So how big is your cat?

 

Dominic Miller on music and sport

One of my arguments is that Australia needs a ministry of culture that unites art and sport 

I think I've mostly made the case on my other blog, but Mr Miller shares a great perspective on the topic in the video above.

Tom Morello's guitar harms the gormless

For the record let me put it up front that I think Tom Morello is one of the most imaginative guitar players alive

His decision to adopt DJing and foley sound as influences are bold creative choices, particularly as music was undergoing rapid changes in the early 1990s.

Recently I was watching Rick Beato interview Brendan O'Brien and the latter said the beginning of Rage Against The Machine's 'People of the Sun' has Morello using an Allen key to play his instrument.

 

It reminded me how awed I was watching the band play at the Big Day Out in Melbourne, where the earth actually shook.

 

And the moment when he unplugged his guitar to play a solo on the tip of the lead left me speechless.

A few months ago I watched a bunch of Morello videos where he shared his techniques and appreciated how open and encouraging he seemed to be for others to use them.

Then, about a month ago, I noticed a lot of copies of his iconic "Arm The Homeless" guitar being sold on Aliexpress.

It seemed to epitomise Morello's attitude somehow, although really I think it'd be better if people designed their own slogan and drew it on a guitar they built.

So I was surprised when Fender announced a signature model of this instrument and have been amused by the responses.

 

I mean, let's leave aside the question of buying something from a dominant brand as a statement against the "establishment" since it's clearly going to end my discussion from the outset.

The signature model trend mystifies me in some ways, partly because many people will say the secret to copying a player resides in their fingertips.

It used to be enough to have a guitar the same shape and colour as your idol, particularly if it was something distinct.

When Fender made a version of the "Soul Power" guitar it was understandable that an investment-driven company would want to promote their brand with a hero like Morello.

 

As I searched for it just now I found that it's on display in a museum!

However, the reason to copy a partscaster like the "Arm The Homeless" guitar is much less clear, particularly given it has little relationship to the Fender brand.

Even more surprising is how it seems to bring into question Morello's own personal brand. 

So his justification in the Fender promotional video that making an approved copy available is surprising since it is prohibitively expensive and about ten times the cost of the model from China, which is even more curious as the flag of that nation is part of the design.

It contrasts with the answer he gave when people asked why RATM were on a major record label:

“Would Noam Chomsky object to his works being sold at Barnes & Noble? No, because that’s where people buy their books. We’re not interested in preaching to just the converted. It’s great to play abandoned squats run by anarchists, but it’s also great to be able to reach people with a revolutionary message, people from Granada Hills to Stuttgart.”

Modified Artist Telecaster

Went back to the soldering iron with my Artist Telecaster

In the process I added a pull-switch for the neck pickup, which I bought because it was black and turns out it has a nice natural sound that might be Alnico 5 magnets.

I also swapped the pickguard and the Artec pickup in the middle for a Texas flavoured one and it's loud.

The original Artist bridge pickup remains although I bought a '50s style one and the phasing is out when used with the others, but I'm really enjoying the effect as it's less jangly.

It's still surprising what a nice instrument this is, as I now have couple of other telecasters that all produce slightly different sounds.

Meanwhile, the variety of stratocaster type guitars is becoming overwhelming and I should compare them in a video sometime next year.

Mark Sandman

 

Disquiet Junto 0730 Calendar Advent

The Junto at the end of the year is a form of diary and for over a decade now I've been editing together my videos.

It's an interesting overview and this year I was surprised by how many songs I recorded on guitar.

Financial stability

 

Disquiet Junto 0729 Community Remix (Nina)

The Junto this week is a prompt to remix 'Nina' by Hans Kindler (1892 – 1949).

Marc's automated email arrived as I was playing with a guitar part from last week's activity, which I'd reversed.

So I bent 'Nina' to suit the key of that track, which took it up four steps to C# minor.

Then I arranged the parts to suit the shape of Hans' performance and used some EQ to minimise its hiss.

Flat

 

Naviarhaiku623 – “Don’t pick it!”

The haiku shared by Naviar came to mind as I was driving home from the Spilt Milk music festival in Canberra.

I had an idea how "plums" are a euphemism and thought about recording vocals, but changed my mind as  the track developed.

Then I thought about how the poem's warning might be understood by a child and found a menace in it, that came to the fore as I played with bass sounds. 

Selected Ambient Works

Probably for Volume One since it has four on the floor!

Disquiet Junto 0728 Note Down

The Junto this week is to "Delete a note at a time."

There is just one step to this project: Record a piece of music with a slow melody that repeats. Each time the melody cycles around, remove one note, until during the final repeat none of the notes in the melody remain.

I've recorded a chord progression using my recently upgraded Squier.

It's tuned Nashville style, so the chord becomes more melodic as the range is limited across the strings. 

The original version of the song was slower and felt too long, so I look a bit jumpy in the video as it is sped up.

Upgraded Squier

Upgraded the pickups, tuners, bridge and pickguard on my Squier Paranormal Nashville Stratocaster. 

It's almost as good as an Artist Guitar now! 

Unexpected result is the neck pickup is out of phase and sounds really funky when combined with the others.

The pickups are a "Pure vintage 64' TL Set" from a Chinese website and they are a big improvement.

Allie X on becoming creative

The problem with people becoming creatives, the hurdle that stands in their way, is judgment and insecurity a lot of the time. I would just reinforce that an idea is never fully formed when it first comes to mind. It’s like a little seed, and you just need to nurture it. Sometimes, it takes years, and sometimes, it takes a really short amount of time, but nothing needs to be fully formed or quote-unquote “professional” in its first iteration. 

Shake hands with beef

They should've noted that this pickguard isn't suitable for vegans!

Artist AT91V3 electric guitar review

There's a lot to admire about this guitar, let's take a look and I'll describe what I'm feeling because it's 'Caster spell on me!

The neck has a satin finish, while the body is silky with golden woodgrain.

Under the pickguard is the swimming pool-sized cavity and I couldn't help but dip a single coil in there for a Nashville-like arrangement.

There was no reason to change the other pickups that came with this guitar, as they have character yet a good balance across the neck and bridge, but the simple addition was suggested to me after I bought a Squier Paranormal Custom Nashville Stratocaster.

Before I compare the two guitars, take a look at the tuners on the AT91V3 because they're good looking and locking and crafted from proper metal that's cool to the touch.

In comparison the Squier's tuners have plastic handles and mine have an annoying rattle, as well as pickups that sound brittle in comparison to the Artist guitar.

While I'm likely to upgrade these components, it shows how ridiculously over-priced Fender guitars are, which might've been an observation that landed a sales representative in trouble but is one I'm often hearing from people.

I paid twice as much for the Paranormal Custom Nashville Stratocaster as I did for the AT91V3 -- even when you factor in buying a pickup and pickguard to modify the latter. (On reflection, some of this difference might be explained in the distribution models of the two companies.)

I doubt you can find a better value telecaster-style guitar and it's encouraged me to try some of the other Artist models, which are mostly excellent and they have a 100-day free return option.

It also seems incredible to me that delivery is part of the price, with mine arriving in about one working day -- despite the fact I live in a regional town.

This Artist guitar is remarkable and highly recommended for the versatile tones with a sensuous touch of quality.

World's first drum machine

 

Knocked out by knock offs

A few weeks ago I got carried away shopping late at night and have been dealing with the repercussions as packages arrive. 

It really says something about the business model of this website that they accept up to five returns each month, with a prompt refund soon after the post office scans the barcode on the label provided. 

Anyway, my expectations were low but changed dramatically when I installed these "Texas" pickups. 

The wax crusted onto thick metal base plates was encouraging, as were the cloth-covered wires. 

So imagine my surprise that they sound amazing! 

I feel so inspired with the tone that's coming out of my excellent Artist guitar, which was super cheap as it had an electrical fault. 

There aren't any moving parts in a pickup, so I expect these will keep performing and inspiring me to do the same.

Disquiet Junto 0726 Chord of Omnis

The Junto assignment this week is to "Make music with a browser-based Omnichord as your sole sound source."

I wasn't sure about using a browser-based instrument, then I remembered that my Omnichord was still plugged into a pedal board.

So here's a quick jam, where I wish that I spent more time getting the levels right.