Out With The Old, In With The New: Reassesing My Guitar Effects Pedalboard.

Ok, now that 2009 is here, there are a few changes in order. I'm parting with a few old friends only because they no longer serve their purpose. Time to switch things up a bit.

I'll still keep my Seymour Duncan Twin Tube Classic pedal, Boss TU-2 Chromatic Tuner, Boss CH-1 Super Chorus (for now) as well as my Barber LTD low gain pedal and Dunlop Wah/Volume pedals. So those are still my key tones for what I need when I return to playing guitar on a more regular basis.


T-Rex Replica Delay Pedal
I've been doing some research and I'm impressed with the products from T-Rex Engineering. They are a step up from Boss pedals and a little on the high dollar side. But I've been tolerating my Boss RV-3 Digital Delay/Reverb pedal to the point where it just doesn't make sense to keep anymore. I like the more modern ability to tap tempo the delay. This saves me from contstant on stage adjustments in which I have to hear the delay (echo) rate audibly in order to set. The T-Rex Replica is just what I've been looking for. I don't really use Reverb these days since the places I play already have inherant reverberation in the room. Adding more just adds clutter to my sound. This would be different if I played more outdoor gigs. Plus I have reverb effects in my amplifiers.


T-Rex Moller Overdrive/Clean Boost Pedal
I love the control that you get from this pedal. I've been sort of hunting for an in between "grey area" overdrive pedal. The Barber LTD is great for low gain tone but it's not enough "umph" or "to push over the cliff" factor. Plus it sort of lacks low end bass, kind of like the TS-808's. The SDTTC pedal takes care of what the LTD wants to do, but still there's a wide gap between the channel 1 and channel 2 overdrives. It would be nice just to have something soaring SRV/Hendrix stuff while still retaining my Strat sparkle. What's cool is the mix control. This way I can blend as much or as little affected signal to my desire.

I hear that John Mayer, David Gilmour, Pete Townsend, Mark Tremonti, and Steve Lukather use these pedals (brand not necessarily the actual pedals mentioned). Not that this has any affect on my using these pedals but as stompboxes go, that's saying something as opposed to using some rack effects.

I'm keeping my Boss Chorus pedal only because I can't justify spending over $200 for a chorus pedal, especially when I use this effect sparingly. I like the my chorus pedal only because I can mix my dry-chorus effect. So it's not an all or nothing pedal.

Let's Review StewMade Guitars of 2008 and 100th Post.

Well this ends the year and this marks my 100th blog entry! Wow, only 100? It seems like more for some reason.

I'm so ready for a "Do Over" in 2009. 2008 marks a year of a series of unfortunate events. Rather than imagining Baby New Year passing by Father Time 2008, I imagine a teenage New Year thug kicking the crap out of 2008. I want to thank Switch to Plan B and Epic Beat for being there for me, just to listen to me, while I worked through many issues that came up this year. Not to mention Epic's patience with me while dealing with my hand issues for worship services.

So rather than rehash out a year in review for me, I would rather reflect on what was accomplished in the StewMade shop. I set out to build about 3 guitars this year and with hopes of squeezing out maybe an additional one. Turns out it was a different combination of the three.


The 70's Muscle Car Guitar. Really happy with this one. I got the vibe I was after. It really sounded nice and was very comfortable to play. Unfortunately, the guy who bought my last two guitars bought this one as well. He seems to be buying up all of my guitars rather than letting me send out my babies into the world to be enjoyed by all. I think secretly he was hired by Fender to purchase my guitars and destroy them upon delivery (LOL).

I keep getting hits on this blog regarding the Muscle Car Guitar so I might build about two next year. I'll probably still go with Sublime Green and possibly Plum Crazy. I dunno.


Mark's J-5 Signature Bass. Really nice bass and my first 5 string build. This wins the "eye candy" award for Stewmade this year. The wood grain just popped off of the guitar and just looks stunning when stage lights hit it.

I took a leap of faith and used a local guy, Carey Nordstrand from Yucaipa. He uses a scatter wound technique and I guess has a machine that simulates the hand tension winding process. Many feel that this process is what really makes a pickup stand out more, in a good way. There is much talk that the reason why early Fender pickups sound so good is because they were hand guided onto the pickup bobbin (spool) in a random (scatter) fashion. The tension was also "felt" as the pickup is being wound, something modern winding machines lack; the human factor. I subscribe to this theory only because I've compared the two and there is a noticable difference, to my ears.

Anyway, I was really impressed by the tone of these pickups. Relatively quiet yet had that great classic J bass growl. I would really like to include another bass for 2009.


Fall Leaves Guitar. This guitar was made a bit late to capitalize on the fall season. I had this guitar body that was to be another Beach Scene Guitar. The body had been lying around, getting in the way of things. I couldn't come up with a third beach design when I was curious if I could maybe carve something other than surfboards and tide pools. Plus I'm such a sucker for the fall season and have always wanted to build something that just made you feel like it was fall.

So with the same "what the heck" ambition, I sketched out some leaves and started cutting. Once I started, I realized I was in for some major work. I couldn't just stop, I had to finish what I started. I studied countless images of leaves; the way they curled up at the ends without compromising the construction of the guitar.

This guitar was not planned out until the last minute. But now that it's done, I think I got it close to what I pictured. So far I've faced much criticism on my choice of colors and wood choices. But I guess that comes along with any art form.

The guitar is lightweight and I used my friend Tommy to finish the neck for me this time. I was very impressed. The neck is a satin finish which feels really smooth and friction free.

Also, I choose pickups by Jason Lollar; "Blondes". Let me explain for you folks who are now wondering why "blondes" (WARNING, HEAVY ELECTRONIC GEEK CONTENT! SCROLL PAST THIS PARAGRAPH IF NECESSARY). Jason, like Carey, makes his pickups hand scatter wound. But Jason voices each of his pickups with the amplifier in mind. During Fender guitars Strat history, there were different amp coverings in relation to the time the amplifiers were manufactured; early 50's tweed amps, early 60's blonde tolex/vinyl amps, and the mid 60's black tolex amps (also known as blackface amps due to the color of the amp's black control panel). So Jason matches the output and specs according to what the guitars were being played through at that time. If all there was available to play in the late 50's was a tweed Fender Bassman amp, then your guitars of that same era didn't have much bass response since you got that tonal aspect from the amplifier. So theoretically, if you play a real 1956 Strat through one of today's modern amplifiers, it would sound a little on the thin, treble side. So if I typically play through a very bassy sounding amp, then Jason would recommend using the Tweed or Blonde pickups. But if I have a '65 Fender Deluxe or Twin amp, then the Blackface pickups would sound better based on the amp voicing. Dig?


As far as the Orange Crate Guitar is concerned, I'll be working on this pretty heavily to meet my Spring '09 deadline. I hit a road block in one element regarding weight and stability. But I think I worked it out. And yes, this will even smell like oranges when I'm done. HA! What other guitar manufactured today can say that?!

Confusing December!

So I guess since the weather is just now getting colder, our maples and liquid amber trees are just starting to turn fall colors. Yet in the distance, there is evidence of large amounts of snow in our mountains. Just seems kind of strange to see this late in December. Usually this time of year, all the leaves have turned color and fallen.

Christmas: Presents Over in 30 Minutes!

Allison has finally passed out from Christmas joy. Our new kitten looks on as Allison snoozes.

Yep, It's That Time Again: The Astro Weenie Christmas Tree Instruction Video, by Charles Phoenix.

Yet Another Look Alike Sighting.

I guess now I know what I'll look like in about 10 years. This is the Italian football manager and professional player Fabio Capello. I say it's the glasses that does it. It's weird looking to the future. Thanks for the comparison YouTube viewers.

Another Unsung Hero of Christmas.

Sure you've heard stories of those who were overlooked. The 5th Beatle, the reindeer with the red nose. But did you ever hear the story about the 4th wise man?

There once was a wise man from India. His name was Paruhm Pa'Pumpum. He was visiting that night in the West end of Jerusalem, the night of the Christ child's birth. Paruhm could not help but to notice the very bright star in the East.

In Paruhm's amazement at this star, three wise men carrying gifts passed him. He asked the three men, where they were going with such fine gifts. "We were told by King Herod that the King of the Jews has been born this night, in Bethlehem. We were told that we shall find the child if we follow the star."

Paruhm wanted to join the wise men, but they stopped him. "What can you possibly give the King?" they asked. "I have my drum to play" said Paruhm Pa'Pumpum.

"We have gold, frankincense and myrrh as our gifts. Drums are too loud for such a small child. You shall be a disturbance" the men said. "And besides, there is only room for each of us on our three camels." This refusal saddened Paruhm.

Shortly after the men left Paruhm Pa'Pumpum, a group of angels appeared. After some confusion as to whether or not the star turned into three separate angels, Paruhm realised that the angels were sent to give him a message. "You too are to come and worship a saviour, he is Christ the Lord. Come" they told him.

So Paruhm traveled by foot by the light of the star all they way to Bethlehem. By that time, the three wise men had already visited the small child lying in the manger among lambs and oxen. Paruhm was overwhelmed with joy when he viewed the small baby. Although he had nothing that could compare with the precious metals and oils that the three wise men offered, Paruhm offered to play a song on his drum. "Shall I play for Him?" said Paruhm Pa'Pumpum. Mary nodded yes and he played his best for Him. The Baby Jesus smiled at Paruhm while he played his drum like he'd never played before.

It's sad how unsung heroes of yore often fall by the wayside. An attempt to acknowledge Paruhm was written in a song around 1958. But because of the powers to keep this historic person hidden from the history books, it was rewritten to hide his name within the song. Disguised as a drum rhythm, Paruhm's name is still unknown and has yet to recognized by the world.


Ok, actually this story was inspired by a student at work. We were listening to Christmas music when "The Little Drummer Boy" came on. The student laughed and told us that when he was a small boy, he wanted to know who Pa-rum-pa-pum-pum was. His mother never told him. He never knew the song was sounding out a drum rhythm. So I started thinking, wouldn't it be strange if there was actually a fourth wise man that never made it into the history books. I just thought I'd write a funny fictional story about this idea. Of course I kept imagining the voice of Khalil, for Paruhm. (The caterpillar from "Jonah, The Movie" from Veggie Tales).