Bought a pedal the other day on a whim. Had seen it come across my Amazon feed a couple of times lately. Guess it's true that if you see something enough times you'll eventually click. Saw that it was $50 or something, but haven't been super impressed by the Nux pedals I've bought in the past, so I figured I would let this one go. Then it popped up on my " you might be interested" feed on Reverb.

I went ahead and clicked on that one. Guy was selling it for $30 + shipping. Shipping was half of what most folks were advertising. Less than most of the others with cheaper shipping. I made the guy my usual offer of the list price minus the price of shipping so that it would come out to his asking price of $30. That's not to say that the price wasn't fair already. He countered, and we met half way. Not a bad deal for either of us. It actually surprised me that he accepted because the pedal had only been posted a few hours.

It came in a day earlier than I was expecting, so I've gotten to play around with it for a couple of days now. Here are my initial thoughts and impressions.

I haven't researched this pedal more than a cursory google (to find prices more than anything). I believe that it's supposed to be an amp in a box along the lines of the Dumble Steel String Singer. I'm not positive of that, but I think it's right. If that is correct, then it's an amp in a box of a very expensive amp that is the stuff of legends.

I had a Vertex Steel String Clean Drive back a few years ago. I think I bought it in 2017. I never meshed with that pedal. I'm not sure if it was supposed to be a similar amp in a box or not. I just know I had other drive pedals that I liked better. So in the great gear purge of 2020, it went the way of the gear that left the casa. That pedal and this one have a similar look, but I don't know if they are the copies of the same thing so any comparisons between them may be unfair. I'll just say that, since they look so similar, my mind immediately went to the Vertex that I used to have and didn't really like, so my expectations were really low.

Pulled it out of the box, plugged a battery in, and started playing with it. In fairness, it has been exclusively through my Gibson ES-339 into my Spark amp's Dumble Over Drive Special model. That's the amp model I always use with that amp, so it's the one I used. Admittedly, I have not tried it through my Blackheart amps or using single coils yet. So this isn't an exhaustive review by any stretch.

Stuck all the knobs on the pedal at noon and the 339 on the neck pickup, hit a chord, and it sounded truly awful. It was so dark that it was bordering on being just muddy. That's a probably I've never had with the Gibson before. Checked the guitar to be sure that the tone wasn't still on 2 (where I've been using it on some jazz-ish stuff) and then cranked the tone (Filter) knob on the pedal all the way to the right. It lost the mud, but it was still dark enough that it's not something I would use. Fiddled around with the Vol and Gain knobs, and it didn't help. Well ok. My thought then was that I'd probably just turn around and sell it. Got a good price on it, so I should at least break even on it.

Switched to the middle position on the 339 and hit a chord. You know what, it doesn't sound half bad there. That bridge pickup pulls in enough high end that it balances the darkness on the neck pickup. Dialed the treble back on that Filter knob, played with the Vol and Gain some more, and it's not actually sounding too bad.

So I switched to the bridge pickup. Dialed the Vol to about 2 o'clock and the Gain back to about 9 or 10 o'clock and set the Filter on about 11 o'clock. Dude!! This pedal is sounding super good now. I sat and ran through jam track after jam track for about an hour just playing along with those settings, and was totally digging it!

So now I'm kind torn. My initial first impression what that I was going to flip it pretty quickly. It doesn't really work on the neck. But it sounds so good on the bridge that the thought actually crossed my mind that I should put it on my board to use for some lead tones. It also makes me really wonder what it's going to sound like with single coils. Since they're usually a little treblier than humbuckers (at least mine always seem to be), it makes me think it's going to be really good for those. I need to pull a Strat or Tele out of the closet to try them out with it.

So what's my verdict? I'm honestly not sure. I think in the right setting with the right guitar and amp it's going to sound really nice. However, from my experience with the neck pickup, if you don't have the right gear, it's going to sound pretty crappy. For the moment, I play that 339 almost exclusively. I'm not sure I want a pedal on the board that will only work on the bridge pickup, but it sounds so good there, I might give it a test run anyways.

Regardless, it sounds good enough on that bridge that I think I'm going to hang onto it for a while. I've got some recording ideas brewing where I think it might come in handy for some lead tones. After all, at $32 shipped, it's not like it's going to keep me from buying the next piece of gear if I keep it.

Does it sound like a Dumble? No idea. I don't have a Dumble that I can use to A/B it. On the bridge pickup of my 339 into an amp model of a Dumble ODS does it sound good? Absolutely with no question. Should you buy one? At $50 new, if you're curious and the money's burning a hole in your pocket, you can always get most of your money back if you don't like it. If you can catch a deal on one used on Reverb, it might be worth an afternoon's entertainment and you might actually like it.

Now I'm off to pull a Tele out of the closet and see how it sounds through that.

I've been buying pedals lately. Not that I need another pedal of any variety. It's just fun. Truth is, I'm about at that point that I need to put some up for sale or go trade them in or something because I'm running out of space. But maybe I'll sell some later. First I need to rant about a couple of things.

First. Reverb sellers I'm looking at you. If you're firm in your price, then say that in the listing, and turn the Make an Offer button off. I try not to lowball anyone. It irritates me when folks do that to me, and, if I wish folks wouldn't do it to me, then I shouldn't do it to them. It's the whole "do unto others" thing. If the Make an Offer button is there, I will typically click it and offer anywhere from 5% to 15% less than they're asking. Or, if they're charging shipping, I might go as high as offering  whatever the price is minus the shipping. And most folks are cool. They may not be interested in taking my offer, but they'll counter and throw me a bone, and give me a few bucks off. In my mind, that's how the game is played.

Lately, however, I've had several items that I've been interested in. The Make an Offer button is there and available, so I'll do my usual offering a little less. If you make an offer, Reverb gives 24 hours for you to reply before it expires.

Quick note: when I make an offer, I always make sure to check the box that, if they'll accept my offer, I'll buy the item.

So, back to the 24 hour expiration time frame. My experience has been that most folks that I've bought from have responded within just a few minutes. In each of the instances recently, the quickest response was one from last night that took 13 hours for me to get a response. And when I get the responses lately, it has been something along the lines of "my price is fair and firm. The price is $XX." 

Fair enough. You're not interested in dealing. I've sold stuff like that, but, when I did, I turned off the dang Offer button. And, in each of the instances recently, it took long enough for the seller to respond that I found what I think was a better deal. So, as soon as I got the Declined notice, I pulled the trigger on the other. Also, had the seller countered and just given me a few bucks off, I would've bought it from them despite finding the better deal. Also, also, it's been kind of vindicating to watching these recent items that I made the offers to the "fair and firm" sellers and got shot down. Every one of them is still for sale on Reverb. If they'd been cool and knocked even a couple bucks off the price and they would've sold their item. Instead, they're still waiting to sell them. Some of these could've sold last night and some could've sold a couple of months ago. And that's their prerogative. So if they're happy about it, then so am I.

Second thing is this. At least make an attempt to be objectively honest about the condition of what you're selling. I know that you think what you're selling is A+ condition and should command top dollar, but that may not actually be the case.

For instance, there is a pedal that I was looking at recently that said it was in Very Good condition. According to Reverb's grading verbiage says "Very Good items may show a few slight marks or scratches but are fully functional and in overall great shape." For your frame of reference, this pedal was a Boss pedal. You know what a Boss pedal looks like. Now here is my realistic description of this "very good" pedal.

The bottom of this pedal was missing the sticker. That's ok, but, in it's place was all this sticky looking white residue that looked like somebody had put duct tape on the bottom, let it sit for a year or two, and then pulled it off. The top of the pedal wasn't much better. The face plate was scratched in several places, and it had been stomped enough that you could mostly make out the Boss logo on the pedal. Then there were the sides. Oh the sides. Somebody had decided to write on the pedal. By scratching into the paint. So the pedal had their credo down the side of it in such a way that the only way to repair it would be to sandblast the case and repaint it. And they were calling this thing in Very Good condition.

I'm sure the pedal worked fine. Truth is, one of the reasons I saw it was because it was from a store that I have bought from in the past. Did I mention that it wasn't an individual selling this pedal? It was a flippin' store! That's one reason I don't buy used from GC online. My experience has been that you can buy something online from them that is listed as Excellent condition, and it is anything but excellent. Reverb is turning into the same kind of free for all it seems. The difference in Reverb and GC is that Reverb will generally have multiple pics that you can look at and judge a more accurate condition of it. GC you're lucky to get one out of focus pic where you're left to the mercies and judgement of whatever disinterested employee posted the listing. 

So to recap, if you sell used gear, here are two thing that will make you more successful in life. If you're not interested in entertaining offers, turn that button off. If you don't, don't be so condescending when you let someone know that you think your gear is worth what you're asking. Truth is, it probably is, but that means there are almost always better deals out there. Second, at least make an attempt at being objective about your gear. I know you've used it and think it should really be prices like an original Klon, but it's still used gear. If it's beat to heck, it's not in mint condition.

That is all. Go forth and buy some gear.

So back the end of April I finally did it. For the last couple of years, I've been trolling the interwebs looking for a really good deal on a specific guitar. I bought my Epi ES-339 back in like 2012 or whenever it is that they started making them. I missed the first run of them the previous fall (although I had my order in at that point), so I got mine the following spring when production on them really ramped up. Although it hasn't been on the stand the entire time, it's a guitar that I have continually gone back to. Also, I pulled it out of the closet in 2017 for a blues jam I was going to, and it only went back into the closet when I did this thing.

I've really liked the size of the 339. Not as big as a 335 and not as heavy as an LP. When it's clean, it can get that airy sound of a 335, but can growl like an LP. When you play it, it's pretty obviously not either of those, but it can give a reasonable facsimile of either. It leans closer to the LP though. It can get that jazz vibe and still be rock and roll. Or it can be a total blues machine. The more I played that Epi, the more I liked it, and the more I wanted an really nice one.

So I started looking for one. I was looking mostly at Gibsons, but I had seen a couple of Collings that were that size that were really nice. The Collings would've been my first choice, but they are/were just soooo expensive. More than I could really rationalize paying anyways. If I ended up going for a Collings, I didn't care what the aesthetic or year would be. If I got the Gibson, I really wanted a light caramel version that was pre-Memphis factory closing. Also, if I got a Gibson, I wanted a real 339 and not one of the Studio models. That was mostly because I had gotten a 335 Studio (not the 2-knob version) and it just never did it for me.

Anyways, I had narrowed it down to those two models, and had just been looking for one that was a price that I was willing to pay. Being as selective as I was being, no matter how you sliced it, it wasn't going to be a cheap guitar. I had a couple pop up on my Reverb feed over the course of those couple of years that would've met my hopeful price range, but they went extremely quickly. 

One afternoon, one showed up that fit the bill all the way around. And it was on the other side of the Metroplex and not somewhere across the country. I wouldn't call it a screamin' deal, but the price was actually the lowest I had seen for one like I wanted. Looking at the listing, it had been posted only an hour before. So I emailed the store.

Surprisingly, they immediately responded, and the sales person told me that I probably wanted to call on the guitar because it had already generated more than usual interest. I gave them a call and talked about the guitar. They asked if I wanted it, and I explained that, if I did, I was going to want to do some trading to get the cost down so I'd have to call him back. He told me, "I promise I'm not trying to pressure you on this one, but do whatever thinking you need to do quickly." Talked it over with Mrs Snarf, looked at a couple of guitars I had in the closet, and called them back. Told him I wanted it and asked if he could hold it until I could get over to the store the next day. He said he could only hold it with a deposit, and he wouldn't recommend on just hoping it would be there the next day. So I put down a 10% deposit.

Since I put the deposit down, I actually waited a couple of days to drive across the Metroplex to finish working out the deal. Got to the store, played on it for a couple of minutes, and then got my trade guitars out of the truck. We got the deal worked out and got the cash out of pocket down to about half of what they were asking. I paid the man and started to put it back in the case to bring it home.

That's when the sales guy told me this. He said that he really wasn't trying to do the sales pressure thing on me with the guitar. He said as he saw my email come in asking about it, a guy came into the store and picked it up. The guy plugged it in and sat down and started playing it. He sat there playing it the entire time (probably 20 minutes) that he and I were going back and forth with phone calls. He said that he could tell the guy was actually interested in the guitar and not somebody that was just killing time by playing it. After he hung up from the call where I put down the deposit, he said he walked over to the guy to tell him it had just sold on the phone. As he got up to the guy to tell him, the customer looked up and said, "I'm really liking this guitar. I think I'm going to take it." So the salesman had to tell him that he had just missed out. According to the salesman, if I'd drug my feet just a minute or two longer, he would've been telling that to me.

I don't know if that was him giving me a good sales story to make me feel better about buying it, but I felt like he wasn't feeding me a line with it. And if that's the case, I guess I got lucky with it. The guitar I had been wanting at a lower price than I had been seeing other places. So I present to you, my new-to-me 2007 Gibson ES-339. I know I've only had it a couple of months, but it is absolutely without question the best electric I own. There's a LOT to be said about Gibson's QC issues the last few years (the ES-335 I bought was a case in point for that), but when they built this 339, the got it right.

I watched the new Batman flick the other day.  You know, the new one with Team Edmond or Edward or Emmett or Everett or whoever the vampire guy was.  I was pleasantly surprised and disappointed all at the same time.

Now, I must confess up front, that I am a Batman fan.  Always have been.  Speaking of Team, I have always been Team Bats and not Team Supes.  Batman could take Superman.  And he was just a regular guy with gadgets who wasn't actually bulletproof.  Also, a dang rock in the same room wasn't going to hurt him unless somebody threw it at him.  Because of it, yes, I have always had pretty strong thoughts on the Batman movies.  

So, on my day off last week, I sat through the new flick.  Knowing that Vampire Guy, who I'm going to just call Vampy from here out, was the title character, I went into the movie with no expectation other than Vampy was going to ruin it.  I've never liked the guy.  Something about him has just always bugged me.  To avoid a total tome, here are my abridged thoughts on what I watched.

His Batman character was really good.  I think Vampy did a good job there.  I really liked some of the changes that they made to how Bats did things.  His costume looked kind of like a tactical uniform.  He had modern gadgets he could utilize.  They didn't seem to want to keep the character in 1950.  Or even 2005.  They actually showed him doing the Clark Kent in the phone booth thing, too, as he'd duck into a closet with his backpack to turn into Bats.  He was what I would have expected Batman to be if he was just a normal guy.  He could even get hurt.  He wasn't a character I would call Bats, but he was definitely Batman.

His Bruce Wayne character sucked total monkey butt.  Somehow he managed to make him all emo without dressing him in all black with black eyeliner.  Bruce Wayne is a billionaire playboy that has money to burn and doesn't mind flaunting that fact.  In my opinion, his treatment of Bruce turned him into a whining, sniveling man-child.  I almost got the idea that he was not only embarrassed to be so wealthy, but he resented it.  In thinking, however, that have been due to modern society's young people loudly proclaiming that the 1% are evil because they have no lack of money, and they can't have the protagonist of the movie being evil for that reason.  Bruce Wayne, in that movie, was a loser.  SPOILER ALERT:  Before I realized who the villain in the movie was, I honestly thought that Bruce Wayne was acting more like I always envisioned Edward Nygma would act (notice I didn't say The Riddler).  Not really sure why because Jim Carrey and that guy who played him in Gotham didn't play him that way, and their versions I think are great.  Vampy's Bruce Wayne wouldn't've been a motorcycle rider.  He would've driven something like a 2003 Corolla that was missing at least one hubcap.  I know there are different DC universes, and I haven't read all of them, but I don't Vampy portrayed Bruce Wayne.  He portrayed his long lost cousin who introduces himself as "Kamran...sounds like Cameron with a C but mine's spelled with a K, 1 M, and 2 A's...Kamran."

Speaking of alternate universes.  SPOILER ALERT:  I also didn't like the way they portrayed Thomas Wayne as less than honorable.  I know it was the bad guy's that were mostly doing it, but Thomas Wayne was never a bad guy.  He was always an upstanding citizen trying to  make Gotham the best place he could.

That brings me to Selina Kyle.  I never was a big fan of this character prior to Gotham.  The girl that played her there did a bang up job and totally changed my mind about Selina Kyle.  When the movie started it was pretty obvious from the get-go who Zoe Kravitz's character was even before anyone mentioned her name.  I was initially super skeptical.  But she did a great job in that role.  She was the standout character of the movie to me.

Then there was Alfred.  Poor, poor Alfred.  The Alfred character here fit in with the Bruce Wayne character.  This is already getting too long, so I won't bore you with details, but this was not Alfred.  This was Bruce Wayne's creepy Uncle Al.  In my opinion, as far as movies go, Michael Caine will always be Alfred.  He is exactly as I had always imagined him to be.  This guy that played Vampy's caretaker was not.

The antagonist in the movie (SPOILER ALERT) was The Riddler.  It was not my favorite version of that character, but he kept my attention.  I'm not sure if I like Jim Carrey's very comic version (riddle me this, riddle me that, who's afraid of a big black bat) or the character that was on Gotham, but, although not a bad Riddler, the one in the movie wasn't as good as either of those I didn't think.

All the periphery cast (Lt Gordon, etc) were just there.  I can't say any of them really stood out for being good or bad.  

Overall, I mostly enjoyed the movie.  It probably ranks low-middle in my Batman movie rankings.  Not bad.  Not great.  But I'm sure I'll end up watching it again.

There's a term that I first heard several years ago that always made me laugh. I actually saw a couple of folks talking about it online the other day and reminded me of it. Never thought it applied to me. Still don't. But somebody asked me recently if I was one. The term is "blues lawyer."

I've always thought that a blues lawyer was someone that had arrived at a certain stage or position in life, had plenty of expendable income, and bought really expensive gear because they could.  They may or may not play the gear they buy.  They may or may not play out, but they probably play mostly at home than anywhere.  And, when they play, they only know 4 or 5 licks in the minor pentatonic box 1 and don't really work to expand out of that, but they play their 12 bar worth of licks as if they were a local guitar hero.  If you listen to the naysayers, they're, also, the ones that are keeping the various Custom Shops and boutique makers in business.  Also, a blues lawyer doesn't actually have to be a lawyer.

I have never felt like I fit that role.  Several reasons why.  I own more budget gear than I do expensive gear.  I work to get beyond those 4 or 5 licks, and work to someday be able to consider myself an actual musician.  Most of the gear I have gets played on a pretty regular basis.  I don't own enough boutique gear  to ever be accused of keeping anyone in business, and I own exactly nothing from a custom shop.

Those accused of being blues lawyers often get a bad rap.  It is said that they drive the price of gear up, especially vintage gear.  They're sometimes accused of being cork-sniffers because they buy the nicest gear and don't/won't buy anything less than the absolute best.  

But imho, there's room in the music world for them.  The beauty of music is that you can do with it what you want to do.  If a blues lawyer sits in their little home studio and has fun playing the same lick over and over ad infinitum, then that makes them happy.  Who am I to, in the words of Jayne Cobb, damage their calm.

As well, look it from this perspective.  It may be that they have that Custom Shop Strat playing through a Dumble amp.  So what if what they paid on their guitar and amp would make a nice down payment on a house.  It may've been their dream to some day own a guitar and amp like that.  They worked hard, put in the hours, eventually managed to see some return on their hard work, and so they decide to buy their dream gear.  Who am I to say that they don't deserve what they bought, and they should, instead, buy a Squier Strat and play it through a cheap amp.

I'm going to unfairly generalize here, but it seems that often those that criticize the blues lawyers are those that wouldn't admit it, but would trade their gear with them in a heart beat.  For whatever reason, they haven't attained the status in life that the blues lawyer has.  They may be much younger and just starting out in their career.  They may be well into their career, but haven't been able to accumulate the kinds of disposable income it takes to buy expensive gear.  They may be ragging on them because it's the cool thing to do.  They may even just be taking part in the current rage against the upper class because they have more money.  Doesn't change the fact that they wouldn't hesitate to play the same gear as the more fortunate if they were given the chance, and they wouldn't even hesitate to do it.

The one asking me if I was a blues lawyer did so for 2 reasons.  They found out that I have a closet full of guitars, and they found out that I have a Klon (even though it's a KTR).  I'm not a blues lawyer.  Although I think that those that are should change the narrative, and wear the badge proudly.  In the words of my best bud's dad growing up, just because you're a blues lawyer doesn't mean that you've got more money than sense.  It just means that you can afford to buy what you want.  And that's not necessarily a bad thing.  Some people drive Porsches, and some people drive Yugos.  Some people drive what they drive by choice, and some do so out of necessity.  The guitar community isn't any different.

Put together a small board this evening.  5 pedals that I'm already thinking I'm going to swap at least a couple of them out tomorrow.   If for no other reason, I wanted to use my Lovepedal Kalamazoo sorta-copy (my Tone City Durple), but it's got a side mounted power port, and I'm having trouble getting it plugged in.  So I'm probably going to stick a Rat copy on it.  Which isn't even close to the same pedal.  But the power jack is on the top and the input/output jacks are on the side where they should be.

That got me to thinking.  So here are some musings on pedals.  And boards.

• I tend to overthink putting a board together.  It all looks good tonight, but the next morning I know there will be at least one or two that get swapped out.
• I am beginning to hate, loathe, and utterly despise those pedals that have the power plug on the side.
  • Not to pick on them because some of them sound great, but my experience seems to be that it's the more budget friendly pedals that use the side power thing.  There are exceptions to this (looking at you Lovepedal).
• I'm, also, beginning to dislike pedals with their input and output jacks on the top where the power should plug in.  Pedal makers, please quit using top mounted jacks.  If you don't have the right cable, you can't plug the power in.
• Since I saw one for the first time like 5 years ago, I have been working to only use non-velcro attachments to the pedal board whenever possible.  Zip ties generally work, but can fit awkwardly sometimes.  I really like those rail boards, but I can't put anything that doesn't have a square side on them.  I may be about to come full circle and go back to using velcro again.
• I'm always excited to get a new board to try out until I try it out.  That's when I see that the board that was such a good idea has a feature or two that the manufacturer either didn't consider or over which they just threw up their hands, said "screw it," and sold it anyways.
  • The board I got tonight does this.  It came with handles that you can attach if you want, but, if you do, you effectively cannot put anything within a few inches of the left side (or you can't plug your guitar in) or the the right side (or you can't plug anything in to go to your amp).  So I guess I won't be using the handles on it.  Or I have to find first and last pedals on the board that have top mounted jacks.  See my previous comment about top mounted jacks. 
• I still want to try one of those boards (or make one) where the input and output for the board plug into the side of the board and not a pedal.  That strikes me as a good idea.  That way, if you wanted, you could put the first pedal in your chain in the middle.  Or where ever you want because it doesn't have to go on an end somewhere.
• The verdict is still out on manufacturers that no longer have battery compartments.  I totally get it for mini-pedals.  There's no room for  a battery in those.  But I'm still of the mind that a full size pedal should have that option...even if I'm not using it.
• I love my OneSpot.  I've actually got a couple of them.  I just wish I knew what to do with all that extra wire when I'm only powering like 3 pedals with it.

I mentioned a post or two back that my wife got me one of those Spark amps for Christmas.  She got me the Spark Pearl variety.  Now that I've had it for a month, I feel like I can give it an unbiased review.  And I've really been digging it!

First impression out of the box was that it's bigger than I expected, but that's because I had gotten the idea that it was tiny for some reason.  Rough guess is that it's roughly 7" tall x 7" deep x 14" wide.  The width is what caught me off guard.  I was thinking it'd be more like 10" wide.  Even so, it's small enough to be used as a travel amp.  I wouldn't fly with it because it's not going to fit in a suitcase, but it's small enough to stash in the back on a road trip.

The one that I got is the white version they call Pearl.  It doesn't have a handle, but inside the box is a tolex strap to carry it.  The strap buttons on it are pretty standard guitar size, so, if you wanted, you could actually just use a guitar strap for that.  Also in the box was the power supply, some basic documentation, a usb cable, a card to remind you to sign up for your free copy of Presonus Studio One Prime (which is always free from Presonus), and a carrying case. 

The carrying case seems to be well enough made.  I think it's made out of cordura.  I don't see this amp as being a road dog, and the case, to me, seems to be made to match that.  It'll take the rigors of the occasional trip, but I don't think it'd hold up to constant use.  I could be wrong on that.  Even though it's not something that I would use often, I do appreciate its inclusion.  Since it was included, the chances of me taking it on a trip are much greater.

The amp itself seems to be well made.  The fit and finish seem to be there.  It feels solid to me.  On the control face, you have 7 types of amps along with all the expected controls (gain, B/M/T, Master Vol, mod, delay, and reverb effects,  and Output Vol.  It has a tap tempo button as well as 4 user selectable slots where you can save your favorite amp model.  There is a separate volume for whatever you're piping into it through your bluetooth.  The amp also has a 1/8" aux input on the back.  I haven't used that input so I can't really say if it's good or bad.  All that said, the amp is really intended to be used along with the app.

The app is where the amp really shines if you choose to use it.  It increases the amp models from 7 to 33, and it gives you a whole slew of additional effects.  I'm not going to list all of those out, but you can find them easily enough on the interwebs.  The app gives you control over all the amp models and effects.  You don't like the crunchy amp?  Well just go into the app and change the Marshall to a Vox model.  Chorus too swirly?  Go into the app and reset the parameters for that effect.  Don't like something?  You can probably change it in the amp.

The app also has a section in it where you can go and find jam tracks and play along with them.  If you're not the best at following chord changes, that section has a feature that tells you what chord to play and when to change to the next.  The times I have watched it, it usually seems to be pretty close on the timing and the chords.  There have been a couple of times that it was off a bit, but it's close enough for having fun.

Since the app connects through bluetooth, you can also use the amp as a bluetooth speaker.  That's actually my favorite use for the amp.  I'll connect it to my phone (even without the app), turn on my Amazon music, and jam to whatever playlist I turn on.  Or, I'll go to my practice files, put one of them on, and use it for actual practice time.

The thing on the app that I like the best is the amp/effect section that works in conjunction with the 4 buttons on the top of the amp.  You can set up your favorite tones by bringing in your fave amp model, setting it just right, and then adding the effects that you want to use with it.  Save that, and then, just by hitting the button, you have your favorite amp ready for use.  

Pretty quickly after I started playing with the amp, I had those 4 user selection slots filled up.  1 is set for a smooth, clean tone.  2 is set for some Vox-y crunch.  3 is set to a Fender Bassman kind of sound.  And 4 is set for more Vox-y crunch.  I really need to edit one so I don't have 2 Vox sounds, but I spend most of my time on slot 1 since it has become my practice amp.

One complaint I've heard online is that the amp is too dependent on the app.  Although I can see why they say this, I don't really agree with them.  Granted, without the app you don't have access to all the amp models and all the effects, but you can change any of the parameters using the knobs on the amp.  You want a clean sound with a little chorus and reverb, you just click the knob to the Clean amp model, adjust the Mod and Reverb knobs, and you have a clean amp with chorus and reverb. 

The user selection slots really work well for that.  Pick the amp that you want, couple it with the effects that you want, save it, and then just remember which slot it is.  Makes it easy.  Then when you go to adjust, for instance, the reverb, you know exactly what reverb you're changing.  And, you can choose the amp model/effects through the button on the face of the amp, and then adjust everything within that selection from the knobs.  Truth is, outside of just playing around, since I setup my 4 presets, I hardly ever use the app.  But it's nice to know it's there if I want it.

The overall sound on the amp is good.  The amp models in this amp are more impressive than the amp models on the very first modeling amp I bought nearly 15 years ago now.  Since it also works as a bluetooth speaker, it seems they set it up to be more full range speakers (read here more bass response) than your usual guitar amp, but tweaking the EQ on the amp models or changing the EQ knobs on the amp, and you can get around that a little bit.  Not totally, but enough that your guitar sounds like it should.  It's also louder than I thought I was going to be.  In my little practice space, I usually have it turned to about 9 o'clock - that's only 1/4 of the way up.

Overall, in the month that I've used it, I've been really happy with it.  I wanted one to replace the little Fender GDEC amp I've been using for 10 years.  I used it solely because it had the SD card slot on the front where I would put jam tracks or practice songs/scales/whatever so I could play along with them.  I never actually used it with my guitar.  Everything the last few years has gone streaming, so I thought it would be nice to get an amp that had bluetooth capability.

That is where the Spark really shines for me.  Like I mentioned, I can easily connect my phone (or laptop), bring up Amazon music, and play along to whatever I want.  The amp models and effects also sound good enough that I actually use this one as a guitar amp and not just a music player.  I have an Xbox in my music room as well, and, truth to tell, I use the Spark as a bluetooth speaker when I'm gaming.  Not for the games, but like I described a second ago, to listen to music while I'm playing.

I've been impressed enough with my Spark that I'll give it 6 strings out of 6.  The longevity of the amp is still to be determined, but it seems to be built well enough to withstand and survive normal wear and tear.  It sounds great as a bluetooth speaker thanks to those full range speakers.  The amp models and effects that I use (I'm not a high gain person so can't really judge those) are pretty believable.  I can change most anything through the knobs on the top.  The app is really cool and gives access to a whole host of other amp and effect parameters.  It's not going to be something that you're slogging to gigs, but as a practice amp, this is a great piece of kit.  

As usual, the pics below aren't mine.  I ripped them from the Positive Grid website.  They always seem to have a sale going on their site, and, as of the moment, I believe they're running $269 direct from the manufacturer or $359 from your favorite retailer.

Also, bonus points to you if you get my joke in the title.  Although, to get it, you probably had to grow up in a Baptist church in the south during the 80s.

So I mentioned in my Best Gear of 2021 post that my new Epiphone 335 was the best gear I had bought last year.  I still think that.  I still don't see it becoming my main player, but, lately, it's the one that I've grabbed first when I walk into my music room.  It's just a fun guitar to play, and it sounds really nice.

It's a gold top.  Cream colored binding but all the rest of the plastic is black.  Epiphone's Alnico Classic Pro pickups are in it.  If I remember correctly, those are Epi's version of Gibson's 57 Classics, with the Pro signifying that they're 4-wire instead of 2-wire.  Aesthetically, the one thing I wish they would've done would have been to paint the inside edge of the f-holes black instead of body colored (gold).  The Gibson 335 I had for a while had that, and I just always thought it looked better that way.  I haven't measured it, but I think it has the same neck that is on my Standard 50s Les Paul.  It has that same handful of a feel that I've come to really like instead of the really thin necks that a couple of my older Epiphones have.

Sonically, it's not bad.  That's not to say that it's not good.  It is.  But, remembering back to the Gibson, the Epi pickups sound nice, but they're not as articulate as the ones that were in the Gibson.  Granted, that's sitting in the quiet of my practice space.  It's not something I think I would notice if I were playing out somewhere.  It may also be that I'm not remembering the 57 Classics as they really sounded.  After all, it's been over a year since I traded that one off.  I'm in no hurry to upgrade the pickups (they really do sound pretty good), but it is something that I will probably end up doing some day.  Kind of like my Gretsch, one day I'll come across the right pickups for the right price, and I'll know that it's time to go ahead and upgrade them.  Until then, they will definitely serve the purpose.

Playability is just fine.  The action out of the box (out of the store?) was right about what I would've tried to dial in, so, after I got it home, all I did was clean up the guitar-store-funk on it and change the strings.  After playing it for a while, one thing I do need to do to it is get it back on the bench and smooth some of the frets up in the squeaky-zone.  I don't play up there on a real regular basis, but I've been working some stuff that has a bend on the 17th fret, and every time I hit it, I think it scrapes a little bit.

It's turning out to be a great guitar.  It didn't just blow me away like the Standard 50s Les Paul did.  But, in all fairness, it was that Probucker 1 at the neck of the LP that continues to pull me back to that guitar.  I just really like that sound of that pickup in that guitar.  So, didn't blow me away, but it did reach out and grab me at the store, make me take it home, and continues to make me leave it out on the stand and grab it at some point most every day.  

Bang for the buck, dollar to value ratio, whatever you want to call it, Epiphone continues to step up their game.  This new 335 just further convinces me of that.

As I have the done the last few years, I bought more gear than I need this year.  Truth is, I guess all the gear I bought this year was more than I needed, because I haven't really needed any of it.  But that's another post.  This year, I've bought guitars and pedals and more pedals and more guitars over the course of the last 12 months.  Here is where I'm going to talk about some of it.  Also, just so you know, I might mention something even if I bought it used.  It's new to me, so I'm calling it new gear.

First up is easily the worst piece of gear I bought this year.  And it's really the only thing I bought this year that I thought was bad.

It's my Squier Classic Vibe Telecaster in Metallic Purple.  Admittedly, I bought it from overseas, and that may've been part of the problem; it didn't have a US warranty that would cover the problems out of the box,  The store did what they could to try to make it right, but it was just a hassle from my end, and, even after taking it to my local luthier, it has never played like it should.  Out of the box, half the strings were thumpy and wouldn't ring out.  They set it up real good and did some work to the nut, and it fixed the problem for about a day. 

After a couple of days of letting the guitar set-in, the bass side turned thumpy.  Granted, now it's just one string rather than three, but it's still the same problem.  I really wanted a purple Tele when I saw them last year, and figured I'd get the Squier instead of the Fender because it was half the price.  The Squier ended up being a bust.  It's now my beater that I use when I travel because, if it got stolen, I wouldn't care a bit.  About six months after I bought the Squire, I went ahead and ponied up for the purple Fender.  It's a much better guitar.  It didn't make my list of best gear this year, but I wasn't irritated after buying it.  I should've bought it in the first place.

And the obligatory side note and disclaimer since I only know of one shop that sells that Tele.  I'm not linking the guitar.  Also, I have no qualms with the store that sold it to me.  They tried to make it right and paid for some of the repair work done on it.  I've bought stuff from them before and after that Tele.  I just happened to get a bum guitar.  I blame that on Squier and not them.

Now for some of the best gear I bought this year.  And I'm going to link them all through the site where I bought them in case you want to see them.  The GC purchase was my local GC even though I have the link to the website.

The third best gear purchase this year was the Electro Harmonix Satisfaction Fuzz.  It's not the first fuzz pedal I've owned, but it's the first that I really like.  I'm not a huge fan of fuzz.  I get tired of fuzz pretty quickly.   This one, however, gave me that fuzzy sound without sounding like all the rest of the fuzz pedals.  It's a little different.  To my ear, a little tighter fuzziness.  And I liked it.  I think I have 5 fuzz pedals in the closet, and, since I bought it, this is the one that I have reached for every time I grab a fuzz.

In the number 2 slot would be the Fulltone Dejavibe.  The one with the foot pedal.  Ever since I first heard it, I have like that vibe-y sound.  If I'm going to have any sort of modulation effect on my board, it's a univibe.  And this pedal does that sound perfectly.  I like that it has the foot pedal so I can speed the vibe up or slow it down as I play.  I don't remember what I paid for it right off, but I do remember that I watched the used prices for about 2 months before I bought one.  When I did, I remember thinking I got a great deal on it.  Looking at the current prices on Reverb, I got a screamin' deal.

Best gear purchase this year would pretty easily be my Epiphone ES-335 in gold.  Oddly enough, it was a purchase that was almost an impulse buy. 

The Sunday after Thanksgiving I wandered to my local GC to look at a 335-type guitar.  I had heard good things about the Sire brand, and wanted to test drive one, and the website showed my store had a couple in stock.  So I took myself down to try them out.  Didn't like them.  Something about the neck.  They felt really thin to me...almost like playing on a toothpick.  But I saw down the row a gold thinline, and I had never seen one before, so I picked it up.  It was an Epiphone.  Didn't have a price on it.  Sat and played on it for probably 10 minutes.  Then plugged it into an amp and played another 10 minutes.  Loved it!  It sounded pretty good, and the neck was nice and chunky, so it felt good to play too.

I hadn't planned on buying the Sire even if I liked it, and I certainly hadn't planned on buying anything else.  But, since I had never seen a gold top 335, and I was totally digging it while I played, so I found a sales guy and asked how much it was.  Apparently, they had a Black Friday sale still going on, so the price sounded more than fair.  I left with it.  It hasn't turned into my favorite guitar (that's still the LP from last year), but it definitely sees a lot of play time.  It, that LP, and an acoustic are the 3 that have been out on stands since I bought it.  Epi has really stepped up their game the last few years.  My last two purchases from that brand prove that.  I may have to do a little fuller review on this guitar later on.

Honorable mention only because I have only had it a week so my opinion is still forming about this one.  The Positive Grid Spark Pearl amp.  My wife surprised me with this for Christmas last weekend.  She went ahead and gave it to me because it came in while we were out of town, and so when we walked in, I saw the box sitting on the counter with a big Positive Grid stamp on the side.  Since she knew that I knew that would only be one thing, she went ahead and let me open it.  It's a practice amp.  It's not something I'm ever going to try to gig with.  As long as you keep that in mind, it's got a LOT of functionality, and seems to be a lot of fun.  It had only been out of the box for a few minutes before I was dialing in some sounds that I like.  The app is pretty intuitive and easy to use.  Course it also has the controls right there on the amp, and they do just what you think they do.  I think, as much as anything, I like the fact that I can use it as a bluetooth speaker, play my Amazon music through it, and play along at the same time.  This may actually turn out to be my fave piece of gear this year, but, since I just got it, the verdict is still out.  Something else I may have to do a little more thorough review on later on.

So what was your fave guitar gear from this year?  Or the gear you hated?  Let me know so I can either get it too or avoid it.

I don't play the lottery.  Somebody bought me some tickets once for Christmas, and that's the only time I've ever held any in my hot little hands.  But once a year I partake in my version of the lottery.  The Premier Guitar Mystery Stocking.  This year, like last, the buy-in was $40.

I think I've mentioned in the past that the very first year they held this, I got a pedal along with the general box.  Ever since, all I've gotten has been the general box.  This year was no different.  But, since so many folks always get the box and then complain about it not being worth it, I always like to talk about what was in it.

This year, the box was about like the last couple.  When adding it up, it indeed had more than $40 worth of stuff in it.  Which is the only thing they promise.  And, yes, that's more than $40 worth of stuff using street price on the stuff and not MSRP.  Because nobody actually pays MSRP.  So here's what I got.

A Gibson beanie hat.  Retail price is $20.  This was the big thing in the box (sorta).  I don't really wear beanies, and this one doesn't make me want to start.  It's black with the Gibson logo patch-thing on it.  It has a small bill on it.  On the rare occasion that I do wear a beanie-type hat, I'm not looking for it to have a bill.  Call me old.  Or odd.  Or whatever.  But I have a beanie that I bought 20+ years ago that I still wear when I need one.  I like it, and it's finally broken in just right.  Seriously, since I only wear it a couple of times a year here in TX, it's finally getting broken in good.  And it doesn't have a brim of any sort.  My wife said she'd wear it though, so I guess that means it'll get used.

Then there was  Fender headstock tuner.  Retail price is $15.  It's not the kind that I like, but the one that I got in the box last year (that I really like) needs a new battery, so it's kind of timely.  So score on the tuner.

The other big item was a D'Addario strap.  Retail price is $20.  I've gotten a strap every year, and this is the first one that isn't going to immediately get tossed into the give-away box.  It's colorful.  I like it.  I've got a nice leather strap (or two) that I really like, but I've always carried a cheap strap for a backup.  I think this is going to be the new backup strap.

Last thing was a EMG Active Pickup lanyard.  This looks like a guitar show giveaway item, so I'm going to say no cash value on this one.  The only place I use a lanyard is at work.  I have a 50th Anniversary Stratocaster lanyard that I have used for 15 or so years.  This isn't one that I'm going to use.  It'll go in the give away box with the one the D'Addario one I got last year.

So this year's basic box, which is what I believe I got, had a value of $55.  Once again, PG was right.  It was worth more than the purchase price.  Also, once again, it wasn't $40 worth of stuff that I actually wanted or will even use.  But, I like the fun of trying to get one for the chance that I might actually get something really cool.  For me, this is my annual lottery ticket purchase.  Or raffle ticket.  Or whatever you want to call it.  But I think it's fun.  And they even got them out earlier this year. 

All in all, I think PG did a good job with it this year.  So, until next year's box...