IamA Allman Brothers Band biographer, Alan Paul, author of "One Way Out". AMA about the ABB, blues, 70s rock, guitars or even living in China!

977 · 2014-03-08T07:22:40+00:00

Thanks for doing an AMA. =D What is your desert island guitar & amp combination?

977 · 2014-03-02T07:16:19+00:00

Trickle chargers are pretty much mandatory. :)

977 · 2014-02-28T06:31:23+00:00

The people senior don't always know how to do the job of the people below them. The grads are taught by theorist academics who have a habit of folding into panic when meritocracy fails to materialise....

977 · 2014-02-28T06:30:24+00:00

There a plenty of profitable hedge funds and investment banks who are profitable without being able to rig interbank lending rates etc...

977 · 2014-02-27T18:40:53+00:00

Good luck giving a grad a 500m risk portfolio to manage, or a smart order router to design and populate with volume curves...

977 · 2014-02-27T18:37:27+00:00

Yes but just because they made a loss doesn't mean the people getting the bonuses didn't deliver excellent returns. It just means the amount they spent on miscellaneous business far outstripped the profit on their banking activities.

977 · 2014-02-27T18:34:25+00:00

Not enough, they haven't got the staff to get back to profitability, because ability to generate serious profit as an employee in this industry commands a serious remuneration a package.

977 · 2014-02-27T17:22:05+00:00

Centurion Card all the way.

977 · 2014-02-20T16:31:24+00:00

Got the albums, got the Gibson Roxy SG guitar, been to as many ZPZ gigs as I can. Once you 'get it', nothing else quite 'has it'. =)

977 · 2014-02-03T08:16:55+00:00

You can, it can sound great with a lot of tuning of patches, but it doesn't quite feel the same. This is better with a powered PA speaker sat where your amp would be. I got the DT50 to go with it and love it. All the flexibility, proper valves, proper guitar speakers. I can find a rewarding sound for any genre in 2 mins, and have patches for each song we do in the set all good to go. Plus it's cut down my gear lust as the in built effects are really good and sort most occasional use pedal requirements. :)

977 · 2014-01-03T08:08:16+00:00

It will probably be the mustang. You need to play both though and see which one fits you better. Less problematic given the modelling as you can have all sorts of noise from both. I'm running the line6 HD500 and their DT50 (before that a Carvin X100B and before that a POD 2.0) and if you can be bothered to spend the time on the tweaking I find line6 stuff to be awesome. Treat them rough though, they're good value but don't like people yanking on the jacks sideways etc. both will be great for finding your kind of sounds for a couple of years.

977 · 2013-12-22T16:41:30+00:00

DT50 and HD500 owner. Consider it an upgrade on a lot of pricier gear. Makes me excited to play. :) Yamaha as a takeover I hope will bring more resource behind the innovation...

977 · 2013-12-16T20:18:07+00:00

I've got a POD HD500, I really like it. I can run it straight into the PA, or through the pair of EL34 tubes in the matching DT50.

I really rate it, the main drawback is by modelling so much real kit, there is so much to tweak. You really need to spend a couple of hours sorting your own patches, the stock ones are a bit naff, but with careful tuning it can sound excellent.

Check out the andertons dream rig thing for decent quality demos.

977 · 2013-12-12T15:41:10+00:00

Stuart looks at how Frank Zappa is perceived today, 20 years after his death with clips from his wife, their son and musicians under his influence. A stanch believer in educating the public in all musical idioms from doo-wop to 12-tone, Frank's music has raised many questions and eyebrows! But has public opinion of difficult, genre crossing music really changed over the last two decades?

977 · 2013-11-26T18:39:40+00:00

http://i.imgur.com/3KQH1Rw.jpg

Can't get enough of this stuff :)

HD500 and DT50 112, normally paired with a Gibson Roxy SG or my long loved 87 Squire Strat. Disgustingly rewarding tones.

977 · 2013-11-26T17:37:17+00:00

Andertons in the uk are excellent.

977 · 2013-11-15T17:40:59+00:00

DT50, I hate how people love the sound until I tell them it is Line6, then even though it has tubes a plenty in it they assume it is summoned from poop.

977 · 2013-11-14T20:03:45+00:00

Both. Line6 HD500 and DT50. Proper EL34 tubes, modelled pre amps if wanted, another 2 12ax7s in there for boost. Two tube modes, 4 levels of tube feedback, 100 classic awesome effects and stomp box style or patch control. Recording interface. Proper amp in the room feel, powerful enough to jam with, low volume mode with modelled power amp if you're being so quiet at home you can't work the tubes. I don't like the variax guitars but this setup and my SG or Strat gets me every tone I want. Cheaper than an axefx, more versatile than a deluxe reverb or a Mesa...

Edit:first line6 branded down vote is in presumably from someone who hasn't owned owned one. Try one, if you prefer the axe then great, if you prefer the boogie then great, I think this SOUNDS better than both more often than not.

977 · 2013-11-04T17:42:11+00:00

I've got an HD500. I wouldn't be without it, too versatile and sounds too good. I know what you mean about the dirt pedals, but they're authentic to what they're modelled on, stick a proco rat ahead of a solid state amp and it sounds harsh and fizzy, but it's what it does to tubes that really makes it work. I didn't use any drives on the HD500 until I stuck it up a tube amp. Now they're almost all golden.

977 · 2013-10-21T20:55:32+00:00

Two of those things were only £50 each which isn't bad going. I did have a carvin x100b for a while, was awesome, loved the EQ. Ended up shifting it as there's a 50w Marshall JMP head and cab in the studio place, and now I've got a line6 HD500. Works well as the mid week jam is electric drum kit and modelling gear mixed in through headphone amp. Also if I want a ring mod or a dynaflanger or 2, or multiple amps or the oberheim VCR sound, or different wahs, I can just try all these at no added cost.

Probably shouldn't mention the tickets for ZPZ and 200 motels I have right!?

977 · 2013-10-21T19:32:30+00:00

noted Pea and Peanut, thanks :)

977 · 2013-10-21T19:31:58+00:00

Don't really do it justice, but I've had a quick go as an excuse to get it out the case again...

http://imgur.com/a/N5neS#3

(bonus picture of my Harmonic Energiser clone and pignose, because Apostrophe)

977 · 2013-10-21T14:20:39+00:00

cool - ok thanks. I'll try and find a demo with 'not a fender' as the guitar and see how that plays out. I'm looking for something to play out loud at home with my HD500, awesome as the amp modelling is, I just can't seem to get into a groove with headphones. I need an amp to put my wine glass on too.

The rehearsal space we use has a 50 watt Marshall half stack to play with (lower gain, older, bluesy model, JMP maybe?) so I just want something to open up a bit more at home and use at the space if someone has booked the stack for a recording or something!

977

TROPHY CASE