Randolf Arriola (embryo) Guitar Gear 101
- Thread starter embryo
- Start date
embryo
New member
Tanx for the enquiries well wishes and sori for the lapse guys... it's been quite chaotic recently but all's well tank u's :wink:
Ok in no particular order just off the top of my hat here's a list of things in Gutar Gear land here that are raising in enquiries and awareness wth varying views in debates about the pros and cons. I will try my best to addres them but do welcome one and all here to pitch in where possible and necessary ya...
1. Pedal Mods
2. Live Looping Pedals
3. Tube Amp mods, maintenance and troubleshooting
4. Power Attenuators incld London Power Scaling
5. Guitar Pickups
6. Delay Pedals.
7. Line6 versus Roland in modelling technology
More later...
Ok in no particular order just off the top of my hat here's a list of things in Gutar Gear land here that are raising in enquiries and awareness wth varying views in debates about the pros and cons. I will try my best to addres them but do welcome one and all here to pitch in where possible and necessary ya...
1. Pedal Mods
2. Live Looping Pedals
3. Tube Amp mods, maintenance and troubleshooting
4. Power Attenuators incld London Power Scaling
5. Guitar Pickups
6. Delay Pedals.
7. Line6 versus Roland in modelling technology
More later...
embryo
New member
...about Pedal Mods
Pedal Mods it's pros and cons come aplenty similar to boutique and stock pedals. Mods are usually done in the spirit of trying to create a more personalized variation within the limits of classic pedal designs eg. Fuzz Face, Big Muff, TS9/SD1 Overdrive and DS1/RAT Distortion to suit one's intended muscal intentions.
All variables of opinions considered and set aside I'd simply say that all the gear in the world will never make you play better simply by just plugging in and "Presto! I sound exactly like so and so!" Until the day arrives when they start making and selling pedals that give you instant Talent, Feel and Soul (heheheeh i noe someone's working on a "Talent Boost Drive Pedal" practice hard, listen and play music with your ears and heart instead of your eyes. As one gets better you'll naturally play the gear and not the other way around.
If cost was no object there's no harm in choosing the path of searching and buying and trading off every single available pedal out there stock or boutique to sample and experience the promise, hype and what nots that come with all of them... or you can simply do your best with whatever more cost effective gear you already or can have honing your chops with them and in progressive steps later down the road choose to tweak these with cost effective personalized custom or replica modding to complement your own tone quest.
Pedal Mods it's pros and cons come aplenty similar to boutique and stock pedals. Mods are usually done in the spirit of trying to create a more personalized variation within the limits of classic pedal designs eg. Fuzz Face, Big Muff, TS9/SD1 Overdrive and DS1/RAT Distortion to suit one's intended muscal intentions.
All variables of opinions considered and set aside I'd simply say that all the gear in the world will never make you play better simply by just plugging in and "Presto! I sound exactly like so and so!" Until the day arrives when they start making and selling pedals that give you instant Talent, Feel and Soul (heheheeh i noe someone's working on a "Talent Boost Drive Pedal" practice hard, listen and play music with your ears and heart instead of your eyes. As one gets better you'll naturally play the gear and not the other way around.
If cost was no object there's no harm in choosing the path of searching and buying and trading off every single available pedal out there stock or boutique to sample and experience the promise, hype and what nots that come with all of them... or you can simply do your best with whatever more cost effective gear you already or can have honing your chops with them and in progressive steps later down the road choose to tweak these with cost effective personalized custom or replica modding to complement your own tone quest.
embryo
New member
MUSIC FOR GOOD PRESENTS
TONEQUEST event at Artshouse
Event: ToneQuest (An event of Guitar Gear 101 and Live Looping by Randolf Arriola)
Date and Time: 6 Oct Sat afternoon 2pm to 6pm
Venue: Arts House (Blueroom)
Admission: Free
Attendees: Anyone and everyone who are guitar gear enthusiasts, amatuers, semi n pros and the curios.
Featuring;
Randolf Arriola Guitar Gear 101+ Live Looping Performance and Q&A.
As a fulltime musician Randolf walks the fine often blurred line between professional and artistic. His unique attitude and approach on the guitar treating it more like a paintbrush is a deft combination of eclectic musical tastes with ever evolving technology ever seeking to discover and add new colors, textures and depths to his reverence for song and sound craft.
As a sought-after performer, speaker, educator at events he's become a regular feature at the annual "TAGS" (The Art of Gear Stomping), Music for Good- music gear and performance and has been chosen to represent Gibson Guitars at WOMAD 2007 (World of Music, Arts & Dance) Festival 2007 and the coming TONEQUESTevent. Currently performing solo live weekly at Harry's Harbour Front and Millenia Walk, Randolf is a featured performer in this year's Y2K7 International Live Looping Festival held in Santa Cruz North California USA. Randolf together with Wendy Phua is also working to complete and release recordings of originals under his project group "The Embryo".
Also featuring; Live Solo performances and Q&A with
Wendy Phua - Bass Guitar and beyond! Solo Performance n Q&A
Wendy Phua plays and approaches the Bass Guitar beyond the obvious low registers of the instrument. Previously with the award winning the local band Zhen she is currently a member and formidable creative force in Embryo with Randolf who are currently recording.
Mary Ho - Solo Lead Guitar performance followed by Q&A.
Mary Ho is considered at her age of 71 the coolest Grandma in S'pore and quite possibly around the world because she loves electric lead guitar, practises, plays and is currently recording her debut album of some of her all time favourite guitar instrumentals.
Gibson Guitars, Basses and amps on display for free test run! Models include those featured at Womad 2007 and more!
1. Gibson Slash Custom Shop Les Paul Standard
2. Gibson Larry Carlton Custom Shop Mr 335
3. Gibson BB King Lucille
4. Gibson SG Reissue 61
5. Gibson HD6X Pro
6. Gibson Classic Custom Les Paul
7. Gibson Melody Maker
8. Epiphone Emperor Regent
9. Steinberger Synapse SS25
10. Steinberger Synapse Transcale
11. Gibson Money Bass
12. Tobias Classic Bass
13. Epiphone Allen Woody RumbleKat Bass
14. Epiphones Jack Casady Bass
Amps Epiphone Valve Standard
TONEQUEST at the ArtsHouse event is made possible by;
Organizer - Music For Good .
Supported by:: Gibson, The Arts House, National Arts Council, Singapore Pools, Singapore Totalisator Board
TONEQUEST event at Artshouse
Event: ToneQuest (An event of Guitar Gear 101 and Live Looping by Randolf Arriola)
Date and Time: 6 Oct Sat afternoon 2pm to 6pm
Venue: Arts House (Blueroom)
Admission: Free
Attendees: Anyone and everyone who are guitar gear enthusiasts, amatuers, semi n pros and the curios.
Featuring;
Randolf Arriola Guitar Gear 101+ Live Looping Performance and Q&A.
As a fulltime musician Randolf walks the fine often blurred line between professional and artistic. His unique attitude and approach on the guitar treating it more like a paintbrush is a deft combination of eclectic musical tastes with ever evolving technology ever seeking to discover and add new colors, textures and depths to his reverence for song and sound craft.
As a sought-after performer, speaker, educator at events he's become a regular feature at the annual "TAGS" (The Art of Gear Stomping), Music for Good- music gear and performance and has been chosen to represent Gibson Guitars at WOMAD 2007 (World of Music, Arts & Dance) Festival 2007 and the coming TONEQUESTevent. Currently performing solo live weekly at Harry's Harbour Front and Millenia Walk, Randolf is a featured performer in this year's Y2K7 International Live Looping Festival held in Santa Cruz North California USA. Randolf together with Wendy Phua is also working to complete and release recordings of originals under his project group "The Embryo".
Also featuring; Live Solo performances and Q&A with
Wendy Phua - Bass Guitar and beyond! Solo Performance n Q&A
Wendy Phua plays and approaches the Bass Guitar beyond the obvious low registers of the instrument. Previously with the award winning the local band Zhen she is currently a member and formidable creative force in Embryo with Randolf who are currently recording.
Mary Ho - Solo Lead Guitar performance followed by Q&A.
Mary Ho is considered at her age of 71 the coolest Grandma in S'pore and quite possibly around the world because she loves electric lead guitar, practises, plays and is currently recording her debut album of some of her all time favourite guitar instrumentals.
Gibson Guitars, Basses and amps on display for free test run! Models include those featured at Womad 2007 and more!
1. Gibson Slash Custom Shop Les Paul Standard
2. Gibson Larry Carlton Custom Shop Mr 335
3. Gibson BB King Lucille
4. Gibson SG Reissue 61
5. Gibson HD6X Pro
6. Gibson Classic Custom Les Paul
7. Gibson Melody Maker
8. Epiphone Emperor Regent
9. Steinberger Synapse SS25
10. Steinberger Synapse Transcale
11. Gibson Money Bass
12. Tobias Classic Bass
13. Epiphone Allen Woody RumbleKat Bass
14. Epiphones Jack Casady Bass
Amps Epiphone Valve Standard
TONEQUEST at the ArtsHouse event is made possible by;
Organizer - Music For Good .
Supported by:: Gibson, The Arts House, National Arts Council, Singapore Pools, Singapore Totalisator Board
Whitestrat
New member
Yeah... I've jammed and recorded with her before... She's pretty good. Gets carried away with bass techniques sometimes, but she's very good to jam with.
Glad to see she finally got her Warwick she's been aiming at for the longest time.
embryo
New member
Which Pedal for Metal? Decisions, decisions...
"I really2 love my Laney MXD 120 Head, very decent amp head per se, im not into tube amp or wat, maybe just my thing, SS always makes me happy, u can call me weird, but my hunt for gd amp is over, rite now, contimplating on a distortion, try alot of distortion lately, buy and sell it after i was nt happy with the sound, i tried ds-1, digitech death metal, dod thrash master, boss mt2......but i heard gd review abt zoom tri metal from a friend.., and browsing from the web, many opted for either a tube distortion pedal or a modded distortion pedal. and yuh i more to technical metal,death metal and progressive metal, my influence are meshuggah, cannibal corpse and dream theater, fast and technical playing i should say, any recommendation for a distortion pedal"
Based on your description you would mostly be relying on preamp type distortion In this case you can experiment with many of the high gain pedals in the DS1/ RAT/Metalzone class moving onto to Zoom Trimetal and modelling distortion pedals. For pros wanting fast, transient and heavy bottom rock tones without any low end flab or dynamic sag one may opt for rack mount tube preamp with midi recall like the classic ADA MP1 or Mesa Triaxis and couple it with a solid state amp with 4x12 cabs loaded with hiigh wattage speakers.
Try each within and where possible also what's beyond ur budget to find the range of gear that suits your playing and gear setup. To each his own. Another thing is to pay attention to speaker type. Unless you are going to be a bedroom guitar hero where a modelling device would suffice do look into speaker type and cab configuration to get the right response and low end character for your type of prefered music.
Do email future enquiries to randolf@embryosongs.com
"I really2 love my Laney MXD 120 Head, very decent amp head per se, im not into tube amp or wat, maybe just my thing, SS always makes me happy, u can call me weird, but my hunt for gd amp is over, rite now, contimplating on a distortion, try alot of distortion lately, buy and sell it after i was nt happy with the sound, i tried ds-1, digitech death metal, dod thrash master, boss mt2......but i heard gd review abt zoom tri metal from a friend.., and browsing from the web, many opted for either a tube distortion pedal or a modded distortion pedal. and yuh i more to technical metal,death metal and progressive metal, my influence are meshuggah, cannibal corpse and dream theater, fast and technical playing i should say, any recommendation for a distortion pedal"
Based on your description you would mostly be relying on preamp type distortion In this case you can experiment with many of the high gain pedals in the DS1/ RAT/Metalzone class moving onto to Zoom Trimetal and modelling distortion pedals. For pros wanting fast, transient and heavy bottom rock tones without any low end flab or dynamic sag one may opt for rack mount tube preamp with midi recall like the classic ADA MP1 or Mesa Triaxis and couple it with a solid state amp with 4x12 cabs loaded with hiigh wattage speakers.
Try each within and where possible also what's beyond ur budget to find the range of gear that suits your playing and gear setup. To each his own. Another thing is to pay attention to speaker type. Unless you are going to be a bedroom guitar hero where a modelling device would suffice do look into speaker type and cab configuration to get the right response and low end character for your type of prefered music.
Do email future enquiries to randolf@embryosongs.com
embryo
New member
Guitar Synthesizers...
Ah! A not so common but always an interesting enquiry I get now and then is about Guitar Synthesizers.
The Guitar Synth has always been of particular fascination for me from the early days in the 80's especially because I was earlier on predominantly an aspiring Van Halen wannabe geetar player who was also captivated by the far out sounds by Prog Rock and Fusion players like Steve Howe, Alex Lifeson, David Gilmour, Robert Fripp, Adrian Belew, Pat Metheny, Allan Holdsworth, Al Di Meola, John Mc Laughlin and Andy Summers to name just a few whom I came into knowing through the pages of Guitar Player magazine in the days way before internet.
I was always interested in finding out what it would be like to play the guitar but with other sonic timbres like strings, horns, percussion and other sounds that I could only imagine in my head. I was of course very stoked when I first had a chance to play and tweak out a Roland GR300 system, later onto the Roland GR700 system and eventually settled on the GR1 system. Of course I was always interested in some of the other synth s I read and heard about including the Synthaxe, Synclavier and others that came and went along the way. Much as I heard about them I never had a chance to see or play one. The Synthaxe which was briefly played by Lee Ritenour became a signature instrument with Allan Holdsworth. Technically, the Synthaxe was way ahead of it's time and can still be considered cutting edge today if the company was still in business today.
Roland went on to create and release another exciting "dream come true" piece of guitar gear in the mid 90's in the form of the VG8 guitar modelling technology which is a whole other volume of discussion. The VG8's sound is not triggered but derived from the guitar's strings with the same GK "Pitch to Voltage" pickup system used for their other Guitar Synth systems. Unlike the guitar synths u can tap the back of the guitar neck and scracth the strings and what not just like one would on a real guitar and the VG8 would process and generate actual sounds unlike sonic gurgled glictches on a synth. Roland's GR and VG systems are definitely sophisticated technology which I do anticipate to combine if not already to offer and expand the sonic possibilities of the guitar. The current day Fender/Roland VG Strat and the VG99 are pretty great examples of the great possibilities awaiting us.... Great!
I'd be very interested to discuss and share about Guitar Synths and Modelling technology. Do drop me a note here or email me if you share this same passion and fascination ya.
Ah! A not so common but always an interesting enquiry I get now and then is about Guitar Synthesizers.
The Guitar Synth has always been of particular fascination for me from the early days in the 80's especially because I was earlier on predominantly an aspiring Van Halen wannabe geetar player who was also captivated by the far out sounds by Prog Rock and Fusion players like Steve Howe, Alex Lifeson, David Gilmour, Robert Fripp, Adrian Belew, Pat Metheny, Allan Holdsworth, Al Di Meola, John Mc Laughlin and Andy Summers to name just a few whom I came into knowing through the pages of Guitar Player magazine in the days way before internet.
I was always interested in finding out what it would be like to play the guitar but with other sonic timbres like strings, horns, percussion and other sounds that I could only imagine in my head. I was of course very stoked when I first had a chance to play and tweak out a Roland GR300 system, later onto the Roland GR700 system and eventually settled on the GR1 system. Of course I was always interested in some of the other synth s I read and heard about including the Synthaxe, Synclavier and others that came and went along the way. Much as I heard about them I never had a chance to see or play one. The Synthaxe which was briefly played by Lee Ritenour became a signature instrument with Allan Holdsworth. Technically, the Synthaxe was way ahead of it's time and can still be considered cutting edge today if the company was still in business today.
Roland went on to create and release another exciting "dream come true" piece of guitar gear in the mid 90's in the form of the VG8 guitar modelling technology which is a whole other volume of discussion. The VG8's sound is not triggered but derived from the guitar's strings with the same GK "Pitch to Voltage" pickup system used for their other Guitar Synth systems. Unlike the guitar synths u can tap the back of the guitar neck and scracth the strings and what not just like one would on a real guitar and the VG8 would process and generate actual sounds unlike sonic gurgled glictches on a synth. Roland's GR and VG systems are definitely sophisticated technology which I do anticipate to combine if not already to offer and expand the sonic possibilities of the guitar. The current day Fender/Roland VG Strat and the VG99 are pretty great examples of the great possibilities awaiting us.... Great!
I'd be very interested to discuss and share about Guitar Synths and Modelling technology. Do drop me a note here or email me if you share this same passion and fascination ya.
