I've purchased benecol's Vibro Champ. The trem was just too lovely not to. I'll take some pics of it with other stuff in daylight, but here are a couple of it for now.
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Mustang next to the 'tower of power'
For Donk
My Wooly Mammoth clone which embarrasingly broke while I was showing Benecol.
Keeping it simple in black and silver modes.
The Champ
The current ensemble. The Stallion is benecol's, he's let me have a lend of it (that's poor English isn't it? I think it's an Irish expression) because it works well with the champ.
I feel like I shouldn't have this much gear. I can't even do that thing where you barre a couple of strings and leave a higher string open (say play the 2nd fret on the A, D and G strings but leave the B and high E open, and use one finger for it so you can do other notes with the other fingers) let alone bust out face melting solos. Still, I'd much rather turn into the type of reclusive old man that sits strumming basic chords and letting them ring out with a softly vibrating tremolo before taking a sip of one of bordeaux's finest reds and then strumming a few more chords than one who scares the local children and has sparrows living in his hair.
What you see in the pictures is approaching everything I own. There are obviously some cables (hurrah for quality cables!) and small things (I need a new capo actually), as well as the rob og custom that will take the role of cheif git-box. Still, considering this time last year I had next to nothing, it's not a bad haul.
Very glad it's gone to a good home, and staying in the shortscale family: after years of fannying around buying different guitars and pedals, it's only really been the last 12 months I've thought about what amp I'm actually using. Loved the TT and the vibrochamp, but have always had a secret hankering for a Matamp. So, with the money from this, Prog's old Dano and my BudWah (if I can be arsed to pay TGP to let me sell it there), I'm going to comission Matamp to build me a Minimat combo. Possibly in white with a pink LED.
I felt a bit like I might have been helping him make a decision he would later regret, but hearing him talk about the Matamp I think he's happy with the decision.
The Mammoth has one loose pot or something. I think perhaps the board is touching it too. I'm not sure entirely but I'll open it up and it'll be a simple fix I'm sure. It's a physical problem rather than an electrical one so that's good.
As for the noisebox - I sometimes get sounds of it that sound exactly how I want my dirt to sound. A growly low fuzz that is sort of a more saturated dwarfcraft thing. Combined with the mammoth it can be fierce. Next time I turn it on it will be completely different though, so I need to either learn how to get what I want out of it or move on from it. It's very touchy.
Mike has recorded a demo of it. I haven't seen it though, I don't think it's been uploaded yet. It's a great pedal. I spent ages watching trem pedal videos and convinced myself that it was far and away the best out there. Then I played the vibrochamp and my initial reaction was "that's better than the semaphore" but someof that was down to the amp itself rather than just the trem (I first heard the trem a few seconds after turning on the amp). The amp basically does trem on par with the semaphore, but with a much more limited range. I was playing with both on conflicting settings earlier and nearly made myself feel sick. It was fantastic.
I still think it's the best pedal for trem. But the amp matches it in the settings where they overlap.
Yeah I know what you mean about the Noise Box. What I want is this dark saturated sound that has a movement in the frequencies that I find hard to describe. The kind of sound that is just an immense of controlled noise when played loud. I can just about get that from it. Or close to the sound in my head but its hard to keep it there.
benecol wrote:Very glad it's gone to a good home, and staying in the shortscale family: after years of fannying around buying different guitars and pedals, it's only really been the last 12 months I've thought about what amp I'm actually using. Loved the TT and the vibrochamp, but have always had a secret hankering for a Matamp. So, with the money from this, Prog's old Dano and my BudWah (if I can be arsed to pay TGP to let me sell it there), I'm going to comission Matamp to build me a Minimat combo. Possibly in white with a pink LED.
And I want James's Bassman.
I can't wait to see the Matamp pics. White with pink LED makes me want to sell the vibrochamp and buy one, too.
If you're ever over this way again we'll have to give the Bassman a proper go. Or if I manage to get a licence and car by the time of Doogfest III I'll take it there again. It's currently way more than I need but it's so bloody lovely.
Sexytimes indeed, James. Would love a punt on one of those lil' Fenders, have yet to try one myself.
I'm thinking about some gear readjustments myself:
-Selling off the BF Contemporary Tele to interested party Mike G from my current music project in Lahndan (don't use it, need cash)
-Putting one of those angled singlecoil mounting rings and new Stratty pup in my Jazzmaster for the twang I'd really like out it
-Getting/making a 1x12 cab smaller than my 2x12 that'll still fit the Marshall head or possibly move to a combo
Last edited by Doog on Tue Dec 30, 2008 12:44 am, edited 1 time in total.
Cheers Doog. If I have the means I will consider brining it to whenever people meet up next. It's nothing surprising but it's certainly worth a go on.
I'm fairly close to having gear I'm happy with. I imagine I'm always going to want new pedals, but I'm not too far off having ones that do what I want to do with them. I'm considering going for a triple true bypass box, and wiring it up to have..
Main dirt tone pedals (mammoth, noisebox, maybe some more)
Main clean tone pedals (a delay, OCD for milder rock tones, Salt boost for pushing the OCD, perhaps a reverb I dont have yet)
End of chain stuff to be shared (delay, trem)
Buying that many jacks and switches adds up a fair bit, and it will be a very tight squeeze in a small box so I might have to find a long thin enclosure to do it in. That or go for a double rather than triple and leave out the end of chain stuff. I'm fairly undecided on all that still, I've only just recently started thinking about it.
Other than that I just need to finish tarting up the Mustang and everything's pretty much sorted.
This reminds me ... I'm having such a Champ in repair for a whole year (or in two weeks it has been a year). The power transformer has died. The Amp doctor is researching for a 2nd hand replacement part. I want it back, it's such a fine amp, even though it has no reverb.
Need to call that guy if my amp is still there.
Obi Wan says: The Jundland Wastes are not to be traveled lightly.
strat-talk says: Shortscale is a crazy place. There seems to be no rules at all and they're all insane!
