Author Archive
Sometimes You Have To Be A Tech
Posted by: | CommentsAside from being a musician and music educator, I’m also a recording engineer.
While editing some vocals, the computer I was working on (a Macintosh G5 Dual Processor 2.0 GHZ Late 2005 Model) had decided to shut down on its own.
After checking online to see why this would happen, I concluded that the G5′s power supply had suddenly died.
In trying to find out how to remove the fried power supply, I soon discovered that the information on my particular Mac G5 was not very accessible.
I found a YouTube video of a Mac G5 power supply replacement procedure, but that Macintosh G5 was very different from the one I was on.
So as a service to those who have the late model 2005 Mac G5, I had myself video recorded as I installed the new power supply. The video is in 2 parts.
Everything worked out and the computer fired up.
If the computer didn’t turn on, I wouldn’t be doing this blog post.
Trading Guitar Solos With Jeff Harris @ A Saddleback Church Overdrive Service
Posted by: | CommentsWhile going through some videos, I came across this footage my wife filmed in May of this year. It is the closing song of a Sunday Morning Service at the Saddleback Church Overdrive Venue.
Watching and hearing Jeff Harris play guitar is always a treat. I certainly know it puts a smile on God’s face.
This was also the last time I played with friend & bassist, Bill Bieschke, who passed away two weeks later. He has been greatly missed.
New Pickup Alert Part 2
Posted by: | Comments
After a couple of months, I have finally completed the installation of the DiMarzio Area 58′s & Area 61 pickups on my MIM (Made In Mexico) Fender Strat.
The pickup configuration is; Area 58-neck, Area 58-middle, & Area 61-bridge.
The DiMarzio’s have made a huge difference in the sound of my Strat. They are extremely quiet & sound incredibly “vintage” (Yes, that is possible!)
The Area 58′s (Neck & Middle) have a very warm, yet big sound whereas the Area 61 (Bridge) has a very bright (but not thin) tone .
When the Area 61(Bridge) is combined with the Area 58 (Middle), you are in “Strat-land”. The warmth of the Area 58 combined with the “bite” of the Area 61
is simply amazing. Soloing with the Area 58 in the neck position is also an incredible experience. The notes & the sound are “all there”.
With the aid of a small DPDT switch, I’m able to get a semi-Telecaster type tone by combining the neck & bridge pickups.
With the pickups now working beautifully, they are doing a great job of showing off an inferior stock tremolo bridge.
I’m looking into getting the Wilkinson/Gotoh VSVG Vintage Tremolo as a replacement bridge.
I’ll keep you posted when that installation comes along.
Reuniting With An Old Friend – The MXR Dyna Comp (76 Reissue-Script Logo)
Posted by: | Comments
A great friend of mine at Saddleback Church recently became a Dunlop (Pedals & Accessories) distributor. He provided me with 5 brand new MXR pedals to try out and review.
One of the pedals was a reissue of the 1976 Vintage MXR Dyna Comp with the script logo. Apparently, a batch of the old integrated circuits (CA3080) used in the original Dyna Comp were located and the reissues were made.
I had purchased my first Dyna Comp in the early 80′s for $40.00 from an ad placed in the South Bay Recycler (I was 16 at the time). I originally intended for the pedal to act as a volume boost for soloing but, I came to find out that it did much more that.
It also acts as a very cool “brickwall” limiter for doing the “funky chicken pickin & chord” stuff. It will also calm down an “out of control” Wah pedal when the Dyna Comp is plugged in after the Wah.
The coolest feature of this particular pedal is the way the compression releases after you hit a sustained chord. Your first initial hit gets a little “ducked”, and then the chord musically and magically appears.
My first Dyna Comp started dying (distorting real bad) when I was in college and I tried replacing it with Boss Compressors (CS2 & CS3). The Boss Comps did not have that Dyna Comp “vibe”.
When I first plugged in the reissue Dyna Comp a couple of weeks ago, I was 16 all over again (but without the LA Banning High School Drama).
Here is a link to a great video comparing a regular MXR Dyna Comp to the 1976 Reissue Dyna Comp.
The pedal is “true bypass” so if the battery starts to go or if you have a power supply malfunction, switch the pedal off and your signal is till there.
Of course, the only drawback to the Dyna Comp reissue is that there is no LED indicator to let you know if it is on. I guess that’s what ears are for.
Trading Solos With Norm Stockton @ The Saddleback Worship Conference 2009
Posted by: | CommentsHere’s some footage from the last Saddleback Worship Conference 09. Special thanks to Rick Muchow for composing “I’m Set Free”. It’s a wonderful song to “solo & praise” to.
Guitar Solos In Worship
Posted by: | CommentsOn occasion, I get to do guitar solos in worship services. Many times, I am prompted to do the solo during the song by means of a “pointed finger” with just seconds before I need to start. For some worship guitarists, this could be a moment of great expression or a moment of extreme terror.
A guitar solo can be compared to giving a speech. The first thing you need is a “vocabulary” to pull from. This could be in the form of scales, arpeggios, or patterns from your favorite “licks”.
The next important ingredient is “Passion” (or like my guitar teacher Billy Cabrera used to call it…”soul”.)
Learning how to combine Vocabulary with Passion is the recipe for a great speech. It is also the recipe for a great guitar solo.
If anything, favor Passion over Vocabulary because one note played with a lot of “soul” says more than a lot of correct notes without any heart.
And of course, if I get the chance to do this with seconds to spare, I will rifle off my guitar solo prayer which goes “Lord, help me to do this!!”
New Pickup Alert; The DiMarzio Area 58
Posted by: | Comments
A few years back, great friend and worship bassist Rey Garguena gave me a 1998 Mexican Fender Stratocaster. It was all stock so, of course I had to swap out the pickups.
I put a Duncan Hot Rail in the bridge position and Duncan Classic Stack in the middle. I rarely use the neck pickup on the Strat so I left it stock.
A couple of weeks ago, I was asked to do the Los Lonley Boys song, My Way, so I needed to use the Strat with the neck pickup. Of course the stock pickup was noisy and horrible sounding so I needed to do some research for the replacement process.
Fellow worship guitarist, Mike Parsons, had made the proclamation that the DiMarzio Area 61′s & 58′s were the ultimate Fender Stratocaster replacement pickups. When Mike speaks, I usually listen since he buys and uses a lot of guitar gear.
During the NAMM show in Anahiem, I caught the Lincoln Brewster concert at the Roland Exhibit. His Strat sound is pretty impeccable so I went to his website to see what he was using for pickups. Lo and behold, he also uses the DiMarzio Area 61 & 58.
The final journey led me to YouTube. I found some pretty awesome demonstrations of the DiMarzio 61 & 58. Here’s one of the more informative reviews from Paul from GuitarWorld.
So off to Sweetwater I went to purchase a DiMarzio Area 58 for my Mexican Strat’s neck position.
I installed the pickup and wow, what an incredible sound.
After installing the DiMarzio Area 58 in the neck, I noticed that the pickup sounded out of phase with the Duncan Classic Stack in the middle position. I had to switch the green ground wire (of the DiMarzio) to the 5 way position switch and the red wire to the ground terminal. Phasing problem solved.
Cool 2009 NAMM Find: Voodoo Labs Switchers & Power Supplies
Posted by: | Comments
Had the Voodoo Labs PX-8 or PX-4 Switchers been around a while back, I would probably be using a larger pedal rig today. These switchers are a great idea for effectively stringing stomp boxes together.
When stomp boxes are bypassed, they seldom allow for a pure guitar signal to get to the amp. They have a tendency to color your guitar sound, and not for the better. Most boutique pedal companies have dealt with this problem by creating a “true bypass” circuit. A majority of stomp boxes are not “true bypass”.
Voodoo Labs has created a couple of units that will allow for a great guitar tone even if you have a bunch of pedals between your guitar and amp.
The PX-4 and PX-8 Switchers allow for having a “true bypass” circuit on each pedal or effect unit that is routed into the loops. When the button for that effect is on, the pedal is nicely placed in your signal chain. When the button is off, the pedal or effect is completely removed from your signal chain.
A great feature on the PX-8 is a tip-ring-sleeve insert point between loops 6 and 7. This would be a great spot to place a volume pedal or, a preamp with a volume pedal. Loop 7 and 8 could then be used for delays or reverb. The PX-4 also has an insert between loops 3 and 4.
Another great feature is the Switcher’s ability to be controlled via MIDI. This allows for several different pedal combinations with the hit of one button. This is also great news for guitarists who want to integrate stomp boxes into their rack systems.
Voodoo Labs has also created some great power supplies that will take care any noise issues that arise from less than quality power.
The Saddleback Church Git-Cam
Posted by: | Comments
Saddleback Cameraman Phil Bettencourt set me up with a Git-Cam at a recent service.
USB Ground Loop Noise Eliminated!
Posted by: | CommentsHappy New Year Everyone!,
If you play the electric guitar, sooner or later you will have to deal with ground loop noise. As your guitar rig grows, so does the potential for unwanted noises & hums in your system. The upside to having noise problems is learning how to deal with them. I’ve found that dealing with noise problems requires more imagination & creativity than technical knowledge.
As for ground loops, the rule of thumb is, do not have multiple grounding sources (i.e- Don’t plug your amp into one wall socket and your pedal board into another wall socket – plug them into the same power source with the same ground.)
If you have noise coming from an individual pedal, chances are the pedal is not receiving the correct amperage. The voltage might be fine but your power supply may not have enough amperage.
Another noise problem can arise when a line cable is too close to a power source.
Gear companies design their equipment to “see” grounding sources in vastly different ways. That usually leaves us asking the Heavenly Father for guidance in putting “quiet” rigs together.
Today, I was working on eliminating a ground loop noise coming from a USB cable plugged into a Mac G5 and a Korg X50 keyboard. The noise sounded like digital jibber-jabber combined with a high pitched whine.
When I unplugged the USB cable, the noise disappeared. I needed the Korg X50 on the USB port for MIDI and patch editing purposes. Unplugging the USB cable to track keyboard parts was not an option.
After looking at different internet sites, forums and blogs, I took a shot at a creative solution. I had to sacrifice 2 USB cables but, the problem was eventually solved.
In the middle of the USB cable, I stripped away a section of the rubber coating to expose a 1/2 inch of the braided shielding. I then cut the shielding entirely away exposing the 4 wires in the middle. I made sure the shield was completely disconnected by testing for contact (continuity) on the opposite metal ends of the cable. I then proceeded to cut the “black” wire that supplies a ground source through the USB cable via pin #4.
After the surgery, I plugged the altered USB cable between the Korg X50 and the Mac and “voila”, no more high pitched jibber-jabber.
Another ground loop bites the dust!
