Kitarablogi.com – Finland's premier Guitar and Bass blog
Juttuja kitaroista ja bassoista
• Based on a Fender Music Master
• 10-12 W of all-valve power
• 1 x 12AX7; 2 x 6V6GT
• Volume, Tone, Low Cut-switch, and three-stage OPC rotary switch
• 1 x 10″ Warehouse Guitar Speakers model G10C/S
Here’s a short cover of Wilton Felder’s classic bassline on the Jackson 5 track ”I Want You Back”.
The bass was recorded straight via a Focusrite Saffire 6 USB sound card.
****
SIRE Marcus Miller V5 Alder-4 (2nd generation)
• alder body
• heat-treated maple neck with maple fingerboard
• 20-fret, bound fingerboard with rolled edges
• two Sire Vintage J Revolution pickups
• passive electronics – volume, volue, tone
• Sire Premium open tuners
• Sire Marcus Miller Vintage bridge (can also be strung through-body)
• front pickup cover supplied with the bass (not installed)
More info: Soundtools
Here’s a short cover of Wilton Felder’s classic bassline on the Jackson 5 track ”I Want You Back”.
The Vintage takes the first turn, with the Yamaha going second.
****
• Vintage (by JHS) VJ74
– Swamp ash body
– Maple neck with maple fingerboard
– Black block markers
– Two Wilkinson J-type singlecoil pickups
– Wilkinson vintage-type tuners
– Wilkinson vintage-type bridge with brass saddles
More info: aronsoitin.fi/
****
• Yamaha BB234
– Alder body
– Maple neck with rosewood fingerboard
– Dot markers
– One P-type pickup; one J-type pickup
– Yamaha vintage-type tuners
– Yamaha vintage-type bridge
More info: f-musiikki.fi/
****
Both basses were recorded direct via a Focusrite Saffire 6 USB interface.
Here’s a short cover of Wilton Felder’s classic bassline on the Jackson 5 track ”I Want You Back”.
The Vintage takes the first turn, with the Yamaha going second.
****
• Vintage (by JHS) VJ74
– Swamp ash body
– Maple neck with maple fingerboard
– Black block markers
– Two Wilkinson J-type singlecoil pickups
– Wilkinson vintage-type tuners
– Wilkinson vintage-type bridge with brass saddles
More info: aronsoitin.fi/
****
• Yamaha BB234
– Alder body
– Maple neck with rosewood fingerboard
– Dot markers
– One P-type pickup; one J-type pickup
– Yamaha vintage-type tuners
– Yamaha vintage-type bridge
More info: f-musiikki.fi/
****
Both basses were recorded direct via a Focusrite Saffire 6 USB interface.
DiMavery ST-312 Satin Black
• solid ash body
• maple neck, bolt-on
• rosewood fretboard with red dot markers
• 22 medium frets
• black chrome hardware: vintage vibrato bridge & sealed tuners
• bridge humbucker plus neck and middle singlecoil pickups
• master volume and two tone controls
• gig bag included
****
Demo Song
This is a short cover of ”Wonderful Land” (Jerry Lordan) inspired by Mike Oldfield’s version.
All guitar tracks played on the DiMavery ST-312 through a Mad Professor Simble Overdrive and a Bluetone Shadows Jr. tube combo.
Finnish distributor: Discoland
Tokai Guitars’ Finnish distributor, Musamaailma, isn’t only selling the Japanese brand’s products, they are also involved in developing certain new products. The newest result of this joint development is a Tele-version of the TST-50 Modern, called the TTE-50 Modern (999 €).
****
The Tokai TTE-50 Modern’s basic idea is to combine the most sought-after vintage features of Tokai’s TTE-models with the most requested modern features. You could say the TTE-50 Modern is a factory-modded special edition. The new guitar is available in three beautiful finishes – 3-Tone Sunburst, Olympic White and Sonic Blue.
The new Tokai comes with a two-piece premium alder body. On the sunburst version the glue line runs down the middle of the body, with the pieces’ grain nicely matched. The TTE-50 Modern combines a gloss-finished body with a satin-finished maple neck.
Despite the TTE-50 Modern sporting a rosewood fingerboard, there’s a walnut ”skunk stripe” running along the back of the neck. This is due to the inclusion of a bullet-type truss rod, which makes relief adjustment a doddle. The fretboard’s 9.5-inch radius sits in the middle of Fender’s vintage 7.25 inches and Gibson’s much flatter 12-inch radius. The TTE-50 Modern comes with 22 medium-jumbo frets (Dunlop 6105).
As most Tele fans love vintage-style hardware, the Tokai willingly obliges. You will find top-drawer Kluson-copies, made by Gotoh, as well as a vintage-style bridge with three brass saddles with string grooves.
The most obvious difference between a bog-standard Tele and the TTE-50 Modern lies in the pickup combination. The new Tokai combines a vintage-type bridge singlecoil with a PAF-type neck humbucker. This combination became very popular in the 1970s, with the most famous users including Keith Richards (The Rolling Stones), the late Albert Collins (aka The Iceman) and Andy Summers (The Police). Both pickups are made in Japan by Tokai.
We find the standard set of controls, comprising a three-way blade switch, a master volume, and a master tone control. Beneath the control plate you can see clean workmanship and quality parts. The volume control features a treble bleed circuit, which keeps the sound from getting wooly, whenever you turn the volume down.
The Tokai TTE-50 Modern comes in its own padded gigbag.
****
The TTE-50 Modern is a quality instrument. The workmanship and quality of finish are of a very high standard, and the guitar’s playability and sound are excellent.
The neck profile is a comfortable, not-too-thin, modern C, which is easy to play.
If you’re new to the pairing of neck humbucker and bridge singlecoil, the higher signal level of the neck pickup might feel slightly unintuitive at the beginning. But, I’m sure, you will quickly get to grips with this feature, especially as the Tokai’s controls work nicely to give you a full range of different sounds.
Here’s a clip of the TTE-50 Modern played straight into a Bluetone Shadows Jr. -combo (Shure SM57), starting with the bridge pickup:
And here’s the demo song – with and without the other instruments:
****
The Tokai TTE-50 Modern’s addition of a PAF-style neck humbucker turns the guitar into a very versatile instrument. From traditional Jazz to the ’60s British Invasion, from Blues to Rock, and from Country to Punk – this guitar can cover all the bases in style.
****
Tokai Guitars TTE-50 Modern
999 € (including gigbag)
Finnish distributor: Musamaailma
Pros:
+ workmanship
+ modern features
+ playability
+ sound
+ value-for-money
Tokai Guitarsin Suomen maahantuoja Musamaailma ei ainoastaan tuo japanilaisbrändin tuotteita maahan, vaan he ovat myös aktiivisesti mukana kehittämässä uusia tuotteita. Uusin yhteistyön hedelmä on Strato-tyylisen TST-50 Modern -mallin Tele-tyylinen sisarmalli, nimeltään TTE-50 Modern (999 €).
****
Tokai TTE-50 Modern -kitaran tarkoitus on yhdistää japanilaisten TTE-mallien parhaat vintage-tyyliset ominaisuudet paljon toivottuihin nykyaikaisiin detaljiratkaisuihin. TTE-50 Modern on ikään kuin Tokain pajassa valmiiksi modattu erikoisversio. Uusi kitara on saatavilla kolmessa eri värissä – 3-Tone Sunburst, Olympic White ja Sonic Blue.
Uutuus-Tokain runkoon on käytetty kahta leppäpalaa, jotka on sovitettu syykuvioiden suhteen erittäin tarkasti yhteen. Kiiltäväksi lakattuun runkoon on ruuvattu perinteisellä liitoksella mattalakattu vaahterakaula.
Vaikka TTE-50 Modernin kaulassa on ruusupuinen otelauta, kaulan keskiviivaa pitkin kulkee “skunk stripe” saksanpähkinästä, koska uutuusmallista löytyy kätevä Bullet-kaularauta, jolla kaulan säätö onnistuu lavasta päin. Otelaudan radius kulkee nykyaikaisella 9,5 tuuman kaarevuudella sopivasti Fenderin vintagemittojen (7,25 tuumaa) ja loivemman Gibson-standardin (12 tuumaa) välissä. Modern-kitaraan on asennettu 22 medium-jumbo nauhaa (Dunlop 6105).
Telecaster-fanit tykkäävät yleensä vintage-tyylisistä metalliosista, ja sellaisia löytyy myös Tokaista. Virittimet ovat Gotoh:n laadukkaat Kluson-kopiot. Tokain omassa vintage tallassa on kolme satulaa messingistä. Tallapaloihin on lisätty kieliuria.
Ehkä tärkein ero rivi-TTE-50:N ja Modern-version välillä löytyy uutuuskitaran mikityksestä, joka lisää perinteiselle yksikelaiselle tallamikrofonille työpariksi vintage-tyylisen humbuckerin. Tämä yhdistelmä on ollut suosittu aina 1970-luvulta lähtien, ja yhdistelmän tunnetuimmat käyttäjät ovat Keith Richards (The Rolling Stones), edesmennyt Albert Collins (aka The Iceman) ja Andy Summers (The Police). Tokai TTE-50 Modernissa kumpikin mikki on peräisin Tokain omasta mallistosta.
Kitaran säätimet tarjoavat kolmiasentoisen kytkimen, sekä master volume- ja tone-säätimet. Metallikannen alta paljastuvat laadukkaat osat – mm. pölysuojattu japanilainen kytkin. Volume-potikkaan on lisätty ns. treble bleed -kondensaattori, jonka ansiosta kitaran soundi pysyy sopivasti kirkkaana myös kun volumea pienennetään.
Tokain TTE-50 Modern myydään sen omassa laadukkaassa Tokai gigbagissa.
****
TTE-50:n Modern-versio on kyllä hyvin laadukas soitin. Työnjälki ja viimeistely ovat erinomaisen siistejä, ja myös kitaran soitettavuus ja soundi ovat silkkaa pro-tasoa.
Kaulaprofiiliksi on valittu moderni C-muotoinen läpileikkaus, joka sopii varmasti miltei jokaisen kitaristin käteen.
Jos ei ole tottunut tällaiseen humbucker-plus-yksikelainen-yhdistelmään, kaulamikrofonin suurempi lähtötaso voi aluksi tuntua jopa epäintuitiiviselta. Siihen kuitenkin tottuu hyvinkin nopeasti, etenkin kun Tokain laadukas ja hyvin suunniteltu elektroniikka mahdollistaa sen, että kummastakin säätimestä saa irti hyvin laajan skaalan erilaisia soundeja.
Tässä kitaran soundi suoraan Bluetone Shadows Jr. -komboon soitettuna (Shure SM57):
Ja tässä demobiisi – sekä koko sovitus että ainoastaan kitarat:
****
Tokai TTE-50 Modernin tapauksessa PAF-tyylisen humbuckerin lisääminen kaulamikrofoniksi tekee kitarasta erittäin monipuolisen. Perinnejazzista 1960-luvun Brittisoundiin, Bluesista Rockiin, sekä Countrysta Punkiin – kaikki onnistuu tyylikkäästi uutuus-Tokailla.
****
Tokai Guitars TTE-50 Modern
999 € (topattu pussi kuuluu hintaan)
Maahantuoja: Musamaailma
Plussat:
+ työnjälki
+ nykyaikaistetut ominaisuudet
+ soitettavuus
+ soundi
+ hinta-laatu-suhde
Here’s a short instrumental cover version of the Police classic ”Message in a Bottle”.
The Tokai TTE-50 Modern is an updated version of Tokai’s T-style guitar, featuring truss rod adjustment at the headstock, a 9.5″ fretboard radius, 22 medium jumbo frets, and a neck humbucker.
The signal chain for the guitar tracks was:
Tokai TTE-50 Modern –> Ibanez FZ 850 Mini –> Joyo Analog Chorus –> Electro-Harmonix Memory Toy –> Bluetone Shadows Jr (Finnish boutique all-valve combo) –> Shure SM57 –> Focusrite Saffire 6 USB –> Apple Garageband
The world of steel-string guitars is dominated by Dreadnoughts. This is no wonder, as D-sized guitars are great all-rounders that can be used in almost all genres of music. The size that’s one size smaller – usually called an OM-, 000- or Grand Auditorium-guitar – as well as larger Jumbos are also widely available in most price segments.
Guitars with smaller bodies than Martin Guitars’ Size 000 are far harder to find in the lower and middle price ranges, because most brands see them as marginal products for a few specialist players.
This is where Farida Guitars’ brand-new Old Town series steps up to the plate. True, there are a couple of Gibson-ish round-shoulder Dreads among the models, too, but the main focus of the Old Town series is on small-bodies steel-string acoustics, in the style of classics from the 1930s and 40s. The good news for left-handers is that several models are available for southpaws, too, without an extra charge.
We received two models for this review – a Martin Size 0-sized Farida OT-12 (423 €) …
… and a Gibson LG-2-style Farida OT-25 (738 €). Both guitars come in a deep and rich sunburst finish.
****
Farida’s OT-12 is an affordable Old Town-version of Martin’s classic Size 0 guitar. The set neck joins the body at the 14th fret. The body is 46 cm long, with its maximal breadth measuring on 34.3 cm, and a maximal depth of 10.8 cm. This means the OT-12 is larger than a genuine parlour guitar, but a small guitar nonetheless.
The guitar sports an X-braced solid spruce top, as well as a back and sides made from laminated mahogany. There’s a nato neck with an unbound acacia fretboard. The scale length is – as per original – a little shorter than on a typical D-sized guitar (24.7”/62.4 cm). There are 19 well-seated and nicely polished medium-sized frets on the fretboard.
The machine heads on the OT-12 are vintage-style, open three-on-a-plate tuners with faux ivory knobs. The top nut has been carved from genuine bovine bone, and it measures 44 millimetres breadth.
The bridge, too, has been crafted from solid acacia, and it comes equipped with a compensated bone saddle, which is an authentic choice. The factory strings are a high-quality D’Addario EJ-16-set (012-053).
****
There is one Gibson steel-string model that was extremely successful in decades past, but which nobody seems to talk about anymore. I’m talking about the Gibson LG-2, that was renamed the Gibson B-25 in 1961. The same US-made model was also sold in the Sixties as the Epiphone FT-45 Cortez. T. Rex’ Marc Bolen was often seen playing this very model in the early Seventies.
Farida’s version of the LG-2 – the Farida OT-25 – is an all-solid instrument with an X-braced spruce top and solid mahogany back and sides. The OT-25’s cubic capacity is very similar to a Martin Size 00 body, but the geometry is different. Instead of the wide shoulders and high waist of the 00, the OT-25 is shaped more like a figure eight, with its waist moved more towards the body’s middle lengthwise. The body’s length is 48 cm, its largest width 36 cm, and its largest depth measures 11.2 cm.
This guitar also sports a nato neck, but here the fingerboard has been made from South-American pau ferro. The scale length, number of frets, fret size and quality of the fretwork on the Farida OT-25 is identical to the OT-12.
The headstock shape, type of tuning heads and the top nut also correspond with the OT-12.
The bridge on this Farida has been carved from pau ferro, and it features a compensated bridge saddle made from genuine bone. The factory strings are a high-quality D’Addario EJ-16-set.
****
I must say that I’m very impressed by the workmanship and quality displayed on the review samples of Farida’s Old Town series. It would be easy to mistake both of these guitars for much more expensive instruments.
I received both guitars straight from Vantaan Musiiki’s warehouse, still factory packed. I’m amazed by the high level of quality control at Farida’s factory – there were no sharp frets or other issues. I tuned the guitars up to pitch, and the action on both models came to rest at exactly what the quality control card read (low-E: 2.6 mm; treble-e: 2.1 mm), and the action stayed this way over the whole time I spent with the guitars.
Both Faridas feature a full and rounded C-profile neck. Playability is top notch, as both guitars offer plenty of scope to really dig in and make the most of each instrument’s dynamic range. Still, should you require a lower action, there’s more than enough height left in the bridge saddles to accommodate you easily.
The Farida OT-12 sits a little bit more ”into” the player’s body, due to its shorter scale and higher waist, than the OT-25.
The OT-12’s sound is clearly bigger than that of a parlour guitar with a nice amount of ”kick”. Naturally, there’s a great deal less bass frequency content here than in a Dreadnought-size guitar. Feisty use of a pick might even turn out a little harsh at times, but fingerstyle playing greatly benefits from the greater clarity – and tighter bass – of small guitars. The OT-12 never gets wooly or boomy, which is also a definite plus in the studio.
The sound of the Farida OT-25 is probably a bit more versatile, compared to the OT-12, because there is little bit more going on in terms of its low mids and bottom end. The sound is still punchy and tight, but there’s additional texture and complexity here. In my view, the OT-25 would be an outstanding choice as the trusty workhorse of a singer-songwriter, as well as a go-to instrument in the studio. This guitar has a beautiful tone, whether you use a plectrum or your fingers.
****
Farida Old Town
Finnish distributor: Musiikki Silfverberg
Pros:
+ workmanship
+ finish
+ playability
+ sound
Kitarablogi.com – Finland's premier Guitar and Bass blog 