Ugly Truth: Pig Hog Cables

For a few years, I've been using Pig Hog patch cables. Why? I've found them in 4-packs for about $12. They are fat and though. They come in a ton of different lengths. (I haven't gone in for the "make your own cable" trend). So, when looking for 20 foot cables, I took a look at what Pig Hog had to offer.

They Are What They Are

That sounds like a non-point, but these are cables. I don't know how to make something as utilitarian as cables sounds exciting. There isn't a long list of features for cables. There are some some cables that try to "change the game" but these aren't those. They do come in some fun colors and have gold plated tips. The cables are extra thick which can be a good and a bad thing. A thin cord is more flexible, but can feel flimsy. A thick cable won't be floppy, but can bind up when you need to make a sharper bend.

They Seem A Little Gimmick-y

The packaging and name suggest the product is a little cartoon-ish. Besides basically being named "swine swine" cables and being adorned with a actual cartoon pig, these cables don't really stand out. That is until you pick them up. Usually you can tell a speaker cable and instrument cable by the thickness, but these feel like a speaker cable, but they aren't, they are super insulated and dressed in a heavy coating of rubber.

Conclusion 

They are over-build tour grade cables that hold up to a lot of use. Not to mention that they are relatively inexpensive and come with a lifetime warranty. They've put out tweed wrapped cable in a few cool colors. Seafoam Green, Dafine Blue, and Orange Cream are really nice to look at. I'm pretty impressed with these cables

The Ugly Truth About The Electro Harmonix Nano Holy Grail

The Holy Grail is another pedal by Electro Harmonix that takes one of their classic pedals and puts it is a smaller box. It retails all of the original features of the old Holy Grail. It has Three settings: spring, hall, and flerb. The last one being the addition of flang to the reverb trails. The one knob is a simple interface like the one on an amp with reverb built in. It is simple and straight forward. The pedal in EHX's standard aluminum box with a simple decal. The pedal is true bypass with a solid click when thrown. All in all, this is a pretty pleasing pedal to look at.

The Sounds.

I've played many amps with analog reverb units. Fender, Vox, and even some boutique jobs. I am not exactly the biggest fan of reverb. I will often run my amps reverb pegged at zero. I get my "big" sounds from adding delay, but I've played enough to know what a decent sounding reverb sounds like. I can also tell you that a good spring unit is a pretty sweet thing to have available to you. The spring setting on this pedal is very usable. I could see having this on my board if I needed to fatten up a section of a song. The Hall setting is also a usable sound that creates a different "space". The Flerb is interesting. I think that there are applications for this effect, but as I am not huge user of this effect, I can think of any off the top of my head. The Holy Grail has been around for a long time, and might have even pioneered the use of modulation on reverb. Many other makers have copied this in there reverbs, so there is something to be said for that.

The Ugly Truth

This pedal is rather iconic. If you forced a guitar player to list reverb pedals, this would be one of the ones that he/she might mention. Its popularity is not contested, but that doesn't mean that it is the best choice. There are lots of solid options for under $100. The VHT Melo-Verb is a solid choice and comes with a separate tremolo channel. Not to mention, that the VHT has Dwell, Tone, and Mix to control the reverb sound. Digitech Probably has the most solid option for verb under $100. Then there is the standard Boss RV-5 Digital Reverb. It is more expencive than the EHX but offers many more sounds.

Conclusion

The pedal makes some really nice sounds. It is synonyms with reverb, but the price tag on this unit might be its down fall. Although it has nice features and interesting settings, it doesn't offer a great deal more than some other pedals that are close enough in price to consider. There are even options that cost less and do more. This pedal has some unique sounds that might make it special enough to warrant the purchase, but if all you are looking for is a solid reverb pedal, then make sure to check all your options before deciding.

The Ugly Truth About The Electro Harmonix Nano Clone

If you were like me, I've heard chorus in a ton of classic songs, but I had no idea what the sound was much less called. Those that use this effect will add it to make a subtle effect, others will add chorus to make a spacey, trippy type effect. I fall into the first category. I don't typically play big swells and soundscape type stuff, but it is something that mess with in a bedroom type setting. Delay, Chorus, and Vibe are some of my favorite thing to experiment with. So when I sat down with the Nano Clone I had some ideas of what it should sound like. What I ended up with was a little surprising.

One Knob Does It All

The first thing that you notice about this pedal is that it has a single knob. So if you want to control the depth, you are out of luck. However, the Nano Clone is a direct descendant of the Small Stone, which is legendary in it's own right. This translates into familiar, usable tones. This pedal is a great option for anyone getting into chorus and wants something simple and usable. When I started playing with this pedal, I felt like I needed more knobs to get anything desirable. Despite first impressions, There are many settings that are pleasing. However, the experienced player looking for particular tones might be disappointed with the lack of control.

There Is a Limit

Given my choice of playing, it is not a surprise that my favorite settings are on the lower end of the pedals settings. Everything that I could see using would be set before Noon. Up to that point, everything is pretty chill. When the knob get much past 12, the pedal develops a metallic sound that is somewhat unmusical. These setting might compliment certain styles of music, but they are diffidently outside my comfort zone.

The Result

In all honesty, this is a reboxing of a classic pedal. There has been changes to bring the massive Small Stone into today's compact pedal market. The original also had a strange power supply. Many of the quarks of the original have been brought into today's standards. EHX's standard Aluminum case, true bypass, and decals are present. What else is appealing is that it is less than $50 USD. So it might be the right solution for someone looking to get into chorus and doesn't want to invest a great deal of money. This pedal is not the best chorus I've ever played through, but it definitely brings a lot of good things considering the price.

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.