I bought my very first guitar for $200 in 1985, at Spitzer’s Music in Concord. At the time, I thought of myself as a keyboard player and was pretty clueless about guitar. But I loved the sound of guitar, and really wanted to be a part of that world. The salesman at Spitzer recommended this used 1978 Takamine F-375S, and I just took his word for it.More
I purchased my Sony MDR-7509HD headphones in 2007. I love these cans- they’re comfortable and they sound great. However, the ear cups and headband are a bit lacking in quality and longevity. The thin filmy material is nice and soft when new, but eventually deteriorates. I have a couple pairs of Sony MDR-V6‘s and the same thing happens with those.More
On Monday after work, I headed for the hills with my guitar and camera, hoping to get a few good shots for my newly redesigned website. I raced up the steep, overgrown path to reach the top in time for golden hour. We’ve had a lot of rain this year and the hillside was unusually lush and green. More
This week I re-launched my website with a totally new look and feel. Last time I did this was around 8 years ago – how time flies! The site has really been showing its age for awhile now- particularly on mobile devices, where its fixed width non-responsive layout made it a chore to read. More
My Ultimate Guitar Stand has been rock solid, and I much prefer it to my old A-frame stands. However, I’ve noticed some wear on my SG‘s headstock, right where the stand’s self-closing yoke grips it. Disappointing!
I’ve been using the Set List Maker iOS app since 2013. This app has a wealth of features for the practicing / gigging band and has become an invaluable timesaver.
Prior to Set List Maker, I would always bring a folder full of printed pages and notes to rehearsals, and make copies for my bandmates. With our growing repertoire, it was an ever-increasing waste of time scrounging through the folder before playing a new song.More
Just saw this picture on John Mayer’s Instagram from last week’s show at Madison Square Garden. Take a look at his crazy floor rig in this shot. It’s so big, it stretches across three pedal boards in an arc in front of him. And a lot of the pedals are hidden offstage in a Bradshaw rack (shown in this 2010 rig rundown video with his guitar tech).
Now take a look at Isaiah Sharkey’s setup to John’s right. More
When the Helix arrived, I borrowed a JBL EON 610 full-range powered speaker to work with, and I really liked the sound I was getting with it.
However, as I started to go through the many hours of work preparing presets for the Drop Daddies’ setlist, I found that the continuous hiss coming from the EON’s tweeter was causing significant ear fatigue.More
I saw the Musikmesse announcement today that a new model of the Helix was just released – the Helix LT. At first, I kinda panicked, thinking I just bought into the Helix and they’ve already released a new model with the same processing power and audio quality, but at a significantly lower price?!
However, after looking at the specs and reading about the differences, I’m no longer doubting my purchase. Of course, I’m also trying to make myself feel better and justify the expense, but I think I’m on fairly solid ground.More
I’ve been so busy with work and my band that I’ve neglected this blog for a loooong time. I’ve posted gig updates and not much else. However, I have accumulated tons of draft posts and notes over the last 3 years that I never published, just for lack of time and focus to get em done. The longer I waited and further behind I got, the harder it became to commit to doing the work to catch up. More
