Thursday, November 8, 2012

I Need to Be Creative Again



See that handsome fellow? Yeah, that was me. Back in January 2010, at my former band's first gig in Hamden, CT.

So as you all know, this past April, my girlfriend and I made a major decision and moved to Seattle, and one of the things we set out to do was resume doing music after the demise of our last band. We also said that we would undertake healthier and more productive lifestyles.

None of those things have really happened yet.

Truth be told, moving cross-country is one of the most volatile emotional rollercoasters ever. People warned me that it was gonna be a hard adjustment, and they were right a thousandfold. Without getting into it, my plans for world domination kind of got erred a little bit, but things are on the up & up for us here, and we're staying here!

We have a small room in our apartment that serves as a laundry room, where my music gear is currently. I would like to turn that into a mini-studio; a place where I can plug in, write and record. The logistics of it are kind of not in my favor at the moment for a few reasons. One of them being money to buy more gear. The other is that the room doesn't have too many outlets in it, making plugging everything in a bit of a pain in the ass. The final hurdle is that earlier in the week, when I went in the room, there were puddles of water on the floor. I'm not sure of the source of the water; Was it a leaky pipe? The washer? Rain that somehow came in the apartment? The floor has been dry since, but if it were to happen again, it probably would not be safe to store my gear in, let alone use it as a studio.

"You're in the Laundry Room..."


That doesn't mean that I'm gonna do nothing in the meantime. Going through my musical equipment, I've made some pretty good investments - I certainly have enough gear to make some beautiful noise. And right now, I'm going to be self-indulgent and showy, and acquaint you with it.

Fender Jazzmaster.





Nicknamed Jacinda, or "Jazz." And why? Long story short, back in 8th grade, this quirky chick transferred to my school from a few towns away, in which me and my friends took a liking to. We met a few of her friends, and one of them was named Jacinda, or "Jazz" for short. My friend developed a crush on her, and I think went out with her for like two weeks a short time after that. And around this time, someone told us that the Spanish word for "fuck" was "cogar," which turned out to be inaccurate. But for a while, my friend kept saying "Yo me cogar Jazz," in reference to this blonde chick from a town 20 minutes away from us. Did I mention we were 14? So... I named my Jazzmaster Jacinda because of it.

Fender Hot Rod Deluxe Amp:



A powerhouse of a tube amp. I don't have a stack, and currently I don't need one! I had this baby up to "3" during a gig at Toad's Place in New Haven, CT (which fits several hundred when packed), and by all accounts I was pretty loud!

Oh, and this goes up to "12!" Talk about one-upping Nigel Tufnel!!!

"Why don't you make 11 louder and have 11 be the loudest?" "These go to 12..."


Pedals:



Yes, I've gathered quite a collection over the years. I'm gonna need a bigger board!

Starting with clockwise from left:

BOSS CH-1 Super Chorus:

I've heard a lot of people criticize this pedal, or compare it to Boss' similar Chorus Ensemble pedal, but this pedal has served me well. It's great when I feel like playing more New Wave influenced stuff.

Fender Channel Select:

I use this primarily for distortion or crunch. For some stuff it works, particularly more straightforward rock stuff. But for my more metal/shoegaze/punk/grunge instincts, it's alright. It came with my amp, so I can't complain.

Digitech Hardwire Super Reverb RV-7:

A really good reverb pedal. It has the standard settings of a normal reverb pedal (Spring, Hall, Gated, etc), but also the much-coveted "reverse reverb," which is almost standard for shoegazing. I was kind of torn on getting this pedal because I have a decent multi-effects unit that has great reverb, but was missing reverse, and this pedal was kind of pricey. But I got $200 to spend at Guitar Center one year for Christmas, so I decided to splurge and get it. And was it worth the $179.99 for that one setting? Yes it was. Of course, a few months after, tI saw the pedal at GC for $75 less than the marked price. SONOFABITCH! Oh well.

BOSS Flanger BF-3 ("The Purple One"):

One of the first pedals I got. Still love it. Still figuring it out LOL.

MXR Carbon Copy Analog Delay:

My friend Ian dubs this "The only pedal you'll ever need." True, in many instances. But I'm keeping my other ones.

Digitech RP 150 Multi-Effects Processor:

People give Multi-Effects pedals a lot of crap because many of them are inferior, but this one is actually pretty sweet! I've created a few of my own effects using this thing, and it really introduces an experimental guitar player such as myself to a lot of new opportunities for sound. I created a pretty decent cocktail with reverb, delay, compression and noise gates with this baby! The downside is it's a bitch during live performances - the footswitches sometimes have a mind of their own.

BOSS Tremolo TR-2:

Your standard tremolo pedal. Serves me well. Can't part with it.

Boss Compression Sustainer CS-3:

I have a compression unit courtesy of my multi-effects pedal (see aforementioned), but I bought this one from a friend. It's really fun when you wanna piss off your neighbors; Lots of fun with feedback!!!!

Electro-Harmoniz Big Muff:

Damn good fuzz!!!!! I don't think I need to say too much about this one.

BOSS Digital Delay DD-3:

Bought this from my former bandmate for a price I couldn't beat with a stick. I like to use this one with my analog delay pedal, and let analog & digital fight it out.

...And btw, my collection of effects is in no way complete. But a good start!


Fostex MR-8 Digital 8-Track Recorder:



This was ultimately a lesson in impulse buying. I bought this on sale for $100, and turns out it was $100 for a reason. First off, it's false advertising; It's not really an 8-track. It has 8-tracks for recording, sure, but Tracks 5-8 are for mixdown and that type of stuff, so it's essentially a slightly more sophisticated 4-track recorder. Plus, other than using my multi-effects pedal, you can't get a good distortion sound out of it to save your life - it's way too fuzzy and cheap sounding, which has it's place for sure, but I find it ultimately frustrating. I've only recorded a couple of things on this as of yet, but that's in part because my headphones for this got broken by me accidentally stepping on them. Epic fail. I'm gonna upgrade to a more modern (and less obsolete) recording unit when I get some money. I guess for now it's good as a notepad for some ideas.

Samick Greg Bennett Acoustic Guitar:



Picked this up cheap when I first got to Seattle as I was awaiting my gear to arrive from CT to WA (my Dad held onto it for a few months as I got settled and everything). It's a good acoustic guitar. I currently have this tuned to Open E, because I was learning how to play "Salt of the Earth" by the Rolling Stones, and a few other songs.

So that's it for now, really. Today was the first day I plugged in for the first time since we moved into our new apartment, and it felt good. REALLY good. I actually came up with a few riffs while making myself deaf. No better way to wake up! I'll be sure to keep updating my creative endeavors and equipment upgrades/purchases as my financial situation stabilizes and as I get more settled here in Seattle. I'm gonna update this with a lot more stuff. My dormant period is over.