Crazy Train Music Blog

Gus G

2012-01-02T01:41:00.000-08:00

Introducing the Gus G. FIRE Blackouts System

Hard rock and metal guitarists no longer need to choose between the power of active pickups and the response of passive pickups. The Gus G. FIRE Blackouts System blends the best aspects of both.

“This system combines the massive tone, kick, and distortion of Blackouts with the rich tone and expressive feel of my favorite passive pickups,” says Gus G., the exciting young guitarist just off the road with Ozzy Osbourne. “It responds perfectly to all my picking techniques, and more of my personality comes through than with any active pickup I’ve tried.”

Details:

• Combines active and passive. The Gus G. Fire Blackouts System is a matched set of two passive humbucking pickups and a dual preamp that replaces one of the guitar’s volume pots.

• Traditional humbucker design with individual pole pieces provides the note definition and string-to-string feel of passive pickups.

• Alnico 5 magnets deliver rich, detailed tones. The bridge pickup’s larger magnet adds more low-mids for fatter, fuller-sounding leads.

• Custom-wound coils create a remarkably open, airy sound.

• A high-output, low-noise differential dual preamp captures every nuance of the passive-style pickups—with plenty of headroom. Most other active preamps clip too easily, decimating your dynamics.

• Long battery life. A single 9-volt battery provides approximately 750 hours of playing time.

• Bare-wire lockdown connectors. Uses the same solderless connectors as our Liberator Pickup Change System. No soldering required if replacing existing active pickups. Screwdriver included.

• Includes three additional 25K potentiometers for users who are replacing passive pickups.

• Organic sound. Instead of tone that sounds as if it was created by a preamp, you’ll hear the wood of your guitar. You’ll hear your picking style. You’ll hear you.

• Pickups hand-made in Santa Barbara, California. Preamp made in the USA.

Available at http://www.crazytrainmusic.co.uk/gus-g-fire-pickup/

The New MXR Custom Badass O.D :O

2011-11-19T12:39:00.001-08:00

The MXR Custom Badass design team, the guys who brought you the wildly popular Custom Badass ’78 Distortion last year, is back this year with the Modified O.D. They took a classic overdrive circuit and improved its performance and versatility, features they saw missing from the current overdrive market.

We sat down with Senior Engineer Bob Cedro and Senior Tonechaser and Dunlop TV host Bryan Kehoe to talk with them about overdrives and what they did to address an unmet player need with the Modified O.D.

What are the basics of overdrive? How do you use it? What kind of music uses overdrive?

Bob Cedro Basically, an overdrive pedal is a non-linear amplifier; it does not exactly reproduce the signal at its input. It uses a combination of circuits that add signal sustain, upper harmonic grit and tone shaping warmth to a guitar signal, all before before sending it to a guitar’s amplifier.

Back in the fifties, guitar players would increase the gain settings on mixing boards beyond or ‘over’ their intended levels in order to achieve a warm and distorted sound. Slitting speakers with razor blades was also known to achieve a gritty, distorted guitar sound. With an overdrive pedal, you don’t have to be so drastic (laughs). They’ve found their way into nearly every style of guitar playing and music. And not just on guitar. Some people even use them as a vocal effect.

Bryan Kehoe You’ll mainly find O.D.s in rock, pop, metal, blues, but like Bob said, there are uses for overdrive in most music.

And you can use it in several different ways. One way is to take a clean amp and use an overdrive pedal to give it just a touch of grit and possibly a small amount of boost. This is the way most blues, country, and roots players use it. Rock guys like to take an amp that’s already pushed with a bit of gain and use the overdrive pedal to give it that last push over the edge into saturation land. A lot of metal guys take that a step further and use overdrive pedals to push an already overdriven signal, boosting the volume and gain even more. Then they sculpt the tone to bring out more mids for solos to cut through the band.

What’s the state of overdrive pedals on the market? Why did you feel the need to add another overdrive to the list?

BC Well, there’s a lot out there, and obviously all of them have their own character and tonal flavor. But just like ice cream, you can never have enough flavors. We took a classic flavor and made it taste even better.

BK Yeah, I mean, there’s an endless number of O.D. pedals, but we felt like there was a need for an overdrive with way more options tonally.

Why did you choose to hot rod this particular circuit?

BK From a player’s perspective, it’s a classic design that held true throughout the years, and was a great platform to add more functionality.

How did you improve on this circuit?

BC We added two important user selectable features: a BUMP switch and a 100HZ filter control. The BUMP switch adds a low and mid frequency output boost that really jumps you forward into the mix. The 100HZ lets you tighten up the low end–make it clearer–or emphasize low end power.

BK I really want to emphasize that the BUMP switch is really a second voicing. The 100 Hz cut and boost gives me so much more control over the character of the overdrive. Together, really, the versatility of the pedal just . And that’s what it boils down to–great versatility in one pedal. A player may need complete different sounds from gig to gig, and rig to rig, and this pedal will get you through all of that.

What is the best way to use the Custom Badass Modified O.D.? In front of a clean or dirty amp?

BC In front of a clean amp is a great place to start. But try it in front of an amp that’s about to break up and see it take the amp to a wonderful new level of overdrive tone. Then just go for it by placing it in front of an amp’s distortion channel to create even higher saturation and sustain. Experiment, that’s what we put in all that versatility for (laughs).

BK My favorite way to use this pedal is with an amp that is already pushed to a mild gain stage, not spanky clean, but with a bit of kerrang. Then I use the pedal in two different ways: first, to boost my signal and get it up to another level of gain for classic rock type solos and second, to use it after the M78 Custom Badass Distortion to really take it over the top.

What kind of player is this pedal designed for? Metal? Rock? Blues?

BC All of the above and more.

BK Yeah, I know it’s a cliché, but it is really great for all types of players. Hell, I’d recommend it to keyboardists, sax players, bass players, accordion players, any body that wants to give their tone some grit, boost, and added EQ functionality.

Orange Dealerships

2011-10-31T08:48:00.000-07:00

If you hadn't noticed we have become Orange dealers of recent. Here is a bit of whats to come in the coming year.

The first week of 2011 saw the unveiling of the Orange OPC Guitar Amplifier Recording Studio Workstation at CES 2011 (the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas). Both at CES, and a week later at NAMM 2011, the OPC – another first for Orange – attracted massive interest from the media and public.

April 6th on the Orange booth at Frankfurt’s Musikmesse 2011 was the official launch date for

The Book of Orange – Building the Brand Orange – a large-format illustrated ‘flipbook’ tracing the history of Orange amplifiers and development of the Orange brand from its launch in 1968.

Musikmesse 2011 saw the introduction of the latest addition to the Tiny Terror family – the high-gain Dark Terror: a 15 watts switchable to 7 watts compact amp head featuring the Shape control derived and developed from the Thunderverb series.

Orange also introduced the TubeSync DIVO (Dynamic Intelligent Valve Optimisation) OV4. The OV4 is the stand-alone module version of DIVO – ground-breaking technology that helps to increase the life of tubes; protects against tube failure and enables different tube types to be installed in the same amp. DIVO will come pre-installed on select Rockerverb 100 MK II heads in summer 2011.

Why bother changing your pickups?

2011-10-06T05:15:00.000-07:00

Pickups are the heart of your guitar. The right pickups can bring a dead-sounding guitar to life. They can turn a good instrument into a great one. They might not transform a guitar that plays poorly into a magical instrument, but they will almost certainly deliver a huge sonic upgrade.
Most important, they let you customize your instrument, creating a sound that's perfectly and uniquely "you." Pickups, in short, are one of the key ingredients of your tone. There are many other factors, of course: the materials and workmanship of your instrument, your strings, your amp, your cables, and your playing style. But finding the right pickup is one of the fastest, most cost-effective, and exciting ways to upgrade the sound of your guitar or bass. And since pickups lie "upstream" from the rest of your gear, the right choice can actually make your pedals and amps sound better too. Want more sustain? Stronger harmonics? A warmer or brighter tone? More distortion? Less? The right pickup will give you exactly what you want.

What are pickups?

Technically speaking, pickups are a type of transducer, a generic word for any device that converts one type of energy to another. Electric guitar and bass pickups translate a string's vibration (what you play) into an electrical signal that you can pump through an amp or mixer. In order to hear the final result, you need another type of transducer: a speaker, which converts the electrical signal back into audible energy: the vibrations of the speaker's cone.

What is the perfect pickup?

The one that helps your guitar or bass sound exactly the way you want. Does your guitar sound massive in your bedroom, but puny onstage? Does your bass have enough presence to cut through heavy guitars? Do sustained notes dry up just when you wish they'd blossom into feedback? These are just a few examples of problems the right pickup can solve.
If you haven't experimented with different pickups, you might not realize how dramatically the right pickup can improve the sound of an instrument. Even if you like the way your current pickups sound, it might be worthwhile to audition guitars or basses similar to yours, but outfitted with different pickups. If you find yourself experiencing "tone envy," perhaps you should consider replacement pickups. This is especially true if you love the look and feel of your instrument, but wish it sounded better-or just different.
But a great instrument and great pickups don't automatically make great music together. You need the right pickup for your instrument and style. Read on to learn about the variables that define a pickup's sound and how to determine your perfect pickups. And we're here to help you through the process.

How do pickups work?

Almost all electric guitar and bass pickups rely on magnetism. The active ingredients are one or more magnets and a wire coil. The magnets create a magnetic "flux field" around the pickups. When you strike a string, the field moves in response to the vibration, and the pickup translates these changes into small but meaningful electric signals. Before you can hear these signals as music, you must amplify them and pump them through speakers.

Orange Amps

2011-09-29T06:10:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note we are now Orange Amp stockists. We have been looking for a long time now for an amp company suitable to our online and shop customers needs and I think we have hit the nail on the head with these guys. Great sales teams and a great product to match. and best of all an amazing legacy. Orange amps have been there all the way since the early days of rock n roll starting in 1968.For anyone interested in reading more on the History of Orange amps please click HERE for a full lesson :)

If not enjoy this little article on Lianna Davies:

Lianna Davies was born & raised in London, England. Her first love of music came at a very young age when she was exposed to David Bowie “As soon as I heard Bowie I knew this is what I was born to do”. After being told by her middle school guitar tutor she would be ‘better suited’ to play clarinet she rebelled and by the time she hit her very early teens she had saved every penny she could so she could get her first electric guitar. “I ended up playing clarinet for a while… I didn’t want to blow on things… I wanted to play guitar”

Being so young in the capital of the music scene she was exposed to a wide range of music. Her influences are very varied however she has noted Black Sabbath – Gezzer Butler, Bikini Kill, Fugazi, The Stooges as having a big influence on her playing & writing.

She then made the transition from guitar to drums then on to her final instrument Bass. “I studied music at college & there were too many guitarists… So I thought I would give drums a go… However I always found myself humming the bass line of a song when learning… So I picked up a bass… And as soon as I picked it up I knew that this was the instrument for me”

After being in various bands & getting her chops down Lianna joined a new project called Pettybone. Pettybone started out in the beginning of 2010 at a squat in North London and quickly became prominent on London’s alternative scene, creating a buzz around them that won them the attention of various magazines and radio including Terrorizer, Kerrang, Maximum Rock n Roll, Subba Cultcha plus many more. They were also invited by Mike Davies – (BBC Radio 1) to record a special live session for the Radio 1 Punk Show.

“Bands this exciting come along once every blue moon” – Ian Glasper – Terrorizer July 2011

Pettybone’s powerful debut album ‘From Desperate Times Comes Radical Minds” was recorded by Sam Thredder at Cro’s Nest and mixed by Kurt Ballou at Godcity studios and is set for release September 2011 via Damage Done Records / Emancy Punx

Lianna is known for her explosive live performances & she has even been known to say “If I’m not bleeding after a gig… Then it wasn’t a good gig”.

Lianna’s approach to bass playing has cemented her unique & individual style which in years to come I’m sure peers will note her as a major influence.

Seymour Duncan nominated for Vintage Guitar Magazine Hall of Fame

2011-09-15T07:21:00.000-07:00

Seymour Duncan

Contributors and visitors of Vintage Guitar magazine have nominated Seymour Duncan as a candidate for the Vintage Guitar Hall of Fame Innovator. Previous winners include Leo Fender, Les Paul, Orville Gibson, Seth Lover and others. Registration is required in order to vote and those who vote get a chance to win an Egnater head and two cabinets, as well as other prizes!
About Seymour:

Seymour with Seth Lover

Seymour had his start in tinkering with his pickups and realizing that the tone he had been looking for could be found in the magnets and coils. In the 60′s, he worked on the pickups of Jimmy Page, George Harrison, Eric Clapton, Pete Townshend, Jimi Hendrix, Peter Frampton, and Jeff Beck. With demand for his custom pickups growing, he started Seymour Duncan Pickups along with Cathy Carter Duncan. For nearly half a century, Seymour has shown an unwavering passion for creating the tones artists desire. Through this dedication, Seymour Duncan Pickups has grown into the largest pickup manufacturing company through a combination of dedication to excellence, research and development, and a commitment to creating pickups that help artists get the tone they want out of their guitars. To this day, Seymour can be found winding pickups down in the Seymour Duncan Custom Shop.
To vote, please see this link: http://www.vintageguitar.com/hall-of-fame/

2011-08-09T00:53:00.000-07:00

RESTRING: WITH GARY BRAWER

Dunlop Strings is proud to partner with world renowned guitar expert Gary Brawer in the production of our new series RESTRING: WITH GARY BRAWER. In these very straightforward videos, Gary gives you the skills you will need to take charge of your guitar, save some money, and change your own strings. He shares wisdom he has gained over the years about string changing and specific guitar styles. Most importantly, both Gary and Dunlop want you to have the confidence to change your own strings so that you can quickly replace a broken string, or replace a dead set with a fresh one. With this knowledge you will be one step closer to reaching your full musical potential

Gary has been a long time friend of the Dunlop family and also shares his home turf with the organization. For those who aren’t aware, Gary has a guitar shop in San Francisco and has been doing set-ups and repairs for a multitude of top-shelf guitar players such as Jerry Garcia, Santana, Slash, The Rolling Stones, Metallica, Johnny Winter, Zakk Wylde, Warren Haynes, Jim Dunlop, Muddy Waters, Jeff Beck, Aerosmith… You get the picture.

Fender Style Guitars

YOU TUBE VID HERE

Les Paul Style Guitars

YOU TUBE VID HERE

Recording King Acoustic Guitars Check Out The Latest Review

2011-07-13T01:14:00.000-07:00

Recording King RO-127 £555

Crazy Train Music Price £439.99

A small-bodied tone monster with brilliant tones

Ed Mitchell (Total Guitar),

The RO-127 is constructed from some high-quality tonewoods.

We all like to beat chords out of a big dreadnought or super jumbo size acoustic guitar, but they don't always deliver the goods when you want to drop your plectrum and switch to fingerpicking.
You might get bags of bass and a bit of treble or vice versa, and that's not ideal when you want each note to shine. That's where small-bodied acoustics come in.
As artists as diverse as country pioneer Jimmie Rodgers, current Brit folk favourites Mumford and Sons and Eric Clapton have discovered, smaller 'folk-size' acoustic guitars leave the big boys in the dust when it comes to pumping out a focused, well-balanced tone when you're playing fingerstyle.

"When it comes to playability, the Recording King feels great."

The Recording King RO-127 'pays tribute' to the small body 000 and OM models of the Golden Era of Martin guitars that ran from 1930 to 1945. It looks pretty similar - solid spruce top, neck that joins the body at the 14th fret, real bone top nuts and bridge saddle, even old-school nickel Waverley style 'Butterbean' machineheads.

Build

The Recording King RO-127 boasts some quality tonewoods. For starters, there's the solid AA Grade sitka spruce top. That's a nice thing to see on any guitar's spec list. Add the ebony fingerboard and bridge, and the price doesn't seem much of a stretch at all. The real story, though, is the solid East Indian rosewood that's used in the construction of the back and sides. This is a very high-spec guitar.Mid-range guitars are often loaded with bling to disguise the fact that not much thought has gone into the tonal character of the instrument. Recording King offers the best of both worlds.Vintage details such as the 'torch' inlay on the headstock face and the beautiful herringbone purfling that follows the guitar's top binding will have an 'open sesame' effect on your wallet or purse. No question. But this guitar is much more than a pretty face. It's the tone that makes it special.

Sounds

Despite the marketing spiel and voodoo surrounding tonewoods, there's no guarantee that solid woods will provide a better tone than laminate timbers. It's the way a guitar is put together that counts. In the Recording King's case, it's been assembled with attention to. The rosewood back and sides provide the RO- 127 with a mellow tone that's beautifully balanced across all six strings.Strum a chord with a pick and each note rings out equally. Use your bare fingertips and the tone is as sweet as pie. As its name suggests, the Recording King would work great in a recording studio. The tone is already there, you just have to stick a mic in the right place. This is a guitar for singer-songwriters of any genre: country, blues, folk and so on. When a guitar sounds this good, all you really need is a decent voice to go with it. When it comes to playability, the Recording King feels great. The shorter scale does make fretting and bending strings a touch easier, but there's not that much in it. The action is set high enough for buzz-free performance and great tone, but it never compromises the joy of actually playing the thing. The V profile neck will fit your hand like a glove It should be obvious that the Recording King RO-127 has blown us away. The wow factor of the spec sheet has been beautifully realised in the finished guitar. The price tag is damn attractive, too

Verdict

It plays like butter, sounds like a dream and looks so pretty that you'll probably carry a photo of it around in your wallet. 5 Stars!!!!

Specification Show

RO-127

Price: £555
Back Material: Solid East Indian rosewood
Fingerboard Material: Ebony
Guitar Body Material: Sitka Spruce
Inlays: Dot
Neck Joint Location (Fret): 14
Neck Material: Mahogany
Scale Length (mm) (mm): 645

iPad Prorammable pedal board.... You knew it wouldn't be long

2011-06-19T02:58:00.000-07:00

Introducing the iPB-10 Programmable Pedalboard

The Simplicity of a Pedalboard with the Flexibility of a Multi-Effects

The DigiTech iPB-10 Programmable Pedalboard sets a new standard for guitar signal processing. By harnessing the power of the iPad™, it combines the simplicity of a pedalboard with the flexibility of a multi-effects. The iPB-10 unleashes the ability to create and control guitar effects like never before.

The iPB-10 allows you to create your ultimate pedalboard, all on your iPad. Design a pedalboard by simply dragging and dropping up to 10 different pedals, in any order, to each pedalboard. You can even add an amp and cabinet to each setup. With 87 different pedals, 54 amps, and 26 cabinets to choose from, your options are virtually unlimited. Simply swipe your finger across the iPad to rearrange your pedals, turn them on and off, or to adjust their knobs.

Traditional multi-effects have given you the flexibility to change the entire configuration of your signal chain with a single footswitch. The iPB-10 brings the concept of presets to a pedalboard. This allows you to save 100 of your favorite pedalboards with the touch or your finger, and instantly recall them with the stomp of your foot. You can have a different pedalboard for each gig, set, song, or even switch pedalboards within a song.

Once you experience the flexibility of the iPB-10 Programmable Pedalboard with its drag and drop design, you will change the way you think about guitar effects forever.

iPB-Nexus App for iPad

The free iPB-Nexus app is the perfect way to build and control your pedalboard. Using the simple and intuitive touch screen controls of the iPad, iPB-Nexus makes designing your setup for the iPB-10 Programmable Pedal board easy. Add, arrange, and adjust your pedals with a few simple gestures of your finger.

Drag and Drop Pedalboard Builder
The iPB-Nexus app for the iPad gives you touch screen control of your pedals, amps, and cabinets. Simply drag and drop your choice of 87 different pedals to your pedalboard. Select an amp and a cabinet to make your setup complete. Using the iPB-Nexus app to control your iPB-10, it's never been easier to explore your tone and find just the right sound.

My Tones LibraryThe iPB-Nexus app includes the My Tones library where you store, organize, and rate all your favorite presets. My Tones allows you to store an unlimited number of presets and group them any way you want. For example, you can make preset lists for certain sets or specific music genres. This makes setting up before a show a snap. With My Tones, you can have a different pedalboard for each gig, set, song, or even switch pedalboards within a song.

Real-Time Pedalboard View
Running the iPB-Nexus app on the iPad offers a stunningly clear display of your entire pedalboard. You get a real-time view of your pedals, amp, and cabinet. You can easily and quickly see if a pedal is on or off, where its knobs are set, and which footswitch it is assigned to. With the iPB-Nexus real-time pedalboard view, you can take your mind off your gear and focus on your sound, the crowd, and your performance.

iPB-10 Rear Panel

1/4' guitar input
1/4' amp loop with ground lift switch
1/4' effects loop
Stereo 1/4' line output with Amp/Mixer switch
Output level
Stereo XLR outputs with ground lift switch
1/8' headphone output
1/4' external footswitch control
USB port for audio streaming
DC power input
Power switch

The iPB-10 is expected to ship in June 2011 priced at £435 SRP ex VAT..
Compatible with iPad2 and iPad
iPad not included with iPB-10

FAQs

Will the iPB-10 work without an iPad plugged in to it?
Yes. The iPB-10 will function without an iPad. There is a 2 digit LED display on the unit that indicate the current preset bank. There is also a master volume knob on the back panel of the unit. At this time users will not be able to edit, adjust, or save presets without an iPad.

How much will the application cost?
The application is FREE! Anyone will be able to download and install the app. The iPB-Nexus App for iPad will be available for download from the Apple App Store shortly before the iPB-10 is shipped.

Can I connect an extension cable to the iPad?
Yes. You can connect the iPad to the iPB-10 via an extension cable and mount the iPad, for example, on a mic stand.

iPB-10 Programmable Pedalboard Product Specs

Product iPB-10 Programmable Pedalboard
UPC Code 691991202520
Product SKU IPB10

Physical
Material: Aluminium chassis, bent metal bottom/back, metal matrix insert
Colour: Black powder coat finish, brushed metal expression pedal and footswitch pads
Unit dimensions 20.25" x4.1" 12.5"(W x H x D)
Shipping dimensions 24" x 7.125" x 15" (W x H x D)
Shipping weight 14.5 lbs (approximate)
Product Weight 12.5 lbs

Electronic
A/D/A converters 24-bit high performance
Sampling frequency 44.1kHz
DSP 2 - AudioDNA™2 DSPs
SNR = 100dB

Input
Input 1/4" instrument TS
Input impedance 1 MOhm
Max input signal 8 dBu

Output
Line outputs (2) 1/4" TRS
Line output impedance 1 kOhm unbalance / 2 kOhms balanced
Line outputs max output level +10 dBu
XLR outputs (2) XLR female connectors
XLR output impedance 2 kOhms balanced
XLR outputs max output level +16 dBu

Amp Loop/Stomp Loop
Input/Output 1/4" TS
Input/Output Impedance 16kOhms/600Ohms unbalanced
Nominal Input/Output Level 8dBu
Ground lift Yes (preamp loop only)

USB
USB 2.0 compliant
Audio streaming 2 channels to computer, 2 channels from computer
Sample rate 44.1kHz

Computer Hardware/Software Requirements
Windows® Windows 7, Vista, XP (SP3 installed, .NET 2.0 installed*)
Pentium®/Athlon™ 2GHz or later 1GB RAM (2GB RAM recommended)
USB Port
Apple iTunes 10.2 or later
Mac® OS 10.5.8 or later
Intel Core 2GHz or later
1GB RAM (2GB RAM recommended)
USB Port
Apple iTunes 10.2 or later

iPad iPad Wifi/3G all models
iPad2 Wifi/3G all models

EMG James Hetfield Set

2011-06-11T00:42:00.000-07:00

James Hetfield Unleashes New EMG Signature Set at The Big 4
History was made April 23, 2011 at “The Big 4” event in Indio California with four of the biggest acts in metal playing together for the first time in the U.S. On this same day Metallica founder and front man James Hetfield unleashed his new EMG JH Set to 60,000 metal-hungry fans.
The JH Set is a totally new dimension for EMG with the design being driven solely with the input of James Hetfield. In early 2009 James Hetfield contacted EMG Pickups president Rob Turner and presented him with a challenge: to create a “stealth” looking set that captures the clarity and punch of a passive pickup and still retains the legendary active tone that molded a generation.
Featuring sleek black nickel plated caps and EMG’s Solderless Installation System™ components, the JH Set consists of the JH-N (neck) and the JH-B (bridge). Both pickups were patterned after the pickups James has used for 30 years but the end result was a completely different animal. The JH-N has individual ceramic poles and bobbins that feature a larger core and are taller than the 60. This produces more attack, higher output, and fuller low end in the neck position. The JH-B uses the same type of core but has steel pole pieces, unlike the 81 that uses bar magnets. This produces the familiar tight attack with less inductance for a cleaner low end.

Available HERE at Crazy Train Music AUGUST 2011 :)

MXR Phase 90 Script

2011-06-06T08:07:00.000-07:00

One of the worlds most popular phaser pedals the Phase 90 This device has found its way into many of Eddie Van Halen's recordings, adding a shimmery velocity to lead passages or a more dramatic swoosh to muted strumming. Not just for guitars; it works well with bass, keyboards and even vocals. Vary the speed from a subtle, long cycle to a fast, watery warble...and myriad vintage vibrations in between. http://www.crazytrainmusic.co.uk/products/Dunlop-Phase-90-.html

78 Badass MXR Distortion

2011-05-18T05:41:00.000-07:00

Meet James, the first player to debut in the new series of 2011 MXR demos. James’ simple setup includes his Telecaster through the MXR Custom Badass ‘78 Distortion into a Vox AC30. This factory-modded pedal roars with huge amp stack tones and old school tube amp-like distortion. Expect more ‘78 Distortion videos with a variety of players through an assortment of amps and guitars in the near future. We’d love to hear your thoughts on the new demos – let us know what you think!

You tube it HERE

MXR Mogwai Rocks San Francisco

2011-05-18T05:34:00.000-07:00

These guys from Glasgow are huge in the UK, and we caught them on the West end of their US tour. They KILLED it, with lengthy guitar-based instrumental pieces that featured dynamic contrast, melodic bass guitar lines, and heavy (a definite understatement) use of distortion and effects. The list of Dunlop gear they use is far too long, but we’ll mention that they use our strings, picks, MXR and Cry Baby pedals, among many other things. We didn’t get a chance to take video at the show but we have some pics to share. You can check out the plethora of Youtube videos out there in internet land to get an idea of how exceptional they are. Be sure to check out the DunlopTV video interview we did with them a while back too.

Heat and your Guitar Match made in HELL!

2011-04-15T01:10:00.000-07:00

A problem you may not have thought of. This beauty of a Gibson ES-125 just came into my shop. For years, it’s been kept super-clean by my customer’s family. But it’s also been kept in a hot attic.

In repair work, we use heat to loosen glue joints on purpose. It can happen accidentally, too: years of string tension combined with way-hot storage has gradually pulled this neck joint apart. It’s more common to see this on acoustic guitar bridges, but every now and then you come across something nastier, like this.

Let's get scientific. I put one of our surface thermometers on the dash of a car in the sun, and it registered 175° F. Then I tested various glues for joint failure, applying heat for about four hours. You can see here that a hot car is more than enough to soften glue. The moral: store guitars in the same temperatures you prefer for yourself.
Don’t get the idea that this neck joint was loose; it was solid. After pulling forward when it was hot, it had set back up when it cooled down and then stayed in this position.
The repair: I needed to remove the neck by steaming the joint, cleaning it up and reattaching it using hot hide glue. This meant removing a fret above the neck joint, drilling a hole in the fret slot, and injecting steam into the joint to soften the glue.

1. I removed the the first fret past the neck/body seam, using care so I could reinstall it. The original frets are in great shape so the last thing I want to do is refret this. I heated the fret with a soldering iron and pulled it slowly and carefully, without marring it or misshaping it in any way.
2. It came out cleanly, without creating any chips around the slot.
3. I drilled down into the joint to accommodate the steamer needle.

4. As I started pumping steam into the neck joint, I became nervous: I didn't want all that moisture saturating the plywood top and back. My shopmate Gene passed along this tip from Jon Eaton of Woodsong's Lutherie: turn the instrument over and pump the steam up into the hole instead. This way, the condensation runs out onto the floor rather than pooling inside the guitar. This is a good one, folks!
5. The joint came loose, nice and clean. While the hide glue was still wet, most of it cleaned away easily with a damp rag and a small scraper. The steam left everything moist, so I let the guitar sit for a day or two to dry out.
6. Later I scraped away the remaining dried glue, being careful not to scrape away wood from the surfaces of this dovetail joint. I didn’t want to change the shape in any way. Test-fitting the neck showed that my caution had paid off: the neck-set angle was still correct.

7. With rosewood dust and super glue, I patched the holes I’d drilled into the fret slot. A teflon fret dam keeps the slot clear while I patch along its edges. I then reinstalled the fret, seating very carefully at the same height as it was before.
8. I applied a generous amount of hot hide glue before clamping it up. You have to move quickly when using hot glue, to get the joint together before the glue has a chance to skin over—otherwise you risk a potential glue fail. When gluing, I use a space heater to heat my work area, and lamps to heat the work.
9. I used cam clamps and bar clamps to reattach the neck, with a rubber binding band adding back pressure to pull the heel tightly into the joint.

Back in business. When I removed the clamps, the neck fit nicely! It’s ready to go in the neck jig for a level and dress and a good setup. This beauty will be heading home in tip-top playing shape!

T Rex Pedals And Who They Are

2011-04-05T00:25:00.000-07:00

About T-Rex

Tech geeks and music freaks T-Rex Engineering is a company that simply had to be born. Founders Lars Dahl and Sebastian Jensen were (and still are) both tech geeks and music freaks – and they started the company in 1996 so they could build the best guitar MIDI gear on the planet. They achieved their goal quickly, producing the legendary Mac1 MIDI controller and BigFoot MIDI board. But change was in the air, and T-Rex was set to lead the way.

Mark Tremonti with Michael Pagaard (T-Rex)

A new era for the electric guitar

By the late 90s, guitarists who had thrown away their shoulder pads at the start of the decade were now ditching complicated amp-and-effects racks – and replacing them with vintage-sounding combo amps and a few simple stomp boxes. The problem was that late-90s pedals didn’t live up to the standards set by a new generation of tube amplifiers. At least not until T-Rex Engineering delivered its first pedals.

Pedals as precision instruments

From the moment T-Rex started making guitar pedals, the company knew where it was headed. T-Rex wanted to make simple pedals that each did one thing superbly. Like fine musical instruments, T-Rex pedals used whatever combination of technologies was needed, offered a brilliantly simple user interface, and delivered astonishing sound however they were used. The first series of pedals culminated in what is arguably the best guitar delay ever produced: the T-Rex Replica.

T-Rex pedals all over

Commercial success and sharp growth

By 2002, T-Rex was confident that it had a formula for success with guitarists around the globe – but the company was virtually unknown outside Denmark. Steen Melgaard was hired, and T-Rex began an aggressive push into foreign markets. A debut appearance at the Franfurt Musikmesse quickly led to distribution deals throughout Europe, Japan and the USA. Today, T-Rex pedals are sold in some 45 countries around the world.

A passion for superior tone

T-Rex has come a long way since 1996, but the company is still driven by its original spark – a passionate belief that the right technology can do great things for how music sounds. Today, the “right technology” is an ideal balance of analogue warmth and digital precision – engineered from the ground up to serve the practical needs of working musicians. T-Rex Engineering is convinced that this formula for success will continue to help deliver superior tone on stages and in studios around the world.

T Rex Pedals Meett up with Elbow

2011-04-04T02:02:00.000-07:00

T-Rex meets Elbow

Elbow uses T-Rex pedals for both guitar and keyboard.

T Rex met up with Mark Potter from Elbow last week as they made preparations for their UK arena tour. Mark fell in love with T Rex tone during the recording of their new release ‘Build A Rocket Boys’, the eagerly anticipated follow up to their double platinum 2008 Mercury Prize winning album ‘The Seldom Seen Kid’. Already using Mudhoney, Alberta , Moller & Chameleon , Mark really liked the Mudhoney II & Luxury Drive that we brought him to try & they now form an essential part of his touring rig. The bands affection for T Rex products doesn’t end there though! Keyboard player & Elbow producer Craig Potter (also Mark’s brother) can be seen with T Rex on top of his keyboard in the video for ‘Neat Little Rows’, the first single from the new album. Craig uses the DGTM for his overdriven organ sound live. We wish the band every success with the new album & the world tour that starts in March.

Welcome to the new page

2011-04-03T16:52:00.001-07:00

Thanks to our mate MR D Swinstead our new blog page looks very nice :)

Thanks

New serious blog coming soon

Crazy Train Music Become Dunlop MXR Main Dealership

2011-03-25T04:56:00.000-07:00

Crazy Train Music Become MXR Main Dealers

We now are a fully stocked Dunlop MXR dealers! :-D. We have been looking for along time for a new dealership to get our teeth into, and now its here. This month we are offering FREE SHIPPING on all MXR Dunlop products.

Offering you the best deals at the best prices in the UK With Free Shipping!

Visit the Store Here

Guitarist Marty Friedman to auction his Megadeth-era guitars for Japan tsunami relief

2011-03-20T10:32:00.000-07:00

Marty Friedman has announced that he’ll be auctioning all of his Megadeth-era guitars and donating all of the proceeds to fund the tsunami relief effort in Japan. Friedman recorded five studio albums with Megadeth from 1990 to 2000, including the platinum selling Rust in Peace. This auction begins at 6:30 PST on Sunday, March 20th. Marty currently resides in Tokyo, where he continues to write and perform music. Here’s an excerpt of Marty’s Facebook posting:

“Thank you all for your support and prayers. I am 100% fine, 100% healthy and in better shape than ever. However, there are many, many people here in Japan that are facing an unbelievable tragedy. It’s time to go to the next step. I will be auctioning ALL of my guitars from the Megadeth era and will donate 100% of the proceeds to the earthquake relief.

“I am going to LA right NOW to the climate controlled lockup where all the guitars have been in their cases since January 2000. All guitars I used on all the Megadeth recordings, tours, videos, everything WILL be auctioned off. When I get to the lockup I will do my best to sort out which was used for what ( I suck at that…I’m sure many of you guys know better than I do) and notate as many details as possible.

“Pictures, descriptions and how to bid will all be up on my USA website as well as my Japanese website. I have NEVER sold ANY of my guitars before, this is the only way these guitars will leave my possession. I urge you to please spread the word and most of all BID HIGH. You will be putting a huge deposit in the `karma bank` and have some pretty cool guitars to show for it. DO IT!”

Marty comments, “Thanks to Dunlop for their support in this cause. Hopefully more music related companies will follow suit to help Japan, one of the most music hungry countries in the world.”

To learn more about this auction, please visit the following websites:

www.facebook.com/martyfriedman.official

www.martyfriedman.com

Warbringer’s John Laux On Getting Huge Distortion—with Passive Pickups.

2011-03-16T14:09:00.000-07:00

I experimented with a lot of pickups before I settled on the Seymour Duncan JB SH-4,” says thrash-metal guitarist John Laux of Warbringer, which is working on a new album and is preparing for late spring tour dates.
“Distortion can be tricky when you need plenty of gain and still want a super warm colorful sound. I’ve found over-wound pickups to be too muddy, and most active pickups feel unnaturally compressed.

"The JB Model is a classic for a good reason: I get a huge modern crunch with the right vintage kind of vibe, and all my dive bombs and licks are always screaming! I have been using JBs for years as they are a rock and metal standard. Recently I switched to Duncan Customs and couldn’t be more pleased with the results. I love driving my high gain amp with a well-rounded passive pickup for a pure, warm, and heavy as hell crunch. All of my guitars have Seymour Duncans in them and I have never been happier with anything else.”

Go back to Crazy Train Music

Warbringer’s John Laux On Getting Huge Distortion—with Passive Pickups.

2011-03-16T08:34:00.001-07:00

Warbringer’s John Laux On Getting Huge Distortion—with Passive Pickups.

“I experimented with a lot of pickups before I settled on the Seymour Duncan JB SH-4,” says thrash-metal guitarist John Laux of Warbringer, which is working on a new album and is preparing for late spring tour dates.
“Distortion can be tricky when you need plenty of gain and still want a super warm colorful sound. I’ve found over-wound pickups to be too muddy, and most active pickups feel unnaturally compressed.
“The JB Model is a classic for a good reason: I get a huge modern crunch with the right vintage kind of vibe, and all my dive bombs and licks are always screaming! I have been using JBs for years as they are a rock and metal standard. Recently I switched to Duncan Customs and couldn’t be more pleased with the results. I love driving my high gain amp with a well-rounded passive pickup for a pure, warm, and heavy as hell crunch. All of my guitars have Seymour Duncans in them and I have never been happier with anything else.”

How to choose an acoustic pickup

2011-03-09T01:38:00.000-08:00

HOW TO CHOOSE AN ACOUSTIC PICKUP

We know how you feel about your acoustic guitar. When it's time to amplify it, there are two considerations that go above all others:

Will it negatively affect my sound?
Will using it force me to modify my guitar?

As the worldwide leader in pickup design, Seymour Duncan has decades of experience in ensuring that your acoustic guitar will retain the sonic characteristics that you want, There are several Seymour Duncan models that can be used with nearly any acoustic guitar without any kind of modification... just pop them in when you need them, and pop them out when you're done.

Which Seymour Duncan Acoustic Pickup is for Me?

There's more than one kind of acoustic player in the world. That's why we make a variety of acoustic pickups for everyone from fingerpickers to folkies, and alt-rockers to singer-songwriters.

PICKUP	INSTALLATION	TYPE	PASSIVE/ ACTIVE	VOLUME CONTROL
Woody SC^™ SA-3SC	Quick Mount	Single Coil	Passive	No
Woody HC^™ SA-3HC	Quick Mount	Hum Canceling	Passive	No
Woody XL^™ SA-3XL	Quick Mount	Hum Canceling	Passive	No
Acoustic Tube^™ SA-1	Quick Mount	Hum Canceling	Passive	Yes
Mag Mic^™ SA-6	Permanent/ Removeable	Hum Canceling and Condenser Mic	Active	Yes
D-TAR Wavelength	Permanent	Undersaddle Piezo Transducer	Active	No
D-TAR Wavelength Multi-Source	Permanent	Undersaddle Piezo Transducer and Condenser Mic	Active	Yes

Say Goodbye to the Mic

Acoustic guitars are, by design, large resonant chambers that push sound and air out the soundhole. Putting a mic in front of the soundhole is the simplest amplification answer, but acoustic guitars are notoriously difficult to amplify with microphones. The result is often feedback, muddiness, and inconsistent amplified volume as you move back and forth near the mic's sweet spot.
With a Seymour Duncan acoustic pickup, the true tone of your guitar comes shining through loud enough, without you having to worry about feedback. And, you can actually move around to your music instead of being glued to the mic.

Don't Go Changing (Your Guitar)

No matter what kind of acoustic you have, chances are that you like it the way it is, and the idea of drilling into it for mounting pickups and output jacks is the stuff nightmares are made of. Never fear; many of Seymour Duncan's acoustic pickups are "quick mount", meaning that they require no modifications to your guitar at all. You simply slide the pickup into the soundhole under the strings, and the output cable extends from the bottom of the soundhole to your amplifier (or PA system) of choice. Even with our most advanced pickups like the Mag Mic, you can install it in ways that will not force you to perform permanent alterations to your guitar. Moreover, all Seymour Duncan pickups are designed to treat your guitar gently, and -- properly installed -- will not damage the guitar's finish or rosette treatment.

Return to Crazy Train Music

Digitech Jamman Looper Solo

2011-03-08T07:59:00.000-08:00

Well today I had the 1st delivery of Digitech loopers and wow... Sometimes products you see and hear about when you actually get them in your grasp aren't as good as what you 1st thought.... But Digitech I personally feel have raised the bar higher than you ever imagined and then put the idea in a rocket launcher and blasted it out of orbit!!!

Not only has the looper got 99 banks to hold your ideas/loops they will hold 35 minuets yes 35 on the internal memory! So add a 1gb memory card and this increases to 1 hr add a 8gb card and it increses to get this 16hrs!! Sixteen hours of loop time!

You can also plug your MP3 player in to add as a loop or slow down to figure out your favourite riff :)

Then you can plug in the USB and load it all onto your computer and use the file management download software to cut, add, move, & edit bits about. Load onto your memory stick or attach to a email and send it your band mates

Brilliant product 5Star

www.crazytrainmusic.co.uk

Seymour Duncan Liberator

2011-03-04T01:08:00.000-08:00

One of our most popular pages this week has been the new Seymour Duncan liberator page.

Check the Liberator out on our site here

A new design that basically once fitted, makes pickup changes as easy as pie. Basically the liberator is fitted as a replacement volume control to your guitar and is wired into the guitar. Once this is in place to replace a pickup you just simply connect your pickups wires into the screw holes on the liberator and your done! In this video you can see the old pickup taken out and a new one fited in under 2 mins!!

Liberator fitted in under 2 mins

Here is Frank Falbo and Chris Cortesi explaining more about the liberator

After seeing these videos you can see why its the hotest page this month what an amazing product

To go back to Crazy Train Music Click Here

2011-03-03T01:03:00.000-08:00

To return to our site Click here www.crazytrainmusic.co.uk

ZT Amps

2011-03-02T01:45:00.000-08:00

Hi Ya'll

I've recently been looking at these ZT Amps. I've known about them for some time but the other day I stumbled upon a review in guitar magazine about the best Acoustic amps for under 350 quid. I was amazed to see that the ZT Acoustic amp had actually won the guitar buyers choice award ! beating off competition from Fishman & Vox to name a few. So off the strength of that I've arranged to get some in for the shop so you guys can hear them I'll do a You Tube video to show em off. maybe try them out using a Woody as well.

Other news we have been in talks with Fishman acoustic pickups as a recent survey we did a few people commented that we didn't do enough acoustic pickups so we will soon have a range of Fishman to choose from :-) as well as Bare Knuckle all being well they should be in stock around June time.

Thats all for now

Chris

Woody Acoustic Pickups

2011-02-19T01:28:00.000-08:00

Seymour Duncan Woody Series

THE GREAT-SOUNDING,
QUICK-MOUNT ACOUSTIC SOLUTION

Seymour Duncan offers three choices in the Woody Series, but all have the commonality of instant mounting and unmounting, along with a great-looking maple cover that will look unobtrusively fantastic on your guitar. More importantly, if you already love the sound of your acoustic, the Woody Series will passively amplify your sound without anything to detract from it.
Especially great for singer-songwriters and folk strummers, the Woody Series offer a moderate response that gives you plenty of amplification while allowing your guitar to blend nicely with vocals and other instruments.
All Woody Series pickups will fit nearly any acoustic guitar's soundhole, with a radius range from 3.85" to 4.10". They're also priced to fit the budgets of most musicians, and are a much more affordable alternative to buying a mic for acoustic amplification.

Woody SC^™ SA-3SC

Quick-mount, passive, magnetic soundhole pickup
Single coil
Moderate output
Instant-mount
Housed in maple cover and double potted
Warm and rich tone with no 60-cycle hum
Great for strumming and delicate fingerstyle playing
Includes studio-quality 14' cable.
Works with any guitar amplifier (acoustic guitar amp preferred), or plugged directly into P.A. systems or mixing consoles

Woody HC^™ SA-3HC

Quick-mount, passive, magnetic soundhole pickup
Hum canceling
Moderate output
Instant-mount
Housed in maple cover and double potted
Warm and rich tone with no 60-cycle hum
Great for strumming and delicate fingerstyle playing
Includes studio-quality 14' cable.

Works with any guitar amplifier (acoustic guitar amp preferred), or plugged directly into P.A. systems or mixing consoles

Woody XL^™ SA-3XL

Quick-mount, passive, professional-quality magnetic soundhole pickup
Hum canceling Stack^® design
Adjustable pole pieces for the best possible string-to-string balance
Moderate output
Instant-mount
Housed in maple cover and double potted
Full-bodied, articulate, warm and rich tone with no 60-cycle hum
Great for strumming and delicate fingerstyle playing
Includes studio-quality 14' cable.
Works with any guitar amplifier (acoustic guitar amp preferred), or plugged directly into P.A. systems or mixing consoles

New Website

2011-02-15T02:09:00.000-08:00

Well its taken about a month to get up and running but now its officially here the all new look Crazy Train Music.co.uk! take a look www.crazytrainmusic.co.uk I must hand it to them at big commerce they make a very professional looking website and the intergration is brilliant. I'm sure you guys will appreciate it more than past websites. So with our new posh website up and running making its 1st sale only 3 hrs into its launch :D which is fantastic, I'm sure your thinking what new things are in store this year? Well .. The Seymour Duncan brand keeps us busy with the launch this year at NAMM of its new Liberator and the 35th annervesary JB and Jazz modles these should be available to purchase April time. The liberator in particular looks like it will be a revolutionary product when changing pickups, taking the time to change a pickup to under 2 minutes! Check it here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuLVqa7Fa-c

Looks cool eh :)

Some breaking news for the day Duff McKagan to attend Birmingham Guitar Show The Guns N’ Roses and Velvet Revolver bassist will be attending several signing sessions at the show, which is set to take place at Birmingham’s New Bingley Hall on February 26th and 27th. Looks like I need to get some tickets quick! :-)

Well thats it for today will blog later
Chris

Welcome

2011-02-14T02:49:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone

Welcome to Crazy Train Music's 1st blog.

Over the next few months we will be constantly updating the blog on all things Crazy Train and all things useful for you guys out there in need of some information on products that we sell. Covering questions such as: Which pickup is for me? Can single conductor pickups be coil tapped? Can I fit my own pickups? to name a few.

Sorry this post is short and sweet but we will speak soon.

Thanks

Chris

Crazy Train Music Blog

Gus G

Introducing the Gus G. FIRE Blackouts System

Available at http://www.crazytrainmusic.co.uk/gus-g-fire-pickup/

The New MXR Custom Badass O.D :O

Orange Dealerships

Why bother changing your pickups?

What are pickups?

How do pickups work?

Orange Amps

Seymour Duncan nominated for Vintage Guitar Magazine Hall of Fame

RESTRING: WITH GARY BRAWER

Recording King Acoustic Guitars Check Out The Latest Review

Recording King RO-127 £555

Crazy Train Music Price £439.99

Build

Sounds

Verdict

iPad Prorammable pedal board.... You knew it wouldn't be long

EMG James Hetfield Set

James Hetfield Unleashes New EMG Signature Set at The Big 4

MXR Phase 90 Script

78 Badass MXR Distortion

MXR Mogwai Rocks San Francisco

Heat and your Guitar Match made in HELL!

T Rex Pedals And Who They Are

T Rex Pedals Meett up with Elbow

Welcome to the new page

Crazy Train Music Become Dunlop MXR Main Dealership

Guitarist Marty Friedman to auction his Megadeth-era guitars for Japan tsunami relief

Warbringer’s John Laux On Getting Huge Distortion—with Passive Pickups.

Warbringer’s John Laux On Getting Huge Distortion—with Passive Pickups.

Warbringer’s John Laux On Getting Huge Distortion—with Passive Pickups.

How to choose an acoustic pickup

HOW TO CHOOSE AN ACOUSTIC PICKUP

Which Seymour Duncan Acoustic Pickup is for Me?

Say Goodbye to the Mic

Don't Go Changing (Your Guitar)

Digitech Jamman Looper Solo

Seymour Duncan Liberator

ZT Amps

Woody Acoustic Pickups

Seymour Duncan Woody Series

THE GREAT-SOUNDING,QUICK-MOUNT ACOUSTIC SOLUTION

Woody SC™ SA-3SC

Woody HC™ SA-3HC

Woody XL™ SA-3XL

New Website

Welcome

THE GREAT-SOUNDING,
QUICK-MOUNT ACOUSTIC SOLUTION

Woody SC^™ SA-3SC

Woody HC^™ SA-3HC

Woody XL^™ SA-3XL