gear – Dom Bottaro

Building My Guitar (updated)

Dominic — Sat, 14 Jan 2023 00:01:50 +0000

As the title of this blog entry implies, I am going to build my own guitar! By build I don’t mean to suggest that I will be carving my own out of wood, rather I am starting with a guitar husk. The husk is none other than a Gibson Les Paul. Yes you read that right! I’ve searched months for a husk that really speaks to me…I found it and will reveal it soon. Why not just buy one from a music store you may ask? Well, all of the parts on my guitar will be custom picked by me! Everything including the electronics. I want the experience of choosing every bit and having it all come together with my own hands. My build is being heavily influenced by the guitar Carlos Santana played while performing in the 1971 Montreux Golden Rose Pop Festival. I’ll be adding updates as the project progresses to keep you all up to date.

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Hendrix Guitar Pedal

Dominic — Sun, 29 Dec 2019 15:01:01 +0000

Oh yeah, it’s that time of year again and I got myself a new guitar pedal to feed my pedal hunger. Introducing the Hendrix Octavio Fuzz pedal. Love it, love it, love it! This thing is obviously designed to work with single coil guitar pickups. Who cares, I use my toys as I see fit….no rules. I pump my SG through this and really dig the tone. In fact, as another tool in my arsenal, I’m finding ways of not only achieving the Hendrix sound but also fine tuning my Page and Iommi sound. When paired up with my tube amp, I’m able to dial in some truly killer tone.

New Guitar Strap

Dominic — Sat, 01 Jun 2019 11:59:45 +0000

I recently got a new guitar strap. It’s a handmade vintage guitar strap that was made using the same design, style, and material that was used in the 60’s and 70’s. It’s very similar to the one Jimi Hendrix used when playing at Woodstock. I love it.

New Killer Pedal

Dominic — Mon, 14 Jan 2019 22:24:33 +0000

I recently picked up a new guitar pedal that I’ve been wanting for a while. The Sabbra Cadabra by Catalinbread. People that know me know that one of my all time favorite guitarists is Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath. Though I love Black Sabbath, it’s the guitar tone that Tony has that I’ve always craved to emulate. Well, this pedal paired up with my Gibson SG Standard and my tube amp does it….and does it well. Though I have the pedal pretty much dialed in to the tone I like, I’m still fiddling with the settings to explore how the different combinations affect the overall tone. This pedal will certainly make a great addition to my tone shaping arsenal.

Guitar Center visit

Dominic — Sun, 02 Sep 2018 16:38:02 +0000

So I swung by Guitar Center in Braintree to check out what guitars they had on display. I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of Gibsons they had. Of course I had absolutely no intention of buying anything…I just had nothing better to do on a Sunday afternoon. I played a bunch of guitars..some new…some vintage from their used section. One guitar really caught my attention – the Les Paul Tribute. I played it for a while and really enjoyed the way it felt and sounded. If you can’t afford a Les Paul Standard then this is definitely the one to get. They were offering it at $150 off Labor Day Weekend Sale. There are two good reasons that it was a good deal: 1. $150 off…duh. 2. They discontinued it for 2019! That’s right, you can’t get it anymore! They offer the 2019 Les Paul Studio Tribute which seems like junk in comparison. Buy it……Buuuuuuuy it……..BUY IT NOW!

Picking a guitar pick

Dominic — Sat, 10 Feb 2018 23:06:01 +0000

February 10, 2018: I’ve played using a bunch of different brand and types of guitar picks. I’ve settled on the Dunlop Tortex line of picks. Recently I decided to try switching from the traditional green .88 standard pick to a TIII .88 pick. All I can say is wow…I’ve got a new favorite pick. It gives me the feel of the standard Tortex that I love but provides me the speed of a jazz pick.

New Tube Amp

Dominic — Wed, 27 Dec 2017 23:09:01 +0000

I got a 15W tube amp for Christmas 2017. The way my tube amp “breaks-up” when overdriven is just awesome. A solid state amp can’t duplicate the sound of a tube amp. Don’t believe the bs marketing.

My New Axe

abottaro — Mon, 17 Jul 2017 22:23:55 +0000

I’ve played many guitars including Fender Stratocasters, Fender Telecasters, Gibson SG, and Gibson Les Paul. Though I love shredding on the Fender Strat, I always go back to the Gibson SG for all around versatility and that Gibson tone. No, I haven’t owned all these different flavors of guitars but I have played them at guitar stores AND I’ve played guitars that friends own.

In my admittedly inexperienced opinion, the 2017 Gibson SG is the best version of the SG that Gibson has put out since the 60s. I researched the SG for over a year to learn about every year’s changes. When the specs for the 2017 were released, I knew that this was the year where Gibson gets it right! I believe the 2017 version of the SG will be one that collectors will talk about for many years to come.