So based on my interpretation of Soma product philosophy this will produce different cascading levels of feedback and phase cancelling modulated by an lfo and then being fed to an overdriven tube spring reverb, regardless of what you do with the guitar, including plugging one in? 
A friend is getting out of the guitar hobby (never really clicked for him) and gifted me this Epiphone Genesis, 2013. Itās an interesting instrument! Needed some adjustments on the action but otherwise sounds alright, its got coil taps.
(Iām going to clean it up, give it some love, and then either sell it or give him some cash 
)
8 Likes
Nice one! That reminds me of my Yamaha SG.
I have to say that Iām really impressed with Epiphone at the moment. That Crestwood Custom I got recently is a gem. I spent a bit of money to get it fixed up a bit by my local guitar tech, but it was well worth it. The nut was not the proper height and the slots needed to be filed. I always get locking tuners on my guitars as I hate changing strings and I had him upgrade the switch and jack while it was there, as I donāt want to go back to the tech for a long time. Anyway, after putting some flatwounds on itās such a vibey guitar.
The thing that surprises me most about it is how good the pots and pickups are. On most of my guitars I just leave the tone all the way up, but itās incredibly interactive on the Crestwood. There are all kinds of great tones to be had along the taper. Maybe that is just a mini humbucker thing or maybe I got blessed with really good pots. Iāve never had mini humbuckers before.
Iāve been playing the hell out of this tune and it sounds like it came off the record. The guitar has serious 50s vibes and nice twang. Works well as a Gretsch stand in, and I love how small and light it is.
I hope you have as good of an experience. My Yamaha SG is an absolute workhorse, so if itās anything like that I think you will be in love.
4 Likes
today i took my korg x911 for a service - gonna pair it with my 1980 ibanez joe pass signature guitar for some jazz synth guitar freakouts once it is back in my hands
2 Likes
Alright, I may need some help here. I was playing with the idea of getting a guitar back in the house for my own fun and low and behold, the music shop had one display that catch my eyes. I did not buy anything yet but I tried to look only for it and nada. This is the first time, I canāt even find a remote information about it besides just one dutch random site selling it : Stage Pro
Salavador Cortez does have a Crossover serie but not with this model and they donāt really use this appelation neither. It looks a lot like a Cordoba Stage guitar (but not the holes on the top left). So I am mostly confused. I still find the guitar gorgeous and I will take the time to try it probably in the coming weeks.
Any luck or idea how to find more information about it?
1 Like
Patterned like a Godin.
5 Likes
Indeed. Actually, the Cordoba Stage Amber looks like fake twin if not for the top left sound slots. These looks loosely a bit more like a Godin. (I am also a bit confused because usually my google fu is good enough).
Cool score on the crestwood. It sounds like itās been a hit for you. Iāve been tempted by those a couple times as good deals occasionally pop up. It also seems like youāre getting a lot of the sounds Iām often after with it (surf/ spaghetti/ garage/ etc).
Also, I havenāt been around here in a while but I see you recently picked up an EHX attack decay. Iāve had one for a couple years now. Great pedal though it hasnāt found a permanent home on my main board. Iāll have to dig deeper into the compressor functionality, Iām actually surprised I havenāt already. I usually run a really extreme compressor with it (like a cs3) to get string type sounds. I had the original version a long time ago too but I prefer the reissue, havenāt tried the new mini version.
1 Like
Be cautious. It may be a copy. The top of the headstock is slightly different to the actual cordoba when I compare the pictures. Thereās no inlay on the front, thereās no sticker on the rear, and theyāve labeled it as salvator cortez with tags, but obviously it is not.
I would possibly send the cortez company a couple of pictures in an email and confirm that they donāt secretly make one like this. Show them the picture which clearly has their productās hang tag on the neck of this guitar.
You could also email cordoba and ask about the weird variant soundhholes, but because I read that cordoba was purchased by yamaha, Iām not sure how their org structure would work and who you would need to contact, but I still think it would be worth trying to conclude if itās possible one of those companies made this guitar before you consider spending the money.
If itās a chinese copy or something like that, it could look nice, but would have a lower value, especially on resale if you later decide to get rid of it.
Another thing I tried to look at was the metal plates which are used on the sides of the peghead which hold the tuning machines in place. The ones on this guitar donāt seem very similar to any of the ones I saw on google for either cortez or cordoba.
The tuning machine plates on this guitar have a much more basic design, and little details like that can sometimes give you a hint about a guitar, because even if itās a special model with that soundhole, Iām not sure they would change the headstock shape and use a lower grade type of tuning machine.
I would do more reseach before you consider purchase, if itās not too late.
Edit: another thing that I just noticed as an additional point against the possibility of the guitar from that shop being a mislabeled cordoba is the neck heel. The guitar is only superficially made to look like the cordoba but the neck heel on the actual cordoba is much more refined and has a distinct plunging shape and radius with the body being cut much deeper to match. It should be evident if you compare these 2 pictures.
2 Likes
Yeah, itās a REALLY fun, modern trashy guitar. Iāve been playing it almost exclusively since it came back from the guitar tech. Itās a bright guitar, so the flatwounds are a really good match IMHO. I love that it sounds so different from my other guitars. Just what I was looking for.
Reminds me of the kind of guitars this guy plays (loving this band recently)
I really like the Attack Decay as well. I had to move it off my main board recently for space reasons, but I missed the compressor so much that I got a Fairfield Circuitry Accountant to fit in the little space I had left. Thatās a wonderful compressor that can also get sort of lofi trashy. I love it. I need to move a few things around so the AD will probably make its way back soon.
While I think a lot of guitarists might cringe, I added a UAD OX Stomp recently to go after my amp sim and I think it might be one of my best pedal purchases ever. I have to play with headphones in the evening (a general complaint about instruments being too loud in my condo complex, doh), and the OX takes the amp modeling thing to a whole other level. I thought the Dream and Woodrow sounded good already, but with the level of customization offered on the OX, Iām finally getting exactly the sounds I was after. Itās definitely not a thing for live players (edit: actually it could be if you ignore the app) but for playing at home and recording Iām finding it amazing.
I was running my Yamaha Reface CP through the Dream and OX Stomp (and some other effects) earlier today, and it takes that to the next level as well. I imagine the organs on the Yamaha YC are going to be ridiculously good through it as well.
Itās not for everyone, but Iāve always been a bit of an engineering geek. Plus, it makes all my other pedals sound better. Iām discovering sounds on my effects boxes I totally missed before.
4 Likes
Dude how have I not heard this band?! Amazing stuff. I dove into their recordings a bit yesterday and Iām hooked. Iām a big chicha fan and they have a lot of that vibe. Thanks yet again!
2 Likes
Yeah, they are awesome! I only heard of them not too long ago. The guitaristās father is Fred Sokolow, who did tons of those Mel Bay instructional guitar books back in the day. I think I still have his dadās rockabilly instructional book.
So many good instrumental bands these days and many from your down your way: Glass Beams, Surprise Chef, The Pro-Teensā¦
1 Like
Mentioned in email from Submarine pickups. Solo fingerstyle guitar piece with some prepared guitar stuff
5 Likes
This is filled with great musical ideas from the guy that did the Better Call Saul opening music. Iāve always wanted one of those Gretschās with Dynasonics. One of my absolute favorite guitar tones.
Side notes:
(1) It was so liberating hearing him say he switched to the Hendrix style of bar chords because he canāt play full bar chords well. Iāve always been a bit embarrassed about still getting choked notes sometimes playing certain full traditional bar chords, and I actually switched to the Hendrix style because of it. I thought it was just me, so hearing someone as good as him admit the same thing makes me feel much better.
(2) I want to learn that mandolin style tremolo finger picking. Itās the same thing the guy from that band La Lom uses. I love it.
(3) The discussion about the issues with recording to a grid (ie, humans played to human time for 1000s of years and now have switched up to recording to machine time because of the DAW) is nothing new, but I think thatās one reason why I like the human feel you get from the basic workflow on SP-404/303 samplers.
9 Likes
Little Barry is maybe my fav guy to listen to lately. The man has seriously good taste and isnāt flashy at all. Very nuanced playing with character and style. Heās worth following everywhere. He tends to do very short clips of smaller ideas. No YT persona, which I always prefer.
1 Like
So this probably a dumb question but Iām somewhat new with pedals and acoustic guitar.
Would putting a delay after a preamp be sufficient? Iād like to utilize the stereo outs on the el cap but currently Iām going DI out of the JHS colour box.
1 Like
Is the question whether or not you can go straight from the color box into the delay without any issues or changes to the signal chain? And the guitar is your Fender acoustic, the thin bodied one?
1 Like
Guitar is the Fender highway series parlor with the thin body(love this guitar). 404 is handling recording duties!
Iām assuming the preamp should be at the end of chain so Iām wondering if itās still doing what I need if itās before the delay. Also would plugging the El Cap directly in for recording be a problem.
Sorry, I know what I wanna ask but having a hard time wording it correctly!
2 Likes
No, I understand now that you cleared it up. Yes, I think it will be fine to do it that way. You want the preamp boosting the level before the delay and I think sending the stereo outs of the delay straight into the 404 is fine. The delay wonāt kill your levels or anything.
Your acoustic (specifically) may not be too bad with this since itās engineered with being an A/E in mind, but in my experience with less articulate acoustic electric pickups and delay pedals is that itās a tenuous balance between sounding good and freaking out, and itās a lot easier to get unintentional feedback than with an electric guitar, so test your settings until you get something that youāre happy with at a variety of strumming levels.
Also, Iām pretty sure that the way the el cap stereo in and L/R outs work is that for use with guitar, you have to make sure the jumper inside is set to receive a mono source for playing with a mono input, and it will still send signal out of both outputs.
If you switch the jumper to stereo, it will expect a stereo cable and a stereo signal coming into it from a TRS cable with 2 lines on the jack. So, unless your guitar happens to have a stereo output pickup, just stick to a normal TS guitar cable and if your pedal is already set to mono input then you shouldnāt need to open it up.
Just thinking that if youāve been using it with a Y cable out of the digitone then you might have it set to stereo, but I donāt want to overcomplicate things for you. If youāve only used it with guitar then Iām sure you have it set to mono already.
2 Likes