An interesting video from Chase Bliss about going direct to consumer. They’re pitching it largely as a way to prevent having to raise prices. There’s a lot of other interesting info too. It’s clear they’re thinking a lot about whether they want to remain truly “boutique” or not:
A Chase Bliss hub in Amsterdam, that’s great news! 
There’s a pre-sale going on for a new supply run of the Templo Nomad amp: NOMAD 50 Watt Battery Amp – Templo Devices
Only 300 units available, I had my eyes peeled for the V1 version after seeing it featured on JHS’s youtube video “Solid State Amps Suck” (the title is sarcastic, for folks who don’t often watch their channel). Here’s their two cents from V1: Solid State Amps Suck - YouTube
The new one has some nice changes - a real spring reverb instead of a digital one, more EQ, etc. It’s got an XLR in and is definitely a great option for anyone interested in busking or doing small impromptu performance, or just not being tethered to a wall at home.
I bought one of his courses years ago…I received access to the wrong course, wrote him multiple times about it, never got a response. The course itself was unfortunately a mess as well: poor structure, poor editing (some videos ended abruptly, others seemed to miss entire sections that he was talking about), inconsistent formats etc….I just accepted that I had wasted my money on the course, which is a true shame because I think he’s a fantastic guitarist and I love his neo-soul style playing.
If he’s pivoted the approach an now offers a free course to bring people in, I would assume that most of the issues I faced years ago will have been fixed though, otherwise that marketing approach would backfire brutally.
I’ve been off the guitar world for so long…
Can anyone recommend a modern looper to pair up with say… an OT/ST? At least 2 tracks, accepts/sends midi clock and transport commands, with functions like insert and undo functions
When I was really into loopers the echoplex was sort of the go to looper back in the day. Is there a modern echoplex equivalent?
Anyone here tried to the RC-600? Looks decent with 6 tracks and comes with a built in amp sim, which can be really useful going directly into the OT
I think the Boss RC600 is a solid device if you want something bigger (or can live with the form factor). The Pigtronix Infinity Looper 3 is also good. The Aeros Loop Studio is a little different with the screen and UI but powerful…though I’ve read that its midi sync is not always 100% reliable.
I’d say there actually aren’t a ton of options out there that sync up via midi reliably, which is a real shame.
Personally I’m looking at Roland/Boss’ new loopers as the most interesting of the bunch.
I use an infinity looper, don’t see any reason to change. Sounds good, has good features. Can sync to midi. I’ll post a pic of my board later.
I don’t know about the 600 but the RC 500 It did not play nice as a midi slave, It needed to be master. I sold it mainly for that reason.
Pedals are a bit like modular, it’s addictive. The explorer is the latest addition.
Spaceman effects
My main pedalboard (Pedaltrain PT-2) has been stagnant for almost a year, and it is well overdue to mix things up again. The said pedalboard is primarily built for R&B/Neo-Soul gigs. Based on the pedals already available at home, below is the present plan for the update:
When the revision is finish, actual pics will be posted. Just playing around with different ideas, physically and virtually, at the moment.
Another topic under consideration is whether to upgrade to a Pedaltrain Novo 32, which will allow the additions of a dedicated reverb (Wampler Reflections), octave fuzz (Fulltone Octafuzz OF-2), and a few other goodies.
Does anyone here have any experience with the fender mustang micro guitar headphone amp and can recommend it? I’ve read/seen/heard some nice things about it. I would use it just for noodling on the couch, but also to be able to sample straight into the op-1 without much of a hassle. It’s got 12 amp sims (and some basic eq and fx) and can’t really be edited a lot. Which I think is an advantage for sampling. I would just choose one sound I like (65 twin+comp or 60s British presets sound pretty good), sample into the op-1 and take it from there, chopping, resampling, etc.
The only other guitar pedal I have left is the poly beebo, which I love, especially for it’s delays and reverbs. But it’s a bit of a pain to keep a consistent guitar tone throughout all patches when using the amp sims on the beebo, so the fender mustang micro would take over the tone role and the beebo would still be there for delays, reverbs and crazy fx.
Any thoughts?
Edit: I went to a local guitar shop and just tried one. It woks exactly as expected and sounds surprisingly good.
ooh! octafuzz! I love it with the octave off.
That’s how I use it and it works just fine.
I’ve got it - love it - there’s about 4/5 amp and fx combos which are beyond expectations for a device of this kind. Fender did very well with this🙂
I’ve had one since it came out - love it. It’s just so convenient; stuff in in your gig bag or case and you’re always ready to go.
right now I’m practicing Ziggy Statdust on the Bass, as the lead!
It’s going to be just me on Bass and the drummer, and vocalist.
My mate, vocals/guitar, was jamming it with the JHS Smiley, but the Bass through the CE-1 “pre-amp” clone into the Barbershop, + parallel Bass amp, sounds like flock of A10 Warthogs tearing down the Hammersmith Odeon 
We’re going for the vibe that Bauhaus had with it.
please get some recordings of this. I would love to hear how it turns out!
Will do. If everyone’s as motivated as I am, I may get it on tape next weekend.
