Sound Garage Tales

Happy Memorial Day!

So, it’s that time of the year – shed the sweaters, hoodies (at least in Chicago), and head to the parade then put that BBQ to work with our family. Since Memorial Day is a day of remembrance, it’s also a day of giving.

With that in mind, how about if shipping is on me and a 7% discount on the orders placed this Memorial Day Weekend for those of you in the contiguous US?!

These are heavy amps so you are saving quite a few bucks there. Call me (847 394 5091) or drop me a line if interested.

Happy Memorial Day!

Because the EF86 pentode is such a finicky tube but sounds so wicked (once you find the right one), I thought it might be worth showing the pain I’m going through (besides replacing Fallon with Leno), to keep things quiet:

Where I show how I am attaching the EM80 Magic Eye tube to the inside of the Gabriel 1×12″ Stinger Combo. The hole I drill has a 1-3/8″ diameter using a Forstner bit. Then I am using a transparent plexi and a metallic shield screwed on the front valance.
The electrical connections are made via an octal tube socket connection on the side of the chassis. The electrical layout of the Magic Eye can be found here.

The weekly tip on how to mount (solder) the copper buss wire to the front controls (potentiometers), and a jig. The buss wire can be found at any hardware shop and the one I’m using here is 14 AWG.

So you finally received your tube guitar amp, you spent a fortune for it, and you love its sweet tone and all, but. . . You live in a small apartment, with sonically transparent walls, and you want to have happy neighbors. Your dilemma was addressed actually by a lot of amp builders by building attenuators that act just like a speaker load and output just enough power to the speaker that you need. But there’s an easier and more effective way of taming your amp by using a Variable Voltage Regulator (VVR) that will let you turn your amp’s Volume to where you want it, but control the overall amp output to an optimal level.

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MercyMe Gold Disc

It is a special thing to have the amps I build with a guitar player in a major band but it is really special to have all guitar players of the same major band using them! You know that people out there appreciate your amps when my good friends and guitar players Mike Scheuchzer and Barry Graul of MercyMe, surprised me one day with a package at my door with this superb Gold Commemorative Disc presented to myself! HUGE THANKS Mike, Barry and MercyMe folks!

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Guitar pedal board routing

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So, I guess this is my first “official” demo of the Gabrièl V18 guitar tube amp. I just can’t believe after all these years I didn’t do any!
I had a couple attempts, but I tossed them because I thought they were “un-professional” or ugly, or I do to many “uhms”, etc. Slowly I am realizing that I will never get a perfect video, with a perfect script (Dang! I even tried to memorize a script – so LAME!), and all that!

I decided that in the end I’ll post an un-edited video just the way it is. This way hoping that the listeners will connect with the human, prone-to-failure part of me in some mysterious way, and hopefully get something educational out of it too! Heck if Julia Child did it… 🙂

I will have to say that Ed Dale’s videos of The 30 Day Challenge were of IMMENSE inspiration for me, right at the moment when I wanted to throw in the towel!

So, ladies and gentleman here is the unedited, uncut, first video of the Gabrièl V18 guitar tube amplifier:

Fellow Chicagoans,

Check out tomorrow’s (Feb 19, 2008) Chicago’s WGN (Channel 9) Morning Show, where the Gabriel Voxer 18w will appear manned by the outstanding guitar player STIK and his band 1969 in a very cool live performance. It will appear on and off so stay tuned.

I will also record the whole show and post it later on.

I’ve being distributing these newer style FootSwitch boxes but I thought they would first be announced in my blog. Check the engraved “Gabriel” logo. I should probably place a blue LED inside so that you’ll have this eerie light emanating through it. Kinda cool huh??