GuitArcher

I'm sure we all have certain pieces of gear that carry some value beyond practical use, but lack any sentimental attachment.  For me, that piece of gear is the Fulltone Fulldrive 2. My first recollection of the FD2, beyond magazine mentions, was it's appearance in a major guitar shop in Japan, listed for about 45,000 yen, which is about $400 USD.  You see, the FD2 was hot stateside, and getting anything that was hot in the States in Japan meant paying a serious premium... Aside: Cool versioning history of the FD2 here . A premium I had no interest in paying, what with the plethora of Japanese builders offering pedals I had never seen or heard about.  I remember picking up a Sobbat Drive Breaker 3 as an alternative, but also recall being disappointed to the point of seldom using it. I'd like it back just for the graphic. In any case, when I returned to Canada and got the opportunity to buy a Fulldrive 2, I jumped, especially since this was the 10th An...

More than two years ago, I compared my Yamaha 112 to a Squier Standard Stratocaster I owned at the time.  You can read about it here .  While the Yamaha came out on top, I don't think I've played that poor guitar since.

A quick lunchtime visit over to the local Long and McQuade was mostly uneventful, until I wandered over to their used rack, where I was happy to discover an Epiphone Futura Custom Prophecy with a price of $249.99.  That seems like an insanely good price from a retailer on a used guitar.  the guitar itself seemed to be in good shape, with no noticeable issues.  At this price if I were considering it I'd be checking very carefully for headstock breaks, but I'm reasonably certain there were none to be found. This one is loaded with EMG pickups (81 in the bridge, 85 in the neck?) and Grover tuners, and I think that makes this a pretty good deal.  The shape is completely bizarre, (though it IS a historic Gibson shape. $249.99 plus tax.  No kidding.

I was recently watching That Pedal Show's video with Joey Landreth , and the minute I saw his Suhr, I knew it was time to drop that new pick guard into my Blacktop Stratocaster. The tortoise shell pick guard I bought was for the purposes of finding a home for my EMG 81 and SA (no middle), so the tones are obviously going to be VERY different.  This could be a lot of fun though in combination with the Metal Zone I recently bought.  EMG pickups and a Boss Metal Zone? So. Much. Suck? I'm actually kind of interested in debunking this concept.  Just a few minutes with the Metal Zone led me to the conclusion that it isn't THAT bad.  What if I built two similar rigs from very different pieces and A/B'd them. The first rig would be the Eric Johnson Maple Stratocaster, which has a Tone Zone S in the bridge, into a Fulldrive 2, an Angry Charlie, a Quickdraw delay, and finally int the Dr. Z Maz 8. The second would be the Blacktop Stratocaster, with EMGs, into a ...