Shit I gots to sell:

2008 Gibson Custom Shop 1954 Reissue Les Paul/ Iced Tea Finish/ P90 Pickups- $2000

2002 Gibson Les Paul Standard/ 'Desert Burst' Finish/ Slim Taper Neck/ Burstbucker Pickups- $1500

1997 Gibson Les Paul Special/ Cherry Finish/ Slim Taper Neck/ P90 Pickups- $750

Mesa Boogie 3/4 Back 4x10 Cabinet/ Black/ Weber AlNiCo Silver Ten Speakers/ 8 Ohms- $500

Fender 4x12 Cabinet/ Black Tolex, Silver Grill/ Frontloading/ Celestion Reissue G12H30 Speakers/ 4 Ohms(can be wired to 16 Ohms)- $300

Pickups: Nickel Gibson Burstbucker Pro Bridge/ Nickel Gibson 490R Humbucker Neck/ Zebra Gibson 490R Humbucker Neck/ Black Duncan JB Humbucker Bridge/ Nickel Duncan Seth Lover Humbucker Bridge/ Black BG Pickups Humbucker Sized P90s both Bridge and Neck(these are actual P90s fitted to a plastic Humbucker cover mount)- $50 each

Mercury Magnetics Tone Clone Transformers for Marshall Plexi Super Lead/ NEW/ 3 Sets including Power, Output and Choke Transformers- $150 per set or $75 each for Output or Power, $20 each Choke  

Anyone interested please email me at barrel666@hotmail.com

Thanks,

Rick Moore

LDM

I'm not sure where I left off. I don't think I've talked about Maple caps and P90s. Here's what I gleaned from playing the '54, which has a carved maple cap(or top) glued to the mahogany body. Maple is more dense than mahogany, so the body of a carved top Les Paul as a composite is brighter than a plain old mahogany slab. Theoretically. I don't know if it really holds true to my perception. After a while with the '54 I reverted to my '97 USA Special. A Les Paul Special has the same shape and neck specs as your typical Standard only without the Maple top. It's a little lighter and less dense, and traditionally equiped with P90s. I think the broadness of the P90's frequency response works particularly well with a solid Mahogany guitar, whereas the more dense Maple top guitar with P90s gets washy and blurry when one plays more beefy or complex chords. With a Special, the clarity is all there and you have great control over the brightness overall by using the guitar's tone controls. The result is very clear but thick(if you want it) and gutteral tone. What I'm saying is it's tough. Sounds to me with a maple top, perhaps not enough high frequencies are attenuated, so with chords there's a bunch of adverse high frequency phase interaction that washes out the chord clarity. Now with leads, solos, single notes and probably slide it's a different story. That stuff screams out, which makes it great for blues. Remember the Sean Costello cover on Creative Loafing a couple of weeks ago? He's holding a real vintage '54. Assuming that's what he normally played, it makes sense. You don't see blues men chopping out power chords too much. Anyway, since convinced of all the above I decided a Custom Shop Les Paul Special Single Cut might be right on. It is. They call it a '1960' which is silly because sometime in '59 they all Specials went Double Cutaway. They should really call it a '1959' reissue, because it's made with the '59 neck profile. It's slightly smaller than the 'Early 50s' profile but a bit bigger than the '1960 Slim Taper'. I'm sure the beefy neck compliments the resonance and clarity. It's just big enough that I can get around it with my little hands. I like this one a bunch. It's finished in TV White, a translucent white with the grain showing underneath, so it's somewhere between eggshell and beige. The plastics are black and the electronics are stock. I've tried Fralins and Lollars, but for the Les Paul Special, the stock Gibson P90s are the only ones that quack and growl like I need 'em to.

Here's the link to the Gibson page for this guitar.

http://gibsoncustom.com/flash/products/lespauls/60Special_SC/1960SpecialSC.html

Next time I'm listing everything I want to sell with prices. I've got to pay for all these experiments!

RSMLDM

Since I got those Webers 12F150s into the 4x12 cab I hadn't tried them out with my head, the Small master volume amp. See, that amp is very close to the circuit in my Victoria 4x10 Bassman clone. The Vic has the Fender 5F6-A circuit but with the 1st 2 stages connected in series and the 'Normal' volume and 'Bright' volume controls functioning as gain and master volume respectively. The main differences between the Small and the Vic are the power tubes and transformers. They make a significant difference. The Small uses EL34s, and I've been running it through some British style Weber 10s. It sounds alright that way, but not as good as the Vic with its Jensen style 10s. I've wondered if running the Small into some Jensen style speakers would make it sound as good as or more similar to the Vic. It certainly helps, and because they're all 12" ceramics in a closed back slant cab, it brings out some other interesting characteristics. It's tighter and less forgiving, clearer, tougher, louder, more focused, and I like it. It certainly evens-out and broadens the frequency response, and alleviates the midrange concentration produced by combining EL34s with British style speakers. Some people can make a Marshall stack or half-stack sound great. Bruce Bohannon is the best example. Me, I could never work it right.

Anyway, I love playing 2 amps. What I've done for the past couple of years is use the Vic as the fundamental element of my tone and use the Small to extend and reinforce the low end. It sounds huge and rich. It also sounds a bit washed-out and muddy too. I think there's quite a bit of frequency overlap that reduces the overall fidelity a bit, and the speakers I've been using for the Small have a role in that. The experiment entiltled 'Much Swappy' involved dedicating a whole LDM practice(thanks fellas) to combining different amps and cabs together. You got the Vic combo amp with its Jensen style 4x10s, the Small amp, the British style Mesa 4x10 cab, the Jensen style Mesa 4x12 cab, and the '67 Dual Showman amp. I even used a phase reversing speaker cable to keep the Showman in phase with the others. In the end, the best sounding combination was the Vic with the Small through the Jensen style 4x12. Interestingly, the Showman by itself sounds great through the British style 10s. Those speakers are not quite as efficient as some, and their AlNiCo magnets make them compress pretty severely. You can crank the amp and get some great distortion at a usable volume. Unfortunately the thought of lugging the Small amp, the Vic and the 4x12 to a show makes my back hurt just sitting here. Plus, despite the fact that I wouldn't play that rig terribly loud, it's gonna scare the shit out of most sound men. Sound men are generally ill tempered to begin with and usually don't like the idea of dealing with and micing 2 guitar amps from 1 guitarist. The Vic next to the 4x12 with a head on top looks ridiculously unnecessary, like it couldn't possibly be doing much when it's actually generating half the sound. I'm rambling.

The point is, if I could get a satisfactory tone and volume from one amp, that's all I would use. I would swallow my pride and abandon my precious amp that I built myself and use only the Vic, but when I get it loud enough, it's tone has gone to mush. If I can tweak-out the Small some more and get a response that's as pleasing as the Vic's, I could blow it through the 4x12 and tear the ears off some Gundars. OR...if the Vic was loud enough and retained its tone running just the amp itself through the 4x12, I could use that. It might just be perfect. The cool thing about the Mesa 4x12 is each pair of speakers on either side is wired in parallel and connected to a jack labelled mono. Those two jacks are wired in series and connected to a third jack labelled stereo. So, since the speakers are all 8 ohms, the 2 stereo jacks are 4 ohms and the mono jack is 8 ohms. It beats the hell out of those shitty, shitty switches on the back of modern Marshall cabs. The Vic needs 2 ohms and has 2 speaker jacks wired in parallel(my doing from when I put in the Webers). All I have to do to try out the 4x12 with the Vic at the proper impedence is use 2 speaker cables to connect each amp jack to each of the 4 ohm stereo jacks on the cab, and Bob's your uncle. Of course if that works out I'll have to get a head cabinet for the Vic. I'm not gonna lug around 4 speakers I'm not using and put a combo on top of a cab. The question then will be, "Aged Tweed or Black Tolex?".

RSMLDM

I have a copy of the Who song Magic Bus on vinyl. I also at some point purchased it digitally. Regardless of any other elements of the music, there's at least one great tonal moment at the climax of the song when an electric guitar track comes in all 'KWUNG-WONG', really forward in the mix. It's probably a Hiwatt or a Fender, maybe with one of those P90 SGs. It bites real nice on the front of the note, it blossoms well and it occupies a really broad frequency range, from loads of low end to the high end bite that really lets you know you're plucking a steel string. Well, funny thing is, the tone of that part is totally neutered in the digital version, some trick of modern mastering I guess. Interesting withdrawl of balls.

Anyway, I was enjoying some similar tones last night with my R4(not an astromech droid but Gibson speak for a 1954 Reissue) and my Showman and the Weber 12F150s. I'd been having trouble implementing those speakers and their cab on account of their efficiency. They're loud. I couldn't get enough distortion without being too loud. I kept reverting to using my 4x10 with AlNiCo Webers. They're smaller for starters, a little older, and because they use AlNiCo magnets, they're compressed. Over a certain amount of input power, they won't get any louder. They delivered the right volume at the right level of gain and distortion. Problem was I liked the detail and low end potential of the 12s, plus I got them to use with that amp in a specific project, plus the feet on the Showman aren't tall enough to clear the handle on the top of the 4x10(shit bugs me!). What happened was, I replaced the 12AX7 I was using as the driver tube with a Fender typical(post Brown face anyway) 12AT7. It has 60% of the gain of a 12AX7. The preamp tube for the one channel I use I left in there, a 12AX7. The effect of the change is that I can achieve the level of distortion I want from the preamp, but the driver is delivering 40% less of that signal to the power tubes than it was previously. It means I can get more preamp distortion at a lower volume and thus can enjoy the detail and 'thrust' of the new 12s without blowing away my new bandmates. Our tentative name is now 'The Bad Touch'.

As for my droid, I ditched the Faber bridge. The bridge itself was ok but unnecessary, as I didn't really have any problem with the intonation previously. What wasn't working out was the fancy studs I got to hold the bridge on. Basically instead of a cast stud with a lip to hold the bridge in place, the stud is simply a fat machine screw that holds the bridge tight against some washer or washers which are held tight against the body. The idea is that the string vibration interacts more efficiently with the vibration of the body. Dampening is reduced and sustain is increased. It works better for straight tailpieces and not tailpieces used as bridges since you are limited to the height of any combination of the provided washers. I needed something between 5.5mm and 6.5mm options. My action was just a little too high and stiff, which sucks when you're leaning to deal with a slightly larger neck profile. I switched back to the stock stuff and got my action right, so I'm nice and loosey goosey and bendy. The neck is super straight with almost no relief, so I got a little buzz but no more than I'm accustomed to. I'm hanging with it because I think the super straight neck is what makes the intonation so agreeable. Plus there's a certain amount of buzz that's crucial to get that BITE!

RSMLDM

I got some new shit. I got some old shit. OK, I got a '67 Fender Dual Showman amp head at Midtown Music for $250 in, oh I'd say 1998. It's the amp I started my experimenting with. It's been a good, reliable friend, and it's 'normal' channel is the quinessential blackface era Fender circuit. I love it, and I'm always eager to find an application for it. So I've been playing a little with some new people on the side, and I decided to put together a little rig for it. I'm running the Showman at half-power into a minty Mesa 4x12 Traditional Slant cab at 8 ohms. Now, a Dual Showman OT wants 4 ohms, but when you pull 2 tubes to halve the power, it wants 8 ohms. I picked up the cab a year ago for cheap from some yokel that lives near my pop in Florida. I sold the Vintage 30s out of it and put some 1980 vintage 80 watt Celestions in there that came from my first Marshall cab (the Wet Cat). They sound great and they're refreshingly smooth, but at least one of them is beat. I've been itching to try some Weber Jensen style 12s, so I procured 4 of Ted's 12F150s. It's basically a C12N type speaker, 1.5" voice coil, ceramic magnet, with 60's style American style cone and dustcap. They're all 8 ohms, wired series-parallel. The icing on the cake is my new guitar. Gibson Custom Shop 1954 Les Paul reissue, iced tea burst, wraparound bridge/tailpiece, a fat neck and P90 pickups. Yeah I know; don't cum on your monitor, tiger! Anyhoo, I swapped out the stock pups for some Fralins and the stock wraptail for a Faber lightweight compensated wraptail and that bitch is hot to trot. Long story short, that guitar straight into a very 60s Fendery amp and cab is new and exciting for me, but a tried and true traditional gain set up for many for 50 years!

RSMLDM

Well we screwed the pooch and have to postpone our CD release show. We've got to book one yet, so it'll be a minute. The good news is the art is done, and it'll be off to the presses any day now. The CD should be available early or mid May and hopefully we'll make a big deal about it late May. May the gods of Atlanta booking take mercy on our goof. By the by, we're still playing the Liverhearts CD release show next Saturday with Rizzudo because we love all those guys. The Liverhearts are one of the best and most original and interesting bands from Atlanta ever. Get a fucking clue.

RSMLDM

I made a two changes recently. Of course one never stops experimenting. Well, many of us don't. About a year ago I started using the Gibson Bustbucker Pro Bridge Humbucker. They come stock in the Gibson USA Les Paul Standards. I've had and sold a few of those but never wanted to use the pickups. This was generally during my "Seth Lover forever" phase. Anyway, a few times I'd be putting the BB Pro's back in guitar to sell it and I'd think, 'Man that sounds pretty good'. They do. They've got a little extra output than your averge PAF style pickup. They also have a little extra of what Gibson calls 'bite and brilliance'. That stuff doesn't sound so good. It's harsh high frequency spit and grit that detracts from the pleasing aural elements otherwise produced by the pickup. Now the magnet in the BB Pro is AlNiCo 5, and I've never had pickup with one of those magnets that I liked. I think that's where the 'bite and brilliance' comes from. I just installed and like very much the Gibson Burstbucker 2. It is essentially the same, only with an AlNiCo 2 magnet. AlNiCo 2 has always sounds smoother to me and never produces much harsh highs. This pickup is very similar to the Seth in terms of it's smoothness and output, but somehow it's a bit more harmonically textured and clear. I reckon this is a product of Gibson winding each coil(a humbucker has 2) more or less turns of wire than the other. The dominant coil is going to add some of the clarity you get from a single coil pickup, as fewer frequencies from that coil are being dampened by the lower amplitude, reverse phased, equivalent frequencies from the other coil. Something like that. It sounds good. It's rich and clear, and it doesn't produce any shit you don't want. It made every other instrument and the band as a unit sound clearer as well.

The other thing I did was take out 2 of the power tubes from my Small 'George' amp. It's now running at 50 watts with 2 JJ E34Ls. This one's harder to describe, so I'm not going to try so much. 100 watt amps and 50 watt amps just sound different. 100w amps aren't really that much louder, but they push the low lows better. You can really feel the rumble more than you can hear it. I feel like the clarity in the bass frequencies for guitar are the more middle low freqs. That's what you hear. In my experience, at times you can actually hear more 'bass' from the guitar by removing some of the low low freqs from your system. I reckon that's what taking the power down on that amp did. Now I have more discernable thump. Two 50 watt amps through a total of 8 10" speakers is plenty for me.

As it is, these two changes have got me stoked on my tone again, at least for a minute. The other perk is that cosmetically the new pickup is the open coil zebra variety. The happiest I've ever been with the looks of my guitar was when I had the zebra Fralin pickups in there with the cream switch tip and vintage style tuners. I like the pickup enough after a day that I ordered a matching Gibson zebra 490R for the neck pickup. It's what I have in there now, but it ain't zebra. It's got the nickel cover over double black bobbins, and I use only one of the two coils. That gives me the best effect when using the old clean/dirty pickup switch trick.

Baby's gonna look good.

RSMLDM