Hello everyone! I'm a long time head, now father of 4, living in rural Wisconsin. I grew up in L.A. and have always been into Dead music. In my spare time I transcribe Jerry Solos by ear and learn to play them best I can note for note. Then, I take what I learned and arrange my own solo for the song; the one rule being not to steal any of Jerry's licks by using them in the same place, time, etc. (Sometimes I will use a lick in a different context for my own arrangement)
Anyway.... I recently took the leap and got on the waiting list for the Eastwood Tiger tribute. I was interested in seeing how close I could dial in the exact tones that I am hearing when I transcribe the solos (with access to the split coil hum buckers and OBEL).
I received the guitar in the mail the other day. I was wondering if anyone else received one and what their impressions are? Here are my first impressions:
Pros:
1. Only cost $1500
2. I really like that it is a "tribute" and not an exact copy. i.e. doesn't have the inlays, etc. I like that it is plain but in the shape of the original
3. I like the extended fret board and access to the higher octave of notes for solos
4. Like that I can now experiment and find out what a guitar with an active buffer and OBEL is capable o
4. overall seems like a solid built guitar for a decent price
So,so's:
1.I'm having trouble dialing in the level of the buffer pre amp. I just can't really get it to sound that great to my ears. Not sure how to get "unity gain" as the real tiger had it
2. Not sure how high to have the pickups from the strings. I keep adjusting but between that and the gain adjustment I am driving myself crazy trying to dial in the perfect levels
3. Running my overdrive pedals through the OBEL totally changes the nature of the pedals. They are like totally different beasts and need to be cranked up really high to get adequate volume in the OBEL (MXR vintage distortion Plus (modded for more full sound by modest mike), Boss OD-2). Hard to make the adjustment from what I am used to with my Strat going into the pedals
4. Pickups seem so, so - I mean why not put DiMarzio Super 2's and SDS-1 in it (after all its a Jerry Garcia Guitar and a lot of his tone comes from those specific pickups)
Cons:
1.Fret buzzing, guitar is not set up properly when it arrives
2. Brass nut is really crude and cause buzzing on open G and B strings
3. Can't seem to dial in the preamp/buffer so that my pedals sound clean, loud and clear
I have already ordered the Dimarzio pickups to replace the ones that came with the guitar. I will also have the guitar professionally set up so that it gets dialed in perfectly.
Anyone have any advice for using the gain/preamp and adjusting the levels to find unity gain? Also, anyone have any tips for maximizing the tone from your pedals through the OBEL?
I was thinking down the road I might replace the pre-amp buffer with one from Wald Electronics - do you think that would be a good move? Would it improve the tone/sound?
Thanks for reading! Hope all is well for everyone right now
Will
Anyway.... I recently took the leap and got on the waiting list for the Eastwood Tiger tribute. I was interested in seeing how close I could dial in the exact tones that I am hearing when I transcribe the solos (with access to the split coil hum buckers and OBEL).
I received the guitar in the mail the other day. I was wondering if anyone else received one and what their impressions are? Here are my first impressions:
Pros:
1. Only cost $1500
2. I really like that it is a "tribute" and not an exact copy. i.e. doesn't have the inlays, etc. I like that it is plain but in the shape of the original
3. I like the extended fret board and access to the higher octave of notes for solos
4. Like that I can now experiment and find out what a guitar with an active buffer and OBEL is capable o
4. overall seems like a solid built guitar for a decent price
So,so's:
1.I'm having trouble dialing in the level of the buffer pre amp. I just can't really get it to sound that great to my ears. Not sure how to get "unity gain" as the real tiger had it
2. Not sure how high to have the pickups from the strings. I keep adjusting but between that and the gain adjustment I am driving myself crazy trying to dial in the perfect levels
3. Running my overdrive pedals through the OBEL totally changes the nature of the pedals. They are like totally different beasts and need to be cranked up really high to get adequate volume in the OBEL (MXR vintage distortion Plus (modded for more full sound by modest mike), Boss OD-2). Hard to make the adjustment from what I am used to with my Strat going into the pedals
4. Pickups seem so, so - I mean why not put DiMarzio Super 2's and SDS-1 in it (after all its a Jerry Garcia Guitar and a lot of his tone comes from those specific pickups)
Cons:
1.Fret buzzing, guitar is not set up properly when it arrives
2. Brass nut is really crude and cause buzzing on open G and B strings
3. Can't seem to dial in the preamp/buffer so that my pedals sound clean, loud and clear
I have already ordered the Dimarzio pickups to replace the ones that came with the guitar. I will also have the guitar professionally set up so that it gets dialed in perfectly.
Anyone have any advice for using the gain/preamp and adjusting the levels to find unity gain? Also, anyone have any tips for maximizing the tone from your pedals through the OBEL?
I was thinking down the road I might replace the pre-amp buffer with one from Wald Electronics - do you think that would be a good move? Would it improve the tone/sound?
Thanks for reading! Hope all is well for everyone right now
Will