When I started writing this blog I figured that it would just be a place for me to keep tabs of what projects I have been working on and an archive of photos and such.
However it has had a nice steady stream of visitors with a few emails also.
I just want to say a big thankyou for taking the time to read my ramblings and hopefully you will stick with it as things start to expand over the coming months.
If you have any questions or feedback don't hesitate to get in touch.
Thanks again
TK
16 January 2013
EMG James Hetfield Signature Pickups (Het Set) Updated with audio sample.
I've had this set for just over a week now so I feel that I can give a fairly fair review of them.
First of all i'll get it out of the way that these aren't just the standard 81 & 60 in some flashy covers as most people expect them to be. I wanted a set of these for quite some time being a massive Metallica fan. Especially after hearing some newer live clips where James Hetfield has sounded amazing and cut through really well. From here on we can go into the main bulk of the review.
The Sound
These pickups have a fairly high output which is to be expected as they are designed exclusively for metal and of course they are EMG pickups.
They have a great helping of upper mids which was a pleasant surprise with just the right amount of grind going on there. They also have a touch more low end than than the standard EMG pickups but it is still very tight and precise with absolutely no excess flub. The high end is very upfront but isn't grating in any way and doesn't fizz out.
These pickups don't dissapoint for clean sounds either. The bridge provides that classic james hetfield clean sound, think of the Master of Puppets interlude or the intro of Welcome Home. The neck pickup is even nice r and delivers some very soft yet punchy clean sounds that work really well for things such as fade to black or the intro to and justice for all.
Clearly Metallica tones are very easily achievable with these pickups as are tones from any of the 80's metal bands. If this is what you are looking for then you will not be dissapointed with these pickups.
The Look
These pickups look very slick with a very nice black nickel finish with individual ceramic polepieces on the neck pickup and steel poles for the bridge pickup.
Summary & Soundclips
Overall I am extremely happy with these pickups. I play Thrash metal primarly and these pickups can cover everything I throw at them with ease from Metallica right up to modern Exodus. Usually when I swap pickups out I have some bad points that really niggle at me which is why I left this review for a while and so far i can't find a single fault.
First of all i'll get it out of the way that these aren't just the standard 81 & 60 in some flashy covers as most people expect them to be. I wanted a set of these for quite some time being a massive Metallica fan. Especially after hearing some newer live clips where James Hetfield has sounded amazing and cut through really well. From here on we can go into the main bulk of the review.
The Sound
These pickups have a fairly high output which is to be expected as they are designed exclusively for metal and of course they are EMG pickups.
They have a great helping of upper mids which was a pleasant surprise with just the right amount of grind going on there. They also have a touch more low end than than the standard EMG pickups but it is still very tight and precise with absolutely no excess flub. The high end is very upfront but isn't grating in any way and doesn't fizz out.
These pickups don't dissapoint for clean sounds either. The bridge provides that classic james hetfield clean sound, think of the Master of Puppets interlude or the intro of Welcome Home. The neck pickup is even nice r and delivers some very soft yet punchy clean sounds that work really well for things such as fade to black or the intro to and justice for all.
Clearly Metallica tones are very easily achievable with these pickups as are tones from any of the 80's metal bands. If this is what you are looking for then you will not be dissapointed with these pickups.
The Look
These pickups look very slick with a very nice black nickel finish with individual ceramic polepieces on the neck pickup and steel poles for the bridge pickup.
Summary & Soundclips
Overall I am extremely happy with these pickups. I play Thrash metal primarly and these pickups can cover everything I throw at them with ease from Metallica right up to modern Exodus. Usually when I swap pickups out I have some bad points that really niggle at me which is why I left this review for a while and so far i can't find a single fault.
12 January 2013
Naga Viper Treble Booster
I'm not going to say much on this as I built this for Brow so I'll let him going into more detail on it when he gets it. But for now here are a couple of pictures.
It's a really tiny circuit. I took this one for reference purposes.
Here's the finished pedal
And here's one more with it all powered up just for the sake of it!
8 January 2013
MXR Custom Badass Modified Overdrive Clips. Updated Clips
Hey guys.
It's just a brief one today as I really don't have too much time on my hands.
A good friend Ben Asaro kindly provided me with some DI tracks that he used to use for demoing pedals. With this I have reamped it six times across two channels/modes on my amp for demonstration purposes.
During all of the clips the pedal settings stayed exactly the same which was everything set to half way on the dials for consistency. Below you will find all six of the clips with a brief description of what is going on.
When I have a little more time I will do some more in depth clips to show how transparent the pedal can be and also how it sounds in a mix as I would normally use it. If you have any settings requests please leave a comment and I will do my best to accommodate.
Also a big thanks goes to Ben for sharing the DI track.
For the sake of complete consistency I recorded the following clips using the Slave Out on my amplifier which is tapped straight from the speaker output jack. I then loaded an impulse response in Reaper for each item to emulate the cabinet. This ensures that everything is exactly the same across all of the clips other than the channel being changed and the bump switch being activated.
Clip 1 - This is on the clean channel of my amp with the pedal bypassed.
Clip 2 - This is on the clean channel with the pedal turned on.
Clip 3 - This is on the clean channel this time with the pedal on and with the bump switch engaged.
Clip 4 - This is on the crunch channel with the pedal bypassed.
Clip 5 - This is on the crunch channel with the pedal turned on.
Clip 6 - This is on the crunch channel with the pedal turned on and with the bump switch engaged.
It's just a brief one today as I really don't have too much time on my hands.
A good friend Ben Asaro kindly provided me with some DI tracks that he used to use for demoing pedals. With this I have reamped it six times across two channels/modes on my amp for demonstration purposes.
During all of the clips the pedal settings stayed exactly the same which was everything set to half way on the dials for consistency. Below you will find all six of the clips with a brief description of what is going on.
When I have a little more time I will do some more in depth clips to show how transparent the pedal can be and also how it sounds in a mix as I would normally use it. If you have any settings requests please leave a comment and I will do my best to accommodate.
Also a big thanks goes to Ben for sharing the DI track.
For the sake of complete consistency I recorded the following clips using the Slave Out on my amplifier which is tapped straight from the speaker output jack. I then loaded an impulse response in Reaper for each item to emulate the cabinet. This ensures that everything is exactly the same across all of the clips other than the channel being changed and the bump switch being activated.
Clip 1 - This is on the clean channel of my amp with the pedal bypassed.
Clip 2 - This is on the clean channel with the pedal turned on.
Clip 3 - This is on the clean channel this time with the pedal on and with the bump switch engaged.
Clip 4 - This is on the crunch channel with the pedal bypassed.
Clip 5 - This is on the crunch channel with the pedal turned on.
Clip 6 - This is on the crunch channel with the pedal turned on and with the bump switch engaged.
6 January 2013
MXR Custom Badass Modified Overdrive: An introductory review
Hey guys here we are on the first post of 2013 hopefully it will be a gear filled year with lots of builds & gear acquisition!
Anyway onto the main point of this post. I've gotten a couple of new pieces of equipment lately and I'll be putting up full reviews and sound clips as I get more familiar with each item.
First up is an incredible Overdrive pedal from MXR. The custom badass modified OD.
Usually I will build my own effects but I felt like having a break and just buying something for a change.
Controls:
The MXR has your standard overdrive controls such as Gain, Output & Tone. It then goes a little further by adding in a 100hz cut/boost control and a bump switch that boosts the low end and midrange when activated.
Sound:
This I find is where the pedal really shines. Without the bump switch engaged it is a fairly transparent pedal and leaves your core tone pretty much unmolested. When you kick in the bump switch the low frequencies and midrange are boosted but not by a ridiculous amount which keeps the core tone but brings the pedal more into a thicker tube screamer territory. Also noteworthy is the fact that the bump switch can be left engaged when the main circuit is off which just thickens up your sound with a very minimal boost which can be nice for cleans.
The gain on tap is fairly smooth when used on a clean channel but there is plenty of it and once you get past the halfway mark it gets nice and gritty. When used on an already overdriven amp you can get total saturation just by adding in a little gain which is very nice for those old school thrash type tones.
Another nice feature of this pedal is the tone control it never gets truly boomy or ridiculously tinny at either extreme of the control and provides a lot of usable options.
The 100hz cut/boost is what really drew me to this pedal primarily being a metal player I like a nice clean low end so a little bit of cut really brings out the tightness required for some more modern styles and when used in conjunction with the tone control & the bump switch you really do have a lot of options and I feel that I haven't fully explored this myself.
The level control is the final control and there isn't really much to say other than it has an extremely large range that should satisfy most users needs.
Build Quality:
This pedal seems really solid and well made with a high quality enclosure and very sturdy jacks even if they are PCB mounted. The pedal mainly consists of micro components which I guess explains the small form factor and also will help with mass production. The switch is very solid if a little softer than I normally use it doesn't have that thick satisfying click that i'm used to be I can't see it failing at any point. The only negative point is that there is a small finish flaw in the bottom corner on the face of the pedal but it's nothing major and doesn't affect functionality in anyway at all.
Overall I am extremely pleased with this pedal and would highly recommend it to anyone wanting a more transparent overdrive that doesn't cut out masses of low end unless you specifically set it to. It's extremely useful for those that play rock or metal.
I will be posting again in a week or so with some sound clips and possibly some more information depending whether my view on this pedal changes as I get more used to it.
Anyway onto the main point of this post. I've gotten a couple of new pieces of equipment lately and I'll be putting up full reviews and sound clips as I get more familiar with each item.
First up is an incredible Overdrive pedal from MXR. The custom badass modified OD.
Usually I will build my own effects but I felt like having a break and just buying something for a change.
Controls:
The MXR has your standard overdrive controls such as Gain, Output & Tone. It then goes a little further by adding in a 100hz cut/boost control and a bump switch that boosts the low end and midrange when activated.
Sound:
This I find is where the pedal really shines. Without the bump switch engaged it is a fairly transparent pedal and leaves your core tone pretty much unmolested. When you kick in the bump switch the low frequencies and midrange are boosted but not by a ridiculous amount which keeps the core tone but brings the pedal more into a thicker tube screamer territory. Also noteworthy is the fact that the bump switch can be left engaged when the main circuit is off which just thickens up your sound with a very minimal boost which can be nice for cleans.
The gain on tap is fairly smooth when used on a clean channel but there is plenty of it and once you get past the halfway mark it gets nice and gritty. When used on an already overdriven amp you can get total saturation just by adding in a little gain which is very nice for those old school thrash type tones.
Another nice feature of this pedal is the tone control it never gets truly boomy or ridiculously tinny at either extreme of the control and provides a lot of usable options.
The 100hz cut/boost is what really drew me to this pedal primarily being a metal player I like a nice clean low end so a little bit of cut really brings out the tightness required for some more modern styles and when used in conjunction with the tone control & the bump switch you really do have a lot of options and I feel that I haven't fully explored this myself.
The level control is the final control and there isn't really much to say other than it has an extremely large range that should satisfy most users needs.
Build Quality:
This pedal seems really solid and well made with a high quality enclosure and very sturdy jacks even if they are PCB mounted. The pedal mainly consists of micro components which I guess explains the small form factor and also will help with mass production. The switch is very solid if a little softer than I normally use it doesn't have that thick satisfying click that i'm used to be I can't see it failing at any point. The only negative point is that there is a small finish flaw in the bottom corner on the face of the pedal but it's nothing major and doesn't affect functionality in anyway at all.
Overall I am extremely pleased with this pedal and would highly recommend it to anyone wanting a more transparent overdrive that doesn't cut out masses of low end unless you specifically set it to. It's extremely useful for those that play rock or metal.
I will be posting again in a week or so with some sound clips and possibly some more information depending whether my view on this pedal changes as I get more used to it.
29 December 2012
Building a high gain amplifier part 1: The preamp
This has been a long time coming and will be the last ever Soldano influenced amplifier that I build.
All I'm doing here is rebuilding my original amp with a few tweaks that I have found that I prefer over the stock circuit.
First up we will start with populating the preamp board with the smaller components as it is always best to do it in height order to stop things slipping out and looking messy later.
So here we have the bridge rectifier for the channel switching circuit. It is the smallest component of the preamp therefore it is done first. Please note the polarity markings as this is critical for correct operation. The PCB also has a silkscreen that matches the markings so it's pretty hard to go wrong here.
All I'm doing here is rebuilding my original amp with a few tweaks that I have found that I prefer over the stock circuit.
First up we will start with populating the preamp board with the smaller components as it is always best to do it in height order to stop things slipping out and looking messy later.
So here we have the bridge rectifier for the channel switching circuit. It is the smallest component of the preamp therefore it is done first. Please note the polarity markings as this is critical for correct operation. The PCB also has a silkscreen that matches the markings so it's pretty hard to go wrong here.
And now it's time to go onto the bulk of the preamp which is the resistors. I am not going to go through these one by one as it will just be lots of repetition and there are no polarities to be concerned with so just solder away! One thing to keep in mind is that some resistors have very similar colour bandings so take your time and make sure you match them correct values up with the silkscreen.
With resistors I usually use a lead forming tool to help keep things nice and tidy.
And here is a nicely formed resistor ready to be soldered in.
I've added a few extra shots of the preamp just for reference as to what it looks like as you go along.
In this last shot you will notice that I have left R14 blank. This resistor is the Soldano signature move, the cold clipper. It determines when the lead channel saturates and the amount of gain on tap. My reasoning for leaving this blank is that I am going to add a front panel toggle with the stock value and a lower value so that I can switch between two gain voicings as and when needed.
From here we are going to go onto the small value capacitors. For these I choose silver mica caps just because I like the way they sound over ceramics. However a cheaper ceramic cap will do a good enough job also it just depends if you want to spend the extra 30p or so.
These capacitors are unpolarised so again orientation isn't important here.
The last step that I am going to cover today are the three electrolytic capacitors in the preamp for the B+ & channel switching parts of the circuit.
These three capacitors are polarised and you really want to make sure that you get these in the right way as it isn't pretty if you power up with them the wrong way. Electrolytic capacitors failing can be very messy and sometimes dangerous. See this video for a demonstration.
As you can see the polarities are clearly marked on these capacitors making the chances of an error during installation very minimal as the PCB silkscreen also marks the polarity.
That is all for today but in the very near future I will be finishing the preamp in a bit more depth and also the power amp in the next post.
After that things will get a lot more in depth and also move into a more step by step manner as things get a little more complex.
If you have any questions just leave a comment and i'll do my best to answer you.
28 December 2012
Hello!
Just thought I'd introduce myself as a new contributor to this blog, and thanks to Toe-Knee for inviting me in.
I've been playing guitar and have been in bands for about 15 years now and in that time have done hundreds of gigs with both covers and original material bands. I'm also a trained Live/Studio Sound and Recording Engineer, so you could say I've been round the block a few times!
I'm nowhere near as knowledgeable as either Toe-Knee or Bob on the technical side and inner workings of amps or pedals but have in my time owned alot of and, due to my work in the studio, have come into contact with alot of different types and brands of equipment, so I think I have a pretty good ear and idea for combinations of things that will and won't work together.
Most of my contribution will come on the gear review side and I'll leave the more technical information to Toe-Knee and Bob!
Musically I'm pretty much in the 70s Rock, 80s Rock/Metal, 70s Punk and Blues side of things, even though I have been known to listen to some heavier stuff now and again, so my reviews will mainly concentrate on gear that fits into those types of genres.
Let us know if there's anything in particular you want to know about or want us to write about and we'll do our best to cover it.
Thanks!
27 December 2012
Merry christmas.
Hey guys. This is just a very brief one now that things have calmed down somewhat.
You may have noticed that we now have a new banner thanks to one of our new contributors (more on that in a bit) We have also changed the URL to WWW.BACKLINE.TK the old one will still work for a little while but be aware it isn't going to last forever so update your bookmarks.
There will be further visual updates over the next week as well as some introductory posts from our new contributors.
Saying that I would like to welcome Brow & Demonikol to the ranks which should hopefully make things a little more steady and also spread out the posts over a wider range of equipment as we all play differing genres of music therefore use differing equipment to an extent.
I hope you all had a great christmas and that you have a fantastic new year!
HAGO!
Tony
You may have noticed that we now have a new banner thanks to one of our new contributors (more on that in a bit) We have also changed the URL to WWW.BACKLINE.TK the old one will still work for a little while but be aware it isn't going to last forever so update your bookmarks.
There will be further visual updates over the next week as well as some introductory posts from our new contributors.
Saying that I would like to welcome Brow & Demonikol to the ranks which should hopefully make things a little more steady and also spread out the posts over a wider range of equipment as we all play differing genres of music therefore use differing equipment to an extent.
I hope you all had a great christmas and that you have a fantastic new year!
HAGO!
Tony
17 December 2012
The future of this blog...
I have a few things planned for the next few months after a fairly long absence. Here is a quick breakdown of the future plans and also some information on how I plan on approaching this blog after the new year.
Upcoming pedal builds
1776 Rubadub Digital Reverb - In Progress
Naga Viper Influenced Treble Booster - Jan 2013
1776 Multiplex Echo machine - Feb 2013
Upcoming amplifier builds
SLO influenced rebuild - In Progress
Krankenstein influenced amp - March 2013
As you can see from the above list I'm hoping to get back into a regular cycle. My goal is to get at least one pedal build posted on here each month unless there is a more time consuming build going on such as an amp build then that will possibly cover two months or so but there will be regular updates.
Update 23/12/02
I have been speaking with Bob regarding the future of this blog and we have come to the decision that the blog is going to be expanded to cover a wider area of guitar related equipment and not just DIY projects.
In light of the above you can expect equipment reviews of production gear and also there will be a bit of a visual shake up and obviously a new name. Watch this space!
Upcoming pedal builds
1776 Rubadub Digital Reverb - In Progress
Naga Viper Influenced Treble Booster - Jan 2013
1776 Multiplex Echo machine - Feb 2013
Upcoming amplifier builds
SLO influenced rebuild - In Progress
Krankenstein influenced amp - March 2013
As you can see from the above list I'm hoping to get back into a regular cycle. My goal is to get at least one pedal build posted on here each month unless there is a more time consuming build going on such as an amp build then that will possibly cover two months or so but there will be regular updates.
Update 23/12/02
I have been speaking with Bob regarding the future of this blog and we have come to the decision that the blog is going to be expanded to cover a wider area of guitar related equipment and not just DIY projects.
In light of the above you can expect equipment reviews of production gear and also there will be a bit of a visual shake up and obviously a new name. Watch this space!
1776 effects Rubadub Reverb Build
Well it's been a bit quiet on the personal DIY front. I've just done a few amp builds for people but nothing that hasn't really been covered before.
However I recently got around to starting building a digital reverb using the Rubadub reverb PCB from Josh @ 1776 effects
This build is now completed but I haven't boxed it up yet so for now there are just a few in progress pictures at the bottom.
The circuit is really nice and sounds fantastic on clean sounds which is primarily what I wanted it for.
I wont be boxing this up until the weekend and still haven't decided on the graphics for it. If you have any suggestions please feel free to post a comment.
Here is a quick clip with some incredibly shoddy playing due to an injury of my fretting hand. I'll get some better ones up as soon as I can play without getting cramps in my left palm.
However I recently got around to starting building a digital reverb using the Rubadub reverb PCB from Josh @ 1776 effects
This build is now completed but I haven't boxed it up yet so for now there are just a few in progress pictures at the bottom.
The circuit is really nice and sounds fantastic on clean sounds which is primarily what I wanted it for.
I wont be boxing this up until the weekend and still haven't decided on the graphics for it. If you have any suggestions please feel free to post a comment.
Here is a quick clip with some incredibly shoddy playing due to an injury of my fretting hand. I'll get some better ones up as soon as I can play without getting cramps in my left palm.
Here is one with just the resistors mounted. I didn't have one of the required values so used two resistors in parallel to get it where it needed to be.
And here we are with it mostly populated minus one electrolytic cap. These newer Belton reverb bricks are now small enough to fit comfortably inside a 1590b.
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