Jim's Analogue Noise Bunker - Report 5

A quick but long one, this week. Oi-oi! Ahem, anyway, thought I'd drop this entry/report/transmission/whatevs while it was still current. So, on we go, with more of my adventures with guitars and their related peripherals!

UNPLUGGED

Well, unplugged headphones, at least. I've just had a rare music practice through an amp + its resident speaker! I've been getting more and more concerned that I'm not hearing the full dynamic range (is that really a thing, or just a nonsense term?) through my wireless headphones, so have decided to "go live" for a change. I'm INCREDIBLY self-conscious while playing through speakers as, most likely, my neighbours can hear me and are either being annoyed by what I'm doing or judging my performance. Either way, I'm usually happiest playing "silent". I was thinking of maybe getting some noise-cancelling headphones to wear for speaker playing, just to take the edge off and make me feel a little more confident. I'd never play so loud as to be antisocial, but that raw sound is very powerful, even at a low volume, so I feel I need something to ease me out of my shell. Or what might also work is maybe just wearing standard over-ear headphones without them plugged in, just to soften the effect. Hmmm. I'll run some tests! I would like to eventually rent a rehearsal space/sound booth so I can finally see what it's like to "go crazy" with the volume, but since I don't drive, it'll be a bit of a task to lug stuff around. I guess I'll have to face that problem eventually, if I ever want to perform live.

THE MYSTERY SWITCH PART 2

So I've had the Squier 50s Classic Vibe Strat for about a week now, and I'm still not too sure what that extra toggle switch does. It definitely does something, as I do hear a difference in tone, and there's an audible electrical crackle when I switch positions, indicating something mechanical happening. As well as the possibility of it being a "presence" switch, I'm also wondering whether it actually provides different pickup combinations. In the bridge position, it definitely seems to give the most basic sound of each pickup, so maybe that's the "off" position. Therefore, the other two positions could combine the neck and bridge, all three, or have some reversing effect on something. There's a lovely Scottish guitar tech on YouTube that I follow, called "MADMALKO", who adds polarising features to his customised instruments (you can watch him here: https://www.youtube.com/user/MADMALKO), which gave me the idea that maybe this is what the mystery switch does. My final theory is that it changes the output of the pickups, as there seems to be a boost to the tone whilst playing with heavy distortion. I've still yet to hear back from my friend, who's sorta my "Obi Guitar Kenobi". I run things by him when I'm confused. I'm not very technically minded, or practical in general, so fingers crossed!

So, yeah, that's it for this week, rock gods! Do get in touch with advice, thoughts, feelings and admissions of undying love.

Toodles!

Jim's Analogue Noise Bunker - Report 4

Welcome back, guitar freaks! My head's been stuck in GTA Online for the past month or so, therefore musical inspiration has been limited. Or purposefully rolled back, in favour of virtual video game vehicle consumption. Fear not, though, as like most of my hobbies, my guitar lust will swing back into my consciousness and become a daily distraction again soon. I do keep practicing daily, and always keep an eye on my local music shop for bargains, just not as obsessively as I sometimes do. It's nice to have a change, I must say. Bit cheaper, too. So, my fine fellows, here's a rundown of my recent musical adventures (when I'm not in Los Santos)...

WRITING BUNDLE

Without trying, I seem to have accrued a handful of punk-pop song fragments, which I think I might try recording. I don't think they're complete verse - chorus - verse - chorus - middle eight - chorus deals, but they might at least work as demos. Demos for what, you ask? No idea, but it'll be interesting to get back into music recording again. I haven't properly done any in about seven years or so. The last time was in a professional analogue recording studio at college, and before that was at home with ProTools. This time it'll be Audacity. I'll still be using my old Shure mic and M-Box input, though. We shall see.

ROCKING ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT

Must say, the one good thing to come out of my horrible, medication-triggered adrenaline floods in the middle of the night, are some inspiring music sessions. Usually, the seizures come during the hypnagogia period, where I'm slipping into sleep. For some reason, my antidepressants fire a burst of what feels like adrenaline into my brain, and I need to get up and do something tasking. Or stare at a bright light. Just something to occupy my brain, basically, and the doing-stuff thing seems a little safer. When I tried (and failed) to come off my medication a couple of years ago, I noticed the floods stopped, and now I'm back on them and taking two tablets a day, I seem to get two floods each night. Coincidence? I dunno, but going into my guitar nook and rocking out for ten minutes with my headphones on is the best cure I've found thus far. During that frenzied state of hyper-activity, I tend to be a little more experimental and try out different chord combinations. It's getting to the point where I almost look forward to the floods now, although they are still rather unpleasant. Fun, fun, fun!

P.S. Yes, I have mentioned them to my doctor(s), but they never seem interested. Oh well.

ONE OUT, ONE IN

So although - boy! - does Eastwood's Norma EG 521-4 look cool as funk, unfortunately, in person, it has about as much personality as a brick. And a really boring brick, at that. The type of brick that doesn't get invited out to parties by all the other bricks. In fact, I'd describe it as a machine trying to sound like a musical instrument, but getting it slightly wrong. Which sorta doesn't make sense, as an electric guitar is a machine, really, but the Norma lacks its own musical signature. Perhaps it's like a replicant in the Blade Runner universe - they're 95% convincing, but that remaining 5% gives them away to the Voight-Kampff machine. Anyway, to cut a long story short, I traded it in today (Tuesday 04 September 2018) for a Squier Classic 50s Vibe Stratocaster, which I've been eyeing for years now. They're quite prized amongst players, and are shooting up in price. Luckily, this one was 2nd hand. Anyway, this leads me onto...

THE MYSTERY SWITCH

So I've cross-referenced the Vibe's serial number on the Fender database, and it is what it says it is. However, the model I am now in possession of has a mysterious 3-way toggle switch fitted between the 5-way pickup selector and volume/tone dials. I've browsed a few online music shops for the same model, but they're all missing that third control function. So, what's it for? Well, after playing around with it for a bit, it does seem to change the tone slightly. The closer to the bridge it gets, the wetter the tone. So if it's in the neck position, the tone is thin and dry. Maybe it's a "presence" switch, a musical tone that probably divides players and sends them arguing about what it really means. Regardless, is it a stock function that's now been discontinued, or a custom job by a previous owner?

If you know or have any ideas... HELP!

Well, folks, that's all for this transmission from the bunker. Do get in touch and tell me all your six-stringed secrets!

Jim's Analogue Noise Bunker - Report 3

Sorry for the slight delay with this post, but the recent heatwave has really put a cap on my playing time. Plus, since I had some new equipment to try out and get used to, it's probably best it took me a while. Anyway, let's got on with some guitar playing and tech talk!

PLECTRUM THICKNESS

Over the years, I've come to prefer a hard plectrum to the soft kind and, since settling on that, I've never even considered going soft again. However, since I've been taught new skills as a guitarist and been trying to alternate between strumming chords and plucking scales, I've found the harder plectrums just a bit too tough for the former. In general, I was worried that a softer plectrum wouldn't work for scales and arpeggios, but last night I dug out a softer pick and - low and behold! - it seemed to work just fine. I've involuntarily accrued a supply of the softer ones over the years, so hopefully I won't need to stock up next time I'm in the music shop. Shall let you know how I get on.

VOLUME/TONE BALANCING

I was stressing last weekend over balancing the volume of my signal chain. I currently have four volume knobs to deal with - my guitar's, the compressor's, the overdrive pedal's and the amp's. I usually have my guitar volume all the way up and tweak it as I play, then work on the amp volume, then the compressor's (I'm new to compression, so I'm not too sure how to best use it still) and then the overdrive's. But last weekend, for some reason, I wasn't getting the tone I wanted. Not only that, but I kept getting an unpleasant fuzz from whatever overdrive pedal I was using. So, dear reader, which volume do I prioritise? I guess it's all subjective, but the recent addition of a compressor has really thrown a spanner in the works. I'm tempted to remove it altogether. What do you think?

THE NINTH JAM

After a couple of weeks of heavy power chord riffage, I've suddenly fancied a change and have begun looping jazz-tinged 9th chord combos and improvising scales over them. Shall try and get a recording at some point. There's some freaky stuff going on in Jim's music nook.

MAXON CHORUS

So I finally picked up those three new pedals I had reserved for a few weeks and they're all GREAT. I've rolled back the mix on the chorus, as I only wanted a subtle warbling effect. It's set to a fast rate, as I don't like the slow swirl of 90s grunge. I wanted the retro 60s Leslie thing. While you can't hear the pedal's intended effect strongly on chords, it does add a metallic shimmer, which is very satisfying. On scales, however, the Leslie effect comes through loud and clear. One thing I don't like about the pedal, however, is how difficult the mix knob is to reach and turn on the back of the pedal. It almost needs tweezers or a wrench to use.

ECHOES... FROM SPACE!

Along with the Maxon chorus, I picked up the Boss (Roland) Space Echo. It's a compact, digital version of the analogue tape delay/reverb from the 70s. A secondhand of the original will set you back about a thousand pounds and much effort (due to the machine's required upkeep). While I've always avoided heavy delay and reverb effects until I was a good enough player not to rely on them, I think the Space Echo is going to motivate me to start having some fun. I think I'll keep the delay off when using the chorus pedal, as their effect is sort of similar and seem to cancel each other out. Shall keep you posted!

RADIO HAVANA

I. Love. This. Pedal.

Want your guitar to sound like a cheap-ass transistor radio? Then look no further than the Heavy Electronics Radio Havana! And, yes, I do want my guitar to sound like a cheap-ass transistor radio. The Radio Havana works not only as a lo-fi fx emulator, but also as its own overdrive. Two birds. One pedal. Bet you could probably knock a bird out the sky with it for real. But don't do that. Just buy one and play guitar through it! Initially I had a problem where my 9v power tree was creating a horrible hiss/whistle, but after trying an independent power supply, I found that it now sound golden. I was legit freaking out for a while there, thinking the pedal was faulty.

That's all for now, you funky rock chicks! Keep in touch!

Rock on.

Jim's Analogue Noise Bunker - Report 2

Welcome back, guitar geeks! Well, here's my latest confessional. I need to get a few musical thoughts off my mind.

In the past month or so, I've been doing a fair amount of practicing and improving in some areas of my guitar playing, but my unrelated plan to go out to the pub more often so I'm not stuck at home so much and maybe drink less while I'm out, has sort of backfired. Weird, huh? While I have been getting out more and feel more confident about doing so, I'm now basically drinking three times as much each week. I don't have a problem with this, on principal, but it's had a knock on effect not only on my purse and health, but I've not been playing guitar as much. And that's the real tragedy here. Although maybe not for my neighbours. So I'm going to go back to my old drinking habits of going out once a week and take it from there. My block of lessons with my tutor has just ended, so I'm going to take a break for a while to digest what we've been doing for the past few months. I might start up again after Christmas, but I'm starting to think that I have all the knowledge I require now. I just need to practice my skills, and not being in the pub so much will definitely help this. Anyway, here are some of my random musical adventures...

TORNADO OD

I've been slowly falling in love with my Rothwell Tornado overdrive pedal, which I impulse bought a few months ago. My reasons for buying it? Well: I'd never heard of the brand before, it looked super cool and it was at that sweet 2nd hand price where it meant it wasn't going to be junk, but wasn't an extravagant purchase either. It's got a solid but immature growl to it that has become great for developing my power chord skills. I'm not sure how "immature" works as a sound description, but it kinda does. Or maybe the pedal's basic yellow casing makes me think of a playschool toy. I dunno.

ORANGE MICRO TERROR

I've currently swapped over to my Orange Micro Terror head from the Crate PowerBlock. The PowerBlock seems to be stuttering a bit, so I'm worried it's on its way out. Or it could just be bad signal chain wiring by me. We shall see. Both mini-amp heads are lovely machines, so I'm glad I have the option to swap over when I fancy a change. I'm also thinking about buying my first cabinet, as I currently play quietly through headphones. It's very rare for me to play through my combo speakers these days. I'm very shy. And live in a flat.

DRUM MACHINE PEDAL

A month or so back, I invested in a drum machine pedal to help me improve my rhythm and timing. It's the Micro Drummer by Mooer, a company that makes cost-effective, no-frills pedals that I'd recommend to pedal noobs like myself if they're wanting to test the, erm, pedal water. But the Micro Drummer is really quite special! Not only does it have loads of beat styles, but you can speed them up and slow them down as you so desire, and it also has volume and tone controls. Most importantly, though, it doesn't sound like a synthesised drum machine - it legit sounds like you're sat in a room with an acoustic/analogue drum kit. Damn, do I feel like a badass when this thing is pounding away and I'm grooving to some power chords! I've put it near the end of my signal chain, just before my looper (before it all goes into an amp). So if, like me, you're a bedroom musician who's looking to discover what it's like being in a band but can't be arsed to search YouTube and sit through ads to find a backing track you can't modify, then get this puppy! It really has opened up a new world of playing possibilities for me.

SIGNAL CHAIN - CHORUS

So I'm hopefully going to be picking up my new first chorus pedal soon, but I'm wondering where to place it in my pedal signal chain. Apparently, atmospherics should be placed AFTER compression and distortion, but I'm not sure whether chorus counts as an "atmospheric", like reverb and delay. I don't know why it wouldn't, though. I'll end up searching for advice online, of course, but if you fine folk have any ideas or preferences, then let me know!

Ok, I think that's enough for now.

Rock on!

P.S. Yes, you read right, I actually thought that that pub plan was a good idea. Now stop laughing.

Jim's Analogue Noise Bunker - Report 1

And... we're off! Well, at least with this new guitar playing/tech blog series, which is named after a fictional recording studio in a story that I'm currently in the middle of NOT writing. But it's on my list of creative things to do.

So, for the first proper post in the series, I've just quickly put my musical adventures down under some very basic subheadings. It's nothing fancy as yet but, who knows, maybe things will develop as I go along.

Right, here we go...

HEAT

I'm struggling to play in this heatwave. I can usually play for about an hour or so in mild weather, but at the moment I can only play for five or ten minutes at a time before I risk electrocution. I'm sure that that can't really happen, but it's better to be safe than deep fried. Also, when you're sweating buckets, playing becomes tricky after a while, especially once it starts running down to your hands. I'm looking forward to some milder weather, basically.

ROTARY CHORUS PEDALS

So, for the past few weeks, I've been obsessing over chorus pedals. It's not an effect I've particularly liked using in the past, but learning the history of chorus pedals and who've used them and how has made it really appealing to me, so I've become a bit distracted of late by which pedal I purchase. As with all guitar fx pedals, there's a range of prices and qualities. If I'm not going to use an effect much (delay and reverb, for instance) then I'll look at moderate to cheaply priced models. But since chorus pedals are trying to recreate the whirling analogue Leslie organ speakers of yore, I've kind of wanted to do this one properly. Luckily, there are plenty of useful demos on YouTube so you can find what's right for you. I really wanted one with a level/mix function, as I want to be able to use the effect quite subtly, thus having control over its input on the signal has become quite important. Eventually, I decided to go for the Maxon CS-550 Stereo Chorus, which seems to do everything I want, was for sale second hand at my local music shop and is moderately priced (relatively speaking). In a perfect world, I'd have gone for the Neo Ventilator 2 Rotary Speaker Simulator but, errr, I don't have £350 spare. I've yet to pick the Maxon up, but I'll let you know how I get on with it, hopefully in the next post!

POWER CHORDS

I've always hated power chords. I've loved hearing them on record, but when it comes to me actually playing them, I've been stumped. I've never managed the simplistic finger positioning, and never gotten the tone right. This is one of the reasons why I love Telecasters so much, as you can play standard barre and open chords with distortion and still get a wonderfully crisp tone, while humbuckered Les Paul-type guitars tend to produce something mushier. Well, my guitar tutor finally showed me the trick to holding down power chords that begin on the 5th/A string while silencing the bottom 6th/E string. Ever since then, I've been upping my power chord game. I think I'm improving my movement and tone, which is very pleasing indeed. I think investing in some upmarket distortion pedals and amplification has helped too. The experiments continue!

STRAP

This week I've dropped my strap length down and am playing quite low-slung. Admittedly, anything low or ultra-high is cool as funk, but in between just looks rubbish. I know I shouldn't think about looks but, hey, sometimes we just do, don't we? I seem to be playing quite well with my guitars low, and am even managing some solos. The newer straps I bought don't seem to have very generous lengths, whereas the older, plain, black one I have can go VERY low. I'm very happy with it. Sadly though, it doesn't have an outrageous pattern like the newer ones I have. Alas!

LO-FI DISTORTION PEDAL

While having my daily browse of my local guitar shop's second hand gear pages, I found a pedal called Radio Havana by Heavy Electronics. It recreates the effect of a low-fi transistor radio, with a tinny sort of vibe. I think it's similar to an activated (but uncocked) wah, but with more clarity and acts as its own drive pedal too. I fell in love with it instantly. I'm hoping to pick it up soon, along with the chorus pedal mentioned above. I've current only put the deposits down on both. What drew me to the Radio Havana pedal was its retro sound. While I don't have the money for genuine vintage equipment, I sure do love modern tech that tries its best to recreate the older sounds. I'm certainly no metal buff, that's for sure. I'll let you know how I get on!

Right, well, I think that's all for now. I hope those of you who are interested in this sort of thing have found this useful, interesting or at least can empathise with my plight. Do get in touch if you fancy discussing stuff or have anything to suggest/recommend.

Rock on!

Jim's Analogue Noise Bunker - An Introduction

Hello! Gosh, I'm writing again. It's been a while. Well, I did start a Blade Runner 2049 review, but that's on hold until I'm in the mood to watch the film again. I've been thinking about it in the last week, so I'm hoping I'll finally have that with you soon-ish.

Anyway, on with the subject at hand...

While I still consider myself an amateur guitarist and very much the "noob" at heart, after fourteen years or so of playing seriously, my passion for it is as strong as ever. This surprises me. As someone who is essentially a swirling vortex of forever changing interests, sexuality, gender, habits, diet and personality traits, playing guitar is something I genuinely didn't think would stick. I thought, by now, I'd be looking back and going "Hey, do you remember those weird few years where I wanted to be a rock star?" and be really embarrassed by it. But, looking back, much of my hobbies have gone through cycles, being very intense for a short period, then going cold for a while, then returning a few weeks or months later. I even went off movies for years when things got a bit stale in the mid-00s, even though I still identified as a "movie buff". You gotta have a central point to start at, right? Well, I'm sticking to that rule, but feel that my interest level in playing guitar has shot up enough to where I need to start expressing myself about it properly. My main three outlets for this recently have been: my Twitter feed; an old friend (and ex-colleague) who I consider my "guitar Obi-Wan Kenobi" and who I bug regularly via Facebook for gear advice; and my music tutor, who I have half an hour once a week to squeeze as much information out of as possible. I also text him when I'm drunk sometimes, but that's another story.

So, while the latter two outlets listed above are still fine (until I get blocked by either gentleman), the Twitter thing hasn't received a particularly vocal response from my followers, so I'm a bit concerned that they're either just confused or slightly annoyed by my tech talk.

And so we come to this.

I thought a few times a week I could write a summary (or digest) of all my guitar playing/tech thoughts, feelings and obsessions, rather than just spewing them onto Twitter as and when they randomly come up. I'll try and make notes and - shock horror! - maybe even record a few musical samples for you. If I manage to keep up with it, I may even open up a separate blog for it, rather than just adding to The Whittling Post. This should all reduce my output from twenty tweets a day on the subject, down to a few a week simply linking to this blog.

Everybody's happy.

Right, I'll go away and start jotting ideas down for the first official post.

Rock on.