Guitarists of Singletrack…

Cheers Adam for putting it together again I think I am in. However I am at my dads for is 90th birthday today, then I fly to Spain on Friday to ride my motorbike around a track (its a hard life)

So will have to pull my finger out.

I love it as its nothing like I would normally write/play 🙂

I’ll spectate on this one. I wrote some lyrics then recorded and realised I couldn’t sing them as hoped. E is at the very top of my vocal range and it’s not a tune to be screamed over. An octave lower I was just droning. You’ll note that when I sang Talkin ‘Bout You on the bass thread I sang it in C like Chuck rather than E like Lennon. My effort on bass got muddled up with the already distinctive line you’ve used yourself, Adam. On guitar I’ve so far failed to do anything I like over the descending scale, my problem not yours.

Thanks for putting it up, it’s made me concentrate rather than noodling even if I’ve nothing to show.

I’ve recorded the bass, it doesn’t sound as bad this morning, mustn’t be negative eh. 😉 Just one cycle worth: 28s, I don’t know how much you’d want for the proper version.

@Edukator good job 👍. I’ll put up a version with no bass and also one with only a click track in case there are drummers around. This might make things easier?

Well if it doesn’t offend the composer’s ears it can’t be all bad. 🙂 Ta. I’m happy enough now, I ignore the original bass line, and just listen to the guitar and backing vocals. I think a no bass version would make it easier for anyone else who wants to do a bass part. You perhaps need to advertise on the “hitting things with sticks” thread and the bassists thread.

The Iconoclaster is born!

This morning, at 9:30, it was as thick as two short planks

At lunchtime, we have a body, with sculpting

And by 4:30, a reversed headstock neck, and a neck pickup recess that might take a P90.

Next week, fix the fingerboard (the fret slots are the only thing I’m leaving to my tutor) and truss rod and get the correct alignment for the bridge. Then it’s the hard bit of shaping the fingerboard and neck.

Wow! Proper guitar building – not just the assembly that I usually do. No bridge pickup?

My Luther mentor says wait until I’ve test fitted the neck before aligning the bridge. I’m pretty pleased so far but as often said on here – it’s a bit dusty in there. The router was going all day.

I’m admirative of anyone who manages to turn lumps of wood into playable instruments but I’m happy to pay Warmoth to do it better than I could.

That said I did enjoy sanding all the lumps and bumps out of the fingerboard of an old acoustic and giving it a compound radius. I did think of turning the old fat V neck into a more modern C but there’s a reason the headstock on a 33-year-old mahogany neck hasn’t broken off (yet).

Yes, Martin Dixon (M D Guitars) says I can manage a compound radius neck, but I think a) I don’t really need one and b) it’s just another point of potential failure so I’ll just settle for a simple 12″.

Merry Xmas:

Dear Father Christmas,

If despite my criticism of your dreadful pandering to consumerism you still think I’ve been a good boy and deserve a Christmas present, please don’t give me a Fender Player Acoustasonic. However if you still have some of the old medium, heavy and extra heavy Fender picks with the stamped rather than printed logo, that’ll do nicely instead. And if you’ve got a Custom Shop Nocaster with all its paint and nitro I’ll leave some Jurançon, fromage de brebis and hay next to the stove pipe.

Ta, Ed’

Those Acoustasonics look cool, but I really don’t want one. The aesthetic is awesome, but with onboard modelling and limited voicing, I feel like they’ll be outdated and worthless in a year or five. Fine for jobbing musicians who need one for a certain gig, but I’m not convinced they make sense for the rest of us. Or maybe I’m missing something.

I’m admirative of anyone who manages to turn lumps of wood into playable instruments but I’m happy to pay Warmoth to do it better than I could.

Absolutely. I am quite ‘handy’ in general, but I can’t fathom how you could make a fretboard accurately enough to sound good. Well done, look forward to seeing it finished!

@AdamT I’m in for the solo. Hopefully put something together before the weekend.

I looked at an Acoustasonic when I was hunting for something different. All the reviews led to the same conclusion as Superficial, great for gigs but they didn’t make sense to me for home use.

Bought this instead.

@AdamT did you put a deadline on for the submission? Need to figure out the best way of recording from my Katana… Any recommendations for free software?

So this jam track thing then…

Please, if you’re a bit scared just have a go…..no judgement here. I can even do a private mix/render if you like?

I think this sounds like the sort of thing I might like to take a crack at, but I’m not really sure what the endgame is 🙂

Do we all send you bits of audio which you then assemble into a megamix of awesomeness? Or something else?

Bought this instead.

Nice. I’m trying to persuade myself that I don’t need a resonator but can’t seem to shake it off. Thankfully, none of the shops I’ve visited recently have had any on display. (Or maybe my wife managed to steer me away from the display…)

Amp headphone socket into the microphone input of your computer, benman, and use windows recorder.

However, if you’ve got a voice or instrument microphone you can plug that into the the computer with or without a preamp. That way you get your “live” sound. That’s what I’ve done. It’s hard to know how it’ll sound in the mix, I suspect my recording might be a bit too clean.

We all send our bits of audio to Adam to assemble, Tom. He hasn’t told us how many bars/seconds he wants this time. I’ve just sent one cycle, about 28 seconds worth but I can do more if he wants. I’ll let him post his own e-mail address or send it people by PM.

@edukator Your comment about Fender stamped vs printed pick logos made me look inside my sweetie tin of plectrums. They have indeed changed to a printed logo, something I’d never noticed. Even the Custom Shop ones that I have are printed! I do have a couple of medium, stamped picks I can send you if you’re short though – I’ve converted completely to the big, triangular Tortex ones. Why shouldn’t plectrums be triangular, after all?

Do we all send you bits of audio which you then assemble into a megamix of awesomeness? Or something else?

That’s how we did it last time – I assume Adam will do the same again. Do have a go 🙂

@benman, doesn’t the Katana have a USB out? If so, you can probably plug that into your PC and record. If you’re struggling for an app, Audacity is free and will do the trick. Reaper is also free ish I think, and a lot more capable (but also probably more complex than you’ll need for this).

@superficial Yep planning to use the USB out. I’ll have a look at Audacity and Reaper ta

I do have a couple of medium, stamped picks I can send you if you’re short though

That’s very kind. I’ve still got 5 mediums which I only use for really fast strumming so they should last me a lifetime. I’m not in the habit of showering the audience in picks and I hide them when junior visits.

Thanks folks. I am in 🙂

Just had a quick go using Audacity and the Katana via USB. Easy peasy 🙂

Only been playing 18 months though, so my submission may not be the most polished or technically adept…

EDIT – I haven’t actually sent anything yet!

I’ve now sent a guitar part in addition to the bass, Adam. It goes over your original bass line not mine. 28seconds again which means I hog 56 if you use both. How are other folks doing? I tried every scale I know on the guitar and ended up with simple root + 5th double stops.

Hi folks. Sorry for the lack of comms. I’ve been a bit unwell but feeling a bit better now. Thanks for the submissions so far. I’ll check back in here if there are outstanding questions.

@AdamT I’ve sent you a PM asking for your email address to send my submission to.

I’m in. Adam I’ve PM’d you for your email address

Does anyone have any experience of swapping/rewiring transformers in guitar amps?

Its a Blackstar ID60 TVP and I need to convert to run on 120v. Took the back off to get a look at the model number on the transformer, but it doesn’t seem to exist anywhere online.

You might like the sound at the lower voltage. 😉

I don’t know about rewiring transformers but a step up/down transformer is a possible solution.

Google “110v to 220v step up transformer”. For a 60W tube amp you’ll need a step up transformer that will run at least 250W continuous.

Yeah, I suppose I could get an external box, but was hoping for a more permanent solution. It’s not a valve amp, but I’m quite attached to it and it’ll be expensive to replace in Canada.

I’m happy to have a stab at rewiring, just most of my experience is low voltage DC stuff, so not entirely confident.

I’m in for the recording too ! Will have a stab at the recording early next week. How many bars soloing do you need?

Just been doing a bit of modding to a cheap, single HB ‘Strat’ from Bax.co.uk

Original:

Really good deal for £69(!), in fact the frets and neck are amazingly good. The finish on the neck is a sanded down, natural finish, just how I like it.

So far I’ve swapped in a Wilkinson ‘hot’ humbucker (read 14k ohms), chrome pickup ring, chrome knurled volume knob, a new graphite nut, and Wilkinson locking tuners (the originals were garbage).

Yet to fit is a nicer, through body bridge (though the original is actually pretty nice) + string ferrules, and I’m thinking about fitting a kill switch.

What is the status of the jam? I am back from Spain this week so will probably have time to do something. I have had a bit of a noodle over it but not recorded anything yet 🙂

Jam status is that I was a bit poorly and I’m generally lazy, so I’ve not done much lately. It’s absolutely still on though and I’m about to mix in the submissions so far.

Phew, then there’s still time for lazy folks like me? Great stuff… I’ll get on it!

I have something but need to re-do it a bit more in the groove as timing is not perfect. Its only minor pentatonic based so worry its a bit boring.

Spent a couple of hours learning the solo from The only ones another girl yesterday. Fun one to play & maybe one for my little covers band to learn ( which was the motivation)

https://www.instagram.com/p/CW3NIlkl3jO/

If you’re interested its a modded squire VM Jazzmaster. New Pickguard & witch hat knobs, mustang bridge, Creamery P90’s in JM pickup covers straight into a little vox tube amp

Noice! I liked that. Love that song.

Yeah, I love that song, too. I tried learning the solo but decided it was harder than it sounded!

Interesting about the guitar – looks great BTW. I’m going to look at a cheap Squire CV Jazzmaster hopefully later this week…