Quote Originally Posted by G-Axe View Post
Thanks very much for the kind words, Cade, Gavin and Wokka.

Gavin - You flatter me. There was a distinct lack of skill and patience on my part with this one - and there's plenty to nitpick if you get up close. It has been a great learning experience, and ultimately what I would call a successful prototype.

Wokka - Some day I'll have another go and really take my time with it. Ultimately the time off work and a very infrequent gig opportunity got the better of me, and I did some silly things.

Still, it's turned out better than I'd hoped given the time constraints, so I don't think I'll change too much. If I can bear to be without it for a couple of months, I'll properly clear coat it - leave it warts and all underneath, but just make sure it's going to last.

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So here's a quick audio sample I recorded. Still getting my head around how to best mic up my amp and so forth. Very happy with the clean sound, high gain sounds a little bit too "metalzone", but I do love the bite of the attack. I might need to dial down the treble and bring up the mids.

Link

Pickups are Artist Bullbuckers - cheap Chinese made Jazz/JB knockoffs - very happy with them so far. Amplifier is a Marshall JCM2000 DSL50 clean on Channel A, driven hard on Channel B. Recorded with an ES57 (Chinese made SM57 knockoff) into a little Behringer 12 way USB mixer using Audacity.
The guitar is impressive, the design... very very nice.
I have an old (British made) JCM2000 DSL100 head, and my favorite set up for full blast rhythm tracks was:
Ultra gain channel on the lead 1, Bass about 8, Mids about 8, Treble on 2/3 and presence on 4/6 depending on the guitar plugged in. Gain about 6 and volume (recording) at 6/7. Tone shift button off (too much scoop for my taste) and Deep button off (that resonance control might be interesting playing alone, but makes bass frequencies get muddy on a recording or playing with a band.

Then, place an SM57 or another mic in the cone but not far from the center of the speaker (will search for a pic if you want).

JCM 2000 amps tend to give too much gain that can make everything sound muddy or fuzzy, but if you stay with a lower gain, high volume and mids up, then you can get some Hot rodded Jcm800-esque sounds from it. My head was a little modded, but you can get good sounds from the stock one.
If you want to get it a little hotter, you can put a booster or an overdrive (lo gain-hi volume setting) infront of it. I use an MXR micro amp for it when i want more gain and sustain for leads. But the clue, specially when recording, is to keep gain settings lower, volume high and control all the unwanted high frequencies. And itīs a british voiced amp, donīt get rid of his mids. Hit hard the strings and enjoy.... Been playing with it for a long time and it always worked fantastic in ay situation.
Now i make my own amps, but thatīs another story..

Cheers.