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!
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