[go_vtec]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jahn I was soooooooo tempted to get the PS-1, but as mentioned in the other thread, perhaps i was a tad punchy being willing to give up my Les Paul for it.

Are you crazy... whether it is Gibson or Ephiphone, don't even think about giving up the precious guitar for it. Then again, if you are really bad at guitar (just kidding Jahn

)

 

[Jahn]

Post Count: 17,495. It's Deja-Vu All Over Again!

Well I have a bad habit of buying cans, selling them, and later, uh, buying them again. The Curse enjoys toying with me. Well this time wasn't any different! As usual, my fave form of shipping is the USPS Priority Mail!

Hey, didn't I just take a pic like that? Goodness, it's Deja Vu even in the pics! But I think the contents are a tad different this time...

Hey, didn't I have a can like that? Goodness, it's Deja Vu even in the...hold on, didn't I just type that?

Anyhow, 'nuff of the teaser pics, here's the payoff!

EAT THAT, 1911! I'll get my HF-1 fix until eventually I pick up the HHF-1 at my extreme leisure, muahahaha. I'm tellin' ya 1911, if I can meet you most of the way in Vegas instead, just bring the cans, and more fun will be had by all instead of you saltily forcing me to take long walks around your floodwater basin in Reading

But I digress. How does the HF-1 sound? Just as I remembered it, good stuff! #472 at your service!

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Post Count: 17,590.

Farewell, Tower of Power.

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Post Count: 17,648. The Tower is dead. LONG LIVE THE TOWER OF POWER.

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Post Count: 17,705. WOO!

So my Simplehuman Towel Stand was shanghai'd by my wife for...horror of all horrors...actually being used as a towel stand in the kitchen. Well my precious cans weren't going to "stand" for using her old IKEA towel rack! Woo Audio lured me with a proper gunmetal headphone stand, and quicker than I could paypal the note "Revenge" the stand popped into the mailbox! STAX went on the attax and took back the kitchen!

It's an even darker richer more sparkly stand than my poor photo skills can show - and it's ALL METAL, BABY! Score one for Aluminum, not Aluminium!

I put 5 pieces of furniture together this week while moving into the new place, so i twirled the included hex wrench and screws from PartsExpress like a pro and had this perfectly packaged stand up and running in no time. Word to the wise tho - the base is all metal too, so get some felt under there or something if you are worried about scratches and such. Thanks again for the sweet revenge, Woo!

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Post Count: 17,789. Ain't no shame in being Shelfish!

Yep I schlepped to Williamsburg to grab these Duoplane CD Shelves, and what do you know, he had the matching table too for a pittance additional, so why not? SHELVE ME, BABY!

The Curse infiltrates into all aspects of audio - even the visual. I swear, it's practical! It just happens to look groovy too!

Edit - NOTE: These have WAF! The wife just said "those look perfect. you actually need more of those." OH YEAH!

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Post Count: 17,801. Just Like a Prayer, S.A.E. Takes Me There!

So, uh, does something look new?

The one glaring omission of the Melos is that the "Phono" input doesn't actually have a phono stage behind it, so I've been on the lookout for a while for a Phono Stage to add to the mix. Perhaps I went a tad overboard...

This is the S.A.E. P102 Preamp. It has a phono stage for both MC and MM. My Grado cart is MM, so no probs here. It seems a shame to use only the phono on it, but it's the most important part - after all, I like the tuner on the Marantz and the preamp stuff on the Melos, and I'd rather not use all the EQ stuff on the P102 - "wire with gain" and all that, pip pip.

Jpelg met me on a rainy day in the Village for the handoff, and man he kept this thing pristine. It appeals to my "Tron" 80's look, and bridges the Darth black look of the Melos with the wood panelling sides of the Marantz.

And the most important thing - the sound. In deference to another vinyl thread here, I busted out my old EP of "Like a Prayer" by Madonna, and I was BLOWN AWAY. When the heck did my Wharfedales get this kind of killer bass? No EQ at all, but the bottom just filled right up and started slamming. Reminded me of my 'sco days spinning for the college crowds - which is about the S.A.E.'s heyday, very nostalgic. But I also just picked up some 200 Gram vinyl of Count Basie and the S.A.E. totally gets out of the way and lets the Melos pound it out with aplomb. The Marantz line out probably sucked hard in there somewhere, because the headphone out and speakers using the Marantz are very nice, but the line out to the Melos sounds FAR wimpier than the S.A.E. - score one for a working phonostage's line out!

Very happy vinyl owner here! I think my Phono rig is finally complete! Updating the sig now!

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Post Count: 17,964. Sayonara, WAF.

Just ask yourself - would YOU want this thing in YOUR room?

Ok, maybe not the best place to get the typical answer on that one...

Anyhow, I promptly destroyed any spousal goodwill from the sleek CD rackage by putting up the Spinal Tappish Nigel Tufnel Wall of Eleventy Goodness to hound those poor redbooks (with the occasional Hi-Def discs that I can't even play...yet).

Not really a sonic upgrade, but it helps the ambience and puts a little thrill in me, not knowing when that heavy Les Paul is finally going to pull away from that thin drywall and destroy the Tower of Power with its dark bad assness. Just a few more upgrades for the holidays and I'm DONE with this damn hobby, I swear!

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Post Count: 18,007. Are you Feeling What I'm Feeling?

Look at my SAE Preamp. I guess I'm going to have to keep this forever now that it finally helped me feel the...

Post Count: 18,049. Let's Get it Oppo!

So I came home from my company holiday party and UH OH a big brown box was already open, and it wasn't WAF friendly...

How do I spin this? I 'fessed up the price (she blinked at the low low price of the Oppo) and made her roll her eyes at my angle ("see these? i bought The Wu-Tang Clan Presents Enter the Invincible Hero and 3 Evil Masters and they threw in the Oppo as a bonus!") and the clincher was "i'm going upstairs to set this up, feel free to watch TV instead of my Monday Night Football - even though it's the EAGLES sob sob..." thank goodness for Stattracker! Oh, and I walked the dog and watched the last half after she went to bed. You take what you can get!

But on to the really quick sound quality comparos.

First I set everything up - SACD/DVD-Audio via analog rca stereo to the Melos. Redbook and 48K DVD via Coax Digital to the DAC-ah to the Melos. Video to my LCD-TV Samsung computer monitor.

And we're Oppo Running!

Dual Disc? No prob - superthick discs get eaten up by the Oppo with aplomb. After playing REM's "Document" I checked the Oppo documentation online and found some nice firmware upgrades on their site, so I popped them into the Oppo and bingo I'm up to snuff.

DVD-A from the Depeche Mode stuff? Here was a chance to compare the 192k DVD-Audio vs. the 48k normal DVD stuff going digitally out to the external DAC. Let's just say High Res beats non-High Res, even with an external DAC.

But how about pure redbook vs. High Def? Ok - fire up Marvin Gaye on SACD vs. Redbook of the same stuff. Again, no comparo. SACD destroyed the remastered redbook on this hybrid disc ("The Marvin Gaye Collection" has SACD Surround, SACD Stereo and Redbook.) I know "destroyed" isn't a blow by blow, but it's a "you'll know it when you hear it" thing - Hi Def is for real.

For kicks, I brought out my Dire Straits HDCD, and no prob - the HDCD sign popped up and bingo it's playing that too. Universal players rule. Out of all of the formats, I like SACD the best (or maybe I just liked "Let's Get it On" the best, hehe) because it made me feel like I was sitting there listening to Bozebutton's Krell rig again with the R10s on - but no, I was using my ramshackle Tower of Power via ancient Stax Lambda Pros! Whee!

Why did these guys stuff two cheesy martial arts films in here with the Oppo for free I'll never know tho. Maybe I'll pop in "3 Evil Masters" for kicks

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Post Count: 18.096. BACK IN BLACK.

Yeah, not technically a Headphone update, but I just wanted to show the final config of my Wall of Sound. Ah, it brings a nice dark peace to my soul

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Post Count: 18,152: So I totally freaked out when my import Depeche Mode SACD/DVDs of Some Great Reward and Violator came. But what was THIS?

Do you see "SACD" anywhere on this? Yes, this is the import, it has the clear sleeve with white dots on it as well as the doublepak, but nowhere on this thing does is say anything about SACD! And I just gave my US Redbook/DVD Violator to 1911 in Vegas too, argh!

Well not to worry, since my trusty Oppo universal player would reveal the truth. I popped it in the Oppo, and bingo - the computerish folder pops up instead of just playing redbook, and next to each file are the 4 little letters I wanted to read - "SACD." Oh Yes. I don't care if this is 88.2 instead of 192 or whatever, it SMOKES my ancient redbook copy of Some Great Reward. "Something to Do" is the first track, and I heard something I never heard before - at the very end of the song a moan comes from below and behind the head, and gets bigger and bigger until it lands on your forehead. I've heard this song for two decades, and I've NEVER heard that ending before!

Yes, this was my first Eargasm in a while. Thank you Oppo and SACD! "People are People so why should it be, that you and I should get along so awfully!"

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Post Count: 18,650. Let the Music Play!

Well, at least not wireless for a bit. New boot drive in my limp-along computer upgraded me to some more library space tho, so while I wait for comp upgrades that will let me use my Linksys Wireless Music Bridge (no pics 'till it's in the rig!) here's a shot of some new additions to the Tower's foundation-

Yep, one month without a camera, and whoa you realize how many great tunes can hit your ear after just a month! I admit tho, half of these were graciously given by ASR for a holiday swap/bday gifting - in other words, a Massive Attack, uh, attack! Great stuff! Oh, and I finally grabbed some nicer vinyl from home, so that'll come up sometime too. BTW, that CD at the far right is a crazy CD of Les Paul jamming with Chet Atkins - I can't say enough about it, so I'll just bring it to the NYC meet in March and hook it up to an Orpheus (honestly, just for my self-edification. If the Orpheus can make Elvis sound like the second coming of...Elvis, then just imagine it with these two Guitar Gods!)
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[size=x-large]Scroll down to Post 19 for a continuation of the Curse, or just click here![/size]

 

[Sczervok]

Actually, it's stuff like this that prevents me from going overboard. These are sort of "headphone horror stories" for me, if you will. ^.-
Long Live 128kbps.mp3 Encodings!

I own about $400 in audio equipment. Dinky HDD player, cheapie exercise flash player, and a few earphones here and there. Soon to turn into $200, as I will begin the sacred process of offering a sacrifice to the gods of portable mp3 players. The alter of the workbench will be the site of the death of the miniature box, from whence I will eviscerate it alive, and as in ritual, proceed to hand the entrails to my father's camera from whence it will devour them.

 

[Jahn]

Post Count: 18,767: Behind the Q-Ball.

What happens when you are bored and you have nothing to buy in your budget? This.

"Giottos Q Ball Air Blower Super Air Cleaning System.

A funky tech approach to keeping your high-tech digital camera equipment dust free! The Giottos Q-Ball Air Blower can be used on telescopes, computer keyboards, microscopes, communications equipment, just about any precision equipment or traditional and electrical musical instruments."

Just in case I develop "Grattle." Oh, and my poor Les Paul needs a good air dusting around the tricky tuning pegs. And it's environmentally sound, whee!

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Post Count: 18,796. The Closed Cans Cometh!

Sorry for this first pic, the Darth Beyers seem to swallow all light into its bassy Darkness...

So there we go. My sister finally returned the recabled DT770s, and she seemed so forlorn in doing so, I worked a deal with JJCha to get her some nice Birthday replacements - the Sony MDR-D777SL Altus HD Headphones!

Hmm, can we get the Sonys to spearhead a shot here? Ah, there we go.

So anyhow, they do have that typical Sony signature - great detail and separation and imaging, but the "where's the bass" syndrome. Due to its closed nature tho, it does come out more than, say, from my wife's ATH-CM3 buds, and when you hear its bass the quality is FAR better than the sloppy cottony Bose triports, which are its natural price range competitor (they even sell these at the Apple Store now too!)

But compared to both the AKG K81DJ and the Koss KSC75, i'm afraid the Sonys don't bring enough midbass to keep me happy on the go. Oh, and the Open/Closed switches do nada. At home in a quieter setting they fare better, and work best to keep your tunes away from your peturbed wife. But then that's when my Darth Beyers come to play.

Just because they don't have a place here among my can harem doesn't mean my sister won't be gaga plugging them into her laptop tho, so off they go to give someone far more joy than anything else the Apple Store can currently provide! Someone turn on the lights!

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Post Count: 18,902. Everything Old is New Again!

Sometimes the Curse is extremely clever. There I am surfing Head-fi, when within a span of 2 seconds I pull the trigger on a Vintage Discman! Here's the quick thought process-

1)Oh, Lookit, a D35! I've wanted em since I saw this ad and thought "ooh! so many buttons!

2) The price is oh so right!

3) The Melos has an open Pre-Amp slot for "CD" - this is a CD player, right?

4) Like my Vinyl rig, it can be a blast from the past change of pace!

5) If I use my Oppo, I'm going to play Hi Def anyhow. I need something Old School for Redbook!

6) The Curse Commands Me!

And thus was another tier for the Tower begotten.

It's a little skippy for the outside disc track (I'll fix this later or ask someone at the NYC Meet to have fun with, kinda like how my old D15 used to be before I spun the pots) and the SQ is definitely not Oppo level - a bit sibilant in the highs, shouty in the mids, but oh so boomilicious in the bass! Very warm and vintagey - I'm playing Violator's hybrid SACD through it and reliving some killer "Enjoy the Silence" via the line out to my trusty Magwires mini-to-RCA to the Melos to the Darth Grados!

Oh, I forgot the last reason- it matches the Melos.

Go, Black and Gold! Slowly but surely the secondary ziggurat is gaining on the main tower!

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Post Count: 19,023. The Guitar Hero Cometh.

I have no idea where to start! well, seeing that lil gibson SG in PyroPhonez's pic inspired me, so the Guild black jumbo is gone, and in its place? an SG of my very own! uh, kinda.

But yes, the Guild is on its way to a happy new owner and in a few weeks that means a big Curse update, but not yet...anyhoo, i spent the last 4 hours beating all the songs on Easy in GHII (first time ever playing this series, it's fun! and i learned some new "fake" techniques along the way, cool!) oh man, so much stuff leaving and coming and going and arriving...i can't keep up with myself, my head is spinning! Fun stuff!

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Post Count: 19,174. Straphangers, Unite!

So my wife has conveniently thrown out my last two camera bag straps while "cleaning," meaning my dog walks have been painfully unrigged for the past two weeks. After I whined about it like a baby that I didn't want to get yet another bag just for the strap, she said "fine fine I'll see what kind of strappy thing we have at work then." Ooh! She works with professional photographers! This is going to rock!

Uh, any rat near Bowling Green lose its tail?

So I got fed up and googled for the King of All Straps. And I found it! Time for a Skooba Snack!

AH SO MUCH BETTER. As advertised-

"Identical to the strap that comes standard on the award-winning Skooba Satchel, the Skooba Strap is a great replacement or upgrade to the shoulder strap on just about any carrying case, duffel, suitcase or sport bag. Eighteen individual air-filled pods provide incredible carrying comfort, and a non-slip surface keeps it on your shoulder. Heavy-duty webbing and metal swivel clips, along with double-stitched reinforcement at load and stress points, make this strap built to last, and ready for the heaviest load you'd care to carry. The Skooba Strap is also compatible with the Rivet accessory clip system."

The clips are heavy duty metal - perfect with my bag's metal D-rings. and they totally swivel so the strap never gets tangled. and the little comfort pods really work - and the travel pouch is nice and slim, just the size for a spare cablewrap in there, just in case! Man, sometimes the Curse throws a little blessing your way!


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Post Count: 19,415. My Guitar Curse Kicks In. Yeah, not head-fi related but oh well!

So you might have been following my double pickguard HD-28 hijinks, and I'd like to share the conclusion.

Just as I was thinking about yet another mod to my HD28, someone else just posted on craigslist that simply said "70's Mojo Martin D35" with a pic of the axe up against a studio mixer. I felt the vibes, man. I called him up, he checked out my listing, we agreed to meet at his studio, and after work I hoofed it over there in the chilly night.

I felt the positive atmosphere the second I walked in. All of his stuff was tube-based, including his mics of course. He said he got the Martin as a trade in for studio time, and only brought it out if someone needed a Martin sound, since he was a Gibson guy personally. So he opened that funky blue Martin case and the first thought I had was the first thing he said - "She's a Real ****kicker!" Yeah, she took a lickin' alright. I just knew I'd be hearing the cannon blasts bouncing off the walls. He left for a bit to let me thrash in private, and I went to town.

Guys, this thing is amazing. When it's played lightly, everything has a great bass/midbass balance. But when you dig in hard, it doesn't lose focus - it's like the same balance - hammering in front of you relentlessly. AWESOME. In contrast, my HD28 was so shimmery when you stop playing, but even then the overtones seem to hang on the surface. When you dig in, it's like the sound is there but swallowed up - I guess I'm not saying it right. What really got me was turning the soundhole towards me and raising my voice a bit to tell the guy I was done and I swear the D35 resonated to my voice like...I can't describe it. Awe inspiring.

So he comes in and just said "let's do the trade." He didn't even try the HD28! I guess I was auditioning for it without knowing it - that, plus he must have seen that grin wrapping around my face. Damn, I felt like a bandit.

Well now it's in its permanent home with me, let me tell you I was skipping all the way home and my wife was totally digging it too, saying I did the right thing because it ROCKED. I looked up the serial number, it's a '72, and it's set up so perfectly I don't want to do a thing to it. I LOVE NEW YORK! So here's a shot with my equally roughed up '65 Guild F30:

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Post Count: 19,837. Finally, a REAL Curse update! Enough of the guitar fiddle-faddle, right?

So for the past month I've been preparing myself to reclaim that elusive feeling of an Eargasm. How so? By intentionally listening to the crappiest cans I have for a whole month! So I stashed away the HP2 and the Lambda Pros and fired up the prototype 600 ohm Darth Beyer beasties! Don't get me wrong, they're great situational cans and their sealed nature means they get plenty of play anyhow - but usually I bring out the big guns for the times I want a "wow" moment.

So today I had a big ol package waiting for me from Todd the Vinyl Junkie - howzat for a Happy Easter? Yep, drove back from Delaware thinkin' "oohboyoohboythey'redownstairsgottapickemup" and sure thing, I slipped em in with all the other groceries I lugged up out of the car to my place. So they've been stewing on top of a bookshelf for the past five hours until everyone's asleep - and now like a ninja in the dark, I STRIKE!

Hey now, this is a bigger pizza box than I'm used to. Kinda chunky. Not the flimsy cardboard of the Prestige series - this is heavy duty corrugated paper, man! So anyhow the next thing totally surprised me, because I was expecting the light honey colored wood of the new John Grado cans. Uh, a darker Taste O' Honey here, wouldn't you say?

Or maybe I'm just imagining it because I'm squinting at it past midnight, hehe. Anyhow for the first (and most important) listen to achieve that eargasm, I gave my ears an extra nasty dose of Sports AM radio in the minivan on the way back to NYC. My ears were begging for any kind of fidelity, but muahaha I joined a class action suit against the BMG Music Club and got hooked up with club SACDs for under 4 bucks, free shipping! So I got the Freewheelin' Bob Dylan spinning SACD layer on my Oppo DV-970HD, and the Melos that was left on all weekend while I was gone so as to be nice and toasty...can you tell that I REALLY wanted that eargasm?

Well, I gots it. Even with fresh Bagels, this can was so gorgeous when "Blowin' in the Wind" came rushing through these gigantic 'hog cups. I've been playing my minijumbo Guild F30 quite a lot while waiting for my Ultimate Guitar to come in (perhaps tomorrow!) so the lo-fi folksy thing coupled with the latest and greatest by John Grado just hit the right spot. Acoustically, musically, sonically, I got the Payoff. EARGASM.

Yep, any can that delivers it pretty much gets a free pass on my bias-o-meter from here on in, so don't expect any rational objective reviews from me on this can folks. It Rocks. What else can I say. And I'm intentionally NOT going to have this baby go head to head against Bozebuttons'/Jude's prototypes - I don't want this guy to go all Mythbusters against 'em

Thanks John and Todd, this is a great can, and is going to be the representative of the John Grado signature in the Tower of Power, proudly holding court with Joe's HP2 and the STAX.

And yeah, the rep was supposed to be the HHF-1, but 1911 is an arse. Yeah, I said it.
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Post Count: 19,871. The Iceaxe Cometh.

So in this unseasonably cold wintry Easter week I rush home through a spare flurry of snowflakes to grab what can only be described as El Tower Del Doghouse-o.

"Not that I don't appreciate you naming this monstrosity after me, Master, but don't you think the Mistress is going to be Pissedness?" Hey now, I still haven't forgiven you for ruining my ninja sneak of the GS1000s last night, Pumpkin, you better watch it!

"Sorry to say this Pops, but the dog is right. Mama's gonna knock you out. Plus, isn't this case a bit frigid?" Hey you're right kid - and when did you start learning slang from the old man?

Anyhow the case was dangerously chilly - I think it was going to start sweating, that's how cold it was. I've heard enough scare stories about finishes cracking like a spider on crack, so I stuff this thing in the closet for the next five hours (right after the 10pm dogwalk this Guitar is MINE!) and turned my attentions to the other tinier packages. One of them had a nifty HF2 hat, whee! National Meet, here I come!

And I got a new DVD burner, a BenQ that lightscribes too, and it snapped in there really easy with autoinstall (thanks to Mr. Slacker for prepping this system for my dummy-proof operation). Oh, and the last of my BMG stuff- remastered AC/DC Back in Black, the rest of the SRV stuff I didn't own, and a remastered ZOSO. Yeah, Page sucks behind the soundboard, but I wanted a clean digital rip, tho I prefer the vinyl stuff by far.

So that's it until, hmm, 2.5 hours from now! Can't wait to open this puppy up! The last laugh will be had by me - Curse you, Curse!
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Four minutes before 10. Seriously I was worried. I 'fessed up to the wife and she wanted to see it too since technically it was her V-day present to me, right? So before I walked the dog we opened the case and - no checking WHEW. In fact, it's DARN GORGEOUS!

The Return of the Black Jumbo!

Yep, a 1995 Martin J-40 BK! Oh, and it's Rosewood too!

Electronics were installed by Norick Renson, a pretty well known guy in Cali, so I'm ready for the Tower studio or even playing out, if ever. And it sounds like a church bell shot out of a cannon, just tone tone tone...

ME HAPPY.

OK Time to get off the stupid Guitar Curse Wagon for a while!

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Post Count: 19,967. Everything old is new again.

So yep, getting Gear Acquisition Syndrome for Guitars out of my system these days, and as a result I'm recording things into this Mr. Slackerized Dell Desktop here. Meaning the modded E-MU 0404 is back in action, and the Linksys Wireless Bridge is going to take a backseat until the recording bug wanes (which may be a while). But this DMP3 Preamp is too wussy, so what do we need? The Dreaded EQ!

Yep the BSR EQ-3000 is back, baby! I only have one mic, a Shure SM57, so I only need to touch up one channel, and pan it to both channels via the E-MU Patchmix. Ah, weak reedy signal is analogey and beefy again. But what to do about my nasty Boss tuner with its wavy needle? I don't have perfect pitch and my guitar always seems a bit out of tune. Well, not anymore!

This Peterson StroboFlip digital strobe tuner is accurate to 1/10th of a cent, whatever that means. What I got this thing for is its "Sweetened" tunings for acoustic guitar. Pretty amazing stuff, I just follow the scrolling bars and bingo my guitar sounds pro with just one sweep of a thumb! The best part is there's a unique sweetened tuning just for acoustic 12-strings too, and once my Guild F312 makes it back from a tune-up I'm going to fire the StroboFlip up and avoid the huge tuning headache I used to have with my first 12-string, a Guild D4-12NT. Ah, life is good.
[size=large]
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THE CURSE TO DATE:[/size]
Source - OPPO DV-970HD Universal DVD Player OR Modded 0404 digital out to Dayton glass optical toslink to modded DAC-AH w/E-A-R Specialty Composites small isolation feet. Vinyl is the Goldring GR1 with Grado Prestige Gold Cart to Element ICs to the Marantz 2226 Phono Stage.

Pre-Amp - Cardas Neutral Reference Interconnects to Melos SHA-Gold "Maestrobator" Pre-Amp/Headphone Amp w/matched USN-CEP Amperex 7308 tubes with HAL-O 9 Damping Instruments[/url] on Type IV Vibrapod Isolators and Cones.

1) Out to-

Active tube out to Audioquest Diamondbacks to STAX SRM-1/MKII to STAX SR-Lambda Pros.

2) Out to-

Passive pre-out to Element Chorus IIs to Marantz 2226 receiver to Audioquest speaker wire to Wharfedale Crystal 20s. and rat shack speaker wire to 1911's crappy inifity subwoofer.

3) Out to-

Melos headphone out to Joe Grado HP-2. Or John Grado GS1000. Or DT770 Darth Beyers.

Phono - Goldring GR-1 Turntable with Grado Prestige Gold cart to S.A.E. P102 Preamp Phono stage to Headphile Blacksilver ICs to Melos. Can probably also thread the Melos or the S.A.E. back to the 0404 for recording vinyl.

Tuner - Marantz 2226 receiver to the speakers or DIY Starquads to Melos. Probably could use the S.A.E. in a pinch too.

Portable - 5G 30gig iPod to Apple Radio Remote to RnB Audio BlackDiamond Mini to Mini cable with gold straight plugs to RSA "M" Modded Hornet to an AKG K81DJ w/The Cable Turtle and Replacement Sennheiser HD25 Velour Pads, or Koss KSC75 drivers with KSC35 clips!

And all units have Quail Power Cords if applicable, plugged into a Monster Power HTS 3500 MKII. WHEW! Dang, after actually taking stock in my stuff, how did I collect all this on a shoestring budget and wheeling and dealing and lucky breaks and such? I better just count my blessings and walk away!

[size=xx-small]Yeah, Right...the Curse Shall Live on![/size]

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[size=large]HEADPHONE-ONLY RECAP:[/size]

hmm, came to Head-Fi with V150 Sony cans, and some aiwa MD stock buds on a streetstyle band. pretty meager, eh?

then my wife got me an ipod. hello, crap ibuds!

i upgraded to a sony blue clipbud thing that is still floating around somewhere. cost me like 12 bucks, no lows at ALL.

i took a huge leap after doing serious research here, and stepped up to the MS-1. I literally threw my V150s in the trash. Bye bye Sony!

LOVED the MS-1, so I had to sell the Alessandro MS-1 to upGrado to an Alessandro MS-2.

Then I needed a closed can because the wife was getting annoyed, so I got a Sony CD3000.

Didn't like the CD3K, so I picked up a Beyerdynamic DT770/80, sold it, got a used DT770/600, and modded to a Darth Beyer!

Grabbed the chance to sell the CD3K to pick up a Joe Grado SR200 with HP1000 drivers! No more need for the MS-2 with the SR200/HP1000 in the house, so sold the MS-2.

Then a Big Opportunity came up. I had to kick the SR200 and Darth Beyer and other things to the curb to come up with the power to get the Joe Grado HP-2! I still have this baby!

I really needed a portable can, so I got a KSC-35, then sold it and got a SR60.

Around here I picked up a K501 for 1911, but it was his bday gift so I don't count this. I also don't count an AT CM3 bud that I got my wife here just for the looks. She traded in her crap buds that I keep just to show folks how bad "normal" cans are that folks listen to. A VERY generous head-fier was the third owner of my original darth beyers and actually returned them to me for nothing! Very Generous, I still appreciate that! Of course, my sister stole them for her movie...

At this time a STAX Lambda Pro came up, and I almost broke the bank getting this JUST when the Grado HF-1 was announced and of course I had to get this too. So this was the point where my wallet was screaming, divorce was imminent, and I had 4+ cans in the house!

I converted my KSC-35 into The Mule by putting it into a Yamaha can that looked very similar to the current AKG K81DJ - see? Instinctively I knew what I needed, but there was no can at the time for that niche!

But then I sold the Mule and traded the HF-1 plus Mule cash to get the SR325i. But walking around with Golden Globes was a bit much...

So I sold the SR325i and went almost back to basics again with the KSC-35 (cash from the SR325i went to get the Headamp AE-1). I loved the KSC-35 so much that I got The Burninator - recabled KSC-35 on a Portapro headband!

I loved the Koss portables so much I got a KSC-75 as well, and put the KSC-35 clips on em, then sold the KSC-35 drivers with the KSC-75 clips on them. I also picked up a Sennheiser PX100 on hype, but I wasn't really a Senn guy, so sold them later.

OK, technically I got ibuds again twice when I got the 5G iPod and the iPod Radio Remote - those stupid buds are making a nice lil pile in my toolbox!

Ok so around here my own bday comes up so 1911 hooks me up with...Senn HD280 cans. Gee, thanks. I sell em. He tells me the Real Gift is my original pair of HF-1 (#200) modded by Headphile to an HHF-1, Cocobolo! But I have to go to Cali to pick them up. They're still over there...

Well I won a pair of AKG K81DJ at the National Meet! Yay!

Around here I get really nostalgic, so I sell The Burninator to get my first ever can, the Alessandro MS-1.

But what the hell? I'm feeling the SAME UPGRADO AS I DID BEFORE! So I sell the Alessandro MS-1 and get an Alessandro MS-2i...WHAT AM I DOING!?

Oh yeah, that's what I'm doing. I swap the MS-2i and cash for the HF-1! Which I owned before! Again! CURSE YOU, HEAD-FI!

And then I sold the stock HF-1s to get the cash to fly over to get my HHF-1s in Cali! ARGH!

But then 1911 SOLD the HHF-1s 2 weeks before I came to save them, so instead I got a GS1000!

So the circle is complete. Around and Around we go, where it stops, nobody knows!

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[size=xx-large] GO TO THE NEXT PAGE FOR A CONTINUATION OF THE CURSE![/size]

 

[Edwood]

Going to meets is very dangerous on the wallet.

I started with the HD600's and a Headroom Little Amp. Heheh, and after two meets and less than 6 months later.........

-Ed

 

[enzoferrari650]

well just look at me. I'm only a 15 year old kid. its been 2 months since i've been here and when I first came I was using stock ipod buds. Then I got the shure e2c's, then made my home rig (Marantz CD63-SE > Cardas 300b reference > MG-head OTL > HD-600's) and not long after that I puchased the ety er4p's and then the ath-em7's. And now my xin supermini is on the way here. What has this place done to me and my wallet??

'


Oh yeah, I was also convinced to buy the ihp-140 also. So I've got that as well.

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

I just aquired a powercord that sold retail for more than my car is worth

, thank god SiE gave me a deal (no pun intended)

 

[enzoferrari650]

ha, try explaining that one to my mother.

 

[Head Creep]

I came here with crappy Sony clip-on phones and an iRiver iMP-550. So far, all I've gotten is SR-60's and Sony EX71's. However, I have my eye on those Senn HD-25's, plus a cheap old JVC home audio rig is raising my interest in possible modding, or replacement with something better...

 

[Jahn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jahn /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just a warning - pretty soon you'll all get a shot of my Rig: The Final Solution. But once I post it an hour or so from now (when i get home) I'll want your insane suggestions on how to mix things up and move things around and buy sell trade with the minimum damage to my wallet to upgrade the following (NOT that I feel it needs too much upgrading atm) - Headphones - CD3K stock, MS-2 stock with flat pads. KSC-35 for portable. Source - Toshiba 3960 modded, Technics turntable with new Technics Cart. Ipod for portable. Other junk - Sony receiver used for its phono stage, hmm maybe its radio too. I'll go buy some rat shack antennas. And a BSR-EQ3000 for some sacreligious equalizing. Amps - Modded GSP Audio Solo amp with stock PSU-1. Have a SR-71 for portables. Cables - forgot all the names right now, they're all copper and above rat shack quality, feel free to look at my profile for the skinny. ---- Possible upgrades. Headphones: Hmm. If I really can't live without the bass, but want to keep the soundstage and detail, maybe a CD3K swap for someone's HD650? Never heard Senns before, other than imho the crappy 280. Hmm, I could also downgrade the MS-2 to a SR225 then give Larry the SR225 to woody up, maybe give him the CD3K as payment, or if he wants cash, just sell it quick for modding money. I dunno about all the above tho, I want to give the CD3K a chance longer than my 5 minute listen lol. Source: If I LURVE vinyl to the point where i dont think my old turntable will cut it, I can probably sell this one for 50 bucks (hey, 25 for the cart and 25 for the table, right?) and plug some cash in for a used Rega or MMF or something. I really do love the "Tushi" so the 3960 would only go for a universal player alternative, so I can check out dvd-audio and sacd too - right now I'm pure redbook (and good sounding redbook, imho! plus normal dvd.) Nothing beats my phono stage and EQ at the price I got them for, so I'll keep em. Amp: The Pinkie rules. Until I hear something that BLOWS the Solo away at the same price, I'm keeping it. No way will the wife allow all those $1K alternatives. The SR-71 rules in portable so I'm set. Cables: I'm cool. So you see, my only big big desire is to just try every can under the sun - I think my source/amp is good enough where it won't be garbage in imho. I'm a bass lover, but i think i need a balance there. I love the grado/alessandro line, but what will i do when the wife yells at me to keep it down? Dare I even swap a MS-2 for a 650 and have a detailed bassy can that is open, and a detailed non-bassy can that is semi closed (CD3K)? But then, will I miss the fun fun fun MS-2? ARGH! Hopefully the Qualia meet will help me choose some different directions here - listen to the 650s, listen to some amps, etc.

LAFF. I posted this on 9/24/04 as my first post on the second page - no more room on the first so I was about to cannibalize the second. Look how unaware I was back then of the onslaught to come! Well now it's captured over here for posterity, I'm going to clean it out and use it for more update pics.

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Post Count: 20,120. Have I broken the Curse?

Well, more like the Curse broke me. Not much in Headphone Land to pick off the carcass of my wallet, so instead I got sucked into Guitar-GAS. It wasn't until just now that I realized, after my binge, that I Have Too Many Guitars. Uh oh.

'75 Gibson Les Paul Custom, '95 Martin J40BK, '68 Guild F30, '69 Guild F312. Usually they're all in cases stashed away so the impact on the wife isn't as severe.

And of course the wife walks in JUST as I'm shooting this last shot. "WHEN DID YOU GET ALL OF THESE GUITARS????"

Good news? Less attention on the Tower of Power by the Wife. Bad news? I'm in serious lockdown now, I mean, even worse than when the GS1000 registered with her (VWAP pads were to blame because my kid grabbed the pads off of them and ran to his mom saying "look! funny eyes!" and wore them like goggles. Hooboy.

So anyhow, yeah, I should be done now. Seriously. Hopefully. Probably not.

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I guess not. Post Count: 20,133. The Return of the Burninator!

So on the way from the National Meet, I lost my wife's 2G Shuffle and my Koss clips. Not fun. But the Florida crew came thru and JP11010101 (something like that!) sent over a pair of recabled Koss KSC-35 rewired by Enigma Audio. But as most of you recabling crew know, the stock cable is kinda sucky but at least it's flexible and pretty non-microphonic. Not so aftermarket stuff! Pretty stiff and the sleeving is microphonic, so with clips this guy sounded 100 time better than my K81DJ - if you didn't move your head and tried not to breathe too loud and were indoors and...well you get the idea. Plus the stiffness of the cable means that the clips pull a little off your ear so you lose bass - not a prob indoors but out in the real world any remaining bass flies out the window.

So I scour around for spare bits and bobs and Bingo, a Koss Portapro band! I remember how much it helped my old pair of Moon Audio recabled KSC-35s, so I snapped them in and the old magic was back!

The Portapro band kept the drivers in the right position (in fact, you can choose three, from bassy-in-your-ears to light-hanging-out) and pretty much eliminated any fears of the drivers popping off your ears, and the microphonics were reduced to the point where only a rub against a zipper jacket would do a number on you.

Indoors, the bass was a bit much, but that bode well for outdoor use. Yep, outside the Son of Burninator was still open so you could hear that Mack Truck bearing down on you, but you had just the right amount of bass to go with the excellent forward mids that make this thing so Grado-like. And strangely, the soundstage is better than on Grados, go figure.

All in all, this makes this guy an actual upgrade for my Dogwalkin' cans! Yep, still need the K81DJs for subway use, but the Son of Burninator trumps my old Koss clip combo pretty hard.

So it's a win-win all around! Except for my Wife, who is still DAP-less. And doesn't seem to care. Bah.

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Post Count: 20,157. Go, Steve Hoffman, Go!

So after the National Meet and the amazing lecture by Steve Hoffman I instantly ordered "Blue" on vinyl and "The Musings of Miles" on Gold CD, both remastered by The Hoff. Boo on the skeezy store I got Blue from, as they nixed by 10 buck Google Checkout discount for no good reason, but whatever.

So I dropped the needle on Blue to the Goldring to the SAE phono stage to the Melos to the GS1000.

EARGASM.

This is the first time I "got" vinyl. Oh yeah, I've been spinning my fun nostalgia discs, but this thing is like a whole other beast. I can't wait to try the Miles CD on redbook - this version of A Night in Tunisia my fave!

Folks, get vinyl. Good vinyl. And experience greatness. I ordered Moondance too, can't wait until it comes out! Argh, Joni is whispering in my cranium like Karen Carpenter never has!

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Post Count: 20,286. The greatest update EVAR. This one really appeals to the geek in me, and also appeases that lil voice that says "it's all very well to enjoy the music, but how do you KNOW for sure, Mister Non-Measurementer?"

Well, here's the solution!

Yeah, the Airplane Hangar Guys packed this thing like they were shipping a Black Box or something - really industrial. And yeah my wife brought it up before I got home. I had some, uh, explainin' to do...

Oh, whaddya know. It WAS a black box!

Finally, New York has a friggen Tube Tester! But does it work? LET THE TESTING BEGIN.

Very Scary. I had tubes that failed the Life Test, the Grid Leakage Test, everything but the Short test. Well, that solves a few riddles! I even took the tubes outta my Melos to make sure my ears weren't lyin - phew, those 7308s were just fine! But the tubes that tested the best were all four of my matched Amperex A-Frame Orange Globe 6DJ8s!

So if the Tester commands me to use my best tubes, I must obey! Gotta say, good measurements are a powerful non-placebo - the Melos is Groooovin', baby! And I have a few tubes now that need new matching partners, sigh. So folks, bring your tubes to the next meet, we'll swap and mix and match!

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Post Count: 20,343. No pics this time around folks, because a hundred words speak louder!

"6922:

[size=x-small]This is one of two premium versions of the 6DJ8 tube. First of all, it is the same tube as the 6DJ8, and will work wherever a 6DJ8 is needed. It has premium features such as low noise, low microphonics, and usually a longer lifespan. Sylvania made a version that is JAN military spec without gold pins. Amperex made all of theirs with gold plated pins and most have the PQ shield logo, standing for Premium Quality. See note below about Amperex 6922 and Bugle Boy tubes. Some of the later gold pin Amperex have the orange world logo. I have seen both orange and white PQ logos. Some of the early versions also have a number etched into the glass, like the 7308 tubes. These were also made for other manufacturers, and will have that makers name labelled in white, but these are the same gold pin tubes. Amperex opened a factory in New York to make these for the US military (since the government contract specified only USA constructed products) and cranked these and 7308 tubes out. A "made in U.S.A." Amperex tube is not a fake! In fact, these tubes are really excellent."[/size]

[size=x-small]Yep, thanks to Akwok, I now have all the tube types mentioned here - the Orange Globe 6922, the 7308, and now the White "PQ" Amperex 6922! Just did a Mighty Mite tube test on them and they indeed read nice and strong and matched with no issues. Gooood stuff! I'll have to get to tube rollin' soon, but for now I'll stash em under my "good matched pair of toobs" rack, which after the Sencore purchase, I've tested to find numbers only these three pairs, bah. Eventually I'll get around to matching up the solo tubes i have now that their partners pooted out, but that's for later. It's nice to know I have a solid backup to a backup just in case now! Ah, peace of mind.[/size]

[size=x-small]So yep, in the Tower now my main rig is the 0404 to the DAC-ah to the Melos with 7308 tubes to the GS1000 with VWAPs. That's not too crazy of a chain methinks![/size]
[size=x-small]

Edit- got some 6922 White Label Holland Amperex, tested great, can't wait to pop em in![/size]
[size=x-small]--------------------[/size]
Post Count: 20,361. I'm officially teetering on the cusp of GAS Madness. Any more Gear Acquisition and I swear this will end in tears. And no, not the groovy "Blood, Sweat &" type or the "in Heaven" type. More like "Only Pumpkin Loves Me" type.

I pray for a return to the Headphone Curse - rescue me from the guitars!

So yeah, killer 1972 D-28S 12-fret slothead sloped shoulder Martin.

I'm screwed.

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Post Count: 20,385.
Sigh, this is all turning into Guitar Gear recently, isn't it? Here's another! I'm not even going to bother updating the Curse post for this, it's sooooo not Headphone related now!


I even admit to going to a guitar-related GAS minimeet this weekend! After that I was rarin' to sink my hands into this new Slothead that was coming today. So I headed home, picked it up, and...huh?

A TAYLOR.

Ah, yer such a jokester! Thank goodness this was in there!

So what was in the case? A Taylor? Nooo! THIS 'burst!

Yep, the Santa Cruz H 13 Fret Model!
It's basically kinda like a Gibson Nick Lucas - has an 00 size shape, but a Dread depth. Totally shows too - it was plumbing some serious deep waters that my Guild F30 never wades into, but stayed nice and delicate on top, not midrangey at all, even for a 'hog.
The top is a dang nice Sitka top, and for you "grain lines per inch" folks, here's a closeup - have a count!

It has a great start in life, sounds very nice, but I'm going to have to replace the Elixir lights on here first before I start categorizing its sound for good.

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Post Count: 20,460. Curse of Jahn.

Totally surreal evening folks. I wanted to beef up my electric amp (my lil vox modeling amp is nifty but I wanted some clean headroom) and see a great price on a Fender Twin Reverb on Craigslist. So cash in hand I try to trip over there - with no umbrella, with the heavens dumping on me, no taxis to be had. Takes me one hour to get there, soaking wet. So I'm completely distracted, I don't even want to touch the amp in fears of electrocuting myself and putting water damage on his sweet Gretsch Semi-Hollowbody, but eventually I dry out enough to jam there for an hour and just talk shop about the amp. Gradually I become aware of my surroundings and think "wow, he must really like My Chemical Romance - there are gold records of their albums all over." Don't think much of it at the time, because there are great posters and stuff all over (I like the Joy Division subway poster!)

So I head home, really bothered, trying to put it together, and then BINGO. I get on youtube, fire up that Squeeze cover I did of Up the Junction, then follow the same "similar vids" pathway to another cover of Up the Junction - by the guy who just sold me the amp!

http://www.last.fm/music/Nightmare+of+You/+wiki

He's the lead singer of Nightmare of You. Man, I am so not in touch. Note that their influences are also The Smiths and The Cure. And I just covered The Smiths and The Cure this week too - in fact, basically all the first-time vids I posted up trying out youtube this week are all tied up in what these guys like.

And here I walk off with his amp. How's that for incentive to learn electric? Here's a shot of it!

Post Count: 20,788. Back in Blue!

Ok have to run off somewhere so here's a quick one, the Gibson ES-135 is back from the shop, and the Z90 pickups sound sooo fat, the bigsby twangs awesomely, even the strings are wrapped in blue (definitely sticking with these George Bensons) plus the 3rd string is wound, just like on acoustics. So without further ado, here she is, modding complete!

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Post Count: 20,811. The Curse in Full Effect(s)!

So I get back from Chi-Town way too late to crank the amp to test these babies waiting in the mail, but I have a very good feeling it was a smart idea to unload all the tons of cheapo effects from my youth to fund just these essential effects - the 'Verbzilla and an Ibanez Turbo Tubescreamer with 4X2 Flexi mods by Keeley Electronics!

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Post Count: 20,861. My Favorite Martin.

You know how you can spend months on figuring out JUST the right specs for something custom ordered, then wait more than half a year to get it, then spend a few glorious years with it, then something necessitates that you abandon that dream?

Who am I kidding. I'm talking to Head-fiers, right? Y'all understand

So that's the kind of guitar I saw available, and I knew I had to rescue this dream deferred. So my SCGC H13 kicked the bucket to make way for this 000-18 Martin Custom. Let's just say that everything you see and can't see was a custom handpicked choice of a very thoughtful musician and I benefited greatly from all that effort the second I strummed the first chord. Right down to the subtle Martin stamp on the back of the headstock, it's an exercise in subtlety and greatness. Ah, guitars. GAS is the biggest Curse of all. Here he is!

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Post Count: 20,920. It's All Over Now, Baby Blue. Welcome, Black and Tan!

So my minty fresh Gibson ES-135 Bluesburst was the latest victim to Totally Unnecessary GAS. But hey I had two Gibbies already and NO Fenders, what gives, right? So I kill two birds with one stone and trade the twangster for a '94 American Standard Strat and a '76 Mustang Bass (with a giant Mudbucker pickup installed) so I get the Fender thing, and my first ever bass. Hey, I feel I can actually solo with the bass without pushing to be EVH. Shortscale helps! Anyhow, here are the glam pics!

Don't worry, there are still some Blues in the house!

[size=x-large]Scroll down to Post 27 for a continuation of the Curse, or just click here![/size]

 

[warubozu]

Jahn,

Where did you get the cable that is connected to your ipod that allows you to connect to the mint amp? I tried looking at the Mac store for something similar but couldn't find it.

 

[Jahn]

Post Count: 20,982. And the Two Shall Become Jazz.

Goodbye GS1000. Goodbye Black Strat. Whatever could make me do such a ridiculous thing? Well seeing as how I still have a blue amp in the house with no blue guitar to go with it anymore, I saddled up my steed, Consolidator, and tilted at this windmill - a USA Thin Skin Sonic Blue Jazzmaster with Mustang Bridge and Matching Headstock!

I'm in love. This one speaks to me In a Feminine Way, so I'll have to think up a few choice naming possibilities...
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Post Count: 20,022. Have Tele, Will Travel.

What do you get when you trade in a black strat, a black 'stang bass, and a GS1000? Well you get that Jazzmaster I posted before, but you also get this baby!

A USA '52 RI Fender Telecaster with Bigsby Vibrato (and a Mustang Bridge, like on my Jazzmaster. I just really like em with vibrato systems!) I don't know why someone abandoned this one since it's so young and pristine - according to the neck it's from August 13, 2006. But hey, their GAS is my gain! Lookit the shiny metal bits reflecting on the green!

One thing about Teles tho - they keep you honest. My Les Paul is a nice quiet guy who masks my mistakes. This Tele 60 cycle hums like a mofo and make you look stupid if you hit a wolf tone. FUN. Here's a quick clip of it, I figured this was a good time to bring out the Tube Screamer to help cover up my lameness - unfortunately the Tele ain't in a forgivin' mood

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Post Count: 21,033. Humdinger!

So my Tele has a few new toys to play with -

That's a late 70's Music Man 112RD Fifty amp, and the two new "candy shop" pedals I got, the Zvex Fuzz Probe and T.Rex Replica Delay. Oh, I put my ISP Decimator in the shot for this demo.

HERE YOU GO!

The 112RD Fifty is cranked so the Tele single hum really comes through, but the Fuzz Probe is also on, so you can bet that hum is almost at feedback levels now, whee! Can the Decimator handle it? Listen for yourself. I love all of these pedals, they really make the Tele fun to jam with and revive a "Jazzy" Music Man!

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Post Count: 21,054. Gotta Get a Guild!

So 1911 actually came through for once and shipped my 1967 Guild Starfire XII 12 String Semi-Hollowbody guitar over for me. There's plenty of TLC to be done for it and it's going into the shop this weekend, but I fiddled with it enough to get some noise out of it. I then replaced a few of the nastiest rusted strings with a spare pack of Squier .9 Bullets I had lying around and there you go.

Enjoy the "Before" vid!

I'll post an "After" when it comes back! But for now, here's a pic of what it looked like when I opened the case - not too shabby!

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Post Count: 21,073. Stop the Madness!

Ok now it's getting ridiculous - NO MORE AMPS AND GUITARS! Tweaking them is fine tho...and there is one more amp downstairs I'll take a shot of tomorrow...but that's IT! So here you go, the second to last biiiig GAS update - a 2007 Fender Eric Johnson Signature Stratocaster. My house has DIRTY power so I got a trio of Dimarzio silent single coils to buck the hum - an Area '58 in the neck, Virtual Blues in the middle, and Area '61 in the bridge. Niiice, especially through my new "diamond in the rough" 1967 Ampeg Gemini VI tube amp with a big honkin' 15 inch Big Ben Eminence speaker in there! The tremolo circuit in this is soooo delicious...anyhow, here they are!

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Post Count: 21,080. No Guitars or Amps, eh?

Well I guess that leaves only pedals! A slew of em incoming and no more Curse updates until the whole pedalboard is done, but I just had to share this one that came in today - instead of the ZVEX Fuzz Probe, which was too much for me, I traded it away for a few things, including this ZVEX Hangul Fuzz Factory!

It has a ZVEX Power Plate on it so I can stash the original backplate in peace. Let me tell you, dialing this thing in for some Jimi Fuzz is just so...fuzztastic!

----------

New 1971 Fender Vibro Champ in the house! Instead of a boring pic of the lil silverface, I posted a vid instead. Chimey!

YouTube - Fender Vibro Champ and Eric Johnson Stratocaster Demo

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Post Count: 20,090. So thanks again to Carlo Greco for fixing this great Guild Starfire XII, I hope I'm able to get my paws on hundreds more and bring em all back to visit sometime!

[size=x-large]-[/size]
Post Count: 21,092. Blessing and a Curse. The Blessing part is easy - while Head-fi was down, I got some quality family time in, culminating in our baby girl being born today! Smooth sailing, everyone's happy and healthy! And what do you know, when I come home BINGO Head-fi is back up, so while the gals are in the hospital for observation tonight I have time to update the Curse...

I hope Head-fi never goes down again. Because my only obsessive outlet left was guitars...and so I got a new acoustic, a 1946 Gibson J-45...

And a new electric, a 2007 Fender Custom Shop Limited Release Rosewood Telecaster...

And many many pedals, oh so many...

And incoming are new pickups for the Tele to get hum free, and new cables to wire up the pedalboard nice and neat, and and and...oh my.

---
WHEW finally my first ever pedalboard is all laid out and complete! The finishing touch was getting my Bill Lawrence cable kit today, and it was a snap to make the right length patch cords - even had enough left for a nice guitar instrument cable. Clarity is ridiculously improved, you don't need an EQ or boost to clear a strong clean signal anymore through the chain - bye bye mud! So anyhow, here you are, all zip tied and ready to go!

By the way, got my Rosewood Telecaster back from the shop, the Dimarzio Area T pickups are perfect sounding and perfectly quiet too, used it to test this Pedalboard in fact. Oh, and I decided to ditch any ideas of Bass playing so I swapped my bass for a return to something more Twangilicious...update when it's all set up from the shop next week! Oh, and looking at this board I think I could use a compressor, I'll keep a lookout...
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Post Count: 21,116: Bass, how low can you go? As far as the wallet is concerned, just about enough. Man, my Starfire II Special isn't even out of the shop for pics for a Curse update yet and look what I do. Something struck me today, the word "Trifecta." Having a red Starfire 12 and 6 string, I was just jonesin' for a 4 stringer too! Didn't hurt that I won an ebay auction for a bass amp "by mistake" - had no idea it would go for so low, must be my subconscious at work. Anyhow, it's a 90's SFII Bass Reissue, and in pristine condition (top upper bass bout looks a little wavy but he said it was the flash camera on lacquer doing that, we'll see), shipping out as we speak, should be here next week! Unlike the SFII Special, I indeed have pics of this one right now, provided by the seller! I wonder how many of these reissues were made, they look like a lot of work...

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Post Count: 21,126. The Starfire Strikes Back! As the second in the "Trilogy" of cherry red mahoghany Guild Starfires to eventually hit the shores of Manhattan, the 60's Guild Starfire II Special is back from the shop! He said it barely needed any setup actually, it was in "player's shape" and he just popped some .11s with a wound G on there as I like it. I guess I wasn't imagining things, it says "Special" and it has a Master Volume. But the hollowbody actually makes this my instant fave bedroom level guitar to fiddle with, so resonant! Anyhow here's the pics, I'll try a vid plugged in when the family timing is right as usual. Hans, serial numbers in the pics, any assistance on dating/history on this one is welcome!

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Post Count: 21,132. The Bass is here, so here you go, the Starfire Trilogy is complete!

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Post Count: 21,143. The Return of the Tower of Power! I think in this case (or cases) the pics explain themselves. Yes, this is everything except the pedalboard. Enjoy! Oh, and my wife was very calm about it...TOO CALM.

Uh, Happy Holidays to moi?

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Post Count: 21,154. Princeton Amp, Slight Return. So my little tweed Princeton needed a big brother, so I got a clean and mean '79 Princeton Reverb that I'll never engage the pull boost for, hehe. Disengaged, it's one of the few amps Fender left alone in the CBS era so it plays like a Blackface Fender. Soooo clean. Anyhow here are some pics since before it only made it into that group shot, and Here's a Vid of it in Action!

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Post Count: 21,160. Here's my 1961 Fender Concert Amp with 1967 Jensen C10Q speakers. Had to give up a '79 Princeton Reverb and Eden Nemesis N12S bass amp for it, but one listen to it and you'll know why I did the deal (well, that and the wife likes the look and overall it's one less amp in the house to annoy her, plus you can use it as a bass amp too).

Here's the front, the tolex has a slight pinkish tinge to it, which again my wife liked:

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Post Count: 21,200. The Deal is Done!

This one took a while to put together but after the dust settled I got the ultimate upgrade to my old '67 Guild F30...this '66 Guild F47!

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Post Count: 21,222. the Curse is alive an well as well, here's a pic of my new amp, a 1964 Fender Princeton. Has blackface exterior, but the white knobs let you know that there is a brownface amp hiding inside. Sounds amazing. Here's a pic and a vidclip!

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Post Count: 21,224. Turn that thing down!

I guess this requires a miniupdate since it is indeed new gear, and here's the thing - it's family friendly! Apparently playing the guitar is a bit louder than listening to music on ye olde headphones, so I've been looking for solutions short of just going all digital with the guitar into the computer (which just doesn't sound the same). Answer? Attenuation! Here's the Weber Mass 150 Attenuator in action, it's pretty cool since it uses an actual speaker driver to help attenuate, and keep the signal sounding like a real guitar amp speaker signal should.

YouTube - 1964 Fender Princeton Amp - Weber Mass 150 Attenuator Demo

In the past, there is no way I could have cranked my amp to max without the dog barking/kids crying/wife whipping. But now I can overdrive this tube beast at speaking levels, and it sounds real enough to me!


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[warubozu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jahn Ah, that is called the Sik Din. Or the Sik Imp if you get it with the Car Charger, which is what I did. If you Froogle you can find the best price for it online. But right now I'm using a Sendstation Pocketdock since my friend has issues with it on his 4G (doesn't fit on his vaja case, pocketdock lets the buzzy HD problem through but the Sik Din doesnt, so i swapped with him). The line out allows you to then either attach a mini to mini cable, your choice, from the Sik to the Amp, or you can buy Xin's right angle mini adapter and plug that on the end of the Sik Din dongle.

Thanks, I'll try and Froogle it

 

[Jahn]

Rats my sister took the camera tonite so I'll take pics tomorrow!

 

[averydonovan]

I don't feel like getting out my digicam and I don't have my original cans anymore anyway, but here was my equipment list before Head-Fi:

Home:
SoundBlaster Live! 5.1 sound card --> RadioShack Pro 35 (a.k.a. Koss KTX Pro)

Portable:
RioVolt 90 (a.k.a. iRiver IMP-90) with IMP-100 firmware --> Some sort of earbuds, I think

Now:

Home:
Terratec EWX 24/96 sound card --> Singlepower PPX3 headphone amp --> AKG K271 Studio
I also have a Sony D-14 vintage PCDP

Portable:
iRiver IMP-350 --> Sony MDR-E829V earbuds (they sound better than Senn MX500, dammit!)

My portable system isn't a huge improvement over the old one, but my home system is leaps and bounds better than the old one. At over a 12x leap in cost (~$60 for the old one, ~$750 new one) it sure better sound better, though

The really good thing is that the last time I made any significant audio purchase was back in May for my AKGs. I'm very content with my system right now. I do want to get a turntable again, but am still waiting for my $150 back from the one that I got back in June that didn't work properly.