GuitarGearHeads.com Washington Test Facility Control Room
Over the years, I have been a steadfast advocate of protecting your musical equipment investment. I have reviewed several items on this site specific to safeguarding guitars and other gear from the rigors of the road as well as minimizing the risk of blown electronics due to power surges and overloads. One area I have never touched on however is insurance policies that cover your instruments on the road, and in your studio.
About a year ago my wife and I cataloged all of the equipment I had in my studio and gear testing facility. I then took the list and figured out how much it would cost to replace all of these items in the unfortunate event such as a fire or flood. The final number was mind boggling to say the least. Being that my studio is home based, I always thought my homeowners insurance would cover me adequately, but the truth of the matter was simply that using my entire policy for only my studio would not even scratch the surface of what would need to be replaced.
With this new found knowledge I called my insurance company to find out what I could do. The result was an offer for a separate and very complicated policy to cover just my studio and gear. The special rules that would be a part of this policy would also place an incredible amount of restriction to my studio space. For instance, I would not be allowed to let anyone in my studio even if I was present. Therefore I could not record any other musicians, even for my own projects. In fact I could not even have a few guys over for a jam session.
My wife recently did a search for insurance companies that specialized in policies specific to the entertainment industry. The companies she found have policies for home studios, offsite studios, tours, and regular gigging musicians. Some policies even cover the recordings you do in the studio for other bands in the event that data is lost or compromised.
I have contacted all of these insurance companies with a request to do an interview to talk about these policies and get more information for those of you who may be interested. These types of policies are probably not as important to the hobby player with a single guitar and amp, but if you were to catalog your gear and add up replacement value, many would probably be astounded by how much you have spent over the years.
Very few people ever think that anything will happen happen, but the flooding in New Orleans and the more recent flooding in Nashville should be a wake up call to all of us that things beyond our control can happen in an instant and it could end up being quite costly.
I can not count the times that I have bought an amplifier only to find that the footswitch was sold separately. To add insult to injury, the local music store does not carry the footswitch and needs to order it. What about about the effects pedals that are designed to run on batteries or a power cord, but the power supply is not included. Often times the power supply will cost up to a quarter of the price of the pedal, and once again, it will need to be ordered.
While I do understand the position of the manufacturer who offers these parts as additional equipment so they can make more money, I also wonder if they realize how often such a minor detail can cost them the sale of the main item. For instance, if I am going to pay $1000 or more on a high end amplifier, I want to be able to use it to its fullest potential when I get it home. I don't want to wait for a footswitch to be shipped. Sure, I can change channels via the front control panel on the amplifier, but who really does that? You have to quit playing to reach down and make the change. It's just not efficient.
In the last few years I have found a few companies who have gone against the grain and included additional equipment in the package. A few examples would be "Crate" which includes footswitches with amplifiers that are designed to use them. "BBE Sound" includes not only the power supply for their effects pedals, but also a new battery waiting to be hooked up in the battery compartment. I recently received an effects pedal from "T-Rex Engineering" that even came with a power supply that had interchangeable blades to fit almost all power outlet styles from US to European styles. All of these mentioned companies offer their main products at around the same price point of their comparable competitors. In reality, there just does not seem to be a price increase for the extra options.
Here is my call out to musical instrument manufacturers around the world. If you build an amplifier that is designed to switch channels with a footswitch, then give me the footswitch. If your effects pedal is made to run on batteries or a power supply, then give me the power supply. It is my choice if I want to use it or not, but at least I have the option. I won't go so far as to ask you to throw in the first battery too, but I really appreciate that BBE Sound does that for me. You might want to think about that if you are trying to get my business.
There is a lot of good musical equipment on the market today that I find myself passing up because they are not fully functional out of the box. There are too many other companies that seem to understand this frustration of consumers like myself. These are the products that I find myself leaning toward these days. When possible, I will usually support the manufacturer that gives me what I need to use their product offerings to their fullest potential right out of the box.
I have been a fan of Fender® guitars since the beginning of my guitar playing journey. My first guitar was a butterscotch Fender® Telecaster® which worked well in the beginning but was just a little to limiting to the multitude of styles I desired to play. I traded the Tele® in for an MIM Fender® Stratocaster® which became my go to guitar for the next ten years. This guitar is still in my collection today, but in recent years I have upgraded to a couple more American made Stratocasters®.
Over the years I have watched Fender® and the new instruments introduced. Most of these instruments are upgrades of their timeless Tele® and Strat® lines. Every once in awhile however, Fender does introduce new models that stretch the boundaries of traditional guitar design. For instance, the introduction of their Stratacoustic(TM) and Telecoustic(TM) models from several years ago. These are not really my thing, but I do understand the concept, and they seem to be very popular with other players.
It was this year when I was putting up the Fender NAMM press releases when I saw a new product that really made me wonder what they were thinking. This new guitar is called the Acoustasonic Tele®. It is basically a chambered Telecaster® body that is made to sound like a regular acoustic guitar. I realize that electric guitars with piezo bridges for acoustic tones are not exactly new. The difference is that these are usually guitars that function as electric guitars with magnetic pickups, but have the option of dedicated or blended acoustic tones in addition.
The press release however states that this guitar has none of the signature Telecaster® tone. In fact it has one function only, and that is to sound like an acoustic guitar. It utilizes the increasingly popular Fishman® Aura(TM) system to create the full bodied sound of an acoustic. From what I can see, this guitar has no magnetic pickups for any kind of electric sound options.
I can certainly understand the use of an electric guitar with acoustic sound as an option, but if the guitar is only for acoustic sound, I think I would personally prefer to play a regular acoustic guitar. An electric with only acoustic sound makes about as much sense to me as if I were to see a player like Zakk Wylde on stage shredding on an acoustic guitar that sounded like a highly overdriven electric guitar. It would just be odd.
I am by no means trying to put down Fender® and I am willing to admit that this guitar may do well with other players. In fact, I may contact Fender® to see if they would send me one for review. Perhaps actually playing this guitar would help me wrap my brain around the concept and I would understand it better. I would be interested in any thoughts or comments from other readers. Does a product like this peak your interest, and can you see it as a long term product?
Sometimes comething comes along that is just mind blowing. Although it looks like this video has been around for awhile, I had never seen it until it was recently sent to me. This is absolutly amazing, and I thought I would share it with you. Here is a little history of this amazing device you may want to read before you watch the video.
Turn your sound on for this. Read this first, then watch. This is almost unbelievable. See how all of the balls wind up in catcher cones.
This incredible machine was built as a collaborative effort between the Robert M. Trammell Music Conservatory and the Sharon Wick School of Engineering at the University of Iowa.
Amazingly, 97% of the machines Components came from John Deere Industries and Irrigation Equipment of Bancroft, Iowa… Yes, farm equipment!
It took the team a combined 13,029 hours of set-up, alignment, calibration, and tuning before filming this video but as you can see it was WELL worth the effort. It is now on display in the Matthew Gerhard Alumni Hall at the University and is already slated to be donated to the Smithsonian.
On November 17th, 2009, the Gibson Guitars Massman Rd manufacturing facility was raided by Federal agents from the US Fish and Wildlife Service along with local law enforcement officers. The seized guitar, computers, wood, and boxes of files. It seems that Gibson is under investigation of being a part of a scheme to import endangered rosewood from Madagascar, thus violating the Lacey Act. The Lacey Act is a vital part of environmental law. The sale of Madagascar rosewood and ebony has also been linked to international criminal activity.
It seems from what I have heard so far, Gibson's role in the scheme is unclear, but it is thought that they were a part of a bigger plot which was having this endangered wood shipped to Germany, and then on to the United States. Most of the details as far as I can see are unclear and somewhat hazy. No Charges have been brought against Gibson at this time, and a representative of Gibson stated that they were fully cooperating in the investigation. Being that Gibson Guitar Chairman and CEO Henry Juszkiewicz sits on the board of the Rainforest Alliance, the implications of this investigation could be far reaching.
As more information is made available, I will try to update this blog. I can only hope that this is a mistake, and that Gibson is able to clear their name. It would be a shame to see an icon of the guitar industry involved in such an act, especially given their ties to environmental groups. For more details and to read more on this story, please see the NashvillePost.com article at http://www.nashvillepost.com/news/200 … son_guitars_raided_by_fbi
When GuitarGearHeads.com was just getting off the ground, it was extremely difficult to get companies to work with us. This was understandable since we came out of nowhere and virtually nobody in the musical instruments industry knew who we were. It took a few years, and a few good people in the industry to give us a chance. One of those people who welcomed us and our ideas from the first time I spoke with him was Wayne Freeman.
I just learned today that Wayne Freeman passed away on Thursday November 11th, 2009 due to a massive heart attack. Wayne is survived by his wife Carol, as well as Julia and Jennifer, their two daughters. Our hearts go out to his family and friends on this sad day, and I only wish that we could offer more comfort to all who knew him.
I met Wayne about five years ago when he was with "Marshall Electronics" (Mogami Cables, and MXL microphones). He was one of the few people who always returned my phone calls and e-mails, and always made me feel like he was glad to hear from me. It seemed that anytime we talked, I came away with new knowledge about the industry and ways to approach the goals we had set out to accomplish with GuitarGearHeads.com. His advice was invaluable, and his positive attitude was always infectious. I could always count on a great conversation, and positive reinforcement from Wayne when we visited at NAMM shows. Although it has been way too long since I last talked to Wayne, I will personally miss him and his friendship. He was truly one of the good guys of the MI industry.
While six string guitars have been the standard in both electric and acoustic guitar for decades, we have seen some interesting options made available over the years. A few notables include the Rich Bich ten string designed by Neal Moser, and the seven string electrics that became very popular several years ago. While none of these options have made inroads at throwing the king six string off the top of the hill, they have gained notoriety in niche musical markets. I would be remiss not to mention the experiments by many companies over the years in making one off models with extremely innovative and even bizarre string combinations.
I recently witnessed one of the most interesting string combinations for acoustic guitars that I have seen to date. This guitar is one of several 35th Anniversary models offered by Taylor Guitars, and boasts a nine string combination. This Limited Edition guitar is simply called the "XXXV 9-String". A "Grand Symphony" body with a Sitka Spruce top, Mahogany back and sides, and Indian Rosewood binding make this guitar a visual treat while balancing the tone and clarity to perfection which can be heard through the Taylor exclusive Expression System® pickup. The 35th Anniversary fretboard inlay adds a touch of class and lets everyone know you are playing a very special guitar.
Where this guitar really stands out from all others can be seen on the headstock where you will notice a slightly larger size to accommodate nine tuning keys. The string setup is as follows. Both the high and low "E" strings as well as the "A" string are single. The "D' and "G" strings are doubled an octave apart, and the "B" string is simply doubled. This setup adds a rich full sound to the mid range while maintaining the tonal stability without getting to deep in the lows, or too trebly on the high end. It is a well thought out setup where Taylor's quest for great sound remains at the forefront.
I have seen a nine string setup used before, mostly in the Nashville country scene, but the setup I have seen the most is a twelve string guitar strung with only nine strings. At times I have heard the nine string setup where the high "E" is doubled, and the "D" string is single, but in this configuration, I have always felt the sound was somewhat lopsided on the treble side. Even with the amount of instruments I have seen in my job at GuitarGearHeads.com, this is the first guitar that I have seen that is built specifically for nine string use, although I am sure they have been on the market before. I would love to hear from anyone who has the opportunity to play one of these special Limited Edition Taylors. I am willing to bet it sounds as good as it looks.
Like the twelve string, a guitar like this will end up for most players as a staple to add texture and dimension to a few songs in their repertoire. It will most likely not be an everyday, every song guitar, although there always seems to be a few players who can successfully define their sound based solely on a guitar like the XXXV 9-String.
I have never considered myself to be a great writer. It is not something that has ever come easy for me, but I do take pride in the fact that things I write are my own thoughts and opinions. I will at times do research on specific subjects before I write about them, but I never copy, steal, or generally plagiarize another authors material. Unfortunately, this is not how many people posting articles on the internet conduct their business.
I recently posted a couple blogs right here at GuitarGearHeads.com only to find that within twenty-four hours, these blogs showed up in another writers blog on another site. Not only was it an exact copy and paste from our site, but this writer even stole my pictures which I took the time to compile, crop, size, and post. In fact, the only thing that was different between the two sites was that the other blogger removed my signature as the author and his posting time showed as being a day later than the posting time shown on our site.
At first I thought that this may be the case of an RSS feed to this other blog, but when I realized that my name had been removed as the author, it became clear that this was a calculated and blatant case of intellectual property theft.
I sent an e-mail to the offending party explaining that I was not upset that these blog were posted on his site, but I was upset that my name had been removed. Most of the material on our websites is available to other websites through RSS feed. The RSS feed however usually only sends that first paragraph or a few sentences with a link to our site to read the full article. This is pretty standard, and works well for both websites. For the site receiving the feed, it adds content to their site, and for the site sending the feed, it brings people over to them to read the full article.
In my correspondence, I asked that this blogger do one of two things. Either add my name back to these blogs as the original author, or remove them entirely from his site. I never received a response, nor was either of these options done. Since this blogger is located in Bangladesh, I really have limited options on anything I can legally do about this, and anything I may be able do would cost me much more money than it would be worth.
As a frustrated writer, I would like to send a message to anyone who copies others material on the internet or any other intellectual property for that matter. If you need to steal others work to build a website, you should not have a website. Go find something else to do that you are good at. Imitation mat be considered by some as the highest form of flattery. In this case however, I view it as flat out thievery by a person who could not or was too lazy to come up with their own thoughts and opinions on a subject.
Here is a little money saving tip for running cables to powered monitors and PA speakers. In the past it was a firm rule that you should only use "speaker cables" for these applications. Speaker cables are built heavier to carry the boosted signal coming from a power amplifier where as line level cables such as instrument, patch, and microphone cables are not designed to handle this increased load. Since most of the studio monitors as well as many of the PA main speakers on the market today are self powered, the rule does not apply in powered speaker applications.
Since the signal in powered speakers is not amplified until after it reaches the speakers internal amplifier, you will money and get the right connection by using line level cables instead of the generally more expensive speaker cables. I personally prefer to use balanced XLR cables since their signal is stronger and much more resistant to unwanted noise and interference. If you do decide to go this route, you will want to make sure your speakers as well as your signal source are set up for XLR input or output. If this isn't the case, a TRS (Tip-Ring-Sleeve) cable will work just fine.
If you are upgrading from unpowered speakers to powered models, you really should consider switching out your old speaker cables for line level cables. Speaker cables will still work, but have an extreme likelihood of affecting the sound quality in adverse ways. Using the correct cabling for the appropriate hookup will always yield the best result in every musical application.
I would like to note that if you are still using unpowered speakers with a power amplifier, you will still need to follow the important rule of using only quality dedicated speaker cables to make the connection.
On Saturday July 4th, 2009 the world lost a great man and pioneer of the guitar manufacturing industry. Just weeks after his wife passed, George Fullerton (the "G" in G&L Guitars) passed away from congestive heart failure at the age of 86.
George Fullerton and Leo Fender
George Fullerton met Leo Fenders in 1947 and would help Leo design the first affordable mass produced solid body electric guitars and basses. George worked with Leo pioneering some of the most popular guitar designs including the Telecaster, Stratocaster, Precision Bass, and Jazz Bass. George would work beside Leo until the sale of Fender Musical Instruments to CBS at the end of 1964. George stayed on with the CBS owned Fender Musical Instruments for five more years after the sale before leaving over concerns of the declining quality of the guitars being produced. In 1979, George and Leo came together once again to start G&L Guitars with the goal of creating exceptional instruments for the musicians of the world. Today, G&L still turns out phenomenal guitars and basses that are used by some of today's biggest names.
After Leo Fender passed away in 1991, G&L Guitars was passed over to the leadership of John McLaren of BBE Sound, Inc. George Fullerton remained with G&L Guitars as a permanent consultant.
In 2007, George collaborated with Fender Musical Instruments Corporation to introduce the 50th Anniversary 1957 Stratocaster® guitar.
I had the opportunity to briefly speak with George at two NAMM shows. From these meetings, I saw a man who gave all he had to the guitar players of the world while at the same time putting forth a very humble disposition. George Fullerton has been very instrumental in guitar design since before 1950, and today the world mourns the loss of a quiet legend of the industry. His well known and loved guitar and bass collaborations with Leo Fender will live on, but he will be sorely missed by all who knew him.
George Fullerton's memorial service will be held that the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove on Saturday, July 25th at 10:00am.
