This month all premium Tube Amp Doctor tubes are on sale. The all new Tone Tubby AlNiCO Black Label speaker has arrived. The Black Label speaker is Double Dipped and rated for 60 watts. Be sure to check out our fresh selection of the best Weber speakers. The ISP Decimator pedals are in stock.

For years I have been using the 60/40 rosin core solder which consists of 60% tin and 40% lead. It is a great general-purpose solder which is easy to work with. It has a melting temperature of 374 degrees Fahrenheit and does not become a solid again until it cools to 361 degrees Fahrenheit. So you have a working temperature of 13 degrees. The down side to this is that components/ wires etc. must remain still during this cooling process or you will have a cold solder joint. I also have burnt my fingers many times holding wires during the cooling process. (Losing fingerprints in the name of tone.)

The 63/37 rosin core solder consists of 63% tin and 37% lead. The up side and down side about this solder is that it has no working time. It melts at 361 degrees Fahrenheit and it becomes solid at 361 degrees Fahrenheit. This solder works great for soldering components, wires etc. Because it cools once the soldering iron is removed. Less chances of cold solder joints. The down side of this solder is when you are de-soldering. You haven't any time to apply your solder sucker to the joint before it cools. You could use soldering braid to remove the solder. A method I like to use when de-soldering 63/37 solder is to heat the joint and apply a small amount of 60/40 rosin core solder so I some working time to use a solder sucker.

This month we have stocked up on a few of the best Weber speakers and do offer break in service for them for a small upcharge. To order a Weber with the break in service, order the speaker, then go to home page and select upgrades on the categories, Add $10.00 to your order with the Product Upgrade option. Weber Blue Dogs & Silver Bells in a 2x12 cabinet make for some serious Vox/Marshall tone nirvana. Have a vintage Princeton Reverb, Deluxe, Deluxe Reverb and want to enhance the amps sound. The Weber Vintage speakers may be what your looking for. Click on the link to find the Weber speaker that best suits your needs.

1. If you have a tube amp make sure your power tubes are matched and biased properly. When choosing matched tubes the Ip (plate current) is the most critical measurement. When ordering power tubes request middle #'s for the Ip.
2. Roll in a batch of 12AX7's in positions V1 & V2 (the two 9 pin sockets generally furthurest from the power tubes.) Rolling in means to cycle a batch of preamp tubes through the amp and to critically listen to each tube to find out which one sounds best. Use the best sounding two.
3. Use a low capacitance/ high shielded guitar cable preferably under 25 feet. Too long and you begin to loose high frequencies.
4. If your tube amp is more than 10 years old have all the Electrolytic capacitors replaced.
5.Make sure your guitar is set up & intonated properly.
6. Pickup choice for your guitar is extremely important. The luthier Taku Shakashta knew the importance of guitar pickups. That is why he chose to have his own custom made. They equate for approximately 20-25% of you guitars tone.
 7. Use a thick gauge speaker cable such as a 14- 12 gauge cable such as the Cardas Audio Crosslink speaker cable. Speakers operate on high current, the thicker wire transfers the current more efficiently.
8. Try a different speaker with you amplifier.
9. Use a noise suppression circuit such as the Decimator pedal to get rid of unwanted noise/ feedback.
10. Play with all your mind, heart & soul.

With the speaker being the final transducer in an amplifier circuit it is crucial to the sound of amplifier. You can have the greatest amp in the world and if the speaker is sub par then your amp will sound sub par. Finding the right speaker for your individual amplifier can be a juggling act and the costs can add up. The best advice I can give is identify the tonal characterists of your particular amplifier and find out what it's lacking or what it is not lacking. For instance, the Fender Blackface amplifiers have a mid scooped tone stack. You may want to look for a speaker that has more mid-range if you want to fatten your lead tone. The Marshall tone stack is more mid-rangey so adding a speaker that has more mid-range may give you ear fatigue. In this instance you may want to look for a speaker that is more mid-scooped. Be sure to check out our selection of speakers.

I am pleased to announce that we are carrying the ISP Decimator Pedals. The Decimator pedals are ideal for taking you tone to the next level. At higher volume levels muting the strings is a valuable technique, However it doesn't get rid of all the noise and feedback. The Decimator solves this problem with Time Vector processing. Which allows silence even when a Staccato style of playing is used. In the past with noise reduction processing such as the HUSH® silencing the Staccato notes weren't silent. Many of the Pros use these pedals for the icing on the cake.

24 hour burn in  service available on your favorite power tubes for maximum stability. Canare GS-6 guitar cables made in house with neutrik gold plugs. You can also have the Neutrik Silent plug added for pop free hot swapping of guitars. Canare GS-6 is a specially designed Oxygen Free Copper (18 AWG) cable for connecting Guitar/Bass or Keyboards to amps, mixers, effects pedals and all outboard signal processing gear. Low capacitance and low series resistance provides improved frequency response, with a double Carbon/Braid Copper shield construction for maximum RFI & EMI protection. All Canare cables made here come with a lifetime warranty.

Coming soon Canare Star Quad speaker cable with 4- 14 gauge conductors. Ideal for high current power, guitar amplifiers, & PA systems.

For the past month speaker break in has been offered as a service. This service includes a full speaker break in of the entire cone surface. A frequency generator is connected to the speaker and signal is applied to the speaker. The frequency generator is swept through various frequencies to assure the entire surface of the cone is broken in. Special emphasis is then placed on the lower frequency spectrum to get maximum forward & reverse excursions on the cone & suspension. During the low frequency signal process the voice coil is closely monitored for heat. Finally the frequency generator is manually swept through the entire frequency range and audibly checked for any fizz. 

Also available is preamp tube matching within each triode for critical guitar & HI-FI stages.
There are some really exciting things that are in the working which will be released soon. 
The Whole Tone amplifier sound clips are going to be on the website very soon.

Tonefully committed,
Brian
 

I remember when I was a child I heard the phrase “ Your chain is only as strong as the weakest link.” As an adult I have applied this concept to amplifier building & guitar rigs. The quickest and simplest way to test the theory is to take an amazing sounding amplifier and hook it up to an amazing sounding speaker. Play a few notes, chords, then shut it down and hook up a bad sounding speaker. How does the amazing sounding amplifier sound with the bad speaker? It just sounds bad.

 

 So why not stop there? Trace your entire signal path through you set up. Start with the guitar all the way through to the speaker. Find out where the weakest links are and upgrade them. Often the best place to start is with a guitar cable. This is the place where the signal is injected into preamp of the amplifier. The preamps job is to amplify any signal present. Regardless if it is your neighbor’s skill saw, the baseball game on the radio, or a guitar with a P90 pickup in it.

 

 I decided to take a few guitar cables that we sell in our Web stores and run them through a series of tests. The cables tested were the Evidence Audio Melody, Evidence Audio Lyric HG, Canare GS6, Klotz La Grange,  & the Fender Vintage Voltage. Each cable tested was 10 feet in length.

 

Evidence Audio 10 ft Melody- a single 20 AWG solid copper conductor, spiral shield, 98% noise rejection.

Evidence Audio 10 ft Lyric HG- balanced dual 20 AWG solid copper conductors, high-density copper braided shield.

Canare GS-6 10 ft- 18 AWG stranded oxygen free copper, double carbon braid shield..

Klotz LaGrange 10 ft- coaxial design with high quality stranded copper conductors & spiral shielding.

Fender Vintage Voltage 10 ft-  oxygen-free copper wire and braided copper shielding.

 

The testing procedure was methodical. I first tested the flex of each cable by hooking it to the guitar and amp and flipping it around a few times to see how well the cable would lie. Next, was the listening tests, I used a few different amplifiers and guitars, Never switching guitars or amps until all the cables had been listened to though that particular rig.

The amplifiers chosen for the tests were:

 64’ Fender Super Reverb with 2 - 10"Tone Tubby AlNiCo speakers on bottom and 2 -10" Eminence Copperhead speakers on top.

Whole Tone Pearl Custom Classic

Two Rock Onyx

 

The Guitars chosen were:

 Paul Reed Smith McCarty guitar with Tone Pros bridge, 10 gauge SIT power wound strings.

62’ Re-issue Fender Strat with nitro finish, Eric Johnson maple neck (no string trees.) 62’ re-issue pickups, blender setup, Suhr BPSSC system, SIT 10 gauge Power Groove strings.

Super Reverb with the Strat & PRS- Clean sound

Evidence Audio Melody good tonal balance, rich harmonic content. Very balanced high end.

Evidence Audio Lyric HG- Smooth relaxed feel in the midrange. Bass frequencies sounded slightly attenuated.

Canare GS-6- Most transparent & balanced cable out of the 4 tested, no tone coloration.

Klotz La Grange- More bass response than other cables, smooth chimey high end.

Fender Vintage Voltage- High end rolled off a bit, smooth mid response.

  

Whole Tone Pearl Custom Classic with Strat & PRS-

The Pearl has a Princeton 5F2-A tone stack which gives the amp more warmth and mid-range.

 

Two Rock Onyx with Strat & PRS-

The Onyx was primarily used for the over-driven sounds to see how the cables would sound with an over-driven tube amplifier.

 

Evidence Audio Melody- Not as 3 dimensional as the Klotz and the Canare GS-6.

The Melody had good high end detail, a slower attack, rich harmonics with a slight grittiness added to the over-driven notes, No high end glare.

Evidence Audio Lyric HG- Less low-end response, a slower attack, rich harmonics also with a slight grittiness added to the over-driven sound. Fast runs were articulate, slightly subdued with a hint of grit, No high-end glare.

Canare GS-6- Most 3 dimensional out of the four cables tested, faster attack, retained high-end detail yet remained smooth sounding. Similar low end response as the EA cables. Rich harmonics, fast runs flowed well. No high-end glare. Best over-driven sound.

Klotz La Grange-Slightly less 3 dimensional than the Canare GS-6, slightly hotter signal than the Canare GS-6 cable, As the overdrive is turned up the cable has a glare in the high-end. The Klotz La Grange had the best overall attack.

Fender Vintage Voltage- The highs were rolled off when over-driven. Smooth mid-range response, Bass was slightly muddy.

 

 All the cables had certain qualities that I liked about them. For clean sounds I enjoyed the extended lows of the Klotz La Grange cable. For recording I would go with the more transparent Canare GS-6 cable. The cable that suited my style of playing best was the Canare GS-6 cable with the over-driven amplifier. The best way to find out what cable works best for you is to try a couple out with you rig. It’s a lot of fun!!!

 

Sincerely,

Brian

 

  The M Audio Firewire 410 computer interface is a 4 input, 10 output mobile recording device with two headphone outputs with independent level controls, and on board DSP. Also features Digital I/O with S/PDIF &  on board ASIO 2 compliant mixer with software control panel. The  sound quality is 24 bit analog I/O with 192K for outputs 1&2, 96K for the rest of the outputs, & a 96K input.The Firewire 410 also has a MIDI I/O, dual mic/instrument pres with 66 dB of gain and phantom power.

  The first thing I noticed when hooking this device up was that the chassis it is housed in is rugged enough to take some abuse on the road. Some of the knobs looked like the metallic coating may flake off after time. The connections were simple and took a couple of minutes to hook up to a PA system. The computer was a Laptop running Microsoft XP and  Amplitube 2 was used for the software. Easy to hook up and get sounds from, the only thing we had to do was to change the output device on the computer.

 The sounds were good as I ran through the gammet of Amplitube tones starting with some clean jazz sounds and then some hendrix, cream and EVH patches. I may have to do a review on Amplitube! What fun, any way back to reality here. The flexiblity of the Firewire 410 is amazing for it's price. You could do a 7.1 surround sound project with it or route the outputs to a mixer if needed. The only thing I noticed was the PA signal had a bit of noise. Not sure if it was a connection/ cable issue.

  There were no latency issues with the interface and it did it's job. The Input/Output LEDs on the interface make it easy to trace down the signal path if you needed to troubleshoot the signal. The M Audio Firewire 410 is a winner for the aspiring Recording musician who wants the flexiblity to use in a home studio or on the road. Also the M Audio Firewire 410 has seemless integration with Pro Tools M powered software for the ultimate in Industry standard recording.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  New Pro Audio gear is available at the online store on the home page. First batch of Canare star quad mic cables and Canare GS6 guitar cables have been made and are available on the website and the ebay store at http:stores.ebay.com/whole-tone-music

 The cables have a very flat frequency response, so  you hear the guitar, vocals, & signal with no sound coloration. Superior shielding from emi/rfi. The Canare cables sound just as good, if not better than alot of the boutique cables on the music scene today. The good news is your not paying boutique cable prices. 

 The Canare Star Quad snake cable will soon be available by custom order. Your pick the channels, connector types, & lengths & the Star Quad cable does the rest of the work with it's excellent shielding capabilities, 100% with the foil shield type.
 

Whole Tone Music is pleased to announce expansion into the pro audio arena. During the next few weeks the website will be updated to include new pro audio gear from companies such as Midas, MOTU, Audio Technica, M-Audio, JBL, Mackie, Alesis and many more to list now. This expansion includes a wide variety of microphones, headphones, power amps, compressors, EQ's, Reverb racks, mixers, patchbays, monitors, etc. Prices will be competitive with the largest Musical Instrument retail stores in the industry.

The next focal point in site is the addition of more Home Theater equipment which will include Home stereo receivers with surround sound, AV projection screens, Home theater speakers and more.

Canare Star quad mic cable and The Canare GS-6 guitar cable is now available in custom order lengths. The Canare cable provides excellent noise rejection and a flat frequency responce for exceptional signal transferance.
The mini star quad is also available for line level cables, this cable works well for studio applications where low noise levels are needed. All cables will be terminated with Neutrik connectors.

Once again I thank you all for your patronage and your help in making this possible. My best wishes go out to all of your musical endeavors.

Best Regards,
Brian

  The connection between your guitar and amp is such and important subject that it should not be overlooked. This is where there is potential for noise and loss of highs to be present before the amplifier starts doing it's thing, Amplifying the Good, the bad & the ugly.

What to look for inside a quality guitar cable
 
Lower capacitance cable lets more high end through to your amplifier, it also yields a stronger signal. The core material  can change the cables conductivity( the wires that carry the signal.) The filler material should prevent stretching and twisting of the inner conductors which can cause noise. The insulation is important also because it helps to minimize capacitive filter rolloff. Preferably made of an irridated polymer intead of a polyethylene for added heat resistance. The braiding method of the shielding is also an important factor in rejecting signal noise. A tight densley woven braid is ideal for offering superior noise rejection. The jacket should be a durable PVC or equivalent material which will not shrink, stiffen or crack regardless of the temperature it is exposed to. 

 Not all guitar cables are created equal. You can however get a quality guitar cable with out the high boutique price tag with some searching. It is best to read reviews,search the forums, buy a few cables and inspect them physically and sonically to come to your own conclusion.
 

  The Magnum Opus is a Class A single ended cathode biased KT88 amplifier  which produces 38 watts of warm, sparkling tone. The Magnum Opus is well suited for gigs, rehearsals, recording. 
  The Magnum Opus comes with Reverb, Parallel buffered tube effects loop, which lets you adjust the amount of wet/dry signal. Power Level that allows you to adjust the internal voltage of the amp for cranked tone at lower volumes. The power control was chosen over the master volume approach to retain the tone of the amp at lower volumes. Also there is a bypass switch for the Power Control which gives the amp instant headroom. 
    A Cathode Follower (1+1 cascade stage) circuit was chosen for the EQ, the Cathode follower doesn't allow high frequency roll-off within the guitars frequency range. What this equates to is less insertion losses in the EQ stage.
   Also unique to the Magnum opus is the front panel control of interstage attenuation, which usually is adjusted from inside amplifiers with trim pots. Each stage can be dialed in to your specific taste. Another feature that was added to the front panel is a SUSTAIN control which allows you to control the attack and release of the amplifiers sustain and compression.
   The HI/Classic switch allows for full headroom on HI power and a more browner sound on the CLASSIC setting. Other key features to this amplifier are in the power supply design. 
  Solen (aluminum metalized polypropylene) Fast Caps were used in conjunction with Stealth diodes to give the amp a tight focused sound with the characteristics of a tube rectifier. The Stealth diodes allow for even more headroom than a tube rectifier, with a faster and softer recovery time than standard diodes. 
  Another key element in the sound of the Magnum Opus is the Output transformer. A Mercury Magnetics Single ended Output transformer was chosen for it's  rock solid reliability and extended bandwidth.
 All components are handwired on terminal strips using a point to point wire wrapping technique at Whole Tone Music.
 

 The fastest at usually the least expensive way to change your amps tone is changing out preamp tubes. Primarily in Preamp Valve 1 (which is generally the preamp tube farthest away for the power tubes) and Preamp Valve 2. If the amp is two channel, V1 shapes the tone of channel 1 and V2 for channel 2. Try a few different new and New Old Stock brands out and let your ears be the guide.
 
 A more subtle way to change your amps tone an is still fairly inexpensive ( unless your buying a boutique cable!!) is to try different guitar cables. Some cables let more signal through to the amp ( the lower capacitance cables) This may be good or may not depending on how you set your amp and the tone your looking for. Stevie Ray Vaughn did not like hot guitar cables, primarily because his amp setup was giving him enough drive already. Stevie's long time amp tech Cesar Diaz affirms to this saying that Stevie insisted he go down to Radio Shack and get him a coil cable after Cesar had given him a monster cable to try out. SRV just thought the Monster cables were too hot.
Try some different guitar cables out and listen to the differences. Keep your guitar and amp settings the same to help hear the differences.

 Here is one of my favorite ways to change the amps sound. Ok you do need to know how to use a screwdriver, read polarities and possibly solder. You guessed it! Change the speaker out. This is the final transducer to your ears. If the amp sounds amazing and your speaker is junk then your tone will be junk also. There are many different varieties of speakers on the market and 10 musicians will tell you that the think brand x and model y is the best. It all has to do with what sound your looking for. What you already have, Guitar, amp, effects, etc. You want a speaker that can handle the amps wattage. So at least shoot for a 25% mark up when changing a speaker out. If the amp is 50 watts then use a 75 watt speaker. 
 
 Be careful most Boutique amps today or under rated when it comes to wattage. Primarily because of the over designed output transformers they are using. You can put a 40 watt Fender Super Reverb up to a Carr Slant 6V which is rated 40 watts and the Carr is much louder. Dr Z's Maz Jr is rated at 18 watts hoever it is putting out 24 watts at full volume!

 There are different magnets, voice coils, cone material, dB sensitvities, basket designs etc to take into account when purchasing a speaker. It can get expensive and time consuming trying out a bunch of different speakers. Ok the time consuming part is not much of a burden unless the speaker sounds really bad.

 AlNiCo vs Ceramic. I get alot of phone calls about this topic. The Vintage purists will usually go with AlNiCo and the more modern players usually go with the Ceramic. Not always the case but more than likely. Some musicans combine the AlNiCo and Ceramic speakers into 1 enclosure or different enclosures. You can then get a blend of the two different sounds. They definately have their own unique characteristics. In my opinion the AlNiCo has a looser low end response than the ceramic speaker however the mid- high range in the AlNiCo is sweeter and the high end sounds more rolled off which yields a slightly smoother high end response. We won't even get into Neodymium magnets at this time but feel that the learning curve is starting to come around as OEM's are starting to produce some really good sounding Neo speakers. And if I can 1 day get my 64 Super Reverb weighing less than 55 pounds and the tone sound just as good you bet that is enticing!

 Hemp cone vs Paper cone Some people love it some people dislike it. Hemp is definately stronger than paper cones which means they should stand the test of time. I heard stories about a guy who bought 40 year old NOS cones and having them installed in the speaker baskets only to have them blow to bits. The paper becomes brittle with age and the paper will break down from time and environmental factors. That is why I always advise any Vintage speaker owner to shelf the original speaker and put in a substantial replacement in case they  want to sell it with the original speakers still functioning.  Hemp is stronger simply because hemp fibers are longer than paper fibers and when they are bonded together they create a stronger bond.

 Sound wise I think the hemp sounds smooth and has alot of midrange to offer. Midrange is good we all know but having a set up with too much midrange can cause ear fatigue. If you have a Marshall which already has a more pronounced midrange tone stack it may be overkill in my opinion. I like the hempcones with a Blackface amp which has a mid scooped tone stack.

Ok i hope I haven't bored you to the point of hitting the x button because this can really help out your sound if you want your amp to have more or less loudness. Choosing a speaker with a higher dB sensitivity rating such as 100 can get the efficiency up in an amp that needs more volume. And vise versa, Putting a speaker rated at 90 dB sensitivity can quiet down a  loud amp. A + or - 10 dB difference is twice or half as loud. The speaker is the final transducer, Don't let it be the weakest link in your signal chain.

  With the economy being the way it is lately alot of people are just having their amps repaired or spending less on a new or used amp purchase. For repair shops that's a good thing. Not so good for the high end boutique amp market. An amp that costs around 500.00 or less is what can be appealing. For instance you can get a used Blues Jr and have it overhauled with a new Heyboer output transformer, Change the tone stack to the Princeton style (Bill M mod), lower the amps idle current, install a Weber speaker &  change out the stock accutronics reverb tank for a Ruby reverb tank and you have a decent sounding amp for around $500.00, which includes the cost of the used amp.

  You may also consider revamping an amp you already own by modding it. Lets say you have been wanting to get that $10k amp sound but just can't afford to throw up that kind of money. You may  have a Blackface or Silverface amp sitting around that has a channel on it you do not use (The Normal Channel). Well you could have the reverb jumpered to the Normal channel. Have a rock Jazz switch replace the vibrato channels bright switch. Have a Push/Pull pot installed on the Vibrato channels treble knob for a boost control, replace some resistors and capacitors and you've got the elusive Dumble tone for a few hundred dollars. Or maybe you want to turn the normal channel into a tweed or British channel? No problem. All this can be done in house, and if your not local you can bubble wrap the chassis and mail it here for 20 dollars or so. Email your inquiries to wholetonemusic@yahoo.com

Another option to save money is to build a kit. There are alot of good kits out there that can be less expensive than the real amps. The Mojo, Weber and Ceriatone kits are appealing. You don't even need to be a tech to get the Ceriatone kits, They can build it for you. Also you can have any of the kits listed above built by us. For the soldering iron wielding tone warrior it's a win win to get a kit. Plus you have the feeling of accomplishment when you built it yourself. If you need any Ceriatone kits please email.  There is still hope for the tone seekers in a down economy.

  From time to time customers ask what is the best way to wire two speakers together. From a functional perspective it is always best to wire the speakers in parallel while gigging. If 1 speaker fails during the gig then the other one will take over the entire load. This is a fail safe for making it through the gig. On the other hand, wiring two speakers in series if 1 speaker fails you will have dead air. This can be embarrassing at a gig! Especially when you start doing the Monkey ( a paniced flailing of the arms.) to figure out what just happened.

  From a tonal perspective parallel and series wiring differ. With parallel wiring you will have half the current flowing through each speaker at the same time. (Because there is more than 1 pathway for current to flow.) In series wiring you have all the current flowing through 1 speaker at a time. How does this affect tone? The parallel wiring scheme will give you less impedance than the series wiring scheme when using the same impedance speakers. Less impedance generally will have less high end which sounds like more low end to the ears. More impedance will yield more high end with less low end response. So if you wire the same two 8 ohm speakers speakers in parallel you will have a 4 ohm load and here less high end response and more low end response. On the other hand if you wire two 8 ohm speakers in series your total speaker load will be 16 ohms and you will here more high end response and less low end response. It all comes down to what sound you are aiming for. The choice is up to you.

As far as speaker impedance goes. It is best to use the full winding of the output transformer. This is the highest impedance on the back of the amp. Using a lower impedance will tap into your output transformer and you will not get the full bandwidth of the OT. Make sure that your speaker load matches the amps Output transformer load when choosing impedances.

 It's been alot of fun the last few months, Building, designing and repairing amps. I have been designing  a Single Ended shunt feed KT88 amp with SE ampCAD by glassworks, which we sell in our online store. The program is great.

 I had the good fortune of meeting up with Del McCain when he brought me a 65 Fender Twin Reverb into the shop and I thought I would share it with you online.  http://www.whole-tonemusic.com/id75.html 
Also available are mod kits on the website and ebay store for Fender Blackface and Silverface amps which will allow for more tonal flexibility.

Your tone is only as good as your weakest component.

Brian 

Bringing it to the sound stage

        As a fellow guitarist who has played on different stage settings, you know as well as I that it can be challenging at times to get the tone we hear in our head. It shouldn’t have to be so difficult, we tell ourselves as we untangle the rat’s nest of cables hoping we can reduce the inductance by a few more henries.

            The problem starts at home when you have your dream rig that you spent months, sometimes even years assembling, sounding amazingly fat and juicy, dripping with honey tone to die for and you take it to a gig at Joe’s Juke Joint and it sounds thin a nasally. Very disappointing, I feel you, you just have to work with the environment and the sound system they have. Joe Pass knew that oh too well, he would take just a guitar to his gigs and still sounded incredible. Do you think he played through bad sound systems?

            There are various factors involved when you create an environment for music, such as room symmetry, the material of the walls, floors, & ceilings and their absorption coefficients, which contribute to the room’s frequency balance and sonic character. Parallel walls create standing waves, which happens when sound reflects off of parallel surfaces and travels back using the same path. Even nonparallel walls can create problems with low frequency standing waves. Asymmetrical side reflections from the sound stage can cause an acoustic imbalance in the audience.

            The sound system can be a whole other can of worms; if sound systems are not properly grounded they can have ground loops, which raises the floor level noise. First you can  plug all your equipment into the same AC leg; this puts all the equipment at the same potential. Another tip is to avoid using unbalanced (-10dB) equipment in your set up. Using balanced equipment (+4dB) most of the time is better than unbalanced equipment. Although some so called professional equipment is not properly grounded internally. It is best to check out reviews on anything you are thinking about purchasing to get some feedback. You want your signal from the guitar as clean as possible going into the amp. I would recommend to shell out the extra backs and get a Klotz or Evidence cable that have very low inductance. Another handy gadget that you can take to gigs is the Electro Harmonix Hum eliminator, this plugs in before your preamp and cleans the signal up before it is fed into the preamp. I had a customer who has a Carr 6V slant and he was getting some nasty hum at some gigs and it was as quiet as a church mouse at other gigs, He bought the Electro Harmonix Hum Eliminator and it has quieted the noise level down quite a bit.

            Another issue can be phase cancellation; if speakers are facing towards each other you can get phase cancellation. If speakers are not wired properly you get phase cancellation. This will drastically affect the tone of the amplifier. The best way to avoid phase cancellation is to make sure your speaker cones are parallel with each other, and the other speakers on the stage. Also, check the phase of your own speakers by using a 9 volt battery and touch the + side of the battery to the + side of the speaker terminal for a second or two. (Don’t leave it on too long; it can damage the speaker.) You should see the speaker cone move forward, if it moves back then you switch the speaker wires. I use this method with a bi-amp or tri-amp set up to make sure all the different amplifiers are in phase with each other.

  

            Now to the fun stuff, the chain of effects has a great deal to do with the quality of your tone. If you use a COMPRESSOR, this should be the first effect connected to your guitar. Compressors raise the noise levels of everything before it. #2 would be OVERDRIVE; you want to clip the purest signal before sending the signal to the other effects. #3 is CHORUS/FLANGE, #4 is DELAY, #5 is Reverb. If you amp has reverb or you use reverb it should be set according to the room size. You do not want the intensity of the direct sound to be swamped out by the reverberant sound. What you are looking for is CRITICAL DISTANCE: when the direct sound equals the reverberant sound. Which can be a challenge to figure out, with a proper monitoring system and a good sound tech it is achievable. Typically the larger the room the less reverb you should use and the smaller the room the more reverb you can use. The #1 way you can tell that a recording is amateur is by too much reverb, so do not go overboard with it, a little bit goes a long way, and the pros know to not use too much. You can also put a slight DELAY in front of the OVERDRIVE for rhythm and when the OVERDRIVE is engaged you get a more prominent DELAY.

            There are many factors involved with Sound stage production, Remember to keep your cable runs as short as possible and to use the least amount of effect to achieve the tonality you want, and don’t forget to pack a spare 9 volt and a flashlight in your gig bag!!

Tonefully yours,

Brian

    I want to welcome and thank Steve Smyth for participating in the Featured Artist spotlight. Please take time to check his page and links out, Steve is a very disciplined player who's playing styles are diverse and soulful with plenty of shred technique. His latest venture is the ESSENESS Project. If you are interested or know someone who has musical talent and would like to be a Featured Artist please email info@whole-tonemusic.com.


     We are pleased to announce the launch of our Custom Classic amplifier series. For the past year I have been prototying various circuits with a variety of components to bring you some of the most warm and toneful amps. I started with the 50's Western Electric circuits for their faithful sound reproduction and added a few modern updates such as a boost pedal for solos, a Classic/Hi Power switch, Line out, and bright, deep switches for added flexibility with out compromising tone. The Pearl & Deja Blue are perfect for studio work, with it's parallel filament circuit which helps the amp operate at quieter levels. Want a grab and go amp for gigging? The Custom Classic series has a built in line out.