When I bought my E46 compact two and a half years ago, the reasoning behind the choice was that I wanted a low mileage car, two doors were sufficient, and it had to be manual transmission for eventual track use. Since then, the requirements have changed. Not only does my […]
There’s a multitude of guitar FX pedals out there, but many of them are quite expensive. For those with some technical skill and a soldering iron, there’s an alternative: building your own pedals from a kit. A large selection of kits is sold by Musikding, and I recently ordered the […]
I stumbled upon this book by Julian Edgar through a book tip in a German classic car magazine. Since having a home workshop one day is a dream of mine, I ordered it. As the name implies, it covers the important aspects of setting up your own smallish car workshop: […]
I’ve been playing through a Peavey Valveking Royal 8 for many years now, but despite a number of mods, I’ve never been really satisfied with the sounds I get out of it. I think it’s the combination of 8″ speaker and cheap output transformer. The sound is quite boxy and […]
History At the 1955 Paris Motor Show, Citroen presented a revolutionary successor to the Traction Avant that had been in production for more than 20 years: the DS. Both the styling and the technology (hydropneumatic suspension, power steering, semi-automatic transmission) were a major step ahead – so much, indeed, that […]
History If you could name only one British roadster, chances are it would be the MG B. It was presented in 1962 as successor to the MG A. Power came from a 95 hp 1.8l four-cylinder engine. The coupé (actually hatchback) GT was added in 1965. From 1967 to 1969, […]
Porsche has always been about racing. In the 1960s, it often appeared as if racing came first and street car production second. New race cars were introduced almost every year, but due to the focus on lightweight low-displacement cars, the ultimate goal, the overall victory at Le Mans, remained elusive. […]
Guitar FX pedals are booming. Despite digital/modelling amplifiers getting better and better, low-wattage tube amplifiers for home and mic’ed stage use are more popular than ever. FX pedals provide flexibility for these often simple and straightforward amps, to the point that pedal platform amps, which only provide a base clean […]
There’s an innumerable amount of Overdrive pedals these days – but this can’t hide the fact that many of them are based off a limited number of “reference” pedals. This is (most likely incomplete) list of such reference pedals, in no particular order. Tubescreamer Quite likely the most famous overdrive […]
US-made (“MIA”) US-made Stratocasters are built in Fender’s factory in Corona, California. The finish is generally polyurethane, except on the Originals, which are finished in nitrocellulose lacquer. With the exception of the American Special, they all come with cases. American Performer The American Performer Stratocaster is Fender’s entry-level US-made Stratocaster, […]
Pictures taken at Brünnchen on a sunny, warm, and very busy May 1st. Three days later, all events for the day were cancelled due to snow.
History The BMW 1 series was introduced in 2004 as new entry model. Although initially only available as four-door hatchback, it quickly replaced the unpopular E46 compact. A two-door hatchback and a coupé followed in 2007 (along with a facelift for the four-door hatch), the convertible in 2008. Coupé and […]
