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jhmusicman

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Mar 24, 2009
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304
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United Kingdom
Hi Jamie

Thanks for that.
It was a great clinic and I'm sure that you and Dave will build up a great rapport (well it was great an the night, because when you have 2 presenters it is possible to step over each other). The idea to split it into 2 halves bass & Guitar was a great idea.

That EP booster was a winner for me. I'm trying to learn more about electronics and I'm going to build an EP type booster as my first project - will prolly get the real thing when I visit the states. I hope Clubby gets you to South Wales - it would be a blast! - There is a venue I could get for free and it has a great vibe. I'll speak with Clubby next week as we're gonna have a beer or three.
Spud

PS
I love the Piezo on my guitars - and you just "sold it" on the night.

Edit
PPS
Memo to knuckleheads
When I attend clinics like the one at Andertons or the one with Albert Lee in London a year or so ago, I try to help the boys out - you know, re stringing guitars ( I hold the world speed record lol) tuning guitars, polishing them, getting the goodie bags set out etc.

So at the end of the night I get stuck in - they used the small Hercules Stands, - so as the boys from S & T were packing away the guitars I was collapsing the stands. Jamie is talking with the punters - he says "Hold on where's MY stands?
I'd only collapsed them on a side table ready to go withl the S & T stuff!!! Sorry Jamie lol - they were cool Lime Green versions !!!

LOL Spud..the funny thing is that Nigel did the same thing as well..I kept loosing my guitar stands haha..I am glad you liked my piezo demo...I must say that I would be lost without the peizo on my guitar..when I was playing in the Australian Pink Floyd show, it was essential...It made life so easy for me to go between acoustic and electric parts without having to have an acoustic on one of those stands that keep them in a playing position. When I did the Flashback Mystic Orchestra tour in USA, we did Hey You by Pink Floyd. On the original David Gilmour mixed several different guitars, with modulation etc..I was totally able to nail the tone by blending my pure piezo tone with a clean electric tone that had flanger and vintage echo on. I always send the peizo direct to the pa..On the Brian May tour, I had the luxury of being able to have my full rig, one of the benefits of playing with someone like Brian!!..At first I was worried about gear, and was talking to Brian about what I was going to use..I mentioned to him about my full rig, to which he replied,"Why dont you bring that?..if that what you want to use on the tour then use it...i want you to feel comfortable and confident with your gear"..I was so pleased...I love using my GCX switching system, having pedals in the rack, as it keeps my signal pure and clean, plus no tap dancing when using multiple pedals as it is all controled from a seprate programmable board..Brian had also given me one of his signature treble boosters, the same as he uses, which would help me get his tone...the only problem with them is is that they have no on off stomp switch so they are always on, and very noisy!!...by having it in the rack I was able to switch it in and out with the board...now to the piezo bit..thanks to S&T they hooked me up, and supplied me with an LR Baggs venue DI..this is basically a fancy acoustic/piezo DI sytem, that really enhances piezo tone...I had my tech install it in one of my rack trays...our front of house engineer said that in 25 years of touring with pro bands it was one of the best acoustic DI sounds he had ever heard, and coudlnt believe it was coming from my Musicman...infact the tone was so good, that on one sound check the guys asked me to check my peizo, and Brian May was standing with me, so for a bit of fun I played "Crazy Little Thing Called Love"..brian was totally blown away, and like the sound engineer was looking at my Musicman AXis scratching his head!!...so what happened?..that night and for the rest of the tour "Crazy Little Thing called Love" was added to the set, and every night at the start of the song, the spot light would fall on me and I would play the acoustic intro on my Old faithfull Musicman Axis Supersport...I had so many emails from people asking, was it mimed, was it and acoustic simulator pedal, is my guitar midi???....I hve had many emails from people saying that they have now bought one, which makes me feel very proud..one guy from Japan emailed me and even said that when ever he see's an Axis he always thinks of me, and associates me to that guitar, which really gave me a buzz, as that has always been my school boy dream!!..i fell in love with the Axis when it was originally launched as the EVH, and always dreamed of playing one...when the Sports came out I wanted one even more, as they looked like a quircky hot rodded tele style guitar on steriods!!..to finish my little story, when I got the call to fill the roll as Brian May's 2nd guitarist in Queen, performing in London for Freddie Mercury's 65th birthday, it felt like I had gone full circle..It felt like one of those stories you read in guitar mags when session guys get to play with these legendary bands, I kept pinching myself, or expection someone to send an email saying "sorry..only joking!!! when we got into rehearsal, it came to when we played "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", and Brian looked at me and said "Off ya go mate...you start this one"...It was so cool, having such a simple yet classic bit of guitar asigned to me as my part, all becuase my Musicman Axis Supersport could do such a convincing impression of an accoustic...and I'll never forget when we did the gig, and hearing the audience cheer when me and "Old Faithfull" launched into the intro on stage with Queen...a memory of my career I will never forget!! Jamie Humphries..
 
Last edited:

Spudmurphy

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Joined
Aug 23, 2005
Messages
12,037
Location
Cardiff, United Kingdom
^wow!!!
I guess it won't all fit in the back of your car then lol

Great story about the piezo.

My story is not quite so grandiose, but I had a similar kinda experience. we were doing a gig in a local pub - this guy holds up his mobile phone right next to me - I thought "Jeez am I gonna end up on you tube?":rolleyes:. The fact was that he had phoned his mate and was playing the sound of my piezo to him via the phone .
I must have had it in the right part of the mix;),Piezo blended in with my mags but floating over the top- it sounded like another guitarist playing acoustic with us. I also use it on a Floyd number "Wish you were here" and also for some CSNY numbers and it's just so nice.
So if any of you guys out there are thinking of getting a Piezo - just do it.
 

jhmusicman

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
304
Location
United Kingdom
^wow!!!
I guess it won't all fit in the back of your car then lol

Great story about the piezo.

My story is not quite so grandiose, but I had a similar kinda experience. we were doing a gig in a local pub - this guy holds up his mobile phone right next to me - I thought "Jeez am I gonna end up on you tube?":rolleyes:. The fact was that he had phoned his mate and was playing the sound of my piezo to him via the phone .
I must have had it in the right part of the mix;),Piezo blended in with my mags but floating over the top- it sounded like another guitarist playing acoustic with us. I also use it on a Floyd number "Wish you were here" and also for some CSNY numbers and it's just so nice.
So if any of you guys out there are thinking of getting a Piezo - just do it.

LMAO Spud!!!...no its doesnt fit in the car..hence the little baby rig you saw at the clinic...you see what I mean tho??...its sure is a monster...It was a dream as a kid to have a"Rig of Doom" , thumbing the pages of Guitar for the Practising Musician, when they showed all the famous rig on the back page...I love the setup...I started building for the Aussie Floyd tours, as I had to emulate Gilmour...by the 2nd US tour that I did I was up to a 17U rack, with several pedal trays!! The rig had a complete re build for the Brian May tour...Its still a work in progress, and hopefully I am going to add 2 Line 6 wireless systems this year as the double cable does get in the way a little on the big stages, especially when I have to join Brian on the "ego ramp" for harmony moments!! :D..I changed from using Cornfords to having the Blackstar Series One 50 heads for the Brian tour, which have midi switching, which work a dream with my switching system..to my ears the 50 watt Series One head is the best head in the range and sound great just starting to overdrive, and then kicking in the Xotic EP booster to hit the front end harder and send them in to a sweet clean defined overdriven tone.....you can really drive them being lower wattage, and run them as low as 5 watts with the power reduction.. which get the power tubes working harder, (god i'm such a nerd!! :eek:)the 50 is voiced better then the 100 and 200..I have been using those heads for a year now, I have 3 of them...2 running in stereo in the rig, and one as a backup...the rig lives at Brians place, and I keep the spare at mine for gigs...I didnt have to change to the spare on the tour, they were really consistent and reliable...I love your piezo story fella, it made me smile..and yes blending the peizo with the magnetic pickups does give you the sound of 2 guitarists..i just filmed my new rhythm guitar column today for issue 8 of Lick Library's Guitar Interactive Magazine today, and i used the magnetic and piezo together to achieve that in the lesson and video..for those of you that havent checked out the mag go to iGuitar Magazine - Home
I'm glad you all liked my little story...I'm starting to get quite a collection of great memories and storys now...I went to see Chickenfoot a few weeks back in London with Brian, and he said there may be some dates this summer...so fingers crossed that my EBMM's and my "Rig of Doom" get some more touring action this year..I'll keep you all posted...Jamie Humphries
 
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