A bookmatched maple top glued and clamped up.
The type of glue a builder uses can make a big difference in their process, but when it comes to tone, does it matter?
Guitarists searching for their ultimate instrument are an interesting bunch. So many factors to consider, so much energy to expend on the journey towards guitar nirvana. A player may be satisfied with a certain shape—like a Flying V or Explorer. Others are obsessed with pickups, hardware, fretboard radius, scale length, or fret size. I’d venture that most of us consider a lot of these things and more when choosing a guitar. But there is a certain place in my heart for those infatuated with the type of glue used to construct a potential purchase. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not listening to Ford Thurston and thinking what he needs is a little more hide glue in his tone, but somebody might be. This obsession probably stems from the mythology of vintage instruments more than any sonic observations.
Instrument makers have used animal-based glues for centuries, mainly because it was all that was available. Adhesives can be made from a variety of animal remains: bones, hooves, hides (skins), and even fish parts. These organic items are basically proteins that can be boiled down to a gel-like substance which, when heated, becomes sticky, spreadable, and can be used to bond a wide range of materials, including wood. For this discussion, I’ll refer to all of these as hide glues.
Woodworkers used hide glues almost exclusively until the middle of the 20th century, when synthetic glues became available. Adhesives such as PVA (polyvinyl acetate) are sometimes referred to as yellow or white glue. Over time, and as instrument building became more of an industry as opposed to a boutique craft, PVA became the standard in large-scale commercial instrument manufacturing.
Industrial PVA glues dry quickly, are extremely shock resistant, and do not require heat. They have nearly no odor, and they can be stored ready to use for long periods of time. They are also incredibly strong. Unlike hide glue, which requires a precise parts fit, PVA is gap-filling which is great for factory tolerances. PVA’s setup time is short, and under some circumstances, clamps can be removed in as little as an hour. That certainly allows more production to flow through a factory or shop.
“Hide glue is very brittle when cured, which has led some to say that it encourages the transmission of vibration from part to part.”
On the other hand, hide glues need to be warmed in a heat pot to around 140° F, and have a shorter shelf life at room temperature. Although some builders learn to love the smell of hide glues, others find it revolting. I don’t mind the smell, but some don’t want the “dead animal” smell on their clothes. Hide glue can also have a shorter “open” time before it locks up, which doesn’t allow for much adjustment to parts during assembly. Additionally, once clamped, hide glue needs to remain so for much longer—most shops let it dry at least overnight.
I believe that a lot of the mystique stems from old-school repair people who would prefer to work on older instruments constructed with hide glues, which are easier to disassemble. A distinct advantage is that unlike PVA, epoxies, and superglues, hide glue can be easily loosened for repair with heat and water. That’s a real bonus for shops that specialize in neck resets, fretboard replacements, and all manner of acoustic guitar repair. Old hide glue can be successfully removed from a joint and new glue can be applied for a repair—as the new glue will bond directly to old glue.
Another characteristic of hide glue is its self-clamping action when the fit of parts is very tight to begin with. The glue pulls parts together as it dries and can be good for jobs like book-matching tops and backs—even without clamps. Hide glue is very brittle when cured, which has led some to say that it encourages the transmission of vibration from part to part. This, along with the tight fit aspect, may be the primary source of the “hide glue is better” sentiments that get repeated as gospel in some circles. Of course, if you leave your hide-glued guitar in a car trunk on a hot summer day, you may regret it as much as the repair shop loves it.
As you can see, there are a lot of benefits to each of these glue types, and I haven’t even gotten into any discussion about epoxies or superglues, which are being used more and more frequently today, along with so-called hybrid hide glues. The question remains, is the adhesive used in building a guitar a deal-breaker? As much as I admire instruments built with old-school glues, I’m not sure Ford Thurston or I could hear the difference. And if that particular guitar does sound wonderful, I couldn’t say it was because of the glue. Besides, with its 1-piece neck and four-screw neck joint, a Stratocaster doesn’t have use for a lot of glue anyway.
Stompboxtober is rolling on! Enter below for your chance to WIN today's featured pedal from Peterson Tuners! Come back each day during the month of October for more chances to win!
Peterson StroboStomp Mini Pedal Tuner
| The StroboStomp Mini delivers the unmatched 0.1 cent tuning accuracy of all authentic Peterson Strobe Tuners in a mini pedal tuner format. We designed StroboStomp Mini around the most requested features from our customers: a mini form factor, and top mounted jacks. |
This four-in-one effects box is a one-stop shop for Frusciante fans, but it’s also loaded with classic-rock swagger.
Great, lively preamp sounds. Combines two modulation flavors with big personalities. One-stop shop for classic-rock tones. Good value.
Big. Preamp can’t be disengaged. At some settings, flanger effect leaves a little to be desired.
$440
JFX Deluxe Modulation Ensemble
jfxpedals.com
When I think of guitarists with iconic, difficult-to-replicate guitar tones, I don’t think of John Frusciante. I always figured it was easy to get close enough to his clean tones with a Strat and any garden-variety tube amp, and in some ways, it is. (To me, anyway.) But to really nail his tone is a trickier thing.
That’s a task that Jordan Fresque—the namesake builder behind Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario’s JFX Pedals—has committed significant time and energy into tackling. His Empyrean is a five-in-one box dedicated to Frusciante’s drive and dirt tones, encompassing fuzz, boost, and preamp effects. And his four-in-one, all-analog Deluxe Modulation Ensemble reviewed here is another instant Frusciante machine.
The Frusciante Formula
Half of the pedal is based off of the Boss CE-1, the first chorus pedal created. The CE-1 is renowned as much for its modulation as for its preamp circuit, which Boss recently treated to its own pedal in the BP-1W. The other half—and the pedal’s obvious aesthetic inspiration—is the Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Electric Mistress, an analog flanger introduced in the late ’70s. Frusciante fans have clamored over the guitarist’s use of the CE-1 for decades. The Chili Peppers 6-stringer reportedly began using one in the early ’90s for his chorus and vibrato tones, and the preamp naturally warmed his Strat’s profile. Various forum heads claim John dug into the Electric Mistress on tracks like “This Is the Place” off of 2002’s By the Way. The Deluxe Modulation Ensemble aims to give you the keys to these sounds in one stomp.
JFX describes the DME as “compact,” which is a bit of a stretch. Compared to the sizes of the original pedals its based on? Sure, it’s smaller. But it’s wider and deeper than two standard-sized pedals on a board, even accounting for cabling. But quibbles around space aside, the DME is a nice-looking box that’s instantly recognizable as an Electric Mistress homage. (Though I wish it kept that pedal’s brushed-aluminum finish). The knobs for the Mistress-style as well as the authentic Boss and EHX graphics are great touches.
The flanger side features a footswitch, knobs for range, rate, and color, and a toggle to flip between normal function and EHX’s filter matrix mode, which freezes the flange effect in one spot along its sweep. The CE-1-inspired side sports two footswitches—one to engage the effect, and one to flip between chorus and vibrato—plus an intensity knob for the chorus, depth and rate knobs for the vibrato, and gain knob for the always-on preamp section. The DME can be set to high- or low-input mode by a small toggle switch, and high boosts the gain and volume significantly. A suite of three LED lights tell you what’s on and what’s not, and Fresque even added the CE-1’s red peak level LED to let you know when you’re getting into drive territory.
The effects are wired in series, but they’re independent circuits, and Fresque built an effects loop between them. The DME can run in stereo, too, if you really want to blast off.
I Like Dirt
The DME’s preamp is faithful to the original in that it requires a buffered unit before it in the chain to maintain its treble and clarity. With that need satisfied, the DME’s preamp boots into action without any engaging—it’s a literal always-on effect. To be honest, after I set it to low input and cranked it, I forgot all about Frusciante and went to town on classic-rock riffs. It souped up my Vox AC10 with groove and breadth, smoothing out tinny overtones and thickening lead lines, though higher-gain settings lost some low-end character and overall mojo.
The chorus nails the wonky Frusciante wobble on “Aquatic Moth Dance” and the watery outro on “Under the Bridge,” and the vibrato mode took me right through his chording on 2022’s “Black Summer.” On the flanger side, I had the most fun in the filter matrix mode, tweaking the color knob for slightly different metallic, clanging tones, each with lots of character.
The Verdict
If you’re a Frusciante freak, the Deluxe Modulation Ensemble will get you within spitting distance of many of his most revered tonal combinations. If you’re not, it’s still a wickedly versatile modulation multitool with a sweet preamp that’ll give your rig instant charisma. It ain’t cheap, and it ain’t small, but JFX has squeezed an impressive amount of value into this stomp
MayFly’s Le Habanero Boost and Fuzz pedal, designed with input from Trevor May and Lucas Haneman, offers a wide range of tonal options from clean to scream. Responsive to player touch and guitar volume, stack the Boost and Fuzz for endless sustain and harmonics. Perfect for exploring your inner David Gilmour.
MayFly’s Trevor May and LH Express’ Lucas Haneman have been cooking upsomething real good. Le Habanero is a dual boost and fuzz pedal specifically designed to be very responsive tothe player’s picking hand and the guitar’s volume control. With Lucas’ input, the pedal was specifically tweakedto give a ton of tonal options, from clean to scream, by just using your fingers. It heats up your tone with a tastyboost, scorching lead tones with the fuzz, tantalizing tastes of extreme heat when boost and fuzz are combined.
The boost side is designed to ride the edge between clean and grit. Keep the drive below 12 o’clock for cleanboost but with active treble and bass controls, or push the gain for clear/clean sustain with great note definition.
The fuzz side is tuned to match the tonality of the boost side and offers a load of sustain and harmonics. The fuzz features a unique two-pole filter circuit and deep switch to help match it with single coils or humbuckers.
Stacking the Boost and Fuzz gives you even more. Want to explore your inner David Gilmour? Switch both onand turn up the volume! Want to switch to Little Wing? Turn the volume back down.
- Combination Boost and Fuzz pedal, designed to work well together.
- Very responsive to guitar volume and player’s touch.
- Use Boost and Fuzz independently, or stack them.
- Boost features Treble, Bass, Volume, and Drive controls.
- Fuzz features a two pole Tone filter, Deep switch, Fuzz and Volume controls.
- Stack them to create endless sustain and plenty of harmonics.
- Wide form factor for better footswitch control live.
- Full bypass using relays, with Mayfly’s Failsafe circuitry.
- Suggested Pairing: add a dash of Le Habanaro to spice up a MayFly Sunrise guitar amp simulator!
MAP price: $185
For more information, please visit mayflyaudio.com.
Introducing: the Mayfly Le Habanero!! - YouTube
Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.Darkglass introduces the Luminal Booster Ultra for bass guitar, combining the Harmonic Booster with adjustable frequency range parallel compression, 6-band EQ, gain reduction meter, and 7 custom Impulse Responses. With versatile controls, including a +/- 20dB BOOST and CHARACTER selection, this pedal offers precision and unmatched tonal control for bass players.
Darkglass introduces the Luminal Booster Ultra for bass guitar. The Luminal Booster Ultra combines the rich tone of Darkglass’ Harmonic Booster with the unmatched control of an adjustable frequency range parallel compression, 6-band EQ, gain reduction meter, and the choice to load seven custom Impulse Responses via USB.
The layout of the pedal is straight forward. Across the top, from left to right, is an adjustable lowpass FILTER knob for the compressed signal, a COMP knob to adjust the amount of compression applied, a BLEND knob to blend between the clean and compressed signal, and LEVEL knob to adjust the level of the compressor after the blend control. Added controls include a +/- 20dB BOOST, a CHARACTER control to allow selection between seven Impulse Responses, a MID GAIN +/- 20dB, and MID FREQUENCY from 250Hz to 2.5kHz.
The 6-band EQ uses faders for precision control. The bass Low shelf is +/- 13dB at 80Hz, the mid bands are +/- 13dB at 250Hz, 500Hz, 1.5kHz, and 3kHz. The treble is a high shelf of +/- 13dB at 5 kHz. The EQ is flanked by a MASTER fader of +/- 12dB to set the overall volume of the unit.
Input and outputs provide a player with maximum versatility. Traditional ¼” input and outputs are complimented by and 3.5mm AUX IN for practicing with backing tracks via a smartphone or laptop, a stereo headphone out, a balanced XLR direct out, USB C to connect to PC/Mac to utilizing the desktop version of the Darkglass Suite of available Impulses Responses or custom / third party impulses, and a 9V DC adapter input. A ground lift and Cab Sim round out the feature of the unit.
"This marks our entry into new sonic territories, in our search to connect with jazz and clean-tone bass players on a deeper level,” says Marcos Barilatti, Managing Director of Darkglass Electronics. “With the Luminal Booster Ultra, we've created the ultimate tool for bass players across all genres, delivering precision, versatility, and unmatched tonal control.”
Street Price is $499
For more information, please visit darkglass.com.