The Gig Rig Blog

Get the most out of your FUZZ pedals

2011-11-15T12:55:00.000-08:00

in part 3 we look at FUZZ, and how following a few simple guidelines can help you get the most out of them

DISTORTION Pedals - TheGigRig Effects Pedal Survival Guide Part 2

2011-09-20T08:09:00.000-07:00

In Part 2 of the series we check out how to get the most out of your DISTORTION pedals with a sneak preview of some of my fav's. Check it out!!!

TheGigRig Effects Pedal Survival Guide

2011-07-28T01:20:00.000-07:00

The first in our series helping you get the most out of your effects pedals is done. Check it out...

don't forget to 'like' our Facebook page here

The Ultimate delay shootout - is HERE!!!

2011-06-21T08:10:00.000-07:00

here you go guys and gals - enjoy!

Remember, for an in depth analysis of the delays sign up to TheGigRig Tone Review.

the ULTIMATE delay shootout is on the way!!!

2011-06-08T04:15:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine who is another confirmed pedal junkie and I started discussing and comparing notes on what we thought were some of the greatest delays of all time. well, there's only one way to sort this.... FIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
so we have organized to have some of the best delay units, old and new, in the studio for a quick head to head.
included in the line-up are

TC Electronics - 2290
Cornish TES
Skrydstrup DDL
Hiwatt Custom Tape Echo
Strymon ElCapsitan
Providence Chrono Delay
MXR Rack Delay

We are recording the shootout on Thursday the 9th of June, so we'll get it edited an online as soon as possible.

This is going to be a fun day!!!!!

USA - AOK!

2011-05-19T04:13:00.000-07:00

My business partner and our head tech senior Dave Mapleston is off to North Carolina this week to start the process of setting up our USA hub. It will be our American build, assembly, test and distribution centre.
Why are we doing this? We have so many fantastic American customers and we want to look after them as best as we can. We ship so much product to the USA and our postal and courier services are fantastic, but we know we can do even better, so the idea of the USA hub was born. From about the end of June, we will be shipping all TheGigRig USA orders straight from our USA hub. Till then of course its business as usual and we'll be shipping as per normal from the UK.
This is a big step for us. TheGigRig is branching out, we're coming of age.

TheGigRig 'Z' cable on the way!

2011-03-10T06:24:00.000-08:00

Its nearly here people. The 'Z' cable, the last piece of the puzzle.

In all our endless hours of testing pedals and signal chains, a certain few things have come to our attention. Things that we've found to make a huge impact on your tone and the way your guitar interacts with your amp.

It may come as no surprise that the output from your guitar is very different than the output that comes from an FX pedal or any piece of gear that has a standard buffered output. Your guitar pickup has so many cool things going on and seems to connect in such a musical way when you plug straight into a nice amp. I'm sure you know yourself its when we put buffers, pedals, racks in the way of that signal it can have a less than wonderful affect on that magic guitar to amp connection.

So how does the 'Z' cable help?

The 'Z' cable gets placed at the very end of your guitar chain, the last thing on your pedal board. It receives all the signals from your pedals, buffers, anything that's put into it, then sends your amplifier and signal that is almost identical to the signal that comes from your guitar.

It tricks the amp into thinking it's receiving a signal direct from your guitar.

You can fine tune this process as well so if your normal guitar tone is warm and round or bright and sharp you can dial it in with the 'REACTANCE' control. You can even decide the length of cable that you want the 'Z' cable to sound like. Long, medium, short, even an active output if you want the cable to disappear altogether.

The 'Z' cable can also be incredibly long with NO AUDIO LOSS. What appears at the start of the cable is EXACTLY what appears at the end of the cable. We have 2 standard sizes.

Stage - 4 metres, and Stadium, which is 8 metres.

We will be launching this very soon, pre-orders are just around the corner, but remember... Facebook friends and Twitter followers find out first. So to be the first know when the 'Z' cable is ready send me a Facebook friend request here... and/or follow me on Twitter here...

Lets get real in 2011 people

2011-01-13T05:37:00.000-08:00

Hi guys and gals. Pondering tone over countless hours as I have I believe I've had an epiphany when it comes to searching for and finding great tone. Let me give you a quick preface as to what led me to this moment. I spent a week in LA recently with my family, it was the longest I have been away from a guitar or an amp in a decade. On the last day we stopped into Guitar Center on Sunset just to check it out as you do. And if you haven't you really should, its amazing. Anyway, there I am, in holiday mode, completely relaxed, no stress, happy days. Now i begin to recognize the guitar tones flying around me, some good, some ok, some buzzy like bees in a bottle, but I realize i haven't even looked at what gear they're using or what they're playing through. I'm just at peace, barely listening but still taking it all in.
When I eventually looked at the stuff they were using, I was genuinely surprised.

Why did you need to know this? because tone is my life, and that life has a pressure, stress and deadlines built into it. The knowledge this life has given me has also led to a certain amount of presumption and its so clear to me now that when you're searching for that tone and you add this all together, it's the wrong head space to be in when searching for tone or trying out potential tone toys.
Anyone who's ever bought stuff because of people's rave reviews, then persevered and struggled with it, purely because if everyone is raving about it believing that it must be great if everyone is raving about it so it must be me who is using it wrong. Does this sound familiar? It certainly does for me, so why do we persist?
Because we are conditioned to believe that if its 1. Really expensive, 2. used by someone famous, 3. really pretty or 4. raved about by users on an online forum, then it must be amazing.

so I've come up with a new process for trying gear. Maybe you can add to it but so far its working really well.

1 - Ignorance is Bliss
Once you have decided to try out a new piece of gear STOP SEARCHING for info about it. All that matters is the tone, no ifs, ands or butts, this is everything. Don't ask how much it costs, (this is not always possible so go to step 2), don't ask who uses it, don't ask what's in it, just leave all that alone till you've played through the thing. You don't want any of that info influencing your decision on weather or not to buy it.

2 - I don't want your money honey, I want your love
OK, now this may sound strange but trust me, there's a reason for this. You're plugged into what ever you're going to listen to, before you start, imagine that the pedal is £20 Beringer, or the amp is a Digitech practice amp, what ever is the uncoolest thing you can imagine. It must be so uncool that you would never ever mention you own it on TheGearPage.
Take the 'cool factor' out of the picture.

3 - Relax, this won't hurt a bit
Get into a calm peaceful space, clear your head and just let the tone do its thing. Don't listen as such, just be aware, play and see what happens. How does it feel? How do you want to play with it? If you sit down and try to analyze it, rather than just experience it, it once again puts you in that strange headspace which is not conducive to making music. ' the truth is there is no spoon'

Here's the thing, rock stars who have all the money and endorsement deals in the world can basically buy and play anything they want. They don't have this 'gee my amp is cool because its so expensive' attitude because to allot of them its not. If you've ever seen a rock star audition a new piece of gear you'll know that they don't give a toss about how it looks or how much it costs, all they care about is how they connect with it and what comes out in the air. Most are not impressed by the 'boutique' signature, they just want it to sound right... period. I've seen an artist plug into what all around him would class as an amazing amp and he dismissed it as crap in 10 seconds. Same guy plugs into something off the shelf costing 1/3 the price and just wailed, didn't care who made it, or how much it cost. Just wanted the tone that worked for him.

So the next time you're trying a new piece of gear, or even the stuff you have now, get out of that pre-judging mind set. Remember we are all different, and this stuff makes NO SOUND, it only amplifies and colours what we put into it.

This approach can save you years of heartache, but even if it only saves you one disappointing gig, then my job is done.

peace

Daniel Steinhardt

http://www.thegigrig.com/

pedal boards of the stars - Paul Turner - Jamiroquai

2010-11-30T03:27:00.000-08:00

One for the bass players!
Paul Turner recently asked me to tidy up his pedal board before his latest Jamiroquai tour so I whipped out the video camera and documented the process. Really interesting for bass players or for anyone putting together a pedal board and wants to do it properly.

TheGigRig in Doug Dopplers 'Get Killer Tone' DVD

2010-11-23T03:46:00.000-08:00

This week our good friend Doug Doppler took delivery of the pedal that I put together for the Guitar Player review.
Doug has started work on one of the coolest projects we know about, a video series on 'How To get Killer Tone'.
Doug tracked us down at NAMM this year and we organized to get him sent this pedal board for him to put through its paces.
Doug is yet another guitarist totally committed to squeezing every last drop of tone available from his gear, he's a great guitar player and we're proud to
have him rocking out on our gear
You can see his YouTube channel here

The board we put together has some really tasty pedals on it including a vintage 70's EH Small Stone phaser, Keeley modded CE-2, original Ibanez AD-80, Analog Man Beano boost, Tone Freak Severe and the new AC+ booster from Xotic.

Guitar Nation - the aftermath

2010-11-15T03:25:00.000-08:00

Firstly i want to say a massive thank you to everyone who came down to Olympia in London on the weekend. It was a really great weekend and great to see so many tone obsessed guitarists.

Tone Hungry Crowd Gathers

From the minute the doors opened on Saturday the crowd around TheGigRig stand was constant. It's where the tone was at doncha know. We were there with my mate Jesse and his band of merry men from Lazy J amps (ooh.. so very tasty..the amps, not the merry men)

It was full steam ahead from start to finish.

My good friend and guitar/producer legend Paul Stacey
dropped by to say hi and proceeded to have schwang (which is a technical term for playing guitar with passion and gusto!)
on my rig. Man, the guy is just amazing!

I have started a petition to get Paul and Jeremy back to the 606 club asap for another of their rock gigs. If it happens you owe it to yourself as a musician to get down to the 6 and hear these guys play. It'll put hairs on your chest, guaranteed. In all seriousness Paul is one of the most amazing guitarists I've ever seen. Just the amount of music that comes out of the guy is incredible.

Rock legend Phil Hilborne stopped by before his gig on the main stage to say hi. Phil has been using TheGigRig Pro-14 for a few years now and his tone is fantastic. He's just returned from a sell out 'Monsters of Rock' tour in the US where night after night he's been playing to packed stadiums. That big grin on his face is not forced!!

The guy is a legend and lives, eats and breathes guitar.

Jamiroquais' Rob Harris is another Pro-14 user and is on the road again with JayK. The new album sounds great and the Pro-14 was used extensively as well as a MIDI-8 courtesy of Jamiroquai's bass player Paul Turner. Rob's rig is fantastic and with him behind it sounds truly incredible.

New British blues sensation
Stephen Dale Petit uses a MIDI-8 at the heart of his rather amazing sounding rig. His new album'The Crave' is out now to well deserved rave reviews. I'll be going to a gig at the 100 club that he's putting on on with special guests Ronnie Wood and Mick Taylor. That's going to be massive!!!!

Fresh from a tour down under with Bonnie Tyler, Matt Prior was at the show. Along with yours truly, Matt is going to be doing clinics as a member of the British Guitar Academy alongside Marilion's Steve Rothery and Mr So and So's Dave Foster. It's going to be really great so watch this space.

There were a few amazing things about the weekend which were really cool and I'll never forget, including a name drop by Mr Steve Vai at his Master Class, but one image will stick in my head forever. We were lucky enough to have Mr Phil Harris with us who just happened to bring along his original 57 gold top Les Paul, yes folks, its a real one. You don't play this guitar, it plays you! All I can say is anyone who doubts the argument for vintage guitars hasn't heard this thing. So I was talking to some guy at the stand and I hear some Led Zep being pummelled by this 11 year old kid... on this guitar! Firstly, all 11 year olds should be made to learn Zep tunes as part of their curriculum at school, so major kudos points for that one, but apart from it sounding so good I was left wondering if and when this kid would ever realize the significance of him playing those songs on this guitar. Truly amazing. So thanks Phil, and thanks to every for coming down.

See you at the show!

2010-11-10T02:24:00.001-08:00

Finaly, a proper guitar show returns to London!!

Guitar Nation is happening this weekend 13th and 14th of November in London at Olympia in Hammersmith.
You can find out all about it here... http://www.guitarnation2010.com/index.htm

We're at stand 316 so come down and say hi. It should be a really great weekend

TheGigRig does the Albert Hall

2010-04-27T04:54:00.000-07:00

I'll never forget the first time I saw TheGigRig at the Albert Hall, of course I won't, and either would you. If something you'd worked so hard on for so long was going to be onstage with one of your favourite artists at one of the worlds most prestigious venues, you'd be there too right? So this was a very important moment for me. Paul Stacey was playing guitar for the Finn Brothers at the time , I'd spent endless hours putting together the pedal board for Paul for that tour and so excited at the prospect of seeing it onstage at the Royal Albert Hall, on top of all that I was also getting to meet one of my all time heroes Neil Finn at the same time. However my excitement was soon turned to deep sadness as it was that day the world found out that Paul Hester, the Crowded House drummer had taken his own life. The gig was later confirmed as going ahead so i went along to the sound check where the band played the most astounding rendition of Don't dream its over. I'd heard this song a million times, played it a million times, seen Neil perform half a million times, but the version at sound check stopped everyone in their tracks. From the sound guy to cleaners, everyone in there just stopped and their eyes were transfixed on the stage.It was a moment that will stay with me for the rest of my life. So I got to meet Neil Finn, i had all these thoughts on what i was going to say, how i would offer to sort out a really tidy little pedal board for him etc, but those thoughts were such a long way away now. I just said hi, and how i was so sorry to hear about Paul. What else could i say? He was gracious and personable, we chatted for a few moments, and that was that.
The gig was emotionally charged, but none the less, and incredible performance all round.

(in this shot you can see Paul Stacey's white Pro-14 in the lower left hand corner)

Since then we've had numerous artists play at the big dome, each one being special. This image was sent to me by Donny Little, who plays for Paolo Nutini, the MIDI 8 on stage at the Albert Hall only a few weeks ago.

I feel a little glow every time someone tells me who much they love using the gear we make, I'm grateful and proud that the artists have chosen us to carry their tone. For me this is what being passionate about what you do is all about. I see this MIDI 8 on stage at the Albert Hall, and all these rich memories come back, none of which would have happened if my business partner Dave Mapleston hadn't answered a letter I wrote to him that i scrawled out on a kitchen table 7 years ago.. but that's a story for another day

more pedals, more joy

2010-03-08T07:10:00.000-08:00

where will it end? You know what, i don't think it will, in all honesty. I just bagged this old MXR phase 45 that sounds lush and glorious, just a touch understated than the 90 and works wonderfully. I'll give it its first night out at the Tin Spirits gig tonight, but i', also rediscovering a bunch of pedals I have int used for a while. I pulled our my old Hot Cake the other day, bugger me, its just fantastic. Into the DC30 it really does sing. I love the way pedals catch your imagination, you conjure soundscapes in your mind as to what the end result might be, maybe this is the one! Yes, they are only a part of a long chain and totaly reliant on what goes in, and where they go out to, but when you get that combination right, well its a glorious thing.

Doug, is the back door open???

2010-02-22T06:20:00.000-08:00

I don't know about you but as much as I love my gear, every now and then i find myself being reminded of how special some of this stuff is and how gutted i would be if it were to , i don't know, lets say fall out the back of a van doing 80MPH down the motorway. After a great weekend of gigs finished off with a night of battling with the loudest DJ in the world we packed up the van and headed home. After about 15 miniutes driving a truck overtook us on the outside lane. 'He's very loud' thought I, then i had a horriific thought. I swung around and see the back door of the people carier we were in wide open like the worlds biggest spoiler. I shrieked like a 6 year old girl, "THE BACK DOOR'S OPEN!!" Doug casualy pulls the van over and jumps out. "Jees Dan, you're lucky, your guitar was hanging a foot outside the van". I felt sick. Writing this, i feel sick. I could just see it happening so vividly, this incredible guitar that has survived half a century finaly meeting its demise shattering into 1000 pieces on the M25.

Today I have been cradling my guitar rocking back and forth like a mental patient who's taken just a bit too much diazapan. - there there, it was all just a dream

Its wierd but these little things can give you a new perspective on the joy of great tone. Had my guitar been destroyed last night i would have been talking about all the wonderful moments i had with it, now i'm just looking forward to enjoying it even more. I will only ever play this guitar a finite number of times. I will only ever get 'that sound' a finite number of times.

We're hear for a good time, not a long time, so make your tone time count.

NAMM Day 4 - The end of NAMM but the start of a new era for TheGigRig

2010-01-20T01:20:00.000-08:00

The day began like any other for us, hundreds of guitarists trawling through my pedal collection, being mesmerized by the swirling tape of my Hiwatt Custom Tape Echo. Then the application of the MIDI-8 and Pro-14 looming large on the pedal board starts to freak people out. All you users out there know what I’m talking about. Anyway, you’ll be glad to know that the Yanks have embraced us with open arms. We have had literally dozens of offers of distribution all over the States and internationally. Four days on the show floor with people constantly at our stand has us completely tapped out, but I make exhausted look good. We have met loads of great people who share our passion for gear and made some great new friends. We want to thank everyone who came down to say hi and check out our stuff. Thanks to all TheGigRig users who came up to tell us how much they loved our gear, it really means the world to us.
To Phil and Christine from Matchless and Joe and Mac from Two-Rock, you guys make the best amps in the world, thanks so much for the generous loan of these incredible tone machines.
To Dereck from ToneFreak, the SEVERE has blown my mind, incredible pedal, thanks for getting it to me.
John Chandler from Pedal Train came by to say hi as well. I’ve been emailing John for a few years now and we finally got a chance to meet.
Roy Kariok who plays guitar for the 'Backstreet Boys' among a load of other top artists has a MIDI 8 winging its way to him.
Right at the end of the day Doug Doppler came bouncing on to our stand. Doug is making a 'How to get great tone' DVD and did some recording of the rigs we had at the show. Great to finally meet you Doug.
The show has been a tremendous success, I met guys from some of my favourite shops in the world including Pro Guitar Shop, Manny’s, The Guitar Center (keep your eye out for their new boutique section) and loads of others who all took the time out to come by and introduce themselves to us and give us their details. The players at the show have been immense and so many of them have ordered rigs from us. As it was our first ever NAMM it’s something that we’ll never forget, but for me the best thing has been meeting so many of our U.S. players who already use and love our gear and really believe in us. Ronnie Parker has been using our gear for ages and everyday at the show he kept bringing his mates down to experience our rigs. Thanks Ronnie, you’re a complete legend and I look forward to that pint next time you’re in town.
So we’re sitting at LAX just about to get on the plane to go home back to the UK, I can’t wait to see my kids and Tine. We’ll be back next year for sure, with even more new stuff the we guarantee will rock your collective worlds. Thanks so much everyone, I’m feelin the love, See you next year NAMM

NAMM Day 3 - stick a fork in me...I'm done

2010-01-17T05:52:00.000-08:00

No photos today folks, and why? We turned up to our stand at 9am, and from then till 6:10 we didn't leave, we were rammed all day. And people are telling is that this is a quiet year, i just don't see how it could be busier. At points in the show you can barely walk its so rammed. But you can see why, some of the stands are just outrageous, and the players doing the demos are spectaular. Every 10 meters there's a guy (or girl, yep, this youg girl banjo player, she couldn't have been more than 16 was just shredding) who make you rethink you life there that good.
so getting ready now for the last day, our feet are bruised to the bone, the jet lag has us by the neck, but this is NAMM, and its so very worth it.
last day, here we go...

NAMM - Day 2

2010-01-16T04:34:00.000-08:00

I'm still in awe of how well put together this thing is. I guess they have been doing it for over a hundred years but the sheer size and amount of exhibitors boggles the mind.

JOe and MAC from Two-Rock stopped in to say hi. These guys shipped in a wonderful Jet Sig 1x12 combo for us to use and it sounds spectacular.

Phil from Matchless is here as well and was so great to meet him. He's given us a Clubman rig to rock out on so when it comes to a nice chunky piece of amp tone, we're well sorted.

To add to the joy of the day some incredible players stopped by to say hi incuding Reeves Gabrels. What a legend this guy is, Bowies guitarist for many years and did the 'Tin Machine' project with him. It was a real honour to meet him

Dave Linsk from OverKill who will soon be the proud owner of a Remote Loopy2 and a bunch of other stuff we make

Owen (guitar) and Jason (drummer)from Purple Melon an amazing band from the UK who are out here blowing peoples fragile minds stopped by to say hi and let rip on my tele. There's a vid of Owen on our homepage at the moment, the guy is an astonishing player and the band are incredible. If you're in LA onn Monday the guys are playng the Viper room

Two of our artists Prashant Aswani and Dave Wood bummped into us as well. Prashant is playing shows at NAMM and is one of the guys who seem to be able to play anything without limits. Dave plays for Jesse McCartney, Hilary Duff, Taylor Hicks, Norah Jones (hello ladies)

To top it all off i was finally able to nab a pedal that i've been after for ages. Within the space of a day I had two freinds call and say 'Daniel, you simply have to get a SEVERE from ToneFreak ( www.tonefreak.com ) Dereck from Tone Freak was kind enough to stop by the stand and set up one on my board. This thing absolutely KILLS. The best sounding high gain overdrive pedal i have ever heard, and i think I've probably heard all of them, (i know what you're thinking but I've heard that one, owned that one, and heard that one too) seriously it is a freakin marvel. So its been an incredible day, we're running on pure adrenalin but having the time of our lives.
Day 3 is now upon us, another beauiful day in LA. Here we go ....

NAMM Report - DAY 1

2010-01-15T04:23:00.000-08:00

Doors opend yesterday for the first of four days at NAMM. It was a real moment for me, I've known abour NAMM since i was a kid. Players would always ask 'are you going to NAMM' which in Australia seemed a world away and was a really big deal. If you we're going to NAMM you were obviously somebody really important. Doing the trade shows in the UK is great but NAMM is truly something to behold. They do things BIG in the States and NAMM is no exception. Infact when i got off the plane i thought i had shrunk, everything is just that little bit bigger.
So we set up and the show starts and before you know it we're swammped. Joe and MAc from Two-Rock who most graciously lent me a Jet Sig combo for the show stopped in to say hi. One of our artsists Prashant Aswani who is playing at NAMM found us as well. I met Phil from Matchless who also lent us a Clubman. It's so funny but as soon as there seems to be a lull, i just strike up a couple of bars on those two amps and a crowd gathers, they sound just beautiful.
Scott from 'Axe and you shall recieve' came down to meet us. What a difference it makes when you meet your customers face to face. You can sometimes forget how inportant it is when most of your day is spent in front of a computer but it makes all the difference in the world.
So day 1 is done, the feet are killing and the Jet lag has me in a dream state, but what a fantastic day. I can report that the passion for great tone is alive and well. So if you're at NAMM we're in Hall E stand 1458, come and say hi.
More tomorrow.....

NAMM, here we come!!!

2010-01-09T02:04:00.000-08:00

Going through the checklist now of stuff we're taking to NAMM, oh what fun. As long as we can get to the airport through the foot of snow outside our front door we'll be in LA on Monday night, rready for a week long gear-fest. Hoorah! should be a blast. I'll be keeping a bog diary of all the NAMM events so keep an eye out.
We are launching a few new products this year, We've been working solidly and i can finally give you a sneak preview of one (or 5) of the new products launching at NAMM.
Please note these are not on the website yet, just a quick sneak preview of what we've been up to, but more info will be available soon

TheGigRig finalist in British Engineering Excellence awards

2009-11-07T07:31:00.000-08:00

Well this is very cool, and quite a suprise, but we are very proud to announce that the GigRig ltd was selected as a finalist in this year’s engineering excellence awards... who knew!

This is a quote from BEEA... 'The GigRig was selected for two main reasons... As a new company the GigRig ltd has demonstrated engineering excellence and innovation based precisely at customers needs... The other attribute that impressed the Judges, was the GigRigs attention to the environment, not just with Compliance to standards and re cycling, but with the patented invention of the Virtual battery'.. “The virtual battery will remove 100,000 PP3 Batteries from the environment every year”.. Said Kate Bellingham, former tomorrows world presenter and journalist, in her presentation of the final five companies.

Now i'm just waiting for the knighthood!!!

an encouraging word on your hunt for tone

2009-11-05T23:56:00.000-08:00

Amidst the chaos and stress of getting ready for NAMM I recieved an email from a client thanking me for the advice on puting his dream pedal board together. We get a lot of similar emails but I'm grateful for each one because I know how much it means to them. Getting to a point where your sound is your voice is a real moment in any guitarist's career. I've been fortunate enough to do thousands of different gigs from stadiums to boozers all over the world and if there is one thing I know its that when my tone is on form it has a tangible effect on people, a connection is made. And if my sound was off, the opposite was true. I've seen great players miss out on gigs because their tone was off. I have personally got gigs over much better players with better hair because of perceived tonal quality. People, this stuff is important. TheGigRig was not born from a business plan, but from my own efforts to improve my own sound, but I've met so many players who share my passion. I'm still learning new things every day because its a journey. But I can say that once you experience great tone, it can literally change your life.

The art of HUSHsshhhhhh part 2

2009-10-21T08:53:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, infact most times buying an expensive low powered amp is not always viable, it may not even give you the sound you want. Yes, my 59 AC10 twin rocks, but it's still not quiet, and the bottom end just doesn't feel the same on the tiny low powered amps, so how do we get our big rigs to rock out at low level.
I'll share with you a little trick that i've used very succesfully around the office. Firstly, i'm not a big fan of attenuators, i know many swear by them, but for me the fundemantal change in tone is too drastic.
Here's a nifty little trick to try.
I set my rig up as I would normally and turn it up to a decent stage volume, (oh it sounds so good!)but at this level it is completely impractical for anything except full on rocking out.
OK, now from the output of my rig which normally goes into my amp i put a fab sounding low gain OD pedal. I've had great results with a King Of Tone, HotCake, Kingsley Jester, even a Blues Driver. I set the pedal up to be almost transparent so you can't tell when you have it on or off. After this is done i simply use the master volume on the pedal to turn down the entire rig.
The cool thing about this approach is the pedal compresses like the back end of the amp when it's cooking so you still get a bit of that natural feel even though the volume is really low.
Try it and see what you think!

playing queit - the art to hush

2009-10-18T09:48:00.000-07:00

I played in bands for many years fronted by female artists. They were fantastic but a consistent problem was stage volume. After this it was bands with the boys and balls to the walls rocking out! Now with the new prog project the levels are much more controlled. Instantly, as soon as the volume drops that old 'quiet tone syndrome' comes back. So how do you do it? Get that tone at low levels? There are so many elements to great tone but one thing that stays consistent is the relationship between the amps' output stage and quality of tone. One of the most popular modern boutique amps being made today is the 15 watt ac15 style amp. The advantage these amps have is that you can turn them up without killing people. And when that output stage gets working you get that lovely output stage clipping that sounds so fab. Pair this with a matched low powered speaker and those great tones start to emerge. However, 15 watts is still by no means quiet. its generally ok if using a drummer but sometimes the use of a less efficient speaker is needed to get the amp cooking.
Over the next few days we'll have a look at some more techniques to get the best tome at low volume.

more madness on the way

2009-10-13T06:06:00.000-07:00

I wish i could tell you more, i really do, but let me just say i haven't slept in 3 days, we've been working around the clock on a new tone toy and it is going to be stella! Hopefully we'l have it ready to go for NAMM, in fact we hope to have a couple of new toys ready for NAMM in Jan, so i'll keep you all in the loop, pun semi intended.

So what's new in 2009?

2009-01-13T09:21:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone. Well we've kicked off this year with a bang and have some fantastic new products in the pipeline. It's all pretty much hush hush at the moment but we'll have four new products in our catalougue in the months to come. Through all these products and indeed our existing products there is a thread, a common theme that I hope you'll consider. We want you to sound as good as you can for one primary reason so you can experience the pleasure of playing with great tone. Unhindered by Lord of the Dance impressions and released to express yourself musically, this is what we're all about. I saw an amzing video of Nels Cline (Wilco guitarist) doing an improvised spot with an artist painting abstract imagery behind him. It was incredible and is an image of someone completley free on the instrument. It just takes a bit of creativity, and a touch of courage, then add some tone...and you can rule the world.

XTC's Dave Gregory's back, and the man is on fire!!!!

2008-12-12T05:23:00.000-08:00

Last night I fulfilled a liftime dream. My band and I performed with Mr Dave Gregory at the Vic in Swindon. For any of you that don't know Dave, shame on you;) Dave is best known as the guitarist with XTC, the band whos music changed my life...literally. Since I was 20 years old the man has been my hero, he was the guitarist I wanted to be. Once you heard his parts and solo's that he contributed to Andy Partridge's songs you could no longer imagine any other possible worthwhile 6 string contributions. The man is a genius. I was playing an XTC song at the Manly Boatshed 7 years ago when a beautiful young woman says to me, I'm from Swindon, where XTC are from. That woman is now my wife and through circumstance we end up living where else but Swindon. Fate intervenes and a few years ago I meet my hero, and as he may well be the only person I've ever met who's passion for the instrument is greater than mine we become mates. On top of his passion is a level of talent that is bewildering. So I invite Dave down to the amp shoot-out we did at the website a few months ago and he sits in with the band. It all just kind of fell into place. I put it to Dave that we do a project...and he says yes!

So after a few weeks of rehearsal, last night we played

Dream Brother - Jeff Buckley
Reelin in the Years - Steeley Dan
Frankenstein - Edgar Winter
Red - King Crimson
Scissor Man - XTC
Towers of London - XTC

It's the start of a new project called 'The Tin Spirits'

For those of you that were there last night, well I don't need to tell you how great the man was, indeed a humbling experience.
I'll be getting some YouTube footage up on the website soon. Thanks to everyone that came down, stay tuned for more!

I saw the jolly fat man in Holland - Popa Chubby!

2008-12-04T03:58:00.000-08:00

Tuesday night I popped over to Holland with a mate to go and see the jolly fat man himself Popa Chubby.
As always he sounded fantastic. NYC blues rock with all the subtlety of a jack hammer. The guy really knows how to get a great guitar sound.
I also popped in to see Erik van de Haar from Haar guitars. Wow, what a great shop and an amazing guy. He builds custom guitars from scratch that play beautifaully and sound wonderful. He also has the most amazing amp room I've ever seen. Two-Rock, Matchless, BadCat, Suhr, Top Hat, Bruno, 65Amps, the list goes on and on.

Much joy!

So this is Christmas!!

2008-11-26T08:41:00.000-08:00

In the true spirit of Christmas, help someone else this year. When you are presented with the lame in tone, tell them about TheGigRig.com, when the poor in sonic wealth are begging before you, lament not for we at The Gig Rig shall give of our abundance in toneful remedies. Because no matter where you are, there always someone omnipresent listening closely to every note, every nuance. You know who you are...

Happy Holidays everyone. Love, Joy and peace to you all my friends. Thanks for the best year ever.

All the very best to all of you from all of us here at www.TheGigRig.com

It's time for change - Vote for better tone!

2008-11-06T05:46:00.000-08:00

We've never had it soooo good. Guitarists searching for the ultimate tone are absolutely spoilt for choice like never before. From cutting edge technology to vintage tonality the modern guitarist has an endless choice of toys and noise makers. Thanks to the Internet we also know more than ever before. I was at a guitar show recently when I was asked by a 13 year old guitarist if my tele used alnico magnets and nitro-cellulose lacquer.
So where has all this choice and knowledge got us? Are we enlightened as musicians? Or are we just more confused? I believe the answer lies in there somewhere. I've heard young players who trawl for hours on YouTube listening to mind blowing amounts of great music who are amazing players. Truly the future is theirs, but I also know of players who seem overloaded. So much choice that they forget why the started playing guitar in the first place... which is as we all know - to woo the ladies!
So how do we cut through the myriad of distraction and actually choose the instruments that are to become our voice? The gear that is to express us.

There are 3 very important steps when it comes to choosing gear.

I believe that if you make these central to every purchase it's difficult to go wrong. The first is A/B'ing.
If you're going to a shop to try a pedal, take a pedal with you that you know so you have something to compare it to. Same with a guitar, even amps. If you're going to spend that much on an amp, haul an amp in with you that you know and sit there and listen. Your ears are absolutely amazing at comparing tones, but they have no memory. Without comparison you left groping in the dark. Find a spot and sit there and play and listen, unplug, re-plug, play and listen, and again, and again.

This brings me to the next step, train yourself to listen.

As musicians we are passionate, we get emotional, we sometimes feel the need to apply make-up and cross dress. (scratch the last one, maybe). This is why it so bloody easy to sell us stuff. With every faculty we have we get so caught up in the process.
When it comes to your tone though, you need to find a place that is free from this stuff. Free from hype and emotion. Free from preconception and expectation.
Dispassionately you need to ask yourself, do I really like this? Sometimes the answer will surprise you. Be completely honest with yourself. I have a really large collection of vintage pedals and amps and you know who cares? No one but me. But the stuff I have I love. I get some sounds that really inspire me to play. I don't care who makes them, what year they're made or what they cost which brings me neatly to my last point
You need to be honest with yourself. Can I afford it?
I got in debt pretty much the day I turned 18 and didn't get out of debt again till I was 24 all because of gear I had to have. I am a recovering gear'a'holic and I know first hand how much damage the 'must have it now' attitude can do. The answer is a simple numbers numbers game, you either can afford it or you can't at the moment. If you can't then save for it. I swear you play better when you're not in debt. Now I love the gear I have but I don't love having gear if you get what I mean. It's an important difference.

Here endeth the lesson

Tribute to Bob Sweet

2008-10-31T03:49:00.000-07:00

Tribute to Bob Sweet
Bob Sweet, the man behind Sweet Sound Electronics who gave us the Mojo Vibe and Ultra Vibe pedals which are my favourite vibe pedals ever, passed away last Friday 24th October after a battle with bone cancer. He was a great guy who made some of the best gear out there. Like many of us he was incredibly passionate about great guitar sound and dedicated a large part of his life to getting the most out of it he could.
Farewell Bob, you will be missed...

Stay ahead of the credit crunch - sound better than the other guy!

2008-10-20T06:33:00.000-07:00

I have a dirty little 3 piece band that gets out and plays gigs most weekends. It's loads of fun, and as a professional musician it's something that I can't see myself ever not doing, I mean if it's in you, that's what you do, you get out there and play.

Now there are loads of gigs out there, but there are also loads of bands, loads of guitarists wanting their shot at the title. So how do you go about making sure that you give yourself the best chance of getting that gig? Over the years during feast and famine I have found 3 key things to making sure you're ahead of the game.

1. Sound better than the other guy

This isn't rocket science but make sure you're sounding as good as you can. It's not about buying stuff, it's about getting the most out of what you've got. How are your valves? Are your strings dead? Is your pedal chain sucking tone from your signal path? This is basic stuff but don't neglect it.

2. Learn to sing

Fact is if two guitarists audition for a band and one guy can sing, guess who they're gonna pic? I'm not the greatest guitarist in the world by my sound is Ben Hur and I can sing so I'm always a good option for someone that wants a fat sounding guitar and extra vocals in the line-up.

3. Don't be a twat!

No matter how good you are you need to get along with people. I've met some of the greatest guitarists in the world and almost without exception, they're all beautiful people. If you're going to be in a band with people you need to be someone that the other guys and gals look forward to hooking up with rehearsals and long old drives to the back and beyond. Fact is in a band you spend less than 10% of your time playing, and the rest is just hanging out. So getting along with people is extremely important.

Unless of course you're this guy!

The shootout results are in!

2008-10-04T05:12:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone
Thanks so much for checking out the amp shootout. We've had such fun getting it together for you. Every amp really has its own thing going on. I twisted Phil at Matchless's arm and I now own the very first C30 head with Reverb ever made. I use this with the Two-Rock Jet for one of the best guitar sounds ever. (well, I think so, but it's hard to go wrong with either of these amps) The Pro-Reverb ticked alot of boxes for alot of people as well, and the Vox, and the Chieftain, and the 65Amps London, oh man......

Is your tone really that important?

2008-08-13T00:05:00.000-07:00

I once again caught myself thinking (as I do ) about my tone. I realized that I've spent a large part of my professional career focused on achieving great tone. I obsess over it, I lie awake thinking about it, indeed many of the products you'll see in our catalogue have been inspired during periods of insomnia. So is it really that important? I could've just said ' Of course it is, don't be stupid you plonka...get on with it', but It's been ingrained in me that there is no knowledge gained without thorough analysis. So i grabbed all of my favourite CD's and started doing some investigation. I went through all the guys that really push my buttons musically. Jeff Baxter (Steely Dan), Stevie Ray, Dave Gregory(XTC), Andy Summers (Police), Niel Finn (Crowded House), Jeff Beck, Robben Ford, Robert Fripp (King Crimson), Wes Montgomery, BB King and Derek Trucks. (There's loads more but these are the guys from the CD's I had at hand.) I went through each track trying to work out what it was that connected with me. Each of these guys has a unique voice, there's no confusing them, and without fail, every single one of them sound fantastic. So i do an experiment. I set up a rig and on purpose I make it sound ordinary. I hook up a bunch of inline buffers (6 in total) from a bunch of pedals into an amp that's desperate for some new valves. So I know that by the time my signal hits the amp, it's already not all it can be, and the amp's not really singing. So how did it sound? Well, it sounded OK, I set up a rhythm loop, hit play and recorded the session to see what I come up with. Listening back, it was fine, nothing amazing but it was OK.
Next step was to re-valve my old Vox, set-up my pedal board and try again. I now know that my signal is clean and the amp is sounding really great. I hit record again to see what I come up with this time. It did feel different but listening back I was stunned to hear the way I played. I just seemed so much more connected with what I was doing. The richer harmonics in the sound led me to play different things. It was fascinating. The tone that you use is the vehicle through which your voice is heard. Suddenly my tonal obsessive compulsive disorder doesn't seem so crazy. And the thing is, all these guys knew it as well. Think of the lengths that these guys go to to get their gear sounding right. Even guys like Derek Trucks who plug straight in still experiment loads with speakers and components to make sure that they're squeezing every last drop of tone from the amp. Yes, it's in the fingers and the way that you play, of course it is, but we're not talking acoustic guitars here people. If the tone isn't right, your fingers are going to struggle.
My life has been validated. What a relief.

Amp Shootout On The Way!!!!

2008-07-14T00:10:00.001-07:00

Hey there guys and gals
At the end of this month we're doing a massive amp shootout. We're going to have a bunch of vintage and high end boutique amps in the studio so you can hear how they sound with a band.
These will include

65 Amps London
62 Vox AC30 (EF86 input)
Matchless DC30
76 Marshall JMP50
Matchless Cheiftan
76 Blackfaced Pro-Reverb
Two-Rock Jet

I wanted to get a couple examples of 6L6, EL34 and EL84 amps in there so you can hear the differences and to compare the vintage with the modern boutique.

As soon as it's done you'll be able to see clips of all these amps in action right here on the website.
It's going to be a great day so stay tuned for the results!!!

Who's your 'Tone Buddy'?

2008-07-07T06:38:00.000-07:00

I was hanging out at Charlie Chandlers Guitar Experience a couple of weeks ago (as you do) and ran into an old Friend of mine. We started talking about recent purchases, bargains, and minefield dodging maneuvers. He introduced me to a simple but very effective concept that I'm sure most of you already are using to one length or another. He has his 'Tone Buddy'. Like an objective filter when it comes to buying gear.
I realised that I've had a tone buddy for a couple of years now as well, and it's worked out to be a revelation. Another set of ears on your tone is worth while having, but there are a couple of pre-requisites for Tone Buddy's. They are;

1. Your 'Tone Buddy' should not be your wife/partner. They should not have an alternate motive for your spare cash.
2. Your Tone Buddy needs to be knowledgeable about tone. You should talk the same language when it comes to choosing the right things for your sound. If anything, they should know more than you.
3. They should be open to new ideas. Not stuck in a 70's time warp, or lisetns to only Megadeath. You want objective opinions.
4. AT the end of the day, as much as their opinion is important, it's more important that YOU make the decision. It's your tone afterall.

With these boxes ticked, your tone buddy can be a life saver. So next time you buy that new pedal and have already made up your mind that it's the best thing ever made before you've even got i out of the box, give your tone buddy a bell.

Trust me, a good 'Tone Buddy' is worth their weigt in semi-precious metal.

How gig fit are you?

2008-06-19T09:59:00.000-07:00

Is there ever any real substitute for getting out there and rocking out? Does rehearsal even qualify? How important is being gig fit to your playing?
Fact is, you play how you feel. I know when I feel rubbish I can barely play a note, but when I'm on form, well, let's just say I play alot better. I was invited down to the Music Man party at the London Guitar show to see my friend Brian Kellner perform. The guy exudes pure joy when you talk to him. He's one of these guys that says 'do what you love, and stuff the rest', and he loves playing the guitar. The guy is also incredibly physically fit. So at the end of a very long day the party begins and a few guitarists take the stage. The first two guys were great, I mean what do you expect from Music Man endorsees?, they knew their stuff. Then Brian gets up and is also great, but he takes a different approach. He wasn't their to impress or show off his amazing ability, which he has, he was their because he just loves to play guitar. The joy that was so apparent really made a connection with the people in that room. It just felt really good, and to be able to turn it on like that at the end such a long day of trade is no meant feat. Then i realise at that point, if I was to play right now, I would sound like a complete turd for the simple fact that i was exhausted. The experience has made me rethink my approach to being 'gig fit'. It's not just about sounding great on the third night of a string of gigs, it's about having enough in the tank so that even when you don't feel like it, you can just turn it on and connect with that part of you that wanted to pick up the guitar and rock out in the first place.

Great tone moves serious air!

2008-06-16T04:12:00.000-07:00

We had a small moment of epiphany this weekend at the International Guitar Show in London. We had set up TheGigRig to do some EXTREME switching. We set up a Two-Rock Jet, Matchless Chieftain, 65 Amps London and my 62 Vox AC30, and had a Pro-14 switching all combinations of the amps + effects, wet/Dry/wet set examples, basically everything you'd expect from the best floor based switching system in the world. But here's the thing that really struck me. If you've ever been to a music trade show there's one common factor - ambient noise. Constant unrelenting noise. So, I start doing this demo, and people quite a way from our stand prick their ears up and head over to check out what's going on. At first I thought that it may be because we were 'shred free', but then a mate who was there with another company comes up and tells me that we could be heard clear as a bell through the ambient noise all the way over to his stand, about 150 feet away.
Hmmm, I thought, so I set up our young gun 'Handsome Dave' on our rig during a noisy period playing a Grissom/Mayer type feel which wasn't loud (you could still talk with no probs at our stand), and went for a bit of a stroll. Through all the noise and chaos, I could hear this tone beckoning. It was a revelation. It really moves air and those toneful frequencies that give us so much joy find their way through the contaminated void, into our ears. This is why great tone can always be heard in the mix.
It does kind of justify the ridiculous efforts many of us go to to get this right. Great tone does connect with people, and that's what it's all about, right?

Pin your ears back boys, we're going in!!! -LIMS

2008-05-16T03:43:00.000-07:00

Once again we're be struttin our stuff for MB Media at the London International Music Show. 4 days of music and mayhem at the Excel centre in London from the 12th to the 16th of June. We're doing a pedal board exhibition showing people the stompers of our heroes and what's around today that'll get them there. Our stand is D44 so come over and say hi, and bring me a beer!

Can't sleep. Insomnia gives birth to DISTRIBUTOR

2008-05-12T06:18:00.000-07:00

Many people lay awake at night unable to drift off due to so many thoughts nagging at them. I do suffer from this, and what do I think about? Tone. That's it. What can I do to improve your tone. Our latest offering to apease the insomnia deity is the Distributor. This is going to help alot of people, tidy up alot of congested boards, and hopefully I can now get a little bit of sleep.

Paul Stacey last at the 606 in London, OMG!

2008-05-06T08:05:00.000-07:00

Once every couple of months Paul Stacey does a classic rock gig at the 606 club in Chelsea London which is where I caught up with Paul last night. What an incredible gig. Paul's tone was phenomenal. He's back from a long tour with The Black Crowes and is in truly fine form. Jeremy Stacey, Paul's brother was on drums and it must be said, is one of the best drummers on the planet. And how John Hogg on rhythm guitar and vocals is not world famous is simply an injustice to mankind. If your a fan of classic rock done the way it was meant to then keep an eye out for the next time they play at the 6.

Oh my...I think we've done it!

2008-04-30T06:16:00.000-07:00

We've been working on the ultimate pedal board power solution for some time. Integrating our Generator and Virtual Batteries in a way that will power nearly every dc powered effect on the planet... and I think we've just done it! I'm a bit excited so watch this space for more news on this soon. All I'll say is that daisy chains are about to become obsolete!

Review for Deviever effects on the way!

2008-04-29T02:24:00.000-07:00

Joe at Vintage and Rare guitars in London sent me a bunch of these Deviever effects to check out. I've ended up doing a full on review for Guitar Buyer Magazine for three of them. Really fantastic creative tools. These guys have arguably one of the most unique design takes on fuzz's in recent history. Stay tuned for the full review.

Big Day for TheGigRig

2008-04-28T08:26:00.000-07:00

When I was ten years old My older brother showed me an amazing magazine that had nothing to do with scantily clad ladies. An American mag called 'Guitar Player'. I'd already been playing a couple of years and tho I wouldn't get my first electric guitar for another 2 years I was already well and truly hooked. The images of rock demi-gods toting Les Paul's and Lycra stayed with me for a long time to come and for me it's always been the benchmark mag, I mean, it's GUITAR PLAYER after all! Well yesterday TheGigRig got a mention in 'The Ultimate Guide To Pedalboards' article in GP. They called it one of a couple of 'ingenious products', so basically, I'm over the moon. I'm really proud of this pumping little company Dave and I have created out of nothing but an idea and bloody hard work. So thanks to everyone who has been involved, from our clients who inspire us to do what we do to our fantastic retailers and industry partners. You guys and gals ROCK!!!