Month: December 2011

Roll Your Own Reverbs!
Simulate Spaces with Impulse Responses

Location, location, location: IR reverbs can make your guitar sound like it was recorded ANYWHERE!

Impulse response reverbs are one of the handiest tools in the digital-audio junk drawer. If you’re new to the concept, prepare to be amazed. (And if you’re familiar with the technology, jump to the end of this post to score some cool free reverb sounds.)

Impulse response reverbs, also known as IR or convolution reverbs, fake the sounds of genuine acoustic spaces. Say you want to be make your tracks sound as if they were recorded in a 12th-century dungeon: Just visit your nearest medieval castle and set up a small PA system in the dungeon. Next, play a test signal (usually a sine-wave sweep or a starter-pistol shot) and make a recording of it echoing in the space. Back at your studio, your IR software compares the new recording to the original test tone, and creates a reverb preset that you can apply to any audio source. Just slap it on a guitar track, say, and voilà — you’re rocking out in the dungeon, minus rats, mildew, and torture implements.

But wait, there’s more! You can use the same technology to mimic hardware effects and speakers. Just run the test signal through an amp or effect, and you’ll have a digital clone of the physical device. Here’s a brief video demonstrating the idea:

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December 31, 2011
Got Buzz? Read This.

We got into a discussion about buzzing single-coil pickups over in the lipstick tube thread. Reader Matthew Seniff chimed in with some well-informed observations and remedies. I’ve moved them here so more folks will see.

Another reader had written: “Every time my kids turn on my kitchen light my amp starts buzzing. It’s due to the rheostat that controls it. It’s old but I’m too lazy to change it.” To which Matthew replied: (more…)

December 28, 2011
Another ’60s Rock Mystery…

This action figure not available in stores!

It’s hard to discuss the Beatles without summoning their shadow: the Stones. Since posting last week about Randy Bachman solving the mystery of the “Hard Day’s Night” chord, I can’t stop thinking about another 1960s conundrum: Who played the solo on “Sympathy for the Devil?”

There’s one key reason why so many listeners suspect that it wasn’t Keith Richards: It simply doesn’t sound like anything else he ever recorded, and certainly nothing like his solos on the many live versions of the song.

A couple of years ago a wrote a short piece on the solo for a “100 greatest guitar solos” anthology. Sadly, the project remains unpublished for legal reasons — a pity, since it boasted contributions from many great guitar-centric music writers. But I’m rather relieved my piece never appeared, since I argued that Keith did in fact play the solo. Now I suspect the opposite. Here’s what I wrote:

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December 26, 2011
A Very EBow Christmas!

Sustain that seasonal spirit!

WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS HOLIDAY MATERIAL. THOSE WITH SEASONAL MUSIC ALLERGIES SHOULD CONSULT THEIR THERAPISTS BEFORE PROCEEDING.

Nothing says “Christmas morning” like an ugly piece of molded plastic with a battery inside! But unlike so many cheap plastic toys, the EBow is a treasure that can delight you for decades.

While racking my brain for a holiday post without too much bad attitude, it occurred to me that “Silent Night” makes a perfect little EBow exercise. If you play it in G, starting on the the 7th fret of the third string, the melody spans almost the entire range of the string. And it includes lots of those melodic leaps that are so tough to play smoothly on EBow. In other words, this simple, familiar tune is a serious workout! (more…)

December 21, 2011
Baritone Guitar, Anyone?

Any baritone guitar fans in the house? Let’s talk LOW!

I’ve been obsessed with baritone and other low-tuned guitars for decades, but I’ve never really found a perfect method for setting up a lower-than-standard guitar, so I’m interested to hear about other players’ experiences.

My main issue is pretty straightforward: I can get great tones by simply lowering the pitch on a standard-scale guitar, but the intonation is a nightmare, especially on the fifth and sixth strings. And when I use a longer-scale instrument, I get huge bass tones and solid intonation, but the middle and upper registers feel too thin stiff and stiff — I have difficulty making them sing.

With standard-scale guitars, it seems to help if there’s a length of straight string-pull — like on a Telecaster — between the nut and the tuners. I used a standard Tele tuned down to BEADF#B (like standard tuning, but a fourth lower) on the Tom Waits albums I worked on in the ’90s. Fortunately, the sketchy intonation were a plus in that clangorous context. (His song “Goin’ Out West” is a pretty good example of a cool, but screamingly out of tune, guitar tone. It was played on an old Tele dropped down to B.) (more…)

December 19, 2011
Lithuanian Mutants

Sadly, the Mutant Beauty Pageant ended weeks ago. But I suspect you’ll enjoy the pics I received from Lithuanian reader Dmitrij Timofejev. Dmitrij, what does that sideways humbucker sound like? BTW, the is the less radical of Dmitrij’s two guitars.

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December 16, 2011
Bait for Beatle Bots!

Authentic and un-retouched historic photo.

Okay, I’ve received this link in the last 24 hours from pretty much everyone I know who’s every held a guitar pick.

Guess Who guitarist Randy Bachman claims to have cracked the half-century mystery of the polychord that jump-starts the Beatles’ “Hard Day’s Night.” And I believe he’s nailed it. Enjoy, Beatle bee-yotches!

My favorite Beatle chord is the psychedelic feedback fest that launches “It’s All Too Much.” My fave solo is the screamer on “Taxman,” played by . . . Paul.

Hey, just for fun: Here, hastily scrawled on a bar napkin, is a one-guitar, no-bass approximation of the “Hard Day’s Night” chord that manages to cram in most of the pitches. No one in the group actually plays it, but it sounds pretty cool when you whack it hard. If your fans scream loudly enough, they’ll never notice the difference! Check it out: (more…)

December 14, 2011
Fun with Onboard Boosters!
Put more ELECTRIC in your guitar!

Lately I’ve been obsessed with mounting boosters inside my electric guitars.

Why bother? Especially when you can just get a clean-boost stompbox and use it on all your guitars? Because:
Two examples: a squeaky-clean boost inside a lipstick tube Strat (which I previously wrote about here), and a dirty little germanium overdrive inside an old Les Paul (a guitar I previously wrote about here).

Listen to the results! (more…)
December 14, 2011
Cheap Guitar Makeover!

A while back a couple of readers brought up Jimmy Page’s Les Paul wiring scheme, which made me want to set up a dual-humbucker guitar with lots of those tricky series, parallel, and split-coil tricks. Meanwhile, I wanted to do a sequel to my last cheap guitar makeover, but this time with a solidbody instead of a semi-acoustic. Also, I’d been meaning to try a pickup combo recommended by the mavens at Seymour Duncan: a pair of P-Rails combined with Triple Shot Mounting Rings.

So I slaughtered all three birds with a single stone: I picked up a late-’80s Aria Pro II for $200 and retrofitted it with that absurdly versatile pickup scheme. Have a listen! (more…)

December 11, 2011
Three Useful, Easy & Cheap DIY Tools

My cat hates when I play distortion pedals. I don't think he especially appreciates my non-distorted playing either.

Reader Derick just posted a comment on the DIY Project #1 page about his experiences with using different diodes for the Bad-Ass Distortion Pedal project. He’s inspired me to share a few cool tools you can use to make your DIY work easier and more creative. If you’ve worked through some of projects, or think you might, you should think about adding some of these to your workbench. (more…)

December 9, 2011