10/23 - Never Too Late for Lunch
Tue Oct 23, 2018 9:57 pm
..May as well do another! Lunch was chips and an energy drink. I don't like to eat at work, and if I leave the building my parking space is gone and I need to park & walk a few blocks away. Dinner is usually when I eat. My wife is unable to walk at the moment (long story) so while she's recuperating it's all restaurant or TV-dinner style food since I can't even make a sandwich without it being poisonous or exploding somehow. Cooking is a pseudoscience and I don't know how anyone is good at it.
The Radio
I'm one of nearly several people who listens to the radio. Not talking about HD, Sirius etc. - Just plain old 'The Radio.' It coincides with not wanting to fiddle with Pandora/apps while driving, not having the desire to lug around CDs and watch the cases melt, and not wanting to pay money for music I need to strain to listen to above my Camaro's Borla cat-back exhaust in any case.
I also have some old cars that only get AM radio (if any radio at all.) Turns out LA does still have an English Language, non-talk station on AM; and it's Oldies! Not a stretch to imagine it caters specifically to people on cruise nights with their old cars. Makes me realize how long it's been since I've heard actual oldies anywhere- the FM 'Oldies' stations (K-Earth 101 and KOLA 99.9) now play bands that were popular when I was in high school- Sugar Ray, Oasis, etc. Which is about as depressing as it is cool in ways. But I grew up with older parents who always had Doo-Wop and Motown on. I may be one of the last generation who got actual exposure to that music, outside a textbook/history context. So much of American culture would be lost without that music imo.
So do you ever listen to the radio? Do you think more needs to be done to keep the 'Oldies' alive in particular, or is it fine if it all goes the way of Ragtime?
G&L Topic - Pickup Heights
More setup topics from me. For those of us with MFD pickup guitars; where do you like the height set? Do you mess with the pole piece height at all?
When I play standard pickups (either Alnico singles or PAF humbuckers) my tendency is to prefer them set very low; pickups just about at the pickguard or ring height. After playing with things on my F100 and SC3 , I've found that despite the increased output MFDs offer they have the best sound at about a medium height. Weird that I might have thought that position would be too compressed/wooly, but they just sound quite strong and great if set up a bit higher.
I've had no urge to tweak the individual poles- no perceptible volume discrepancies between strings etc. Really I never do on any other pickup that allows adjustment either, and I don't have difficulty dealing with either staggered or flat poles with any given neck (small or large radius.)
The Otamatone
I just got one of these at a local Japanese market. At first I thought I'd never be able to play it as an actual instrument, but after about an hour I got it pretty well figured out- but put some guitar-style 'fret markers' on the side (I'm sure when I'm a pro I'll rub them off.) So basically it's a 10" long rod you run your hand up and down. It looks like a... Well, you be the judge. Also if does a perfect simulation of a- Again it probably should not be said aloud on this forum, but you should take a listen and judge for yourself.
The note distance is gradiated (like any stringed instrument,) so lower 'frets' are spaced wider. Has about an octave and a half range on the "neck," and also can be set for a low, middle, or high octave. It really comes alive at the top of the mid-octave setting, or bottom of the high octave; that's when the "wah-wah" of the mouth effect really sounds good with vibrato. Mine is a 'Deluxe' meaning it has a headphone jack, but since the mouth-wah thing is a live feature only it doesn't come through headphones, so that's a bit of a let-down. May need to do some recording into a mic. In the meantime, there are plenty of videos by others online:
The Radio
I'm one of nearly several people who listens to the radio. Not talking about HD, Sirius etc. - Just plain old 'The Radio.' It coincides with not wanting to fiddle with Pandora/apps while driving, not having the desire to lug around CDs and watch the cases melt, and not wanting to pay money for music I need to strain to listen to above my Camaro's Borla cat-back exhaust in any case.
I also have some old cars that only get AM radio (if any radio at all.) Turns out LA does still have an English Language, non-talk station on AM; and it's Oldies! Not a stretch to imagine it caters specifically to people on cruise nights with their old cars. Makes me realize how long it's been since I've heard actual oldies anywhere- the FM 'Oldies' stations (K-Earth 101 and KOLA 99.9) now play bands that were popular when I was in high school- Sugar Ray, Oasis, etc. Which is about as depressing as it is cool in ways. But I grew up with older parents who always had Doo-Wop and Motown on. I may be one of the last generation who got actual exposure to that music, outside a textbook/history context. So much of American culture would be lost without that music imo.
So do you ever listen to the radio? Do you think more needs to be done to keep the 'Oldies' alive in particular, or is it fine if it all goes the way of Ragtime?
G&L Topic - Pickup Heights
More setup topics from me. For those of us with MFD pickup guitars; where do you like the height set? Do you mess with the pole piece height at all?
When I play standard pickups (either Alnico singles or PAF humbuckers) my tendency is to prefer them set very low; pickups just about at the pickguard or ring height. After playing with things on my F100 and SC3 , I've found that despite the increased output MFDs offer they have the best sound at about a medium height. Weird that I might have thought that position would be too compressed/wooly, but they just sound quite strong and great if set up a bit higher.
I've had no urge to tweak the individual poles- no perceptible volume discrepancies between strings etc. Really I never do on any other pickup that allows adjustment either, and I don't have difficulty dealing with either staggered or flat poles with any given neck (small or large radius.)
The Otamatone
I just got one of these at a local Japanese market. At first I thought I'd never be able to play it as an actual instrument, but after about an hour I got it pretty well figured out- but put some guitar-style 'fret markers' on the side (I'm sure when I'm a pro I'll rub them off.) So basically it's a 10" long rod you run your hand up and down. It looks like a... Well, you be the judge. Also if does a perfect simulation of a- Again it probably should not be said aloud on this forum, but you should take a listen and judge for yourself.
The note distance is gradiated (like any stringed instrument,) so lower 'frets' are spaced wider. Has about an octave and a half range on the "neck," and also can be set for a low, middle, or high octave. It really comes alive at the top of the mid-octave setting, or bottom of the high octave; that's when the "wah-wah" of the mouth effect really sounds good with vibrato. Mine is a 'Deluxe' meaning it has a headphone jack, but since the mouth-wah thing is a live feature only it doesn't come through headphones, so that's a bit of a let-down. May need to do some recording into a mic. In the meantime, there are plenty of videos by others online:
Re: 10/23 - Never Too Late for Lunch
Wed Oct 24, 2018 10:13 am
The Radio
I got myself a new car about 3 months ago and it comes with music streaming. I can ask for a particular artist or song and it will play that song plus others in a similar genre with no commercial breaks. Now when I tune in to a regular radio station I get impatient with the commercials that seem to come on every 10 minutes.
Locally I have a jazz station associated with Public Broadcasting that I still listen to because it is a nice change of pace when I'm driving around. Plus it is essentially commercial free.
G&L Topic - Pickup Heights
Honestly I have not played around with pickup heights on my guitars much. I have never sat down with a guitar and explored the tone difference between having the pickup all the way down to all the way up. The times I have played around with pickup heights is when I find an imbalance in output between pickups. I will then adjust them until I get comparable volumes out of all my pickup selector switch positions. I have also raised and lowered the bass side versus the treble side of a pickup if there's been volume drop off between first string to sixth string.
The Otamatone
Interesting musical instrument. The videos show how this can be a pretty impressive music maker.
Many years ago I had a cheap keyboard my wife bought for our kids to play around on, but I have used it a little bit in recordings. We got rid of it when the kids completely lost interest.
A few months I bought a recent model Yamaha keyboard for under $200. Turns out this thing has a bunch of nice capabilities for creating songs. For example, it has well over a hundred different drum rhythms, each with a few pattern variations within the rhythm, plus adjustable tempo. Once I get that going in the background the keyboard can add a bass progression with me playing a single note for a major pattern, two notes for a minor pattern, etc. I found out just randomly poking notes without planning I actually can create some interesting progressions. One problem I have previously is that I can stumble upon something cool, but don't remember how I did it to reproduce it. With this keyboard I can record what I'm playing, and upon playback it shows what the chords are that I played. This I found to be a great way to pick out the good bits, write them down, and be able to reproduce it. I've got a couple of partial pieces that I'm working on building into complete songs, but that's going to take a while.
I got myself a new car about 3 months ago and it comes with music streaming. I can ask for a particular artist or song and it will play that song plus others in a similar genre with no commercial breaks. Now when I tune in to a regular radio station I get impatient with the commercials that seem to come on every 10 minutes.
Locally I have a jazz station associated with Public Broadcasting that I still listen to because it is a nice change of pace when I'm driving around. Plus it is essentially commercial free.
G&L Topic - Pickup Heights
Honestly I have not played around with pickup heights on my guitars much. I have never sat down with a guitar and explored the tone difference between having the pickup all the way down to all the way up. The times I have played around with pickup heights is when I find an imbalance in output between pickups. I will then adjust them until I get comparable volumes out of all my pickup selector switch positions. I have also raised and lowered the bass side versus the treble side of a pickup if there's been volume drop off between first string to sixth string.
The Otamatone
Interesting musical instrument. The videos show how this can be a pretty impressive music maker.
Many years ago I had a cheap keyboard my wife bought for our kids to play around on, but I have used it a little bit in recordings. We got rid of it when the kids completely lost interest.
A few months I bought a recent model Yamaha keyboard for under $200. Turns out this thing has a bunch of nice capabilities for creating songs. For example, it has well over a hundred different drum rhythms, each with a few pattern variations within the rhythm, plus adjustable tempo. Once I get that going in the background the keyboard can add a bass progression with me playing a single note for a major pattern, two notes for a minor pattern, etc. I found out just randomly poking notes without planning I actually can create some interesting progressions. One problem I have previously is that I can stumble upon something cool, but don't remember how I did it to reproduce it. With this keyboard I can record what I'm playing, and upon playback it shows what the chords are that I played. This I found to be a great way to pick out the good bits, write them down, and be able to reproduce it. I've got a couple of partial pieces that I'm working on building into complete songs, but that's going to take a while.
Re: 10/23 - Never Too Late for Lunch
Wed Oct 24, 2018 5:37 pm
Hi Danley,
Great day for a Lunch Report, albeit a late reply. No lunch for me today.
I am and have always been a radio fan. Listen to a few local stations depending on the mood for genre, sports radio, and talk radio. Music I also use iTunes music for my loaded music or particular song/band. I do not have Sirius radio on my regular work car so the other options are de facto.
"Oldies" is a relative term anymore for the music.
I hope public radio stays around and oldies have an outlet.
Have adjusted pickup heights a few times but generally have not had to. When I did it was only because they were too boomy.
Love the Otamatone! I have never seen these but when I showed it to my kids my oldest has a friend who has one and they think these are cool instruments. Kids these days.
Would like to see one in person to see if I could figure it out., I can hear the Kinks "You really got me" in my head. Talk about oldies. I remember playing with some friends in the early eighties and when they mentioned this song and I said Oh yeah the Kinks and they had no idea the Kinks did the original, not Van Halen.
Great day for a Lunch Report, albeit a late reply. No lunch for me today.
I am and have always been a radio fan. Listen to a few local stations depending on the mood for genre, sports radio, and talk radio. Music I also use iTunes music for my loaded music or particular song/band. I do not have Sirius radio on my regular work car so the other options are de facto.
"Oldies" is a relative term anymore for the music.
I hope public radio stays around and oldies have an outlet.Have adjusted pickup heights a few times but generally have not had to. When I did it was only because they were too boomy.
Love the Otamatone! I have never seen these but when I showed it to my kids my oldest has a friend who has one and they think these are cool instruments. Kids these days.
Would like to see one in person to see if I could figure it out., I can hear the Kinks "You really got me" in my head. Talk about oldies. I remember playing with some friends in the early eighties and when they mentioned this song and I said Oh yeah the Kinks and they had no idea the Kinks did the original, not Van Halen.
Re: 10/23 - Never Too Late for Lunch
Thu Oct 25, 2018 5:10 am
Tune in to wcpt in Chicago on the dial or internet. Progressive and smart.
y2kc
y2kc
Re: 10/23 - Never Too Late for Lunch
Thu Oct 25, 2018 8:27 am
Lunch is a big ? today.
The Radio
I have a few 1970's & 80's targas w/ original equipment. It's either radio or the wind.
Pickup Heights
I rarely adjust, unless it's a "new" purchase and the previous owner went loco.
The Otamatone
Weird. I dig it. It's like one of my percussion instruments that I rarely use, but has a unique sound.
Mic'ing and singing through guitar pedals can make for similar results.
Cheers,
Will
The Radio
I have a few 1970's & 80's targas w/ original equipment. It's either radio or the wind.
Pickup Heights
I rarely adjust, unless it's a "new" purchase and the previous owner went loco.
The Otamatone
Weird. I dig it. It's like one of my percussion instruments that I rarely use, but has a unique sound.
Mic'ing and singing through guitar pedals can make for similar results.
Cheers,
Will
Re: 10/23 - Never Too Late for Lunch
Thu Oct 25, 2018 8:48 pm
lunch was a cobb salad, i think, that was awhile ago!
radio: i like it. no paid svc's. WXPN (U Penn, 88.5 FM, Phila) is awesome re: variety of great music and new stuff, non-mainstream, also a great blues show on saturday nights, can stream it on the web; WRTI (Temple U, 90.1 FM, Phila) great jazz station; WVUD (U Del, 91.3 FM) also a cool college station with variety of programming, interesting blues show Friday evening
G&L p'up heights: i generally lower them for better tone. last few used gtr's i bought, p'ups were way too close to the strings, sounded edgy and poor tone. much better lower, prefer at least 1/3 to 1/2 inch from the strings
Obamatone - i didn't know he played!
Otamatone - that is unique. i suspect aliens brought that here
radio: i like it. no paid svc's. WXPN (U Penn, 88.5 FM, Phila) is awesome re: variety of great music and new stuff, non-mainstream, also a great blues show on saturday nights, can stream it on the web; WRTI (Temple U, 90.1 FM, Phila) great jazz station; WVUD (U Del, 91.3 FM) also a cool college station with variety of programming, interesting blues show Friday evening
G&L p'up heights: i generally lower them for better tone. last few used gtr's i bought, p'ups were way too close to the strings, sounded edgy and poor tone. much better lower, prefer at least 1/3 to 1/2 inch from the strings
Obamatone - i didn't know he played!
Otamatone - that is unique. i suspect aliens brought that here