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| Moved here:
http://looselectron.blogspot.com/
The only reason I even logged in was to share was I listened to and watched over the weekend (Mix Master Morris- Calm Down My Selector and the first Evangelion remake movie) but it's off Amuhzon's radar.
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| Now that I've tried a few things out, I'm getting rid of what I don't need. This means the Behringer and the Gibson Es-125. However, I think I will need some more new pickups for my G&L Legacy.
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| Maybe I went a bit far this time. I got a GB-10. Yes, George Benson's signature model. I should have gotten one of these YEARS ago, but NOOOOOOOO. I had to be ME, and using George Benson's guitar would have made it obvious that I was trying to copy him. Little did I realize how much effort and how ultimately futile it would be to do accomplish this goal. (Ironically, I once seriously considered getting an Nuno Bettencourt signature model once, but only because I clearly wasn't trying to copy him.)
Now that I'm 33 and don't have any serious career aspirations as a musician, I don't care who thinks I'm a copycat. After all, this is Japan where there is no shame in emulating your idol. Besides, anybody guitarist who could actually sound like George Benson would probably be in demand. Still, I'm just trying to have fun and succeeding at that at least. Last night I got to play the guitar at a pussy volume for a few minutes. The size, shape and sunburst kinda reminds me of my old Epiphone Les Paul, though the sound totally different of course.
Now I've got to hurry up and get rid of the Es-125 before my wife notices, and freaks out cause I bought ANOTHER new guitar this month!
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| ...and it's not cuz I just ate Tantan Ramen and fried Shaulongpo. GAS is guitar-geek-speak for gear-acquisition syndrome. Last month I had my first rehearsal with a new band backing up a flaming singer who is writing a mobile web novel. It's all in Japanese, which is not really an obstacle for me because a large part of my job is translating the language, but I don't the ironies, jokes and nuances that fill this gay-romance tragedy.
Obviously, I'm a bit out of my element here, but hanging out with this group it's alot of fun so far. After rehearsal, we passed through a temple just in time to see a rickshaw turn around the corner, and walked through Tokyo's Asakusa district at night when all the shops are closed. It was one of those rare evenings when I am vividly reminded that I am in "Japan." Not the Japan I live it, but the Japan I wanted to visit in my youth from books and movies. Naturally, it made the perfect backdrop for band photos.
My G&L Legacy sounded crappy though. This was once the guitar that I said sounded good through anything, but I'm either outgrowing it, or it's not set up properly. Or maybe I just suck! I tried setting it up for 9.5s, but I think I will have to get it setup professionally because the saddles are screwed back as far as they will go, and the intonation is still sharp. She might need more new pickups in the neck and middle positions, too.
To get ready for the next rehearsal, I'm trying out various types of gear. The first thing I got was a Baggs Gigpro for the Tacoma to replace the Mixpro I ruined. Then I got a Line 6 Echo Park as the sucessor to my old Boss DD-3. It's amazing what this guy can do compared to that thing. The only trouble is that I wanted to run it through my amp's FX loop, but it is out of order.
I also a Behringer Tube Amp Modeller to use as a preamp for the JC-120s they usually have in rehearsal studios. It's actually alot of fun play blues and rock with on higher gain settings, but I'm still not sure if it's going to be a keeper. The sound is good, but in an artificial way. The highs and mids are exageratted, but it a good way. And it does respond to my picking, but in a BAD way. It can sound pretty nasty when picked hard.
Initially I was shopping for an overdrive, and in particular looking at Maxon's new line of ODs. I didn't like the sound samples I heard on the website, and I really needed a good clean sound so I decided to try and find the best tube-amp modeller instead. I still want to try the new Boss Fender amp-modelling pedals. However, one thing about the Maxon's that made a lasting impression was the 18V circuit in some of their designs. In theory, this should provide more headroom and better transients. Since amp modellers are digital, I guess this wouldn't matter.
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| The music industry has been stealing from musicians since its inception. The act of recording music is stealing music if the performers don't own those recordings. A business person (or lawyer) can argue that musicians get paid, however when a contract cheats a composer out of the rights to royalties for their work, this is stealing. If record companies are to make an argument that downloading music is stealing, then the definition of stealing needs to be reexamined. When computer uses, particularly college students refer to downloading music, they call it "sharing."
Perhaps it is better to use the word "cheating." since it effectively gives listeners a chance to preview an album before buying it. This is how I have always regarded downloads. When I find something I really like, I buy it. This is partly to support the artist, but also because the music sounds better on CD or vinyl than it would in watered-down MP3 format or even "lossless" quality compression encoding. However, if the music sucks than I won't buy it.
I can probably count the number of times I've been cheated by a record company who sells me 10 songs so I can listen to two good ones. However, no one can count all the brilliant and creative music that have never been recorded, released or properly distrubuted by record companies who would rather produce soulless music with mass appeal than challenging music. Record companies would rather give you what they want you to listen to than what people really want to hear. That's why sales are down -- not because of downloads.
My understanding of "stealing" is to take something away that belongs to someone else. What if I already have owned a copy of something, and wany to download it out of convenience. This happens often as I live abroad and don't have access to my collection of CD, vinyl and tapes. I'm already paying the communications provider for the covenience of internet access. On top of that, why should I have to pay a record vendor for the convenience of downloading when someone who shares my taste is willing to "lend" me his copy digitally?
What record companies call stealing is really denied opportunites for sales. In otherwords, record companies are loosing the opportunity to make MORE money on their investment, and blaming it on P2P networks, rather than their own inability to make marketable products and exploit channels for distributing it.
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