a few months into ur vox and you're already cheating on it. hmph.

Screw it, if he doesn't want it, I'ill take it!

hey led zep, i just listen to your sample ! i'm not sure you should put gain on the blackface amp, but maybe should use a stomp box (TS808 like) in front of it. In the pod, the blackface gain isn't real nice either. And in real life, the amp itself is not so famous about his crunch, but maybe i'm wrong. Well, just observing here... quite nice overall ! ok, gotta go... keep posting samples, it's very interesting ! we can even try to compare pod and vox sound with same settings..

That's probably the line out, on the loudspeaker the gain sounds much better, really. I hope to capture that on mp3 one day.

i can sell the pod for xtra dough man
lol

ugh..... i think im gonna need a kickass overdrive pedal.... the JCM800 modelller needs lotsa xtra gain

@ ledzep

the line jack on our amp is a line in or line out? you connect the amp to your com from there?

its a line out. it takes the digital modelled signal out straight, bypassing the power amp. like a pre-amp la.

How many of you collect your guitar hero's items which they used for their recordings, performances and their photo shoots ? Some will go crazy to obtain their guitar pick, guitar strap and what more, the guitar itself. (would you actually collect your guitar hero's underwear ? ) This review was done by my friend (my friend wish to remain anonymous) but since I'm the one that drove both of us to the shop, I think I have the rights to post this review . What both of "us" are doing to review are two Tremonti guitars from PRS which are PRS Mark Tremonti Model and PRS Tremonti SE. It will be very interesting to put these rather similar guitars side by side for comparisons.

The looks .....

(Tremonti SE)
My friend owns a PRS Tremonti SE guitar. The SE stands for Student Edition. Well, you guess it, since most students are "not-so-rich", the Tremonti SE is the lower-end model made in Korea of the more excellent Mark Tremonti Model. Lower-end or not, the Tremonti SE has the looks of any expensive guitars out there. The body is made from Mahogany and there's a 3-way toggle pickup selector near the neck pickup, similar to Les-Paul guitars. There are also four control knobs which are controls the volume and tone for each pickup. To add some icing to the cake, there's white binding on the Mahogany body which looks real cool with the black colour body. The guitar has 22-fret neck with rosewood fretboard with PRS very own tuners which keeps the guitar in tune. And all this is still the Student Edition folks; I haven't mentioned anything on the Mark Tremonti Model yet.



(Mark Tremonti Model)
Now it's the more expensive version. Comparing the Mark Tremonti Model with the Tremonti SE is like comparing a Ferrari F50 with a Proton Gen-2. First look at this made in USA guitar and you'll notice the superb pearl bird inlays on the 22-fret rosewood neck and the special 12th fret Mark Tremonti inlay. The guitar's body is a carved maple top with thick mahogany back and has an opaque color with natural maple edge. The guitar has a unique Tremonti Bass and Tremonti Treble pickups with a PRS adjustable stoptail bridge. Everything else is pretty much the same with the SE version, there's a 3-way toggle pickup selector near the neck pickup and four control knobs which are controls the volume and tone for each pickup. The Tremonti SE is thinner than the Mark Tremonti Model.

The sounds .....

(Tremonti SE)
My friend says that the guitar has a pleasing mix of full and well-defined lows and brilliant mids on the neck pickup, and howling leads with some real AC/DC moments on the neck. The entire sound feels quite modern and punchy, but the output isn't too high and this gives it enough raunch for classic rock stuff. The guitar has a thin neck which means playability is awesome or in other words, the action is good stuff. It pleasingly winds up the clean channel with clean crystal clear sounds.
Overdrive turns the neck pickup into rythmn heaven, with the punch at low gain good for a wide range of driven backings, with the top end biting nicely. Winding up the gain gives a much more metally tone, as the benefits of a set mahogany neck show through. My friend plays this guitar with a Marshall AVT100X, and this guitar is good for metal and rock playing guitarists.



(Mark Tremonti Model)
The amp used with this guitar is a Laney HCM65R. My friend is doing all the testing and I'm doing all the writing. The clean sound on this guitar is crystal clear and pristine, and when my friend switches on the overdrive channel on the amp, it's just pure ecstasy. Warmth and sustain for days with the fullest body of sound we have ever heard. This guitar is perfect for hard, guitar-driven rock...this is how Mark Tremonti makes those fat and warm crunch for their songs (listen to Creed's "What If"). As I mentioned earlier, this guitar has a unique Tremonti Bass and Tremonti Treble pickups installed. The fat and warm crunch is the result of the combination of these pickups. The Tremonti Bass pickup never sounds overdriven when playing clean, and the Tremonti Treble pickup will add extra presence/ brightness. There's no unwanted feedback at all with this guitar. My friend did point out that the action is super low & super fast, the guitar practically plays itself. Those who love Nickelback, Hoobastank, P.O.D., Linkin Park, Puddle Of Mudd just to name a few (and of course Creed) will surely love this guitar.

So which guitar to buy ?

Haha, seriously speaking ... we don't know. Well, it depends on your wallet. My friend bought his Tremonti SE for Rm2,999 and the Mark Tremonti Model is a cool Rm10,999. Basically, the Tremonti SE has less cosmetic finishes and the unique pickups then the Mark Tremonti Model. Both guitars are perfect for metal and rock players, but of course the Mark Tremonti Model provides the better sounding and better looking then its smaller brother has to offer.

Tremonti SE
Pros: Great for metal and rock guitarists, excellent workmanship, very comfortable
Cons: You'll get jealous with those who have the "real" Tremonti guitar .

Mark Tremonti Model
Pros: excellent workmanship, very comfortable, unique Tremonti pickups which sounds awesome, excellent presentation (pearl bird inlays and Mark Tremonti inlays)
Cons: Price , not suitable for blues and jazz



*Note to Pix, there's a copy at the Database review thread already*

This post has been edited by TheWhacker: Mar 5 2006, 08:56 AM

the whacker, as ever, very nice writing... but i feel embarassed : are you being paid to write this review (by Mahogany) ? I can't read any actual critic, except that the SE has low output's pups. No offense, maybe that's the case : everything is good about those guitars
Very weird anyway... it's like the critics in some low profile guitar magasines : they can't allow themselves to write anything bad about anyone... otherwise, they'll loose publicity funds.

does the mark tremonti worth 10,999 RM ?

Nope, i'm not being paid by anyone to post those reviews. Well, i mention earlier, it's my friend who did the review .... not me. I'm the one who drove both of us to the shop but he said it's no problem posting the review here. I wanted to give credit to him but he wishes to remain anonymous.

Both guitars are good, seriously. I do make a point to critic any guitars (like what i did with the previous Fender reviews), but you know PRS makes superb guitars. Maybe, i should add in that it's only good for metal and rock theme. Bluez and Jazz on these guitars don't really sound "good"

Rm10,999 is last year's price ..... , worth it ? ..... depends la, i mean its because of the pickups you know. Even Santana has his own set of pickups to create his "sound" in his solos.

This post has been edited by TheWhacker: Mar 5 2006, 08:53 AM

thx for clarifying. well, it's one's opinion and I've nothing against PRS at all. To make things clear and show my un-bias, I did like the Soapbar SE very very much..
anyway, it's really great for us you actually take time to do some reviews, and such into details.

I have something to add...
Regarding the Tremonti SE... it's TOO LIGHT! The feel is as if you're playing with a guitar made of plastic. If you hit the strings hard enough, you can feel the whole body vibrating lol. It might be a good thing for some ppl, but don't expect Les Paul sustain from it.

Also, being a signature guitar, it doesn't come cheap. Unless you're a Tremonti fan, you could get something at the same quality (or better) for a lower price.

Ask any musicians' you know of and chances are they will own at least one acoustic guitar along with their endless list of electric guitars. Playing a gig with an electric guitars take some time to set up, from plugging your guitar to those pedals on the floor, to setting those controls on the amp and finally having the best pedals, amp and guitar in the world won't do a thing if you can't find a power plug. Acoustic guitars are a "take and play" instrument, similar to "plug and play" in most computer hardware.

Some songs require both acoustic and electric guitar in order to play the song properly and accurately. So how do you switch between your acoustic guitar and then back to your electric guitar at an instant on the live performance?

The Modeler

To solve that problem, allow me introduce the Behringer AM100 Acoustic Modeler pedal. This effects pedal allows guitarists to achieve realistic acoustic guitar modeling using any electric guitar. The pedal has dark brown colour which may be representing the wood theme here, hence acoustic guitar. The pedal has a switch to choose what type of Acoustic Guitar sound you want (standard, large, piezo pickup style or bright). Standard mode produces a typical acoustic guitar sound while at the Large mode delivers a large and more resonant acoustic feel. The Piezo mode simulates distinct brightness of a classic piezo pickup and the last mode Bright gives a brilliant and ultra-present sound which is good if you're playing in a live environment.



On top of that, there's also 3 knobs for level, enhance and resonance. Level basically adjusts the output level (the volume). The Enhance control determines the amount of brilliance as well as upper harmonics and the Resonance control adjusts the resonance of the simulated acoustic guitar body.

Sadly, the manual is only a sheet of paper (like all Behringer effects pedals), and to be honest the manual should have at least give more information, such as where to put the 9V battery (because of this I actually unscrewed the whole thing looking for where to put the battery, only to find out it is under the actual pedal). The locking system for the battery also needs about 5 different hands to unlock and lock again. See the picture below.



If you stomped on the pedal, it would probably break due to the fact that it is mainly plastic. I said before "throwing a Boss pedal to the wall will crack the wall and the Boss pedal will be fine" but don't try throwing this Behringer pedal to anything, so press it and treat it gently.

Acoustic Sounds ?

The pedal was used with a 70's Fender Stratocaster and a Marshall MG50DFX amp. When in use, it makes a slight hissing noise, but it is very easy to ignore when playing with it. The sound when used is very similar to an acoustic guitar, but the highs, even when the enhance knob is turned up full, just aren't good enough. When the Resonance knob is turned up, the bottom 4 strings sound great.

I played the song "Some Day" by Nickelback and I was able to play the whole song only on the electric guitar with the AM100 plugged in. I played the song using the 'Piezo pickup' mode, with the 'Enhance' knob turned nearly to full, and the 'Resonance' knob set at about halfway. When the pedal is turned on it create a slight "pop", which can be a nuisance when turning it on an off mid song. You have to turn down the volume on the pedal itself it avoid the "pop" sound.

So I throw away my Acoustic guitar ?

No, keep it. If you're playing a song which uses only the acoustic guitar, then you should use an acoustic guitar to play it, not with this pedal. This pedal helps a lot if you don't want to switch guitars in a middle of performance. If you're looking for your first Acoustic Modeler pedal, this is the pedal to buy because it's only Rm120. However, if you're a seasoned guitarist, you should skip this pedal and settle for the Boss AC-2.

Pros: Super cheap; great acoustic sounds

Cons: Changing batteries is a big hassle; it's made of plastic; creates a "pop" sound when activating the pedal.

*Note to Pix, there's a copy at the Database review thread already*

Anyone here knows where Pasar Road is located ? This is the place where all the cheap electronic items like microphones, mixers, cables are being sold at very low prices. Don't think very low prices means very low quality, the catch is to find the right item at the right shop so a little abit of window-shopping is required to get the best bang for your money.



I have seen alot of guitar cables in various shops with all the advance features like a muted button or an anti-tangle construction and all these cables don't come cheap. Some of them can reach over Rm200 price tag. Almost all guitarist and bassist will agree of the importance of having a good quality cable. This is because the cable acts as the middle man between your guitar and your amp. Some would settle for a cheap cable that will break or snap after awhile due to the cheap construction of the cable. But there's one cable under the same category of cheap but has the expensive features of an expensive cable.

The MaxCable

When I first saw this cable, my first taught is this cable is not going to be cheap. Its construction is a solid rubber base, you can slash someone's back with this cable and it will leave a mark on the skin. The connectors have a reinforced padding (see the picture below) to protect the wires inside the cable so that they will not break or snap while you move around with your guitar plugged on. This cable is 3 meters long, not that long for those who want to move around the stage during a live performance, but should be enough for most musicians. And to add the icing on the cake, the connectors are a 24k Gold Plated. Gold is the best conductor for electricity to inprove the connection between speakers or instruments.



Max Sounds ?

Comparing this cable with a cheap cable (the ones the music stores will give free when you purchase a guitar from them), the MaxCable gives a more brighter and clearer sound on both clean and overdrive channels while on the cheap cable it gives abit of muddy sounds. I did an experiment with this cable by moving 3 meters away from the amp. The cable poped out from the guitar but there's no sign of cracking whatsoever and still works like new. The cheap cable however didn't suffer same the fate as its now in the rubbish bin because the connector broke while I was doing the same experiment.

The best cable ever !

So how much this cable cost ? Its only Rm25. Yes, Rm25. So go and get it

Pros: It's Rm25, good construction, 24K Gold Plated connectors

Cons: If I have to say something bad about this cable, it would be the length of the cable, which is only 3 meters.

*Note to Pix, there's a copy at the Database review thread already*

This post has been edited by TheWhacker: Jul 6 2006, 04:04 PM

and where would we find this cable??
petaling street aint exactly small =/ any landmarks???

also do they have L shaped cables?

petaling street or jalan pasar?
1st time i'm hearing of petaling st selling cables, where exactly anyway?

Sorry, its Pasar Road not Petaling Street.

The thing is, i bought this cable last year so i can't give an address as there's alot of shops there in Pasar Road.

And its Rm25 ....

"the best cable ever" ... or rather "the best cheap cable ever" ?

I dunno .... i ran out of ideas for that tag line. Whatever you want to call it, I love this cable. No more PlanetWaves or Jim dunlop cables for me when this cables owns them all.

i had a few of PlanetWaves cables (the one with the mute button) which just dead on me after while. The wires inside the cables snapped out of nowhere.

This post has been edited by TheWhacker: Jul 6 2006, 06:17 PM

but what about the sound ? monster cables do bring a noticeable improvement on the sound, so i'm wondering if that cable also gives that extra sparkle, compared to a standard "rm20~30" cable..?
My monster cable never died on me. Feels really solid ! (that's just to average out your experience with your own cables...cuz' I don't want other guitarists to think monster builds crap !)