G.A.S. Report — ACQUIRED: Way Huge Green Rhino Overdrive

Yes, I succumbed to G.A.S. once again :(  I'm trying my best to patiently await getting a new keyboard but couldn't pass up a deal on this one. My lovely wife was so kind to buy me a fairly inexpensive and decent sounding "screamer" type of pedal last year but I've yet to fully bond with it or get the sounds I really want out of it. I hoped this Green Rhino, from what I've heard online, will get me there.

Well, it succeeds! What a great sounding overdrive. I was able, within minutes, to dial in every kind of OD I could think of, from bright boost, to tejas grunge, to SRV, smooth OD, ballsy OD (thanks to that 100Hz boost and the mid curve pots!). It's fairly configurable to just about any kind of OD you can think of. It's crisp and clean too, well what I mean is, although its distorted/overdriven sounding, you can still hear all your notes. Not muddy, no weird oscillation and great, almost RAT style, harmonics!

Also, you can really count on the build of this thing. It's lightweight but very strong enclosure is made to perfection, solid feeling knobs and the switch is a short throw, easy "click" type. Great on socked feet! :)

I've barely spent any time with it at all and I already love it! It's replaced my MXR Classic OD pedal already.

Love it, recommend it! Great deal!

Better Late Than Never!

So, 27 years ago, I was riding home on the bus from school. That day I had made a decision – I was going to ask my Mom if I could take piano lessons! As I got off the bus and walked towards home, I spotted a truck in our drive-way. There were men loading up the piano from our den – my Mom had sold it that day!

Soon after, she took me in to Benton and bought me my first guitar, a red metallic Lotus LP copy from ????? & Loftis on Military Rd. (Can't remember the other guys name). She also signed me up for lessons that day.

But all these years, I really have always been attracted to playing the keys and, over the years, taught myself to play based on my guitar lessons. I had a friend named Buddy that was an amazing piano player that put quite a damper on my playing. He was so good and often made fun of my "guitar player" playing, my choice of keys to play, etc. that I gave up trying.

WELL....Better late than never! Starting March 29, I'm starting those piano lessons. I'm going to be working with Kathy Cooper, a well-known keyboardist in these parts for many years. I spoke with her yesterday about what I want to accomplish and she seems to think it's easily doable... with a little practice, of course!

I want to start by working on my sight and manuscript reading skills, basic scale/key fundamentals (much I know from guitar already), and very specific musical styles/techniques such as Soul, Funk and R&B.

I'm excited and will post back as I progress, hopefully to the point that I can record some audio or video to post. All this is leading up to my hopes of purchasing a Korg SV-1 this summer!

Korg SV-1 Stage Vintage Piano, Organ, Synth...

Courtesy of KORG, USA website. All Rights Reserved.

I'm so impressed by this model. I really think that, after researching stage pianos, controllers, etc. for several weeks now, this is the best of the best!

The Lull Between, the Completion of Projects and the Learning Within...

There's a lull between making fun purchases, part of my musical hobby that I really enjoy. I know what you're thinking "man this guy is just all about the acquisitions and not about playing" schtick. Well, save it! I enjoy playing, making music and learning just as much as I am in love with researching, searching and buying new equipment.

G.A.S. Report — ACQUIRED! Lexicon I-Onix U22 with M-Audio BX5a Monitors

In one of those deals that I "just couldn't pass up", after Xmas, Guitar Center had a massive clearance sale. 60% off on many items. I walked in the day that the Lexicon I-Onix U22 was on for 50% off and the M-Audio BX5a Monitors, store demos, were for 60% off. These were two items I had long wanted to create a nice little desktop recording studio using GarageBand '11 on my iMac but had put off due to regular price cost being way too high.

I appreciate that my wife understood and knows a good deal. I'm also fortunate that we had the money in the budget to splurge so soon after Xmas. I am a lucky man!

Cut your cable! Apple TV with Netflix is the future!

We cut our cable about 4-5 months ago. No one missed it much. Sure we had to sacrifice the last season of Dexter (although I fear it's jumped the shark now :( ). But I was able to utilize our local library for many free titles to keep everyone happy. Our girls are very much movie watchers, not really TV show watchers, so it's been a little easier. I feared they would not be able to chat as easily with friends, not knowing what happened on that show last night, etc. It's not like we are that family that got rid of all the TVs period. But I don't think they suffered. I know I didn't suffer paying the $200+ monthly bill to have 400 channels and a DVR I never had time to watch.

So we got an Apple TV ($99) after Xmas. We added the Netflix service ($10/mo.) and upped our DSL internet to 12mbps for only $10/mo. more.

My Adventures in Effectsville, Part 3

If you ever buy an SKB PS-55 Stage Five Pedal Board, be prepared for how huge and heavy this thing is! I got it set up last night with only one issue, otherwise, it's ready to rock.

As I suspected, the actual pedal board surface is not as big as I'd like, but it's much bigger than what I did have. I was able to put my amp's channel switch pedal back on the board and give things a little better spacing.

All the power plugs worked just fine including the 9VAC for the M9. Nice to have it all taken care of with one power cord.