SPACE JUNK

My New Guild Makes My "Heartbeat"!

2011-03-03T23:33:00.003-06:00

Hey Nerdlies,

A couple of months ago I bought a new acoustic. Well, it's not "new" I guess, just new to me...wait a minute, now that I think about it, incidentally it was never played by its original owners, in the twelve years of its existence...so I guess it really is "new".

Well semantics aside, I found this beautiful all mahogany Guild D4 on craigslist and I had to scoop it up! So one January morning I traveled to West County and met the nice couple who had owned this little beauty since they won it in a raffle in 1999. Now I don't now very much about Guilds, but what I have learned is that 1999 is kind of a special year in the world of Guild because while Fender had indeed bought them by that time, their factory was still located in Westerly, RI and this D4 has the label to prove it. So I played the guitar for the first time in their living room and much to my delight it sounded beautiful; moderately bright with a good backbone of low-end...a solid strummer. But, I haven't told you the best part...wait for it...it's signed by George Strait! Yeah, I know I would be jealous too.

Anyway, back to the second reason for this blog post. On Valentine's Day night I decided to record one of my favorite songs as a sort of Valentine to all my friends. The following is the result; First take, 1 single RODE NT1A, my D4 and my voice. I hope you enjoy.

Til next time,
cutawaycurator

WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?: TUBE SCREAMERS

2010-12-21T10:59:00.004-06:00

Earlier this year, a good friend of mine let me borrow his Keeley modded TS9 Tube Screamer. Now, if you know me then you know that I LOVE PEDALS! It doesn't matter what it is, I want to try 'em ALL! Now, I have a TS9 and I've used it on my pedal board for a long time now, but I was really excited for the opportunity to give this mod'ed pedal a serious test. So for the past few months, I've had this Keeley in my pedal board. So what's the difference between these two pedals, you may ask? Well, I figured I had waited long enough to do a side-by-side comparison between my stock TS9 and the Keeley Screamer...enjoy.

see ya next time,

cutawaycurator

Inside the Crafter's Studio

2010-11-15T22:31:00.005-06:00

Nerds,

I just got back from an evening session at an area studio. I had never been there before and it was totally SWEET! A great live room, super solid mic collection, and an awesome rack and board! What else could you want?! Here are some shots of my setup tonight taken from my crappy phone-camera. Enjoy!

Guitar:
Toni, my Fender Jazzmaster

Effects:
(Tuner)-->Keeley TS9-->Xotic AC Booster-->Line6 DL4-->out

Amp:
Epiphone Valve Junior-->Marshall 1x12 with Celestion Heritage 75W

Mic:

Shure SM57

Big ups to all the studio crafters out there MAKIN' IT HAPPEN!

you are truly "astronauts", explorin' that space!

'til next time,

cutawaycurator

What's the Difference, Bro?

2010-11-01T21:44:00.006-05:00

Nerds,

Lately I've been rather intrigued by the guitar amp/effect modeling features in my version of Garage Band. In fact it inspired me to conduct a little experiment.

Would would happen if I tested Garage Band's model of a Vox AC30 with my AC30?

Check out the following clip to see (or hear, I guess) the results.

bye,
cutawaycurator

Britches keeps me in stitches!

2010-07-27T22:07:00.003-05:00

Hey nerds,

So while Britches and I have been working on their Demo/EP, random antics have expectedly ensued (does that still make them random?). On this particular day Andrew and Marty decided to get "creative" during the notion of a spur-of-the-moment photo shoot.

hyphy for sure!

Recording Guitar with Britches

2010-07-04T11:41:00.003-05:00

Nerdles,

So with drums tracked, Britches and I moved forward with phase 1 of guitar tracking. We decided to move the tracking location to Andrew and Marty's house where Britches practices. So we threw a couple amps into a downstairs bedroom and threw some mic's in front of 'em...ya know, no big deal. For this particular session we used Marty's amazing '52 re-issue Fender Tele through his awesome late-90's Fender Blues Deville 4x10 and my AC30. For mic's we decided to just stick with the old stand-bys, the SM57 and the Sennheiser e609. Stay tuned for more with those dudes!

until next time,

cutawaycurator

Recording Drums with Britches

2010-06-29T00:03:00.008-05:00

Nerds,

This past weekend local noise rock band, Britches were at the SPACE cutting some drums. Andrew, the drummer, was able to knock out his tracks in pretty quick succession...a rather impressive feat if I do say so myself. Check out these photos, and this short vid of the session.

some quick specs:

Kick - Sennheiser e835

Snare - SM57

Hi-Tom - SM57

Floor Tom - Beta58

Overhead - Rode NT1A

All the mic's (except the tom mic's) went into a recording snake whose corresponding XLR patches went into channels 1,2,and 4 of an M Audio Fast Track Ultra which fed into Ableton. The two tom mic's went into a mixer where I EQ'd them independently, set gain and volume levels and then sent them via a mono main out into Channel 3 of the Fast Track Ultra. The Fast Track was also serving as the phantom power supply for the Rode NT1A.

But enough with the boring tech stuff, here's a little clip of the session...

Britches will be recording for their upcoming EP over the next several weeks. Stay tuned here for more info or check them out at myspace.

Until next time,

cutawaycurator

music in video by The Tender Tribe (myspace.com/thetendertribe)

Drums for Hire

2010-06-05T00:38:00.003-05:00

Nerds,

St. Louis duo, Villains for Hire, are in the process of recording an album and they needed some spacey, junky sounding drums for one of their tracks. So they enlisted the help of the SPACE and the now infamous (thanks to You Tube) silver sparkle Ludwig kit to get just the right sound!

Check out this video of the session.

Some quick specs:

-SM57 on the snare

-SM57 on the floor tom

-Sennheiser e835 on the kick (mic'ed close to the rim)

-MXL 603 condenser over the kit, pointed toward the ceiling.

-Shure beta87 AND MXL 990 placed about 15 feet infront of the kit in the next room, placed at kick drum level.

-Rode NT1A first placed up the stairs on the landing (about 30 feet from the kit) then moved to an adjacent hallway (still about 30 feet away from the kit). This was for varying ambience.

Thanks to Sam and Jimmy for letting me be a small part of this awesome project. I can't wait to hear what else you guys have in store for the world!

'til next time,
cutawaycurator

We Junked up the SPACE!!!

2010-05-22T17:56:00.004-05:00

That's right, it's a disaster area right now. A new local band is practicing in the SPACE right now and they have been using all sorts of stuff to do their bidding. One of them is running two amps in stereo while the other has got the RC50 loop station and he's running pre-recorded tracks from that into the PA! It's just two dudes, but they have managed to use as much gear as four. Needless to say, it's getting pretty loco.

I better get to cleanin',

cutawaycurator

Vasu's Boutique

2010-05-03T22:01:00.003-05:00

Nerds,

I met up with an old college buddy of mine, Vasu, who I haven't seen in years. Well Vasu is really gettin' things done right now in the Bahamas working his way through medical school. While he was in town he was kind enough to stop by The Space with a couple of jewels from his gear collection (oh, did I forget to mention that Vasu is a guitar player?) Well the Doctor was in indeed! Needless to say I have rarely been in the presence of such fine gear!

First off, The Savage Blitz 50. A 50 Watt (duh) class AB head which is modeled after the original Marshall JTM45 "Bluesbreaker", the one that Eric Clapton played with when he was with John Mayall & Bluesbreakers. Anyway, enough about the pedigree, this amp SINGS! Vasu had the amp "jumped" so both the normal and bright volumes were compounding to create one mean tone. If you get the chance to check one of these out, I highly recommend it. And look at that thing! It's HUGE!

Next up Vasu brought along his Fender Custom Shop Strat. This thing was gorgeous! A beautiful butterscotch "thin skin" nitro finish with the single-ply pickgaurd. The main claim to fame of this Strat is the humbucker in the bridge with a "coil tap"! One minute you're shredding with the Humbucker, then with just the roll of a knob, you're G.E. Smith gettin' pickin' with a nice Tele sound. Ash body, V-shape neck, relic'd out...what else could you ask for?

Finally Vasu showed me his very unique Equator Instruments hollow-body. This thing is a true hollow body with a very boxy tone. But when I played around with the tone knob, I was really surprised at the different tones and colors I was able to get. And those two humbuckers can really scream!

So Vasu had to depart back to paradise and I had to say goodbye to the lovely toys, but I'm sure they'll make another appearance in The Space before too long. In the interim, Vasu was kind enough to let me borrow his Keeley mod'ed TS9 and Blues Driver...so that should be fun!

Thanks for reading,

cutawaycurator

SM57 vs e609

2010-04-15T23:27:00.006-05:00

Nerds,

The Shure SM57 and the Sennheiser e609...

They are probably the most common, most used mics for mic'ing guitar amps. So I decided I would pit them against eachother.
Even though both these mics are extremely common-place both in the studio and on the stage, they do have very unique and distinct sound characteristics. And being the detail-oriented, mediocre guitar player that I am, I decided that I would let you all hear some of the differences between these two mics.

Here's the setup...

Clean Tone:
1994 MIJ Strat with rosewood neck-->Boss TU-2-->Fender Twin Reverb 1965 RI

Overdrive Tone:
Strat-->Boss TU2-->Epiphone Valve Jr.-->Celestion Heritage 75W 12"

Now I tried my absolute best to place these two mics in the same position relative to the speaker(s).

And without further ado...

You make the call, the SM57 and the e609.

Until next time,
cutawaycurator

WTFender?! Vol. 2 - Target Market is on point!

2010-04-13T20:42:00.005-05:00

Nerdles,

Hey bros and dudettes, I know it's been a while since I've posted anything (whatever happened to that New Year's resolution anyway?). Well whatever my sorry excuse for my blogging inactivity may be, I do at least try to make the occasional music concert show every now and again. About a week ago I had the delight to see Murfreesboro band "The Lake" open for local rippers Target Market's final show. The Lake was superb and Target Market really put an amazing cap on the evening. A truly awesome band that many many people will be sad to see go. And in my truly geeky fashion I managed to snap a couple photos of yet another epic display of Fender loyalty (which always brings a tear to my eye) but I'm still super manly. In fact I'm gonna go lift weights after a post this entry. Then I'm going to go cry...I mean beat someone up. Yeah, punch somebody right in the appendix. What do you think of that? Yeah, you're scared and yet oh so intrigued at the same time. So to Target Market, you guys were amazing. And to those of you who don't know who I'm talking about, go listen to/buy their stuff.

Until next time, whenever that may be...

cutawaycurator

okay okay, the geeky details...

At first glance, here's what I think we're lookin' at:

-an American Standard Tele

-some sort of Standard Strat

-the RI Fender Tele Deluxe

-and a pair of Hot Rod DeVilles (I think)

-bonus P-Bass photo

SPACE JUNK answers your emails #3 - Dynarmonics

2010-03-15T05:02:00.003-05:00

Nerdlies,

The weather has finally been half-way decent the past couple of weeks. And man, I couldn't have needed it sooner! This winter was really startin' to drag on. And when that stupid Groundhog saw his shadow...man that was just like the worst! So I guess this is my long-winded explanation for why I haven't posted anything in a while. What can I say, I've simply been frolicking constantly in the semi-tepid, slightly enjoyable weather. Yeah...that should take me off the hook. Well here's something for you to enjoy for the time being...oh, and send me some frickin' emails will ya?

bye,

cutawaycurator

Holding The Wolf By The Ears...Experiments In Home Recording

2010-03-09T18:44:00.018-06:00

Hey Junkies!

This is Sam. I've appeared in a few video posts on SPACE JUNK in the last couple months and now I'm really excited to be a contributer blog-wise. Joel actually sent me the invite some time ago, but I've put it off for various reasons, most of which were either procrastination or stage fright (well maybe not stage fright...maybe just plain old laziness!) Anyway, I think I have something to offer to this discussion and I hope that we'll see even more artists and creators up very soon!

Before I get into what I'd like to present to you today, let me tell you a little about myself. I'm one of those music fiends that has always been involved in sounds and melodies since I could make noise. It's something that was in me always vying for my attention. I was already writing and performing when my dad first explained to me what a 4-track recorder was. Up until then, me and a friend had been bouncing takes between two tape decks and a mixer! The idea that you could have 4 tracks with independent control over volume, eq and effects rocked my teenaged brain! I saved up money for a long time and bought a Tascam 424MKII (I'll have to blog about that machine sometime. I still have it.) Having a recording unit in my bedroom almost instantly changed the way I created music.

After a few years and couple cassette tape releases later, I realized that I was at a crossroads - I could put my creative energy in learning how to engineer and record or I could perfect my writing and performing. It made sense at the time to choose the latter. I still fooled around with recording at times, mostly out of necessity, but it was on the back burner.

Recently, I've come full circle. The direction of my music has led me back into the studio and not very gently either. The main difference now, is that I'm not interested in going it alone anymore. My close friend and co-writer, Jimmy Britton, has enlisted to produce and co-engineer the bulk of the record. We tracked drums in December performed by Dave Czerny and engineered by John John Katsafanas. I've pulled in Ross Christopher for violin and a little cello. The collaborations won't stop there. I'm actually working on getting Joel in there as well as a few other friends. As the recording sessions progress, I'll be posting highlights and experiments here on SPACE JUNK. I am definitely approaching this like a mad scientist with just enough knowledge to be dangerous.

Check out the first micro movie below of our insanity at what I affectionately call reckless abandon studio. Some key points are tracking a glockenspiel and Jimmy producing a cello and violin session over iChat! The bit at the end is some true geekery involving a VOX AC-15, Les Paul Studio, Little Big Muff π, BOSS RE-20 Space Echo and a Digitech Whammy. Enjoy, and please comment and repost this entry.

Until the end of the world,

Sam Wade

LIFEINJERSEY in St. Louis!

2010-02-28T17:41:00.003-06:00

Nerds,

Amazing Kansas City band LIFEINJERSEY was in St. Louis this past week as part of their I-70 tour. I was fortunate enough to have these guys stay at my place after their rad-as-hell show at the Firebird. The evening was filled with fun and ghost stories as well as some amazing YouTube videos. The next day, before they headed for Columbia, we met up for lunch where Dave made quite the appropriate lunch selection and Carson and John mobbed up on their respective lunches. Adam preferred to sit with some Whole Foods strangers and we snacked the day away! It was great having them here and if you haven't heard these dudes, you are missing out BIG TIME!

plotting points,

cutawaycurator

Review: The Black Heart BH5-112 Little Giant

2010-02-21T19:57:00.007-06:00

Nerds,

My really good friend recently acquired a Blackheart "Little Giant" amp and has been kind enough to let me test it out, and really put it through its paces. So I figured I would share my experience with all of you...

The Blackheart BH5-112:

This little amp is made by some small company that apparently deals/distributes through Crate. As a result you have a somewhat "boutique" lo-watt amp that has mass distribution through all sorts of surpising retailers, from Guitar Center to probably Best Buy. Also, the amp comes equipped with the contract-binding "Crate" logo, cleverly tucked just under the tolex on the amp's control panel. While I admit the "Crate" badge is a significant bummer for me, it's pretty easily overlooked on this cool little amp. Okay, I get it, enough about my personal amp politics...here's the spec's:

-5W, Class A power (switchable to 3W) by 1xEL84 and 1x12AX7
-1x12" speaker (Eminence, specially designed)
-EQ controls - Bass, Middle, Treble - (very unique for these lo-watt amps)
-Volume control
-4, 8 and 16 ohm speaker outputs (a super cool feature)
-on-off switch
-lightweight
-I think that's about it
-oh yeah, semi-open back (screened)

As you can see, there's really not a whole lot to this amp. However, this little amp has a lot of really nice tube tone...

So with only 5 watts, I figured this amp would have a substantial amount of "breakup" (aka overdrive). And with the 3W setting, I was certain that this breakup would be even more intense, so of course I was jumping at the chance to fire this thing up! I decided to use humbuckers, so I tested it out with my Epiphone G-400 and started out in the 3W setting. I set the volume at about 9 o'clock (or about 25%) with the EQ set from flat with a little more bass and probably 70% treble. Here the amp had a really nice clean tone. There was subtle, subtle breakup, but nothing that you would notice without your ear right up to the speaker. I noticed a little harshness in the hi's and it intrigued me. So I rolled the hi's up more and added a touch of volume, and sure enough, I was getting a nice chimey AC30-type sound...pretty sweet. After playing around with that sound for a little while, I reset the EQ to where I had it before and then cranked the volume (about 90%). Here, I got a really nice crunch, especially with the humbuckers. This overdrive was a lot like "Glycerine" (you know, that Bush song). So some pretty cool tones so far.
I reset all of the controls back to my default and then flipped the switch over to 5W. Immediately I noticed an increased in presence from the hum of the amp. At the lower volume I got a nice, more dominant clean...not like a Twin, but more like a dirtier Fender; maybe a blues jr. When I cranked it up on the 5W setting, I got a nice open, brighter crunch than the 3W setting. The crunch was actually pretty "emo" sounding; nice bite, plenty of thicker overdrive. While this overdrive was not tight distortion, it was tighter than the overdrive on the 3W setting. Pretty surprising crunch from such a small amp!
I was pretty impressed with this "Little Giant"; it seems to really capture hot tube tone in a more concentrated environment. This amp is a perfect practice amp, but I think it would really shine in the studio!

With that said, there are of course some draw backs, like with any amp. First of all, this amp doesn't push air. So you're not going to get that all-encompassing, rush that you get when you play a higher-watt tube amp. So remember just because this is a tube amp, don't expect the really thumpy low's and uber-stinging hi's out of this amp. I will say though, this amp is surprisingly loud! I was really impressed, especially for it's size. However, in a band setting, I didn't think it would be able to keep up with bass and drums, but I was wrong! This amp, when cranked, can match volume with almost any practice situation! Pretty impressive for such a small little guy! But even though it is "loud", don't think it's going to keep up with your buddy's Deluxe, because you will be on 8, he'll be on 3 and you will be looking around the room for a mic and a PA system. The only other downside I can think of is the lack of feedback. I just figured that if I had the amp cranked fully, I would get a decent amount of feedback. I did manage to get a little harmonic feedback with my headstock against the amp, but not as much as I had expected. My buddy said he got quite a lot of feedback out of it though, so it may have just been my position to the amp, or different pickups or something, I don't know. But that's it, no big complaints. This is really a great amp!

BOTTOM LINE: GREAT AMP (ESPECIALLY FOR THE SIZE AND PRICE - $350) AND A GREAT GREAT TOOL FOR GETTING GREAT TUBE TONE! GREAT, VERSATILITY WITH NICE, BALANCED EQ AND DECENT RANGE OF TUBE TONES WITH GREAT TUBE CRUNCH.

Thanks for reading,

cutawaycurator

Strat Test

2010-02-18T06:07:00.001-06:00

Nerds,

Without further ado, here's a little clip off my new strat.

Some quick specs:
Strat-->Chromatic Tuner-->Line6 DL4-->Vox AC30

Now, I'm certainly no Bill Frisell, but I hope you enjoy this little demo of my new MIJ Strat.

Thanks for watching, and as always, drop me a line sometime.

cutawaycurator

...in ster-e-ereo, IN STEREO!

2010-02-17T06:10:00.007-06:00

Nerdlies,

Last night I helped track some guitars for a new band. These guitars were definitely on the distorted side. And in order to capture the whole heavy tone, we decided to use two mic's and record a stereo track. Here's some photos of the setup.

Some specs:

Fender Strat-->Big Muff (USA)-->Twin Reverb

Mic'd with an SM57 and Sennheiser 609

although each mic is on a different speaker, the mics are in the same spot in relation to the repsective speaker cone.

Hopefully some sound bites of this setup to come soon.

bye,

cutawaycurator

PS And yes, I did get the title for this post from this song.

M-I-J? More like M-I-N-E!

2010-02-16T06:07:00.007-06:00

Hey Nerds,

I randomly found a super sweet used "Made in Japan" Fender Strat at a local guitar store and I couldn't help myself. For those who don't know about MIJ strats, this is just another strat to you, which is fine; I don't need your admiration (what am I saying? - of course I do!). But for those of you who do know, I don't have to tell you that this is a bit of a collector's item in and of itself.

So to give you a little more info on this guitar, I dated this guitar's serial number at around 1994, which was actually a little newer than I thought it might be, but still in decent shoegaze era, I suppose. It's a sixties style Strat, so it's a little narrower and streamlined than other Strat models. As hopefully the photos show, the maple on the headstock has a really cool aged look and the rosewood neck is nearly flawless. The previous owner had also done himself (and me!) a friggin' service by putting a set of Gotoh vintage tuners on it! Looks beautiful! The tremolo also has the maximum capacity of 5 springs in it, which means that it stays in tune really well and even with the trem bar on it, it still aint going anywhere. So take a look and drop me a line, let me know what you think of my latest acquisition. Thanks for checkin' it out.

'til next time,

(double)cutawaycurator

Slow Volume?

2010-02-14T16:15:00.006-06:00

Nerds,

Here's another installment with Sam and another one of his pedals. This time it's the Guyatone SV2. The "SV" stands for "Slow Volume" and the "2"? I think that stands "too long" as in this text message:

"SPC JNK taks 2 lng 2 post new stuf."

Yeah, I know, I know. But I hope you enjoy this little video.

some quick specs:

The Guyatone SV2

Sam's Les Paul

AC30 mic'd with an SM57

Hey, when you don't want to spend the money for a volume pedal, this thing could possibly help you out.

Also, now that you kinda have an idea about what this thing does, go back and watch the video we did on the Digitech Whammy, and you can clearly hear the SV2 in Sam's loops at the end!

'til next time,

cutawaycurator

All Rodes Lead to Tone

2010-02-09T21:10:00.006-06:00

Hey Nerds,

I'm BACK! And we're talking about microphones! I don't know why, but I love microphones. Oh wait, I know why...I love gear! And mic's fall under the category of "gear" so by the rule of Modus Ponens I love microphones.

Alright, enough with logic, I've recently been doing a lot of research on mic's lately and a buddy of mine just bought a Rode NT2000 on eBay. And of course I had to follow up on that development. I will say that while such a delicate piece of recording equipment would normally fall prey to the infamous "misrepresentation" or "bait and switch" that eBay can be known for, I gotta say my buddy lucked out this time! We tried it out tonight against my Rode NT1A and this NT2000 is really nice! It's also huge! Here are some photos. And who knows, maybe there might be some audio clips to follow in the near future!

'til next time,

cutawaycurator

(re)UNITE FOR HAITI update

2010-01-28T19:17:00.012-06:00

Hey Nerds!

Last weekend's (re)UNITE FOR HAITI was a wonderful night and a great success! We had a wonderful turn out and all the bands ROCKED THE HOUSE! And, best of all, with everyone's help we were able to raise $1,553 for The Red Cross.

Thank you to all of you for coming out and showing your support. THANK YOU we couldn't have done it without you!

cutawaycurator

and...WHAMMY!

2010-01-24T22:21:00.006-06:00

Nerds,

I told you to stay tuned for more with Sam. Well here it is, Sam and his Digitech Whammy. Now, despite having heard this thing on many recordings (you know like all those White Stripes albums you tell your hipster friends you don't listen to anymore...and by "you" I mean "me") I had yet to actually see one in person, up close. Kind of like the inside of my ear; I know what it is, I kinda know what it looks like, but I've never seen it with my own eyes. So as it turns out, this iconic pedal has a lot more to it than I thought! And who better to show this thing off than Sam, the master of pedals and gadgetry. I mean let's face it, the most complicated pedal that I know how to work is a Boss chromatic tuner...I mean really what is that moving light with those letters and stuff? I still can't make it actually do anything, I guess it's just supposed to turn my signal on and off. But I digress, wait what was I talking about? Oh yeah...yeah The White Stripes did have some cool music videos.

some quick specs:

The Whammy (duh)

Boss RC20

Sam's Les Paul (studio, I think)

AC30 mic'd with an SM57

oh, and a little sneak preview of the SV2 "slow volume"...video on that coming soon!

more pedals to come!

stay tuned!

bye!

Last exclamation point!

right now!

!

cutawaycurator!

(re)UNITE FOR HAITI is coming...

2010-01-19T14:42:00.003-06:00

...THIS SATURDAY NIGHT!

Please Come and help support a GOOD cause!

we'll see you there,
cutawaycurator

(re)UNITE FOR HAITI

2010-01-15T17:51:00.004-06:00

If you're in St. Louis, please come on Saturday, January 23rd, 2010 at 9:00pm at Antarctica (5226 Gravois)

Tell Tale Heart

Sam Wade (from The Constant, Northside's Sweet Revenge)

Dear Vincent

Tickets are $10, with all the proceeds from ticket sales going to The Red Cross.

Please Help.

Pedal Madness!

2010-01-12T16:58:00.004-06:00

Nerds,

Last week I met up with Sam Wade and he should me a couple of his item from his extensive collection. Here's a little idea of what we have in store here on the JUNK...

Stay tuned for more with Sam and these pedals!

'til next time,
cutawaycurator

Kontrolled Kaos

2010-01-11T17:30:00.009-06:00

Nerds,

Fellow amateur music producer and lo-fi freak, Justin L. has been back in his lab, working on new music and new sounds. Just the other day I caught up with him and he filled me in on the details of his new project, "Ordinary Men and Women." Apparently he's working on a new EP to be completed in the not too near, not too distant future. In the meantime, Justin is amassing a small collection of fun gadgets and overall stuff that we here at "the JUNK" find incredibly interesting. One such piece of machinery is the KORG Kaossilator. This new thing is basically a pocket-sized synthesizer that does a whole bunch of things. I've never played one but Justin was kind enough to share a track he recorded completely with this little thing. Great job, Justin...keep up the good work.

'til next time,
cutawaycurator

photos courtesy of: KORG (www.korg.com) and SweetWater (www.sweetwater.com)

Sam Wade at the SPACE!

2010-01-09T01:58:00.004-06:00

This past week Sam Wade took a trip to "The Space" to enlighten all of us on guitar effects wizardry. Here's just a hint of what's to come...

SO STAY TUNED!

cutawaycurator

SPACE [Junk] ODDITY...

2010-01-08T10:58:00.018-06:00

>> CONNECTION ESTABLISHED -- TRANSMISSION INITIATED

> Nerds,

> Greetings out there in cyber space[JUNK]...

> This is a transmission from the distant celestial outpost SATELLITE 42. By the time you receive this communication our signal will have faded and been obstructed by the gravitational pull of Music Mediocrity. Through careful calculations and advanced algorithms we were able to predict this portal.

> We recently received a faint transmission from the famed Major Tom and felt we should relay the information to you. After reviewing the data

we discovered that the signal was actually 40 earth years old and we can gather that it may have been his last communication before going offline. The data was ported to the iPhone by iKlax which revealed the surprising discovery of a multitrack audio version of David Bowie's sonic masterpiece "Space Oddity". Using the app or by downloading the individual tracks from the iTune store, you can remix the song to your pleasing. Please follow the link for more information.

> http://www.iklaxmusic.com/davidbowie/

> This window is rapidly closing. Until next time take your protein pills and put your helmet on...

> SATELLITE 42 signing off...

>> TRANSMISSION ENDED -- CONNECTION TERMINATED

Take Five

2010-01-06T23:05:00.003-06:00

Nerds,

The Busty Friends were born on a train-car driven by Colonel Sanders and were raised among the glassy wheat of the Great Plains. Their music has been likened to Blackened Tuna and Asparagus and their look is straight homely. With that being said, it goes without saying that The Busty Friends thoroughly paved the way for the future of raucous rock within the St. Louis scene.

Tonight Andrew and Marty, the founding friends, were kind enough to provide us with some insight into their world...

You can catch Andrew and Marty in their new band, We Yell At Buildings, next Thursday, January 14, 2010 at Antarctica at 5226 Gravois (just East of Lemmon's). See check them out, and check THIS out...

'til next time,
cutawaycurator

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2010-01-01T01:10:00.002-06:00

Well Nerds,

It's officially 2010 and everyone's expectations for a great new year are unrealistically high (as they should be). And here at Space Junk we are no different. I have a couple of ridiculous expectations and resolutions myself. The biggest one that tops the list would be to post at least 10 entries in one month. I mean c'mon, I haven't even topped 10 entries a month?! That's pretty lame. I really need to step up my game and cement my name in infamy among the virtuosic bloggers of the world. As it stands now, my blog entry status is that of a paltry, barely computer-competant chicken or equally cognizant farm animal. So, to all of you out there in the blogosphere, I will do my best to increase my blogging activity to bring you the best of the Junk and with more frequency. And if there's anything you want to see/read, send us your emails (questions, comments, whatever). And while you're at it, tell me about your New Year's resolutions. Whatever they may be, let's hear from you! Comment on this post or send us an email. Well, as it is officially 4 hours past my normal scheduled bedtime, I leave you until next time (which will hopefully be in less than a week).

So, to all you nerds out there, Happy New Year!

cutawaycurator

For Your Knowing - A Public Service Announcement Ep. 3

2009-12-29T19:25:00.002-06:00

Nerds,

I can't tell you how many stories I have heard of dudes gettin' some major payback from Father Physics by connecting an amp head to a speaker cab with an instrument cable. Yeah, I know it works and you probably haven't had any problems doing it in the past, but that doesn't mean it is to be done! So, while I know you have probably 10 guitar cables to choose from that you would much rather use, just go out and buy a speaker cable...and no I'm not posting this entry on behalf of RapCo or Monster Cables, I know what you're thinking. Personally, I don't care if you blow up your amp. In fact, the thought of it makes me smile...so you know what? Go ahead keep usin' that 21' Monster Acoustic guitar cable to connect your Mesa Triple Rectifier to your Crate 4x12...on second thought, you should use a stereo cable!

Or, you may decide to take my advice and switch it up. Whatever the case may be, just consider me a "good Samaritan", saving all of you out there from blowing up your transformers and all that junk.

Remember playing a stack is a privilege, not a right. Otherwise, you should just stick to combos...hey it's served me well. Except when I want to show off to the dude with the Bogner Shiva half-stack...then ANYTHING GOES...I'll chain my Fender Twin to an Ampeg 8x10 as long as it makes me look cool.

Just kidding...I'm always cool.

Alright, enough of my jabbering...

cutawaycurator

The Best of Both Worlds!

2009-12-28T17:14:00.004-06:00

Hey Nerds,

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! I hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday and here's to a great new year!
Well, I gotta say, as far as gifts go I made out pretty good this Christmas. And while I may not have deserved such gifting fortune, I got some pretty choice items.

One in particular I thought I would share with you bloggerheads.

My lady got me a Toy Machine skateboard, which by all accounts automatically gets the ol' Curator's "Rad as Hell" seal of approval. But, she went one step further and got me board with a graphic that is even more super stoke-worthy!

Just check it, a skateboard with amps on it...yeah that's right, AMPS. Does my lady know me or what?!

The marriage of skateboarding and amp collecting...THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS!

Thanks darlin'.

bye,
cutawaycurator

Techno Jeep

2009-12-16T21:25:00.003-06:00

Nerds,

Sam was kind enough to share this video he stumbled upon, with the Facebook world. But I decided you nerds needed to see it too! I don't know who did this, but it is amazing! I think Space Junk could definitely take a cue from these dudes in the A/V editing department. I mean, HOW THE HELL did these people do this!?

I especially like the proper amount of mics circumnavigating the whole damn thing. I also love that there's a guy totally runnin' the board on this piece of junkyard gold. Also, where the hell did they do this? It looks like the cul-de-sac from my mom's neighborhood. But that can't be, because with the subsequent noise these jankity fools were making, they would have gotten immediately shut down by neighborhood watch.

Well, wherever this supposedly takes place, it's EPIC! So check it...

PS - person specifically assigned to mobile boom mic...PERFECT!

keep it junk'd,

cutawaycurator

THE CONSTANT - Live Improvisation 12-2-09

2009-12-08T13:32:00.003-06:00

<< CONNECTION ESTABLISHED -- TRANSMISSION INITIATED >>

> Nerds,

> Greetings out there in cyber space[JUNK]...

> This is a transmission from the distant celestial outpost SATELLITE 42. This is our first communication so listen attentively. We will transfer information intermittently in the [recent] future through this portal on SPACE JUNK. The window of communication is narrow due to sustained interference from robot musicians who refuse to think outside the proverbial box. This transmission will be brief, but we will attempt again soon as circumstances allow....

> In the meantime, please retrieve the information contained in the following video downlink:

> Note the use of the following gear in this communication: Dueling BOSS Loop Stations, MXR Carbon Copy Analog Delay, general bad-ass-ness...

> Until next time...
> SATELLITE 42 signing off...

<< TRANSMISSION ENDED -- CONNECTION TERMINATED>>

Space Junk answers your emails #2

2009-12-06T01:08:00.006-06:00

Nerds,

Another installment of "Space Junk Answers Your Emails"!

As always, send your questions, comments or anything to SPACE JUNK here:

EMAIL SPACE JUNK

'til next time,

cutawaycurator

"CONSTANT"LY Working

2009-12-02T22:50:00.007-06:00

Nerds,

If you know local music scene hero, Sam Wade, then you know that Sam's love for the local scene has really set him apart as a champion for so many St. Louis bands (that aren't even his own!). If you don't know Sam, correct that as soon as possible!

Well the other night I caught up with Sam and it just so happens that his own project, The Constant is currently in pre-production for their new album. Space Junk is excited for Sam and we can't wait to hear what he and The Constant have in store for the music world! Be sure to stay tuned for more news from Sam and The Constant and who knows, you may even be seeing some posts from our good friend Sam on the ol' Junk in the near future.

Constantly (not) blogging,

cutawaycurator

...The A-man is BACK!

2009-11-30T17:45:00.003-06:00

Sweet Nerds,

After a couple of inspiring shorts from the one and only "The A-Man," we decided to kick it up a notch!

So what did we do?

We did what we always do at the space, we made due with what we had and WE ROCKED! So, enjoy this little vlog entry...

Some quick specs:

-Custom pink Fender P-Bass

-GK Backline 500 with Bugera 4x10" cab (mic'd with a Sennheiser e835)

-Ibanez awesome rock guitar (with uncovered humbuckers)

-Marshall ValveState 100Watt amp with 1x12" Marshall external cab (mic'd with the Sennheiser)

-70's Ludwig silver sparkle 4 piece kit (mic'd with the Sennheiser behind the drummer's ear, and overhead mic'd with my Rode NT1A)

-All drive/distortion is coming straight from the amps.

-Recorded, compressed and mixed with GarageBand.

As always, stay tuned for more in the near space future...

'til next time,
cutawaycurator

...well it's about FREAKIN' TIME!

2009-11-23T19:02:00.002-06:00

Nerds,

an update...in video form:

fully vlogged,

cutawaycurator

Pedal Demo - Getcha Freq On!

2009-11-11T21:49:00.008-06:00

Hey Nerds,

The A-Man is back with another amazing post!

Like I said in a previous post, The A-Man has one of the most unique collections of gear that I know. This week he was kind enough to demonstrate his Moog MoogerFooger Freq Box. I don't know a whole lot about this dang thing, but I do know it makes some pretty crazy noises. He was also kind enough to do this crazy demo with his custom pink Fender P-Bass.

some quick specs:

-GK Backline 600

-Behringer/Bugera 4x10 cab

-mic'd with Sennheiser e835

And now, without further ado, the A-Man, and the FreqBox...

For Your Knowing - A Public Service Announcement Ep. 2

2009-11-09T23:14:00.002-06:00

Nerds,

A public service announcement from Space Junk and The "A-Man".

You're not alone,
cutawaycurator

The Drums

2009-11-05T21:12:00.002-06:00

Nerds,

I know it's been a while. But I'm back with another "recording session" photo shoot...

Amp mic'ing has never been more fun!

2009-10-27T17:38:00.012-05:00

Nerds,

I realize that I may be speaking to a select few of you out there, but how many times have you recorded tracks through your guitar amp and thought to yourself:

"Man, I need help finding a more unique guitar tone, and this copy of Nickleback's Guide to Recording Great Collective Soul-Inspired Guitar Tracks just isn't cuttin' it."

Well, to those select few I say try messin' with the mic'ing.

I know for me, a lot of times I get carried away with types of guitars, amps, speaker configurations, celebrity endorsements and effects, that I can completely overlook the importance mic'ing has on the recorded sound itself...(duh, I know). So fear not, Space Junk is delving into the world of AMP MIC'ING!
Last week Jon Armstrong and I decided to spend a day working on the ambience that one can achieve when properly mic'ing an amp. Jon had just gotten back from a Jet concert and wanted some REVERB for a change! I don't blame him. Granted we probably could have just turned up that little dial on the ol' Twin that says "Reverb" and just recorded that...but that wouldn't have been nearly as much fun nor as interesting, would it? So enough of my writings...I know you want to see the video.

Some quick specs:
-Fender Twin Reverb reissue
-Fender Jazzmaster
-Sennheiser 835 dynamic mic (close mic'd toward the center of the speaker cone
-Rode NT-1A condenser mic (moved to various places for desired effect)

In the video, the audio from the guitar is panned with the Sennheiser on the Right and the Rode on the Left.

Enjoy.

NOTE: It's pretty crazy how much bigger you can get a clean guitar to sound just by putting some space between the mic and the amp! But like Reading Rainbow, don't just take my word for it...(doaw doaw doaw) DIY.

cutawaycurator

Road Trip: The Quest for Silver Tone

2009-10-22T16:48:00.008-05:00

Nerds,

Last weekend Space Junk right-hand-man and audiophile, Jon Armstrong and I took a little road trip to Carlinville, IL to pick up Jon's recent acquisition: the 1965 Silvertone Twin Twelve 1484.

If you are familiar with this amp, you know that it's quite a find. If you don't know about this amp (I didn't), this is the amp that has been made famous again by Jack White (The White Strips, Raconteurs, and whatever). It is known for its super unique break up, yet distinctive "American" tone. Jon and I were eager to hear for ourselves! So while at Carlinville's Doc Parker's music store, we really put this Silvertone through its paces...and this thing ROARS!

Check it out!

Needless to say, Jon has some major plans for this amp, so stay tuned.

As always, great work, Jon!

cutawaycurator

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALEX!

2009-10-20T16:33:00.009-05:00

Today is the birthday of SPACE JUNK friend and local bass ripper Alex Hammond. If you know Alex then you already know that he's probably the nicest dude you have ever met or ever will meet. If you don't know Alex, don't be surprised if you meet him on a plane, at a Starbucks (while he dances to GummiBar in his head, waiting for his chai), or really any major metropolitan area - seriously, I can't tell you how many stories I've heard of someone I know meeting the "A-Man" somehow in Michigan, New York, Colorado, Iowa, Germany, and California, just to name a few. What can I say? He's everywhere. But aside from his overall nicety and supposed omnipresence, the dude is an amazing musician. You should hear him play the bass, guitar, drums, whatever he can get his hands on. The dude is just talented. Not to mention, he has probably the most unique collection of gear in the tri-state area...so expect to hear from Alex in future SPACE JUNK happenings.

Happy birthday, the A-Man.

cutawaycurator

EMAILS!

2009-10-18T19:21:00.005-05:00

Space Junk answers your emails...so write us!

EMAIL SPACE JUNK

cutaway curator

One Man, One Mic

2009-10-14T21:30:00.004-05:00

The background tracks were done via computer composing software. The drums and bass were recorded as you see it here, with a Shure Beta58.

DIY!,

Stay Tuned,
cutawaycurator

For Your Knowing - A Public Service Announcement

2009-10-07T19:43:00.004-05:00

Space Junk is proud to bring you the following Public Service Announcement.

cutawaycurator

Write "The Junk"

2009-10-06T16:42:00.012-05:00

Nerds,

Questions, Comments, Just bored?

We here at Space Junk want to hear from you!

Every week we will answer your emails!

So write us!

EMAIL SPACE JUNK

photo by: Michael Worful

Weekend Recording Session

2009-10-04T18:43:00.005-05:00

Nerds,

Some photos from a weekend recording session. That's all for now.

CutawayCurator

A True Companion

2009-10-03T21:46:00.007-05:00

Nerds,

About a month ago I was in Kansas City and I went to a thrift store called "2nd Chance" or "2nd Wind" or something about second whatever. Anyway, I found this awesome little organ. An Orcoa Companion Organ made in Italy. All the keys worked and it came in a really cool case. I had to have it! So I spent $50 on it and brought it home. Here are some photos and video of it (with HQ audio).

Start being jealous.

cutaway curator

Sound Check: FrankenTele

2009-09-29T23:13:00.010-05:00

Hey Nerds,

My good friend and audio aficionado, Jon Armstrong recently finished a fun little project of resurrecting a cheap, used Squier Thinline Tele and trying to make it sound like a professional working axe. Jon apparently had quite the undertaking, replacing the pickups, pots and all the other guts...quite impressive I must say! To measure his progress, he pitted it against his infamous Epiphone Sheraton II (I've played it, it is awesome).

so can a used Squier be made to sound like an iconic Sheraton II by simply replacing the guts? Well, one thing's for sure; if ever there was a platform for a semi-hollow body "shoot-out", it is certainly THESE TWO GUITARS!

The result is VERY GOOD...I haven't played this FrankenTele, but from these sound clips, I can tell that he succeeded in what he set out to do. It wails! Great work, Jon.

Some quick specs:
-both guitars are "semi-hollow bodies"
-both have dual humbuckers
-both have three-way pickup switching
-both were recorded the exact same way

So the next time you're in the market for a new axe, remember there are plenty of cheap used guitars out there that can really sing with just a little love and little soldering.

Thanks to Jon.

bye for now,
Cutaway Curator

AC Booster Demo (shortened version)

2009-09-27T22:21:00.007-05:00

Nerds,

Here is it...MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE!

Thanks,

Cutaway Curator

StanManJamBand

2009-09-23T20:20:00.011-05:00

Nerds,

Last weekend a bunch of amateur musicians assembled for a semi-regularly scheduled historic event known only as "StanManJamBand." As the name implies, it's a jam band that goes down at Stan's house. Who's Stan? If you do know, all you need to know is he's probably one of the raddest dudes on the planet! There were quite a few in attendance and the night was replete with memorable moments. To name a few...

-Ryan P. playing bass on Blondie's "Heart of Glass"

-Aaron Esquire tearing it up on some Jimi, and the subsequent dropping jaws from onlookers.

-Jonny A. playing bass on a song he didn't know he was playing until about 2 minutes in...never missed a note though!

-New guy Paul RIPPING on guitar, and not to mention his amazing Fender Super Six (modded, to use only 2 power tubes...talk about break up!). Here are some photos from the night. Well done, fellas!

Thanks for reading,
cutawaycurator

Songwriting from the Future

2009-09-20T01:34:00.006-05:00

Nerds,

I have recently been trying to expand my songwriting horizons while at the same time trying to improve my overall acumen on all things technological. With that being said, I am now attempting to write songs on my computer. Through the help of several different programs, I am now converting my thoughts and ideas into electronic blocks of tone and duration which appear on my computer screen. I realize that as you are reading this you are probably detecting a hint of surliness in my words. But I assure you, this transition is for the best I believe. A lot of times when I get an idea in my head I generally don't write it down or memorize it or use any particular pneumonic device to help me remember said musical piece. As a result I of course forget whatever the hell it was I working on in my brain-space. Frustrated, I then proceed to play Sheryl Crow songs on my guitar for the better part of an hour; not that there's anything wrong with that. So now, as an act of counter-balance, and in the name of pro-action, I have decided to embed these musical brain matinees into my CPU's hard drive for a later date. Sounds easy enough, except that I don't know what the hell I am doing on a computer half the time I use one...it's a bloody miracle that I was able to create such an awesome blog, let alone try and manipulate blocks of "SquareRezBass" and "Taiko Drum" fragments into a coherent masterpiece. I think it's just going to be a learning process. I am really enjoying the total freedom of choosing instrumentation and arrangement of tones and patterns...instead of just me banging away on my guitar and starting to tear up after about 15 minutes because it's not sounding the way I want it to. What can I say, I'm a rather impatient songwriter; I need instant gratification. Hopefully, this new process will allow for such greed. Need drums? Sure, just add 'em. How about that bass? It would sound better what a little "ElecPiano2" melody in there...and done!

So, to conclude this rather verbose blog entry, I am enjoying this "songwriting 2.0" so to speak, but I'm having a little trouble adjusting.

Wish me luck in my near future.

I will update you as I begin to get a better working knowledge with some of these programs.

Your friend,

CutawayCurator

WTFender?! The Tigers are SUPER GOOD!

2009-09-19T17:53:00.009-05:00

Nerds,

Last night was EPIC! We went to see The Republic Tigers play. They are phenomenal, and if you haven't heard them, get their album, "Keep Color." My good buddy, Ryan, was sportin' his awesome surf green Jazzmaster and a unique potpourri of effects. I was also pleased as punch to see that the other dudes were reppin' Fender pretty hard as well.

Rad dudes, rad band...

Peace out playas,

Cutaway Curator

How old is that thing?

2009-09-15T18:29:00.004-05:00

That's the first question I get asked when people see this amp. But this practically brand new amp has just been through a rough life. This is story of the newest addition to my amp collection...

Nerds,

A couple of months ago I bought an Epiphone Valve Junior head from the used section at an area "Plaza De Guitarras" (actual store name protected). I paid $89 bucks for it, plus another $30 for an 18-month warrantee. I considered this to be an exceptional deal, since they cost $130-150 brand new and the warrantee covers anything that might happen to it within the next year.

So here are some quick specs on this thing:

Epiphone Valve Junior
-5 Watts
-All tube, single-ended, Class A (like that means anything to anyone anymore). Tube Compliment: one 12AX7 (preamp), one EL84 (power amp)
-1 input, I/O switch, volume knob
-about 10 pounds (I guess)
-3 different load outputs (4 ohm, 8ohm and 16 ohm)

It's got a very cool vintage feel with cream and crimson tolex; very vintage. But this amp, which could only be 3 years old at the most, looks a little worse for the wear.

So why do I say that it's already been through a rough life?

When I first got it, someone had completely defiled it by removing the handsome "Epiphone" badge and slapping a HUGE chrome "CRATE" badge right on the red tolex. To further accentuate this awesome modification, the previous owner had also super-glued two chrome flame magnets to the red tolex (one on either side of the awesome Crate logo.) It took me 15 minutes, and one big gash in the tolex to get the Crate logo off. Needless to say I left the flames on there...just kidding...those took another 15 minutes and more tears in the tolex. The worst of it is that the black magnet-backing of these chrome flames is still adhered to the amp, I was only able to remove small fragments...man, what did this guy use? Gorilla Glue? Anyway, it looks super beat-up, but pretty cool regardless, and sounds great. Also, the previous owner had taken the stock "chicken-head" knob off of the volume pot and replaced it with a Fender "witch-hat" style knob...so awesome! There is also a treble cleff sticker on the face of the amp as well, for some reason...maybe it was owned by my fourth grade music teacher, who seemed to have treble clefs EVERYWHERE! Regardless, it's a nice touch...keeping it.

I wish I had been smart enough to document this amazing display of useless modification, but instead I have created this little "re-enactment for you"...this is EXACTLY what it looked like...

Right now I have this thing running into one 12" Celestion Heritage 75W 16 ohm speaker cab. It sounds great from 5-10, but i find it's a little muddy in the lower gain stage (1-5). But when it's fully cranked, I have really been enjoying the open, AC/DC type overdrive. The amps has also responded well to pedals, although the DL4 doesn't sound as good through it as the Twin, but then again, it's the Twin! Last week I gigged with this little amp and it carried just fine on stage over drums and bass and the tech didn't have any complaints over the house mix. So I think it's going to be a great little amp for me!

Currently I have made no modifications to it, yet. I plan on installing the "Bit-Mo Trio" in the hopes that it will brighten up the tone at lower volumes. I did however change out the pre-amp tube which was a stock, generic Chinese 12AX-WB to the quieter 12AX-LPS. I chose this tube because I have been doing recording with this amp and the less noise produced the better. I have found that while it does run quieter, I actually haven't had to sacrifice gain, it really does break up quite well. I also switched out the stock Sovtek EL84 with a JJ EL84 in the power stage in the hopes of tighten up the overdrive a little bit, I haven't noticed much a difference though.

Overall I rate this amp 8/10 for what it is. It's a small, versatile giggable and recordable amp. It looks great, it sounds great, it super modifiable (even a word?) and it's cheap! My only gripe is that it can get pretty muddy at times (especially with humbuckers) and the volume setting takes some getting used to. But it's a great amp and I like it a lot.

Video and Audio clips of this little amp will be featured in future posts.

Thanks for reading,

Cutaway Curator

Everybody's got a Strat, right?

2009-09-14T11:20:00.002-05:00

It's true, you either own one yourself or know someone who has one. Maybe you traded it for that Fender GDEC amp that's sitting in your bass players garage right now. Or maybe your Mom's new "boyfriend" had one that he played in his Grateful Dead cover band, "Turtle Junction". Well whatever the case may be, it's pretty safe to say that 97 out of 100 people have at least played a Fender Stratocaster once in their lives. With that said, my preferred "backline" and arsenal of gear, both on stage and in the studio, has never included a Strat. And among the guitars that I have played in my life, I have never officially declared myself to be a "Strat player."

But I do have Strat.

It was the first guitar I really coveted. My dad bought it from some pawn shop in '92. A vintage-looking "Squier II", Arctic White with maple neck...it was so awesome! I always wanted to play it, or even just hear it. Then one magical day in '95 my Dad bought a brand new sunburst American Standard and handed the old one down to me! For years I played that guitar and loved it. When I went off to college, my affinity for Hardcore and emo/screamo/dreamo left the Strat in its case; never to be played again. As my tone snobbery fully heightened, other, more expensive guitars made their way into the lineup, with the ol' Strat taking a tertiary priority in my list of tonal possibilities. In fact, I had almost forgotten about it altogether.

Then last weekend I found it...

It was leaning against the wall of my old room in my Mom's house; no case, old strings, rusty screws on the pick guard, the maple neck aged just every so finely. I grabbed it and immediately took it over to "The Space." I plugged it into my Fender Twin on the Vibrato channel, with the "Bright" switch on.

This is the result...

...maybe I'll call myself a "Strat Player" after all.

Thanks for reading,

Cutaway Curator

Welcome to SPACE JUNK

2009-09-13T19:26:00.000-05:00

Dear Nerds,

SPACE JUNK IS HERE!

This blog is dedicated to amateur audio production, musical gear, songwriting and all-around music creation. So if you're not into all that, then go check out some sports blog or somethin'.

We're gonna get rad as hell on this thing!

Some things we have planned in the near future:

-Gear reviews

-Experiments in Sound Recording

-Special guests

-Overall hilarity

So stay tuned, duh!

hy-fi,

Cutaway Curator