So its been some time since I’ve updated this site with my current gear situations. I’ve gone through some minor changes, last I spoke, I was playing through a Divided by 13 JRT9/15 head w/2×12 cabinet. Sound was fantastic. But it was far too much guitar amp for my needs. It wasn’t even a space or weight issue, it was more of the fact that I didn’t want to be carrying around a large boutique style amp, that could be considered to be very valuable, and rare. It was nice, sounded nice, and I definitely see why Divided by 13 amps are held in such a high regard in boutique gear circles.
I’ve since moved to a 65Amps Lil’ Elvis 1×12 combo. I promptly swapped the tubes for some Mullard’s, since the last owner had put in some crappy Mesa tubes – That was a huge improvement, but I don’t think i’ve played the amp enough to give a full review on it. Fun fact: I used the amp in the music video that we had recorded at the start of April. You can see it in the photo to the left. The goldtop is also my current #1 – I friggen love this guitar.
Further, I’ve made some other seemingly small, but actually pretty major changes with my cable’s. I’ve heard, and discussed with many people about how cables can effect your tone, quality, dynamics – some people believe it and some people done – I’m a believer. For that reason, I’ve been using George L’s cables almost exclusively for the last 2 years. Very high quality cables – their pedal board kit especially is great, because it is so customizable. I had been doing some research on cables, because I wanted to pick up a white coiled cable (pictured below), and found many people talking about how compared to George L’s, that Lava Cables are now the ‘it’ cables. Specifically people were saying that the George L’s have a slight tone shift to the upper mids/highs, reducing bass, and warmth. Being a tinker-er, I had to test this theory – so I ordered a set of Lava Cables. I’ve since fully switched to Lava Cables. The change was immense. I’m noticing more dynamics, a fuller sound range, and just an overall full spectrum quality increase. If you’re looking for a pedal board cable set, I HIGHLY suggest getting the Lava Cables. They’re slightly more involved in setting up, but well worth it.
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ther changes, would be my signal chain: Fulltone MDV-2 > Turbo Tuner > Skreddy Screw Driver > Mad Professor Sweet Honey Overdrive > Diamond Memory Lane 2 > Klon. I can’t even begin to talk about how happy I am with this setup.
The Sweet Honey is dynamic, going from very light overdrive, to medium drive with just a simple change in pick attack.
The screwdriver covers where the Sweet Honey leaves off – taking me into over the top drive sounds with fuzz mixed in – This has been the first fuzz pedal that I’ve actually been able to play, and like. There’s a lot of hype going around about the Skreddy Screw Driver, and in my opinion, its well worth it – I’m sure their other pedals are equally as great.
The Memory Lane 2 has been a fantastic addition to my board. I’ve been using a Empress Superdelay for a few years, but I decided that I’d prefer to have an analog delay – a Fulltone Tube Tape echo is what I would like to have, but the unit is far to large for me to justify carrying around. The Memory Lane is working nicely.
Klon – I haven’t passed full judgment on this pedal yet. It sounds great as a boost – I haven’t had that ‘shock and awe’ moment with it that most people rave about.