Scalarizer Thread

[psychic_sushi]

What a perfect, perfect night. Got to meet the Blue Rats in person. Scalarized Blue Buddha's guitar on the spot and hear it in action. It wasn't loud-set, but it surely CUT right into the mix !

Haayyyy...too tired...even perfect nights and days can bring a very happy tiredness. Sheet...I'm falling asleep on my keyboopiasdufopisjsdljf;lskdfj-09UR.90U0ISDJFSJC[V904UR904JFSODFJVO;LXJVLJLVJL;KXJVXLKVJLKJX SFSDFASF

A hysterically funny evening. Picture this:

• A gaggle of musicians who could barely squeeze onto stage -- naka side-view na para hindi mag banggaan sa dami ng gitarista. Dyanibee the bass player and whitey the harp player are sitting in chairs off stage so everyone will fit.
• A rotating lineup of jammers one after the other.
• A gaggle of musicians with beers sitting around tables talking about a small pile of wired tootsie rolls.
• Off to the side, a makeshift soldering station set up to wire the tootsie rolls into guitars.

Cross reference to this thread: http://talk.philmusic.com/board/index.php?topic=34134.msg351787#msg351787

Some preliminary findings:

• Scalarized guitars do cut through the mix in a full band (or full-er band) setting.
• veggie joe's scalarized strat with 9's compares very favorably with a stock EJ strat strung with 11's. Fatness, detail, punch, cut, and clarity all there.
• Seems like the tootsie roll works for p90 equipped axes. A PRS SE with the scalarizer sounded great.
• psychic_sushi is a hot guitar player.
• BAMF is a gracious and generous dude, not to mention a really nice guy to boot.
• Remarkable what "tone spite" can acccomplish. 
• Judging from the folks at the gig, the blues is alive and well in the Philippines.
• Judging from the folks at the gig, there are other geeks like us in the Philippines. 

Exactly what the tootsie roll does for guitar tone still has to be articulated. Will try to do some kind of a review after monkeying around a little bit more with other guitars. At the outset, it's encouraging.

Hi!

Oh man, that was one helluva memorable night! Thank you (blue buddha, i will never run out of "thank you's" for you and yatpu, and the whole band!!!) for letting me join the stage with you guys. I had butterflies in my stomach, was overwhealmed at being in the presence of the guitarist i look up to, but disarmed by his chumminess. boy, i can't wait til the next opportunity! yatpu rules!!! you guys are awesome!!! 

It was a night of fantastic music.

[psychic_sushi]

Wish you all the luck in the world and more importantly success in your endeavor...

Looking forward to trying it out...  Heh Heh  

Just have to ready some stuff and some preparations I have done to really test it out:
1. Pulled out my BBE stinger out of my closet.  Lininis ko dahil sabi ng iba parang sonic maximizer.
2. Set up batteries of my Legendary Tones George Lynch Time machine boost.  Sabi kasi ng iba may clarity na dag dag sa treble -- so I have to use a treble boost function.
3. Set up my Les Paul.  Sabi rin ng iba kasi nagdagdag ng twang sa Les Paul.  Hihiram rin pala ako ng twangy na Tele.
4. Checked my Herbert kasi sabi rin ng iba na may 3d soundstage.
5. Tested the volume pots on my Super Lead Kasi sabi ng iba at any volume raw maganda.  For cranking sa 10.
6. Checked the Vox AC30 brilliant low gain Channel because again sabi ng iba may chime na dagdag.
7. Readied the Bogner Uberschall kasi may METAL version ka raw ng scalarizer.
8. Pinapalit ko na and Estring ng Moon ko na naka titanium saddles dahil wala sa intonation kasi claim niyo it beats titanium and this is my guitar with the least amount of titanium.
9. Also put back my Van den Hul cable versus my really dead sounding Klotz La Grange. I am hoping that the scalarizer put back some life in this so that I don't have to buy another Van den Hul.
10. Naka standby na rin ang soldering iron and solder.  Also on standy ang hammer ko to smash it if sounds that bad. 

Yup I know its only 500 bucks -- it costs more effort to really test this thing out.

P.S. Balita ko mayroon na nagtatanggalan --  Sa mga nagtatanggalan, dapat babad muna ng mga three months at least to give a fair assessment unless its that bad sounding. 

Thank you for the words of encouragement.

but, how are you gonna test it?

you've enumerated the gear you will employ for whatever intention you have, and are preparing for it.

 

[deltaslim]

Wish you all the luck in the world and more importantly success in your endeavor...

Looking forward to trying it out...  Heh Heh  

Just have to ready some stuff and some preparations I have done to really test it out:
1. Pulled out my BBE stinger out of my closet.  Lininis ko dahil sabi ng iba parang sonic maximizer.
2. Set up batteries of my Legendary Tones George Lynch Time machine boost.  Sabi kasi ng iba may clarity na dag dag sa treble -- so I have to use a treble boost function.
3. Set up my Les Paul.  Sabi rin ng iba kasi nagdagdag ng twang sa Les Paul.  Hihiram rin pala ako ng twangy na Tele.
4. Checked my Herbert kasi sabi rin ng iba na may 3d soundstage.
5. Tested the volume pots on my Super Lead Kasi sabi ng iba at any volume raw maganda.  For cranking sa 10.
6. Checked the Vox AC30 brilliant low gain Channel because again sabi ng iba may chime na dagdag.
7. Readied the Bogner Uberschall kasi may METAL version ka raw ng scalarizer.
8. Pinapalit ko na and Estring ng Moon ko na naka titanium saddles dahil wala sa intonation kasi claim niyo it beats titanium and this is my guitar with the least amount of titanium.
9. Also put back my Van den Hul cable versus my really dead sounding Klotz La Grange. I am hoping that the scalarizer put back some life in this so that I don't have to buy another Van den Hul.
10. Naka standby na rin ang soldering iron and solder.  Also on standy ang hammer ko to smash it if sounds that bad. 

Yup I know its only 500 bucks -- it costs more effort to really test this thing out.

P.S. Balita ko mayroon na nagtatanggalan --  Sa mga nagtatanggalan, dapat babad muna ng mga three months at least to give a fair assessment unless its that bad sounding. 

Thank you for the words of encouragement.

but, how are you gonna test it?

you've enumerated the gear you will employ for whatever intention you have, and are preparing for it.

 

+1


Alex  -  Like you always say, no one is never really in a position to assess unless he himself has tried it out (I think you said 3 mos at least?).  These guys have gone out of their way to give you that opportunity. Least you can do is honor the challenge and acknowledge their effort.  Try it, you might like it! 


PS -  I hope one day the scalarizer goes down in history as one of the great Filipino inventions, like the yo-yo, flourescent lamp, water-based car fuel, etc...   Mabuhay ka BAMF!  More powah!

[Al_Librero]

coward, liar and now hypocrite... ano kaya susunod? 

[micr0chimp]

Used my strat at a freedom gig with Kulukati last night. It's been a while since i've really enjoyed how i sounded! the guitar cut through everything without sounding harsh and was very very inspiring. the notes just hit you, hindi lang naririnig...basta hirap eksplika. it seems to move a bit more air. and the overall tone seemed to dance around valve's 12-string bass a lot better! anyone who's heard that wonderful monster knows it's hard to compete for sonic territory. for the first time i think my strat held it's own. 

sumamapa din ako sa Lahi and went toe-to-toe with a great-sounding greco LP again. i wasn't left wanting! sumabay yung gitara pero distinctly single-coil pa din yung flavor. their music is crazy thick but the strat held its own. very nice. 

excited na ako marinig yung 4x10 ng pimpboyz!!!

[nathanmanansala]

Used my strat at a freedom gig with Kulukati last night. It's been a while since i've really enjoyed how i sounded! the guitar cut through everything without sounding harsh and was very very inspiring.

had a similar but opposite experience last night too. played through this crate gtx (i think) and its got to be one of the worst amps ever. or it might've been just that one unit i played through. a bad amp crappyfies anything you throw at it i guess.

bah, i need my amp back.

[markflo]

It's USD$400 for you.

The day you buy a Scalarizer at its normal price will be the day you spent your most expensive P500.

Because you will have virtually given me a******on that day.

Bring it on !

hey BAMF, wanna watch your mouth?

you too OAS...

[blue buddha]

Hi!

Oh man, that was one helluva memorable night! Thank you (blue buddha, i will never run out of "thank you's" for you and yatpu, and the whole band!!!) for letting me join the stage with you guys. I had butterflies in my stomach, was overwhealmed at being in the presence of the guitarist i look up to, but disarmed by his chumminess. boy, i can't wait til the next opportunity! yatpu rules!!! you guys are awesome!!! 

It was a night of fantastic music.

Hey p_s, the pleasure was all ours. With this band, it's always been about having fun, generosity, discovery, and learning something new. No reason for butterflies in the stomach. We're all just a bunch of hacks who are amazed people would pay to see us play (well, except maybe for Joey.... we'd all pay to see HIM play.... anything!  ).

Great chops on your end. You are always welcome and we will do it again. You're definitely on the official gig text spam jam list  . Butch (3beers) commented that Mag:net was beginning to feel like the "the new hobbit house" in terms of great jammers coming to sit in with the band fairly regularly -- kulang nalang turistas, decadent bohemians, closet hippies, expats, politicians, literary folks, and business types. Gotta work on that....

[vinz]

Hhhhhhmmmm kakaintriga to ah...pwede kaya sa Bass to?

[trem3]

Hhhhhhmmmm kakaintriga to ah...pwede kaya sa Bass to?

kaya yan! si sir BAMF pa, nasubukan nga sa drums eh hehehehe

[Letour]

coward, liar and now hypocrite... ano kaya susunod? 

Pineapple

[kelvinator]

hay naku.. finally.. pupunta na talaga ako diyan sa calamba street (Panginoon, sana di ako maligaw) para magpascalarize! hehe.. sana meron stocks.. 

[titser_marco]

Pa-sensiya na mga bossing.  Sa dami kasi ng mga descriptors, I have to do AB via process of elimination.  I could just compare my guitar's sound before and after but if it sounds worse, I cannot stop there kasi naman baka may ibang application na maganda even if it degrades the sound of my guitar. 

BAMF,

Pa-dala mo na lang kay Deltaslim... Will give him payment. 

You mean via Arie or Lito?  Eh sana pala kumuha ako ng stock kay BAMF nung Fri dahil nag-rehearsal kami ni Arie kagabi.  He texted me a few hours before asking if I had a scalarized gtr (Lito asked a few days before too); he's interested to audition it. Kaso short notice... Sayang, could have handed it to Arie, Lito, or even Steve.


@BAMF - We finished rehearsal almost midnight na kagabi; di ko na kaya dumaan kasi (as you know) puyat na tayo from the previous night.

Having said that, I suggest people seriously consider adding a switch option, an idea I heard from both vjoe and microchimp.  Like any modification, the pre-scalarized and scalarized tones are two different tones, not a GOOD vs BAD tone dichotomy. There would be some times or applications that you'd like the scalarized effect, and sometimes not.  One is not necessarily better than the other, just different.  Magkakatalo na lang talaga sa taste, mood, or application mo.  So pag may nagsasabing gusto nila tanggalin ang scalarizer, they mainly want to get back the tone they used to remember.  Pero pano na when they want the scalarizer effect ulit for certain applications?  Tama yung switch idea nila vjoe and microchimp for people who want the best of both worlds. 

Just my 2 humble cents.

Agree. Kinda missed the gnarl in my neck pickup when I got the crystal. The harsh quality of the hot birdge pickup though, was totally gone. Not a big deal though - I just have to find time to wire the crystal to the bridge pu only.

BAMF,why don't you come up with an external box na lang with two holes for the scalarizers to touch the guitar's body (since the effect is maximized when there's contact with the body wood)? Then I suggest you have four settings: Stock, Crystal, Metal, and Crystal Met. Personally, I don't mind attaching it to the body of the guitar using double-sided tape.

[titser_marco]

PS -  I hope one day the scalarizer goes down in history as one of the great Filipino inventions, like the yo-yo, flourescent lamp, water-based car fuel, etc...   Mabuhay ka BAMF!  More powah!

Ot: Wait, wait, wait. Totoo ba yang Agapito Flores thing na yan? Akala ko urban legend lang yan?

[psychic_sushi]

Hhhhhhmmmm kakaintriga to ah...pwede kaya sa Bass to?

Absolutely! Deacon_Blues had his tokai jazz bass scalarized with metal core, and the whallop it packs  makes me think of the "Sonic Blast Man" game. you could knock out a giant monster crab with it, pare. Sarap!

[psychic_sushi]

Hi!

Oh man, that was one helluva memorable night! Thank you (blue buddha, i will never run out of "thank you's" for you and yatpu, and the whole band!!!) for letting me join the stage with you guys. I had butterflies in my stomach, was overwhealmed at being in the presence of the guitarist i look up to, but disarmed by his chumminess. boy, i can't wait til the next opportunity! yatpu rules!!! you guys are awesome!!! 

It was a night of fantastic music.

Hey p_s, the pleasure was all ours. With this band, it's always been about having fun, generosity, discovery, and learning something new. No reason for butterflies in the stomach. We're all just a bunch of hacks who are amazed people would pay to see us play (well, except maybe for Joey.... we'd all pay to see HIM play.... anything!  ).

Great chops on your end. You are always welcome and we will do it again. You're definitely on the official gig text spam jam list  . Butch (3beers) commented that Mag:net was beginning to feel like the "the new hobbit house" in terms of great jammers coming to sit in with the band fairly regularly -- kulang nalang turistas, decadent bohemians, closet hippies, expats, politicians, literary folks, and business types. Gotta work on that....

hacks?! no way!!! the chemistry and tightness you guys have is amazing! i love how your at each others tails, BIG EARS, listening when to lift a soloinst to create tension. That, is indeed artistry, and music at its pleasurable best, not just for the musicians involved in creating it and listening, but to the people who's ears are being touched.

The Blue Rats hit the bull's eye!

As for the crowd for the "new hobbit house", in Wayne's World fashion, the Naked Indian told Wayne in his dream: "Build it, and they will come"

 

I'm honored 

[BAMF]

Daan ka muna sa Sto Domingo church so you can formalize your request hahehehe. Seriously, it's not that hard o find.

Wait lang po. I'm just waiting for the biz permit to come out, and then, I can hang signage. It will be much easier to find.

hay naku.. finally.. pupunta na talaga ako diyan sa calamba street (Panginoon, sana di ako maligaw) para magpascalarize! hehe.. sana meron stocks.. 

[BAMF]

External box sticking to body...hmmm...we can do that. It's not for everybody I guess, but definitely doable.

BAMF,why don't you come up with an external box na lang with two holes for the scalarizers to touch the guitar's body (since the effect is maximized when there's contact with the body wood)? Then I suggest you have four settings: Stock, Crystal, Metal, and Crystal Met. Personally, I don't mind attaching it to the body of the guitar using double-sided tape.

[CARABAO]

i just got my gibson lp studio scalarized last night at anton's place. we first installed the crystal, then the metal, then i opted, at last, for crystal. sobrang panalo to mga chong. magpascalarize na kayo! hehehhe!! elmo, anton and jobet was there. wala nang ibang dumating! i was expecting to see more people pa naman last night. anyway.. it was just fun to talk to these guys about music and stuff, they know their stuff. the 3 even gave me advice and free guitar lessons habang inooperahan ang gitara ko. hehehe. salamat sobra! magprapractice na po ako!

back to scalarizers...

at first, my guitar had superb tone already.. ok na ok naman na. anton told me to remember the stock tone, so that i could compare the stock and scalarized tone. first off, elmo installed a crystal core scalarizer. he tested the guitar first.. then me.. putcha. napamura ako. HAHAAHHAHA. as in minura ko si jobet at elmo nun! hahaha. kasi ba naman, una, nausog ang artificial harmonics spots ko after my guitar's recent setup.. nung nagscalarizer na, putcha, bumalik lahat. hahaahaha. grabe. hindi ako makapaniwala. the notes became more distinguished. the neck pick up's unwanted mud was gone. the bridge pup tone became more alive. lemme put it this way.. the scalarizer's effect is on how the notes blend and jive together. hindi saggy. just right. parang gnun. basta. have one installed na lang. hahahaaha. EEZ LIKE LOVE, Y'KNOW. hahahaa. anyway...we chatted and jammed for another hour or so before we tried out the metal core scalarizer. jobet at first recommended this.. may mid boost sya at ok daw talga for heavier music. after its installation, i tried it out right away. again, it has the same effects as the crystal core, but had become quackier (mid boost).. kumbaga, malutong. hehe. pero, based on my tonal preferences, mas gusto ko ata ang mas traditional na tunog. mas pang clean kasi yung crytal core. ok na ok pareho, depende yan sa hinahanap ng mga tenga nyo. ayun... we installed the crystal core back.. i tested it for a few minutes, then ok na ok na. another satisfied customer here. nakalibre pa akong ilang yosi. nakakahiya hindi ako nakadala. hahahaa

after that, sabay sabay na kami nila elmo at jobet umuwi.. nag mr kebab kami ni elmo, then uwi na rin. i dropped him off at his house. salamat pare sa mga kwento! hehehe! jam na tayo next time! alam ko na kung san kita pupuntahan! at slamat sa pabaong yosi. hahaha

this morning, i took a look at how the scalarizer is installed. simple lang pala. magegets nyo naman agad. nagulat ako bakit parang walang change sa tone nung sa bridge at neck pickup.. natakot ako. hahhaa. so i resoldered everything.. stock muna.. then wala pa ring change sa neck at bridge pup, at bumalik ang mudd! kinabit ko ulit yung scalarizer. habang kinakabit ko, nakita ko hindi in contact yung isang metal part ng switch ko dun sa mismong body (nakakabit lang naman ng lead, so i resoldered it, kumabit naman, at lumutong ulit yung switch). ayun. nung pag test ko, putcha. PANALO TALAGA YUNG SCALARIZER NA YAN! buhay na buhay ang bridge at neck. pati ang tone controls! nako. dati subtle lang ang change from 10-0, ngyon, maririnig mo tlga ang minor change! panalo sobra! anyway.. yung sira na sinabi ko, sa switch ko mismo, hindi sa scalarizer, so don't worry. walang lokohan kila bamf.

at eto pa.. hahhaaha. tinawag kami ni jobet kagabi sa studio.. gamit nya ang rj prs copy nya.. dalawang scalarizers.. hahaha.. eto.. ang sustain ng open E string sa damped studio room (plugged kami sa fender stage 112) ay 1:06 bago mag die out. ganun kalakas. i timed my gibson lp studio.. crystal core lang a... kagabi 40 seconds. kaninang umaga, 1:06 din amazingly. hahahaaha. panalo SO.. GO GO GO! pa-opera nyo na gitara nyo mga chong bait pa dun! great and fruitful conversations ayos ang company

more power to BAMFX!

[Jem-Jr.™]

mga sir mag increase tlga ang sustain ng guitar?.. weeee gsto ko nyan..  enge naman po soundclip nung haba ng sustain hekhek... 

[alroyT]

Wish you all the luck in the world and more importantly success in your endeavor...

Looking forward to trying it out...  Heh Heh  

Just have to ready some stuff and some preparations I have done to really test it out:
1. Pulled out my BBE stinger out of my closet.  Lininis ko dahil sabi ng iba parang sonic maximizer.
2. Set up batteries of my Legendary Tones George Lynch Time machine boost.  Sabi kasi ng iba may clarity na dag dag sa treble -- so I have to use a treble boost function.
3. Set up my Les Paul.  Sabi rin ng iba kasi nagdagdag ng twang sa Les Paul.  Hihiram rin pala ako ng twangy na Tele.
4. Checked my Herbert kasi sabi rin ng iba na may 3d soundstage.
5. Tested the volume pots on my Super Lead Kasi sabi ng iba at any volume raw maganda.  For cranking sa 10.
6. Checked the Vox AC30 brilliant low gain Channel because again sabi ng iba may chime na dagdag.
7. Readied the Bogner Uberschall kasi may METAL version ka raw ng scalarizer.
8. Pinapalit ko na and Estring ng Moon ko na naka titanium saddles dahil wala sa intonation kasi claim niyo it beats titanium and this is my guitar with the least amount of titanium.
9. Also put back my Van den Hul cable versus my really dead sounding Klotz La Grange. I am hoping that the scalarizer put back some life in this so that I don't have to buy another Van den Hul.
10. Naka standby na rin ang soldering iron and solder.  Also on standy ang hammer ko to smash it if sounds that bad. 

11.Pull out John Denver betamax guitar lesson for upstroke picking technique.

[xjepoyx]

hahaha LOL @ alroy

pare yung scalarizer mo dala na ni BALDO pabalik dyan sa US.

[dyugs666]

Sir Jobet/BAMFX,

Ni-refer ni Mico itong thread na 'to sa akin.
Astig ah!
Pwede ba akong dumaan sa Sto.Domingo tomorrow? Malapit lang ako doon (retiro area)

Please text me the exact address and the convenient time to drop by!
I'll bring my [gooey brown stuff] guitar!

Thanks man!

JUGS
09279327665

[alroyT]

hahaha LOL @ alroy

pare yung scalarizer mo dala na ni BALDO pabalik dyan sa US.

Ty fafa

[BAMF]

My AsiaPac distributor and I have arrived at an agreement in principle, as the Scalarizer has passed their evaluation tests with flying colors.

The local distributor will follow soon. Saka na ang America, Europe and Australia and elsewhere muna.

But as you know, we will have to factor in many more costs while protecting distributors. I guess you'll know what that means.

So get your scalarizers...like now, before things change.

As a hint, the SRP of the scalarizer is USD$40.