Number of search results for feed: 22

meowmus the cat
Thu 26 Dec 2024

I didn't ask for a cat in my life, but this one just happened to show up. A few months back, some new neighbors moved into the house next to the one I live in. No big deal. A short while later, they got a cat. Okay. Some time passes, and the cat started exploring. […]

tapes. i don't get it.
Tue 25 Jun 2024

The proper name for this specific audio technology is called the compact cassette. Amazingly, you can get new blanks easily (sometimes as new old stock) for all those mixdowns you're never going to make. More on that in a minute. Nobody I knew back in the day used the term compact cassette. Everybody, including me, […]

Is Shawshank a ripoff of Alcatraz?
Sun 21 Apr 2024

Comparing these two movies pokes the hornet's nest. , considered to be one of the greatest movies of all time by many, was released 1994. , while not nearly as well known but still darned good, was released 1979. Like a lot of people, I saw Shawshank first and Alcatraz later. There are many who […]

RSS was a thing on the internet that never really went away
Thu 7 Sep 2023

There are people to this day that really, really miss Google Reader. What I'm going to talk about is a nerdy internet thing but not really, because once you know what RSS is, yeah, you're going to want it. RSS is Really Simple Syndication. Some web sites (such as the one you're reading right now) […]

NUX JTC PRO might be the best guitar looper right now
Thu 17 Jun 2021

There is a very specific reason for this. Loopers are of all various shapes, sizes and capabilities. But the has something to it that's really nice which actually has nothing to do with looping at all. What most guys who use loopers want is something with a drum machine in it. There are several loopers […]

Silvertone, that other '60s guitar
Thu 28 Jan 2021

Okay, technically '50s and '60s, but you get the idea. In my early years of guitar playing, I remember coming across Silvertone electric guitars every so often. And wow, were they crap. They could not hold tune, were impossible to intonate and were just generally difficult to play. The new reissue guitars, thankfully, benefit from […]

Xaviere XV-550 is the semi-hollow Les Paul you want
Tue 6 Oct 2020

By default, the Xaviere XV-550 is what guitarists go for when they want a semi-hollow body Les Paul style guitar. Before getting into this guitar, let's talk about Gibson and Epiphone for a moment. In the Gibson camp, do they make a semi-hollow body guitar in a Les Paul shape? Sort of. They have two […]

How to get the country slapback guitar sound
Thu 7 May 2020

Getting the country slapback sound for guitar is easy, and you probably have all the gear you need to do it right now. Quick note before explaining how this is done: This sound also doubles as a rockabilly tone. The only real difference between the country and rockabilly version is that rockabilly uses a heavier […]

The reasons why electric guitars do not use XLR
Wed 8 Aug 2018

This is a valid question, and the answer is probably not what you thought. If you've been around any musical equipment at all, you've seen the familiar 3-pin XLR connector, and it was almost certainly on a microphone cable. You've also probably seen XLR ports on various mixers and recorders. For example, the recorder has […]

How to use a looper pedal for playback of backing tracks
Wed 25 Jul 2018

Recently, I've received a few questions on YouTube concerning how to do this with a looper pedal. There are, surprisingly, a lot of guitar players out there who want to use a looper pedal as a simple music player. And by that I mean put backing tracks into the pedal, then select the song you […]

Fender Stratocaster Thinline is a bad idea
Mon 12 Mar 2018

This is the kind of guitar that says "just because you can doesn't mean you should". Take the Fender Eric Johnson Signature Stratocaster Thinline. For those not in the know, a guitar made by Fender or Squier with "Thinline" in the model name means it has semi-hollow body construction. I myself own a . While […]

about
Sat 18 Jun 2016

Hi there. My name is Rich, and this is my web site. I've been running this site for over 20 years, which means nothing, but I felt like saying that. I play guitar, am a fan of Garmin GPSes and also like Casio watches. I also sometimes talk about old stuff since I've been on […]

Is a drill bit peg winder for guitar string installation really a good idea?
Mon 6 Jun 2016

Using one of these can quickly lead to disaster if used incorrectly. The drill bit peg winder is a real thing and you can if you want to as it is cheap, and if you do, there are a few things you need to know about using one of these things. You must use a […]

Will there ever be another rock music scene?
Mon 18 Jan 2016

Tampa Florida has no rock music scene. But then again, neither does the rest of America. Someone emailed me recently about an article I wrote back in 2012 about how the rock music scene in Tampa Bay Florida completely sucks (and still does). The guy basically agreed with me and said that while he was […]

DigiTech RP360 Review
Mon 13 Apr 2015

Take a DigiTech GSP 1101, put it in pedal form, add in a 40-second looper, and you get the RP360. Although the RP360 has been on the market for something like a year, I just found out about it recently. My cost for it was almost free because I traded out my GSP1101 for it. […]

Casio SA-46 review
Wed 16 Oct 2013

arrived today along with , which you need if you don't feel like running it off batteries. The entire bottom is bright green just like the button on top and not just a wraparound stripe. I think it looks cool. As far as how to set this thing up, there is no setup. Either put […]

Rich's dirty secrets to awesome home recording with cheap hardware
Wed 10 Oct 2012

I'm pretty sure any pro-audio guy who reads this is going to be thoroughly disgusted because the method described below uses old-school tech. But it works and it can be done very cheaply. And yes, I mean CHEAP. Not "inexpensive". I mean cheap, as in stuff-you'd-find-at-a-garage-sale cheap. 1. The computer The minimum required for PC […]

Do tonewoods matter on an electric guitar at all?
Sat 14 Jul 2012

You'll notice I purposely put electric guitar in the title of this blog and not just guitar on its own. The reason for that is because when it comes to acoustic guitars, the woods chosen in the build absolutely matter. The word tonewood is defined as "any wood suitable in the construction of a musical […]

Can't get your guitar to sound right in a YouTube video? I know what your problem is
Fri 6 Jul 2012

If you ever wondered why you just can't get your guitar to sound like it's supposed to when recording a YouTube video, the answer is simple. It's an answer that many guitar players absolutely refuse to accept as true, but it is true. The reason your guitar - no matter what it is - sounds […]

Rich's 10 recording tips to get songs done fast
Sat 12 May 2012

Next week I plan on releasing another song. The rough draft is already online, and the finalized version of that should be done before the tail of next week. The only reason it hasn't been done sooner is because I've been dealing with some computer issues (stupid power supply crap), but I'll have that all […]