Theobscureart

I was watching the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame concert on tv and it got my mind grapes gushing... will Uncle Tupelo be inducted into the Hall? If memory serves, No Depression was released in 1990 making them eligible in 2015 as per induction guidelines. So whatdya think? Do they make it? If so, do they make it on the first ballot? Do Jeff and Jay play No Depression together?? (Please reserve comments as to the validity or bullshittedness of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame itself. It is what it is- its industry; its neat; and Axl didn't bother to show up for the show.) Thoughts? (However biased given the venue. Heh.)

Thanks a TON guys! I just closed my gig with it- I wasn't 100% on the lyrics cuz it was the first time I had played it the whole way through, but folks was dancin up a storm! They was dancin so hard they knocked my beer off of my road case, so you guys owe me one Yuengling. Just joshin' I owe YOU a beer. Y'all are the bees knees! Wait- I guess I should get us back on topic after diverting us into JTE territory: you guys are the knees on the bees which are contained within the muzzle.

Ill post some of the trickier stuff of his that I've learned.

Thanks again!

A bit out of place, but I'm takin a shot that some intrepid VCer can help me figger out the swingin Justin Townes Earle tune HARD LIVING LOVING YOU. When I have a few spare minutes, ill post what I've been playing, but it isn't quite right. If nothin else, you should all at least give the tune a listen. Its a FANTASTIC tune. I've figured out a handful of his tunes; and if anyone is interested, id be happy to post some.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can point me in the right direction on HARD LIVIN'!

another encore!!!!!!

 

i've got my fingers crossed

 

do you think if we all yell at our computers they'll hear us?

Only one way to find out...

Awesome! it's nice to meet a fellow RainDog!!

Hey... I enjoy my Angora Shoes as well... And just this past Christmas, I recieved a card from a hooker.

Holy Hell... talk about speakers speaking in code, huh?!

Sure, I'll sway with y'all.

This announcer is "Gay" to people who post on sites rather than readin Huck Fin every year like a good American should.

Coming from me, that's saying something.

Its like the dude who says, "Man, that guy's at the mall all the time!" but how would he know if he himself weren't at the mall all the time?

My appologies.

Jim Jarmusch. Nice.

Yeah. Go to NPR.org tomorrow. It'll be up for a year or two.

You're right. Its about endurance. Its not called Down and Down.

He's saying, "go ahead and cry."

We'll all make it through... Just you see.

Thanks happeningstone.

Anyone know who did the horn arrangements? Was it a collaborative dealie? I remember Jeff talking in an interview a while ago about how proud he was about the string arrangemets in Jesus (the man, not the song- obviously) but I'm sure these guys are total pros when it comes to being the Total Pros so they can just go with it.

Sounded like elephants and all.

Republicans?! I think the record is pretty clear, Sir!

Now all they need is a contra bassoon a la Tom Waits Bone Machine era.

well played, Pros!

good advice.

That's fine work.

I made myself a nice carbonara tonight and proceeded to get quite wine drunk... still my opinion remains both constrained and appropriate-

BEST

SHOW

EVER.

They could really rock the boat with Stickshifts and Safety Belts.

Turns out Nels cline is a better Jay Bennett than even Jay Bennett's Mom thinks that Jay Bennett is.

Its cold in my house.

Every Wilco show should end with Hoodoo Voodoo.

And a resulting floor fight between Max Johnston and Billy Bragg at the next Democratic National Convention.

Holy Hell... I just sounded WAAAY too much like Dennis Miller.

One more thing:

WAMU is the NPR station that's running the show here. Anyone who lives within listening distance should help out if they can. Contact my buddy Tony Washington. He's the Volunteer Coordinator.

Great mix. They ran a line off the board and mixed appropriately with ambient mics.

Here's Nels.

An observation:

I'm sitting here alone in my apartment - my girlfriend is out of town. MSNBC on the TV with the volume down; and I'm rocking out on the couch, admittedly a little wine drunk. I'm playing along quietly on an unplugged electric guitar. The thing is, I know how the songs go. That is to say, I know, for example, that Handshake Drugs begins with me (and the band, I guess) lazily folds in... D-G-F... again and again. The thing is, I know that the band is about to go simply and in a controlled state of nuts- I can feel the merlot dictate me to do the same. As I listen, they don't go nuts though. I'm just a drunk guy on a couch tensing up as my body and dozens of hours of headphones builds to Nels' solo. The rest of the band doesn't tense, however... They have the discipline to do the song service by letting it happen as intended- even though they do this night after night. That's musicianship at its finest and this may be the best I've ever heard them. As I conclude I realize that I missed Pot, and Roses is starting, so I'll leave you at that...

Let the makingfunofme commence.

Cheers, All- we're catching a good one tonight.

Its all in what's comfortable for you and what your needs are. I used to run a music store and this is what I've done for a few former customers with the very same dilema: Go to your local INDEPENDANT (heh) music shop and ask to plug into the following: A volume pedal, a clean boost and a Boss GE-7 Graphic eq. Try em out separately and see which works best for your situation; i.e. if the material you play requires a more nuanced volume change or swells a la pedal steel licks, go with the volume pedal. If you're just looking to knock it up a notch for solos, the boost or overdrive is fine. I mention the EQ pedal cause its more versatile than people realize. You can set each of the 7 eq faders to neutral and boost the level and you've got a clean boost; or you can boost the hi-end and you've got a trebble booster to cut through the rest of the band. A lot of people will say that the EQ pedal is a tone sucker, but 83% of people who say that can't actually tell the difference!

Maybe you need a combination of any of these. Try 'em out. I'd say get a volume pedal no matter what. I believe there was a thread on just those a while back. Just go with what feels best, sounds best, and is affordable. Just my 2 cents.

Oh yeah... One thing I do is lower the rhythm (neck) pickup on my telecasters and raise the bridge pickups. When I kick the lever the lead (bridge) position its much more powerful. Just a thought. (Don't raise the pickup TOO high or the magnets will fudge with the string's orbit and then you've got issues.)

Depending on how much of a purist or, tone snob, or how big of a liar you are (I'll explain in a sec) most "real players" find an amp's effects loop to be a useless tone sucker. Having said that, there are many fine, respectable, professional guitarists who use the fx loop without a second thought. I personally don't use amps with loops because its just another link in the circuit with the potential to fail or bleed gain or tone from the signal. There are a LOT of guitarists who claim to be able to hear things like fx in an amp's loop; the $50 cable as opposed to the $20 one; the difference in tone between a Duracell battery in a pedal vs an Eveready. While there are some who can tell, most can't. In fact, its been my experience that the bigger an asshole a guy is about things like this, the bigger a liar he is. If you're not making your living as a musician or collector/investor, buy the best that you can AFFORD. I used to run a retail music store and my customers were 15 year old beginners through well-known professionals. My routine was to always put them through a blind sound test (i.e. if a kid wanted to buy the $200 boutique od pedal but only needed the $30 digitech if they could tell the difference, cool. But they never - literally NEVER could.) My goal wasn't to put the store owner out of business. In fact, I usually had the customer for life because I was honest about the gear. Then there's the issue of what's COOL to play. I'm as guilty as anyone. You gotta play what you want and what you can afford, and not be an asshole about it.

Wow... I really went off there. Sorry to get so far off topic. I work for PRS and my fingers hurt from fretting and sanding a bunch the new West Street Santana necks today... I tried to type my way through the pain and I ended up ranting about my anger with gear-snobbish-assholes! My bad.

Anyhoo...

As far as placement, it depends on what you'll be using the volume pedal for: If you're using as a functional mute, you'll want it at the end of the chain. If you're using it for dynamics, put it at the beginning or before any time-based effects (delay, reverb, chorus.) I personally put mine after everything but my delay and reverb. This allows the wet (effected) signal to trail off while everything before the vol. pedal is muted/adjusted. This is what Nels does, for example when he's going for a pedal steel sound, and in my opinion, gives a very natural overall sound to your signal by not effecting everything at once by allowing you to smoothly transition between notes. Bottom line: Experiment with EVERYTHING when it comes to fx placement/order. You'd be amazed at how much your sound might change if you are, for example, overdriving your phaser rather than phasing your overdrive.

As for the volume pedal itself, Ernie Ball has become the gold standard because they seem to be more solidly built than many others. If you really wanna go for the gusto, go for what the old school pedal steel guys use- an old ShoBud or Chandler pedal. Expensive as nuts, but the range is very fine-adjustable and there is very little noise or tone sucking as associated with many (if not MOST) Vol pedals on the market. But, having said THAT, there are again many fine, respectable, professional players who use a $15 Bespeco pedal and sound just fine. Se la vie.

Post some pics of the Nash when it comes in. I have a Tele that Bill made and its one my favorite guitars I've ever owned. I like it too much to take it out of the house too much, though. I'll put up some of the insurance pics I took of it when I get a chance.

Cheers.