Sennheiser FreePort Instrument Set UHF Wireless System

The Sennheiser FreePort Instrument Set UHF Wireless System is the best solution for under $200 that any serious musician should have. It has four selectable channels to choose from to optimize and protect your sound from any other wireless interference. It has diversity technology for highest reception quality and Dynamic processor for crystal-clear sound.

The system is quite small; weighing in at a mere 570g for the receiver and 9g for the transmitter pack. Dimensions are 35 x 213 x 98 mm for the reciever, and 60x100x30mm with the clip.

Some may argue that the transmitter is made of plastic housing, therefore making it less robust, but the truth is, and this goes for all gear, if you take care of your gear, it will last. Don't expect the gear to take care of itself!

I also feel that when I use this system, the digital processor really cleans up the instrument sound and gives it a slight mid range boost, really nice for guitars!

If you are looking for a wireless system, look no further, grab one of these!
Tell them Mike sent you! -- I Can't promise you a better deal though. =o)

Other useful Technical specs:

The Frequency Response is: 80-16.000 Hz
Signal-to-Noise Ratio: 95 dB(A)
THD, Total Harmonic Distortion: < 1%
Audio Output Level (Balanced): XLR, +16 dBu
Audio Output Level (Unbalanced): Jack, +10 dBu
Power Supply: 12 VDC nom

Zakk Wylde ZW45 Signature Wah Pedal

The Dunlop Zakk Wylde ZW45 Signature Wah is one of the coolest sounding Wah's out there.
The main reason I picked up one of these is because I never liked the lack of sweep I got out of the standard Dunlop Crybaby. This one has got a bigger Wah sound to it, and when you press it all the way forward, the high end cuts right through and you can really make your guitar wail.

So far, it has also proven to be more reliable than the Original Crybaby, although all of the rubber feet have come off the screws at the bottom. Not the biggest deal, and totally fixable, but I can't help but feel annoyed by it.


Thanks to Jimmi at Rogers Music Centre in Toronto, he said "Hey why don't you give this a try?". That's all it took, and after comparing it to a few other brands, I was sold!

This pedal comes with an adjustable torque clutch that allows the user
to control the amount of resistance the rocker has to being moved. The
adjustment is located under the rocker at the heel of the pedal. By
placing the rocker toe down and looking under the rocker heel, you
can see an adjustment allen head screw. By turning this screw
clockwise you can increase the rocker torque and conversely,
counterclockwise decreases the rocker torque.

ZW-45 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS:
Filter Parameter
Low Pass ---250Hz - 350Hz
High Pass ---1.4kHz –2.4kHz
Input Impedance ---1MEG
Output Impedance ---10K
Maximum Input Level ----9dBV @ Filter’s Center Frequency
Maximum Output Level ---+6dBV
Maximum Gain (Toe Down) --- 17dB
Maximum Gain (Heel Down) ---17dB
S/N (Heel Down) --- >100dBV
S/N (Toe Down) --- >90dBV
Power Requirements --- 900uA @9V DC

ProCo Vintage Rat Distortion Stomp Box

It's that time again! This time I'm letting everyone know about the distortion I use for my guitar rig. It's pretty basic actually but I use the ProCo Vintage Rat stomp box.
This model has been discontinued, so in a sense I feel lucky. I've tried some of the other models but they all vary and I still like mine the best.

Basically, it has 3 knobs - Distortion, Filter, Volume. Pretty simple I know, but really this is all this pedal needs to sound great!

I usually set my distortion at about 11 o'clock which gives me a light, but crunchy enough sound for most of Proxy Set songs, but sometimes I'll juice it when I'm feeling dangerous or drunk at a gig =o)

The filter is really cool because it sweeps from a very open and bright distortion all the way to a high-cut-low pass sound. Very cool for Queens of the Stone Age guitar sounding stuff.

And the volume- well that's just a volume. BUT, this pedal has tons of gain and can really cut through the mix really well! Try it out, that is, if you can get your hands on one!