Month: April 2014

Amplifiers

52 Amplifier Heads, week 18—Mooer Little Monster BM

Lately I’ve found myself looking at amplifiers that are getting bigger and bigger. That’s understandable. It’s easy to look at an amplifier, see a bigger and louder one nearby and think “Ooh! But look at that one!” Before you know it you’re ready to buy your own arena sized amplifier stack. But this week it’s time to remind myself of a few things. Things such as my guitar skill level. It’s not high. So I don’t need a huge amplifier. Why expand the area that is likely to hear my guitar playing beyond the room I’m in? I also need to remind myself that size isn’t everything. It’s what you do with it (so I’m told). More importantly, I’m after an awesome sounding amplifier. Something with monster tone in a practice volume level package. Conveniently, Mooer makes the Little Monster BM head.

I’m back on track. … 52 Amplifier Heads, week 18—Mooer Little Monster BM

Amplifiers

52 Amplifier Heads, week 17—Line 6 DT25

So far in the 52 Amplifiers series I’ve written about amplifier heads ranging from 1 watt to 20 watts. I’m still looking for something that I could use comfortably at home, but what if I also benefited from something that was capable of a lot more? Then an amplifier that went from 10 watts to 25 watts might be better. But I’ve so far discovered plenty of amplifiers that provide quite the tonal range for me to consider as well. Thanks to the Line 6 DT25 that might not be a problem either. I love a good problem solver. … 52 Amplifier Heads, week 17—Line 6 DT25

C Giant acoustic guitar
Guitar

My C Giant story

The third guitar I purchased in my current collection of guitars was bought for a reason unlike any other prior (or since for that matter). I was looking for a guitar I could keep at work. An office guitar if you will. I considered purchasing an electric guitar for work, but ended up deciding against that for a couple of reasons.

  1. You don’t play an electric guitar unless you’re plugging it in to something that is capable of applying distortion to your sound*.
  2. If you’re going unplugged, an acoustic guitar is louder and therefore more annoying.

Seems logical right? … My C Giant story

Guitar Gear iOS

iRig PRO—now I can mic an amp with iOS!

Last year I wrote about the release of the iRig PRO. Recently I was lucky enough to add this interface to my personal collection of all-things-cool and I have to say I’m loving it. I would have written about it earlier, but every time I finish playing with the iRig PRO IK Multimedia goes and releases something else of interest to me. Recently they’ve released the AmpliTube Orange suite (for iOS and PC/Mac), a Custom Shop update with all-new ENGL amps and some amazing EQ releases in T-RackS (including the EQ73, EQ81 and Master EQ 432). So I’ve had plenty to keep me busy. I’m hoping IK Multimedia takes a holiday this Easter. Then I can catch up on my Blog! … iRig PRO—now I can mic an amp with iOS!

Amplifiers

52 Amplifier Heads, week 16—Mesa Boogie Transatlantic TA-15

If I lived in the United Kingdom and I wanted to purchase a Mesa Boogie amplifier direct from the manufacturer, then that would have to be delivered using trans-Atlantic means. I live in Australia though. So I’d have to rely on trans-Pacific means. Unfortunately Mesa Boogie don’t make a Transpacific amplifier head that I’m aware of. They do however make a Transatlantic TA-15 and it looks awesome.

I promise the rest of this article is about an awesome sounding amplifier head and less about geography. I apologise for any learning I may have caused. … 52 Amplifier Heads, week 16—Mesa Boogie Transatlantic TA-15

My Magnum electro-acoustic guitar
Guitar

My Magnum story

Last year I wrote the first of my Scarebear’s Guitars articles. I did that for a few reasons. Firstly, I thought it would be a good thing to write about something I knew more about than my regular articles (on account of the subject matter being my own gear). Not that I generally don’t know what I’m talking about (just to be clear). Secondly, I figured it would be worthwhile highlighting that the things I write about, I own. I haven’t been lucky enough yet to experience the whole gear on loan for review experience. That would be cool though. Feel free to send me gear. Most importantly though, I started the series because this is my website and technically that makes me Scarebear. Logic! … My Magnum story

Amplifiers

52 Amplifier Heads, week 15—Fender Super Champ X2

This week I thought I’d write about one of the amplifier heads that I know very little of, from one of the companies I know the most about. Confused? Welcome to my world. The Fender Super Champ X2 head is 15 watt tube amplifier head that offers something most other amplifier heads in this article series don’t (or can’t)—voicing. What is voicing? One thing is for sure, it’s got less to do with vocals than you may think.

If you’ve never read anything from my website before, please don’t take too much of what I say seriously. You’ll quickly become uninformed. … 52 Amplifier Heads, week 15—Fender Super Champ X2

Guitar Gear

Steinberg UR22—my chosen audio interface

Almost a month ago I wrote an article suggesting there were too many audio interface options out there for inexperienced people like me to choose from. How can you expect to know which option is the right one for your needs? How do you separate the lesser options from those that are so superior you find yourself screaming “Shutup and take my money!”? I did the only thing I could. I asked the Interweb to provide me with answers. And provide it did. I ended up buying the Steinberg UR22. Surprisingly (perhaps) it wasn’t even in my original list of options! … Steinberg UR22—my chosen audio interface

Amplifiers

52 Amplifier Heads, week 14—THD Univalve

One thing that has been enjoyable for me as I research different amplifier heads each week is learning what tube or valve options are out there. Some amplifiers have 6L6 tubes, some have EL34 tubes and some have the KT66 tubes. What does someone like me (with limited understanding of the tube types) do with this information?  Perhaps someone like me needs to get themselves an amplifier head like the THD Univalve that lets you switch the tubes quickly and easily without a need to re-bias the amp. Cool right? … 52 Amplifier Heads, week 14—THD Univalve