What size of Ukulele is right for you!

In the last five years the Ukulele has gone from a novelty, one that your aunt brings back from her trip to Hawaii, to an instrument featured in many of today's most popular music. This instrument has been closely associated with the Pacific Islands, and now is enjoying a much deserved surge in popularity. The ukulele is an  unimposing and inviting instrument that is simple enough for beginners and yet masters of the instrument can amaze audiences. For the beginner, the task of selecting a size of ukulele can be difficult. Let's look at some information that can help decide what size ukulele is right for you.

Soprano:

This is the smallest and the most common ukulele. Smaller than even a child size guitar, these instruments offer some advantages. These are small and light, so they make great traveling instruments. They lend themselves well to children with smaller hands. They are usually less expensive than the larger sized ukuleles. The action is very light, meaning that you won't have to strain to fret the strings. However, the small size does have some drawbacks. A small neck may pose a challenge for musicians with larger hands. Sopranos have the most limited range of all the ukuleles. The string tension is rather low, making it prone to accidentally bending the strings, making your notes slightly out of tune. If you have a young student who is showing some interest in the ukulele, this may be the right size ukulele for you.

Concert:

Sometimes called an alto ukulele, the concert ukulele is very close in size with the soprano. Usually tuned the same as the soprano ukulele, the concert serves well as a beginner instrument and the next step in a ukulele player's education. Concert ukuleles are often priced closely to similar soprano ukuleles. The main difference being the length and width of the neck. Often these ukuleles have a wider neck. If you are looking to stay close to the iconic sights and sounds of the soprano ukulele, but need an larger neck to accommodate bigger hands or a wider range of notes, then the concert ukulele fits you the best. 

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The Ugly Truth About Outlaw Effect's Dead Man's Hand

A little while ago, I wrote a post about Outlaw Effects. Turns out I got some of the details wrong. This led the guys over at Outlaw to politely respond. Turns out they are from Canada and not France, so I guess these guys are more into hockey and beer than... French... stuff. These guys are more likely to say "aye" than "ooh la la" than I previously thought. When the guys were setting me straight I figured I'd slip in a request to try out some of their pedals, which goes to show you what can happen if you just ask because they actually said yes. Let's take a look at the Dead Man's Hand from Outlaw Effects.

Standard micro pedal setup. I've already spent a good deal of time describing the physical pedals here, so now we will mostly look at the sounds this makes. I spent a lot of time with this pedal. I used it as my primary OD on my pedalboard for a set I played a few days ago. It kicked my East River Drive by EHX. I played my 72 reissue Telecaster through my board and into a Fender tube 1x12 amplifier. I found it to be very usable. Most sounds that the ERD made the Dead Man's Hand can follow while taking less than half the real estate. If space and weight are an issue, and when is it not, then the Dead Man's Hand is a great pick. Also consider that the Outlaw's OD is less expensive than the EHX's pedal and you have a real competitive product. In practice, the Dead Man's Hand was able to serve just as well as my main Tube Screamer clone. But how does in stack up against other Tube Screamers head-to-head?

TS Shootout:

Above is a picture of the competitors. From left to right: Digitech Bad Monkey, Outlaw's Dead Man's Hand, a 1985 vintage Ibanez TS-9, and Electro Harmonics' East River Drive.

Round 1: DMH vs ERD

On paper, these two stack up quite well. Both have true bypass, bright LED, heavy duty switches, nice sturdy metal cases, and comparable prices. When played they are very similar as well. They are both chock full of the classic tube screamer type sound. Warm, gritty, tube-like break up at home with lead and rhythm roles. Both pedals matched each others' sounds. This is until I flipped the switch. My assumption was that the switch was there to flatten the mid-hump. It does a lot more. It acts almost like a frequency boost for the highs and lows. There is a big difference in the output when put into the "Aces" mode. The level is boosted as well as the lows. In fact, the biggest notable difference was with the bass. The lows were much more prominent. The ERD left the bottom end behind when the tone knob was cranked. When in "Eights" mode, so does the DMH. But when put into the "Aces" mode, this pedal reaches a territory that the ERD couldn't follow.

Round 2: DMH vs Bad Monkey

The Bad Money is a pedal that many hold in high regard, and yet others dismiss at a cheap copy of a tube screamer that doesn't stack up. I would mostly be in the second camp. This is actually one of the first pedals that I ever bought. It was inexpensive enough for me to afford, and sounded like something I could use. Love it or hate it, this pedal actually stacks up with the other in this list. The biggest noticeable difference with the Bad Monkey is that instead of a tone knob, it has adjustable highs and lows. Set at 12 o'clock the DMH is much more transparent, but with adjustment (lows at 2 o'clock and highs nearly pegged) the Bad Monkey was brought close enough that I had to try hard to hear the difference between the two. Needless to say that there was a lot of territory that the Bad Monkey couldn't explore like the DMH.

Round 3: DMH vs Vintage TS-9

So, it's time to bring out the big guns. Many collectors and modders hold the vintage pedals as a bench mark, something to shoot for. That's why no test is complete without putting the real deal beside the up and comer. Again, both pedals went blow for blow, producing very similar sounds at nearly the same settings. With everything dimed, the TS-9 had a little more high end and transparency. But the same problem was present with the lows. The bottom end just wasn't there anymore. It's the same story with the DMH until you hit the toggle.

The Conclusion

The Dead Man's Hand is a great pedal from Outlaw Effects. I have stated some of my dislikes about how the pedal is put together, but for the sound this pedal is an amazing value. Great Tube Screamer like tone at a fraction of the cost and space, plus the added benefit of a useful boost feature. Don't dismiss this pedal for its affordable price, it easily stacks up to anything in its class.

Do Ukulele Players Need to Learn Scales?

Playing the ukulele is a lot of fun. I remember shortly after acquiring my first ukulele when my beautiful wife danced around with my two daughters. She played the uke and made up nonsense, Hawaiian-sounding, words. She has no idea how to play the instrument, but it was a lot of fun. Now, add the practical application of chords and strumming techniques and  you start playing the ukulele rather than playing with it. I've been teaching ukulele for a number of years now. Most of my student learn some basic chords first and we work through "Somewhere Over The Rainbow". More serious students begin learning the notes of the treble clef. Soon they learn the "C" major scale. After we learn our first scale, we don't really apply it directly into their other playing. It ends up being another exercise in a long list of exercises. Which begs the question, Do ukulele players need to learn scales?

The Case For:

Of coarse ukulele players need to learn scales. Scales are the backbone of music. Scales are the building blocks of the chords that we play. For example: the major chord is build from the 3rd and 5th intervals in the major scale in addition from the root. To make that chord minor, you take the 3rd interval and lower it a half step. Also, scales are great from writing and improvising melodies. My approach to guitar solos and melodies was mostly trial and error before learning and understanding how to use scales. Needless to say, there were many times I hit a very wrong note at the very wrong time. Scales are also useful for creating interesting note patterns when playing chords. Changing from chord to chord sounds much more impressive by running up or down the appropriate scale to accent the next chord. In short, scales take to guess work out creative playing.

The Case Against:

Scales are a useful tool for many musicians. Knowing scales can help a musician do many things, but when applied to the ukulele, one can argue that the application might not be worth the work. It is true that the majority of the iconic sound of the ukulele comes from chords and strumming. When considering the soprano, the smallest ukulele, it is easy to see where single note melodies might take a back seat. The soprano's sound is almost percussive in sound. There is little sustain in the soprano because of the low mass. This is not to say that single note melodies or small runs in between chords are not employed by some, but they are less prominent in traditional ukulele music. There are many things to learn and practice. Scales may not directly apply to useful skills when playing the ukulele.

The Conclusion

If someone, who is interested mostly in strumming and singing with the soprano ukulele, were to ask me if they need to learn to play scales on the ukulele, I would say that they should focus on other techniques first. Conversely, If someone, who came from playing the guitar and was interested in playing blues on the baritone ukulele, I would say that scales were a very important part of their practice. Scales are a very useful tool that any musician could benefit from learning.

5 Ugly Truths (for musicians) about The Zombie Apocalypse

Instruments make terrible weapons.

Let's face it. No one wants to use their prized possessions to beat the living dead to... death (or is it re-death) unless your prized possession happens to be a tool expressly purposed for bludgeoning. Anyway, given the choice between splintering the Gibson Les Paul over the head of some nameless zombie or joining the zombie horde itself, a true musician would at least pause. In reality, the guitar is probably one of the better choices. Imagine defending yourself with a flute or a clarinet. Most instruments are rather awkward when used to swing at someone's head. Although, I've seen some footage of two marching bands tie up and there is something to say for most of the brass section. On the whole, however, a random blunt object is going to serve you much better.

Musicians aren't the most in-shape.

Most of us musicians, especially the ones that tend to write/read music blogs aren't in "fighting" shape. If I had to, I could run a mile, maybe a mile and a half, but after that I think I'd let the zombies eat me. As for raw strength, I have less than the average man. The fingers in my fretting hand are the ones most worked out, but they wouldn't be much help in a zombie fight. If we're honest, musicians have spent years practicing what they do, honing skills that the average person hasn't the interest to do. After the music fades, though, what tangible accomplishment do we have to show for our efforts? We manipulate instruments in ways that are found enjoyable by some. Without those instruments, the same ones that we probably used to kill a few zombies, our skills seem a little less than practical. Practical skills are what stand between us and the ever imposing zombie horde.

Zombies have terrible taste in music.

In many a zombie documentaries, sounds have often been the downfall of many would-be survivors. For the most part, these sounds are normal, everyday sounds. Someone could be walking in the woods and step on a twig. A zombie knows, somehow, that an edible person broke that twig and soon they are zombie kibble. Now think, are we as musicians going to voluntarily make a bunch of raucous? The answer to that question is: of coarse not. Not only are we not going to put on a show for a crowd, but musicians probably will put down their crafts for more useful tasks, like actual crafts. Besides, no one will come to your shows (except zombies).

5 Accessories That Every Guitarist Should Own

When you walk into a music store and look around, you are confronted with a litany of choices. Obviously there are the instruments, there are probably enough to make your head spin, but lets say you have your instrument (guitar obviously). So what now? If you have an electric then you are going to need things to accompany it like a amp and chord, but lets include the acoustic guys in on this. What do you need with your guitar whether it is electric, acoustic or both. Lets see:

1. Clip-on Tuner

Oh course you need something to keep yourself in tune, but there are lots of options. There are the stand-alone units that fit nicely into the pocket of your guitar case or gig-bag. You may also see the pedal tuners that are very popular with those that play on stage. Then there are the ones that clip on the head stock of your guitar. All of these options work, and I've used them all. Some work really well. Most of the stand-alone units are really good. Some of these you can even plug directly into, but all use some type of internal mic. That can make for a awkward time at a jam session or rehearsal. They don't do well with a lot of excess noise, and you have to balance it on your knee or prop it up somewhere close. The pedal tuners are fantastic. They work well in a lot of situations. They are accurate, and reliable. However if you don't have pickups then you are out of luck, also they require power from a 9-volt or power supply. The nail in this coffin is their cost. You're looking at a hundred dollars for the industry standard Boss TU-3 tuners. Other pedals are out there and work, but not all tuners are the same. Fender put out a pedal tuner that was practically worthless. That leaves us with the clip-on style of tuners. These are my favorite for several reasons. They don't use mics, they actually feel the vibrations of the guitar. This works rather well. I can tune in noisy situations without much difficulty. They live on the head of my guitars so it make keeping up with these things rather easy and there isn't the awkward holding situation as with the stand-alone units. They are battery powered, but usually the battery is included and last for a long time. I've been using one for more than a year without needing a change. The best part is that they are cheap. You can usually find one of these types for less the either of the other two. That's why they are my choice.

Guitar Stand

This may not seem like a necessity, but there are many times when I wished I had an extra stand or two so that all my guitars had a nice place to sit. When starting out it is important to have a good, stable place that will keep your guitar safe. I teach student the guitar and they often come in with banged up instruments. This can be easily remedied with some forethought. There are many brands and designs of stands. Most cost less than twenty dollars. There is no need to buy the most expensive stands. There are some that are crafted out of wood, or some that hold several guitars, these my be the right choice for your particular needs, but the most basic stand with work for most guitars. These are excellent for that beginner, because they keep the guitar in sight. Its much easier to grab the guitar out of a stand than dragging it out of a case.

Capo

Many new guitarist down even know that there is such a thing. It is one of the most frequent question that I get, "What is a 'cap'o?" Its a little hard to explain, but a capo can make your playing much easier. Recently I was play at a rehearsal and realized that didn't have my capo. Come to find out we were playing in some odd keys and needed to modulate. To make things worse my music was written for the use of a capo. Being the guitarist that I am, I re-tuned my guitar and transposed the music. This meant that I came in late to any song that I had to re-tune for. I jumped from a whole step down to a half step up. Not a lot of fun. Life could have been a little easier if I had just remembered that little accessory. Again, these are usually no more than twenty dollars. You can find many for much less. If you play with other musicians or play along with a radio, these things can really be useful.

Case/Protection

So anyone who plays the guitar is going to need some protection. Moving a guitar is probably the most likely time that your guitar will be damaged. I've transported guitars with cases, but its always nerve-racking. Its not just cosmetic. The neck joint of your guitar is sensitive to outside forces. Undue pressure can cause the neck to bend. Guitars are robust. A quality instrument will be made to last for years, but a case will help keep your instrument in like-new condition much longer. There are several options. The two main options are a hard-case and a gig bag. A hard case is going to offer more protection from outside forces. A gig bag is a good option to carry a guitar from here to there. Most gig bags have straps to carry like a back pack. That's helpful for when you have a lot of equipment to carry. Being able to have two available hand while carrying a guitar mean less trip from your vehicle to the venue. A soft case is another option. It's more cost effective than a standard hard-case and almost offers the same level of protection. Flight-cases are just what they sound like, cases that are intended to be put in storage compartments. They offer the most protection for your instruments and they are the standard for professionals, but they can be very expensive. There is little instinctive for the regular musician to have one of these until they have need for that level of protection.

Tablet

This is the only option that is not offered at a music store. A Tablet can be extremely useful for a musician. It is hard recommend this to all my students, but the more serious student can benefit from this piece of tech. There are many options when looking at tablets. The good part is that, for the most part, the application that are used most for music don't require outstanding performance. Music is easily organised and stored, audio is made very available, looking up chords is made very easy, even searching for lessons is made possible. Maybe the best part of using a tablet is that you can play and studio music completely paperless.

Obviously these things are not necessary to play the guitar. After all, people have been playing guitar for years before any of these thing existed. These are the things that I use in my day-to-day that make it easier. I've been playing before some of these things were even around, so I enjoy these innovations. Many of these things are common sense, and you can decide for yourself what you need.

A (Ugly) Hands On Review of Outlaw Effects

In a world that seems to be filled with reissues and clones of everything, we have very little in the way of genuinely new products. While Outlaw Effects may not be exactly breaking new ground, their line includes the standard overdrive, distortion, reverb, delay, and chorus type pedals but, the way they approach each one breaths a little bit of new life into something that we are all very familiar with. Outlaw Effects have also done this with keeping costs very low. I honestly don't know how they make money selling these boxes for what they do. These aren't one trick ponies. They have more features than you'd see on your standard (and larger sized) three-knob-jobs. So, when Outlaw Effects reached out with an offer to review a couple of their effects, I jumped at the chance. Because the only thing I like more than getting to the truth about the gear that we use is to play with new toys!

First Impressions

The pedals come in handsome boxes. Matte black, slick labels, and magnetic closures all seem like something you'd see on a boutique box. However, mine were shipped in a padded mailing envelope that got beat up along the way. The boxes aren't fully sealed and allowed some of the recycled material used as filling in the shipping envelope to coat the pedals. No big deal really, but the smaller knobs are directly mounted on the PCB and have small gaps between them and the case. Again, not a bad thing, you need these gaps so that you can actually turn these knobs, but they don't seem as "sealed" as their bigger brothers. Upon opening the cases, I discovered the same dust from the bag had worked it's way into the pedal. I don't think that will have any effect on the pedals performance, but lets just say that these pedals aren't impervious to the elements.

Upon Closer Inspection

These pedals are manufactured in China. No surprise there. They also seem to share the same case design as many of the other micro pedals on the market. Maybe even from the same manufacturer. I will go on record that the foam rubber pad on the bottom is not to my liking. It doesn't seem like that would facilitate a hook and loop (Velcro-type) strip very well and cleaning that pad off might become somewhat of a chore. Compared to the line of Joyo micro-pedals that come with a nice flat bottom to attach either an (included) 3M hook and loop strip or rubber pad, it would be a nice consideration. (Those Joyo Pedals run 10-20 dollars more than most of Outlaw's offerings.) Not only that, but the screws that secure the bottom plate protrude, so that if you were to remove the foam pad, you may not have a sure fit to your board. These pedals are basically meant to live on a pedal board. Their long and narrow shape do not bode well for them being a stand alone unit. Anyone with a clumsy, or over enthusiastic, foot might twist their ankle on these things. Having said that, I have not attached one of these pedals to my board yet, so we will just have to test them out and see.

Looking Forward

I've received two pedals to test drive: Dead Man's Hand and Five O'Clock Fuzz. I'm looking forward to giving them a thorough run through. The Dead Man's Hand looks to be a Tube Screamer with an extra toggle at the top. It's marked "Aces" and "eight". I'm not a betting man, but I'd wager that it has something to do with leveling out the mid hump. The Five O'clock Fuzz seems to be a pretty straight forward fuzz of the three knob variety. It's difficult to tell without playing, but I hear that it is closely related to the EHX Big Muff. If that is true, then I am going to be rather happy with this pedal. My current fuzz pedal of choice is the Big Muff Pi with tone wicker. The Big Muff sound is iconic fuzz with a little bit of tweak-ability. This could prove to be a home run since a notable downside to the Big Muff is it's size. I'll keep you updated as I clock some time with these pedals. Each one will get a detailed review and maybe some video. I'm very excited about these two.

5 Ugly Truths About Effect Pedals

If you take a look at some of the other posts here, you can tell that I am quite a fan of effects. I have more posts about guitar effects pedals than anything else. That might not be your bag, in fact there are many people who don't share my passion for these little boxes of joy. Ok, that's fine, but why not? Let's look at why effects aren't the end-all be-all that I feel deep down inside they are...if I have to.

1. They don't help

Yes, they do, but not the way you think. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. If you have a pedal in your chain, then you may be adding something you didn't intend on adding. First, the pedal you are adding may have a buffer that your signal passes through even when the pedal is off. These buffers are added to increase your signal strength so you won't have signal loss over long stretches of cable. Sounds great, right? Well, not all buffers are equal. Some can change your sound. Most are minimally intrusive, but others can really color your sound. What if your chain is all true-bypass? Running a total of thirty feet of cable is enough to take a toll on your sound. Most rigs will run close to thirty even if there aren't many pedals on your board. Now add all those patch cables and you're probably at or over 30 feet.

2. They change your tone

You might be thinking that the point of a pedal is to change your tone, but not in all cases. Volume, boost, comp, noise gate shouldn't change the overall tone of your sound. In many cases this is true to some extent. Think about it. What kind of electronic wizardry do you have to employ to change your sound without actually changing the tone? When you run your signal through a chain, you always effect your tone. Whether it is true-bypass or buffered, there is always an unwanted effect even when the pedal is off. When the effect is on, that's another matter. Many noise gates will clip even some of the wanted signal. Comps and boosts can add noise. Volume pedals can be scratchy. There is always a give and take when running pedals.

3. They over promise

I'm looking at you Digital Effects. My very first guitar effect was a Digitech RP100 Multi-effects unit. I used that thing all the time. It made lots of different sounds. Many effects I didn't use, but I learned how to use overdrives and delays. I also learned how to turn knobs and push buttons till it wasn't fun anymore. The idea was that these were the answer to all of your problems. Every type of effect could be dialed in and stored in a huge bank of presets. It was a great idea. However, the sounds that actually came out of the unit were not the best. Actually, my little Crate practice amp made so much better sounds that even a novice, like I was, could tell right away. I know that not every Digital Effect is like this, but if it seems to good to be true, it probably is.

4. ... and under deliver

In the same way that some effects can promise the world and end up underwhelming, some effects make claims that seem reasonable, but still seem to be lacking. In the case of the Joyo green fuzz box (I forget what its really called), it combines fuzz and octave. This sounds like a great combination, but in practice the effect was not as well conceived as one would like. For one, the octave was only available when the fuzz was on. There was no way to control how present the octave was. Another pedal that tried to do a little too much was the Rout 66 from Visual Sound. The OD and Compressor were both available independently, but the controls seemed to be a little lacking. Given the price of these pedals, it might have served better to buy two separate pedals.

5. They're expensive

If you are anything like me, you've taken a look at your gear and added up the cost of all the things you've collected over your career. I've had thousands of dollars of gear just on my board. While its easy to point to guitars as being the real expense, pedals and other gear can easily cost just as much, if not more than the guitar you use. I've purchased more than one pedal in the last month, but I haven't bought a guitar in years. I'm a little hesitant to add up all the money that I've spent on pedals, partly because it might take awhile and partly because my wife reads my blogs. (I love you, wifey!)

There are many reasons to use pedals. Some sounds are impossible to get without them. I've made my position clear on how I feel about them, but they aren't completely great. There are intended and unintended effects with these pedals. Just be aware of these things when the thought that adding that one pedal will make everything better.

The Ugly Truth About The EHX Satisfaction Fuzz

Electro Harmonics' Satisfaction Fuzz

Recently I've spent some time at my local music store playing with their selection of fuzz pedals. I personally am not a huge user of fuzz in my sound. I love the over-saturated sounds that some pedals can get. I don't use much in the applications that I currently play, also I am notoriously cheap, so I haven't whipped out the cash to get a pedal that I don't use much. So when Electo Harmonics came out with the Satisfaction Fuzz my interest was peaked. EHX makes my current favorite fuzz, the Big Muff Pi with Tone Wick. So I'm a fan of what EHX can do with a fuzz circuit, but the satisfaction fuzz was made with a particular sound in mind: the guitar sound in the Rolling Stone's Satisfaction. If you subscribe to rock and roll folk lore, the sound in question was made when the amp Keith Richards played through busted a speaker, creating a nasty buzzing sound. They decided they liked the change and the rest is rock and roll history. EHX set out to make a pedal that recreated the sound of Richards' amp.

Was I satisfied?

With that in mind, I plugged into a Fender Super Sonic amp and started playing with a Blacktop Telecaster. The sounds the pedal made were good. There was a lot of top end. This pedal refuses to be covered up in the mix. I cut the highs on the amp to recreate some of the other fuzz noises that I like. Thinking that I could recreate some of the Big Muff Pi sounds. No dice. With the highs at 10 o'clock and the bass almost pegged, the sound was nearly the same as before. I cut the tone knob down, but nothing really produced the kind of sounds that I was looking for. I'm not trying to say that there is no way to produce other tones with this pedal, but from the beginning this pedal had one thing on its mind.

Who's really in control?

The lack of control is explained in the fact that it only has two knobs: Volume and Attack. You'll notice that neither of those knobs control tone. Compared to the Big Muff Pi this fuzz is very one sided. If you are looking to recreate those famous tones that the Stones played decades ago, then you have your pedal. If you are looking for an all-around fuzz that you can use to create different tones, look elsewhere. The ugly truth, The EHX Satisfaction Fuzz is a one-trick pony. To some it up, I didn't get no satisfaction.

The Ugly Truth About Your Boost Pedal

If you asked someone to name the pedal on their board, chances are that you'll hear a lot about distortion, overdrive, filters, reverb, delay, and maybe even a fancy programming or looping pedal. Chances are, that person won't wax poetic about their boost pedal. Sure, there are a lot of pedals out there that promise a "clean boost", but what is that really? Isn't that just turning up the volume on you guitar? Maybe you want something to drive the front end of you amp a little harder, but isn't that why we have overdrives? So say you don't want your signal clip before it goes to your amp. You want the sound that your amp makes when pushed past it's clip. Fair enough. Do you need a special pedal to do that? ...eh

So you want a straight path your amp. Chances are your no a bid "pedal" guy. So why not set your amp up to overdrive (turning up your level and lowing your master)? Maybe because your amp is too simple to have a level and master. So you're one of "those guys". Your amp came from Sear and Roebuck's back when it was a mail-order and it only have two knobs and one broke off. But this is the best amp and the only thing that you truly love. You just want to torture the tubes enough to make it scream. Your the type of guy that needs a boost pedal. Right? ...eh

So you have to have a boost pedal. You want some ridiculous box with one know that only turns up the volume on your signal. The simpler that better, right? that is your motto. After all, that amp of your has only got one knob and it's the best. Your amp is a relic and your ideas about "boost" pedal is a little screwy, but hang in there, I'll explain.

You boost pedal is basically the same thing as an overdrive, except that they've removed the clipping circuit and your are just left with a boosted signal. Great right? Maybe not. Everyone loves a good TS-9 tube screamer, and everyone is familiar with the big fat "mid-hump" that you get when you kick one on. (if you're not then you must be very board, why are you reading this?) So the pedal effect the shape, tone, color of your tone. In the same way, all these boost boxes do the same thing. Maybe its not as noticeable, or maybe you just like the way it changes things, Think all those wonder sounds are made by your amp being pushed? Maybe they are, or maybe its that pedal you just hit.

So you must boost, but your boost pedal is just a neutered dirt box that you can't control as much as said dirt box because they took the "tone knob off the thing! Don't worry. I wouldn't leave you hanging. I have an answer for you. You might not like it, but its the truth. Behold, your new boost pedal!

 Yes. The lowly Boss GE-7 Equalizer. Vile and reproachable as it is. Boss the brand of pedal that everyone started with and now no one will admit to using. I too have started limiting the number of boss pedals on my board. The humble GE-7 without as much as a 3PDT switch is the king of all boosts. The pedal does what it claims. It can cut or boost your frequencies, but it has a feature that not all EQ do. The level slide is actually the star of the show here. Now I know what you are saying, "I've used this pedal and its too noisy to boost." Ok, I hear you, but I raise you this: I once got my self into modding pedals. opening these things up and fiddling with their insides. There is a lot of potential in this box, but wait it get better. I was once half way into a mod, meaning I had removed all of the pieces of the pedal that were to be replaced, then just for kicks, I powered it on and played through it. It sounded identical to another GE-7 that had already been through the mod and it was missing bits of its insides. I'm not a electrical engineer (if you couldn't tell) but to this day I can't remember which one has the mod and which one is running around with less than a full deck of cards. And they are both dead silent. So for no more than you'd pay for a boutique boost and a little be of stomp-box-operation you can have a flat boost, treble boost, bass (fat) boost, mid boost, mid scoop or low-fi pedal. In short, friends don't let friends buy boost pedal.

The Ugly Truth about Fender's new Rumble V3 Series

The other day I was in my local music store and I had some extra time. I wouldn't normally sit down with a bass when spending time at the music store (just too much other stuff to look at). But I did see something that caught my eye. It was the new look of the Rumble series amps. I was surprised by how much I liked it. Fender's bass amps have been somewhat of a eye sore. I love their classic line of their guitar amps. The tweeds and silver grills add something to the mojo of the tone that a modern looking amp just doesn't seem to have. I've played Fender's Rumble amps before. In fact, a band mate of mine use one of the larger combos for his bass rig. No only did I play through it pretty often, but when he snapped off a knob, I took it in and worked on it. I really spent some time playing with all the features and finding out what it was capable of. There is nothing that I can really rant about. It wasn't very standout. Everything have very simple and everything worked as advertised. All in all, I'd call it a "safe bet". It was relatively inexpensive and decent sounding. It was heavy. It was a combo with a 15 inch speaker. Fender also offered the same set up in a head/cab form. When moving this thing I wish my band mate would have decided to go that route.

The new Rumble:
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When you look at these amps you think "Fender Twin". Its hard not to. Black tolex, silver grill, but it has an odd shape so maybe its more "Vintage Bassman". Despite the throwback looks, the real beauty of these amps are the modern features. Forever the bass player has had little in the way of features. Sure there are "options" in bass amps, but most of those center around EQ. There may be a "Bass Boost" or "Ultra Bass" button, but often these features don't really add to the function of the amp. The V3 Rumble has added a real feature that has really been missing from the bass amp game for too long. The most notable addition to these amp is the overdrive. Finally something that most bass player can use the expand the range of sounds in a useful way. I'm not a huge fan of over saturated bass sounds. Many times a bass can loose the very nature of the bass sound when overdriven or distorted too much, It can start to sound hissy, or worse, like a guitar. The V3 Rumble has struck a good balance between adding a useful feature and making something novel. It is easy to add a little gain and get a little bit of grit while still sounding very much like a bass. I sat down with the 40 watt version of this amp and was surprised at what I could get out of it.

The Ugly side:

Pretty exterior, useful and modern features, lightweight make this amp sound like a dream boat, Well I wouldn't call it a ten out of ten just yet. Lets look at the small combos in this line. After all, these are priced to appeal to the beginner and hobbyist. The smallest model is the 15 watt with a 10 inch speaker. Sounds exactly like what a beginner would buy. With a street price below $100 it is a deal, but no one it their right mind should buy one of these. Why? Because for twenty dollars more you can get the 25 watt combo with the same speaker. That is 2 dollars per watt, not a bad deal for just under $100. What I can figure out is why the next step up in this line (another 15 watts up) is double the price! You still have the same 10 inch speaker with a little more power, but they tack on an extra 80 buck to let you control the overdrive and have a couple buttons to push (nothing special there). Really the price jump is more like due to the fact that this unit might appeal to someone who would actually play outside the house, meaning they might be willing to part with a little more money. So for a $20 upgrade you wind up paying $100. Not cool. Speaking of cool, The new compact, lightweight designs are nice. They are great selling points when considering the other options. Both of those things paint a positive picture when imagining owning a piece of equipment. Keep in mind why those other units are big and heavy. The old Rumbles were tanks, but these new one are untested. Thinner sides to the cab and less bracing might account for the weight loss. Also, amps make heat. That compact design is going to trap that heat. I don't remember seeing a fan on any of the units I tried. sorta scary when planning a purchase.

In closing, These amps are really a step forward. It meets all of my part-time bass playing needs. If there was a tuner on this thing, all I would need is a bass and a chord and I'd be ready to rock. However, when looking at amps in this price range its important to consider how they are able to offer these product for the price. Chinese manufacturing doesn't hurt. These are great little amps. I really enjoyed playing through them and for a bedroom combo these are a solid option. Are they perfect? No. But they are a step above most of what is out there at the price range. At a glance these are pretty little amps, but look hard enough and you'll see the ugly truth.