So I took the Korg NanoKontrol and NanoKey back to Guitar Center. They really aren't built very well for what they cost and would end up seeming like toys instead of real gear. So I did a lot, I mean A LOT, of research and hesitantly took a chance on another product made by Zoom.
My first foray with Zoom was their low end guitar multi-effects unit the G2. Hated it. But with the Zoom R24 Multi-track recorder, DAW interface and controller, I was really impressed!
And a few sales at the end of the last one, too. Sadly, I turned around and sold the Roland Alpha Juno 1. I felt that it just didn't meet my needs after all, and that my Juno-Gi sounded just as good for my purposes.
Also departing: I finally sold the SKB Stage Five pedal board. Excellent unit but just more than I needed. I lost quite a bit on the deal...so word to the wise "only buy it if you think you will actually keep it! the resale is less than half!".
The G.A.S (gear acquisition syndrome) almost got me in November & December. The thought was of getting my hands on a Gretch or semi-hollow big body style guitar with Bigsby tremolo. BUT, a better idea came up...
Modding and Distorting
Thanks to the idea from my wife, I decided to invest in my custom built guitar (#27 Little Bastard) by adding a Bigsby and a new bridge. I also decided to get a proper neck for it buying a real Fender Tele neck. Much better feel and lower action too. I have yet to finish this, waiting on my friend and supplier, Marc Rutters, to custom make a bridge that will have the vintage half-bridge tele look and sound but the ability to mount the Bigsby to it. He came up with a photo of one of his full tele bridges that has slots cut to allow the strings to pass over, but he will make me a on off custom half version with 2 1/16" spacing and steel compensated saddles. I'll post pics, as soon as I have them!
I also decided that I have never truly bonded with the Way Huge Green Rhino OD pedal and will sell on ebay soon. I replaced it with the best OD I have ever heard or owned, believe it or not, the MXR Custom Badass Modified O.D.! This pedal sounds great, takes up less footprint area on my pedal board and really works well with my MXR Custom Badass '78 Distortion pedal (my favorite leave-on-all-the-time pedal!) If you haven't tried this line of pedals from MXR, I recommend doing so!
The Plugs That Bind... or doesn’t, in this case!
Never really happy with the crappy Radio Shack pancake 1/4" plugs I used to wire up my pedal board, I also splurged for some George L's! A little hard to get them put together right, I definitely recommend a cable tester if you can get one. I had to redo several for a frustrating hour and a half, but once done right, they look and sound great! Expensive but I really believe they have the clearest sound of any cable I've ever used and take up the least amount of space on a board to boot!
Logic Kontrol
Yesterday, in an effort to find a way to physically control Logic Pro better, I purchased a Korg NanoKontrol 2. It's basically a USB Midi transport and mixer control device. Bus driven, totally programmable, although after installing the Logic plug-in, I didn't have to do a dang thing to get it working perfectly! It's small, lightweight, very portable, no batteries to go bad and inexpensive. Win-Win!
Back to Lessons
On this front, last year, I decided to start up with Jeff Swain at Carolyn's Keyboards again. Focusing on early rock 'n roll, surf, rockabilly to start off with, last night we discussed "Slide" technique and started learning Santo & Johnny's "Sleepwalk". This should be really fun!
I also decided that I have never truly bonded with the Way Huge Green Rhino OD pedal and will sell on ebay soon. I replaced it with the best OD I have ever heard or owned, believe it or not, the MXR Custom Badass Modified O.D.! This pedal sounds great, takes up less footprint area on my pedal board and really works well with my MXR Custom Badass '78 Distortion pedal (my favorite leave-on-all-the-time pedal!) If you haven't tried this line of pedals from MXR, I recommend doing so!
Never really happy with the crappy Radio Shack pancake 1/4" plugs I used to wire up my pedal board, I also splurged for some George L's! A little hard to get them put together right, I definitely recommend a cable tester if you can get one. I had to redo several for a frustrating hour and a half, but once done right, they look and sound great! Expensive but I really believe they have the clearest sound of any cable I've ever used and take up the least amount of space on a board to boot!
