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Has anyone played a Fender Excelsior? Don't know how I feel about the completely open back, but the rest seems pretty appealing. Especially in blue

t-rey wrote:Has anyone played a Fender Excelsior? Don't know how I feel about the completely open back, but the rest seems pretty appealing. Especially in blue

i played one not too long ago...i was looking for a smallish single channel combo for home, and i didn't really like it...i liked the demo i saw online, but in person, it just didn't do it for me. I cant tell exactly say why, but i just walked away from it feeling like i wouldn't miss out of anything by not buying it. At that wattage and price range, i think the Laney Cub12's are a much better buy.

sergiomunoz74 wrote:How is general space/where do you live/how much does practice space cost/ how much does your living space cost.

I just want to know what to look forward in space, when I'm moving with another musician. Just any general annoyance's you may have experienced having a lot of gear in NYC.

Chicago has a lot of warehouses and big living spaces especially amongst roommates so I was hoping to find something similar even if living space is generally smaller.

It is a giant city so it runs the gamut depending upon where you want to be. But I can tell you the cheapest I have seen practice spaces hovered around the $500 to $600 range and that was for a space that was a little less then 10x10 out in Brooklyn. Typically decent spaces range from $800 to over a thousand a month and some charge you electricity. The space we shared in Manhattan, where we only had two nights a week, was $1650 I think. So the guy who had the lease tried to keep the room as full as possible and so it ended up being shitty and there were five bands. Thats why we moved out.Deals do pop up every now and then but most likely you will have to share a space with another band if you want to actually have some room in your space. We just got a space in a new building that we are sharing with a singer/songwriter who may eventually hire some other guys to play his backup section. There are a lot of warehouses around but that doesn't help to keep the price down as people are getting pushed out of Manhattan and Williamsburg and further into Brooklyn. The warehouses are turned into lofts, studios and practice spaces.

Rent is completely crazy. There really is no typical rent as the renting market here shifts so quickly. Places like Williamsburg have exploded over the past few years so you can pay over $1000 for a studio where it was no where near that 10 years ago. You are coming from Chicago so you probably have an idea but with all the neighborhoods here it can be confusing and you need to figure out what you need living/job wise. But concerning the amount of space, I live out in Brooklyn in a loft apartment so we have decent space and I have an area that I use as my band/work area with a computer, monitors, soldering equipment, small amp and cab. But it is lofted above the kitchen and I can't stand up, only sit in a chair. I live with my girlfriend and we rent out two bedrooms to two girls currently. It helps lower my rent but I have to act like a mini landlord. My other guitarist lives in Manhattan but his place is tiny and he doesn't have room for anything so all his extra gear is in the practice space. My bassist has a place in Queens that has decent space. I don't really know much about the Bronx or Staten Island though. Your best bet is to probably find a space in Brooklyn and find another band to share a practice space.

t-rey wrote:Has anyone played a Fender Excelsior? Don't know how I feel about the completely open back, but the rest seems pretty appealing. Especially in blue

Yet to play one but I hear that Excelsior is super bright which surprised me considering it's loaded with a 15" speaker. Also, I can't deal with only volume and Trem controls. I like simplicity and all but that's too stripped down. The open back thing is a turnoff too.

Besides, you should just save up awhile longer and get an OR15 if your looking for another low wattage amp.

That said, still found myself gazing at that blue one on PGS's website late last night haha!

dazedbyday wrote:

sergiomunoz74 wrote:How is general space/where do you live/how much does practice space cost/ how much does your living space cost.

I just want to know what to look forward in space, when I'm moving with another musician. Just any general annoyance's you may have experienced having a lot of gear in NYC.

Chicago has a lot of warehouses and big living spaces especially amongst roommates so I was hoping to find something similar even if living space is generally smaller.

It is a giant city so it runs the gamut depending upon where you want to be. But I can tell you the cheapest I have seen practice spaces hovered around the $500 to $600 range and that was for a space that was a little less then 10x10 out in Brooklyn. Typically decent spaces range from $800 to over a thousand a month and some charge you electricity. The space we shared in Manhattan, where we only had two nights a week, was $1650 I think. So the guy who had the lease tried to keep the room as full as possible and so it ended up being shitty and there were five bands. Thats why we moved out.Deals do pop up every now and then but most likely you will have to share a space with another band if you want to actually have some room in your space. We just got a space in a new building that we are sharing with a singer/songwriter who may eventually hire some other guys to play his backup section. There are a lot of warehouses around but that doesn't help to keep the price down as people are getting pushed out of Manhattan and Williamsburg and further into Brooklyn. The warehouses are turned into lofts, studios and practice spaces.

Rent is completely crazy. There really is no typical rent as the renting market here shifts so quickly. Places like Williamsburg have exploded over the past few years so you can pay over $1000 for a studio where it was no where near that 10 years ago. You are coming from Chicago so you probably have an idea but with all the neighborhoods here it can be confusing and you need to figure out what you need living/job wise. But concerning the amount of space, I live out in Brooklyn in a loft apartment so we have decent space and I have an area that I use as my band/work area with a computer, monitors, soldering equipment, small amp and cab. But it is lofted above the kitchen and I can't stand up, only sit in a chair. I live with my girlfriend and we rent out two bedrooms to two girls currently. It helps lower my rent but I have to act like a mini landlord. My other guitarist lives in Manhattan but his place is tiny and he doesn't have room for anything so all his extra gear is in the practice space. My bassist has a place in Queens that has decent space. I don't really know much about the Bronx or Staten Island though. Your best bet is to probably find a space in Brooklyn and find another band to share a practice space.

Thanks so much this is actually more than helpful in my quest to move to the east coast. I'm gonna spend the summer and some other portions of time looking for apartments and places. I'm going to be moving in with my other musician friend and hopefully find a large enough space to possibly lower rent as much as possible. Here in Chicago we have rent that can be lower or much Higher depending on the area so I don't think it will come as much shock to me the rates depending on the area.

I honestly was hoping to have a space I could play in while I look for a band as I'm not just gonna spring for the space if I have no band to play with. I'll be likely working in restaurants and from my times in NYC they seem like they are in abundance so finding a place of work near my living space possibly won't be too hard. Either way, I never know till I try so thanks for all the information. Definitely gotta take this all in haha

sergiomunoz74 wrote:Thanks so much this is actually more than helpful in my quest to move to the east coast. I'm gonna spend the summer and some other portions of time looking for apartments and places. I'm going to be moving in with my other musician friend and hopefully find a large enough space to possibly lower rent as much as possible. Here in Chicago we have rent that can be lower or much Higher depending on the area so I don't think it will come as much shock to me the rates depending on the area.

I honestly was hoping to have a space I could play in while I look for a band as I'm not just gonna spring for the space if I have no band to play with. I'll be likely working in restaurants and from my times in NYC they seem like they are in abundance so finding a place of work near my living space possibly won't be too hard. Either way, I never know till I try so thanks for all the information. Definitely gotta take this all in haha

There are a lot of places that rent by the hour and have gear in there. So instead of springing for a full space that is an option for you. Some places actually have crazy gear. There is a place in manhattan called Ultrasound that has diezel amps, bogners, confords, vhts. You just need to bring your guitar and pedals.

To add on another thing about looking for apartments. Some people use brokers but you have to pay them a few and sometimes they will rip you off because their fee depends upon rent. They may know the landlord and have them jack up rent. I stuck to craigslist to find my place and know plenty of people that do so. But you really have to wait to within a month of moving to start looking otherwise a lot of places won't show to you because they see it as a waste of time and will rent to someone else who can move in quicker. It can be real nerve racking being so close to the end of your current lease and not have another place lined up but thats how things go around here.

samzadgan wrote:

Droneforbreakfast wrote:This dude is a drummer.

You bring a 160w Acoustic 230 SS head and a not very efficient Laney 4x12 to rehearse with a guy and he says it's far too loud and that the dirt tone is reverberated and fuzzy...... it's drone music, you doucheface, what were you expecting me to be doing, playing a fucking banjo? I only have fuzz pedals in my board and my reverb is always on. Fuck you, yeah? I told him i liked volume beforehand. He should have taken shit seriously. And i was using about 15-20% of the volume i'd actually use if he wasn't a total vagina.

We start playing, he complaints about everything, telling me how my shit should sound like, doesn't like the tuning, and after 5-10 minutes of playing and it sounding like shit he starts lecturing me about tempos and shit. You can't even play a decent, powerful, drum part, and you're worried about shit not being musically perfect in the first 5 minutes? We have a fucking genius over here.................... I hate everything...........



/rant.

Why are drummers like this? I went through 5 drummers before we got someone who actually got it. One guy was a complete twat...he was a mercenary...basically he was in 3 other bands ranging from country to rock; he came along to rehearse with us and the first he says when i play one of the riffs is..."there one note too many in that riff"...so i said, "no there isnt, but this riff is not in standard 4/4...you need to change it up a bit or play 4/4 and it will come around to being on time". But he started complaining that you cant do song like that and that it wont catchy etc etc...after 30 mins we wrapped it up and he said..."i need to play songs in 4/4 because i play in a few bands and cant dedicate myself to anything complicated"!...i was really lost for words...what do you say to that?!?

Fuckin drummers...but if you persevere you might get a good one and those ones are worth their weight in gold!

I should have stuck being a drummer. I probably could have found a band by now. Although I was bit too ahead of myself for my own good, I had a lot of character and open-mindedness. I was available to playing any style of drumming. I'd of course throw my own slant on it, but I wasn't so cocky or so ignorant that I'd only sit within one style and never branch out.

dazedbyday wrote:Don't worry you did right. I though it was common courtesy to not talk in movie theaters, especially when you are near to other people. I mean if the place is empty and it is just you and your friends at 3 in the afternoon then feel free to do your own Mystery Science Theater but not in normal circumstances. This is also one of the reasons that I am excited that the Alamo draft house has announced plans to to build some theaters in my area. They have a very strict policy aout talking and cell phones where they will kick you out. And they also just happen to serve beer.

I've dreamed of cinemas like that.

I absolutely adore going to the pictures. It's one of my favourite things to do, and I just hate others ruining it for me. It's really expensive in Ireland as well.

conky wrote:Thanks man. I like it a lot better too. I was originally gonna get them like this but right before I put in my order I saw that Al's cabs were the same way so I switched it to the black and silver. I like that combo, but I just can't stand looking at the fucked up job that they did on it. I mean, its like they don't have a set way to do it and just slapped it on there blindfolded or something. I did notice that the grill cloth on the farst cabs I ordered was put on really neat and the one I just replaced had stapled bunched up in one area and a few in other places. Definitely not as neat as the ones I got a few years ago.

I obviously can't say for sure, but it sounds like Emperor became too big for their britches and started cutting corners in order to keep up with the demand. It happens so often in the pedal business, though not so much in the amp/cabinet or guitar building side of things.

Ancient Astronaught wrote:Yeah I'm not sure what's up with Emperor, sometimes their cabs are on point, other times it seems they partied too much the night before. Looking inside my cabs you can see some rough cuts and stuff on interior bracing, wonky screws, etc. But they sure as hell are solid and sound good, so i'm not complaining too much. When you took yours apart was the grill cloth stapled to the exterior cab shell with the baffle placed behind it or was it stapled to the outer edges of the baffle? I'm pondering redoing the grill cloth on my 2x15... When i swapped the speakers I didn't notice that the bracket ring ont he speakers was shallower and when i put everything back together and turned it around the bolts were poking through the grill cloth and I had no more time before our show It's all ready in rough shape so I might not worry about the grill cloth and just get shorter bolts and go back in there and swap em out.

Again, I could be wrong here, but how hard can it be to make a cabinet road-worthy? Ian, Phil, or TJ can correct me here, or anyone that's built a cabinet, but as long as you're a solid woodworker and use thick wood, you're going to have a durable cabinet. Not to put your comment or your cabinets down, but I've never heard of a cabinet falling apart, ever. The speakers need reconing/replacing, the solder joints can become cold after twenty years, and the tolex peals off, but the structure remains the same as when you bought it. I know I'm just pissed off with Emperor for fucking with their customers, so I know I can be questioned when I say this, but I don't want them to given credit for something that anyone with a few months experience and a collection of thick wood can do.

Also, bear in mind that I'm sick as a dog and in a foul mood, so forgive me if I'm out of line.

dazedbyday wrote:

sergiomunoz74 wrote:Thanks so much this is actually more than helpful in my quest to move to the east coast. I'm gonna spend the summer and some other portions of time looking for apartments and places. I'm going to be moving in with my other musician friend and hopefully find a large enough space to possibly lower rent as much as possible. Here in Chicago we have rent that can be lower or much Higher depending on the area so I don't think it will come as much shock to me the rates depending on the area.

I honestly was hoping to have a space I could play in while I look for a band as I'm not just gonna spring for the space if I have no band to play with. I'll be likely working in restaurants and from my times in NYC they seem like they are in abundance so finding a place of work near my living space possibly won't be too hard. Either way, I never know till I try so thanks for all the information. Definitely gotta take this all in haha

There are a lot of places that rent by the hour and have gear in there. So instead of springing for a full space that is an option for you. Some places actually have crazy gear. There is a place in manhattan called Ultrasound that has diezel amps, bogners, confords, vhts. You just need to bring your guitar and pedals.

To add on another thing about looking for apartments. Some people use brokers but you have to pay them a few and sometimes they will rip you off because their fee depends upon rent. They may know the landlord and have them jack up rent. I stuck to craigslist to find my place and know plenty of people that do so. But you really have to wait to within a month of moving to start looking otherwise a lot of places won't show to you because they see it as a waste of time and will rent to someone else who can move in quicker. It can be real nerve racking being so close to the end of your current lease and not have another place lined up but thats how things go around here.

Well I'm glad they have hourly like they do have here. In the event that my living space is extremely small, I'll probably sell my cab and just keep my head and possibly buy a small amp or just do something with computers. I just was wondering since I would hate to get rid of my guitar gear due to lack of space. I'll probably try my hardest to find a place that is large enough for me though. How much crap do you have in your apartments?

I heard about the scamming and tricky deals by brokers so I was hoping to find a craigslist place a month in advance or so and just check it out to make sure it isn't falling apartment and then see what I can find. I will be able to move in quickly but possibly not as quick as they want since I will be moving quite a distance. I'm definitely going to have to work hard to make this work, but if you can make it work, I'm sure it's possible.

I'll only be in NYC for 2 years anyway.

Oh and to Angry Goldfish. The emperor cabs look amazing but I sometimes have a disdain for supporting shit with bad customer service. Chicago players love the cabs but honestly, I don't even think they are that amazing sounding. They sound good, but I also think the 4x12 I've tried by sunn sound just as good. Around here it's seen as super cool to have them. I'm just not sure if I care about supporting them enough for me to pay the 875 for the 4x12's. Although picking them up is pretty convenient from here.

t-rey wrote:Is it any brighter than the Pharaoh? I love my Pharaoh, but sometimes it sounds a tad dark/muffled on it's own. Keep in mind I don't and can't play at high volumes, so I'm not sure how much of this is purely a volume issue.

The lower the gain is on the Pharaoh, as you probably already know, the more muffled it becomes. I usually run my Pharaoh and Badascan with the two tone knobs at the full clockwise position, the high mode selected, push the gain up to around 12 o'clock, and then either crank the volume or set it at unity (to note: I've found the Badascan to be a little quieter and have less headroom than the Pharaoh). That derides the best balance between thick low-mids saturation and high-end clarity. In general, though, non of the Black Arts pedals I've played/owned sound bright. The Revelation is pretty dark as well. It's great with my new Telecaster. And yes, I would only play them at high volume levels on my amp. It helps clear things up.

As far as difference between the Pharaoh and the Badascan, the Badascan is doomier, chunkier and chewier. The Pharaoh is more akin to an overdrive pedal, while the Badascan is truly a beast.

Droneforbreakfast wrote:EU guys, here's some shameless spam.......... i really want to leave the country and am unloading everything i possibly can to raise some money. Prices include shipping on most stuff:

http://guitarradas.forum0.net/t13068-da ... ps-colunas

Good luck with the sale and move, Marlon. Whereabouts did you decide on moving to?

CaptainBoxman wrote:ARC Effects Big Green Pi arrived this morning.

Wow.

I fuckin' love this thing. SHIT.

LP > Muff > 120 watt Orange = Wata

Awesome. Glad you like it. I'm being extremely strict with my spending, as my Dunwich will begin building in probably two months, so I won't be able to pick one of them up until Summer.

Ancient Astronaught wrote:

new05002 wrote:masterful photoshop skills i would say

Definitely!!!! I tried to get Andrea to take a photo of me lying on the bed Burt Reynolds style, but she absolutely refused hahahahahaha something about payback for putting the Burt Reynolds pic as the back ground of her computer w/o her knowing, then her opening it up in the middle of class in front of a few classmates.....

You wouldn't do that, would you? You would!? Oh, you little bastard!

dazedbyday wrote:

pelliott wrote:I really, really loved the history of the studio. Everyone seemed so genuine while gushing about the experience, obviously Dave Grohl in particular. He's such a fanboy, and it's so great.

I always like seeing the behind the scenes stuff with studio work. It gets me really excited for my future work. But I also like to see how things are done/made and all the little quirks that people put into their work. As I said in my other post though I felt the movie was more about how recording in general is shifting away from studios like that to digital studios at home and how that is taking something away from the music. It is now less about skilled musicians working together to create a piece of inspired art then someone using samples to cobble something together by themselves. But I feel the opposite can happen too now that the technology has shifted to allow more people access to tools they can use to create. It can allow for more artists to bloom so to speak. The biggest problem with that though is quality can suffer and that is why people are happy with the quality of mp3 that don't sound good in comparison to better media formats.

It's the same with the 90's record industry versus the 21st Century record industry. Although the Internet has allowed fellow music fans and musicians to publish their music to the world when previously it was almost impossible, it has forced people to become complacent and demand music at any time they feel they want it. They have become careless regarding the quality, and they stopped protecting their heroes' rights to perform and earn a substantial living.

HA! 20 pages since I last looked. Guess what. I'm going to read them all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

kbithecrowing wrote:I figured this would be the best place to ask about muffs (twss, get out of here Chankgeez).

I think the only muff-based pedal I've known very well has been the Eau Claire Thunder (had a Hoof and Pharaoh briefly, but didn't gel with 'em). Would y'all say the Eau Claire can be less scooped than most muffs?

I've never played an Eau Claire, but if you want less scooped mids then there is no better than the Pharaoh. You said you didn't like it, though, so I'll suggest trying something like a Skreddy Cog Diss III. They're expensive but sound excellent. You could also look at the Stomp Under Foot range, or the Wren and Cuff catalogue. See which one sounds about right for you, check out demos, all that jazz. The best non-Muff sounding Big Muff, apart from the Pharaoh, is the Earthbound Audio Supercollider. It doesn't really sound that much like a Muff; it's more like a fuzzed-out distortion.

Holy Schnikes wrote:So these two arrived and WOW is all I can say! The Destroyer does just that, fucking brings the volume and rage! The custom Badascan is possibly the greatest BAT pedal I've ever played. The basic premise is LSTR gain paired with Pharaoh tone stack (as you bros know) but Mark did it up special this time.

First, he replaced the hi/lo toggle with an input gain pot so you can dial it in exactly how you please. This feature is fantastic cuz you can soften things up a bit, not running all out full gain constantly. It allows you to cop Pharaoh tones and LSTR tones with precision along with anything in between. I like to run gain almost full bore but backing it off a touch really opens things up, sounds killer. It also helps dial in the low gain goodness with ease.

Also added an 8 position rotary FAC control which is always welcome. Drastically changes character of the pedal and allows me to switch guitars/amps and keep tones setting relatively similar, just dial FAC to bring or remove more lows.

Lastly and unexpectedly, he threw a scoop toggle on it too, basically puts it into the LSTR tone territory. When you scoop it, the whole tone stack is altered, more standard muff tone territory but with gigantic BAT thickness. That little toggle turns it into a true dual pedal as opposed to the Pharaoh and LSTR simply sharing characteristics with one another.

Oh, it utilizes silicon-no diodes-LED on the 3-way toggle as well, a departure from the germ setting on a Pharaoh (again, as many of you already know). The LED is excellent, nasty and old school and punchy. I love the input gain control esp on this setting.

That sounds fantastic, especially the input gain on a pot.

samzadgan wrote:

Holy Schnikes wrote:^ Nice! Details on the circuit??

The Wood Wizard wrote:Broke my phone. lost all my contacts. Including about a dozen ladies who were ready to roll, from hot yougginz to MILFs. I was devastated.

This is fucking tragic! You will rebuild that contact list, just be patient.

its based on the colorsound overdriver, just with more gain.

on its own, with the level up and bass and gain dimed, it should give me a nice full fuzz with a vintage character...then with a little help from an OD it should get really dirty. But at the end of the day this will be a nice smooth sounding fuzz or OD and should work great at high volume. I'm also talking to the guy about a heavier muff pedal with thicker bass and mid boost...but i will see how this one has turned out first.

I've tried a few Colorsound overdrive pedals, and although I like them, I never kept them. I loved the idea of them and how they sounded on recordings, but they just didn't gel with me when I was playing one. Congrats, mate!

I found a Marshall JCM800 Bass Series for €550. I've offered my modified Jet City as a partial trade. I don't have that much cash to spare, but if he takes the trade, I might catch a bus up to where he lives and give that thing a whirl. The price is definitely right, and it's apparently been serviced.

http://www.adverts.ie/guitar-amps/marsh ... ss/1586711

So guiz, I think I finally found the cheap doom guitar of my needs. Epiphone 1958 korina explorer reissue from the late 90's/early 00's. The shape I want, cheap price, comes with a hardcase, and I can't see it sounding bad with some small work here and there.

AngryGoldfish wrote:I found a Marshall JCM800 Bass Series for €550. I've offered my modified Jet City as a partial trade. I don't have that much cash to spare, but if he takes the trade, I might catch a bus up to where he lives and give that thing a whirl. The price is definitely right, and it's apparently been serviced.

http://www.adverts.ie/guitar-amps/marsh ... ss/1586711

That sounds like a really good deal...definitely hit that!

AngryGoldfish wrote:

t-rey wrote:Is it any brighter than the Pharaoh? I love my Pharaoh, but sometimes it sounds a tad dark/muffled on it's own. Keep in mind I don't and can't play at high volumes, so I'm not sure how much of this is purely a volume issue.

The lower the gain is on the Pharaoh, as you probably already know, the more muffled it becomes. I usually run my Pharaoh and Badascan with the two tone knobs at the full clockwise position, the high mode selected, push the gain up to around 12 o'clock, and then either crank the volume or set it at unity (to note: I've found the Badascan to be a little quieter and have less headroom than the Pharaoh). That derides the best balance between thick low-mids saturation and high-end clarity. In general, though, non of the Black Arts pedals I've played/owned sound bright. The Revelation is pretty dark as well. It's great with my new Telecaster. And yes, I would only play them at high volume levels on my amp. It helps clear things up.

As far as difference between the Pharaoh and the Badascan, the Badascan is doomier, chunkier and chewier. The Pharaoh is more akin to an overdrive pedal, while the Badascan is truly a beast.

So this is dilemma i'm having...do i get a pharaoh, LSTR or the Sarcophagus...or now that i've been reading about the Badascan, i'm considering that (although it doesn't seem like Mark makes production model, so would have to be a special order i guess.

My issue is that, the majority of use will be at home, besides the rehearsals sessions (once every couple of weeks) and gigs (once a month if we have time), so low volume usage will be very important to me as well as the pedal being friendly to Wah's and OD's; which i think all these 3 are anyway.

So based on that, should i discount the Pharaoh all together?

AngryGoldfish wrote:I've tried a few Colorsound overdrive pedals, and although I like them, I never kept them. I loved the idea of them and how they sounded on recordings, but they just didn't gel with me when I was playing one. Congrats, mate!

to be honest, i havent played one, and i have only listened to online reviews, so took a bit of a "leap of faith" on this one. But if its anything like the reviews i've heard i will be happy with it.

sergiomunoz74 wrote:So guiz, I think I finally found the cheap doom guitar of my needs. Epiphone 1958 korina explorer reissue from the late 90's/early 00's. The shape I want, cheap price, comes with a hardcase, and I can't see it sounding bad with some small work here and there.

YES!...i played and almost bought one a few years ago.it had SD JB/59 pickups, and was from 2001, this thing sounded and felt great to play...way better than the price tag would suggest.