Best advice – buying a guitar amp

I’ve written about how you optimize your practicing, and what you should consider if either you or someone you know should invest in a guitar. Today I’ll write my best advice if you or someone around you is considering buying a guitar amp.

Once again I’ll start to mention that this is written to advice beginners, or to inspire you if you are a serious guitar player with years of experience, and therefore a person people would turn to, to get your help in buying guitar related stuff 🙂

My best advice on buying a guitar amp

This one is probably an advice many parent will love because it’s very short and clear: don’t!!

What? … Yes, if you are about to start playing electric guitar, don’t buy an amp.

“Why not? … I got an electric guitar and want to practice?! … You just wrote that I should buy an electric guitar instead of an acoustic, why shouldn’t I have an amp too??”

Soren Reiff's Mesa Boogie Mark IV
My Mesa Boogie Mark IV – a super amps with tons of possibilities … but do you need that?

Ok, let me explain. If you just bought an electric guitar, I’ll asume you’re not very sure about  the following things: Continue reading “Best advice – buying a guitar amp”

Another best advice – buying a guitar

The other day I wrote about a student from Berklee College of Music, who asked for my “best advice” – and I wrote about how you could optimize your practicing time. Here’s my best advice if you are thinking about buying a guitar or know someone who wants to start playing guitar, and therefore are about to invest in an instrument.

This is written either to advice beginners, or to inspire you if you are a serious guitar player with years experience, and therefore is someone your friends or students would ask for help in buying guitar related stuff 🙂

My best advice on buying a guitar

Don’t bother about the brand or model, don’t give it a lot of thought if its made of certain kind of wood, or has fancy features, looks extraordinary cool, has the latest invention of a tremolo system or anything like that. What’s important is that it should be easy to play and stay in tune!! Oh maybe one thing more – if you want to have an electric guitar – guess what: … buy an electric guitar.

My interest in guitars started from envy. I became SO jealous on my big brother who got an electric guitar when I was 4 years old. During the following years my interest for guitars grew because my brother started playing in bands. When he bought a “real” guitar – a Gretsch, I started to envy him again. Therefore I was allowed to use some of my child savings for a “real” guitar as well.

My brother found a second hand Hopf SG type electric guitar. He recommended that because it was easy to play and stayed in tune.

Jesper Reiff playing livewith Soren Reiff (10 years old) @ Smogen, Holbæk
Jesper Reiff playing livewith Soren Reiff (10 years old) @ Smogen, Holbæk

My best advice on buying a guitar

And I’ll pass that advice on to you: easy to play and stay in tune. Let me go a little in details on that 🙂

Continue reading “Another best advice – buying a guitar”

My best advice

The other day a student from Berklee College of Music asked me if I could give him an advice. Not just any advice – but my best advice to a young guitar player, who wanted to “live my life” and play the type of jobs I’ve done.

That was a tough one. There’s so many things I can think of depending on what you’re focusing at – I mean should it be concerning networking, education, playing gigs, recording sessions, getting the right guitar or practicing … well “practicing” – that’s a god place to start. So here it is … at least one of them 🙂

Practicing

Everyone who is thinking of being a professionel (musician) knows that you have to practice/study (hard). Personally I was told this the very first time by my brother when I was around ten years old. From that day I started to practice a bit more seriously. Later on I practiced many hours every day.

Sometimes Soren Reiff has been practicing picking technic for hours. Copyright @ Rishi
Often I’ve been practicing picking technic for hours. Copyright @ Rishi

Did it pay off? Yes … my playing improved – and that motivated me to practice even harder.

Did that pay off? Continue reading “My best advice”

Music as a profession – my history

Some time ago I wrote a post about how I didn’t choose to have music as a profession – I just couldn’t imaging a life without playing guitar every day … all day – so today we are looking down the history lane.

My first guitar

I started playing guitar when I was around 4 years old. My big brother bought an electric guitar and I got so jealous that my parents bought me a small acoustic as well. I guess they thought I would keep interest for a week or two and then return to my normal routines, but no …

My brother, who was ten years older than me, showed me new chords or a scale every once in a while, but I didn’t had “real” lessons on a regular basics. I had fun with the guitar, but I also did a lot of other typical child stuff.

When I was around ten years old my brother took me to an Eric Clapton concert and I was blown away. When we left the concert hall, I told my brother that I would play like Clapton one day. He smiled and told me that if I wanted to do that, I should practice and practice a lot. l remember how I said to myself: “hell yeah, then I’m going to practice a lot”, but I just looked at my bro and said “ok”.

Jesper Reiff playing livewith Soren Reiff (10 years old) @ Smogen, Holbæk
Jesper Reiff playing livewith Soren Reiff (10 years old) @ Smogen, Holbæk

After that experience my interest for music intensified. I bought my first electric guitar when I was ten years old and started practicing a bit more seriously. Continue reading “Music as a profession – my history”

TC Electronic Flashback delay

I’ve been using TC Electronics products for more than 25 years I guess. The first TC Electronic pedal I bought was the phaser, and after that I’ve had several of their products. For years especially the 2290 has been an important part of my setup, so when I heard about the TC Electronic Flashback delay, I thought it would be a natural part of my board.

Facts about the TC Electronic Flashback delay

The TC Electronic Flashback delay offers you 11 different delay types. In addition to the “normal” different delay types, you get the TonePrint function. TonePrint gives you your favorite guitar players custom presets, in one of the delay modes. This is downloaded to the pedal either by your computer and an usb-cable or by and app for your smartphone. All in all a lot of possibilities in a regular stomp box – super.

The loop function is cool and sounds great – and I have loop time enough for my need (40 seconds).

The tc electronic Flashback delay in Soren Reiff's pedalboard
The tc electronic Flashback delay in my pedalboard

Does it cover all my needs delay wise?

Overall the pedal sounds great. The different presets sound cool, and it covers about everything you can expect from a delay pedal, at least from a small stomp box.

Continue reading “TC Electronic Flashback delay”

Cioks Pussy Power supply

Review of Cioks Pussy power supply

When I decided to make myself a pedalboard, I spent hours … actually days or maybe even more correctly weeks researching effect pedals, but didn’t give the power supply much thought. My only concern in that direction was how much power the different models delivered, and if it would be enough power … I should be wiser.

I read about true bypass, I read about the latest releases of pedals and I saw tons of videos on youtube with dedicated people showing their boards. These enthusiastic pedal-lovers were playing the same pedals with different guitars thru different amps, sometimes even comparing different generations of the same pedal.

After some research on the internet, I knew what I wanted to check out myself and I started spending time in music stores with my guitars. After the first round of testing I brought a bounch of pedals to my studio and started trying them there. Normally only one at a time, but sometimes a few together. But not like “everything” together and I did all the testing on batteries … no power supply!!

I ended up with some very nice stuff I think – you can read more about my board here.

After some weeks I was ready – I had decided what board I wanted to mount everything at, and started doing that. I had bought some instrument cable that have been recommended by many people and a power supply that should be able to deliver all the power I needed.

When everything finally was connected and I turned the power on – I was disappointed. There was a hum … not very loud, but annoying.

Continue reading “Cioks Pussy Power supply”

Pedalboards versus rack-setups part 3

This blogpost is the third in a series of three about pedalboards versus rack-setups

In the first post in this series I wrote about the equipment I started out with and in the second post I told you about all the advantages I had from my rack-setup – today I’ll write about what I’m using at the moment and why I chosen as I’ve done.

Actually there wasn’t that many reasons for considering other solutions than my small rack-setup … but there was a few.

One was that I started to play more abroad. Often it was impossible to get the same setup I had back home – meaning that even if I brought my presets with me on a memory-card, it wouldn’t work. And in addition to that, it was very expensive to rent something like my normal rig – and really a waste of money, when I wasn’t able to use the presets I brought with me. I also got tired of trying to duplicate something from my normal setup, within the short time we had for soundcheck. Therefore I started to have smaller programmable boards with me every time I played outside Scandinavia.

Soren Reiff's setup 2013 - a Mesa Boogie Mark IV combo, and a full packed board
My setup 2013 – a Mesa Boogie Mark IV combo, and a full packed board

Continue reading “Pedalboards versus rack-setups part 3”

Pedalboards versus rack-setups part 2

This blogpost is the second in a series of three about pedalboards versus rack-setups

This blogpost details my pro’s concerning pedalboards versus rack-setups. The other day I wrote about the equipment I started out with and why I moved from amps and a pedalboard to a rack-setup.

The rack setup I ended up using for years live and on tv – and still often use in the studio, was built around a Mesa Boogie preamp, Mesa Boogie poweramp and a TC2290.

At first I used the Quad preamp, but after a year or so Boogie introduced the Triaxis preamp – a programmable tube preamp with 99 presets – it was made for my kind of work.

For years I had rack-comp’s, noise suppressors, phasers and other fun stuff in the loops of the 2290. I also had a Lexicon reverb, 2 TC M5000 reverbs and an Intellefex chorus, delay and reverb unit – all hooked up as auxillary fx’s in a programmable Akai line mixer.

Continue reading “Pedalboards versus rack-setups part 2”

Pedalboards versus rack-setups

This blogpost is the first in a series of three about pedalboards versus rack-setups

At the moment I normally use a single amp and a rather fully fullpacked pedalboard, when I’m playing live. My rack stuff is mostly used in the studio. This blogpost is about my thoughts thru these changes and my pro’s and con’s concerning pedalboards versus rack-setups.

When I started playing in a band I had an electric guitar and borrowed my big brothers amp and a fuzz-face type overdrive from him – this worked fine for a long time.

My big brothers Gayatone Sustainer
When I started playing in a band a borrowed my big brothers Gayatone Sustainer

When I started to become a little more serious about my music and gear, I bought my own amp and started flirting with pedals. But still I had a very simple setup compared to the 20 unit stereo rig I later on used for years while I did tv-shows and sessions as a hired gun.

Continue reading “Pedalboards versus rack-setups”

My Washburn Strat

I’ve written about my red and brown Gibson ES-346, and I’ve written about one of my my old Valley Arts guitars, so it’s only appropriate to write about my old custom built Washburn Strat, that has been my main guitar for more than a decade!

I’ve used this guitar on tons of sessions, and on every TV-show I’ve done for more than ten years. But even though I can be quite nerdy about guitars, there are several things I don’t know about this one – for instance the model designation.

Soren Reiff's Washburn Strat
Soren Reiff’s Washburn Strat

Continue reading “My Washburn Strat”