I normally do not write about used gear that comes into the store but on this one occasion I just could not resist.

A few days ago we got in a Gibson Advanced Jumbo acoustic guitar in a killer Tobacco Burst. One of our good customers had traded this guitar in for a Martin acoustic. When I asked him “Why do you want to trade this guitar in” he simply said I love the Martin and don’t really play the Gibson that much.

Don’t play is an understatement, when I opened the case I found a pristine Gibson acoustic that I had to scratch my head as I thought it was brand new. I gave the guitar a full strum with my fingers while holding a G chord. OMG this guitar was LOUD!!! I continued to play and kept asking him are you sure you want to trade this in over and over?

I just could not believe how this thing sounded and you could tell she was not broken in yet. As I write this Blog I am staring at the guitar and trying to figure out how I’m going to bring her home and introduce her to the rest of the family.

Just goes to show you how someone else’s garbage is another man's GOLD. Come in and check this beauty out, as she will not last long if I have anything to do with it.


Lou Roppoli

Last Friday May 4th I saw my Facebook Wall plastered with RIP MCA and RIP Adam Youch. I was like "NO it can't be!!!!" Adam Youch was one of the founding members of the Rock/Rap band The Beastie Boys. I have been a huge fan of the band ever since they started in early years of 1979.
I have seen the band several times in Toronto at various venues and they have always blown me away with their live shows. This is not just another RAP band but more of a musically diverse band that has changed how Rap and Rock have integrated with each other. The band have always played instruments and it is very prevalent in their live shows how much groove and soul they have.

I remember hearing their first hit single "You Gotta Fight for your Right to Party" thinking what a joke and the video was very silly and funny. Little did I know at the time that the album that came out in 1984 called Licensed to ill was produced by a very young Rick Rubin. Rick was responsible for many huge Rock/Rap albums and one of my all time Favs was The Red Hot Chilli Peppers "Blood Sugar Sex Magic" a masterpiece.

That album was just the starting ground for the bands next huge critically acclaimed album called Paul's Boutique. I remember hearing this album and was shocked to hear all this awesome Jazz, Blues, Rock, Funk influenced music. I was instantly hooked and have been a huge fan of the band since. That album came out in 1988 and it just sent the band to the top.

Adam will be missed greatly in the music community but more over to all music lovers in general.

You have finally made it to Brooklyn Adam.

RIP

Lou Roppoli

Last Saturday on my way home from work I get a phone call from a Takumi Suetsugu. I look down at my phone and think Wow why is he calling me? Takumi is the top guitar tech for the biggest bands around these days. He has teched for AC/DC, Prince, Sting, Richie Sambora, Phil X just to name a few. You may recognize his name from a past blog I did on Phil X when he was playing with Bon Jovi and I had met Takumi at a show in Milwaukee. I answer the phone and he tells me that his is in Montreal and will be coming to Toronto Sunday at 5am, he needs to cut a new nut and saddle on one of Chad Kroger's (Nickleback) black Gibson J200.

I tell him "Dude it's Sunday, no repair shops are open" He just wants to go to a shop to hand cut the nut and saddle as it would take him too long to do it at the venue with out a flat belt sander. I tell him that our good friend Mike Smith "Smitty" has a shop in Mississauga and that he could use it. I offer to pick him up Sunday morning at the ACC 9am and drive him to Smittys then drive him back to ACC. Unfortunately he can not be away from the venue for that amount of time so I then tell him I will pick up the guitar at 9am, bring it to Smitty's, have Smitty do the repair and bring the guitar back to the ACC in the early afternoon in time for sound check. Takumi is floored and is very thankful that I do it. I mean who wouldn't do it? Takumi is such an awesome Tech and one of the most genuine dudes you will ever meet in your life.

I bring the guitar back and Takumi offers me Tickets and VIP Backstage passes to the show, Awesome!!! I get to the show and get escorted to the back stage area and meet up with Takumi, He shows me the whole rig under the stage and all of Chads guitars. It really is a sight that every guitar player needs to see.. just awesome. We then go up top and do a walk on the stage and Im actually walking the Nickleback stage AWESOME!!!!! I ask him, "Where are the amps?" He says "down below dude"
We go back down and shows me a more thorough viewing of the rig. I see a rack with 4 Messa heads and other outboard effect units. I ask "where is the speaker?" he points on top of the rack unit to a box and opens up a door on it. There I see a Celestion Vintage 30 speaker with a Shure SM57 in front of it. All the guys in the band hear everything from their in ear monitors. Simple clean system, no bleed of audio, no volume wars on stage either. We plugged in a guitar into the rig and closed the speaker isolation box. Boom, no sound literarily no sound just a slight rumble. Even the tech's have in ear monitors and everyone gets to hear what ever mix they want. This also serves as a talk back system so that the techs and talk to each other and also to the band and FOH staff at the main mixing console and everyone is completely wireless. Very cool indeed.

The only thing I thought that would lack would be the feel and power of an actual speaker or stack behind you as you are playing bass or guitar, It kinda left me with the lack of that punch and emotion you get when you feel the sound pressure from am actual speaker that I feel translates into some extra emotion on your instrument.
Pretty cool stuff indeed.

"Tone Monger"
Lou Roppoli

The Gibson guitar company has been making guitars for many years since the early 1900’s. One of their consistent models has been the Les Paul. It has been made famous by many of my Guitar Hero’s. Jimmy Page, Alex Lifeson, Peter Frampton, Paul Kossoff just to name a few.

We have just received a brand new Gibson Les Paul that just got my attention that I had to tell you about it. Gibson have just released their Les Paul Traditional Faded.

This guitar is exactly the same as a Les Paul Traditional but without the high gloss finish and open coil pickups (no chrome covers). This along with the lack of the finish gives the guitar a very rustic ROCK look and vibe.

The guitar plays amazing and its price point is what really makes this axe such a great buy. The guitar sells for just under $1700, yes that’s right a Gibson Les Paul Traditional for under $1700.

If you have wanted a real Gibson Les Paul but was to gun shy to drop $2400 plus, this guitar is for you. Come in and check it out it really is awesome!!!

As you all know I am an amp geek/collector. I also build point to point all tube amplifiers that are modelled after early 60’s Marshall amplifiers. I have always loved that cranked Marshall amp with a Les Paul like my guitar hero’s did in the great rock music era of the 70’s.

The morning of April 5 the “Father of Loud” Jim Marshall passed away, He was 88 years old. Pretty much every legendary rock guitarist has used a Marshall amplifier at some point of their career either live or in studio.

The exact cause of his death is not known. It was speculated that he was not well and had been suffering with a series of strokes. Early adopters of Marshall amps included Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton. The Who's Pete Townshend was also a loyal customer, and it was at his request that an amp head was combined with a cabinet, thus creating the Marshall stack. As these bands starting playing larger stadiums and venues, they needed larger amps to fill the arenas. Jim Marshall’s amps were the ticket.
Quotes on Marshall Website
It is with profound sorrow that we announce the passing of our beloved founder and leader for the past 50 years, Jim Marshall. While mourning the Guv'nor though, we also salute a legendary man who led a full and truly remarkable life. Jim's ascent into the history books as 'the Father of Loud' and the man responsible for 'the Sound of Rock' is a true rags-to-riches tale. Cruelly robbed of his youth by tubercular bones, Jim rose to become one of the four forefathers responsible for creating the tools that allowed rock guitar as we know and love it today to be born. The groundbreaking quartet also includes the late, great trio of Leo Fender, Les Paul and Seth Lover – together with Jim, they truly are the cornerstones of all things rock. In addition to the creation of the amps chosen by countless guitar heroes and game-changing bands, Jim was also an incredibly humble and generous man who, over the past several decades, has quietly donated many millions of pounds to worthy causes. While the entire Marshall Amplification family mourns Jim's passing and will miss him tremendously, we all feel richer for having known him and are happy in the knowledge that he is now in a much better place which has just got a whole lot louder! Your memory; the music and joy your amps have brought to countless millions for the past five decades; and that world-famous, omnipresent script logo that proudly bears your name will always live on.

Lou Roppoli

Being a guitar player we often forget to get our Axes tuned and adjusted regularly. This is something that we take for granted but should not as it will hinder the performance of the instrument.

Working in a music store I see many guitars coming in for constant string changes. Aside from changing your strings at regular intervals you should also get the guitar adjusted. What I mean by adjusted is setup. This is something that should be done at least once a year on both your electric and acoustic guitars.

This entails a full restring as well as adjusting the necks truss rod. Some other things that come into play more specifically on electric guitars is intonation of the bridge. Those small bridge adjustments are not there to merely look cool, they are there to ensure proper intonation and string height. When properly adjusted with a new set of strings, the guitar will tune properly so that when you play notes and chords on the fretboard, the notes are true and sure especially when playing above the 12 fret.

Other things that need to be checked on an electric are the electronics themselves. Have you ever played your electric and found when you adjust the volume or tone it crackles and pops? Why would you want your guitar to make these awful sounds especially when you are playing live.

Always make sure to get your guitars maintained at least once a year. Bring it to your local music store and get it done. Your guitar will love you for it and reward you with great playability and tones.

Keep Rocking

Lou Roppoli

I normally don’t talk much about effect pedals, but I just had to talk about the new Boss BC-2 stomp box pedal. I mainly talk about amps and tone, so reviewing this pedal is a bit of departure for me. However after playing around with it, it made me believe that I was playing a really great sounding British combo amp. So much so that I just had to write about it.

BC stand for British Combo and boy does it ever sound like a Vox AC30. Plug this little bad boy into a clean amp and stomp on the pedal to turn it on and get ready to get your socks rocked. Check out the product link here.

The design of the pedal is very simple and clean. The pedal features a level, bass, treble and sound control knobs so it is set up very familiar like an amp. The magic happens with the sound knob, fully left it is clean and as you turn it up to 12:00 it changes to crunch. Moving the knob fully clockwise gets you into the drive mode and you turn your amp into a cranked AC30 aka Brian May from Queen. Just awesome…

This pedal makes you feel like you are playing through an awesome vintage AC30. I am totally blown away. Come in and check it out. Better yet just add it to your arsenal of Amps…

Lou Roppoli
“Tone” Read More...

Yamaha is known for their guitars and digital electronics but not guitar amplifiers. Even though they have made guitar amplifiers in past they have not been known for that.

Instead Yamaha produces some of the finest acoustic, electric guitars and basses. One other thing that Yamaha is known for are their awesome digital electronics. Much of their technologies have been used in many other manufactures products as their R and D team is amazing.

Yamaha has just released the new THR10 and THR5 digital guitar amplifiers. These two amps are not large amps that you would jam with but more wicked sounding practice amps with amp models and effects.

Yamaha is using their new VCM technology on these new amps and boy do they sound awesome. These amps respond like real tube amps would in the sense to how they respond when you adjust the tone controls and adjust the volume both gain and master. This is a total reinvention of amp modeling as the unit responds like a real amp would and not like an amp model. As you turn up a tube amp the bass response also increases. The THR10 does this too.

On top of all these awesome amp simulations in the unit, they also sports a wicked effect section. The tremolo is to die for and the Reverb is the same reverb that Yamaha uses on its pro high-end digital units.

For more information check please see Yamaha THR10. You'll be amazed!

Lou Roppoli Read More...

I had the opportunity go see one of my guitar hero's last Friday in Oakville. I'm talking about Kim Mitchell. Kim is a customer of mine here at the store and he is a gear tone dude like me. I can remember talking to him at lengths in the store about speakers, amps, guitars and the almighty TONE!!!

Last Friday I had the pleasure of Kim texting me and hooking my wife and I with some passes for the show at the Oakville Living Arts Centre. The Venue is small holding only a max capacity of 500. The show was sold out and we had great seats along with wristbands to head backstage after the show. Kim played 2 1hour plus sets. The first set was vintage Kim stuff along with a lot of Max Webster and the crowd went crazy. Yes they ended the set with Battle Scar, the song that Max Webster had recorded with Rush. Peter Fredette his compadre of over 21 years was on Bass and Moog Taurus pedals and his famous background vocals.

On stage Kim had 2 4x12 Marshall cabs both miked up and driving them was an old JCM 800 head. Gotta love it when you see a full stack on stage. I have talked to Kim about big amps and he agrees like me that you just cant beat the sound of a big amp playing through big speakers. "It's not about the volume, its about the Tone and feel" Was just frigging awesome.
Guitar wise Kim played 2 electric guitars all night. The first one was a Fender Crème colour Strat that he has had for many years and a Gibson Les Paul Standard. I was pretty surprised to see him play that Les Paul as I'm so used to seeing him with his Blue Strat type guitar that was apparently in the shop for some work. He also played an acoustic guitar that I could not make out what it was but very Taylor'ish looking and very custom looking with a built in pickup.

After the show we headed down to Kim's dressing room where I was met with Peter Fredette . Peter was such an awesome guy and was really nice. Of course the first thing he asked me was "How did it sound in the room" I was "Peter Fredette is asking me about how it sounded" Awesome!!! We talked about gear and and about what he was doing. I had asked Peter about the stage volume and he said "Oh it's Loud, those boxes are moving some air" . Kim came out shortly after and I introduced him to my wife who is a long time Max Webster fan and Kim Mitchell Fan. She was very excited and Kim again was really nice to her. He immediately asked me about the tone. Again I was like "Kim Mitchell is asking for my opinion" Wicked!!!

The conversation quickly shifted into guitar geek tone talk and my wife said "here we go". She had asked Kim "So when are you coming over for a BBQ?" Kim laughed and said "Ya sure your house or how about you guys come over to my place" will keep you posted on the BBQ at Kim's.
The show was awesome, hanging with Kim and Peter , more awesome!!!

Thanks again Kim for the tickets and the hang after the show.

Lou Roppoli
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I want to talk to you guys about the Vox Tonelab EX. This is a pedal board that has amp modeling in it. I know there have been numerous units out there that model amps, however not all modeling is created equally. In fact Vox employs a tube in its design. The ToneLab EX carries on the most important benefit of the Valvetronix line: true-tube sound produced by a real 12AX7 triode vacuum tube. VOX created the Valve Reactor to satisfy our belief that the sonic tonal character of tubes can be obtained only by using real vacuum tubes. This unique VOX addition draws a clear distinction between the ToneLab EX and the modeling products from other manufacturers, and generates an overwhelmingly powerful sound unobtainable from other multi-effect units.

Upon playing this unit I quickly felt like I was playing through a real tube amp. The models are pretty amazing and have the "AMP" feel that you want when playing through a real amp. This is done with the tube as it recreates the output section of a real tube amp. The output section is probably one of the biggest tone feel shaping areas of a good tube amp. Yes there are many other factors that make a tube amp sound like it does, and the Vox does not disappoint. Oh yeah the unit has an array of great sounding effects at your beck and call too many to list. It also features 33 amp models.

One of the kewlest features on this pedal board is that it has 2 small discrete speakers on the front. This is really great especially when you are gigging and just need something to play through to warm up before a show. I love it as I don’t have to hook it up to my computer or amp to hear the thing. I don’t even have to plug in headphones.
There are way more features on this unit too many to list off in my blog. Check out they're website link here and there is also a Video that shows off the unit.

Thanks for reading .. Lou Roppoli
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Well, as you all know by now the new Van Halen album is called A Different Kind of Truth. It was pre released by the first single called Tattoo. I must admit that when I first heard that track I was like “What? Huh? They put this out?” Needless to say I was a little disappointed as I so wanted to hear a classic Van Halen Record. I eagerly awaited the release of the Album hoping for that record that Van Halen and David Lee Roth were supposed to put out.

I heard from the grapevine that Eddie’s famous 1968 Marshall Plexi was in the studio and that amp sounded like Van Halen II. This tone is one of the Holy Grail’s of tone in Rock ‘N’ Roll history. This got me very excited and I couldn’t wait to hear the tones. I kept hearing that song Tattoo on the radio and it started to grow on me. I so didn’t want to like this song but I was kind of starting to dig it. Kinda like when Van Halen 1984 came out and I hear the first single, “Jump” again remembering that song thinking “What, Huh? Not Guitars? (Except for solo)”. Once again this tune became a huge hit and it grew on me. The rest of the album kicked some serious ASS!!!

Finally the day of truth, I receive my copy of the CD and put it in my car deck. Skip Tattoo and onto She’s the Woman. WOW!!!! It rocked, felt like I was listening to a VAN HALEN record. The smile on my face was huge as I was loving what I was hearing.

After the first full listen through I was like “YES”!!!! Second time through I was listening much closer to what Eddie was playing and the tones he was getting. It sounded like Eddie’s Marshall but more polished and no huge reverbs. The notes were clear but it did seem to have a bit more of grainier tone. Not the gain from the Sammy Hagar era. I did miss the guitar panned hard to one side and huge reverb to the other side, but hey this is 2012 so let’s move on and get over it.

If you listen closely it does sound like more of a tone from Fair Warning with more beef and an overdrive pedal in front of the amp. Was this the famed Plexi amp? Or was he using one of the new 5150 amps? I would like to think Eddie and producer John Shanks wanted to use the old Plexi but you never know these days.
What do you think? I would love to hear your opinion on the record and tone of the Eddie’s guitar.

I personally think there are some tracks that sound like the old Marshall and then there are tracks that sound like the newer 5150 amps…

Lou Roppoli

I have several guitar influences that have moulded me into the guitar player that I am such as Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Alex Lifeson, Eddie Van Halen and Frank Marino just to name a few. Although these guys were essential in helping me understand and defining my own style, there is one dude that is my “Guitar Hero”.

I’m talking about none other than Ace Frehley from KISS. That dude was the guy that actually made me want to play guitar. I remember jumping on my parents couch strumming a tennis racket while listening to Shock Me from Kiss. We recently had an opportunity at a very rare and collectable guitar lottery. We put our name in for the chance to purchase 1 of 100 Ace Frehley 1976 "Budokan" Les Paul Custom. Well as fate would have it, we were one of the lucky Gibson dealers chosen worldwide to purchase it. We have just received the guitar and it comes out of the Gibson Custom factory and has been aged and looks identical to the actual 1976 guitar, right down to the relic of the cracked headstock repair.

This guitar screamz OMG!!!! You have to come in and check this one out, as it is definitely a collector’s piece that will not last long.

For more details check out the Gibson website at this link.

Shout it out Loud

Lou Roppoli

You may already know from my previous blogs that I am good friends with Phil X. He is a highly sought after session player in LA and has played with many great musicians over the years. One thing you may not be aware of is his Evil Robot Amps that are made in LA by John Kasha from Kasha Amplifiers.

Phil had 1959 Tonemaster Troubadour 214 amplifier, built by the Chicago-based Accordion Company. Originally produced for accordion amplification, it quickly became a favorite of guitar players, sought after for its tone and its ability to create a controllable vibrato. He used it on countless recordings and sessions. The amp sounded great but the poor speaker was getting tired and the amp itself was on its last legs. Enter John Kasha; John had made an amp for Phil called the Rockmod. Phil used this amp live with his old band, Powder. He has also made a recreation of the Tonemaster.

These amps are called the Evil Robot and are exact recreations of Phil’s famed Tonemaster. They are available in a 112 Combo, Head and separate 2x12 Cab all handmade in the USA point to point hand wired. The amps are killer and have the same tone as the original but with added punch and girth. They have also introduced at the NAMM 2012 show the Evil Robot C30 (EVR-C30). This is an 18-30 watt combo killer tone, incredible price in an all new black design. I had the chance to rock this amp a few weeks ago and man did it smoke.

More details on this killer new amp and availability will be coming soon as we are proud to be carrying the entire Evil Robot line here at Kaos Music Centre. I will keep you posted when these bad boys arrive and you have to come in to check them out. In the meantime, you can read about them here.

Keep Rocking the Tone

Lou Roppoli

Like I had said in my last blog, I attended the NAMM show in Anaheim a few weeks ago and told you I would be reporting the most impressive products that I had seen. Being that I’m an amp dude, one amp that really stuck out was the new Vox all tube amps that have been designed by amp guru Tony Bruno.

Tony is has hand built over 1000 amps in the USA so it was an awesome marriage of VOX and Tony together. The new Vox TB18C1 is an all tube design that has pure all American tone. I heard this amp in an isolation booth and was able to put the amp through its paces.

The amp did not disappoint. Everything I played through it weather it was as P90, Humbucker or Single coil, the amps just floored me. I instantly fell in love with the amp and was thinking how I was going to sell this new amp to my wife!!!! “Honey our son needs a new Tube amp!”

The amp is 18 watts and uses a pair of 6V6 output tubes and 2 12AX7 preamp tubes. It also sports a Celestion G12-65.
I can’t wait to get one of these bad boys for my amp arsenal. Here is a Video on the details of the new amp.

Keep Cranking those Tubes

Lou Roppoli

Just got back from California and more importantly the NAMM 2012 show in Anaheim and have a report for you. These shows are very big and take 4 days to complete. Even then, it is hard to achieve everything you want to at the show. I got in late to this year’s show and had only 2 full days to do what I normally do in 4. Nonetheless I went hard and planned my show focusing on amps, pedals and electric guitars.
One of this year’s products that really floored me was the Kemper-amps profiling and effects processor. This German design unit on the outside looks like one of the many amp modeling devices but a closer look reveals some really cool ingenuity and technologies.

What this unit does is “profile” amps and speaker combinations. What this means is that it will replicate any existing amp and speaker combination you may have. Let’s say you are in a studio and you have this killer tone that you think, “Dang that would be awesome if I could use this exact amp setup at a later session. With the Kemper you can now do this.

This is done by plugging into the unit then out to the amp you want to profile. The amp “combo or head” is then milked up with let’s say an SM57. That mic is then plugged into the back of the of the mic input of the Kemper. At this time the unit undergoes sound test by injecting white noise and sound pulses into the amp and measures the signal coming from the SM57. When it’s all done (took about 2 min) you have just profiled the amp. That simple.
Upon profiling a Mesa Boogie Dual Rec I was able to play the profiled amp I just created and was pretty blown away on how it felt and sounded like the real amp. I was able to quickly switch between the real amp and the profiled amp.

This is one of those products that makes you think “Wow that is really kewl” I will keep a close eye on the device and hopefully we will have them in the store for you to check out. Until then, you can check it out here ..

Keep the Tone Alive
Lou Roppoli

I want to talk about overdrive and distortion today. Like many of you I have many different overdrive and distortion pedals, not to mention varying boost pedals. Its great having the ability to run your amp clean then switching a distortion or overdrive pedal on to give you the dirt you need. With a couple of pedals at your feet you can accomplish 2,3 or even 4 different tones or varying degrees of dirt.

One thing we forget to do is to just turn up your Tube amp and let the amp rock you into that awesome gain stage and compression we love and can only get from tube amps turned up. I was at a Jam last week in Hamilton playing at a club and just had one of my Roppoli heads and Cabs. I set up my pedals and started to dial in tones. The room was a loud room so I had to run the amp pretty loud and at that point I was like “I don’t need to run any pedals” in fact I actually had to turn my guitar down a bit for awesome crunch rhythm tones.

Remember to run your tube amp louder (When possible) and let your Tubes lead you!!!

Keep rocking

Lou Roppoli

Hey guys .. just wanted to give you the heads up on a new G&L Legacy that just came in the store. I had an opportunity to do a video review on this guitar so I decided to also do a blog on it. Here are the specs, she is an awesome Sonic Blue in colour, rosewood fingerboard and cream pick guard and cream pickup covers. The guitar is handmade in Fullerton California in the G&L Shop. This shop was one of the original shops that Leo Fender made his famous pre CBS Fender guitars, so there is lots of heritage in that shop.

When you play this guitar it really has some awesome vibe and wicked playability. The pickups are Leo’s hand wound pickups and they have that vintage early 60’s surf vibe which is a total compliment to the awesome Sonic Blue colour.

If you have been looking for a new strat type guitar that has tons of vibe and tone, you have to come and check out this beauty. Click here to watch my video review.