Category: reviews

Gear Review: The Mad Professor Silver Spring Reverb

On By adamdolhanykIn blog, electric guitar, reviews, worshipLeave a comment

BRAND: Mad Professor

MODEL: Silver Spring Reverb

COST: $195

WHAT IT IS: The SSR is a classic sounding “space” reverb. Space reverbs emulate the sound of reflections in a room, hall, church, cathedral or even bathroom tile. Spring reverb is essentially a “space” reverb but gets it’s own category because of the sonic quirks of mechanical spring tanks.

The short version is that the Silver Spring will emulate the sounds of an amp spring, a room/hall or studio (plate) reverb. The tone knob is really mislabeled. While it does affect tone, it really controls fidelity. Turned all the way to the left and you have a lofi “amp spring” sounding reverb. At noon, the tone knob makes a great room sound and all the way to the right you get a hifi plate/studio reverb.

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A Kinda Sorta Review of the New U2 Record

On By adamdolhanykIn church band, church culture, electric guitar, reviews, thoughts, worship1 Comment

THE RECORD

Almost every review of the newest U2 record Songs of Innocence has told me more about the the reviewer and their issues than the record itself. When a reviewer starts admitting that they “don’t really like U2 that much” or by saying that they haven’t liked a U2 record since Actung Baby, why should we care what they say? When a reviewer spends (as many of them did) the opening half of the review critiquing and complaining about the way or method the band released the record, what does that actually tell us about the music itself? The answer is of course: nothing.

I actually like the new U2 record. It’s not their best record, but it’s certainly not their worst. The songs themselves are far better than most of the critics have given credit for. The final result of Dangermouse’s production work is a debatable point but again, it’s an interesting take on the music of the most iconic band since the Beatles. So now that we’ve had a few weeks to come to terms with the music and implication of the records surprise marketing/distribution method maybe we can look for some takeaways?

Instead of debating the finer points of U2’s latest offering, I would like to look at the response it has drawn. I feel like looking at Songs Of Innocence’s reception will shed light on issues that affect us as worship leaders and church musicians.

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The Electric: Signal Chain

On By adamdolhanykIn church band, electric guitar, reviews, thoughts2 Comments

In this series I try and address different aspects of the practical side of playing electric guitar in church music. This week we’ll continue the conversation about finding the best amp for worship.

 

How have I never written a Signal Chain post? It’s almost criminal. Signal Chain posts are the Tube Screamer’s of guitar blogging! So after two and a half years, I think it’s finally time.

SIGNAL CHAIN

So you’ve got some pedals now, and you’re putting them together. Maybe they’re all Boss pedals (which is pretty much all we had back when I started) so you’ve just ordered them by color. That’s ok right? Well… not quite.

We order in pedals in a certain way (signal chain) because of the effects it has on the sound waves. For example a vibrato pedal affects the shape of the wave form while a delay pedal just repeats that shape. So the order you put the pedals affects the sound you get, and in some cases the way a pedal will act or respond.

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Gear Review: The JHS Colour Box

On By adamdolhanykIn electric guitar, reviews, thoughts, worship7 Comments

A while back I wrote a full review on The Church Collective for the JHS Colour Box. You can find it HERE.

In the time since I’ve made a few observations to add to what I’ve previously written.

GAIN

This thing is a really, really great gain pedal. Fuzz, Distortion, Overdrive. All great. Specifically the fuzz. I think it’s better or more valuable as an EQ/Tone shaper, but the fuzz sounds really, really great and it’s tempting switch roles.

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Gear Review: Empress Tape Delay

On By adamdolhanykIn electric guitar, reviewsLeave a comment

BRAND: Empress

MODEL: Tape Delay

COST: $249

WHAT IT IS: The Empress Tape Delay (ETD) is an outgrowth of the Canadian Effects Company’s Superdelay unit. The ETD focus’s solely on the sounds and feel of Magnetic Tape Delay units of days gone by, with much more control and “tweakability” at your fingertips.

It’s hardly fair, but the ETD will live or die in it’s comparison to the Strymon El Capistan. In this regard it’s probably to say that this pedal will always be the “kid brother” for many people but I am not one of those people. I was very inclined towards apathy in regards to the ETD when I first borrowed it for a multi-church outreach, and I ended up falling in love with it and was very sad to give it back. My regard for the pedal is good enough for you, then stop reading and go buy it, but if it’s not (and why should it be) then keep reading to find out why.

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Brand Breakdown: Analog.man

On By adamdolhanykIn electric guitar, reviewsLeave a comment

The Evil Twin of “The Electric”, the Brand Breakdown is meant to give an overview of the companies that make the gear we use. We’ll talk about everything from their standout products, to build quality, to whether I like their graphic design or not, and how it all applies to church musicians and music we make. 

THE RUNDOWN

Analog.man effects is one of the oldest and most respected effects pedal builders around. Part of their unique place in the guitar world is that they are also a dealer, selling other companies pedals as well as their own. Not content to stop there, Analog Mike and his team are also some of the most respected “moders” of effects pedals in the industry.

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New Worship Music: My Heart Has Spoken

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Have you ever said “I’m tired of the same old thing in Worship Music?” or “I wish there was more saxophone in Worship Music?” or “I want more saxophone, but its always lame?” or “I want to get a new record for a worship band with a Latin name that doesn’t exist anymore?” Well then, the new record by Proto Evangelion called “My Heart Has Spoken” is for you!

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The Electric: Amp In A Box

On By adamdolhanykIn electric guitar, reviews, thoughtsLeave a comment

 

Amp In A Box Style overdrive pedals are a slightly controversial concept. Some feel that they are pointless. Others think they are a waste of money and time. Still many more think they are a welcomed addition to our guitar effect arsenals. Today we’ll look behind to the current to find out just what an Amp In A Box OD is, If they make sense as a pedal genre, and if they make sense for us as worship guitarists.

WHAT ARE THEY?
As the name implies, an Amp In A Box pedal is trying to emulate or capture the sound and feel of a guitar amplifier in stompbox form. Some pedals like the Mad Professor Sweet Honey Overdrive have a generalized, non-descript “amp” feel to them. While others, like the Wampler Black ’65 (Fender Blackface Amp), the Catalinbread CB30 (Vox AC30) or the JHS Superbolt (Supro tube amp) have a very specific sound in mind.

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Gear Thoughts: Line 6 DL4

On By adamdolhanykIn electric guitar, reviews2 Comments

This article is part of The Month Of Delay at the Real World Worship blog. All throughout the month of March we will be looking at different aspects of the delay effect in worship music.

Editor’s Note: Normally, I wouldn’t do a write up on a piece of gear that I’ve never played. Even if I have played or used something, if I haven’t had enough time with it I won’t review it because I really want to know what I’m talking about. But since we are in the Month of Delay, I’m making exception and writing down thoughts on delay pedals that I’ve only played a few times or have only heard YouTube demos of, so please take these for what they are.

LINE 6

I hate Line 6. One of these days I’ll sit down and write out fully why this is so, but for now, it’s fair enough just to say that I do. This isn’t news to anyone who has read this blog for any length of time. What might surprise you is that I don’t hate everything Line 6 has ever made. I don’t hate the DL4. It was actually the 1st delay pedal I ever owned. I got a lot of use out of it and I really enjoyed the creativity it allowed me. That’s not to say I would buy it again. It died on me out of the blue and I choose to go a different route in replacing it.

Normally I would write an actual review of a pedal that I owned for several years, but it’s been several years since I owned it and I didn’t think I could do it justice, so you get my thoughts instead.

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Which Delay and Does It Matter?

On By adamdolhanykIn band practice, church band, electric guitar, reviews, worship5 Comments

This article is part of The Month Of Delay at the Real World Worship blog. All throughout the month of March we will be looking at different aspects of the delay effect in worship music.

 

We’ve covered the three main types of delay (Tape, Analog, and Digital) in previous posts. But which one should you put on your board? Is one better than the other? Will anyone in my church notice the difference?
WHICH ONE SHOULD I CHOOSE?

If you are only going to put one delay on your pedalboard then I would recommend the one that gives you the most options. Either the Nova delay or the Alter Ego, both by TC Electronics would be my recommendation, depending on what you want/need and what your board space is (the Nova for larger boards, the AE for smaller space needs).

But really any type of delay will accomplish the same goal, which is to created repeated copies of the notes you play. (See why we use delay HERE). Ultimately I will all come down to personal preference so test out a lot of options before you make your decision.

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