Recent content by Phrasemaker

It would be worth checking out the Youtube vids for these played clean. It's a Schecter Hellraiser C-1 which I got for playing dirt and found it sounds very sweet clean. Here's mine.

I had the same kind of issue with a Gibson Firebird. Initially in my case I think it came about through very low humidity as the guitar had been stored for a while in an environment which was rather dry. However I decided it was bugging the hell out of me so I removed the covers and pick guard...

Switch cleaner/contact cleaner would you believe?

Even better now it's played in due to taking it out at least once a week and cranking it up. No problems to report, I swapped the stock EL84's for a set of cryo treated JJ's and the small amount of tube rattle has totally gone. I've read of others swapping the speaker but to be honest now it is...

Yes Ray, I'm really happy with it and have discovered that this little combo I bought as something to give a reasonable sound for small jams does way more. I swapped out the tubes for Cryo treated JJ's then played it for a couple of days and am really surprised how it good it sounds. Plugged...

Thanks Robus, I reckon with more thoughtful mic placement and a few tweaks of the dials I can get it a bit better, might be useful for a bit of proper recording. I can just hear one of the EL84's has a slight filament rattle on lower notes which are allowed to sustain. It doesn't bother me as...

It's been a busy weekend, sorry it's a short clip I'll record some more when I can get a little more time. This is an SG, a Vox AC10, guitar lead, a mains cable and a pair of mics on a tripod into an R24. Amp Gain 9 O'clock, Volume 12 O'clock, Reverb 10 O'clock, bass and treble set 12 O'clock...

Been invited a number of Jam sessions at a small venue at short notice lately. Didn't take long to realise I was a bit thin on grab and go options where I can walk into the venue with a guitar case in one hand and an amp in the other, then simply plug and play. Got this little Vox AC10C1...

Congratulations, Great guitar. I got one myself a couple of years back, just have to watch the headstock doesn't dive onto something.

The Grandmeister 36 having four channels is a very flexible amp, since buying it a barely use additional FX. The main advantage with it is not only does it do clean very well, the over-driven channels are superb, something that I couldn't get to grips with to my liking on the 18. It has to be...

A few years ago when the Hughes & Kettner 5 watt Tubemeister came out I was looking around for a small pretty looking head to put on a shelf in the studio. When the guy in the shop showed it to me I first thought it to be a piece of point of sale material, as in a small non functional piece if...

The only way is to play it and as objectively as possible form some opinions about how it plays/sounds. Try to forget what it is in terms of who, what, why. If it really sounds and plays better than what you have then you might consider buying it. The man trap is a common one in respect of...

Congratulations, I'm finding Strats are a bit addictive myself. Great looking guitar, I don't have one in black as I simply have not picked one up yet that I bond with. It'll happen at some point, I also have a hankering for a Daphne blue. Tele's can be a bit addictive too as I found last year...

I don't which variations there are, mine are black bottom versions. I got three other Stats including an AVRI 59, Another loaded with fat 50's and the Abby pickups just sound sweeter than the others.

Without any hesitation the Abigail Yberra, hand wounds I have in one of my Strats stand head and shoulders above pretty much every other set of Strat pickups I've played. They do it all, a glassy top end with good low end punch. They can sound very delicate and detailed, then instantly growl...