Band blog

I have started a blog for the band. We don't have a real name yet but the placeholder name is "The Palpatations". Yes it is misspelled. Get over it.

I will post the progress of the band building process e.g. craigslist, bandmix, jams, etc. It should an interesting process for me. I have never been in a formal band before.

The link: The Palpatations

For now this is a wordpress.com hosted blog. If it takes off then I will get a domain name. But for now I don't have the time to manage anything more.

Getting the right tone - part 2

The search for the right tone continues. This time it is my son who gets the gift of tone. He originally got me hooked on the Fender Blues Jr amps. He bought a new tweed version and it sounds great. He has all custom pedals from AnalogMan and they all sound really good through the Jr. 

After my modding of the BOSS SD-1, he got the idea that we could mod his Blues Jr. I have to say I was hesitant. I am a novice at soldering and the SD-1 mod was my most advanced project by far. Lets just say he had more faith in my skills than I did. So he bought several mods from billmaudio.com .

He bought the following

• Standby switch - very easy and one I have ordered for my own Jr
• TwinStack mod - free mod
• Presence control - hard one
• Sparkle control - another hard one
• Basic kit for the cream board - inexpensive but a lot of work

It took us about 4 hours to complete these and we left off the bias pot because it was getting late. Another day.

It came out great! I have to say I was really impressed with the results. I did purchase an expensive soldering station with digital temp. I didn't want to screw this up with my old soldering station. That thing gets way to hot. The new station has a really fine tip as well. Making fine work really easy.

Here is the top with new jack, standby switch, presence, and sparkle controls:

Getting the right tone

It is the tone of a great guitar player that sets them apart. If you hear a few notes of Led Zepplin you now instantly it is Jimmy Page. That tone is so sweet and so distinctive.

Finished SD-808 Mod

I have modded my own BOSS SD-1 in an attempt to get to the distinctive tone I am seeking. I could have purchased a boutique pedal. I could have purchased an already modded SD-1. But like a Jedi Knight I decided to build my own "light saber".

I had a great time doing this and a few very nervous moments as well. I purchased a mod kit from Monte Allums Mods. It was the SD-808 Mod Plus. The kit cost me 21.99 plus shipping. It was shipped right away and came with great directions.

Now I have to use the pedal in battle. I am going to pit it against my sons TS-9 AnalogMan Silver Mod. It is a great pedal and I don't expect him to admit defeat.

I am going to build a vintage treble booster from scratch next. I have ordered the parts and I am now waiting. This is a pedal based on the Dallas Rangemaster. It should sound great with my Epiphone Dot. I have two Lindy Frahlin PAFs in it.

I recommend modding your own pedal if you have the expertise. Even a little experience with a solder iron will be enough. Then you will have a one of a kind pedal and a one of a kind tone.

Jam Night

Charles, Eddie (great guy), Me, Devin, Jim

Once again we rocked it at jam night! It was a great time. We played Pride and Joy, Hey Joe, and Key to the Highway. I am very fortunate to have a great bunch of guys to play music with. And even more fortunate to be sharing it with my son.

We made a good showing and it was a lot of fun. We had a great buy, Eddie, stand in for Matt on drums.

The great thing about the jam is that if you can get into the flow then the rest of the world doesn't even matter. It is hard to get there when you have butterflies. By the time you get to the flow the whole thing is over.

We met some great guys from Issaquah. The Road Dogz told us about another jam that is out in Fall City on Sunday nights from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM. Good hours for a Sunday.

Thankfully I was able to convince my co-workers that I would be no good to them after a night of music and frivolity. I am barely capable on a good day!

Our manager Sandi

I want to thank Devin, Charles, Jim and Eddie for making my day. You guys rock! Also a big thanks to our manager. It helps to have a sexy manager inspiring you.

Powering the blues

I have recently invested $2,000.00 in active speakers. It is was a difficult decision to make. It involves taking a leap of faith. Faith in myself. Faith in the music. Faith in my band mates. The last part is still up in the air.

Mackie SRM350v2 Powered Speaker

Anyway I digress. I had originally purchased a Mackie SRM350v2. I was going to use it in my practice space as a vocal monitor and drive it with an M-Audio Profire 610. It worked. It wasn't nearly loud enough. We pushed it to the limit of a vocal monitor. It started to cut out and distort badly. I needed more power!

I went back to Guitar Center and talked to Hilding. He is a very knowledgable Guitar Center Pro Audio Manager who helped me out. He spent a lot of time with me helping me make the correct decision based on the information he could get out of me. Believe me I am never helpful when it comes to getting information. I would have made a great spy.

Hilding suggested the QSC K10 10" powered speaker. 1000 watts of power! They are loud.

I decided to swap my Mackie for the K10. I also purchased another K10. I thought it would be better to have two and not mess around. I also had the money. That helped.

QSC K10 10" Powered Speaker

I opened one of the K10s, in case I needed to make a return, and it is definitely enoughpower. I haven't opened the second yet, I have had horrible buyers remorse, but I am going to do it this weekend sometime. Here is a picture of the new gear. These guys are much nicer than the Mackie. They are much more expensive too.

There is nothing like new gear to motivate a musician. I don't like having it laying around and not using it. I just kills me that it is sitting in my practice space not getting used every day. I gotta go call the guys.

A little recognition

Jam night at the J&M

Just kidding. If I played music for recognition I would either quit playing now or play way more. My experience is that playing is work. Granted I am not a musical prodigy or even a savant.
I play for me. I play for my son. If anyone even enjoys it a little that's great. It's not why I play. I am way too old to care what others think. On the flip side it is great that Frank Hidalgo took the picture above. It is a great picture if I do say so.
It isn't recognition of my musical ability. It does look like I am having fun though. That is the recognition.

Analog Man Beano Boost!

The Analog Man effects pedals are legendary. I have purchased two of their pedals for my son. The modded Ibanez tube screamer, a legend on its own, and now the Beano Boost. The Beano Boost is a hand wired boost pedal that is based on the Dallas Rangemaster. The Rangemaster has been used by all the greats including Clapton, Billy F Gibbons, Jimmy Page, and Marc Bolan not to mention a few.

If you aren't familiar with "boutique" guitar effects pedals than you should visit analogman.com. They have a wide assortment of great pedals.

Here is a picture of the pedal. It looks great! It sounds awesome. This pedal belongs to my son, but I have been playing my Epiphone Dot through it. I am amazed at home it cleans up the tone. It makes the warm fuzzy sound of the humbuckers clean and clear.

Original style wiring and NOS transistors. No circuit board is used in the construction of the Beano Boost. It has point-to-point wiring.

Hand wiring sounds much better. This is the signature style for boutique pedals!

Analog Man is using New Old Stock for the transistors. They have a stock of old transistors that add to the unique tone. It makes a difference.

I am seriously considering purchasing another pedal for myself. I am super jealous.


From the Analog Man website:

• True Bypass switching with minimal popping.
• LED for on/off status
• NOS Germanium Transistor chosen for low noise and best tone.
• Three-way, short and sturdy toggle switch for tone selection:
  • Middle: "HI" Standard Dallas Rangemaster tone, treble enhanced.
  • Up: MIDs, more of a full range boost, great for Fender guitars!
  • Down: LOW, full range sound with a bit more bassy setting.
• Optional PUSH PULL volume pot allows two tone settings:
  • Down: "HI" Standard Dallas Rangemaster tone, treble enhanced.
  • Up: MIDS, more of a full range boost, great for Fender guitars!
  • This can be reversed at order time if desired, or changed to MID and LOW settings.
• Volume Control allows substantial boost.
• Can boost volume quite a bit. Has about the same output level ON and OFF with the vol knob set at 9:00. At 11:00 there is about a 10dB boost, which sounds twice as loud. At 12:00 there is a 13dB boost, and up all the way is about an 18dB boost which is nearly twice as loud as it was at 11:00.
• Durable Grey Hammertone (like original) powdercoated cast alloy case.
• Silk Screened graphics as seen on the pedal at the very top of the page.
• Circuit hand-wired point to point like the original. No circuit board used. I won't claim this is better than using a quality circuit board, but it works very well for this pedal. It does takes us more time to build them.
• All can use a 9V Battery, a Boss style power jack is optional for $10.
• When power jack is added, it can use any normal Boss type 9V power supply, with no reverse polarity issues. We add circuitry to reduce power supply noise when the power jack is added.
• This pedal uses only 5mA of power when on (LED) and barely any power when off (under .2mA!) so the battery will last hundreds of hours.
• We usually run the BEANO BOOST directly into the input of your tube amp, with no buffers (i.e. tuners, or non-true bypass pedals) in the signal path. Most people have found they work best near the very beginning of your signal chain. Like the Fuzz Face, the Beano Boost MUST
• NOT have a buffered pedal in front of it. Something like a Boss pedal, even off, will make the Beano Boost sound VERY trebly and thin.
• Buffered pedals are OK after the Beano Boost if necessary.
• Cleans up really well when you back down your volume control!
• Pricing and options on buyanalogman.com