Guitars and Music Equipment

Here are some photos of and info on the music equipment I have been using. Ill be updating this periodically and posting reviews on the equipment on the home page.

The Guitar I am using is an Art & Lutherie AMI Parlor guitar. Here is the website for the newer model:
A & L AMI
As you can see my guitar is slightly different from the photos on the website. My guitar is older than the newer models so it has a few differences, the biggest one being that it is all laminate. Here is where my nerdy side kicks in so if I get a bit technical, just bare with me. My AMI has an all laminate (yes even the top) body made completely of wild cherry. It has a silver leaf maple neck, rosewood bridge and fretboard and cedar bracing. The cool thing is this guitar is built to replicate the old parlor guitars so it has a cool look and a cooler sound. Now I mentioned earlier the body of the AMI is all laminated, this alarmed because I found this out after I bought the guitar (used) but it sounds great and after speaking with customer service I found out that they only use 3 layers of wild cherry laminated in a cross grain pattern (no cheaper wood or particle board in the middle). This got me thinking, for my needs this might actually be advantageous, the laminate should be less likely to be subject to the usually humidity problems that come with traveling with a guitar. The original tuners where the cheaper traditional parlor open gear tuners with plastic buttons (this is another area where the older models differ from the newer ones). They looked great since this was a parlor guitar but mine did not prove to be very reliable and they just where not my thing so I opted to replace them with some Gotohs I got off ebay that had a cool copper finish and a 1:18 gear ratio:

I also did a couple of other modifications. I had a Tone Monster under saddle transducer pickup with preamp and volume tone controls installed with an end pin jack I really like the volume and tone controls because they are mounted just inside the sound hole so they are discrete and easily accessible:

I also bought a cool pick holder that just slides on to the strings, a Paige capo, a snark tuner and threw some Velcro on the back of the headstock and on my slide so I can just pull the guitar out, tune up and be ready to go.

I have also made a homemade feedback buster/ feedback reducer that goes in the sound hole of the AMI.

I made it using the lid from a can of folders coffee this is an easy mod and works surprisingly well. It will stop most of the feedback which not only allows me to play live through a P.A. or amp but also too play through a regular electric guitar amp and add some distortion to get some cool dirty grungy tones. Its also great to use if you live in a small room or apartment and do not wanna disturb the neighbors or a room mate although it will not completely mute the guitar. 

In case you have not seen the post yet here is a link to the video on my YouTube channel: 

As far as recording goes I have a couple of different methods of recording I am using.

The first is what I use for high quality acoustic and vocal recordings. Its a Tascam DR-40 digital recorder you can get it here: Tascam DR-40 from Musicians Friend

Its just a basic bare bones recorder but it has a line in for recording, 2 recordable channels with overdub, phantom power for powered mics, and two awesome built in condenser microphones that are great for micing anything from vocals and acoustic instruments to amps and room evironment (just be sure not to put it too close to speaker cabinets, the mics are very sensitive). The mics are so good I got rid of the old mics I was using to mic my vocals and guitar.

The other main method I use is really cool. Its my iphone!

This is more for just playing around and quickly recording rif ideas but if you get the right interface and app it can be a powerful recording too. I am currently using an older Irig interface that uses the headphone jack to record through.

If your interested you can find it here: Irig from Musicians Friend

This is a very cheap way to get your ideas recorded and play with the modeling and cool apps there are on the iphone. The recording quality isnt the greatest though so if your considering this for serious recording I would highly recommend spending the extra cash and getting a name brand interface that connects through the USB or lighting cable. Just search iphone on Musicians Friend or visit you local music store.

As far as apps go I am currently using the Garage Band app for recording and the Amplitube app for messing around and practicing. The great thing about these apps and interfaces are if you have an electric guitar you can just plug strait in and set up your modeling and effects and start jamming. They work with headphones for silent practice or you can connect to speakers, a P.A. system or even and amp. I use them to plug my parlor guitar in and simulate an electric guitar, its a lot of fun and you can get some cool sounds. This is a cool and relatively new technology that is constantly updating and coming up with cool features. Its fantastic for traveling musicians. The apps I use are paid apps but you can also find loads of cool free apps and guitar trainers. Just search your app store and pickup and interface and explore your options.

Here is a picture of my current set up with my Iphone5s:

I am also using several cool small accessories:

Roadrunner roadster little brat 3/4 size padded gigbag:
Roadrunner Little Brat gigbag from Musicians Friend
 -This is an extremely durable gigbag with loads of padding and plenty of pockets. It can be hard to find a good gigbag for a small scale or parlor guitar and I have been very happy using it. I have put this thing to the test taking it on road trips, camping and even on flights (I was able to take it in the cabin with me as a carry on). It even helps to keep the humidity some what relative if you use a humidifier.

Planet waves humidipack:
Humidipack from Musicians Friend
-These are not the greatest tools for long term humidity control and I have heard they can leak but if you need a cheap way to keep the humidity under control while traveling they work great. I also used a cheap relative humidity gauge I picked up off of amazon. I'm not to particular with what humidity gauge I use in my cases since after all when your traveling your not looking to fine tune or control an entire room containing valuable instruments, its more about getting an idea of whats going on when the case is closed and making sure your humidity control is doing its job. I will say that I check all my gauges against each other in a ziplock bag or with a test bag that you can find on amazon and write the corrections on the gauge itself with sharpie. For example the one I am currently using is +4% . So I add 4% but also keep in mind that my gauge is probably only accurate to 5% + or - which is fine for my personal needs.

Monster Cables:
Monster Cables from Musicians Friend
I mainly use these because they are a good quality with a lifetime warranty. So if you buy them from an authorized dealer and they quit working on you just take them back and swap them out for a new one.

Snark Tuner:
Snark Tuners
This is by far the best clip on tuner I have ever used. They also come in lots of cool colors (if you haven't noticed I like the color red lol)