So today was the day when I finally got my beloved back and I am so chuffed at the results, I have uploaded a few pictures. There is still a bit of work to be done, but it sounds amazing and as I have always believed a natural finish allows the wood to resonant much better and you can certainly feel it (particular in my forearm when it playing), it is (excuse the hippiness) that you are one with the guitar, really connected to the wood itself.Enjoy the picturesPeaceNeil
Ibanez RG-550 update of work in progress
As I posted in a previous blog post, my Ibanez RG-550 is 25 years old this year (see picture in slider....I cropped the image to save my embarrassment) ! As I discussed in that post, I love a natural finish guitar and it was my always my dream to have one (and one which was similar to Nuno Bettencourt's Washburn N4 or those in the slider). So I attacked by beautiful white RG-550 with a wallpaper stripper, some glass and a sanding paper, with an amazing amount of help and patience from my fantastic granddad. We spent a lot of time working on it, but without the proper tools, it wasn't fantastic, the bodywork was a little uneven and as such we went with a dark stain to try and cover it up (and actually the stain was a little bit darken then it looked on the can).Anyway, the guitar was my first 'proper' guitar and was my main gigging guitar for years and years and years, and without doubt is probably my most treasured item. I always knew one day, I would get around to sorting out exactly how I had imagined all those years ago (i.e. get a professional in!). As a treat for the guitar, and myself, for my birthday this year, I finally decided to get the work done this year. The task was to remove the original stained finish (if possible) and then treat the wood, along side giving the guitar a much needed set up and tweak, although I am leaving the neck as is, because it looks road-worn and cool (which it is) and some people pay an absolute fortune to get a road-worn guitar, this is original!. I am leaving all the hardware as is too, although like on all my other guitars I am having the neck pickup coil tapped, as I prefer the H-S-S configuration.So, today I received an update from Steve at Guitar Repair Workshop to show me the progress being made, and wow (!!) I was blown away (see picture) it looks fantastic, I am dead chuffed at the awesome work he has done, and I really can't wait to see the finished.Excited!PeaceNeil
Pedalboard 2013 - a few tweaks
So here is my pedalboard for this year, for those of you out there that like this kind of thing (and I know there are a few of you who do!). Not much change from the last couple of years, I am pretty much happy with everything. One of the main changes is using a TC Polytune mini, rather than the Boss TU-3 Tuner, to be honest I prefer the Boss (probably because I have been using Boss tuners since I was 9!) but as you can see space is premium, so the TC wins out, and I have to say polyphonic tuning rocks! I have replaced the wah, primarily as I have a habit of breaking wah pedals, must be my big feet...but as you can see from my review, I love the fact you can adjust the sweep of the Dunlop Jerry Cantrell wah...oh and I love Alice in Chains, so it looks cool!Biggest change of all is that I have recently switched to using the Eganter Tweaker 40 head instead of the Fender Blues Junior III, which has been an absolute trooper of an amp, and I won't hear a word said against it....so why the change...well I just fancied having some good old Amp distortion for a bit, and you know what us guitarists are like, like to mix things up a bit sometimes. So because of this change I am now using my favourite piece of gear (the TC Nova System) in the loop, I am sad to loose the distortion and overdrive (I know I have discussed this at great length), but it really does also excel in the loop, I love having the boost in the loop to give that extra boost and drive to solos (and the compresor too.So, if I am using amp distortion, why the overdrive/distortion pedals? Well1) They were already on the board2) I really do love both pedals and the do give some different flavours to my sound, giving me a whole pallet of sounds which I need to cover all the eras we do in www.groovething.co.uk3) By dropping the gain on the amp, I can get some lovely crunchy over driven tones, kick in either of the pedals and boom instant overdriven blues or lovely saturated fusion!All in all it is working quite well!EnjoyPeaceNeil 
Inspirational Looping
As you many know I am a bit of a fan of looping with the guitar, and see a wealth of creative opportunities in the process of looping, from being able to use it as a practice tool, to creating complex layered pieces (especially when using something like the Roland GR-55). I currently own the basic Boss RC-3 pedal and think it is fantastic little tool, there are a few videos on my youtube channel showing it in action, for those of you whom are interested. So, it was fantastic to stumble across this video showing the fantastic Alex Hutchings putting each of the loopers through their paces, and also giving some creative inspiration in the process. The video is really well worth a view, and hopefully will inspire you as it did me!EnjoyPeaceNeil
Joyo American Sound and Vintage Overdrive pedals in use - Sound Files
So here are a couple of sound recordings using only the Joyo American Sound and Vintage Overdrive pedals into a TC Electronic Hall of Fame to give a little bit of spring reverb (ala Fender amps) and then directly into Digital Performer and nothing else (well a little bit of ambience and speaker simulation from DP's live room)...sounds pretty good I think !Firstly, a bit of Sweet Home Chicago ala Magic Sam styleSecondly, a bit of Thrillin' ala B.B. King styleAs you can tell I am well impressed, primarily given their cost!! Two pedals for less that the cost of one 'normal' pedals!PeaceNeil
Le Freak and We Are Family - Groovething
Another video from Groovething's gig at New Century Hall, just before Christmas. EnjoyPeaceNeil
TC Nova System in action
Okay this is a bit of a geeky post, but I know some of you love to see pedal boards, so here is a blurry one of mine, taken today at the Tatton Wedding Fayre. Run down of what's on it, Jerry Cantrell Wah, Rothwell f1 Booster, Suhr Riot, Boss Tu-3 and into TC Nova system. Yes, okay this is probably the geekiest post I have ever done :) I should follow up and say that I am totally happy with this set up, it has been pretty constant for about a year now and works perfectly well for me. I usually run into my Fender Blues Junior III tweed, but today I was using a borrowed amp (tiny Laney). I thought it might be good to show that whilst I produce a whole bunch of videos about the nova system, I really do use it live!!PeaceNeil
Higher and Higher - Jackie Wilson - Groovething UK Function Band
Well as the snow keeps getting deeper and deeper (!), why not warm up your snowy Friday afternoon with this little tune, sure to warm the cockles! Featuring the fantastic horns of Chris and CharlottePeaceNeil
TC Electronic Nova System In front or in the loop?
Here is a short video on the TC Electronic Nova System, explaining the differences between using it front of an amp, or in the loop. I get asked this question quite a lot, so I thought I would put together a little video explaining the differences between each, but at the end of day, it comes down to you as a player and the sound you are after as to where you place it. Or you could just get two Nova Systems, as I mentioned in this post and it is still cheaper that a G-System! PeaceNeil