BigWheeledWagon

Yeah, I record on a computer using Cakewalk's Sonar. At this point, I often record stuff as I write, which is a great way to avoid losing ideas.

Wow, it's been quite a while since I've used a drum machine, and I'm not really sure what's out there now. How do you plan to use it? If you're recording, I'd strongly recommend against buying an external drum machine/sequencer when there is software that is much more effective. Even for live use, I would probably recommend using a laptop, but back before computer recording and sequencing became so accessible, I used to use a Boss Dr. Rhythm, and I recall that it was pretty easy to program and was designed with guitar players in mind, but I don't know if they even make those anymore. If

Just a quick clarification: I didn't mean to suggest that the Pn'R was the only pedal used there. It just seems likely that it is one of the pedals Jeff used to get that sound, but I haven't actually used the pedal, so it would be hard for me to identify it based on just listening to the recording. I'm really just going on previous discussions we've had here and Jeff's fairly heavy use of the pedal during that time period. It seems like during the "Ghost" period, if you were wondering how Jeff got a certain unusual guitar sound, Prunes n' Custard seemed to be the go-to response. Frankly, I

Isn't Jeff using a Prunes n' Custard pedal there? I feel like we've discussed that particular solo before. Perhaps someone with a little more familiarity with that pedal can confirm -- I know that he used that pedal quite a bit on "A Ghost is Born." UPDATE: During this thread, someone suggested that the PnC was the pedal used during that solo (as well as in "Hell is Chrome"): http://forums.viachicago.org/topic/20350-crowther-prunes-and-custard-pedal/page__hl__prunes%20ALTHWYS__fromsearch__1 Rowboat, don't you have one? What do you think -- is it the culprit?

Another method I sometimes use when I'm really having trouble getting started is to "rewrite" someone else's song. Let's say you've got a riff or melody or something from another song in your head. Well, start playing it, and then start tweaking it until it's no longer recognizable as the original. I'm not talking about knocking the song off -- I'm talking about using it as a jumping-off point to get started. Play a riff backwards; invert the melody (if the next note climbs by a certain interval, drop it that interval instead); take a throw-away fill and expand it to the primary basis of a

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,

I went to a college that played in the SCAC -- Rhodes College (it's in Memphis). I can't say, however, that we in the student body gave a great deal of support to our football team (or any athletic team for that matter). We tended to show up for the annual game against Sewanee, but that's about it. In my experience, it seemed like a lot of the guys on the football team were really just trying to play a few more years of high school football and were dismayed to discover that people didn't treat them like the football heroes they were treated as in high school. While the beauty of D3 is th

I think it should probably tell you that it would not be all that surprising to encounter someone making that post without intending it as sarcastic. The internet can make sarcasm detecting a little difficult sometimes -- I can recall a lot of misunderstandings I was involved in during the early days of email, IM, etc.

I love Sonar, but setting up a new audio interface with it can be a real pain. I'm trying to remember what I did the last time I ran into this problem -- I'll mess around with it this weekend to see if it jogs my memory, but I recall having to reset some of the drivers and maybe even switching between the driver types (and back for no reason). There's some good info out there on the Cakewalk forums, and they probably have some info on the exact unit you're using. I can say that without doubt, M-audio has been the easiest variety of audio interface to get Sonar to recognize. I haven't tried

I have to agree with that recommendation, and not just because these instruments would be in higher demand (I actually imagine that keyboard players are probably in higher demand than mandolin players in most places -- though I live in Nashville where that may not be the case). It would be easier to make the transition from guitar to bass or mandolin than it would be to keyboards. Moving to bass is really only a matter of technique -- you already know where all notes are. It is important, though, not to think of the bass as just a lower-tuned guitar, and bass does have some fun things uniqu

If you have a computer recording rig, I would highly recommend getting a good MIDI controller. For your price range, you could get a pretty decent controller, and if you have a recording set-up, chances are that you already have some built-in programs that would allow for use of MIDI triggered samples or sounds. This would also allow you to expand your bank of sounds as you go -- I have programs that emulate a range of electric pianos, real pianos, and Hammond organ, Wurlitzer, etc. As for a stand-alone keyboard, $200 isn't going to get you much, but if you're just looking to learn, you

Wow, I think that might violate VC's rules against posting porn, because that's some serious amp-porn right there. I would love to get hold of a Swart Atomic Space Tone myself, but man are they expensive.

So, even though my next gear purchase was to be another acoustic, I came across a 60's "Airline" (basically a department store amp -- Motgomery Ward mail-order, made by Harmony, Kay, and Valco) for about $100. It's about the equivalent of my Fender Champ power-wise, but it sounds better (it's tube rectified, unlike the modern Champ). It needs a little boost to really break up with a single-coil pickup (nice and crunchy with humbuckers, though), but it has a great tone cranked. It's actually got a different rectifier in place of the 6X4 it needs, and it looks like replacing it with a 6X4 sh

I couldn't agree more -- no need to worry on a structural level, but if it just doesn't look right to you, then by all means, get a replacement. Personally, I think minor "imperfections" (I hesitate to even use that term) like that give an instrument character, but this is your guitar (and perhaps your children's and their children's, etc.), so you deserve to be 100% satisfied with it, especially given the sizable investment involved here. Congrats on the guitar. As so many others have commented, one day, I too will own my very own Martin. As a teen, I used to spend hours at Gruhn Guita

So, I'm guessing Adams did this BEFORE he quit using drugs? In fairness, though, I liked his music a lot better before he quit using drugs. I'm not sure he'll ever make anything as good as "Heartbreaker" or the bonus EP to "Gold" again.

I hope they stop at the Ryman here in Nashville this fall. I was surprised that they didn't this spring -- especially given the prominence of the Nudie suits as of late. The last two shows they did here were amazing (the "Ashes of American Flags" DVD serves as proof of how great the last Ryman show was).

I'll add a second vote for steel wool -- I've had god luck with it.

I use Sonar. It's a little intimidating at first, but you'll pick it up pretty quickly.

. . . and all of those ways seem easier than being hung upside down by your feet. Maybe Lennon was just looking to enhance his buzz by having all the blood rush to his head.

Wow, this thread has gotten way off topic, but this made my day. In high school, my friends and I used this particular euphemism quite often after seeing "Die Hard" on TBS -- as in, "Damn, Mr. Falcon be tripping" or "That's one ugly Mr. Falcon." Of course, when using the term, you always had to say "Mr. Falcon" in a voice distinct from the rest of the sentence as if it were dubbed in by another actor.

Funny you should mention it -- I've got the Emerick book on reserve at the library, so I'm glad to hear it's a good read. Unfortunately, the Nashville Public Library system does not have "Recording The Beatles" at any of its branches. That may go on the Christmas list this year -- it seems like the kind of book that would be good to own (much like the Beatles Complete Scores -- one of the best presents I've received). As for good Beatles stories, I also enjoyed Tony Bramwell's "Magical Mystery Tours." It's always cool to hear stories from people who were actually part of the Beatles' ex

Ha! Not sure why he would need to be hung upside down -- I would imagine you could just sit in an office chair and spin, but that's nowhere near as funny a mental image.

Wow, you can't argue with that. If it's good enough for the Beatles . . . As far as I'm concerned, George Martin and the Beatles are the bible of how to use the studio. It's hard to believe that most of the work they did was recorded on a four-track (with track-bouncing, sure, but four tracks nonetheless -- Abbey Road was fairly late in moving on to an eight-track, so those few recordings utilizing and eight-track were done elsewhere). Oh, and speaking of the Beatles and direct input, I've always enjoyed the story George Martin told about Lennon being so excited about direct input (if I re

So, I've always been very adamant about recording guitar via a miked amp and getting that perfect warm tube sound. Well, the other day I was just laying down a guide track that I intended to rerecord later. So, I went in directly. Later, I decided to play around and popped open my Guitar Rig 2 plug-in. I've got to say, it wasn't bad. In fact, I think I may leave the track. Now, I can't imagine using this on a regular basis. This was a guitar track that isn't out front in the mix, that if recorded through an amp still would have utilized modulation effects (it's kind of a trippy track),

I've had good luck with the MobilePre USB as well. In fact, I upgraded a few years ago to a Lexicon unit that would let me record in 24-bit, and it crapped out on me within a year-and-a-half. I pulled back out the old MobilePre, and I haven't really noticed a major difference (except that the M--Audio is much more reliable). 24-bit was a bit taxing on my system anyway. It's not like I'm making professional recordings anyway.