Ralphie's Ramblings

SONIC MARTYR Ok.  So I ripped the description for this off of their webpage, but this is going to be one killer CD. Pop by the link above and listen to the clips. If you like bands like Kings X and  Alice and Chains, but with a dose of originality and conviction, then this is for you. This should appeal to the younger listener as well as the old who like a little bit of metal grit in their soup! From Trinity Records Site: The music of Sonic Martyr mixes elements of modern hard rock & heavy groove with an industrial atmosphere! This is a concept EP that deals with our broken nature.  However, it's also the story of someone who is very close to me.  I pray for this person daily.  The music will deal with sin and the negative effects it causes the mind, body & spirit. Lyrically it won't be for the faint of heart. The wedge that sin creates between God and His creation should not be sugar coated and packaged in fuzzy feel good language. We all need to hold the mirr

CD Baby: ORPHAN PROJECT: Orphan Found Ok!  I can not figure this one out.  Why did the CD Orphan Found, by Orphan Project, not become the biggest album in years?  Released in its current form back in 2003, this CD offers up stunning performances.  Great guitarwork, bass work, writing, lyrics, and one of the best vocal performances I have ever heard, this thing has it all.  From progressive styles, to modern rock and pure sensational Pop (Parts as One should have charted at the top of POP/Rock Charts) it still blows me away.  Shane Lankfords vocals are incredible.  They show depth, passion, and power.  John Wengers writing is incredible and all the guitar work, bass and electric, is amazing.  Add to that a great keyboard player and tight drumming and it should have been a winning formula.  They recently released OP 2 with a slightly revised line up.  It too is excellent, but Orphan Found is a gem.  The production is some of the best I have heard. Do yourself a favor and get a copy of th

YouTube - Way Huge Red Llama & Mojo Hand Mule Comparison Demo Way Huge Red Llama & Mojo Hand Mule Comparison Demo This is one of my favorite pedals.  Great tone!  It is a must have for every pedal board.

Ecstasy Drive pedal by Wampler Pedals - custom guitar effects, preamp, and amplification modifications and repairs. Indie Guitarist IndyGuitarist We got hit by the remnants of Hurricane Ike.  80mph winds that knocked out power out from Sunday until 7pm Thursday.  The yard cleanup took my boys an entire day and we now have tones of leaves and branches to burn.  I will do a decent update here soon, but for now, check out the link above.  I just got one of these from Brian and it is amazing.  I love the OD.  Warm and slightly fuzzy.,  Very cool. Ecstasy Drive overdrive/distortion pedals - Wampler Pedals

Unlock Your Tone - Guitar Effects, Boutique Pedals and Gear - Video Demos, Articles and Reviews This is just a quick note to all of you! Please check out this page. It is awesome. Why am I just finding this now?

SIB Effects: Mr. Echo Plus - Tone Factor Product Details All of you delay/echo junkies out there need to check out the Mr Echo by SIB. This is one highly underrated pedal. This has a very analog sound to it. It will really nail those subtle slapback and vintage echos of the past. It sounds nice clean or dirty and the slam feature is insane. Think Townsend smashing his SG without breakig the guitar and you are close. You laugh at first, and then realize...hey! This could be cool if used right. Jump in andd try one. Very cool. Pedal Board Demo....listen and watch for Mr Echo at about 3:30 or so.

How many of you like to use Fuzz Pedals? Even though I am not really a lead player, I love Fuzz tone. Some of my favorite players with great fuzz tone include Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Page. As I was browsing the Tone Factor fuzz pedals it struck me that there are so many fuzz pedals, that it is tough to choose. My Tone Factor Hellbilly is in the Fuzz zone. My Tone Factor and my Mojo Hand Huckleberry (ver 1 and ver 2 respectively) are killer Fuzz Pedals that like the Hellbilly, can be set to work well with rhythm as well as lead guitar. Another great one I tried was the Crucible Fuzz by Euthymia . It was a Great pedal, but for some reason I could not use it at my house. It worked great everywhere else, but at home, I often picked up the local radio station on it. I guess I am too close to the tower, as it never happened anywhere else I used it. For the most part, fuzz pedals are modeled after the old Arbiter FuzzFace or Big Muff Pi's, but there are so many fuzz pedals, each

I thought I would add a little more Tonefactor History/trivia. This time in a pictorial view!!!! From left to right - Bjorn Juhl (BJF(, Jon Cusack (Cusack Music), Jason (ToneFest Organizer), Guy in Red shirt (?) ,Donner Rusk (Donnerbox), Mike Knappe (Diamond Pedals), Brad himself!

I have been buying stuff from Brad at Tonefactor since very early on. In fact, I may have been his second customer (I tried, but I remember him telling me that another person had beaten me too it). I know I was at least one of the first 5. I bought an Electro Harmonix Pulsar if I recall (though it could have been a Holy Grail or Guyatone Compressor). I bought all of my early pedals from them. Back then it was basically Brad dealing via email or forum with his customers(sometimes his better half would handle it as well). So I thought I would throw out some Tonefactor Trivia and see how many of you know the answers. You can answer with reply here or pop in to the Tone Factor Forums and let us know what you think the answers are. I am not going to give the answers. That will be up to Brad, if he wants to share. 1. What was the forum that Brad started many moons ago, that may have helped launch his vision of Tone Factor? (hint: This forum is still active with its current proprie

Well, this is my first official blog at this site. I hope there are many more. For now, I just want to mention one of my favorite places on the web. Trinity Records and Productions. This is the home of a few of the best, an most original musicians on the web. Here you will find Visual Cliff, Fall of Echoes and Sonic Marty. These may not be household names, but they should be. The depth of the writing and performances is astounding. I am keeping this first blog short, so for now, just check out this site and if you like what you hear, please tell others off your find. I hope you like it and may God Bless you on your daily journeys. Trinity Records & Productions and for the Trinity Artist Forums: http://z10.invisionfree.com/FOE_Street_Team/index.php