Kevin Wagg, the owner of Ampendage Industries, contacted me several weeks ago to let me know about his line of amp stands. I’ve long thought about getting an amp stand, but I never really liked the ones that I saw in guitar stores. As a result, I’ve never really used one. Kevin was kind enough to send me a review unit, and I’m really impressed with what he’s building.

Ampendage offers three different models, two of which are solid hardwood and one is made of 3/4″ density MDF. As you can see below, the solid wood models look fantastic. The picture below shows the Teak model, which looks really nice in my music room; a Maple model is also available. The MDF stand has a black finish.

One of the nice things about amp stands is that they angle the speaker more towards your ear, which can be nice if you’re on a stage and want a more direct sound from your amp. I, however, don’t gig, but wanted a way to decouple the speaker from the floor. The angle of the stand pushes the sound right at my head, so I get a clearer picture of my tone.

Kevin advertises a small footprint with these stands, and I can agree. With a width of 14″ and a height of 12″, the amp stand stays out of the way enough to make it usable even in relatively small spaces. Yet, it’s also big enough to handle not only a 12″ combo, but my Mesa TA-15 lunchbox head/12″ cab configuration. I wouldn’t put a large head/cab configuration on the stand, but if you have a small one like the Mesa TA-15, I think a stand like this would work fine.

One downside of the Ampendage stands is that they don’t fold up like other stands. Kevin includes a built-in handle to make it easier to lug around. However, since the stand doesn’t fold up, carrying around the stand can be a bit of a hassle if you’ve got a bunch of other gear to carry.

The stand seems pretty durable, but I can’t attest to how gig-worthy it is. The pieces connect together well and are held together with some solid screws, so I would be surprised if it couldn’t stand up to most types of gigs.

If you’re looking for an amp stand, I think Ampendage is worth a look. Starting at $59.95 and going up to $89.95 for the solid wood models, they aren’t the cheapest stands around, but they are some of the nicest looking ones I’ve seen and seem to be solidly built.

I’m a fan of clever solutions to problems, and I think the Pedal Label System is just such a solution. No doubt you’ve either added a strip of masking tape to your pedals or have seen someone else do so in order to “remember” the settings that you like for your pedals. However, using masking tape can sometimes lead to residue, or goop, left on the pedals, which can be annoying. Pedal Labels aim to solve this problem by providing easy stick labels that you can use to mark the settings for your pedals.

Above you can see the four knob Boss pedal version, but there are also versions for 1, 2, and 3 knob pedals. They’ve also included some labels for marking settings for toggle switches that come on some pedals.

A mini pack (2 sheets) of labels costs $2.95, while a full pack (6 sheets) costs $7.95. You can get more information on the Pedal Labels website.

Mark Crump has a nice rundown on GigaOm of several audio interfaces for plugging your guitar into your IOS device. (via Jim Dalrymple)

GHS Strings have made this interesting video titled “A Day in the Life of a Guitar String”:

Ever wonder how your guitar strings are made? Or where they come from? Let us introduce you to “A Day in the Life of a Guitar String”. From raw material to packaging, shipping to stringing, and tuning to rocking!

This is perhaps the coolest accessory (pun intended) for your guitar/music room: the Marshall Fridge. The fridge features control knobs that go to 11, authentic Marshall logos and facing, 4.4 cubic feet of space, and is even Energy Star compliant. At $299, it’s not the cheapest fridge in town, but I bet it has the best tone!

This is a cool-looking iPhone case made by local Nashville company Griffin Technology in collaboration with Jack White’s Third Man Records, which is also Nashville based:

Each case uses a real 7-inch single die-cut to cover and protect the back of your iPhone without blocking the camera lens

A custom-made polycarbonate frame with volume, headphone, hold switch and dock connector cutouts holds the record insert in place; frame available in yellow, black or white, each sold separately.

You can also buy additional album inserts inspired by Jack White’s bands The White Stripes, The Dead Weather, and The Raconteurs.

In November, I conducted a 30-day experiment of exclusively using the Dunlop Jazz III pick. I started using the Jazz III as my only pick on November 1. I thought I’d give this follow-up to discuss the results. I should note that my experiment consisted only of trying the red standard Jazz III picks.

Prior to the experiment, I had used the Jazz III pick sporadically, but had never tried using it as my only pick for any extensive period of time. I began using the Dunlop Tortex Standard 1.0mm (the blue one) many years ago, and that’s been my primary pick ever since I first picked it up. My main questions when I started this experiment were 1) Could I get used to the size, 2) Is there a significant difference in tone and feel, and 3) Could the Jazz III become my primary pick? I’ve been able to answer each of these questions.

Perhaps the most interesting question to me was whether I could get used to the size of the Jazz III pick. When I started the experiment, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to get used to it. But, after just a day or two of use, I was able to adjust to the smaller size. As I mentioned in the initial post about my experiment, although I was able to get used to the size, I still had some issues related to the smaller size of the pick. I use a percussive right-hand picking attack, and the smaller size affects the nail on my picking hand index finger. Basically, my nail gets mangled when I use the Jazz III pick. I like to use my nails when I finger pick, and a mangled nail on my index finger affects my ability to do so.

The second question I wanted to answer was: Is there a significant difference in tone and feel with these picks? The answer is a resounding yes. The attack is much brighter, and the feel is night and day different. I really like the Jazz III pick. I felt like I could pick faster and more accurately. I can see why so many shredders like this pick. It’s a phenomenal pick for high-speed playing. However, strumming with the pick is not ideal.

This leads me to my third question: Could the Jazz III become my primary pick? The answer is, as of now, no. I consider myself more a groove oriented player rather than a speed player. I’m not much of a soloist, so the benefits of the Jazz III pick are somewhat lost on me. Furthermore, as a percussive style player, I’ve found that I need a standard-sized pick. As a result, I’m back to using the Dunlop Tortex standard 1.0mm pick as my primary pick.

What about the Tortex TIII picks that I mentioned in my initial post? (If you’re unaware, the TIII is basically a cross between the Tortex standard picks and the Jazz III picks.) I’ve added the TIII to my stable of picks, but I still find that my picking style works best with the rounded corners of the standard picks vs. the pointed Jazz III style edge of the TIII. However, if you like the tone and attack provided by the Jazz III but want the size and feel of a standard Tortex pick, I think the TIII is an excellent choice.

Even though I ended up returning to the picks I was using prior to the experiment, I really enjoyed changing things up. I’ve now got a new tool to add to my guitar playing arsenal, which is always a good thing as far as I’m concerned.

Inspired in part by the Cult of Jazz III ads that Dunlop has published, I decided to try to play the Jazz III picks exclusively for the month of November. I’ve been using the standard Dunlop Tortex picks (.88 and 1.0mm) pretty much since I started playing many years ago. I’ve tried to play the Jazz III picks in the past, but I like the size and feel of the Tortex picks, so I’ve always ended up going back to them. The purpose of this 30-day experiment is to see if I can get used to the size and feel of the Jazz III picks to add another flavor to my playing.

As I write this, I’m currently 20 days into my experiment, and it’s going really well. I really like the clarity and precision of the Jazz III picks. And, I’ve largely become used to the smaller size of the picks. I’m aware that there are Jazz III XL picks that are about the same size of the Tortex picks, but I didn’t like the feel of the larger Jazz III picks.

Some people complain that the smaller Jazz III picks are slippery. I have not found this to be a problem for me, but I should also note that I have not tried to play the Jazz III in a gigging scenario. In my experience, the smaller Jazz III picks are easy to grip. However, I do find that if I’m doing a lot of strumming, the pick sometimes rotates slightly, making strumming more difficult.

Speaking of strumming, this is the area where the pick becomes more difficult to use for me. I have a heavy right picking hand, and I find that I hit my right index finger a lot if I’m doing a lot of strumming. Frankly, my fingernail on my right index finger has been mangled this month. I’ve had to keep my fingernail shorter than usual, which affects my fingerstyle playing. I’ve been adjusting my approach to strumming to use a lighter touch, which has helped but hasn’t completely kept my fingernail from getting mangled when I play.

Strumming issues aside, the precision and clarity of the Jazz III picks make them worth the effort, in my opinion. I’ve still got another 10 days or so in my experiment, and we’ll see if the strumming issues work themselves out, but I would consider the experiment a success so far. While I can’t say for sure yet if I’ll continue using the Jazz III picks exclusively after my experiment is over, I can say that I’ll definitely be using the Jazz III picks in some form after the experiment is over. They add a new sound to my playing that I can’t get from the regular Tortex picks.

As an aside, I’ve ordered a pack of the newer Tortex TIII picks, which (theoretically) combine the feel of the Tortex picks with the precision of the Jazz III picks. This combination seems like it could be a perfect fit for me. Perhaps I’ll do a 30-day experiment using only TIII picks in December.

Nice find by Jon at GuitarNoize.com: Dunlop have created a couple of ads for their Jazz III pick featuring Joe Bonamassa and Eric Johnson. I’ve embedded the Joe Bonamassa ad below; check out Guitar Noize for the Eric Johnson ad.

Do you have a guitar-loving woman in your life? It’s always a good idea to send them flowers, and now you can send them a guitar–related flower arrangement from Flowers That Rock. Flowers That Rock is a site where you can buy flower arrangements made out of guitar picks and recycled guitar strings. The arrangements look great, and, as my friend Darren M. pointed out, won’t die.

I think this is a neat idea that makes for a unique gift. In addition to flowers, the Flowers That Rock Etsy store has earrings and keychains made out of picks.