Quackology
Over a few months I've sampled a variety of guitar pickups
It
began when I sensed a relationship between the bar magnet on the
underside of a pickup and a strong attack in the sound it gave to an
amplified guitar.
Different
pickups are often distinguished by their resistance, which accentuates
the placement along the strings from the neck as higher amounts are
favoured closer to the bridge.
While there are
many aspects one would expect, such as dynamics and presence, I found
the presentation of characteristics lack a specific quality.
There
are charts showing brightness and darkness, treble and bass, harsh and
muddy -- okay, I made up the last one -- but I can't think of any
mentioning quack.
The quack of a pickup is a
characteristic that exists on a similar spectrum and becomes more
pronounced as one progresses from neck to bridge.
A
quack is one expression of this sound, which begins more like a burr
that becomes more throaty and pronounced as distortion adds harmonics.
I
think telecasters are renowned for this honky character and I suspect
the harmonics with placement of the bridge pickup are central to it.
However, many highly-wound and higher-output pickups seem to also accentuate this sound.
In
my explorations I feel as though there's a scale of quack that begins
with the Texas variety of pickup, then extends into bluesier and rockier
characters as much as country.
As satisfying as the character sounds with a Tweed style distortion or a Marshall grunt, it's not always ideal.
For example, a serve of twang wouldn't sit with that classic stratocaster sound in the soaring leads of Clapton or Gilmour.
It's just a different flavour, yet the quack isn't as easy to pick as guitar builds.
I've
figured out that I like single coils more than ceramic pickups, which
use the bar magnet, and am now trialling double coils.
When
I began installing different humbuckers I found that some had a twang,
while others gave a harsh blast or a deep and thick sustain.
This is why I feel like a quack rating system is needed, and it could be represented with ducks.
I haven't paddled very deeply into the waters of humbucking, but I expect the pond is full of many styles of quack.
Potato Cake
Also amused by the "fig leaf" sticker placed over the counterfeit branding of this purchase from China.
You can feel the cheaper materials in the shiny neck and plastic tuning pegs, as well as hearing a hum from the bridge pickup; but we live in an age where cheap guitars are made by automated routing in countries that don't respect IP -- so the playability is basically comparable with another Chinese guitar aside from copying the famous Swede.
Or a combination?
The name "potato cake" comes to mind, because they're called scallops in some parts of Australia.
Disquiet Junto 0738 Speak Not
The assignment this week is: Saying something without saying it.
Somewhat appropriately the phrase ‘I think therefore I am’ came to mind.
I’d spent the morning helping my son with his composition assignment and he had a riff-driven song that was going to be a scaffold.
After lunch the phrase developed into a call-and-response riff, which suggests that my son’s scaffold also became my own.
The phrase was answered, "I am therefore I think."
As this bassline from my phrase took on soul with organ and horns, and the percussion was another cue from the source/riff track.
All parts were programmed in Ableton Live and the video is from NASA.
Les Telecaster
Naviarhaiku632 – slowly gliding
Further inspiraton was sought from Seamus Heaney's republic of conscience.
Disquiet Junto 0737 Opening Ceremony
My child has musical homework and we were discussing the option of using an existing track to scaffold a feel.
The track they chose seems unlikely to me, since it’s nearly 50 years old, but it’s been a week for revisiting old songs and I’ve been enjoying the swing in this one.
I’ve heard that James Brown thought every instrument should sound like a drum, so I’ve made as many into percussion as I could handle in this cover of a Dr John song.
Naviarhaiku631 – Spring day
A bit tangentially related the to haiku shared by Naviar this week, as I wrote a song inspired by this poem and added a video of my recent haiga exhibition.
Disquiet Junto 0736 Feed Me
The Junto assignment is to: Write a piece of music emulating the dopamine engine that is social media.
This is the last of the Chinchin videos that I downloaded from Archive.org and they’ve been fun to mix with my tracks by matching the tempo.
I reached for it when I had the image of an automaton doomscrolling being all robotic.
Like the video, all the song fragments came from my folder of unfinished Live files.
Then I had the idea of mashing it with the song I've been working on this afternoon.
It's not terrible and seems tangentially related to the subject matter.
Naviarhaiku630 – one leaf falls
Disquiet Junto 0735 Spectrum Analysis
The Junto assignment this week is to "Write music inspired by a crayon" or specifically a colour.
It's been hot enough to melt a crayon in Leeton this week with temperatures in the mid-40s.
My colour is soft blue as I found myself fantasising about the winters in Canberra, where I grew up.
There you have those bright high-altitude skies, where the sunlight seems crisp yet the air is frigid.
It brought to mind the crunch of frost and with it the "blonde assassin" in Emily Dickinson's poem, as well as the happy flowers and their impermanence.
So I riffed on her imagery and arrived at something about unrequited love, then riffed on the guitar.
Naviarhaiku629 – autumn storm
The poem shared by Naviar Records came to mind, so I played in Live with adding a bass and synth part.
Disquiet Junto 0734 Meet Cue
The Disquiet Junto assignment this week is to "Write music for a scene from a favorite film."
A friend of my mother has a husband who taught film studies, so naturally I asked his favourite film.
It seemed like a question that he'd been asked before as without a pause he replied "Brief Encounter."
A friend of mine sends an email at the end of the year about movies and mentioned this film was on a public streaming service, so I started watching it with a view to using it in the Junto.
As I played guitar I couldn't help but use the chords that were recorded earlier in the week, so when I saw this scene I decided that it would suit a remix of that song.
Naviarhaiku628 – In the dark beyond
I had a chord progression and an afternoon, so it's a quick recording as a muddle my way through an idea.
The video is a recording made of my backyard that didn't get used for the Disquiet Junto project last week.
Fretless player
Tuxedo telecaster
I haven't been able to get the split coil to work, so might make the pull pot switch into a Gilmour mod instead.
Bill Callahan on media
My Fender bender
The
Strat pickguard looks so right with the Tele body shape and I'm happy
to make a mess of a cheap guitar before I try building one.
Chender Meteora
About two months ago I saw my guitar on a Chinese website.
The price was around a third of what I paid for a secondhand model and curiousity got the better of me, so I ordered it.
After a couple of weeks the seller abruptly cancelled the sale, possibly because the discount offered by the site undercut profitability.
I weighed up whether to continue my experiment and decided to buy a different model, rather than a replica of the one I already own.
The Chinese copy is lighter than my Mexican original, but that's not a bad thing for me.
There's a shiny finish to the neck that is a bit sticky when playing, as well as a yellow hue that seems unnatural in comparison.
I've loosened the screws and shifted them a little, but it's not quite yet symmetrical.
Otherwise it feels good, with no sharp fret edges and very good intonation.
The electrics are a bit weird, from potentiometer knobs that stick when being turned through to pickups that sound peaky in a way that suggests ceramics.
However, I am happy to change the electrics and will try some fatter-sounding pickups than the nicely nuanced Fireballs in my Fender.
I will also install split-coil switches like the Meteoras normally feature.
As a fan of hand-drawn art and the human touch one experiences from engaging with creative practise, I find the lettering on the large headstock endearing.
Disquiet Junto 0732 Color Drenching
The Junto project this week is to "Record a piece of music that you think sounds like color drenching."
I've recorded shades of my Donner DTL-100 telecaster-style guitar, which has been modified with Texas pickups and a super switch.
There's a drum loop recorded on a Korg Kaossilator, as well as a snippet of that instrument added at a couple of points.
Below is a video where I reflect on the Junto project.
Modified telecaster
Yesterday I installed a "super switch" in a telecaster style guitar and it was fiddly but added a couple of extra tones
I'd already added Texas-style pickups and they sound remarkable, but the parallel option with the new switch has got me playing chugging riffs today.
The guitar was a cheap one from Donner, which is a good model for modifications aside from the gritty eco-rosewood fretboard and slightly too small bridge pickup slot.
Modified Fender Stratocaster
Made some changes to this guitar that I was given
I was in a hurry to hear the Fat '50s pickups and also added a Gilmour mod with a pull-pot under the tone knob.
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.
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.
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.
As I searched for it just now I found that it's on display in a museum!
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:
Modified Artist Telecaster
Went back to the soldering iron with my Artist Telecaster
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.
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.
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.
Naviarhaiku623 – “Don’t pick it!”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Knocked out by knock offs
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.
Fender offender
There's clearly a story here, although one imagines that none of those involved want to discuss it.
It made me want to try a Nameless guitar, however their website seems to have vanished.
While I had been looking at buying a Fender, the message gave me pause to think about their dominance in the market.
So I decided to support a different brand and went looking for an Australian guitar.
Disquiet Junto 0725 Rack It
The Junto assignment this week is to "Change the “focus” of a track as it plays."
I had an idea to record a few instruments, but decided in the end that I only had energy for one take.
As I'd been watching Rick Beato's interview with Tony Levin, so I thought to use a bass which wears his likeness.
There's a pedal board I put together for bass and you can hear it uses EHX Superego for a drone, then an MXR phaser for modulation, before adding EHX Talking Machine.
Jimmy Chamberlin on AI-generated music
"Consume art with your heart" gets to an argument I believe about the emotional connection that humans expect in the media they consume.
Fender pretender
Anyone had experience with Chinese copies?
So I bought this copy, just so I can not worry about scratching the paint on my real Fender Meteora.
It'll be interesting to see how close it lands when it, um, lands.
Disquiet Junto 0724 Work It
The prompt this week is "Do that thing you’ve been meaning to do."
At first my mind turned to the folder of lyrics that I'm yet to record, but as I opened it I noticed another on my desktop.
The track I recorded for the "Dense Fog Advisory" Junto was one that I'd been meaning to tidy up, in the same way that I'd gone back to refix that track last week.
I had been surprised how well the guitar breaks worked, as I recorded them quickly and at the same time as the vocals.
It was good to clear space in the mix and then I had an idea to shift the key.
I dropped the instruments down a fifith, but took the vocals up a seventh.
The result makes me sound a bit like Neil Young, I think.
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