Blogging Ottinger (tim)

This guitar is a real beauty. I keep looking at p90 guitars, even though I’m intending to get an ESP LTD PB-401 with P-Rails pickups some day. Still, guitars like this one keep popping up at Rondo music and shaking my resolve.

I’m definitely sold on the idea of P90 pickups. I’m increasingly leaning toward a clean, black finish. Except that I keep being drawn in by deep red finishes. This black cherry looks amazing. I also am still lusting after a PRS Soapbar in red, and even the plankish PS-100. If the ESP LTD came in black cherry I would be totally hooked.

Now it’s a matter of waiting, setting priorities, etc. My pedalboard isn’t complete yet, so it may be next year by the time I get the PB-401. And that’s okay. I am in no hurry. I like having things to look forward to, gear-wise.

For now we have other issues to deal with as regards the sound at church. We’re getting rid of ground loops with hum-x units (by EbTech), and squaring away some issues with our drums. We are more able to deal with mix than before. We have better management of platform sound levels and spillover. We have more musicians and singers available from week to week. Yet we still have to deal with levels, rotations of people, and some noisy lights that seems to bleed into the amps even when there is ground loop protection. There are more problems behind us than remaining, so there’s no discouragement, but I don’t need new gear to fill my time.

That’s without talking about work, medical stuff, and the VBS my wife is heading up.

Gear can wait. But these red P90 guitars are certainly worth the wait. Gorgeous, with rich gutsy sound. They just ooze appeal.

I used it last night with my Ovation Breadwinner, which is outfitted with Seymour Duncan pickups.

It goes well with my Danelectro Chicken Salad vibe pedal. Very large, 3D sound when I mix it with the modulated mode on the DL8. It also is nice with my custom OD pedal and the Ibanez Crunchbox delay. Even if it’s just splash chords, it sounds like there is a lot going on. With arpeggios and little lead lines, it really sounds big.

I pretty much stay with the modulated delay and tapping the tempo. I just hate bending down and twiddling knobs. I’m really happy that it has so much to offer, but I can’t really bother with it in the middle of a set. I can set it up before or between, but otherwise I’m not touching it. I can still get a slapback-like echo by tapping very, very fast. I’m getting the hang of the whole dotted eighth note thing slowly it’s not as natural as you’d think. Any idiot can get eighth or quarter note delays with tap tempo, including this one.

Also beware when you don’t have a drummer at your practice. If the band drifts off the rhythm even slightly, you end up retapping the delay to keep from sounding simply awful. This alone is a good reason to stay in tap tempo mode pretty much all the time. Sadly, when you’re in tap mode, it’s a little more time consuming to get to bypass mode.

Yes, I use true bypass. If I want tails, I’ll just leave the effect on longer.

The pedal looks great, it is a good height (for reaching over the lip of the pedal board), good LEDs, good usability. It works just fine and greatly enhances my sound now that I’m the sole six-stringer in the worship band. It may take a while for me to not overuse it, but it is really nice. I’m not sure how I got by without it. I would definitely consider more HardWire pedals.

Remember my post on Delay Pedal decisions from 7 May? Well, the questions are settled.

Today I received my Digitech HardWire DL-8 Delay Looper pedal. My wife ordered it as a Fathers’ Day gift for me. She only ordered it on Saturday, and it’s here on Tuesday. Somebody has some good fulfillment logistics. The timing means I can get used to it tonight, practice tomorrow, and play on Sunday. Good thing, too. Sunday’s set needs some delay.

It came with the double-side (stick-em & velcro) for mounting it in my pedal board, and even has a big rubber block (”stomp lock”) you can put over the knobs to prevent them from being changed in transit or in the course of a show. Finally, there is a glow-in-the-dark sticker you can put on the front face so you can the pedal in the dark. Probably not much use for me, but could be valuable for some people.

Everything feels solid and precise and sturdy. I’m impressed so far.

So when the rain canceled my lawn mowing plans, I took the opportunity to spend the evening with the pedal. I played the hollowbody (SX GG5CUS) because it was handy. Tomorrow I’ll almost certainly use the strat at practice. I’m using my little battery-powered amp, so my impressions of the sound will be relative to the sound coming out of those tiny, tinny speakers without the effects.

The digital side of the delay is just what a digital delay should be. The lo-fi really is lo-fi. The loop and tape settings are just what you would expect. I’m thrilled with the lack of surprises here. The tap and loop functions work just like they said they would. I’m probably going to get used to tap tempo and live by it. I don’t want to twiddle knobs during a worship service. The reverse is pretty good, but I’m not likely to actually use it. I could get a better fidelity without delay using a volume pedal for swells. It’s novel, but I don’t know it’s useful. I’ve not tried the stereo output because I’m a small church guitarist, not The Edge. Not that I wouldn’t like to ping-pong between an AC30 and a Roland JC. That would be far too cool for my venue.

I couldn’t resist the urge to annoy my family with all kinds of ugly sounds, including crazy self-modulation and looping. Everything works. I think that the modulated digital is my favorite. The sound is totally huge when I put the vibe pedal just ahead of the delay. It’s pretty hard to sound huge through a 9v battery-powered amp, but it does. Crazy huge. I can’t wait to hear it through a real amp tomorrow.

When one person speaks about another there is

1. a pretty good chance that they’re wrong,
2. a much smaller chance that they’re malicious,
3. a certainty that the report is biased, and
4. a high probability that checking the facts for yourself will put you on their “nonfriends” list.

I’ve got more stories about this than I care to share. The last one was funny. A friend was rumored to have been in jail on Fri-Sun, as I was told when I asked about him. The truth? He had scheduled a three-day weekend months in advance, and didn’t do anything jail-worthy at all. I went back to the one who gave me the story and was told, “I can’t believe you asked him! I will never tell you anything again! I can’t trust you!” I thought it was funny.

By being trustworthy (seeking truth, trusting a friend) rather than being trusting (of the rumor-monger) I was counted as “untrustworthy?” How can that be? Because that’s how things get when people are involved. People are messed up. I know. Some of my best friends are people.

I’ve seen people do an awful lot of damage even when they were not malicious in intent. They were malicious to one person only because they wanted to be trusting and kind to another. Just “supporting a friend” and “respecting their wishes to stay anonymous.” That is conditional ethics, and is unjust however well-intentioned it may seem.

History Lesson:

In biblical times, it was a common practice to keep two sets of weights or two scales. You use the heavier weights when buying, and the lighter weights when selling. The difference between the “purchased” talent of gold and the “sold” talent of gold was all profit. The practice was listed among the very few things that God hates. Instead, we’re told to deal equally even though it reduces our very livelihood to do so, that a good reputation was worth more than we could take in such a way.

The troubling thing with conditional ethics is that it suggests that our character is not a feature of who we are an our personal values, but that character is merely a matter of conditions and relationships. I don’t buy it. I understand that you may have to choose between two good principles, but still hold that your values are internal and your character is a measure of how well you live out your chosen values (or perhaps a measure of your real values v. your spoken values).

We have warnings to deal equally with all people and to live at peace, but too often we don’t. Note that stirring up trouble and spreading lies is also listed among God-hated practices.

The problem was well stated on a programming mailing list the other day, as a long-time friend used the term Reckless Righteousness. I didn’t look up what he meant, I just let the sound bite speak to me. When we’re sure we’re right we don’t look for more evidence… we look at the world through our “righteous” glasses and every little nuance seems to support the opinion we’ve already formed. This is how prejudice lives on. I have been recklessly righteous before. I didn’t like it. Now I give the benefit of a doubt, and if I’m going to believe something I hear about someone, I want to make sure it’s true.

If I’m to live to a higher standard, I have to know what’s true. I cannot do justice without knowing the truth, and cannot love mercy if I listen while others are talking people down. I cannot walk humbly with my God if I am not living truthfully with my brothers. If I’m told something disturbing, I need to either get the truth or get out of the situation entirely. I don’t really have to take sides.

I’ve not always been innocent before, so I have to give the benefit of a doubt to people who aren’t entirely innocent. Likewise, those who are wrong unintentionally as I have been wrong unintentionally, and to those who are recklessly righteous as I have been recklessly righteous. If we are to hold to the standard, we must also forgive as we are forgiven. May it never be an embarrassment to them, and may it never be a barrier to us!

Just because I think it’s funny.

I’m not sure why this appears here, but it’s either because it’s funny (in a “oh, that’s nuts” kind of way) or because it’s good (which it is, but it’s nutty). Either way, have fun with it.

Michael Lynton, CEO of Sony Pictures, is a bit unhappy because apparently the Internet has destroyed entertainment. I’m surprised. I thought we were having record-breaking box office nearly every month and that there were new movies being made, and hundreds of channels of cable, and whole new worlds of user content in the way of podcasts and the like. And that CEO of Sony Pix was making bank. But no, the internet is killing off all entertainment.

First, he decried the impact of the Internet on the movie business: “I am a guy who hasn’t seen any good come out of the Internet,” Lynton, a former CEO of AOL Europe and president of AOL International, said. “It seems to have done damage to every (part) of the entertainment business.”

Put down the YouTube. Internet content (not for-pay from Sony) is dangerous and wrong, and nothing good can come of it. Can’t we just turn it off and go back to paying for each viewing at a theater like in the good old days? Now that we have internet, I guess nobody can find any way to entertain themselves. Or maybe nobody puts down their wifi-powered entertainment device long enough to go out and consume traditional media. I guess that’s the problem.

Of course, nobody is making any money off the internet. I guess nobody is buying off of web-based catalogs, or ordering movies or music, or electronic trinkets. It’s not like you can buy your clothing and food and everything from the internet. Or learn a skill, or take classes, or find support for your particular health crises or political issues. Or google for help with homework and real work. Or download manuals for the sony devices you’ve purchased from Amazon. Let alone making friends or falling in love. Not one good thing has come from the internet. It’s all bad. Period.

The answer? The Movie Industry needs special legal protection(ism) to survive (without changing).

He also called on Washington to increase protections for copyrighted material, saying “somebody has got to realize that we need some rules.”

In his defense, instead of consuming a nice Sony movie with a box of extra-transfat popcorn, you’ re reading this blog. Hardly compares entertainment-wise.

And he’s partly right about losses due to illegal copying. I’m sure there are plenty of people who won’t buy a movie ticket for some movie they don’t like after sampling it for free on the internet. I would have purchased several more movies if I didn’t watch them cheap via On-Demand and realize I didn’t like them. The ones I like, I eventually buy on DVD. It’s nice to own something that’s good. Movie channels let me pay less for things I don’t really want. I suppose there are people who don’t bother to buy the movies they like. I just don’t know who they are.

Of course, I’m pretty happy to buy a sub-$10.00 DVD copy of a good movie I’ve previewed. I’m much less happy to spend $40.00 plus food costs for the four people in my family to see a single movie we might not even like. I really don’t think that industry can survive on their current trendline of increasing costs passed to consumers, with or without Internet. Not with the current economy and the means for people to bypass obstructions. Protectionism won’t change that.

But the problem isn’t that copyright laws are weak. Copyright is extremely well protected legally. Consider that circumventing copy-protection is not a civil issue but a criminal charge. If backing up a movie I bought with my own money from a legitimate commercial dealer can land me in jail on criminal charges, I am betting the problem isn’t that the law is too *weak* on protecting movies. I might think the opposite. Adding to the laws won’t help. There are strong laws against many behaviors, and they don’t cease.

Most importantly, I don’t think anyone can make money by going against the Internet.

Take a minute to watchvideo demonstration. It’s pretty cool. This is the future they used to tell us about, with the google phone and kindle and gps navigators and electric cars… it’s happening!

It’s ALMOST over.

I’m expecting another tax check, which means I have Gear Acquisition Syndrom (GAS), and I’m looking for a delay pedal. I love the way it fattens up my guitar sound, and those great little U2 and EdisonGlass kinds of fills and backgrounds are calling to me. I’ve been playing through Phil’s Ibanez digital delay, which is nice, but wanting true bypass and some different tonal opportunities.

I dread kneeling down and twiddling knobs during services, though, so I am interested in those which are most foot-controllable. An extra expression pedal control would rock, but if we have tap tempo and a preset or two I think it would be good enough. I’ve not got a great memory and a demanding ear, so less time controlling is nice. Being able to tweak is nice (and they all have that) but usability is better.

I’m not about to go plunk down three or four hundred dollars, and those priced under a hundred really will get my attention. I’m not a professional recording artist or even a professional live artist. I’m not even trying. I’m just a church guitarist, so a lot of money makes no sense at all. I want to do a good job, but a doubling the sound quality of the cheapest of the pedals listed here would be lost on the sound system and congregation. I’m just a sideman, and don’t cut through the mix that much. It’s a different kind of playing.

Analog delays have a great sound, but a short delay. Digital delays have longer delay times and more flexibility but can be a little colder and more “electronic” sounding. Overall, I think that the digital suit my needs better. My favorite sounds include longer delay times with analog-modeled modulation (”chorus”).

I’m not too worried about the stereo v. mono capabilities. It would be cool for the pedal to support stero, but I’m using a single low-wattage amplifier and that’s all wasted on me. It would be a bit of future-proofing, but let’s be honest: the recording industry isn’t looking for me, and I’m not likely to be up on a big stage with a touring band. Overkill is overkill.

Enough of all that, here are some forerunners:

• Nova Repeater is about $150.00, and has some killer features. Check out the video demo. Tapping in the tempo with the guitar is a cute trick.
• Digitech Hardwire DL-8: about $150.00. Nice, reasonably priced, excellent controls, hard bypass. I’m thinking this would be an excellent choice for the money. I’ve had my eye on it for a while, and would love to own one. It would probably win the “ease of use” with such features as calculating the dotted eighth from the quarter not tap. Tap tempo is such a desirable feature. It also has the modulated delay I like best. This is the low-price cadillac of the group.
• Line6 ToneCore Echo Park: looks excellent for about $150.00. Would love to try one. The smaller, less expensive cousin of the DL4. The DL4 is considered the standard-setter for digital delays. Big differences are size and price.
• BBE Two-timer is a twin analog delay pedal costing about $125.00 and looks fun. Two buttons for switching between long/short delays, hard-wire bypass. Looks like it would be easier to work with foot while playing through changes (if you have the repeat time set ahead).
• Danelectro DJ17 PB&J: very inexpensive at around $60.00, has two buttons for switching between long and short delay. The buttons are a little small, and reportedly a little hard to work.
• Modtone MT-AD Analog Delay: about $100.00. Analog sound, Metal chassis, and has true bypass. Not incredibly long delay, sadly, but that’s analog for you.
• Guyatone MD3 Micro Digital Delay costs around $120 solid, tiny, clean delay, true bypass, capable of long delays (as most digital pedals are).

Of these, I think the favorite is the TC Nova Repeater. Second place is a tie with the the Line6 and the Digitech, and third choice is the Guyatone. It’s amazing what you get for the money these days.

I think that july may have to be echo pedal month.