Body is from a late 80s Strat Plus in Blue Pearl Burst (Dust). My first ever electric guitar was this body.
Neck is a Road Worn with that comfy comfy 7.25 radius (my favorite!).
EMG active pickups, but clean as clean can be, or hot if I wish.
Hope you like as much as I do! Thanks for checking it out! Happy wish the finished build.
So - a little context....Buddy was a major reason I fell in love with blues. I don't listen to much of his music now, and have "moved on", but never forgotten. Even if you don't like Buddy, I think this is a performance you can respect! I get why you may not like him overall, but give this a proper fair listen. To me, of all the things ever recorded of Buddy, this is my favorite. It's SO UNIQUE for the era and is just strange in a way, and that's what makes it great. His melodic stuff is all slightly off kilter, ready to collapse into a mess, right on the razor's edge, and he delivers. Right from the intro solo, you know what you're in for. This is my desert island Buddy performance.
OK....DO YOU have one? Link? I am open to having my mind changed!
I’m pretty sure that a year ago when I tried this, it meant a quick death. But maybe because that planet had some semblance of an Atmosphere…
This video shows some clips of a lead rhythm “thing” I hear often in Albert Collins music. Does this have a name? Is it syncopated? Is it just playing on every beat including the 1? Is there anything “theory-wise” for this?
I like trying this song across many blues styles, from the fast swinging BB style, slow minor, and this slow-mid tempo funky. Not authentic, I know, but I guess I don’t think i could ever be truly authentic anyway. I’m a basement musician.
I forget how I got this tone. I know I know, nothing special. But it was special to ME. 😬
Song names and artists?
I’ve listened to a lot of blues, but there’s always more. From obscure to mainstream- I’ll all ears. 👂
(Charlie’s face says it all)
There have been stretches of months when I don’t play, which I can’t even fathom right now, but it happened more than once. For the last 2 years however I’ve played more than maybe my entire life combined before that. Probably not, but it feels like that. I’d say 330 out of 365 to be conservative. Are you always at it or in and out? Our just a few days a week?
Have a nice Sunday. 🫡
SERIOUS - earlier tonight when I took my dog out I saw an atypical bright orange non-flashing light above the trees on my Eastern horizon which would have roughly been, depending on the unknown distance, over the Atlantic Ocean. I did lose it at my house but a few minutes later my daughter and I drove down to the beach on a whim, not at all expecting to see it - but we did. And proceeded to watch it for about 20 minutes. We then wanted to try to drive closer to it and get on higher ground but we did lose it.
No flashing. Virtually stationary. I’m a backyard amateur astronomer and astrophotographer. I’ve “seen it all” am the last person to say, at least among the open minded, “UFO!” My daughter concurred it was not a typical object. I can’t say what hit was, but I can say it wasn’t a plane. I can say it wasn’t a star. In the photos, and I have a lot more crap footage to go through, video and more photos. Here’s one of the ones I like the most. Anyone who has photographed a star or planet or plane etc - you know what that light looks like. This just has that different color and look to it. “plasmatic” I’ll call it. Anyway, not saying it was - but…not normal. And honestly, looks and awful lot like some stuff released in these 4 drops. That stood out to me right away. If I find good stuff I’ll share. I will report it officially as well.
I'm well aware that this post will be short-lived and perhaps, well likely, garner plenty of downvotes...I mean no ill will towards NDSP. We are all fans of these AmpSims and part of a community of sorts I suppose, so this is in the spirit of sharing complements to NDSP plugs...
But I implore you, nearly BEG you to download the free 14 day trials of these Bogren Digital "one knob" sims:
AmpKnob Fatman - my clean favorite
AmpKnob BH 4 - my gain favorite
AmpKnob Duet - clean runner up
AmpKnob BDE 120 - gain runner up
Your rank may vary....
Additional rationale for readers...
Why?
If you love/want after trial - $40 USD each, and bundle savings...
Whatever Bogren has done these last two years, because I was not a fan of their older AmpKnob line, is a material lift in sound quality and brilliant simplicity - and most importantly - instant good sound..no presets...no fiddling...ACCURATE as all hell Fender famous clean tones (twin/bassman) and a couple high gain IRs...and unlikely NDSP (for me) the cabs do not need to be swapped out for 3rd party, but it does have a loader...I can't get over the Fatman still...I thought Duet would be my #1, but I fell for the Fatman....you gotta, please please...try it...And if you need a dialed in high gain (I'm good at getting cleans out of NDSP, but not high gain, then you could love either of the two I listed..I just give the edge to BH 4 because it cleans up better for me and isn't as bright...
I have been using amp sims, starting with hardware, for 26 years....and software since Guitar Rig 3...I've used too many VST amp sims to name...I was in at the beginning and we're now at a place where unless you're awesome at micing AND have a great space to properly record - you should use simulated stuff. I have a couple vintage amps, modded amp, the latest ToneKing Royalist hardware, several NDSP plugs, a Two-Rock Amp Sim (also incredibly good clean but a little odd gain staging stuff) - and as of right now, since I run real pedals through a pedalboard to my PC if I had to keep one...just one VST, I would keep the AmpKnob Fatman...no question...So, just give em a try...if you like them cool, even if you don't buy them, get a more deliberate fender copy than a lot of the vague NDSP stuff....if you don't like em, no pain for you...when installing, EVEN IF YOU DON'T USE AAX (I do not), unselect the AAX but keep the "select all" checked...funky, but it's how they did it...drove me nuts until I got support to help me and explain it...well, I figured it out, but...yeah....other than that....bliss...
From first string any key. (High E in std tuning)
Root on 1st string is starting point - high E in std tuning
1st string - whole step down
2nd - whole step down
3rd - half then whole
4th - whole then half
5th - whole step down
6th - whole step down
My video editing blows.
Usual caveats. Not a professional player or teacher. Just like your average Joe here. But, I always try to share new things to me or things I can give a few tips on. This is a little “lesson” walkthrough for a simple blues pattern that is adjacent to your classic beginner first position minor pentatonic or
Blues scale. I actually learned it recently from a John Mayer video I stumbled into on
YouTube. He TOO had missed its simplicity and use for many years. So if Mayer can miss it, so can you. So in case this helps, I hope rambling style works. Forgive the voice audio. I added subtitles to assist. Also know I am dealing with some temporary memory/recall/confusion issues. I um um um a lot so please forgive. Enjoy your blues playing!
Well, if you’re in an area that sells live lobster, Albertsons (at least Shaw’s, probably Star Market) have live lobsters on sale at 8.99 through today. Not too late! Most of those places will cook them for you. Most other stores had a sale this week too, but most of those ended yesterday. 8.99 is unfortunately a good price this year. Maybe comes down with the Maine season going into high gear soon, but not a lot of good news for prices. Fuel, labor costs, demand, a diminished supply, are keeping lobsters high. Wasn’t too long ago that I could pay 1.99 (rarely) and 2.99 (common) for them. Social media and popularity have played a role in keeping lobsters high. A big roll. Hopefully we will see a 4.99 price on sale, if we’re lucky.
I cook and shuck my own, but I know that’s not for everyone. That’s where frozen (1-2 lb bags) and fresh meat come in. Frozen tends to hold flavor better and is just as good, but needs extra care to get right. Fresh meat will lose flavor the longer away from its cook time is (3, 4, 7 days - seasoning with salt will restore some of that).
For frozen meat (flat pack bag, usually 1-2 lbs, see pic) you need to thaw it in fridge or cold water(still in the bag). The second method is much faster if you forget to thaw overnight.
The secret to frozen is ensuring you get out as much moisture as you can. A few rounds of paper towels and hand pressing (not squishing!) will do it. Maybe a clean Swedish towel would work. I haven’t tried that, so don’t know if they are safe or effective. But when you think you’ve gotten enough out, there’s one more round of paper towels! If there’s any glaze left on the meat from not defrosting, you could run it under cold water bagged up to get the glaze fully melted. Get the meat pretty dry. Not oven dry, towel dry!
If using a classic New England frankfurter roll sliced at top with white sides or any normal size hot dog bun🌭 - (see pic) a traditional amount of lobster salad per roll is 3-5 ounces - 4 is the sweet spot. Of course you can go bigger but then it’s not a classic, but a modern one.
Recipe for a classic:
Mixed lobster meat (tail, claw), chopped or “broken up” into nice chunks.
Mayonnaise ( a little can go a long way. Not the visual example of my pic). You’re probably at around a tablespoon amount per 4 ounces of salad.
Optional but highly recommended- finely diced celery.
You may or may not need/ want added salt. Taste first.
The New England style bun is ideal and traditional due to its great surface area to butter and pan toast/grill.
Enjoy!
Tl;Dr: No talking demo of the Bogren Digital ampsim AMPKNOB FATMAN. Non-pro player or creator. Not sponsored etc etc. Just wanted to share.
Hey guys, with the recent John Mayer (expensive) plugin release bringing a ton of new, less-technical players into investigating the plugin world, I wanted to throw this out there. If you're looking for something a bit simpler or cheaper to see if plugins are actually your thing long-term, check out the Bogren Ampknob "Fatman” trial.
Tonally it’s on par with any plugin from any source, does a much better and accurate Fender sound thing than Neural DSP IMO. No guessing what it is. It’s an achievement, that’s for sure.
It's modeled after a Fender Bassman, it's on sale for $40 right now, and they have a 14-day free trial. The UI is dead simple—no choice paralysis or endless tweaking, you just plug in and play. I actually trialed their Duet plugin too and might clip that later, but I'm totally hooked on the accuracy and tone of the Fatman. Let me know what you think of the sound.
For me, and $40 bucks, plus a free trial - it’s a lower risk (14 days isn’t long enough for someone to see if plugins can work into their flow longer term).
This is not meant to be taken seriously, but I do still love my country and know we will be a better nation again. The World Cup is proving people truly love each other and borders mean nothing. Everyone wants, deserves freedom and a say in the future.
Fourth of July Blues - amp sound courtesy of Bogren Digital (ampknob fatman) and backing track by MCCD sessions on YouTube.
The short: If you can help, please comment with a backing track channel/source on any popular platform (YouTube, Bandcamp, Soundcloud, Spotify). Please provide a link and name. Not a single track, a source with at least 30+ tracks.
The only other rule, and the biggest, REAL HUMAN BEINGS ONLY!
OK - so here's the WHY:
There is a virus spreading (I use YouTube) of backing track channels by people exploiting AI and NOT disclosing that it's AI. Even if they do disclose it, I think it's a bad thing to support.
The biggest creation tool is SUNO. I can hear SUNO in virtually any track, and many many people cannot. SUNO is effectively theft as it was trained on actual work by actual musicians. It's one thing to use SUNO to sketch ideas, and there are worse things than AI backing tracks, but I don't think publishing AI without being 1000% clear that it's AI with your audience is dishonest. I guarantee you, if more people were as attuned to spot AI these channels would wither and die.
Why so passionate? Beyond the simple theft and disregard for creative, there are a number of actual musicians that have put in a LOT of effort over the years and RELY on the income generated for their livelihood. For this slop to come along and erode that share and cost these real creators money is a little shameful in my mind. I couldn't live with myself publishing AI music of any sort...
I hope you'll join me to support the community of real creators by helping me create a whitelist/blacklist. This is about protecting someone's livelihood and not letting AI steal one more music job from us.
CERTIFIED REAL HUMAN:
AUSHER: https://youtube.com/@ausherjamtracks?si=SRIbqVp0IufnNCie
MCCD Sessions (Ice B blues): https://youtube.com/@icebeatmaker?si=twFNPJANuIS99r_2 (He's no longer making tracks, but his tracks are in my opinion the all time best for authentic classic blues.)
Elevated Jam Tracks: https://youtube.com/@elevatedjamtracks?si=_7VS6TbfxlMVulJR (Some blues)
Now You Shred: https://youtube.com/@nowyoushred?si=uBwo8aAdsXmNoQ78 (Yes, he does a lot of tracks based on famous music, but he is at least human being!)
Pat Matrone https://youtube.com/@patmatronemusic?si=ZYo0gRvywNO9jFPY (very limited blues, but some great progressive/modern stuff)
YT Jam Tracks https://youtube.com/@ytjamtracks?si=B-RJgSrT4E5pNjmz (Another OG)
Sebastian Zunino https://youtube.com/@sebastienzunino?si=fjuWFKfcJQE0jeDq (Yep, another OG)
Artmant Studios https://youtube.com/@artmantstudios?si=eWMYM9QlGKCOA3-I (Another, but no longer making new tracks)
Dix Music Studio - https://youtube.com/@dixmusicstudio?si=FWr4QavErCdTs2CN (holy funky stuff)
A crazy week for me, not that anyone cares, but being able to play some blues to forget about it all for a moment is welcome relief. Have a great weekend sub! And happy Father’s Day to the Dad’s in countries celebrating!
No matter the game, but especially something like NMS and other games that introduce "end game" or temporary events, I never ever take part and I feel anxiety about it because I know I could be and should be playing this content, but I always feel like "well I must be so far behind" because it's completely not intuitive to me how to access the various game systems, etc...I can only play 2 hours of gaming per day, and I only do that 4-5 nights when I'm actively gaming, but I'm almost never actively gaming. When I played NMS for the first time, last year around this time maybe, I fell in love with it and genuinely enjoyed the STORY as it felt more like a history/lore and a spiritual kind of journey. It was sad...you know what I mean? Somber. Melancholy. And that was so beautiful to me. And yet I still feel like I'm not playing the game right because all this other stuff just passes me by and it seems like you need to be hardcore to play all the content....
But, maybe that's just a misconception on my part. So, are expeditions accessible (truly accessible and guided) for casual players? I want to enjoy that stuff, but I feel like I wouldn't belong....That's for the players that have put hundreds of hours in over years....
Anyway, this was more of a rant and an insecurity about my game ignorance. The forever noob that has to relearn everything because he stops playing for months at a time. This is why I'll still play Skyrim and the Fallout stuff, because I put so much time into them when I was younger and had more time. Now, I've largely aged out of gaming but still long for it....No Man's Sky is, for me, visual poetry....a canvas...an escape from reality...an adventure....A place to leave a personal mark...And unfortunately, like real life, even that is not permanent.
Lament over.
I’m learning more about mixing and I like the concept of a cheat sheet that gives you foundational starting points and areas noobs tend to overlook, or even overthink.
Got any favorite resources that have a “cheat sheet”?
Something like this: