James has now started a company with the idea of getting the customer involved with the design where he takes players ideas, and implements those ideas married with his vision and skills to make pedals and amps.

James Brown “I’ve just launched a new chapter in amptweakdom…..I’m still working part-time at Kustom Amps as their Chief Engineer, but I’ve started a new company with the intent of building handmade pedals and custom amplifiers: Amptweaker.

James Brown ”

Sounds like a very cool idea. I wish James best of luck in his new venture.

Todd: What got you started in building guitar pickups and how long have you been building them?

Wade: Well, back when I was around 15 or so I suppose, I was looking for power and had to raise the height a bit only to have the high e get caught under the bobbin and short it out. Actually out of necessity, I had to rewire it with the help of my Dad (He is an electrician for Ford’s Power plant in Detroit) to get only one coil working for the time being until he could find wire that small. Back then it was a challenge to say the least to find wire, and material etc. At that same time there were lots of machinery at Fords to make transformers, etc and I got my first glimpse at how to do things, but on a much larger scale. OK, so the short answer would be by accident : ) After I initially fixed the coil and rewound it, it was quite some time before I went back to the wire on the shelf- I must have been almost seventeen. I was shopping for amps and the sales guy said “Hey man, you gotta hear these amps. One is with a stock speaker, and one is with a Celestion.” Well, it was a kick in the face because I knew speakers had coils in them and the tones were night and day. I couldn’t wait to get back to the bench and try something different for pickups.
Fast forward to about 3 years, already had my first child, working all day  with very little time for guitar. I was building houses during the day, and teaching American Karate at night but still loved to play guitar for my babies at home. By this time in the pickup realm, I had a few great guys around town that really liked my pickups I had made or re-wound for them and when they would get a new guitar, they would call me and want pickups. At this time, I never actually sold any ($20 bucks and a stack of magazines. More so a trade). It was through friends and fellow musicians mostly- A blue moon thing? Not on a consistent basis. Maybe 15 per yr. That’s how it started anyway…

Todd: What do you feel is the most important thing in the building process that effects the tone of a pick up?

Wade: The pickup works as a system of parts, change the part…… just one, and you change the tone and feel or response. To me, the way the coils are wound makes the most difference. If I had all the same material (screws, slugs, plates shoes, magnet) I can alter the tones in the coils to get 85% of any model I make. This is where winding experience comes into play and knowing wire gauges and insulation’s inside and out- like a fine wine, you get better with age. The last 15% to me is the most important though putting the icing on the cake using the materials to flavor the mood. Coils, coils, coils!! To this day, I wind every coil. I do have assembly help, but I wind every single one.

Todd: I know these things are hard to put into words but what in your opinion makes a pick up classic or modern sounding and what are the differences in the builds?

Wade: That’s a tricky question Todd. By today’s standards, we have very modern technology with amps, pedals, etc. so keeping up with the times in the modern sense is ideal.  A classic or vintage pickup should be replicated using different tensioning techniques and knowing some of the shaped cam traverse typically used in early winding machines. These are not uncommon today and are a great learning tool although primitive by nature. The coils do not come out perfect in shape, rather they are many shapes. Older machines have tricks to them. Sourcing the right material for the job, which can date back to the early 50’s, can be a battle as well as getting the proper steels. P90’s date back further. Modern Pickups tend to be over exaggerated with perceived gain and power but sacrifice tone. With the more modern stuff I design, I try to balance clarity with gain and output. Some heavier players prefer to hit the front end of the amps input harder but my preference is to GET THE GAIN FROM THE AMP.

Todd: When someone says a pick up “sounds too compressed” what does that mean to you since there is always some sort of compression going on in a pick up anyway?

Wade: Hmm…Each person’s explanation may be different. To me, it’s more the feeling of the pickup when you’re actually playing it. The note sounds but the immediacy of the note ends with little life or harmonic structure that swells after the note to help bloom the distortion. The amount of give can be stiff and sterile with a narrow feel.  Pickups do have compression but it’s the amount we as players like that determines whether it is too much too little. Think of it this way….When you listen to a cd in your car it is not as compressed as the same song on the radio because radio stations compress before broadcasting. With mondo gain, you want a little compression and immediacy to the note to keep it tight but compression overdone loses the tones dynamics and perceived width.

Todd: What do you feel makes your pick ups stand out from the rest?

Wade: Everything in my designs are custom.  I use multiple styles of screws made of differing material as well as the shoes and poles. All have quite a different effect within one another so the outcome of tone can vary greatly. If I use the same coils but alter the core components I can fine tune the design of each pickup to the client’s preference. I really strive to separate myself from the herd when it comes to designing pickups, seeking out a unique character in each model. Of course it will sound like a pickup but I want each to have its own identity. I perform various tests making sure the inductance, AC resistance, capacitance and Q are within range of the specified coil or coils..

Todd: What are some of the biggest misconceptions you feel a lot of players have when it comes to pick up building? Or are there any myths you feel need to be corrected?

Wade: It would have to be DC RESISTANCE. I just feel there is no significant validity in judging a pickup this way. DC resistance has little to do with tone or frequency and more to do with the length of wire really.  “What’s the big deal?”, I often hear, ” its 16k so its a pretty hot pickup?” right?

“Well NO”. I’m sure it can be if it was designed for gain but again it’s that perfect marriage between the pickup and amp that determines how hot your signal is. The pickup is the mouthpiece to your amplifier so feeding it the frequencies you want to hear gets you closer to the tones in your head, fine tuning at the amp. Some say its “ease of play” with higher resistance but we know better : ) Two pickups at 16k from 2 different builders are going to sound different. Each persons touch is different.

Todd: I’ve noticed with your pick ups they clean up really well, what helps a pick up stay clear when you roll of the volume on your guitar?

Wade: If I told ya my secret…I’d have to kill ya. Seriously, KILL YA! There is a real balancing act between coil design and whether they are asymmetrical or symmetrically wound that makes a difference.  I do like using different winding patterns per coil to further clip the coils. I could wind them totally different with a small clip between the two, and the one with the lower turn count may read hotter because of the pattern used making for more material in the bobbin with less turns. The capacitance is different. Also using domestic metals plays a huge role. It’s cleaner and pure. Much of the over sea’s material is recycled or shot. Vapor analysis shows everything. Inferior metals will show trace elements that should not be in there at all for a specified material.

Todd: Tonally what are the biggest differences in the different magnet types?

Wade: The way they soak up current. They are all different. There’s a lot of frequency shifts because of the material used to make certain magnets between the Alnico’s. For instance, Alnico 5 can have many different recipes resulting in the way each kind soaks up eddy current and still falls under the Alnico 5 guideline or considered Alnico 5.

Bh curves vary significantly between types as well as Demagnetizing force, H, Oersteds, H MAx,Hci, or orientation of magnet grades, etc. Whether it was orientated metal, unorientated, or how it was annealed matters. Everything mentioned will affect how much the magnet can hold saturation (energy) or total max gauss and will affect the resistance under the strings.  I’ve used them all from every corner of the globe and to date the American made magnets are by far a real treat. All the domestic specialty metals have been spot on with not only the American foundries analysis, but my own. I’ve sent out and tested many magnets. There are also differences in material tweaks for A2 A3 A4 etc. so there are quite a bit of choices to be made when selecting magnets for the job. Trying various types of Alnico within the material guidelines for a specified grade helps because you can find out what you really like for a design. Lots of testing, vaporizing and listening.

Todd: You told me you got to work with Jerry Cantrell from Alice In Chains and that he’s using some of your pick ups… which ones is he using and what was it like working with Jerry? Also are there any players you are working with now that you’d like to mention?

Wade: Jerry is using the Afwayu’s and the Second Degree Black Belts in all the tour guitars that I know. It’s a real honor making pickups for Jerry as I’m a huge fan of Alice In Chains and he had such an influence on my playing over the years as well. I can still remember the first time I heard “We Die Young” on the radio. Man, we just stared at the radio like it was going to come alive or something wondering “What the hell is that?!” Of course we went out and bought the cassette immediately. I felt the pickup choices were right considering his gear. I spoke with him at St. Andrews in Detroit and he was really nice, laid back and down to earth. I think he’s very focused and gives off a great vibe. Jerry instantly made you feel welcome. It’s an absolute pleasure working with him. I’m very excited about the new album. I have some other stuff going out to him as we speak.

Players I’m working with? You man!! Hum. I’ve never really talked to much about it but here are some you may know, and some you need to know:

Reeves Gabrels (David Bowie), Ty Tabor (Kings X), Pete Thorn(Chris Cornell, Pink, Alecia Keys, Session Artist), Jerry Cantrell, James Lugo, Roger Laur (Ugly Kid Joe), Karl Cochran ( Joe Lynn Turner), Jamin Hunt (Sworn Enemy, Vehement Serenade). Mark Abrahamian (starship), Dave Lapum,  Rob Singleton (Treble Bleed), Elliot Moses, Donna Grantis, Pat Furlan ( the Remnants), Greg Danic, Halloween, Flint Mavis, Brett Lucas (Betty Lavette, Thornetta Davis, the Pickups. Session Artist), the Holy Fire, Bury your Burden, Moxie, Universal temple of Divine Power. Lots of studio engineers and producers also as well as music manufactures such as Bruce,Frank and Jeff Hilligan- Egnater Amplification, Frank Lamara- L.A Guitars,  Dave Friedman of Rack Systems, Dereck Tabata- Tone Freak Effects, Sean Michaels- Love Pedal, George Metropoulous- Metro Amps, Dennis Molan- Protone Pedals, Reinhart Bogner, Rob- Tone Merchants, John Gaynor- SOzo Amps, Plan 916 guitars… It’s a real honor working and getting feedback from everyone really. I always keep my ears open and listen. That’s the key to MotorCity.

Todd: What’s the main things a player should think about and know when he or she goes to pick out a pick up?

Wade: An overall idea of what sounds they are after along with being familiar with their gear. Also knowing what kind of pickups you like or have liked in the past so I can get you into something that you are familiar with- Not drastically changing your tone, drastically improving it and finding what you need as a player.

Todd: How important is pick up height?

Wade: Everyone is different with how much power and clarity they need as a player. I find a great starting point is 2mm on the low end, and 2.5mm-3mm on the high end from the bottom of the string to the head of the screw. Fine tuning and getting the sweet spot from there is taste. I really learn allot from my customers and try out every scenario as it comes.

Todd: How much does waxing effect tone?

Wade: There are a lot of different theories as to the effects of waxing coils. Here is what I think and know from experience. A fully saturated coil can sound lifeless actually. The Black Belt series is an example of a flash waxing technique I use to solidify the outer windings of the coil to prevent them from vibrating causing microphony and unwanted squeal . The inner windings are under pressure from the top windings and they give a little bit also, but in a more musical way. More controlled or restricted. Wax also helps solidify the construction. The coils are not fully saturated. I do offer them un waxed as well for the vintage purist. At this point you must have perfect construction and everything must be anchored down perfectly. Proper taping is essential in un-waxed coils. Audibly the coils have a bit more breath to them with  greater sensitivity to harmonics and dynamic response. Un-waxed coils are not for everyone, but are full of life and character. The musical micro phony is what the purists are seeking so there is a fine line with any design to take out what you don’t want which is the uncontrollable aspect, leaving the character and bloom of the players touch to excel.

Todd: How much, in your opinion, does a guitar’s wood and construction play a role in the tone of a pick up?

Wade: Very important! Give me lemons, I’ll make you the sweetest lemonade. I’ve had a lot of guitars in my years and every now and then you get a dud that just does not make sense. For instance…Swamp Ash vs. Soft maple. One’s going to be darker so knowing ahead of time, I can recommend the proper pickup based on the woods. The pickup is the mouthpiece to your amp and amplifies what is already there. Without a pickup, the guitar is not electric so taking what’s there and further shaping it with the pickup before it gets to the front end of amp makes sense. On the other side of the coin, I’ve had customers tell me no matter what they do the low end is boomy with any pickup in this guitar. I take that as a challenge and as a designer knowing your own product you can finely tweak your winds to accommodate your customers needs. Most tweaks are a spin-off of a model already being made so you have to know what woods and the characters of the guitar. Communication is the key between you and the customer really. Without that, you’re shooting blind. Tweaks are for those individuals that require them and you really need to know your gear and have some consistency with your gear not changing speakers, cables, amps every week.

“Carl Roa has completed his first instructional guitar DVD, entitled “High Intensity Rock – Lead Guitar”. The lessons found on this DVD will help you become a better player!

In this information-packed 90 minute DVD, you’ll find sections on phrasing, building an intense solo, voice leading, concepts for playing over common rock music chord types including Major Scale Modes, Pentatonic and Blues, Melodic Minor, Harmonic Minor, Triads and Arpeggios.

There are also bonus features including full song performance, detailed interview and a section on Carl’s gear. Available now!”

The second song Lifeson shows is “Limelight.” This song comes from the same “Moving Pictures” album as “Tom Sawyer,” but features a more guitar centric opening riff. Lifeson takes you through the riff, chords and solo for the entire song.

Welcome to the second article in our four part discussion on recording in a commercial studio. Hopefully, you have read the phase one article, have followed my advice, and are now ready to move on to phase two.  If you missed the first article, please go back and read it before continuing.

In this article, we will discuss the pre-production phase.  In this phase, you will make basic home recordings of the songs you plan to record when you go to commercial studio.

Yes, I know what you’re thinking. Why would you want to make a recording of your songs at home when you’re already planning to book and pay for a quality commercial studio with an experienced engineer? After all, if you could make great sounding recordings at home you would never book a commercial studio in the first place. But while this may be true, a pre-production recording isn’t designed to sound great. Its purpose is to provide basic guide tracks for you to play along with during your session in a real studio.

To follow the advice outlined in this article you will need to own some form of home recording equipment.  Practically anything with four tracks or more will work.  All you really need is a few tracks and the ability to get them on a CD. You can use a portable digital recorder, a computer based digital audio workstation, a reel to reel machine, an ADAT, or even an old four track cassette machine. If you don’t have a small home recorder, I strongly suggest you make the investment. Portable digital recorders are extremely useful, as well as highly affordable—and with some less than $200, they’re certainly a justifiable purchase.

Tracking the Pre-Production Recording

There are many ways to approach pre-production and there’s no way to list them all. Instead, I will illustrate the method which works best for me.  If you followed the advice in the last article, you have already decided on the speed of each song. Therefore, you already know the songs BPMs and are ready to lay down the first track, the click or drum loop track.

It really doesn’t matter if you use a click or a drum loop—just make sure the drum loop is a close match to the basic rhythm the drummer is going to be playing. Don’t just pick out a random 4/4 loop. Either find a loop that fits, or better yet, program your own on a drum machine.

If you use a click, I suggest making it in 8th notes, or double time. This means there will be 8 clicks per measure as opposed to 4. I have found this makes my playing tighter and also allows me to better swing with the beat when necessary.

Make sure to do a count in. I suggest 2 measures, or in our case, 16 clicks. In other words, the count in will be 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, ready, go. The longer count in allows more time to get the feel of the beat. A simple 1, 2, 3, 4 isn’t always enough to get a feel for the correct speed of the song.

Once you have layed down the click/drum loop on track 1, you are ready to record down a basic track of guitar or piano, whichever is the main instrument of the song, on track 2.  It isn’t that important to get a great tone. You can worry about that when you get to the actual recording session. It is, however, important to get a good performance. Make sure the playing is tight, correct, and on the beat. If it’s off, it is likely to throw off you or anyone else who later plays along with it in the studio.

Finally, on track 3, lay down a vocal track. You don’t have to use a great microphone or give a mind-blowing performance. Just a good rough take is fine as long as there’s nothing on there which would distract or throw off a musician playing along with it later.

Mixing the Pre-Production Recording

Now you want to make a CD of the recording to give to your fellow band mates, as well as a copy to take with you to the studio.  I’ve found it’s best to separate the click/drum loop track from the guitar/piano and vocal tracks. Pan the click/drum loop track all the way to the left and then pan the mix of the guitar/piano and vocal tracks all the way to the right. When you do this you are essentially creating two separate tracks on the CD. This is important because later when you are recording, your engineer will be able to put the left and right information on separate tracks of his recorder and, therefore, adjust the level of click/loop to music.  If you don’t pan left and right, and later ask the engineer to give you more click or more music, he or she won’t be able to do it.

Don’t worry about compression, massive eq, or adding reverb when mixing. Just use basic corrective eq and make sure you have a decent, clear sounding mix.

Conclusion

Give a copy of the CD to each member of the band and ask them to practice playing to it.  Since everyone will be practicing to the exact same basic tracks they will be playing to in the studio, this should give you some great takes. It always has for me.

When you go to the studio, you will take a copy of the CD with you and tell the engineer you’ll be playing to the basic tracks contained on it. He will put the CD’s left channel (click or drum loops) on say, track one and then the right channel (guitar/piano and vocal) on track two. You’ll then record by playing along with these two tracks and recording those takes to tracks three and up. Then at the mix, the engineer will simply mute the click/loop and guitar/piano/vocal tracks and what’s left will be a tight, accurate, and well performed recording.

This technique has worked beautifully for me, as well as for many friends who use it as well.  Also, since you are creating your basic guide tracks at home or in your rehearsal space, you will save time and money in the studio. Plus, with the band practicing to the exact basic tracks they will be using during the session, you’re certain to get some great takes.

In the next article, we’ll discuss the tracking phase of the recording process and give you some tips which will same time, money, and frustration. Thanks for reading and stay tuned.

From Digidesign: “Eleven™ Rack is a revolutionary new guitar recording and effects processing system designed to eliminate the challenges guitarists have faced in the studio and on stage. Say goodbye to the lackluster guitar amp “models” of yesteryear: Eleven Rack utilizes a unique tone cloning design and one-of-a-kind, custom-designed True-Z input to re-create the experience of playing through a full guitar rig. By combining studio-standard Pro Tools® software with a DSP-accelerated high-resolution interface, Eleven Rack puts professional recording into the hands of every guitar player. Whether you’re tracking in the studio or playing on stage, Eleven Rack delivers fresh, mind-blowing, hyper-realistic guitar amp and effects tones that will inspire your best performances.”

I’ve got one that should arrive today and I’ll demo it this weekend and give a review here shortly.

More info can be found here Eleven Rack.

From Nuno: “There is a reason that I have never endorsed any amplifier company exclusively,” he writes. “Because I have always had to jump back and forth from amp to amp. One for rhythm… Another for solos. A different amp on every recording and tour… constantly searching… unsatisfied. Always good… but not great. Never finding that perfect tone. There was always something missing. Basically, I gave in and truly believed that Marshall would be the staple to fall back on… The Constant.

“Until now. The words… “I’ve got an amp that I will put my name on and have put it up against any other amplifier and blew them away”. I thought those words would not come out of my mouth. But they have. And it’s true”

Check it out.

]]> http://www.guitarmonkee.com/demo-new-bogner-uberschall-twin-jet/feed/ 0 http://www.guitarmonkee.com/what-happened-to-the-guitar-hero/ http://www.guitarmonkee.com/what-happened-to-the-guitar-hero/#comments Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:58:19 +0000 Todd http://www.guitarmonkee.com/?p=610 Is it just me or does it seem that the “guitar hero” in rock and pop music has been long gone for a while and doesn’t seem to be coming  back? I mean, back in the 60’s and early 70’s we had Clapton, Hendrix, Page, and Beck. Then in the 80’s the idea of a “guitar hero” seemed to be even bigger where we had Eddie Van Halen, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen, and Paul Gilbert just to name a few. Now while I know the popularity of the alternative/grunge scene, which I really liked by the way, put and end to another music scene that quite frankly in my humble opinion needed to die, I have to say I miss the guitar solo being played by a wicked guitar slinger. That’s not to say there are not any new smoking guitar players out there because we have the likes of Andy Wood, Guthrie Govan, John 5, Jim Root, and I’m sure I’m missing a few but it just seems the idea of guitar playing being out front as it once was has yet to come back to popularity. A lot of the instrumentalists and soloist, new and old, have seem to be a more underground thing which I guess could be argued is a good thing to a certain extent. I guess what I’m saying is I just miss hearing a good solo in new music these days. I hear some here and there in popular bands but not what it used to be.  Maybe I’m getting nostalgic… I dont know but I do see hope in young players who post clips playing in online contests like Guitarmageddon. Then you have the young guns I hear playing  in stores that rip out some of the older rock and metal songs, Vai licks, and even some of these young Jazz cats you hear on line….. so I have hope that one day the “guitar hero”  will come back to forefront again but who knows.

What do you guys think?