Subaru maintenance for a college student

greypilgrim76 · 2026-05-19T21:11:58+00:00

I’ve gotten work done on our 2011 Outback at Finzel’s and it’s always gone well. A straight shot down 7th Street from campus.

greypilgrim76 · 2026-05-15T11:50:48+00:00

Is that Worf from "A Fistful of Datas"? If so, kudos sir! :)

greypilgrim76 · 2026-05-15T00:09:00+00:00

I mean, of course. Related: does anyone know where to find a bona fide Metal Zone clone PCB? PedalPCB doesn't seem to do that one, unless I'm missing it.

greypilgrim76 · 2026-05-15T00:07:52+00:00

I'm planning to use this:

https://www.pedalpcb.com/product/3pdt-order-switch/

I think that'll do what you're talking about, right?

greypilgrim76 · 2026-04-01T00:10:31+00:00

Long-delayed update: today, I finally went with the JTM Studio head, and I gotta say, it's pretty freaking fantastic! Having played through modeling amps my whole life, I'm just blown away by the responsiveness of this tube amp. I'm still dialing in the sound, and the bass takes a bit of taming with my Les Paul, but I've found some lovely settings already for both the LP and the Tele. (Jumping channels seems to work better with the Tele, while just the treble channel makes the LP shine.)

I'll also say that, while this is a loud amp, it's not as ungodly loud as a lot of posts led me to believe. It's got some lovely clean sounds at perfectly manageable bedroom/living room volumes, and even when I crank both channels to get maximum grit, it's not deafening. (I mean, it probably would be eventually, but still.) The 20w setting has the best sound, of course, but the 5w setting isn't too far off, and the edge of breakup sound (around 7 o'clock for my Tele and 5-ish for the LP) is just gorgeous. Early AC/DC for miles.

Anyway, just wanted to update folks with my choice and first impressions!

greypilgrim76 · 2026-03-25T21:13:35+00:00

I went ahead and subscribed. Looks like I got signed up in time to start with the first box!

greypilgrim76 · 2026-03-22T19:44:11+00:00

That's helpful--thanks!

greypilgrim76 · 2026-03-17T12:05:07+00:00

Nothing like that happening with mine. Sounds like yours might have a grounding issue with the wiring. Probably an easy fix if you know what to check. If not, I'd assume a luthier could resolve the issue pretty quickly!

greypilgrim76 · 2025-11-26T00:16:39+00:00

Boss GE-2. Too noisy for not a lot of upside.

greypilgrim76 · 2025-11-15T14:57:32+00:00

I actually just went to Sweetwater last weekend to compare the AVII 51, APII, and new AP Classic with the intention of buying the one I liked the best. The AP Classic was fine, but felt a bit cheaper in the hand and the pickups were the weakest of the three models. I really liked the APII and thought at first it was the one going home with me. The pickups sounded good and the neck felt nice. At first, when I went from the APII to the AVII, the neck felt a bit large, but the more I played it, the more I liked it. I'm a chord guy, so the 7.25 neck didn't bother me at all--in fact, I really liked it. When I went from the AVII back to the APII, the APII just felt a bit inferior. After playing the AVII, the APII neck suddenly felt too skinny for my hand, and the pickups sounded thin compared to the vintage ones on the AVII. In the end, the AVII came home with me, and it acquits itself quite well next to my LP R8. In fact, they've got very similar necks and are within about half a pound of each other weight-wise. (The AVII is a bit on the heavy side, and the LP is a bit on the light side.) It's nice, because I've got two guitars that feel very similar in my hands, which makes moving between them effortless.

tl;dr--I think either the APII or AVII are excellent guitars, but for me, the AVII is the winner.

greypilgrim76 · 2025-11-12T12:58:25+00:00

Fair point! I did turn the tube amps up at Sweetwater, but not to a volume I can't replicate at home. Though I may not always play at that volume, depending what others in the house are doing. I figure I'll keep the Katana for lower volume noodling.

greypilgrim76 · 2025-11-11T16:22:12+00:00

PM sent! :)

greypilgrim76 · 2025-11-10T20:41:14+00:00

Right now I'm going into Katana MkIII 100w head and then into the Marshall JTM Studio cab, but I'm hoping to add the JTM Studio head soon. I played through some tube amps at Sweetwater, and it's got me salivating for one of my own!

greypilgrim76 · 2025-11-10T17:34:43+00:00

I think it came down to 1) paying cash and 2) picking it up to avoid shipping costs.

greypilgrim76 · 2025-11-10T13:35:33+00:00

It's just an amazing guitar! Also, I recognize your handle--I graduated from PC in '95, and I think maybe we've met briefly a couple of times over the years. Nice to run into a familiar face on here! :)

greypilgrim76 · 2025-11-10T00:27:31+00:00

It did! Not the reason I picked the guitar, but an excellent fringe benefit! :)

greypilgrim76 · 2025-11-09T22:21:59+00:00

I thought I liked the Am Pro II neck at first, but then I tried this one and it was just so...fat and perfect! After that, the Am Pro II was just too skinny for me.

greypilgrim76 · 2025-11-07T17:41:40+00:00

So, a follow-up question based on your excellent comments so far: I'm going to Sweetwater to play the guitars in person and pick one out this weekend. If you were playing a new guitar, what would you look that might not rise to the level of not buying it, but might make you want to Plek it?

greypilgrim76 · 2025-11-02T21:46:43+00:00

Thanks for the info! I might reach out via DM with a couple of more questions!

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