Category: Guitar

Home Recording Rig Changes

I spent my lunch break moving stuff around. The Fender Bassbreaker 18/30 is way too loud to play at home with other people in the house. At the last gig, back on Feb 1st, it was EPIC. At home it’s just too much. For the last 2 months it’s been used as a table to hold my Bassbreaker 15 which has been the only amp I’ve used since RPM ended on Feb 29.

I brought the 18/30 down cellar and stored it off the floor as we’ve had some moisture issues. It should be safe. At the moment, the 15 is sitting alone in my music nook in my bedroom.

296/365

However, changes will continue. The Vox AC15 is on a UPS Brownie and it is scheduled to be delivered by 9:00PM.

I don’t want to wait until 9:00. I want it now. NOW!

I WANT MY NEW QUARANTINE TOY NOW!

Ugh… patience, Robert. Patience.

Screw that, I WANT IT NOW!

Don’t Daisy Chain Your Pedals

My new Crybaby wah pedal is on my pedal board. My RYRA Klon Klone and Keeley Blues Driver clone are not. The board is powered by two MXR bricks. The two non-board pedals each have their own plugs.

I was using the two clones, but I wanted to use the crybaby with them and I didn’t have a third plug. I took it off the board and did what you shouldn’t do. I put all three pedals onto a daisy chain. I did leads for one song and then tore it all down.

Don’t daisy chain pedals together. My already noisy rig reached new, previously unimagined levels of awful noise. Just don’t do it.

The crybaby sounded great though.

I Broke My Rule

I broke one of my primary album-in-a-month challenge rules today. Twice. I think I might do it again too.

I mentioned before that I was a little unhappy with the first few rhythm guitar parts I recorded this month. Well, I have a rule that states once a track is done, it’s done. Today I kicked that rule to the curb and re-recorded all of the guitars on songs #1 and 2. I’m just out of control.

I also put lead guitar on both of those songs. That means I have two June songs ready to mix. It’s just crazy!

Sum Up Today’s Music

I took the day off from work today to be available for the dishwasher delivery. I was able to use the downtime before and after to work on some music. I was able to make a little progress on both projects.

For the album in a month thing, I wrote lyrics and melodies for two of the 11 songs. That’s it. I was hoping to get to more than that today. I might sneak another song or two in before bed tonight, who knows.

For the re-recording thing (tentatively titled Quarantunes Volume 1) I redid the rhythm guitars for one of the songs I did over the weekend. I didn’t like the tone. It’s better now, and I’ll probably keep it, but there’s something weird about it that isn’t happening in the other songs that used the same setup. I don’t know. I then added the guitars to the only one of the eight songs that I hadn’t touched yet. Some of it sounds good. Some of it doesn’t. I had an idea that didn’t really pan out.

Finally, I took the two songs that I put the guitars down a year ago and redid them. They both sounded pretty good already, but they both sound better now. I’m very pleased with how they turned out.

That means both projects are now fully at the stage where the next step is vocals. Crap.

Oh yeah, and the amp I bought online this morning will be delivered on Monday.

The Trigger Has Been Pulled

I just pulled the trigger on a used Vox AC15. It will be delivered to my house but it’s coming from California. I’m guessing the delivery will take about two years, and when it gets here the vacuum tubes will be nothing but a pile of glass dust at the bottom of the cabinet.

WOOHOO!

It’s Still There

The used Vox AC15 I was checking out the other day is still available. I told myself it was still there on Tuesday morning I was going to pull the trigger.

That Pedal Show did a whole episode on the AC15. I forgot about this one. The used an OCD pedal…. this was pre-racist rant. I’m not using mine anymore. Likely ever.

Music

Remember those 11 June Music songs? Neither do I.

The great re-recording project continues. I’m looking at it like a series of two or three EP’s. I have eight songs earmarked for volume one. Two of them got rhythm guitars on Saturday, two on Sunday, and one tonight. I think I’m going to redo on of the Saturday songs. Two more songs got good guitar takes about a year ago, but I know I can do better. The eighth song got rhythm guitars back when all of this started, five years ago, but I’m going to redo those as well.

Tonight’s song included slide guitar. Just for a noisy effect, not for anything even remotely melodic. I’m the world’s worst slide guitarist.

Now, I need to get back to the June music. I’m not abandoning it at all. Also, I need all of this crap finished by the time 50/90 starts on the Fourth of July.

Yikes!