MY TWO STATES OF MIND
Like many of you C19 has flipped my world. First ....after months of C19 I stumbled on a Post where it neatly laid out ALL the symptoms and stages of the virus. In February over a few weeks I got almost all of them. The doctors were of course not dealing with C19 at the time and were totally puzzled with it all. They did however think I was getting close to 'goodbye world.'
Four days after they thought that I was just fine.
Even so my doctor says that it is NOT conclusive that I had C19 so I have been sent to near permanent lockdown as I appear to be more than prone to catch nasty things.
Prior to getting sick I had spent some considerable time with 2 French guys that visited branches of where I worked that are all over the world. Every country in Europe and several in Asia.
These guys happened by dumb luck to be very good and knowledgeable players and were gear nuts too. LOL
So be warned ...too much addiction to gear may kill you. LOL
Adding insult to injury l got the boot from that job just 2 weeks before the March government lockdown.
OK ...the point of all this I have a lot of time on my hands! Not allowed to leave my home and at 73 virtually unemployable in anything that pays the cost of living if I could.
Others have asked me if all this has changed how I feel about life. YES and NO!
I have always steered into pursuits that have a large chance of failing. I have however always overly achieved on work and preparation to minimize failing from presenting anything less than my very best.
The big change is I now live nearly completely in the present. What happens tomorrow is 101%
unpredictable. I have no control over tomorrow no matter how well I am prepared. I now do what 'feels' best. I get a lot more done and get to enjoying doing it because it is so much easier to focus on enjoying small victories from work I have done that day. Small repeated victories win wars!.
The other thing is that I see the stupid things and behaviors I display from time to time like that thing we call 'Memory' I do not sit down when I have something I should remember and say "F. that I just am not going to bother to remember" LOL
So I instantly forgive myself. It is a lot easier and more probable to do the right thing free of resentment, guilt and anger.
PROJECTS
I decided to finish my already started Twin Boards. They are 2 boards holding about 35 to 40 pedals each and attached together with two tiny patch bays. The pedals are grouped together like 5 separate self contained pedal boards. I use a Boss switcher which instead of switching just 5 pedals it switches on or off 5 boards. Between tunes I switch on the pedals I want from each of the 5 and can have a different ...in fact drastically different sound for every part of a tune.
In short the intro, verse, chorus, middle 8 and coda can be as different as what is only possible
on a recording.
So how is it coming along??? Not too good. LOL
It has been difficult to get parts and when possible it takes weeks even months to get them.
I know have most of what I need. Unfortunate a board is like a chain ...if you are missing a link or
two you are totally f--ked.
LEARNING
There is of course good ol' practice. I have not only put in the time I am finding it easy to keep at
because I have now achieved results where I can know blow the before C19 -Me out of the water.
Fast and accurate shredding ...knocking off triplets at hyper speeds.
Then ...what about theory? Well like most players I would gaze down the low E string sighting the root notes that bordered the corner of little 'boxes' that the blues notes were neatly laid out in.
Now I can look at that low E and see the Dorian 'box' and it is a damn big box. I can freely drift from major to minor to a blues riff kicking down road blocks anywhere!!!
MY BLOG
The good news is I have the time and have doubled my output. BIG BUT!
Not a lot of new things CAN come out. Secondly with having reviewed over 1400 pedals their
is not a lot I missed as for every pedal I review there are several pedals that I did not because
they were crap!
I have found a lot of good Fuzz pedals lately. You can build a even a great one with as few as 7 parts. BUT! if you are a total amateur you can cobble together 7 parts and call yourself a pro!!!
WTF going thru 50 amateur builders try to find one that is vital, new and has a point to it takes hours and hours and hours.
Lately if there is a new pedal 9 times out of 10 it is an ambient pedal usually a reverb or a delay. First unless you make movie sound tracks they have very little practical function. If you write ...or even play someone else's tune there is nowhere to add one without majorly rewriting the tune. Secondly there is a limit to what is possible to design into one that is give you a sound that is usable on a single note or chord without letting that sound fade right out before playing a second note or chord.
The bottom line is there are a few sounds that every maker has cloned from each other that are quite effective. If you can get them in a single pedal then having one can creep in here in there in your tunes if even just in a solo. But for gods sake do not over pay. Companies like FLAMMA are selling the same sounds and even spec for around a $100.00 USD
I expect that there are countless players that after enjoying one for a few weeks became bored with it and now realize they have an expensive door stop.
Although terribly opportunist there are some great deals on pedals being dumped to pay the rent from a closed factory. For example are the AMT mini Drives. They made 7 identical pedals that each one is voiced to clone a different gourmet Metal amp. As a rule one is all you need so I had in the past narrowed it down to what I think are the best. BUT at $45.00 USD each ...HEY!!! Why not have a choice on your board.
I just ordered the Soldano . It is not versatile enough to be the best high gain pedal for everyone. Big But again. The damn pedal has nailed the sound. I have already got two AMT dirt pedals and love them both. The sounds are different enough to make them worth having. Different tunes need different sounds and different guitars respond better to different guitars and with most of us with more than one guitar these days. Bingo! AMT is the answer!
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