THE STRINGS OF LIFE!

Are guitar strings important? Well, take them off and answer the question! You get where I'm coming from. No strings, no sound. Fair enough but getting more to the point, yes, strings are important as touching them creates the sound of the guitar, and that is your sound. When it comes to strings there has never been more choice than there is today and over the last 70 years, any numerous guitar gods that have come and gone, string technology is at the top of it's game with great value to be found in multipacks and fancy high end super-strings that are coated in metals such as cobalt and nickel. Back in the 60s there was only steel strings, Jimi Hendrix didn't seem to mind or Queen's Brian May, both cutting edge players that innovated with what they had. Technology has moved on and now the selection is mind boggling. Strings are the most important part of the guitar in my mind and if they're worn out the sound will be crap. They are made for temporary use and should be changed whenever they sound dull or bad. There's nothing like the chime and ring of new strings, and the rule is, the more you play the sooner they die. If you have sweaty hands this rots them and clogs the wound ones. Luckily I don't have this problem and as I have more than enough axes I can get away with not changing for long periods of time. I have been using 10s since 1992, I used to use 9s before that but found them to be a little too thin. D'Addario XL was my preferred type in the 90s but then about ten years ago I started using Ernie Ball Regular Slinky. Lately I'm in between EBs and D'Addario but now I'd like to try some different brands. I popped a set of Rotosound Yellows on a Tele recently and was quite impressed, they hold tuning well and the treble is smooth and warm with the twang a Tele's famous for. 

I will write a review for each brand type, and add fair pros and cons when I feel the need to. Strings are personal and what one player likes, the next will probably hate.

D'Addario Nickel Wound, these have 6 different coloured ball ends.

A good all rounder with nice bite and clarity. The quality is good from this US made product and they are good value in three packs. They can be a little brittle, but I no longer use a pick so I won't be breaking them while playing!

Ernie Ball Regular Slinky are one of the most popular stings today.

This is another 'go-to' set for me and I do like them, for value and quality but I do find they stretch and requiring a little extra retuning compared to other brands I've used. Again a great all rounder but the shine does not last too long.

Rotosound Yellows are a good all rounder that offer a free first string,

the one that breaks the easiest. I'm impressed with these and find they hold tuning very well and feel slightly more tense than the other two brands. The sparkle is not as pronounced but the high end is smooth and twangy. They don't seem as shrill and that's good with a Tele or a Strat.

Ernie Ball Slinky Cobalt, the high tech, high output string.

I put these on a Les Paul style guitar and they sounded a little harsh, metallic and gravelly. These are almost twice the price of normal strings. They lasted a long time but when I eventually changed them with Regular Slinky's I realised home much I didn't like them. Even the feel was a little hard. Not for me but know I know!

AMP IT UP!

Frank Zappa once said something like this. "There's nothing like the stink of a too loud guitar". I totally agree and amps are a totally essential part of electric guitar tone. Obviously. When I started playing in '86 I borrowed amps off friends but in late '87 I bought a terribly used Jennings solid state combo that sounded bad and weighed a ton! I bought a Laney 100 Watt head and a jumbo Wem Cab in 1990 and that kicked ass until I got rid of it in 1993 and downsized to a Roland JC 55 combo. In late 1994 I while in a band I bought the holy grail of rock monsters, a Marshall JCM 900 head and cab. It might be labelled a half-stack but it sounded like hell and thunder! It was in storage until I sold it in 2003. All I had left was the JC55 as I was going through my computer recording phase. By 2008 I was again itching for a tube amp and a friend of mine sold me his Marshall JCM 2000 TSL602. I still use this amp but it's very hefty for gigging. I picked up a Marshall AS50D in 2013 for my solid body acoustics and was given a Marshall Valvestate S80 combo. This is thin sounding and just lying around. Earlier in 2017 I picked up a Fender Super 210 Red Knob all tube combo and this is a lovely amp that I play through most of the time. I also have an Ibanez practice amp, a Danelectro Honey Tone mini amp and two Smokey mini amps! So there you go, from large to tiny!

ROLAND JC55 Jazz Chorus is a clean solid state amp with the famed stereo chorus effect.

It also boasts the 'worst sounding distortion' ever!

MARSHALL JCM 2000 TSL 602, is a very loud all tube monster with two Wolverine speakers under the hood. While a Marshall is a standard for hard rock and metal the clean is far from sparkle clean like a Vox or a Fender. This has been cited as a tech's nightmare to fix! 

MARSHALL AS50D is a very versatile little acoustic amp with a nice sounding acoustic guitar channel, an RCA in for iPod, an XLR mic in, an aux in for electric guitar or drum machine, built in chorus, reverb, notch filters to kill feedback. Great for a one man show in a small venue.

FENDER Super 210 all tube from the 'Red Knob' days, this one gives the glassy clean you expect from Fender but a big low bottom two with plenty volume on tap. The Volume and Presence pots are push/pull which give you all the vintage tones you need. I don't use the OD setting as it's pretty loud instead preferring to use OD pedals through the clean. I added the castors myself for easy rolling!

ORANGE Rockerverb 50 is a great amp. This was in a shop and I was playing various guitars through it then it dawned on me I had to have it! SO I bought it and now it's my favourite. Clean, while not Fender is miles away from the stuffiness of Marshall and more like a Vox with bell-like chimes and great clarity. The OD channel is the best I've ever heard in an amp and the reverb is nice and also tube driven. It makes all guitars sound good and it's an amp you just like to sit next to and plug in without effects and it's lovely.

 BASSBREAKER 007 while it's not James Bonds amp it's a little killer with beautiful tone and just enough features at the price point. I bought this used and it's great for late night playing with a master volume, two gain stages and three band eq. It's got a great variety of sounds too and with certain pedals you can go from Marshall to Vox to Mesa-Boogie and back!

DANELECTRO Honey Tone is a small 9V amp with OD, headphone socket and belt clip.

Perfect for the garden or park, but beware of the bumble bee tones!

SMOKEY mini amps. I found these in a junk shop a few years ago. They run on a 9V battery and are ideal for late night chops in bed when you don't want too much noise. They are clean when your volume is rolled back and overdrive when volume is turned up. Real cool amps. 

A FEW PEDALS MORE AND...

I'e been collecting pedals since 1987, that's 30 years of stompbox bliss. The very first one I bought in December 1987 was an Arion Overdrive and back then I thought it was the cat's ass. It wasn't of course and when I got more serious, Boss was an obvious choice simply because they were high quality, well made and sounded great. Through most of the 90s I had near 10 when I was in bands and recording but it's in the last 10 years I really put the hammer down and acquired many more. Using eBay and other sites I was able to get some rare and cool gems. I started collecting DOD, Yamaha and a few other oddball makes but Boss is and will always be my favourite pedal. I now own 49 Boss pedals which includes a FV-100 and 31 other makes, bringing my total

footpedal tally to 80. Funny thing is I've only two feet.