fender American Jaguar
Neck Pickup:
Seymour Duncan P-Rail
Pickup Switching:
3-Position blade switch: Position 1. Bridge Pickup, Position 2. Bridge and Neck Pickups, Position 3. Neck Pickup
Controls:
Volume 1. (Neck Pickup), Volume 2. (Bridge Pickup), Three-Way mini toggle (P-Rail)
This should be a very interesting/fun build. Wish me luck!
-Ryan
Fender Bullet H2
Alright gear nerds, I have a small issue that I’m having and I want to see what you guys thought about it. I’m in the process of rebuilding my pedalboard and replacing some of my pedals. The issue I am having is that I’ve been looking at getting a Boss RV-2 for some time (I really dig the reverbs on the pedal and I think it sounds a little better than the newer models, plus it has delay.), but it doesn’t have stereo in, only outs. This wouldn’t be an issue except for the fact that I’m using a EHX Stereo Tremolo, which is also only stereo out. I really want my tremolo to remain stereo also.
Now, I could get an RV-5 and my problem would be solved, but, as I mentioned earlier, I prefer the reverbs on the RV-2. I want to ask you guys’ opinion though, would that be my best option, to go ahead and get the RV-5? I don’t think I’m going to notice a whole lot of difference with the end result. I want to use this reverb for more of a modulate room kind-of thing. I will also be using a Strymon Bluesky at the end of my signal chain for more of the ethereal-hall ‘verbs.
My planned stereo chain is trem>verb>stereo memory man>eventide timefactor>bluesky. So, pretty much, I just need to know if I should bite the bullet and get the RV-5 or maybe pursue another option. Opinions please! And thank you guys for your time.
-Ryan
Maestro Echoplex Ep-2
Designed by Mike Battle, The Maestro Echoplex was one of the earliest, and neatest effects generators there will ever be. A long tape cassette runs in a loop over recording and play-back heads. The space you set between these points determines the length of the delay time.
Hand-built Bassman.
Beautiful, just perfect.
After being a little underwhelmed by the Blacktop series guitars (the basses rule), I think this is going to be a huge improvement. Supposedly going around the same street price as the BT guitars too, except the Tele bass. Personally, I’m all over that Marauder. You can check out the whole line here. So what do you guys think?
Late 40’s Epiphone Broadway (Pre-Gibson Purchase Guitar)
Squier Vista Series Super-Sonic
