# Ottawa Amp+Pedal Fest! Sunday, August 23rd 2009!



## Guest (Jul 8, 2009)

Alright. I figure I'd just better pick a date or I'm never going to get this sorted. So here it is:

*Ottawa Amp+Pedal Fest!*
Sunday, August 23rd 2009
2:00 pm - 5:00 pm
New Location: My Office

Update: Moving the location to place that's free. If you plan to attend send me a PM or email with your email address and I'll invite you to the invite via Google Calendar -- the invite will have the address, contact information.

Lets get together. We can check out each other's gear, jam a little, and chat gear and all things guitar.

The date is firm, the location and time is subject to change.

If you can attend leave a response and mention what you can bring to the party.


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## zdogma (Mar 21, 2006)

I can probably come. 

I have a Carr Slant 6V, Fargen 50 watt head, Dr. Z Route 66 and a Winfield amp if anyone wants to try them.

I also have a few pedals that i can bring.


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## Guest (Jul 8, 2009)

I'll be bringing:

my Axe-Fx
empress superdelay
two of Mark Hammer's pedals: his Scrambler+ and Jordan BossTone
and my take on a triangle Muff

Depending how many people RSVP I may shift the location to my office in Kanata.


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## zdogma (Mar 21, 2006)

I have a BYOC muff pi clone if you want to do a comparison.


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## Guest (Jul 9, 2009)

zdogma said:


> I have a BYOC muff pi clone if you want to do a comparison.


That would be cool. Mines built on a BYOC board.


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## Jimi D (Oct 27, 2008)

I'd love to see an Axe-FX up close! 

Not sure what my schedule's like that Sunday (wife's got us camping somewhere/somewhen the end of August, I know) but if I can get out I could bring my Les Paul Push Tone and Mesa Express 5:25... Most of my pedals are pretty conventional, but I do have a Nova Delay and Nova Mod on my board if anyone wants to try playing with those... Oh, and I could bring my Gretsch Power Jet (Duo Jet w/ TV Jones stock) if anyone wanted to try that...


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## Brennan (Apr 9, 2008)

Sundays are usually pretty busy for me, but I think I'll be able to make it out. 

I'll bring the Polaris of course. My pedals are all pretty run of the mill, but I'll bring 'em along as well.


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

Sunday afternoon is rehearsal day for me.  Altho we might not be practicing that Sunday as we have a gig the previous weekend. Another thing is, I don't have any fancy gear to bring along. 

Anyway, I'll let you know as soon as I figure out our schedule.


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## zdogma (Mar 21, 2006)

Brennan said:


> Sundays are usually pretty busy for me, but I think I'll be able to make it out.
> 
> I'll bring the Polaris of course. My pedals are all pretty run of the mill, but I'll bring 'em along as well.


Very cool. I'll be interested to see how it compares to the Fargen.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

This year marks the 50th birthday of both my tweed amps. One has a production date of September and the other is December. I'll try and bring one of them to celebrate.

Should have more pedals by then too.

It's a date!!


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## Shiny_Beast (Apr 16, 2009)

If I'm in town that weekend I'll probably show up, sounds like a good time.

My pedals are nothing special, ad999, microvibe and area51 guts wah which might be interesting to wah guys that haven't tried one. Amp is a 50w combo converted to a plexi type circuit with a post PI MV.


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## dufe32 (Feb 5, 2007)

I'd love to be there! I got nuttin special though: a couple of pedals, my Les Paul and a Traynor YCS90.

I'm a member at Rig-Talk forums and we did this in Cornwall last april, it was truly a blast. And it's always fun to meet guys from the forum and talk gear for a day. 

I could pick up guys in Montreal and we could split the fees. Ottawa-Montreal is a fun drive so hit me up if you are interested!

Eric


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

I'll be sure to book that off from my 2nd job, and clear getting the car!

I will bring:

JSX runing 6L6's
Bodenhamer Electronics modded TS7
Bootyque Compressor
XXX cabinet w/ WGS British Leads

and whatever sixer I have (Hamer or AJC Custom)

I'd really like to hear people's thoughts on my friend's compressor and the modded TS. and of course the tones I go for in general lol. I may bring the ISP Decimator for when I demo my "metal tones" haha


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## Brennan (Apr 9, 2008)

There was a lot of talk about Levinsons a little while ago, if there's any interest I can bring my Blade along for people to try out as well.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

I'll see if I can sweet-talk Tim Larwill (Retro-Sonic) and Steve Bragg (Empress) and the fellow who makes the Fairfield pedals (Guillaume something EDIT: It's Guillaume *Fairfield*, you dolt!!) to show up.

And if I'm very very VERY careful with my time, I may even have my two über-flangers ready. One is a PAiA Hyperflange that I've been trying to finish since 1992 (getting really close now), and the other is a pair of corrupted Boss BF-1s that are used in conjunction with a splitter/mixer to provide through-zero flanging with the distance-past-zero either a moving target or fixed. Both flangers are set for delay only, and one is used as a staggered-delay "clean"/dry source. Since they both have manual adjustment of initial delay, you can adjust how far the modulated delay sweeps past zero before moving back in the other direction.

I also have a Boss RPH-10 phaser that I have modded for envelope control and a bunch of other "interesting" pedals with effects you've likely never heard before.


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## Guest (Jul 21, 2009)

Excellent! This is really turning in to something much bigger than I had anticipated!


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## rwe333 (Feb 18, 2006)

I expect to be around the 23rd... perhaps have some things of interest.

Various pedals by RonSound, Lockhart, Area 51 Wah Pedal, Effectrode, Lovepedal, Empress, Gibson, Burkey, and BBE Sound...

Amps include a restored Orange OR80, a modded Traynor YBA-1, Lovepedal Cannibal 1/2 watt, Rivera & Boogafunk 1x12s w/ Eminence...


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

i love how im only going for the amps and to get feedback on the pedals people have modded or made lol


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## nonreverb (Sep 19, 2006)

I'll see if I can make it...perhaps I'll bring along the ultimate effect...a Leslie 145 kkjuw


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

nonreverb said:


> I'll see if I can make it...perhaps I'll bring along the ultimate effect...a Leslie 145 kkjuw


Well if you do, I'll bring my Vibra-Tone and Line 6 Roto-machine. It'll be spin-o-rama!:bow:


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## Guest (Jul 27, 2009)

*New Location!*

Update: so the good news is I have a job and will continue to have a job in to September. We're moving offices in late August which means we'll have a nice, mostly empty space on the 23rd -- perfect for this get together.

If you plan to attend SEND ME A PM OR EMAIL WITH YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS and I'll send you an invite to the event with the location details.


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## nonreverb (Sep 19, 2006)

Hey Ian,

You can contact me through my website. 
www.toneonwheels.com.

Thanks,

Richard


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

I'm bringing a friend slash forum member who rarely posts, if that's ok!

PM'ing for the invite now


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## Guest (Jul 27, 2009)

Budda said:


> I'm bringing a friend slash forum member who rarely posts, if that's ok!
> 
> PM'ing for the invite now


No sweat. Bring friends. I just can't post my employers address in the forum.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

bump - come on otu!


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## Brennan (Apr 9, 2008)

I should be bringing out an X2 XDR-95 wireless system as well for people to check out (assuming it gets here by then, I *should* have it this week).

I'm going to have a Bogner 2x12 to run the Peters through, if you want something bigger you'll have to bring it yourself! (anything from 4 to 16 ohms works).


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## bscott (Mar 3, 2008)

Picked this off of the Ottawa Musician:

BLUE COUPE play the Elmdale House Tavern, 1084 Wellington St. on AUGUST 23. BLUE COUPE!!! featuring original ALICE COOPER BAND member Dennis Dunaway and former BLUE ÖYSTER CULT legends Albert (drums) and Joe (bass) Bouchard, as well as Gord Lewis from TEENAGE HEAD. Don't miss seeing these legends in an intimate setting. Show starts at 9:30 and ends at 11:30, and then the guys will meet and greet and be available to sign your memorabilia! 19+, $25, LIMITED Advance tickets available now at The Elmdale.

Could be a great way to cap off the day!! Yeah its a Sunday but what the heck.
Give it some thought and maybe we can put together a posse to attend and cheer!!
Brian


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## Guest (Aug 5, 2009)

Wow. Such great interest! I'm stoked for this guys.

So I've been mulling over how to organize this. Thoughts on the following plan?

We'll set everything up and we'll do a first pass around the room with each amp owner giving us a demo of their kit, say maybe 10 minutes or so. Then we can break it out into a try-others-stuff session and maybe cap it off with a little jam?

I dunno really.


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## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

nonreverb said:


> I'll see if I can make it...perhaps I'll bring along the ultimate effect...a Leslie 145 kkjuw



by it's lonesome? . not that I can come....


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## zdogma (Mar 21, 2006)

iaresee said:


> Wow. Such great interest! I'm stoked for this guys.
> 
> So I've been mulling over how to organize this. Thoughts on the following plan?
> 
> ...


Yep, sounds good to me.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Ian, i think that will work.

brennan, im bringing my XXX 412 w/ WGS British Leads. No one's heard the full JSX rig except a couple of friends  (not lately anyway) lol


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

A neighbour is coming with me.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

bump to see if there's more interest.

those who wish to try out the AJC are welcome to


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## Guest (Aug 21, 2009)

Bump.

See you Sunday.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

I've been busy whipping up patch cables (you're gonna love MY pedalboard), and getting a "supplies" box ready to bring (adaptors, power patch cables, power distribution box). Tomorrow, I work on a big batch of the "famous salsa" so that it will be ready for Sunday. Once you've had Mark's fresh stuff, you never go back to the bottled crap.9kkhhd


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

mhammer, does this mean that i wont have to bring 2 adapters to power my pedals? that would be awesome if it did lol


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## 2manyGuitars (Jul 6, 2009)

Waiting for my e-mail.

I'll have a couple of low-watt tube heads (a Blackheart Handsome Devil and a Dr. Z Mini-Z). Pedal-wise, I don't have anything exotic. A couple Fulltone pedals, an old Ibanez RC-99 and a Maxon AD-999. The one unit that might come in handy is my VooDoo labs Amp Selector. I'll bring along a few guitars as well.

Mostly looking forward to meeting you guys.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

T minus 11 hours!

hoping i dont get lost on my way, haha!


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Gah!! I can't find the e-mail or post with the address.kqoct

Somebody help me out here.


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## Guest (Aug 23, 2009)

Bump. Nearly there. I sent a reminder out with the address.


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## Guest (Aug 23, 2009)

Thank you to everyone who made it out this afternoon. That was a lot of fun. I'm sure my wife is going to be asking me to stop yelling for a few days to come. 

Awesome meeting everyone and getting to hear all that great gear.

For the guys with the cameras: post pictures!

Thanks again everyone! I'll start working on mkII in a couple of weeks. We've got some great ideas for ways to make it an even cooler event next time around.


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## 2manyGuitars (Jul 6, 2009)

Ditto. It was a great time for those of you who missed it.

Once the kids go to bed in a couple of hours, I'll get working on the pics.


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## Guest (Aug 23, 2009)

2manyGuitars said:


> Ditto. It was a great time for those of you who missed it.
> 
> Once the kids go to bed in a couple of hours, I'll get working on the pics.


I now have serious lust for a 339.


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## zdogma (Mar 21, 2006)

I had a blast! 

Really great people, and tons of great gear. Anytime you want to do this again, I'll be there. I wonder about a jam session next time, maybe at the rehearsal studio. It would be great to have a bit more time to actually play with some of these guys. 

P.S. Mark - the salsa was as good as you said it would be.


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## zdogma (Mar 21, 2006)

iaresee said:


> I now have serious lust for a 339.


Yeah, I really liked that one too.


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## zdogma (Mar 21, 2006)

I think mhammer should seriously think about selling that fuzz/octave of his, the Tone Machine. I loved that thing.


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## Brennan (Apr 9, 2008)

Huge thanks to Ian for setting this up, I think we all had a great time and I can't wait for next time. 

If you need any help with the next one, just let me know.


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## nocturnal_n (Aug 23, 2009)

My introduction to this site and had a great time riffin' out thru a myriad of sonic delights plus banging heads with cool folk! Thx and can't wait for the next one........ N_n


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## nonreverb (Sep 19, 2006)

Sorry guys, but I had an emergency repair for a friend who was playing Reggae Fest this evening...took a tad longer than I expected...Sounds like it was a blast!


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## bagpipe (Sep 19, 2006)

Yeah, great fun - many thanks to Iarasee for organising it. Man, some of those amps are loud though - a sure sign that I'm getting old! 

Heres a couple of pics - feel free to add comments on anything of interest. The rest of the pictures should be available here:

http://s9.photobucket.com/albums/a76/bagpipe200/GC_GearFest2009/


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## bagpipe (Sep 19, 2006)

One more thing - who was all there? We did brief introductions but I only remember a few names, and cant remember who's actual name mapped to who's GC username. Heres what I remember:

2manyguitars - (well named!) - had the Blackheart/MiniZ combo and too many guitars!
Budda - blue ACJ guitar and JSX amp
Iarasee - organiser, and had the complicated Midi/AxeFx box setup
mhammer - pedal and Leslie speaker guru
Brennan - the Peters amp, I think ?
me - no amps, Mason Lap Steel.


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## zdogma (Mar 21, 2006)

I had the Kingsley, Carr amps and the Eric Johnson Strat.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

I had a blast, thanks a million for organizing this, Ian!

We definitely need a seperate thread for all the pictures .

Thanks to Matt for letting me spend time with the Peters, Mark for his amazing salsa and leslie demo and that 9V adapter, Ian for letting me borrow his PRS (what model is that anyway?) to try the Peters through my 412, and everyone for coming out!

I apologize for my crunch channel being rather loud - I had no idea that the channel volume was at 5, I usually have it on 2.5 *L*

Good times were had, well worth the drive!


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## nocturnal_n (Aug 23, 2009)

I was mhammer's demo guest & roadie and had a wicked time drooling over the Eric Johnson Strat and the Gibson 339! Loved the Peavey halfstack and other amps also
The Fractal audio system was mesmerizing ....

Next time I'll bring my Strat-Marshalls + effects pedals(10+) for serious critiquing by the sonic jury........ N_n


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## Guest (Aug 24, 2009)

Budda said:


> \Ian for letting me borrow his PRS (what model is that anyway?) to try the Peters through my 412


'95 Standard 24. JB in the bridge, Dragon II in the neck.


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## 2manyGuitars (Jul 6, 2009)

Budda said:


> We definitely need a seperate thread for all the pictures .


I'm currently in Photoshop working on that right now. I should be done shortly and will post soon.


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## 2manyGuitars (Jul 6, 2009)

The photo thread is here...

http://www.guitarscanada.com/Board/showthread.php?t=26088


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## 2manyGuitars (Jul 6, 2009)

zdogma said:


> iaresee said:
> 
> 
> > I now have serious lust for a 339.
> ...


So then it would suck if I did *THIS!?!?!*


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

I think it's safe to say they'd have GAS and want to get your address, haha.

Can't wait to go look at the pro pics!


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## 2manyGuitars (Jul 6, 2009)

Budda said:


> Can't wait to go look at the pro pics!



They're done...



2manyGuitars said:


> The photo thread is here...
> 
> http://www.guitarscanada.com/Board/showthread.php?t=26088


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## Shiny_Beast (Apr 16, 2009)

Ya, thanks for setting this up. I want a carr amp  that thing ruled, and when you flipped the gain up for the lap steel :bow:


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## zdogma (Mar 21, 2006)

Shiny_Beast said:


> Ya, thanks for setting this up. I want a carr amp  that thing ruled, and when you flipped the gain up for the lap steel :bow:


Great amp, that Carr.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Very interesting and altogether pleasant afternoon with a pleasant bunch of folks. Glad you liked the salsa, and glad that some of you had your first opportunity to hear and try out the magic of rotating speakers. I wished I had taken the opportunity to try out Derek's lap steel a little more, and had I been paying attention and realized the Strat was a Johnson Strat and not just "another Strat", I would have liked to try that out.

The Foxx Tone Machine that people seemed to like so much is a simple pedal to make/replicate (I have three of them, two are available for anyone interested). In fact the Danelectro French Toast pedal, available for a ridiculously low price these days, IS the Foxx Tone Machine (as are many Danelectro pedals clones of "classic" pedals), so consider adding one to your arsenal. I have a couple of extra tweaks to mine, but they are principally applied to the non-octave distortion setting, so the Dano pedal will get you what you crave.

The thing people forget about Leslies is that they are essentially a "post-production" effects. In other words, on top of that swirly magical spatial thing they do, it is an effect applied to what has *come out of the speaker*, NOT what is going into the amp. That makes a difference.


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## scratch (Jul 10, 2009)

I'm sorry I missed it ... couldn't get things sorted out in time ... hopefully there will be another next year. The pictures from last year look cool, nice pile of pedals, etc.


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## Guest (Aug 24, 2009)

mhammer said:


> Glad you liked the salsa


Can I get the recipe?


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## Chubba (Aug 23, 2009)

came out, and didn't even know about this forum...I have a lot to learn about specs and effects, and playing...though already got some cool ideas thanks to the gathering

i am/was mark p - i had the jazzmaster ultralite, white-ish strat...

thanks for putting it together, i'd definitely do it again!


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## bagpipe (Sep 19, 2006)

Shiny_Beast said:


> Ya, thanks for setting this up. I want a carr amp  that thing ruled, and when you flipped the gain up for the lap steel :bow:





zdogma said:


> Great amp, that Carr.


Agreed - fantastic amp. I've read a lot about them (the Carr Rambler?). Sounded great on clean with your Strat. Also sounded fantastic with a gainier sound and the lap steel.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

RE: *Salsa*

A decent batch can be made with the following:

8 medium-sized plum/Roma tomatoes, diced

1 medium-sized onion finely chopped, or equivalent (I like to use sweet Vidalia onions but they tend to be large, which is why I say "equivalent")

half cup, loosely packed, of chopped fresh coriander/cilantro

1-1.5tsp of dried minced garlic; normally I prefer fresh, but dried stuff absorbs the excess liquid, which is a good thing in this instance

couple of tablespoons of finely chopped hot peppers; I use the sliced pickled Old El Paso jalapenos that come in a jar, and use a bit of the juice for flavour

juice of 1 decent-sized lime; one and a half if your tomatoes are big or your lime is small

about 1tbsp each of salt and sugar; I use the coarse Kosher salt because it is just salt and not iodized.

one small tin of tomato paste, used to thicken mixture; you may not use the whole tin; just put in as much as it takes - this may depend on juiciness/fleshiness of tomatoes

The key to this is the balance of sour, sweet and salty. Taste it and adjust the relative balance of each. If the flavour seems "distant", then you add a bit more of the salt, sugar and lime.

Refrigerate about a day before you intend to use it. What you ate was around 36hrs old. Keeps about 4 days before quality declines.

I think Food Basics has the tomatoes on sale this week for 59 cents a pound, and Farm Boy has the coriander at 3 bunches for $1.29, so feel free to go crazy and experiment.

One of the great things about this stuff is that you don't feel guilty eating it, because its mostly vegetables. Not uncommon for folks in our house to have a wad of it, with crackers, for a quick supper, at the end of a long hot busride home. I haven't used any of those "slap-chop" types devices, preferring to to adopt a big sharp knife and cutting board, and leisurely prepare whilst listening to CBC1. But I see no reason why a slap-chop device would not yield decent results. Keep in mind, though, that medium chunkiness is a big part of the magic.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

On the one hand, as a guy who noodles alone, I sort of missed the opportunity to hear what any of the amps sounded like when played at "pensive" levels in clean mode (think Bill Frisell). At the same time, few stores would permit (by policy or simply physical space) the sorts of levels that some people played at, or permit listening from the same distances (often critical for listening tests), so that was a nice touch and value-added.

Certainly the large glass wall probably added a certain liveliness to the room that folks should factor into their thinking.


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

Too bad I couldn't make it.  Seems like everyone had a great time.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

thanks for the recipe, mark!

if you have any delay pedals up for grabs, PM me 

WHO OWNED THE TELECASTER NOBODY BUT ME TOUCHED?! I'd like to know! I should have plugged that thing into the JSX, since I'm assembling one as a project haha.

and yes, that Carr wowed me - more dirt in there then I'd expect, that's for sure!


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## Guest (Aug 24, 2009)

Budda said:


> WHO OWNED THE TELECASTER NOBODY BUT ME TOUCHED?! I'd like to know! I should have plugged that thing into the JSX, since I'm assembling one as a project haha.


The light blonde one? That'd be bagpipe's Tele -- and it's possible he built it.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

yeah, that one. it played quite well, i thought. I mainly picked it up to see how i'd get on sitting with one, shouldn't be a problem when mine's put together


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## Shiny_Beast (Apr 16, 2009)

what was the exact model of that carr amp?


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## zdogma (Mar 21, 2006)

This is the amp:

http://www.carramps.com/slant6v_pre522.html

It is a 2005 model, which I bought from a forum member here for a very reasonable price.

Its totally stock other than a NOS Mullard 5AR4 rectifier that the original owner included and NOS 6V6 tubes (RCA's)


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## nocturnal_n (Aug 23, 2009)

http://www.guitarscanada.com/Board/showthread.php?t=26261


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