Archive for October, 2008
10/31/2008
I may have mentioned before that my band and I are taking a break since I will be a father in the next few days. With a new baby, I can’t be running all over the place, playing shows and leaving my wife with the baby, I have to 
help her out. I mean, she did already carry him for almost 9 months so I owe it to her. Instead, we’ve set up the rehearsal space with all of our gigging gear rather than our rehearsal gear. The rehearsal gear consists of 2 x Digitech RP350 processors , a Whirlwind Director Passive Direct Box for bass and my drum set completely outfitted with microphones all connected to a older Soundcraft mixer to achieve a sweet in ear mix. Now, we’re going to write and rehearse with our gig gear so we can further perfect our stage sound and make sure all the amps are dialed in and that the drums are tuned the way they should be.
This is rather exciting for us because we haven’t been able to really rock out completely for quite some time besides playing shows. The plan is to spend as much time as possible playing music together like we have in the past. Previously, I rented a house with a nice sized basement in which we had our gig gear available to rock. That was super fun and very productive. The ability to have 3 hour long jam sessions while switching instruments on the fly really helps the creative juices flow and it helps to keep me practiced not only in drums but guitar, bass and keys. Even if all you do is alternate between 3 arrangements, you can work on solos, breakdowns and more when it’s all right there and you don’t have to worry about tripping over cables from in-ear monitors. I’ll post a stitched picture of the entire jam space in a few days and then I’ll update this post. Looking forward to it!
-Ryan
Tags:Digital-Amp-Modelers, Gigging-Gear, Rehearsal, Song-Writing
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
10/31/2008
Currently I have a pretty meager setup. It’s perfect for what I do in my space though so I have no complaints. However, I have recently found a Korg D32XD Multi-Track Recorder. I’ve used this unit in the past and it is awesome for me considering how I would like to expand my space. Ultimately, I may convert my garage or move the studio space to either my basement or attic to allow for more gear within my space. As it stands, I don’t have space enough for a drum set so recording drums, unless absolutely necessary, is out of the question. Why am I rambling on about this problem on my blog site? Because I am torn between purchasing this recorder or my Roland TD9SX drum set.
There are many ways I can look at this and many solutions. One solution is to pick myself up an Alesis USB Pro Drum Kit With Surge Cymbals and upgrade my Ableton Live with Session Drums. I know what you’re thinking…I’m compromising quality for price. You may be right but I can achieve an incredible drum sound with Ableton Session Drums and a USB drum set such as this Alesis at a much lower price. No, the Alesis doesn’t have multi-zone triggers but it’s mainly for practice. I do plan to use it a bit for live podcasting of my bands performances but I can get the good drum sounds from Session Drums for that. Ok, I’m done rambling. Let me know what you think I should do. Any input is appreciated!
-Ryan
Tags:Ableton-Live-7, Alesis-Drums, Digital-Recording, Korg-D32XD, Multi-Track, Session-Drums
Posted in Recording | Leave a Comment »
10/30/2008
As musicians, particularly guitarists, we strive to create our own sound and are on a constant journey for tone. Tone is that elusive thing that is relatively unexplainable but once we achieve it, we know it. Ok, it’s not completely unexplainable but it is difficult to grasp since every players ideal tone tends to be different. That is exactly what makes every guitarist sound unique, their tone. Personally, as a guitarist, I prefer the modern American tone. This tone is rich in harmonics, overdriven but not noisy, dynamic and yet slightly compressed once it reaches a certain level. This would be considered “My Tone.” However, this 
simple description pales in comparison to actually hearing my ideal guitar tone. In order to provide you all an example, I shall clue you in to a guitar pedal that when paired up with an all tube, electric guitar amplifier easily creates my tone and adds spectacular versatility. Allow me to show you the Radial Bones Fullerton American Distortion Pedal.
The Radial Fullerton is a Solid State distortion pedal which has been built to closely emulate the sound of modern American tube amplifiers. This great unit actually reacts just like a real tube amp should. When you turn your guitar down, the Fullerton will clean up like a real tube amp. Some features include; variable drive for just the right amount of distortion, a dual-band equalizer with Radial’s passive-interactive tone circuit, 3-position ‘gain’ switch to adjust the drive range from slight grit to extreme modern distortion as well as a 3-position ‘cut’ switch allowing you add extra mid-range drive or fatten up single coil pickups. This Pedal truly is a dream come true for guitarists seeking modern tone without forking over their life savings. Coming soon to American Musical Supply!
-Ryan
Tags:Distortion-Pedal, Electric-Guitar-Pedal, Guitar-Tips, Guitar-Tone
Posted in Guitars | Leave a Comment »
10/30/2008
Within the industry, the ability to record on the road is indispensable, especially for the purpose of songwriting. The are a few problems, most multi-track recorders are not designed to be field recorders and on the other hand, most field recorders are not multi-track. That, my friends, has now changed thanks to the Tascam DP-004 Digital Portastudio. Now, no matter where you are, you can capture your ideas when they hit, on the fly! No more of the typical “What was that song idea I had yesterday?” mumbo jumbo. You can literally carry this compact digital powerhouse in your guitar case or gig bag. It features 2 built in microphones so you can record yourself singing along to your guitar idea in rich, true stereo. You can even connect your guitar directly to the 1/4 inch input labeled “A.” The DP-004 is truly versatile, powerful and incredibly affordable. With a price of $199.00, this truly is a must-have unit, especially for guitarist/songwriters. The Tascam DP-004 is coming soon to American Musical Supply!
-Ryan
Tags:Multi-Track, Portable-Recorder, Song-Writing, Song-Writing-Tool, Tascam-DP-004
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10/29/2008
There has been some talk around forums and other places about whether instruments which have been hand crafted such as high-end guitars are considered damaged if they exhibit something a little out of the ordinary. For example, say you order a Gibson Les Paul Custom Electric Guitar with Case in Heritage Cherry finish. Upon receiving the guitar, you notice that it doesn’t look the same as the picture on the website. What would you do?
Allow me to explain to you why I would personally keep the guitar. Think of it this way, there are no 2 snowflakes the same, just as there are no 2 wood grains identical. With that in mind, when you purchase an expensive, custom instrument of this caliber, you are essentially buying a one-of-a-kind instrument that will never be re-created. Things such as slight roughness under the lacquer, differing shade of the sunburst, getting a AAAAA figured maple top rather than AAA, these are all things that make an instrument completely unique. They add subtleties to the tone as well. Speaking of subtleties, these minor differences will also make your tone completely unique. Don’t get me wrong, a Les Paul sounds like a Les Paul but minute differences in the construction and finishing of the instrument makes for completely unique sound, look and feel. Keep that in mind.
-Ryan
Tags:Electric-Guitar, Gibson-Les-Paul, Musical-Instruments
Posted in Guitars | 2 Comments »
10/29/2008
I’ve mentioned in previous posts that I’m writing and demo recording some tunes. Right now I’m working on one that I wrote over a year ago which I have not yet finalized the title. It is tentatively called “Laid Off.” It’s basically a tune about the struggle in my previous job and how it was always up in the air whether I would have work the following day or not. Lay offs are very difficult to deal with as a newly married man.
I’ve managed to record the main guitar tracks minus one so there will be a total of 5 guitar tracks for the majority of the song. One track is the lead so it will not have guitar the whole time unlike the others. So, last night I started experimenting with the bass line and quickly found that I am NOT a skilled keyboard player at all. After numerous takes that were ditched and one that I kept simply due to time constraints I’ve decided that I will ask my bassist, Brent if he would loan me his bass for a day or two. I sold my bass to help cover the cost of the bands van that we need to transport ourselves and our gear
to shows. I may even just record the bass in the rehearsal space so I can plug into the Tech 21 SansAmp RBI Bass Guitar Preamp and Direct Box for better tone. After the bass is tracked, I’ll begin on the drums which may take some time or I may nail it in one take, you never know. Check back for more updates as I get more completed.
-Ryan
Tags:RBI, Recording-Studio, Recording-Tips, SansAmp, Tech-21
Posted in Recording | Leave a Comment »
help her out. I mean, she did already carry him for almost 9 months so I owe it to her. Instead, we’ve set up the rehearsal space with all of our gigging gear rather than our rehearsal gear. The rehearsal gear consists of 2 x Digitech RP350 processors , a Whirlwind Director Passive Direct Box for bass and my drum set completely outfitted with microphones all connected to a older Soundcraft mixer to achieve a sweet in ear mix. Now, we’re going to write and rehearse with our gig gear so we can further perfect our stage sound and make sure all the amps are dialed in and that the drums are tuned the way they should be.
