Can a Strandberg Boden Standard 6 P&W?

The Strandberg Boden is an amazing guitar. I haven't come across anything else quite like it: carefully thought-out ergonomics, very nicely balanced weight and feel, and the sounds to make the guitar sing.

Check out my video review of it!

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Can an Ernie Ball Music Man JP6 Play P&W?

My wife got me an Ernie Ball Music Man JP6 with the DiMarzio Liquifire and Crunchlab pickups, and I'm in love with it! In this video, I answer the question if a guitar that's so geared towards metal can play praise & worship.

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Going Amp-less: A Step-by-Step Process

If you're looking to have a convincing amp tone through the front-of-house without using a physical amp, a preamp pedal by itself isn't going to be sufficient. In this latest video, I outline the process of going ampless with the Joyo British Sound, augmented by an EP Booster and an EQ section with the Line 6 M5.

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Tone Pursuit: Analog vs. Digital

I did a series of two videos to present the pros and cons of the Line 6 Helix versus an analog pedalboard. I love all gear, and believe that there can be a time and place for their use. I hope these bless you!

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Project Mothership with Goodwood Audio (Custom Pedalboard Setup)

I did it. I bit the bullet and got myself a custom setup from the wonderful folks at Goodwood Audio. The following videos document the build process, some sound samples from the rig, as well as a full song demonstration of my pedals. I've also added a video on how to program patches on the DPC-8EZ and DMC-8D.

And for those who need pictorial summaries:

I hope these videos help you in your decision-making regarding pedalboard setups!

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Pedalboard Adventures November 2017: Building with the JPS

Alas, I have fallen into the trap of building/tearing-down/rebuilding pedalboards. I put together the following builds with the spare "big format" pedals that I had.

This one with an improved outboard application: as my DD-7 rehouse has dual mono outputs, I placed this last in the chain, with one output split to the Joyo AC Tone for direct-to-board, and a dedicated mono output to amp.

The LS-2 was functioning as a tuner split and a buffered input.

Here was a trial of Mark I. The Timmy sounded too shrill into our sanctuary's PA system, regardless of how low I set the treble.

I still wanted more control over the pedals and wanted to avoid the tap dancing. Enter the  build with the Disaster Area DPC-8EZ, which has a buffered input, a tuner mute, and most importantly, preset capability.

Complete with the Palmer DI for direct-to-board applications and a pick tin, I think I'm set! Now to try this rig out at the next rehearsal.

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Freedom Marches In (Hillsong United, Guitar Playthru Tutorial)

Hi all! I've come up with a video for the latest Hillsong United tune, with parts I think would be beneficial for beginners to learn.

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Tones and Tips: Gretsch Duojet

I recently got a hold of a Gretsch Duo Jet. It's a completely unique instrument, with certain quirks that takes some time getting used to, and a sound that has twang and growl, a balance between a single coil and a humbucker.

Here's a video I made that shows the unique tones and control scheme for the Duo Jet. I would have spoken and have some dialogue, but there's constant construction happening around my new home!

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Wonder (Hillsong United) - Guitar Playthru and Tutorial

I needed this recording, not in the sense of a monetary make-or-break for my channel, but I was feeling incredibly down this week. It's like there's been a dark cloud hanging over me, and it hasn't lifted. Everything was getting to me, and I didn't know how to change the way I felt about everything. I felt under-appreciated by everyone. And every memory of being taken for granted, of being abandoned, of being cast aside for the better ones--they all came crashing down on me.

I felt stifled, I felt choked. So I did the only thing I could, throwing my self into worship, hoping for anything, just anything from God, one word, one fragment of an encouragement from the one who made me to worship Him. And that search in prayer led me to the latest Hillsong United tune that Alphonsus introduced to me earlier--Wonder.

I did this in record time--listen to the parts, figure out an arrangement for solo guitar, dial in the correct tones, set up the camera, the recording interface, and hit record. I didn't care about the mistakes, I just went with the flow, letting myself get "lost in the wonder" (that's a terrifying thing for a seminary student to say). But alas, I'm tired of seriousness, tired of trying to be perfect. It's time to recapture the wonder.

Enjoy.

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Jazz and Blues in Worship

I'm a fan of reharmonizing tunes to fit other contexts, and in my case where some of my musical upbringing took place playing in wedding bands, I learnt some Jazz and Blues. I'm not skillful in Jazz chops by any means, I'm just a fan of the genre, having picked up a few tricks of the trade from sitting through numerous sessions where I've had to figure out Jazz chords from scratch. But of course, I wasn't alone; my dear bassist Ben Sng is really good at picking out musical substructures that I can't begin to describe.

Here are some arrangements I've made for worship songs. They don't usually bode well with the congregation, but as offertory music, they seem to be appreciated there.

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Lion and the Lamb (Bethel) - Guitar Playthru and Tutorial

This isn't another lead guitar cover. Here's a suggested lead and rhythm guitar arrangement for Bethel's "Lion and the Lamb", which I've come up with catering to the following scenarios:

1. Your band doesn't have a keyboardist but you need to recreate the synth pulse.
2. Your band doesn't have the expensive Strymon stuff to pull off the big, spacey-sounding lead tones.

With two electrics, you'll be able to cover enough tonal ground, and with the right arrangement, they'll complement each other to form a big sound.

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How Great is Our God (Guitar Solo)

I was very refreshed to learn a Hebrew version of the song "How Great is Our God" recorded by Joshua Aaron. Right in the middle of it, there's a powerful, declarative guitar solo that spoke so much to me. Call me crazy, but the musician in me worships with solos! I decided to learn it and incorporate it whenever I get called to play this song. Be sure to check your pitch with those whole step bends!

For viewing Joshua Aaron's full song:

P.S.
This short recording was done with a whole new workflow, completely cutting out any Windows editing, and relying on Amplitube for recording the audio, and iMovie for editing the video with subtitles. I think I'm getting the hang of it!

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Ministry Musings: Adapting Your Tone for a School Hall Environment

I was asked to serve at this year's youth camp, which led to the building of this Pedaltrain Junior board to ensure maximum compatibility with any sound system I was going to plug into. I gladly took it up considering my dosage of vitamin M (for music) has been quite low for the year. I know, what with my worship leading commitments, I should have a healthy dosage of vitamin M since I serve twice a month at Contemporary Service.

It's different. As a musician, I get to focus on my guitar parts, the tone from the effects, and the expression of emotion as I play. My task as a worship leader forces me to push all that musical awareness to the back. I have to worry about how the songs gel with the rest of the service, liturgically and musically. I have to make sure I'm directing the band to play in a certain way, that my vocals aren't distracting (as I'm not much of a singer), and that the scripture I read and prayers I lead point the congregation in a particular direction.

That aside, this post is primarily about adapting to various sound environments. Specifically, let's address the issue of serving in a school hall.

I served with Jeremy and his worship team for their first morning session, and I was immediately greeted with a technical problem: the sound system made everything sound muffled, especially when amplified through a school hall. A school hall, with tall ceilings, sonorous floors and glass doors, will have some crazy long reverberation that will colour your guitar tone. The goal is to make everything crips, clear, and clean, allowing the hall environment to accentuate your tone, rather than muffle it.

I did a few things on the board to try and be as clear and articulate as possible:

1. Cut out all short reverb effects, including long background delays. I usually have a mild reverb coupled with a long delay with a low mix to cushion my tone in the background. In our usual worship space, which is a cinema hall, instruments tend to sound too dry (think of a studio environment).
2. Tweak the EQ on pedals to cut out the low end and boost the mids. I did this on my "pre-drive" pedal, a CMATmods Signa Drive, and the tone controls on the Hotone Komp compressor, which has a sparkle switch and a tone knob.
3. Use digital delays instead of analog-style delays. I have a DD-7 which has a crispy clean digital mode, a much more desirable sound over the rest of my analog delays on the board (a Strymon Brigadier, and an Earthquaker Devices Dispatch Master). The natural reverb of the hall will colour the repeats of my digital delay anyway.

In the end, I was only using at most 5 of the 15 pedals on my board, but that is precisely the point--I designed the board to have maximum compatibility with any sound situation I was placed in. If I only had 5 pedals, I'd have to make do with the tone that I have, and won't have any leeway to tweak.

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Recommended Gear for Beginner Electric Guitarists (TC Electronic/December 2016)

This page is written primarily for my guitar students who want to get themselves some gear but have no idea where to start, but if you're here browsing, do feel free to check out the links below!

Some things to let you know before you peruse these links:

1. I tried to make it as simple as possible for you by compiling all the links together from one shop. I love Amazon and it's the simplest way to shop online.
2. The total cost of this rig will be under $500, which may sound like a lot of money, but I assure you the tone is 100% more satisfying than getting a multi-effects unit that you may spend hundreds of hours on to get one workable tone out of.
3. You don't necessarily have to buy everything at once. If cash is an issue, build your rig piece-wise. That's the great thing about analog--your rig is as small or as big as your needs are.

Pedaltrain Nano


OneSpot Power Supply


Hosa Patch Cables


TC Electronic Spark Mini Booster


TC Electronic MojoMojo Overdrive


TC Electronic Dark Matter Distortion


TC Electronic Flashback Mini Delay


TC Electronic Hall of Fame Mini Reverb


TC Electronic Ditto Looper



Some videos to show you what you can do with these:

I hope this helps!

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