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  #61  
Old 02-11-2009, 10:14 PM
kramster kramster is offline
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Gee wizz this is fun. Thanks again Tony.... you helped me alot in my own quest, as did many on here... I'll know more when my ears clear up a bit. Mean while I love playing the Cargo and 5i unplugged... switching back and forth...I do wave hello once in awhile to my "woods" and tap lightly on various closet doors where a few more hibernate.
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  #62  
Old 02-12-2009, 07:54 AM
tbeltrans tbeltrans is offline
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patrickgm60 and kramster:

this is a case once agian of people helping people. I think the situation that really got me rethinking my musical situation was that, for the past three years (how time files!!) I have been sort of mentoring a long time friend of mine as he learns to play guitar. Rather than "teaching" I am available to talk through issues and decision regarding what to learn, what gear to get, and the process of finding the "right" guitar. For him, the right guitar is a Tele, and his amp is a Doctor Z tube amp. We are into very different styles of music. He HATES jazz, but does seem to like my fingerstyle stuff. I have never really been into rock (other than that I am culturally acclimated since I grew up with it and have memories associated with certain eras of it), but I can appreciate good music of any type. I have played rock to some extent in bands because that is simply what people do. But there has been a lot of give and take in that relationship and I have learned at least as much as he has, because he tends to question everything, forcing me to look at myslef and what I am doing.

The biggest problem I have had is what to do on my own since I have not been in a band in a few years now. being in a band really provides you with a sense of direction because you are doing what the band does. but on your own, everything is up for grabs and it is all too easy to flounder. Having too many choices and musical interests can be as debilitating as not having enough choices. It can be like asking a centipede which leg goes first.

But I have worked through that and am really musically commited to one primary direction, while still being able to dabble from time to time in some of the other thigns that interest me. My problem (and maybe others here have this to some degree too...) is that unless I focus on something, I tend to not make any progress and eventually become frustrated. When I am focused, I am moving forward and getting somewhere, and that provided momentum to continue along that path.

In these forums, especially with threads like this, I have worked through my gear decisions and have reached a conclusion and setupp that matches well with my chosen musical directions. Making decisions eliminates a whole lot of internal thrashing and, in the long run, can save a lot of money because it is easier to say "no" to the "next big thing" when you have a solid direction and therefore context against which to weigh it. What I have been discussing and doing here is the last of a couple of years of self-examination and decision making. It is very fortunate that both the Cargo and the AAD cub showed up when they did because both are a perfect match for my personal musical needs. Being able to discuss some of this really helps to make it clear in my own mind. I believe we really know inside our "gut" when everything finally clicks. Until that happens, GAS is the order of the day. After that, it is all about making music.

Tony
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  #63  
Old 02-14-2009, 02:56 AM
Sage97 Sage97 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tbeltrans View Post
........ forums mention the Electro-Harmonix KnockOut pedal. As nice as the sound was with the Boss pedal, the KnockOut pedal was even better, and that is the setup I have settled on.

Tony
Tony,

Is the Knockout pedal for more EQ tweaking?
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  #64  
Old 02-14-2009, 08:38 AM
tbeltrans tbeltrans is offline
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Sage97:

On their web site, Electro-Harmonic talks about how you can make a Tele sound like a Les Paul or a Les Paul sound like a Tele. The intent does seem to be "EQ tweaking". This device is focused on the midrange of the guitar - where the greatest tonal differences can be made and where acoustics seem to have the most difficulty being amplified because they can be overly mid-rangey. Electro-Harmonic does not say anything about acoustics at all. I think their market seems to be rockers pretty much. But I read somewhere a post from a guy who mentioned having found his perfect acoustic tone, and this pedal seemed to be a big part of it, so I decided to get one and try it. I think the post was in one of these forums here. Anyway, I tried and really think it is excellent for taming acoustic guitars (not for eliminating feedback like a notch filter, but smoothing out the overall sound and making it more natural).

From what I understand, this pedal was originally released around 2000, but I guess it didn't sell very well, so it was rereleased within the past few years. but nobody really seems to know about it and what it can do. I wonder if the company will continue to market it if it doesn't do very well. I ordered mine through GC. They stock the pedals that sell well, and they knew nothing about this pedal, so that is rather telling to me. Some of those sales guys are on top of pedals and what they do, and none had even heard of this one.

Tony
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  #65  
Old 02-14-2009, 08:54 AM
wgnorman wgnorman is offline
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My Goodall sounds sweet with the Pure Western Mini using a PreSonus TubePre Microphone Preamp into a Crate Gunnison - PWM definitely sounds better when preamped, IMHO - I may get the K&K XLR Preamp, but actually, the TubePre does a nice job with it so I'll probably save the $$ for another guitar...
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  #66  
Old 02-14-2009, 09:29 AM
tbeltrans tbeltrans is offline
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Grant:

The main thing I noticed with the K & K preamp and the PWM pickup system is that the highs really opened up compared to use with the Carl Martin parametric EQ/preamp, or used by itself with no preamp or with a 1 Meg ohm resistor across the pickup output and no preamp. Whether the K & K preamp would sound better in your system, I really don't know. It is all experimentation to determine what sound you find most pleasing to you. The K & K is small and inexpensive, so having one around just in case is not too much of a drain on one's wallet. These things sell for $159 new. Some people think that the fact that a particular preamp was made to work with a particular pickup system (as is the stated case for the K & K, where they really seem to consider the PWM and their preamp a complete system) is overstating the case a bit, and others just accept that, to eliminate having to hassle with the sound to figure out why it doesn't sound as good as one would believe it should, having the complete recommended system makes sense. It really just comes down to whether you are satisfied with the sound you are getting, whatever equipment you choose to use.

Tony
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  #67  
Old 02-14-2009, 09:44 AM
Sage97 Sage97 is offline
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Tony,

Thanks for sharing.

I have a K&K PWM in my Kronbauer that goes into a Baggs PADI into my AER 60. I do not play music for a living and rarely plug in my acoustics so this set up is good enough when I jam with friends for fun.

There is a cheap Knockout on ebay and I will try and see what it does for my set up.

One of these days, I may decide to step up in preamps and try one of those highly acclaimed DTARs and SPSs - maybe I can sound fantastic in my living room and pay folks to listen to me.

Thanks again.
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  #68  
Old 02-14-2009, 09:44 AM
wgnorman wgnorman is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tbeltrans View Post
Grant:
It really just comes down to whether you are satisfied with the sound you are getting, whatever equipment you choose to use.

Tony
That is my problem ....I am mostly satisfied with various sounds I get from different guitars through different systems - since I have 3 combo amps all with built in EQ, and 2 tube preamps with and several different microphones (dynamic and condenser) and several guitars, steel and nylon, I figure I could spend about 2-3 hundred hours or more tweaking the various sound combinations - and this all just for my own home playing? It is really has become more a matter of just preventing a terrible sound than trying to find the best anymore for me And frankly, I'd rather spend more time practicing than tweaking!
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2010 Simon Fay German Spruce/ EIR OM
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  #69  
Old 02-14-2009, 09:45 AM
esundell esundell is offline
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I put the K&K PWM into my Lowden, and use the K & K Pre amp- and it works perfectly through my Phil Jones Cub.

Even had the K & K PWM sent directly to Composite Acoustics as they are making a custom GX for me, and I want this set-up installed into it as well.

I agree- the K & K PWM sounds much better and articulate through a pre-amp, and the K & K Pre amp matches things pretty well.
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