Recent content by John Swartz

Greg formed a band called "Kings of Dust" maybe 8 years back and put out one album. They replaced the singer a few years later and rebranded themselves "Atomic Kings" and put out an album, with a second one in the works now. They're on Facebook and here's a recording from their first album...

Wow - really? I'd love to get a D-tuner on my Ibanez Blazer, if they could do it with the heart-shape so it matched the other tuners.

I'm in a 4-piece classic rock cover band, and one of my guitarists is a retired engineer with an affinity for Marshall amps, so he started making his own Marshall JCM800, Jubilee and JTM45 clones. He typically uses an 18-watt head at our gigs but he makes them in 1, 4, 10, 18, 50 and 100 watt...

For this pedal, that would be a pot with the input and output wired to the same terminal.

I get some buzzing on my GED-2112. I bought a hum eliminator box that isolates the signals coming out of the preamp with transformers and the hum went away...

Love my Peavey MAX - best rackmount preamp I've used. And those old QSC's are rock solid (albeit a little heavy - I use Class D Peavey IPR amps now).

Love my 400RB as well. I typically run it pretty flat, although sometimes I use the low-cut and/or mid-scoop switches for tonal changes. The real magic is in the right combination of input gain, boost, and master volume to get the GK grind. John

I've tried several rackmount pre-amps - they all worked pretty well but I kept switching them out in my endless "quest for tone". Here's ones I used to own: BBE BMax and 383 Preamps: Decent sounding, had compression and the "sonic maximizer" circuitry - biggest difference between the 2 was the...

GLWTS. I can vouch that Aztech Electronics is a top-notch shop, and the 400 RBs reputation precedes itself.

I really haven't followed RDC, but I've been following Greg Chaisson's work in his new band, Atomic Kings. Fans of 70's blues-based hard rock will really like it! Their debut album is available on Tonehouse Records and most major streaming services. Atomic Kings John

I saw them the night before you did (Springfield MA) - my first KISS show and first rock concert (I was 14)

I'm sure there alternatives, but as an owner of the GED 2112, I can say it does more than make you sound like Geddy Lee. The "Drive" section (based on the Sansamp RPM pre-amp), in particular is very flexible tonally with 3-band EQ and mid-shift control, along with a drive level and blend (drive...

Wow - I also bought this exact bass new in '83. I sold it in college to pay for books but did find the same model/finish on ebay around 15 years ago - only difference was that the ebay one had a black pickguard but I bought a white one to replicate my original. Can't say I noticed a unique...

Check reverb.com or ebay.com for potential Blazers...

GLWTS. I have one of these and it is my #1. Great range of tones and a great-feeling neck (more like a jazz bass).