Tag: Guitar

Music Plans and Weekend Plans

I failed to play the guitar last night, but I did come up with some kind of running order for Quarantine Tunes Volume 4. I can sense your bliss.

I have one song for May that is close to being finished. There are a few more that I might be able to get done by the end of next week. I also have a potential batch of songs for a fifth round of re-recording, but I am seriously at the bottom of the barrel. So far I have tweaked a song lyric here or there, and one song had the lyrics rewritten. I think I’m going to have to do that a few more times. Of the 10 songs on the new list, three are actually written about the RPM Challenge. That’s no good. I see some new lyrics in my future.

Plans for the next few days include:

  • Finish watching this week’s episode of The Bad Batch (nine minutes to go)
  • Work
  • Nana sit overnight tonight
  • Nana sit tomorrow until around dinner time
  • Hang out with my family tomorrow night. If time allows, maybe play some guitar.
  • Sunday, celebrate Bellana’s birthday by watching The Godfather and The Godfather II and cooking a steak dinner on the grill.

Not a bad weekend.

85 Minutes to Go

It’s five minutes passed 4:00 which means I have less than an hour and a half to go for today’s work day. 85 minutes to quittin’ time.

I took Tuesday off for the drive to Vermont, and I took an hour yesterday morning for the hospital conference call. These two events have had the unintended side effect of turning my internal calendar inside out and upside down. I have no idea what day it is. At varying times during the day yesterday I was convinced that it was Monday. Other times I was equally convinced that it was Friday. It was Wednesday. What chance does that give me?

I have had my Google Calendar open all day today and it clearly shows that today is Thursday, yet I have been positive that it’s Friday. I had to mess with the Nana Sitting schedule for the weekend too, and that’s going to mess me up even more. Instead of leaving after work on Thursday and coming back after dinner on Saturday, I am going to leave on Thursday and come back after work on Friday. The reason behind it is excellent (happy birthday to Bellana) but it’s messing with my head.

It’s been a wacky week, I tells ya. I’m hoping I have the energy to play some guitar tonight. If I put the leads on one of the May songs tonight I can mix it while I Nana Sit tomorrow.

Back to work. 75 minutes to go. I just got asked to evaluate a custom code project for one of our customers and it’s something I’ve already written. Kick ass, dude. I love it when that happens. Reusing code is totally where it’s at.

Talk to you later. Probably after I get home. Probably with a picture of the cat. Rock on, ladies and germs.

The Last Quarantine Tune

I finished the last of the fourth round of re-recordings tonight. I mixed it using Air Pods Pro which was probably a bad idea. I’ll share it for now, but if it sounds like garbage on better headphones, or on actual speakers, I will remix it.

I still need to come up with a final running order, but that’s it. After that I have to decide if I want to do volume five or not.

For the record, the lead guitar parts here are my new birthday present Les Paul. Have I mentioned that I love that new guitar, and that my wife is amazing for getting it for me, and that I love my wife more than words could ever express?

My New Best Friend

I just sat in front of the TV, noodling without an amp. Just connecting with the new kid in town.

I love the nickel hardware and I love the trapezoid inlays.

I love the grain on the maple cap. It’s not really enough to call it a flame, I don’t think, but it is freakin’ groovy.

None of my other Gibsons have the little knob position pointer thingies. I can’t remember if my poor, stolen Les Paul Deluxe had them or not.

The back is a different color than my ‘78 Custom. I like the lighter shade this has.

I adore the 50’s style tuning pegs. I think my much missed Deluxe had those. My Custom didn’t (I changed the tuners on the Custom in 2006, I think, and I have no clue if the ones we took off were original or not.

I’m happy to see the poker chip. My SG came with one but it wasn’t installed. I haven’t put it on because it’s a royal pain in the ass to do.

You can’t see it in the picture (I tried and failed) but it’s definitely a two piece cap. My eyes could clearly see where they join.

Like I said, I have a new best friend. What a killer birthday present, right?

Tone Controls

I took the cat’s advice and played my new guitar.

I messed with my little recording nook pedal board a little. I took out the Wampler Plexi Drive Mini for the Chicago Stompworks Mr Vermin Rat clone.

I didn’t record anything. I just played. Loud. Jen and Harry had to step out for a minute and I took the opportunity to see if I could get the little Vox AC15 amp up to band practice volume.

Normal channel… master volume on about five… channel volume up to about seven… 106 decibels. sweet.

Note the tone control on the AC15’s normal channel is wired backwards. I knew that and I set the amp appropriately. Why then was my sound so super toppy?

Because the tone control on the Rat clone is also wired backward and while I thought I had it set super bassy it was actually set super trebly.

Amateur.

Straps

Now that I have a new guitar, I find myself in the market for a guitar strap. There was a strap included in the case candy, but I am gigantically huge and it was too small for practical use. It’s actually fine for me to use if I’m sitting down because I like to wear a strap while I sit and I want it way up high. That works out. It won’t do for me if I’m standing though. I measured it at about 55 inches long so I’m guessing I need something that is at least 60 inches if not a little longer.

Amazon has some. I would bet if I checked musiciansfriend.com they’d have some too. All well and good. Normally I just go to a music store and buy the longest one they have. I’m still planning on trading my Strat in someplace, probably guitar center, but I might do some research and find if there is any place in the city with a better trade-value reputation. There probably isn’t. I might just pick one up when I take care of the Strat. Who knows. Maybe.

What about etsy? There is a surprising amount of homemade guitar gear on etsy, are there straps? Yes, yes there are. Quite a few of them. The selling prices are higher than I was really interested in spending, but there are a few that are interesting. One of them is made out of recycled seatbelts. That sounds like fun. I don’t see lengths listed on the sales page though. That’s a deal breaker for me.

However the strap journey works itself out, I want to play tonight. I kinda need to play tonight.

Rock on, my friends.

Dream Gig

I had a dream about a gig last night. I think that means I need to start playing with the band again.

I’m pretty sure it was a pizza joint. It wasn’t my band. Whoever they were, no one was paying attention. I walked up on stage, picked up a tobacco burst Les Paul Standard and started playing Living Loving Maid by Led Zeppelin. The rest of the band magically knew what I was doing and started playing with me. Unfortunately for the audience (all, like, six people) I think I was doing all the singing too. Sorry about that, but no one seemed to vomit. They loved our little Zeppelin tune.

Two minutes later the song was over and the crowd was itching for more. I figured a Jimmy Page song worked already so maybe I could challenge them with some Jeff Beck. I expected I Ain’t Superstitious to bomb but they ate it up. Next it was time for some Yardbirds. I’m a Man totally slayed. I then thought I’d challenge them with something down tempo but You’re a Better Man Than I brought down the house. Finally I brought it full circle. One Jimmy Page tune followed by a slew of Jeff Becks, let’s hit some Page era Yardbirds. Train Kept a Rolling rocked the pizza joint customers’ faces clean off.

And there you have it. I had a dream about a gig… and it might have been the best gig I’ve ever done. The Rock and Roll was rocking and rolling like you’ve read about. Awesome.

Guitar Specs

This is going to be a guitar nerd post. You’ve been warned.

Here are the specs for my new guitar. Most of this is obvious just by looking at it. I’m mostly concerned with saving the pick ups, the frets, the nut, the wood in the body and the fretboard, and the tuners.

Gibson Les Paul Standard 50s

Body
Body Shape – Les Paul
Body Material – Mahogany
Top – Maple
Weight Relief – None
Finish – Gloss Nitrocellulose Lacquer

Neck
Material – Mahogany
Profile – Vintage 50s
Scale Length – 24.75″ / 628.65mm
Fingerboard Material – Rosewood
Fingerboard Radius – 12″
Number Of Frets – 22
Frets – Medium Jumbo
Nut Material – Graph Tech
Nut Width – 1.69″ / 43.05mm
End of Board Width – 2.26″ / 57.4mm
Inlays – Acrylic Trapezoids

Hardware
Finish – Nickel
Bridge – ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic
Tailpiece – Aluminum Stop Bar
Tuning Machines – Vintage Deluxe w/ Keystone Buttons
Pickguard – Cream
Control Knobs – Gold Top Hats w/ Pointers
Switch Tip – Amber
Switchwasher – Cream
Jack Plate Cover – Cream

Electronics
Neck Pickup – Burstbucker 1
Bridge Pickup – Burstbucker 2
Controls – 2 Volumes, 2 Tones & Toggle Switch (Hand-wired with Orange Drop Capacitors)

While I’m at it, let’s save off the specs from my SG too. They are still available on the Gibson website under legacy models.

2018 Gibson SG Standard

Body
Wood Species – Mahogany
Finish – Gloss Nitrocellulose Lacquer

Neck
Material – Mahogany
Neck Profile – Slim Taper
Scale Length – 24.75″
Fingerboard Material – Rosewood
Fingerboard Radius – 12″
Number of Frets – 22

Hardware
Finish – Chrome
Bridge – Aluminum Tune-O-Matic
Tailpiece – Aluminum Stop Bar
Tuning Machines – Locking Kidneys
Pick Guard – Black 4-ply
Control Knobs – Black Top Hats
Switch Tip – Black
Switch Washer – Black (not mounted)

Electronics
Neck Pickup – 61R
Bridge Pickup – 61T
Controls – 2 volumes, 2 tones, 1 toggle switch

Best Birthday Ever

My wife got me a birthday present yesterday. Something so far above and beyond the call of duty that I was literally speechless.

It’s a brand spanking new Gibson Les Paul Standard 50’s (tobacco burst). The one with the big chunky neck that after one day I already love more than words can express.

I spent about an hour and a half to two hours just noodling and then recording some parts. My finger tips are killing me, and they are pitch black from the lacquer rubbing off. It’s so friggin’ cool I can’t get over it. What a kick ass birthday present. I had no idea. None. Zero. I am shocked and awed and very thankful.

What a way to kick off my 50’s! Let’s get the band together so I can show it off! Awesome!