The ENWorld Electric Bard Gear (Etc) Thread

Dannyalcatraz

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I'm a hobbyist and collector, and never been a tone chaser. I've always took the approach that unless you are a really a bad guitar player you can make most anything sound good. Feel on the other hand is a different animal.
I’m also a hobbyist/collecter. I chase certain sounds, but not like a crazy person. Instead, I buy “talent boxes”.😂
I usually buy stuff online. Most of what I buy I've been lucky and is good sounding, and feels good, and only needs a few tweaks.
Same.

Speaking of Gibsons QC issues, which I've read are very common, the guy I mentioned above ordered a Gibson Les Paul and the headstock was cracked off when he got it. Now could've happened in shipping but if they were smart, they'd redesign the headstock without the stupid 17-degree angle that makes them so prone to snapping.
That’s an age-old observation and known solution. I’ve also seen craftsmen discussing keeping the angle but using different kinds of joining techniques

For whatever reason, Gibson remains unmoved.
 

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R_J_K75

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I buy “talent boxes”.
I have a lot of 'Talent Boxes" myself, some still in their box. I have almost bought the same pedal twice because I forgot I bought it already.
For whatever reason, Gibson remains unmoved.
Along with the headstock breaking, they G string always goes out of tune because of the break angle with the Kluson Style tuners. I have a feeling that Gibson sees the headstock shape, angle and overall design so iconic that they will never change it, and believe the volute will strengthen it enough, which is does not. They could go with a 4 x 2 machine head configuration and a straight headstock, among other options. Didn't Kirk Hammett break "Greenies" headstock off not long ago? Some people claim that a Les Paul sounds better and isn't a "real" LP until the headstock has had to be repaired.
 



Dannyalcatraz

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I have a lot of 'Talent Boxes" myself, some still in their box. I have almost bought the same pedal twice because I forgot I bought it already.
I have many, mostly still in boxes. There’s a few I want to get duplicates or updated versions of. But there’s only ONE I actually own two copies of: a T-Rex Gull Wah. But it wasn’t out of forgetfulness; it was desperation.

I was looking for a wah because I was composing a dong that absolutely needed one, and I didn’t own any. So I started shopping, and found all kinds of good ones. Even though I only required a basic one, I still shopped around because I felt that buying a quality one would last me longer. And quality, in my mind, isn’t just about how well made something is, but also what features it has.

Well, the Gull was well made, aesthetically distinctive, and in addition to basic functionality, had an old, almost forgotten “reverse” wah setting called “yoy”.

“THIS”, I thought, “is my One Wah!”

Problem: it had been discontinued before I even knew it existed, and there were only 2 new ones available…in the world. There weren’t even used ones on the market, either.

So I put in my order on one site, and their website crashed immediately after I completed my purchase. It didn’t reboot; I had no idea if my sale actually completed. So in desperation, I ordered the other one.

About a week later, both arrived in the mail.😂
 

R_J_K75

Legend
T-Rex Gull Wah
I have a T-Rex Mudhoney II distortion. It's cool cause it has 2 channels on it so its basically 2 dirt pedals in 1. I only own one of their pedals but its quality.

Among many I've had over the years, I have 4 wahs now, one is the Dunlop Mister Crybaby Wah my cousin gave me, it's got a super high gain output. I have 2 of Dunlop Mini Wahs, they are great because they take up little room on a pedalboard. One of those is the self-returning model. Drawback is there is no on/off switch in it and as it self-returns, you can't leave it in the heel position so it acts like a filter. Slash used to do that quite a bit. I also have a Boss PW10 V-Wah. It has few different settings that emulate classic models like the Crybaby, VOX, Morley, Uni-Vibe and it also has a talk box type setting as well as overdrive. I also had the EHX Cockfight Wah/Fuzz pedal. It also had a talk feature too. I liked it but it was rather large, and the controls were situated such that you had to leave quite a bit of space on either side to access them. It wasn't very economical on a pedal board, so I got rid of it.

Youree story reminds me of an article I read on John Frusciante a few years ago. He uses an Ibanez WH10 wah. Problem was up until they re-released them a few years back they were long discontinued, and they were made of plastic, so he went through them frequently. They became harder and harder to get as the years went on. He was playing a show in LA and needed to find one and told his guitar tech, who said I think I may know someone who has one. They pulled up to a gated driveway, and out came Eddie Van Halen with 3 or 4 of them. I actually had one in the early 90s when they originally came out and I can say that it definitely had its own unique sound. It's since been made available again with a metal housing and an updated circuit, bypass switch and can be used with both a guitar and bass. I haven't decided if I'm going to get one again.

It's always good to have backups. I've accidently fried pedals by accident using the wrong power supply but I can't remember any pedal actually breaking. If you have both T-Rex Gull Wahs in existence, you're either sitting on a gold mine or have a spare if you need it.
 

Dannyalcatraz

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If you have both T-Rex Gull Wahs in existence, you're either sitting on a gold mine or have a spare if you need it.
Not “both”, just the last two in the world that were available new, and before used ones hit the market. I don’t mind buying used gear, but there’s always the risk that gear’s price will skyrocket in the aftermarket- something I’ve seen more often with pedals than anything else.

Brands like Chase Bliss and Spaceman are notorious for making great pedals in small batches. So their legions of fans can drive used pedals prices to astronomical heights pretty quickly. I’ve picked up a few new, only to find replacement costs heading north of $800 on Reverb soon after the new ones were all snapped up.

Back to the Gull…

Amusingly, there must have been a bigger demand for them than T-Rex realized. Maybe a year after the Gull was discontinued, they quietly introduced the Shafter. Near as I can tell, the Shafter is essentially the same pedal as the Gull- including the “YOY”- but with a more typical housing, and supposedly an improvement in its overall functionality.
 

R_J_K75

Legend
I don’t mind buying used gear, but there’s always the risk that gear’s price will skyrocket in the aftermarket- something I’ve seen more often with pedals than anything else.
I’ve picked up a few new, only to find replacement costs heading north of $800 on Reverb soon after the new ones were all snapped up.
I actually got that Boss Wah on eBay about a year or so ago, and the price was good. I think a lot of people didn't like the pedal and AFAIK it wasn't on the market long, and don't think Boss has made another wah since. I just got around to trying it out last month. I was looking at it and realized that there isn't a traditional switch under the treadle and thought it was broken. There is a switch in there but its very small, and the pedal works.

I bought a used Guild S-300 guitar off a friend in 1995 for $100, and stupidly sold it when money was tight a few years later. I was looking at them on the used market online around 2017 and they were between $600-$800 then, now they are upwards of $2K. Just too much now to spend that much on a used guitar sight unseen. There's any number of reasons that a Guitar from 1977-1980 could be un-reparable. So yeah things can skyrocket in price when the supply is low and demand is high. Even now the ones I see online are more and more beat up every time I look at them.
Near as I can tell, the Shafter is essentially the same pedal as the Gull- including the “YOY”
I was watching videos for the Gull last night and saw the Shafter, and wondered how much of a difference between the two was. The Gull had a great Wah sound. I often think that regardless of what something sounds like on a video it probably isn't going to sound the same going through my gear. Not necessarily bad, just different.
 


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