All Tied Up

When your power cables are kept in this manner...

...you're only inviting disaster the next time you unravel it. The first step to a nicely, naturally-coiled power cable is getting rid of the over-coil.

Next, follow the natural coil of the power cable and use a cable tie to secure it in the middle (I use a velcro cable tie, which can be purchased really cheaply at Daiso), forming a bundle as shown:

There, what a relief it is to see an increased level of neatness!

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Take Your Pick

Thanks Aunt Nancy for this awesome pack of picks from Hard Rock!

It's good to have picks lying around--in your gig bags, in the accessory pockets of the band duffel bag, in your wallet--you never know when you'll have a guitar dropped in your lap and requested to play a song.

Here's an example of what happened over New Year's Eve dinner, where the performing guitar duo were making their rounds amongst the dinner tables, and Dad just had to mention that I play in a band. Thank goodness one of them was kind enough to lend me his pick:

Dinner at NUSS Suntec, New Year's Eve '10

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Tools of the Trade

It's really convenient to blog these days. Remember the days when Blogger didn't have the ability to do rich formatting, upload pictures and link to videos? I survived on Scribefire for my personal blog (which is still alive to this date, with almost 7 years of history!), but now the basic Blogger interface has proven to be just as convenient. Here's what I do for pictures and videos:

I take pictures with my trusty iPhone, running them through instagram for some cool effects, and my Olympus EP-L1. I don't normally have to do much editing, except cropping, resizing, or adding a simple caption, in which case I use Microsoft Powerpoint. Yes, there are tricks to make Powerpoint churn out higher resolution pictures.

Videos are shot with my Canon FS100 (I know, cheapskate, but I got this from an IT fair and it was dead cheap) and sometimes with my EP-L1, with minimal editing with Windows Movie Maker.  When I'm up for it, I'll mic up with either a Shure SM-57 or an Audio Technica AT-2035 (or both, when sufficiently inspired) running into my M-Audio Fast Track Pro.

The audio is then processed through Kristal Audio, which I'll run several plugins to make the video loud enough so that you don't need to crank it (my pet peeve with unprocessed audio on videos), and clear enough so that you can hear what's going on (my other pet peeve with over-processed audio).

Powerpoint, Movie Maker and Kristal. Sure, they're limited in functionality when compared to Photoshop, Premiere and ProTools, but they're free and available for anyone to dive deep into, to satisfy the blogger in you.

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My (Old) Lead Tone

Edit as of 29Aug12:
I have undergone significant revision to my pedalboard, and hence, the post below is rather out of date. However, I still believe it provides some insight if you do have the pedals/amps that I used to own.

Original post:
I'm writing this post in response to friends/jam mates/fellow YouTubers asking me how I get my overdriven tones. I've included pictures (without Instagram, for clarity) and settings that I hope will be a useful starting point for you tweakers out there.

Guitars: Yamaha AES-820 or Yamaha RGX-820

I used to play in metal/hard rock/Japanese bands and have retired to play much milder music, but every so often I'll let out the shredder in me. My Yamahas have proven to be a good outlet for shred, with higher output pickups, shorter scale length to reduce the level of 'quack', lower action for easy bends, and higher string gauge to dig real deep.

The Yamaha AES-820 and RGX-820

These guitars have been my good 'ol faithfuls since my teenage years (my black AES has been with me since I was 14), and they've developed a character of their own, quite distinct from the typical guitar tones you hear. They're both alder, which I think is a good tone wood for rock since it's percussive and tonally neutral for your pedals/amp tone to shine through. The RGX has Seymour Duncan JB and Jazz pickups, while the AES has Dimarzio Customs.

Compression: the Visual Sound Comp66

This is one pedal everyone should get. Having the Tone Control helps to take out the higher frequencies so that the overdrives don't make your guitar sound too harsh, especially for those high gain rock tones.

Comp: 3 o'clock, Tone: 10 o'clock, Gain: 10 o'clock

The overdrives: the Carl Martin AC Tone and Xotic AC Booster Comp

I like to stack overdrives, and my observation is that overdrives stacked together sound better if they have the same affinity for a particular tone; vintage-voiced overdrives sound good with other vintage-voiced overdrives, distortion pedals sound good with other distortion pedals, etc.

Gain: 2 o'clock, Treble: 11 o'clock, Bass: 1 o'clock, Level: 10 o'clock

In this situation, I'm using the AC Tone to drive my AC Booster Comp, and for a solo I'll kick in the boost to drive the Booster comp harder (and louder). Having a boost pedal in front of an overdrive has the effect of compressing the signal further, which is good for keeping those notes singing loud and clear.

A good trick I've learnt is to have the overdrives operate at a higher voltage for greater headroom, allowing you to change between a crunch tone and a lead tone just by changing your guitar volume. The AC Tone runs at 12V and the AC Booster Comp runs at 18V.

EQ: the Artec 8-band Graphic EQ

Different amps will react differently to your overdrives, so it's important to have an EQ pedal to "doctor" the tone (as Eric Johnson puts it). I have my EQ set up to have a slight bass boost for warmth and a upper treble boost to add "sparkle".

Delay: the Boss DD-20

I like the DD-20 for its versatility (and I can't afford the crazy vintage delays out there). It has a nice analog delay, which helps to double as my faux reverb sound. A tap tempo is absolutely essential to lock in with your drummer!

Amp: the Vox AC15 Handwired

If I tell you how much I got this for, you will hate me. :) Rock tones can be squeezed out of the EF86 preamp, which has high headroom and has just the right voicing for searing lead tones. It's loud even at the volume setting I've shown you below, so please have a volume pedal in front to keep the neighbors happy!

Brilliance at 1, Bass shift at 1, Triode mode

 Happy tweaking!

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Welcome

 

Welcome to this first post. You are duly deserving of my thanks in reading this--for what have I, a mere individual in an endless ocean of bloggers, have to offer you? I can assure you that the content you find here is not in rhythm to the dance of all things in vogue. I can't offer cutting-edge commentary on the socio-cultural movements of our day and age. I won't complain against the politics and I shan't romanticize about the past.

I will be open, honest, and hopefully helpful in the things I write about.

I am a musician, an emotionally attuned artist who paints sonic landscapes with the palette of rhythm, melody and harmony. I am an engineer, ever fascinated with all things that work, and in constant obsession with making them better. I am a redeemed, a Christian, a sinner in eternal thanksgiving to God for sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to bear the judgment that was rightfully mine.

I am a mortal, fighting against the same temptations as any mortal, moral man would. I am an immortal, whose destination is determined by our Heavenly Father, in whom is in possession of the right to rule my life, and mine to joyfully obey.

Well, enough about me. This space is ultimately for you. Aspiring musicians, fellow philosophizing commentators, brothers and sisters in the faith, I welcome you to this space. Have a pleasant stay!

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