Labeling my harps for easy recognition in low light
I’m getting ready to play the Forbes/Inc. Magazine corporate battle of the bands semifinals at Gypsy Sally’s in Washington, DC on Saturday, May 30 with a band called Gartner in the Cloud. It’s going to be fun. Our set includes five tunes, all classic rock….
I just bought a bunch of Manjis, and they’re better than they used to be
I buy harmonicas every so often (because I use harmonicas every day, and they do wear out). A recent sale on Suzuki Manjis in all the popular keys happened to take place at Rockin Ron’s on the very day I decided to buy some. So…
Gear Review: Low Priced Amp Modeling: the Vox Stomplab IG
The Vox Stomplab IG is a full-blown multiFX device that includes amp modeling, dynamics processing, a range of FX, delay, and reverb, all in a two-button stompbox design that runs on 4 AA batteries and sells new for under $70. I’ve had good experiences with…
Video of the Day 1 April 2015: Lowlands Unplugged
Going Out to Jam with the Zoom G3
I’m traveling to London tonight, and tomorrow (Sunday March 15) I plan to sit in at the Sunday afternoon jam at Ain’t Nothin’ But the Blues. I’m taking a kit that includes 18 diatonic harmonicas–most of the standard Richter tunings in keys from low F…
4 Years After: Mississippi Queen Redux
I recorded myself performing Mountain’s “Mississippi Queen” about four years ago, and I happened to record it again last week while I was running through my solo repertoire. This performance is backed by the same recorded arrangement I used four years ago, so it’s easy…
Backing Up the Hardware
As my recent posts describe, I’ve been re-configuring my rig lately. At this point it’s pretty stable, but while I was messing with it I discovered a few problem pieces in my kit. My ART MP tube preamp went flaky, and I pulled it from…
Video of the Day 23 Feb 2015: Madcat Live and at Length
What I Learned This Week From Kenny G
Kenny G is beloved by the public, if not by a lot of musicians out there. Whenever there’s disparity like that between the appreciations of the masses and the cognoscenti, I wonder what the latter are missing. Yes, the masses like a lot of crap,…
Big Sounds Looped and Unlooped: Zoom G3 and Digitech RP500 Combined
I’ve been jamming with my new rig, and as usual I’m recording those jams. The new rig lets me get big tones in two different ways: first, I can combine the amp modelers and the iStomp running SwingShift to get big textures with lots of…
