Puscifer – Conditions of My Parole

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Doyle

I feel a little late to the game on this one.  I was first introduced to Puscifer, a project band of Maynard James Keenan, with “Rev 22:20″ from the Underworld Soundtrack in 2003.  The song was a good blending of his Tool/A Perfect Circle sounds with a moody synth groove.  A few days ago a friend linked a new video on their Facebook wall and here I am checking out the new album Conditions of My Parole.

The video I had watched was a live performance on the Late Show with David Letterman of the title track.  I was very impressed, and I’m not usually impressed by live shows.  I had to check out the entire album to see if it was going to have the same Grunge-a-Billy Synth feel as “Conditions of My Parole.”  Unfortunately the rest of the album is an altogether different beast.  It’s more of the same Tool/A Perfect Circle sound mixed with varying degrees of mood-synth.  Some tracks drown you in waves of vocals and synth sounds and others sound like they belong on a Tool album remix.  The banjo and mandolin additions to the last track “Tumbleweed” just seem awkward and out of place.

You should check out all the tracks, but I can only recommend purchasing “Conditions of My Parole”.

 

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Guitar Project Update

Posted on February 16, 2012 by Doyle

Epiphone SG-Special

Here is the actual purchased guitar hanging on my wall.  The color is amazing in person.  The paint job done at the factory is pretty flawless.  I had read that the paint may have several flaws in it.  I did decide to hang on to it stock for the full 45 day return period.  After the 45 days is up, however, I’ll be wiring in the aforementioned pickups.  Another decision I’ve made is to not install a Bigsby Vibrato.  I think the look would be amazing, and it is a future upgrade.  My initial plan regarding the vibrato was to install it, replacing the stop-tail bridge, and leave the tune-o-matic in place.  I think this would have resulted in nonstop tuning problems and frequent string breakage.  When I’m ready, I’ll make the change and also install a roller-bridge to decrease friction.

In a few weeks I’ll take some video of this guitar in action, probably five of my favorite songs to play, but I won’t be uploading it just yet.  After the new pickups are installed, approximately two months, I’ll take video of the same five songs played.  I’ll be editing the two videos together so you can get a good side-by-side comparison of the tone difference.

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Upcoming Guitar Project

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Doyle

stock photoHere’s a preview of my next project.  I’m going to purchase this lovely and very inexpensive Epiphone SG-Special (red) and modify it after either my return period is up or I am more than satisfied that it’s not a lemon.  Mods to be done will be pickup replacement and bridge replacement.  Going to change the pickups to T.V. Jones’ PowerTron in the neck and PowerTron Plus in the bridge.  Basic wiring and potentiometers will remain the same.  Going to add a Bigsby B5 Vibrato with the Vibramate adapter plate so I don’t have to make it a permanent addition if I decide that it’s not practical.  I’ll change the image above from a stock photo to my actual guitar once it gets here next month.

 

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Gibson 498T

Posted on November 11, 2011 by Doyle
Gibson 498T Chrome

Gibson 498T Chrome

I purchased this humbucker to go into a custom Stratocaster copy, but after being stalled on that project for more than a year I decided to install it into a vintage Japanese Les Paul copy.

The guitar it went into is a mid-70′s Aria produced by Matsumoku.  The exact model number is unknown, but it’s a Les Paul copy.  Two humbuckers (Maxon), each with a volume and tone knob, and a three-way selector switch.  (due to a damaged potentiometer, the guitar had to be completely rewired to use a master volume and tone)  I originally thought that the original bridge pickup had gone dead, but I believe it may in fact be fine.  At any rate, I had decided to wire the Gibson 498T into the bridge position.

I’ll go on the record and say that I love the tone produced by the neck pickup.  It’s very warm and bluesy.  I would say that any decently made pickup acquires a beautiful tone after more than 30 years of aging.  For any “hot” tones the 498T certainly fits the bill.  Licks like ZZ Top’s La Grange come to life, and the grinding riffs from The Smashing Pumpkins’ Today are easily attainable.  Installation of the 498T was not very complicated, because Gibson makes the wiring diagrams available for download.  Also, I did not set it up for coil splitting, which aided in the ease of installation.

All in all, I would definitely recommend this humbucker to anyone looking to get a hotter tone out of their guitar.

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