So I've already rambled, & ranted, about the concept of signature series guitar & amp models. And the new Fender replica of EVH's Frakenstrat for a whopping $25,000 just makes you go...why? Only collectors will buy them & they'll just sit in display cases or hang on walls which is fine as art is art eh? So I started poking around to see if someone provides EVH looking kit guitars one could build for themselves or if someone sold a clone that looked cool & sounded decent but not necessarily how EVH sounds. Stumbled upon this one site that I find very interesting & intriguing...
First there is the products available...drool
http://www.meanstreetguitars.com/Mean%20Guitars.htm
Then there's stripey heaven...
http://www.meanstreetguitars.com/Mean_Street_Guitars_Unchained_5150_glossy_TC.jpg
Then there's the possibility of these...drool again...
http://www.meanstreetguitars.com/exile_guitars.htm
Then there's the interesting realm of building Exile for fun...If nothing else it's something the boys could kick around with.
http://www.axcessories.com/proddetail.asp?prod=ExileKit
Impressive collection:
http://www.meanstreetguitars.com/Jorges_guitars.jpg
But then I like the Stripey flame look...
http://www.meanstreetguitars.com/Mean_Street_Guitars_Evil_Rat_Jorge.jpg
Now a required exercise for the reader, that's you, is to pick a model & color scheme that you would go with & share your choice & why. The writer of this read, that's me, cannot help you make your choice. Assume that the testimonials are true & accurate & that the positive reviews on Harmony Central are true & accurate.
Till later comes...turn it up to affordable cool.
Monday, January 29, 2007
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Amalgam o' stuff
So now in third week of the year and it's now time for an amalgam of stuffs...
Language - So outside one store near the boys' school is a sign on which words are placed. The words on the sign a bit ago were congrating a couple on their new baby & the sign said "It's a boy." I didn't think much of it but my wandering mind got stuck on that simple phrase commonly used to announce a birth. I got to thinking about the use of "It's" in that saying. It? It what? It who? Of course It refers to the baby. Isn't the baby a he or she? So why not "He's a boy!" or "She's a girl!" But that's redundant....Wouldn't want someone to end up writing "He's a girl!" or "She's a boy!" How about "The baby' s a boy!" or "The baby's a girl!" "It's..." ugh.
Service dogs - Terra's mom has trained her personal dog, a bouvier, to be her guide dog as mom is blind. Bouvier's are unique & I never even knew about them until meeting Terra. Anyway...It never fails that whenever she goes out-no people don't shout "John Jacob Jingle Heimer Schmidt"- People always want to know about Hanna, the dog. Rule 1 is don't touch a service dog who is working. Rule 2 is how about you don't touch the dog at all. People ask mom a lot what kind of dog it is. I told her she should reply with "The kind that has fur & barks." Mom is always having to tell people, even though Hanna does have clear & visible signs that say don't touch her, to not touch her dog. I told her she should say to such people, "Do I walk up to you & poke you in the eyes? Well don't touch my eyes who happens to be Hanna!"
Weather - Yup it's cold. What else is new? Sheez. Go away cold, we need the rain. On our trip to Irvine this last weekend down the always & ever exciting I5 we saw citrus trees bare & some even covered with a thick layer of ice.
American Idol - Seatlle episode was pathetic. I never really like watching the show anyways but Terra was watching it the other night. Friends shouldn't let friends audition if they can't sing. If these people would just pause, & have someone taking a video clip of them doing their bit, they would be spared the public scrutiny of Simon & all.
Audio from DVD - Almost a why bother process. First, DVD technology is one of those great creations we get to enjoy. But we haven't tried to get anything for portability for the car for long trips yet. Doesn't mean we won't in the future. Anyway for our trip to So. Cal. I decided to use some available tools to grab the audio off of the Star Wars episodes 1-3 DVDs & them put the audio into mono .mp3 format. What a slow process that was. First gotta extract the audio in AC3 format, then gotta use another tool to convert the AC3 to .WAV format but does the tool actually produce mono even when selected in the UI? No. So then gotta load it all up in Audacity & convert to mono, compress & normalize-a step I forgot to do which made the quiet parts hard to hear, then spend a bit of time breaking the audio up into 30 minute chunks. Then there's the use of lame to create the .mp3. Shoulda just bought a portable DVD in the first place. laff. I did enjoy trying to follow along the story in me mind though. I think the boys enjoyed it as well.
Cloning musicians - I remember a few months ago checking out a video clip of a EVH look alike playing Cathedral. I was impressed for I hadn't even tried to play it yet. First feedback comment from someone was basically "Gotta play it faster." In my own practice of the thing with a metronome, I realized early on that a) I couldn't play as fast as Eddie does & b) I didn't have to play it that fast. Who cares if it's not as fast as EVH. First, Eddie has unusually long fingers. Second, he generally can out play anyone speed wise. Third, Eddie purposely wanted to make it hard for cats to copy him. Is the fun in trying to be exactly like the musician you are trying to clone or is the fun in playing something at a pace that works for you & brings you to your happy place? So right now my tempo is based upon a fixed & unchangeable delay value built into my amp. And I walk in the snow 20 miles uphill both ways while playing it & I like it that way. So until I dig out my Qverb 2 from the land down under in the garage, the tempo is what it will be with my own twists on the tune...Soon to be demonstrated in some form or another...
Welp that is the clutter of me ramblings for this now.
Language - So outside one store near the boys' school is a sign on which words are placed. The words on the sign a bit ago were congrating a couple on their new baby & the sign said "It's a boy." I didn't think much of it but my wandering mind got stuck on that simple phrase commonly used to announce a birth. I got to thinking about the use of "It's" in that saying. It? It what? It who? Of course It refers to the baby. Isn't the baby a he or she? So why not "He's a boy!" or "She's a girl!" But that's redundant....Wouldn't want someone to end up writing "He's a girl!" or "She's a boy!" How about "The baby' s a boy!" or "The baby's a girl!" "It's..." ugh.
Service dogs - Terra's mom has trained her personal dog, a bouvier, to be her guide dog as mom is blind. Bouvier's are unique & I never even knew about them until meeting Terra. Anyway...It never fails that whenever she goes out-no people don't shout "John Jacob Jingle Heimer Schmidt"- People always want to know about Hanna, the dog. Rule 1 is don't touch a service dog who is working. Rule 2 is how about you don't touch the dog at all. People ask mom a lot what kind of dog it is. I told her she should reply with "The kind that has fur & barks." Mom is always having to tell people, even though Hanna does have clear & visible signs that say don't touch her, to not touch her dog. I told her she should say to such people, "Do I walk up to you & poke you in the eyes? Well don't touch my eyes who happens to be Hanna!"
Weather - Yup it's cold. What else is new? Sheez. Go away cold, we need the rain. On our trip to Irvine this last weekend down the always & ever exciting I5 we saw citrus trees bare & some even covered with a thick layer of ice.
American Idol - Seatlle episode was pathetic. I never really like watching the show anyways but Terra was watching it the other night. Friends shouldn't let friends audition if they can't sing. If these people would just pause, & have someone taking a video clip of them doing their bit, they would be spared the public scrutiny of Simon & all.
Audio from DVD - Almost a why bother process. First, DVD technology is one of those great creations we get to enjoy. But we haven't tried to get anything for portability for the car for long trips yet. Doesn't mean we won't in the future. Anyway for our trip to So. Cal. I decided to use some available tools to grab the audio off of the Star Wars episodes 1-3 DVDs & them put the audio into mono .mp3 format. What a slow process that was. First gotta extract the audio in AC3 format, then gotta use another tool to convert the AC3 to .WAV format but does the tool actually produce mono even when selected in the UI? No. So then gotta load it all up in Audacity & convert to mono, compress & normalize-a step I forgot to do which made the quiet parts hard to hear, then spend a bit of time breaking the audio up into 30 minute chunks. Then there's the use of lame to create the .mp3. Shoulda just bought a portable DVD in the first place. laff. I did enjoy trying to follow along the story in me mind though. I think the boys enjoyed it as well.
Cloning musicians - I remember a few months ago checking out a video clip of a EVH look alike playing Cathedral. I was impressed for I hadn't even tried to play it yet. First feedback comment from someone was basically "Gotta play it faster." In my own practice of the thing with a metronome, I realized early on that a) I couldn't play as fast as Eddie does & b) I didn't have to play it that fast. Who cares if it's not as fast as EVH. First, Eddie has unusually long fingers. Second, he generally can out play anyone speed wise. Third, Eddie purposely wanted to make it hard for cats to copy him. Is the fun in trying to be exactly like the musician you are trying to clone or is the fun in playing something at a pace that works for you & brings you to your happy place? So right now my tempo is based upon a fixed & unchangeable delay value built into my amp. And I walk in the snow 20 miles uphill both ways while playing it & I like it that way. So until I dig out my Qverb 2 from the land down under in the garage, the tempo is what it will be with my own twists on the tune...Soon to be demonstrated in some form or another...
Welp that is the clutter of me ramblings for this now.
Friday, December 29, 2006
Non-week
T'was the blahs during the holiday non-week
Where many are off to be lazy & stay off of their feet
We find ourselves munching & snacking on the many treats
And we drink up some coffee whilst sitting on our seats
Taking a nap here & having a yawn over there; ahh those moments of sleep
And occasionally turnin on the metronome & doing a guitar whatever to the beat
The boys play & do stuff together with all their things that go beep & bleep
Many thoughts pass by which stem from the the mysteries of the grey matter deep
Oh look at that them over there, those silly dishes piled up in a heap
I'll get to them whenever, when there's a greater need
It's definitely nice to not have to tend to a yard & pull any weeds
However, a good dose of the blahs & boredom set in as I exist & be
Don't want to ride up nor climb anything that is steep
Don't wanna go 4 wheelin' for I do not have access to a jeep
Don't wanna get in the saddle & ride upon a great steed
Don't wanna pick up a book & give it a read
Not quite sure what to do with the time I have that is free (1)
There's myriads of house things one could do but those aren't motivating deeds
And I could venture out with the littles & journey to the parks & along the streets
In the blahs & the rest I find that I don't have much adventurous energy
And I seem content to just be with the boys & watch their video games & movies on the t.v.
I guess it's the one week of the year I get to sit & drool & be a lazy dweeb
So have a good now, day, & new year, & may the harvest in 2007 be rich for you...indeed
(1) Sort of free as being with tornado boys does take oophum.
Where many are off to be lazy & stay off of their feet
We find ourselves munching & snacking on the many treats
And we drink up some coffee whilst sitting on our seats
Taking a nap here & having a yawn over there; ahh those moments of sleep
And occasionally turnin on the metronome & doing a guitar whatever to the beat
The boys play & do stuff together with all their things that go beep & bleep
Many thoughts pass by which stem from the the mysteries of the grey matter deep
Oh look at that them over there, those silly dishes piled up in a heap
I'll get to them whenever, when there's a greater need
It's definitely nice to not have to tend to a yard & pull any weeds
However, a good dose of the blahs & boredom set in as I exist & be
Don't want to ride up nor climb anything that is steep
Don't wanna go 4 wheelin' for I do not have access to a jeep
Don't wanna get in the saddle & ride upon a great steed
Don't wanna pick up a book & give it a read
Not quite sure what to do with the time I have that is free (1)
There's myriads of house things one could do but those aren't motivating deeds
And I could venture out with the littles & journey to the parks & along the streets
In the blahs & the rest I find that I don't have much adventurous energy
And I seem content to just be with the boys & watch their video games & movies on the t.v.
I guess it's the one week of the year I get to sit & drool & be a lazy dweeb
So have a good now, day, & new year, & may the harvest in 2007 be rich for you...indeed
(1) Sort of free as being with tornado boys does take oophum.
Monday, December 25, 2006
T'was...
T'was the night of the day of Christmas & all through the house
Mamma, the head Claus, snoring & boyzages watchin' a wind down movie on the couch
Too much food in our bellies & the food continues to tempt & call out
Yet another successful holiday journey for the family with no grumpies & not one downer grouch
I think upon the many years such traditions our parents have upheld
And all those "I won't eat for a week" statements as the elders loosened their belts
I'm thankful that all of our kin are healthy & appear to be doing fair to well
My thoughts, however, quickly turn upon troops in hot zones & battling what seems to be hell
May they all be protected & safe from all the bombings & may the source of all such darkness sit in prison cells
Why I'm sitting here rambling instead of just staring at the drool tube I just don't know
But I bid you a merry happy peaceful night for I must vegitate & with the boys & watch "The Barnyard" show
So yes it is time that I stop writing & it is the time that I must go
Knock knock he says to ya'all
"Who's there?" ya'all say back to me
I say "Ho ho"
And all say....well come on then humor me...."Ho ho Who?"
No it's Ho ho ho
And he tries again by saying Knock knock
"Who's there?" yer required to say to me
I say "Who who"
And all say.......And all say......"Who who who?"
Again he replies, ya just don't get it, it's Ho ho ho
Well right then ok uhm whew...
Mamma, the head Claus, snoring & boyzages watchin' a wind down movie on the couch
Too much food in our bellies & the food continues to tempt & call out
Yet another successful holiday journey for the family with no grumpies & not one downer grouch
I think upon the many years such traditions our parents have upheld
And all those "I won't eat for a week" statements as the elders loosened their belts
I'm thankful that all of our kin are healthy & appear to be doing fair to well
My thoughts, however, quickly turn upon troops in hot zones & battling what seems to be hell
May they all be protected & safe from all the bombings & may the source of all such darkness sit in prison cells
Why I'm sitting here rambling instead of just staring at the drool tube I just don't know
But I bid you a merry happy peaceful night for I must vegitate & with the boys & watch "The Barnyard" show
So yes it is time that I stop writing & it is the time that I must go
Knock knock he says to ya'all
"Who's there?" ya'all say back to me
I say "Ho ho"
And all say....well come on then humor me...."Ho ho Who?"
No it's Ho ho ho
And he tries again by saying Knock knock
"Who's there?" yer required to say to me
I say "Who who"
And all say.......And all say......"Who who who?"
Again he replies, ya just don't get it, it's Ho ho ho
Well right then ok uhm whew...
Sunday, December 24, 2006
iHoliday Parodies
(To the tune of let it snow)
Oh the traffic outside is frightful
The people in the stores are so happy & delightful
Let us shop, let us shop, let us shop
(Tune of Jingle Bells)
1) Dashing through the stores
On their tired & weary legs
Gotta buy & buy some more
What am I gonna get aunt Peg?
Registers go beeeeeeep
Many lacking sleep
They look so darn happy
While they're grinding teeth
Oh...
2) Gotta shop
Gotta shop
Gotta get something for pop
What am I
Going to find
For me dear ol' ma
3) Am I done with my list?
Have I checked it over thrice?
Have the kids been naughty?
Or have they really been nice?
It's that special time
Where parents are tired & fried
Gotta wrap & wrap all the stuff
So the gifts'll be piled high
Oh...
4) Can I sleep?
Can I sleep?
Cocktail genie send a drink
I'm going nuts
I'm about to freak
Please someone send a shrink
Oh the traffic outside is frightful
The people in the stores are so happy & delightful
Let us shop, let us shop, let us shop
(Tune of Jingle Bells)
1) Dashing through the stores
On their tired & weary legs
Gotta buy & buy some more
What am I gonna get aunt Peg?
Registers go beeeeeeep
Many lacking sleep
They look so darn happy
While they're grinding teeth
Oh...
2) Gotta shop
Gotta shop
Gotta get something for pop
What am I
Going to find
For me dear ol' ma
3) Am I done with my list?
Have I checked it over thrice?
Have the kids been naughty?
Or have they really been nice?
It's that special time
Where parents are tired & fried
Gotta wrap & wrap all the stuff
So the gifts'll be piled high
Oh...
4) Can I sleep?
Can I sleep?
Cocktail genie send a drink
I'm going nuts
I'm about to freak
Please someone send a shrink
Friday, December 22, 2006
iHeads up...
T'was the today of the present now
Had to get a work something done on a company day off...ow
Then he spent some time in quiet restin' on the couch
Me turned on the tele & watched the Shuttle landing...it was a bit of wow
For the news showed the pilot's heads up display & the little target box bouncin' around
I felt like I was watching a video game & the computer path was flown perfect & how
T'is always a good feeling to see the flying brick make it's landing touchdown
I've always marvelled at the Shuttle & the infinite complexities of a mission up & then back to the ground
Welp I continue on in this night in my holiday journey of rest & becomming unwound
It was very interesting to watch this little computer controlled flight path box move around the heads up display & the pilot just navigated by making sure his little round indicator was in the flight path box. I didn't even know they had a heads up thing in the Shuttle. Welp now I know. And I'm sure it's a nerve wrenching flight path to navigate. I think I tuned in when it was going about 1700 mph & 60 something miles out.
Had to get a work something done on a company day off...ow
Then he spent some time in quiet restin' on the couch
Me turned on the tele & watched the Shuttle landing...it was a bit of wow
For the news showed the pilot's heads up display & the little target box bouncin' around
I felt like I was watching a video game & the computer path was flown perfect & how
T'is always a good feeling to see the flying brick make it's landing touchdown
I've always marvelled at the Shuttle & the infinite complexities of a mission up & then back to the ground
Welp I continue on in this night in my holiday journey of rest & becomming unwound
It was very interesting to watch this little computer controlled flight path box move around the heads up display & the pilot just navigated by making sure his little round indicator was in the flight path box. I didn't even know they had a heads up thing in the Shuttle. Welp now I know. And I'm sure it's a nerve wrenching flight path to navigate. I think I tuned in when it was going about 1700 mph & 60 something miles out.
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
T'was the now...
T'was the now before the moments forth coming
As he continues his journey in his becomming
Shocked out of sleep with his alarm clock blaring & rumbling
"I don't wanna" he says to himself whilst grumbling
For the covers were nice, warm, & comfy
And outside the temperatures are plummeting
That first blast of morning air can be quite numbing
Teeth chattering in the pattern of random drumming
Come on car get hot so the heater can do its pumping
The refreshing thaw begins as he continues on in his daily something
So yeah, right then, ok, this is yet another whatever kind of rambling
And it's just basically a bunch of silliness & some babbling
So that now it for is in this uhm...thing
As he continues his journey in his becomming
Shocked out of sleep with his alarm clock blaring & rumbling
"I don't wanna" he says to himself whilst grumbling
For the covers were nice, warm, & comfy
And outside the temperatures are plummeting
That first blast of morning air can be quite numbing
Teeth chattering in the pattern of random drumming
Come on car get hot so the heater can do its pumping
The refreshing thaw begins as he continues on in his daily something
So yeah, right then, ok, this is yet another whatever kind of rambling
And it's just basically a bunch of silliness & some babbling
So that now it for is in this uhm...thing
Monday, December 18, 2006
iSniffles & Coughffles
T'was the third weekday in a row & all through the house
He's stayed home to care for various sickly ones who aren't so full of bounce
Sniffles & coughffles & little drummer boy ear infections did so pounce
Thankful for the rest but boredom sets in easily & the blahs weigh upon him, more than an ounce
Oh he could tend to the myriads of chores that are just too many to count
Or he could play a rousing round of Diner Dash & earn more points & increase the amount
Then there's the various saved slots on XBox Snowboarding & the many ways to wipe out
There definitely isn't anything worth watching on the tele whilst drooling on the couch
He picks up a guitar & plays a tune or a few then and sometimes now
He has to be careful though to not let himself turn into any kind of grumpy grouch
'Tis better to be at home than sitting idle at work twumb thiddling & doing the internet browse
The Emmitt cat stares at him & tells him all about things with his meow
What is it fuzzy & furry child? No you cannot go outside & tour your favorite places all about
So on coffee, on laundry, on various things that need to be done, he says with a brief shout
Welp that now it for is from this simple this me unto thou & I won't stop & take a bow
He's stayed home to care for various sickly ones who aren't so full of bounce
Sniffles & coughffles & little drummer boy ear infections did so pounce
Thankful for the rest but boredom sets in easily & the blahs weigh upon him, more than an ounce
Oh he could tend to the myriads of chores that are just too many to count
Or he could play a rousing round of Diner Dash & earn more points & increase the amount
Then there's the various saved slots on XBox Snowboarding & the many ways to wipe out
There definitely isn't anything worth watching on the tele whilst drooling on the couch
He picks up a guitar & plays a tune or a few then and sometimes now
He has to be careful though to not let himself turn into any kind of grumpy grouch
'Tis better to be at home than sitting idle at work twumb thiddling & doing the internet browse
The Emmitt cat stares at him & tells him all about things with his meow
What is it fuzzy & furry child? No you cannot go outside & tour your favorite places all about
So on coffee, on laundry, on various things that need to be done, he says with a brief shout
Welp that now it for is from this simple this me unto thou & I won't stop & take a bow
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
iDunno Mojo
T'was the now after a moment ago
Isn't that weird & whoa?
How'd that happen? I just don't know
Maybe it was something in my cup o' joe
It's crazy silly strange like Larry, Curly, & Mo
Maybe I need to find some kind of new mojo
I don't have happy feet nor do I have a happy toe
Just hangin' here & goin' with the boredom flow
It's almost that time of year for ho ho ho
Where upon the children new gifts are bestowed
For some it's a great season for others they get down & low
And many live in the cold areas where it is zero or below
Too cold for my bones so to being there I say no
Unless I'm up on a mountain skiing down it really slow
Where falling down is a requirement...Doh!
It's fun to once in a while visit the snow
Welp each moment comes & wow ma'an there they goes
Always remember you can't pick your friend's nose
This ramble & drivel says nothing much & is not much of a show
So I conclude with a moment, there it went, of the status quo
By giving ya a "Shout out," "Word Up," "Forshizzle," & a yo yo yo!
Uhm...Ok....right....what's all this then? I dunno
Isn't that weird & whoa?
How'd that happen? I just don't know
Maybe it was something in my cup o' joe
It's crazy silly strange like Larry, Curly, & Mo
Maybe I need to find some kind of new mojo
I don't have happy feet nor do I have a happy toe
Just hangin' here & goin' with the boredom flow
It's almost that time of year for ho ho ho
Where upon the children new gifts are bestowed
For some it's a great season for others they get down & low
And many live in the cold areas where it is zero or below
Too cold for my bones so to being there I say no
Unless I'm up on a mountain skiing down it really slow
Where falling down is a requirement...Doh!
It's fun to once in a while visit the snow
Welp each moment comes & wow ma'an there they goes
Always remember you can't pick your friend's nose
This ramble & drivel says nothing much & is not much of a show
So I conclude with a moment, there it went, of the status quo
By giving ya a "Shout out," "Word Up," "Forshizzle," & a yo yo yo!
Uhm...Ok....right....what's all this then? I dunno
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
iRainy Workaday
I'm in twumb thiddling mode at work so yes I do have time on my hands...
T'was an hour before work & all through the house
All had left except for him & from under the covers he didn't want to come out
For it was cold & raining outside & he didn't want to travel across the towns
But alas the journey had to begin & he made his feet hit the ground
On shower, on toothbrush, on clothing & on cell phone he did shout
For he knew that this was what the workaday world was all about
He dashed down the stairs & the caravan sleigh he did mount
He whipped out the keys & the sleigh roared to life with it's typical starting sounds
With a wink of an eye & a nod of his head he departed as the rain didst pound
Unto the freeway he travelled hoping that no traffic or accidents would be found
Travel was swift for a moment or few but as usual at 41st traffic slowed down
What is it this time people? Did ya see a bird fly by or something like that ya clowns?
Or is it that you have to look at the roadwork without workers & the tractors that surround?
Hey all you, it's just pilings & rebar for stinking crying out loud
And the rain has sure made quite the mess of the dirt which is now mud brown
He endures the slow travel through the wind & rain & he does not frown
Free at last he declares as he turns upon Highway 1 & is amazed & feels a bit proud
With no traffic or trucks in his way he makes good speed & it's like ma'an wow
As his journey nears the end unto the place of workadayness the Beach Boys song comes to mind
"I Get Around"
On Coffee, On Keyboard, On Headphones, On rocking Christmas tunes, it's time to work now
But his thoughts are really upon the couch under a blanket with a purring Emmitt meow
T'was an hour before work & all through the house
All had left except for him & from under the covers he didn't want to come out
For it was cold & raining outside & he didn't want to travel across the towns
But alas the journey had to begin & he made his feet hit the ground
On shower, on toothbrush, on clothing & on cell phone he did shout
For he knew that this was what the workaday world was all about
He dashed down the stairs & the caravan sleigh he did mount
He whipped out the keys & the sleigh roared to life with it's typical starting sounds
With a wink of an eye & a nod of his head he departed as the rain didst pound
Unto the freeway he travelled hoping that no traffic or accidents would be found
Travel was swift for a moment or few but as usual at 41st traffic slowed down
What is it this time people? Did ya see a bird fly by or something like that ya clowns?
Or is it that you have to look at the roadwork without workers & the tractors that surround?
Hey all you, it's just pilings & rebar for stinking crying out loud
And the rain has sure made quite the mess of the dirt which is now mud brown
He endures the slow travel through the wind & rain & he does not frown
Free at last he declares as he turns upon Highway 1 & is amazed & feels a bit proud
With no traffic or trucks in his way he makes good speed & it's like ma'an wow
As his journey nears the end unto the place of workadayness the Beach Boys song comes to mind
"I Get Around"
On Coffee, On Keyboard, On Headphones, On rocking Christmas tunes, it's time to work now
But his thoughts are really upon the couch under a blanket with a purring Emmitt meow
Monday, December 11, 2006
iHolidaze
T'was two weeks before Christmas and all through the house
There were boxes & decorations all over & some wires to be unwound
T'was raining outside & amidst the walls the 3 children did bounce
Mom sick in bed with a bad cold & dad just wanting to crash on the couch
Comic relief is always needed so dad doesn't become a grinchy grouch
Then throw in an occasional round of SSX Snowboarding where video boarders go boom & OUCH!
Dad often checks the net of inter sites for the hot item gift that is nowhere to be found
No big deal he says whilst his fingers upon the keyboard continue to pound
He moves onward to look at the adult gizmoids & gadgetoids as he dost browse
Boys bickering & gettin' agro with each other is such a pleasant holiday sound
Oh come now children 'tis the season to be loving & giving & won't you please just calm down
I didn't know that the wild & crazy boy circus was now in town
Must you pounce upon your brother as he tries to get up from the ground?
Hmm, it seems that you have forgotten you're all inside, could you not be so loud?
Too bad I can't make 'em go outside & shovel snow & be human plows
They's just was doing what high energy boys do & the mom & dad are thankful & proud
T'was just a holiday season Sunday inside whilst the needed rain fell from the clouds
Now this big ol' elf sits in silence at work sluffing off the weekend tornados for recovery is allowed
And I'm thankful that I'm not at a center of shopping amidst the shopping crowd
T'was two weeks before Christmas & the Holidaze is in my brain bouncing all around (1)
Oh look a purple reindeer over there, like ma'an that's really far out wow
(1) Play on words from lyrics from Twisted Christmas tune Holidaze done to the music of Purple Haze
There were boxes & decorations all over & some wires to be unwound
T'was raining outside & amidst the walls the 3 children did bounce
Mom sick in bed with a bad cold & dad just wanting to crash on the couch
Comic relief is always needed so dad doesn't become a grinchy grouch
Then throw in an occasional round of SSX Snowboarding where video boarders go boom & OUCH!
Dad often checks the net of inter sites for the hot item gift that is nowhere to be found
No big deal he says whilst his fingers upon the keyboard continue to pound
He moves onward to look at the adult gizmoids & gadgetoids as he dost browse
Boys bickering & gettin' agro with each other is such a pleasant holiday sound
Oh come now children 'tis the season to be loving & giving & won't you please just calm down
I didn't know that the wild & crazy boy circus was now in town
Must you pounce upon your brother as he tries to get up from the ground?
Hmm, it seems that you have forgotten you're all inside, could you not be so loud?
Too bad I can't make 'em go outside & shovel snow & be human plows
They's just was doing what high energy boys do & the mom & dad are thankful & proud
T'was just a holiday season Sunday inside whilst the needed rain fell from the clouds
Now this big ol' elf sits in silence at work sluffing off the weekend tornados for recovery is allowed
And I'm thankful that I'm not at a center of shopping amidst the shopping crowd
T'was two weeks before Christmas & the Holidaze is in my brain bouncing all around (1)
Oh look a purple reindeer over there, like ma'an that's really far out wow
(1) Play on words from lyrics from Twisted Christmas tune Holidaze done to the music of Purple Haze
Saturday, December 09, 2006
iPuffles
I don't have a puffle? Should I have one?
I don't have a purple save badge. Should I feel bad?
I don't have any coins or points to get such things. I feel poor.
I don't have others throughout the world on my buddy list to play with or compete against.
I'm not a penguin on the kid's site Club Penguin where you play these games to earn coins/points & acquire things like a pet called a puffle.
So I'm not a penguin therefore I am not cold & I do not stand still for days on end in the freezing torment of winter, nor do I walk 70+ miles one way for a meal for my family.
Until later comes turn it up to puffle.
I don't have a purple save badge. Should I feel bad?
I don't have any coins or points to get such things. I feel poor.
I don't have others throughout the world on my buddy list to play with or compete against.
I'm not a penguin on the kid's site Club Penguin where you play these games to earn coins/points & acquire things like a pet called a puffle.
So I'm not a penguin therefore I am not cold & I do not stand still for days on end in the freezing torment of winter, nor do I walk 70+ miles one way for a meal for my family.
Until later comes turn it up to puffle.
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
iParallel ramble...
In a parallel but unreal life I would get up each morning & head to the shop of Torress Engineering in San Mateo & enter the realm of hand wiring the prebuilt amplifiers for customers. But for now I don't exist in the non-existent parallel life & I have children to educate & feed & provide for. I'll enjoy removing & replacing components on my SD-1 pedal. 'Tis nice to hear PAF Pro & Fred in action at last.
Welp it's cold now & need to get bundled up & consider snoozing.
Until later comes turn it up to parallel.
Welp it's cold now & need to get bundled up & consider snoozing.
Until later comes turn it up to parallel.
iZilchizzo
He sits in his chair watching the shadow of the building of the late afternoon sun rising up the trees outside his window. The night's chill will be upon him surely in the near future past now. The trees are quite still & so to is his workaday world for the moment. For one project completed last week & at the moment in these last few days before now there has been a possible project lurking but the waiting on the possible client continues. He is content with the silence but the boredom begins to get old. He ponders that he could be at home tending to many possible tasks or just rotting away on the couch playing Football or something on XBox. His energies were focussed greatly on the pickup & amp repair projects. Those now complete he tries to adjust & balance thoughts of house tasks with thoughts of either tedious scale ascents & decents, known song practice, & continuing the learning & practicing of the Johnny B Goode intro. He also ponders the two pedal mods to be done in house rather than through Glop's surgical services. Although it was a pain to levitate the crate board out of it's cradle it was enjoyable to conquer the problem of bad solderdom. He pondered this day that if that joint was bad, how many others on that board might be candidates for going bad. He chooses to perish the thought for now as long as the amp behaves well....(brief conversation about status)...Am back. He looks forward to taking the next 2 days off to possibly have more to do on Monday. Zzzzzzzz.......zzzzzzzZZZZZZ......zzzzzzzz.
Until later comes turn it up to something to do.
Until later comes turn it up to something to do.
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
iDragon has been slain...
Avast ye dragon come forth & face your doom!
Who dares to enter my domain where I rule with fierce & swift injustice upon all who violate my will!
I sir John of Purple Soundage come forth unto thee to thwart thee dragon for the time of your reign has ended. The people shall be set free from your greed & rule of slavery!
Thou, a mere small meal of a mortal hast come forth to defend the pathetic peoplez I rule? What foolish folly have thee to think thou hast the strength & power to defeat me, Dragon of Crate! I will enjoy your failure in this encounter!
Show yourself dragon of Crate & prepare to be slain by my sword & shield. My sword is made of driver of screwiness & combined with the strength of nose of needles & lastly if I strike thee, thine flesh shall be burned harshly without pity for the iron of solder has been forged from the finest powers & metal found in the land of Shack of Radio.
Dost thou forget I’m a dragon & I have an impenetrable shield of scales? What else have ye to say before I send forth the raging inferno of mine breath upon thine miniscule pathetic being that thou be?
If thou claims to be powerful without defeat then demonstrate that unto me & prove that wrong am I!
With pleasure!
The battlefield is now prepared. Sir John takes up his weapon to stand his ground against the vile Dragon of Crate. Determined to defeat this enemy he prepares to strike at first site of Crate. His first strike is swift upon Crate. Out comes Crate’s long scaly fierce head & he is poised to strike back with the raging inferno of hate within him. Sir John reacts swiftly, without thought to escape the blaze that is about to ensue. Crate unleashes the volcano & the roar of the blast is intolerable. Crate looks where his target was & realizes that his first attempt has failed. Sir John knows that Crate cannot send forth another attack for a few moments. He strikes swiftly at Crate & almost strikes him across his horrid gaze. The blow knocks Crate back & he cannot fathom the strength of the blows of this simple mortal. The blow is so powerful that the strength of the nose of needles loosens the front plates of Crate. Sir John dashes swiftly out of the rugged rocks unto a large & completely unprotected flat area. His doom seems to be guaranteed with such a foolish move. Crate recovers from the blow & sets his glaring eyes upon his target out in the open. The battle continues on. After much toil & exchange of blows, Sir John finally strikes a harsh blow that penetrates & removes one of Crate’s smaller scales. Crate becomes dazed as John exposes the raw flesh. He now has a precise target he must strike soon or face his doom. Crate’s rage continues to build & he fails to notice the damage upon his being. Sir John dashes all about Crate who seems to be tiring as he’s never faced such a swift opponent before. Sir John forgets all else & places his entire mojo upon Crate’s one weak spot. Sir John knows that he will have only one chance to strike & hence achieve victory. His timing must be perfect or he will die. Crate has Sir John trapped in a corner & is preparing yet another blast of torture upon his pray. Just as Crate is about to unleash the fury Sir John charges forth with sword extended with his being calling upon the powers that be in his sword to activate the iron of solder. It’s been a long a grueling battle up to this point. The first to strike a blow will win this battle. Crate adjusts his line of fire as Sir John charges. Just as the explosive power of Crate’s deadly breath rages forth towards him Sir John Leaps forward with all is might with sword extended. The sword strikes the exposed flesh & Crate falls in defeat.
Sir John was the needed instrumental input to make way for the new fair & just leadership which has been bestowed upon the suffering who are no longer bound to the dark power of Crate. Sir John approaches the lifeless pile of rank stink & declares victory & proclaims in the name of Purple Soundage that today the lifeless & suffering will no longer be in suffering nor will they be lifeless. For Sir John’s quest was successful in taming the lifeless dragon whose every muscle, nerve, & joint was broken. Crate the Dragon’s dark reign will never be again. Sir John steps forth from the cavity where the dead one now dwells. He returns to his suffering people to help rebuild & reassemble the pieces of those he selflessly has vowed to defend. In Sir John’s honor the people have created 4 pillars each topped with a glowing lantern. Each has it’s own meaning. The first being a reminder of warmth & the warm soothing sounds echoed in the songs of the people. The second is light & also reminds all of the orange glow of the life-giving sun and to respect the provisions the earth gives to those who care for it. The third is the reminder of the power of the good in the people following the example of Sir John. The last is a bit brighter & is a reminder to amplify the first three amidst all the lands & not just in the land of Purple Soundage. Sir John often reflects on Crate & marvels that he, a simple man, was able to penetrate the mystery of Crate & bring forth a new uninterrupted & flawless flow of grace unto those he encounters in Purple Soundage & beyond. Sir John knows not when Crate become broken but it was obvious that poor input lead him to his doom. Sir John gives thanks that through his input new & solid connections via the Peaceful Compassionate Board (PCB) of leadership is now in place.
This has been a description of the fictitious kind. No person or dragon or Crate was hurt during the writing of this ramble. Any similarities between any of the above mentioned events or entities & any other party or parties in the real world is merely a coincidence & hey, stories happen.
Go forth unto this location precisely to view an artist’s rendering of some of the battle described in the ramble you have rambled through…Humor me...Dumb solder joint.
Click Me
Who dares to enter my domain where I rule with fierce & swift injustice upon all who violate my will!
I sir John of Purple Soundage come forth unto thee to thwart thee dragon for the time of your reign has ended. The people shall be set free from your greed & rule of slavery!
Thou, a mere small meal of a mortal hast come forth to defend the pathetic peoplez I rule? What foolish folly have thee to think thou hast the strength & power to defeat me, Dragon of Crate! I will enjoy your failure in this encounter!
Show yourself dragon of Crate & prepare to be slain by my sword & shield. My sword is made of driver of screwiness & combined with the strength of nose of needles & lastly if I strike thee, thine flesh shall be burned harshly without pity for the iron of solder has been forged from the finest powers & metal found in the land of Shack of Radio.
Dost thou forget I’m a dragon & I have an impenetrable shield of scales? What else have ye to say before I send forth the raging inferno of mine breath upon thine miniscule pathetic being that thou be?
If thou claims to be powerful without defeat then demonstrate that unto me & prove that wrong am I!
With pleasure!
The battlefield is now prepared. Sir John takes up his weapon to stand his ground against the vile Dragon of Crate. Determined to defeat this enemy he prepares to strike at first site of Crate. His first strike is swift upon Crate. Out comes Crate’s long scaly fierce head & he is poised to strike back with the raging inferno of hate within him. Sir John reacts swiftly, without thought to escape the blaze that is about to ensue. Crate unleashes the volcano & the roar of the blast is intolerable. Crate looks where his target was & realizes that his first attempt has failed. Sir John knows that Crate cannot send forth another attack for a few moments. He strikes swiftly at Crate & almost strikes him across his horrid gaze. The blow knocks Crate back & he cannot fathom the strength of the blows of this simple mortal. The blow is so powerful that the strength of the nose of needles loosens the front plates of Crate. Sir John dashes swiftly out of the rugged rocks unto a large & completely unprotected flat area. His doom seems to be guaranteed with such a foolish move. Crate recovers from the blow & sets his glaring eyes upon his target out in the open. The battle continues on. After much toil & exchange of blows, Sir John finally strikes a harsh blow that penetrates & removes one of Crate’s smaller scales. Crate becomes dazed as John exposes the raw flesh. He now has a precise target he must strike soon or face his doom. Crate’s rage continues to build & he fails to notice the damage upon his being. Sir John dashes all about Crate who seems to be tiring as he’s never faced such a swift opponent before. Sir John forgets all else & places his entire mojo upon Crate’s one weak spot. Sir John knows that he will have only one chance to strike & hence achieve victory. His timing must be perfect or he will die. Crate has Sir John trapped in a corner & is preparing yet another blast of torture upon his pray. Just as Crate is about to unleash the fury Sir John charges forth with sword extended with his being calling upon the powers that be in his sword to activate the iron of solder. It’s been a long a grueling battle up to this point. The first to strike a blow will win this battle. Crate adjusts his line of fire as Sir John charges. Just as the explosive power of Crate’s deadly breath rages forth towards him Sir John Leaps forward with all is might with sword extended. The sword strikes the exposed flesh & Crate falls in defeat.
Sir John was the needed instrumental input to make way for the new fair & just leadership which has been bestowed upon the suffering who are no longer bound to the dark power of Crate. Sir John approaches the lifeless pile of rank stink & declares victory & proclaims in the name of Purple Soundage that today the lifeless & suffering will no longer be in suffering nor will they be lifeless. For Sir John’s quest was successful in taming the lifeless dragon whose every muscle, nerve, & joint was broken. Crate the Dragon’s dark reign will never be again. Sir John steps forth from the cavity where the dead one now dwells. He returns to his suffering people to help rebuild & reassemble the pieces of those he selflessly has vowed to defend. In Sir John’s honor the people have created 4 pillars each topped with a glowing lantern. Each has it’s own meaning. The first being a reminder of warmth & the warm soothing sounds echoed in the songs of the people. The second is light & also reminds all of the orange glow of the life-giving sun and to respect the provisions the earth gives to those who care for it. The third is the reminder of the power of the good in the people following the example of Sir John. The last is a bit brighter & is a reminder to amplify the first three amidst all the lands & not just in the land of Purple Soundage. Sir John often reflects on Crate & marvels that he, a simple man, was able to penetrate the mystery of Crate & bring forth a new uninterrupted & flawless flow of grace unto those he encounters in Purple Soundage & beyond. Sir John knows not when Crate become broken but it was obvious that poor input lead him to his doom. Sir John gives thanks that through his input new & solid connections via the Peaceful Compassionate Board (PCB) of leadership is now in place.
This has been a description of the fictitious kind. No person or dragon or Crate was hurt during the writing of this ramble. Any similarities between any of the above mentioned events or entities & any other party or parties in the real world is merely a coincidence & hey, stories happen.
Go forth unto this location precisely to view an artist’s rendering of some of the battle described in the ramble you have rambled through…Humor me...Dumb solder joint.
Click Me
Monday, December 04, 2006
iHums & other gibberish
Update 12/5 10:30 am
Determined to resolve the abnormal & not 60Hz noiseage hum/buzz he tried to once again awaken the sleeping paper weight. It clicked to life & there was that already dreaded sound. In a seemingly random fashion he began to rapidly turn each of the numerous knobs their range of travel back & forth suspecting that there possibly could be some corrosion or other particles of crud in the pots. A bit of success was found in that the annoyance dissipated & was no longer. But the jiggle of the wiggle of a cord unto the orafice of input jack still produced the nasty growls that must be tamed & silenced. He also did notice that there were 4 screws on the top of the amp that seemed to be the gate keepers of the mystery contained within the head portion of the thing. So he armed himself with the driver of screwiness & proceeded to enter the journey unto the land down under the hood. The key master successfully merged with the gatekeeper & the deep hidden mystery was revealed....There sat on top was the jack of input soldered onto the board of circuitage in 4 places. It would take further surgery to levitate the region of jack attack to infiltrate the situation & go covert & assimlate unto the culture of solderage...If the secret intelligence gathered is accurate, penetrating those 4 core positions & voiding their influence upon the situation would allow for the insertion of a new & better equipped operative to better handle the future transmissions. A brief check of intelligence information reveals that the needed equipment for the operative is available & appears to look like:
He carefully began his return trip from the land down under the hood & applied the driver of screwiness to cause the gatekeeper to resume his position & to ensure that the hidden mystery does remain a hidden mystery to all who approach. He prepares his report for his superiors to review & establish the needed mission codenamed Jack-In-The-Box. A brief intelligence inquiry brought forth 2 wisdoms: 1) There's a place here in town that could deal with the amp 2) A person there suggested that it might possibly be a solder joint gone bad/cracked where a simple touch up might suffice. After further contemplation this might in fact be the case for how else does a jack of input not used very often decide to just barf?
End Update
=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~
And after his wife departed for work for the day he once again mounted the chair of bitdom. He proceeded to utter an search amidst the land of google. He found the wisdom to send an email to DiMarzio support to inquire to either confirm or correct his suspicions about why the PAF Pro & FRED pickups were not sending forth their anticipated signals unto the land of ampdom thereby causing much froth & lament within him. He uttered the inquiry & then patiently waited whilst pursuing the norms of preparing for the typical workaday Monday. Upon arriving at the land of cubicleocity he conferred with yet another bitdom interface device. And there sat was the reply to the inquiry to confirm that which he had already sent along to the support of the technicalities. His whole being filled with preparedness to await the treacherous journey home through the hills & over the woods. He was also met with goodness of the package which contained the highly secret & anticipated devices sent forth from far across the world from Russia. He was poised & ready to once again embark with nose of needle pliers, the wand of great low wattage heat & the core of rosin from the land of solder. Amazed at the complexities of the numerous wires running forth amidst the cavity of wiredom he stopped to consider the surgeons who work on far more delicate tissue with far more complex routings of body stuff. He finally completed the needed surgery to bring to life the now installed PAF Pro Neck & partner FRED bridge pickups. He then approached the then slumbering black beast of noisedom with the aforementioned secret devices. He had to be careful for the beast could awaken at any time & devour him in a moment. He had to act swiftly & with precision to attach the secret glowing tube devices. All things appeared to be assembled so with blue wild thing in hand he plugged the needed appendages between the black beast & the blue thing. All systems appeared go & so he did the only thing he could which was activate the black beast. He waited the needed moments for the slumbering one to come to life and....and....he was met with the annoying hum that he set out to conquer with the new secret glowing tubes. He twiddled with the input jack on the black thing of hummage & discovered some very interesting sounds of loud squawking & squealing. So the beast of hummer seems to have won this round. And it appears that one would need to replace the input jack which appears to be quite embedded & enshrouded in mystery. But before considering that to be the cause of the spewage of hum-de-dum he casts his gaze upon the previously referred to black heat shield protecto thing which when one thrusts his great strength upon this stronghold the hum appears to cease for but just a while. But that could just be a plan of mockery & trickery by the black 80 watt paper weight. He could hang his head low in lament & snine & whibble or he could keep trying to find the source of the spumming hewage the black thing utters. He does consider that his options are approaching zero rapidly & he might have to concede & transport the beast, under heavy sedation of course, unto the land of $60 an hour techie service to try to find the source of the treacherous mocking mockery.
Until later comes turn it up to....whatever.
Determined to resolve the abnormal & not 60Hz noiseage hum/buzz he tried to once again awaken the sleeping paper weight. It clicked to life & there was that already dreaded sound. In a seemingly random fashion he began to rapidly turn each of the numerous knobs their range of travel back & forth suspecting that there possibly could be some corrosion or other particles of crud in the pots. A bit of success was found in that the annoyance dissipated & was no longer. But the jiggle of the wiggle of a cord unto the orafice of input jack still produced the nasty growls that must be tamed & silenced. He also did notice that there were 4 screws on the top of the amp that seemed to be the gate keepers of the mystery contained within the head portion of the thing. So he armed himself with the driver of screwiness & proceeded to enter the journey unto the land down under the hood. The key master successfully merged with the gatekeeper & the deep hidden mystery was revealed....There sat on top was the jack of input soldered onto the board of circuitage in 4 places. It would take further surgery to levitate the region of jack attack to infiltrate the situation & go covert & assimlate unto the culture of solderage...If the secret intelligence gathered is accurate, penetrating those 4 core positions & voiding their influence upon the situation would allow for the insertion of a new & better equipped operative to better handle the future transmissions. A brief check of intelligence information reveals that the needed equipment for the operative is available & appears to look like:
He carefully began his return trip from the land down under the hood & applied the driver of screwiness to cause the gatekeeper to resume his position & to ensure that the hidden mystery does remain a hidden mystery to all who approach. He prepares his report for his superiors to review & establish the needed mission codenamed Jack-In-The-Box. A brief intelligence inquiry brought forth 2 wisdoms: 1) There's a place here in town that could deal with the amp 2) A person there suggested that it might possibly be a solder joint gone bad/cracked where a simple touch up might suffice. After further contemplation this might in fact be the case for how else does a jack of input not used very often decide to just barf?
End Update
=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~
And after his wife departed for work for the day he once again mounted the chair of bitdom. He proceeded to utter an search amidst the land of google. He found the wisdom to send an email to DiMarzio support to inquire to either confirm or correct his suspicions about why the PAF Pro & FRED pickups were not sending forth their anticipated signals unto the land of ampdom thereby causing much froth & lament within him. He uttered the inquiry & then patiently waited whilst pursuing the norms of preparing for the typical workaday Monday. Upon arriving at the land of cubicleocity he conferred with yet another bitdom interface device. And there sat was the reply to the inquiry to confirm that which he had already sent along to the support of the technicalities. His whole being filled with preparedness to await the treacherous journey home through the hills & over the woods. He was also met with goodness of the package which contained the highly secret & anticipated devices sent forth from far across the world from Russia. He was poised & ready to once again embark with nose of needle pliers, the wand of great low wattage heat & the core of rosin from the land of solder. Amazed at the complexities of the numerous wires running forth amidst the cavity of wiredom he stopped to consider the surgeons who work on far more delicate tissue with far more complex routings of body stuff. He finally completed the needed surgery to bring to life the now installed PAF Pro Neck & partner FRED bridge pickups. He then approached the then slumbering black beast of noisedom with the aforementioned secret devices. He had to be careful for the beast could awaken at any time & devour him in a moment. He had to act swiftly & with precision to attach the secret glowing tube devices. All things appeared to be assembled so with blue wild thing in hand he plugged the needed appendages between the black beast & the blue thing. All systems appeared go & so he did the only thing he could which was activate the black beast. He waited the needed moments for the slumbering one to come to life and....and....he was met with the annoying hum that he set out to conquer with the new secret glowing tubes. He twiddled with the input jack on the black thing of hummage & discovered some very interesting sounds of loud squawking & squealing. So the beast of hummer seems to have won this round. And it appears that one would need to replace the input jack which appears to be quite embedded & enshrouded in mystery. But before considering that to be the cause of the spewage of hum-de-dum he casts his gaze upon the previously referred to black heat shield protecto thing which when one thrusts his great strength upon this stronghold the hum appears to cease for but just a while. But that could just be a plan of mockery & trickery by the black 80 watt paper weight. He could hang his head low in lament & snine & whibble or he could keep trying to find the source of the spumming hewage the black thing utters. He does consider that his options are approaching zero rapidly & he might have to concede & transport the beast, under heavy sedation of course, unto the land of $60 an hour techie service to try to find the source of the treacherous mocking mockery.
Until later comes turn it up to....whatever.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
iTube things of amp things...
So, as usual for this fall, brother glop has sparked an interest in learning about but not necessarily totally understanding nor even actually building a tube amp kit. The affordable & popular kits & service by www.tedweber.com seem to be the way to go for kits. I've emailed asking a few questions & have gotten back quick replies. I even inquired about a generic or somewhat generic solution to adding an effects loop to existing kits. He replied stating he's been giving that much thought. The thing about weber kits is that you get parts & a schematic. That's it. Other more expensive kit providers provide instructions & such. For this me, staring at a pile 'o parts & a schematic would not be the ideal way to learn. And if you read some of the stuff on the kit building forum or look at pics of amp kit builds in progress it looks rather daunting. Then through the complexitiy & nature of the do it yourself kits you have to become a tinkerer & make decsisions about how & where to place things or cope with things and troubleshoot things like hums & buzz & such. I guess that is part of the core hobby of it.
Why my interest? Well I'm intrigued by a kit that clones, or tries to anyway, Marshall's original amp or head which was the JTM 45. VH-1 has this documentary series going on & they had one on Hendrix. I watched it when it was first on but didn't notice that which I noticed last night when I watched through it again from a 2nd recording that my DVR happily did for me. I realized in the concert footage that there stood proudly JTM 45 heads. Yeterday I drooled over that amp building seminar thing & how it takes a Mojo JTM 45 kit such & turns it into the Marshall JCM 800 "on steroids" as one reviewer called it. Halen used the JCM 800 in 80's tour such as 5150 tour & such. So that's a JTM45 45 watt amp instead of a horridly loud for home 100 watt thing. Then stick a Weber MASS Lite attenuator on the 45 watt thing makes a vintage great amp tolerable at home listening levels. I would definitely desire the hot rodded JTM 45 but that would have to come with time, practice, & asking myriads of questions.
I found some cool clips of the Weber JTM 45 at:
http://www.leftee.net/Leftee_Gain.mp3
http://www.leftee.net/Villanova.mp3
http://www.leftee.net/WindCries.mp3
So I thought welp, I know nothing about circuits or understanding them. I can solder simple things together. So I began looking about for simpler kit things that help teach the novice about stuff... Found a couple of good resources so far...
http://members.tripod.com/~gabevee/papers.html
http://www.ax84.com/?pg=associateprojects
Just to read some stuff is interesting in itself. Will I actually try a kit any time soon? Probably not as the simplest & smallest kits start at like two hundred something dollars. I've got mouths to feed & such. laff. I think I would enjoy becomming kit builder, for simple amps & heads, for others where they buy the Weber kit & I put it together for them at a going rate builder price...whatever hundred or few that may be. First that requires my learning stuff & understanding it. But it also requires someone wanting to pay for the kit amp & then pay additional for someone to build it. I'm sure it happens occasionally but not very often. Purple Sound Makers R Us. laff.
Until later comes turn it up to wires, & connectors, & chassis, & transformers, oh my...
Why my interest? Well I'm intrigued by a kit that clones, or tries to anyway, Marshall's original amp or head which was the JTM 45. VH-1 has this documentary series going on & they had one on Hendrix. I watched it when it was first on but didn't notice that which I noticed last night when I watched through it again from a 2nd recording that my DVR happily did for me. I realized in the concert footage that there stood proudly JTM 45 heads. Yeterday I drooled over that amp building seminar thing & how it takes a Mojo JTM 45 kit such & turns it into the Marshall JCM 800 "on steroids" as one reviewer called it. Halen used the JCM 800 in 80's tour such as 5150 tour & such. So that's a JTM45 45 watt amp instead of a horridly loud for home 100 watt thing. Then stick a Weber MASS Lite attenuator on the 45 watt thing makes a vintage great amp tolerable at home listening levels. I would definitely desire the hot rodded JTM 45 but that would have to come with time, practice, & asking myriads of questions.
I found some cool clips of the Weber JTM 45 at:
http://www.leftee.net/Leftee_Gain.mp3
http://www.leftee.net/Villanova.mp3
http://www.leftee.net/WindCries.mp3
So I thought welp, I know nothing about circuits or understanding them. I can solder simple things together. So I began looking about for simpler kit things that help teach the novice about stuff... Found a couple of good resources so far...
http://members.tripod.com/~gabevee/papers.html
http://www.ax84.com/?pg=associateprojects
Just to read some stuff is interesting in itself. Will I actually try a kit any time soon? Probably not as the simplest & smallest kits start at like two hundred something dollars. I've got mouths to feed & such. laff. I think I would enjoy becomming kit builder, for simple amps & heads, for others where they buy the Weber kit & I put it together for them at a going rate builder price...whatever hundred or few that may be. First that requires my learning stuff & understanding it. But it also requires someone wanting to pay for the kit amp & then pay additional for someone to build it. I'm sure it happens occasionally but not very often. Purple Sound Makers R Us. laff.
Until later comes turn it up to wires, & connectors, & chassis, & transformers, oh my...
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
iMojo for JTM45 Becomming a JCM800
There's fantasy camps for everything in the world...
Why not one for building tube amps...
http://news.harmony-central.com/Newp/2006/Egnater-November-18-Seminar.html
The Mojo JTM45 head kit of course is $900.00. I'm sure the course is way crazy expensive as well. And then there's the travel & hotel & yaddas.
Until later comes, turn it up to JTM45 becomming a JCM800 on steroids.
Why not one for building tube amps...
http://news.harmony-central.com/Newp/2006/Egnater-November-18-Seminar.html
The Mojo JTM45 head kit of course is $900.00. I'm sure the course is way crazy expensive as well. And then there's the travel & hotel & yaddas.
Until later comes, turn it up to JTM45 becomming a JCM800 on steroids.
Monday, November 27, 2006
iSpeaker Mojo - Ugh....
It goes without saying that for every class/category/level of widget or wadget you might buy there's usually more than anyone would want to count number of manufacturers that make such things. And the obvious is that advertisements & online product descriptions try to woo & wow & almost brainwash the potential buyer. And because I'm middle-aged obvious man I had to state the obvious above obviously. And, as I learned earlier this year from personal yadda yaddas & blah blahs that it is human nature for groups of people, or categories of people, to naturally conform to what leaders or others do or they conform to some norm or standard & hence products become the 'hot item' or 'must have' thing of the moment or you won't be able to survive another second. Kind of like how Jim mentioned in his political speal about how the politicians want to make you think that if you don't vote on a something or someone the way they want you to the world, or the state, will come to an immediate end.
How did the SUV vehicle boom start anyway? Who knows? I'm quickly reminded of the outtake at the end of the movie Cars where Mater is coaching Hummers & other SUVs to get out into the dirt & go off-roading for the first time in their existence. One yells "But I've never been offroad before!"
When Terra & I went on our honeymoon in Mexico we were walking about puerto Vallarta in both the new & americanized touristy part as well as meandering through some back streets. We just wandered randomly by some back street tiny hole in the wall tortilla factory where one could walk in & buy tortillas hot off the line! We sampled some & they was great! A modern example is that of Krispy Cremes hot off the line! Yum! Sorry heart & gut & arteries!
So I did mention previously that I might, just might, pursue upgrading me two speakers in my overpowered monster of an amp that's more suited for live gigs than dinking around at home. And I've also spoken of the THD Hot Plate which is way expensive and the Marshall Brake which is even more ughage! Anyway...So I began hunting around for possible speaker choices to consider. First off I realized that there are only few models that are in the needed 80 to 100 watt range. The reason is most guitar hero types use 4x12 cabs so the speakers don't need to be as beefy. It's almost frustrating for the combo amp types. But it's also nice so as to not have to sift through myriads of speaker spooge & hundreds of different opinions. As I said, I don't care if I plug into some grey box or an, the fruit, orange with apples for pickups & it sounds decent. I don't care about the details nor the settings. I just want the fantasy turn it on & sound good clean, surfy, swirly, bluesy, EVH rhythm, & Satch or Vai or Hoey or George Lynch, or Gilmour lead. I also realized that the world has migrated to the well known manufacturers such as Celestion or Eminence speakers. They have a long history of course & there will always be debates & arguments & personal preferences that decide the popularity of things. And respect is due to such speakers that have created some of the greatest sounds on recordings. But does what most people get just cause Eddie did it, or does it, or any axe-person got it or has it mean it's the thing to conform to. NO I SAY! Do not conform to conformity dag narn it.
So, like the wandering about back streets in Mexico, I somehow found myself doing a search on www.gearslutz.com. Not that I like the name much but real people, not trying to hype the marketting crud, write their preferences & such. I came to find the little hole in the wall place called www.TedWeber.com. One quote on the aforementioned gear place.com states "I would say anything that doesn't have Celestion printed on it. Weber VST make bloody fantastic speakers at great prices." So that sparked interest in what Weber has to offer. I even emailed to get a suggestion. Again, due to wattage, I'm limited to about 4 choices there as well. I think my main decision will be warm sound or 'uncolored' whatever that means. I poked around a bit more & encountered a much more affordable attenuator as well which I inquired about.
If a coin were to decide a speaker choice between a Weber model or a Celestion Classic Lead or some Eminence model I probably wouldn't notice a difference & wouldn't care either way because I couldn't tell the difference between playing a spoon or a knife.
So Glop, how's the wall o' transistors & resisters & flux capacitors coming along? Please include in the wall several speakers that somehow randomly make contact with the speaker cable connectoids for random amounts of time. Hey stop, what's that sound? It's now a Celestion, now it's some stock speaker crud, oh now it's a TedWeber & now it's some orange spooge thing. And now I'm playing through a cheese cloth based speaker with corn on the cob as the coil.
Untils later comes turn it up to something that makes sound.
How did the SUV vehicle boom start anyway? Who knows? I'm quickly reminded of the outtake at the end of the movie Cars where Mater is coaching Hummers & other SUVs to get out into the dirt & go off-roading for the first time in their existence. One yells "But I've never been offroad before!"
When Terra & I went on our honeymoon in Mexico we were walking about puerto Vallarta in both the new & americanized touristy part as well as meandering through some back streets. We just wandered randomly by some back street tiny hole in the wall tortilla factory where one could walk in & buy tortillas hot off the line! We sampled some & they was great! A modern example is that of Krispy Cremes hot off the line! Yum! Sorry heart & gut & arteries!
So I did mention previously that I might, just might, pursue upgrading me two speakers in my overpowered monster of an amp that's more suited for live gigs than dinking around at home. And I've also spoken of the THD Hot Plate which is way expensive and the Marshall Brake which is even more ughage! Anyway...So I began hunting around for possible speaker choices to consider. First off I realized that there are only few models that are in the needed 80 to 100 watt range. The reason is most guitar hero types use 4x12 cabs so the speakers don't need to be as beefy. It's almost frustrating for the combo amp types. But it's also nice so as to not have to sift through myriads of speaker spooge & hundreds of different opinions. As I said, I don't care if I plug into some grey box or an, the fruit, orange with apples for pickups & it sounds decent. I don't care about the details nor the settings. I just want the fantasy turn it on & sound good clean, surfy, swirly, bluesy, EVH rhythm, & Satch or Vai or Hoey or George Lynch, or Gilmour lead. I also realized that the world has migrated to the well known manufacturers such as Celestion or Eminence speakers. They have a long history of course & there will always be debates & arguments & personal preferences that decide the popularity of things. And respect is due to such speakers that have created some of the greatest sounds on recordings. But does what most people get just cause Eddie did it, or does it, or any axe-person got it or has it mean it's the thing to conform to. NO I SAY! Do not conform to conformity dag narn it.
So, like the wandering about back streets in Mexico, I somehow found myself doing a search on www.gearslutz.com. Not that I like the name much but real people, not trying to hype the marketting crud, write their preferences & such. I came to find the little hole in the wall place called www.TedWeber.com. One quote on the aforementioned gear place.com states "I would say anything that doesn't have Celestion printed on it. Weber VST make bloody fantastic speakers at great prices." So that sparked interest in what Weber has to offer. I even emailed to get a suggestion. Again, due to wattage, I'm limited to about 4 choices there as well. I think my main decision will be warm sound or 'uncolored' whatever that means. I poked around a bit more & encountered a much more affordable attenuator as well which I inquired about.
If a coin were to decide a speaker choice between a Weber model or a Celestion Classic Lead or some Eminence model I probably wouldn't notice a difference & wouldn't care either way because I couldn't tell the difference between playing a spoon or a knife.
So Glop, how's the wall o' transistors & resisters & flux capacitors coming along? Please include in the wall several speakers that somehow randomly make contact with the speaker cable connectoids for random amounts of time. Hey stop, what's that sound? It's now a Celestion, now it's some stock speaker crud, oh now it's a TedWeber & now it's some orange spooge thing. And now I'm playing through a cheese cloth based speaker with corn on the cob as the coil.
Untils later comes turn it up to something that makes sound.
Sunday, November 26, 2006
iAmplifier Gizmoidalage & Gadgetoids
Update 10:00 pm 11/26 - Welp whilst switching around tubes to see if I could isolate the hum issue in amp I tried to straighten a pin on one o' the tubes & snap. So my conjecture is that hum is probably due to way old tubes so ordered some to try. Not a bad thing. I also chose to pursue a newer tube set by Electro Harmonix rather than the Groove Tubes that everybody & their brother sells. End update.
This ramble has been a couple of days in the making but I think I'm content with the wisdom of the result. I had the usual Friday off after downing the Triptophan & other standard Thursday goods. I finally got around to changing my Fender's strings for the purpose of providing to Gloppage dude for the pedal mods as there are points in the mod process where the pedal needs to be checked. Anyway...I finally, I know it's a miracle, plugged my Crate amp in. Silly me...I expected it to work just fine after several years of dormancy in closets. It worked some of the time. Other times the left speaker has an annoying hum that indicates something is not happy somewhere. Anyway...I did finally try out the Phaser I bought. It's swirly cool ma'an. I also plugged in the yet to be modified Super Distortion pedal. Cool as well. But as I've spoken before, and that which I realized yet again, the amp is not designed for quiet or for close quarter living situations with neighbors; I'm not sure why I chose to buy such a powerhouse way back when but I was naive then. So between the speaker hum, which I will blabble about in a minute, & the loud factor, I allowed myself to enter a period of depresso discouragement. And that's pretty typical for me in regards to musicdom over the years....Try something, don't like it or something's wrong, throw a pity party about it. As far as the left hummage goes I did pull out & reseat the 4 tubes & made sure that they all glowed when turned on. They weren't purple though. Oh well. So the speaker still hummed. I noticed that at least for a few moments applying pressure upon this metal overhang heat absorber plate thing the hum went away. But it comes back so I need to dink about with it a bit & possibly call Crate on Monday.
Back to the original subject which I haven't really mentioned yet & that is I started considering should I bother with an attenuator like the THD Hot Plate or sell the overpowered, but well reviewed, amp & get a low wattage studio type practice amp. So I spent a few hours on Sat. night researching myriads of 15-30 watt amps available for an amount much lower than a Hot Plate costs. It's puzzling to me that manufacturers of these amps do not supply an Effects Send/Return jack on such amps. I was really sold on the Spider III 15 Modelling amp until I read that they don't include effects loops. I was also looking at the Orange CR-15 amps. I still want to try one but no effect loop. And as I write this I conjecture that an effects loop is not included so as to try to lead buyers to choose a more expensive amplifier that has one. And boy the Orange amp prices jump radically from the CR-15. Ugh. I went to bed last night with a possible few models to try to go try if any stores within the Santa Cruz/Santa Clara counties might have one to try. Still discouraged though.
I mounted my computer chair this morning once again to continue to look around & I stumbled upon some good wisdom that helped me conclude that I will keep me loud thing & try to obtain a Hot Plate off Craigslist or EBay. The wisdom is here:
http://www.guitarnuts.com/amps/myths.php
Now not so blah & negative about things. Sometime next year I might invest in some Celestion speakers to replace the Crate stock speakers.
The only thing positive about the smaller lower wattage things is that they do offer headphone jacks that mute the speaker. That's a big plus as the bulk of the time I would just be dinking around & need to keep annoying Terra to a minimum.
Until later comes, turn it up to Effects Loops.
This ramble has been a couple of days in the making but I think I'm content with the wisdom of the result. I had the usual Friday off after downing the Triptophan & other standard Thursday goods. I finally got around to changing my Fender's strings for the purpose of providing to Gloppage dude for the pedal mods as there are points in the mod process where the pedal needs to be checked. Anyway...I finally, I know it's a miracle, plugged my Crate amp in. Silly me...I expected it to work just fine after several years of dormancy in closets. It worked some of the time. Other times the left speaker has an annoying hum that indicates something is not happy somewhere. Anyway...I did finally try out the Phaser I bought. It's swirly cool ma'an. I also plugged in the yet to be modified Super Distortion pedal. Cool as well. But as I've spoken before, and that which I realized yet again, the amp is not designed for quiet or for close quarter living situations with neighbors; I'm not sure why I chose to buy such a powerhouse way back when but I was naive then. So between the speaker hum, which I will blabble about in a minute, & the loud factor, I allowed myself to enter a period of depresso discouragement. And that's pretty typical for me in regards to musicdom over the years....Try something, don't like it or something's wrong, throw a pity party about it. As far as the left hummage goes I did pull out & reseat the 4 tubes & made sure that they all glowed when turned on. They weren't purple though. Oh well. So the speaker still hummed. I noticed that at least for a few moments applying pressure upon this metal overhang heat absorber plate thing the hum went away. But it comes back so I need to dink about with it a bit & possibly call Crate on Monday.
Back to the original subject which I haven't really mentioned yet & that is I started considering should I bother with an attenuator like the THD Hot Plate or sell the overpowered, but well reviewed, amp & get a low wattage studio type practice amp. So I spent a few hours on Sat. night researching myriads of 15-30 watt amps available for an amount much lower than a Hot Plate costs. It's puzzling to me that manufacturers of these amps do not supply an Effects Send/Return jack on such amps. I was really sold on the Spider III 15 Modelling amp until I read that they don't include effects loops. I was also looking at the Orange CR-15 amps. I still want to try one but no effect loop. And as I write this I conjecture that an effects loop is not included so as to try to lead buyers to choose a more expensive amplifier that has one. And boy the Orange amp prices jump radically from the CR-15. Ugh. I went to bed last night with a possible few models to try to go try if any stores within the Santa Cruz/Santa Clara counties might have one to try. Still discouraged though.
I mounted my computer chair this morning once again to continue to look around & I stumbled upon some good wisdom that helped me conclude that I will keep me loud thing & try to obtain a Hot Plate off Craigslist or EBay. The wisdom is here:
http://www.guitarnuts.com/amps/myths.php
Now not so blah & negative about things. Sometime next year I might invest in some Celestion speakers to replace the Crate stock speakers.
The only thing positive about the smaller lower wattage things is that they do offer headphone jacks that mute the speaker. That's a big plus as the bulk of the time I would just be dinking around & need to keep annoying Terra to a minimum.
Until later comes, turn it up to Effects Loops.
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