How to choose the right guitar octave pedal effect
Octave is a guitar effect that's often misunderstood. But once you have the right pedal for it, then it's actually a usable effect.
Take the Donner Harmonic Square. It's an octave effect done right for two main reasons. First, it has both wet and dry blend controls. You totally need that. Second, it's very easy to get which type of octave effect you want with a big knob right in the middle; it is definitely an octave effect done right.
I would actually recommend the Donner over the BOSS OC-3 Super Octave for the reason the Donner is easier to use. However, the OC-3 does have one huge advantage over the Donner. It can be used for guitar or electric bass. Yes, bass guys do use octave sometimes, and only certain octave effects work with it. The OC-3 is one of them and can handle the higher frequencies of electric guitar and the lower of the bass.
But if you don't play bass, the Donner is the better option unless you absolutely need a pedal that can operate by battery, which the OC-3 can.
The worst octave pedals...
...are the kind that are "1-down" only. Fortunately, almost nobody makes these anymore. These are very basic octave effects that only have a single octave down option and no "top" option.
The best octave pedals...
...are the kind like the Donner where you can not only quickly choose the octave you want but also have it act as a harmonizer.
It used to be that harmonizer and octave pedals were two totally separate things. BOSS in fact still makes the PS-6 pedal, which is specifically designed as harmonizer-only. It's not easy to get along with but it does do the harmony thing very well. In fact, it does it too well. Most players want something much simpler. And that's where pedals like the Donner are much more usable.
Octave works very well for...
Distorted/Overdriven/Fuzz Guitar solos. If you specifically use the neck side pickup on your guitar, a guitar solo that uses overdrive or fuzz with a 20 to 25% octave effect has a very nice sound to it.
Muted "thumpy" single-note rhythms. You can get that baritone-guitar-like sound without the need for a baritone electric guitar with an octave effect. It takes some tweaking to do this, but it is doable.
'60s inspired guitar sounds. When you start experimenting with octave, you'll find sounds you never knew your guitar could do - and it will sound like it came straight out of the 1960s era. That's not a bad thing.
If you haven't tried the octave effect, try it
Just make sure you get the right octave pedal. The Donner is a great example, but of course there are many others.
Hidden gem: Jackson Dinky JS22
I tried one of these recently, and was rather impressed with it.
A while back I was all about the Ibanez GAX30 and AX120, but then had to give them up because the neck shape didn't agree with my fret hand. This is not to say the guitars have bad necks because they don't. The AX from Ibanez is a great guitar, but the shape (the "shoulder" of the neck shape specifically) presses on my palm in a way that is absolute no-go territory for me.
Since that time I did buy a Strat, but I'd still like to get a good inexpensive HH guitar at some point. While at a guitar store recently, I picked up a Jackson Dinky JS22 and whoa... this is actually pretty darned good.
This is Jackson's version of a basic inexpensive Strat, more or less. But for the price you actually do get a lot of guitar for the money.
"Basic" defined: Two humbuckers, two knobs, 3-way switch with no push-pull on the control knobs, Strat-style vibrato system, standard nut, standard tuners, no locking nuts.
It's the other parts of this guitar that make it stand out. And what I mean by that is this:
Arched top. This means the top of the body has a slight "hump" in it and isn't flat. Regular Strat guitars don't have this, but the Jackson does.
Neck binding and headstock binding. Standard Strats don't get binding at all, but again, the Jackson does. It looks nice.
High fret body cut in the rear.
Look where the neck bolt plate is and you'll notice the curved cut there. That's to allow better access to the higher frets. You get this on the Dinky JS22. This used to be something you had to pay a lot to get. Not here. This is affordable.
12" to 16" compound radius fingerboard. Again, something you used to have to pay a lot for to get. Dinky JS22 has it for way, way less.
Negatives?
There are a few, but they're not deal-breakers.
First, the body has a "planky" feel to it. It's not as comfortable as the traditional Stratocaster body shape. There's nothing particularly wrong going on, but you can feel the less-round shape.
Second, the tuners "go blind" because of the Jackson headstock shape. This means that when sitting with the guitar and you go to adjust a tuner, you literally can't see them because of the headstock's downward angle. There's not much that can really be done about this as the shape is a Jackson design staple that they've been using pretty much forever.
Third is the vibrato system. I didn't test this because the vibrato arm (a.k.a. whammy bar) wasn't in the guitar at the time I played it. But it didn't have to be because I know it would not have worked well. Why? All the strings travel on an angle from the nut to the tuning posts. Vibrato systems work best with strings that have straight travel from the nut to the posts, or are stopped at the nut with locking nuts. What Jackson decided to do here is slap on a vibrato for the sake of doing it since this model doesn't have a Floyd-Rose style tremolo system. What Jackson should have done here is not have any vibrato at all and just made it a hardtail.
Again, none of these things are deal-breakers considering how good the rest of the guitar is.
Will I be picking one up in the future? I might unless someone sends me one first. (I'll happily link to and promo any instrument retailer or guitar company that sends a guitar my way, email me and ask.)
Why I haven't bought another Jazzmaster
I used to love the Jazzmaster, but one thing keeps me from getting another.
This is something I was asked in email, and it's something I can talk about at length, which is why I wrote this.
For a time, I was all about the Jazzmaster. In total, I owned 4 of them. Three Squiers and one Fender. But then I stopped and went Telecaster and then back to Stratocaster.
Why?
First I'll say the main reason is price, and I'll talk more about that in a moment. For now, let's just talk about the guitar itself.
The guitar was designed originally to be played as a sit-down instrument. Obviously, it can be played standing, but like most people, I practice played seated. The Jazzmaster does very, very well there. Unbelievably comfortable. That's the best part.
The worst part of the Jazzmaster is the grounding issue that can be difficult to fix, putting it politely. Every Jazzmaster built with the old style electronics has the problem I'm about to describe. What happens is that when not touching the bridge or strings with your hand, electronic buzzing noise happens. This gets annoying real quick. The reason it happens is because the bridge rests in two "cups", with two points touching at the bottom of each cup. This is a very small point of contact and not enough to get the pickups to shut up. The only way to fix this is to shield the entire routed area under the pick guard with copper shielding tape (aluminum foil won't work, it's not good enough), then run a small wire or extra piece of copper shielding to the cup closest to the volume knob. This provides the metal-to-metal contact that finally gets the pickups to shut up...
...until it fails at some point, and then you have to re-shield it. And you'll have to keep re-shielding it every time it fails after that.
Does the Jaguar have this same problem? No. Jag pickups have those little pickup 'shields' (they look like shark teeth) that prevent that issue from happening.
Even though I know the Jazzmaster has this issue, I'd still like to get another one at some point.
So why haven't I?
Price.
The only Jazzmaster made that has all the proper electronics for the lowest price is the Squier Classic Vibe Jazzmaster. It costs too much for what it is. The guitar used to be $275. It's now significantly more than that and not worth it.
Yes, there are other cheaper Jazzmasters, but they don't have the proper 2-circuit electronics and don't have the proper bridge or vibrato type either.
For a true Jazzmaster, you either have to buy the Squier, or part one together yourself.
Why haven't I parted one together? Again, price.
Parting together a Strat or Tele is cheap. Parting together a Jazzmaster is not. The bodies, necks, pickups, bridges and vibrato systems are all significantly more expensive to source. Why? Because the Jazzmaster is not as copied as Strats and Teles are.
I can put together completed Strats and Teles all day for under $150. I'm not saying you can build a fantastic guitar for that price. But I am saying you can have a complete working guitar for that price. There's no way to do that with a Jazzmaster.
And as far as used Squier Jazzmasters are concerned, good luck trying to find one for under $350. These guitars can't be had cheap, but it's not for the reason that you think. It's not that these guitars hold their value because they don't. It's because most used proper Jazzmasters are barely used and are still in like-new condition.
Actual used Squier Jazzmasters hardly ever show up for sale and I know exactly why. They wear out really easily. I know this from experience.
Even if you went so far as to part together Squier-to-Squier Jazzmaster parts off eBay, same result. You're going to easily spend over $300 to put together a complete working guitar.
Strats and Teles may be very common, but the advantage of that it's easy and moreover cheap to not only buy but also part guitars together.
Guitars wear out with regular play. Happens all the time. Replacing Strats and Teles is cheap. Replacing Jazzmasters? Never cheap.
Does Fender play it too safe with American Professional Stratocaster colors?
Short answer: Yes. But there's a reason for it.
What was known as the Fender American Standard Stratocaster was retired a while back and is now the American Professional Stratocaster. But even before the Standard became the Professional, something I've noticed ever since I started playing guitar is Fender always plays it safe with color offerings on this particular model.
When I say they play it safe, I'm specifically talking about the fact that none of the 8 colors offered are loud or daring, and few would be considered classic colors.
Here are the 8 colors currently offered:
- 3-Color Sunburst
- Antique Olive
- Black
- Candy Apple Red
- Natural
- Olympic White
- Sienna Sunburst
- Sonic Gray
Of the 8, the classic colors are 3-Color Sunburst, Black, Candy Apple Red and Olympic White.
The color that pops the most visually is Sienna Sunburst.
The "color" that pops the least is Natural for those that like the coffee table look.
This leaves Antique Olive and Sonic Gray. Both of these are best described as muted colors. They don't pop and have almost zero wow-factor to them.
Lake Placid Blue? Nope. Fiesta Red? Nope. Surf Green? Nope. Sonic Blue? Nope. Daphne Blue? Nope.
Every color you would want to see offered on the American Professional isn't there.
But why?
Someone or a team at Fender decided that for their modern Stratocaster model offering, all colors offered should be those that are guaranteed to move based on two factors. First, offer colors that have the highest likelihood of selling. Second, offer colors that say "this is our modern model".
It's the first factor that matters more than the second.
Lake Placid Blue, while awesome, isn't offered on the Professional because it doesn't sell as well as 3-Color Sunburst does.
Black is offered because there are many Strat players that really like a classic black Strat (including yours truly). As I've said elsewhere, the only reason Fender even makes a modern American black Strat is because it always sells.
Modern colors I wish Fender would bring back
It's unlikely the classic colors like Fiesta Red and Surf Green will be seen on the Professional because those are "too vintage". What's offered on the Professional has to be both modern and move the guitar.
Here are a few, all of which are colors Fender have used before in one form or another:
Dakota Red. This is a darker non-metallic red. Usually seen on vintage Mustang guitars. This would work nicely as a modern color.
Midnight Blue. Is it blue? Is it purple? That's the trick of Midnight Blue because it's both. This was a '90s era Fender modern color and it really pops.
Lucerne Aqua Firemist. This color also really pops. Sorta/kinda like a Lake Placid Blue. I've only seen this on the Eric Johnson Stratocaster. This would work very well on the Professional.
Graffiti Yellow. The best modern yellow Fender ever had. Safe to say it's very unlikely this will ever appear as a color option for the Professional because the color is a bit on the loud side, but it's definitely a modern and not classic color.
I'd be happy just to see Dakota Red or Midnight Blue.
Best SG of 2019? Epiphone 1961 G-400 in Metallic Gold
I'm a sucker for gold guitars, what can I say.
Today is the last day of 2019. End of the year and end of the decade as well. Hope your new year is a good one. And you might want to ring in that new year with this gold beast.
I don't have any yellow guitars right now, but at some point I'll get another one. If I had the cash, I would get this Epiphone 1961 G-400 PRO right now.
This SG style guitar hits all the right marks.
Where appearance is concerned, it's not just the gold finish but the fact the keystone style tuners are used on this particular model. This Epiphone definitely has the correct vintage SG look.
And yes, this guitar is gold all around. Front and back. But it smartly doesn't have any gold hardware. If it did, that would be too much gold. There's enough black and chrome bits throughout that breaks up the main color and it really works well.
Bring this is a PRO model, yes the humbuckers are split with push-pull pots. The SG is already a bright sounding guitar to begin with, so the split sound may be a bit "pingy", but then again it's totally optional whether you want to use it or not. If you don't like it, just don't use it and go with the full dual coil sound all the time. Not an issue.
The only part of the guitar that bothers me - and this is only a styling thing - is the truss rod cover. It says "SG PRO" on it and looks a little tacky because the font is a few points too large. But that's easily fixed just by ordering a blank cover off eBay. Again, not an issue.
Again, I would totally get this if I had the cash for it. PRO is the best of the line from Epiphone, so it's not a bargain basement guitar. But you get a lot of guitar for the money with this one.
And it's frickin' gold. How cool is that? Yes, there are the Cherry and Silverburst finish options, but c'mon. Go for the gold. I would.