My new blog

[handsoffmatt]

Thats pretty cool . I look forward to the amp section blog. its well written. Good on you.

Hey, also after readng it all, what do you thnk of the G2D OD ?

Thanks TMG

I'm a big fan of the G2D range and have owned/gigged the Custom OD, the Classic and the Cream Tone.

They are very good pedals and always make my shortlist as pedals that deal out a very amp-like vibe. All three of them I think work best as stand alone OD pedals - although they all boost pretty nicely too.

The only issue I had with my G2D's (which is why I ended up not using them) is that at the time, my gigging rig was a clean amp and I was stacking OD pedals for all my various gain needs. I loved the sound of the G2D pedals, but found that they didn't react nicely when I stacked other pedals with them. When I tried to boost either of my G2D's with another pedal, the sustain would really die out and it felt like I was getting some weird phase cancellation effect. Eventually I found it unusable in this scenario.

But don't get me wrong - I really like the pedals. Now I am not utilising any pedal-stacking in my gigging rig - I may end up with another G2D on my board one of these days....

[hamo]

Yep, a mighty useful blog post mumblemumbeGASinducingmumblemoan

When I was deliberating on whether or not to buy the Blackheart I tried it with a DS-1 and an OD-2, and the overdrive was sooo much nicer. I was compelled to bring in the Metal Muff and try it with that before I bought the amp to make sure it liked distortion as well, and it turns out it did, just not from the DS-1. I'm really keen to grab an overdrive to see what organic OD tones I can get from the amp (which I'm really digging), so hopefully I win the SD-1!

[twistedthoughts]

I enjoyed it. I agree with the links suggestion too - just make sure the links open in a new tab / window. It's annoying otherwise.

Also, you can link the gear your reviewing to the page where you can buy them. That blog got some GAS going so it's not only informative, but probably good for sales.

I would hold off on linking to the sales part though until the Rockshop site is upgraded - which will hopefully be soon. It really is badly outdated.

[handsoffmatt]

I enjoyed it. I agree with the links suggestion too - just make sure the links open in a new tab / window. It's annoying otherwise

.

Good call!

Also, you can link the gear your reviewing to the page where you can buy them. That blog got some GAS going so it's not only informative, but probably good for sales.

Yeah, I thought about doing that. I initially didn't want to. Although we are of course in the business of selling gear - I didn't want to make it look like a "hard-sell". I'm actually trying to be genuinely informative....

But if you think it's a good idea.....

I would hold off on linking to the sales part though until the Rockshop site is upgraded - which will hopefully be soon. It really is badly outdated.

Yeah, tell me about it! Fear not - one of these days we might actually do somehting about it

[alf]

... I don't think my OD pedal blog will reveal many big surprises to most NZG members - but it sure as shi*t will turn a few lightbulbs on for a lot of RS customers...

Gotta confess, pedal noob that I am, the light bulb turned on for me as well.

Nicely written though and easy and enjoyable to read from a content perspective. I'd echo what the others here have said about navigation etc. From what I've seen most blogs follow (loosely) similar structures and concepts for layout, navigation etc, and you tend to get familiar with this (rightly or wrongly). Anything that deviates from the basic functionality can generate frustration and may turn people off reading on a return basis. Just my 2c.

Looking forward to reading (and learning) more

[Pakehendrix]

Also, you can link the gear your reviewing to the page where you can buy them. That blog got some GAS going so it's not only informative, but probably good for sales.

Yeah, I thought about doing that. I initially didn't want to. Although we are of course in the business of selling gear - I didn't want to make it look like a "hard-sell". I'm actually trying to be genuinely informative....

But if you think it's a good idea.....

I would hold off on linking to the sales part though until the Rockshop site is upgraded - which will hopefully be soon. It really is badly outdated.

Yeah, tell me about it! Fear not - one of these days we might actually do somehting about it

I agree - linking to sales would probably make it less 'trustworthy' in the eyes of most readers. I would say that your best idea would be to actually identify the fact you will be plugging the RS - but keep the sales pitch to a minimum. Especially because most of your customers will be entering the store to purchase things instead of buying online; you mainly want to get them in the door and trying these things.

So for example, you might say:

"And of course here's the inevitable plug - if you want to try or buy any of these pedals, the Rockshop do stock them and are more than happy for you to give them a blast! The only way to know if these pedals fit with you is to try them out."

...and maybe a link to the pedals category or something, though I think your main site would be better. It's great that you are genuinely trying to help and that you are honest about it, so I think that you should maintain that by trying to remain as transparent as possible.

I could go on for hours with this kind of thing, but I think your blog is great so far and I definitely think that adding in a 'sales' component needs to be done with care. In fact, I wouldn't really do it at all...instead I would focus on giving your own viewpoint and encouraging people to TRY things...the sales happen later

[NZRS-Dave]

Yeah, tell me about it! Fear not - one of these days we might actually do somehting about it

Hey ... I've been in tons of meetings!

[hamo]

Yeah, tell me about it! Fear not - one of these days we might actually do somehting about it

Hey ... I've been in tons of meetings!

I'm telling you guys, I'll redesign it if you cross my palm with gear...

All it'll cost you is a Gibson LP, an ESP Alexi Laiho, a Gretsch Brian Setzer Hot Rod in green, a Blackstar Artisan 15, a Mesa like Matt's, a bunch of pedals, a... you get the idea.

[matman]

Great articles Matt - I had kind of figured out what settings I liked to use when stacking but your blog has finally helped me understand why those settings work when others don't.

I agree with those who said to lay off the hard sell - just having a link for each product to the sales part of the site would be a subtle and useful way to advertise. It means that you just can read the article if that's all you want and it keeps the blog more 'reviewy' if it doesn't look like an infomercial. Having said that if your blog gets me Gassing I'm gonna want to know how much it costs which is where the link is good. Doesn't hit me over the head with a sales pitch but I can get the infor if I want it.

The Blogs a great idea because I don't generally go to the RS site unless I'm specifically looking for something but the blog will give people a reason to come back more often (which is obviously one of the main reasons for doing these sorts of things). It's good to because (and I'm sure its the same with others) there are a few names on NZG that I'll always check new posts of on technical questions and yours is one of them so getting more of your advice and opinions about gear can only be a good thing.

[Hot_Grits]

Nice work.

Do one on the Gretsch elctromatic corvette. That's a sweetheart of a guitar with a unique sound.

[handsoffmatt]

Nice work.

Do one on the Gretsch elctromatic corvette. That's a sweetheart of a guitar with a unique sound.

Yeah I KNOW!!!!! Isn't that guitar cool?

[Hot_Grits]

Nice work.

Do one on the Gretsch elctromatic corvette. That's a sweetheart of a guitar with a unique sound.

Yeah I KNOW!!!!! Isn't that guitar cool?

like, totally, dude.

That and the slightly heavy faded LPjnr you had in the town shop were both killer little guitars.

[NZRS-Dave]

Nice work.

Do one on the Gretsch elctromatic corvette. That's a sweetheart of a guitar with a unique sound.

Yeah I KNOW!!!!! Isn't that guitar cool?

No, it doesn't have a locking tremolo. It ain't cool.

[jeremyb]

Nice work.

Do one on the Gretsch elctromatic corvette. That's a sweetheart of a guitar with a unique sound.

Yeah I KNOW!!!!! Isn't that guitar cool?

No, it doesn't have a locking tremolo. It ain't cool.

LOL!!!

[GrantB]

Nice work.

Do one on the Gretsch elctromatic corvette. That's a sweetheart of a guitar with a unique sound.

Yeah I KNOW!!!!! Isn't that guitar cool?

like, totally, dude.

That and the slightly heavy faded LPjnr you had in the town shop were both killer little guitars.

+ many on both counts - the Corvette is hot...more so than PJ Harvey which I now seem to be temporarily infatuated with....again.