Stratamania’s blog about music and guitars.

  • What makes a guitar great?

    What makes a guitar great?

    …it is not just the recipe, or the ingredients, or the tools, it is the skill and art of the chef that makes a great meal.

  • Building Guitars from Parts

    Building Guitars from Parts

    A guitar made from parts such as this is often called a partscaster.

  • Led Zeppelin II

    Led Zeppelin II is a classic rock album that showcases the talent and versatility of one of the most influential bands in history. The album was recorded in various locations and studios, including between concerts and touring, and features a blend of blues, folk, hard rock and psychedelic elements. The album was a commercial and…

  • Keven Eknes using the Blower Switch mod

    Here is a video of Keven Eknes putting the Blower Switch to work with excellent results. Here is a link to the Blower Switch post. https://stratamania.wordpress.com/2014/12/03/4pdt-blower-switch-for-guitar/ Great playing and tones Keven…

  • 4PDT Blower Switch for Guitar

    In this post are a series of diagrams to show how a blower switch could be wired up in a guitar. A Blower switch is one that sends the output of the pickup directly to the output jack bypassing the guitars volume and tone controls and any other circuitry. One use of such a switch…

  • History Of Boss

    Here is some information from Boss on the History of their compact pedal (stomp boxes) product line. I remember when they first came out but now is there a guitarist who has never used one of these ?   Produced and developed by Roland – Manufacturer of V-Drums, V-Pianos, Boss Guitar Pedal Effects, Synthesizers and…

  • Automating Axe FX Pre-set Changes With Cubase

    This post covers how to use Cubase to send midi information to the Axe FX II in order to change pre-sets and/or scene changes on the Axe FX. It also covers sending Bank Changes to access pre-sets numbered higher than 127, e.g. 128-383. The tutorial was made with Cubase 6.07 and Axe FXII Firmware 9.0…

  • Updating Axe FX II Firmware

    This is a walk through tutorial of upgrading Axe FXII Firmware using Midi Ox on Windows. A similar procedure using Snoize can be used on the Mac. (Edit: 13 December 2012 A fellow Fractal Audio Forum member has a guide for the procedure on the Mac here) The images can be clicked on for a larger…