Monday 2-20-12 Open Mic Lunch Report, stomp boxes...

[JagInTheBag]

Lunch today will be with a friend at a restaurant. I am certain that beef, salt, and beer will be involved.


G&L(ish) Topic- Recently received my BBE stomp box as reward for being lunch warden, er reporter. I chose a Sonic Stomp. I am not a pedal guy- I have a stage tuner and a Vox wah I rarely ever use. Weened on vintage Fender Amps- being allowed to practice through them at a vintage guitar store certainly shaped my personal tastes, an array of pedals never made much sense to me. I have an all-tube modeling amp that I gig through- a Vox Valvetronix. So this stuff is greek to me and I always thought that FX pedals were for sloppy shredders, masked guitar tone and player nuance. The question is in two parts, What is your favorite G&L/BBE pedal? Why? Second, when gigging what pedal set up do you use- and why?

Non G&L Topic- My grandmother passed away over the weekend, a woman who always listened, never judged, and was supportive in a subtle yet ever present way. What is your favorite song on the subject of grief? You Tube and mp3 links welcome.

[zombywoof]

Beef, beer and salt sound pretty good about now.

Today though, we are all home and da' wife is concoting some kinda a chicken dish conjured up from a recipe club she enjoys frequenting.

I guess I am in the same boat in that I never really got into boxes. I don't even want no stinkin' master volume knob on my amps. Generally, a little slapback echo and I am good to go.

Other than an A-B-Y box, the only gizmo I own is the Green Screamer I received from the good folks at BBE. I do play around with it and have fun but am so ignorant about how to really use it I probably do not get as much out of them as the next guy. I am kinda anxious awaiting the Buckshot I have coming in as folks I play with and who know me have done a pretty good job of convincing me that this will be a great little box for me.

So sorry Hoss to hear about your Grandma.

Songs That Come to Mind:

Dylan - Knockin' on Heaven's Door
Ralph Stanley - O' Death (The Horse Flies also do a great version of this)
Blind Willie Johnson - In My Time of Dying

[zombywoof]

Not sure how I could have forgotten this one -

John Prine's "Please Don't Bury Me."

[JagInTheBag]

Not sure how I could have forgotten this one -

John Prine's "Please Don't Bury Me."

[youtube]9Lj9dvXzDgQ[/youtube]

That is a funny one. Pretty sure Gma wouldn't want to handle it this way, but sounds good to me.

[JagInTheBag]

[youtube]o0MIFHLIzZY[/youtube]

[sickbutnottired]

Well, I am not thinking to clearly this am.

Lunch is gonna be wedding leftovers--roast beef sandwich, spinach dip on triscuits & ritz, and some carrot sticks.

Clapton's lament about his son "tears in heaven" is powerful. Jimmy Vaughn's thing he did with some of the Nevilles about his brother 'six strings down' is more a kinda wake thing. Neither of those really apply to your situation, exactly.

JitB, Sorry to here about your loss. Keep on keeping on, and be sure to make time to reflect. Best, anyhow.

Pedals, I was just starting to try and learn pedals and see if I could find enhanced sounds, but then I had a slide breakthrough and have been on that kick instead. I have a few, but I only use my old Boss tuner and the sonic stomp, Dunlop wah once in a while. The sonic stomp really tighten's up inferior preamps a lot. It's helps less on my good silverface fenders, but doesn't seem to hurt.

[KenC]

Sorry to hear about your loss.

All of my gigging has been on the electric and upright basses. My motto is "stomp box free since '83". I do have to run the upright through a pre-amp/DI box, but that doesn't do anything to the sound other than sending a usable signal to the amplifier.

Playing the electric bass or guitars in the living room, I tend to play around with a lot of effects. My favorites are Moogerfoogers, due to the sound quality and the endless tweakability. For BBE pedals, I have a Bench Press I received for LR duties, and an older Sonic Maximizer. Both of them perform their functions very nicely. I generally use the Bench Press as a limiter after digital delays when the mood for noise strikes.

Ken

[darwinohm]

Jag, sorry about your Grandmother. What was her favorite song? That would be a must at her memorial especially if done by you.

I am not a stomp box guy either although I always use a Sonic Stomp on my bass and a Sonic Maximizer on the vocals. It does work depending on the amp and always works on the vocals. The other pedal I use it a Big Shot a/b/y to run two bass amps. I really noticed this weekend that my 15 cab gives better lows than the 4/10 cab. Together they are sweet. --Darwin

[Miles Smiles]

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[youtube]D4dlqVlj6UA[/youtube]

[yowhatsshakin]

Jag, my heartfelt condolences to you and your family. Although your loss will be great, I hope you have plenty of great memories to go back to.

Our office was open today so it was our teams customary 'Thai Monday' lunch.

In connection with grieving the first song that came to mind, beyond the aforementioned 'Tears In Heaven' was "Moments of Pleasure' by Kate Bush in which she reminisces about all musicians in her past who already have passed away.

Favorite BBE pedal in my collection is the Soul Vibe: great 'reinterpretatation' of the Uni-Vibe.

- Jos

[Michael-GnL-Michael]

Sorry to hear about your grandmother.

Grieving is as delicate as a feather yet harsh as falling down stairs.

There are a few songs that remind me of times with people who have passed away. I still miss them and I work at not thinking about it. Over years I have deliberately listened to the songs a couple of times when I wanted to recall images in my mind and the feelings were not bothering me as much. In a way the memory, pain and good feelings are like tracks of the song . I would like to lose the pain and preserve the rest. You can overplay a song and whatever memory or feeling you might associate with it can be replaced by something going on during the period when you reach the overplayed mark. This is another reason not to play these. The melodies and events they remind me of matter more than the lyrics in some cases.

Witchita Lineman -Glen Campbell
Were Going Home -Montrose
We Were Always Sweethearts -Boz Scaggs
The Christmas Song -Nat King Cole
The Great Beyond -R.E.M. (the song's theme is coincidental, my sister liked the song so much she played it several times on a night that was one of the last I spent with her before her health declined. On this night, as far as everyone knew including her, she was healthy).

Sheryl Crow's first album was different than any of those that followed it. The lyrics were exceptionally strong at storytelling. To my mind she seemed focused on something more substantial than writing hits. Her boyfriend at the time was Kevin Gilbert who helped write some of those songs. Gilbert was involved in a project called Toy Matinee just before he died. From their only album the song The Toy Matinee reminds me of the dog I had at the time. This dog was a human in a dogsuit. The piano and guitar are beautifully ethereal.

[youtube]kuIvhGVa8jg[/youtube]


I do not associate this with anyone but it is a beautiful song on the topic:

[youtube]fQ3wpjdYMqk[/youtube]


Pedals: I have a Neo Ventilator that I love for being a very accurate representation of the Leslie rotating speaker effect.

[louis cyfer]

lunch was greek yogurt on the road. went to phoenix and back today. 14 hours driving.

i use lots of pedals. i prefer clean amps and getting the tone with pedals. it is certainly not to cover up sloppy playing. i have a tc polytune, aseven sisters grace comp, an ep boost always on, an isp g-string, bbe soul vibe, timmy, hao rumble mod, jetter gain stage red, jetter gain stage blue, another ep boost, tc electronic flashback, another tc flashback, bbe sonic stomp. i use the sonic stomp a lot more than the soul vibe, but i really like the soul vibe, especially on rhythm on slow blues, really fills up the sound.

i try not to grieve the dead, rather celebrate their life. grief is a selfish emotion, i like to focus on the person who passed and remember the good times i had with them.

patrick i hope your grandma passed easily and comfortably, and that she had a fulfilling long life, which i am sure she did, so there is nothing to feel bad about, she is still alive in your memories, keep it that way, celebrate her, remember her, be happy for her. she sounds like she was a great person. you were lucky to have her.

[Michael-GnL-Michael]

Grieving is selfish but being selfish is part of giving love. We cannot give anything we do not give to our self. We must eat to feed. When someone you love dies you lose something inside as well as the existence of that person outside. Some people live complete lives but many are left unresolved. It takes time to come to terms with all of this. I still miss people and feel pain when I am remembering them with my heart. I do not think about them as often knowing they are gone but songs will trigger memories.

[louis cyfer]

Grieving is selfish but being selfish is part of giving love. We cannot give anything we do not give to our self. We must eat to feed. When someone you love dies you lose something inside as well as the existence of that person outside. Some people live complete lives but many are left unresolved. It takes time to come to terms with all of this. I still miss people and feel pain when I am remembering them with my heart. I do not think about them as often knowing they are gone but songs will trigger memories.

i think that life is complete when the person passes. it is also resolved. maybe short, but death brings resolution. it can certainly take time to come to terms with all this, but i think the loved one deserves that we step outside of our own issues and focus on their life. i do try to remember them with my brain though, just seems to work better, i am not sure how well the heart maintains memories. i'll let mine focus on pumping blood, so i may not follow the passed loved one so quickly

[Aussie]

Not much time for any of the forums of late but I couldn't let today go by without offering genuine condolences and best wishes to you and your family,

From one of my favourite "Australian" (expat Canadian) songstresses, two sides of the healthy emotion that is grief:

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cheers, Robbie

[JagInTheBag]

I currently lack the energy or interest in constructing what would be a definative and winning debate on the virtue of grief and the metaphorical locations of the various centers of the mind. So I will say this to the mischief maker- your shadow is showing.

Thank you, each and every one of you. I am not a young man and have delt with the death of loved ones before. This, this was different. Even though she was 91, it was still unexpected. I was told via text that she passed- after visiting her in the hospital the day before. I don't know if it was how I learned of her passing, or that a person who helped form my character was now gone- bit I was grief struck. Yes at peace with it, yes fondly remembering why she was significant in this life, but still felt like someone punched me in the guts- actual guts, not figurative guts.

[shawn500]

Sorry to hear about your grandmother's passing. It's always rough.
I know when I lost my grandparents it gutted me. Focus on the memories, and try not to drown in grief. She would not want that, I'm sure.

As far as today's questions.....

Pedals........

My pedalboard has a Korg Pitch Black tuner, Tonefactor Huckleberry fuzz pedal, Nocturne Dyno Brain (preamp) pedal, Tim overdrive, EHX Pulsar (trem), TC Electronics Flashback (delay), and a Dunlop Carbon Copy delay.

I rarely use the fuzz for my rockabilly gigs, but we sometimes will do a Cramps song or something that requires it. The Dyno Brain is basically the preamp out of a Roland Space Echo. The secret ingredient of Brian Setzer's tone.
It really makes my Gretsches SING! I mainly use the Carbon Copy delay from most of my slapback echo. The Flashback is used for general everyday playing, and I really like the TAPE setting on it.
I only used the Pulsar trem when I'm not using my Gretsch Executive amp, which had tube trem on it.

The only BBE Stomp I've used is the Sonic Stomp I got from being LR.
It's currently not on my board, but I'm thinking about putting it on another board for general use.

[louis cyfer]

Sorry to hear about your grandmother's passing. It's always rough.
I know when I lost my grandparents it gutted me. Focus on the memories, and try not to drown in grief. She would not want that, I'm sure.

As far as today's questions.....

Pedals........

My pedalboard has a Korg Pitch Black tuner, Tonefactor Huckleberry fuzz pedal, Nocturne Dyno Brain (preamp) pedal, Tim overdrive, EHX Pulsar (trem), TC Electronics pitchblack (delay), and a Dunlop Carbon Copy delay.

I rarely use the fuzz for my rockabilly gigs, but we sometimes will do a Cramps song or something that requires it. The Dyno Brain is basically the preamp out of a Roland Space Echo. The secret ingredient of Brian Setzer's tone.
It really makes my Gretsches SING! I mainly use the Carbon Copy delay from most of my slapback echo. The Pitchblack is used for general everyday playing, and I really like the TAPE setting on it.
I only used the Pulsar trem when I'm not using my Gretsch Executive amp, which had tube trem on it.

The only BBE Stomp I've used is the Sonic Stomp I got from being LR.
It's currently not on my board, but I'm thinking about putting it on another board for general use.

are you sure it is not the tc flashback?

[louis cyfer]

I currently lack the energy or interest in constructing what would be a definative and winning debate on the virtue of grief and the metaphorical locations of the various centers of the mind. So I will say this to the mischief maker- your shadow is showing.

Thank you, each and every one of you. I am not a young man and have delt with the death of loved ones before. This, this was different. Even though she was 91, it was still unexpected. I was told via text that she passed- after visiting her in the hospital the day before. I don't know if it was how I learned of her passing, or that a person who helped form my character was now gone- bit I was grief struck. Yes at peace with it, yes fondly remembering why she was significant in this life, but still felt like someone punched me in the guts- actual guts, not figurative guts.

there is no mischief. i don't know what shadow is showing means. i am not saying people won't or shouldn't experience grief. i am saying that is feeling bad for ourselves and the person who passed deserves that we focus on them, and not on the grief. there is nothing negative here, but of course it is possible to read into it as much as one desires.

[shawn500]

Sorry to hear about your grandmother's passing. It's always rough.
I know when I lost my grandparents it gutted me. Focus on the memories, and try not to drown in grief. She would not want that, I'm sure.

As far as today's questions.....

Pedals........

My pedalboard has a Korg Pitch Black tuner, Tonefactor Huckleberry fuzz pedal, Nocturne Dyno Brain (preamp) pedal, Tim overdrive, EHX Pulsar (trem), TC Electronics pitchblack (delay), and a Dunlop Carbon Copy delay.

I rarely use the fuzz for my rockabilly gigs, but we sometimes will do a Cramps song or something that requires it. The Dyno Brain is basically the preamp out of a Roland Space Echo. The secret ingredient of Brian Setzer's tone.
It really makes my Gretsches SING! I mainly use the Carbon Copy delay from most of my slapback echo. The Pitchblack is used for general everyday playing, and I really like the TAPE setting on it.
I only used the Pulsar trem when I'm not using my Gretsch Executive amp, which had tube trem on it.

The only BBE Stomp I've used is the Sonic Stomp I got from being LR.
It's currently not on my board, but I'm thinking about putting it on another board for general use.

are you sure it is not the tc flashback?

Doh......!
Fingers got ahead of my brain. Just corrected it.

[zapcosongs]

So very sorry to hear of your loss. Grandma sounds like a very special lady.

I'm not certain that this is a song about grief, but I like to mourn to Crowded House's "Don't Dream It's Over."
- ed

[JagInTheBag]

So very sorry to hear of your loss. Grandma sounds like a very special lady.

She was and we will certainly be celebrating her life. Right now I am present with equal parts joy and sadness. Mostly, at peace with her passing. Thursday will be rough, I will be speaking and also acting as a pall bearer.