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Fender Pro Reverb – Ultimate Vintage Club-Gig Amp?
Fender Pro Reverb – Ultimate Vintage Club-Gig Amp?
I’m a Fender guy through and through, my first amp was a
Brown Deluxe, and my first workhorse gigging amp was a silver-face Twin Reverb;
with the JBL D130F speakers, the thing actually weighed more than I did at age
15! Since then I have played a plethora of
vintage tweed, brown, blackface, and silverface fenders. For the last decade or so, a ’67 Super Reverb
has been my gigging amp of choice. But
several months back a ’67 blackface Pro Reverb followed me home from a used
music store … and she’s giving the Super a real run for the money!
The Pro is an amp that has...
Electric Guitar Tone Capacitor (Caps) Values
Electric Guitar Tone Capacitor (Caps) Values
As any of you who have bought my pickup sets already know,
I include quality tone caps at my preferred values with all my pickup sets. Yes, they DO affect your tone. How much?
Well, here’s my list from what I consider MOST important to least.
Remember we’re talking SOLID BODY ELECTRIC GUITAR HERE!
#1: The amp (taking ALL design features into consideration)
#2: The Pickups and Speakers (tie)
#3: The guitar’s scale
#4: The guitar’s body (materials, specs & methods)
#5: The Guitar’s Neck (materials, specs & methods)
#6: The guitar’s electronics...
How Frets Affect Tone, Intonation, and Playability
How Frets Affect Tone, Intonation, and Playability
As a bit of an artistic diversion, I “make” a few guitars
every now and then, a habit I’ve had since I made my first guitar in Jr. High wood
shop at age 15. Lately, I’ve been making
Tele style guitars, since Nashville guitar slingers need top-shelf hard-core
road guitars at a working-man’s price.
There seem to be plenty of Strats in this category, but Tele’s … not so
much. The process of making vintage Tele
style guitars has really brought fret size to the forefront; as the traditional
3-saddle bridge really makes intonation difficult, which makes fret selection...
Squeaker, My Lil Buddy (apx 1997-2016)
Squeaker, My Lil Buddy (apx 1997-2016)
It’s been five years ago now that we said goodbye to my old runnin’ buddy
Rosie, and now we say goodbye to the little guy that’s shared our home for
nearly the last two decades.
We found Squeak by the side of a
little country road one Sunday morning in obvious distress. My now 24-year old daughter was but a
pre-schooler then. It turned out that Squeak
had been shot and the bullet had entered his left jaw and exited on the right
side of his throat. He was pretty
messed-up, but we paid the vet to have him put back together as best he could
be. That was the...
Alnico II (2) vs Alnico V (5) Humbucker PAF Pickup Tone
Alnico II (2) vs Alnico V (5) Humbucker PAF Pickup Tone
Howdy gang! I just received an email inquiry from a
pickup customer in the UK … asking such a fine question that I thought it would
make for good blog fodder. So, let’s get
started with the initial email, and the questions and answers to follow. Good stuff!
Hi Vaughn,
… I tried Fralin vintage hot singles found them flat, tried his pafs, too nice
and soft no grit, then I tried lollar imperials loved these in my LP but the
neck was muffled which is why I replaced it with an Alnico II pro for its
sweetness and clarity, then I tried his single coils and they didn't...
Sleeper Amp Alert: The B-52 AT-100
Sleeper Amp Alert: The B-52 AT-100
Hey gang, I had somthin’ cool pass through my shop that I thought y’all might just want to know about. An AT-100 that had had its treble and contour knobs busted off. I spent a little time under the hood replacing the two pots and then played through her for a while. I wound up with two overriding impressions: 1) that this is a well thought-out and easy to work on amp, and 2) that it sounds damn good. Given it’s VERY reasonable price, that officially qualifies it as a “sleeper amp” in my book! The construction: She IS a Chinese made PC-board amp … as are most under a...
Why Every Guitar Player Should Learn to Play the Banjo … or something else …
Why Every Guitar Player Should Learn to Play the Banjo … or something else …
Banjo, mandolin, ukulele, fiddle, dulcimer, and my favorite, the Bouzouki. Shoot,
if ya REALLY want to get in over your head, add sitar to the list. The point is:
Get outta your “normal” zone where stringed instruments are concerned;
when you do you will encounter a refreshing creativity like none other. Sure, a little experimentation with alternative
tunings can breathe a bit of freshness into your creative atmosphere … but it’s
not even close to the creative cyclone of a truly DIFFERENT instrument … one that not only has a different tuning,
but also a...
How To Adjust (Set) Pickup Height on a Humbucker for ULTIMATE TONE!
How To Adjust (Set) Pickup Height on a Humbucker for ULTIMATE TONE!
Okie dokie gang, this is kinda part three in this series which started with How
To Adjust (Set) Pickup Height on a Stratocaster for ULTIMATE STRAT TONE! And then came How
To Adjust (Set) Pickup Height on a Telecaster for ULTIMATE TELE TONE! So, what about setting the height on
humbucker equipped guitars like Les Pauls?
Well, let’s get into it!
Once again, I need to make it clear that these are my personal
recommendations. You may be going for
something totally different, and as such may want to totally disregard my
suggestions; if so, I fully understand,...
Historic 1968 Fender Telecaster Bass Restored - Anatomy of a Vintage Fender Pickup Restoration
Historic 1968 Fender Telecaster Bass Restored - Anatomy of a Vintage Fender Pickup Restoration
First a shout-out to my buddy John Scott at Bluesman Vintage here in Nashville
for helping to make this blog (along with the restoration) possible … Thanks
John! Now, let’s get into this story.
This bass is currently owned by Georgia picker Wayne Kistner who traded for
it it way back in 1971 from super-picker Les Dudek who, in addition
to his solo material, has played guitar with The Steve Miller Band, The
Dudek-Finnigan-Krueger Band, Stevie Nicks, Cher, Boz Scaggs, The Allman
Brothers and many more uber-cool cats.
So, this bass has some History with a capital...
Of Snowstorms and Gear Galore, Vaughn Skow’s Take on Winter NAMM 2016
Of Snowstorms and Gear Galore, Vaughn Skow’s Take on Winter NAMM 2016
FYI: The National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) shows are held each January in Anaheim California and July in Nashville, Tennessee; they are the biggest music gear trade shown in America … historically, most companies announce their new products at a NAMM show. As I pen this blog, I am completely snowed-in and feeling a bit “under the weather” at my home in Nashville while the NAMM convention is in full swing with a sweeeet 72-degrees temp in California. Okay, yea, I might be feeling just a teeny, weenie bit sorry for myself. But, let’s not dwell… Luckily, every...