Yeah, that's right. I'm playing my newly aquired Squier Standard Strat through my newly aquired Peavey MAX 110. As far as a clean sound goes, it's just supernatural. It is the sound I've been looking for in a Strat. I wish it had maybe a reverb or a chorus or even a little delay. That's okay though because they make pedals for that. They being them, or those that are too numerous to be named.
I really discovered this sound by accident. I was just goofing around in Guitar Center trying out this Squier Standard Strat in Sienna Burst I've been lusting after. The problem is that pretty much every guitar amp I plugged it into made it sound too thin. And distortion just does not work for me with single coils. So, thinking how alot of people that detune are using bass amps nowdays, I just plugged into one to see if it'd help. And it damn sure did! Raelyy filled out the sound nicely. Another big plus is that being solid state and a bass amp, I can crank it as much as I want and it retains the same tone.
I'm not saying this'll work for everybody, but for those that dig the Strats with single coils, try it. You just might like it.
Since my band HELLTRACTOR, essentially dissolved after our first gig in Feb. 07, I've been on a weird musical path. I've tried out as a vocalist for a band, tried to put together a Black Sabbath tribute band, went to Tennesse and did some recording and picked up playing bass abit. It's been a time of musical exploration and growth. But as of this past Wednesday, HELLTRACTOR has reformed. It feels pretty good to be playing with "my" band again. I seriously like the songs we had written. But the stuff we were working on before the split was just so much better. We have a really good chemistry together and that's a hard thing to find in a band. I just hope that this time we can keep it together long enough to play a few gigs and get our songs recorded.Wish me luck.
Over the past couple of years I've been trying to get a band going. I even had a band, Helltractor, for about a year. But, after the first gig it just fell apart. I consider myself more of a songwriter than a musician. I don't want to join a cover band just to play bars to intoxicated crowds. I picked up a guitar as a means of writing songs. I know musicians in my age group, but all have responsibilities and families making it difficult for them to commit to being in a band. I'm starting to wonder if it's just too late in life to start a band. Anybody got any advice on this? Just looking for suggestions.
About two weeks ago I made a trip to Tennesse to spend a week in a friend of mine's studio. It was really a loose sort of deal just hanging out and doing some tracking. It was really kind of an "off the cuff" little session, since we don't live anywhere near each other and really had no time to rehearse. I had some demos and he just picked a couple of songs he figured he could learn fairly quickly. I laid all the guitar, bass and vocal tracks and he did the drum tracks, along with recording, mixing and mastering the session. I left before he actually had the chance to mix the tracks, but they sound pretty good unmixed even. He had another band coming in this week, so I'm hoping to get the tracks in the next week or so. Can't wait to hear the finished product, I feel like a kid at Christmas!
I've spent the last year gathering parts for a Warlock Project. As of now I'm pretty close to being done. I still gotta land a Kahler off of eBay, but the right one will pop up. The paint job was done with Krylon using the steps from one of the Paint Your Own Guitar books. The body was a heavily damaged 80s NJ. The neck is from the same era of NJ. I went with Mighty Mite pickups because they are inexpensive and I've had good luck with them so far. The chrome rings were an eBay item as well. The pots and switches came from Stew-Mac. I went with the "chickenhead" knobs because they look cool. Not very practical I know, but I generally play "wide open" anyways. The Strat style jack was something I had lying around from an old Lotus I used to have. It's taken awhile to get this thing this far and it has been well worth it. I can't wait to play it!
For me at this point in my musical journey, I prefer recording to live gigs. The reason is, I like alot of forms of music and don't want to get tied down to just one. In a band situation it's just hard to find people whose tastes are as eclectic as mine. And I don't think you're gonna find a bar or pub where the listening audience, okay drunks, are gonna want to hear a band play surf, death metal, country, classical, blues, jazz or an array of other styles that may strike my fancy. So being able to record my musical meanderings really appeals to me. I would like to have a band for an outlet for my first love which is doomy/metal stuff. But, at 41 years old, finding other bandmates is a trick.
So, for now I'm working on setting myself up with some home recording gear. I'm still deciding on what approach to take. While I love old analog recording gear, it's the digital age and that really has simplified things. I got some studio time lined up for March to lay down some songs that I've just gotta get out. Still, it would be nice to have some gear for my own little "experiments". I'll see what the new year allows.
The Mp3s I've posted are fairly old, 13 years as a matter of fact. They come from my old band's final demo we made in 1994. Unfortunately, I haven't recorded since. Yeah, there's been the usual Panasonic tape deck recordings, but nothing I'd want to put up as an example of my guitar skills. I will be doing some recording of my guitar playing skills for whomever to hear, which should give people a better idea of where I'm at now. I've moved from the thrashy sounds found on my Mp3s, to more of a heavy/doom sort of style. Tony Iommi and Black Sabbath is where I started, so it makes sense that I've come back to a similar sound in my playing.
Anyways, I hope somebody digs those old tracks. If I get some positive comments I may add more of them from that and/or other demos we made. So, leave those comments and ratings, good or bad.
If you've read my previous blog, you've seen the results of a few cans of Krylon and alot of patience. Well before I did the Charvel, I did a similar paint job on this Warlock. It was alot simpler in the fact that it only has one set of flames. It was kind of a warmup before attemting the overlapping flame job of the Charvel. After these two I'm pretty much "flamed out". My next project will probably be an old Kramer sitting in a pawnshop I frequent. I'm looking to do a Lynch M-1 Tiger job on it. I'd also like to do a Camo job of some sort in the near future too. Anyways, here's the pic.
Here's a pic of my recent flame job on my Charvel. It's still got some clear coats coming, but it has turned out alot better than I thought it would. It was done with spray cans! I bought one of those Paint Your Own Guitar books just to see if it would work, and amazingly it turned out pretty good. Of course since it is painted with an acrylic laquer out of a can, it's gonna have to cure for a few months before I buff it. Comments are welcome.
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ranbat's blogs, last updated : June 8, 2008
