Thursday, April 8, 2010

Guitar Stores with International Shipping

Heres a list of Guitar Shops that ship worldwide.  I've found certain products such as Dimarzio Pickups, Fender, ESP or Yamaha don't allow suppliers to ship internationally.  Pedals are an obvious choice as they are usually indestructible and cheaper even with delivery included to outside the US.  I'd be hesitant to order a guitar no matter who the store is.  I can see it turning up in two pieces!  You can pretty much assume that the "Free Shipping" deal does not apply to worldwide shipping.  Most Terms and Conditions will also state that the customer takes all the risk, so check for insurance or buyer beware!

ProGuitarShop.  I've used them and have been impressed with there service.  Can be internationally shipped by ordering online. Courier fees were calculated at the time.  Great videos from Andy too.

WorldMusicSupply you have to e-mail them for a shipping quote.

Music123 ships virtually anywhere in the world using UPS service.

pedalGEEK appears to ship internationally to most countries.  Some restrictions on other countries.

MusiciansFriend.  Limited products shipped and you must call through and gear cannot be ordered online.

IbanezRules an Ibanez guitar specialist that will ship overseas.  It will probably be quite expensive to ship, however if you really need that JEM7VWH then you'll have to weigh the costs.

Sweetwater you must contact them to find out if the item can be shipped internationally.

GuitarGuitar a UK based store that ships worldwide.  Maybe especially worthwhile if you are based in Europe.

SamAsh ships certain products to certain countries but are bound by dealer agreements etc.

GuitarCenter unfortunately do not allow for international shipping at this time.

ZZSounds unfortunately do not allow for international shipping at this time.




Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Wampler Pinnacle 2 Review

The Wampler Pinnacle 2 stompbox comes with the claim that it captures Eddie Van Halen's Brown Sound in a box.  It has Vintage and Modern modes to take you through the classic Marshall Plexi stack of the 70's to the 80's and beyond.  So put your headband and overalls on as we go through what this pedal can do.

Ease of Use
As far as functionality goes, few pedals are as purposeful. There are four knobs and two toggle switches.  The Volume and Tone knobs are pretty self explanatory.  I've never needed to put the Tone knob past 1 o'clock and thats plenty for even dark humbuckers.  Around 11 o'clock is more than adequate for single coils.  On the right side are the Contour and Gain controls.  I've found the Contour the least practical of all the features.  Turning it up molds the sound to a scoop tone but seemingly some attack is lost.  If you really need a scoop tone better to EQ the amp or go to an EQ pedal.

For an instant variation in tone, flick the Vintage/Modern toggle switch which changes the EQ again from a brighter to a darker tone with a slight amount of fuzz.  The all important Gain control needs no introduction.  Dial in to the highest setting at 5 o'clock the Pinnacle 2 exhibits a little more dirt and grit.  Back it off to about 3 o'clock, in conjunction with the Gain toggle switch and you get that creamy buttery overdrive that gets you in the vicinity of Satriani and Vai.  There is probably very little reason to turn this knob down, otherwise you've bought the wrong pedal!

Sound
As for the Van Halen Brown Sound, those in the know have described this pedal as more Van Halen II than Van Halen I.  But that’s a testament to how good this pedal is. While it's obviously not an exact reproduction of Eddies elusive tone it will get you in the ballpark. Throw in another distortion pedal before the Pinnacle to get more distortion for an Atomic Punk shred.  While you’re at it chuck in a Phase 90 (Script of course) and slap in a good Delay pedal after the Pinnacle and you’ll get even closer.

This pedal is both single coil and humbucker friendly.  Great sounds can be had by both.  You don't need to crank an amp to get good tone.  This pedal is very bedroom friendly and the magic starts happening at low volumes.  EVH tapping just requires a touch more volume but you can easily nail Hot for Teacher or even the Beat It solo.  No problem with rhythm crunch too, the Pinnacle can do Panama and Unchained intros with ease.  The Wampler Pinnacle 2 also plays nice with solid state amps.  Budding guitar heroes can now appreciate those 80's tones without an ear shattering Marshall stack.

Construction
As the name implies this is the second issue of the Pinnacle guitar pedal. The first being in a larger case and the Boost rotary knob now gets replaced with a toggle switch.  The new compact case is about the same size as a MXR or Love Pedal stompbox.  The red speckled metallic paint adds another touch of class.  The only thing missing are those Frankenstrat stripes and some kinda EVH branding.
 
A few of really, really minor niggles.  I would have preferred though to see screen printed text rather than a clear sticker.  It would make it look a bit more professional than home brew.  As well, don't be near Triffids as the blue led light can be quite blinding.  The foot switch also feels quite stiff in comparison to other boutique pedals, oil does not seem to help.  But none of these detract from this incredible pedal.  

Summary
If you are looking for an affordable way to get a Van Halen or even a Vai and Satriani sound then look no further than the Wampler Pinnacle 2.  Brian Wampler has set out to create a brown sound in a box guitar pedal  and he has nailed it.  If there is only one stompbox I could own the Pinnacle 2 would be it.


Pros
Brown sound in a box. 
Covers the array of 80's shred including Vai and Satriani.
Lots of options to shape tone.
Solid state friendly.
Bedroom level friendly.

Cons
Sometimes there is a waiting line. It took 6 weeks for mine to arrive.

9/10


http://www.indy-guitarist.com/
http://www.wamplerpedals.com/ 


Looks like they've reissued the old Pinnacle 2 for a limited time. http://www.wamplerpedals.com/pinnacle_2_reissue








Sunday, April 4, 2010

Eruption Tab Part 2

This is based on Pete Thorn's (sinasl1) How To Play "Eruption", Part 2 video.

Gtr I (Eb Ab Db Gb Bb Eb) - Tune a half step down'

      A power chord
 4/4
  Gtr I
   E  E E  E E E E  E    E E
|---------------------------------|
|---------------------------------|
|-----2----------5-[7]b9p5-7b9----| Pick harmonic at 7th fret 3rd string.
|-----2------5-7------------------|
|-----0-2\-7----------------------|
|-12\-----------------------------|

At approx 4:20 in the video
  E E E E E
|--------------|
|-5h8p5p0------|
|---------8----|
|--------------| x4
|--------------|
|--------------|

At approx 5:20 in the video
  E E E
|-----5----|
|---5------| Rake
|-7--------|
|----------|
|----------|
|----------|

At approx 5:46 in the video
  E E E    E
|---------------|
|-8p5-----------|
|-----7pb9r5----| Pre bend 7th fret 3rd string
|---------------|
|---------------|
|---------------|

At approx 6:49 in the video
  E E E E E
|--------------|
|--------------|
|-4-5h7p5------|
|---------7----|
|--------------|
|--------------|

At approx 7:36 in the video
E E E E E
|--------------|
|--------------|
|-4h7p5p4------| x4 Heavy palm muting
|---------7----|
|--------------|
|--------------|



  E E E E E E E E E
|----------------------|
|----------------------|
|---4------------------|
|-7---7-6-5------------| Chromatic part
|-----------7-6-5-3----|
|----------------------|


  \1 /
  E  E
|---------|
|---------|Dive whammy bar aggressively on low E string.
|---------|On way up hit A string and vibrate x4.
|---------|You don't need a Floyd Rose type whammy. 
|----0----|A standard one will suffice.
|-0-------|




Duration Legend
---------------
W - whole; H - half; Q - quarter; E - 8th; S - 16th; T - 32nd; X - 64th; a - acciaccatura
+ - note tied to previous; . - note dotted; .. - note double dotted
Uncapitalized letters represent notes that are staccato (1/2 duration)
Irregular groupings are notated above the duration line
Duration letters will always appear directly above the note/fret number it represents the
duration for. Duration letters with no fret number below them represent rests. Multi-
bar rests are notated in the form Wxn, where n is the number of bars to rest for. Low
melody durations appear below the staff

Tablature Legend
----------------
h - hammer-on
p - pull-off
b - bend
pb - pre-bend
r - bend release (if no number after the r, then release immediately)
/\ - slide into or out of (from/to "nowhere")
s - legato slide
S - shift slide
<n> - natural harmonic
[n] - artificial harmonic
n(n) - tapped harmonic
~ - vibrato
tr - trill
T - tap
TP - trem. picking
PM - palm muting
\n/ - tremolo bar dip; n = amount to dip
\n - tremolo bar down
n/ - tremolo bar up
/n\ - tremolo bar inverted dip
= - hold bend; also acts as connecting device for hammers/pulls
<> - volume swell (louder/softer)
x - on rhythm slash represents muted slash
o - on rhythm slash represents single note slash

Misc Legend
-----------
| - bar
|| - double bar
||o - repeat start
o|| - repeat end
*| - double bar (ending)
: - bar (freetime)
$ - Segno
& - Coda
Tempo markers - <E/E./Q/Q./H/H.> = BPM(8/16=s8/s16), where s8 = swing 8ths, s16 = swing 16ths

 

** Generated using Power Tab Editor by Brad Larsen: The Official Power Tab Web Site