Frankenstein-ing the Peavey Predator (DIY)

In response to an inquiry from YouTube viewer Larry Ryba - here is a series of pictures and information regarding my customized Peavey Predator.

Special thanks to my brother-in-law, Tim, for sharing his impressive guitar-gutting knowledge and making this project possible (he's the one with all the tools).

Here's what I have modified on my USA Peavey Predator:

• Tremolo/Bridge = GFS (Guitar Fetish) USA Strat- 2 Point Hardened Steel Upgrade Tremolo System
• Tuners = GFS Wilkinson EZLok Vintage Style Tuners for Fender Headstocks
• Pickups = GFS Strat "Texas" Alnico Stagger Pickup Set (with cream covers)
• Selector/input jack/pots = GFS Complete Strat Upgrade Electrical Component Kit

I'm a big fan of GFS parts and highly recommend them if you're looking to modify your guitar.  I replaced the pickups and selector/input jack/pots back in 2010 and didn't document that but when I replaced the tremolo and tuners in 2011 I took some pictures.  Hope this is helpful:

I had to drill out a little more space in the two outer
holes to install the tremolo.

Then I hammered the posts that came with
the tremolo into the drilled out holes.

Typical install of the springs - I only attached 3
because that is my preference.

Tremolo installed.

Unscrewing the old tuners.

I also had to drill out a little more space for
the new tuners.

Tightening the tuners in.

Tuners installed.

Before.

After.

Then I scraped off the "Peavey Predator" logo

My friend designed some options for me to
print out on transparency paper.

After cutting out the logo I picked out, I used
Mod Podge to apply to the headstock.

See it in action:

Making Music With The Wife

This weekend, my wife and I decided we wanted to record a song.  She suggested "Yellow" by Coldplay.  So I looked up the chords and played them in a slightly different tempo and rhythm than the original while she sang along.  It took us a few takes to get down but here's the result:

Update - Find me on the web here...

So, one of the 4 blog posts I've ever done with this blog mentions finding me on the web. Since I posted that on Feb. 25th, 2010 - I've increased my online presence. While those links are still valid I wanted to update this blog to accurately list where you can find my latest musical escapades on the web.

My YouTube channel is still up and running. I've uploaded about 184 public videos and continue to post videos on a regular basis. I've begun to do videos of me reviewing various effects pedals. I still use the YouTube channel as an outlet to further my video editing interests, mostly with videos of my music. Here's my latest attempt at video editing:



SoundCloud has become one my favorite music sharing website. I originally attempted sites like mySpace, ReverbNation, and Soundclick, but none of these hold a candle to Soundcloud, in my opinion. The worldwide community is what I like most about SoundCloud. I've been able to collaborate with musicians across the globe and share my music with more people than I ever imagined before. You can find my SoundCloud page here. This is where I upload my latest audio recordings. Here's a recent collaboration I did with my good friend Andrew and a fellow SoundClouder Ewen, who lives in Scotland.


I'm also on Facebook these days. Although I don't stay as up to date on Facebook as I do on SoundCloud and YouTube, it's still another avenue of sharing my music.

So there you have it. These are the places you can find me on the web nowadays.

Latest in Guitar/Pedal Collecting

Here's the latest on my recent acquisitions of guitars and effects pedals. About a week ago I bought an Epiphone Dot Studio for a smashing deal. Unfortunately it had a couple of dents in the body. One more noticeable than the other. As you can see here, by the bridge:

Not too bad though for the price I paid for the guitar. I decided to go ahead and switch the knobs that it came with. I prefer the "tophat" knob over the ones that the Dot originally comes with.  Here you can see the new knobs:

As far as effects pedals go, I've added 3 to my collection within the past month. Two of them are Behringer pedals. The Super Octaver SO400 and the Bass Limiter/Enhancer BLE400. I also snagged a Stupid Deal of the Day over at Musician'sFriend.com - an Akai Professional Drive 3 Overdrive pedal. So the problem now is that my current pedalboard made from an IKEA GORM shelf is full. I don't have room for these new pedals. So I'm planning to add another level to the pedalboard. Here's what I'm thinking:

So the Digitech RP200 is going to go on the board more or less just to add space so it doesn't look too empty. Once I get more pedals, that will be the first to go. These pictures present the idea I have for my pedalboard but I will put it together properly within the next few weeks.

So the pedal order I'm thinking of arranging will be the following:

Starting with the first in line:
-Dunlop Crybaby Wah
-MXR Super Comp
-Behringer Bass Limiter/Enhancer BLE400
-Behringer Super Octaver SO400
-Akai Professional Drive 3 Overdrive
-EHX Big Muff Pi (Russian Made)
-Boss DS-1 Distortion
-Boss PH-2 Super Phaser
-Boss TR-2 Tremolo
-Behringer VM1 Vintage Time Machine (analog delay)
-Line 6 DL4 Delay Modeler (digital delay)
-TC Electronic Hall of Fame Reverb
-Volume/Wah pedal
-Digitech JamMan (loop station)

Not sure where to put the Digitech RP200 in the line up. Any suggestions? Or any other suggestions as to switching up the current pedal order??

Me on the World Wide Web?

Well, I assumed that I wouldn't really keep this blog up to date from the moment I started it last year. And with no surprise I now update this blog with the last post being on June 16th of 2oo9. A lot has happened in my life since then. I am now dating the amazing red headed girl of my dreams. She is a much better blogger, in fact a professional, but I'm going to continue to try to be a part of the blogging world. However I will stick to the title of this blog and focus more on music than my personal life. So now I'm going to advertise my music on this blog for all to see (all 2 or 3 people that are reading this). In recent months, I have ventured into the realm of making my music available online for download as well as video. Here are the links that will take you to the music:

www.youtube.com/dwood8142
Here is where you will find poor quality video recordings of me playing guitar either by myself or with some friends at a couple of different gigs.

www.soundclick.com/yusakri
Here is where you will find MP3s of solo recordings I have done over the years. Yusakri is my alias name for when I record by myself.

www.soundclick.com/kelvinfromnatchitcohesla
Here is where you will find information, pictures, and MP3s of the band I was in back in Louisiana from 2000 to 2005.

Hope you enjoy! If I get good enough, I might even try to have some music playing on this blog. Anyway, that's all for now. Let's see if I can update this sooner than 6 months from now.

Giggin' it up!

My Crate GFX 212 guitar amp got fixed today and I'm anxiously awaiting being able to play it tomorrow. The guy who fixed it apparently had to glue one of the speakers and that glue needs to dry for at least 24 hours before I can play through it. But the good news is that it only cost $65 to fix instead of having to replace the speaker!

So I'm super excited about playing this upcoming gig at the Relay for Life event on Saturday the 27th of June. Jeff and I found out tonight that Ryan Woolston will be playing his drums with us and John Walker will probably be able to play with us as well (whatever instrument we put in front of him)! So we're gonna have a full band, which means we're gonna rock out even more!

I'm also excited to play at the Atlantic Cafe on Main St. this Friday. Mark Smith (keyboard extraordinaire) invited me to play a few songs with him. So I'll make an appearance for a few songs. It will be fun. I always enjoy playing live! Well, time for bed... until next time... which could very well be months for now. We'll see!!

Giving it a shot!

So here I am in the blogging world. The rest of my family has a blog, so I thought I'd give it a shot. We'll see how it goes and if I actually take the time to do anything with it. Wish me luck!