anodyne

check out TIME AND DISREGARD from their out of print INTO THE UNKNOWN album. it's tragically bad folk about birds, trees, housing developments, etc. i'd think that'd be enough to discourage graffin from the genere.

a nice, cold glass of bombay sapphire gin. fuck yeah!

+ guess you don't get much more anglo-saxon than that.

a little chorus and delay go a long way. i have a danelectro cool cat chorus (big pedal) and a digitech digital delay. they're both cheap and easy to find, and they both get the job done and then some. i strongly recommend the dano cool cat. it's a great chorus pedal. the only thing that i think i like better is the line 6 mm4 for chorus options, but it's a hell of a lot more $$.

those 400 series guitars are a steal. for a few bucks, you can get the frets dressed (unless you were lucky enough to get one that was okay from the factory) and it'll play as well as a new sg. when the switch goes bad (as is common on pretty much all epiphone models), replace it with a gibson switch and you've got decades of play out of that guitar. nice grab!

check out the carvin bel air (50 tube watts, 2x12) and the peavey classic 30 combo (also 2x12) amps. they're surprisingly awesome considering they both cost well under a grand. the carvin comes loaded with celestion vintage 30s.

i'm still convinced there's nothing better for preamp gain than the old carvin quad-x preamp. look for one on ebay.

they ALWAYS sound bad in front of an amp. if you want to do it live, make sure you run it into a power amp or through the fx loop of your amp. bypass the preamp. that said, there is a very slight but noticable silence when the pod switches. the pod pro is much better on this issue. related (not really) - i need to sell my first version pod and foot controller.

i've got a home recording system set up, but i am looking for a decent and cheap (less than $150 used) large diaphram condenser mic. i know behringer stuff starts under that pricepoint, but i have no experience with that brand and only know people dislike them. what are you guys using and how's it working out?

what kind of acoustic pickup are you using? have you had a chance to play the fishman loudbox series?

just watched everything is illuminated. it was premium.

oops, my f'up. i have a 335. gotta post BEFORE the scotch! as far as stealing the tissues - just don't pilfer lots of hand lotion at the same time!

es 330 is a semi-hollow body. the center is solid and connects the top and bottom. i play an es-330 primarily (well, acoustic mostly, then the electrics) and haven't had a problem with feedback (even when i played in a hardcore band).

they sound AWESOME at low volume, but the solid state power section breaks up weirdly and sounds harsh at high volumes. it's an overpriced practice amp if you wanted it for a band situation. i almost bought one once, but once i took it to the "loud room", it was weak.

i'm so jealous. she didn't play remotely near enough (six hour drive for the nearest show). i hope she adds more US dates soon!

i use a handkerchief or other cloth when i handle tubes. you CAN use bare hands, but you want to wipe them off really well. as far as the physical aspect, it's like changing a lightbulb, only without threads. super easy.

fuses usually only pop when something is really wrong. get that amp looked at!

there are some amps that sound decent recorded direct. i've gotten good sounds plugging the guitar directly into the board and using amp models at a studio where we went once. if you don't know a lot about mic placement, direct recording will be CONSISTENT, which might be nice. i have a carvin bel air that does the line out thing, but i haven't had a chance to use that feature yet.

$250 for a solid state practice amp sounds steep.

i usually pay $45 and have my guitars set up by a REALLY good tech every so often. he cleans them up really nice, too. this was especially helpful in my old band when i'd get stuff all over my guitars at shows.

the peavey classic amps are great. i have a carvin bel air (50 watt 2x12 combo with a REALLY lush reverb). i'd recommend one, but they do get loud. the carvin vintage 16 might be a better choice for a small tube amp.

carvin bel-air 212 carvin cobalt c-350 (all mahogany w/ ebony board) gibson les paul studio (but mine has horrible gold where this has pretty chrome) epiphone dot reissue effects: mxr phase 90, dano cool cat chorus, looking to get a dl-4 soon.

i just bought an amp. i played metal/hardcore forever and retired. now i play americana, so i got a carvin belair. it hasn't arrived yet. i'm excited. looking for some inexpensive usb interfaces for vocals, guitar, harmonica. my amp has a balanced and voiced xlr out, so i want to use that as well. any ideas? I also need a large diaphram condenser, but i'm willing to go the cheap route here.

myspace.com/akron66crush it's artsy metal-core noise, not anything a wilco fan would LIKELY be into.

the biggest issue with the cheap guitars is the frets. often, they are improperly finished/installed and feel sharp. you shouldn't feel the frets on the side, it should be smooth. i've played squires, epiphones, ibanez, jackson and others that felt like little razors. i was able to get my gibson lp studio for $300 with case from someone who had rent to pay and liked my band. i gave him $350 and still got a sweet deal. my other main electric is an epiphone es-330 dot reissue that was $400 (without case). if it had a bigsby, i'd be much happier. i should buy another dc-127 carvin (all mahog