The Better DigiTech JamMan Solo XT Manual book is live!
Done and ready to rock.
My book The Better DigiTech JamMan Solo XT Manual is now live, so if you own the actual JamMan Solo XT (such as I do), this is a book worth owning.
I state this in the book itself, but I want to make clear that this is not a replacement for the actual manual, but rather more plain-English-friendly supplemental documentation. DigiTech actually did do a good job for the most part with the manual provided with the JamMan. But that ultimately doesn't take away from the fact the JamMan Solo XT is an advanced device that needed more friendly documentation to describe its operation better.
I only have two real complaints with the way DigiTech wrote their manual. First, a fair chunk of it seems out-of-order, and second, the odd choice of words here and there.
Concerning the out-of-order part, there's a lot of flipping back and forth of pages in some areas just to follow specific directions. Some of this flipping back and forth is well more than 10 pages apart. That's annoying.
For the weird word choice thing, page 14 of the DigiTech's manual is literally "Free-Form vs Auto Quantized Looping". It's the use of versus that's bad here. Bad use of the word, because that sends the message to the reader "one of these is bad" when that's not true at all. Both looping methods are obviously just fine. In addition, versus isn't an instruction... yet it's in an instruction manual.
I pick up on things like that and other foibles when reading documentation. Is this digging too deep into semantics? No, because this is the documentation on how to use the thing.
There have been many guitar players as well as synth players and vocalists who just outright gave up on using the JamMan Solo XT because of the learning curve. The manual provided simply did not do a good enough job.
My hope is that with my book, more people keep their JamMan pedals and do wonderful things with them. I honestly believe it is the best bang-for-your-buck looper for sale right now. If it weren't, I wouldn't have bought it myself.
How the JamMan won me over
I had the choice between the JamMan and the BOSS RC-3 Loop Station. Bear in mind I already had a simple 40-second looper with my DigiTech RP360 multi-effect unit. What I wanted was an advanced looper.
The JamMan ultimately beat out the BOSS RC-3 for two reasons.
First, it has a memory card slot where up to 32GB of additional data storage can be installed. For audio-only data, that is a massive amount of space and one heck of an upgrade - and dirt cheap!
Second is something easily missed. There is no way to exactly set a tempo by beats-per-minute on the RC-3. And I know exactly why. It's because the digital display on the RC-3 is 2 digits long while the JamMan's is 3 digits.
If for example you want to set a loop to have an exact tempo of 138 beats per minute on the JamMan, you can do it with ease. This is not possible on the RC-3. You can manually tap your tempo, but you cannot directly input a precise BPM number.
Why does this matter? If you decide to bring your WAV loop data into software on a computer later for multitracking, you *must* know what the exact BPM is.
I read through the RC-3 documentation online thoroughly, looking for any way to manually set a metronome tempo by a precise beats-per-minute number. Couldn't find anything. The RC-3 simply can't do it...
...and that pretty much sealed the deal right there. I bought the JamMan instead, and it was the right choice.
Does this mean the BOSS RC-3 Loop Station is bad? No. But once you go JamMan and see what it can do over the RC-3, and do it for much less, it makes the choice to go with the JamMan an easy one.
All the JamMan needed was some extra documentation that explained how it does what it does better. So I wrote it.
Les Paul Telecaster hybrid
It's a Les Paul. It's a Telecaster. It's both!
Take the Agile AL-2500 TC, which is a combination of Les Paul and Telecaster designs put into one guitar...
...and it's cool.
This is a guitar that neither Fender nor Gibson could ever build, because if either of them did, the guitar community would go absolutely berserk. Both the Fender and Gibson purists would scream bloody murder if either of them "stole" designs from each other.
The AL-2500 TC is a Les Paul with its body shape made of solid mahogany, and that the neck is installed glue-in set neck style.
The AL-2500 TC is a Telecaster everywhere else. The strings mount through the body, the bridge and bridge pickup is total Telecaster, the neck is a P90 style, the knob control area is total Telecaster, and the neck is a 25.5" scale instead of a Gibson 24.75".
The only thing about the guitar that is neither Tele nor Les Paul is the fretboard radius. It's a super-flat 14".
Good guitar? Yes. Good price? Very much so.
Another guitar that "borrows" a design with no apologies...
...is the Jackson Monarkh. Yes, that is the way the model name is spelled and it is not a typo.
I've never liked the design of this guitar. Yeah, it's a good player, and there is a scoop cut in the back for very easy high-fret access. This guitar is a screamer. But I can't get past how much the headstock "argues" with the body. The body is very round and the headstock is very angular. Doesn't work. Not for me, anyway.
I actually really like the headstock design, truth be told. But just not on this guitar.
Are hybrid guitar designs a good idea?
Any hybrid guitar design is a good idea as long as it works. If the guitar does what it's supposed to do and makes for an instrument that's comfortable to play and sounds right, then it's good.
Both guitars above work. Sure, you'll draw the ire of guitar purists and snobs, but who cares? Play what you like.
Of the two above, I like the Agile better because it has single-coil pickups in it, and the headstock design agrees with the body shape a whole lot better.
The 3 best guitar forums on the internet
Most guitar forums on the internet are just plain awful. But there are three that are decent where you can actually discuss things on a civilized level.
To those who have never done the forum thing before
Larger forums have been around a long time and predate Facebook, Twitter and even YouTube. Heck, some are approaching the age where if the forum were a person, it would be almost old enough to drink.
As technology progresses on the internet, forums don't. The basic forum way of doing things was established in the late 1990s, and very little has changed. Older forums are the classic definition of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". There is a learning curve, and yes you can master it even if you've never used one before.
Are all guitar forums "related" to each other?
No, but many of the larger ones are. Two of the three below list themselves as "sister" sites to each other.
As you explore guitar forums across the internet, it is typical you will find these connections here and there. Totally normal.
It is also typical you will find forum regulars that bounce between forums, almost as if they're having one giant conversation across multiple sites.
The 3
These are the three where I've found the community to be actually helpful.
- TDPRI (discussion about the Telecaster guitar)
- Strat-Talk (discussion about the Stratocaster guitar)
- My Les Paul (discussion about the Les Paul guitar)
What is the best use of guitar forums?
Guitar technical information, guitar historical information and troubleshooting assistance.
With the three forums above, every single thing you could ever want to know about Stratocaster, Telecaster and Les Paul guitars is there. There is no stone unturned. There is no topic about those guitars that hasn't been discussed. Every model year, every pickup, every wood species ever used on production models, every little tidbit of info you ever wanted to know, all of it. It's there.
One could arguably say that if the guitar information you're looking for isn't contained within those three forums, it doesn't exist.
Why use old style forums when there's Facebook and Reddit?
The main reason is the ability to go back through 10+ years of archived discussions to find the information you're looking for.
A standard piece of advice anyone who uses forums regularly says is, "search first before you ask". So that's what you do. You sign up an account, start searching, and more often than not you'll find the info you were looking for.
Old posts can be found on Reddit and Facebook, but you'll run into broken threads often. With forums, the thread structure is kept over the years, and the only broken stuff will be images and linked external sites that no longer work. But the text is still all there, and that's what matters.
It is worth your time to get an account at one of these old forums, if for no other reason just to search old discussions for information purposes.
Cool things happen when you turn DOWN the guitar overdrive
An exercise in going for a Deep Purple sound shows how cool a guitar can sound with minimal overdrive or distortion.
Recently, I was on a Deep Purple kick and decided to record a song. This is actually the first time I've gone for a Ritchie Blackmore sound using a Telecaster, and it totally worked.
But it's how I made it work that's the important part.
A common mistake a lot of guitar players make is using too much overdrive and/or distortion, resulting in a muddy tone that sounds terrible. For rock tones on Stratocaster and Telecaster guitars with only single-coil pickups, using less overdrive works a whole lot better - if note drop-off is accommodated for with compression.
I've said a bunch of times and will say it again that having a compressor in your collection of guitar effects is a very, very handy thing to have. In the effects chain, I always put it first. The only time I wouldn't is if I used a wah-wah pedal.
Part of the reason some guys chase after specific amps with tubes is to get natural amp compression. But even if you have a tube amp that has that tone, it has to be cranked up real loud in order to hear it. Using a compressor can get you "that sound" without blowing out the windows.
Using my DigiTech RP360, I'm able to set up exactly what I want, which includes putting the compressor first in the effects chain, albeit a digital one. So whether you use traditional analog pedals or digital means, the way to set up compression is the same.
When the compressor is engaged, the overdrive can be turned down and I still get a decidedly good rock tone. Yes, it's totally true I let the Telecaster "twang out". I didn't even attempt to hide the twang of the guitar and let all the trebly, clacky sound come right through. It worked out just fine.
I will eventually complete the song as it is unfinished. But I really wanted to show off the low-overdrive cool sound of the Telecaster played in a Blackmore-ish style.
Ibanez SA460QM has luxury guitar features for cheap
This is definitely an Ibanez that's a diamond in the rough.
It continually amazes me how sometimes certain guitar makers release guitars that are packed with luxury features for so little money, and the Ibanez SA460QM is one such example.
Now when I say "luxury features", that refers to both things that are for appearance and for function. Some guitars are built just for ornamental reasons and others for just utility. But this one has both.
For appearance, the two standouts here are the body binding with abalone ornamentation (as in a nice shiny/sparkly line that follows the body binding,) and matched burst headstock to the body. Ibanez could have just painted the headstock black and that would have worked, but they went the extra mile and matched the burst seen on the body. Very nice touch. And of course, the quilted top really works here.
For utility, that's basically the entire rest of the guitar. This axe features my favorite output jack ever on top of the body (think of it as a modernized Stratocaster jack, it's really nice,) bridge made of good steel, a well-balanced pickup set, great tuners, a body with arched top, and near-perfect body balancing (you'll never get neck dive on this guitar.) The neck is a bolt-on, but there is no neck plate, which is something usually reserved for higher end guitars. And the bottom horn is also scooped for easier high fret access. This axe is just loaded with goodies.
The best feature however is that this is an every-player guitar with nice luxury bits while still being just a great guitar overall. The SA460QM suits any player age, any play style and fits in any genre. That can't be said for many guitars, but can be said for this one.
Oh, and the price. For what you get, it is truly not expensive.
Pick this one up. It's a keeper.