Vintage Fender Factory

Take a trip back to the 1950s in this restored film footage of a tour of the Fender factory.

Zoom H2n Review

I purchased one of these little microphone recorders awhile ago after sniffing around the Line 6 Back Track recorder. The unit is about 4”in -100mm in length.

Mostly I am very pleased with the recorder as it has done for me what digital cameras have done to photography. Record as much as you like and as many takes as you like. If I have too many false starts I just stop it and start again. You can easily trim the fat through the machine or with your computer afterwards. (You will have to buy a decent SD/SDHC card for it as it only comes with a 2GB card to get you started.)

You have several options with regards to how you can record using the 5 on board microphones. Most notably the mid-side  configuration which essentially mixes Left & Right microphones with a unidirectional microphone at the front allowing adjustment of the width of the pattern from 30° to 150°. The other major configuration is an XY pattern of 90° which is my favourite.

The unit  takes two AA batteries which give you 20 hours play time. It can use rechargeables but you have to register them within the unit so that it can accurately tell you how much usable time you have left. For me 20 hrs is plenty and AA’s are more preferential then AAA’s because of the cost.

I should also mention that it comes with Cubase LE which is the light version of Cubase. As I already have Cubase 5 I didn’t play around with it too much but it all seemed quite adequate for editing etc.

Along with the Zoom H2n I also bought the accessories kit that in my view should really come with the unit. The accessories kit comes with:

• Wired remote control with extension cable
• Windscreen
• AC adapter (USB type)
• USB cable
• Adjustable tripod stand
• Padded-shell case
• Mic clip adapter

Personally I’m not likely to use the remote or the windscreen but the rest is essential. Even the strange looking handle attachment means that I can clip it into my existing mic stands and it looks like its meant to be there.

The recording quality is excellent once you get your distances right and I would thoroughly recommend this unit for both enthusiasts like myself and serious recording aficionados who would like a field unit. This is probably my favourite piece of kit that I have purchased in 2012 and I would rate it a whopping 5 out of 5 rubber chickens.

Baghead Bags the Stones

I just bought the new Stones album Grrr! I haven’t read much about it and so it was a bit of a shock to find it was a compilation album with only two new tracks; “Doom and Gloom” and “One More Shot”. “Doom and Gloom” kicks arse and “One More Shot” I could take it or leave it, maybe it will grow on me. The album comes in a few different configurations to drive the hard core fans and completists nuts but essentially there are only two new tracks. You can add this one to your pile of other Stones rehashes ; Big Hits (High Tide and Green Grass), Flowers, Through the Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2), Hot Rocks 1964–1971, Hot Rocks 1964–1971, Metamorphosis, Made in the Shade, Rewind (1971–1984), Singles Collection: The London Years, Jump Back: The Best of The Rolling Stones (UK) and Rarities 1971–2003. In fact if you’ve got any of these I wouldn’t bother with Grrr! just buy the singles. As for the hard core Stones fans, I’m sorry but I’ve got to call it as I see it – 1 out of 5 rubber chickens the Stones are getting lazy.

The Fender VG Stratocaster

My favourite guitar is my Fender VG Stratocaster, which I call ‘Freddy’. I love it for multiple reasons including the fact that it was the first decent guitar that I ever owned. Nostalgia aside I think it is still a great guitar on its own merits. Based around an American Series Stratocaster the VG was introduced in 2007 where it won “Best In Show” at NAMM but was discontinued after April Fools Day in 2009. The VG was a collaboration between Roland and Fender and featured electronic modelling to give it some unique features or at least unique at the time. Two extra knobs were included; The T knob (Tuning) and the M knob (Mode)

Mode :

• Normal
• Stratocaster
• Telecaster,
• Humbucking
• Acoustic

Within the guitar modelling mode I would have to say that Normal and Stratocaster are somewhat smoke and mirrors. Normal isn’t really a feature it is…well, normal and in case Fender don’t realise it you are actually playing on a Stratocaster (you could play around with the tone knob to achieve the same results). Telecaster comes under the same umbrella and as I own a Tele I would have to say it doesn’t even come close to the real thing. For Humbucking you could read ‘Les Paul’ and I love it and use this a lot to give that warmer tone. Acoustic is also terrific and one of my favourites. Another thing about this guitar particularly with the acoustic mode is that its easy to play and there are a lot of songs that I struggle to play on a real acoustic but I can play perfectly on the VG in acoustic mode.

Tuning :

• Normal,
• Drop D,
• Open G,
• DADGAD,
• Baritone,
• 12 String.

The ability to change tunings at the drop of a switch was a major selling point for me. Drop D in case you don’t already know has the bass E string tuned down a tone (DADGBE). Now this is not hard to do in a live situation as it is, after all only one string but it’s a popular tuning and I use it a fair bit. Open G is the big attraction for me being a Keith Richards fan and is the altered tuning I use most often. The ability to throw in an G song into your set whenever you like and then revert back to standard is pretty damned cool. DADGAD or Dsus4 tuning, is a modal tuning that is very popular in Celtic music. Unfortunately I’m not much into this folk tuning but I sometimes have a crack at Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir”. Baritone – baritone tuning is tuned lower than the guitar, but with the same relative tuning. There are variations on the theme and in this case it is based on the quart bass; the same as standard but lowered a fourth (BEADF#B). I fool around with this tuning a bit just to see what songs sound like relative to my voice. Sometimes I come up with little surprises. I also capo this tuning on the fourth fret to give me Hendrix’s Eb tuning, handy if your playing along with the records and Eb quite often suits my voice. 12 String – the option of six and twelve strings is really handy to have on board and colours your repertoire nicely all on one guitar. I have read criticisms of the sound of the two acoustic models but for my money they sound authentic and are a major plus in this guitars arsenal.

*Note; The Tuning functions don’t work if Mode is in Normal. Tuning functions are also relative, that is if you tune down to E flat, all of these tunings will transpose down a half step.

Many criticisms were cited for the guitar’s demise including price. In my opinion this was a fair cop but some of the other criticisms were somewhat unfair.

The choice of tunings has long been a bone of contention within VG forums and it must be said that there is merit to this argument. I don’t know why these tunings were chosen but a user defined system would be the ultimate guitar. Imagine being able to program your guitar to any tuning that you could think of and then switch between say half a dozen options at the flick of a switch. At the very least the inclusion of open E would have been a bonus.

The use of batteries to power the modelling system was often sprouted as an issue but having a second wire attached to the guitar cable seems to me, to be more problematic. In the owners manual the use of nickel–metal hydride batteries (Ni-MH) is recommended and is indeed the key to powering up the system for acceptable periods of time (my experience is 1 hour for normal batteries and 4 hours for rechargeable NiMh). I personally like GP ReCyko+ batteries because they were easy to identify the + ends and they worked well but interestingly my local supplier discontinued them because they said that people were having problems with them and they were replaced with the ‘eneloop’ brand. I’m looking for a new supplier. One issue I do have with the battery system is the fact that when they do run out the sound deteriorates rapidly and sounds fairly ugly at high volume levels. A second battery pack would therefore be an advantage.

Rise of the Phoenix : Roland G-5

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKhGu-BPpng

The VG seems to have arisen from the ashes in the form of the G-5. Where as the original VG was MIA the G5 seems to be somewhat mongrel in that various parts are from different countries which has addressed the pricing issue from the previous version. The other change seems to be that the five way pickup switch has been pimped to enable some variations on sound colouring. In the acoustic mode the 5 way switch enables steel, nylon, resonator, electric sitar and jazz modeling from the original VG. The 5 way switch also allows both a wide range variation at the bridge and neck position for the Strat, Tele and Humbicking models. I can’t find anything majorly different from the original that would require me to upgrade to the new version but if I didn’t already own the original I would seriously consider checking it out.

At the time that I bought my VG the alternative to such a guitar was the Gibson Robot. I seriously considered the Robot but it was more expensive and since the principle was based on mechanics I thought there was too many components that could break down especially considering the poor quality of the finish. Now the VG has been resurrected the competition includes Line 6’s James Tyler Variax and that is a serious contender which addresses many of the concerns of VG critics. The Variax however isn’t a Fender and for my money that is still worth something.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4fBdFbym34&feature=related

Lennon vrs Christ

Maureen Cleave’s John Lennon quote from the London Evening Standard; March 1966;

“Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn’t argue about that; I’m right and I’ll be proved right. We’re more popular than Jesus now; I don’t know which will go first—rock ‘n’ roll or Christianity. Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It’s them twisting it that ruins it for me”.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhpyxoOeYGY

What does the internet think?

When The Music’s Over

Allans Music has been  a part of my life since I bought my first harmonica some thirty years ago. It is part of the fabric of my home town and every musician that I know.

Uniquely Australian the business was started in Melbourne in the 1850’s by Joseph Wilkie and George Allan. With some 25 stores the annual turnover was around 110 million per annum so it was somewhat of a shock to hear that they had gone into liquidation. The contributing factors cited for the companies difficulties were Australians love of buying online together with a climate of cautious discretionary spending.

My heart goes out to the 500 odd employees of the company, all of whom were there because they were passionate about music.

My own remorse and shock however has not deterred me from picking over the dying carcass of such a great establishment. In my vulturistic endeavors I am not alone. There was only one Gibson Les Paul left when I swooped last week and it was somewhat disturbing to see the pearls had already been plucked by the time I got there. I did however score  myself quite a few gems including an electronic drum kit (my work mate thinks I’m going through a mid life crisis).

Over the years I have bought many things there including an early computer interface that I demanded they refund my money when I couldn’t integrate it with my PC. A classic case of PICNIC (problem in chair not in computer). Allans duly refunded my money without complaint. I did note however on later shopping sprees that whenever they punched my name into the system an eye brow was raised in an unnapproving manner.

With not a great deal of choice in my town I will truly miss Allans Music and I now realise that you cannot take these things for granted. I can only hope that they can trade themselves out of these trying times.

Gibson And The Future Of Modern Guitar

Recently Gibson Guitars agreed to pay a $300,000 fine for its role in importing illegal timber from Madagascar and India. Now I don’t want to dwell on specifics here or debate the moral aspects of the situation (which dates back to raids back in 2009 and 11). What I would say however is that; if you have  been drooling over that Les  Paul or Hummingbird hanging up at your local dealer then now might be the time to make a plunge on that purchase. These classic guitars will only become rarer and more valuable as time marches on and global awareness of these dwindling resources becomes more regulated. The future of guitars will eventually shift to modern materials and these beautiful wooden instruments will eventually become museum pieces or the possessions of the wealthy. It won’t be in my lifetime but the direction is becoming apparent.

Play Me, I’m Yours

Touring internationally since 2008, “Play Me, I’m Yours” is an artwork by British artist Luke Jerram.

http://www.streetpianos.com/

Music Therapy

I saw this on this site;

How music brings people back to life

but I was too derr brained to work out how to reblog it.

Free Soul

My favourite find on Soundcloud at the moment is Superfly Party. Based in Barcelona they have free downloads of their Thursday night jams and if you like soul then they’re serving it hot.

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