Sharing my life's experiences of over 40 years in the music industry on a local level as a part-time musician playing in successful local cover bands, as well as, part-time singer/songwriter/producer of my own music in my home studio.
Topics to be covered will be everything from how to start and manage your own band, product reviews of equipment I utilize at my gigs and also in my home studio environment, behind the scenes looks at my current cover band "Crazy Delicious" (www.crazydeliciousband.com) and many other fun and interesting music related topics. I will certainly also be taking ideas on subjects from my viewers to create as good of a subscriber experience as possible!
I hope that the passion I have for making music will be something that you will enjoy and find value in subscribing to my channel!
Пікірлер
If you're on the lower strings does it actually take more turns, /longer turns to get to the same note as if you were on a standard set of tuners? Say you need to go from low e to drop D, do you have to turn this gear more or less times compared to a regular tuner?
a $2000 guitar that doesn’t come with top of the line hardware ? This is why folks are buying mid level guitars and saying fuck you to the Overpriced brand names and saving thousands to put towards other items they might need
I couldn't agree more. I've been pretty disappointed with my SG and all of the tuning issues. I've put a TUSQ nut and these GraphTech tuners and it did make a huge difference. Would have rather not had to do that, but it was all worth it to have a USA SG actually be playable.
personally i feel like epiphone is a much better value my paul custom is one of the best guitars ive played and still rivals the gibson $3000+ versions even owned an SG classic with p90s bought it on clearance for $399 and it kicked major ass
Have you used this with a 120-150 Watt head like a tripRecto, 6505, XXX or Laney? having to spend 600 on the mesa version is a deal breaker the amphead i want is 120W
It is NOT designed to handle more than 100 Watt amp heads. And, the higher the amp output, the more heat it creates for the power soak.
Geez, get yourself a PRS.
LOL...I DO have a PRS!
Thank you for posting this
Maybe without regard to cost, but, you’re a victim of diminishing returns here. I am not a fan of flushing money down the toilet. YMMV.
I definitely need to get one of these for my Trainwreck Express
How many watts is your Trainwreck Express?
@@LarrytheMusicGuy 36 watts but it's damn loud.
Too bad you didn’t do a follow up video on your SG with the Ratio machine heads.
Great video Larry, Where did you get your peddle Board? what are you using to transport that PB in /
Thank you kind sir! Here’s a Sweetwater link to the board/case combo by Gator. It’s not cheap and it’s a little heavy to load into a truck, but it protects well and does have wheels to transport once unloaded. www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/GtourPBXLGW--gator-g-tour-pedalboard-xlgw-ata-wood-tour-case-for-extra-large-pedalboard
$100 wasted. All you need is a new nut that's cut properly. Preferably graphtech but brass does well. This issue has been beaten to death. The problem is the headstock shape and angle.
Yep, I put a new Tusc Nut on my SG first before I invested in the Ratio’s. That did help, but didn’t completely fix the tuning issue. The Ratio Tuners did make an additional improvement. And I do agree that the neck angle is a short coming of the SG, but those two investments did make a dramatic improvement.
Recently I bought a used '00 Ibanez Rg270L in good state but the tuners are the stock one and I have options to buy: Gotoh or Ratio
Both are upgrades, but I’d recommend the Ratio Tuners. They really are the best tuners I’ve ever owned.
I have 2 guitars I put these on, absolutely amazing tuners! One of my tuners on my 96 Hamer Californian actually broke, so it was a legitimate reason to buy a set of the Ratio non locking tuners and just fantastic with a Floyd rose too. The other guitar I installed on was my 2004 Zakk Wylde Epiphone , 2 of the tuners are "grtty" and feel like crap, so I installed the locking tuners from Graphtech on that guitar. I love the Ratio idea, I have a set of Schaller locking tuners on a Peavey Vandenberg model and the build materials and precision might be a bit better on the Schallers , but the Ratio feature kinda bumps them up a notch. You'll see what I mean if you get a chance to compare them!
I plan to replace a couple additional guitar’s tuners here shortly as well. I’ve been extremely impressed with how they performed on my SG. Happy Thanksgiving and Gui’ tar done!
I have this one but is the Torpedo Captor a better buy?
We had them in the 80's. The only reason they are making a comeback is even on the big stage most are in ears and using 20 to 50 watt amps quite a lot. 50 watts is to much with a pa.
Nice one! First i've seen where someone is mounting stuff in the back as well instead of everything being front facing. Have you run into heat issues with clear airflow being blocked between the units in the front of the rack and what is in the back?
We have not had any issues at all with overheating or airflow concerns and have been utilize the rack during outdoor summer events for about 7 years now.
thank you for the lesson
Thanks for watching!!!
Hello and thank you very much for your video. I'm wondering how you manage to have two monitors connected, the hub, and the audio interface all at once. Is one of the monitors connected to the hub? I'm thinking about having a setup like yours with a Mac Mini M2, which only comes with 2 Thunderbolt ports, and I need one of them to connect the hub. One idea I have is to connect one monitor via HDMI and another via Thunderbolt. Then, I would need the second Thunderbolt connection for the hub, which would leave me with no available ports for the apollo twin. Thank you, and I hope you can reply. Best regards!
I had the same problem and had to buy a "THUNDERBOLT" Docking Station to expand my Thunderbolt ports and allow me to have dual visual monitors and still have a port or two open for additional thunderbolt needs. I've had great success with the OWC manufactured docking stations. Not the cheapest, but very dependable. They offer a few different models that have different quantity of ports available. That's what I would recommend. Best of luck!!!
@@DRKMusicRocks Hello again. Could you tell me how you've set up your Mac mini? What hubs do you use, how many monitors do you have, do you have peripherals like a MIDI controller? Do you also use an Apollo Twin? Thank you, and I apologize for the number of questions, but I'm about to switch to Mac after 15 years of using Windows, and it's a completely new world for me. Regards!
@@gallardoseb OWC Thunderbolt Port should take care of all of your port connection needs. They are about $229 and should be able to handle your dual monitors and other port needs like I am using. And I do use the Apollo Twin.
many thanks ... finally i made it ... did not work exactly you discribed, but now it works ... from my point of view this installation is a nightmare :-(
I totally agree that the installation/set up is ridiculously complicated. You would think that they would have had an update for MAC Silicone chip sets by now. The good news is, once set up it does operate flawlessly. Best of luck and enjoy!!!
Now i have audio-out via headphones ... sounds great, makes me smile ... if headphones work i don´t worry much about monitor-out ... the Apollo gets real hot just listening to ordinary audio from YT ... normal or not? BR Ralf & Thx
$69 for that? Wow! Those things are listed at $120 now...
At $120 still a great option for a power soak. It was a steal at $69! If you are not "in need" of a new power soak, keep an eye out for Sweetwater sales around black Friday time frame. Not sure if they will ever be as low as $69 with all of the inflation up tick in pricing, but may be listed on sale again during that timeframe.
Buen tutorial.. me sirvió con mi Apollo X4.. Saludos
Thank you very much!
You are very welcome!
One thing that tripped me up: you MUST connect the interface directly to the computer. I use a hub just like the one in the video and it won’t connect via the hub’s Thunderbolt port.
That is odd. You would think you should be able to connect via any thunderbolt device that is connected to your computer.
@@LarrytheMusicGuy Minor correction: The hub is USB-C, but so is my Apollo. I'm running an ultra wide monitor and and the hub, so I'm already out of ports. Not sure if USB-C limits functionality.
@@tylerbuckner3750 So, Thunderbolt and USB-C are not the same, although their physical ports are the same. If you haven't figured this out yet, I'd make sure that you are running a true Thunderbolt cable out of the Apollo to your hub. Once you reach your hub with the Thunderbolt, you should be able to utilize USB-C for all of your other connections. Let me know if that works.
Big question, im about to buy the apollo twin x and they are givin me a plugin bundle offer that comes with the apollo... but it says "Your free plug-ins will be delivered upon registration. Software must be registered with Universal Audio by 8/31/23" and im not gettin my new laptop with thunderbolt until september... can i register the plugins without conecting the hardware? Thanks for your time
Sorry for the delayed response. I've been on vacation and just now getting caught back up. That is a great question that I don't know. I would recommend reaching out UA support if you haven't already. Best of luck when it all finally arrives!
Yeah, I loved them on my 90's Studio LP at first, but about 3 months later and +/-a pack of strings per week or two, I finally realize that I'm actually bumping the keys up a tiny bit every few songs. Then I realize the bumps are needed particularly after big bends (1.5-2 steps) which in my style of play, all 6 of my wires get bent over backwards and often. Anyway, unless I'm not doing something right, these tuners allow string slippage...I'm on the verge of going back to pin-pricking, pitah normal string winding. I've found I literally cannot torque them by hand enough to stop this and be warned they will guillotine your strings w/ 1-2 turns past finger tight, especially the D string for whatever reason but probably the easiest diameter for that size mechanism to shear. Now I'm trying 2-3 quarter turns with toothed needle nose per string (except for old D-bag over there, who gets his little snooty 1 quarter turn). Hope this helps...me.
That is extremely odd! I don't bend quite as much or has far as you are describing, but I've never had any problem with these tuners like you are having. Have you tried to reach out to GraphTech directly to see what they have to say? If not, I'd recommend reaching out to them to see if they might have any suggestions or insight on your issues.
@@LarrytheMusicGuy Thx for your feedback! I will definitely call them and then try to post what I find. After a few more weeks on them, it seems less tied to the bending; just general, random allbeit minor slippage. I tried combining 1 to 1.5 winds and then sticking the string through the clamp and it definitely reduced the frequency of up-tunes, but then I have to wonder how much of any up-tuning is because of the winds😵💫 Btw, yes Im using a tuner everytime and yes, I know its a lil OCD on my part, but its also a lil wtf does it take to be in tune all (or at least most) of the time?! Thx!🤘
I'll be curious to hear what you find out from the manufacturer.@@jethrobakerstreet4037
Thanks for showing this, but it kind of sucks to have to do all that for the price you pay. Making me think twice about universal audio.
I agree that it's quite the pain in the butt. But, once you get it all set up I feel that it's worth the pain and investment for the upgrade to UA. I've had my Apollo Twin X for nearly 2 years now. Although it's an expensive investment (I also purchased the additional Satellite for more available processing power), there have been multiple times that I would not have been able to have nearly as many plugins running due to the fact that you have both your Computer CPU/DAW/Plugin processing power, PLUS all of the UA Plugins. Now, the ultimate YES it was DEFINITELY worth the investment is this: The mix/recording quality is as good as it gets. My mixes have gone from sterile digital (Presonus Preamp Interface) to clean, crisp and tonal. I feel my mixes are getting as close to industry standard as you can get out of a home studio set up. It has taken a while to get to know the UA way, but once you find your magic UA plugin chains, you won't regret the pain and suffering of having to go through this process. And unfortunately, I have NOT heard of anything regarding UA fixing this issue as of today. Best of luck figuring out if UA is right for you or not!
@@LarrytheMusicGuy Thanks for the response! The Apollo Twin X came out in 2019. Do you know if UA plans to upgrade to a new (hardware) version at some point?
@@wakinginfinity I haven't heard anything regarding a future new platform for the Apollo Series. There is the lower cost Volt that is a newer option now, but I don't know much about that platform.
Not sure why ....but I have had no issues with my PS1 getting Hot. Maybe because I'm running it into a 22 watt Fender Deluxe. BTW why are guys trying to tame down a Marshall amp in their Bedroom anyway. If you can afford a Marshall ....get yourself a cheap $250 Tube amp to play at home
You are correct, the lesser the amp wattage the less hot the PS1 will get. And I doubt very much that I could find any other smaller/quieter tube amp for my studio that sounds like my JCM800 that I've had for 30 years now. I actually do have a VOX AC4 (4 watt combo) that sounds outstanding that I record with quite often, but it DOES NOT sound like a JCM800. The PS1 has been extremely valuable to me and what it allows me to do in my home studio at most any time day or night when the song I am working on requires that iconic Marshall sound.
@@LarrytheMusicGuy Thanks Larry.....I've had the PS1 for a few weeks and loving it. I ran it over to my Mic Stand on a tray so I can tweek it when needed. Don't see much need for my Nobel ODR1
@@bandit4915 That's a great idea about mounting it close to where you work! I actually have a tray on my mic stand as well and may have to do the same thing! Enjoy!
why tf is the intro so long
Good video, but it was not a snapshot tutorial. It was a tutorial on how “you”utilize snapshots. Would like to see a video tutorial on exactly how to create snapshots.
Superb tuners!
They REALLY ARE!
The funny thing is that if you have a budget guitar totally gutted and modded and with these advanced tuners, your guitar may be better than a very expensive USA guitar
I've got an old JCM 800 combo amp too! Picking up the PS1 tomorrow! CHEERS\m/\m/
Outstanding! If you think about it you'll have to let me know what you think? Gui' tar Done!!!
Great video! Thanks
Hey Larry - great video. Can you expand on the Dashboard light wave file trigger? How did you do that?
Oh, that's a tough one that could probably use it's very own video all on it's own, but I'll try to get you pointed in the right direction. So, I use Cubase for my DAW, which I have a "Song" set up with all of my WAVE file triggers. The hardest part is getting your DAW set up to accept midi commands from the Line 6 HELIX. So, I believe at the time I had 3 different recordings (WAVE FILES) that were all set up one after the other, similar to having 3 songs one after the other. I had each of them on their "Own Track" so I could adjust the volume for each of the Wave Files independently. Then I had to create "Markers" for each of the songs/wave files so that I could direct the "start point" for each of the Wave Files. Here's the really hard part, you have to go into the DAW midi settings and create all of the different commands for each of the Songs/Wave Files. (CUBASE has a MIDI matrix that you can go in and set up all of the commands, that was the hardest part... I would assume most other DAW's have a similar feature.) This drove me BAT SHIT CRAZY trying to figure out, BUT once you do the midi information stays within the "Song" and all you need to do is create the new "Marker" for each new Wave File you import. Within Cubase I always created a "STOP" command so that my DAW didn't continue to "PLAY", which if not stopped could continue onto the next "WAVE FILE/SONG". Plus, if you playing to backing tracks, which we had one song that were doing that with, it allows you to stop the backing tracks if you happen to get off beat of the click track. (Click ON or OFF is one of the midi parameters you can set up within your DAW MIDI MATRIX) So, we used to play Paradise By the Dashboard Lights, where I recorded myself doing the vocal play by play baseball thing during the song. When we got to that particular point in the song I had a "SNAPSHOT/CONTROLLER" footswitch set up to activate the Start of the Wave File with "NO Click Track". I also set up a "STOP" command to stop CUBASE at the end so it wouldn't continue to keep playing. (I put about 2 or 3 minutes between each Wave File/Song in case I didn't hit the STOP footswitch fast enough.) Then, we used to have one song with backing tracks where I wanted to the Click Track "ON" so we could keep in time with the backing tracks. Dang, I really should make a video on this in the future! Let me know if this helps in any way? Curious if this made sense at all??? It was probably the hardest midi programming/setup that I've ever done in my life!
Hey man! Im jazz guitarist in iowa. Thanks for the video. I’m about to buy those for my Gibson es 330 and I am sold now cause of your thoughts. Thank you for the help.
Right on! Where in Iowa are you located? I'm in the Marion, suburb of Cedar Rapids.
I’m already setting down my Apollo, Thanks for this video!
I wish you showed how it is wired to the Amp.Does it come with the necessary cords? I've got a DSL20cr,and get major " hissing" on " ultra gain",and high volume " regular gain". ( I'm a beginner).
Hey Jim, yeah I wish I would have recorded the wiring portion like you are suggesting. Oversight on my part. But, it's not too difficult to explain. You will need to purchase 2 shorter "SPEAKER CABLES" to connect to your amp and not "Instrument Cables" like you use on your guitars. You will basically come out of your amp HEAD (power section that should currently be connected to your speaker or speaker cabinet) and plug into the PS1's back "Bottom Row"...in the correct Ohm rating that your Amp and Speaker are rated for. This is very important to make sure is correct. My JCM800 has a selectable Ohm of 4 ohm, 8 ohm and 16 ohm dial on the Power Head section. That has to be selected to the correct Ohm rating for the correct SPEAKER Ohm in your cabinet. My single speaker combo amp has a 16 Ohm speaker in it. Thus, my amp needs to be selected to 16 ohm and I need to plug into the 16 ohm Amp input on the bottom row of the PS1. Then, you simply take a speaker cable from the PS1 Speaker output and connect to your speaker input on your cabinet. (in my case with my JCM 800 I had to connect directly to the speaker itself as it doesn't have a 1/4 inch input to plug into like a Marshall Stack Cabinet has.) Please let me know if this helps or if you have any other questions.
@@LarrytheMusicGuy Thanx Larry,I'm waiting for my Bugera ti arrive in the mail. I'll let you know how it worked out!
@@jimbo1959 Outstanding! Gui'tar Done!!!
@@LarrytheMusicGuy I just got the Bugera today, but I have to order another cable( I just ordered 1🥲).I'll let you know how it goes when I get the cable!! Thanx Larry!
Thank you so much this help 100% got my Apollo x6 right away.
Happy to help! Thanks for watching!
Thanks. I have been banging my head on this scene thing. Not one video out of the 6 I watched informed me about the blocks and that they had to be alike. But I have tried that and each time I save the 2nd snapshot, when I go back to the first one it takes on the characteristics of the one I just saved . It is not seperating my first snap which is clean and the second one with dirt. It turns them both to dirt.
Sorry for the delayed response, but I think I can explain what you need to do. You have to go into the "Controller Assign" menu and make sure you are on the "Block" you want to control. Once there you will have two menus - Parameter & Controller. Parameter will be what ever item you want to control, like volume, decay, etc. HERE'S MAIN THING YOU NEED TO DO WITH THE "CONTROLLER' MENU - SELECT "SNAPSHOTS". (It's the very last think you can select, so just crank the dial all the way to the end) When you select SNAPSHOTS under the Controller menu it allows you to edit each SNAPSHOT parameter and will save accordingly. TIP: You will know when you do this correctly as it will put ( ) Parenthesis around the "Controller" item you are controlling. You'll have to go into each "Snapshot" and edit the parameter accordingly. Let me know if this helps you accomplish what you are looking to do!
@@LarrytheMusicGuy Thank you for taking the time to fully explain to me and whoever else may stumble upon this. Very helpfull indeed.
@@ParanormalResponse You are very welcome!!! Gui' tar Done!!!
They make really good tuners. Well built and I like the different ratios they put on the strings. higher ratio for the heavier strings so you can do really small adjustments. 39:1 to 12:1 Wish they had more color options with their 45-degree mounting tuners.
I'm still loving these tuners and will most likely update my fleet one guitar at time.
Very informative, thanks!
Thanks for watching!
Hi! Your jcm800 Is wonderful!!
Thank you Gae! Bought that JCM800 in the late 80's and will most likely be with me until I leave this dimension! Rock on!
I have a blackstar ht100 Now the amp has 2 drive channels each with separate volume controls as well as master control, how would I set the volumes on each channel to get the best result?
The PS1 only interrupts/inserts your amp speaker output to the speaker so both channels will operate same with or without the PS1. You'll just need to use the large dial knob on the PS1 to adjust the volume you want and then set each of the channel volumes on your amp accordingly. NOTE: Make sure to know what Ohm speaker your amp has and then use the appropriate 1/4inch input on the back of the PS1. Then you will take the PS1 Speaker Out and connect your speaker. SIGNAL CHAIN: Amp out > PS1 Ohm In (4, 8 or 16 Ohm options) > PS1 Speaker Out to Speaker. I hope this helps answer your question! Best of luck and thanks for watching!
I havent seen anyone try to get feedback with one of these. Does it allow it to come through? I have several songs I need the feedback.
Yes, the PS1 can provide the ability for feedback. You'll just need to find the sweet spot on the dial knob where there's just enough volume needed to allow your pickups to feedback. Just mess around with your amp volume control and then the PS1 volume control. Best of luck with that feedback!!!
@@LarrytheMusicGuy Well, I got the feedback and I like the results for my dirty channel, but my clean channel suffers miserably with this thing. It sounds dark and there is a distortion to it that I just can't get rid of unless I go back to my original set up. Oh well. I like that I can push my tubes but this thing doesn't play nice with clean.
Thanks for the video. I just bought a Bugera PS1 from Sweetwater. I'm planning to use it with a 12-watt '68 Fender Custom Princeton Reverb and a 15-watt Vox AC15C2. Maybe I won't have quite the heat issues. We shall see.
Thanks for watching and I hope you enjoy the PS1! I've found it super great for home recording situations.
I have the exact same amp and my stock cab is pretty haggard. I got a new bare wood one from Rawcabs on eBay. Now I can't decide whether to keep it bare wood or do this tolex and grill cloth color scheme. It looks fantastic, but I do not have the patience or skillset for this job. Already tried it once with my old SLO and had to have a pro correct it for me.
Yeah, it definitely took some patience for sure. I was pretty fortunate that I didn't make any major mistakes during the process. I watched a bunch of videos before hand that definitely gave me some good direction. Good luck with your project!!!
What a cluster fuk lol
You are really taking full advantage
I rely on the HELIX so much that I ended up buying a second backup unit just in case I ever have any issues. I take it with me to out of town gigs just in case. Now I can also keep one in my studio to use there as well. Happy Holidays!
Can't you do a demo of it at a quieter setting? I was waiting to see how quiet it got, while still retaining decent tone.
Yeah, that's something that I wish I would have done for the video. If I have some time this winter I'll make a note to revisit the PS1 with a more in depth sound samples. Great suggestion!
what and how are you plugging you helix into to control the lighting?
I'm running traditional midi din out of my Helix into a Midi Router where it breaks out into USB signal that I then connect to my MacBook by USB 2.0. I currently utilize the Enttec DMXis (it's no longer produced - so I'm going to need to migrate to a new USB DMX interface). That DMXis connects to my MacBook via USB 2.0 as well. I utilize the HELIX midi control and program to change DMX channels on the software on my MacBook. It can be a little overwhelming to set up and program, but once you figure it all out it is a beautiful think. I hope that help???
Great video! Thank you 🙏
Happy to help! Thanks for watching and commenting Mark!
Hello! what brand is the splitter? Thanks.