Deals On Gear and Software

[Lunkhead]

Yeah, the reviews say it's very loud. But if you only run it through a 1x12" cab instead of a 4x12" maybe it's not so bad?

[Paco Del Stinko]

Oh, I don't know. That has got to be brutal. Cetainly a lot of bang for the buck, though. Any volunteers?

[ken]

Not a stupid deal, but Zzounds.com has the CAD M179 on sale for $130. This is a great mic, and not just for the price.

http://www.zzounds.com/item--CADM179

[Lunkhead]

Today's deal actually looks pretty cool. It's a solar powered chromatic guitar and bass tuner! Personally I hate dealing with batteris, especially ones that aren't rechargeable, so the idea of a solar powered tuner is pretty interesting to me. It's also got a (micro?) USB port in case you need to charge it quickly. It's got a mic and a 1/4" input. I kind of wish it also worked off of vibrations, but no luck there. I recently bought one of those little clip-on tuners that works off vibration and it's pretty awesome, except at some point the tiny watch battery in it is going to die and I'm going to be annoyed. Anyway, $20 for a small portable chromatic tuner that will never need a new battery, pretty nifty.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/stupid/

[Lunkhead]

Today's deal is another big loud rocking guitar amp head for real cheap. $250 for a Peavey Windsor 100W all tube head. This thing sounds like a Marshall stack, which is crazy for so little money. The guy in this video has it cranked to "80's hair metal" tone most of the time but supposedly it can do some more vintage hard rock sounds too. Stop tempting me with these Musician's Friend!

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/stupid/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wV2oeMLKPwQ

[Lunkhead]

Here's another good deal on a starter audio interface for people low budgets who want to upgrade from using the mic built in to their laptop or whatever. It's an M-Audio MobilePre mk 2, factory restock, down from $129 to $59. Check it out!

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/stupid/

It's got all the basic stuff that a solo fighter could need, for pretty darn cheap.

[ken]

Wow. That is tempting for me. I have the Mobile Pre mk1 and love it. It is super easy to use and sounds great. Only drawback to the mk1 is that is only records 16/48. I might have to upgrade my back up!

Ken

[Lunkhead]

I think I might buy this one. It's a Seymour Duncan SFX-03 Twin Tube Classic Preamp Pedal for $89 (down from $219), external power supply included. This is a true bypass two channel tube distortion pedal with bass and treble EQ, and individual gain and volume levels per channel.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/stupid/

It sounds alright, and it seems like it's a pretty decent deal. Some of you out there may want to try something like this if you're recording your guitar direct. I'll be honest with you, most of you have terrible guitar tone (except for Paco). (That is a lame attempt at humor, btw, although I'm serious about Paco having really good guitar tone.)

[Paco Del Stinko]

most of you have terrible guitar tone (except for Paco)

Too kind, Sam, too kind. That does look like a very good deal. Placed in front of a clean amp, you've got three cahnnels at the tap of your foot. I wonder if you can use both channels at the same time?

[Billy's Little Trip]

I think I might buy this one. It's a Seymour Duncan SFX-03 Twin Tube Classic Preamp Pedal for $89 (down from $219). This is a true bypass two channel tube distortion pedal with bass and treble EQ, and individual gain and volume levels per channel.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/stupid/

It sounds alright, and it seems like it's a pretty decent deal. Some of you out there may want to try something like this if you're recording your guitar direct. I'll be honest with you, most of you have terrible guitar tone (except for Paco). (That is a lame attempt at humor, btw, although I'm serious about Paco having really good guitar tone.)

I do all of my guitar recording direct now and I constantly get the "i hate your tone" comments. I love my tones I've created and saved on my POD when I'm playing stereo through my 4X12s. But even using cab simulators/amps, I still get the griping. Personally, it doesn't bother me. I don't like how all of my sig sounds come out direct, but some of them sound good "to me". Funny how I get more happy comments about my bass sound than guitar, even though I only play bass to fill the low end of my songs, lol.

So this is of interest to me because my direct guitar tone is my next big quest. Thanks Lunkelstiltskin.

edit: And I too love the stink's sound. He has some cool old school stuff. His fingers and brain are vintage.

[Lunkhead]

I ordered one, but it turns out this pedal is back ordered for a month, so I won't be able to play with it and report back on it for a while.

BLT, I'd love you hear you mic up one of those 4x12 cabs, I bet that would sound pretty awesome.

[Paco Del Stinko]

Hope to hear some demos when it arrives, Lunk.

As far as tone goes, and I don't want to start a gearhead war here, I just feel that as good and as amazing simulators and all that are, you can't beat a real amp. Just keep it simple, and don't be afraid to turn those knobs on your guitar either. All on 10 works for punk, but rolling your tone and volume back will bring out subtle tones from your guitar. I understand that not all can use an amp due to living conditions and arrangements, but I use both small amps like my old Fender Champ, and an isolation cabinet that allows me to use the big watters. Oh, I'd love to record my 4x12, pegged, but can't either. But hey, make the best of what you got, right?

[Billy's Little Trip]

Yeah, it does sound good mic'd. I think the very last time I put a mic on a cab was Paper Thin. I may have mic'd a cab for little bits after, but that's the last "full" song mic'd. But I'm pretty sure I had left/right mic'd tracks and left/right direct tracks I panned at different points.

I would love to once and for all find a good cab simulator that sounds real. I play around with the Voxengo Boogex plug-in and like how many mic and cab choices it has. The only prob is that when I have a double tracked guitar panned hard right and left, the more I mix the cab FX in, the more it moves the effect towards the center. Not sure why. Maybe because I use it on the aux fx (the one that allows all the tracks to use) instead of the main fx for the track. But it's not like me not to have experimented using it every possible way. I'll have to try it again to remind myself.
But I will say that when I set it for an SM57 on a 4X10 cab on axis, I like that sound quite a lot. But still not warm enough.

I do have a little Crate single 10" combo here that never gets much use. I should start using it. It's small enough that it is easy to finagle, but enough power to hit the top of the head nice. Besides, I'd be running it clean with my POD as my fx anyway.

[Billy's Little Trip]

I just noticed more cab and mics for the Boogex. I just D/L'd vintage 4channel JMP and JMP, custom / marshall cab and London City (dutch 100W guitar top) punk cab. *crosses fingers for rich tone*

[Paco Del Stinko]

Oh, I think the simulators and whatnots are fantastic. I use a POD rackmount jobby to practice/write on, and occasionally to fill in bits. Just prefer the amps, is all. Fire up the amp, Chrispy! It could be your new secret weapon.

[Lunkhead]

I'm partial to real amps over simulations, too. I haven't heard a sim yet that entirely cuts it, though they're a pretty good fit for Song Fight! Recording direct is fast and easy, and being able to adjust the tone and distortion and effects in post is pretty dang convenient. I haven't recorded much guitar at home in a while, and what I have done has been direct recorded for the sake of convenience, speed, and volume considerations. Iso boxes look interesting... The ones they have on Musician's Friend are not cheap. I don't have a head to use with one either. But still, seems like a pretty cool idea.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guitars/ ... 1000000000

[Billy's Little Trip]

Yeah, the iso boxes seem pretty cool, but I've never heard one. Air movement and sound waves are part of the equation. But at least it would be a true mic'd guitar. Now I just need one of those to wear on my head for singing and I'll have it made.

[Lunkhead]

I don't know what happened but that deal is no longer there. Now there's a Seymour Duncan fuzz pedal for $50 (down from $100). It sounds pretty good.

[Lunkhead]

UPDATE: They cancelled my order on me. So no fun tube pedal for me, sadly. That stinks.

[Billy's Little Trip]

So it was a typo? That was a really good deal. But they are known for crazy good deals, so I thought it was legit. That does stink!

[Paco Del Stinko]

That is lame.

[ken]

Stupid Deals of the week is BACK! Like the McRib.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pages/stupidweek