Thanks for updating. The easiest way from afar to tell the difference between a Classic Player and American Vintage Jazzmaster is the distance from the tremolo to the bridge. It was an intentional design feature of the original Jazzmaster (and, consequently, the AV series that's based on them) to have the tremolo equally distant from the bridge and butt of the guitar body. On the other hand, it's a design feature of the Classic Player models to have the tremolo unit very close to the bridge, to increase the break angle of the strings. Once you compare that, it's easy to spot the difference.

Also, when the tech guy used it I saw tha back of the headstock and it had two lines of writing:It was to far away but I guess it was one for the serial number and below one that said "Made In Mexico".
I think the American Vintage doesn't have anything written on it.
correct me if I'm wrong

Wow, that's really helpful guys. I didn't notice the shorter tailpiece/bridge distance, so between that fact and the 'Made in Mexico' label it has to be a Classic Player. If the "'65RI with AoM bridge" theory were correct, the tailpiece would be further away and it would be either made in Japan or the USA. The Classic Player's higher output pickups, AoM bridge and slightly larger fretboard radius (the 9.5" radius makes the fretboard a bit flatter than the 7.25" reissue's, so it's more comfortable for rock-style lead playing) probably suit Mami's playing style.

I'll keep my eyes open for more photos of the London gig, because I'm not sure whether the amp she was using was a DSL 50 or something slightly different, like a JVM205H (I'm assuming they hire amps from somewhere local when touring overseas). Marshall valve heads all look pretty similar to me unless I can see the control knobs clearly!

JCM2000 TSL for that night in Islington. I was 2nd row slap bang in front of MAMI that night. 

Yeah, obviously hired locally as she uses the DSL (x2 half stacks) back in Japan.

concretebadger wrote:Wow, that's really helpful guys. I didn't notice the shorter tailpiece/bridge distance, so between that fact and the 'Made in Mexico' label it has to be a Classic Player. If the "'65RI with AoM bridge" theory were correct, the tailpiece would be further away and it would be either made in Japan or the USA.

It's a little academic, but the Japanese JM's aren't '65 reissues or part of the AV series, so it'd still be called something else in that case.

There are third party drop-in AoM bridges for Jazzmasters, so the AoM wouldn't automatically disqualify it as being either a Japanese 66 or a 65 AV, but that's why I mentioned the distance of the tremolo to the bridge. That's something you can spot from a mile away, it's not worth doing as a mod, and the only other Jazzmasters that have it are all HH models. If you see soapbar-style pickups and the tremolo in that spot, it's a Classic Player. No need to even see the "Made in Mexico".

The Classic Player's higher output pickups, AoM bridge and slightly larger fretboard radius (the 9.5" radius makes the fretboard a bit flatter than the 7.25" reissue's, so it's more comfortable for rock-style lead playing) probably suit Mami's playing style.

I think she likes the Jazzmaster body shape but not much else about them. When given the opportunity to design her own guitar, she chose a JM body but then put a modern neck and all Strat/Gibson-style electronics and hardware on it. And then she stuck a piece of foam under the strings behind the bridge.

I'd love to think of her as a Jazzmaster player because that's what I play, but she isn't

Anybody knows how her signal chain goes?

Ankhie97 wrote:Anybody knows how her signal chain goes?

I've been following articles on her  gear for a while - and although we know what she uses, no signal chain diagram (like those in guitargeek.com) exists. That I know of. hehe.

Of late it's getting more complex as not only we have the pedalboard on the stage floor, there are two more controlled by her tech! [Refer to TwitPics from Hook Up Inc. the people that makes her V-Audio leads]

We could play hazard a guess lol.

^That's my guess too. From what I've seen of photos from the latest tour, the only pedals that are on stage in front of her are a tuner and a wah (which *usually* go first in a signal chain, unless there's a germanium fuzz in there somewhere) so I presume the others are being looked after by her tech crew off to one side.

It's probably set up that way to reduce distractions from having to do the old stompbox tap dance while playing!

EDIT: if you scroll down a bit, there are some pics of SCANDAL and their gear on the Hookup Inc FB page too (thanks kudo_maharizu!).

Last night I was in a position that can witness what Mami & her roadie Motchy is doing with their gear.
It's no secret nowadays a lot of guitarists are touring overseas with a stand alone device that have all their guitar tone modelled for recall any time on stage with a press of a single button. Leaving their massive pedalboards at home.
Same apply to Mami. Last time she used Line 6. For this tour, she use a Fractal audio Axe FX.
Yes, the only thing she have to care about on the floor is the Wah Wah during ESY. All other effect/tone switching was done by Motchy, even the Whammy fluttering at the guitar solo of Satisfaction. He did it all by hand. Yes, he press the Whammy pedal with his right hand!

concretebadger wrote:EDIT: if you scroll down a bit, there are some pics of SCANDAL and their gear on the Hookup Inc FB page too (thanks kudo_maharizu!).

Thanks for the heads up - although those were the photos I meant in my post.

The link to the FB photos were on a Hook Up Twitter post (okay, not in the form of TweetPics - fair enough):

https://twitter.com/HookUp_Official/status/588310835501531136

Metal Mickey wrote:For this tour, she use a Fractal audio Axe FX.

Not surprised. Unless they have like Metallica's budget (hehe), I see no reason why they should lug around the rig they used for the Japan leg of the HW Tour - which is what the Hook Up Inc. FB photos were all about. ^^

Hi.  This is my first post on the forum.  I was watching a few videos of lives and noticed that the knob has been removed from the volume pot on her strat and it appears to have been taped (looks like gaffer's tape).  I'm guessing this serves the purpose of not accidentally changing the volume when playing aggressively (I've actually hit the selector switch on my strat while rocking out before, knocking it from the neck to the bridge pickup).

Then again, it would make sense that she doesn't have to fiddle with any of the knobs on her guitar if she's using an effects modeler like you guys mentioned.  With gear like that, level can be adjusted/dialed in just as easily as EQ or anything else.

Here's a picture (not my picture, just found it on the internet): 

Has anybody else noticed this too?  Just thought it was interesting.

fishmcdippers wrote:Has anybody else noticed this too?  Just thought it was interesting.

Yup. I was pretty much 2nd row in front of her at the London show.

Not just the missing volume knob, I like it how her Strat now looks battered as well. So rock 'n' roll. ^^

If you do a lot of volume swell (like Jeff Beck), it is an advantage to have the knob that close to the bridge PU. Otherwise it is a hassle especially for those aggressive pickers that the guitar volume dropped by accidentally rolled back the knob. I've seen how busy was Herman Lee (Dragon Force) have to frequently rolling the knob to bring his guitar volume back to full on haha!
That is also why John Petrucci & Jeff Loomis have their signature guitars with the toggle switch closest to the bridge PU instead of the volume knob.

The HELLO WORLD tour is done and finished with, and we've been updated with photos of MAMI's (and everyone else's) live gear online and on printed media. She has updated some of her stuff since.

These are photos of her live gear uploaded on HOOK Inc.'s Facebook page a few months' back.

On the floor, she uses:

Top from left:

Bottom from left:

The following are controlled by her tech, MOTCHY:

Top from left:

Bottom from left:

From the top:

And last but not least - MAMI's amps.

Two Marshall JCM2000 50W Dual Super Lead heads running through a 280W 1960AV angled 4x12" cab and a 100W 1960AX (or possibly a 50th Anniversary) angled 4x12" cab.



*Thanks to MetalMickey for the heads up on the CAJ box!*

That white box is "Custom Audio Japan AC/DC Station Ver 2" (Bob Bradshaw). Same function as DC brick by MXR.

Metal Mickey wrote:That white box is "Custom Audio Japan AC/DC Station Ver 2" (Bob Bradshaw). Same function as DC brick by MXR.

Thanks! What about that brick red stomp box next to it - any ideas? ^^

Updating amp info.

Done.

kudo_maharizu wrote:I've no idea what these next stomp box is despite looking this up. Any help with this will be appreciated!

According to WhatEffector (I can't post a link since I created an account just to say this haha, try Googling "whateffector mami"), it's a Far East Electric Overdrive. Google Images shows some similar looking pedals but I can't seem to find the one that looks exactly like Mami's, though.

gt.ch wrote:According to WhatEffector (I can't post a link since I created an account just to say this haha, try Googling "whateffector mami"), it's a Far East Electric Overdrive. Google Images shows some similar looking pedals but I can't seem to find the one that looks exactly like Mami's, though.

You, my friend, rock big time.

http://whateffector.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/scandal-mami.html

Far East Electric KRISHNA distortion.



Hand made in Japan by one Honda Hiroyuki-san, it appears that his custom pedals are his versions of well-known makes.



From L to R: SIVA Fuzz (BIG MUFF Pi), LittleGain (TS-based non-clipping), OverDrive (TS system with clipping), and KRISHNA Distortion (Proco RAT).

Therefore, it is likely the red one MAMI uses is the distortion and not an overdrive pedal as stated by the whateffector blog. I'm ready to stand corrected anyway. ^^



Description (roughly translated on Google Translate!) of the pedal on digimart.net:

The controls represent VOLUME, FILTER and DISTORTION. The tone, whilst somewhat similar to the Proco RAT, is smoother and has more of an attack. Well-suited for a humbucking pickup although it shouldn't be an issue with a single coil pickup.

OP-IC:. National Semi LM308N
Date: 2008.1.9

Accessories: box, manual

More images:

UPDATE 21.9.2015

Far East Electric doesn't appear to have much of an online presence. Its Facebook page was last updated in 2012: https://www.facebook.com/HondaToneQualityInstitute/

The official website is now defunct: http://www.hondatonequalityinstitute.jp/

Looks like the Krishna has proven to be an elusive item to obtain - so, I guess a Proco RAT will just have to do. ^^

Oh, nice, you found great information about that pedal. :D I think I couldn't find that myself since I was looking for one that looked more bright red like in the photos of Mami's board.

Wow, Mami is like most guitarists who have the appetite to try as much of distortion / overdrive pedals as possible!

Metal Mickey wrote:Wow, Mami is like most guitarists who have the appetite to try as much of distortion / overdrive pedals as possible!

More of a fuzz box collector for me. :D

MamiNoodles wrote:

Metal Mickey wrote:Wow, Mami is like most guitarists who have the appetite to try as much of distortion / overdrive pedals as possible!

More of a fuzz box collector for me. :D

Really? I only see 1 fuzz  (unless you count the muff as a fuzz)
3 xotic boosters, though, seems like a booster collector haha

I've been looking at Mami's gear thread for a long time, and recently acquired a Little Big Muff Pi (finally...!!). Trying out the settings shown in that thread, it seems like there's way more distortion (the crunch sounds right) than in most SCANDAL songs from what I can hear. Anyone else experimented with settings on the Little BMP?

Or maybe she just rolls back her volume a lot?

I think you can hear MAMI's LBMP in, for example, the pre-solo riff and the solo for Runners high for one. Her crunch tones otherwise come mostly from her Marshall amps. With the complex set up she has, MAMI is likely using a combination of any effects as a patch (hence the need for her routing controller) and may explain why following the knob positions as per the photo didn't give you the tone you were expecting. Just my humble opinion. (^-^)

I have a LBMP as well.  Alone, it's very bassy, with very little high end...kinda muddy even with the tone dimed.  Though after a little experimentation with another pedal I have (Boss DS-1), I was able to get a similar tone to what it sounds like in Awanai Tsumori No Genki De Ne and Image.  Here's my signal chain:

Stratocaster HH (Bridge HB, Volume 5-6, Tone 10) --> DS-1 (Tone 3:00, Distortion 9:00, Level 12:00) --> LBMP (Volume 10:30, Tone 3:00, Sustain 10:30) --> Orange Crush 12 Amp (Volume & EQ 12:00, Overdrive OFF, Gain 9:00)

You can use any low gain dirt pedal to boost the LBMP.  You just need to dial in a tone you like on that booster first, then adjust the LBMP to get close to what Mami's chain sounds like.  Experiment with settings on both.  That's what I did.  And the bonus is that with just the DS-1, I can get a nice mild crunch/overdrive similar to Haruna's sound in the 1st verse of Departure.

Also IIRC, Dave Gilmour, the Pink Floyd guitarist and one of the most famous Big Muff users, also used a booster before or after a Big Muff.

Unfortunately, it's almost impossible to figure out what Mami's signal chain is.  She's using a controller, so I bet she's got some pretty wild preset chains on there in addition to the regular on/off switches.  The only way to know is for her or her tech to provide that info.  In any case, it's cool to replicate a sound, but even cooler to come up with your own, right? Plus, anyways, you'd probably need to be rolling around in tons of money to be able to replicate her rig...

EDIT:
I was just thinking that the kind of pickup you're using will also have a big impact on the settings on your LBMP and the tone you get.  Pickup specs (magnets, poles, and wind count) contribute to the tone coming out of the guitar itself.  Most pickups have a bias toward one end of the EQ spectrum or the other.  I don't think I've seen anything that's built for flat EQ.