GuitarBandDVD

If you are ever in Los Angeles in early October you should check out the L.A. Amp Show at the Airtel Hotel. If you love to A/B top gear (and who doesn’t?) this is the place. It’s the next best thing to NAMM. Actually, it’s such a niche that in a way it’s better. Here are a few of the product demonstrations. More videos to follow.

During my interview you start to understand just how badly Torn wanted to expand his knowledge of all music and just how deep his passion for creativity and individuality runs. Torn knows the rules of music well and has done an amazing job of breaking them. At one moment he’s using his trem bar to make swoopy, stuttering sounds and the next he is methodically practicing traditional oud scales. It sounds diverse, but it makes perfect sense when you hear his music.

David Torn spends much of his time scoring films and consulting with companies about music gear. The man has “ears” and knows innovative sounds. He was even a little concerned that his playing on this interview was not captured on a more professional format. So please be aware that I recorded his playing with the shotgun microphone on my Canon consumer camcorder. I do this on all my videos. Nothing fancy. but it gets the job done without much fuss and allows me to concentrate on other things.

Playing a prototype maple-neck gold D’Pergo strat-style guitar made from ancient swamp ash through a variety of vintage and modern effects amplified through two prototype Fryette amps he stood there like a sorcerer conjuring auditory daydreams and nightmares (often in the same musical phrase).

We may all be looking at the same picture, but some of us see it differently. David Torn is that kind of musician. Don’t just watch him play, listen to his thought process and philosophy about music-making. This guy is open-minded and unafraid to push the envelope. Prepare to be inspired.

This guy is not just playing pentatonic blues scales…who does he sound like? David Torn.

David Torn - Interview 1

Torn’s Los Angeles-area home studio showing effects rack, pedalboard, Fryette amps he is consulting on and more. Click on picture to enlarge.

The wizard’s work station. Click on picture to enlarge.

David Torn - Interview 2

One of Torn’s racks containing a looper and Lexicons used to create other-worldly tones. Click to enlarge.

David Torn - Interview 3
Demonstrating some of his unique approach to guitar on a prototype D’Pergo made of ancient swamp ash.

The newest amp from Fryette that David is consulting on. He had two and was comparing speakers with them. They sounded great clean or distorted.

David Torn - Interview 4

David Torn - Interview 5

Torn playing his Oud.

reviewed by David Caris

Geek Speak: How does an optical compressor work? It alters the dynamics of audio signals with a light element and optical cell. An increased audio signal increases the amplitude. When that happens, the light element gets brighter which makes the optical cell attenuate the amplitude of the output signal.

What happens in layman’s terms; the signal gets squished, shimmery, pumped, sustained, boosted or limited depending on how you have tweaked the compressor.

A Different Kind of Animal
I just got hold of the new Joemeek FloorQ optical compressor pedal for evaluation and it’s not what I anticipated. The only time I have ever used an optical compressor was in the recording studio so I was thinking it might still sound somewhat like other VCA-based compressor pedals. Wrong. FloorQ is different kind of animal.

This was in fact quite a departure from other compressor pedals I have tried, including the Carl Martin compressor/limiter I have used for the last several years. If you are looking for a tremendous change in your sound, go buy another pedal. However, if you dig the sound you already have, then this pedal will only enhance it.

First Impressions
Like a child on Christmas morning I was panting with anticipation as I opened the sturdy box the FloorQ came in. Ah, the smell of new gear. As I extracted the pedal from its box I understood why the packaging was so heavy-duty. This British racing green-colored pedal is built like a tank and it has a moderately sized footprint. Although not huge, it’s not Keeley-small either. I was thinking that it had better sound great to chew up my valuable pedal board real estate.

The case is heavy and the knobs feel high-quality when you turn them. I like the slight incremental click the controls make as you turn the dial. Details like this instill confidence by exuding quality before you plunk your first note.

Get Tweaked
Here’s what the knobs do:

Input: Sets the gain pre-amp
Slope: Sets compression ratio to applied signals above threshold
Compress: Sets the threshold above which the signal starts to be compressed
Attack: Sets how quickly the compressor responds to peaks above the threshold
Release: Sets the time taken for the signal to return to normal size after compression

Tone Tour
The best way to describe the tones the FloorQ produces are “audiophile” and “transparent”. Aside from the obvious input and output knobs, this pedal works it’s magic subtly. You might not be that aware when it is on, (aside from the very-cool blue LED), but you can sure tell when it is off.

This could be used as a set-it-and-forget-it pedal, because the FloorQ sweetens up your sound without monkeying with it. I stopped thinking about it as an effect pedal and began to think of it as a stealthy sound-enhancement device.

If you turn up the compress knob to 10, you still don’t kill your dynamics. The attack knob does not dull your sound when turned up fully either. The FloorQ really performs like a beautiful rack compressor built into a pedal just as Joemeek claims. I played around with various settings and could NOT get the FloorQ to sound bad. The unit loves guitar frequencies.

The Cool Stuff
This pedal is not picky about what kind of power supply you use either. If it gets juice, it’s happy. It comes with a regulated 12VAC power supply, but I plugged it in to my T-Rex Fuel Tank and I was ready to go. You can also use this pedal for line input matching and to overdrive a tube amp. I already have various overdrive pedals, but the idea of a high-end pre-amplifier built into an optical compressor is very appealing. The pre-amp is low-noise, Class-A, super high-quality and is always working, even when the pedal is off. This pedal is quiet as a church mouse and you can’t say that about most compressors.

Like any high-quality compressor, the pedal worked well with my other pedals. The sound of my Gibson ES-335 going through my 1966 Blackface Fender Princeton Reverb with the FloorQ, Fulltone Choralflange (set to a frosty chorus setting) and then through a touch of TC Electronic Vintage Delay was heavenly. It sounds great without the FloorQ, but it sounded even better with it. Really delicious.

Final Take
The FloorQ is quite different from most of the other high-quality compression pedals out there. Would I buy one? Well, I told the folks at PMI Audio Group (the manufacturer) I can’t send it back. It’s already been velcro’d to my pedal board.

The Floor Q has a Gotta-Guit-It Rating of: 5 GUITARS

Gotta-Guit-It Rating System:

Rating System: From 1 to 5 Guitars

1 Guitar: Toss it into the dumpster
2 Guitars: Back to the drawing board
3 Guitars: Adequate… and that’s about it
4 Guitars: Pretty cool gear
5 Guitars: Purchase without hesitation - Gotta-Guit-it

How To Save Money and Time While Keeping Your Tube Guitar Amp in Top Shape.

Do you own a tube guitar amplifier? Have you ever been at a gig and under pressure when your amp stops working? What do you do? How can you keep your amp in tip-top shape and prevent a disaster? What part of your amp repair can YOU do, and what should you leave to a pro?

So many of us depend on tube guitar amps to get us through the rehearsal, gig or recording session while delivering the sound that only a tube amplifier can deliver.
It’s so easy to get caught off guard and find yourself in a nightmare scenario with humming, popping or smoke emanating from your prized amplifier ten minutes before the downbeat. Relax. I went to the effort to seek out an expert who knows tube guitar amps inside and out; Rick Marshal.

Rick has worked on tube amps for years at Carruthers Guitars in Venice, California. In case you don’t already know, John Carruthers builds amazing handcrafted guitars that are played by world-famous guitarists and musicians that demand the best. So when musicians take their vintage tube amps to the Carruthers shop, the bar is set very high.

While there is some emphasis on vintage Fender amps in this series of videos, this video series focuses on tube amplifiers as a general category. If you watch this four-part series and don’t learn something important, you are probably qualified to be a department head at Musician’s Institute in Hollywood, CA, just like John Carruthers .

So kick back while you listen to the voice of experience on how to prepare for the worst and how to prevent the worst from happening in the first place.

by David Caris

Video 1 - Tube Amp Survival Guide With Rick Marshal

Video 2 - Tube Amp Survival Guide With Rick Marshal

Video 3 - Tube Amp Survival Guide With Rick Marshal

Video 4 - Tube Amp Survival Guide With Rick Marshal

WANT TO CONTACT RICK FOR  REPAIR WORK?

VISIT WWW.CARRUTHERSGUITARS.COM

Rick went through my 1966 blackface Princeton Reverb and re-capped it. The amp sounds spectacular and I will never sell it. That’s my story and I am sticking to it.