A buddy of mine from London was in town recently and wanted to stop by Guitar Center to pick up an effects pedal, taking advantage of the lower US pricing. While I wasn't planning on buying anything, 30 minutes later, I walked out with a new Epiphone Les Paul Studio in arctic white. I was planning on buying a second guitar which I would keep over at my in-laws place. (I think this is part of my wife's overall plan to get me to spend more time with family. Hey, if that get's me a new guitar, I'm fine with it.)
Originally, my plan was to test out some gear, and then just buy something locally near my in-laws. Since this would be a spare guitar that would only get occasional use, I was aiming for something around $200-$250. I tried a few sub-$200 guitars, but the quality just wasn't there and I figured I would just get frustrated if the action was too high or if the guitar wouldn't stay in tune. I tried a few low-end Squire strats and telecasters and while they were ok, nothing really set me on fire.
But then I spotted a beautiful white Epiphone Les Paul Studio for $300. I was really impressed with the playability and the tone. Admittedly, it's not a high end Gibson, but the action and setup are decent right out of the box and it feels sturdy. The guitar is also lighter than I had expected, my estimate around 7.5 pounds. The pickups are great, the neck is good and it's got nice sustain and a beefy classic humbucker sound. Plus, I gotta admit, in arctic white, this guitar looks very cool. If a white Les Paul is good enough for Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols, it's good enough for me. And my in-laws.
Overall, it's a very high quality guitar with a nice warm tone and plenty of sustain for blues or rock, especially when you apply a bit of overdrive. The only thing that I think degrades from the overall quality is that the tuners are not that stable. But if you can live with occasionally re-tuning, it's a great sound at a bargain price.
Update: I've added a video review on YouTube below.
I'm always eager to try out the latest in computer software and hardware for guitar players. As the PC has become more powerful, it's now able to handle more complex sound modeling and recording than ever before. As a result, there are some great products out there for guitar players willing to boot up a computer instead of an amplifier. And a lot of these products are now focusing on ease-of-use, so you don't have to be a computer expert in order to make things happen.
One such company, IK Multimedia, has developed the innovative line of AmpliTube modeling software in conjunction. Their latest release, AmpliTube Fender Studio is made in conjunction with Fender to recreate some of the classic sounds of Fender amps and effects. Fender Studio provides a basic software set up that runs on both Mac and PCs along with their "Stealth Plug" that allows you to plug your guitar directly into a standard USB interface. It's a full 9 foot cable giving you plenty of room to maneuver and uses built-in low-latency ASIO and CoreAdio drivers to ensure high quality sound.
While the Stealth Plug is indeed smaller than competing connectors from companies like Line 6, it still looks a bit like your guitar cable has swallowed a mouse. But overall, it works, and as a result of the small size, it's a practical package for those who travel and want to bring a guitar and computer with them, without hauling around a lot of extra gear.
I tried out the Fender Studio package on a Windows Sony Laptop. While the computer did a surprising reboot once after I got everything installed, overall the product works as advertised. It's surprisingly easy to tap into various Fender amps and effects. And you can immediately start jamming with the included RiffWorks T4 recording software.
The Fender Studio puts four classic Fender amps, five cabinets and a slew of effects at your finger tips faithfully recreating the front panels with all their nobs and dials. If you're already familiar with Fender amps, then this makes it a snap to try out different sounds. You've got the '65 Twin Reverb, SuperSonic, a full on Metal Head amp along with a bass amp and various fuzz wah, echo and chorus effects. In short, there's a lot of settings you can experiment with. IK Multimedia also offers a broader range of a dozen Fender amps in their more expensive AmpliTube Fender package including the Fender '57 Deluxe, '64 Vibroverb, '65 Deluxe Reverb, Champ, Bassman, Proj Junior and others, but even what's supplied here is plenty.
There are some great settings built in for classic rhythm and lead sounds and you can customize just about anything to get exactly what you want. But given so many settings, it's easy to get lost among all the tweaking. But hey, that's half the fun with this kind of a package! If you're trying to recreate the distinc Fender sound without spending a fortune on amps, software is the way to go. Obviously you're not going to get the same kind of oomph from a computer as you get from a tube amp, but for recording and experimentation, it's incredible. And unlike a lot of modeling amps and software that emphasize the overdriven metal sounds, Fender Studio has a lot of clean settings that are perfect for classic rock, blues and jazz.
For $100 street price ($139 list) AmpliTube Fender Studio is a good deal. The software or the Stealth Plug itself is easily worth $100, so you can consider that you're buying the software and getting the Stealth Plug free, or vice verse. There are only a few areas I think IK Multimedia could do a better job.
First of all, the Stealth Plug is a bit fiddly. It's solid enough, but you've got to make sure your headphones are plugged in properly before you're going to hear anything. Secondly, it installs driver software that automatically loads when you turn on the computer, something that always makes me nervous on a PC. And finally, the version of RiffWorks T4 that they include, is basically a free fully functional demo version rather than the more feature-filled standard edition. Since you can download the T4 free from their web site, this is just a convenience for those with slow internet connections. Personally, I think RiffWorks is one of the best pieces of software to show off what's possible with IK Multimedia's modeling package, so it's a shame that they don't include the full version. But still, at $100 for the whole package, it's a heckuva good deal and I can understand that at that price, they can't afford to give you the whole kitchen sink.
IK Multimedia has also announced a series of free Guitar Recording Master Classes this summer through the US and Europe as well as an online web event. It's a great way to learn more about digital recording and see what's possible with computer software.
Below is a great video demonstration of the full blown AmpliTube Fender package so you can see and hear how easy it is to use to get just the sound you want by experimenting with different classic Fender amps and settings. (Note that not all of these amps are included in the lower priced Fender Studio package.)
The crew over at FretBase are always on top of the latest Rock n' Roll movies. They've got a write up of the widely anticipated film "It Might Get Loud" featuring three of the hottest (and loudest) guitarists around: Jimmy Page, The Edge and Jack White. All I can ask is where's Nigel Tufnel of Spinal Tap?
I've written about JemSite before, it's a great resource for Ibanez fans. But they also publish articles about music and guitars that are of interest to any guitar player. Here's an exerpt from an article called "Never Underestimate the Power of Your Guitar."
I got my first electric guitar, an extremely cheap made-in-China model, on my fourteenth birthday. It came with an equally crappy 15 watt transistor amplifier with a reasonably high gain built-in overdrive. Was I thrilled when I played on it for the first time! I instantly felt the potential of an electric to astound people with simple power chords played through a distorted amp, and I was quite satisfied with it for a while, until I thought about how I wanted ‘real’ guitars such as Fender and Gibson models. Every day I dreamt of finally owning a Strat or a Paul in the near future...
My uncle happened to be a session musician for a number of local show bands. He celebrated by inviting a few of his musician friends over so they could play some songs for the guests. I brought my guitar with me because I was told beforehand that there would be a jam on that day. I patiently waited for the people to set up, hoping that I would be able to play with them. Being an amateur at the time, I thought I was the best guitar player in the place and so it was natural for me to display my “amazing skills”. One guy was not able to bring his guitar along so I lent him mine, but I was hoping he’d finish early so I could have my turn with the band...
The moment he started playing, I just sat on my chair with my jaw wide open. He played the guitar like a god, and to say that he is good was like saying that Jessica Alba is cute! What amazed me even more was the fact that he was using MY guitar, but it doesn’t sound the same when I use it! He was only using a very digital Zoom pedal and a solid state Hot Cabs amplifier, but the damn guitar sounded HUGE. He ripped, tapped, swept, and slid across the fretboard like hell, and I was having difficulty thinking about how he was able to make my cheap guitar produce so much tone! From that day on I practiced guitar seriously for three more years, and I still firmly believe that tone is in the fingers the way I did back then...
Remember, it's not about the gear, it's about the player. You can read the full story over at JemSite.
After 25 years, Spinal Tap is back! Following on the recent "Unwigged & Unplugged" Tour Spinal Tap has just released a new CD / DVD combo "Back from the Dead." As the title track lyrics boldly proclaim: "Give me reincarnation or give me death!" More apt words were never spoken.
The packages includes 19 songs featuring 6 new tunes as well as re-recorded and re-worked oldies (a funked up version of "Sex Farm", Reggae version of "Listen to the Flower People") that are not only better, they're louder! The album also includes guests artists Keith Emerson, Steve Vai and John Mayer and a pop-up diorama. All this for $10. Honestly, it's a steal.
Rob Reiner's "This is Spinal Tap" remains one of the greatest rock 'n' roll movies ever made. The fact that many incidents in the film were inspired by real bands only makes it funnier. If you like Spinal Tap, pick up "Back from the Dead."
And if you're in London, get ready for Tap's "One Night Only" World Tour to be held at Wembley Stadium June 30. Opening for Spinal Tap will be The Folksmen. Featured below is a video excerpt from the DVD featured on YouTube.
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