Tag: Gibson

I Over Did It

I got home from some errands at about 2:00ish today. I went downstairs and took out my Fender. I changed the strings, then noodled around a little. I then played through a bunch of songs that the band has been working on. I hit most of them twice. At 4:00 I stopped and cooked dinner. After dinner I went to band practice. At some point, a little after 7:00, I hit the wall. My left hand stopped working for a little while. I couldn’t get my ring and pinkie fingers to do what I wanted them to do. They just cramped up and told me to go screw. We took five and after that I was better, but the communication between the brain and each hand was off for the rest of the practice. I felt seriously uncoordinated.

That, my friends, is why musicians practice. It’s not just to learn their parts. It is also to build up stamina. There is a tipping point where your skill level disappears. Back in 2005 I could play four 45 minute sets over four hours and not break down. There was a time in the early 90’s where I could probably play for 10 hours or more without a break and not lose it. Today? I probably crash after 45-60 minutes if I’m lucky. I must practice more. I must.

So how did the Strat do tonight? The single coil pickups didn’t make nearly as much noise as I feared they would. They also didn’t feedback. My amp was on the floor. I think if I had it on a stand, a couple of feet higher, it would have been easier. All in all though, the sound of the new guitar was very… stratty. Thin and brittle, like Strats often are. When it comes right down to it, I think the ES-335 is still my #1 guitar. Next practice I’ll bring the Les Paul Custom and see how that feels. It does seem though, that I am still a Gibson man through and through.

The Final Pre-50/90 Song

A little mini-suite. I had my 10 songs underway for my June album in a month project and like a doofus I threw together an extra song at the last minute, and made it three songs in one. (I then added two more, because I’m dumb).

Mostly this was an excuse to add an acoustic guitar (my Takamine 12-string) and a Gibson electric (ES 335 Pro) to a project that had been 100% Stratocaster to that point.

One night recently my two step kids and I all had a really difficult time falling asleep. That lead to some anxiety among the kids who thought that the inability to sleep was a sign that there was something wrong with them. I reassured them that it happens to all of us once in a while and that they should just relax, and then I wrote a song about not being able to sleep because of nightmares. I am a lyrical hypocrite. Accept it, I have.


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Here is the iOS mix.

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June Music is now as done as done can be. It’s 11:45pm on July 3rd. 50/90 officially starts in 15 minutes. I, however, will wait until morning because I am exhausted.

G’Night everyone!

More April Music in May

Was sticking with Amplitube for all of the guitars on the 10 April songs a good idea? This one used the Jimi Hendrix bundle for all of the guitars. The rhythm is my Les Paul and the lead is my Strat. All of the other April songs used the Fender Twin for the rhythm and Hendrix for the leads.

It’s okay, I guess. If I put a ton of effects on during the mix it might be all right. I don’t know. Maybe if I did everything on the iPad it might feel better, and be a little less noisy. I don’t know. I’m torn.

The lyrics are one of many songs about how much I love my wife, and how happy she makes me. I expect the list of such songs to grow steadily for the rest of my life. I’m kinda nuts about her.

A Little Cheating

I finished the last lead guitar part from April. Now all that’s left for the month is to mix the last two songs.

March still has three that aren’t finished. Two have lyrics written but only have a guide track. The third has nuttin.

I broke one of my rules tonight. Twice. I have a rule that states when I record bad rock songs the lead guitars cannot be recorded until after all the vocals are complete. That is the law. I broke the law. I recorded leads for the two songs that only have guide vocals. That means March now has two vocals to record, one to write and record, and one lead guitar to record. Then those three songs need mixin’. That’s all that’s left.

One other note. I am having a really tough time playing the Stratocaster. I’m just having a tough time getting the feel of it. The neck is so different from the Gibsons. I knew it would take a while, but I’m getting frustrated. A little. Not much. Just a little.

I also need to put lighter strings on it, and soon. Ouch.