http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/index.htmlWhat's new with LOU at KAOSeninfo@kaosmusiccentre.comCopyright 2010 Bill Bates2012-10-30T14:27:18-04:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 Wed, 14 Apr 2010 10:07:58 -0400info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2012-10-30T14:27:18-04:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/28f6cba2d43bbb3398c77dd9b583fa73-57.html#unique-entry-id-57http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/28f6cba2d43bbb3398c77dd9b583fa73-57.html#unique-entry-id-57Last Tuesday night I had the pleasure of seeing and meeting a guitar giant. When I say giant I mean that figuratively as well. I am talking about none other than Zakk Wylde guitarist from the band Black Label Society. Zakk got his fame when he was 19 years old pumping gas in his town, Ozzy Osbourne was looking for a guitarist and Zakk tried out and got the gig. That gig changed his life and the lives of many young and aspiring musicians.

My good friend Garren Dakessian, an amazingly talented guitar builder and owner of Loucin Guitars in Oakville Canada got in touch with Zakk about building a custom hand made guitar for him, and before you knew it was commissioned to build “The Fiddle of Doom”. Garren and Zakk quickly became close friends via Twitter, email and mostly text messages on a daily basis. Zakk, being a huge Sienfeld fan would quote episode lines with Garren back and forth. Garren told me that this went on throughout the entire year long process with daily texts of Sienfeld snippits and guitar related ideas and specs. The whole process took roughly a year to complete the LD-ZW.

Garren had asked me if I would like to come out to the show with him last Tuesday where he was going to present the guitar to Zakk. I am an avid amateur photographer so I jumped at the chance to shoot the presentation. When I got there Garren had asked Zakk if I could get a photo pass and shoot the show. Zakk said “Absolutely!!!” and asked his personal body guard Phil to make sure I was looked after. So not only did I get to hang out with Zakk and the band before the show, I also got to shoot the show from pit row. AWEEEESOOOOME!!!!!!

Zakk in person is LARGER than life both in stature and energy. He is truly a gentleman and you get the sense he is at all times, grateful for where he has gotten in life musically speaking. He made you feel totally at home and is very down to earth. Zakk is such an inspiration to guitar players and now that I have met him he makes you realize how special a person he is.

Thank you Garren for the opportunity and special thanks to Zakk and Phil for making this an experience I will love and remember for the rest of my life. Special thanks to Phil and Mark and the BLS Crew for being such amazing people.

Lou Roppoli
]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2012-10-09T21:12:54-04:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/18a79b081cb9cb63bffa290bf6ae957e-56.html#unique-entry-id-56http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/18a79b081cb9cb63bffa290bf6ae957e-56.html#unique-entry-id-56As far as overdrive pedals go, probably my most favourite and most used overdrive pedal would have to be the Ibanez Tube screamer. This pedal was introduced in the late ‘70s. Yes that pedal design has been around for a long time and got real famous when guitar players from the ‘80s used the pedal to “boost” their Marshall JMP and JCM800 heads to get that classic Rock ‘80s tone.

I recently came across a new pedal that is tonally based on the Tube screamer. I’m talking about the Way Huge Green Rhino Overdrive. The great thing about this pedal is that it captures the essence of the TS but adds some really great upgrades.

There are 2 extra knobs on the pedal which are 100Hz (-12dB- +12dB adds or reduces bass) and Curve (this shifts where the mids sit )
These 2 knobs add so much EQ ranges to the pedal so that if you wanted a classic Midrange bump tone you could get that with the Curve knob.

I love to dial back the curve slightly to retain a more neutral or flat midrange, that way you get to hear more of the Amp tone.

I just did a quick “Tone Tip” Video on this pedal on how to use it as a boost with a tube amp. Click here to watch it.

Live for tone .. Lou Roppoli]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2012-09-06T12:23:22-04:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/533036327bb555261204754d66115b04-55.html#unique-entry-id-55http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/533036327bb555261204754d66115b04-55.html#unique-entry-id-55I remember during the late 80's early 90's people were getting rid of there Gibson Les Paul Deluxe guitars and trading them in for the popular Floyd Rose type guitars. Yes, I admit although I never did get rid of my Les Paul I did purchase a Floyd Rose tremolo system and got it installed on my Fender Strat.

I remember working at a music store called Musicplex at the time and saw many Gibson Les Paul Deluxe guitars getting routed out to accompany the larger double coil pickups that offered a higher output which was the flavour at that time. Nowadays its all about lower output pickups and magnets that players seek. Funny how things change to how they were in the past.

Just a few weeks ago we got a brand new Gibson Les Paul Deluxe gold top with classic mini humbuckers. I saw the tag on the outside of the box and my heart started to palpitate in anticipation. I couldn’t wait to crack open the box and take her for a spin. I was not disappointed and fell in love right away.

The new Deluxe was lighter than I remember which is a good thing. These new guitars have the classic ringing resonance and sustain transmitted to the amp with optimum depth and clarity by a pair of Gibson's legendary mini-humbucking pickups. The Les Paul Deluxe mini-humbuckers are made much like full-sized PAF-style humbuckers with genuine Alnico II magnets but with narrower coils and slightly fewer turns of wire for a sharper, more focused sound. They are perfect for cutting through a heavy band mix, while also going confidently into twangy and jangly genres that Les Pauls aren’t usually thought to excel at, without sacrificing any of the depth and muscle that makes a great Les Paul what it is. Routed through the traditional complement of two independent volume controls and two independent tone controls and three-way toggle switch—and a great locking Neutrick® output jack for total plugged-in security—these pickups provide stunning tonal versatility. Put it all together—along with the gold Speed Knobs, "Deluxe" engraved truss-rod cover and LP Deluxe pickguard—all marks of the breed—and you've got an evocative recreation of a model that helped make today’s rock what it is. Each Les Paul Deluxe from Gibson USA comes with a plush-lined hardshell case, owner's manual, warranty and adjustment literature, and is covered by Gibson's Limited Lifetime Warranty and 24/7/365 Customer Service.

Come in the store and fall in Love..

Lou Roppoli

Tone Monger]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2012-08-20T15:18:13-04:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/cc01920e396c157a11c270a13ebcebf6-54.html#unique-entry-id-54http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/cc01920e396c157a11c270a13ebcebf6-54.html#unique-entry-id-54Kaos Music Centre is proud to announce that we are now an official Apogee dealer.
Apogee Electronics Corporation is a leading manufacturer of digital audio hardware systems and related accessories for audio professionals and musicians around the world.

Apogee was founded in 1985 and initially made its name designing filters that solved many of the early problems associated with digital audio. Later, Apogee’s complete conversion systems pushed the envelope of digital audio quality and established Apogee as a key innovator in the field of professional digital audio.

Today, Apogee converters and audio interfaces are regarded as the reference standard in the audio industry. Products such as Symphony I/O, Big Ben, Ensemble and Duet all have set the benchmark by which digital audio recording hardware is judged. Now with its latest products JAM and MiC, designed especially for Apple’s iPad, iPhone and GarageBand software, Apogee continues to be at the forefront of recording technology. Apogee’s mission is to build products that offer ultimate sound quality, innovative design and unparalleled value to all music creators from the aspiring artist to the discerning audio professional.

Keep an eye out as we start to get these awesome products in the store.

http://www.apogeedigital.com/products/

Lou Roppoli]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2012-07-30T16:11:12-04:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/b9593392a24f1ade98a6486fee9e7e3d-53.html#unique-entry-id-53http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/b9593392a24f1ade98a6486fee9e7e3d-53.html#unique-entry-id-53Over the past few years there has been a huge influx of smaller and lower wattage amps onto the market. This trend has been getting more widespread amongst amp manufactures. At first, these kinds of amps were only available from the boutique hand-built amp makers, then as they gained popularity and quickly spread to the mainstream manufactures like Marshall, Vox, Line 6 and Peavey to name a few.

This trend was becoming very fashionable and people loved the fact that these amps could be played at bedroom volumes and were tube. Dads loved these amps as they were able to play tube amps and turn them up to get that cranked-amp tone without killing the ears of their families. I called them ‘Family Approved’ amps.

The one complaint that was constant as I was playing these amps was “They don’t sound like a cranked half stack,” and never will, nor will they feel this way. I love nothing more than playing through a 412 cabinet with a 50w or 100w head on top. The way the air moves is just magical and the tone is just incredible.

On a recent trip to LA, I visited a store in North Hollywood called “Tone Merchants.” The one thing that was pretty refreshing was a dedicated sound-treated room with nothing but 412 and 212 cab’s and various heads, mainly from boutique manufactures. I was able to check out amps loud and proud. It was so awesome. Granted this store mainly catered to top session players in the LA area, but it made me realize that the big amps are still highly sought-after for the session recording players as well as the big name live musicians.

It really brought me back to my youth and re-instilled that Rock n Roll was not dead but on the contrary very much alive and well. Long live the big amps from yesteryear - may they continue to rock out loud and proud.

Lou Roppoli]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2012-07-20T21:48:54-04:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/9be8f4766a79982a924bd5d588237271-52.html#unique-entry-id-52http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/9be8f4766a79982a924bd5d588237271-52.html#unique-entry-id-52I just got back from my vacation cottaging in cottage country with the family. Had a very relaxing week swimming and catching fish off my dock. I log on to my Facebook page to see all my musician friends posting R.I.P. Jon Lord. Yes Im talking about Jon Lord the keyboard player for Deep Purple.

As most of all you already know I am a huge fan of the heavy bands from the British 60’s and 70’s era. This news made me very sad as we had lost one of the best Rock Hammond organ players on the planet, period. His work on such great songs like Highway Star and Lazy especially from the famous live album “Made in Japan” were just mind blowing.

This is not going to be a sad blog about how much of a drag it is that we have lost Jon Lord (which it is by the way) but more of a celebration of what he did for that rock Organ Tone. He was the first guy to plug his Hammond organ into a Marshall plexi amps and cranked it till it overdrove it into that glorious Deep Purple sound that we all love.

Jon would also Rock his Organ back and forth onstage to the point that it would almost fall off the stage. He must have had some type of spring reverb unit in the case as it would shake and the springs would thunder out as they slapped into each other.

Thank you Jon Lord for your great rocking tones and awesome thunderous playing on the instrument you made famous for all heavy Rock bands to come.

Lou Roppoli]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2012-07-07T15:01:34-04:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/c79e690afee319707a895731f35f75ed-51.html#unique-entry-id-51http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/c79e690afee319707a895731f35f75ed-51.html#unique-entry-id-51A few days ago Bill and I were recording a “KAOS Rockband Experience” concert live off the floor. This was kind of like an end of the year concert that we recorded live audio as well as 3 video cameras that Bill was later going to mix the audio and video together. He does all of our KAOS Gear Review videos.

I myself am a avid photographer and I was in charge of using my new Nikon D800 36mega pixel DSLR to shoot video. I mainly shoot stills so this was a lot of fun for me to shoot video for a change. Bill was also shooting video on his Canon T3i DSLR and a Canon HD handy cam. So we had lots of different angles covered that Bill could do some amazing post work with.

On to the Audio, we were using a simple iMac running Cubase 6 and a Presonus Audiobox 1818 VSL USB 2.0 audio interface. We recorded live off the floor using all 8 inputs on the on the unit. We fed the interface’s inputs via a live mix console that was at the studio we were at. Simply put, we used the direct outs from the console to the inputs on the presonus. This setup was super easy and efficient.

We started out with a simple line check of all the mics. Once we had proper levels we simply armed 8 channels to record in Cubase and hit record. It really was that simple. After we had the beds recorded we even did some Vocal overdubs for the bands that were performing. Just listening to the raw recorded tracks I was astonished on how well they sounded not even mixed or eq’d.

All of the audio was then dumped to an external hard drive and given to Ken O’Gorman. Ken runs a full studio “Hole in the Wall Studio” here in Etobicoke. He will mix, EQ, effect and compress these raw tracks and will make them sound like professional live studio recording. Ken has done this many times and his mixing abilities are top notch. Cant wait to hear the finished audio recording.

All in all this session was easy and went off without a hitch. Simply put if you are looking to record your band or want to get into mobile recording take a look at this interface from Presonus.


Happy Recording

Lou Roppoli
]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2012-06-26T18:33:16-04:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/0a55a4743eb6f334a68feb750a1e8604-50.html#unique-entry-id-50http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/0a55a4743eb6f334a68feb750a1e8604-50.html#unique-entry-id-50If you are like me and love to play guitar at home, then sometimes you will agree that it can get a little boring just playing to your iPod or by yourself. Boss has a product available called the eBand model JS-8. This product has been out for a while now and every time I use it I find myself jamming and playing guitar for hours.

This thing is just so much fun. The way it works is very very simple. You plug your guitar into the unit. It has 2 speakers on it one left and one right for superb stereo sound. The unit is filled with the same chip that is found in their flagship multi effects pedal board GT-10. This essentially gives your unit a fully functioning modeling amp full of almost every Boss pedal they have ever made. The amp models sound great and so do the effects. This alone would give you tons of playing pleasure but the unit goes deeper than this.

The name eBand suggests Electric Band and that’s exactly what this thing has in it. You can select from hundreds of grooves and jams from many different styles of music in different keys. You start by tuning your guitar with the built in tuner that is very accurate and easy to use. Then you go through the many styles to choose from and select a groove. These grooves are real musician’s playing real instruments so the end result feels like you are actually playing with a real live band. The grooves are short but it keeps you playing and playing which makes you have tons of fun and ultimately a better player.

Boss has hit this product right out of the park. There is a newer version of this product that is to be released shortly called the JS-10 which features a 2.1 sound system and some added features. Check out the links in my blog here and be sure to drop into the store to get a demo on one.

Happy Jamming

Lou Roppoli

http://www.bossus.com/gear/productdetails.php?ProductId=1027
]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2012-06-13T14:53:49-04:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/f12dd608615388d65457f6f2a6598b1a-49.html#unique-entry-id-49http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/f12dd608615388d65457f6f2a6598b1a-49.html#unique-entry-id-49Remember the days of vinyl records? Okay I might be dating myself here but if you are older than 30 years of age you would have been purchasing vinyl records when you were younger. I loved it, and still do collect and purchase music on vinyl. I just love the feel of it and how big the artwork is and having albums lying around on the coffee table. People are always asking about it when they come over and we end up listening to full albums on the turntable.

I have a large music collection on vinyl (5 milk crates worth) and once CD’s came to the marketplace I started my CD collection. (Over 500 CD’s). Then a technology came out called MP3. Everyone is very familiar with this compressed technology. When I discovered it I embraced, as I was able to get hundreds of songs on my first portable mp3 player made by Samsung.

I slowly started ripping my CD collection to MP3 and storing my library to my computer hard drives. This was great as I was able to listen to songs at will whenever I wanted to but was only able to access them when I was home.

Many online services have come and gone, Spotify, LastFM, Rdio, iTunes, Zune, Pandora just to name a few. Lately the biggest on demand service is Spotify but is only available in the USA until recently Rdio became available in Canada. I tried the service but quickly realized that the quality was not that great but you had access to almost any song on demand. Recently Microsoft launched a new service called Xbox Music. This Service cost you $9 a month and gives you the same service as Rdio but with much better sonic quality. On top of this you are able to download any song to your Windows Phone or computer and have it to listen to if you do not have internet access. Another great feature of the Xbox Music Service is that if you have a Xbox connected to you TV/Stereo you will have access to all the content as well and be able to control the music from any Computer, iOS, Android and Windows Phone wirelessly you don’t even have to be in the same room.

Now my music Collection is truly in the “Cloud” and I have access to awesome sounding music anywhere anytime for a small subscription fee of $9/month.


Live for Music

Lou Roppoli ]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2012-06-05T11:28:31-04:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/3fa6848e37fbf57601de8d87011e9779-48.html#unique-entry-id-48http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/3fa6848e37fbf57601de8d87011e9779-48.html#unique-entry-id-48A few weeks ago I was at the MIAC show here in Toronto. The Miac show is the Canadian version of the NAMM show that I go to every January in Anaheim, California. MIAC is only for Canadian resellers and distributors and is on a much smaller scale than NAMM. This years show was particularly smaller than other years but still a good show. You get an opportunity to meet up with people in the industry that you would normally not see as you mainly deal with them on the phone.

This Years show had some great products showing but one that really stood out to me is something that every dude would and should want in their man cave (basement or garage). Upon walking to the JAM Industries booth I met with Tony Colacci . Tony has been with JAM for just under 30 years in Montreal and I have known him for at least 20 of those years. He is such an awesome inside sales person and an all around great person and consider him a friend.

As I was talking to him about the past year of sales and products I looked down to see a kind of larger Marshall head and cabinet. Upon further inspection I noticed a handle on it and realized it was a bar fridge. My eyes opened wide with amazement and immediately wanted one for my basement as we are renovating it and putting in a Rock N Roll Bar. I thought, this thing would look frigging awesome next to the bar. Since then I have told my wife about it and hinted about a Fathers day gift.

What better way to keep your beverages cool than a Marshal Amp Fridge? We will be selling these fridges at the store and have started to take orders on them. Please see this link for more information.

Bartender
Lou Roppoli]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2012-05-29T15:49:29-04:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/0060b6222a541ee80f0462632e11e6a9-47.html#unique-entry-id-47http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/0060b6222a541ee80f0462632e11e6a9-47.html#unique-entry-id-47Do you remember that ad on TV and radio back in the late 70’s early 80’s for Memorex audio recording cassettes? You know the one that had people listen to two different audio sources, one was a real musician or band and the other was a recorded version of the same thing. The person had to pick and most often picked the analog tape.

This kind of thing still goes on now with digital technology. We are making virtual models of amps and pedals for guitars. We even have virtual drum modeling and piano modeling technology.

I have always played with this guitar technology always to be let down in the end. The technology is getting better all the time and there really have been some big strides particularly in the recording area. One piece of software that really changed my view on guitar amp modeling for computer DAW systems was Native Instruments Guitar Rig. Since then there have been other companies that have come out with better and bigger software.

This past weekend I was laying down tracks for our fourth House of Not album and did not want to setup my amps and mic’s in my studio as I just had some very quick ideas. I fired up Cubase 6.5 and remembered that it had a new plug in called Amp Rack. I fired up the plugin on a track and selected the Marshall amp and 412 Cab.

Whoa!!!! I was really blown away of the tone that I was hearing out of my monitors. Point is that when I had finished the demo tracks and did some preliminary mix downs I was hard pressed to think I did not use a real amp. In the end I will probably re track the guitars I did with real amps just for my self, but honestly this new version of Steinberg’s Amp Rack is really great.

If you currently own Cubase 6 you should upgrade to 6.5. If you are thinking of a new DAW software definitely look into Cubase 6.5 as it offers some really amazing sounding tools for such a small investment.


Tone Guru
Lou Roppoli
]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2012-05-23T20:17:19-04:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/62d6994fe3a04d85a27c6f4a1416f947-46.html#unique-entry-id-46http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/62d6994fe3a04d85a27c6f4a1416f947-46.html#unique-entry-id-46Last January I had talked about the NAMM show and all of the new and cool things that were going to be coming into the store. Well just last week one of those very cool things arrived. I am talking about the Evil Robot hand wired, hand made amps. These amps are custom built in California by amp builder John Kasha.

We have received 2 models, one is an 18 watt combo and the second is a a 30 watt Head and 2x12 Cab. The amp is a Class A 18watt 1x12 combo constructed out of Baltic birch. It is a semi open back and houses a steel chassis and a 12" handmade speaker. Under the hood you will find a hand wired point to point amp and transformers that are ear tuned and exclusively made in USA.

The combo amp has 2 separate high and low gain inputs with individual loudness controls and a master tone knob. The foot switchable tremolo uses two separate controls, one for the speed and the second controls the intensity of the tremolo. The tremolo on the amp is to die for. The amps also has a switchable remote speaker jack to select 4/8/16 ohms speaker and a three way slide switch for additional tone control.

The Head version of this amp is exactly the same except for the fact that it is 30 watts. This amp give you a little more headroom before the amp starts to overdrive which happens pretty early as this amp was made to Rock!!!! There are over 250 videos online if you want to hear how they sound, but better yet come in and crank one up for yourself.

Lou Roppoli ]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2012-05-15T15:21:04-04:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/a04abc52f9e6b460f5db6328c5fed480-45.html#unique-entry-id-45http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/a04abc52f9e6b460f5db6328c5fed480-45.html#unique-entry-id-45I 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]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2012-05-07T16:02:14-04:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/789e404bbaf159389f4ca01cc4f4d93f-44.html#unique-entry-id-44http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/789e404bbaf159389f4ca01cc4f4d93f-44.html#unique-entry-id-44Last 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]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2012-04-24T13:56:09-04:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/34b64de946f731410317b7d6bf7cced0-43.html#unique-entry-id-43http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/34b64de946f731410317b7d6bf7cced0-43.html#unique-entry-id-43
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
]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2012-04-18T09:01:28-04:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/837555803e91ffd31987304a9c295918-42.html#unique-entry-id-42http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/837555803e91ffd31987304a9c295918-42.html#unique-entry-id-42The 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!!!]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2012-04-12T14:44:12-04:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/553e28fe859c5f054d9ec91a2139fb17-41.html#unique-entry-id-41http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/553e28fe859c5f054d9ec91a2139fb17-41.html#unique-entry-id-41As 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]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2012-04-02T16:42:19-04:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/d2afcacf06bfc568180558880aa5e56e-40.html#unique-entry-id-40http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/d2afcacf06bfc568180558880aa5e56e-40.html#unique-entry-id-40Being 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
]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2012-03-29T15:36:20-04:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/7fa6736421d9232334b6bef264497f1d-39.html#unique-entry-id-39http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/7fa6736421d9232334b6bef264497f1d-39.html#unique-entry-id-39I 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”]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2012-03-21T13:53:15-04:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/a3a0ebf6c027c51012439180241a0ed7-38.html#unique-entry-id-38http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/a3a0ebf6c027c51012439180241a0ed7-38.html#unique-entry-id-38Yamaha 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]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2012-03-12T15:55:08-04:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/30a851431f473a7020d0746b35290755-37.html#unique-entry-id-37http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/30a851431f473a7020d0746b35290755-37.html#unique-entry-id-37I 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
]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2012-03-07T20:17:03-05:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/7deb752f93aacd5bbd9735d5d41cc4e9-36.html#unique-entry-id-36http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/7deb752f93aacd5bbd9735d5d41cc4e9-36.html#unique-entry-id-36I 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
]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2012-02-28T16:22:43-05:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/3fb499c8280b58d8af9af50d973cb6a3-35.html#unique-entry-id-35http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/3fb499c8280b58d8af9af50d973cb6a3-35.html#unique-entry-id-35Well, 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 ]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2012-02-22T17:11:02-05:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/254b810aa31445a534f14eb6263079b7-34.html#unique-entry-id-34http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/254b810aa31445a534f14eb6263079b7-34.html#unique-entry-id-34I 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]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2012-02-09T16:56:58-05:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/e5da039a3312aef6222edc815f25ada0-33.html#unique-entry-id-33http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/e5da039a3312aef6222edc815f25ada0-33.html#unique-entry-id-33You 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 ]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2012-02-06T17:46:35-05:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/09982854fd0242101353683a43b56269-32.html#unique-entry-id-32http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/09982854fd0242101353683a43b56269-32.html#unique-entry-id-32Like 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
]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2012-01-30T13:10:20-05:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/9ecd4cb8d8c1bca0686155c998437787-31.html#unique-entry-id-31http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/9ecd4cb8d8c1bca0686155c998437787-31.html#unique-entry-id-31Just 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]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2012-01-16T16:20:14-05:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/165f7e02fcad77c4abd8038e7d0ef824-30.html#unique-entry-id-30http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/165f7e02fcad77c4abd8038e7d0ef824-30.html#unique-entry-id-30
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
]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2012-01-05T17:19:06-05:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/a87e6915b7a62a1a3f0c67531bff96a9-29.html#unique-entry-id-29http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/a87e6915b7a62a1a3f0c67531bff96a9-29.html#unique-entry-id-29
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.]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2011-11-25T12:12:33-05:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/d8db77928b3622156c0baaeff7485a86-28.html#unique-entry-id-28http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/d8db77928b3622156c0baaeff7485a86-28.html#unique-entry-id-28We as guitar players are constantly looking for the ultimate tone and we find ourselves trying out different pedals weather it be an overdrive, distortion or boost. Changing our preamp and output tubes, trying out new types of strings, amps and the like. One thing we forget about is where the final sound is coming from. I’m talking about the speakers themselves. I have often been asked if I could tweak someone’s amp and I constantly hear, “can you take out some of the high end, can you take out some of the bass, can you add some mids but not the bad mids?” One thing I keep telling people is to try a different speaker or speaker cab. This is the final destination of the tone we are hearing and it is most often overlooked.

I remember Ryan Jenkins (Teacher and Sales Associate at Kaos) had a Fender Blues Junior amp that had a Celestion Vintage 30 speaker in it opposed the standard fender speaker. It was a special limited edition version of the amp in green tolex and that Celestion Vintage 30 speaker. He had brought the amp in the store as he had a gig that night and were comparing it to a standard Blues Junior. Immediately we were both shocked on how amazing his amp sounded.

This was a perfect example how just by changing your speaker or speakers can dramatically change the sound in your amp. One speaker company that I have used in the past is Eminence Speakers Company. These guys have a great website and tons of vids online that you can check out. HYPERLINK "http://www.eminence.com/guitar-bass/" http://www.eminence.com/guitar-bass/

Keep the tone passion alive!!!!
Lou Roppoli]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2011-10-25T12:52:23-04:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/5536ae71150426db4b5df105a3335cd0-27.html#unique-entry-id-27http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/5536ae71150426db4b5df105a3335cd0-27.html#unique-entry-id-27I get asked about recording vocals but more over how to make vocals stand out in the mix and make them bigger sounding.

An easy way of doing this is to double/triple track and use the natural reflections of the room to give a larger dimensional space to the track. After you have recorded the vocal take and you like what you have done, you can then stand approx. 3 feet back from the mic and record the same vocal take from a distance. You may have to make multiple attempts to get the take to sound as close to the original. The key is to attempt to get the take as close to the original as possible. Once this is done, slightly delay the two tracks and slightly pan each track left and right respectively. On the pan pots left being at 10 o’clock and right pan pot at 2 O’clock. After this you can then track a 3rd vocal take but this time standing approximately 6 feet from the mic and applying the same type of delay.  The delay will give you the wider space and dimension you are looking for. There are no rules for this and how much or little delay you choose to use if any. It all depends on your ears and what you like when you apply this technique.

Led Zeppelin used this technique on John Bonham’s drums. According to engineer Andy Johns, the drums for "When the Levee Breaks" were done in a large circular stairwell (I think it was a castle) and he used two Beyer M160 ribbon mics - one hung about 10 feet above the kit, the other from 20 feet. That's it. Oh yeah and having John Bonham drumming that groove made it sound awesome and huge too… Have fun with this technique and experiment.  Remember there are no rules...

Lou Roppoli]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2011-09-08T12:03:32-04:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/f268607f1e735315e424fe197afea194-26.html#unique-entry-id-26http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/f268607f1e735315e424fe197afea194-26.html#unique-entry-id-26A few weeks ago I was presented with tickets for my birthday to go see a show that I probably would have not gone to otherwise. I’m talking about the Guitar blues legend Johnny Winter. Although he has been a huge inspiration and guitar hero to many players I have never really been into him. I remember as a kid seeing pictures of him in Guitar Player magazine with his now famed Gibson Firebird from 1963 and tattoos all over his arms and chest. I remember thinking “who is this crazy tattooed white haired skinny albino dude” as at the time I was listening to Kiss, Rush and Zeppelin. When I got the tickets in hand I was like “awesome I’m going to see a guitar legend.”]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2011-06-29T14:59:40-04:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/7ea62c8567242cc7ad736c5faede2c89-25.html#unique-entry-id-25http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/7ea62c8567242cc7ad736c5faede2c89-25.html#unique-entry-id-25Recently I had a heart to heart chat with our very own Frank Cosentino. Frank has been teaching at Kaos Music Centre for the past 20 years. He has become somewhat of an institution here at Kaos. He is one of the most popular guitar teachers as well as parents love him. His schedule is constantly full and we always have people waiting to get on his schedule. We sometimes overlook this simple fact but Frank is a killer guitar player. I got thinking about this and decided to talk to Frank about himself.

Frank has been a life long player of the guitar for 44 years now. He started playing guitar at the age of 5 when is dad got him a guitar and as he put it “never looked back from that point on.”
]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2011-06-13T16:40:53-04:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/42b776175ca710d46d08eef032a2888c-24.html#unique-entry-id-24http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/42b776175ca710d46d08eef032a2888c-24.html#unique-entry-id-24If you have been in our store recently you would have noticed a recording section to the left of the front door. It consists of a iMac, some powered speakers, a midi controller and small little box that say Blackstar on it. Im talking about the Blackstar HT-1 all tube 1 watt amp. We set up this amp on the desk as it has an emulated speaker output to demo recording guitar into iMac via recording software Cubase. This setup has been working out tremendously as it is easy to plug in a simple ¼ cable into the emulated output then the other end into the input on the USB sound card.

One day I was just showing someone the amp and not recording it, I was totally getting into the tone of this little 1 Watt ToneMonster of an amp. The amp consist of one input and has 2 channels. The first channel is the clean channel and with the flick of a switch you engage the dirty channel. Because of the low power of the amp, even on the clean channel the amp has an awesome breakup when you turn up the amp slightly. Once you engage the dirty switch on the amp you are treated with an awesome wall of killer crunch tone. I can’t say how much of a joy this amp is to play it just begs to be played and its tone makes you want to keep playing and playing.

When you get a chance come and check out this little kewl Tone Monster…

Lou Roppoli
]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2011-05-31T16:32:38-04:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/a0cc5c535aacce1e89311f547e663327-23.html#unique-entry-id-23http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/a0cc5c535aacce1e89311f547e663327-23.html#unique-entry-id-23I told you about in one of my last blogs about my best friend Phil X filling in for Richie Sambora on this last leg of the US Bon Jovi Tour. The tour has come to an end and the last show was May 22nd in St. Louis. I had been wrestling with the idea of going to a show somewhere in the US but did not have the cash nor could I justify the flight cost to see a show. My buddy Omar who is a huge Bon Jovi fan had told me “Lets do a road trip to Milwaukee, we can do it in 10 hours!” He had convinced me to do it. We left Oakville Friday May 20th at 9am and arrived in Milwaukee at 8pm. Checked into the downtown Hilton and headed out for dinner and drinks downtown Milwaukee. After an awesome dinner we asked people “Where can we see some live music?” Everyone told us to head down to Taylors a local club and to check out the strip of bars along that street. We ended up in a small Irish pub and saw an incredible duo act that played 2 acoustic guitars and both these guys sang like birds..Just amazing talent. I was blown away by how good the talent was. We then proceeded down the street to a place that was more like college bar. There we were treated by a single artist playing acoustic and he had 2 RC-20XL looper pedals on the floor. He was playing guitar and doing multiple loops. He would then start looping drums that he was doing from his mouth, a human beat box and was unbelievable. The guy was just incredible, I could not believe the talent in these local clubs downtown Milwaukee. I got so inspired and was singing harmony vocals so loudly that he called me up onstage and I did a set with him sing vocal harmonies, he then proceeded on looping my vocals and we had 3 and sometime 4 part vocal harmonies. It was truly amazing.. Then came the Bon Jovi parts ...
]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2011-05-27T12:43:42-04:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/51dd81b8ee72234f3f47cc10581add1a-22.html#unique-entry-id-22http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/51dd81b8ee72234f3f47cc10581add1a-22.html#unique-entry-id-22If you are like me and love to make your own music on a popular DAW such as Cubase, Protools or Logic, then you are always looking for a better way to get awesome sounding drum tracks. I have always used real drum loops that sound fantastic but the problem you run into most of the times is that you are limited to a stereo track. You don’t have full control over the individual drums like the volume of the snare or being able to compress the snare, or being able to raise the volume of the overheads and also just the overall stereo image of the drums.

I have been using a new software package from a company called XLN Audio . There software is called “Addictive Drums”. I have been using this software for a while and it is just unbelievable. The program is set up as if you had an actual drummer in your computers system. It let’s you select from a multitude of different drum kits as well as cymbals. Once you have selected the drums and cymbals you want to use you have the ability to individually tune each drum and cymbal. Further to that you have individual control with volume and dsp processing using effects and compression. It is truly amazing.

How does it sound? Freaking awesome!!! Once you have tweaked your drums to where you want them, you then select from a huge library of grooves that you just plop into your DAW software. They are broken down my musical style, time signature, temp, grooves, fills, breaks, hi hat fill, ride grove and so on and so on. There is just a limitless amount of styles to choose from. All of these grooves are completely editable if you need to tweak them very easily. If you need to up the sound of your songs and demos you really should become an addict, check out Addictive Drums. Better yet pop into the store for a demo…

Lou Roppoli.
]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2011-05-10T15:45:17-04:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/3da295fb0d89331904b0c31fe37c1899-21.html#unique-entry-id-21http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/3da295fb0d89331904b0c31fe37c1899-21.html#unique-entry-id-21In case you had not heard yet, Richie Sambora guitarist from the band Bon Jovi has entered into Rehab. The announcement came on Thursday April 28th. We all hope Richie a speedy recovery as he is one of Rocks biggest influences and he has written or co-written many hits over the last 30 years. The question that everyone was asking was, would the Bon Jovi tour that still had 13 shows left in the US leg of the tour, and more shows in Europe starting in June continue without Richie?

Just after that announcement, my best friend Phil X got the call from Bon Jovi Management and was asked if he was free and if he would finish the US tour dates as a fill-in for Richie. Phil X is a Mississauga native but has been living in LA for the past 20 years working as a top studio musician for many bands such as, Tommy Lee, Avril Lavigne, Kelly Clarkson, Daughtry, Chris Cornell, Adam Lambert, Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper just to name a few. Of course Phil took the gig and learned the Bon Jovi live set and took off to New Orleans where he was met with rave reviews at the New Orleans Jazz Fest 2011. Since then he has played in Ottawa and Montreal and has also been met with more praise and rave reviews. These are HUGE shoes to fill and Phil was one of the few choices to do the gig. He has told me that he is here to do the tour to help out the band as well as Richie until Richie's health is restored. He has also had nothing but praise for the band and crew commenting that Jon has been very gracious in making him feel very comfortable on this huge tour.

So far he is doing only the US dates as Richie is expected to finish the European dates. We will keep you posted on that. We are very proud of our boy Phil and wish him all the success he so well deserves. I have been talking to Phil every day since he has been on this tour and will be writing a part 2 with regards to the live rig that he is using.

Keep on Rocking Phil
]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2011-04-29T12:53:28-04:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/0bce3404ab9ab2e02753270a207b44a7-20.html#unique-entry-id-20http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/0bce3404ab9ab2e02753270a207b44a7-20.html#unique-entry-id-20You all know how much I love live music and especially Rush. Well last week I had a chance to see Rush at Hamilton’s Copps Coliseum. The tour was called the “Time Machine Tour” and that’s exactly what it was. One great thing about Copps is that the venue holds just under 13000 seats which makes for a very intimate concert especially for such a huge international band. No matter where you sit you feel a sense of closeness to the band. This venue was designed specifically for big concerts in an intimate setting.

There was no opening band as the band played 2 full sets with a long encore (almost 3 sets) they were on stage for just under 3 hours. The band opened up with Tom Sawyer and the crowd went wild. The first set consisted of some older classic tunes with more new material.....]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2011-04-19T16:35:49-04:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/e50a0c256b2690ca0fb0b7b72d386a6d-19.html#unique-entry-id-19http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/e50a0c256b2690ca0fb0b7b72d386a6d-19.html#unique-entry-id-19I do lots of recording in both pro studios and my home studio. I record using Steinberg’s Cubase software and have been using their software for many years now. Cubase is awesome for capturing music and making music either by manually playing the stuff into it via my guitar, keyboard or bass. I often use drum loops and drum software to have my own personal drummer in my home. This blog is really not about recording new music and more about capturing old music digitally.

Recently my co-band member and friend Ken O’gorman from House of Not called me up and asked me if I knew anyone that wanted to buy a 2-Track quarter inch reel-to-reel machine? Suddenly I thought to myself “I want that analog equipment” as you know I love analog equipment and love to use it. I also have about 40 plus quarter inch reels that I had recorded with my bands in teenage years with and also recorded interviews and funny skits with my friends. (My kids use YouTube for this now) This was a perfect opportunity for me to finally dig up those tapes and dump them to my computer and have them digitally for me to re listen to again.

I have finally started dumping the reels over to my computer using Steinberg’s Wavelab mastering software. The software is truly amazing as you can set up tapes and cassettes, hit record and walk away from the room. The software will automatically detect silence and or pauses in you source and puts in markers at these points. From there you can select the file and create CD for burning all from the same software. It’s all automated. Plus the software has restoration Sonnox plugins that will take out clicks and pops from albums and his from tapes, its truly amazing software. I had forgotten how awesome this software was. It really is a professional tool for mastering your music but it can be used for Podcast and automatically uploads them to your podcast site and so much more.


Check this software out when you get a chance, it totally rocks!!!!!
]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2011-04-12T09:29:08-04:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/ef878268077750c31c5fe3efcb8a0ed6-18.html#unique-entry-id-18http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/ef878268077750c31c5fe3efcb8a0ed6-18.html#unique-entry-id-18I have had the opportunity of dealing with so many different customers over the years at Kaos Music Centre. Recently I had one of our long time students and customers share some musical history with me. I’m referring to Anne Eby. Before I get into the story, you need to hear the back story first.

Anne has been a long time adult student here at the store. Her teacher Chris Staig has been giving her lessons for 4 years now. She had started out with an entry level Yamaha F310 guitar. It is an awesome starter guitar that we sell plenty of here for $159.00. She has had such a love for the instrument and had always practiced very hard to become a proficient player. I had always joked with her that she need and deserved to move up to a better guitar that would inspire her to play more and gosh darned she just plain deserved it. Well, after a couple years of lessons with Chris she talked to me about purchasing a new Martin acoustic. I was so excited and happy for her when she told me the news. She was looking at one of the X Series from Martin as it was in her budget of $699.99. I had spent the better part of that afternoon telling her all about the history of Martin and how literally trees come into the back of the Martin factory and guitars come out the front. I love the pedigree and history behind that company and how actual people are in there factory building guitars by hand. I had told her that this was a one time purchase for the rest of her life and that she should move up to one of there all solid wood series. She took my advice and moved up to a Road Series at $1100.00 and she would constantly remind he how happy she was with her purchase. It inspired her play more and better as Chris had told me many times. I had often told her that she should head down to Pennsylvania and take a tour of the Martin factory so that she could see all the history and how trees go in the back of the factory and guitars come up the front. Well, just last week she had emailed me thrilled that she had the opportunity to tour the factory with her husband. She had taken pictures and was happy that she did go the factory. To quote her.

“Having toured the factory in Nazareth PA, I now have a deeper connection with my  guitar. And, I will admit to you Lou, I understand now why they cost what they do. Plus, seeing the care the people take in building the instrument, really makes them more special. Thanks for your guidance and encouragement on this. Keep rocking.”

This story totally moved me and I just had to share it with you guys here on my blog. Keep playing those six strings and keep your passion for the guitar alive…

Lou Roppoli
“Keep Rocking” - Anne Eby
]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2011-03-25T13:09:18-04:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/ac0f1bd0a35e1096d8e3b07d99e89f5e-17.html#unique-entry-id-17http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/ac0f1bd0a35e1096d8e3b07d99e89f5e-17.html#unique-entry-id-17I have a family of 5 and we are constantly consuming digital media at our household. We have several computers in the home as well as 3 TV’s. The problem I have been always plagued with is how to share all my media whether it is MP3, movies, and YouTube and web access. I have a large collection of MP3 (yes I own lots of music and have ripped all my CD’s) as well as a large DVD collection of movies. Wouldn’t it be awesome if I could just put all that media on one big Hard drive and have the ability to share to all the computers, cell phones, tablets and game systems that I own? I have been running a setup like this for many years but it is quite involved and takes lots of knowledge of a Network guru to get it all working. Then you have to train your kids and wife (she is not very tech savvy). For the most part the system I have in place works but there are always hiccups and incompatibility issues from platform to platform until now.

Recently I purchased a new device Called The Boxee Box. You can check it out at www.boxee.tv. What is it? Well it is a small set top device (kewl weird shape) that connects to your home network via Ethernet or Wi-Fi (built in) and then connects to a TV or Computer Monitor via HDMI. It also comes with a RF wireless remote that has a full QWERTY keyboard on the other side of it. That is awesome for putting in web URL’s and searching stuff on YouTube. It supports full 1080p HD as well. As you may already be aware of there is tons and tons of content on the Internet that you can view on your computer. What Boxee does is allow you to stream all this content to your TV or monitor anywhere in the house as well as any DVD movies, MP3’s, DivX files that you may have in a central hard drive that is on your home network. Now I can watch YouTube Videos (tons of music stuff including Kaos vids) on my TV and share it with my family and friends. The device also has a social network aspect built into it as well. What this does is connect to your Facebook account and if any of your friends share a video on Facebook you can watch it on your Boxee Box. So Kewl!!!

This is definitely one of those new tech toys that works remarkably well while also being very easy for my wife to use as well….

Check it out

Lou Roppoli
]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2010-12-07T15:06:46-05:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/58c0878717db967691ff204bdd7bc3ad-16.html#unique-entry-id-16http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/58c0878717db967691ff204bdd7bc3ad-16.html#unique-entry-id-16In my last blog entry I was telling you about my recent trip to Los Angeles. This is part II of my trip. It never surprises me the people you will run into and meet while you are in the city of Lost Angels. This recent trip did not let me down either. I was visiting my one of my best friends Phil X in Las Angeles recently. During that visit he took me around town as he usually does. We started out having dinner at my favourite Sushi place called Geisha House on Hollywood Blvd. Order the Red Samurai if you are ever there it is to die for. After Dinner we headed over to Sunset Blvd my favourite strip for live music and tons of sights. We headed over to the Key Club and there was a private sold out show going on. I thought damn I wonder who's in there and wouldn’t it be great to peek in. The door man looked over and yelled out “Hey PHIL!” gave him a big handshake and told us to go in. As we walked into the crowded room we were greeted on stage with Bootsy Collins, Victor Wooten, Billy Sheehan, Nate Watts, Freddie Washington,Vernon White, Angeli Wellington, Steve Baily& Brian Bromberg all on stage at the same time right before they each took a solo.

For those of you who don't... know... They all play bass. Apparently it was a special concert for Bass Player Magazine. I thought to myself “where else would you ever see anything like this” In La on Sunset Blvd of course. After the show we briefly talked to Billy Sheehan and he had told Phil he wanted to start a cover rock band with him for fun gigs in LA. Very cool indeed. We then headed down the street to the Rainbow Room, an old rock bar that looks like you walked into a time machine and ended up in a bar from the 60's. As we turned the corner in the club we saw Chris Squire , the bass player from the famous band “Yes.” It was turning out to be a Bass players night. I briefly said “Hi Chris, thanks for the great music” shook his hand and carried on into the club.
For a reference, the Key Club used to be called Gazzari's, it was host to famed bands such as The Doors, Van Halen they both were house bands there before they were discovered. The club reached its peak of popularity in the late 1960s, featuring Jim Morrison's young new group, along with other LA talent such as The Bobby Fuller Four, Buffalo Springfield, and the Walker Brothers.

To sum up , it was an amazing trip and I love visiting there everytime I go down. Special thanks to Phil X and his amaizing hospitality.

Lou Roppoli
Tone Chaser...

]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2010-10-29T13:51:21-04:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/13de52e8cd9c09cbe9b8306e03edb4cd-15.html#unique-entry-id-15http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/13de52e8cd9c09cbe9b8306e03edb4cd-15.html#unique-entry-id-15I was recently in the glorious state of California visiting a friend. Many of you already know him on YouTube in the Fretted Americana videos where he demonstrates vintage guitars. Yes I’m talking about the one and only Phil X. The trip was awesome as I got to hang out with Phil at Henson Studio as in Jim Henson of The Muppets fame. The complex is huge with many rooms in it for recording as well as video stages. I am going to be doing multi part blogs from this Trip as I got so much info to share with you.

Today I want to talk about the actual recording sessions that I was able to sit in on. First let me start off by talking about the musicians. Phil X- drums, Chris Chaney- Bass, Kenny Arnoff -Drums and Russ Irwin –Piano/Keyboards. You might not know these names but as you will see at the end of this blog I have included a small wiki on each of these guys. They have played with many professional recording artists both in studio and Live. Kenny has been John Cougar’s drummer for the past 17 years, Russ has been playing with Aerosmith for the past 14 Years and Chris has played with the likes of Lou Reed, Jane's Addiction, The Panic Channel, Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders, Alanis Morissette, Methods of Mayhem, Slash, Shinedown and many more and Phil has played with ,Triumph, Frozen Ghost, Jon Bon Jovi, Aldo Nova, Avril Lavigne, Tommy Lee, Daughtry , Adam Lambert and many more. With a roster of musicians like these guys you would think that it would be hard for them to work together you know attitudes start to arise. Well the exact opposite, these guys just rocked it out in the studio for 4 days straight working from 1pm to 10pm. No hiccups at all, no temper tantrums. They were all so professional and worked together amazingly. I could not believe how fast they were tracking songs and how much stuff they actually got recorded in just 4 days. They were there to help each other , give and take suggestions from each other. Not once did I hear one of the guys bitch or moan and what the producer wanted them to play or play differently. They even produced each other as Russ would tell Phil to play a certain chord structure instead of what he was playing “Thanks Russ that sounds way cooler” Phil pumps up. “Hey Kenney hats are sounding a little too swashy in the chorus” says Phil, Kenney “Okay cool lets re track it” It was just such a cool thing to witness and be a part of. Hats off to the boys for letting me sit in on the sessions and special thanks to Henson Studios for letting me feel like family there.

Lou ...

Phil X – HYPERLINK "http://www.philx.tv" www.philx.tv HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_X" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_X
Kenny Arnoff - HYPERLINK "http://www.kennyaronoff.com" http://www.kennyaronoff.com HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenny_Aronoff" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenny_Aronoff
Chris Chaney- HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Chaney" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Chaney
Russ Irwin - HYPERLINK "http://www.russirwin.com/" http://www.russirwin.com/
]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2010-10-18T12:11:42-04:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/38d363b1610188bd68125e254a794080-14.html#unique-entry-id-14http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/38d363b1610188bd68125e254a794080-14.html#unique-entry-id-14One of my favorite boost pedals just got an upgrade. The folks from Prosound Communications/Xotic Effects have just introduced their new customshop pedals. So far in the line they have made the “BB preamp MB (mid boost)” and the “AC Booster Comp” These pedals have come out from their custom shop as many professional musicians who love and use there pedals had been asking for tweeks to their pedals. The company had been doing this to their higher profile customers and have now decided to bring these to the market place. I love the AC Booster and use it all of the time with my Plexi type amps. The one thing about that pedal that I loved is how it compressed the tone when it was engaged. At the same time I also wished it was less compressed at times, you know how it is you are never happy with your tone...Now enter the AC Booster Comp. This pedal has a 3 way switch that give you ,Extra compressed mode, Normal (standard AC Booster) and Bypass no extra compression at all. This makes an already awesome sounding pedal that much more usable. It also has micro switches inside the unit from which you can adjust the presence frequencies to suit how the pedal sounds. All and in all i do love this new addition to the Xotic pedal family. Do yourself a favour and check it out...

Lou Roppoli ... Tone Chaser]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2010-10-12T12:14:15-04:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/da8ac610fd4927e756cee61c792558ce-13.html#unique-entry-id-13http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/da8ac610fd4927e756cee61c792558ce-13.html#unique-entry-id-13As you know I’m quite the pedal geek. I love to collect and try new pedals all the time. A customer came in the store recently with his new reissue MXR phase 45 pedal. He said to me “dude check this pedal out, do you remember all of those early Rush tunes and Led Zeppelin (Achilles Last Stand)”? Yes i said, Well this is the pedal that made those sounds possible. I remember as a kid going into music stores and seeing that pedal MXR Phase 45 in the glass case. Right next to it was the Phase 90 and Phase 100. I thought why get the 45 when the 90 and 100 just had to be better as they were more expensive and had more knobs. Little did I know that all those classic songs that I had loved over the years were recorded with the MXR45. He plugged in the pedal and started to play “Lakeside Park” by Rush , I could not believe what I was hearing. OMG it was exact!!!! Then he played “Achilles Last Stand” by Led Zeppelin and I was just floored….I asked him where he got the pedal as they were not available yet. He told me that he was in NY and a music store and found one there. I quickly called my MXR order desk and asked about the pedal, they told me that they would be receiving the pedals in approximately one week. I put them on order and was patiently waiting for them to come in. The pedals are finally here and all the staff at Kaos love it…It is simple, has one knob and sounds killer, it is truly one of those pedals that you would put on your pedal board and fall in love with. You definitely have to come in a check it out and fall in love with it as I did..

Keep chasing that tone!!!!!

Lou Roppoli]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2010-09-24T09:45:50-04:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/61e5074bd760273432af6213725ec6a3-12.html#unique-entry-id-12http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/61e5074bd760273432af6213725ec6a3-12.html#unique-entry-id-12Well, the summer has passed and it has been a few months since my last blog. I don’t want this to turn into a music/concert review blog but I just could not pass over this blog as I just witnessed one the greatest shows I have ever seen in my lifetime. I have seen tons of concerts in my 43 years but this last show I saw was definitely a highlight for me. If you are like me and were into Pink Floyd, especially during the early 80’s, you probably were really into albums like “Dark Side of the Moon” and “The Wall”. During my high school years I loved that album, and yes I said album, as it was on vinyl. I basically wore that record out to the point of having to purchase it again. Pink Floyd toured that album in 1980 and kicked off with a show at the Los Angeles Memorial Sport Arena on February 7. This initial tour consisted of very few shows in 4 cities and Pink Floyd disbanded shortly thereafter. I was too young to go to the USA on my own, let alone go to a rock concert, as I hail from a strict Italian family. (“Stay home and be a gooda boy and play your accordion” cried my mama.) This meant I only had the album until the movie came out in 1982. For years I watched the movie, listened to the music and made a deep spiritual connection to “The Wall” and Pink Floyd.

Just last week Roger Waters, the bass player and the chief architect of “The Wall”, came to Toronto and played three sold out shows at the ACC. The show was a spectacular recreation of the 1980 tour of “The Wall”. The show started off with a partially built wall and as the show progressed the wall was gradually built up until the band was fully covered behind the wall at the intermission. That might sound boring, except for the fact that the ACC sound system was a true 7.1 surround system and there were so many cameras playing video on the wall as it was being built. It truly was best and most elaborate rock theatrical production I have ever seen. Please take some time and check out Youtube and search Roger Waters, Toronto, The Wall. I’m sure this tour will end up on a Blue Ray Disc and you will be able to experience this theatrical wonder. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqzI_euZOhM&feature=related

Lou Roppoli]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2010-07-22T11:21:22-04:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/704fb73651adb75c3def5c19f9ee4302-11.html#unique-entry-id-11http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/704fb73651adb75c3def5c19f9ee4302-11.html#unique-entry-id-11I am a huge Rush fan and have been ever since I was 14 years old. I’m 43 years old now and I still love them although I rarely listen to their music unless it comes on the Sirius satellite station that I’m listening to. Recently there was some talk in the store of a new Rush documentary that was coming out June/July. Finally my buddy Ken called me and said “Dude have you seen the new Rush documentary yet? It’s killer “ and even went on to tell me about some rare early footage that was in it. I was like “Kewl” but I didn’t go out and get it. Another good friend Peter contacted me on Facebook and said “Hey bro did you get the new Rush Documentary yet? it is so friggin amazing and the footage is killer?” then my buddy Bruno sent me a message on MSN messenger one night asking me the same thing. I thought enough is enough I have to get this damm movie. The only problem was that we were leaving for our annual family week getaway at the cottage so again it was postponed. Upon my return and while I was unpacking the van my neighbor's son came over to give me a hand and he started asking me about the cottage and then proceeded to ask me, “Hey have you seen that new Rush documentary?” I was like OMG!!!!!! That was it, I told him to hop in the van and drove out to the local HMV. There it was sitting on the new release wall and I suddenly was starting to get excited. Rushed home and unwrapped the cellophane and slammed the Blu Ray into my Sony PS3 and cranked the surround system. Yelled at my kids and wife to come in the family room and asked them to strap them selves in. Well what an amazing documentary it was , the whole family sat riveted to the screen as we watched the story unfold. It is done in 10 parts starting from Alex and Geddy’s early childhood in Wilowdale Onatario. There is some amazing footage of Alex playing his guitar in his room with his high school buddies then the scene cuts to the family kitchen table and Alex is talking to his parents about how much he wants to be a rock star and doesn’t care about the money (little did he know). As the documentary moves along to chronicle their history there are cameo interviews from many people in the industry including Jack Black, Billy Corgan, Trent Reznor, Taylor Hawkins (Foo Fighters), Kirk Hammett (Metallica) and Gene Simmons, this film explores the forty-year career and phenomenon behind what could be the world’s biggest cult band. My wife who was never into Rush and moreover tolerated them for my sake has a new found love for the band and is now playing older Rush albums that she had never heard before and my Kids have found this new love of this band are on YouTube looking up songs and vids. I myself have been rejuvenated both for a love of the band and for a general love of music. If you're a Rush fan, you NEED to own this film!

Lou Roppoli
]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2010-06-22T13:23:08-04:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/205522d80dd4fbb6f7a2be159ebc836c-10.html#unique-entry-id-10http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/205522d80dd4fbb6f7a2be159ebc836c-10.html#unique-entry-id-10I spoke in my last blog about low wattage amps and how you can turn them up to get all that good tube compression and saturation without having the walls shake in your home. Well what about all of those 50W to 100W Marshall Plexi type amps. What is a person to do that only has one of those loud amps. Like i had told you before, its all about getting the output section of a tube amp working to get all of the good tube sound out of them. Some amps have Master Volumes on them, this allows you to crank up the Pre-amp of the amp to get it to overdrive then lower volume of the output of the amp. This method works but you don't get the output tubes working and miss the output tube saturation that is really the tone we are all looking for when the output is being pushed.]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2010-06-16T10:06:14-04:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/32425e5da5dc721941dd996d7192bbdc-9.html#unique-entry-id-9http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/32425e5da5dc721941dd996d7192bbdc-9.html#unique-entry-id-9I talked in one of my earlier blogs about different class amps and how they sound. I want to touch on that a little, but more so on low wattage tube amps and why they really exist? We have so many new amps that have come out recently on the market and many of them are low wattage. So why low power? Why wouldn't you just get a 50Watt amp and turn it down? Well, these are all really good questions. One thing we know about tube amps is that when you play these amps at a higher volume they sound amazing.


]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2010-06-07T17:02:58-04:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/2c4d0dc7088b9b7eda5921dc689ae264-8.html#unique-entry-id-8http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/2c4d0dc7088b9b7eda5921dc689ae264-8.html#unique-entry-id-8 So, finally you have all of the pedals in-line with your rig when you notice that sometimes when you use multiple pedals at the same time your tone changes or it's not what you expected. Well, there are some practical reasons for this. One potential reason is that the effect you are using is actually the wrong one. For example, many people will use "Reverb" when they should be using some delay low in the mix of the effect chain. Two, the order you have your pedals is incorrect or inefficient. There is really no right or wrong when it comes to the order you put your pedals in, especially if you are trying to achieve a specific effect. However many players will agree that there is a specific order as to where pedals should fall in the chain of effects. Here is a simple guideline that can help you with your effect pedal placement.]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2010-05-31T12:53:10-04:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/da0d0e2b7cb2ef86423d71123d5561cd-7.html#unique-entry-id-7http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/da0d0e2b7cb2ef86423d71123d5561cd-7.html#unique-entry-id-7I don't normally talk about products in my blogs but I have to just share this with all you guitar enthusiast out there. Do you remember back in the 60's when guys like Hendrix and Pete Townsend always played with the coily cables?  These cables are been a thing of the past and have been forgotten about. I remember thinking "wow those cables look so cheap" and never looked at them again. Trying to find one of these babies is even a tougher chore and if it is vintage in age you guessed it, cha ching $$$ expensive in price too.  We recently got in these new Vox Coily cables http://www.voxamps.com/accessories/
and I decided to check one out. I noticed right away how great the cable felt and how thick and rugged it was.]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2010-05-25T14:54:35-04:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/ae8f39758303d638dbfb7da422061907-6.html#unique-entry-id-6http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/ae8f39758303d638dbfb7da422061907-6.html#unique-entry-id-6Have you ever gone to a garage sale on one of your wife's search for that antique piece of furniture that is going to finish off the front hallway just perfectly? Well I have and I'm always on the lookout for old radios and stereos. The reason why I say this is because you can find a plethora of vintage tubes that would sound amazing in your old or new tube guitar amps.




]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2010-05-18T12:02:09-04:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/837d85c93af8eb6ba64a0239d9fa3bc4-5.html#unique-entry-id-5http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/837d85c93af8eb6ba64a0239d9fa3bc4-5.html#unique-entry-id-5As discussed in one of my earlier blogs, the output section of a tube amp has a great deal of influence in the overall tone and feel of an amp. When I say output section , I am referring to the output tubes of a tube amp. These are typically the larger tubes in your amp. There is variety of output tube types available. They all have different power ratings and also have very specific tonal characteristics. Today i am going to talking about some specific output tubes, EL34 and 6L6. These tubes have similar power outputs but still offer a fair bit of differences from one another.



]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2010-05-10T16:01:34-04:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/f493320abab0a17def0bcf64c9cc37e9-4.html#unique-entry-id-4http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/f493320abab0a17def0bcf64c9cc37e9-4.html#unique-entry-id-4You have been playing your loved and trusted tube amp for quite some time now and you are starting to notice that the amp just doesn’t have that same tone that you have so used to hearing. It may be sounding too thin or maybe it is starting to get really flubby sounding, or perhaps the amp is just not as loud as it used to be. These are all pretty good signs that your tube amp is in need of a tube change.]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2010-05-03T17:31:23-04:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/b8175269968f4d375abaf6feff34f050-3.html#unique-entry-id-3http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/b8175269968f4d375abaf6feff34f050-3.html#unique-entry-id-3If you have ever walked into a music store and peered into the glass counter display you would notice that it is usually filled with a plethora of stomp boxes. If you were to take a closer look you would also notice that the majority of pedals in those cases are usually different boost, overdrive and distortion pedals. Why is there so many different OD/DST pedals? Well one of the biggest reasons for this is that not everyone hears things the same way and everyone plays the guitar differently. So for this reason a pedal that works well with my playing style and amp rig may not sound the same for someone elses rig and lets face it, we guitar players love our pedals.]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2010-04-26T16:50:23-04:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/85c467382c4cdd1552d4648fc9dbf3ce-2.html#unique-entry-id-2http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/85c467382c4cdd1552d4648fc9dbf3ce-2.html#unique-entry-id-2I often get asked the question which is better Class A amps or Class A/B amps? What is the difference between the two? Lets to go to Class and discover what the deal is with both.

The class of operation refers to the output section of a tube amp and is determined by the manufacturer or designer of the amp. Although the 2 classes of amps can feel different when playing through them there are several other factors that also determine the sound of an amp, not just the type of power amp. In a class A amp the tubes are always on at full power meaning that the tubes are ready to give their maximum potential at any given moment. Class A/B on the other hand idles the current and only gives power as it is needed. If you ever see a Marshall JCM800 amp and look at the tubes(EL34 tubes) while you are playing the guitar, you will see the tubes glow a brighter Blue as you are playing then as you stop playing the Blue will slowly fade. This gradual current draw will give the amps a slower attack and will compress a little more. I personally prefer this arrangement in an amp. If you were to look at the tubes of say a Vox AC30 or Marshall Class 5 amp you would notice the Blue glow to be a constant bright blue. These tubes are running a full current and are much more sensitive and quicker to react to the amount of power that is needed.

Two different types of amplifier outputs equal two different playing experiences. Both have their benefits and drawbacks, once again it’s a personal preference.

So there you have it, going to class can be so much fun.....

Thanks for reading…

Lou Roppoli
]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2010-04-20T10:09:33-04:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/620fe3c694cc1cd2eda4109abde51e1e-1.html#unique-entry-id-1http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/620fe3c694cc1cd2eda4109abde51e1e-1.html#unique-entry-id-1In the past 10 years there has been a huge resurgence in Hand wired Point to Point amps. What does this mean? Does the amp sound better? Why do Point to Point amps cost more?  I think the first thing we have to talk about is what is "Point to Point"? In simple layman's terms this is how guitar amps and any electronic components were made from the early 1940's until the 1970s.  In this era there were no such things as printed circuit boards or integrated circuits. All of the components were hand soldered together lead to lead.

]]>info@kaosmusiccentre.comHome2010-04-14T10:12:21-04:00http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/f3db7f935f58a7f0e18ff7c3e0392854-0.html#unique-entry-id-0http://www.kaosmusiccentre.com/lousblog_files/f3db7f935f58a7f0e18ff7c3e0392854-0.html#unique-entry-id-0The age old question, "Do Tube amps sound better than Solid State?" has been asked since the day the amplifier was invented. The debate between the "tube" and "solid state" camps is as passionate as it is complicated. The general consensus is that tube amps are typically the type chosen by most pro guitar players. However, does this mean that you should buy a tube amp? This easy answer is yes, just get a tube amp. The problem with that statement is that tube amps are generally more expensive that solid state amps. What about young Jimmy 8 years of age getting his first electric guitar setup? Jimmy would be better served with a smaller solid state amp that would actually sound better at lower volumes than most louder tube amps. Not to mention Jimmy's parent's investment would be much more affordable.]]>