Recent content by Bianchi Joe

Just a suggestion The Gibson GA 5 Les Paul Junior is a 5 watt, single-ended class A amp that breaks up nicely at around 10 o clock, even with a Telecaster. It's plenty loud, but not melt-the-windows loud like an HRD. More expensive than a Pro jr., but the thing is hand-wired, comes with JJ...

Eurotubes!! Go to Eurotubes.com and check out Bob's awesome site. More tube info than you can imagine, VERY reasonable prices, and if you write to Bob, he'll respond quickly and personally with a vast amount of knowledge. Perhaps THE best resource for all things tube.

Santa who? I was under the impression that Santa Maria was in the mahogany family. Anyway, that li'l ol' Melody Maker sounds BALLER -- who cares about the wood! Even unplugged, the thing is alive. Great tone from that P-90. Methinks that skinny little body really sets up the resonance. I just...

P-90 I've often remarked that if the P-90 were introduced today, the guitar press would just about sh*t all over itself, extolling it as the "tone breakthrough of the decade," much as they currently are about any amplifier that calls itself "class A." Funny how history repeats... Guess what...

Headphone mixes -- sure, why not? Well, this will no doubt raise the ire of all the professionals, but the fact is, many of us home recordists simply HAVE to mix, monitor, and master with headphones. It's the reality of having neighbors, kids, and a less-than-pristine recording room. Hell, I...

This was my answer to the same problem Gibson GA 5 Les Paul Junior. 5 watt, all tube, class A, point-to-point, hand wired, 8" speaker, single volume knob. Small amp nirvana for 500 clams. For recording and home use, I have yet to hear anything even close.

Gibson Goldtone Ga 5 Les Paul Jr 5 watts. Hand wired. One volume knob. 8" speaker. point-to-point, single-ended. $500. Traded in my Hot Rod Deluxe only because it was so g*d d*mn loud, and I have learned to worship at the alter of the low-watt class A temple. No, you can't overide an...

useful link this guy has more information on buzzes than any site I've ever seen. Thorough and well-presented information that would be useful to any guitarist. http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/Luthier/Technique/Setup/BuzzDiagnosis/buzzintro.html

I'm totally impressed with the Para Acoustic DI by LR Baggs. I've used it for both acoustic and electric guitar. Lots of tonal options, separate gain and volume controls, utterly silent, nice notch filter.

Hot Rod Deluxe clean with a Tele and reverb Hot Rod Deluxe dirty with any P-90 guitar's bridge pickup

For what it's worth, I love my American Series Tele (without S1 switching, but with DeltaTone). I looked at the Hwy 1 model, but I'm not a fan of the three-barrel bridge, and I found that the 6-saddle on the US teles is much nicer than on the Mexican ones. To me, though, it's all about that...

Here's the long and short of it: Is Musican's Friend a reliable company? Absolutely. Excellent customer service, good pricing deals, solid track record. I've never had an order misplaced or misdelivered. I've never experienced any problem with the contents of an order--they get it right the...

I don't know about gunslingers, but if you want to hear some guitarists really pushing the voice of the instrument, I suggest Explosions In The Sky. They have two cds: "Those Who Tell The Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Live Forever" and "The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place." I...

I don't know how any guitar is "rated," but I'm always surprised that the Rickenbacker solidbodies, like the 610, 620 and Dakota, aren't more highly sought-after. I guess they get overshadowed by the ubiquitous 330 and 360, or else it's because everyone assumes that if you play a Ric you're...

I continue to be amazed not only by the Telecaster's versatility, but by how WELL it does all the things it does. The Tele can do the whole realm, from chicken-pickin' country, to blues (Muddy Waters and Albert Collins played one) to even some jazz stuff on the neck pickup (give a listen to...