Arch Enemy - Anthems of Rebellion

Anthems of Rebellion is the fifth album by Arch Enemy, a Swedish melodic death metal band.  I am a huge fan of melodic death metal as it includes fantastic guitar work, the music is heavy but flowing, and the vocals are very high energy.  My wife, on the other hand, thinks that women shouldn't be able to sing like Angela Gossow (the lead vocalist for Arch Enemy).  This album contains some of my favorite songs to play, including the single, "We Will Rise".  The video is recommended for those who want to check out the band and get a feel for the album.  Highly recommended for fans of melodic death metal, European metal, and awesome female vocalists.

Slipknot - Vol. 3 (The Subliminal Verses)

This album is a bit of a throwback for me since I haven't listened to Slipknot much recently.  Not a whole lot of fancy guitar work, but a very solid sound and theme for the whole album.  Slipknot was the first band to give Roadrunner Records a platinum album, and although this album was not the first, one can see how well the band is able to coordinate with so many members.  Highly recommended are the videos for "Duality", "Before I Forget", and "Vermillion".  All are available on YouTube.  This album is recommended for fans of Slipknot, melodic vocals, and hard rock.

Eluveitie - Slania

Up next is a folk metal album entitled "Slania" by Eluveitie.  There isn't as much intricate guitar work on this album as there is in many others that I enjoy, but the overall tone and feel of the album is quite to my liking.  The music incorporates many folk instruments and creates a sense of full richness.  Recommended is the video for "Inis Mona".  Like the "From Afar" video from the last review, it gives you a pretty good idea what the album is all about musically.  It is available on YouTube.  Highly recommended for fans of folk metal, unique instruments, and European metal.

Ensiferum - From Afar

I've decided to review a few albums that I have been enjoying recently instead of the usual guitar equipment.  The first album up for review is From Afar by Ensiferum.  It's what they call "heroic metal".  I'm not sure exactly what that means, but the album is epic from beginning to end.  While there is incredible guitar work throughout, my favorites are "Twilight Tavern" and "From Afar".  If you are interested, there is a video for "From Afar" on YouTube.  It gives you a pretty good idea what the album is like.  Big guitar riffs, big vocals, and some elements of folk metal.  Highly recommended for fans of metal, guitar, and general epicness.

A quick guide to guitar setup

Setting up a guitar is pretty easy with the right tools.  The first step I take is to put on new strings and tune the guitar.  Next, you need to check that the curvature of the neck is ok.  It usually is acceptable from the factory, but sometimes a bit of adjustment to the truss rod is needed.  The truss rod is a steel rod that runs the length of the neck on the inside, and the amount of tension on it determines how curved the neck will be.  This can be a tricky adjustment as you need to get the height of the strings right (along with the bridge height).  Proper truss rod adjustment is how you prevent strings from buzzing on frets.  Once the neck is adjusted, you should be able to fret any note along the neck with no buzz and the strings should not be too high off the fretboard.  The next step is to set up the intonation of the guitar.  This means that plucking an open string should produce a tone exactly one octave lower than a fretted note at the 12th fret.  This adjustment is usually made at the bridge with a small screwdriver.  It's pretty easy.  Just hook up the guitar to a tuner and check to see if the octave is correct at the 12th fret and adjust as needed.  This is a common adjustment that may need to be made when changing string gauges or brands.  Finally, retune, make sure that the pickups are at a proper height and you are ready to play!

Setting up a tremolo is significantly more difficult and can be quite a pain.  The tension of the springs holding the tremolo needs to be set so that the bridge floats if it is supposed to float (like a Floyd Rose bridge), or the tension needs to be sufficient to hold the bridge down against the tension of the strings.  Floating tremolos are set up by tuning the guitar, adjusting the springs, and retuning the guitar.  It can be very time consuming.  Standard tremolos are much more simple as you just have to make sure that the springs have enough tension to hold the bridge down, then retune the guitar.  Simple!

Washburn BT-2

The Washburn BT-2 was the first guitar I ever owned.  It has two humbuckers with a three position pickup switch, and a single volume and tone control.  It is pretty basic.  The neck is a two piece bolt-on affair, and is thin and fast.  There are 22 medium frets, meaning that chording is very easy.  The neck is very flat and thin, so arpeggios and solos are a breeze.  Bending on higher frets can be difficult due the size of the frets, but it is by no means impossible.  The stock pickups are shockingly good for a guitar in this price range.  They are loud, hot and clear.  They get all of the subtleties of your playing and have very high output without being muddy.  When you switch on the distortion, this guitar really shines.  Distortion really brings out the character of the guitar, whether it is light bluesy distortion or heavy metal distortion.  It is smooth and clear while being thick and very full.  In the studio, I can use this guitar to lay down a track without doubling and it sounds fantastic.  Doubling the track only makes it better.  My BT-2 currently has hybrid .09-.46 strings.  The light strings are a perfect match to the guitar.  I've been playing this guitar for more than 12 years, and it really is a great piece of gear.  Sadly this guitar is no longer produced.  There are, however, several excellent Washburn guitars still available.  I don't think there are any true entry level guitars from Washburn anymore, but they still make excellent guitars.  If you can find one, this guitar is highly recommended for beginners and experts, fans of simplicity, and fans of light, thin, fast necks.

Fender Jag-Stang

The Fender Jag-Stang is the signature Fender model for Kurt Cobain.  He helped design it in the early nineties and it has had two production runs.  The first was produced from 1995 until 2001 and from 2003 until 2006.  It is a conglomeration of custom parts and stock Fender parts pulled from various other Fender models.  The commercial model comes with a humbucker in the bridge position and a single coil pickup in the neck position.  Both are slanted for reasons unknown.  The design is somewhat unfinished in that the body does not have the contour body that it was eventually going to have.  It has a relatively thick neck with a thin nut.  This makes it ideal for the type of grunge rock that it was designed to play.  I also use mine for blues and metal, as it has an extremely wide array of tones that it can achieve.  It can get these tones through the use of two switches.  They each control one of the pickups, and they can reverse the polarity of each pickup.  With the reversal of polarities, you can totally customize the tone of the pickups, creating anything from very full tones to hollow sounding opposite polarities.  It is a pretty cool feature, but one that is very difficult to figure out.  It requires quite a bit of playing around with the switches to get  the subtleties available.  The tremolo is a semi-floating unit that is very stable.  It comes with a single volume and a single tone knob.  The pickups respond well to volume roll-off , but the tone knob is pretty much on or off.  Overall build quality is very good, and fit and finish are impressive.  Mine currently has a hybrid set of .09-.46 strings on it that give just the right amount of tension for my playing style.  It was available in two colors, baby blue and red-orange.  It is highly recommended for fans of tonal diversity, rare guitars, and Kurt Cobain.

Buffalo Wild Wings

Buffalo Wild Wings is a restaurant specializing in chicken wings.  I've tried most items on the menu, and have never been disappointed.  They offer a plethora of different sauces for your wings.  Some of the notable ones are Spicy Garlic, Asian Zing, Hot BBQ, Caribbean Jerk, and a number of other traditional and non-traditional wing sauces.  Also quite good are their burgers.  I highly recommend the Big Jack Daddy Burger.  It is a burger topped with pulled pork BBQ and Honey BBQ sauce.  It makes me hungry just thinking about it.  As far as wings are concerned, you can get traditional wings or boneless wings (which are basically large chicken nuggets).  All are delicious.  The best days to go are Tuesdays and Thursdays because there are deals on traditional and boneless wings respectively.  This is definitely recommended for musicians, fans of spicy or sweet chicken, and any food lover in general.

Fender Standard Stratocaster

The Fender Stratocaster was invented in 1954.  The standard model is made in Mexico, just across the border from the California facility.  The picture above is of a standard model with a rosewood fretboard.  It has three single coil pickups, a vintage tremolo, and a five way pickup switch.  It has a double cut-away body and is one of the most common electric guitars in the world.  The model that I own has a maple fretboard and a custom mother-of-pearl pick guard.  I soon intend to replace the stock pickups with Fender Hot Noiseless pickups from the Fender Custom Shop.  It comes with 21 medium frets, which is less than most other guitars.  I don't find this to be a handicap, though, because I rarely need more than 21 frets during my normal playing/practicing.  The Fender has a long list of dedicated fans including Eric Clapton, Yngwie Malmsteen, Dave Murray, Buddy Guy, etc.  All of these players are truly excellent, and lend quite a bit of street credibility to the Strat.  The neck is smooth and quick, while being incredibly comfortable.  The body was also designed to be exceptionally comfortable, and it succeeds.  I've found it to be quite durable over a period of about 10 years, and it has required very little maintenance.  The only time I need to make any adjustments are when I change the gauge of strings I'm using.  It sounds great clean, and is perfect for some light bluesy distortion.  I use mine primarily for blues and clean tones in the studio, but it has the versatility to play everything from jazz to pop to metal.  Highly recommended for lovers of shimmering clean tones, versatility, and reliability.

The Difference Between Single Coil and Humbucking Pickups

This post is for non-guitarists or those who are just starting out.  To understand the difference between the types of pickups, we'll start by explaining how a single coil (the most simple) type pickups work.  A single coil pickup has only a few parts.  First is a large magnet in the middle.  This magnet is usually made of either a ceramic or alnico material.  It is then wrapped in copper wire and this allows it to act as an electromagnet.  The single coil then usually has six pole pieces that extend out the top towards the strings.  When plugged in, the electromagnet creates a magnetic field around the strings.  When the strings vibrate, the electromagnet receives varying amounts of power, and this is what transmits sound to the amplifier.  The problem with single coil pickups is that they pick up 60 cycle hum from appliances and the amplifier.  This is where humbuckers come into the picture.  If you take two single coil pickups and put them together with opposite magnetic polarities, you eliminate the hum picked up by single coil pickups.  This can be in the form of selecting two single coil pickups at the same time, or it can be in the form of a single humbucking pickup.  Both types have different sounds.  Single coils tend to be brighter and more raw, while humbuckers tend to be higher output and more even and smooth.  The above picture shows a Fender Stratocaster with three single coil pickups, while the second picture shows a Fender Stratocaster with two humbuckers and a single coil in the middle.  For the record, the top Strat is the Eric Clapton signature model and the bottom one is the Dave Murray signature model.

Jackson JS22R Dinky

The Jackson JS22R Dinky is an entry level guitar from Jackson.  Jackson is now owned by Fender, so it is of superior quality.  This particular model has a reversed headstock, 24 extra-jumbo frets, and mother-of-pearl sharkfin inlays.  The color (Inferno Red) is pretty sharp, with a little bit of metal flake to make it really pop.  It comes with two humbuckers and a vintage style tremolo.  The neck has a compound radius, which means that it gets flatter as you go up towards the 24th fret.  This allows for easier chord playing at lower frets and easier string bending and soloing at higher frets.  The JS22R is incredibly easy to play.  The neck is thin and smooth, while the body is light and comfortable.  The stock pickups are decent for an entry level guitar, but I plan to replace them when I get a few more bucks.  The replacements are going to be a Seymour Duncan Dimebucker and maybe a '59 Jazz for the neck position.  The pickups do respond well to the volume and tone controls, while the comfortable body and neck make hours of play a pleasure.  Mine currently has Ernie Ball 10 gauge strings on it.  As with most guitars I buy from Guitar Center, I had to do a little setup to get it sounding as good as it should.  Intonation is easily adjusted at the bridge, while the truss rod was a little more difficult to get right.  One of the great things about this guitar is that it came with a very nice Jackson gig bag that normally sells for $80.  It can be seen in the pictures under the guitar.  This guitar sounds great and looks great, while being light enough for pretty much anyone to play.  On my bad health days, this guitar is a pleasure to own because it is so small and light.  In fact, this is what inspired the purchase.  I love to be able to shred even on bad days.  When I bought it, I paid less than $180.  It is still available from Jackson for about $240 street price.  The JS22R is highly recommended for fans of Jackson guitars, light guitars, and excellent value for money.

Cholula Hot Sauce

Cholula Hot Sauce is among the greatest inventions of mankind.  First, the internal combustion engine, then ice cream, then Cholula.  It is named for the oldest still inhabited city in Mexico.  As can be seen in the picture above, there are several varieties of Cholula.  I usually stick with original, but they are all incredibly delicious.  While I tend to use Sriracha on any food from Asia or Europe, Cholula goes on anything from the Americas.  Whether it be burgers and fries or some kind of Mexican/South American dish, Cholula adds a great flavor and just the right amount of heat to pretty much anything.  Also available from the same company are dry seasonings.  We've used them on Thanksgiving turkey, and it really makes poultry pop.  It can be used as a dry rub or to add some flavor and spice to chili or soups.  However, my favorite thing to put Cholula on is breakfast.  It goes great with eggs, breakfast meats, hash browns, and pretty much anything else.  Breakfast and Cholula are a match made in heaven.  As an added bonus, even heat wimps like my wife enjoy the great taste.  Highly recommended for fans of flavor, heat, and child-like delight.

Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plus Top

The Epiphone Les Paul has a long history of great sound and playability.  The one being reviewed is the Plus Top model which means that it has a translucent paint job over a flame maple top.  It has white binding around the body and neck, and came with two humbucking pickups.  The standard pickups are relatively unimpressive, so I've replaced mine with the Zakk Wylde EMG pickups previously reviewed. The neck has mother of pearl trapezoid inlays, which I find make it a pretty sharp looking guitar.  When it was first purchased, it needed a little setting up (intonation, etc.) and is currently sporting a set of Ernie Ball 11 gauge strings.  I like the smooth "C" shaped neck, and the fit and finish is exceptional for a guitar in this price range.  It has great sustain with a set neck and a thick body.  I play it in several different tunings, from standard all the way down to C tuning.  This guitar sounds great and plays even better regardless of string tension or tuning.  I also like the convenience of having separate volume and tone controls for each pickup.  This allows me to have a slightly dirty tone on one pickup and switch to a heavily distorted tone with merely the flip of the pickup switch.  The pickups respond quite well to adjustments to the volume and tone controls, allowing everything from bright, sparkling tones to thicker, duller jazz type tones.  One more feature that I love about the combination of this guitar and the EMG pickups is that pinch and other artificial harmonics really scream.  Active pickups really make a difference.  This guitar is very versatile and can be used for pretty much any type of music.  Highly recommended for fans of Epiphone/Gibson, Les Pauls, and tonal versatility.

BOSS ME-50

The BOSS ME-50 is a rather powerful multi-effects processor designed for guitarists of all varieties.  As can be seen in the above picture, there are tons of effects that can be used either individually or in unison.  There are more than a dozen types of distortion/overdrive, meaning that pretty much any type of distorted tone can be achieved with ease.  Speaking of ease, the ME-50 was designed to have the simplicity of any single stomp box in an all-in-one package.  The knobs allow easy adjustment of any effect on the fly.  Moving on, the modulation section includes things like chorus (mono and stereo), flanger, rotation, and other effects.  These are great for clean tones and for making solos really pop in a mix.  The modulation effects can be very subtle, or they can be deep, sweeping, and very intense.  The delay section is exactly what it sounds like.  It contains all types of delay, from just a few milliseconds of delay to several seconds (and even backwards playback!).  The expression pedal normally functions as a volume control, but can be used for wah, pitch shifting, and voice type effects.  It's easy to use and very useful.  Also included are nice features like a built in chromatic tuner, a noise suppressor, four types of reverb, and a set of effects that change the tone of your pickups.  The other main component of the ME-50 is the memory function.  it comes with many built in patches and you can easily create and save your own patches.  This makes it easy to set up the ME-50 for gigs by creating sequential patches for any type of music.  I've used this unit both live and in the studio for about 9 years now, and I love it.  It has the ability to create any tone that I want with relative ease and is nicely portable for the musician on the go.  Highly recommended for fans of multi-effects pedals, variety, and easy tone creation.

DOD FX69B Grunge Distortion Pedal

The DOD FX69B Grunge pedal is a distortion pedal that sounds exactly like what the name implies.  It has relatively thick distortion that sounds great for leads or heavily distorted rhythms (especially power chords and palm muting).  The Grunge control adjusts the gain, and the other controls are fairly self explanatory.  The built in EQ has enough range that one can get a few different tones.  It doesn't have a mid range control, so you can't get heavily scooped metal tones, but you can set it up for heavy bass or nice trebled solo tones.  Turning down the gain doesn't clean up the distortion very much, so this pedal is pretty much all or nothing.  Unfortunately, DOD is out of business.  Finding an original one is a little tough, but you can buy a new one with the exact same circuit from DigiTech.  This pedal is also moddable, but I find that it gives me the tones that I like without any changes.  I prefer to use it when I'm playing through smaller low wattage amps.  I find that's where it really shines.  It does sound good through my 100 watt Fender Roc Pro 1000, but can overdrive the speaker at high volumes.  Highly recommended for fans of thick distortion, heavy palm muted rhythms, and grungy music.

Sriracha Hot Sauce

Sriracha hot sauce is a delightful concoction made primarily of chilis, garlic, and vinegar.  It is thicker than most hot sauces, and it has a flavor that can't be beat!  The sauce is named for the city it originated in in Thailand, Si Racha.  It is marketed in the US by Huy Fong foods, and according to Wikipedia, the version sold in America is slightly different from the Thai version.  It goes great on pretty much anything.  I eat it on everything from Asain dishes to hamburgers and pizza.  The bottle even recommends that you try it on a number of different things like soups, pizza, steaks, etc.  I've found it to be delicious on everything I've ever tried it on, but my favorite thing to put it on is my home-made curry.  The garlicky flavor adds a lot to most foods and is highly recommended for fans of hot foods, Thai stuff, and deliciousness.

DeltaLab MD1 Metal Distortion Pedal

The DeltaLab MD1 is a basic distortion stomp box.  It has several features that make to a useful and versatile bit of gear in my lineup.  One of the best is the true bypass circuit.  For those not musically inclined, this means that the pure tone of one's guitar is passed through when the effect is turned off.  This makes a huge difference especially in the studio where clear tone is essential.  The drive control offers a wide swath of tones from mild overdrive (for a sweet bluesy tone) to fullbore metal tones at the top of the range.  The shape control alters the way that the midrange tones are handled, offering additional tonal variety.  It can do everything from very scooped tones for rhythm to searing midrange solo sounds.  Even at full drive, this pedal allows the sound of your guitar to come through.  I've found this to be a rare quality in pedals in this price range.  Which brings us to the best part of this pedal, the price!  You can pick one of these up brand new for about $50.  It's a great bargain and I'm looking forward to picking up some more pedals from DeltaLab in the future.  Highly recommended for fans of cheap effects, true bypass, and awesome metal distortion!

Alienware m15x

I've had the Alienware m15x for a few months now, and I think I can finally write a reasonable review.  Alienware is owned by Dell, and is their flagship gaming machine line.  The m15x is the midrange of the Alienware lineup.  It was ordered online through the Dell website and took about three weeks to build and ship.  As built, it has an Intel Core i3 quad core processor, 8 gigs of ram, a 7200 rpm 320GB hard drive, and a 1 gig video card.  It includes a number of customizable options from the factory including lighting options, a custom laser engraved plate with my gamer handle on it (and in alienese!), and custom desktop theme options.  Also included is a slot loading dual layer DVD burner, a 15 inch 1080p HD display, as well as a combination wireless/bluetooth card.  A built in webcam and microphones allow for video chat with stereo audio.  There are lots of hotkeys that allow one to operate custom options quickly, and also a set of media keys making video and audio convenient.  Performance-wise, it has so far taken everything I could throw at it and more.  I am currently playing games like America's Army, Tropico 3, and Fallout 3 at full 1080p resolution with maximum settings without a hiccup.  Windows 7 Home Premium runs quickly and smoothly with all of the fancy visual options enabled.  Microsoft Office 2007 Standard also runs well.  As a gaming machine, I give it very high marks.  All games I have tried run perfectly and at incredible resolutions.  As an office machine, it is definitely overkill.  However, I use it in that capacity all the time and it works great.  the only complaints that I have are the weight and the battery life.  The case is made of thick aluminum and the machine weighs almost 15 pounds.  Durable, but heavy.  Running so much hardware means that the battery craps out after about three hours under normal use.  Not great, but acceptable to me.  I don't usually go anywhere that doesn't have an outlet, so no problem.  This computer is highly recommended for fans of computer gaming, high performance, and lots of customization.  Feel free to ask questions!

Ubuntu 11.04

This is a quick test from within Ubuntu 11.04.  It was installed tonight on an HP Mini 1030NR, and everything works right out of the box.  I used the USB install method to test it first, and then install.  Wireless, hotkeys, and even the lights on the front of the computer work great.  I like the way that the netbook edition and desktop edition have been merged to create a universal interface.  The multiple workspaces are nice and convenient, and the software included in the standard Ubuntu install is sufficient for everything one could want to do with a netbook like the HP Mini.  I'm excited to see if it stays as stable as Ubuntu 10.04LTS Netbook Edition was.  This product is highly recommended for fans of Linux, Ubuntu, or simple lightweight operating systems.

Tmobile G2

This is a test of posting from my phone.

Fast Food Pickles

This review is a little different from the last, but no less important.  Fast food pickles are an often overlooked item when considering what to order at your favorite fast food place.  Let me clarify this.  This author's favorite fast food pickles come from McDonald's.  The cheapest sandwiches come with the best pickles.  The flavor is unmatched, they have just the right amount of bite, and they are inexpensive to purchase.  Coming in second, we have Five Guys Burgers & Fries.  A close third is In-N-Out.  Both have good, crisp, flavorful pickles.  Which you get depends on which coast you live on.  Honorable mentions include Jack in the Box and Famous Dave's.  In fact, Famous Dave's Hellfire Pickles are this author's favorite pickles available anywhere, but are not available in fast food form.

EMG Zakk Wylde Pickups

This is a test of the first post.  This set included EMG 81 and 85 pickups with new volume and tone pots and a new stereo output jack.  Also included in the box are instructions and other necessary electronic parts.  The pickups are amazing, the install was simple, and the value is amazing.  Great for lovers of hot pickups and guitar players of all varieties.