In a little rowboat

Nice guitar, Im an archtop kind of guy myself

id start here---> archtop pickups and decide what kind of pickup yoou are looking for...i can personally recommend K&K for sound board, although I prefer magnetic pickups for archtops, particularly floating pickups because the require no cutting...

Installation depends on the pickup type, but I can help advise you once you pick a unit.

 

That said,

(1) I wish I could play deedly deedly deedly deedly; it sounds pretty cool.

(2) I guess I would agree to have hair-metal hair in my forties if it meant that I would have hair in my forties.

 

I told Jason that if he took the job, Id have to start looking for another drummer, because either he'd be going to jail eventually for killing some douchebag with a drum stick to the throat, of he'd end up deaf or have a break down from the incessant racket in the background...I got him some ear plug, we'll see how it goes...

We must be at the uncool GC because we are both shaven headed

I'm well aware of the difference between OD and distortion, and equally well aware of the limitations of listening to clips on the internet,even if they are hooked up to half-way decent speakers (as mine are). But I am equally aware that ALL internet clips are subject to these same limitations, and although recorded at variable levels of quality, a certain degree of comparative listening is possible, especially when you have compared a number of clips to things you actually own and play all the time. This, coupled with the fact that I have also heard the pedal played in a live band setting, is enough for me.

 

 

 

This is far more to the point. Unfortunately, no local shop stocks as well as the internet and sometimes this can't be done.

 

Yup, let your own ears be the judge and not us gear snobs. That said, don't forget to try out the Danelectro Transparent OD.

Heya sporty...I wasnt jumping on YOU for your suggestion, or your opinion. simply pointing out that until 'you' (SOMEONE) actually tries a unit out for themselves, they arent giving themselves enough to work with in the research dept.

Oh FWIW, ginandcigs, I my drummer works at GC and I do tech work for them on occasion...no one is going to have an issue with you bringing in your own rig to demo a pedal...they are all about sales, period. However, you will never get any kind of GC endorsement from me...they are the devil...

I have considered that in my case, I play mostly vintage/esoteric gear...there are not options for similar comparison in most stores...others could have better luck in store or online

Enjoyable, cool vibe...thanks for sharing

j

its a 1963 Guild T-50 (Granada)...one of the last models with the Franz pick up (like a p90, but crisper)...i got a steal, you can find Guilds cheap all over because they dont have the name recognition of Gibson, buy they better built guitars...

for the money, Digitech Bad Monkey seems like a good OD pedal, For the big money, OCD Fulltone seems like a great OD pedal.

 

I just want to amp up my rockabilly leads and occasional Grateful Dead/Ryan Adams & Cards-type jams....

heard lots of good things about the Bad Monkey, but honestly I haven't been impressed with any of the OCD clips i've seen. The Fulltone Fulldrive seems like an od i would go for if i could afford it, though.

Im using the OCD its been my number one (next to my klon of course) for about a year now...the trick is to not run it at 9v...it can be run anywhere between 8v-18v. I run it at 14v, a bit more clarity and headroom, much more touch sensitive. I dont think the OCD is all that big bucks, around $150 isnt it??

So many people dont know the difference between OD and distortion, and expect too much out of an OD...i think if you are listening to a clip online, you are already getting a compressed sound even more compressed by encoding and generally crappy speaker that go with most computer set ups... to check out something like an OCD, you have to test drive it.

Also depends on how you use your amp, and how you use your guitar volumes...I run into a LOUD 22 watt fender deluxe reverb, and with OD i use the amp volume to get the ummphh and breakup as much as the OD, power tube crunch...if one were using a bigger, louder amp wattage wise (like a twin) or, god forgive, a big solid state modeler amp, theyd never get the same thing. Go smaller, like a ts9 or an OCD on an old Champ...and whammo, great sound, but no volume...

My point, there are too many factors to narrow OD choices...you have to try YOUR rig with them in YOUR style...

well...i mean it might be an easy fix...at least have someone look at it...provided theres no labor charge...

A few possibilities...one is you have a massive ohm mismatch with the speakers you are running, causing the amp to overload/freak out, possible the reverb circuit is going bad and killing the dry signal, muting output...possible a speaker jack/s going bad or shorting, or a bad mic cord (did you swap cords?)...hard to tell without inspecting myself...i think if its none of those things, youll be looking at getting a new one, because what youll likely pay in repair/labor is close to the cost of a new unit of that type...it could be a transformer going bad (which could come from, i dont know, a speaker ohm mismatch) which is the kiss of death

in a solid state device like this one, the likelihood of a cap having deadly loads is not high...that is more common in tube amps with polar filter caps...however not a reason to not be very careful what you touch...

good luck, ask any specifics you like...ive been there

j

Well a week in to it and the Guild is clearly the best buy Ive made in years...it just what i needed, really great tones and construction, very playable...and a bargain compared to some others i looked at...

Been few months since i brought this up...but im simply not a jazzmaster guy...and i tried really really hard to like mine, even after bridge and pickup upgrade...it will be up on the ebay this week, if anyone's in the market...

yeah we talked abou this one back after the memphis show too...but still butt ugly

I do in fact own a PnC...

it is a very INTERESTING beast...basically a 2 stage drive circuit where the second stage adds a heavy harmonic overtone. which can sound like a filter or compressed fuzz, depending on settings and attack..it is designed like no other thing ive come across...very cool, but you cant really use it often. Two gripes...first the 'guitar' setting can be really thin unless added to other effects...also, it can be really unpredictable, because it is touch sensitive, meaning to get a consistent amount of effect, you have to have exactly the same attack on the string...it has plenty of sounds....sorry dont mean to hijack the thread.

It is my guess that jeff does use PnC on ALTWYS (the splat! sound) in conjunction with some other things, like analog delay and maybe the Brown rabbit pedal...it is certainly the effect on the end of the hell is chrome solo...might be on Handshake drugs (album version) too...

While I rarely disagree with Rowboat, our paths diverge a little here. While some of my better songs often just pop into my head, I see nothing wrong with putting some work into the writing process -- songwriting is a craft after all. Like prose writing, the best way to write is often to just, well, write. While it can be extremely frustrating to sit there with a guitar or in front of a piano with nothing happening, it often ends up yielding results. Just strumming random chords or banging on the keys often helps that occasional song pop into my head. Even when the song pops up by itself, it is often just a piece of it, and finding the rest of it usually requires some effort. I can think of very few times where a fully completed song just occurs to me. At the very least it will need a bridge or something somewhere down the road.

 

Musically, I find it often helps to deconstruct a song -- see what you can take out and where it leaves the song. You can also go the opposite direction by changing up some of the chords by adding extensions (6ths, 9ths, major or minor 7ths, etc) or augmenting or diminishing them, etc. Perhaps try adding complementary or contrapuntal melodic lines (and then you can even try dropping out the original melody or chords). I also find that it can help to play around with some different scales or modes to spice up the song. If you try to write a whole song using, say, the phrygian mode, it can sometimes be a bit much (depending on the song), but adding in a few lines using it can add some spice. Try using a structure you don't normally use or even experimenting with some different time signatures, if only for a few bars. In general, experimenting with elements of music theory as learning exercises can really help with writing music.

 

As for lyrics, I often struggle in this area (which is funny, because I'm otherwise a pretty good writer). This may sound stupid, but writing down dreams can often yield some cool imagery or ideas. Attempting to tell unusual stories or dramatize unusual events can lead to something. Finding a central metaphor or a little play on words and writing a song around often works for me.

 

I am going through a bit of a dry spell with songwriting right now, so I should probably take a little of my own advice. Lately, I've been working on filling out some of my studio stuff with additional instrumentation, backing vocals, etc., and I've found that doing that stuff can sometimes lead to new songs altogether. For example, I tried adding some horn parts to a song, and although the horn riffs didn't really fit the song, they did end up becoming the basis for a new song. So anyway, good luck (to both of us).

Haha...some blanketed flattery there...thx BWW

I interpreted the original post as : How to get things STARTED...if i were to even try to begin on the subject of songwriting as a craft or a process, I would overwhelm the constraints of this MB and fry all my braincells in the process...

And with that in mind, Ill only put out three thoughts, floodgates up, on my songwriting habits...first, concept: Lennon was brilliant as he took ideas from every possible media (film, notes, TV, newspaper, Ringo's malapropisms)--learn from this.

Next, lyrics: the thesaurus is my best friend, and I have a psychosis when it comes to anything sounding cliche...

Also, music: I remind myself that if a melody, riff or simple sequence of chords doesnt stick, no amount of backing or instrumentation will fix it...but rewriting, or 'deconstructing it' as mentioned, can...dont settle, and dont be afraid to leave something on the back burner an d fix it with fresh ears...and record EVERYTHING, to critique later...

For me, the marriage of music and lyrics is the toughest part, and almost never comes right away...that is the craft part in my case.

your approach to do things you never do is a good one...i go thru lulls as well, but you cant right a decent song unless you have lived some to have something decent to write about...

i always have textpad going in the background on my laptop--->highlight, copy, paste, repeat...

for lyrics...there are all kinds of word games i play to generate stuff...i read a TON, that helps...recently finished collected works of William Blake, the wordsmithery there is mind blowing...

for music...NEVER have a guitar/keyboard more than an arms reach away...i like to play with new tunings, quickly try to replicate commercial jingles, play with backwards chord progressions of songs i know...dont think too much til its time to arrange a tune and show it to the band, or if your solo, performance

The trick in each case for me is to not try too hard

I've got Youtube blocked here at work, so lemmie guess.

The guy from Grizzly Bear/ Dept of Eagles plays one of those.

 

What year and model is that , Guild Granada? 50's.

Yea...grizzly bear, oh man, love them...

its a 1963 Guild T-50 (Granada)...one of the last models with the Franz pick up (like a p90, but crisper)...i got a steal, you can find Guilds cheap all over because they dont have the name recognition of Gibson, buy they better built guitars...

Soundgarden?

 

I don't know, that's the only band I that comes to mind who is associated with Guild.

oops...momentarily forgot where i was posting...:

i am holding my breath until this arrives...my new number one i believe can you guess what band Im listening to alot lately?

Back to the original topic (sorta), Gibson deserves a boatload of ridicule for these monstrosities:

 

the "zoot suit"

 

Hideous!!

Jeff used one to close out he memphis show....on 'monday' as i recall

There was at least one taper (a friend of nels) and i spoke to him...i doubt we'll see his recording however...sadly, he was a bit of a snob...

no, i saw it, he gave it back after the first encore to the girl's male friend...girl left without it...

also, haven't seen this posted yet...so...

Ok So I am not a fan but watched his set at Farm Aid. BLEW EVERYONE AWAY. The Dynamo Of Volition is a great song live with the crowd. Also his cover of Spirit In The Sky was real good. Anyone watch his set? I coulnt believe what a great show he put on..

I was there, and respectfully disagree with that entire statement

Well, I don't really know what it is, but I do think it's mostly a problem with editting (or playing). Maybe I am making the cut in the wrong spot (by a hair) and it's causing the loop to hiccup for a split second before it starts up again. Or, since I am looping a track from the beginning, there are different levels of feedback or ambient noise at the beginning of the track and the end of the track, so when it loops back to the beginning of the track, in addition to the hiccup, there is just a different sound.

 

I'll keep messing around. Thanks again for everyone's thoughts. I hate being a nooooob.

just like everything else...you learn as you do...

send me a link or soundfile, im curious to hear the issue...

FWIW in Memphis sat, there were ALOT of people taping...you can tell the difference between a few snaps, and people simply holding their cameras up for extended periods...im 5'4' and it does suck when even though yo have great seats, you cant see shit because everyone around you has their LCDs up about their heads...he is right, however, its a battle that can't be won...

however, once jeff made his first request, and explained (sort of) himself, almost everyone adhered to the rule, except flask girl of course...matter of fact, when jeff jokingly asked people to film his rant about video, few people around me would...

I dont think there will be any ban or rule change...think jeff's reaction, while over the top, was meant to inspire the crowd and to force them to rely on their memories and emotional responses to the music...I get that, i think most folk do...

Also, a bit off point, but consider that in a theater that holds thousands, how many people in attendance ultimately have the respect and love for the band as VCers do...in any large group of people, there simply will be plenty of assholes and idiots...in this case it had nothing to do with being in Memphis, or any particular city...

The Memphis crowd was leaps and bounds better than the on in Oxford back in April...

Oooooh, I should also add:

 

Wilco's audience has widened significantly since 1997, and there are a LOT more children (kids under 15) at shows, from what I'm seeing and also hearing here on the boards. I don't think it's unfair at all to hold people to a higher standard when there are kids on the floor at a GA show.

damn good point

Also, a bit off point, but consider that in a theater that holds thousands, how many people in attendance ultimately have the respect and love for the band as we VCers do...in any large group of people, there simply will be plenty of assholes and idiots...in this case it had nothing to do with being in Memphis, or any particular city...

The Memphis crowd was leaps and bounds better than the truly rude one in Oxford back in April...

 

. The entire floor scene sounds like a drunken clusterfuck.

no, this was not the case