FrugalGuitarist.com

Parker PDF100

Tue, 22 Jul 2014 09:54:00 -0500

I still remember the first time I heard of Parker guitars. It was a TV show I loved as a kid called Beyond 2000 which featured cutting edge technology and innovative engineering. I must admit not exactly warming to the unique upper bout but seeing the guitar carved our of a single piece of wood by a computer (CNC machine) blew my mind. My next encounter happened nearly a decade later in college when at a casual drop by a college house party I got the opportunity to play one. I was in awe of the guitar, but it would still be another decade before I would have the chance to own one...

Shortly after Ken Parker sold Parker guitars to US Music Corp, the company released a more affordable imported line of electric guitars built in Korea, the PM series and more recently the PDF series built in Indonesia and China. This focus of this review is on an Indonesian built PDF100.

The new PDF line is a more affordable take on the company's MaxxFly platform introduced in 2010 which has a more traditional (and in my opinion comfortable) upper horn and general design lineage branching from Parker's first bolt on neck guitar the NiteFly. In other words, no carbon fiber, no flat spring tremolo, and no stainless steel frets. Some might say with those omissions the PDF100 has lost much of what made a Parker a Parker, and while I can understand that view I would also suggest there is still a fair amount of innovation in the design of the PDF100: the radial neck joint, Parker vibrato, and the ergonomic lightweight body.

Immediately upon picking up the PDF100, I was shocked by how little it weighed. At around 6 pounds, it's significantly lighter than any guitar I've owned. This will be no surprise to Parker guitar fans, but for those who've never held one before, it really is almost unsettling at first. Strapping on the guitar, I immediately marveled at the design. Really, from strapbutton to tuners the guitar has been engineered for ergonomics. If you're a guy who likes to hang your guitar down at your knees, you'll miss out on a ton of what the PDF100 is about as I found wearing the guitar a little higher than I would typically further maximized ease of playability. And literally five minutes of noodling opened my eyes to perhaps the Parker PDF100's most impressive design feature...

Parker's radial neck joint design is genius. The concept is so simple it's a wonder why no other company has implemented it, rather than the bulkier Fender bolt on design a Parker's neck cavity is carved to the same rear radius as the neck. This is supposed to reduce slippage and create a more stable system. However from a player perspective, the joint in concert with the way Parker carves out the rear of the body around the neck joint gives the player unfettered access all the way to the 22nd fret. I've played neck through guitars which didn't have as good upper fret access as the PDF100. I can't say enough about how impressed I am with the Parker Radial Neck Joint design. But what really floors me is we aren't talking about a super expensive custom shop guitar but a more affordable imported guitar, and this feature is offered on the entire PDF line with the exception of the PDF30/35.

The third unique feature to the PDF100 is a version of the Parker vibrato. The system differs from traditional design in two key ways. First, instead of rocking on a knife edge the bridge pivots on two fixed points. Secondly, there is a stop screw which can be set to prevent the spring tension from pulling the bridge back. Through different settings of sping tension and stop screw height, the vibrato offers 3 modes of operation: balanced, pitch down, or fixed. It's a smart system and is essentially the same as the NiteFly, which is very important as Parker does not currently publish a manual for it's PDF line and owners will need to reference the NiteFly manual for information on the PDF line's vibrato. Despite a little grabbing at the nut on the low E string (which a little filing and graphic cleared right up) the system is extremely stable returning to pitch even after some serious abuse. Part of that tuning stability is due to the Sperzel locking tuners.

So, over 700 words and nothing on how it sounds and plays? Sorry! It's easy to get caught up in the PDF100's design. The Parker's neck is thin. Think early Ibanez Wizard thin and as such might be a turn off for some. To be honest, I've not been a fan of thin necks; but the Parker has forced me to completely reevaluate that position. The feel of the neck can only be described in abstractions, buttery comes to mind. Just incredibly smooth. And action can be set incredibly low. The PDF100 is a guitar which rewards good technique, it's not meant to be a beater. The Seymour Duncan SH1 neck and TB11 bridge pickups provide a nice tonal canvas which is broadened by a push/pull coil split on the tone knob. While the Parker lends itself more to modern tones, it's versatile enough to tame things down by rolling back the volume knob and deliver an old school punch as well. Unfortunately, the tone knob does suffer from an ailment found on a great many import guitars in which the vast majority of the tonal change is focused in a small percentage of the pot's throw and the pickup selector toggle doesn't quite feel as solid as I'd prefer. However, given all the strengths of the guitar, extremely minor quibbles.

Parker is doing things right. While I've always championed affordable and imported instruments, Parker has really upped the ante delivering a relatively affordable guitar which really has a custom shop feel. Do yourself a favor and check one out.

Price: $699 (radial neck joint models start at $499)
Pros: Champagne design at (craft) beer prices
Cons: Inner electronics could stand an upgrade.

Korg Releasing SDD-300 Delay Pedal

Thu, 17 Jul 2014 09:58:00 -0500

My second pedal was a Boss DM-2 which, in the stupidity of my youth, I threw away in the garbage because it stopped working. Since those days I've come to love delay and have owned several of the bigger "super" delay pedals. Several companies have reissued their more legendary rack delays as pedals so it seemed only a matter of time before Korg followed suit with the SDD-3000. If this pedal live up to the hype, it's going to be a great pedal.

For more info,check out the official SDD-3000 product page.

Logidy EPSi

Tue, 08 Apr 2014 12:00:00 -0500

Logidy originally created the EPSi pedal to allow guitarist's to add a convolution based reverb to their pedalboard. However shortly after their product announcement, the company was inundated with inquiries of using the pedal to run IRs (impulse responses) of guitar cabinets. Within a few weeks, firmware revision C was made available for exactly that purpose (either firmware can be loaded to the unit by the user). This review will be focused solely on this firmware.

So what is an IR anyway? Think of it as an aural snapshot of a environment. The way it's created is by sending a signal (impulse) into a environment (and and environment can be anything from a power amp/speaker cabinet to a cathedral) and then removing the original signal from the results which leaves only the impact of the environment (response). An IR is only linear, meaning it does not capture an compression or distortion. So why would a guitarist care about an IR? Well, using a process called convolution and IR can be a very precise way to recreate reverb and speaker cabinets.

It's somewhat hard to write a review for an IR loader as if the pedal is doing it's job, it sounds exactly like the IRs loaded into it...which is exactly the case with the EPSi. I paired the EPSi with my Digitech GSP1101 to compare the differences between the same IR loaded into the GSP (which truncates the file), with a ZOOM G3, and with various dirt boxes and loaded up IRs from retailers Redwirez and Ownhammer, as well as the famous free Guitar Hacks set and in all cases the pedal performed exactly as expected. In comparison to the GSP, the non-truncated IR in the EPSi exhibited a fuller low end and smoother highs. In come cases the differences were rather drastic while in others less so but in every case I prefered the EPSi to the GSP. Paired with the Zoom G3 there was really no comparison, I didn't encounter any cases where the native cabinets came close to the EPSi. I find the G3's aural response to be a bit thin and slightly fizzy requiring an EQ assigned to one effect slot to smooth things out. The EPSi frees that spot up for another effect. Pairing dirt pedals I got mixed results. In most cases things were certainly usable but in most cases the results weren't as amp like as the pairing with the GSP or G3. I often had to use the EPSi's EQ to tailor the sound a bit. Though I must add that an old modded DS1 I had paired incredibly well with a GuitarHack IR resulting in a sound I'd be totally happy gigging or even recording. By taking a modular approach, the EPSi could be partnered with any number of peramps with fantastic results.

But the EPSi's design also allows some very creative options other than straight up IR loading for those who think outside the box. First off, the EPSi supports IRs up to 1.5 seconds in length. As such, once can load up an IR in a DAW, add a reverb, and create a new IR with reverb which can be loaded up. Since the Logidy is stereo, one can create an IR with different cabs on the left and right sides...or a case in which one side is an IR and the other side nothing in order to split on'e signal running one output to the board and the other to an amp. And remember, an IR can be a representation of any environment...such as an acoustic guitar, a grand piano, etc. There are some incredibly cool options available to those who think outside the box.

The Logidy EPSi really is a game changer in many ways. Not too long ago convolution processing was something which couldn't be done in real time without some significant compromises. At $200, the Logidy EPSi is priced within the reach of nearly every guitarist and is a great way to improve the sound of a budget modeler or add a direct option to your pedal board.

Pros: IR Loading at your feet.
Cons: None.
Price: $199.95 USD

Boss GP-10

Wed, 12 Mar 2014 09:39:00 -0500

There's always some fun gear announced at the annual Musikmesse show. This year an early announcement which caught my attention was the Boss GP-10. The GP-10's feature set is more closely tied to that of the Roland GR series. In fact, it largely looks to be the little brother to the GR-55. Here's a first look at some of the powerful features of the Boss GP-10.

20 New Free Effects for the ZOOM MS-100BT

Thu, 06 Mar 2014 13:19:00 -0500

Zoom Just launched a new version of their StompShare app including 20 new effects for free which can be loaded into the MS-100BT pedal. Effects include models of the MXR M234 Chorus, the Ice setting from the Strymon Timeline, Line 6 Particle Verb, and the Ampeg SVT bass amp. Additional pricing is as of March 6, Amps are sold at US$3.99 / €3.59 and Effects are sold at US$1.99 / €1.79. Full details about the release can be read here.

A New Owner for Guitar Center?

Wed, 05 Mar 2014 08:51:00 -0500

You may remember that Bain Capital acquired Guitar Center through a buyout in 2007. Since then, Guitar Center hasn't been doing great and recently reported a $398.7 million dollar loss in the 3rd quarter of 2013, has approximately $1.6 billion in debt, and has recently had their corporate bonds downgraded to junk status. These are typically the signs of a company on the cusp of failure, and bankruptcy quickly ensues. Ares Management to the rescue! Or perhaps...Ares Management to the rescue?

Ares Management LLC is the owner of the majority of Guitar Center's debt and the Wall Street Journal has recently reported that Ares Management is finalizing discussions with Bain Capital to take over the company. In Ares converting some Guitar Center debt to equity, a large burden will be lifted from Guitar Center. The bigger question is with trends in popular music shifting further away from guitars every year whether the world needs a big box retailer named Guitar Center. Honestly, I think the answer to that is no. Guitar Center is too big. This is a result of the over zealous expansion of Guitar Center under Bain and expect a tightening of the belt over the next few years with smaller market stores closing and a reduction of the number of stores in bigger markets.

Read the WSJ article here.

Guitar Electronica

Thu, 06 Feb 2014 14:28:00 -0500

Let's face it, dial up any radio station the average teenager is listening to and you'll be hard pressed to hear any guitars. Such is life. Music evolves...or maybe devolves...regardless, in my experience a great many guitarists are more interested in emulation rather than creation. Don't get me wrong, it takes great talent to emulate the wide range of style a cover band can perform in a night. However, if given the choice I'm going to choose creativity first every time. The older I get the more interested I've become in electronica but wondered what value a guitar could add to a genre based around the removal of the limits of physical instruments. Then I saw the below video...mind = blown...

Digitech RP360XP

Thu, 23 Jan 2014 13:27:00 -0500

Digitech's RP360XP is the second in the latest line of effect units featuring Digitech's AudioDNA II processor. From a product family perspective, it is the replacement of their RP355 unit and aimed at maximizing features into a compact and affordable floorboard. So is the RP360XP a next generation processor or simply a repackaging of existing technology? A little bit of both, but that's not necessarily a bad thing as you'll see in the below review.

Cosmetically, RP360XP is a rather large departure from what Digitech has historically offered. Gone is the rather cluttered parameter matrix which has most recently adorned the face of Digitech units as well as the larger plastic foot switches of the more affordable lines. The RP360XP is sleek and minimalistic when compared to the company's recent designs. From a hardware feature perspective, the unit excludes the left and right XLR outputs of the RP355 in favor of a control jack to extend usability with Digitech's FS3X pedal. A rather convenient update though is a revision allowing the RP360XP to be powered by a standard DC adapter rather than clunky AC adapters of the prior RP units.

Before getting to the sounds of the unit, I'd like to a second to speak to functional operation. The RP360XP's foot switches can be set to operate in three different modes: Patch, Stomp, and Bank. In patch mode the left switch increments patches, the middle down, and the right switch is dedicated to the looper, in bank mode each switch loads a preset, and in stomp mode each switch can be assigned to any effect in the virtual signal chain. Digitech really raised the bar concerning live usability of compact units though with the integration of their optional FS3X footswitch. With it connected, the functionality rivals much more expensive and bigger units. For example, when in stomp mode the FS3X left switch engages the looper while the other two switches are left free to navigate patches or it can be set to control looper arm/overdub, stop, and clear. Speaking of the looper, Digitech's inclusion of a 40 second looper in the RP360XP is welcomed. Again, focusing on usability they've offered a mode in which you don't have to hit two switches or hold a switch down for a couple seconds to trigger. I've not played another compact floor unit which offers the ease of recording and overdubbing loops while switching patches. A selection of drum patterns are also included to practice with but unfortunately the drum patterns and looper can't be used together.

From a tonal perspective, the RP360XP builds on the platform the RP355 offered before it but expanding the selection to the same options Digitech's higher end units like the RP1000 offer; 54 amps and 87 effects. Amp modeling options run the gamut from vintage Fender and Marshall offerings up to modern fire breathers such as as the Peavey 5150 and Carvin Legacy. On the effects front, faithful emulations (including their real world controls) of numerous vintage pedals are offered including multiple flavors of Tube Screamers and modulation models of Electro Harmonix, TC Electronics, and Boss stomp boxes. Of course, a long standing benefit of buying one of Digitech's RP units is the inclusion of their Whammy effect. The Whammy in the RP360XP doesn't offer the polyphonic chords mode of the most recent Whammy, but does deliver the classic Whammy sound in spades. While Digitech does offer positional flexibility for any item in the virtual signal chain, the unit is limited to one effect from each category. For example, you can have only one dirtbox at a time, one modulation at a time, etc. In general, this isn't too much of a handicap as the unit offers up to 10 effects at once. However, Digitech bundles the pitch effects with modulation effects which does slightly limit those who lean to the more experimental side of things.

While the onboard interface was so intuitive that I figured it out without using a manual, it's worth noting the migration of Digitech's Nexus graphical user interface from their iPad based iPB-10 to desktop platforms. Nexus is a pretty large step forward from their previous X-Edit interface offering an extremely visually rich display of your virtual pedal board and amp. It's extremely intuitive to use, though on my (admittedly rather old) system, response to control changes in Nexus was a bit sluggish.

It's true there is little tonal difference between the RP360XP and the most recent RP units where their features overlap. But those yearning for the amp modeling and effects options of Digitech's higher end units in a compact and more affordable pedal will find a ton to like here. And the usability enhancements can't be praised enough for those who prefer compact all in one effect units.

Pros: Wide variety of good tones and excellent usability.
Cons: Pitch and Modulation effects can't be run simultaneously.
Price: $199.95 USD

Logidy Launches $200 Convolution Reveb Pedal

Mon, 13 Jan 2014 10:36:00 -0500

Convolution reverbs are sexy. If you've never had the pleasure of hearing one, I'd highly recommend downloading a convolution VST and taking a test drive as up until now that is the only way to really experience it other than very expensive dedicated hardware device. The Logidy EPSi is the first portable convolution reverb at such an affordable price point. It's less expensive than many convolution VST pugins! Here's a brief video the company posted demonstrating the sounds of this revolutionary pedal. Also, for more information or to order, check out logidy.com.

Electro-Harmonix Soul Food

Thu, 09 Jan 2014 17:30:00 -0500

There are a great many mythical pieces of guitar gear, but perhaps none more idolized among dirt box lovers than the Klon Centaur. It's limited supply has driven the prices as high as $2,000 USD. Even boutique clones can get several hundred dollars. When I heard Electro Harmonix was releasing a Klon inspired pedal called the Soul Food for ~$62 USD including a power supply...well I had to pick one up and give it a spin.

The Soul Food is constructed in Electro-Harmonix's "nano" enclosure with pedal board friendly dimensions of 5.8 x 2.8 x 3.4 inches. It operates via the included Boss style power adapter or by nine volt battery, however there is no battery door. To use a battery, you must remove the back plate. A bit of an inconvenience for those who choose to use batteries though EHX more than makes up for it by including a power supply. There is also a hidden switch only accessible by removing the back plate to switch bypass behavior from buffered to true bypass. Controls are minimal including the standard volume, drive, and treble (tone) knobs.

Upon arrival, the first thing I did was plug the unit up to my Tech 21 Trademark 60's clean channel dialed up to offer some blackface Fender type tones. Fans of the Klon often use it as a clean boost pedal exclusively and always on, so I wanted to try that out first. With the gain all the way down and the tone at noon, the Soul Food is a very transparent clean boost. When set to unity level around nine o'clock, I had to look down to see if it was engaged. Given the relatively low setting for unity volume, I imagine it's got enough level avilable to overdrive the inputs of all but the cleanest highest head room amps. Clean boosts can dramatically increase the dynamic response of an amp and the Soul Food is no exception. I then pushed the Drive up to noon where the Soul Food starts to exhibit a mid range emphasis and adds a nice subtle grit. As the drive is increased, the pedal takes on a personality reminiscent of an Ibanez Tube Screamer but not quite as compressed. Though there is some tonal overlap, where a dimed Tube Screamer might be described as smooth the Soul Food might be better described as a bit more open and organic. Curious about the pedal's versatility, I ran it into my Digitech GSP1101 simulating a few choice vintage amps such as a Tweed Fender Deluxe, Vox AC30, and Marshall Plexi. In each case, the pedal was extremely complementary operating either as a boost or drive. I even stacked it with several other overdrives and it worked well with each, but partnered especially well with a Bogner Ecstasy Blue as a boost turning that mid gain pedal into a fire breathing beast. I think liked the Soul Food best set to a slight boost with the gain around one o'clock hitting a lightly driven source which yielded some pretty magical results reacting very well to subtle picking articulations. But really, there's so many good sounds in the pedal that I can't simply say that's the pedal's only sweet spot.

So, is the Soul Food a Klon killer? No idea. I've never played a Klon and probably never will. What it is is a fantastic utility boost/overdrive at a fantastic price.

Pros: Great utility drive/boost at a great price.
Cons: None
Price: ~$62 USD