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The Uglyface: World’s Nastiest Stompbox?

Post author By joe
Post date August 31, 2011
10 Comments on The Uglyface: World’s Nastiest Stompbox?

Ugface (1) — Makes you sound pretty as a picture!

When it comes to seriously messed-up guitar effects, few can rival the Uglyface. And, as they say on infomercials, “It’s not available in any stores!” In fact, as of this writing, the only way to unleash this particular brand of brutality is to build the box for yourself.

It’s based on one of dozens of great circuits created by Tim Escobedo, a stompbox genius who has shared his innovations with the world for free. His library of schematics has been dormant for years, but it’s archived here. Almost all these great-sounding designs display true originality, a rare commodity in pedaldom.

guitar Music

Stop Me If You’ve Heard This Guy Before…

Post author By joe
Post date August 30, 2011
2 Comments on Stop Me If You’ve Heard This Guy Before…

The Tielman Brothers of Surabaya, Indonesia, rockabilly capital of the third world.

UPDATE, 11.19.11: Dutch reader Rob sent my an obit announcing that Tielman died on Nov. 10 at age 75.

For the last year or so, this video has been ricocheting back and forth among my guitarist friends. It’s a 1960 clip of the Tielman Brothers, featuring guitarist Andy Tielman, an early rock-and-roller justifiably famed in has native Indonesia and in the Netherlands (Indonesia’s former colonial power), but practically unknown everywhere else. (Admit it: When you think of high-octane rockabilly, Surabaya, Indonesia, isn’t exactly the first burg that springs to mind.)

Amps Effects

Black and Brown and Trem All Over

Post author By joe
Post date August 30, 2011
16 Comments on Black and Brown and Trem All Over

Magical modulation: The brownface Tremolux

You see a lot of chatter online about the differences between the tremolo circuit Fender used in its early-’60s “brownface” amps and the trem circuit that replaced it in the mid-decade “blackface” models. (Just Google “brownface blackface tremolo” to see what I mean.) The prevailing sentiment seems to be that the brownface version is the ultimate Fender trem—or so you’d conclude, judging by all the boutique amps and pedals offering the brownface version of the effect.

DIY guitar Pickups

Can You Love a Guitar You Hate? [Part 1]

Post author By joe
Post date August 29, 2011
10 Comments on Can You Love a Guitar You Hate? [Part 1]

LesPaulHeart — Some guitars are hard to love . . .

Did you ever come across one of those magical guitars? The kind that just seems to cast everything you play in the best possible light? A guitar you never want to stop playing because it sounds so darn good?

Well, this story isn’t about that kind of guitar.

It’s about a singularly uninspiring 1981 Les Paul Custom I picked up a few years ago. Sonically and physically, the guitar delivered everything you think of when you think of your basic, post-vintage Paul, only less. So I call it the Less Paul.

DIY guitar

Cool Guitar Tool

I was <i>wondering</> where that dill pickle went!

long bonsai tweezers — Long bonsai tweezers for all those hard-to-reach places.

I found it in my local Goth gardening emporium, tucked between the carnivorous plants and taxidermy mice: a long pair of tweezers with a spatula on one end, designed for manicuring bonsai plants. Voilá—the perfect tool for fiddling around inside a hollowbody guitar. You can use it wrangle pickup wires and grounding cables, coax the cables for an internal acoustic guitar mic through the end pin hole, or just collect any stray debris that may have accumulated inside your guitar. (I don’t know about you, but I’m always finding weird stuff in there . . . )

Acoustic Bass guitar Technique

Cruel Finger Exercises [Part 1]

Post author By joe
Post date August 15, 2011
8 Comments on Cruel Finger Exercises [Part 1]

Here’s a deceptively simple finger exercise that can serve as a basic warm-up, an overall strength-builder, and, if you take it far enough, ~~the cruelest torture regimen this side of 16th-ventury Spain~~ a great way to expand both your technique and your melodic imagination.

The basic idea is simple, something appropriate for a very first guitar lesson. But as you start adding variations, it can challenge even very advanced players.

Bass players, don’t miss the fun. Everything here applies to you too— only it’s harder given your longer scale.

DIY guitar

Change Your Caps, Change the World!
(or at least your tone pot response)

Post author By joe
Post date August 14, 2011
25 Comments on Change Your Caps, Change the World!
(or at least your tone pot response)

The values matter. The <i>type</i> of capacitor does not.

Cap Collage — The capacitor value matters. But for guitar tone controls, the type of capacitor does not.

Many players know you can change the voicing of your tone pot by substituting capacitors of different values. I’ve seen many explanations online, though I’ve never come across side-by-side audio comparisons. This post is designed to fill the gap.

I’ll skip the “what’s a capacitor?” spiel. If you’re curious, check out this easy-to-understand article from Beavis Audio Research, one of the best (and funniest!) DIY sites.

For our immediate purposes, here’s all you really need to know:

Acoustic Bass Gigs guitar

Strap Lock: Free with Beer!

Post author By joe
Post date August 3, 2011
6 Comments on Strap Lock: Free with Beer!

grolsch strap lock — Your guitar won't fall down. You might.

A lot of you know this trick already, but it bears repeating:

The rubber caps on Grolsch and some other Euro craft beers are the perfect size for strap locks.

Don’t get me wrong—proper strap locks are great, but the beer-bottle variety are actually quite reliable, and a great choice if a) you have a valuable vintage guitar you don’t want to mess with, b) you’re broke, or c) you just like skunky Dutch beer.

Amps Digital guitar Recording

Think You Can Tell Amps from Models?

Post author By joe
Post date August 1, 2011
124 Comments on Think You Can Tell Amps from Models?

UPDATE, Friday Sept. 23: The contest is now closed! Read the results here. But although the prizes have been claimed, but you can still challenge you ear for fun here!

Ready for some fun, kids? [Evil clown laugh.]

Join the Amps vs. Models Contest! The winner gets a fabulous prize: Any three Seymour Duncan stompboxes. The runner-up gets to pick any two, and third-place gets one.

Just apply your ear to this simple test. I’ve recorded four boneheaded guitar phrases. Each appears twice, once through a real amp, and once through a software model of the same amp. The trick is, I’m not telling you which clips features an amp, and which ones don’t.