BigWheeledWagon

While SBS may be a "lesser" album, I think it's awfully premature to start talking about a decline -- at least until we hear the new album. Even if the new one is the worst thing the band has ever done, I can't see a reason to call it quits while they are still such a dynamic live band. I'll admit that "SBS" is perhaps my least favorite Wilco album (which doesn't mean I don't love it), but seeing them tour in support of it was amazing. All bands tend to have a peak period after which the quality of their albums become less consistent (see the Stones from Beggars Banquet through Exile), but a loss of consistency is no reason to call it quits. I'm willing to bet that Jeff still has a few good albums left in him. He just may not put them out all back-to-back. Maybe one day Wilco will make its own "Abbey Road," but until then, we can still enjoy one of the best live bands around.

I will also give my standard response on this one (and likewise apologize for not really answering the question). I have never found a pickup or other acoustic accessory that sounds as good as just using a microphone. I know Jeff likes the LR Baggs, but I really don't like the sound he gets live -- it just doesn't sound natural (sorry if that amounts to blasphemy around here). The sound of most, in not all, of these devices leaves something to be desired to my ear. I know that using a mic on an acoustic guitar can be hassle and is very much limiting to on-stage movement (with the exception of internal mics, but I still prefer the sound of external mics), but it seems to me that there is a reason most people, even those that love acoustic pickups live, still mic their guitars in the studio. As a teenager, I also had a horrible experience where an idiot in the band I was in tripped over the cable coming out of my acoustic pickup and seriously damaged the guitar's sound-hole. Anyway, I know this post isn't really of much help in answering the question -- I just wanted to throw my thoughts on the matter out there (I hadn't popped in on SST in a while and felt like visiting. What can I say? I miss ya'll).

I suspect a lot of your bass issues are because you have a nice beefy dread, lighter gauge strings might help, but youll lose sustain and tone...embrace the dread, youll likely learn to adjust your technique to deal with the boominess

I couldn't agree more. I have a '67 Gibson Dove, and it has some serious booming bottom end, and I've found that strings make no real difference in this regard. I have found, however, that I have adjusted my technique not just to compensate for the intense low end but also to utilize this facet of the guitar. For recording, there are numerous ways to deal with the exaggerated low tones. Also, a guitar with a powerful low end sounds great high strung (also known as Nashville tuning)

This might help you get started. There is also a Lyrics and Chords/Tabs section right below Solid State Technology!

http://forums.viachicago.org/index.php?sho...631&hl=wait

http://www.gumbopages.com/music/uncle-tupe...ngs/wait.up.txt

Yeah, I'm trying to go easy with the "wrong forum" responses since they often lead to 1) complete freak-outs and a stream of insults from the person who posted in the wrong forum to begin with even though the correction was meant only to educate/help and 2) a digression of the discussion into forum etiquette by those who witness the spat with half the posters taking the position that folks should go easy on new posters so as not to discourage them and the rest advocating absolute adherence to the rules. Sometimes someone even gets upset at the suggestions that they are new to the boards, even if they have fewer than 10 posts -- I once saw someone who had posted in the wrong forum take umbrage at a very polite suggestion that they should try posting elsewhere. When the corrector noted that he was only trying to help someone new to the boards learn the best way to get an answer to this question, the poster again blew up and ranted about how he was not new but had "started over" with a new ID after forgetting his old password. He then launched into one of those rants about how he was one of the few "true" Wilco fans who had been around since Jeff sang his first nursery rhyme in his crib. So, recognizing the inherent risk here, I have to say I agree with the previous poster that this is a pretty straight-forward situation where a forum exists that is designed to address the issue. I'll add the disclaimer that this isn't meant to embarrass anyone (new or not). I've generally found that SST tends not to fall into the bickering that troubles some of the other forums, and though it's still a good idea to keep things relatively on-topic, the "topic" of this particular forum seems to be a little more flexible than some. I've found that SST seems to have embraced several topics outside of just gear, such as song-writing and the creation/playing of music generally, and I'm all for that. In fact, that's one of the joys of this forum. Still, there is a forum for tabs, but I'm glad to see that folks around here, even when pointing that out, still offer helpful suggestions.

I went to college just down the street and around the corner from Neil's. I've got some memories of that place (a few of them even good). Anyway, sounds like a good cause. Oh, and I absolutely have had the same experience with learning several songs from an artist. I find myself writing songs in the style of that artist for a while after.

Good luck. I hope you get a good turnout.

Bigwheeledwagon:

 

I am having the same problem as you... I do not have the problem when I plug my Strat directly into my blues Junior. When I add an effect between the guitar and the amp, I can faintly hear a radio station. The louder I turn up the gain on the amp the louder the radio station gets. Also, the radio staion level goes down when I stop touching the strings or metal parts of the guitar- leaving it floating. It seems to be a combination of things brings this out. Do these symptoms sound familiar to you?

Sorry to take so long to respond to your post -- especially your first post. My radio station problem is not limited to my guitar; in fact, it's worst in the headphones of my recording rig (but only through the phones) The station does increase with volume, but on my guitar it is independent of whether I am touching the guitar. I'll let you know if I figure something out.

 

I made one of these out of cardboard and brought it to school on the bus when I was in seventh grade. My peers treated me like a hero that day. By lunchtime it had been taken away by my bitch science teacher Miss Pugh and I never got it back.

I also had an evil teacher named Ms. Pugh in middle school -- I can't remember what subject she taught, though. Funny.

When I worked at a music store in my youth, we used to sell his Peavey model (the red one with all the random stripes). What a piece of crap that was. We had a guy that hung out in the store and kind of worked there at times who was a guitar player in Buddy Guy's band (and is now a pretty talented solo blues guitar player in his own right), and I did enjoy hearing him demonstrate it to all the goofy kids by playing "Eruption." Kids would buy that thing thinking that the guitar would somehow make them able to play like that. They would often come in later complaining that it didn't sound the same when they got it home. Good times.

On a totally off-topic note, thinking about the gear we sold makes me realize what a truly sad time the early-to-mid-nineties was for guitar gear. I don't think we sold a single tube amp at the store, but in those days it seemed like a daunting prospect to travel an hour to Nashville (for teenagers, who were a lot of our guitar business) and kids didn't seem to understand the difference. Of course, we didn't sell Fender products then because the store owner had gotten into some sort of dispute with the Fender rep, and they wouldn't let him sell Fender guitars without carrying every product they made. For a music store in a small Southern town, it was a tough proposition to have to carry more than a few strats and teles. We still did a good bit of business with used Fenders (I got my first Strat there). The store now carries Fender gear though and also does a lot of business on ebay. I don't know how they stay in business in the age of musicians friend, but I'm glad they do (I'm guessing that selling school band instruments is still a major source of money). I remember charging $7-$10 for a pack of strings, which made my lifetime employee discount a must. They did cut me a really good deal on my '52 tele reissue, though, but I think they were under the impression that it was defectively wired (it was wired in the original '52 configuration, which I eventually updated the modern wiring).

I finally gave it a listen, and I don't think that Prunes n' Custard is the effect used. It does indeed sound like some sort of rotary or vibrato-type effect, unless, as has been suggested, that's bleed over from the keyboard part. Univibe or similar pedal (rotovibe, micro vibe, others already mentioned here, etc.) maybe? Perhaps a (very) little chorus mixed in? Sorry I don't have much new to offer -- my ears have a trouble separating the part out from the other tracks.

Fittingly enough, the director of the film is from Jeff's hometown of Belleville, Ill. I came across this little tidbit in a recent NY Times Article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/01/movies/01roch.html

In fact, spotting Belleville in the article is what drew my attention to it. I became somewhat less interested when I realized what movie was involved.

I don't have any ideas about this yet, but I'll give it a listen when I get a chance. I felt compelled to post despite not having an answer since this is your first and I hate to see it go without a reply for several days. Welcome to SST. Hopefully one of us will be able to help you out.

If it were a Nels part you were investigating, this would be a little easier since a great number of threads have investigated his various pedals. Still, I think there may be a thread or two dedicated to Jeff's gear -- you may want to do a search. Looking over his pedals may give you a clue to what he's using. In my experience, when most folks have trouble figuring out what effect Jeff's using, he's using his Crowther Prunes n' Custard -- it's a pretty unique pedal.

Cellphone??

 

im reaching...

No, it seems to be picking up a radio station -- a really crappy station at that. I just can't figure out why this is just now happening, but I'm going to try plugging the amps into a different circuit and make sure all the cables in my recording rig aren't crossing. Not too long ago, my audio interface (a Lexicon) went dead, and I ended up just going with my older M-audio interface (which isn't that much of a step down) while waiting to upgrade. Perhaps when popping it into the set-up, I crossed some cables or left a loose connection. I'll let you know how it works out. It should be a busy weekend -- I'm also going to be rewiring my strat and putting in a treble bleed. I also need to record some tracks for a friend who is re-editing an independent movie he made and needs some stuff for the soundtrack (he's trying to get it into some festivals and feels like adding music might improve a few of the scenes). I'm looking forward to using some of the video-synching features of Sonar when composing the music.

id like to see the pics...

 

Once i got out of the habit of putting beer bottles up on stuff, the sting of repeatedly spilling beers up there is finally numbed...the towel hanging in the closet pic is the spill-kill, and yes, those blue carpets hide alot...

 

I havent had interference issues like that...are your guitars shielded inside? And wah pedals in particular pickup radio, could that be a player? Sounds like youre getting something other than the usual 60 cycle stuff...also, ceiling fans and light faders are generally culprits...alot of folks blame tubes in amps and pres, but i havent experienced any higher occurance in tube electronic vs other

Yeah, the guitars are shielded. Also, I'm picking up the same interference when using headphones (yet strangely enough, not through my monitors). My wah is currently not hooked up to my pedal board, and there are no lights with faders. There is, however, a ceiling fan. Also, the interference is relatively new -- I've had the same setup for a while, but the interference just started a few months ago. Weird. I'm also not using a CRT computer screen (which, in my experience, can really create serious noise through pickups). Anyway, the house was built in the early 60's, and thus the wiring leaves a little to be desired. There seems to be little rhyme or reason surrounding what outlets are on what fuse together.

Wow, a 20's Martin! And I know exactly what you mean about it being something less tangible. I can remember my Dad playing "Leader of The Band" when I was a kid and hoping someday that I could play as well as him. I also remember the day when I was in my late teens and my Dad saying "Son, your playing is really coming along.. You are better than me now."

I can remember my dad playing "Blackbird" on the Gibson Dove he eventually gave to me, and it was a nice moment when I was able to play it better than the old man and he actually seemed pleased instead of bested (at least I could "beat" him at something -- I never had that moment when I was able to school him at basketball. At least not before his knees gave out).

My wife has recently invaded my music room. You see, the music room is really more of a man-cave with multiple purposes. I have my meager studio set-up: computer recording system using Sonar and a midi input keyboard, my guitars (rebuilt strat, '52 tele reissue, '67 Gibson Dove, and Epiphone ES-335), bass, banjo, and mandolin hanging on the walls, and my lap steel, and amps/pedals set-up and miked. I'll try to post some pictures at some point. The studio has to share space with my tv/xbox360, a little area for painting (I'm a pretty horrible painter, but I find it relaxing), and, unfortunately, the laundry room off to the side (so no recording when the wife is doing laundry). While it may not be the best studio space, it's a hell of a retreat for me to go play a little Fallout 3, paint, watch some netflix, play some guitar, record whatever comes to mind, or have my buddies over to watch a game or play some music. For Christmas, my brother-in-law gave me Rock Band for the xbox, and we picked up a couple of guitar controllers and the drums. To my complete surprise, my wife loves Rock Band and is constantly coming up the man-cave to play. I actually enjoy the game, but I tend to play drums or sing -- the guitars and bass have no real correlation to the real thing, and it throws me off. Anyway, it's actually a lot of fun, and there's nothing wrong with a couple having shared interests, but the room has become less "mine." Still, it's nice of the wife to allow me to take over what is probably the largest room in the house with all my stuff in a manner that is not particularly aesthetically pleasing compared to the rest of our carefully decorated home (though I think she wants to paint it to bring it a little more in line with the rest of the house). Strangely enough, the carpet in my man-cave is that same navy carpet that Rowboat appears to have in his, and my wife wants to paint it a color similar to his. That navy carpet is great in the sense that you can spill stuff all over it, and no one will ever know.

On a different note, I've started picking up a radio station on my guitars and occasionally through my recording pre-amp. I think I can move the amps to a different circuit to help out with this, but the pre-amp needs to stay with the computer. Any suggestions. I've been meticulous about avoiding intersecting cords and all that, but I'm still picking up interference. I've resigned myself to not having the best acoustics in the room (high, triangular ceiling with beams running across -- lots of room for weird deflections of sound, etc.) and often record the amps inside a closet, but this interference thing is really bugging me.

Very nice -- totally blows my bonus room studio out of the water.

Another thought on the matter -- I know 30 watts isn't exactly ridiculously powerful, but its still a pretty loud amp, so you're probably going to have to crank the sucker to some bother-the-neighbors levels get the tone you're after. That is, unless you grab an attenuator, but that's a whole different can of worms . . . If volume is an issue, I'm pretty sure there's an older thread about getting that overdriven tube sound at lower volumes, because I had that particular issue before I got hold of a smaller amp and brought it up here.

EDIT: It looks like deepseacatfish was thinking along the same line there as I typed this post, which makes me wonder if we aren't on to something. Are you in an apartment or other situation that keeps you from really turning up the amp? If so, that might be what's kept you from getting the tone you're after.

In my experience, that "warm" sound is most often the result of the amp more so than a pedal. I can typically get a nice warm overdriven sound without using a pedal, though when I need an extra boost, I enjoy the classic tube screamer 808 (I know boutique overdrive pedals are all the rage, but I've found that it's been all the overdrive I've ever really needed -- though two of them chained together can be pretty fun). No pedal out there, however, can get that warm sound through a solid state amp.

I think the key for you will be messing around with your amp and guitar in combination to find what settings get you the tone you're looking for. No pedal will get you that classic warm tone if your amp just can't get there, and the settings for achieving that perfect tone can vary from amp to amp -- even among two amps of the same make and model. I don't know much about the Peavey Classic 30, but years ago I worked at a music store that pushed Peaveys pretty heavily, and as a flannel-wearing, grunge(and Uncle Tupelo)-listening teenager I owned a Peavey. I could never get a warm tone out of that amp or any of the amps at the store, but back then Peavey didn't produce many tube amps (I think we only ever stocked one -- some sort of Van Halen model). Hopefully you can get the sound you're looking for from the Classic 30 -- I've never played one so I couldn't comment on its tonal capabilities, though trying some vintage tubes could help warm up your sound. Hang in there and just keep experimenting.

Anyway, welcome to the SST forum. I think you'll find that there are some very helpful and knowledgeable folks around these parts. I've been to all kinds of gear forums, but I couldn't have built my own guitar and done countless guitar/amp mods without the help of these folks, and they're also a great source of knowledge for home-recording. Hell, I've even gotten a vintage tube as a Christmas present from one particularly awesome poster (thanks again, Rowboat -- totally made my holidays). So, basically, you've come to the right place.

I agree that comparing these two classics is indeed an apples/oranges comparison. For the most part, the two aren't interchangeable, and I always tend to know exactly which one a song demands. I love them both.

Since I only use keyboards for recording and don't play live, I've found that some of the computer emulators out there are pretty darn good -- I use a couple of programs from Native Instruments run through Sonar. I'm able to get pretty good Wurlitzer and Rhodes sounds. I can also get a nice Hammond organ sound. It's been a lot cheaper than trying to find vintage gear and takes up a lot less space. With guitars, I'm pretty strictly an analog, classic tube guy, but with the keyboard sounds, I don't mind faking it as much. I'm not primarily a keys player, though. I do, however, enjoy the variety of keyboard/synth sounds my computer setup allows me.

Agreed. Happy New Year. Oh, and speaking of the good people here in SST -- Rowboat, I received the vintage tube you sent my way over the holidays. Thanks so much. It sounds great in my Champ. Hopefully I can return the favor some day.

Well, I guess we now have the answer to the question posed in this thread:

http://forums.viachicago.org/index.php?showtopic=38048

Wow. I'm really glad they're using the Ryman show as one of the performances in the DVD. It was a great show, and I also have a selfish reason to be excited about it -- my wife and I were sitting very near the front and encountered the camera-people several times. Then again, I'm not sure I would want to see a shot of me with eyes closed and singing along. That's not a pretty picture. Anyway, I'm thrilled that Wilco will be sharing this show with all of those who couldn't be there that evening.

I'm pretty sure yankee was writing about Jay not Jeff.

Ah, that makes much more sense -- I mentally switched the two names, largely I suppose, because I forgot about Jay's series of (reportedly) disastrous solo shows following his ouster from the band. I recall some folks posting stories of those shows and telling of Jay being quite drunk and making bitter and rambling comments about his departure from Wilco. I know that some folks around here were more than a little concerned for his well-being and hated to see someone who made valuable contributions to much-beloved Wilco albums reduced to such behavior. I've enjoyed some of Jay's solo records, but I can't imagine I would enjoy seeing him solo, even absent the alleged behavior, given that so much of what he does well involves lavish production and multi-layered parts and does not necessarily benefit from being reduced down to just (arguably weak) vocals and a single guitar.

Anyway, it was well worth the mistake since it triggered a remembrance of a truly wonderful night of solo Tweedy. Thanks for setting me straight and especially for doing so in courteous and civil manner.

Also, I have to admit, Jay's solo stuff is not really for me. Saw him live at a small venue a couple years ago and I wasn't that into it. Also, he seemed nervous, stressed, and kind of unhealthy generally. So that confirmed my general feeling that while Jay is a very talented musician, it was simply time for Jeff and Jay to part ways. It would have happened one way or another - either with Jay leaving the band, or the band breaking up.

I had a much different experience seeing Jeff solo back in January of 2007 in Nashville (the first time he announced he title and release date of "Sky Blue Sky"). Of course, you complained that he seemed unhealthy when you saw him, and that may have been the case at that time -- especially if it was during that time where Jeff was, by his own admission, suffering from various health issues. In January of '07, however, he seemed quite healthy, and the show was amazing -- he bantered with the audience (he was quite funny), and the show had a wonderful, intimate feel. He even played a game with the audience where we would yell out scatological band names. The only awkward moment came when a person in the audience who had been quite vocal all evening yelled out, quite persistently, for Jeff to play "Please Tell My Brother," and Jeff eventually responded that he was uncomfortable playing it in the wake of his mother's death. He handled the whole situation with grace and poise, though. Overall, it was a great night, and Jeff really connected with the audience in a way that you just don't see at a full Wilco show (though a Wilco show has it's own very significant rewards). My wife was too sick to come to the show with me that night (I was sick, too, but that wasn't going to stop me), so I took a friend of mine who has long been somewhat bemused by my love of Wilco, and by the end of the evening, he was a fan. He now even has a framed poster from the show hanging in his home.

I'm guessing you haven't even heard it, right? Nice opinion though.

 

 

Oh, and, great thread!

I'm pretty sure it's possible to hear Jay's most recent album and still not like it. I, for one, have heard it and don't particularly care for it (though I do enjoy most of his other solo efforts to varying degrees). I agree, though, that it sounds like that particular poster isn't quite willing to give Jay much of a chance. Still, sometimes an artist's voice or style grates at certain people -- there are some singers that I just can't stand no matter what they do or how many times I try to give them a chance.

I've often wondered as well what direction Wilco might have gone musically had Bennett been kept in the fold. I'm one of those that think that it's hard to overrate Jay's contribution to the band; however, I think that had Jay stayed part of the band, Wilco probably would have come to an end by now and Jeff would be operating as a solo artist. I also don't think that Jay would have been happy with his position in the band. He was already struggling with his role as second-fiddle, so I can't see him being able to handle Glenn's increasing contribution to the band. Still, I enjoyed what Jay added to the band and miss it. As much as I enjoy the current line-up, especially in live performance, my favorite Wilco albums all have Jay on them.

webers are good...

 

check me on this but i think alnico is a stronger magnet and keeps its magnetic strength longer...ceramics tend to be more 'mellow' sounding, but generally are cheaper to make and supposedly dont have some sonic qualities of alnico...i think youd have to have some amazing hearing to really tell a difference

 

 

Hey man...PM me a good mailing address, ill send you a vintage 6v6 i have lying around...my good xmas deed

Again, my comments in previous posts about how friendly and helpful the regulars in the "SST" forum are justified. Rowboat, I've sent you a PM with my address -- thanks so much.

As for the speakers, I'd been wondering if the difference between the two is noticeable. The price difference is only about $15, but there's no reason to waste the money of I can't hear the difference.