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DiMarzio Pro Track DP188 Stratocaster Pickup Demo and Review

Single Coil Size Humbucker Pro Track DP188

I consider the Pro Track to be the absolute best single coild sized humbucker ever made. It’s another piece of gear that I sold once and the rebought.

I had one of these in my Eric Johnson strat and I loved it. It gets really close to the sound of a PAF style humbucker. Eventually, I went through a phase where I decided to make my Stratocasters as “authentic” as possible. I also had a hook up on pickups made by Jerry Amalfitano, so at the time I felt like I didn’t need the DP188 anymore. I was wrong.

About a year ago I bought another Pro Track and put it in my EJ strat again… it is awesome! It sounds like any great humbucker should sound but it fits in a strat sized package.

DiMarzio Pro Track DP188: https://amzn.to/2Kyuwli

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Welcome to my Guitar Lesson Web Site!

My goal is to share my love of guitar and jazz music with as many people as possible. I have a whole curriculum of lessons in production, and whether you are a beginner with your first guitar or someone who’s dedicated to a lifetime of jazz studies, there is something for you.

I’ve been a professional musician for 21 years, and I’ve been playing guitar since I was a kid. I have been teaching one-on-one lessons on and off since the early 2000s and recently I decided to start publishing my lessons online so that I can share the joy of guitar with as many people as possible.

I love playing the guitar! The challenge of learning something new and the accomplishment of perfecting it is just about my favorite thing in life. There is nothing more fulfilling than learning something new on guitar, working on it until it’s easy, and then integrating it into your style.

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Tone Bender MKII Fuzz Pedal Build and Fuzz Demo

Tone Bender MKII OC75

I originally built this Tone Bender clone way back around 2010 but the wiring was sloppy and it ended up just a circuit board in a box. More recently I decided to rewire it and give it a permanent enclosure.

The OC75 transistors were in some of the original units and they truly sound fantastic in this build. I got them matched from Small Bear Electronics way back in the day.

The MKII circuit can go from splatty gated fuzz to something smooth and violin-like depending on how you bias it and where the controls are set.

Here are three videos of this Tone Bender. First the build, then some demos.

Tone Bender MKII Fuzz Build:

Tone Bender with a Stratocaster Demo:

Tone Bender MKII with a Les Paul

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Seymour Duncan 59 Neck Pickup and Jerry Donahue Lead Tele Bridge Telecaster Pickups

Telecaster Pickups

I wanted to make a versatile Telecaster that could really do a jazz gig, but also still sound like a telecaster so I put a Seymour Duncan 59 in the neck position. It’s a truly fantastic humbucker… warm but clear. I always prefer PAF style humbuckers and this one checks all the boxes.

I originally had a Fender Original Vintage 52 pickup in the bridge… great pickup set by the way. They really had the Telecaster twang thing going on. The pickups I have came in the red box and I don’t think the newer Fender OV 52 Telecaster pickups are the same.

The bridge pickup from the 52 set didn’t match well with the humbucker so after a lot of research I landed on the Seymour Duncan Jerry Donahue. The Jerry Donahue is hot and punchy but still sounds like a telecaster and has plenty of twang.

You can still get these on Amazon:
Seymour Duncan 59 Neck: https://amzn.to/2I1LUvx
Jerry Donahue Lead Tele: https://amzn.to/2TEXnDH
Humbucker Pickguard: https://amzn.to/2WtbyNK

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Jordan Bosstone Fuzz Demo, Build Video, and Parts Haul

Jordan Bosstone

This was my second time building a Jordan Bosstone Fuzz. The first one was one of the best fuzz circuits I had ever played, but somehow I misplaced the board after having it in a multifx box. I wanted to recreate that magic so I built this one.

What a cool sounding fuzz! The trumpeting is spectacular, and depending on where you set the controls you can get quite a few distinct sounds.

There are three videos here… one video is the build, one is the demo, and the other is from when I received the parts in the mail.

Jordan Bosstone Parts Haul:

Jordan Bosstone Build Video:

Jordan BosstoneFuzz Demo: