Category: Digital

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Digital Effects Gigs guitar Technique

Let’s Talk Looping!

Here’s a little video I made yesterday using the looping setup I’ve been using live.

Any other looping geeks out there? I didn’t set out to be one—I just wanted to do a duo band with percussionist extraordinaire Dawn Richardson. Looping seemed, well, kind of ten years ago, but I got sucked in, and it turned out to be a cool format for a lot of the sound design I was doing in Apple’s MainStage software. So there.

As always in looping, it’s easy to build big textures, but difficult to break them down. That’s where I always choke.

FYI, Dawn and I made an album this way, and are working on a second. More info here.

Categories
Digital DIY Effects guitar Pickups Recording

Humbucker + P-90 = ?

It's not like these pickups NEED a hot tub disco light to be exciting, but it can't hurt.
It's not like these pickups NEED a hot tub disco light to be exciting, but hey, a little mood lighting never hurts.

I recently upgraded a beat-up old Les Paul with a pair of Seth Lover humbuckers, a journey detailed here and here.

While I was in a makeover frame of mind, I figured, what not try something I’d always been curious about: installing a P-90 and a humbucker on the same guitar. So I swapped the neck pickup for a Seymour Duncan Phat Cat, a vintage-sounding P-90 is a humbucker-sized housing.

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Amps Digital DIY

Amp vs. Models Contest: The Winners!

Don't worry, it's just Photoshop. We never inflict anything son hideous on one of our winners.

WARNING! This post contains the answers to the quiz! If you still want to take the test, stop reading now and challenge your ear here.

Don't worry, it's only Photoshop. We would never inflict anything this hideous on one of our winners.

It was only two weeks, but it feels so much longer—at least for me, after processing some 220 entries before receiving the third perfect eight-out-of-eight score last night, which concluded the contest.

I honestly didn’t think it would take as long as it did. Not that I’m complaining! The Amps Vs. Models Contest was a fascinating experiment that produced many interesting comments. Thanks to everyone who chimed in!

The final entry was from Jessie Nieboer of Walkerville, Michigan, who selected a Seymour Duncan Twin Tube Mayhem pedal as his prize. Several days earlier, Ralf Tyra of Hamburg, Germany, claimed second place. He chose a Twin Tube Classic and a Tweak Fuzz. And last week Colm Kelley of Dublin, Ireland, took first place with the first perfect score. He hasn’t yet decided which stompboxes he wants, but mentioned the possibility of three Deja Vu delay pedals.

And the correct answers?

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Categories
Amps Digital Recording

UPDATE: Amps vs. Models Contest

Yet another thing you could be doing instead of practicing.

UPDATE, Friday Sept. 23: The contest is now closed! Read the results here.

Yet another thing you could be doing instead of practicing.

I knew it would be hard, but I didn’t think it would be that hard!

The Amps vs. Models Contest is still very much in progress. Yes, yes, yes—you still have a chance to win fabulous prizes and even more fabulous bragging rights.

One of two things must occur to conclude this thing: Either a) three contestants need to get perfect scores to claim the three instant prizes, which hasn’t happened yet, or b) we wait another six weeks till Halloween, when the prizes simply go to the three best scores.

No one wants to wait six weeks to wrap this up—least of all me. I’m dying to spill the beans, and I’m so tempted to blab when people write asking for details. But dropping hints  wouldn’t be fair to the plucky contestants who dove right in with no hints whatsoever. But I will make one seemingly obvious suggestion: Consider a bit of research about what the amps are supposed to sound like. You Tube clips may help here. 🙂

Categories
Amps Digital guitar Recording

Think You Can Tell Amps from Models?

UPDATE, Friday Sept. 23: The contest is now closed! Read the results here. But although the prizes have been claimed, but you can still challenge you ear for fun here!

Listen and win — if you dare!

Ready for some fun, kids? [Evil clown laugh.]

Join the Amps vs. Models Contest! The winner gets a fabulous prize: Any three Seymour Duncan stompboxes. The runner-up gets to pick any two, and third-place gets one.

Just apply your ear to this simple test. I’ve recorded four boneheaded guitar phrases. Each appears twice, once through a real amp, and once through a software model of the same amp. The trick is, I’m not telling you which clips features an amp, and which ones don’t.

Continue reading “Think You Can Tell Amps from Models?”