BigWheeledWagon

I don't own one, but I have tried one out and wouldn't recommend it. Even in a budget studio, I've discovered (unfortunately through trial and error) that one shouldn't skimp on microphones. I'm not saying you need to spend $300 on one, but having a solid microphone is very important. If you need to save money in equipping your studio, I would skimp elsewhere. You can fix a lot in the mix, but you can't cover up a bad microphone. If you already have some form of USB or fire-wire pre-amp or mixer (or sound card with mic inputs), you can still get what you want for not much more than the b

I've got nothing against digital effects per se, but when it comes to multi-effect pedals, the problem always seems to be that the quality of the individual effects suffer in return for having a wide variety of effects. Generally none of the effects are comparable to their analog counterparts and tend to sound thin and cold. Some of the Line 6 digital modelers aren't too bad when they only have one type of effect (the distortion modeler in particular is pretty good if used with a tube amp). I guess a lot of guitarists are attracted to the lack of clutter and easy transport of a single multi

It took a while, but Line 6 has won me over with some of their modeling pedals; HOWEVER, I would hesitate at a modeling acoustic guitar (or any guitar or amp modeler). The "digitalness" of the effect pedal modeling can be overcome by pushing them through a good tube amp (basically, you can use them to color your guitar tone, but not to define it), but the samples on the website of the acoustic modeler sound very digital and not very realistic. If you really need sitar and other exotic instruments for recording, there are sample-based MIDI programs that could probably do a better job getting

So, my wife and I live in a duplex (we're in the process of looking for house), and last week we got some new neighbors -- a young couple like us. As they were moving in, I went outside to introduce myself. It just so happened I was wearing a Wilco t-shirt. We spoke for a few minutes, and the guy looks at my shirt and says, "Looks like you've got good taste in music. My wife has actually accused me of having an unhealthy obsession with Wilco." I replied that my wife has made the same accusation against me. Small world, huh? I guess it's not as rare to run into a fellow Wilco fan as it o

I've got a 335 (no feedback issues for me, even cranking out of a 60's Fender Bassman) and a '52 vintage reissue Tele, and if I could only choose one (a choice I hope I never have to make), I would have to choose the telecaster -- of course my tele is my favorite electric. Choosing between the strat and the 335 would be much tougher choice, especially because the strat has sentimental value (my first big guitar purchase at the ripe old age of sixteen -- I've had it now almost half of my life). Sentiment goes a long way -- no amount of money (and people have offered some nice amounts) could p

I haven't tried the Nord Klavia, but NI's Elektrik Piano can give really realistic Fender Rhodes and Wurlitzer sounds. The B4 used with a good MIDI interface can come as close to duplicating a Hammond B3 as you can get without buying one. The most recent version comes with a drawbar-duplicating MIDI controller, I believe. I think both of these VSTis come in at least one of the very expensive Native bundles (like Komplete), and they both come as single units. I'm pretty sure they are compatible with Pro Tools, but I haven't verified it. I use them with SONAR, and they do a great job.

Yeah, those are just screen captures of when you pull up the VSTi in your recording software. I have both programs and would recommend them with the caveat that you need a pretty good sytem to pull it off or you can get a bit of a weird delay between what you play on your MIDI keyboard and the software. I actually notate a lot of the parts in SONAR because I'm a pretty bad keyboard player and it's quicker to write it out than to get a perfect take. Anyway, they both have really nice sounds.

Nels is certainly a great guitarist, and I enjoy what he's brought to Wilco. Jay, however, was a good guitar player in his own right, and his real strength was his ability to shift effortlessly between various styles. He also brought the keyboards into Wilco's arsenal of sound, but Mike and Pat fill that role quite well now. Nels really imprints everything he does with his own unique style where as Jay altered his style to fit each unique song. For that reason, I find it hard to compare the two. I enjoy what each of them has brought to the band. If I were to judge them based solely on th

In my youth, I worked at a music store, and we would restring a guitar for free when you bought strings from us -- when you consider the mark-up on strings, it's the least any music store could do. I would recommend learning to do it yourself, though, and buying strings in bulk to save money. Once you get the hang of it, changing strings is easy and takes only a few minutes at most. Plus, it's extremely inconvenient to go to a guitar store every time you break a string. Here's a quick tutorial I came across online: http://hobbies.expertvillage.com/videos/ch...tar-strings.htm

The Nirvana/Boston one bothered me as well . . . not because of any idea out there that Cobain intentionally modeled "Teen Spirit" on more than a feeling (though, whether it's true or false, I've heard that somewhere, too), but because the only thing similar is the rhythm and strum pattern (which differs on the fourth chord anyway) of the four chord pattern -- the chord progression itself is different and gives the two songs entirely different feels. As with so many songs on the list, Rolling Stone found one common element between two songs and then decided that this made them almost the same

Several of the "sound-a-likes" on RS's list are pretty out there, but the Spoon/Wilco thing is the craziest. Both feature piano and similar rhythms, I guess, but the overall tone of the two songs are drastically different. I guess they share some similarities if you only consider the breakdown part of "Walken" towards the end, but even then the similarities seem slight at best -- certainly not enough to warrant being on this list (like say Pearl Jam's "Taken to Fly" and Zep's "Going to California.") I've always thought that "Sister Jack" from "Gimme Fiction" sounds like it could have been o

Mine arrived late, and the cover was all bent up but still framable. Not happy with musictoday. Great album, though.

Another money-saving option, if you're electronically inclined, is to get hold of an older, cheaper TS-9 and mod it to the TS-808 specifications. There are plenty of sites out there that can help you with this. I tried this a few years ago, but I am not very talented with a soldering iron. I fried the damn thing. Still, if you have any skill in this area (I don't), you should be able to make the mod fairly easily. Of course, if you are proficient in such tinkering and have a great deal of free time, you could get a kit and make your own and get the exact sound for which you are looking.

While I really dig The National ("The Boxer" especially), I'd have to go with Wilco. With the current line-up, seeing Wilco live is truly an amazing thing to behold these days. Seeing them at the Ryman last year was one of the greatest musical experiences of my life. I can't imagine that the National are as essentially a live band in the way that a band like Wilco or the Hold Steady are, but admittedly, I haven't seen them. I could be wrong. Also, the previous poster indicated that Wilco's playing songs from "Sky Blue Sky" would be some sort of drawback, but even if you're SBS-hater, th

At Jeff's January solo show in Nashville, he commented on last year's Ryman show being one of his favorites and said that Wilco should be coming back to the Ryman at some point in support of Sky Blue Sky. It could have just been idle chatter, but it wouldn't surprise me.

I prefer Anodyne, but still have a lot of love for A.M. I've always thought that had Uncle Tupelo stayed together for one more album, it would have been a classic. Imagine the best of A.M. and Trace on the same disc. Proposed track listings anyone?

And lots of folks use two tube screamers. Different strokes for different folks. I just personally think that while the two pedals are similar, the tube screamer produces a better sound.

"I'm Always in Love" is perhaps my favorite Wilco song (at least at the moment). Just last week, I ended up listening to it everyday on the way home from work. Great song.

Just curious -- how does this software compare with NI's Battery? I checked it out online, and it looks like they have similar prices. I've been using battery and like it fairly well, but it looks like EZ drummer might be a little more friendly to those of us non-drumers.

I've always found that video a little creepy. Jeff looks about half-dead, if I remember correctly, and he seems fairly disinterested. It was like seeing a zombie-movie version of Wilco.

It gets my vote as well. I've got an amp with no built-in reverb (an old Fender Bassman 10), and the Holy Grails fills in nicely.

The tele -- definately. Though, I have both a strat and a tele, and I honestly think there's a wider range of sounds to be brought forth from the strat. Still, I love the tele much, much more.

I had one many years ago -- I recall it as sort of a poor man's tube screamer. Not a bad pedal, though. Still, I'd recommend getting a tube screamer.

The Greenhouse

I mentioned this in another thread, but a local bar I frequent here in Nashville played the entire album last week.