Music stuff I wanted to get posted for a couple reasons: (1) Finding new folks to write and with to make music and (2) Getting my current state of studio documented so that if I have a terminal computer crash, etc., I can retrieve how I was set up (pictures too....WHEEE!!).
The Instruments
Blondie: First and foremost on this list is my 1977 Gibson Les Paul Custom named "Blondie" (pic around here somewhere). Solid mahogany body with a solid slightly-arched maple top. The neck is maple with an ebony fingerboard. I inherited this guitar from my father when he passed in 1989 and the frets were considerably worn. After having consulted with Jimmy Saviano and Luthier Extraordinaire Craig Landau, this piece was both restored and improved in 1991. The original frets were worn beyond dressing or further blocking and were replaced with Jumbo/Jumbos. The Dimarzio pickups that had been installed replacing the original gold top PAF humbuckers were replaced by Gibson's 500-T in the bridge and 496-R on the neck. The whereabouts of the original pickups are unknown to this day.
The wiring on this piece is a bit unusual, but have found it to become more commonplace today than I would have expected when it was done in 1991. The two volume pots and the rhythm tone pot were replaced with push/pull pots that perform different functions depending on the position of the pickup selector. That is, either humbucker can become a single coil (serial tap) by lifting the volume pot of the selected pickup; the coil can be switched from inner to outer coil when the tone pot is raised and the pickup selector is either in the rhythm or treble position; when the pickup selector is in the middle position, the tone push/pull pot serves as a phase inverter. After doing the math, this piece is capable of 14 different distinct sounds based soley on pot and pickup selector position(s).
The pot housing area has been lined with gold foil to cut noise and the original tune-o-matic bridge and stop piece have been replaced with a fine-tuning tail piece and bridge both in chrome steel. The nut has also been hand carved. (ALL work done by Craig Landau). All in all, this is my baby and everyone that has played it wants to either buy it (not happening) or steal it (death wish).
Blondie travels in a Gibson "Protector" case that I bought for a Les Paul copy I had in college. That guitar and case actually went out of a second story window and landed on the concrete sidewalk. The only string out of tune was the "G" (which was always out of tune anyways). I still have the original factory Gibson case with maroon lining. I also have kept all of the original hardware (save the Dimarzios).
Rudy: A 2000/2001 Ovation Super-Slim Balladeer I named after my father and having "Pete Townshended" the Celebrity acoustic he gave me as a graduation from college present. More or less completely stock, this piece has a hand-carved bone bridge and nut and the fretboard has been both dressed and blocked by Craig Landau. Once again, nearly everyone that has played this guitar wants to buy it or steal it. Rudy travels in an Ovation molded superslim case.
Korgie: A 61-key Korg X-3 keyboard circa 1993. While there are three 'dead' keys and a non-functioning floopy drive on this unit, the sounds are still classic and the sequencer, polyphony and effects very useful (particularly when playing them with your feet).
The Rack
Electricity is supplied via a Furman PL-8 conditioner circa 1992. The lights and dimmer work but are rarely needed (one of the cool things about the lights in this piece is that they are refrigerator lightbulbs....you can get them at a grocery store).
Quad: The guitar pre-amp is a Carvin Quad-X four-channel model circa 1993. Although not as quiet or saturated as the two-channel Hafler T-2 it replaced, the MIDI switching and cascade of 9 (yeah, nine)12AX-7's really makes this thing sing at high volume. A new on the floor acquisition has relegated this wonderful piece to pre-amping my acoustic. I have written about this unit on many occasions and find it to be very quiet and possess a level of channel switching that boggles the mind. Where Carvin screwed up was attempting to utilize a 7-pin MIDI system or 'must use' proprietary switching device (FS-77) to properly control this beast. Given that this unit was only produced in 1992, 1993 and 1995, I still consider it a very valuable and useful part of the rack.
T: Ouput power is generated by a Carvin T-100 rack-mounted tube amp sporting four matched EL-34 Groove Tubes. This unit can produce 100 watts mono or 50 watts stereo (how it's set) and has a very warm and three-dimensional tone once the tubes get warm (about 20 minutes). Although a beautifully sounding power amp, the rear presence control and lack of true cooling makes this piece cumbersome but endearing.
TC: The final piece of this rack is the effects unit; a tc electronic M-300. Although never a very popular or revered unit, this piece has served me well in lieu of the (damned near impossible to find and very expensive) tc 1210 and 2290's. Although it has been relegated to providing chorus and reverb to the mixer for vocals, I found it to be a significant upgrade from the Lexicon MPX-110 I was using previously. I'll say this for Lexicon though, the MIDI switchable half-rack LXP-5 was one of the best analog units I've every heard; really wish mine hadn't crapped the bed.
The chorus is built from the SCF and 1210 and the reverb and delay from the 2290. Although the M-300 will never challenge either of these two for supremacy, I think that Alex still having a 1210 and 4 G-Force tc's in his rack says something.
On The Floor
Digi: For years the DigiTech PMC-10 was my primary MIDI and amp controller. Equipped with FET switching, MIDI strings and SYSEX, this unit has served me well beyond its expected life. Today, its role is a controller for Korgie, but there is still quite a bit of life left in this little beast. Able to transmit on 16 channels simultaneously with 500 patches and individual strings for each channel, Digi has a lot of life left.
GT: The newest acquisition to the floor bureau is a Boss GT-10. It now serves as my guitar preamp and effects for Blondie and I have barely scratched the surface of what this unit is capable. The virtual routing configurations are staggering and the 150-page owner's manual is more difficult to read than the 10-page PMC-10 manual. I can't wait to see what I can do with this unit.
Dampy: Just a damper / sustain pedal for the X-3. It's a nice fallback position when I program Digi wrong.
Mixology
Fossie: Mixing is handled with a Fostex 280 4-track cassette deck with an additional 4 channels to mix. Needless to say, all it does today is mix. Although relatively quiet, the best feature of this unit is 2 independent aux sends and returns. I use them to run signals in parallel to the tc and can control the send and return. While crude, it makes for a nice mix to send to the house and still allows me control over the dry/wet.
I currently send the stereo out to the cabinets and the monitor out (through a few adapters) to the mic input of my desktop PC running Audacity (great little free program).
Output
Boogies: Sound is handled by 2 1x12 Boogie and Mesa-Boogie cabinets loaded with EV 200's; L & M, repectively. The small size and closed back of these cabinets makes for a very tight sound; not to mention LOUD.
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