The Musician's Room: What's New?
12/09/08 Another pair of studio vets followed me home, and this time it wasn't a set of speakers! Meet a UREI 545 parametric EQ from somewhere around 1978 and a Lexicon Primetime digital delay line from around 1980. I worked with both when they were new. In fact, having studied the Prime Time extra hard in college may have been what got me hired at my first full-time recording job. I've got a pic HERE on the site that shows me with the UREIs in 1982. It's another little warm spot in my heart.
11/22/08 Signs of a latent personality disorder? Another set of orphaned studio monitors came home with me yesterday - this time a pair of Yamaha NS-10M Studios that were destined for the crusher. They are a bit worse for wear, but with a little TLC, I can bring them back to usefulness.
11/20/08 I'm mixing a song that reflects the state of the business of music production right now: The song was written in the USA but the producer had the basic tracks and instrumental overdubs done in Finland by a contractor friend. He brought back the trax to the USA and had the vocal and instrumental lead overdubs done by another person. Now I'm bringing it all together and trying to put that "special sauce" on the final product. It makes for an interesting challenge.
11/02/08 I happened to rescue some small studio veterans on their way to the crusher this week and I'm now deciding on where I'll assign these little guys. There are three 5C Super Sound Cubes and two 5W Super Sound Wedges, each of which has a history with me going back over twenty-five years. UPDATE: Another 5C Super Cube came to live with us today, 11/03/08. Now to put them to work.
10/27/08 After spending some time with one, I've posted a review of the AKG C451B microphone, a new design based on the venerable AKG C451E. The review includes a comparison to the 1970s C451Es that I use at work. You can find the review HERE.
10/26/08 Today I finished my "proof of concept" research on the audio side of the little home studio I've been building. Over the last few weeks I've done several concept recordings of different instruments and song formats to find out whether I'd be able to accomplish what I wanted with this rig. This weekend it was solo acoustic guitar and classical guitar. I then put up the results on the good monitors to get an idea of what I was really recording. Thankfully, the room and gear passed in this context. Meanwhile, I've also taken the time to tweak things a bit. Now if I can just get the dogs to settle down and the studio cat, Oreo, to give me some peace while I rehearse and record, I can start to work on the serious stuff!
10/06/08 Last Monday I was involved in an outdoor festival concert and webcast. This particular gig was possibly the toughest job I ever enjoyed! In fact, most of the fun was enjoyed after the fact, basking in the success the event became. The above pic is of me in my "office" for the night, behind the Yamaha DM-2000 digital console. An ADAT to MADI digital code converter sits on the overbridge and a fiber optics interface box and DAW rack stand to my right.
10/06/08 Live in Gdansk is a great collection of live performances. The orchestra is nicely integrated and isn't overwhelming or cloying. There's several hours worth of music available here. As much because of a busy personal schedule as because of the volume of material, I'm still exploring the five disk set and enjoying every minute.
09/23/08 David Gilmour has released in the 'States his Live in Gdansk package, a recording of the last performance on the On An Island tour. The concert was performed at the request of the Polish government to commmemorate the anniversary of Solidarity, the Polish independence movement. The package is available in a variety of formats from a two-CD set up to a three-CD, two-DVD set (exclusively at Best Buy).
09/15/08 Richard Wright, the quiet keyboard and organ player for Pink Floyd and good friend to David Gilmour, has died after a brief struggle with cancer. He was 65.
08/10/08 We received a visit from the Liberty Belle, a World War II B-17G bomber, and I went out to see her. Go HERE to find out more.
08/08/08 When is a guitar no longer a guitar? When it controls a guitar synthesizer! Look HERE to find out more.
07/20/08 Expect a review of the Roland GR-20 guitar synthesizer and GK-3 hex pickup soon.
06/06/08 Today is the 64th anniversary of D-Day for the Normandy Invasion. I find it poignant to think that General Eisenhower carried a prepared press statement taking full responsibility for a possible failed attack in his pocket all day:
Our landings in the Cherbourg-Havre area have failed to gain a satisfactory foothold and I have withdrawn the troops. My decision to attack at this time and place was based upon the best information available. The troops, the air [force] and the navy did all that bravery and devotion to duty could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt, it is mine alone.
06/06/08 For my birthday, my great sons had my G&L S500 (a hot strat) set up by luthier Kenny Marshall. It came back feeling and playing marvelously. Look HERE to see what a setup involves.
05/24/08 The Hampton Roads MINIs participated in the 2008 Strawberry Festival Parade and we were there. Click HERE to find out more.
05/17/08 As promised, click HERE to read an in-depth review of the TASCAM 2488mkII 24-track Portastudio.
05/02/08 Expect an in-depth review of the TASCAM 2488mkII 24-track Portastudio soon!
03/11/08 A while back, I got a hint on how to create a really cool, snarky lead sound that I'd heard on many records. Look HERE for a guide to getting that nifty, snarly sound.
03/10/08 Have you ever struggled with getting both an absolutely clean sound and the driven sound you wanted live? Well struggle no more. Look HERE for info on one way to get the sounds you want.
02/18/08 For Christmas, my lovely wife got me a stand for my lap steel guitar. It's a pretty nice piece of work, and I thought you steel players might find it useful. Look HERE for a review. More articles to come!
01/24/08 We are not a family that suffers living without a dog well. After four days we ended up looking for a new friend. Here's what followed us home: Meet Boo! (male yellow Lab) and Zoe (female black Lab).
01/21/08 Last Tuesday, January 15th, our beloved yellow lab/golden retriever mix, Abbie, succumbed to kidney disease.
Abbie was an enthusiastic, patient, and loyal friend who graced us with eight years of love and devotion. We'll miss her greatly. Run free, Abbie!
01/14/08 The holidays are over and the Christmas decorations are down. I'm working on a couple of new guitar articles that should show up soon.
12/09/07 The Christmas lights are up, both here on the site and at home. Click HERE for a pic and greeting from our home to yours!
11/22/07 Happy Thanksgiving!!!
11/20/07 Last Saturday, my wife and I paid a return visit to a local private airport where several classic warbirds live. Click HERE for pics and a write-up!
11/15/07 I finally got time to put together a proper review of the excellent Barber Tone Press guitar compressor. You can read all about it HERE .
11/02/07 It's time for a little humorous social commentary, no? Look for it HERE .
11/01/07 Today the site passed another milestone: 30,000 visitors since its inception back in 2002(?). Thanks for coming by to see us!
10/29/07 I've just posted a review of the Gretsch G5715 lap steel guitar. Look for it HERE .
09/28/07 A quick update: David Gilmour's Remember That Night DVD, mentioned below, is now charting at number one around the globe in the "Musical DVD" category.
09/27/07 David Gilmour's Remember That Night DVD, mentioned below, has been out on the stands for a little over a week now. I picked it up the first day and have had the interim to digest it. It's really an excellent concert vid, very well executed, with lots of the "behind the scenes" bits I enjoy.
09/15/07 My wife and I attended the live cinematic premier of David Gilmour's Remember That Night DVD at a local theater, one of 150 theaters in the U.S. There was a live performance and a Q&A session with David. The DVD will be available in the U.S. on 09/18/07. The cinema event was broadcast in HiDef and billed as the first trans-Atlantic 5.1 surround broadcast. From the 85-minute cut-down version we saw, it looks like a great video.
08/17/07 My Dad and I recently visited a local private airport where several classic warbirds live. Click HERE for pics and a write-up!
07/26/07 Pawnshop Prize! I recently found an interesting amplifier in the used department of a local store. Click HERE to find out more about the Motion Sound AR-112 Sidewinder amplifier.
07/19/07 WRECK!!! On a road trip in June, the MINI took its first casualty. I waited until I had some closure in the incident to post it. Find out more HERE for details and pics.
05/31/07 Yep! It's that time of years again: Time for the Pungo Strawberry Festival Parade. Cruise on over HERE for pics and the story.
05/12/07 As promised, HERE is a review of the Digitech JamMan looper for Guitar. Enjoy!
05/07/07 For my birthday, my family gave me a rather lovely Digitech JamMan looper. I've been fiddling about with it and learning to perform with it. I suppose you can expect a review, as usual.
03/06/07 Yesterday, we received our 25,000th visit since the site's inception. That just seems like such a large number! Thanks for all the views over the years, folks.
02/12/07 Look HERE for a review of the Gibson ES335 DOT Reissue model guitar created by their Custom Division in its Memphis shops. Can it measure up to its august predecessors?
01/29/07 A professional setup can make a WORLD of difference to how your guitar feels and plays. I thought the subject deserved a closer look, so I wrote up an explanation of the process, located HERE!
11/12/06 The Hampton Roads MINIs took a mob of MINIs onto a ferry to set a new world record and raise funds for a great cause. Look HERE for more!
11/02/06 I somehow managed to complete a rather large-scale P.A. engineering job without getting myself electrocuted. Want proof? Look HERE !
10/17/06 Ruth and I participated in the "HRMINIs MINI Pride Run 2006". You can enjoy pics and a write-up HERE . Enjoy!
09/09/06 Today I posted a fantastic grilled salmon recipe' I encountered and have developed, under the "Flotsam" section of the site. OK, OK! If you want to go direct, it is HERE . Enjoy!
09/09/06 I've performed a visual refresh on the site, really an overhaul of the frames structure, to bring it stylistically up to date. Frame borders have been eliminated and the menu structure has been visually simplified. Look for submenus that can be moved to the left-hand side and used to navigate the sub-sections of the site. Explorer and Firefox users will see the backgrounds remain in place and the text move when scrolling. Not using that side of the site? You can try it HERE .
07/28/06 All of the action photos are in from our run in the MINI Cooper on the Dragon . See them halfway down the page HERE
07/25/06 I migrated the site to its new server yesterday. I spent about a half-day doing the little housekeeping things that are necessary to make it work in its new home. In the process, I fixed some old broken links, etc. Sorry for the outages and I hope you enjoy the new space!
07/11/06 The site received its 20,000th visitor today. Amazing! Thanks to everyone for the good years so far!
07/05/06 Ruth and I ran the Dragon in our MINI Cooper. Read all about it HERE
05/27/06 We joined the Hampton Roads MINIs as they displayed eighteen MINIs and classic Minis in the Strawberry Festival Parade. Get a behind the scenes look at the day's activities HERE
05/02/06 I covered a Meeting of the Hampton Roads MINIs at Doumar's Barbeque in Norfolk VA. See it HERE
05/02/06 Re-ordered my MINI Motoring Journal in reverse chronological order, so that it resembles a blog. HERE
03/26/06 POD Page Update I updated the POD page with a review of the Line6 Floorboard. If you haven't figured it out already, I don't review an item until I have hands-on experience. In this case, in adherence to my personal equipment policy of staying on the trailing edge of technology, I found one used, for a song, and added it to the arsenal. Yeah, baby.
03/24/06 Various pages updated, including "That Seventies Sound" and "The Listening List".
01/23/06 Performance Forensics: How did YES work the timing on that difficult live performance?
11/20/05 Seasonal Tip: A popular way to create a dorm humidifier.
10/16/05 Some thoughts on recording philosophy
08/23/05 I've done a little refurb on the site over the last month.
07/26/05 A Little Praise and Worship Humor
06/24/05 I've posted a pretty large article I wrote about the art of guitar soloing HERE.
06/05/05
I attended a British car rally and spent the rest of the day out motoring in a classic British sportscar.
Read all about it HERE.
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