Billy Penn of 300guitars.com stopping by for a demo of the new Comet Superlite:

Saw this in a blog: "3 years ago.. my son and I bought a Fender Stratocaster American Deluxe for my byfrnd.. It was like new.. a friend of my son's was selling it.. couldn't resist 600$Can.. with the Fender Case. My byfrnd had been telling me for 4 years that since he was young he wanted to learn.. Got a tear in his eye when he realized what was hidden under the x-mas tree. And though he does so many other things that he only practices à little every day.. his eyes still sparkle when he plays"

Damion Stopping by at the Austin Amp Show

Excerpts from the Austin Amp Show

300Guitars.com Review

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"Sharing a suite with Darin was Glenn Sweetwood who is a guitar builder. It was nice to have a couple guitar builders sprinkled among the solder jockeys at the show. Glenn's guitars are really good. They are all hand made by Glenn himself. The only thing he does not do is the finish work and it's not your normal type of finish. A unique element to Glenn's guitars is that they are finished in syntec not nitro or even poly. I have to admit I have never heard of syntec before but Glenn let me compare it to a 6 month old nitro finish and the syntec felt (gulp) better there I said it! It was as smooth as glass, super clear and not a bit sticky. I was kind of astonished. Glenn told me that the syntec is a lot like nitro because each coat melts into the previous one like nitro but cures immediately.

The Sweetwood line has an ultra high build quality using hand selected lumber by Glenn himself. Each of his guitars hangs perfectly balanced on a strap and weighs in at about 7lb average..maybe a little less! I loved the feel of the necks which were not weeny and not overly substantial like a Nocaster. They had a just right feel to them. The Comet and Rockrite I played paired up perfectly with each of Darin's Tonic amp models.

I thought to myself as I left Darin and Glenn's suite so this is how it's going to be down here in Texas huh? A veritable tone party in each suite!! I was so up for this I was scaring my self a little bit, just a little!"

Cool Pedal Find 2

Wampler pedals! Got a chance to check out the line up of pedals at the Austin Amp Show. Amazing stuff. I was very impressed with just about every pedal. The Plextortion sounded like a real plexi, the Faux Echo was perfect and probably my favorite...debatable. The Pinnacle was the finest Distortion I think I've ever heard and the Reverb pedal was perfect as well. Check 'em out.

Cool Pedal Find

Ibanez Super Tube STL Made in Japan!!! This is absolutely one of the finest Overdrive pedals ever made. The pinnacle of Tubescreamers.

What kind of guitar do I play

Someone asked me what guitar I play. I like all guitars (well, most all guitars). I generally play my own gear, because let's be honest here... My main axe is a blem that didn't make it out, nearly identical to the Surftop on the Comet page). I also play a Rock-Rite quite a bit when I'm reaching for the single coils. Outside of my own creations, I have a vintage reissue Strat that I dig. MIM...but a real keeper. Of course I redid the frets and electronics:) Whenever I get in the divebomb mode, I have a great Ibanez Prestige RG whatever model that has a Floyd. Until I break down and make myself a guitar with double locking, this is it. I'm a nut for 60's surf guitars. I keep an eye out for those on the used market, so ping me if you have something cool. Check my last post!!!

Cool Guitars!!!

OK, anyone who knows me, knows I'm a fan of guitars (DUH). Of course I think our stuff is the best, but let's face it, guitars are cool and it's fun to play all of them for their own unique characteristics. The 60's surf era is probably my favorite and certainly one of the most unique (this is the inspiration for my Rock-Rite model). Guitars are like women, but not as much trouble;) I stumbled upon this dude's really cool page: http://www.myrareguitars.com/1960guitars.html. Check out all those cool Mosrites, Tiesco's, Eko's, Uni's, Airlines and Supro's. CAN YOU SAY JEALOUS!!!

Me and Cole

I'm posting this video mainly for evidence that I shared the stage with Cole Citrenbaum before he got famous. Batman Blues. Live in Ventura, CA. Cole is 14 in this video. His playing is incredible...way beyond his years. He is very nuanced and flavorful. The camera adds 15 pounds:)

Wah True-Bypass Mod & Other Tone Tips

Here are the instructions for wiring your CryBaby to true-bypass. Also removed is the buffer so you get tone purity! There are also some other tricks you can do to better shape the tone.

True Bypass Mod for Ibanez Tube King (TK-999)

The original Ibanez Tube King is an ideal pedal for doing a true-bypass mod. All the parts already come with the pedal and there are no PCB changes. Let's call it a 15 minute operation.

Tuning Stability

Sticky Nuts
If you have a sticky nut (no pun intended), several products are available, but the best stuff I have used is Finish Line Dry Teflon Lube sold in bike stores. That's right, chain lube for your bicycle. It works pretty good at first and builds over time...getting better and better. One tube of this stuff will lube your nuts for a lifetime - not to be confused with nutz;)