I worked in an analog studio from 1992-1995. It was set up with some great, albeit old, gear from the late 70s. MCI board, MCI 2" 24 Track recorder to match and much much more. I learned so much.
But since then, I've had a hard time getting back involved in recording using the computer. I am an admitted mac snob and have been using them since '87, they are all I know. So I obviously bought Logic Pro 9 to go with the C600 last year. I had used GarageBand before that, of course.
I just never bonded with that way of working and felt I needed something to bridge the gap, you know, some kind of control surface that gave me that tactile feel. I looked at the Zoom R16 the year before but ruled it out for a number of reasons: did I need 8 inputs? (Turns out YES!) Was Zoom a very good company? I had owned a G2 and thought it was dreadful. (Turns out YES, too!) Did it have good enough pre-amps? (Yup!) Would it be too hard to learn using a tiny screen, no visual on recordings like the computer, etc.? (Turns out NO, not hard & it also turns out that the lack of the "big picture" screen, I'm getting more intimate with my recordings, counting out beats, sequencing drums for the first time since 1992!)
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!
So the last few months have been full of buying a sailboat that needs restoring (see Our Lake Life blog), conferences, kids going back to school, birthdays, lawn work, heavy work schedules, coding seminar (See CSS for Print Designers) and learning programming, halloween, school events, sick cats, and now election day.
In between all of this, Corey started taking piano and voice lessons with Phoebe up at Carolyn's Keyboard Corner. She's a pretty neat kid too. I immediately thought about Corey when I met her (phoebe) the first time. I thought she was a younger female teacher that Corey could better relate too. I was right. Corey is really excelling and practicing regularly. Her vocal range is already improving and she really seems to be liking the piano lessons too. I don't think she thought she would as much as she is. :)
I'm still taking accordion lessons with Bob Boyd although I've missed several lessons due to the schedule. I'll be going today. Only one more song in the 1st palmer-hughes book to go. Not sure if I'm going to continue or take a break for the winter and work on piano or something else. We'll see.
But since I started playing in 1984, this is the way it's been: stop and start, ebb and flow. I've come to see it as absolutely normal behavior, if not necessary. Otherwise I might burn out.
I enjoy playing so many instruments, sometimes I wish i'd just focus on one but they are so much fun!
I'll try to post when I can. It's been a while since any gear intrigued me. ALTHOUGH...
I got the latest Premier Guitar magazine that featured this new analog delay from Way Huge that caught my eye:
I've added it to my xmas gift list. I think it sounds great and like a lot of fun!
I ran into this unique instrument while traveling to North Carolina to pick up our "new-to-us" sailboat we bought (see: Our Lake Life Blog for info on that!). It was actually on our way back, we stopped at this quaint little town in Tennessee named Dandridge.
Our original intention was to stay at The Point Resort there in Dandridge and put or new toy in the water but the weather had other plans. It stormed the entire time. So we went shopping!
The town is the 2nd oldest in Tennessee, named after the "First First Lady" Martha Dandridge Washington. There's an old graveyard that runs through the middle of the downtown area and a famous Levee that saved the town from certain demise when they decided to flood the river valley to put in a lake. Or as they say in "Oh Brother, where art thou": "They's gonna to hyrdo up the whole state!"
We went into a small shop called Rachel's Attic and Dandridge General Store. That's where I saw it hanging on the wall. I played it and walked away only to return and play it again minutes later. When the nice lady that owns the shop told me she'd give me 40% off, I did some calculating...and then bought it on the spot. No hemming and hawing as I usually do or guilt to my wife for spending more money on instruments, etc.
It's called a McNally StrumStick and they are apparently the best known company for making high quality instruments.
Even Ryan Gosling was caught playing one walking down the sidewalk in NYC!
Well I can tell you, they have impressed me! The first one I got had been hanging on the lady's wall in a dry heated store next to a window and the neck had bowed making the action really high, but it still sounded good. I thought I could do some tweaking and make it better but no...
So I took photos and contacted them about my options. Evelyn McNally, the maker's wife, contacted me and told me they were going to send me a new one, free of charge AND not to return the other, just keep it and give it to someone.
So I gave it to Corey and she has nary put it down since! It's tuned to the Key of G, has three strings (G,D,g) and is super easy to play. AND FUN!
My new one arrived later that week and was a little different in construction from the older original model. My new one didn't have the BIG sound and was a little smaller in size, sadly. But still sounded good, felt good and most of all the action was right on!
All in all, it worked out and Corey and I have two instruments that, although are the same model, are very different in sound, which makes playing together easier.
For size comparison's sake, that's my iPhone in my BookBook case.
The slow reveal!
Voilá! Red Cream Pearloid Perfection!
So after much debate and almost quitting the instrument for fear of going into it too fast, spending too much, I have upgraded to a more "pro" instrument.
Thanks to Bob Boyd and a vendor that he trusts, John Castiglione of Castiglione Accordions in Warren Michigan, I purchased a vintage but mint condition Castiglione Model 408VC. A 120 bass, 41 Key, 4/2 Reed, 16", Luscious Red and Cream Pearloid beauty that looks a bit more like a vintage 50's hot rod than an accordion.
And boy does it sound good!! Love the pearloid keys, like new bellows and the buttons...oh the buttons! I had no idea how hard that Hohner was to play until I played this! I guess one good thing to be said about the hohner, is that it helped build up some strength! :)
So I'm back to lessons with Bob, following the standard for all accordion students Palmer-Hughes Accordion Book 1.
John at Castiglione Accordions is a very interesting man. He's 2nd or 3rd generation running this store, over 80 years in business! The man knows his accordions! He also took really good care of me. He made sure the C408 was in tip top shape, tuned, and included not only the red italian leather straps that came with it (that were still in good to great condition), he threw in a new set of black extra padded italian leather straps, PLUS a brand new tolex covered case! All for a very modest price, at least in the land of accordions...where prices can be as steep as $8000 +!!
What more can I say :) except... I have a long way to go and I'm going to need a better accordion to do it! The Hohner is small and portable, it's also been a good way to start but it's limitations and nowhere near concert pitch is a problem playing with others!
Time to call Liberty Bellows and move up... I'll post my progress!
