I've still yet to find a guitar I like playing more than my Harmony Bobkat. Bought it for $200 just over 8 years ago now and have never played a guitar that's better suited for me ever. Neck is as thick as a bat, pickups are louder and snappier than anything I've ever heard, plays like absolute shit, but for some reason it's the only guitar I've ever picked up and had it really speak to me.
Screen Shot 2020-04-14 at 1.43.35 PM (resized).png
Unfortunately I got hit by a drunk driver a few years back and I can't play much anymore. Fixing that by picking up a pedal steel this weekend... Any steel players hear?

Most of the time it's just saying "DUDE YOU SUCK AT THIS"

Before I had to get a full time job (long story, involves that drunk driver) I used to tour full time playing "lead guitar" with Lina Tullgren. This was before I was as deep into my pinball journey as I am now. Sometimes I think of cities I used to play in that now have collections that I'm in love with and just had no idea they were there. But then again, we wouldn't have gotten anywhere on time if I had been.

"C'mon guys! I just have to play this Spirit just ONE MORE TIME"

Here is us playing on Audiotree a while back. Not our best performance but hey, it looks nice. If you're a pedalgazer, you might have something to look at too...

What’s that Ty? Pinball wasn't enough of an expensive or inhumanly complicated hobby for you?

Enter Pedal Steel Guitar... Just picked this up yesterday.

E2C1EA85-0E3B-4432-8BD5-B425605DD9C6 (resized).jpeg

Hilariously pedal 1 and 5 aren't connected to anything. Supposedly the two additional ones were supposed to come out of the factory raising strings 6&7 individually.... but this one is close to the traditional Emmons setup.

I’ve fawned over these for a while. So cool that you got one.

https://keepsleeping.bandcamp.com/album/sleep-sessions

I just released one of these really long really boring albums for sleep this past week. It's a full 10 hours of live processed guitar works designed to help guide you through a full night's sleep. All guitar, no post processing (other than playing the tape back a little slow).

That chooch from the Foo Fighters plays one if you want to consider them metal. Half way there I guess.

It really is beautiful. I've been wanting a 335 for a while because they just look so. damn. good.

Truer words never spoken.

Sincerely,
Mr. I Probably Have The Most Alienating Taste In Music Of All Time.

Anybody have a song they want some pedal steel on? I learn best through doing usually, I'd be happy to give anything a try that comes my way!

I've always wanted to build a Tele with a Warmoth Gibson conversion scale v-neck. That is my DREAM tele.

I’ll be doing an all night ambient live stream with the pedal steel guitar (and lots of pedals). 9:30 EST. Tune in at https://www.facebook.com/batoutofhellbymeatloaf

I feel like amp tech work and pinball work has a lot of crossover. Been meaning to get back to some of my amps that don't work... I've got an Ampeg B-25 which as been fucked for ages.

Just got this new Rotary pedal in. For $130 on amazon (or cheaper if you buy it used heh heh heh) it is a pretty impressive pedal. Highly recommend it for any stereo heads out there. Best Leslie/Rotary pedal I've used yet.

Now acts as the main stereo splitter for my pedalboard. The Mid-Fi Random Phase Vibrato is getting replaced with a Strymon Ola next week. If you haven't checked out any of the Mid-Fi pedals, you're missing out. The orange pedal I have one the right is a custom build of his. Doug is kind of the guy who mentored me into the pedal world, which has by in large brought me to the pinball world (fixing things, wiring, pcbs, ect.) and his products are definitely worth checking out.

IMG_0386 (resized).JPG

IMG_0385 (resized).jpg

Is that the 115 or the 215 cab setup? I had an almost identical looking rig for a bit of time at my studio and man was it AWESOME. Sunn made so many great amps (as well as a boat load of stinkers too).

Ended up selling both a while back. The head I'm not too sad I don't have any more but I really REALLY miss that 115 cab with the D130F.

I toured with this rig twice and didn't have a single problem with it. My big thing is running effects in stereo. God damnit we have two ears. Use them for something other than U2 style quarter not delays. Mid-Fi Custom Distortion/Overdrive->Freeze->Phase 95->Mid-Fi Random Phase/Vibrato-> Roctary Poly Octave Rotary (stereo split happens here)->Stereo Memory Man->El Capistan (the best delay pedal ever)->Tc Electronics Alter Ego V2->Line6 Tap Tempo Tremolo (the best term pedal ever produced prove me wrong)-> EHX720 (one of the worst loopers ever made)->Behringer RV600. Someday I'll find a non-rackmount reverb I like better than the RV600, but the cave and hall settings really take the cake.

IMG_1043 (resized).JPG

If I'm to do a single pedal into an amp, it's a Memory Man into a Fender Super Champ. Great combo.

Crazy as it sounds, I never encountered this. Played all the spots in the past 3 years when I was touring extensively and most Boston sound dudes were super into the stereo thing and what I was doing with it. The sound guy from Great Scott would even REQUEST doing sound on shows we were playing because he liked what we did so much. Sinclair and BMH too, they loved it. Probably helped that I put two amps on either side of the stage.

LOVE that you used the quadraverb. I am a huge midiverb fan. I have every iteration. I like the Midiverb 4 the most. Have a few patches on there that I absolutely stand by. Love those units.

So when is Vid gonna chime in?

That looks NICE. Really makes me want to own a hollowbody/semihollow again.

I have the EHX 720 in my setup which I like because it has a good stereo in and stereo out and is simple as all hell... I have a really early one and there is a tiny bit of a delay from when you stop the loop and stat overdubbing that drives me mad when I'm trying to do an actual loop. I believe they improved on this in the 1440 models. Doesn't really affect my style of playing since I'm mostly doing boring slow shit, but might affect yours. The UX of the pedal is hard to beat though. Dead easy to use with a smallish footprint.

If you don't need all those features, memory banks and what not, the Ditto 2x is also pretty user friendly.

I made a studio desk in sketch a while ago. Tons of rack space. The setup has changed quite a bit since the photo was taken, but you get the gist of it.

If you wanna get REAL nerdy about some tape syncing and sequencing, I could bore you for hours talking about how this setup now runs two 8 tracks synced via SMPTE striping....

IMG_5326 (resized).JPGScreen Shot 2021-02-03 at 9.28.24 AM (resized).png

Screen Shot 2021-02-03 at 9.27.49 AM (resized).png

No reason you can't have a pimp ass office desk

Unfortunately my studio is in a pretty remote part of the state AND I don't have internet there so I can't do my day job from my fun desk, but that desk works surprisingly well as an office desk as well. Wireless keyboard and mouse fits right underneath the slider of the 388. If I could get some internet out there, I'd be able to use it as my main editing suite (I do video for a living).

The whole wiring theory of the desk is that I have 24 channels coming in from the A and B room (16 from the a room and 8 from the b room). Those go into two set of 144 point TT patchbays, 8 channels into the 388 preamps, 8 channels into the Ashly MM-508 preamps (great sub mixer if you ever get the chance to pick one up), and 8 to individual preamps. One 4 channel API clone, one JoeMeek TwinQ2, and an Art Pro VLA II. With the patchbay each mic input can be patched into any preamp available.

Space runs on two Motu 828s that are daisy chained together via their ADAT ports, so the 144 TT half normal bay allows for the channel sends on the 388 and 508 (both post eq pre fader) go directly wired into the analog ins of the 828s so that you can set levels and have them go direct into the computer, record all the takes, and go back out to the outboard gear and back to the tape recorder uninterrupted (allowing you to record endless digital takes, and continually record over the tape versions so when we all feel comfortable deciding on a base take, we can build off of that base take.

The 388 and the 238 (cassette 8-track and reel to reel 8-track) both have the last channel striped together with SMPTE signal which is sync locked via a Tascam Midiizer, which runs as a slave off of the midi signal dictated by the computer (via the Motu interface). What does this mean??? It means that computer in theory can control both of the tape transports AND run in sync with protools/logic/DP. Geeky shit. But what this allows me to do is fill up 13 tracks in analog (remember the SMPTE stripe taking up channels 8 on both recorders), dump all 13 tracks to the computer (keeping in sync remember) while folding all those tracks down to track 8 on either the 238 or the 388, fill up another 13 tracks, dump em, on and on. Does this ever work? Rarely, but in theory it all lines up nicely.

Can speak highly enough about using sketchup though. I built the desk, made cut sheets, brought over to a local woodworker and paid him a couple hundred of bucks to get all the wood picked out and cut together and then I assembled, stained, and poly'd it at home.

Oh sorry, this is my recording studio setup... In theory if I needed to work in this setting I would just open up Resolve and edit haha.

For the most part, people love recording to tape. Dumb hipsters who want their music to sound like dogshit (myself included) love both of the tape recorders I run, but nobody wants to totally abandon the ease and safety of using a computer. The setup is to provide the best of both worlds.

It seems like you’re PC based but in a home environment (not at my studio) I’ve only ever used the amp modeling in Logic Pro X when I play. I had an Apollo Twin for a little bit which had some nice amp modeling, but 95% of my pedal steel and guitar playing these days is at home through my Motu M2 and the Logic amp simulators.

I feel pretty lucky to have a cool Hammond organ that not only has a Leslie speakers inside, but also has a bizzaro synth section designed by Moog.

I modified the speaker so that the power section spilits and I can daisy chain it to the external amp section of whatever guitar amp I’m using. Pretty easy to do (if you’re capable of working on pins, you can (carefully) work on audio equipment.)

GREAT pair. I had someone bring that exact combo to the studio once and was blown away by it.

One hell of a father-in-law.

Not exactly how that one to one works and it's extremely hard to tell exactly what you've got on your hands unless you open up the cabinet and show us some pictures of that.

Generally speaking, 6 speaker cabinets are a pain to wire and a pain to pair with other amps. A lot of 6x12s were wired in a combination of series and parallel to generate an overall output of a more standard rating of 4 or 8 or 16 ohms. If the whole thing is wired up in the same way you would wire a normal speaker cabinet (and how these things came stock) you'd get something wacky like 6 or 12 ohms, which if your reading is coming in closer to 8ohm on your DMM, I would suspect you miiiiiight be running a 12 ohm load in that cabinet, but someone can speak more intelligently about this one I'm sure. usually an 8ohm speaker cab should read as 6 ohms or just under on your DMM.

I think from what I've seen, again, please correct me if I'm wrong here, is that a lot of of 6x12s have two 8 ohm speakers wired in series, and then four 4 ohm speakers wired in series, and the two batches of speakers (totaling 16 ohms each) are wired in parallel to give you a total output of 8 ohms to be matched up with an amp. Not exactly sure how that affects the power consumption and output of the speakers, but as far as I'm concerned, that should be the last of your worries.

What amp are you using and what are your output impedance options on that? Either way, I would suggest mixing a 6 ohm or 12 ohm speaker cabinet with a standard 8 ohm cab, but it really depends on what amp you're using and how much of a fuck you give. I tend to give little fucks about this stuff and then get mad when my gear breaks.

Anybody know shit about luthier work? I've been playing around with the idea of getting someone to turn my Bobkat neck (thicker than a Louisville Slugger) into a v-neck, but don't want to break the bank. Don't care much about the paint job itself but do care about the neck feeling smooth enough to play. Emailed a few people and couldn't really coax out a quote from any of them. Any ideas on a price range?

Anybody played the new Fender Lead II? I'm buying my old clone tomorrow (vintage Cort) as a I finally have a Gibson Conversion neck I'm going to throw on it to try and make it a bit easier for me to handle.

BUT those reissues really got me thinkin'!

I don't see any mic's

If you thought I horny posted about pins and guitars, show me a good mic locker I'm the cheapest of cheap dates.

They seem to go for around $500-$600 which isn't bad if you ask me, but I'm not convince by this whole "VSC" tech thing. Sounds kind of just like a master volume to me but maybe I'm not understanding it right.

I understand all this, but I don't see how that's different from a master volume on say a Fender Champ II or something like that (schem attached below and a criminally underrated Fender amp era imo)

Screen Shot 2021-06-08 at 10.53.47 AM (resized).png

I can say from experience, that that's not how the master volume knob works on an amp like that, but whatever. The schem seems to clearly put the master volume after the first preamp stage, but maybe the way you're describing it is the more common wiring.

I would love to learn more about the circuitry behind these Samamps.

Sorry, not trying to be a dick, just trying to understand what makes this different that a lot of master volume amps where the master knob doesn't affect the preamp section (of which there are many). Did some looking and I guess the difference is that the SVC circuit is just a high wattage resistor speaker output side of things after the output tube and output transformer. Gonna guess it's something similar to the output section of the Vox AC4TV that they made a while back. Just a guess though. What ohm speaker does yours have in there?
Screen Shot 2021-06-09 at 11.01.06 AM (resized).png

They sound sick. I hope I get to play one sometime. I would love a 6-10 watt 15" amp. Seems killer.

Those Carr amps are amazing. Had a band from Boston to come up and record with me and they brought Carr amps that were killer. You can here them here:

Damn do I miss recording rock bands.

Almost kind of looks like they misspelled "start". REALLY sweet looking guitar. Love a nice dark wood neck like that.

Been trying to get my new steel recording situation solidified. Coming along nicely.

67CA861B-63F1-41F3-A8B9-3D8FCA9E5970 (resized).jpeg

MS-20 Mini. Really fun little synth. Doesnt sound AS good as the original but the midi functionality is really nice. Allows you to send midi scrolls into it rather than having to get an actual sequencer.

Theyre actually some really really amazing pieces done by a good friend of mine from college. She does these amazingly detailed and interesting freehand etchasketches. Theyre truly remarkable (although nearly impossible to photograph)

68CEB9EE-FA40-4F58-AE24-5D66DE9F21A5 (resized).jpeg

8011F154-3877-4BE8-BF1B-EDC505724AE7 (resized).jpeg

BC250599-D6E4-4D2D-A945-9FC65B21E4F6 (resized).jpeg

An interesting thought. The reason it's so difficult to photograph them is because there is a bizarre reflective quality of the aluminum dust/silver/whateverthefuckitis in there that makes them hard to capture in any flat way. Not sure a mirror would fix that but I'll give it a go. I used to do a lot of gallery photography and it's had to break from the tradition of shooting one dimensional pieces at anything other than flat on.

I borrowed one for a while from a friend. It was a great guitar. Just couldn't actually get it to work for me physically (nor can I get any full sized Strat to work for my tiny body). BUT it was nice. Had super light half wounds on it. I dug it.

To me, any guitar is a good guitar. It's just what you like.

I really do love those BF DR 65' RIs. Such a great basic nothing special amp. Can always get the job done.

In Todd We Trust

For any of you jerks who like Klon stuff:

Finally, a place to put my Ecco the Dolphin sticker!

st,small,507x507-pad,600x600,f8f8f8 (resized).jpg

Very cool video. I love old concert footage especially of bands that aren't huge or anything like that. Especially love seeing old venues.

Funnily enough I was just near The Nick. I should have reached out and met up with you in Birmingham. Played pins all night at Mom's Basement. GC'd a few of em.

LOVE the Museum of the Moving Image. That Muppets exhibit was the the I traveled for the first time I went to New York as a kid. Loved it then. loved it now.

I think the muppets are left handed because when the puppeteers were watching themselves in the monitors below the deck they have to think of things in reverse, so a lot of would be right handed things are left handed.

Well. I own one of these now I guess.

07B88E8C-4879-48C8-B879-3F9EBBA0D919 (resized).jpeg

They are. Not to add to the hype, but as far as I know, it is one of the last NIB KTR from their original run as well as the earliest documented serial number.

Took it out of the box to try it out. Sounds great. I think there are plenty of pedals that sound similar, and I won't say the Tumnus is any better or worse, but it's cool to have the original thing.

It's pretty amazing, but I'm not a huge overdrive person. I also mostly play pedal steel these days and it sounds like absolute dogshit while using it on that. It's cool having the last new KTR from the first run. Every few weeks or so I take it out of the box pick up the guitar and try it out and it blows my mind every time.

The only other overdrive pedal I've ever liked is the Mid-Fi Electronics Magick "I" which is, and I do not say this lightly, the most unique overdrive/distortion pedal in the world. Doug at Mid-Fi is one of the best (and one of the first) in the biz.

Every Aria I've ever played has absolutely blown my mind. Great guitars. That one looks like no exception. I had a few of their 4001 copies that rule.

In theory they still exist and are still made in Japan, but I have no idea what the actual deal is with their production. I get really lost on those details (even the heavily documented ones) really easily. I will say their new guitars don't look.... great...

One of the absolute shittiest guitars I've ever owned that I absolutely regret selling was this Cort Lead II copy. Great fucking guitar. Had half wounds on it. Sounded excellent. The neck was a little fucked up in the way all Corts are. Always wanted to put a warmth Gibson Conversion neck on it but felt silly buying a $400 neck for a guitar I paid $100 for.

Damn do I miss this one.

image (resized).jpeg

I didn't realize UAD interfaces were that cheap now. Pretty unreal if you ask me.

For product longevity and commitment I've always leaned towards MOTU, but the UAD interfaces with their plugin selection is pretty hard to beat. My studio is still running a pair of MOTU 828s (MKii and MK3 in tandem via the ADAT link) as my main 16 I/O. Are they professional grade converters? Hell no. Do they get the job done? Yeah.

MOTU for the win again. I use their M2 with a pair of Generic 8020Cs for my home setup. Dead simple to use. Gets the job done.

New Pedal Day from the genius Doug Tuttle at Mid Fi Electronics. Check this one out if you get the chance.

218BA175-8B4C-4316-8F16-6D8B0FFF8DD2 (resized).jpeg

I'm not a Gibson fanboy or a hard rock guy by any measure, but that is one seriously badass looking wall. I'm impressed. Killer collection.

This was a nice $250 find on Facebook marketplace right down the road from me.

Unfortunately reminded me that I can't play guitar anymore due to my fake left arm, but damn this thing sounds fun as hell.

Sounds pretty good too. The KTR that I posted about a while back is also just as amazingly killer. Doesn't really shine in this video as well as it could because I'm not much of a lead player, but I'm really grateful to own one of these things and hopefully someone else will own mine at some point since I barley play guitar.

IMG_6810 (resized).JPG

Nice

I've recorded this amp a number of times back in the day. Cool sounding amp. Those Sunn cabs rule as well, but that 6 speaker thing is always a pain in the ass. What are you looking at?

Given the rest of your gear, I figure these would be right up your alley:
https://www.tedweber.com/direwolf-bstock/#tab-description

Whoa, the tuner AFTER the Space Echo. Really spicing things up!

I got to play a gig last weekend which made me remember that sometimes playing gigs is fun. Someone taped one of my sets which was fun. Figured I'd share it here.