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:
[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OQtrmhpIXU[/video]
[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxMBkwS6Ubg[/video]
I hope public radio stays around and oldies have an outlet.
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.
