The Quest for Good Guitar Tone

Here’s a post to highlight a wah I recently added to my arsenal of tone generators. I love wah pedals. It is a big part of the retro-funky-R&B sound of the songs I write and sing. In my on-line course Funk-Rock/R&B Soloing, and in my book, R&B/Funk Guitar: Creative Grooves and Solos, I get into the usefulness of wah sounds and even dig into exercises using a wah.

In these days of roadie-less gigs, taking a big pedalboard to every gig simply is not practical. One of the biggest pedals on a board is always the wah. You can cut down your pedalboard size, but it can never get smaller than your wah, unless you take it off and set it up separately (which defeats the purpose of convenience). So when I heard about the AMT Japanese Girl Wah I went on line to check out a couple of demos. Quite impressive I would say. A week later, I had one of these little beauties in the palm of my hand (literally speaking)

After you get used to the smaller size underfoot, the Japanese Girl Wah pedal feels and plays like a full-sized wah. A typical full size wah is sturdy enough for you to put a lot of your body weight into the operation of the pedal. This is something many of the old school cats (like myself) are reluctant to give up. Some mini wahs I have tried don’t take this into consideration. I felt comfortable leaning my full weight into this mini wah. And ,quite frankly, the tones were absolutely as funky as I ever dreamed of.

The wah is so small that there is no room inside for a battery; that is no problem with standard 9v input center negative power input that you can use with your average pedal power connection. It uses optical control instead of the traditional potentiometer for the effect, so there will be no maintenance issues with scratchiness at any point in the future!

Two bright blue led’s  on both sides of the pedal cast a bright glow when the true bypass switch is activated under toe as with traditional full size wahs. Those lights can easily be seen in the dim lights of a club, so there is none of the insecurity that comes with wondering if your wah actually  made it to the “off” position.

One the the big plus features of the wah is a 3 position toggle switch on the left side of the pedal that allows you to switch from three very useful modes:  0.2-1kH, 0.3-1,5 kH, 0.4-2kH. To describe it in layman’s terms, it goes from vintage to modern or almost synth like. I did a couple of gigs with the pedal and experimented with all 3 modes with great satisfaction.

The adjustable axial screw allows you to tighten the feel of the treadle and also allows you to keep it in a fixed place for some of the usual wah notch-effects.

Thanks to AMT for a great new and very practical product!! AAAAA++!! (my second one is already on the way!!)

Here are some specs from the AMT website:

FEATURES:
- Switchable bandpass: 0.2-1kH, 0.3-1,5 kH, 0.4-2kH;
- True bypass
- Removable support feet (the option is useful when you install the AMT WH-1 on the pedal board)
- Effect on/off indicator LEDs on both pedal sides (visible when engaged)
- Adjustable pedal movement by means of an axial screw

SPECIFICATIONS:
- 9-12v DC power negative center (-), adapter or battery
- Low power consumption
- Small size: 110 x 62 x 58 mm
- Weight (without battery) 0.45 kg

Here is a very good youtube demo of the pedal:

This post I would like to share a new product worthy of attention. Many of you have already read my earlier post about the Allston Amp Dumbalina made by Rob Lohr in the basement of Mr Music, in nearby Allston Massachusetts (Boston). This latest achievement is one for the books of Tonal History. Rob keeps finding ways  to pack  modestly priced (under $2500.00) hi-quality handmade amps into the space of a Fender Princeton sized cab. All this with features and tone associated with the highest end of the boutique amp world. The Allston Tremulator MKII sounds great, is so much fun to play and cosmetically looks as perfect on the outside as the work inside the chassis.

Rob builds with the best components, and each amp is custom detailed to your cosmetic specs. He handles all aspects of the build and refuses to farm out any of the operation to anyone. From start to finish, the actual building of the cabinet, to the multiple layers of tough paint and clear coat that covers the hand-fixed vinyl knob lettering and the logo that you may have chosen for your custom order, Rob does it all.

Inside the Princeton-sized chassis, the neatly wired components sit nestled in an intricate work of art. With this latest build, Rob has somehow figured out  how to give you a vintage sounding, foot-switchable tremolo circuit that you cannot hear until you play!  The amp is “whisper” quiet and has no annoying beating sound that indicates that you have activated the tremolo. It is one of those “How come no-one has ever thought of this before?” kind of features.

The Front face plate of the Allston Tremulator MKII  has Input, Volume, Treble, Mid, and Bass controls along with Reverb level and a Master Volume Control. The first 4 knobs are all pull-pots which allow you to get just about any combination of  ”face” or “tweed” in a couple of seconds. The Back plate has a +4 effects loop (all of you dumble-ator fans will love this!!).

The +4 loop allows you to connect studio-grade effects directly into the circuit of the amp (Try out some of the Eventide delays for a good time). Noise, hum, and buzz free effects are stitched seamlessly directly into your signal path.

Miniature Tremolo controls (Depth and Speed) are also located on the back plate along with a 4, 8, 16 ohm tap.

The extension speaker output allows you to simultaneously (along with the onboard speaker) connect a specially designed closed-back mini-112 16 ohm cab that gives your 45w Princeton sized amp all the 2 x 12 punch that bigger amps dream about.

The foot-switch is the size of a Phase 90 pedal and controls (in my custom-ordered case), Tremolo and Tone Bypass.

Tone Bypass amounts to an increase or boost in volume. This allows you to cut through or overdrive the amp, depending on your settings and volume.  Tone Bypass is often used as crunch or overdrive. To top this feature off and make it even more practical, Rob gives you an additional independent volume control under the chassis for the volume level of your Tone Bypass. You may opt to have your foot-switch control the reverb. In my case, I never usually need to turn off the Reverb. Having Tone Bypass as an option is a plus, since it is often only found in the D-Style amps where I got used to having and using it in a practical way.

On my amp, Rob installed the optional Tilt Back legs, which, of course, in situation where you put the combo on the floor level, allow you to angle the amp toward you to hear the great tones. I will say that before my first tilt back Allston Amp, I used to opt out of having any amp tilted toward me, because they often sounded too harsh or loud for my ears. We as guitarist, get used to the sound of an amp moving air through our legs out into the audience. When I started using these amps, simply put, I love the sound, so now I play with the amp tilted upward. It makes for a more room filling sound and for situations where you are not using the 112 extension cab, I have found that a tilted- back amp on a wood floor makes for greater bass response.

The amp loves pedals and responds really well to clean boosts. If it sounds like I am in love with this amp, I will have to say yes, I am! My age pushes me into the category of traditionalist when it comes to tones. However, I like being able to use many of  the technical options that we have available to us today. Rob is a builder that is able to incorporate these options into a traditional sounding quality product. And yes, packing this much amp into the small space of a Princeton is a shout out to the working musician who has 30 years of back strain under his belt from taking the necessary 40w for the average weekend gig! Thanks Rob…(who has roadies any more?)

Here is some info and website below on the Allston Tremulator MKII from Rob Lohr: AAAAA+

Allston Tremulator MKII specs:

Dimesions: 20″W x 16″H x 9 1/4″D

Tube compliment: 2x 6L6, 3x 12AX-7, 2x 12AT-7

Power output: 45 watts

Effects Loop: Half normalled line level

Speaker: 12″ Celestion G12T-75

Front panel controls:
Volume- pull bright
Treble- pull hi mid boost
Mid- pull lo mid boost
Bass- pull tone bypass
Reverb
Master volume

Rear panel controls:
Power
Standby
impedance select (4,8,16 ohms)
Tremolo depth
Tremolo speed
Tone bypass independent master volume (under chassis between 1st and
second 12AX-7)

Click Here for the Allston Amplifier Website:

This post I want to talk briefly about my own experience with the Klon.  The introduction of the Klon back in the early to mid 90′s is arguably one of the most significant milestones in the world of overdrive pedals.

Many moons ago back in the early 90′s the maker, Bill Finnegan, came to my house with one of the original Klon prototypes. We sat and I jammed with the pedal through the amps I was using back then. I had a couple of Seymour Duncan convertible 100 amps. Yes, very very heavy, and very very loud. The Convertibles were ambitious amps that were a little ahead of their time. They had interchangeable tube modules that would, in effect, allow you to create a new amp within a couple of minutes of re-configuring of the order in which they were placed. One of the 2 channels was a dedicated overdrive channel. Back in the late 80′s, early 90′s the OD tones we chased were loud and saturated, humbucker driven. I will admit, back then, I was not ready to spend the $225 for an OD pedal when I thought I already had the killer tones of the day. In retrospect, of course, my tone was actually nowhere near as great as I thought…and  Bill was way ahead of the curve with his vision for the pedal and the market for boutique pedals.

Since then the Klon has become the industry standard for quality overdrive and can be found on the boards of most of the pros’s who’s tones we know and love. More than 8000 Klon’s in different incarnations have all been hand made and tested by Bill and are out there in the world making great music. In addition, there are many many clones of his original design that are being made on smaller levels by other builders. Those clones range in the 100-200 price range and some have even developed a reputation.

I recently re-visited the Klon experience. If you can find one,  the originals are cost prohibitive ranging anywhere from $800-1500 on ebay but usually going for around the $1000 price range. Bill still makes a newer, smaller version called a KTR available for around 385.00 to 500.00 depending on where you look. For my quest for tone, I went full circle: I found an old one, original gold casing early build. So…how does it sound? Pretty amazing actually…

The more I grow into who I am as a player, the less I use in the way of OD saturation. In short, my idea of an OD pedal has become:  ”the correct amount and shape of signal that you put into an amp to make the AMP give you the OD”. The end result is OD that does not get lost in the mix when you kick it in. (Have you ever tried to kick your OD pedal in at the high point in the solo only to find that the tones get lost in the drums and the B-3 pads?) I  lean towards pedals that give me the shape and size signal that I can push into the amp that makes the best use of the 45w that I am using. Clean boosts work well in this regard for the signal level, but they sound bright and gnarly when engaged. Compensating with the tone controls of the amp alleviates this problem, but then when disengaged the clean boosts leave your amp sounding dark and scooped. So… the Klon, in my opinion, represents one of the best signals with which you can push your amp into heavenly overdrive. In effect, this pedal is not just a pedal that creates a sound that you amplify, but a dynamic tool that works in combination with your guitar sound, guitar level, amp sound, amp level and the relationships between your master volume and volume (should you have that option on your amp).

I did a lot of geeking with the Klon, trying it at different levels with different settings of all signal related volumes in the chain and the results where quite remarkable. So now it has become a staple on my go-to board with my strat. I wish I had listened to Bill back in the early 90′s..I could have saved myself a lot of $$ and a couple of (amp-lifting-related) bulging discs in my back! As far as OD goes, a (light) 50w amp, with a Klon and I am a happy camper!

Here is a demo vid with Bill comparing all of his versions of this legendary pedal. Happy Klonning!

This post I want to share with you a cool pedal. I stumbled on this pedal on ebay late one night, took a chance and wound up loving it. I even bought an extra one as a back up because I like it that much. The Moen UL-VB Jimi Zero Vibe comes in at a modest 50-60 dollars depending on where you purchase; not a lot to spend for a pedal not much bigger than a phase 90 that has some pretty authentic sounding rotary speaker/vibe and chorus sounds.

This true bypass pedal, built in a solid metal enclosure has a push button that allows you to toggle between the Vibe and Chorus settings. The usual rate and depth control are present with the bright red LED flashing at the chosen rate. Of note is the Bias control knob with allows you adjust the overall EQ of the vibe pedal, shaping tones either fat or thin according to your needs. I have often wished that some of my other vibe pedals have even a minimum degree of tone control in addition to the common volume control that comes with the more expensive models.

The top 1/4 inch inputs and power connection make for economical use of pedal board real estate. The fact that the pedal can run on a 9v battery is also a plus for the non-pedalboard/wall wart gigs.

So how does this pedal sound? I did a lot of A/B ing with all 4 of my other vibe pedals, one of which is considered the gold standard of this type of effect. I was able to dial in some very similar tones from the Moen in both the vibe and chorus settings. In a couple of cases, the bias control gave the Moen the edge! I will say that for the price, I think my Moen represents one of the best values in a pedal for  fat, quality vibe/chorus sounds. It has quickly become a staple on my pedaltrain mini.

Here is a quick demo of the Moen Vibe in action:

So each month we talk about cool stuff, gadgets, pedals, amps, guitars. This post I am addressing an often overlooked aspect of the big picture: The Guitar Cable. I get many queries about my choice of cable, not just from the guitar to the amp, but for the signal path in between pedals especially when permanently hooked up on a pedalboard.

My choice for for very long time has been George L’s. For many reasons, these make sense for me. In terms of durability and longevity, I have some George L cables that are older than many of my students!!

George L ‘s cables are solder-free do-it-yourself, very high quality, lo capacitance, anti-stat, co-ax cabling. They come in two thicknesses (.155 and .225) and  in spite of what seems like a relatively small diameter compared to other manufacturers, rank as one of the best I have ever played. I have done much in the way of A/B ing with other, higher priced cabling. George L’s hold up and, in most cases, surpass the quality of the others.

The cable comes either pre-made as a guitar cable with 1/4″ plugs on both ends, often including a protective sleeve, or in bulk which allows you to create your own custom lengths.  Plugs average around 5-7 bucks a piece (depending on your source) and the cable, anywhere from $1.50-$2.25 a foot. Making a George L cable  is a simple task and really only require’s a little care when assembling to ensure years of trouble-free operation:

1) Cut the length of desired cable, make sure the ends are clean-cut, with no wire hairs hanging or sticking out.

2) Choose a plug, whether strat style extended length plug with grip area:

or smaller style plug, great for Gibson-style guitars or pro-audio:

or corner style plug, convenient for pedalboard use:

3) The plugs have a screw on the side (in previous pictures) which you tighten after fully and firmly inserting the cable. The corner plugs have what amounts to a gripped, threaded “plug” which closes the back of the plug while completing all of the connections. No solder at all required!

4) Add protective sleeve (NB: pull this onto your guitar cables before assembling the plug and tightening the screws. With the corner plugs you can pull on the sleeve afterwards because they have a split to allow for this after the cable has been secured)

A good value for folks who need to custom wire up a pedalboard is the George L Effects Cable Kit (around 70 bucks give or take)  which usually comes as a package with 10 corner plugs and about 10 feet of cable. The low profile of the corner plugs make it an excellent choice for best use of pedalboard real estate. Just install pedals on your board, cut the desired lengths, connect and you are ready to go to the gig!

The obvious advantage to using this product is that in the (in my case) unlikely event that you have some kind of short happening at the plug, you simply snip the end off, make sure it is flat and clean as before, and then assemble/secure the plug again! And then you are once again ready to rock. It takes all of one minute! I can honestly say that I have fewer problems with this connecting system than I have had with traditional soldered guitar cables.

When I first started using George L’s, I remember there were only limited options, compared to now, when you can choose different thicknesses of cable, different materials for plugs (nickel, brass, even gold!) and different colors for the cable. For more information check out the George L’s website. There are many other related products and accessories that you might find useful in the signal path of your Quest for Good Guitar Tone!

Here is a video tutorial I found on youtube where someone is actually showing you how to make a George L cable:

Ehx dominates my recent posts, this time with  yet another cutting edge product just released. The Super Ego represents the next step in products that give guitarists worldwide the kind of sustain power and layering of effects that keyboard players have long been able to enjoy as part of their everyday musical experience. This amazing creative pedal allows you to make music in ways previously unavailable to us as guitarists. I am drawn to products/effects that I can consider an extension of my instrument and the Super Ego qualifies!

In an older post, I covered the EHX Freeze. (click link to read the post).  The Freeze allows you to capture a moment in time of your playing, whether a chord or a single note, and sustain indefinitely. You can choose to set it so that the Freeze functions in the same way as a piano sustain pedal: as long as you have your foot on the pedal the note or chord will sustain.

Now when you sustain the strings of a guitar indefinitely, the sound is quite unexpected. We, as guitarist are  used to hearing our strings decay at different rates. Hearing all strings sustained at original volumes has a very organ-like (Hammond B-3) quality. The kicker is that with the sustain, the pedal allows you to continue playing over the chord, just as a piano player does, sustaining chords and then playing lines. Perfect example of practical use of this pedal is a song such as Jimi Hendrix’s “Little Wing”. The structure of the song, in the intro is “chord” followed by “lick”. The Freeze allows you to play the chord, sustain it under your subsequent lick. In power trio situations, the resultant effect is “Hey man, whos’s playing the organ under your guitar licks in that Hendrix song?”.

So now you can picture the practical use, take it up a notch! Enter the Super Ego. I used the Freeze with various rotary pedals to get that swirly Leslie sound on my sustained patches. I settled on a very cool marriage of a Freeze and a Tech-21 Roto-Choir pedal. I am not kidding when the B-3 player in my organ trio had a big smile on his face as I kicked in the Leslie Speed on the Roto-Choir over the sustain Freeze guitar part.

The one wish list I had with that set up is I would have loved to have been able to process the sustained sound with the Leslie effect, but solo over it using a different effect such as an Overdrive pedal…drumroll..

The Super Ego is basically the big brother of the Freeze coming in to save the day with a built in Effect Loop!!! Now I can process the sustained tone with the rotary effect, while leaving my original signal clean. In addition, with the Super Ego, I can now control the balance of those two signal paths..maybe a slight organ patch in the background over a single chord groove and then an overlaying solo at a substantially higher volume with my subsequent clean tone going through a different effect such as overdrive wah etc etc etc..can you dig the possibilities?

The Super Ego also allows you to “Latch” the sustained sound, so that you don’t have to keep your foot on the pedal for each chord or note you wish to sustain. Just one click at the point of sustain and you will sustain until the next click. A double click shuts off the sustain feature.

So you might ask the question..”with the amazing technology we have today, why can’t a pedal just have a mode that allows it to detect whenever you play a new chord or note and add that to the previously sustained material?” and the answer is: The Super Ego has this mode!! It  is called “Auto” and when this mode is selected, the pedal detects each new note and chord that you play and it sustains it automatically for an adjustable length of time (Speed/Layer knob). Just tap once and hold on the foot switch to stop the input of new material allowing you to solo over sustained material with a different effect.

So you can see the amazing potential for musicality with this pedal. I have found great practical application for my specific performance situation. Often times, I play trio format and since I love traditional sounds, the ability to emulate a B-3 for me is key. But as you can imagine, with many other options of sounds and effect pedals that you can plug into the loop of the Super Ego, the possibilities are exponential. Not to mention, plugging more than one pedal into the loop in a chain, or using it in conjunction with other Super Egos, or even a Freeze…the imagination is the limit!

I specifically wrote this review from the perspective of the application of the pedal with a need to emphasize how this pedal works for me in the context of playing music, making art. Again, I consider it an extension of my instrument. (Not in the same way as some consider looping devices, since this pedal allows for the subtleties and dynamics of playing, layering and sustaining in the moment, as does a keyboard player with multiple keys.)

Of course for more of the technical info and videos you can visit the ehx website. In my humble opinion, any product that allows me more creative tools with which to enhance my live music performance in a non-gimmicky, transparent, no learning curve kinda way is an AAAAAAAAA+. addition to my set up….bravo ehx!! Thanks for taking the next step…

In the future I will post  videos of live performance with the pedal in action in a performance situation. In the meantime, here are a couple of videos demoing the pedal.

Everyone now and again we have a product that is released that challenges the status quo. After decades of Wahs that offer variations on the same original design with at best, a few extra parameter or volume controls, we were introduced to switchless optical wahs back in the late 90′s.  The first significant development since then comes along with the Electro-Harmonix Crying Tone Wah.

With no moving parts, the solidly built Crying Tone Wah has a contoured bottom plate that allows you to rock it back and forth on the floor with your foot, much in the same way you would your traditional wah. The wah’s technology allows it to sense the angle at which it is positioned relative to 0 degrees to deliver the corresponding frequency associated with its position. To switch the wah on, you simply tip it forward past the angle where it rests flat, and the “ehx, Crying Tone” Logo lights up to let you know the wah is operational. To switch off, you tip forward again. This on/off action is exactly as it would be for a traditional wah. In the event that surface on which you might be performing is angled, there is a simple calibration switch that you use at both ends of the sweep to set the limits of the EQsweep.

The pedal operates with a 9v battery or the standard 9v center negative power supply. It does have a “T” around which you can secure that power cord.

Bells, whistles and technology aside, The Crying Tone Wah just plain sounds great!!  As a traditionalist, I am always on guard against new technology when it comes to classic sounds and effects. Quite frankly I was pleasantly surprised with the ease at which I was able to use this wah with no learning curve or adjustment. I found myself actually having a LOT of fun playing music with the wah. I have other wah’s that I have velcro-ed to some of my pedal boards but will use the Crying Tone Wah in performance situations where, for example, I use just a wah in conjunction with OD from the amp along with, say one other pedal.

In my on-line course Funk-Rock/R&B Guitar Soloing we cover some of the essential effects for the genre. Wah sounds are an integral part of R&B/Funk and I have owned many different wah’s since back in the 70′s, starting with one of the old original Cry Babys. I really like everything about The Crying Tone Wah with respect to ease of use and tone. EHX did a great job with giving a useful wah tone that spans traditional and contemporary. AAAAA+

Here is a Demo Video From EHX:

This post I will share some experimenting I have been doing with the Little Lehle Dual Switcher. The Little Lehle is made in Germany by Lehle Gitarrentechnik, a company founded by Burkhard Georg Lehle. The company makes a line of switches and loopers that give you quiet, noise-free, switching for various configurations of amps and instruments.

The Little Lehle Dual is a stereo pedal. The company describes the product as a “maximum signal-fidelity amp switcher” and it certainly lives up to the claim. With a combination of gold plated relays and switches and an on-board LTHZ transformer, the pedal is ultra quiet in operation with AC or DC input. (8-20v) polarity is of no importance!

Many of you might have experimented with using 2 guitar amps from stereo pedals or just in tandem to beef up your wall of sound. One of the difficulties that we face when using two amps is a ground loop hum.  This might be tolerable at “home practice” levels, but out in the club or theatre at louder volumes it becomes unacceptable. Some recommend lifting the ground plug on one amp with an adaptor. That might work but there is high risk of electric shock, especially if you are singing through a PA that is connected to a different circuit in the club. Any of you who have experienced a good zap to the lips from a mic during a show will testify that this is not the way to go!

With 2 electrically-isolated ins and outs, the Little Dual allows you to have 2 amps running simultaneously with your sound. Another mode of operation is to connect your stereo output from, say, a digital reverb or delay left and right to the 2 inputs of the Little Dual out through the 2 outputs to 2 different amps (with no hum!). You might set it up to A/B between 2 different types of amps for different applications, such as a Marshall amp for the rock songs and a Fender amp for the blues songs. You can even use the 2 inputs for 2 different pickup types simultaneously, e.g. acoustic pickup and a magnetic pickup. It is an amazing little product that opens up a realm of possibilities for not much pedalboard real-estate. Through the years, I have experimented with many A/B boxes and I am very, very  happy with the Little Dual. Solid, sturdy build with whisper quiet operation.

So now the end result is that I have been experimenting with using lower wattage dual amp configurations in lieu of higher powered single amp rigs. I really love the sound of the 40w-50w combos. It feels to me like higher power pushes the sound to something more physical (and dangerous!). In addition the smaller combos need little in the way of pushing to get them to that proverbial “sweet spot”. Usually more than 45w provokes stage-volume confrontation with your sound engineer!

I have an Allston Combo and a Tremulator made by Rob Lohr of Allston Amps in Boston. The Allston Combo is a clean platform amp with a Master Volume that allows you dial in clean to overdriven sounds with Reverb. The Tremulator is a clean platform amp with Tremolo and Reverb with no master volume. Both amps are around 45w of great tone.

For louder gigs, using both amps with the Little Lehle provides a bigger sound without getting into painful volume levels. Having 2 separate 12″ speakers in separate amps working at 45w each, gives me a much bigger sound without the need for ear plugs if in close proximity to the speaker. In addition, I  find that my playing in this configuration is a little more consistent. This might be because the sound is very familiar, since I play the lower power amps regularly at home when I am practicing.

Please post and share all of your dual amp experiences and recommendations in the comments section.

Here is a video of Kurt Rosenwinkle talking about Lehle products:

This post I want to give you all a quick heads up on a must-have recording. Great music by an amazing guitarist who uses tonal color changes in a very musical way.

Twisted Blues is Oz’ latest release on the Abstract Logic label. Every cut on this CD is a tonal journey of joy. Oz Noy is a master at using effects as an extension of his instrument, solely for the purpose of orchestrating his compositions. If you close your eyes and listen to his use of effect pedals for different sections of the tune, you can almost see the sections of the orchestra or  big band playing the arrangements on queue from the conductor! Throughout all is Oz’s respect for the tone power of the strat and tele, changing pickups midstream to add that vocal quality that we have all come to know and love at first attack.

The tunes on Twisted Blues run the gamut from the funky harmonic nod to Monk of the title track to the New Orleans gumbo flavor of “Oh Really”.  ”You are the State” and “Light Blue” take you on a silky sleepwalk through the late 50′s, while “Whole Tone Blues” gives you a 21st century take on a Stevie Ray Vaughn vibe. “Steroids”, “Two Centers” and “Twinkle Twinkle” might be closer to the standard Oz fare that most fans will recognize, but this release shows his versatility as an artist who can create work that covers a broad spectrum of guitar genres. Oz’s playing is no less than stellar. He is certainly a master of the genre of jazz-fusion, but quite frankly I think this latest recording easily shows that Oz is not just a great guitarist but a great musician and orchestrator.

Recorded in both and Austin, Texas and New York, Twisted Blues featrues an all star cast and special guests: Eric Johnson on guitar, Chris Layton on drums, Roscoe Beck and Will Lee  on bass, Reese Wynans on the organ, Vinnie Colaiuta and Anton Fig on drums, John Medeski and Jerry Z on organ, Allen Toussaint on the piano and Ralph McDonald on percussion.

Here is a documentary teaser of the making of the album:

Here is an interesting video series on Oz’s pedalboard and his approach to using effects:

For more info on the guitar wizardry of Oz Noy, details on where to get the CD and to check out Oz’s performance schedule, check out his website at:

http://oznoy.com/

This post I would like to share a cool product that might be indispensable for the working musician. The Pedal Jeanie, by Grid 1 represents the next stage in evolution toward smarter ways to power your pedalboard.

Previously reviewed in the Quest for Good Guitar Tone blog, is a pedal-sized rechargeable power supply, the  Sanyo KBC-9V3U Pedal Juice. The Pedal Jeanie takes this concept of having a smart rechargeable power supply to the next level of having an entire pedalboard with its built in permanent rechargeable power supply.

The Pedal Jeanie Jr is the perfect size. At 23″ x 11″ x 3.5″ it easily accommodates the typical wah-wah pedal (e.g. Cry Baby) and still leaves room for another 6-10 pedals depending on size.

Grid 1 surely did their homework on this product. The fully enclosed batteries are rechargeable with the provided smart charger. An indicator light on the charger tells you when a full charge has been reached. During operation of the board, there is an indicator light in the top middle that shows you the status. Green means 60%-100%, Orange/Yellow means 40%-60% and Red 30%-40%. Less than 30% triggers the auto shut-off that protects the batteries. A sturdy push-switch on the front of the board beside the handle allows you to switch the entire board on or off as needed.

Eight 9v connections and two 12v connections are provided under the pedalboard for a total of 10 pedals. A green LED indicator lets you know when a stable connection has been made.

The top of the pedalboard is riddled with conveniently spaced holes about a pedal’s width apart. The holes are the perfect size for your pedal power cable plugs to reach your pedal. You simply choose the closest hole to the power input on your pedal and feed the cable through! Ties are provided for you to organize your cables and pedals. I found it more convenient to stripe the top of the board with velcro (in between the holes) for fastening the pedals. I also striped the underside of the board with velcro, allowing me to neatly organize my power cables under the board. For this, I used velcro tape (single side, hook, non-adhesive back). If you wish, you can also easily connect your pedals through the holes, under the board using custom George L connectors and cabling. I used under-the-board cabling for the longer lengths and over-the-board for connecting adjacent pedals. This makes for a very very neat, organized board. In addition you can route the signal path any way you wish under the board, regardless of the order in which the pedals are physically placed on top of the board.

Now I know many of you are wondering how long this board will power up your pedals before requiring a charge. The Grid 1 websites says that the board will charge up to 10 standard 9v pedals for up to 50 hours. My test run was done with the pictured fully loaded pedalboard. I would hardly call my pedalboard selection standard since some of those pictured like the EH Freeze draw quite a bit more power than standard pedals. Still I ran the pedalboard non-stop for at least 9 hours with no battery shut off in sight! So I feel quite confident taking this board out for a night of gigs with no risk of running out of juice. Of note is the fact that you can recharge the board while it is in full use, so in a pinch, you can plug it in and use it in the way that you might for a typical board with a non-rechargeable supply such as a voodoo lab pedal power plus.

Construction is solid steel and altho I did not try it, it seems like you can stand on this thing with no consequence!:) A sturdy handle at the top allows you to pick it up and carry it as you would an attache case. Very nicely designed and thought out product from Grid ! AAAA+

Here are some specs below from the Grid 1 website: Check it out for more info on the product

Features

• 10 built-in DC barrel connections
• 8 individual 9v connections (750mA ea.)
• 2 dedicated 12v connection (1500mA ea.)
• DC Cables, battery charger and tie wraps included
• 16 gauge steel chassis
• Master stomp switch for easy on/off operation
• LED fault indicator light for each pedal connection
• Battery level LED (Green, Orange, Red)
• Dual rechargeable batteries (4.5 Amp Hr.)
• Universal smart charger
• Stainless steel carrying handle
• Ultra quiet operation
• Powers 10 standard 9v pedals for up to 50 hrs

Optional

• 15v/18v/24v in-line cable modules
• Tip adapters (All barrel sizes and polarities)
• Case Xtreme hard case
• Padded carrying bag
• Car Charger