Rediscovering gear you have

[Magic Russ]

I pulled my old RP-7 Valve out of the box after who knows how long. I thought maybe it might be worth it to do a ToneX capture of some of the preamps. I do actually think there are some decent sounds to be had but nothing that can't be done by the captures I already have. The reverbs, and pitch shifts are pretty good, and their dual delay had some cool options.

It's funny how primitive this thing is, though. No MIDI, no footswitch under the expression pedal, not even the ability to store and display the names of patches. There is no separate distortion and preamp block, so Fuzz is considered a preamp. I should say "Fu22" because it didn't have a proper display, but used calculator type LCDs to display the names of parameters, and only 4 digits at that, so you have to figure out that 8End is the whammy (pitch bend). The selection of effects in the FX block was pretty basic too - Chorus, Flanger, Phaser, Trem, Pan, Pitch Shift, Harmony, Pitch Bend. Not even a Vibrato or a Rotary effect.

So it goes back into the box and I wait until someone on YouTube convinces everyone how great it was and I can sell it on Reverb for a bunch.

[Uncle E]

It’s got that valve magic.

[Magic Russ]

Great, now can you convince everyone else in the market?

[tapper mike]

I used to have a Digitech RP-10 that I loved in the 90's
&

My bandmates loved it the audience loved it, I loved it.
I was not a stomp box kind of guy before I got it. Previously I'd just do channel switching. I hated stomp boxes and I really didn't know what to do with them.

I tried successive Digitech products from later years but they all missed the boat.

[Bombadil]

Well, mostly I am rediscovering my guitars that I rarely played. That is changing. I have such a great collection, borne of years of GAS, trials and tribulations, that when I do pull a guitar out that I haven't played in a while I am always A) happy I have it and B) happy about how it plays/sounds.

The last couple of days, it's been this:
Gretsch 5422-12 Electromatic. I hadn't played this in over 2 years. It has Pyramid Gold flatwounds on it. After 2+ years, 10/12 strings were still in perfect tune, and the other 2 were only out a few cents. WTF?
So, I laid into some Beatles, Byrds, and Tom Petty.

IMG_1134.jpeg

[tapper mike]

Well, mostly I am rediscovering my guitars that I rarely played. That is changing. I have such a great collection, borne of years of GAS, trials and tribulations, that when I do pull a guitar out that I haven't played in a while I am always A) happy I have it and B) happy about how it plays/sounds.

The last couple of days, it's been this:
Gretsch 5422-12 Electromatic. I hadn't played this in over 2 years. It has Pyramid Gold flatwounds on it. After 2+ years, 10/12 strings were still in perfect tune, and the other 2 were only out a few cents. WTF?
So, I laid into some Beatles, Byrds, and Tom Petty.

IMG_1134.jpeg

I'm supposed to be thinning the herd and you aren't helping not one bit.

[Bombadil]

No worries. Most of my guitars haven‘t been as neglected as the ones I‘ve posted, so it isn‘t a ‚re-discovery‘ per se. So I‘m not bothering to post the lot…
The only non-guitar equipment I don‘t use but am holding onto nevertheless is a BOSS GT-1. Just in case I want to play an electric out in the garden, it runs on batteries. It sits under our sofa. Multipedals are just not my cuppa.

[Bombadil]

But I find it interesting about 12 string guitars. They always sound like I want to play them forever, then they‘ll sit untouched for ages.

[tapper mike]

Watch this guys 12 string videos

And this guys


I always find myself playing a specific guitar more when I'm of a specific song that uses that guitar.

My recent 12 string guitar interest is a Reverend

[Bombadil]

Cool playing. I know some of the songs he is doing.
I like the Gretsch because it has 12 individual holes in the bridge and it doesn‘t have the Ricky tuner setup, which I find very clunky.
I always think of Dano gits when arguments start over tonewoods in electrics.

[Magic Russ]

Another example of Dano 12 in action.



EDIT: Oops, that's actually a Jerry Jones.

[Uncle E]

I always think of Dano gits when arguments start over tonewoods in electrics.

Maybe Masonite has its own tone. All I know is, I’ve never gotten a sound like that out of a Fender Sidekick 15.

[mountainmaster]

But I find it interesting about 12 string guitars. They always sound like I want to play them forever, then they‘ll sit untouched for ages.

Since the subject shifted to 12 string guitars I want to mention my Duesenberg Double Cat. It is probably my best sounding guitar but I couldn't play it for a whole gig to save my life, let alone forever. I just don't have the strength for it in my left hand.

With the original 010-046 string set I would hardly last one song, but now that I use a 009-042 set it plays OK. Still my hand gets cramped after a while. And of course large bends are out of the question.

I have a huge respect for guitarists who continuously play 12 strings especially if it is an acoustic guitar which usually comes with even higher gauges.

[Bombadil]

I‘ve tried higher gauges on mine, but itdoesn‘t like them. Imo, people who use higher gauges usually tune their 12 strings down.
My first guitar was an Aria 12 string, bought for 50$ CAD off my brother in 1974. It never saw 12 strings on it, but my left hand grew accustomed to a wider neck width. The only neck profile that doesn‘t work for me is a thin neck a la wide-thin of most PRSes.

[Uncle E]

A 12-string Seagull was my first and only acoustic for many years. Lovely guitar.