A couple of weeks ago, I was lucky enough to be asked by a good friend of mine Bob Lane (@laney74 on twitter) to record some guitars for the new release by his “Movie Theme Tune” project.

Straight to Video is Bob’s vehicle for his love of songs from the soundtracks of his favourite movies. We gathered at Sound Hub Studios in Belper along with producer Joe Brown, to create some magic! I can’t divulge which two songs I played on, but needless to say that with the local talent he has playing on this album, they sound mega!!

This new release will be a full blown album, but I was lucky enough to play on the first STV EP Bob released a year or so ago. I played guitars on the Soul Asylum song “Misery” and the song features Bowling for Soup’s Jaret Reddick on vocals. Here it is in all its glory

Head over to the Straight to Video pledge page for more information

Here are a few pictures of my setup in the studio

Hello!

Here are a few pictures of my setup, from The Nightwires recent derby gig

Here is another video of me playing about with my Ditto Looper. This time, using my Gilmourised Strat, for something a bit funky

I’ve been hanging my nose over the Asterope cables for a while, as used by David Grissom. However, I then found out how much they cost, with a 10ft cable being around £130!! A little too spendy, even for a gear snob like me.

So I had a look around the net. I’ve always purchased cables of a reasonable quality and always insisted on Neutrix jacks and therefore, the smart cables from Strings Direct always did me proud. Then I looked at Peach Guitars and saw the Lava Cables they sell.

I’ve therefore ended up with two of their Custom Peach Guitars Armoured cables which have a Techflex nylon webbing/covering to add protection for the cable, whilst still allowing some flexibility. I bought the 10ft one first and then the 20ft a few days later! They were used in anger for the first time, at the recent Nightwires gig in Derby, and they sound pretty good to me. They have a nice full sound, but with plenty of top end bite, without being too much. I shall give a longer term assessment, once I’ve used them a bit more.

Interestingly, two of my band mates mocked me for spending £100 on two cables. But ironically, once my bass player plugged in, one of his cables was so noisy, he had to swap it! If only he did as much research into cables as I have. Having a good quality cable definitely helps your sound, particularly when you play through a few pedals like I do. I am certain that you get what you pay for…

I’ve finally got around to doing a video of my Ditto Looper pedal. I’m generally pretty pleased with it but I need to practise the double tap needed to stop the loop!!

Apart from the first chord progression, the playing is pretty off the cuff. I knew where I wanted to go with it but I wanted to let myself go a bit, rather than have it too planned out.

Enjoy!

2 new videos in one day, you are lucky!

At long last, here is my video demo of my Victory Amps V50. Its part one really, as I hope to show some of the lead tones in another video.

Enjoy, but be gentle…..

Hello all!

This is the new video, for the latest song to be released from the debut album by my band, The Nightwires

Here is my latest and greatest pedalboard. It will stay like this for some time, I think….

Sorry for the flash flare, my photography skills don’t match my guitar skills!

I’ve got 2 pedals in loop 2 of the Gigrig Quartermaster. I can’t bring myself to not have the phase 90 on there but I do like using the TC Electronic Shaker, so they both go in a loop together.

I have a Custom Audio Electronics Wah “off board” which I can add in front of the board as and when I need it.

The black footswitch in the top left corner is a custom made channel/boost switch for my amp.  Its made by Bright Onion Pedals.

More updates soon, including the much delayed video demo of the Victory Amps head.

Its been a mega busy time for my band The Nightwires, hence why Guitar Geek has been a bit quiet.

In the new year, there will be lots of new videos posted, including some of my new Victory Amps V50 Head.  Short review: It sounds mega!!

In the mean time, please head over to The Nightwires Store to buy a copy of our debut album

Have a great Christmas!

As you may have read on my site, I play in an acoustic duo called The Nightwires. We are about to release our debut album and have just started a new website. Please check it out and stay tuned for updates. There will be plenty of shows to come….