Just got this in the post from Andertons. After a brief play, I’d say it is a keeper. Full video to follow shortly.

A week or so ago, I was lucky enough to have tickets for the Guthrie Govan/Victory Amps showcase, hosted by Andertons.

Guthrie demoed each Victory Amp and chatted about his playing career and answered some technique questions.

It was an amazing night, with Guthrie again proving he is the most complete guitarist in the world. He can play anything! Plus, he comes accross as a thoroughly nice bloke. Here are a few pictures I took.

I have a pretty sweet set-up at the moment. Great PRS guitars, a great strat and a lovely sounding Jazzmaster. I’ve also found the amp of my dreams, in the form of the Victory Amps V50 head.

But GAS (gear/guitar acqusition syndrome) is never far away.

1. Guitars. I love the Fender Custom Shop Michael Landau Stratocaster. I got to play one recently (briefly) during a visit to Andertons. I’m not mad about the whole relicing thing, but the neck: wow!! My favourite guitar shop Guitars4you have one in stock MUST RESIST!!

2. Pedals. A never ending thing for me. I just love looking at them and buying a new one can provide alot of inspiration for new songs. However, its an expensive lust as I always want the boutique option. Currently, I’m after a Robert Keeley Seafoam Chorus which sounds immense. I’m actually not a massive fan of straight chorus pedals, hence why I currently use a TC Electronic Shaker vibrato pedal. That sounds great but the gear snob in me, somehow thinks the Keeley pedal will be better! The good thing about it is the blend knob which all the way to the left, is pure vibrato. You then turn it clockwise, to “blend” in a chorus sound. The best of both worlds.

3. Amplifiers. Yes, I have already said the Victory V50 is the amp of my dreams. It is, but I still would like a single channel head. I have a Cornford Carrera combo which still sounds great and I also have a Roadhouse Combo. The Roadhouse is rearely used now, so I could move it on and put the cash towards another head to use with my Zilla cab. I really like the look/sound of the DR Z Carmen Ghia and also the 65 Amps heads. The other option, is to put the Roadhouse internals into a new head case, something I could get done for £250. Mmm…..

So, as you can see, its a constant battle between head, heart and wallet. Yes, its hardly a major problem is it, I wont starve. But guitarists with tastes like mine, will sympathise I’m sure 😉

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