Now that we are comfortable finding and keeping our place in an 8 measure chord progression, the next step is to vary the lengths of our rhythm/lead intervals. In Part II of this exercise, we are going to start with…
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Apr 15, 2016
Music Lesson - Improv Interval Training - Part I
If you are anything like me, you may have a tendency to noodle around when playing improvised guitar solos. By “noodle around,” I mean playing lines that seemingly have no beginning and no ending. On the surface this sounds…
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Nov 23, 2013
A Battery of Tests : Part II - Tubescreamer
Nov 8, 2013
A Battery of Tests : Part I - Fuzz Face
picture from http://www.ericwrobbel.com
I like to build guitar effects pedals. Maybe 'like' is a strong word. I'm not really sure what the word is for the emotional space between not finding exaclty what you are looking for, and being too…Read more
May 30, 2013
Music Lesson - Make Your Own Free iPod Ear Trainer - Part II : Chordal Ear Training
So here is a continuation of the single-note ear training exercise that I previously posted.
This time, instead of testing our ability to (relatively) identify a single note, we are trying to identify chords.
Just like in the other version…Read more
Jan 18, 2013
Music Lesson - Make Your Own Free iPod Ear Trainer! (not the iPod part...you'd have to buy that)
A few years ago I was reading an interview with someone famous who had studied with the late Charlie Banacos. He was a very well known jazz educator who taught both from his own studio in Massachusetts, and also…Read more
Sep 16, 2011
Testing Different IC's in a Rat Distortion Pedal
I do love the Rat pedal. I don't actually own an "official" one, but rather a clone made from a ready-to-solder circuit board from General Guitar Gadgets. I tend to switch it on and off my board every so…Read more
Apr 28, 2011
Testing Different IC's in a Tube Screamer
For a long time I've been wondering what effect, if any, the IC has on a simple overdrive pedal like the Tube Screamer. I decided to wire an IC socket into my TS clone so that I could easily swap…Read more
Jun 11, 2010
Comparison of Different Cables - Part II
So here is my second attempt at descerning the effect of instrument cables on guitar tone. I received some feedback on my first experiment that my experiment may have been compromised by placing the test cable after the looper. Apparently…Read more
Jun 10, 2010
Comparison of Different Cables - Part I
Among internet gear enthusiasts, a topic that is often hotly debated is whether or not there is any appreciable difference between cables (often times of greatly different costs). I decided to go looking around to see if I could find…Read more