Signature Guitars - Part 1

In the next few months Shecter Guitars will be releasing the brand new versions of Synyster Gates and Zacky Vengeance's signature series. These are certainly two of the biggest signature series around and they sell by the bucket load. So it makes me question - why, when you get up on stage to play a gig would you want a guitar made for someone else slung across your shoulders?

There's plenty of signature gear on the market. The Zack Wylde Wah, Slash's signature Marshall series, hundreds of signature guitars from ESP, Gibson, PRS etc. There is clearly a demand for all this gear then and with good reason. Companies who make these products get guidance by the artist in terms of what sound and feel they want (mainly so they can use it themselves) and bearing in mind that these are at the very top of music, they know what they're on about. As a result we are left with top quality, well produced and great sounding gear.

Go back to me mentioning Shecter's release of Synyster Gate's new custom model. His current models have sold like the Ford Model T. It features a Floyd Rose, Seymour Duncan Invader pickups, a very fast neck and stunning looks. Perfect guitar? Maybe. It ticks all the boxes I look for in a guitar.

But if I walked into a guitar shop and saw one hanging from the wall I'd be pretty certain I would straight past it with only a passing glance and the idea that I would never be paying the asking price. Not because of the guitar itself or the price (which is actually quite reasonable). No, I wouldn't buy one simply because of the persona behind a signature. The thing is, these are guitars (like I said earlier) built for the artist and companies decide for some of them to be put into production. And I don't know about you but I'd hate to think It's a guitar that's not really mine. All guitars have a personality and a different feel to them. The beauty of this wonderful instrument is the fact that they have this 'persona' that I mentioned earlier. Even that £60 starter guitar you got -we've all been there- It will always have a personal feel to it even if it's dreadful. For those of you who have picked up a signature guitar or played on a signature amp you'll know it doesn't have that personal feeling. Its persona is sadly somewhat non existent.

Don't get me wrong here, signature gear sounds great, pedals especially can be worth looking into. Its all personal opinion really and for me and the rest of us here at Jim Studios It's something we actually all agree on. You're limited in variety of tone, you will constantly have people asking "Why did you buy a ____ signature??? It's a signature!!!" and that horrible feeling that it doesn't really belong to you. So what's the answer to it all? Ah I shall reveal all next week - stay tuned!

One quick thing as well (I'm sure you're all bored stiff by now but if not...) we filmed 5 new videos yesterday along with an update video to tell you all about this blog, twitter and the free pick give away - all you have to do is subscribe to the youtube channel! Simple as that. Anyway, thanks for reading if you did make it to the end.

Peace, Linus

Getting that great deal

Playing guitar is certainly one of the more expensive past times. There is no guitarist living who is ever totally satisfied with their tone and to change that tone, sadly, it involves buying something new. So what if your a little short of money? Well I'm not going to deny you will have to spend at least a bit of money but there are a few things you can do to save some.


Ebay and Auctions. Second hand gear is always a good move in my opinion. It's so much cheaper and the great thing is (and a point that is vastly overlooked) it generally doesn't loose its quality. Cosmetic damage will probably be in an issue, but do you really mind that when you've found that killer tone? Gear goes unbelievably cheap on Ebay. Head over to a local guitar shop and casually say to the owner 'may I try this?' and spend a good while testing a pedal. Then, if you like it, get onto Ebay and I can guarantee there will be one on there. You've just saved yourself a fortune!


Cheaper gear from the smaller brands. Everyones tone is different. If they weren't, there would only be one pedal, one guitar, one amp. Fortunately, every one likes things a little different. As a result there is a huge range of gear to get your teeth into. Something I highly recommend is buying cheaper and less well known brands. BOSS, Marshall, Fender, Gibson, - they're all the BIG BIG names and as a result they can wack up the prices and people will still buy them. You are paying for the name. Don't get me wrong, they make the highest quality of gear but you can always get a great compromise from the smaller names. Take the Belcat DLY - 503 Delay Pedal we reviewed. £30 for a great delay pedal when you could easily have paid far far more for a better known brand.

Don't over spend. This may seem very obvious but I can speak from experience (and I imagine we've all done the same) where you've seen something and thought 'I NEED THAT'. Well, the chances are you're going to get it home and cue the giant face palm because its awful and you really didn't need it. Especially when we're talking here about guitar gear which generally costs a fair bit. So, think it through properly before buying it. I highly recommend going to a local guitar shop (like I said earlier) and trying out gear before buying it. Even if that means getting a ride to a bigger store that stocks what you're after. When you don't have a huge amount of money to be throwing around buying sensibly is an important thing to keep in mind.

Buying what you need. Not always what you think would be 'awesome to have'. If you're a beginner who is just looking into getting past that starter guitar pack this is worth thinking about. Talk to some guys who know a lot about guitar rigs and gear. In other words, don't go heading straight for those ridiculous sounds you get from a flanger pedal or a harmonist pedal because you're only going to need it every so often. A decent combo amp, overdrive/distortion pedal, maybe some reverb or delay and thats it really (oh and a guitar). At some point I'm going to blog a list of the essentials for the basic guitar rig so keep an eye out for that if you're interested.

Its all about being sensible really and thinking a purchase through. It might well seem like common sense to the more experienced but as a beginner which we all were at some point, it can be easy to overspend on expensive and unnecessary gear.

Thanks for reading as ever! Please leave a comment or any questions and i'll be more than happy to answer. Peace, Linus

So far...

Alright then, Jim Studio's hasn't been around for long but there's some reviews for you to have a look at here.

First off, the Belcat  DLY 503 pedal. Cheap and cheerful for what it is. A great sounding delay pedal and well worth a look if you don't have much money but want a decent delay pedal.

Next, MXR's Distortion iii. I full on LOVE the sound of this pedal and Adam makes a wicked sound with it. Take a look and be the judge for yourself!

And our last video (for the time being) Boss' famous DS-1. This is in 90% of all pros rig's and is so worth having - I'd know, this used to be mine before I gave it to Jim. If you've ever been unsure about the huge variety of tones it can give you, watch and learn...

I'll update this blog everytime we get a new video on youtube. Until then, have a look at http://www.youtube.com/user/JimStudios and subscribe for all the latest. Cheers!

Peace. Linus

Welcome!

Yes welcome to you (and me actually, this is totally new for me). I'm Linus, you've probably heard my name mentioned from time to time on the videos. What i'll be doing is keeping this written blog up to date sort of every week or so. It won't just be TOTALLY my awful ramblings but i'll be bringing you all of what we've got coming up in terms of reviews, a few things we can't really do in the videos and plenty of other interesting stuff to stimulate those brain cells! Please let us know ANY improvements we can make to our efforts be it on here with me or on the Youtube channel, but don't be too mean yeah? That's just plain not nice...

Anyywaayyy, more from me shortly where i'll be giving you some news on what's next in terms of reviews! Maybe some other stuff to, we shall see :-)

Peace. Linus.