The More Trouble The Better!

Courtesy of  www.thegauntlet.com

As someone who's wholly dedicated to music, heavy metal in particular, I can tell you that its very easy to not only become complacent in the bands you're listening to but you can outright miss out on bands both big and small as a result. I'm not one of those types that says "you should listen to everything to keep an open mind" as I think that's rather absurd. We all know what music moves us, inspires us, and gets our blood pumping. When complacency sets in however our selection of bands and artists often dwindles slowly until we spend months or even years listening primarily to that small handful of bands that have the biggest effect on us. I've seen countless friends and family members go this route and I'm guilty of it too. Fortunately this has only happened to me twice in my 30 year love affair with heavy metal and hard rock and several bands came along that shook my musical world up and exposed me to other bands and styles at the right times.

Here Comes Trouble

In the days before the internet I relied on friends and...yes..MTV to turn me onto new music and bands.  Fortunately in this, the internet age, music fans and Corona guitar lesson instructors can use their computers to find music and bands that interest them. Even at 42 years of age, a good result elicits a type of excitement that's unmatched by anything else in life save for playing music with other people.

In the early 90's it was Alice in Chains and then in the mid 90's it was Type O Negative. In the aughts it was Black Label Society. The most recent musical shake up in my tiny world comes from Trouble. I knew from the moment I heard the band on YouTube, as I did with the first time I heard aforementioned bands, that I'd be a fan for life. As I familiarized myself with Trouble's library and history I thought "how in the fuck did I miss this band?" After all Trouble isn't new on the scene, in fact they're quite old. The bands first album, "Psalm 9" was released in 1984. Considering that my love of heavy cathartic music began in 1985 I still can't believe I'd not only never heard Trouble's music but I'd never heard of the band period. Apparently none of my friends had heard of the band either otherwise I would have become a fan long, long ago. As a fan of music that straddles the very fine line that exists between heavy metal and hard rock and bands that are essentially hard rock bands with a metal edge, Trouble's music hit me like a ton of bricks. Trouble is heavy, doomy, melodic, has great guitar hooks, is emotional, driving, and without frills. The band will remain in my music library for as long as I live. Although I've only been a fan for about two months they already occupy the same space in my brain I reserve for KISS, Alice In Chains, The Beatles, Type O Negative, Black Label Society, and Black Sabbath.

"Paranoid Conspiracy"
The first Trouble song I heard.

A Mixed Bag Of Sounds

Make no mistake, Trouble is a heavy metal band and no one who's heard the band going to dispute that. There's also a tinge of doom there which is fantastic but the band incorporates a little psychedelia, straight rock, and aptly handles Monkees and Beatles covers while sometimes wearing its influences on it's sleeve; all things I appreciate to a great degree. Trouble never sounds like any other particular band mind you and they have their own unique sound but there are many occasions while listening where I've said "hey whoa! That sounds Pink Floydish or that's Sabbathy." Trouble doesn't ever try to be anyone but themselves and in doing so have created something both unique and familiar at the same time. Although the band's original vocalist, the superb Eric Wagner, left the band, Trouble continues to hit the mark with their new vocalist(s). If you enjoy melodic or traditional heavy metal be sure to give Trouble a listen. The band is well worth your time.

Songs Of Note

• Memory's Garden
• Breathe
• The Wolf
• Pictures Of Life
• Hear The Earth

~Scott

An Old Metal Head's Home Setup

That's me in 1996! LOL

As a kid learning to play guitar and for the majority of my 20's and early 30's I was a gear snob. I believed that I'd never be a good guitarist or have a shot at anything outside of playing in my bedroom without first owning a high end modded Marshall Tube amp and of course the most expensive effects units money could buy. I certainly knew the value of practice but I attached a certain prestige to high end gear and because I frequently saw musicians and bands of a lesser quality playing clubs with that stuff my young mind saw that and said "that's why they're here! That's what I need." Fortunately the ignorance and stupidity of my youth gave way to reason. Now at 42 years old I know that great music can be made and heard using even a modest setup.

My Home Practice And Recording Setup

From the moment I picked up my first guitar I've longed to play in a band with people that have the same musical goals and influences as I do. For whatever reason this has yet to happen one single time in 30 years so when I buy gear I typically make purchases that will work well in my home and/or in my home mini-studio. I also buy gear that works well in teaching scenarios as well since I give guitar lessons in Corona.

My guitar gear is fairly modest and simple not only because I don't have much money but because I'm a minimalist when it comes to guitar. I love my overdrive, wah, and chorus but that's pretty much it. I don't have much use for phasers, delay, flangers, or anything else. That said here's my setup:

My current guitar setup

• Marshall MG100HCFX - Yes it's a solid state amp but I've yet to play through any Marshall that sounds subpar. Sure it doesn't give me the super warm bounce and crunch/bite of a tube amp but when you only play in your home well a tube amp doesn't make much sense. This amp has some serious balls as does the 4 x 12 cabinet that came with it. It produces high end clean and dirty tones and the boost channel is fantastic. I'd be confident stepping on stage with this amp behind me. It'd work just fine in the studio too, provided your not the type of player who plays direct.
• JC-95 Crybaby - The Jerry Cantrell wah pedal is awesome. It's not for everyone but if you want a wah pedal with a huge range of sounds this one is for you. Here's a sample of me using my wah.
• Ibanez TS9 - The classic Ibanez Tube Screamer is a must for any metal head or hard rock musician. I've played countless other boost and full on overdrive/distortion pedals though none of them deliver quite like the Tube Screamer does. It's affordable and extremely effective. If you've got a shitty amp with even an even shittier overdrive channel turn the gain down and use the TS9 to boost your gain with a more natural and far less muddy or fuzzy tone.
• Boss TU-3 - I've already reviewed this tuner pedal here on my blog so I'm not going to say too much more about it than this; every musician needs this pedal in their lineup. It's simple, effective, accurate, and quick. Get one now.
• Voodoo Labs Pedal Power ISO 5 - I used to use my TU-3 or some other Boss pedal to power all of my other pedals until another musician introduced me to this power supply. Nothing beats having a dedicated power source for your effects. I used to have all sorts of nagging issues using a tuner pedal to power my other effects. Those issues ceased the moment I started using this bad boy. The ISO 5 is affordable, built like a tank, and can power just about any pedal.
• My Two Les Pauls - Sure they're both Epiphone's (do you want to give me money for a Gibson?) but they're still Les Paul's and well...I've never played another guitar that plays or sounds as good as a Les Paul nor have I seen one that's better looking. I have an Ebony Les Paul Standard and a Blackback Les Paul Custom. Both are great guitars and serve me well here at home. I have no doubt they'd do just fine live too.

My pedal board

While my guitar rig isn't high end its certainly not at the low end of the spectrum either. Point being is that you can create, play, and even record good music with modest and even cheap gear if you've put in hours of practice and prepared well before hand. I'm fortunate to own the gear I do because I don't make much money and have 5 kids but I have gotten by with much less. Young musicians and those without any money at all shouldn't let shitty or cheap gear discourage them from playing and creating.

The Rhythm Guitarist And Wah

The art of rhythm guitar is nearly non existent in this day and age. Twin guitar attack is a lost art and most rock and metal bands have just one guitar player these days. This results in a rather thin but inexplicably popular sound. Rhythm guitarists don't often use too many guitar effect if any at all. Sure overdrive and chorus are common but those are a must. When was the last time you saw a rhythm guitar player make use of a Wah pedal...even infrequently? Wah is one of those effects that's often associated closely with solo's and phrasing making it a staple in effects line-up's of lead guitar players everywhere. It may not make sense but there are rhythm guitarists who use wah and use it to great effect in their music.

Pre-90's Wah

Wah pedals didn't get much love from rhythm guitar players prior to the 90's. Sure, if you go looking you'll find a rhythm guitar using Wah in a chord progression or a riff but it's almost always in the back of the mix and is easy to miss. It wasn't until the 1990's hit that the popularity of wah with rhythm guitarists really took off. The Seattle scene in particular put wah at the forfront of mixes and riffs. As is the case with anything popular in music, people began emulating what they heard and as the 90's rolled on wah became more frequently used by rhythm guitar players. It also become a staple of some bands and their rhythm section.

I Wah Too!

I'm a rhythm guitarist of 30 years. Paul Stanley is the reason I learned to play guitar but Jerry Cantrell is the reason I learned to play guitar well and incorporated wah into my sound. I have used some form of wah in my music for 25 of the 30 years I've been playing. It's not always overly pronounced in my riffs but it's often noticeable and is part of my sound. I use my JC 95 pedal frequently when playing with the overdrive on but not so much when playing with a clean tone. Here's an example of me using wah as part of the rhythm section in my music. I never gave it a title and it's the last song I ever played or recorded on a 7 string.

If you liked what you heard here be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel! I've got lots of songs up there.

The Boss TU-3 - My Reivew

Image courtesy of Boss

As a guitar player of 30 years, I've probably owned more tuners than I have picks which is pretty amazing considering my picks seems to disappear like socks do when they enter the dryer. Most of the guitar tuners I've owned have been of the plugin variety and most have had a place in my pedal line up. Not all of them have been good however. To be frank, most have been lousy, cheap, or incapable of handling anything but standard E tuning. Some have been all been all of the aforementioned. Moreover I've paid more attention to my wah, overdrive boost, and chorus pedals over the years. That changed however in 2012 when I purchased the Boss TU-3.

True Chromatic And Open Tuning

A lot of guitar tuners and tuner pedals are advertised as being chromatic which gives you the impression that they'll be capable of handling off the wall tunings. In reality these tuners often aren't capable of such a feat and may not even recognize anything but standard E tuning. As a guitar player who greatly admires Jerry Cantrell and used to mimic him growing up, let me tell you, tuners like these are a real pain in the ass and frustrating to boot. Tuning to E♭ or dropped C#? Forget about it.

Right out of the box the Boss TU-3 recognizes every imaginable and unimaginable tuning no matter how low or high the notes register. Even better the TU-3 is the most accurate tuner I've ever used. I don't have to switch modes (although you can) in order to go from E♭ to dropped C# or any other tuning. The TU-2 was an excellent tuner too but it's successor is superior in it's ability to quickly and quietly get a guitar in tune.

Output And Bypass

One of my favorite features on the TU-3 is the output/bypass feature. Guitarists whom like to hear their guitar while they tune it can plug their outgoing cord into the bypass jack while those, like myself, whom want to silence their guitars while tuning can plug into the output jack. Simply stomping the pedal, quietly and immediately mutes your guitar signal for silent tuning.

Power Options

The Boss TU-3 allows musicians to utilize a 9 volt battery for operation though anyone who's used batteries in any of their pedals know this is often inefficient and a waste of money. Forego using a battery and go directly to the AC input. The TU-3 can be powered by a Boss AC adapter but also works just fine in a daisy chained pedal board powered by an external source like Voodoo Lab's Pedal Power ISO-5 Power Supply. This pedal is also built to power additional pedals as well which is something many musicians will find very useful.

Hands Down...

Boss' TU-3 is hands down the best guitar tuner I've ever owned. Not only that but it's one of the best and most useful pedals I've ever owned too. This pedal/tuner is a must no matter what type of player you are and no matter how well you do or don't play. It's great live, in the studio, at home, and when you're taking Corona guitar lessons. Do yourself a favor and pick this one up...now.

Metal Guitar On A Budget

Image courtesy of Ebay

All musicians, be them hobbyists, amateurs, or professionals all want to play on gear that not only sounds good but looks good too. This is especially true of hard rock and metal musicians. Though there are certainly those metal musicians that don't care what guitar or amplifier they play through the vast majority of musicians in this genre gravitate towards the most recognizable and sometimes expensive names. In many scenarios buying expensive brand name gear isn't born purely of lust but rather necessity. Metal and hard rock guitar players of even limited experience know that in order to achieve a warm bouncy clean tone and a dirty gritty crunch that they'll need to spend quite a bit of money on high end gear. Using inexpensive or "budget" gear can result in flat and timid clean tones as well as muddy and fuzzy dirty tones that fart out when the volume knob is pushed past 3.

The Good News

Although metal guitarists will eventually need to splurge on expensive gear at some point, those individuals who simply enjoy jamming with friends, playing at home, or are taking Corona guitar lessons can rest easy knowing that there is some very exciting, effective, and affordable gear out there. Although less expensive than their high end brethren this gear works great for playing alone, jamming in your garage, and even recording in the studio. Metal guitarists on a budget and those that simply want good but modest gear should consider these alternatives.

Image Courtesy of Guitar Center

The Les Paul Alternative

Metal and many hard rock guitarists flock to and fall in love with Gibson Les Paul guitars because they are highly playable, sound fantastic, look awesome, and their heroes play them. The problem many metal guitar players run into however is the price tag associated with the Gibson Les Paul. "Cheap" Gibson Les Paul's usually run just under $2000 while the more expensive ones can cost an individual $5000 or more.

Fortunately metal guitar players dead set on buying and playing a Les Paul can instead opt for an Epiphone Les Paul. Epiphone is owned by Gibson and is their budget line of products. The term budget is a misnomer here as Epiphone adheres to very high quality standards and its Les Paul's are nothing to scoff at. Some are even comparable to their Gibson produced cousins.  Best of all however, at least where guitarists are concerned, Epiphone Les Paul's run anywhere from $300-$1000. Epiphone also produces all of the same Les Paul styles that Gibson does!

Image courtesy of Google Shopping

Inexpensive Amplification

Ask any metal musician what type of amp they want to own/play out of and you'll get the names Marshall, Bogner, and Peavey more than any other. While these brands have certainly been made famous by the metal and hard rock genres they're also outrageously expensive. While metal guitar players dream and/or save up for their high end big name amplifier they can find very solid and inexpensive big name alternatives. Guitarists on modest budgets and those musicians whom only play at home or in the garage with friends should forget about expensive tube amps. Tube amps still produce the best sounds but are heavy, require a great deal of care, are very expensive, and aren't effective at low volumes. These types of metal guitarists should instead look into solid state amps. Marshall for example produces some outstanding solid state amps that deliver the bone crunching overdrive and warm clean tones that metal guitar players crave.  Check out Marshall's MG100HCFX which costs around $600. The cabinet and 100 watt head are often sold as a package making this a fantastic budget deal. If you think that's still too expensive keep in mind that this amp will allow you to play with a band, play live, hit the studio and that traditional Marshall tube amps sell for thousands of dollars...just for the head! Peavey also makes some fine affordable solid state solutions though Bogner has very few budget products.

Image courtesy of DigiTech

Guitar Effects

There are a large number of metal guitarists that rely on high end rack units and modded pedals to craft just their sound. If you don't have much to spend stick with pedals as opposed to rack or multi-unit effects processors. Companies like Boss, Digitech, and of course Ibanez all make good pedals that don't cost a whole lot. There are even lesser known brands that produce some great pedals at even better prices. The famed Ibanez Tube Screamer is one of the more expensive pedals and it comes in at a friendly $99. The Digitech Bad Monkey is an excellent alternative boost pedal and costs about half what the TS-9 costs. Guitarists looking for Chorus, Flange, Octave, etc. can look to both Boss and even smaller companies like Behringer for variety and affordability.

Metal doesn't have to be expensive nor does using affordable gear make your music any less poignant or heavy hitting. The key to success with metal guitar gear is to shop smart and try everything! Happy hunting metal heads!