When it comes to guitar overdrive pedals, there are countless options. To achieve the purest of musical overdriven tone, true bypass circuits and hand-wired boutique pedals are where it’s at.
NEW Fulltone Plimsoul Pedal
A few new boutique overdrive pedals that offer a broad range, quality tones, and great special features are the Fulltone Plimsoul and the Flickinger Cranky Atom.
Fulltone has taken overdrive to the next level without making a complicated package. Four very interactive knobs allow a variety of classic Fulltone drive settings in one great pedal that lives up to the hype. With most OD’s you have soft clip (TS style) or hard clip (OCD style). The Plimsoul allows you to customize the amount with its stage knob while also allowing a broad range of level, sustain and hi-cut. The stage knob has an LED light that indicates how dirty your signal is getting. The Plimsoul pedal offers amazing touch-sensitivity, cleans up well, interacted with the guitars volume knob, and offers something for just about every overdriven style of guitar. And for the price, there isn’t much that can beat it! This could very well become the new standard in overdrive.
Flickinger Tone Box Cranky Atom Pedal
Another great new overdrive pedal is the Flickinger Cranky Atom. Richard Flickinger of Raleigh North Carolina is making great hand-wired and hand-painted pedals that are based on classic effects with a unique twist. Flickinger Tone Boxes respond very well to dynamics. It seems as though this line of effects has been designed with a wide variety of styles in mind and caters to players who really know how to make the best of pedal and guitar technique interaction. The Cranky Atoms tone stack is interesting because when every knob is dialed in 100% you’re essentially bypassing the EQ settings. In order to dial in the amount of treble, mid or bass you desire, you subtract the other two and they will interact with the boosted setting. What’s unique about the volume and gain of this pedal is that its range is designed to take your tone from a clean boost to an overdriven 15watt tweed amp “pushed to an inch of its life” as Richard explains. Combining that with an interactive tone stack truly allows your tone to be shaped in ways you may not have been able to achieve with other pedals. This is especially true in the vintage amp tone segment. And like all Flickinger Tone Boxes, they’re available in a variety of custom box colors so you’re bound to be one of only a few people to have that scheme and in some cases you can purchase a one-of-a-kind color for only ten bucks more than the standard pedal!
With all of the overdrive options out there, it’s hard to find the one that will do everything you need without getting complicated or tone-robbing. We find these new offerings to be amazing options and we highly recommend trying them out. You may find the ideal overdrive you’ve been looking for all your life.
In context of the release of our latest video of Millennia preamps in action, we wanted to make a little blog entry… If you watch this video, you will here us using this preamp on electric guitars, acoustic guitars, pedal steel, drums, sax, piano, vocals, and more! All recordings are completely unprocessed and un-manipulated, recorded completely dry without any EQ, compression, or other affect, through our very own Millennia mic preamps here at Sound Pure Studios.
In most professional recording studios there is a baseline mic pre. A starting point. A preamp that typically always works, gives you a sound that you can rely on and trust, and a preamp by which all of the other Mic Pres in your studio are judged. In our studio, a studio that is equipped with a huge variety of the finest mic preamps in the world, our base line is the Millennia HV3.
The Millennia TD-1: An incredibly versatile Mic Pre and DI with EQ and RE-amping capability
Millennia Media utilizes the same great HV3- mic preamp circuit, in their large product range, and you will hear recordings made with a variety of Millennia mic preamps that we actually own, here at Sound Pure studios, including:
1) The Millennia TD1- an incredibly versatile DI with re-amping capability, and Mic Pre that features an EQ and Millennia’s legendary “Twin Topolgy” for added tube coloration – be sure and check out our videos on the amazing TD1.
2) The Millennia Origin, model STT1. A mind-blowingly flexible channel-strip powerful enough to track any instrument or vocal, and that can be turned around and used in mixing or mastering. It has a world-class Parametric EQ, Compressor, and again, Twin Topology allowing for added tube coloration as needed. Check out our other videos of our Studio’s Origins in action.
Each Millennia preamp includes the same amazingly quiet HV3 circuit with unbelievable specs, and a sound that is clean, detailed, transparent, wonderfully neutral and completely accurate. Millennia mic preamps are known as THE standard in for classical and jazz, but, they are wonderful in recording studios, whether you are tracking pop, rock, hip-hop, or anything else. The Millennia preamps consistently present the sound coming out of the microphone in a pure way. It doesn’t matter if you are using small diaphragm mics or large diaphragm tube mics, the Millennia is a great choice if you like what the mics are giving you.
If the sound coming out of the mic is great, the Millennia will present that sound as-is, free of artifacts and distortion… OR… it will present a sound full of them, if that is what your mics are picking up!
Millennia HV3d 8 channel Mic Preamp
Millennia’s slogan is “there is no undo on your mic preamp” … this absolutely rings true to us here at Sound Pure. With our wealth of post-production possibilities and signal processors, when we want to capture sounds that we can rely on right out of the gate, with all their detail and nuance, we turn to our Millennia mic preamps, knowing we can always manipulate and color these recordings later.
Since we are constantly testing new equipment, be it microphones, guitar amps, or acoustic guitars, we have to know that the sound that we are getting from these varied sources is accurate depiction. In fact, when Producer Mike Deming came in to test and demo his Charter Oak Microphone line with us, he asked us to please use the Millennia mic preamps on everything- so that we could all hear what the microphones were doing!
In the first drum setup in the video, we are using a simple four mic setup… with the Charter Oak M900t small diaphragm tube mics on overheads, the solid state Charter Oak M900 (with hypercardiod capsule installed) on snare, and the Charter Oak e700 on kick. The clean sound of the Millennia is picking up exactly what the mics are hearing, and while this simple setup is already sounding great, it will allow unlimited production possibilities- be sure to check out our other Millennia videos to see us work this simple four mic setup that you are hearing completely unprocessed (without any EQ or compression) worked and polished using the products available from Millennia. In the video’s second drum setup utilizes we simply switched the overheads to a ribbon-like tube mic, the Charter Oak S600’s. The dramatic sonic differences here, are being faithfully translated by the Millennia pre’s. The overtones and complexity are preserved, but the darkness and tonal coloration that the microphones bring to the table are identifiable and accurately depicted by our Millennia.
While a common choice for things like acoustic guitar and grand piano, the Millennia mic preamp pairs well with non-traditional microphone choices that offer their own color and personality. When pairing an acoustic instrument of any kind with a highly colored microphone, we are able to rely on the Millennia mic preamps to pick up exactly what we are hearing.
The simple 2-channel HV-3C featuring the same world-class HV3 Preamp
Millennia preamps are simply not just for acoustic instruments, classical, or jazz music. They clearly shine anywhere that overtones, tonal complexity, detail, and color preservation are important, and whenever you like the sound that you are getting right out of your microphone. When you get it right at the source, there is no need for drastic sonic manipulation, and massive preamp color shifts… and that’s where the Millennia Preamps shine, whether you are tracking distorted electric guitars, or classical piano.
Thanks for checking out the video with all that we created using Millennia mic preamps. When the sound of the preamp needs to be a true a pure representation of the sound that you are getting out of your microphones, Millennia is a fantastic choice. Please do not hesitate to contact us here at Sound Pure with any of the questions that you have, we not only sell Millennia gear, but we rely on it daily in our own Sound Pure Professional Recording Studios.
There seems to be a cult following for Tyler Guitars that we find to be present with collectors, studio musicians and on guitar forums. Check out a Tyler thread on the gear page and you’ll find words of praise, lust and of course, tons of pictures of Tylers owned by guitarists around the world.
When it comes to modded or “super strat” style guitars, Tyler is top notch. Placing an order for one of their most popular models, the Studio Elite, is like picking out a custom exotic sports car for those who love fine craftsmanship, details, and performance with an emphasis on unique style. Tyler improves almost every feature on a standard strat-style guitar and provides truly unique finish options.
Tyler Studio Elite HD Copper Patina Schmear
The first area of improvement lies in construction. The quarter-sawn maple necks are stronger, making adjustments less frequent. The rolled fretboard edges allow playability to remain smooth without catching an edge on outer strings. Even the carve of the horns on the back of the body are rounded better than the average guitar!
The electronics are another area of amazement. They offer a ton of pickup and tonal options. The most popular option is the mid-boost pre-amp which boosts your mid-range to really cut through the mix for leads or just add mid-thickness to rhythm tone. Another great option is the lead/rhythm circuit witch allows all three pickups to function as series, split or parallel with individual switches. Keep in mind you also control the 5-way pickup selector and optional mid-boost. Confused yet? It sounds like a lot, but in the end, Tyler Guitars offer very usable features that are sure to shape your tone like no other guitar can do.
In the world of guitar finishes, you may think you’ve seen it all. If you are new to the world of Tyler Guitars, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet! Check out the Schmear finishes! This unique process blends colors to look as though they were dried while in motion. From far away it’s like a blend of color while up close you can get lost in the finish for days! Check out the pictures of the Burning Water and Copper Patina SE Guitars to see what we mean. The optional satin matte finish is a perfect touch that eliminates fingerprints and retains eye-catching quality on stage.
Tyler Burning Water 2K
Like most in-demand boutique guitars, the lead time for just about any Tyler can range from 4 to 8 months and anywhere in between. You’re probably wondering if it’s worth the wait. The answer is yes. Sound Pure always has a bunch of Tyler Guitars on order. Right now we’re expecting a burning water 2k, Studio Elite Retro and a Hasmat Schmear SE. We also have a few in our guitar showroom. When you’re looking for that special guitar for stage and studio, a Tyler can handle it all and will surely inspire even the pickiest players.
Avid released new HD interfaces today, replacing the standard 96 and 192 interfaces. The new HD interfaces are a significant upgrade from the original 96 and 192 interfaces. The HD I/O features upgraded AD and DA converters. As engineers have known for years the AD/DA converters in Digidesign hardware left something to be desired. This forced many Pro Tools users to go with a competitors convertor. It appears with this new upgrade that Avid has made a huge step forward in releasing the new interfaces with truly great converters.
Besides better conversion the new models also offer a newly designed soft knee limiter that grabs fast transients, allowing the user to track hotter signals without clipping. Not to mention a slicker looking design that comes with 3 different I/O configurations.
Avid also released the HD OMNI, which is a great new product that addresses something Pro Tools users have been requesting for years and that is an all in one Pro Tools HD interface. It comes with AD/DA, a monitoring section, and two mic pres. Along with analog and digital I/O up to 8X8 in and out of Pro Tools with two more outs for the cue. It also has the ability to monitor for surround sound up to 7.1. This is a wonderful unit for the home studio that still wants the power of HD and the convenience of LE.
The last interface that Avid is introducing is HD MADI which allows Pro Tools users 64 channels of madi in and out. Madi is common in broadcast and post production facilities. This interface helps those users more easily connect there studios to Pro Tools HD.
The most exciting news from Avid was the introduction of Heat. Heat (Harmonically Enhanced Algorithm Technology) is new analog modeling software designed by Crane Song designer Dave Hill. It is meant to emulate tape based mediums and analog consoles. Heat is not a plug-in, but integrated into the Pro Tools mixing environment universally on every channel. It does give you the ability to bypass Heat or send it pre-fader if needed. It only comes with Pro Tools HD as does the Phoenix plug-in by Crane Song. According to Avid, Heat is modeled off the Phoenix plug-in and the HEDD 192 by Crane Song. Heat only has two knobs, a tone control and a drive. The drive control adds odd harmonics to the material and the tone adjusts the balance between high and low frequencies and the level of brightness in the material. Although I haven’t heard it I will get some samples up here in the next couple of weeks once I have a chance to compare the two plug-ins in our studio. Overall an exciting new development from the first generation of Pro Tools products under the Avid name.
Originally introduced in the 50’s, Kay guitars have a rich history in acoustic and electric guitars. These new re-issue guitars revive the vintage appeal and are an affordable alternative when looking for that old school sound.
The USA custom shop Thin Twin and Pro Bass are beautifully crafted instruments that we’re willing to bet are much better quality than the originals. The woods are high quality, the fret work and inlays are near perfect.
Kay Pro Bass Blonde USA
A popular alternative to the USA made Kay Re-Issues are the overseas version. At a price most studios are willing to pay to have one in their arsenal, these guitars give that same great vintage vibe as the USA guitars without many noticeable differences. The vintage bluesy tones are undeniably Kay.
The Kay Pro Basses have flat-wound strings that produce tonal qualities of a stand-up bass for a truly unique experience. You have to play one to really get what we mean. Again, this is an ideal studio bass guitar at a price most studios are comfortable with spending to get this staple sound.
The Kay Re-Issues are bringing us back in time and putting a new spin on modern music. We can’t wait to start seeing them more on stages and in studios around the world.
Sound Pure Studios is now offering weekend workshops in the Recording Arts. Sound Pure will offer a variety of courses including hands-on studio courses and Pro Tools certification classes. In future months we will expand our offerings to feature a wide variety of classes and workshops for all aspects of recording.
Our first class coming up on August 28th and 29th is a Pro Tools 101 class. We are now an authorized Avid training school. The class will be two full days in which students will learn Pro Tools basics. It will be a great way for beginners to get a good jump on learning the program, and will give those with experience the chance to learn it more in-depth. It is also the first step towards gaining Pro Tools certification.
Guitarist Scott Sawyer
On September 11th and 12th we will be offering the first workshop of our hands-on recording classes. This class is for all engineers interested in experiencing a recording session in a professional studio. The class will feature guitarist Scott Sawyer ( played with Oteil Burbridge, Kofi Burbridge, Kenny Soule, Nnenna Freelon, Charlie Byrd), Matt Brandau on bass, and Dan Hall on drums of the Chapel Hill band The Old Ceremony. Possibly other musicians will be announced. The recording will be for Scott’s new album featuring a variety of textures and sonic soundscapes utilizing the recording studio. The class will experiment with microphones, preamps, compressors, EQ’s, and other toys. There will be in-depth lessons in microphone technique and achieving a desired sound in the studio. This is going to be a great class and lots of fun for everyone.
The following class on the weekend of September 25th and 26th will focus on mixing. The class we have a chance to be part of mixing the music tracked by Scott Sawyer and the boys from the previous weekend workshop. We will go through all steps of mixing a song and discuss the elements that make a great mix and how to achieve it. We will discuss the process of doing a mix with outboard gear as well as how a similar approach can be taken “mixing in the box” with plug-ins. If you have any questions, give us a call here at Sound Pure or check out our training site at http://www.protoolscertification.com.
Everyone’s talking about Duesenberg Guitars! The boutique German-Made guitar company is growing in popularity. There are many reasons why we think this is happening. First we’ll talk about the design of the instrument. The most popular model, the Starplayer TV, sports an arched maple back, spruce top, semi-hollow body construction, Duesenberg tremolo bridge (which some say is an improved Bigsby), and a pickup arrangement of vintage humbucker in the bridge and D-P90 in the neck. Overall, the best description I’ve heard people saying about this guitar is that it’s a mix of the best parts of a Gretch and a Les Paul. Call it what you want, but put one in your hands and hear and feel what everyone’s talking about!
Duesenberg Mike Campbell Starplayer TV Guitar
Duesenberg Guitars are played by many famous musicians such as Ronnie Wood, Mike Campbell, Peter Stroud and so many more. Even Bob Dylan has a signature model coming soon!
Another thing worth mentioning is that Duesenberg happens to be one of the more reasonably priced brands in the world of boutique guitars. A lot of people think you have to spend insane amounts of money to get a great playing and sounding unique guitar, but we’re spreading the word that Duesy’s are worth looking into! They even have a few amps that sound great, like the 20watt Doozy One modeled after the blackface deluxe. We recently recorded a demo video featuring that amp and a Starplayer TV hardtail that you can view right here-
These “made-to-order” guitars take 10-13 weeks generally to get to customers and we find that to be reasonable compared to other guitar companies, especially coming from Germany. Plug one in and let us know what you think!
Here at the Sound Pure Studios we are really quite lucky when it comes to tracking. If one preamp or microphone isn’t getting it done, well we have options. But most studios, especially project studios, don’t have the budget to load up their racks with several different preamp choices, not to mention owning 3, let alone 10 different vocal microphones just isn’t in the cards.
That poses a wonderful question, if I could only have one preamp, strictly for vocals, what would it be? Well, I’d cheat! By cheating, I simply mean that I would buy a pre/EQ combo as having an EQ directly behind the preamp can really help manipulate your recordings so that they will sound just the way you want them to.
This isn’t going to be a blog about choosing the right microphone (we’ll get there in a future installment), this is more centered around the preamp. So what would I buy, it would be a Vintech X73i pre/EQ.
The Vintech X73i, she is one incredible preamp!
The Vintech X73i is the best sounding and most affordable Neve 1073 clone that is currently on the market. We are finding that just about any vocal for every style of music is going to sound fantastic when run through a Vintech. Hip Hop/R&B, Jazz vocalists, Rock, Country, Alternative and Folk vocalists can all benefit from the Vintech’s Pre and EQ.
The number of albums that are being recorded today, not to mention the history of the 1073 speaks for itself. We all certainly don’t have the budget for a vintage 1073, but I can say with confidence, the Vintech X73i fits the bill beautifully, check it out:
Hit us up here at the shop if you have more questions about the Vintech X73i, or any of the Vintech’s other wonderful products. I promise once you hear one of these in your studio, you’ll be glad you did!
Ugly 18 Amp Head and 2x12 open-back cabinet used in recording of Nash Les Paul
The popularity of the Nash Aged Gibson Les Paul is growing. We are happy to announce the release of a youtube video that features playing from Sound Pure’s Chris and Ross where we display the raw classic rock qualities of these amazing relic guitars. We played the Nash Aged LP-59 #010 through the Ugly Amps Ugly 18 Head and 2×12 open-back speaker cabinet. The natural overdrive of this amp is a perfect compliment to the nature of the Les Paul. The Ugly 18 amp is one of our favorite low watt screamin’ machines at the shop and happens to be one of the most affordable boutique amps we carry. Notice the airy quality of the re-wired pickups in this video. If you would like sound clips e-mailed to you, as youtube tends to compress sound quality, we would be happy to get you clips upon request. Let us know what you think of the video! Enjoy!
Close-Up of Nash Les Paul headstock
Just in time for the release of the video, we just received Nash Aged Gibson Les Paul LP-60 NGLP-013. This 60’s neck LP plays as good as our favorite LP-59 #10! It’s clear that playability is improving with every LP Nash relics for Sound Pure.
Close-Up of Lacquer Checking on Nash Aged Les Paul LP-60 NGLP-013 DarkBurst
Straight from our new camera to your computer, here are some close-ups of the new LP60 that arrived today. Now go play more guitar!!!
Here at the Sound Pure Studios, and I’m being honest here, we are spoiled. For outboard gear we have a little bit of everything under the sun. ADL 670 (Fairchild Compressor Clone), CharterOak SCL1, Tube Tech Multiband Compressor, Great River Mastering EQ, Avalon 2055…. the list goes on and on. But you don’t have to own all of this gear to get a great sound, of course it is nice, but a few simple pieces can really set your studio up for creating wonderful mixes.
This EQ is magic for bus work, with subtle tubes and an easy configuration this box will have your mixes sounding fantastic in no time!
Enter the A Designs Hammer. It is a stereo/dual mono EQ, specifically a Program or broad stroke EQ that is one of the easiest pieces of hardware to use in the studio. It doesn’t have Q width control, so it is as simple as finding the frequency that you would like to cut or boost, and then cutting or boosting until it sounds better! But you might ask why an EQ for the 2 Bus? That is a great question, thanks for asking!
What the Hammer specifically gives you for the 2 bus is a tool to shape how your mix is perceived. What I mean by this, if you feel like you need a little bit of “Air” in the top end of the mix, you could grab the 15k setting and bring a few dB’s of gain to bring more “Air” or top end into the mix. Not only does the Hammer allow you to adjust how your mix sounds, the Hammer also benefits your bus work by bringing a little bit of analog warmth back into your mixes.
One common complaint about digital mixes is that they can be “sterile” or “harsh” sounding.
