Effects Bay

Gil Divine from Portland, Oregon is the owner/operator of The Divine Noise and builds high end instrument and speaker cables. Beyond The Divine Noise, Gil is also a guitar tech touring with great artists/bands such as – Yo La Tengo, Lucinda Williams, The White Stripes, Cat Power, Super Furry Animals … And you will know us by the trail of dead.

On a personal level I’ve traded a few emails with Gil, and he is a great guy and very prompt. I just received a few very needed patch cables from The Divine Noise, and the build quality is excellent.  He definitely treats his patch cables with as much attention to detail as instrument cables, etc. Here is the break down of features for his straight cable specs:

* Extraordinarily low capacitance 20 AWG stranded center conductor, 100% coverage extruded barrier and a spiral of 90% wound copper shield provide clean, low-noise performances
* The oxygen free copper used in these cables delivers the purest sound quality while remaining flexible and noise free
* Thick, heavy-duty, black PVC outer jacket designed to withstand the rigors of heavy touring while maintaining flexibility
* Every cable is soldered by hand using the highest quality silver solder
* Available in G&H Industries ¼ plug and Neutrik MP2X-AU-SILENT
* Divine Noise offers a lifetime no hassle warranty on every cable

My cables came with G&H and work/sound fantastic. They’re definitely built to last.

I wanted to send Gil a few questions about the biz, and this is what he had to say:

- What makes your cable stand out from others?
There is a few things that make my cable stand out from all of the others , the first that come to mind is the quality of construction, I personally make all of my cables, I have never seen a cable as  durable as mine, they are built for heavy touring . My cables are well shielded to block RFI / EMI interference so they are very quite. They sound great!!! Tone is so subjective, so it is hard for me to make the claims that other cable companies do, most of them are downright comedy, how can they tell you that you are going to hear a “Tight, articulate bottom with midrange clarity and speed”?!

- How do your cables handle capacitance?
My cable is 30pF per foot, which is fairly low, but not the lowest -  I have tried cables with less capacitance and to me they sounded kind of shrill and lacked bottom and warmth, those two qualities are so important to me in a cable. Ive never been into a sterile guitar tone, I want a cable to sound how a vintage guitar should sound; without any coloring of the tone. I think that’s why people love the sound of my cables, because a vast majority of them play vintage instruments

- Side questions, what are your thoughts of buffers in line?
It is kind of a case-by-case basis. It really depends on how many and what types of pedals you’re playing through. Most of the times I lean towards turning up the treble, if I loose a bit of treble from capacitance from using a super long cable or a low impedance from the pedals. I don’t think that there is a black and white answer, it really has to be addressed on a case by case application.

- What type of plugs do you use?
I have been using G&H plugs for well over a decade, in my opinion, they are the best, and are very reliable (which is important to me) with the exception of their silent plugs, that’s a different story. They are not so silent..

As for silent plugs I use the Neutrik silent plugs, their design can’t be beat. When they first came out there were some problems, but since they fixed it I have not heard a single pop from a bass or an acoustic guitar since.

I think that the plugs that you use is just as important ( if not more important) than the wire that you use. I do not use gold plated plugs, gold is not as great of a conductor as copper . Beware of the ends that are on some of those “high-end” cables before you buy them, some of them are very low quality

- What are your thoughts about what causes cable failure?
Well, there could be a few different reasons… but the most common is shoddy components. I have seen a lot of failures in cables with molded plastic ends, thin outer jackets that gets smashed or torn easily. I have honestly, unpacked a Planet Waves cable from the package, plugged it straight into a guitar, and not have it work, for no reason at all!  I have also had the center tip just fall out of a Monster cable in the middle of a show, out of nowhere.

Abuse is another reason for premature failures. When I first started making my own cables I closely really examine cables that had failed on me to see what made them fail. I took what I learned and applied it to my cables. The last thing any touring guitar tech wants is a cable failure during a show! That’s why I can never get behind solder-less cables. They seem so flimsy. It doesn’t take a whole lot to short out a cable; one stray strand of copper or a loose connection is all it would take to stop a show. I remember my first few shows that I did with “…And you will know us by the trail of dead”, I would watch them rip the connectors clean off of the cables!!  That is when I saw the challenge of building cables that they couldn’t destroy. I came up with my right angle speaker cables by watching them push over their Marshall half stacks. It would snap off the jack on the cabinets and in the head. Having a band that destroys their gear every night is the best R&D department  a builder can have, maybe throwing one of my cables in a cage with a bunch of gorillas would be comparable….HA!  I still build my cables the same exact way- that is why I say that my cables wont fail. Yo La Tengo still uses the same cables that I made for them 8 years ago!! And they’re not particularly easy on their equipment!

- What got you into building cables for the masses?
I never set out to sell my cables to the masses, it just kind of happened. I make them in my shop where I do guitar and amp repair, so my overhead is really low.  I have been making my cables for many years, and I would sell them to my customers who I did guitar and amp repair for and to the bands that I worked for or contacted me wanting to buy them . No packaging, no marketing, just word of mouth. Anyhoo, last March my friend Rueben Cox opened up a guitar store in LA called Olde Style. He had heard of my cables and asked me if I wanted him to stock them. It was kind of a no brainer for me. His shop is the antithesis to your Guitar Centers or Sam Ash’s, which I have always loathed. He was the first store to stock them.  After that it just been more of a challenge to see what I can do with this; first the packaging, then the website, and online ads. I personally feel that my cables are the best on the market, so why wouldn’t people by them?!

- What got you started in the guitar tech biz?
Basically I came to a cross roads in my life..either I can continue touring in my own bands and make no money, or I can tour as a guitar tech and make a good living. At this point I had years of experience as a luthier, so having a ton of experience with guitar repair made for a natural transition.

- Do you force all of your clients to use your cables on the road?
Wow, Im not a cable nazi..HA! . No, I never force anything on my clients, but why wouldn’t they want to use them ?!  When I am on tour with a band, I am their guitar tech, not a cable manufacturer, as long as the cables that they are using sound good , are quite but most of all reliable, then I don’t care what they use  There are quite a few bands that use my cables that I have never worked for, such as The National, Britt Daniel of Spoon and Nels Cline.

-  What is the number one reason why we should be using your cables?
That’s easy…because you want to use the best cable available… period

So there you go people, if you’re looking to get some new cables, be it patch, instrument or speaker, check out The Divine Noise. Additionally, as Gil mentioned he is a luthier, he does offer guitar and amp repair as well! You can also check out Divine Noise on Facebook!

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Just came across this good deal on the ModTone MT-FF Funk Filter at Amazon. This pedal lists at $159.95, you usually see it for $130, but is currently on sale for only $91.72. This pedal ships FREE with super saver shipping. That comes to 43% off list price for the pedal.

Here is the official description of the ModTone Funk Filter:

The ModTone MT-FF Funk Filter is a true bypass boutique style pedal that recreates vintage envelope or auto-wah type effects. High pass, Mid Pass and Low Pass settings can be used in conjunction with the F-Factor control and Drive settings to deliver a wide range of exciting tones that work great on clean or distorted signals. The Funk Filter’s reaction can also be changed by simply backing off your guitar’s volume knob to find the “sweet spot” and can also change  depending if bridge or neck pickups are selected.

For those of you not familiar with this pedal, here is a product video for it posted by ModToneMan:

Again, the ModTone MT-FF Funk Filter is available for $91.72 at Amazon.com!

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I’m excited about this, and figured today would be a great day to talk about it! I haven’t had a Free Shirt Wednesday post in a while, so I thought talk about the new shirts today. A couple of weeks ago, I was brainstorming some ideas for a shirt, possibly a series for the site. Something a little fun. I drew up a crappy sketch and had a EffectsBay.com friend (Sonny Hancock) turn the idea into something usable.

In the end, it’s the official ‘transistor’ EffectsBay.com shirt. Didn’t want a pedal on it. No rock flames or skulls. Wanted to go a little deeper. Little nerdier. I had a short run of this printed, and I just picked them up from the printers yesterday. I’m super stoked on how they turned out. I have them available in royal blue (white ink) and maroon (white ink). I’ll be giving a few of these away down the road, and will probably get a few more printed.

If any of you are interested in wearing a big transistor on your chest (it’ll impress the ladies.. trust me), shoot me a email. I’ll be selling them for $14.99 + $5.00 shipping. International orders.. we’ll need to work out some type of shipping cost. Sizes are M, L and XL.

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The T-Rex Polyswitch caught my eye the other day. I think someone on Twitter was mentioning it. I’m familiar with T-Rex effects, but haven’t really looked too closely at their other offerings. Besides this switch, they also sell pedal boards (Tonetrunks) and power supplies (Fuel tanks).

The T-Rex Polyswitch is a nice little A/B switch that has a few perks beyond normal A/B switches. First off, it’s a stereo A/B switch This switch also has an optional buffer as well that can be handy for pumping things up, especially if the signal is experiencing some capacitance before hitting the switch.

Here is the official description of the T-Rex Polyswitch Stereo A/B Box:

The breakthrough T-Rex Engineering PolySwitch AB is a true hardwire stereo A-B switch. PolySwitch AB is the solution for guitarists who want to route their signal to 2 different setups—even in stereo—and easily switch between them.

Not only does the T-Rex PolySwitch AB let you split your stereo signal and switch between outputs, it also works “backwards,” letting you run 2 separate stereo instruments into a single amplifier or other signal destination. And with every input and output available in stereo, PolySwitch AB is a great solution for keyboardists and anyone who needs to route a stereo signal to 2 destinations or 2 stereo signals to a single stereo in.

PolySwitch AB is specially engineered to protect the natural integrity of your sound all the way through the signal path. The T-Rex PolySwitch AB’s true hardwire signal routing, top-grade electronics, and a built-in buffer switch for low-level signals from long cables ensure that you don’t lose a single ounce of your precious tone.

Here is a video by TRexEffects:

If you’re looking to pick up a quality A/B switch, you may want to look at the T-Rex Polyswitch. I know a couple of guys that run stereo rigs and have asked about switching in the past, so I’ll *try* to keep this in my memory for the next time I talk with them! You can pick up the T-Rex Polyswitch Stereo A/B Box for only $99.00 at Amazon.com!

Popularity: 6%

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Today, I was checking out some more DunlopTV and came across an interesting one. This episode is with Dave Kilminster, the guitarist of the Roger Waters Band. They were able to catch up with him on the Wall Tour. Crazy opportunity for Dave Kilminster. I don’t know much about him or past projects/bands, but figured he has to be quite awesome to pull that gig.

He was talking about his amps, and was really expressing that he was loving them. The amps are Suhr Brunetti amps.. and that’s something new to me. Then he moved over to his pedal board, which had some cool pieces.

Here is the video posted by JimDunlopUSA:

Here is a shot and breakdown of his pedal board:

There were a couple of Boss pedals that I was not 100% sure on. And there is one unknown (between the Ernie Ball Volume Pedal and the white Boss)

Boss CE-5 Choruse Ensemble
MXR EVH Flanger
Boss MD-2 Mega Distortion
Boss TU-3 Tuner
Eventide Time Factor Delay
TopTone Drivegate DG-2
Suhr Riot Distortion
Dunlop Crybaby
Ernie Ball Volume Pedal
Unknown pedal ??
Boss ??
Boss RT-20 Rotary Ensemble
Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2+ x2

If you have any more information about the pedals (especially the unknown ones) please comment below. If you have any more info on Dave Kilminster, please share by commenting as well!

Popularity: 7%

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Last night I caught the tail end of Foo Fighter’s performance on Austin City Limits. I’ve seen this before, and I always seem to catch the last 2-3 songs. One day I’ll watch it from the beginning. Of course I would keep a third eye on the floor of the stage to see if I can see anything interesting going on with the effects/set up. I did notice Chris Shiflett and his two Line 6 DL4s so for today, I thought I’d do some research and break down his pedal board. Without further ado I present Chris Shiflett’s pedal board.

I didn’t have to look hard at all to find something recent. At HC, niceguyollie posted some fresh photos of his board (posted 3/24/2011).

Below are the shots of the board:

Here is a break down of pedals:

Dunlop DVP1 Volume Pedal
Boss TU-3 Tuner
Voodoo Labs Amp Selector
Vox Input Selector/Jumper Switch? (custom)
Menatone Red Snapper
Fulltone Fulldrive 2 MOSFET
Electro-Harmonix Holy Grail Nano
Electro-Harmonix Micro POG (Polyphonic Octave Generator)
Line 6 DL4 Delay Modeler x2
Line 6 MM4 Modulation Modeler

The only one I wasn’t sure about was the black pedal labeled ‘Vox’. I’m assuming it’s a jumper pedal to blend inputs on the AC30.. not 100% sure.

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A couple of days ago I saw that Electro-Harmonix mentioned this demo/overview of the EHX Ring Thing Ring Modulator pedal by Guitar World’s Paul Riario. I thought Paul did good job showing a variety of tones. Not just focusing on the craziness that ring modulators can do, but showing some good useable varieties. This pedal definitely has a ton of options.

Here is the official description of the Electro-Harmonix Ring Thing Ring Modulator:

The Electro-Harmonix Ring Thing is a single sideband modulator, presenting state-of-the-art modulation control to allow the user to explore a new sonic world that’s both familiar and inventive. Complex modulations with interactive parameters create any sound your mind can imagine. From metallic sweeps to subtle color changes to unique and limitless modulations, the Electro-Harmonix Ring Thing effects pedal will become your sonic dream machine.

Articulate pitch shifting, preset tuning, selectable waveforms and external control delivers sound designer mystery, with a Rock and Roll edge.

The EHX Ring Thing effect pedal has four selectable modes that use either frequency or pitch shift modulation: Ring Modulation, Side Modulation, Single Sideband—Upper Band, Single Sideband—Lower Band, and Pitch Shift. The ring modulator section builds upon the original EHX Frequency Analyzer, adding to it selectable carrier waveforms, sweepable filter, presets, and expression pedal control. Single-sideband modulation is a new effect based on ring modulation but with only one band present, making it a more harmonious effect. Finally, EHX added a powerful modulatable pitch shifter to this guitar pedal that can do detune effects, vibrato, chorus, transpose, or even whammy when you use an external expression pedal.

Electro-Harmonix Ring Thing Modulator Guitar Effects Pedal Features:

* Multi-wave selection for modulation and Ring Mod
* Low pass Filter for Ring Mod and single side band modes
* Fine and depth control for frequency select and amount
* Tune switch to adjust frequency to your pitch
* Upper and lower sideband isolation
* High quality whammy style effects with expression pedal
* Pitch shifting with pitch modulation and vibrato
* Fully programmable

Here is the video by GuitarWorld:

You can pick up the Electro-Harmonix “Ring Thing” Ring Modulator for $209.25 at Musician’s Friend.

Popularity: 4%

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The following is a guest post by Kevin Ian. If you are interested in guest posting, please contact me!

Hello Kind Readers!

Today I thought I would combine my effects reviews and Rethinking Guitar. I’m going to look at The Audible Disease Synth Bomb. According to the website (http://www.effectpedals.us/product/synth_bomb_sb-1):

“The *Audible Disease Synth Bomb SB-1* is a simple yet fun to use hand-held monophonic synthesizer that produces an almost boundless array of sounds! Just plug it in and you’re ready to start making some severe noise. The SB-1 incorporates four square-wave oscillators running in parallel. The frequency of each oscillator can be controlled by how much light is hitting each of the four photo-eyes… the more light that hits the photo-eye the higher the frequency of that oscillator. Cover the photo-eyes with your fingers for a virtually endless palate of sound! Oh, did we mention that this thing is loud? Well, it is!”

This thing is a monster. The photo-sensitive eyes are the most sensitive I have ever come across–a sure sign of quality work! It adapts itself to ANY light source, and if you happen to be in a dark club, the LED is bright enough to activate the eyes itself. Yes, I have turned off all my lights in the middle of the night to test this! While this is mainly a hand-held device, you can still mount this on your board and use it with your guitar rig. I found a way that added a new dimension to my sound.

I talked to Bob at Audible Disease and he was able to tailor the Synth Bomb to my needs: 9V adapter capability and a volume knob to help tone down the signal. Aside from those mods, the Snyth Bomb is basically the same as you would get from his site.

I decided to ABY with my guitar and the Synth Bomb. To handle the extra hot signal, I use my custom EGO BOOST from Grumpy Toad FX (I reviewed his Pork Barrel Chorus earlier).

The video I have included is a small example of me experimenting with the sound possible. Mind you, I’ve only had it for about a week, I will write more if I uncover anything else useful! I will also include a video of Bob using the Synth Bomb as he has his own noise project: Xome

One thing I noticed when I use AB at the same time, my guitar volume controls the volume of the Synth Bomb as well. It’s very interesting when I do volume swells, because you can hear a ghostly note behind the noise!

At the heart of Rethinking Guitar is the idea that there are so many tools readily available to guitarists–whether by hardware or technique. It all comes down to whether or not you use it–your imagination is the only guideline! …well, that and the size of your board!

Kevin Ian is a multi-instrumentalist and internet radio DJ. He is currently vocalist/guitarist for The Common Men.

Video with me and my modified Synth Bomb:

Performance by Xome which fully utilizes the Synth Bomb’s capabilities:

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CONTEST IS CLOSED

A couple of days ago, I posted the review of the TONEbUTCHeR Pocket Pus. This is a very interesting pedal. When I say interesting, I’m talking how it looks.. and what it does. This thing can do some nasty nasty things…. and that might just be the thing you’re looking for. If you didn’t read/watch the review, please check it out here.

The fine folks at TONEbUTCHeR sent us the pedal, and now I’m excited to give this thing away to a lucky winner! Before I get into the details of the give away, I wanted to quickly talk about TONEbUTCHeR. The quote that I really dug, that really explains what they’re all about is:

“Experiment to Create”, is our model and our mantra – it is in our DNA, and that’s exactly what we want people to do with our pedals. Just mess around with them, and find and create their own new sounds, that’s also a main driver on why there are no labels or instructions.

If you’re into experimenting, and hearing something unexpected, check out TONEbUTCHeR. I’d also like to say thanks to those guys for sending the pedal our way! The Pocket Pus normally sells for $85, so this is a great chance to get one.. for FREE!

This will be a short run give away. I’ll run this for one week, since I wanted to give away a pedal for March, and I’m quickly running out of time. So how do you enter this thing?

First, this is not a requirement, but you should ‘like’ EffectsBay on Facebook. It’s good way to keep in touch with new give aways and posts. I already have one lined up for April (it’s a nice one) so you’ll want to keep in touch.

To enter fill out the form below, in one week  (March 31st) I’ll randomly pick 3 entries as finalists. I’ll email the 3 finalists and the first one out of the three that emails me back will be the winner.You must enter a ‘valid’ email address, bounce back emails will be rejected. One entry per person (seriously people.. one entry per person). After the winner has been notified and all is good (I’ve retrieved mailing address, etc), I’ll send out the pedal. Want to improve your odds? You can by joining the mailing list, you’ll have another chance to win. I’ll be pulling from the email list as well as these form submissions. If you’re already receiving the mailing list, you’re already in for the drawing! This give away is open to everyone.. yes.. international!

To enter the give away, please answer the following question: “What artist or band is the most innovative when it comes to original manipulation of their guitar/bass signal?” Tough question.. think about it.

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Today’s pedal line is from Steven Espaniola. If you have a pedal line (doesn’t have to be in a board) for your rig, please email me a photo, bio, description of pedals and routing to pedallineeffectsbaycom. Every Friday I’ll showcase a pedal line submission. Make sure you include any links to your band or music page.

Hello, just though I would share my pedals for your Pedal Line Friday blog…I am a Hawaiian musician and my current setup is pretty simple, transparent and most importantly mobile. My current setup includes:  LR Baggs Para Acoustic DI , Home Brew Electronics HBE Mimic Mock II Analog delay, and a  Korg Pitch Black tuner. My general rule of thumb is that effects should not be too colorful or overpowering and should in fact go unnoticed to your audience. Thanks for considering my photo!

Sites:
www.stevenespaniola.com
www.twitter.com/stevenespaniola
www.stevenespaniola.tumblr.com

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