>Boss TU-12H Chromatic TunerI thought I would share this picture post of one of the oldest pieces of gear I own, the Boss TU-12H Chromatic Tuner. I brought this when I first started getting into guitar seriously in 1988!! I saved a lot of pocket money to buy this Tuner, after having previously brought a Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive pedal and the thing is about these two items, gear has come and gone but I still have them, I still use them and they still work really really well!! I guess it goes to show, the tuner isn't the most exciting piece of gear you can ever buy, but it is a fundamentally important item. If not the most important item a musician might own!! No it isn't as sexy as an effect pedal, but it is vital to being able to play in tune and with other musicians. At the time, the TU-12H cost a lot of money and there wasn't much choice around at that time, and remember this was long before guitars went total mainstream and the influx of cheap imports!So the moral of this story for me, sometimes it is worth investing in good solid gear, it can in many cases last a lifetime!!
What is your oldest piece of gear? EnjoyPeaceNeil
Quick Tip : Using USB Battery pack to power guitar pedals or pedalboard.
Today I thought I would do a quick tip on powering your guitar pedals or pedalboard with a USB Battery Packs. Yes you can do this!! I have been wondering about this for sometime, given how USB battery packs (or recharge packs or powerbanks as they are called) seem to be cropping up all over the places now and they are super reasonable value. The only thing you need to make this work is something like this (Link to MyVolts 5v to 9V usb adaptor) which steps the 5V output of the battery up to 9V to power most pedals. This only costs a few pounds and you can even use it with a USB plug adaptor too, the main thing is it works really well!!I am going to do another video on working out the milliamps and all that stuff soon.Any questions, just ask!EnjoyPeaceNeil
Natural finish Strat Custom build project part 2
Here is another update to my strat custom build/makeover project that is have been working on for sometime! I will be posting a few pictures in the next couple of days, but in the meantime, I am now at stage two, the wood work has been done. The guitar looks amazing, and I have to thank Steve at theguitarworkshop for all his work on this. The neck has been refret and it plays amazingly! I can't actually put the guitar down at the moment.The next stage is to get all the electrics replaced and some of the other bits of hardware. I am opting for black across the board and I am just waiting for some of these pieces to arrive. The other thing I will be replacing is the bridge and that is the last item I have to order.Here is a little video diary from the project!EnjoyPeaceNeil
Line 6 G30 Wireless system battery compartment update
Here is a follow up to my review of the fantastic Line 6 G30 Wireless system, and it's slightly poor quality battery compartment. I did a video to show what happened at a gig to the battery compartment when I opened it. This was NOT a result of it being dropped, I take great care of my gear, and especially this piece as it had already broken the very rubbish plastic clip meant to hold the battery in place (this was the reason for the cable tie closing mechanism!). I do think that this is an AWESOME piece of kit and I wouldn't be without it, but it is such a shame that this couldn't have been made a tiny bit better!!Original review can be found hereEnjoyPeaceNeil
Profile on onlineguitarlessons.co.uk
I am really happy to say that I now have a profile on the fantastic onlineguitarlessons.co.uk website. So what is the website all about? Well, here is some blurb from the about section "Onlineguitarlessons.co.uk is a website designed to help you learn guitar for free. We have a full range of lessons ranging catering for the beginner right through to the advanced. If you’re struggling to work out how to play, then you’ve come to the right place! It’s our aim to grow this website into a great resource, and unless we get too distracted, a regular stream of great information shall flow!"Onlineguitarlessons.co.uk main mission is "to help people when learning guitar, through tips and providing regular and useful information." It is a really honour to be on the site, so head on over and take a look at some of the great lessons and tutors who are on the site.EnjoyPeaceNeil
Steve Vai 25th Anniversary Passion and Warfare Show
A big day today!! I am so, so, so excited to be going to see Steve Vai on the 25th Anniversary tour of releasing Passion and Warfare. I cannot state how important that album and Mr Vai have been in and on my life. Sometimes something comes into your life and changes it for ever, for me it has been music and in particular a collection of albums which upon hearing I knew instinctively that my life would never be the same again, Iron Maiden’s Live after Death, Joe Satriani’s Surfing with the Alien and Extreme’s Pornograffiti being but three of many. Three works of art which on the first time listening left me floored, inspired, excited, thrilled and mostly thinking how the f*** did they do that. Passion and Warfare and Mr Vai have probably been the most responsible for a number of major life events, from being fortunate enough to get a Steve Vai Scholarship to study orchestration at Berklee, through to actually studying under Mr Vai on his Berklee course, something which was totally and utterly life changing. I can’t state how strongly his music and his life philosophy play a large part in shaping who I am.
No doubt I will get a bit emotional during this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuX1qwGtLzA“That sounds like noise Mr Vai”Review soon!EnjoyPeaceNeil
Studio pictures from 80 Hertz Studio
So, Groovething were fortunate enough to spend another day in the fantastic 80 Hertz studios in Manchester, recording a few tracks live for demo purposes on the band website. It really was a great day and here are a few pictures from it. I was mostly using my Fender 1999 American Standard Strat and my Ibanez SC420 S-classic guitar for the recording duties. Very simple set up, the guitar went into Boss Tuner, Xotic Effects SL drive and the straight into my cranked Fender 68 Deluxe reverb. From what I have heard so far, it all sounded pretty awesome and I will post a few clips when I can. For now, here are a few pictures.
EnjoyPeaceNeil