Electro Harmonix (EHX) have produced a very versatile pedal in the Stereo Talking Machine. It not only has great presets right out of the box, it’s also highly programmable giving you even greater control over the way the pedal alters your notes. With 9 selectable voice types, you too could be  AH-OOing and OW-EEing in no time at all.

Like the sounds created by a mouth harp, where the metal reed is plucked and the vibrations altered by changing the shape of the players mouth, a Talk-box takes the sounds/notes you put in to it and alters them according to the volume you’ve played them and the shape of the specific filter you have chosen.

Because the sweeping effect is driven by how hard or soft you play the strings there is a massive scope of what sonic sounds can be achieved using the EHX Stereo Talking Machine. And because each sound choice responds so differently, it’s worth spending time experimenting with each to get a good grasp on what is possible.

The unit is a rectangle box affair, with the 6 control knobs across the top: Blend, Voice, Attack, Decay, Sensivitiy, and Preset. The preset knobs gives access to auxiliary functions for each knob including Volume, Fuzz tone, Fuzz Gain, LFO Rate and LFO Shape. A Low frequency Oscillator or LFO is a filter that responds over time rather than to playing dynamics and creates a more regular filter sweep.

You won’t find any lose of your guitar tone, but instead applies the different tonal colors of the ‘voices’ available from the unit. From the dark and smooth/soft tone of the EE-ER voicing to the midrange-heavy and rather resonant sound of the I-A voicing.

For each voicing, you can reverse the voicing for example EE-ER to ER-EE or I-A to A-I which gives you further options with the flick of the Preset/Sweep knob. You can also control this function via the expression pedal option.

The Stereo Talking Machine is an extremely versatile pedal with a wide variety of voicings and multiple control options of those voicings. Add to that access to a distortion circuit and sensitivity control and the tonal possibilities really grow. If you’re not familiar with talk-box effects sitting down and having a chat with the Stereo Talking Machine may result in a new found friendship.

Posted by Dan Orr.

Carefully crafted to exacting precision, they’ve reproduced Kirk Cobain’s “battle-hardened left-handed Jaguar” including all the unusual details and the unique electronics that were on-board when Cobain first acquired the guitar in 1991.

Just some of the unique features included is the Stratocaster® Headstock, the Volume, Volume, Tone Control configuration, Adjusto-matic™ Bridge and Road worn aged finish. All this adds up to a very authentic copy of the axe used by Cobain, the left handed guitarist who “led a musically stunning and culturally subversive movement.”

So why would you want a copy of something like this if you want to do more than merely emulate a bygone musical era? I think the reason is two fold. First, inspiration. We take our inspiration from people that have been successful in the past. Perhaps secretly, hoping that some of their magic will rub off on us. Inspiration is quite different to taking something old and making it new. It’s about taking the essence of something old and creating something new with it.

And second, tone. Every guitar ever made has a unique tone because of the natural qualities of wood. A tree, when cut down, continues to ‘live’ as it changes with age. And while each Kurt Cobain Jaguar will have its own unique tone, unable to be replicated by the next one, each one will have within it an aspect of the tone that Cobain made famous.

Yes, there are guitar effects that color a guitars sound, but switch them all off and what you have is something raw. Something stripped back and complete. Something…unique.

Check out the sound of this beauty with BrewersArcade video:

Posted by Dan Orr.

Over time their images of the artist’s setups have changed so that now they are both easy to understand and very nice to look at.

Ever wanted to know just what Clapton was using in his days with the Bluesbreakers? The year is 1966 and Clapton is playing his 1950s Les Paul’s Standard through a Marshall Combo. Wanna know what speakers and tubes were in that model? Those details are all but a few clicks away.

While it might be hard to track down this particular model with a modest price tag, the information provided gives you a decent head start on what to look for and what could be possible.

And if nothing else, this information will add to your ever growing understanding of great tone. You can be pretty sure that the information provided on the site are sound, given that most of the information comes from the artist’s or their guitar tech’s mouths.

And with this type of direct contact you’ll find the occasional gem of behind the scenes takes from the artists themselves on their gear or band members and/or techies on the artist.

A great resource for geek-ing out and putting together the dream set up, should all your stars align and you win the lottery. Take a look.

Posted by Dan Orr.

The Triple Rectifier Head is one more example of this ongoing development of great sounding amps. Following on from the success of the patented Dual Rectifier ® series, they introduced a third channel upping the gain to a massive 150 Watts (switchable) and adding more switchable modes to increase the sonic possibilities.

Each channel has a separate 5 way EQ to control the Bass, Mid, Treble, Presence and Master settings as well as a separate gain for each channel. There’s also the option to choose what power setting you want: 150 Watt or 50 Watt, so you can play at a lower level while maintaining the high gain crunch.

In addition to these individual channel settings you have and Output section that allows you to alter, up or down all channels in one go. The Main output allows you, once you’ve locked in each channel to your desired sound, to boost or lower the overall output volume of all channels at once. The Solo switch, gives you another volume setting that is applied (in parallel) over all channels for Solos – which is also foot switchable.

Each channel gives you the choice between two types of rectification to apply; Silicon Diode for tighter low end tracking, more head room and a more articulate sound and Vacuum Tube for less head room, a sweeter and less articulate sound.

And for tuning in silence, they now have a dedicated Tuner output so you can tune without everyone listening in.

Not only is this amp packed with great sound options, you also get a choice of front panel from the iconic diamond plate, black taurus or jute to match the look and feel you best matches you.

There are so many options packed into the Triple Rectifier that you’ll want to spend some serious time experimenting with. Of course, the Mesa guys give you heaps of tips and technical know-how within the user manuals, which are available online and make for easy and informative reading.

I’ll admit, 150 watts is a massive amount of noise potential and not one that I’m accustomed to using. But that wouldn’t stop me from taking a test drive. Check out the video below to hear some of the boundless options the Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifier is capable of.

Posted by Dan Orr

Many people start playing guitar, because they hear a super heavy hardcore riff on the radio and it inspires them to become a musician. That’s cool because heavy metal is a fun genre of music that is also a rewarding genre for guitarists. The sound of a hardcore metal guitar is awesome; however getting ‘that’ sound can be difficult.

First let me note that there are many variations in metal sounds depending on the bands style and how heavy they are. Just like any genre of music there are many variations depending on the band or song. Also lead players need a different tone when they are playing.

However there is a basic ‘metal tone’. This is essentially loud and as distorted as you can be. Often it is common in metal to ‘scoop’ the tone. This means that you should put your bass and treble near full and pull your mids back to around 3 or so. The results this can have may vary wildly depending on the kind of amp you have, so experiment with your equipment.

When it comes to your guitar, generally metal guitarists use humbucker pickups. This is because they reduce feedback and give off a warmer fatter sound. For this reason if you find you are having trouble getting a good sound out of your guitar maybe you need to think about whether you have the right kind of pick ups.

So try these ideas if you are having trouble getting the right metal sound. Remember these are only guidelines for you to experiment with. Remember turn your amps up to eleven and rock out.

Another way to get a good metal sound is the use of distortion or effects pedals. This gets into an area that really can’t be covered in the Tech Tips section of this newsletter, but it’s an important topic to talk about. It can’t be covered because guitar sound is very personal, and the ideal sound for one guitarist won’t sound good to others.

Here is one of the most innovative Metal bands with a great and classic metal guitar sound:

Posted by Moses Robbins.

After high school had finished the boys played gigs in and around their home town of Pasadena, CA. It was on this circuit that they meet singer David Lee Roth and bassist Michael Anthony who along with the brothers made up the quartet that would become Van Halen. While playing in a club in L.A., Van Halen was spotted by Gene Simmons. Simmons wanted to produce a demo for the band, but unfortunately the demo flopped and was rejected by all the major studios. However a year later at the same club Van Halen was spotted by a producer from Warner Records. He signed them on the spot and soon after in 1978 Van Halen’s self titled album was released. The band had a string of platinum records until 1985 when rifts in the band forced Roth to leave the band.

However the bands momentum couldn’t be stopped. They quickly signed new singer Sammy Hager and the juggernaut that Van Halen had become, continued.

Hager was with the band for 11 years and this period saw one of the bands albums (5150) go to number one, which was a first for the band. In the late 90′s Hager quit and Roth returned briefly for the release of the bands Best Of album. But time had not healed the wounds and Roth was quickly replaced by Gary Cherone, the former front man for the band Extreme.

It is through the band Van Halen that the musical genius of Eddie Van Halen has been exposed. His wild style electrified audiences and created a legion of guitarists keen to mimic his playing. The most commonly referenced song when people talk about Eddie Van Halen is Eruption. Eruption is well known for its distinctive introduction which includes the most well known example of double handed tapping. This technique involved Eddie using both his right and left had to fret the guitar, and using a tapping motion to make the guitar sound out.

This technique was not new, some players had experimented in the 1950′s but Eddie Van Halen redefined the technique. He added speed, accuracy, distortion and a box full of various effects to the mix creating a style that would become an essential tool of rock guitarists for years to come. Also the popularity of Van Halen’s guitar based, solo laden rock caused many other bands to copy their style. It caused a period in music where nearly all popular rock music displayed some degree of virtuoso soloing. This musical trend has been heavily influenced by Eddie Van Halen’s guitar playing.

And here is a more recent live version of “Eruption” (Seattle, 2007); published by Youtube user TeamDZ:

Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Posted by Moses Robbins

This is actually a reprint of one of the longest running and hottest topics in all of guitar playing.

Welcome to Questions Answered. Jim Miller also authors Tech Notes Online, a weekly Sweetwater column covering all aspects of today’s music, from stage to studio.

Q: “Is there a noticeable sonic difference between Strats & Teles?”

A: This is somewhat of a loaded question. Of course there are differences between any two guitars – sometimes even between the same model built different years.

Historically, the Telecaster (Tele) featured a solid ash body with single coil bridge and neck pickups along with a maple neck and fingerboard. The Stratocaster (Strat) was Fender’s “upscale” model, with a contoured body, three single coil pickups, a tremolo tailpiece and a maple neck and fingerboard. As you might expect, having three pickups offers more tones (particularly when you factor in the two “out-of-phase” positions available on models with a five-way switch).

Some Strats may have a rosewood fingerboard that will warm up the sound slightly. The same would be true for Teles. Both are legendary for their clean, bright tone (sometimes referred to as “spank”). Newer releases of either instrument have added various options such as maple tops, additional pickups (or different pickup types: humbuckers or active Lace Sensors with mid range boost for instance).

To a true guitar-a-holic, Teles and Strats are quite different instruments, normally used to achieve different sounds for different types of music. On a recording, most “normal” people would not hear a noticeable difference between a recording of a Strat or Tele using the bridge pickup. The main tonal differences would be most noticeable when a Strat is played using the “out-of-phase” pickup combinations, which produce a clear, glossy tone, perfect with a chorus effect. Most players actually choose a specific Fender model based on looks and feel as much as for their respective tones. Unquestionably, both are classics that have stood the test of time!

Check out the comparison between these two beauties recorded by Youtube user larsenpeople:

Posted by Dan Orr

The Byrds readily acknowledged that their admiration of Beatle George Harrison’s use of an electric 12-string guitar led to their own trademark sound. The “chiming” effect came from the extra strings, tuned an octave higher than normal guitar strings. This sound was revived in the 1980s by R.E.M. and other bands and has been used extensively in pop recording.

If you don’t have a 12-string (electric or acoustic) there’s another way to achieve a convincing jangle: have your rhythm guitarist lay down two or three different guitar tracks, each playing different inversions of the chord changes (i.e., play the chord in different positions on the fingerboard). On each track, different notes and harmonics will tend to ring out. You can use an equalizer to emphasize those frequencies, and mix the combined tracks to your liking. The result will still sound like one guitar, but it will be one GREAT guitar!

A different approach is to try an acoustic guitar sound employed in some country music arrangements. The Nashville “high-strung” technique is based around a six-string guitar, in which the bottom four strings are tuned an octave higher than normal. Again, the unique harmonics that result from this can create a psycho-acoustically enhanced instrument sound that blends perfectly into a mix, often with little need for additional processing. Incidentally, there is a GigaStudio sample library featuring these instruments. Jim Corrigan’s Nashville High-Strung Guitars recreates up and down chord strums and single notes from a high-strung acoustic.

Posted by Jon Coursey

These are great looking amps with hand wired circuitry feature the usual Fender Tweed settings with a few extra features requested by the great guitarist himself. All of the models include built in output bias tremolo – creating a more throbbing tremolo that Fender’s later models and a single control for speed (with an additional control for intensity for the larger Twinolux™). This in itself is a rather unique feature for an amp.

The other feature consistent with all three models is the power attenuator switch. This feature allows greater control of the output volume without sacrificing the “crunch” achieved at higher amp levels. Simply dial up the amp to its sweet spot with the volume control and hit the power attenuator switch to maintain the sweet spot but drop the overall volume allowing lower level.

Unfortunately, for humbucker lovers, you may struggle to achieve the full spectrum of harmonic richness with the amps in this series. That’s not to say, there is reason to dismiss any of them outright. Experimenting with the tone pots on your guitar and the amp, altering your picking attack and avoiding use of the neck pick up will help achieve a blues-ier feel. In essence, a guitar armed with single coils or mini humbuckers is going to get the liveliest of sounds from the amps.

If you’re in love with the sound of ‘50s Tweed amps with that vintage Fender sound spectrum, then the EC Series is going to be something you wanna check out if you haven’t already.

For a full list of specs and a full picture gallery Fender.com

Posted by Dan Orr

It is so simple that many guitarists use to add variety to their music. It is especially common in metal guitar to emphasize a change or add a little spice. First take a loud heavily distorted guitar, then get your pick and press it down on the bottom E string (thickest), and whilst maintaining pressure on the string slide it up the neck.

Try experimenting with different speeds and pressure until you get a good sound. This technique may not sound that crash hot by itself but if you use it to transition different parts of a song.

Go try it, I am sure you will get it right very quick.

Here is a video from Youtube user retn858 on how to do it and how it sounds, check it out!

Good luck with your practice.

Posted by Moses Robbins