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….

As you may have read in a previous post, I’ve recently installed a set of Bare Knuckle Apache singlecoils in my strat. Here is a little demo…..

I’ve had my American Standard Stratocaster for 18 months or so now. I’ve never been a massive fan of Strats, even though I’ve owned a few over the years. This guitar was really purchased so I can have some true single coil sounds when recording.

Straight away I put Fender locking tuners on it, as I just prefer the way locking tuners work and they make strings changes so easy, as well as keeping the guitar in tune.

And then I decided that I hated the Fender tremolo arm. Its so long and awkward. So I started looking into shortened tremolo arms and thats when the lightbulb went on.

I can’t say I’ve ever really gotten into Pink Floyd that much, but I’ve always liked David Gilmour’s style and in particular his black strat. I first became aware of him when I was around 13 and on holiday in Italy. Pink Floyd were doing a show in Venice and I was there sightseeing on the day of the gig, so I was aware of the furore around the sound levels and the claim of potential damage to the city.  The gig was on the TV in the hotel that night, so I saw some of the show.

Anyway, back to short tremolo arms! Gilmour uses one and it makes the trem so much more useable.

And now, I’ve got around to creating my tribute to Gilmour’s most famous guitar.

Before:

During, showing the wiring on the black, single ply WD pickguard. The controls are a pre wired, solderless system that means I dont have to use my terrible soldering skills! Pickups are Bare Knuckle Apaches with a base plate on the bridge pickup for a bit more output.

With the pickguard in place

And finally finished. I’m pleased with the results and the Bare Knuckle pickups sound fabulous. They give a rich, deep, fat 50’s single coil sound and I can finally use the bridge pickup without the treble slicing my head off. The switching system has a pull pot on the volume that allows the bridge pickup to be added to any pickup selection. With the Colossus fuzz pedal, the guitar sings like you wouldn’t believe 🙂

Look out for a video demo of the guitar next week

I thought I’d post a picture of my latest, and ever changing pedalboard and one including the recently acquired Colossus fuzz and the SL Drive.

This works for me at the moment, but I am missing my volume pedal a bit……

This pedal is awesome! It really does nail the Marshall sound and it has ample amounts of gain on tap.

I enjoyed channeling some Jimmy Page for this video 😉

A brief video demo of one of my new pedal acquisitions. Thank god I’m not on camera on this one, but the hand is mine!!

Its an awesome sounding pedal on first play and I’m looking forward to integrating it fully into my rig.

Two new pedals have arrived today. The first is the Xotic Effects SL Drive which seeks to emulate the Marshall Super Lead/Plexi type sound. This will be a solo boost for me, or maybe used with a clean amp.

The second is the Mojo Hand FX Colossus Fuzz. I’ve never really got on with fuzz pedals and haven’t yet found what I consider a keeper. I’m hoping this will be it.

I’ll have a review up of both, some time next week

Learning where the notes are on the fretboard, is an important skill and one you’ll need once you start playing with other musicians and guitar players.