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’Tis the Season
Editor’s Note: Around Halloween, we asked you to send us your spookiest guitar-related images, from your
favorite ghoulish instruments to your best gig costume. Here is one of the gems we received.
Here’s a handcarved guitar by
McMahon Artistry. This was
done with one chip-carving knife
and one scale at a time. The
rattlesnake head on the headstock
was made with three pieces of
wood and finished with some
taxidermy eyes—and Floyd Rose’s
Vintage Copper, of course.
—Scott McMahon, New Jersey
DIY Affects
I’ve been building my own
effects for years, and have
done a few onboard circuits,
too. You covered all the bases
for a simple on/off circuit
[“DIY: How to Install Onboard
Effects,” December 2014]. I’d
like to add just two suggestions:
1) Always wrap your circuit
board in a thin foam sheet.
This prevents those shorts you
warned of. 2) Do the same with
the battery. One of the circuits I
built used a mini DPDT switch
for activation, and two push/
pulls for controlling drive and
level. It was a Tube Screamertype circuit. I always like the
tone at the same setting, so I
eliminated that pot. Be creative,
folks—this is fun stuff!
—Rob Tipton, via premierguitar.com
me was the ability to easily
try different transistors and
clipping diode configurations
while running the circuit in
its place in my rig (interacting
with my other pedals) and
using my favored volume/tone
settings on my main guitar. Joe
recommends taking plenty of
time to swap parts, and I took
that advice to heart, trying
diodes mentioned on the web
as well as those recommended
by Joe. The result, frankly,
shocked me—not literally!—
with its responsiveness and
tone. Taking the time to swap
components and tune the circuit
for my rig took it from excellent
to just amazingly spot-on. I
enthusiastically recommend
this build to those interested.
Thanks! More, please!
—Patrick Collins, Carpinteria, CA
I’m a longtime reader of PG—by
far the most detailed, interesting,
and useful guitar publication out
there. Thanks for all the great
value-added web services, too—
from Rig Rundowns to contests.
Joe Gore’s DIY stompbox
article [“Build Your Own
Stompbox!” October 2014]
was great. The huge payoff for
12 PREMIER GUITAR JANUARY 2015
All Around
Absolutely outstanding issue
[November 2014]. Curtis
Mayfield was my introduction
to funk, and he led me down a
path of discovery. As you rightly
point out, he’s highly underrated
for his musical originality and
influence. Anytime a young
person starts on about R&B,
funk, or soul, I point them in
Curtis’ direction. And Music
Maker Relief Foundation paying
respect to the people who played
(and still play) the foundation
of our music today—it’s
shocking how some were living
in such abject poverty. A very
worthwhile endeavor. Kenny
Wayne Shepherd’s project 10
Days Out is worth checking out.
You’ll get a glimpse at what was
out there in such a rich music
history that is largely forgotten.
And thank you for the lesson in
print. I have a foot more firmly
in the hard-copy world than the
digital world, so I very much
appreciate it.
—Brian Scott, via premierguitar.com
Whoops!
In our December 2014 “Gear
Radar,” we mistakenly said the
new Mesa/Boogie Mark Five: 25
runs on 6L6 tubes. It uses EL84s.
Sorry for the error, guys!
Keep those
comments coming!
Please send your suggestions,
gripes, comments, and good words
directly to [email protected].
Socialize
with Us!
Enough already on the
pedals. Pedals are like
profanity: Used sparingly,
they complement your
work. Used excessively,
they are a crutch, as
you’ve yet to discover your
own tone and master the
instrument. Anybody
can pump a pedal or
spit out profanity, but it
takes a master to craft
tone or words to produce
something tasteful and
expressive. #BluntButTrue
—Ken Gilbreath Jr
The most important thing
I’ve learned as a progressive,
improvisational guitarist is
that when ending a phrase
on a dissonant note, you’re
only one fret (above or
below) or a bend from it
being “right.” A