thanks for your great site and vids. it was your blues jr vid that sold me on getting my own and i love it. i’m checking out the pedal reviews this time around. keep up the great work.
Well I’m certainly not using my Blues Jr, in every video. For my Tube Amps videos I’m mostly using my Samamp VAC23, so that’s part of it for sure. In any videos I’ve made since Sept. of last year, I’ve been micing my amp which results in a much clearer sound than recording with the camcorder mic. I do try to keep fresh strings on, but honestly, I think a lot of it is in technique, and just knowing how to get the guitar to work with the amp. Kind of a meta answer that’s not that helpful, but it’s very true.
I have a Hot Rod Deluxe that is stuck in the drive channel and reverb does not work any suggestions before I have it serviced
I appreciate your response
Tom
In a posting on its Entanglement plat, the U.S. Embassy in Sana said the closing was “in profit to endless threats terminate al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) to attack American anatomy interests in Yemen.”
I’m not as familiar with the Super Champ, but if it’s the one with the knob for different tone presets, I seem to remember liking the position that was straight down.
i just bought a fender super champ dx and have a squire classic strat and atube screamer pedal ,the guitar is stock what pick ups can i use to get that srv sound ive been playin about 2 years.thankyou fred ps how do i set up my tone controls can you give me a baseline .thank you again p.s. ihave checked out your lessons on youtube very helpful.
wicked site. Ive always wanted to compare a TS808 with a load of other pedals, the sample of the 808 here is almost identical to my own sound and im pleased ive never ebay’d it and changed it now.
Anthony, I’m in the market for a wah pedal and pedalboard and wanted to know what you favor. Playing a Parker Nitefly through a Blue Junior NOS
thanks
g
I actually have not had a working Wah pedal for several years now. It’s on my list of things to work on this year, evaluating different pedals etc…
For pedalboard, I used to have a huge pedalboard from NY Custom Pedalboards, but I downsized to a Gator Gig Box Jr. which has a nifty 3 guitar stand in the lid. Very nice to have.
Any chance you could record your guitar direct and post it? No pedals, no amp. Even clean your tone is pretty amazing. Sounds like a Strat should. For some reason none of mine do. They just don’t have that distinctive Strat tone.
I’ve been through at least 20 Fenders or Strat style guitars over the last 10 years and none sound like yours, especially the Rocketfire. I’ve also been through as many amps… Blues Jr. (mine sounded like crap), 3 Devilles, Super Reverb, a ’66 Deluxe Reverb, Crates, Peaveys and my current, a Vibroclone (BMR) with a Weber Cali 15″.
The only time any of them got close in tone was when I recorded them with a SM57 mic. I’m wondering how much micing has to do with tone.
And I’ve tried many different pickups. G&L’s, Seymours, Am Std, 57-62, Bill Lawrence etc. but I haven’t gotten around to spending the money for Fralins. I can’t imagine they sound that much better. I use .010-050 strings changed weekly.
So, I’d sure like to hear how your Strat sounds direct to your recording device. Can you do that?
Hello….I really enjoy your SRV lessons and have learned a couple of new ‘tricks’ from them! I play modified Fender Highway One Stratocaster HSS’s through a Fender Hot Rod DeVille. My absolute favorite OD pedal is the Fulltone OCD. I have been looking for this pedal for the last 25 years!! All of my ‘tone dreams’ have been realized.
I will be ordering some of those Stevie Snacks DVD’s in the near future!
Hey there. Amazing work on the comparinator. It’s a great resource to those of us looking for that perfect OD pedal.
Not sure if you take requests, but I would love to see products from T-Rex, Homebrew, and more Fulltone added. MI Audio has some great pedals too. I wonder if manufacturers would send you pedals (on loan) to add to your project.
First off, I’m a huge fan of both your sites and really enjoy following the work you’re doing.
Congrats on your new arrival as well!
Just wondering if you’ve ever had a chance to try out an amp by MESA/Boogie called the LoneStar Special? If so, I’d be interested in your opinion, if not, I think you’d enjoy giving one a test drive – may even want to compare it to the blues junior or other amps on the site – perhaps an amp comparinator???
I’ve recently picked one up and although I’m still in the honeymoon phase I’m really impressed with it. The reason I mention it is I’ve been on a similar mission you seem to be on with the Blues Jr and the pedals you are seeking out – trying to find quality tone, but like you, at reasonable volume levels. I play mainly at home and like you, I’m a new father and as I’m sure you’ll appreciate even more now, cannot play at loud volumes – especially at night!
Anyway, I was using a Fender Blues Deluxe originally which was great for clean tones but could never drive the amp at a reasonable volume level. I ended up using an attenuator with it for a while but still couldn’t get that full, thick drive at low volume – attenuator made the overdrive sound thin at low volumes. Tried a bunch of pedals but was never satisfied.
Based on your demos of the Blues Jr. I decided to give one a try, but to be honest, still struggled with getting good overdrive at reasonable volumes – at 5 or 6 that is still a loud amp!
I then came across the Lone Star Special (I don’t work for them and have no affiliation) and I must say – it is quite amazing. It’s much more expensive, but I think it’s worth the money. The build is higher quality but the flexibility and range of tone you can get out of this thing is amazing. Anything from that clean fender reverb tone to full thick overdrive and all sounds good at low volume (it can also be very loud). Two channels allowing you to switch tones via foot pedal (no need for external drive pedals) and very dynamic eq controls that really have an impact on tone (much more so than I found with the Fender amps). The coolest thing about the amp though is the ability to switch each channel between three power settings ranging from 5, 15 and 30 watts. This allows you to drive the amp at lower volume levels or increase the clean head room if you did want to play loud without break up.
Bottom line – I couldn’t come close to the tones you were getting on either the Blues Deluxe or Blues Jr at the volume level I needed to play at and I can with this amp – and that’s without pedals. BTW – I’m playing an American Standard Strat with Ash Body and Fralin Blues Specials so not a huge difference in guitar.
Sorry for the long comment but thought you and others that are interested in your site may find this worthwhile.
Last comment, given your interest in engineering, you may also be keen to learn the background on the power configuration of the amp (see link below). They use something called Class A power – don’t really follow what all this means but it sounds like they are applying it differently than it has been in the past, especially for the 5 watt channel. All I can say is the amp sounds good to me. Only mention it as you seem keen on the technical side especially by those who do things differently.
Great work, it is amazing how you did the compares. You are in my favorites and I have sent your link to all the guitar players I know. Keep up the good work. If I would of had this years ago my retired pedal pile would be a lot smaller.
Hi Damien,
I’ve been having some conflicts between javacript libraries which probably doesn’t matter to anyone but me, but be that as it may, I’ve added a link to launch the comparinator in a new window which should eliminate the problems.
The website is killer. I might of missed it but you may want to include the BBE green tube screamer in the shoot out. It is a really nice pedal. You can try mine out if you want. I see you are in PA. I live in Tioga county near Mansfield.
Keep up the good work and thank you for sharing your talents with us,
June 18th, 2010 at 3:04 pm
Amazing website and content. One of the best sites on the internet for blues guitar info!! Thanks for sharing all your secrets with us.
Ken
Reply
May 26th, 2010 at 8:23 am
thanks for your great site and vids. it was your blues jr vid that sold me on getting my own and i love it. i’m checking out the pedal reviews this time around. keep up the great work.
Reply
April 14th, 2010 at 8:19 pm
Hi Danny,
Well I’m certainly not using my Blues Jr, in every video. For my Tube Amps videos I’m mostly using my Samamp VAC23, so that’s part of it for sure. In any videos I’ve made since Sept. of last year, I’ve been micing my amp which results in a much clearer sound than recording with the camcorder mic. I do try to keep fresh strings on, but honestly, I think a lot of it is in technique, and just knowing how to get the guitar to work with the amp. Kind of a meta answer that’s not that helpful, but it’s very true.
Reply
April 13th, 2010 at 12:24 pm
Hey Anthony, thanks for all the great vids, I plan to get some lessons from you soon.
I want to know why is it, that every time I hear you, your sound is deep and rich coming across the net, and you get all this nice from a blues jr?
Maybe you have fresh strings on your guitar and that also makes everything sound more steely sounding.
It’s as if you have some kind of magic going on. Maybe you could shed some light in this.
thanks agin
Danny
Reply
March 27th, 2010 at 2:25 am
Please check my blues junior video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1L2C8Fg3JRg
Reply
January 10th, 2010 at 2:04 pm
I have a Hot Rod Deluxe that is stuck in the drive channel and reverb does not work any suggestions before I have it serviced
I appreciate your response
Tom
Reply
January 4th, 2010 at 4:17 pm
In a posting on its Entanglement plat, the U.S. Embassy in Sana said the closing was “in profit to endless threats terminate al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) to attack American anatomy interests in Yemen.”
Reply
December 29th, 2009 at 10:47 pm
Hi Fred,
I’m not as familiar with the Super Champ, but if it’s the one with the knob for different tone presets, I seem to remember liking the position that was straight down.
Reply
December 29th, 2009 at 7:40 am
i just bought a fender super champ dx and have a squire classic strat and atube screamer pedal ,the guitar is stock what pick ups can i use to get that srv sound ive been playin about 2 years.thankyou fred ps how do i set up my tone controls can you give me a baseline .thank you again p.s. ihave checked out your lessons on youtube very helpful.
Reply
November 20th, 2009 at 6:03 pm
wicked site. Ive always wanted to compare a TS808 with a load of other pedals, the sample of the 808 here is almost identical to my own sound and im pleased ive never ebay’d it and changed it now.
Cheers and good luck guys.
Reply
September 12th, 2009 at 12:25 am
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Reply
August 29th, 2009 at 4:39 pm
Anthony, I’m in the market for a wah pedal and pedalboard and wanted to know what you favor. Playing a Parker Nitefly through a Blue Junior NOS
thanks
g
Reply
Anthony Stauffer reply on August 29th, 2009 6:18 pm:
Hi George,
I actually have not had a working Wah pedal for several years now. It’s on my list of things to work on this year, evaluating different pedals etc…
For pedalboard, I used to have a huge pedalboard from NY Custom Pedalboards, but I downsized to a Gator Gig Box Jr. which has a nifty 3 guitar stand in the lid. Very nice to have.
Reply
March 14th, 2009 at 11:27 pm
Great tone out of your gear!
Any chance you could record your guitar direct and post it? No pedals, no amp. Even clean your tone is pretty amazing. Sounds like a Strat should. For some reason none of mine do. They just don’t have that distinctive Strat tone.
I’ve been through at least 20 Fenders or Strat style guitars over the last 10 years and none sound like yours, especially the Rocketfire. I’ve also been through as many amps… Blues Jr. (mine sounded like crap), 3 Devilles, Super Reverb, a ’66 Deluxe Reverb, Crates, Peaveys and my current, a Vibroclone (BMR) with a Weber Cali 15″.
The only time any of them got close in tone was when I recorded them with a SM57 mic. I’m wondering how much micing has to do with tone.
And I’ve tried many different pickups. G&L’s, Seymours, Am Std, 57-62, Bill Lawrence etc. but I haven’t gotten around to spending the money for Fralins. I can’t imagine they sound that much better. I use .010-050 strings changed weekly.
So, I’d sure like to hear how your Strat sounds direct to your recording device. Can you do that?
Thanks for your time.
Reply
March 9th, 2009 at 5:48 pm
Hello….I really enjoy your SRV lessons and have learned a couple of new ‘tricks’ from them! I play modified Fender Highway One Stratocaster HSS’s through a Fender Hot Rod DeVille. My absolute favorite OD pedal is the Fulltone OCD. I have been looking for this pedal for the last 25 years!! All of my ‘tone dreams’ have been realized.
I will be ordering some of those Stevie Snacks DVD’s in the near future!
Reply
February 8th, 2009 at 2:56 am
Hey there. Amazing work on the comparinator. It’s a great resource to those of us looking for that perfect OD pedal.
Not sure if you take requests, but I would love to see products from T-Rex, Homebrew, and more Fulltone added. MI Audio has some great pedals too. I wonder if manufacturers would send you pedals (on loan) to add to your project.
Good job!
Reply
February 6th, 2009 at 1:47 pm
Hi Anthony,
First off, I’m a huge fan of both your sites and really enjoy following the work you’re doing.
Congrats on your new arrival as well!
Just wondering if you’ve ever had a chance to try out an amp by MESA/Boogie called the LoneStar Special? If so, I’d be interested in your opinion, if not, I think you’d enjoy giving one a test drive – may even want to compare it to the blues junior or other amps on the site – perhaps an amp comparinator???
I’ve recently picked one up and although I’m still in the honeymoon phase I’m really impressed with it. The reason I mention it is I’ve been on a similar mission you seem to be on with the Blues Jr and the pedals you are seeking out – trying to find quality tone, but like you, at reasonable volume levels. I play mainly at home and like you, I’m a new father and as I’m sure you’ll appreciate even more now, cannot play at loud volumes – especially at night!
Anyway, I was using a Fender Blues Deluxe originally which was great for clean tones but could never drive the amp at a reasonable volume level. I ended up using an attenuator with it for a while but still couldn’t get that full, thick drive at low volume – attenuator made the overdrive sound thin at low volumes. Tried a bunch of pedals but was never satisfied.
Based on your demos of the Blues Jr. I decided to give one a try, but to be honest, still struggled with getting good overdrive at reasonable volumes – at 5 or 6 that is still a loud amp!
I then came across the Lone Star Special (I don’t work for them and have no affiliation) and I must say – it is quite amazing. It’s much more expensive, but I think it’s worth the money. The build is higher quality but the flexibility and range of tone you can get out of this thing is amazing. Anything from that clean fender reverb tone to full thick overdrive and all sounds good at low volume (it can also be very loud). Two channels allowing you to switch tones via foot pedal (no need for external drive pedals) and very dynamic eq controls that really have an impact on tone (much more so than I found with the Fender amps). The coolest thing about the amp though is the ability to switch each channel between three power settings ranging from 5, 15 and 30 watts. This allows you to drive the amp at lower volume levels or increase the clean head room if you did want to play loud without break up.
Bottom line – I couldn’t come close to the tones you were getting on either the Blues Deluxe or Blues Jr at the volume level I needed to play at and I can with this amp – and that’s without pedals. BTW – I’m playing an American Standard Strat with Ash Body and Fralin Blues Specials so not a huge difference in guitar.
Sorry for the long comment but thought you and others that are interested in your site may find this worthwhile.
Last comment, given your interest in engineering, you may also be keen to learn the background on the power configuration of the amp (see link below). They use something called Class A power – don’t really follow what all this means but it sounds like they are applying it differently than it has been in the past, especially for the 5 watt channel. All I can say is the amp sounds good to me. Only mention it as you seem keen on the technical side especially by those who do things differently.
Hope this is of interest/help to you or others.
Cheers!
Eric
http://www.mesaboogie.com/Product_Info/Lonestar/LonestarSpecial.htm
http://www.mesaboogie.com/US/Smith/ClassA-WebVersion.htm
Reply
January 20th, 2009 at 10:16 pm
Great work, it is amazing how you did the compares. You are in my favorites and I have sent your link to all the guitar players I know. Keep up the good work. If I would of had this years ago my retired pedal pile would be a lot smaller.
Reply
December 29th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
Really, really good idea and the page!
When we test with other effects such as delays and chorus?
Reply
December 7th, 2008 at 10:19 am
Hey Folks…keep those comparisons coming…I absolutely love them. This is what the web was meant for!! Awesome job with the comparinator.
Reply
November 26th, 2008 at 2:44 pm
the comparinator doesn’t seem to be working for me anymore… it gets stuck at “loading/syncing mp3s”
it worked just a few days ago tho, so i’m not sure what the prob is
Reply
admin reply on November 26th, 2008 3:25 pm:
Hi Damien,
I’ve been having some conflicts between javacript libraries which probably doesn’t matter to anyone but me, but be that as it may, I’ve added a link to launch the comparinator in a new window which should eliminate the problems.
Reply
November 26th, 2008 at 10:12 am
Anthony,
The website is killer. I might of missed it but you may want to include the BBE green tube screamer in the shoot out. It is a really nice pedal. You can try mine out if you want. I see you are in PA. I live in Tioga county near Mansfield.
Keep up the good work and thank you for sharing your talents with us,
Pete
Reply
November 19th, 2008 at 4:32 pm
Nice stuff!
Reply
November 14th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
Anthony- Your new site is great! Fantastic idea that will help everyone rock a little harder! Great job!!!
Reply
November 11th, 2008 at 7:28 pm
This shootout totally kicks butt! Props to your buddies on thegearpage.net for posting the link. I’ll be checking back often…
Reply