Will looper drums ever not suck?
It is amazing that this problem still exists.
Guitar loopers are great. Truly. A basic looper starts at around 50 bucks. Not expensive. For most people, a cheap looper works just fine.
However, you may want more from your looper, such as the ability to store separate loops, add effects, reverse the audio, have a click track...
...and have accompaniment, meaning drums. Well, that costs more. The go-to loopers for that sort of thing are the BOSS RC-5 Loop Station and DigiTech Trio+. The Trio+ by the way is a true "band in a box" with looping, drums, intelligent bass (as in the thing will actually create a bass track for you), intelligent pattern recognition and a whole bunch of other stuff. That thing is absolutely stuffed with goodies and options.
But there are two problems...
The offerings from BOSS and DigiTech are incredible. Heck, BOSS even has a gigantic floor unit with the RC-300 model. Crazy good stuff.
However, two problems still exist to this day even with the best of loopers with the best of technology that's available.
Problem #1: The drums sound awful
In all fairness, both BOSS and DigiTech have tried really, really hard to make their looper drum machine samples sound better. Over the years, improvements have been made. Unfortunately, the kits still sound obviously fake.
The fix: Both BOSS and Digitech need to offer options for purposely electronic-sounding kits in their loopers. Yes, both technically offer this, but they've not really committed to it. When I say electronic-sounding, I mean something like you'd hear come out of a Korg Volca. I'm not saying to offer the pattern programming of a Volca, just the sound of something like it. Instead of trying to go ultra-realistic, which obviously doesn't work, go the other way and put in stuff that sounds more electronic.
Problem #2: Sync drop
What I'm specifically referring to here is the drum machine "losing time" with the recorded sample, as in the loop.
You record your loop and get it just right. Sounds great. Then you add your drums. Sounds great. Then you play your loop + drums. Sounds great... at first. The longer the loop plays, the more out-of-time the loop sounds with the drums. Now it sounds terrible.
The fix(?): For most people, this is an unfixable problem.
Where the problem originates is that you have a recorded sample phrase (your loop) and rhythm software (the drum machine) both attempting to start, end and repeat at exactly the same time. Regardless of how fast the processor is or how much memory is installed, there will be instances where the recorded sample phrase and/or the rhythm software won't re-trigger where it should; this is where the out-of-time thing happens.
There is only one fix I know for this problem. Don't use a looper and instead use a multitrack recorder.
I'll explain.
With the ZOOM R8 standalone multitrack recorder - which does have a drum machine in it - I can combine tracks and the drum machine all to one track. When there is just one track, as in one phrase, that is guaranteed to always sound the same when looped and always trigger/re-trigger properly.
Is there a way to do this on-the-fly? No. I only mention it so you know that yes, a fix exists, but it has to be done manually.
On a looper pedal with drum machine - and I doubt what I'm about to say will ever happen - the only possible way to get precise phrase + drum loops is if the pedal a) took the recorded phrase and drum accompaniment, b) combined that into a single phrase temporary file, c) played that temp file back on demand, and d) removed the temp file once the looper is stopped, while at the same time keeping the original phrase and drum pattern for user adjustment, if any is needed.
A lot of background processing and file writing would need to happen to make any of that work reliably, hence why I say it will probably never happen.
If none of this makes sense to you, don't worry, it doesn't have to. All you have to know is that all looper pedals with drum machines have sync problems. The longer a loop + drum machine plays, the more likely an out-of-sync issue can (and will) happen.
Does throwing more money at a more expensive model solve the problem? No, but there are a few things you can do which can mitigate the sync problem:
- Use shorter loops.
- Use fewer loops.
- Manually stop and restart the looper to reset the sync (which most looper users do anyway when performing with them).
- Create phrases using the metronome whenever possible (easier for the drum machine to match a precise BPM).
- If the looper uses a memory card, replace it once a year so you don't run into file writing issues.
- Save phrases often. If one of them decides to stop working correctly, you always have a backup.
I still think loopers are great, but looper drums do suck
I should note that I'm not talking about table top loopers (like the BOSS RC-505) but rather the stuff specifically meant for guitar players.
For the stuff available to guitar players, it's nice drum machines exist in more expensive looper models, but they have so-so performance at best because of the sync crapola that happens.
For looper-only functions, oh yeah, that works. No question about that. For drums, not-so much and sync issues happen. That's just the way it is.
The best looking Dean Z I've ever seen
This is an example of when Dean does the Z right.
First I'll say yes, there is still the Classic Black version. Or, if you fancy one of these with a Floyd-Rose system, the Ocean Burst version also looks quite nice.
But then there's the Trans Brazilia version.
I ordinarily do not really care for the Dean Z, but I make an exception here because the colors chosen here work for every part of the guitar.
The first thing to notice - and this is easy to miss when you're not looking for it - is the body, neck and headstock all have binding. On the body and headstock you can see outer and inner binding. Looks great.
After that, the zebra pickups (and yes, they are in fact Seymour Duncan pickups) offer some nice contrast to the black hardware.
I really like that this has speed knobs on it. Very easy to see during play.
It is very nice that the headstock burst matches the body perfectly.
And those block inlays. Classy. Nice classic Gibson vibes there, and that's not a bad thing.
When I say this is the best Dean Z I've ever seen, I'm not kidding. Dean is notorious for making a lot of ugly guitars (see "dimebag dean" for examples of that), but this particular Z guitar is where things get a lot better.
This just goes to prove that Dean does make guitars that actually look good and perform well, and this Z is one of them.
The best compliment I can give this Z overall is that it's not pegged to any specific age of player. Anybody from a teenager to a senior or anywhere in between could play this. It's not a "kid's guitar" nor an "old man's guitar". This is an everyman guitar.
Good job, Dean.
My favorite Black Sabbath track from their first album
It's not what you think it is.
Many moons ago - even before I was a teenager - a friend of mine at the time played some Black Sabbath songs for me on his stereo. I got hooked pretty much immediately. After a few months, I had all the original eight Black Sabbath studio albums. On compact cassette, of course. I never got into vinyl, and this was before CDs. From Black Sabbath to Never Say Die! (which I may talk about in the future), I had them all.
Where the first album is concerned, one songs sticks out to me more than the others, and that's Behind The Wall of Sleep.
I have absolutely no idea what the lyrics are about to this day because I rarely pay attention to lyrics.
What really hooks me to this song are the drums. Yes, the guitar work is great and I'll talk about that in a minute, but Bill Ward's drums just sound so damned cool. Compared to the popular music of the time in the '80s when I first heard this song, nothing on the radio or television even sounded close to it. The drums just have this nice thumpy "warm" organic sound to them. I assume they are jazz tuned, so to speak. I can even hear the spring under the snare drum in the recording.
This is one of the "all SG" songs on the album. One or two tracks on the first album had a Stratocaster featured, but this song wasn't one of them. To my ear, yes, it's definitely an SG sound regardless of what pickups were installed in Tony's guitar at the time. An SG has a pronounced midrange to its sound which is certainly heard loud and proud on this track.
Something I'm sure of is that Tony Iommi wrote the melody for Ozzy's vocals. If you play the notes Ozzy sings on the guitar, the pentatonic comes out instantly and follows a guitar fretboard. In effect, the vocals act as a "third guitar" in the song.
Geezer's low, boomy bass brings up the rear, and when Tony solos, so does he, so you're hearing two solos at once.
And let's not forget the time signature changes. A swing 3/4 beat, then a straight 4/4, back to a swing 3/4... the song is just nuts but totally works. The song ends with nothing but Bill's drums heard. Love it. Definitely my favorite of the first album.
A secret of the Epiphone Prophecy Les Paul hiding in plain sight
There is something about the Epiphone Prophecy Les Paul that's right in front of your face, and you probably didn't even notice it.
Sometimes there is a legitimate reason the Epiphone Les Paul is in fact a better choice compared to a Gibson because they offer something Gibson doesn't.
This is one of those guitars.
Is it the mahogany body? The carved maple cap with AAA flamed veneer? The asymmetrical SlimTaper neck? The ebony fingerboard? The GraphTech XL nut? The Grover locking Rotomatic tuners? The Fishman Fluence humbucker pickups with push-pull coil splitting ability?
No.
While all those features are great, there's something else.
This Les Paul has 24 frets.
I'm not a 24 fret guy, but...
Some players really like a 24-fret neck. As for the 24-fret Strat, I've talked about that before and you can get one right now.
This Epiphone is the 24-fret Les Paul, which you can also get right now.
Out of all the features of the Prophecy Les Paul, the 24-fret neck is its best feature as that is the one thing you cannot get on a Gibson Les Paul regular production model.
Oh sure, you could ring up the Gibson Custom Shop and have a 24-fret Les Paul built, but why would you place that order, spend thousands and wait months when you can get the Epiphone Prophecy Les Paul right now?
With the Epiphone, this is the as-close-to-Gibson-as-possible Les Paul as you can get, and it is a premium model from the brand. All the fancy dan stuff is loaded into this guitar.
No, it will never say "Gibson" on the headstock, but if you want that 24 jumbo fret Les Paul, Epiphone has it with the Prophecy model.
Shorter scale guitars with the most bang for the buck
You can go short without spending too much nor getting something too cheap.
The standard scale lengths for electric guitars are established by Fender and Gibson. The Fender length is 25.5 inches and Gibson is 24.75.
I'm going to talk about guitars which are shorter than a 24.75" scale length while still being adult-sized. Anything shorter than 24.0" is literally kid-sized stuff, such as any Ibanez miKro (22.2" scale) or Squier Mini (22.75" model), both of which are cheap in price.
You can go expensive with short scale, such as the Fender American Performer Mustang. While that is a fine guitar, there are other options lower in price that are still great.
These are three guitars which I feel you get the most for the money when you want something shorter than 24.75" without it being a kid-sized guitar, without it being a cheap build, and getting the most for the money.
This is technically not a short scale but a shorter scale at 24.50" (hence 245 in the model name), which is still shorter than the Gibson 24.75".
I have openly admitted before that this is not my favorite PRS model (I think the Mira is much better but that's a 25" scale).
However...
I recognize that this very specific model is exactly what some players are looking for. It's got the twin humbuckers, it's shorter than a Gibson while still having a familiar Les Paul layout and certainly looks nice enough.
Also, there is a "belly cut" carve in the back, making it a very comfortable playing it seated or standing.
You do have to like the humbucker sound to like this guitar. If you like the Les Paul or SG, then you will like the PRS SE 245.
Gretsch G5220 Electromatic Jet BT
This is also technically not short scale but shorter at 24.60", which is the realm of Gretsch guitars. Typical to Gretsch goodness, the G5220 Electromatic Jet BT looks gorgeous. But it's more than just a pretty face. The mahogany body is chambered for lighter weight, and the pickups are Gretsch's "Black Top Broad'Tron".
The Gretsch to your ear should sound brighter compared to the PRS. If you're the type of player that leans more towards the clean side instead of overdriven and distorted tones, or you just appreciate a brighter sounding humbucker, you want the Gretsch.
This guitar is a legitimate short scale at 24.0".
You may be thinking, "Why not just get a Squier Classic Vibe Mustang instead and spend less?" You could do that, and would get a fine guitar, but then you have to deal with a traditional build Mustang.
I'll explain.
Both the Fender Player (Mexico) and Fender American Performer (USA) Mustang are hardtails with no tremolo system present, no phase slider switches and ridiculously easy operation. You get two bright-and-spanky single-coil pickups, a 3-way selector, alder body and a maple neck. Plug in and go. Nice and easy.
The Squier Classic Vibe on the other hand has all the old-school Mustang stuff on it. Namely, the Mustang vibrato system and the phase slider switches.
A very quick rundown of the phase slider switches: Above each pickup is a switch with 3 positions, which is ON OFF ON. There's a reason ON is there twice. If you put both switches to the rear ON position or both to front ON position, you get a two-pickup in-phase sound. If you put one switch to ON rear facing and the other to ON front facing, you get a two-pickup out-of-phase sound, which is best described as a "choked" tone. This means with traditional Mustang wiring, you get a total of 4 possible sounds. Rear pickup alone, front pickup alone, both pickups in-phase, both pickups out-of-phase.
You might be thinking, "That sounds great, so what's the problem?" The problem is that it's basically impossible to quick-switch pickup positions while playing the instrument. With the Fender Player or American Performer Mustang, quick-switching pickup position is easy, just flick the pickup selector toggle. With traditional phase sliders, you can't do that and must deal with those tiny switches.
The Squier CV Mustang isn't bad by any means, but the Player and American Performer are far easier to get along with.
Which is best for you?
Rock sounds that work best with overdrive: PRS SE 245.
Best looking of the bunch with brighter sounding humbuckers: Gretsch G5220 Electromatic Jet BT.
Brightest sounding with the shortest scale and easiest to get along with: Fender Player Mustang.
With any one of these, you're getting something good that's shorter than 24.75" while still being adult-sized and sounds great.