Gear Reviews
Gretsch Electromatic Duo Jet
A while back I traded in some old gear I was not using, and browsed for something that might catch my eye. I saw a gold finish Electromatic Duo Jet hanging on the wall and decided to give it a try. I'd heard that these guitars were built in China and did not expect very much. Boy was I wrong.
This guitar has incredibly low, loose and fast action. The fret work was excellent (to be honest, much better than a 60s Classic Players Strat I own) and small fret wire lets my hands just fly up and down the neck. Very smooth and very comfortable. The guitar features 2 mini humbucker. The balance between the 2 is perfect. This is the first guitar I've owned that has mini humbuckers, and all I can say is I had no idea what I was missing. They give me a bit more heft than single coils, but are also sparkly and detailed. Definitely sounds like a Gretsch. Add an addictive Bigsby and you've got vibe to spare.
This guitar is a monster that plays as good or better than any guitar I own - including guitars costing 4 times as much. I can't help but wonder if the Chinese made models are this good, what must the American made top-of-the-line models be like?
If you've never played a Gretsch, you really should stop by Bob's and check one out. They usually have several in stock. They are unique, distinctive, and - yea, sexy - guitars that offer an alternative to the standard Fender/Gibson food groups.
You can a snippet of the guitar in action here.
Seymour Duncan Pickup Booster
I was poking around, looking for some pedals, and after picking Mason's brain he said "You gotta try this." He handed me the new Seymour Duncan Pickup Booster and let me give it a spin.
Flat out, this is the best boost pedal I have tried to date. It manages to sound incredibly transparent while somehow managing to round out the "fizz" that you sometimes heard when you slam a 12AX7 preamp tube. Add to this resonance filtering options that allow you to fine tune your pickups and you have a great sounding and versatile pedal. My experience has been that these filters work best with single coils. They really do give my Fenders a slightly rounder, humbucker like tone. Does it make them sound like a Les Paul? No, but they do gentle smooth out some upper mid-range in a very pleasant way.
The pedal solves a few issues I've had with some of my amps. I own a Fender Super-Sonic combo (an exceedingly loud amp). Like many Fenders, it sounds rather thin until you hit 2-or 3 on the volume knob. The problem is that the amp is screamingly loud at that level. The Seymour Duncan Pickup Booster, set to a 6bB boost (the smallest increment available) comes to the rescue by thickening up the sound nicely. I also own a Genz Benz Black Pearl, which offers a built in variable boost. While flexible, the internal boost sometimes sounds a bit too ragged for my taste. The Pickup Booster takes thing to a whole new level. When I dime the pedal with a 25dB boost, I get a very different gain. The sound becomes smooth, tactile and almost Marshall-like tone that cleans up perfectly with a twist of the guitar's volume knob. Push it even harder with a humbucker guitar and I get a perfect classic rock crunch. Very, very nice.
This pedal is very reasonably priced and runs for a very long time on a 9 volt battery (a nice plus!). If you've never tried a boost pedal you'll be surprised how flexible they can be.
Contact Information
Phone: (518) 561-5656
Location: 32 Plattsburgh Plaza, Plattsburgh NY