Hack on Digitech RP55 WahWah control pedal

Digitech RP55 with Wah pedal

I bought a cheap multi-effects pedal but very versatile and tons of good tones on presets available for use. However, there's no expression pedal for WahWah and the auto wah option that came with the preset is good but not satisfying. So I did a bit of hack on my Digitech RP55. And with that I converted it to a Whammy pedal and Wah pedal. All I did was bought from eBay a generic expression pedal. It was an M-Audio keyboard universal expression pedal. It's also cheap so I thought to myself, what can go wrong. I can always open it up and change circuitry inside. So I plug it in, then turn on the wah option and when I tried it, it was the wrong way around. I think the polarity of the keyboard expression pedal is different from a wah pedal.

Sol I tried reversing the polarity by inverting the jack’s wire. But nothing happened, it was still the same. Then, I moved to rotor inside and reversed the polarity. Although there were three wires, I was lucky and managed to reverse the polarity. My pedal now is working properly as a wah pedal. I even tried it on the whammy patch and it did work as well.

What I did next was improvising on making it a proper mini pedalboard. First I look for a flat wood or something that I can put my Digitech RP55 as well as the expression pedal next to each other. I found our old wooden square placemats. Then, tried putting the effects pedal and expression pedal together and it was perfect fit. Next, I bought some arts and crafts materials like glue and coloured foam sheets. Glued one on top and one at the bottom to prevent the wood from slipping or sliding. It served as a cushion. Then, I created a bit of designs like stars, etc. I also bought velcro so that I can remove my effects pedal if need be and stick it back to my improvised pedalboard again. So I glued one part of the velcro on the effects pedal and expression pedal, then the other part was on the pedalboard itself. Perfect fit and very handy.

How to get a good tone out of a practise amp

Hacks on amp setting

The quest for tone is endless. Like what amp to use, what pedal to buy, what type and/or brand of guitar, what brand and/or gauge of strings, what pick, what lead or cable to use, etc. etc. etc.  The simple answer to it is.... You are the tone. It starts in your brain as a concept or idea then it translates to your ear as an aural perception. Then that's the time you buy stuff and try to tweak, adjust, setup to your liking. Your fingers are the accessories because there are people that use their toes to play guitar or some appendages to strum or pluck the strings for example Tony Iommi got prosthetic fingertips. But, it didn't stop him from playing the guitar or hindered the tone that he wants for his guitar.  Right, having said that, let's crack on and get your gear out, whatever it is.

Plug your guitar to your amp and start tweaking your amp. Normally, amp got Master Volume, Equalisation either Treble, Mid and Bass or just Treble and Bass and at times just one Tone control. Then some amps got a Gain and a separate Volume control for that gain. Other times, amp got channel control or switch for Clean and Crunch or Overdrive.

Master Volume: This determine the loudness of the amp so it depends on the room size your playing or the person your jamming with. So adjust accordingly. Start at low level especially when your practising on your own. When you want to get a decent Clean Tone, put your volume between 4-5 or 10 to 12 o'clock. If you want a bit of dirt/overdrive, lower your Master volume to 1-2 and increase your gain and volume.

Gain control: Some amps as I've said earlier got 1 gain and 1 separate volume control. Others got two gain controls like this practise amp Park G10. But I guess, Gain 1 is your volume and Gain 2 is your overdrive or actual gain. I suggest you turn gain 1 up to 1/4 or about 3 and gain 2 on 0. Just to get the right volume for the amp. Then, try to fiddle with gain 2 and decide on how crunchy or dirty you want your amp. If you are a blues fan, perhaps put gain 2 on 1/4 to 1/2 (between 9 to 12 o'clock) and if you are more of a heavy rock or metal fan then turn your gain 2 to 3/4 or full blast.

Equalisation: This is where the fun begins when you are looking for tones. The most common EQ setting is putting the treble, mid and bass on 12 o'clock. Then, from there, start turning the bass up to 3/4 or 3 o'clock and then try it full, and see how the amp as well as the speaker handles it. Next, try and turn treble starting from 0 all the way to full blast. Listen and find out which one you like it the most. Then, same goes with your mid, try to turn it down to 0 and work your way up to 1 o'clock. I never put mid full blast but I suppose if you put bass and treble full blast then surely you can with the mid but then again it will just be the same as putting it all on 12 o'clock.

Your Guitar: There are a lot of factors on your guitar, like the pickups, the height of the pickups. Also the strings albeit the type of strings ang/or gauge. The neck length or the scale length. The type of wood from body to fretboard. If it is solid, semi-hollow or hollow guitar. And a lot more. But, will talk about the obvious like the volume control, the tone knobs and the toggle switch for the pickups. Start on which pickup you like the most, i.e. neck or bridge, both or just the middle pickup. Then dial the tone knob of your guitar from 0-10. Find which tone you like the most. Also volume knob plays a great role especially if your amp is a tube amp. You can push your amp's gain and then lower your volume from your guitar. There are tons of techniques and information to learn and know. Keep trying, keep experimenting. Good luck!

Hohner Panther TEGA 10 review

Hohner International Panther TEGA-10

One Master volume, Three band EQ (treble, mid, bass), Overdrive and a separate Volume. One input, Headphones out, a Line Out and Footswitch input. Speaker changed to a Celestion Eight 15 at 8 Ohms. Just a bit confusing on what is the exact wattage of this amp because it's called TEGA-10 and then at the back there's this 40W and the original speaker was 20 watt at 4 Ohms. So I don't know exactly what is the wattage of this amp.

As for the sound of this amp, it's not loud as in piercing loud but surprisingly enough, it can cut through a loud drummer and a really loud guitarist. Although the sound is a bit too dry and tight and obviously with the 8-inch speaker there's no low end to this amp it more of treble that you will hear.  

About the overdrive, I haven't tried the footswitch jack input at the back as I don't have any footswitch pedal. But by turning the overdrive knob all the way up and the volume knob half way or even all the way up as well whilst putting the master volume to a minimum between 1-2, you can achieve that distorted sound. I think this amp is more of a clean tone amp, very nice for ska or reggae.

It is small and portable but I wouldn't say it is lightweight. I mean, when you pick it up, it's sort of manageable but if you carry this for few minutes, you can feel its weight. I have gigged with this amp but it was mic'd in and gigged this on its own without mic, and it managed to cut through. I think this amp is a very nice amp and can stand the test of time. I tried selling it, but I decided to keep it for a bit. 

Park G10 amp review

Park G10 Practise Amp

Park Designed by Marshall Amplification PLC. 15 Watt RMS at 8 Ohm. One channel. Two gain control. Three band EQ (treble, middle, bass). One Master Volume. Headphones out. No Line Out or Footswitch output.  No effects. No reverb.  Straight forward practise amp. One input for your guitar. Opened back, good for putting leads plus lightweight to carry.

Tone is really nice because it sounds like tube amp. And then even though there's no reverb or effects, it still produces a very nice clean sound. I don't know how they do it. It doesnt sound dry at all. And when you push it like putting everything all the way up especially the two gains and just limit the master volume to 2 or 3, the distortion that's coming out is really nice and it sustain nicely.

I can't say much about this amp because I haven't tried it yet gigging or even use it during rehearsals, but judging from this video recording, I think this amp has got a lot to offer.

If I were to recommend, I would buy and use this amp mainly for recording and/or rehearsals. I cant imagine this amp during gigs yet but who knows, it might be a good amp to gig with.