British Leyline

Coming Soon...

An early approximation of what to expect...

My Telecaster Could Do With a Clean...

...and maybe an exorcism.

Pedalboard Phase Four - The Slaves Weep With Joy, For The Hour Of Dedication Draws Near...

A step closer to achieving pedal-ordering clarity. Added an ehx Mellotron pedal, gathered the stereo pedals together towards the rear of the chain so as to make the most ergonomic use of patch cables (and make the most of their 'stereo-ness'), made a better arrangement of the fuzzes, overdrives and distortions at the front end (germanium fuzzes like to be right at the front, other noise boxes can be further in)...

There are two (or is it three, or possibly four?) different FX chains here:

1. signal from xotic compressor (off-screen) into Zvex Fuzz Factory>Karma Suture>Mel9>Pog2>Loop Station> EmpressTape Delay

1a. the dry signal from the Mel 9 goes into the Bitquest>Arpanoid>Boss DD-3>Lo-Fi Junky>Tone job>Loop Station>Empress Tape Delay, with a second direct out going from the Boss Digital Delay if required.

2. signal from Multi Overtone (off-screen top right) into EHX Ravish>Redwitch Chorus>Tera Echo>Obscura Altered Delay>Polara Reverb

2a. A second output goes from the 'sympathetic' out on the Ravish, into a different mixer channel or different amp, as required...

 

 Here's the front end of the primary fx chain:

OCD overdrive>viscous vibe>big muff>freeze>phase90>adaptive distortion>feedbacker/booster>blues driver>robotalk envelope filter>clusterfuzz>flanger>phase shifter>multi overtone>ravish, etc

The viscous vibe has a second output going straight into the bass input on the flanger, but I'm not sure it adds anything much. Experiments need to be performed to be certain...

Both stereo outputs from the Multi overtone are used, one going into the ravish, one bypassing it and going into the tera echo.

I might move the freeze pedal out front for better stompage (and connect it to the direct out from the boss delay so it can send its frozen soundgrabs to a seperate channel for improved clarity). I think the karma suture will work better in its place.

These are the pedals that are always on, so they can sit over here and not clutter the board:

The guitar goes into the switchblade, and the two outputs go into two different compressors, one for each fx chain

The philosopher's tone (which has a flippin' amazing sustain) goes into the OCD. The xotic sp goes into the fuzz factory.

The polytune powers the switchblade, which in turn has a hardwired connection to the polytune, which means it has a pure signal and doesn't need its output socket to go anywhere.

Both fx chains go through the RC-30 loop station, which is useful for grabbing and layering what I'm doing, and adding a rudimentary drumbeat, and saving it all in a form that can be farted about with in logic or in the jungulator itself...

Pedal Board Project Update

New Pedal Scenario phase 2 - "the dickening"...

OK, so now we've added the Zvex Fuzz Factory, the Fulltone OCD, the Boss Compression/Sustainer and the MXR Phase 90. Then a festive ebay/gumtree frenzy yielded a Boss flanger, a Boss adaptive distortion, a Boss multi-overtone, a Boss feedbacker/booster, a Boss Phase Shifter and a TC Electronics Viscous Vibe.

I really can't stress enough the importance of good quality patch cables and connectors. Also, I'm pleasantly surprised how well the bottom of an old flight case works as a pedal board, and will henceforth upgrade its status to 'permanent' : )

New Guitar Pedal Board Project

I'm assembling a new pedalboard scenario.

I've been using a Line6 Pod XT Pro for a couple of years and, nice as that is, I'm pining for the prairies of dedicated pedaldom. I want individual units that do one thing really well - I'll be proceeding slowly and methodically, picking pedals up second hand where possible, new if necessary. 

Here's the situation at the moment, using the bottom section of an old flight case as a temporary 'pedalboard'. 

So far we have an Electroharmonix Germanium Big Muff, a Boss Tera Echo, LoopStation, Blues Driver Phase Shifter and Digital Delay. Shortly, these will be joined by a Zvex Fuzz Factory, a Fulltone OCD, a Boss Compression/Sustainer and an MXR Phase 90.

It's going to sound like J G Ballard in a DMT windtunnel...

New Guitars

Oops, since I last posted I've gone and broken my No More Than Three Guitars rule, with these two chaps:

The Fender Jaguar (a near-mint 2006 Japanese model) was only £300 from a second-hand shop on Bristol's Gloucester Road:

I've ordered a pair of Bare Knuckle '62 Jaguar pickups with aged cream covers to replace the weedy white ones seen here (they're not listed on the Bare Knuckle website but they'll make them to order):

I also got a Mastery Bridge to replace the dodgy Mustang one; a bit pricey but justifiable as the guitar itself was so cheap, and it works a treat:

The early seventies "Kasuga" Jazz copy is something I've had lying around for ages in a state of disrepair, and it struck me as a good candidate for a fretless conversion:

I had a lot of help with this one from Dave at Waghorn Guitars, particularly with the fretboard:

I had an original 'Badass' bridge that needed a new home, and a couple of DeArmond-esque bass pickups that were the only salvageable parts from a plywood car boot sale bass, so they all went on. I kept the chunky bridge pickup, as it sounds mean, and the other two pickups were both wax-potted to prevent them from howling like banshees.  the original output jack now houses a master tone control (with a new output just visible on the lower left corner with a chunky electrosocket fitted) and there are now three independent volume controls, one for each pickup. I had to design a somewhat eccentric take on a Jazz bass scratchplate in order to cover various screw holes on the upper part of the body, but I think it works well:

I was initially considering putting an old bridge cover on it (see above) but it looked too clunky, and the heavily used Badass looks nice exposed:

The thing I'm most pleased about is that what started as almost a comedy project, a way to cobble together a load of spare parts into a slightly absurd retro instrument, has actually turned into a lovely bass that looks distinctive, elegant even, and is loads of fun to play :)

Guitars!

Here's my babies.

I have a strict policy of "no more than three electric guitars at any one time", so these are my current beasties. The two Telecasters have been extensively modified, the PRS is essentially 'stock'.

Mr Black:

Body - Mexican 1996
Neck - USA deluxe 2002
Pickups - Seymour Duncan (Phat Cat P90, Nashville Five-Two, Quarter Pounder)
All new electrics, five-way selector, push/pull in/out of phase, series/parallel pots, kill switch.

Mr Blonde:

2003 Fender Japan Thinline
Pickups - Seymour Duncan ('59 Humbucker, Nashville Five-Two, Quarter Pounder)
Fishman powerbridge/stereo output electrosocket
All new electrics, five-way selector, push/pull in/out of phase, series/parallel pots, three-way switch (piezo pickups/normal pickups/both)

My latest acquisition::

Paul Reed Smith Custom 22, bought for cash from a fella on ebay after much hand-wringing and soul searching. I sold a Godin that I'd never quite got on with in order to rationalise purchasing a pricey PRS and to stick to the "three guitars" brief.

It has the nicest neck I've ever played, a lovely sound from the Three P90 pickups, a pretty gorgeous guitar.