Guitars and synths don't mix, but I do both
I posted a video an hour or so ago on the used BOSS DR-3 I just received. The first rating on the video was a thumbs-down, so I disabled ratings because there will be a bunch of negative ones, and I know exactly why - because my guitar fans will go "Eww!" and the synth fans who are into Roland drum machines will also go "Eww!" all at once.
I was a synth player way before I was a guitar player. It started with cheesy Casio keyboards as a kid, then up to a Roland Juno-60 (the heaviest synth I ever owned), then to an Ensoniq SQ-1 Plus, then a very brief stint with a Korg N364 (which I hated and got rid of quickly), then the purchase of another Ensoniq SQ-1 Plus which I still own, and then an Alesis Fusion 6HD - also which I still own.
I am an Ensoniq guy primarily, and I was never one of those dance/house/trance guys. I'll put it another way in a term synth guys would understand. You have no idea how bad I wanted a Yamaha DX7 because I thought it was the coolest thing ever. I never got one because after a while I realized how inferior it was compared to the Ensoniq. But there's still a little part of me that even now still wants a DX7. Even the name of it just sounds cool.
There are synth guys out there to this day that wish I would go back to producing synth music and making synth videos, because I can tear it up on the keys quite well. However I find the electric guitar simply a cooler instrument to play. It's much more physical, much more "earthy" as your hands are on steel and wood instead of nothing but plastic, and I genuinely get more enjoyment out of it.
On my YouTube channel, almost every single video you see - or should I say hear - that has backing music, that was composed on my Ensoniq. Just bass and drums in all their FM synthesis glory and nothing more.
The reason I haven't been using the Ensoniq lately is just from the fact it's suffering from the ravages of old age. The sensors on the keys are simply wearing out, and missed noted happen a lot. And I'm pretty sure the circuitry is two steps away from total failure because the indicator lights are doing weird things, and the synth is crashing a lot. Synths just don't work too well after 20 years I guess (it was made in 1990 originally). Yeah, I could take it to a guy for it to be repaired - but guess what - try finding the electronics schematic for an SQ-1 Plus.
I basically only needed a synth with an on-board sequencer that could do drums and bass. Well, that's the DR-3. I hate software-based sequencing/composition and absolutely won't go anywhere near it. Way too much hassle.
The DR-3 basically operates just like an old-school synth workstation, and that's exactly how I like it. If you know older style pattern sequencing at all, the DR-3 is a breeze to use because it is a synth workstation in the form of a drum machine. Very cool little device, I must say.
Sometime in the future I plan on purchasing another synth, but it's going to be funny how I'm going to go about it.
All the expensive workstation synths are basically nothing but overkill and designed to connect to computers. I don't want that. All I want is something with a simple on-board pattern-based sequencer where I can string sequences into songs - just like on my old Ensoniq.
Synth guys will laugh their asses off at this one, but the Casio CTK-7000 works. To "serious synth guys", this thing is a joke, because no "true" synth would ever have on-board speakers, but it gets the job done.
It has an pattern-based sequencer capable of 16 tracks in song mode (8 in pattern mode). Oh yes it does. And you can use it just like the old-school workstations where you can do everything manually without any auto-accompaniment.
You'll be amazed how cheap it is. It's a basic workstation cleverly disguised as a portable piano, and I could do some seriously amazing things with it.
The unfortunate part is that is has full-weighted keys, and I can't stand those - BUT - I'd deal with it just to get what the CTK-7000 has to offer. And if I hated the key feel, I'd just hook up a MIDI controller.
Get this - it has the ability to record songs digitally to an SD/SDHC memory card. HOW COOL IS THAT on a synth priced this low? Seriously, it's frickin' awesome.
And get THIS - there's an arpeggiator in it too! This Casio is LOADED with synth goodness!
Guitarists hate synths - and that's okay
Guitar players are not synth guys - yet I am, and I know I'm a rare breed. I know my DR-3 video won't get anything for views because it's not the normal type of guitar video I post. And I'm not even going to post a link to this post on my Facebook page either because I know all the guitar guys there will hate it. The attitude will be "STOP TALKING ABOUT THOSE GEEKY SYNTHS, MENGA.. PLAY YER FRICKIN' GUITAR!", so I'm not even going to bother.
Many guitarists out there are secretly synth guys also. They have to keep it secret because otherwise two worlds collide - electronics + programming vs. wood + steel. Both guitar guys and synth guys are of the attitude "PICK ONE OR THE OTHER!" No, and screw you. I do both. Deal with it.
Songwriting: Drum Machines (or Screw the Computer)
By next week (or late this week if it arrives early), I'll be in possession of a used (at a really good price I might add) BOSS Dr. Rhythm DR-3. That's a drum machine. I bought it for two reasons. First, my old Ensoniq SQ-1 Plus workstation synthesizer, which is over 20 years old, is wearing out. Second, I can't stand composing anything on the computer.
There is a distinct difference between recording and composing.
Concerning recording, my first mulitrack machine was the 100% mechanical cassette-based Tascam 424 (as in the original first-generation 4-track which was light-gray colored and not the "MK" series which had a darker gray and had more tracks). Yep, we're talking linear recording here. I learned everything I needed to know about basic multitracking from my 424 days, and used it so much I wore it out and had to buy another one. When multitracking for the PC became available, yes I switched to that because it made complete sense and it was easier. As a recording device, the PC or Mac is top dog. No question about it.
When it comes to composing however, that's a different story.
Music arranging and sequencer software is not songwriter-friendly and never has been. From a DJ or producer point of view, sure, software is the only way to go. But I'm not looking to emulate a full studio environment here. All I want is a stupidly easy way to create drum tracks, and the DR-3 is it.
The DR-3 is built for one thing - drum patterns. That's it. That's all it does. It doesn't do anything else and it never will. It is a device made for a very specific purpose and is designed out of the box to be easy. As a songwriting tool, easy devices like the DR-3 allow me to write songs much faster.
I'm fully aware that producers see drum machines such as the DR-3 as "toys". But I see it as the fastest way to create drum tracks when I'm writing songs.
I'm not saying that the way producers compose is wrong and that my way is right or vice versa. I'm saying that the way I compose is more songwriter-like than producer-like, and I will use tools better suited for songwriting.
On a final note, non-musician/non-producer people (as in your average music listeners) do not care where the drums came from in a song as long as they're in time and sound good. The DR-3 can be made to sound amazing; I know this and I look forward to receiving it so I can kick my songwriting into high gear.
Rich's Bad Guitar Lessons: Guitar Strings
In a recent video I talked about guitar strings, and here is where you can get the right-now prices of them. Bundles of 3, 6 or 12-set are almost always available.
All strings below the video are 9-42 size.
Guitar acronyms and nicknames
There's several forums out there that list guitar acronyms. This is my list. I try desperately not to use these in blog posts, but every once in a while I'll slip and one will come through.
PUP or Pup - "Pickup"
SSS - Single/Single/Single; a Strat with the traditional 3-pickup configuration
HSS - A Humbucker/Single/Single pickup configuration
HH - Humbucker/Humbucker; a guitar with two humbuckers in it
SC - Single Coil pickup
HB - Humbucker pickup
VM - Reference to the Vintage Modified series model of Squier guitars
GAS - I don't use this one personally; it means Guitar Acquisition Syndrome, as in a person who collects (or wants to collect) a lot of guitars impulsively.
Bullet - Reference to the Squier Bullet Strat
Surf Strat - Reference to the Squier Vintage Modified Surf Stratocaster
NOS - New Old Stock. For example, if you have a 1990 Squier II Stratocaster and found an original set of tuners for it that were still in the box and never used from 1990, that's NOS. It's old in age, but new since it was never used.
VOS - Vintage Original Specification; this is the Gibson name for a "reissue" guitar
RI - Reissue. Sometimes used as VRI (Vintage Reissue).
CAR - Candy Apple Red
LPB - Lake Placid Blue
2TSB, 3TSB - Two-Tone Sunburst, Three-Tone Sunburst. Given that I'm not into Sunburst finish guitars, it's rare you'll see me use this.
MIA, MIM, MIC, MIK, MIJ, MII - The MI is "Made In" and the last letter represents the country. A is America, M is Mexico, C is china, K is Korea, J is Japan, I is Indonesia. Sometimes the beginning letter M is C for "Crafted" (like CIC).
Lipstick - A reference to a type of single coil pickup that looks like a tube, like a lipstick casing. The Squier Surf Strat has these type of pickups, as do many Danelectro guitars.
LP - Les Paul
Strat - Stratocaster
Review of the Squier Vintage Modified Surf Stratocaster
As of today, I own a Squier Vintage Modified Surf Stratocaster (possibly the longest Fender guitar name ever) in Sonic Blue.
How I got this guitar is that it was a replacement for the Squier Vintage Modified Stratocaster in Vintage Blonde.
This guitar is the closest thing I've heard to real-deal vintage Stratocaster tone in my life. She has "the jangle" that the true vintage Strats do, and this is largely due to the pickup set that's in it, which are Duncan Designed LS-102 lipstick pickups. They are super-bright and sound overwound even though they're not.
Much debate exists as to what a true vintage Fender Stratocaster sounds like. Personally, I believe it's very easy to describe and can be summed up in one phrase: "Too much of everything."
I'll explain what I mean by that.
Pickups in a real vintage Strat don't necessarily have a ton of gain, but to the untrained player will almost be unplayable. They will be super-bright. You will hear every single mistake you make - loudly. Simple maneuvers like dragging your hand across the strings will result in a screeching noise on any pickup position. In other words, the pickups don't accommodate to your sound, but rather you accommodate your playing style to the way the guitar sounds.
The Surf Stratocaster is very reminiscent of this quirky vintage Strat tone. I can personally handle it and make it work for me, but others may find it too much to deal with. I can honestly say the LS-102's have a very in-your-face tone to them and are best described as "trebly". And compared to other Strats, the separation of tone between the 1/2 and 4/5 pickup positions is much more pronounced.
Verdict: Good guitar. Get one.