Whatever happened to "Rated X"?
The Motion Pictures Association of America, a.k.a. the MPAA, used to use a rating of X for movie titles of an adult nature. NC-17 replaced X in 1990, along with agreeing that R-rated movies would then be accompanied with short descriptions instead of just "RESTRICTED".
But why was X dumped?
Answer: The adult movie industry pretty much made X synonymous with adult film. And by that I mean pornographic movies. What adult film movie makers did was purposely advertise the fact their movies were X-rated just to get more sales. And it worked. NC-17 was introduced in an attempt to get movie houses to feature adult-themed movies that were not pornographic.
Did it work? Nope. Movie houses instantly recognized that NC-17 was "just another X" and refused to carry movies with that rating, and wouldn't even accept promotional posters for them either.
Even now almost a quarter-century later, when someone identifies something as "Rated X" or "X-rated", you know it's either an adult film or at bare minimum know it's "forbidden".
I'm actually old enough to remember the days before PG-13, which was introduced in 1984. And why was that one introduced? Because of movies like Gremlins and Clash of the Titans. These were movies that got PG-approved, but scared little kids and gave them nightmares because of certain content. The MPAA, of course, got yelled at for that by "concerned parents", so they decided to introduce an intermediate rating between PG and R, which is PG-13.
PG-13 had a legitimate reason to exist. But NC-17 never really did, and has always been dopey. X was just so much better.
Should the X rating come back?
Yes. It's been over two decades and a lot of people would really like to see it again. If it came back, I guarantee you that the first movie to receive an X rating in over 25 years will sell out movie houses across the country just because it got the X.
What should the first new X-rated movie be? Not an adult film. It should be a gory, nasty horror movie unlike anyone has ever seen. I'm talking about something just unbelievably grotesque.
Would I go see it? Hell no. But a ton of people would. The advertising line of "The first officially X-rated movie in 25 years" alone is enough to pack the theaters.
I can even envision the television commercial for it, with the last 2 seconds of it having nothing but the X rating prominently displayed.
Just imagine how many people would get excited over seeing that. "Wow! An X-rated movie!"
Would the adult movie industry commandeer the X rating all over again?
No, because nobody would pay to see a adult movie in a movie house these days, combined with the fact almost everyone gets their adult video off the internet now.
If X returned, I'm pretty sure the horror genre would command it easily. While there would be a few major-production adult flicks, I seriously doubt they would overtake the X like they did before.
Times have changed. Like I said, nobody would pay to see adult films in a movie house, but they would pay to see a truly grotesque horror flick in a theater. Why? Because it's fun and entertaining.
NC-17 is obsolete and it's time to let it go
The X rating is a part of American culture. It's time to dump NC-17 and kick it to the curb because it was always awful and just plain stupid. X was better, if for no other reason than it just sounded cool.
If the MPAA wants a real reason to bring back X, read what I said above. It will pack movie houses. Count on it.
5 things you didn't know about stomp boxes
The pedal effect a.k.a. the stomp box is something that's been around a long time, taken many different forms and utilized many different technologies. One of the latest are the new offerings from BOSS such as the MO-2 Multi Overtone. It has two outputs so you can create one seriously cool-sounding stereo effect. Cool pedal to have. If you're wondering what the Multi Overtone does, it's probably the best "enhanced chorus" you could ever have. You can detune just ever-so slightly, mix and match how much direct vs. how much effect is heard, and when using two amps... wow. It may not look like much, but it's an amazing effect. It would even work wonders just plugged into a mixer using two channels.
Anyway, aside from all that, there are certain things about pedal effects that most guitar players aren't aware of. These are the top 5.
1. If it's plugged in, it's on even if the light isn't on
Unless the pedal has an on/off switch, which most don't, when you plug a cable into the pedal, it's on.
"Doesn't the pedal switch count as the on/off?"
No. All that does is toggle whether the effect is on or not. If it were a true on/off switch, you would hear a soft "thump" every time you engaged the pedal. But you don't. When you stomp the switch, the effect instantly engages or disengages. Why? Because if a cable is plugged in, it's on.
Yes, this does mean if you want to save battery life, UNPLUG THE CABLES.
2. "True Bypass" is BAD
The supposed benefit of true bypass on a guitar effect pedal is the "cleanest" possible signal when the bypass is engaged.
Is this true? Yes, it is.
But there's a downside and a rather large one. You might lose so much signal that you may barely get enough of it to your amplifier to be usable.
Think of it this way. Let's say you have a 20-foot guitar cable connected to 5 pedal effects on a pedal board all with true bypass, and each of those chained together by 1-foot cables. And at the end of the chain you have a 10-foot cable going to the amp. That is literally like having a guitar connected to a 35-foot cable (20 feet + 5 feet + 10 feet). When all the pedals are in true bypass, your guitar signal has to push through all that distance to get to the amp with no "help" whatsoever.
The "help" I'm referring to is what a pedal does when not in true bypass but not engaged. What happens is that when non-bypassed, more often than not the signal going in is THE SAME (or close to) the signal going OUT. The pedal is "helping along" the signal through it so that it can "reach" its destination, that being the end of the effect chain to the amp.
When true-bypassed, signal going out is WEAKER because its traveling through more distance before the end of the chain and then to the amp.
To put this in really simple terms, an effect pedal that is true-bypassed acts as nothing more than more distance for the signal to travel, the same as if you outright replaced the pedal with a 1-foot or 2-foot cable. And as you know (and if you don't, now you do), the more distance the signal has to travel, the weaker it gets before it gets to the amp.
In other words: Don't buy into the "true bypass" nonsense. As long as an effect pedal is properly constructed with good shielding and good wiring on the inside, your signal will be more than "clean" enough.
3. Batteries are always better than AC adapters when you want less noise
A 9-volt battery in a guitar effect pedal is a direct, "clean" power source.
An AC adapter connected to a pedal is an external power source that can very easily be "dirty" and cause signal interference.
If you're encountering the situation right now where you get buzzy and/or scratchy noises from your pedal effects, and you are certain the pedal is in good condition, switch to batteries.
Forced to use AC adapters?
Get a power strip that's up to the job, the Furman SS-6B Steel Power Strip with 6 outlets and a proper 15-foot cord. The outlets are wide apart, and that's perfect for big AC adapters that most effect pedals use. Heavy duty construction? Yes. Built-in circuit breaker? Yes. EMI/RFI noise attenuation? Yes. Power switch lights up? Of course.
For small, sturdy and compact, you can't do any better.
4. Industrial grade 9-volt is the only battery worth using on an effect pedal
There's a bit of confusion concerning what "industrial grade" means, so I'll explain it.
Industrial grade DOES NOT mean "lasts longer". Not at all. It means "consistent drain rate".
A consistent drain rate means you can trust each battery to last a specific amount of time before dying on you.
With consumer-grade batteries, you never know what the drain rate will be. I guarantee you have bought batteries before in the store, and some will last for a good long time while others die on you the day you bought them. That's an inconsistent drain rate. You have no idea how long they will last.
When using industrial grade however, they are far more predictable as to when they will die on you. After using them for a while, you'll even be able to guess accurately exactly how much charge is left.
Bonus to buying industrial grade: It is ALWAYS cheaper
Whether you buy a box of 12 Energizer Industrial or a box of 12 Duracell Pro-Cell batteries, they will always be cheaper compared to any store you go to now.
You wouldn't think industrial grade would be cheaper, but oh yeah, it is. And you get a better battery.
5. Socks save pedals from getting ruined
You have only two options for storing pedals when not in use. Either put them back in their original boxes when not in use, or put them in socks.
The floor is where most dust settles. And that dust is going to get into everything on the pedal.
To prevent dust and other gunk from getting in the pedal, put it in a sock. It really works. It fits nice and snug, doesn't cause static electricity and it's easy-in and easy-out.
If you're wondering which direction the pedal should go in the sock, it's always "knobs first".
Or, if you're in the situation where the pedal is in your room or rehearsal space and you just leave it on the floor unplugged (as you should) when not in use, cover it with a hand towel.
You'd be amazed at how many guitar players just leave their pedals in the open and get a nice layer of dust on them after only a few days. Don't be one of those guys. You spent the money on the pedals. Make them last.
How come there isn't more surf music?
As far as I know, there is no popular music genre that ever truly dies. For any genre you can think of, there are fans of it even if it's not the popular music of the moment.
What is surf music exactly? It's a weird combination of rock, fast-pace blues, Middle Eastern, Arabic, Mexican and Hawaiian styles.
The first name in surf music is The Ventures, and the second is Dick Dale, but there are many others such as The Chantays, The Beach Boys (obviously), Jan & Dean and so on. But when it comes to "the sound of surf", The Ventures and Dick Dale nailed it best.
While surf music was before my time, the more I research it, the more I understand how huge it was in the early 1960s. From 1961 to 1966, surf music was everywhere, or at least it was here in the US. It was the "rebel music" of the time that all the kids were listening to. Beach fun, fast cars and good times was what it was all about.
Everyone likes surf music because it just sounds cool and it's a happy kind of style. So why is it that people don't play it more?
Well, it's not that surf music is "too old", because every popular music genre resurfaces about once every 25 to 30 years.
The reason you don't hear surf directly has to do with the fact it's not easy to play and it's a tough sound to pull off.
The guitars
Surf is a 100% Fender sound, meaning it's either played on a Squier Jazzmaster, Fender Jazzmaster, Squier Jaguar or Fender Jaguar. And for a good long time it was very difficult to acquire one of those guitars. Today, sure, you can grab yourself one easily and buy one right now. But from about 1975 all the way up until 2000 it was next to impossible to find one because they either weren't made or were custom-order-only.
Yes, that means for 25 years these guitars were for all intents and purposes unavailable.
The Jazzmaster's original run was from 1958 to 1980, then production stopped, then resumed in 1984 and has been made ever since. However, you almost never saw Jazzmaster guitars after their heyday in the 60s. Only very recently, as in from 2012 to present, do you now see Jazzmasters in guitar stores.
The Jaguar's original run was from 1962 to 1975 and then production of the guitar was outright stopped until finally being made again in 1999. There are absolutely zero Jaguars that were made from 1976 through 1998. But even after the Jaguar was reintroduced to the market, many guitar stores were really reluctant to carry it. It really wasn't until there were affordable Squier versions that Jags started popping up more.
Was it grunge music that brought back the Jag? Unquestionably, yes. While that has nothing to do with surf music, were it not for Kurt Kobain playing a Jaguar, it's probably true Fender never would have made the guitar again. Seeing a top-selling artist playing a guitar Fender used to make got younger players everywhere buying up every single vintage Jag they could get their hands on as they were the only ones available. And because the Jag's shape is the same as the Jazz's, players were buying up those like crazy as well.
Anyway, for surf it's Jazz or Jag, assuming you even like either one of those guitars to begin with.
The reverb
Spring reverb was a new thing back when surf music was popular, so players used it like crazy, usually with the highest setting where you can hear spring clanging. My DigiTech GSP 1101 has spring reverb programmed to such a degree where spring clanging is actually included in the modeling. It's actually quite accurate. DigiTech really knows how to do spring reverb right in the digital domain.
The playing style
Even when you have the right guitar and the right effects, you have to know how to play the right chops.
Surf music sounds easy to play, but it's not. It's a tone that's clean and "bitey", so every single chord and note you play has to be dead accurate.
The best way I can describe surf playing style is that it's a combination of full-bodied chords and fast single notes, jumping between those two constantly. There's a lot of minor chords involved, and those chords have to be struck with a pick at a fast-medium pace, like a wave.
Then, on top of all that, you have to make it work with a buzzy-by-nature guitar with in-your-face reverb.
Not easy.
Having the right guitar helps a lot. Jag or Jazz. Can be done with a Strat as an alternative, but not easily because you don't have the "slow" vibrato. Can't be done with a Telecaster because it has no vibrato.
Ultimately, it's the difficultly level involved with playing surf that makes it not heard more. Bands by nature stick to the easier stuff. And surf music is not easy.
Counter-Strike is possibly the best worst game ever made
Was I ever a gamer? Yes. Back in the 2000s I did spend a lot of money on one particular game, Counter-Strike.
How much did I spend? Well, there was one point where I was spending almost $80 a month for it for something like 4 or 5 months. Why so much? Because I rented my own 16-man gaming server (meaning up to 16 players could play at once) on a service known as ReconGamer. Don't bother searching for ReconGamer because that place is long dead. They just up and decided to quit the game hosting business with no warning one day, screwing over anyone that sent them money. Fortunately, I had canceled my account with them before that happened.
Now for those who don't know what Counter-Strike is, here's a crash course.
Okay. So this game is released back in 1998, Half-Life. That game by the way is still very, very good and I still replay it every so often. Counter-Strike started off as nothing more than a mod of Half-Life. The game spread like wildfire, gained massive popularity and quickly became the #1 first-person-shooter multiplayer game on the internet.
The best version of the game is 1.6, and to this day is almost always in the top 10 of all games played on Steam.
I started playing CS back when the 1.6 release was a new thing, and before there was a requirement to use Steam just to play it. The old network was a system called WON, which means World Opponent Network.
WON is gone, but a user-created recreation of it, WON2, does exist. And yes, you can play CS 1.6 on it as a "Steamless" version of it exists.
Have I ever played CS on WON2? No. All the players I knew on CS were in New England, and when I moved to Florida in the mid-2000s, there was nobody down here who played CS, so I basically just quit the game.
There was a time however when I played almost nothing but CS exclusively. I was really, really into it. While I never got that good at the game, the point is that I was having fun. Well, mostly.
What made CS the worst?
The single biggest problem with CS is that since it was a mod, it was ridiculously easy for any stupid kid to program a cheat even with just minimal programming skills. Being there was zero quality control when it came to the CS mod, there were always cheaters in public servers.
What made CS the best?
When playing with friends, CS was a very social thing and it was genuinely fun. Also, when you were on a team matched against a team at around the same skill level as yours, matches were great. Again, lots of fun.
Some of the best times were when you would trick the other team into doing something just by strategy so you could win a match.
The way CS works when playing on the "T" side is that you either try to reach site A or B. In an example where my team tricked the other to win the match, one time I told my team, "I'm going to run over near A and make a lot of noise. You wait, and when I signal, run over to to B as fast as you can."
The match started, I ran over using no stealth near site A, then threw a grenade and started firing my weapon. During this time, my team was silently moving towards B. The entire opposing team ran to where the noise was, and just before they slaughtered me I told my team to start running to B, and fast. My team had reached B before the other team had any clue what was going on, secured that site and won the match.
When you can pull things off like that, it's really cool.
Team play on CS is a combination of strategy, stealth and having the right team proficient with the right weapons. The right combo makes all the difference.
After CS, I quit gaming
I didn't "rage-quit" gaming because of CS. I quit because that was the last game I played that any of my friends did. But like I said, when I moved, I didn't know anyone here that played it. In America, CS was mainly played either in New England, Texas or California. As for other parts of the US, including Florida, not-so much.
Another reason I don't game anymore is because I don't use a PC anymore and haven't for some time. I use a laptop (a Lenovo ThinkPad E430, for those interested) for everything. Laptops are obviously not good gaming machines, but that's not what I bought it for. I bought it to do real work on it, which I do almost daily.
Will I ever get back into gaming?
I doubt it. The only kind of gaming I do these days is play a few rounds of Bejeweled Blitz and not much else. Other than that I play some of the older games I have in my Steam Client. Mostly Star Wars stuff.
It's like I said, I just grew out of gaming for the most part.
And by the way, there is no such thing as as "Gamer 4 Life!" All gamers eventually quit for one reason or another and that's just the way it is.
Guitar Review: Gretsch G5445T Electromatic Double Jet
If you can believe it, I never played a guitar with a Bigsby vibrato system on it until today. Also, before today I never played a Gretsch guitar before either.
Why haven't I played a Gretsch until now? Two reasons. First, I never really think about Gretsch when in the guitar store, and second, I'm not really into semi-hollow or hollow bodied guitars, but... this Jet is in fact a solid-body.
While I was in the guitar store (Sam Ash Tampa), in addition to trying out a Fender Jazzmaster, I also tried out the Gretsch you see above since they had one hanging on the wall.
So okay, here we go, my review on the Gretsch G5455T Electromatic Double Jet.
Expensive?
Nope. It's the same price as a Mexico-made Fender Standard Stratocaster or Fender Standard Telecaster...
...but it sure looks expensive, no doubt about that. In person, it looks even better, even in black. If you're wondering if there is another color, there is. Gold. And if you think the black one looks good, it would not surprise me if you instantly bought the gold version upon seeing it; it's a guitar that turns heads easily. I guarantee you that very few (if any) other guitar players you know own an axe that looks that cool.
I'll put it another way. If you want a guitar that says, "I want a guitar that gets noticed anywhere I go with it", you can't do any better than a gold Gretsch Double Jet, because it could pass for a $2,500 guitar easily even though it's priced far less than that.
Fit and Finish
Good. Feels solid. I couldn't find any obvious flaws. In fact, I couldn't find any flaws at all.
Weight
Pretty close to "boat anchor" heavy. It's a solid-body with weight reduction (meaning it is chambered), but it has a heavy Bigsby vibrato on it.
Still a comfortable player even though heavy? Yes.
Sound
Spanky and twangy. It has set of what Gretsch calls "Blacktop Filter'Tron humbucking pickups".
Given the pickups are humbuckers however, it's not single-coil style "spank". More like a rockabilly sound rather than a surf sound is the best way I can describe it.
Neck and Fretboard
Even though the scale is slightly short (24.6-inch short, which is slightly shorter than typical Gibson 24.75-inch), it doesn't feel like a short-scale.
I felt very comfortable whizzing up and down the neck. In addition, this guitar responds great to finger-plucking. You can do snap-back style plucks and this Double Jet just loves that.
I had no issues holding chords or soloing, nor did I have any issues accessing higher frets. This particular Gretsch design is a "just right" for what it is.
Using the Bigsby
Okay, now to the meat and potatoes of why I tried this guitar in the first place.
The Bigsby vibrato that is on this particular Gretsch is the B50 model. There are, if you can believe it, 13 different models of vibrato that Bigsby makes. And some guys like to know which Bigsby is outfitted. Well, on this guitar, it's the B50.
I am used to a vibrato arm that swings out of the way when not in use. The Bigsby vibrato arm does not do that. Wherever you place it, that's where it stays unless you swing it out of the way yourself.
For some players, that's perfect because they like a vibrato arm (a.k.a. "whammy bar") that does not move and always stays in the same spot. For me, I actually prefer an arm that swings. As such, I had to get used to the fact the arm doesn't swing.
One thing the Bigsby does better than any other vibrato is that you can pat instead of grab to use it. What that means is that with a minor tension adjustment, you can simply use one or two fingers to lightly pat down the arm whenever you want vibrato. The reason you can do this is because the arm is wide, like the end of a small butter knife; this allows plenty of room to rest your finger on so you can pat instead of grab like you would with Fender vibrato arms.
Yes, you can adjust how much or how little tension you want, and that adjustment is stupidly easy to do.
But is the Bigsby on this Gretsch usable?
Yes, absolutely. Ridiculously easy to use and the strings stay in tune as long as they've been stretched out properly. Because the strings have a rolling point before the bridge, you can use the vibrato all you want without any nasty string "kinking" at the nut.
The B50 on the Double Jet is very usable and genuinely a joy to play once you adjust the tension to what you feel most comfortable with. All you have to do is decide whether you prefer a firm or soft feel for Bigsby tension and that's pretty much it.
There really is no learning curve to using a Bigsby system since it's just a tailpiece. All your intonation and string height stuff is handled separately at the bridge.
Electronics
This is the only part that may confuse some players, but once you understand how it works, it's easy.
On the top horn is a simple 3-way pickup toggle switch. Bridge, Bridge+Neck or Neck. Easy enough to understand.
It's on the bottom where things get interesting.
Near the back of the guitar are TWO volume controls (one for bridge, one for neck) and ONE master tone control.
Then, on the bottom horn (under the neck pickup) is a master volume.
Now if you're totally confused by this, here's how to make real simple sense of it for beginners new to how Gretsch does electronics.
Method 1: Use the master volume all the time.
- Turn "Volume 1" and "Volume 2" all the way up.
- Turn the master tone control all the way up.
- Adjust volume with the master volume knob and never touch the other three.
Method 2: Never use the master volume control.
- Turn the master volume control all the way up and then never touch it after that.
- Turn the master tone control all the way up.
- Adjust "Volume 1" and "Volume 2" as desired.
There is no right or wrong way to use a Gretsch. You will either use the master volume control all the time or just turn it up all the way and never touch it.
Where players get confused is that they think the three knobs at the rear of the body are Stratocaster "Master Volume/Tone/Tone" knobs. They're not. It's "Volume 1/Volume 2/Master Tone", with the master volume knob set far away under the neck pickup.
"I'm confused! Which should I use?"
If you're just totally confused, just use method 1 above as it's the easiest.
As for why the master volume is separated so far from the other knobs, that's just a Gretsch thing. They probably designed it that way originally so it was really obvious where the master volume control was.
Anything bad about the G5445T?
The tuners are a bit crappy. Not bad, but just.. well.. they could be a little bit better.
Yes, they are easy enough to use and felt okay when using them, but were a little stiff. Then again, this was a guitar I just picked up off the wall at a Sam Ash, so... maybe with change of strings to my preferred string set (which is Dunlop DEN0942 by the way), the tuners would have worked better with those.
Also, the tuner buttons felt a little small. I could grab and turn them easily, but still, they felt somewhat toy-like. But maybe the smaller size is a Gretsch thing. I'm not sure.
The only other thing I could complain about would be the weight of the guitar. It's heavy. While the guitar isn't big by any means, she has some weight to her.
Verdict
Above-average. Great look, great tones, easy to play. A small learning curve with the electronics layout, but easy enough to figure out.
For the nit-pickers wondering whether the guitar is more "Gibsony" or "Fendery", it's neither. Gretsch is Gretsch. There is no one part of the guitar where I think "this is Fender-like" or "this is Gibson-like". As I said, Gretsch is Gretsch. It may be a brand owned by Fender Musical, but believe me when I say there isn't anything about the Double Jet that's been ruined by who owns the brand.
I'll say it another way. The G5445T is absolutely not a "Gretsch-looking Telecaster". Not at all. And that's a very good thing. It's cool, different, a total head-turner, and totally a bargain for what it's selling for.
For those of you that want something really different but really cool at the same time that's not a Fender nor a Gibson that will impress the hell out of anyone who sees you with one, get a Gretsch G5445T Electromatic Double Jet. Black or gold, your choice. I played the black one, but if I were buying, I'd order a gold; it's the same price as the black one.