Hello Friend! Hope you are having a great week! Upcoming updates on the website: I have about 20 more jam tracks to upload, I am also going to have a section where you'll be able to download multitrack software so you can record directly to your computer, without spending $hundreds or thousands! I'm also working on a new ds-1 mod with kevin from tone-jam.com that is very, very promising...better than ANY ds-1 mod done yet by anyone! Also, I learned this week that all of the new digitech pedals that have the morphing features are next to impossible to mod...they are nearly completely digital and use several ic chips (computer chips) to get their sound, rather than the typical analog components. I also had some good luck modding a mxr distortion+, giving it more depth, thickness, and bass. Please let me know if you have any questions. I developed the small article below, which is from my outlines of my upcoming new ebook. Please let me know if you get anything out of it, or not! Thanks, Brian ___________________________________________________ Over the 22 years that I've been playing, I've learned one thing that will-above everything else-make you 10 times better if you take it to heart. -You can't grow if you don't evaluate yourself OFTEN as: -----------1. a guitarist -----------2. a musician A great guitarist will generally very methodically evaluate how his solos sound... -too much shred? -not melodic enough? -not picking clear and articulate? -missed notes? etc. Once he's figured where his weaknesses are, then he will practice them. Most average guitarists are content to play what they are good at, and that is when they start to reach their plateau where they have a hard time getting better. A great musician is more than just a guitarist...they do 80% listening, and 20% responding. In other words, just because you can shred at 16 notes per beat at 200 bpm doesn't mean that every solo should be just that...scales up the neck, down the neck, and back up the neck...that's kind of like trying to get a point across to someone verbally but keeping a monotone voice, not making eye contact, physical gestures, etc. It just doesn't work. A great musician will listen to what others are doing around him, and accent them to make them sound better, and the band as a whole, and when its his turn to wail-lay it to 'em! Slow and melodic when it needs to be, and fast and furious and passionate when need be. An intermediate player, while trying to find his path and style generally suffers from one major thing more than any other: -trying to find 'his' tone. Heck, even alot of professional players are still trying to, but they generally know what they want in their head, and are just trying to find the right combination of equipment to get them that. If your in this category, here are a few helpful tips: 1.DONT GET CONFUSED COMPARING YOURSELVES TO THE TONES OF OTHER PLAYERS-FIGURE OUT WHAT IT IS YOU LIKE ABOUT THEIR TONES, AND BORROW THAT ASPECT, BUT DON'T STEAL THEIR ENTIRE TONE. 2.TRY TO GET THE TONE YOU WANT WITH WHAT YOU HAVE INSTEAD OF CURSING YOUR GEAR, AND RUNNING OUT AND BUYING NEW STUFF EVERYTIME YOU GET CASH IN YOUR POCKET. REMEMBER-A GOOD GUITARIST WILL PLAY GOOD EVEN WITH BAD EQUIPMENT 3.FIGURE OUT FROM THE TONES YOU ARE USING WHAT IT IS YOU LIKE ABOUT IT (SMOOTH AND SILKY? COARSE AND AGGRESSIVE?) 4.ANALYSE THIS TONE (# 3)AND COMPARE WHAT ASPECT OF IT IS NEEDED MORE 5.FOR THE BEGINNERS I WOULD SUGGEST PLAYING CLEANER AND PRACTICE WITH YOUR MIDS HIGH SO THAT YOUR MISTAKES ARE ACCENTED 6.REMEMBER A PERFECT TONE SHOULD NEVER HAVE ANY HISS IN IT AND AT THE SAME TIME SHOULD NOT SUPPRESS YOUR SIGNATURE RUNS OR STYLES 7.THE PERFECT TONE IS YOUR SIGNATURE SO BE CREATIVE AND INDIVIDUAL ABOUT IT 8.FOR ABSOULUTE BEGINNERS AT OVERDRIVEN GUITARING I MAY SUGGEST THIS GAIN AROUND 45 %, LEVEL OF DRIVE AROUND 50 %, BASS 60%, MID 30 %, TREBLE 40 %. AGAIN THIS IS A RELATIVE THING SUBJECT TO YOUR EQUIPMENT AND THE MODULATION/REVERB EFFECTS YOUR USING. I am writing an ebook right now that addresses these problems and more, and also will give you many more creative ways to get 'your tone' with the equipment you already have, so be on the lookout for it! Brian