Monday, March 05, 2007
Monday, January 29, 2007
FunkFest in the GTA
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Bloom where you're planted.
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Monday, November 13, 2006
Geoff Moore
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
LMT Connection...Funk is the final frontier!
Monday, September 25, 2006
Unite In Worship
Saturday, August 19, 2006
:...newworldson...:
newworldson - live
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
New things....
Sunday, June 11, 2006
Vox AC30
Korg Triton
Sunday, June 04, 2006
Live Audio Solutions
Refining Live Audio Technique
Saturday, June 03, 2006
Eoghan Heaslip
This might sound a little strange but I've had a song running through my head like crazy the past few weeks and I can't seem to get it out of there. I haven't even heard it or played it for 2 years now...odd. Ever had that happen? Well needless to say, I started to hum out the lyrics of the tune and found them to be very encouraging. The song is by Irish based worship leader/song writer Eoghan Heaslip (pronounced Owen Heslip). I first came across his music a few years back - he got some great writing and creativity. Like I said, the lyrics to "Gathering Song" have been marching through my mind contstantly... check them out - I hope they encourage you today:
As we gather, here together in Your presence*sample
As Your people, we acknowledge and remember
The works of Your hands, Your purpose and plan
Your Word through the ages
Like an anchor for all times, as one we sing:
He who has promised will be faithful
He who has promised will be true
He who has begun a good work will complete it
Oh Lord, all our hope is found in You
*chart
Saturday, May 20, 2006
Taylor T5 Thinline Fiveway
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Building A Stratocaster
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Guitars and Humidity
Thursday, April 06, 2006
David Gilmour - On An Island
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
Josh Ritter
Josh Ritter's The Animal Years is the kind of breakthrough effort that will cause listeners new to the 29 year-old singer -songwriter's work to wonder where this guy has been all their lives - and prompt his passionate fan base to just say, well, we told you so. Following the independent release of The Golden Age of Radio (2002) and Hello Starling (2003), Ritter was championed by critics in publications ranging from the New York Times to Details Magazine, hailed by fellow artists who shared stages with him, and name-checked by anyone who happened to catch him on tour during the years he doggedly worked the road. The music-savvy citizens of the Republic of Ireland christened him a major star well before anyone in the states even knew he had a record out. On The Animal Years, his V2 Records debut, Ritter more than lives up to the buzz. He embraces the topical while reaching for the timeless, resulting in an album that's firmly rooted in right now but guaranteed to resonate for years to come.via
Eric Clapton's Gibson ES-335
Saturday, April 01, 2006
PRS has done it again!
Back in April of last year I blogged on the incredible PRS 513 Rosewood model and it's unreal capabilities. The 513 just won the award for "Best Electric Guitar of the Year." Here's a snip from the article I read:
The award was presented to the company lastnight at an awards ceremony held in Frankfurt, Germany.
This marks the second consecutive year PRS has won the prestigious award, making it the only guitar manufacturer to win the award twice. The awards ceremony began seven years ago.
The voting panel included editors and journalists of 58 publications from around the world.
"In my opinion, it shows that the international press not only rewarded our unique level of quality and attention to detail but also awarded PRS' quest for innovation and further improvements in the guitar market, which in the end, benefit all guitar players," said Peter Wolf, director of sales and marketing in a statement.
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Mercy Train
As for upcoming guitar tones and stuff to expect: Matt and I are looking foreward to tracking some guitars using the MesaBoogie Lonestar (check out my previous post about auditioning this amp - it's UNREAL). We're also hoping to bring back the MesaBoogie Tremoverb for sure...maybe even someone's very incredible Diezel VH4????...eh Nathan? (hehe). Keep ya posted. ;)
Friday, February 03, 2006
Finally...
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Greatest Guitar Solo's Of All Time?
1. Stairway to heaven - Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin)
2. Eruption - Eddie Van Halen (Van Halen)
3. Freebird - Allen Collins and Gary Rossington (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
4. Comfortably numb - David Gilmour (Pink Floyd)
5. All along the watchtower - Jimi Hendrix
6. November rain - Slash (Guns N' Roses)
7. One - Kirk Hammett (Metallica)
8. Hotel California - Don Felder and Joe Walsh (The Eagles)
9. Crazy Train - Randy Rhoads (Ozzy Osbourne)
10. Crossroads - Eric Clapton (Cream)
Monday, January 02, 2006
Just Stop And Think...
Thursday, December 29, 2005
Brian Setzer Orchestra
Saturday, December 24, 2005
Monday, December 19, 2005
Year In Review
Hey, it's not guitar related, but, it's always good to reflect on all things past, toast a weiner on the fire while watching the year end round up! Sure glad I wasn't walkin' in his shoes this year!
Mr. Fastfinger
If you haven't already entered the sanctum of Mr. Fastfinger, you should - great shred show - very funny.
Monday, December 12, 2005
Something's Missing
Cause then I'd know, I was down because
I couldn't find, a friend around
To love me like, they do right now.
They do right now.
I'm dizzy from the shopping malls
I searched for joy, but I bought it all
It doesn't help the hunger pains
and a thirst I'd have to drown first to ever satiate
Something's missing
And I don't know how to fix it
something's missing
And I don't know what it is
At all
When autumn comes, it doesnt ask.
It just walks in, where it left you last.
And you never know, when it starts
Until there's fog inside the glass around your summer heart:
Something's missing
And I don't know how to fix it
something's missing
And I don't know what it is
At all
I can't be sure that this state of mind, is not of my own design
I wish there was an over the counter test, for loneliness.
For loneliness like this.
Something's missing
And I don't know how to fix it
Something's missing
And I don't know what it is
No I don't know what it is
Something's different
And i don't know what it is
No I don't know what it is
Friends -check-
Money -check-
A well slept -check-
Opposite sex -check-
Guitar -check-
Microphone -check-
Messages waiting for me, when i come home -check-
How come everything I think I need, always comes with batteries
What do you think it means
How come everything I think I need, always comes with batteries
What do you think it means
Friday, December 02, 2005
The AGS
Playing air guitar is like playing rock guitar, only without the guitar or any musical skills. It is a wild show, it is letting go, it is the essence of the rock attitude. But up until now, air guitarists have been limited to playing along existing music.
The Virtual Air Guitar changes all this. It is an entertainment device that you can learn to use instantly - no musical skills required. Just wear the orange gloves and play. The guitar does not merely respond - you are actually playing it. It's a new way of experiencing music. Read more...
If you feel so inclinded so actually watch video footage of these things in action, click here..lol. Oh man...
Saturday, November 26, 2005
On finding that tone....
One of the cheapest and easiest ways to tinker with your guitar sound is to experiment with different sizes and gauges of picks. Using a very thin pick produces a sound drastically different than using a heavy one. Many jazz guitarists tend to favour using heavy picks (1.5 or 2 millimeters) because it tends to thicken and darken up their sound somewhat. Thinner gauged picks tend to give guitarist's a brighter sound, although it tends to produce tone with a shade less depth (I personally can't stand really thin picks, but some people swear by them, as they feel it gives them much more speed). When choosing picks, be sure they are well-made, and the edges of the pick aren't unintentionally rough, as this can interfere with your ability to play notes cleanly. I have found Jim Dunlop picks to be of excellent quality, but there are many excellent brands of guitar picks available.
Matt, my fellow guitar player in MT, introduced me to these pics back in the summer time. They have definitely changed my approach to playing for sure. I used to float between using a 0.38mm and 0.60mm pic..i know... so many guys think I'm nuts but they work well for my style of rhythm playing. Tip: if you are using a thin pic like .38 use a single-holepunch and put a hole in the middle - you will rarely ever drop it!
Another easy way to alter your sound is via experimenting with different string gauges. A guitar strung with extra light gauge strings will sound completely different than the same guitar strung with medium or heavy gauge strings. The String Anatomy 101 website offers explanations of different types of strings. For links to various string manufacturer's websites, as well as online guitar string retailers, visit the guitar string links page on this site. (It should be noted that changing string gauges on a guitar generally neccesitates an intonation adjustment. You can learn more about how to do this by reading the Intonation FAQ.)
Yup - there's no question about this one. Thicker strings give better tone. I also migrated to a thicker string back in the summer. I was using 9's and moved up to 11's - it was a little too far - felt like I was playing with copper tubing on my fretboard - lol... so I went back down to middle ground with 10's and have been there ever since. 10's give enough flexibility without compromising the thick tone for the dirty stuff.
viaMaking little adjustments to your guitar's setup, such as clamping down floating bridges, or adjusting pickup height, can also make a world of difference in the sound your guitar produces. If you own a Stratocaster, the Strat Tips website offers some great tips on how to go about making these adjustments, and what the "optimal" settings are. You'll find a ton of other ideas for tweaking your axe in the Guitar Repair Archive.
If none of the above procedures offer a tonal solution drastic enough for you, you can always consider replacing a pickup or two. The problem is, there are hundreds of electric guitar pickups on the market, and it's hard to guess what a pickup will sound like in your guitar until you've already bought it and put it in. The Harmony Central site offers an excellent resource; the Electric Guitar Pickup Database, a collection of reviews by guitarists, on specific pickups. The archive is huge, and chances are, you'll find at least several reviews of the pickup you're considering for purchase.
Sometimes, the best way to go about finding a sound that is right for you is to emulate someone else's guitar sound, and then, over time, make adjustments to it. Use the archive of famous guitarist guitar set-ups on this site to experiment with other guitarist's sounds, and try to evaluate what you do and don't like about each.
This should get you off to a great start in re-examining the sound you're getting out of your guitar. Remember - much of your guitar tone comes not from the guitar itself, but from the fingers in your fretting hand, and in the way you strike the strings with your pick. Adjusting the amount of pressure you're exerting, the type of vibrato you're using, the part of your finger that comes into contact with the string, etc., can affect your guitar tone almost as much, if not more, than any of the above suggestions. Good luck, and happy picking!
Thursday, November 17, 2005
Empty Heart...
Purpose:
To Create a series of recordings to blend contemporary music with compelling information about the gospel of Jesus Christ.
To provide an affordable, yet powerful tool for Christians to share their faith with family, friends, co-workers, and others.
Empty Heart cd's are available in a range of different musical styles, from Gospel to Jazz to Rhythm and Blues, to Light Rock. The Empty Heart series will continue to grow in multiple styles and languages... provies indiviaual Christians a new and dynamic way for Christains to share thier faith.
Please check out more on the Empty Heart series website... it's just a great idea.
Monday, November 14, 2005
Something special....
Got home late Sunday night from spending a weekend with a great bunch of guys and gals.
We left London around 11:00am on Friday to play a number of worship sets up at mbc during feb's jr.high youth bedlam event that ran until Sunday. To some it up: we had a fantastic time of practicing, playing, leading, and hanging out with sooo many kids... I had lost my voice on the Friday - not due to strenuous vocal activity but was the after fx of the flu I had the week before. Anyway, I litterally couldn't say a word all weekend... no singing... no laughing.... no talking. It was really frustrating at first but soon realized the importance of just being a part of a team without opening my big yap all the time. I realized the importance of listening well to other people - something I'm learning is so important on any team. Interesting: I was thinking to myself on the ride home in the van (cause I coulnd't talk yet LOL) about some of my fav. sports leaders and how little they say in the heat of the battle during games...hmmm... just made me think about the importance of 'taming the tongue' I suppose - a great weekend for me.
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Rock on...
- Each performance is played to one minute (60 seconds) of a song chosen by the performer or the event organizers
- The 60 seconds can start anywhere in the song
- The instrument must be invisible and must be a guitar, i.e. air drums are not permitted but air bass is permitted
- Personal air roadies are allowed, but they must leave the stage before the performance begins
- Back-up bands (air or real) are not allowedThe US regional heats will each consist of two rounds:
- Round 1: each competitor performs to a song of their own choosing
- Round 2: the top five from round 1 perform to a surprise obligatory song selected by the organizers
- The first round is performed to music selected by the contestants themselves
- The obligatory song is the same for every contestant contestants will all hear the song before going on stage.
rules via
Check out these video clips - wanring: ur gonna laugh yerslef till ya pee!
Friday, November 04, 2005
Gibson's Guitar Hero (part II)
Guitar Hero, which will come packaged with a special guitar-shaped controller, challenges wannabe rock stars to thrash to some of rock's most classic tunes. Like in dancing rhythm games, a sequencer will show gamers which frets to play and when to strum. The better the score, the more the cyber-crowd will rock out and the closer gamers will come to being a legend.
lol... the game also has a cool list of tunes by some very big bands - these tunes are, of course, not covers but have been customed for the game itself. A partial list of the in-game songs include (via):
-- Red Hot Chili Peppers - Higher Ground
-- Boston - More Than a Feeling
-- Megadeth - Symphony of Destruction
-- The Donnas - Take it Off
-- Jimi Hendrix - Spanish Castle Magic
-- ZZ Top - Sharp Dressed Man
-- Black Sabbath - Iron Man
-- White Zombie - Thunderkiss 65
-- Queens of the Stone Age - No One Knows
-- David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust
-- The Ramones - I Wanna Be Sedated
-- Franz Ferdinand - Take Me Out
-- Deep Purple - Smoke on the Water
-- Cream - Crossroads
-- Sum 41 - Fat Lip
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
The Gui-tarlet - custom crapper!
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Cool Guitar
via
It has recently come to light that this unbelievable one of a kind piece of art was handmade as a tribute and present for Yngwie Malmsteen!
This guitar was displayed at the NAMM show a few years ago, Ed saw it there, and having a penchant for odd guitars took photos of it at that time. There the story of this unique instrument takes an odd twist. The guitar was then sent to Miami for Yngwie, but It was never claimed. Because it was not claimed (for whatever strange reason, possibly he was on tour), it was impounded and then bought at a very dear price at auction.
The new owner contacted Ed a couple of years ago to sell the guitar. He described the guitar to Ed. When Ed told him he had a picture of it on the website already he was quite surprised and immediately knew that Ed would be the right person to sell this fine one of a kind collectors dream instrument !
ps - anyone else got a cool guitar pic on the net somewhere send the linx - would be cool to check out.
Saturday, October 22, 2005
Gibson's Guitar Hero
Sunnyvale, Calif., August 30, 2005 – RedOctane®, a leading creator of music video games and peripherals, has announced an exclusive deal with musical giant Gibson Guitar where several famous Gibson models will be featured in the new game Guitar Hero™, the highly anticipated rock'en roll guitar video game coming in the fall of 2005 to the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system.
"Gibson guitars are an essential American rock element revered by musical artists worldwide for their incredible style and amazing sound." said Kai Huang, CEO of RedOctane. "This is the first time a guitar manufacturer has been exclusively featured in a video game, and we're excited to be working with such an iconic company."
"Gibson Guitar is the perfect partner for this high energy game from RedOctane," said Henry Juszkiewicz, Chairman and CEO Gibson Guitar. "Gibson is every Guitar Hero's instrument of choice and now they can have it in a rock-n-roll simulation game too."
Guitar Hero, developed by veteran music video game creator Harmonix®, combines the best of rhythm game action with classic American music. The game puts you at center stage of your very own rock band, featuring unique characters, a selection of Gibson electric guitars to play and concert venues that grow in size as your music career progress. The title includes over 30 licensed rock songs including tracks originally made famous by such artists as Ozzy Osbourne, David Bowie, Boston, Sum 41, Audioslave, White Zombie, Franz Ferdinand, and The Ramones.
"Seeing Gibson guitars in the game adds a sense of realism to Guitar Hero, that we feel will really appeal to rock fans." said John Tam, game producer of Guitar Hero. "The game is going to feature a number of legendary Gibson guitars, and players will be able to choose from a number of different paint schemes for each."
The game has been met with rave reviews in the gaming community, winning "Best of Show 2005h at the Electronics Entertainment Expo (E3) and was one of twenty-five games invited to demonstrate at "G-Phoria" – G4 videogame TV's annual award show in Los Angeles.
Check out the video trailer - lol.
Thursday, October 20, 2005
Lonestar.... a beatiful thing!
I've been puting lots of thought into the fact that huge amp stacks put out way too much wattage for my liking - i doubt i'd ever turn the master above 1 or 2. I wanted to see if I could really get an amp to sound great on its clean and dirty channels while pushing it to its middle range pot settings - maybe take a 30 - 50 watt amp and push it and see what i can do instead of going huge triple rectifier head and only using 1/16 of its capabilities - u get the picture. btw: whoever is making reverbs at the factory to put into these amps: stop making them suck! Sheesh. To this day I have yet to find an amp that's got a "great" reverb sound. If anyone out there could convince me pleeeease let me know.
- Check out the official specs of MesaBoogie Lonestar Special here.
- Harmony Central Review for the Mesa Boogie Lonestar Special head/cab here.
- Just for fun, click here.
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
McPherson
Sunday, October 09, 2005
bgv session
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
finally -bit of home recording -- guitar -- as promised
Just the into,
please omit the mistakes (o: and the clipping,
Intro cherub rock
btw Andy thanks for the putfile website I had not heard of it before.
the setup
Les Paul Custom w/ JB in the bridge
Diezel VH4--> Mesa 4x12 traditional w/v30's
Shure SM-57
Mackie 1402 VLZ
M-Audio Delta44
Cubase
3 tracks of guitar
NB
Monday, August 15, 2005
'65 Fender Deluxe Reverb Reissue
Been a while....
So much has happened since we last spoke. Not too long after my last post in May I was asked to play guitar/vocals for a very cool emerging christian band called Mercy Train. Jamie Prokop, son of Lighthouse great Skip Prokop, is fronting the band and all I can say is that God has His hand on this group. I prayed about the opportunity and within two weeks was sitting in a studio waiting for my first attack on the songs. The rest is history. There is something special about this music. I've never played anything quite like it before. I can't wait until this thing is done.
The first cd that is being released is a 6 song sampler for distribution that should be complete by October. We'll be adding 6 more songs to complete a full cd project by about March of 2006. Oh yeah, got tons of guitar tone stories to tell about the studio work hehehe...
Sunday, May 08, 2005
Fantastic, that's for Shure!
Sunday, May 01, 2005
Edward Van Halen
Here is a very interestnig article on the legendary EVH tone. It always seems to be a hot topic in which discussion leads nowhere.....I think a large portion of it is in his fingers. I believe it was Ted Nugent who played through EVH's rig and noticed he still sounded nothing like Eddie.
I think this series of articles and email conversation contains some very interesting ideas.*
***DISCLAIMER*** THE WRITER WILL NOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR GENERAL ANTS-IN-THE-PANTS OR NUMB BUTTOX UPON READING( this suckah is loooooong!)
Here is an interesting thought i just read, not on the topic of guitars at all. I think Billy Graham hit the nail on the head.
Today our young people are asking for direction and perspective. They are looking for models to follow, for patterns of purpose.They are like rows of beautiful new automobiles, perfect in every detail but with no gasoline in the tanks. The exteriors are fine, but there's nothing inside to give them power. And so they just sit and rust -- with boredom.
This was taken from Billy Graham's "Peace With God" from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library.
I'm sure any member of this blog cannot count how many people they have known that fit this exact description. This is an older book (I assume '80s), but this chapter is more relevant now than ever. The relevance is even stronger because many of my peers are reaching an epiphany. Soon we all have to close a chapter in our lives and move on from the all-to-prolific halls of secondary school. Everyone is searching now, turning to one empty thing or another, but for most the search is fruitless. I believe many are still awaiting a "near-life" experience...to realize a relationship with their Creator.
Saturday, April 23, 2005
First Day Recording!
I used a mesa/boogie dual rectifier tremoverb mic'ed with a 57, approximately one inch away from the center of the speaker, and a Soundelux U195 approximately one foot away from the center of the amp.(<---that's for you Nathan =] ) My POD 2.0 was used direct on a few tracks for it's automatic volume swell. I know nothing about mic'ing guitars, but I really like Richard's way, it sounds fantastic. You can't argue with results, lol.
I went right into the amp from my wolfgang, and it sounded smoking! I was extremely pleased with the tones I was able to achieve. Between Skip and Richard, the control room was smokin' hot with good ideas that made their way onto the tracks.
Saturday, April 16, 2005
Dare You To Move
PS... dare you to move.
Friday, April 15, 2005
Crappy Monitors
Anyways.
I placed the 2 units stacked on top of eachother on top of a small stool, sat on the floor, and began tweaking. I couldn't get around how muddy it was...so i sat there for an hour trying to coax even *a little bit* of tone out of it, no luck. I was only coming through one monitor strongly, but later when I walked around the stage i heard a very faint signal coming out of another monitor, and it sounded about a million and four times better....Clayton had warned me that the monitor i was using wasn't great, but i didn't think it would make a huge difference. He said i could try listening through various monitors before he left, but i couldn't figure out which channel my guitar was going into as nothing is labelled :S
So i ended up unplugging clayton's direct box that he leaves on stage, and using the XLR cable for his channel, because i knew it would come through all of the monitors. WHAT A DIFFERENCE!! I had a cool tone dialed in seconds....and then i rocked out solitaire-style for like an hour.
So for months i have been severely disappointed in the tones i've been using, and all this time it was those crappy monitors (there is two of them, they are some make i have never heard of) that have been throwing me off. The whole time i was compensating for a very muffled sounding monitor, I can just imagine what it sounded like in mains. This monitor doesn't sound anything like the mains...or even the other monitors. Hahaha...Oh well =D. Word on the street is we're going in-ear soon anyways.