Author Topic: Do we have any musical people on DC? (Read 215092 times)

Vurbal · « **Reply #175 on:** January 30, 2015, 12:47 PM »

She also has the best bass face in the business.
-Vurbal (January 30, 2015, 07:57 AM)

LOL! Is that what they call that grimace so many bass players do?

Learn something new every day!
-40hz (January 30, 2015, 08:36 AM)

It was a new one on me too. From the references I've found, it seems like something that became a meme after she appeared on SNL.

For the record: I'm more the Joe-Gore-vacant-deadpan type myself. Or at least when I'm not glaring at a fellow band member who is screwing up the beat - or is doing the: "Wow! I'm really blowing everybody away with THIS extended solo!!!..." thing. You can almost see the thought balloon go up when they decide to pull that nonsense. And just before they start, they invariably look over at their bass player with 'that look' that screams - "Gimmee a lot of BASS!!!"
Nice to know we bassists are considered 'just the thing' when it comes time to cover up a guitarist's sins.

And people wonder why I'm so clumsy on a crowded stage that I accidentally bop bandmates on the side of their skulls (with the head of my bass - oops!) as often as I do?

Yeah...I definitely need to be more careful. $:-\$

I'm just the opposite. I pull all kinds of bizarre faces when I'm playing, except when I'm too focused on covering up for a wanking guitarist or, worse yet, a drummer who can't lock into the proper beat. I do have clumsy down pat though.

I also have a theory about why there are so many stoic bassists. There are only so many things the human brain can focus on (or switch between technically) and you have to do a lot more listening to play bass well. As torturous as that can make it when you're covering for sloppy musicianship, it's also an essential part of what makes the bass interesting to me. A guitarist usually plays the same part every time, no matter who he's working with. I get to change it up to fill in whatever the song needs.

----------------------------------
@V - re: the Haim ladies. Agree 100%. Anything done in an attempt to improve Mustang Sally can hardly be a bad thing in my book. I personally can't stand that song. (Same thing goes for Sweet Jane.) I swear next time I get asked to play either of those two I'm gonna plug into a looper and record about a minute's worth, hit repeat, and then go get a fresh draft over at the bar... Cheers guys! Carry on.

11 out of 10 bassists agree with this sentiment. If you want to clear out a room full of musicians in a minute or less, Mustang Sally will generally do the trick. If there's anybody left at the end of the song, you can follow it up with Johnny B Goode. If they're not gone when that's done, it's time to call an ambulance.

superboyac · « **Reply #176 on:** January 30, 2015, 01:07 PM »

stoic bassists...lol. Yeah, that is a thing. It's true about the listening thing, maybe that's why it seems the bassists are better at explaining stuff to the other members, because they listen better? I also struggle with any kind of extra ornaments when I play because it's hard enough for me to listen to everything and process it all. Maybe when I'm more of a pro I can let that go and do more intentionally interactive things.
regarding pianists, I'm sure you've seen those players that hum or make more obnoxious sounds as they play (Keith Jarrett, Oscar P, etc). Well, I've often been given advice that humming is a good way to learn or develop as a player. But it's never worked for me. Then I was reading a book that basically said DON'T do the humming thing, just play it. The humming really doesn't help, and it's best to avoid developing the habit. And everything else the author explains hit home to me so I'm in that camp now.
It just seems hard to do all the extra stuff without affecting the quality of the music. Often times, the best performances I've seen were pretty stoic all around. I'm talking about the quality of the music...it definitely would be considered boring to those who don't have the ear for it.
I really love and laugh a lot when I watch Count Basie. So extremely minimal and subtle. An eyebrow raise here and there, a look, perhaps a small gesture. lol.
here's a video of Jimmy Forrest blowing his brains out on Night Train. Basie approves...you can tell with his emphatic nodding @1:32 (emphatic for basie, that is, hardly noticeable to normal people).

tomos · « **Reply #177 on:** January 30, 2015, 01:32 PM »

I really love and laugh a lot when I watch Count Basie. So extremely minimal and subtle. An eyebrow raise here and there, a look, perhaps a small gesture. lol.
here's a video of Jimmy Forrest blowing his brains out on Night Train. Basie approves...you can tell with his emphatic nodding @1:32 (emphatic for basie, that is, hardly noticeable to normal people).
-superboyac (January 30, 2015, 01:07 PM)

@Vurbal, I really enjoyed Haim - Jools Holland says they were the big thing of 2013, but I've only come across them now. Been listening to some more - would really love to see them live...

all round: it's great to have a more in depth music thread

40hz · « **Reply #178 on:** January 30, 2015, 02:24 PM »

It's interesting that as pop music continues to evolve, it's the bass that is getting louder and louder, while everything else is fading away, along with melodies, songs with more than two chords or measures (lol).
-superboyac (January 30, 2015, 12:35 PM)

Yeah...that "click-clack-paddywhack - please send this moron home" school of 'slap bass.' I can't stand it. It's like trying to eat a muffin made completely out of cinnamon. Almost as bad as the tone of those "Bad Jaco" wannabees, which sounds like a small animal with a sinus condition barking its head off because it's trapped inside a garbage can...

What happened to tone? To melodic inventiveness? To smooth and precise intonation? To freekin' legato while we're at it when it comes to electric bass??? If you like metallic clang, take up percussion. At least you'll have more interesting instrument voices to work with. Slap is like washtub bass - a little goes a long way. And just because it can doesn't mean you should. Or at least not ALL the time.

Time was when it was generally considered a good idea for a bass player to know (and play) something. Too bad we got away from that. A bassist today could have saved a fortune on head shaves and tattoos if that were still the case. And also been able to more profitably put all those hours they spent on getting those washboard abs and that 'studio tan' into practicing their instrument.

I can "slap & pop" just fine thank you very much. Something I learned how to do purely to refute those who like to imply I don't because I can't. (Even the most stoic bass players retain some ego.) I will not, however, play that way. A quick 1-bar break for dramatic variation in the service of a song?....maybe. Or maybe (i.e. probably) not. But to slap for a whole song? Or a whole set? Or a gig? Or your entire career? "Include me out!" as Yogi Berra allegedly said. Want a slap-style bass player? Why not go ask that big dude over there with the muscles... He needs a steady job more than I do. (It's a condition of his parole.)

Same goes for what my GF calls "Lead Bass." (She has a very special eye-roll she keeps in reserve purely for those times when she hears any.) If it's in your face in the front of the mix - it ain't bass. It's just guitar played on very thick strings. Which may well be valid in a given music context. But it's not "bass" as far as role and function are concerned. Or at least as far as I'm concerned.

There are some who may argue otherwise. Which is ok. But they are wrong.

40hz · « **Reply #179 on:** January 30, 2015, 02:27 PM »

If you want to clear out a room full of musicians in a minute or less, Mustang Sally will generally do the trick. If there's anybody left at the end of the song, you can follow it up with Johnny B Goode. If they're not gone when that's done, it's time to call an ambulance.
-Vurbal (January 30, 2015, 12:47 PM)

@Vubal - thanks so much for that. I've been ROFLMAO all afternoon over that one! Each time I think about it, I crack up all over again.

Vurbal · « **Reply #180 on:** January 30, 2015, 04:27 PM »

Jeff doesn't need anything to bolster his (somewhat unjustified IMO) fame or place in the history books of rock & roll.
-40hz (January 30, 2015, 10:47 AM)

Yeah, he's definitely way overrated. My problem with his playing is he's exclusively a lead guitarist. It reminds me of something I remember Lindsey Buckingham saying about Van Halen, which I completely agree with. He said his problem with their music is that Eddie's solos are like a completely different song.

Beck is arguably worse that way since, even on most of his studio recordings, he leaves the actual song for the rest of the band and just noodles over top of it from beginning to end. Going Down is a perfect example:

Beck is the only guy on that track whose playing needs the rest of arrangement to sound like anything but noise. Somehow he manages to step on every other part with almost every note.

Compare that to Randy Bachman on Taking Care Of Business. Once the solo starts, Bachman's lead only stops for the drum/vocal break, but always within the song and arrangement instead of on top of it. In fact, it fits so well most people don't even notice it.

Edvard · « **Reply #181 on:** January 30, 2015, 06:57 PM »

If you want to clear out a room full of musicians in a minute or less, Mustang Sally will generally do the trick. If there's anybody left at the end of the song, you can follow it up with Johnny B Goode. If they're not gone when that's done, it's time to call an ambulance.
-Vurbal (January 30, 2015, 12:47 PM)

@Vubal - thanks so much for that. I've been ROFLMAO all afternoon over that one! Each time I think about it, I crack up all over again.
-40hz (January 30, 2015, 02:27 PM)

That's nothin', I do a mean solo cover of Whipping Post that'll floor you... Ready? Hello? Hey guys wh.... ??

40hz · « **Reply #182 on:** January 30, 2015, 07:05 PM »

If you want to clear out a room full of musicians in a minute or less, Mustang Sally will generally do the trick. If there's anybody left at the end of the song, you can follow it up with Johnny B Goode. If they're not gone when that's done, it's time to call an ambulance.
-Vurbal (January 30, 2015, 12:47 PM)

@Vubal - thanks so much for that. I've been ROFLMAO all afternoon over that one! Each time I think about it, I crack up all over again.
-40hz (January 30, 2015, 02:27 PM)

That's nothin', I do a mean solo cover of Whipping Post that'll floor you... Ready? Hello? Hey guys wh.... ??
-Edvard (January 30, 2015, 06:57 PM)

Yeah...sounds about right...

@E - I personally think the Allmans had no clue just how appropriately the title fit when they named that song.

Vurbal · « **Reply #183 on:** January 30, 2015, 07:54 PM »

stoic bassists...lol. Yeah, that is a thing. It's true about the listening thing, maybe that's why it seems the bassists are better at explaining stuff to the other members, because they listen better? I also struggle with any kind of extra ornaments when I play because it's hard enough for me to listen to everything and process it all. Maybe when I'm more of a pro I can let that go and do more intentionally interactive things.
-superboyac (January 30, 2015, 01:07 PM)

See that's why I tell people that the first time you play with other people, you learn more than everything you've learned up to that point. A close second is the first time you do it on stage in front of an audience.

You shouldn't be too hard on yourself though. Here's a secret most guitarists and bassists don't even admit to themselves. Our instruments are designed to do a lot of the thinking for us. I don't just mean all the obvious advantages it gives us, like the ability to transpose between keys by shifting a hand up or down the neck. The guitar can even teach you how to write a song.

Don't believe me? Here's a Rolling Stones song my bass taught me when I was 17. Not the words obviously, but within a note of the exact riff and rhythm. Keep in mind, when I "wrote" it, I had been playing for about a month, had never taken a lesson, and never heard the song before.

Sit down with a guitar or bass and try it yourself. Pick any position on the fretboard and keep your hand there. In fact you don't even need to use your pinky. Just for fun, try the same thing with Jumping Jack Flash. You have to use your pinky, but only 2 strings instead of 3. For Satisfaction it's even down to just 1 string.

Nothing against Keith. He's a phenomenal rhythm guitarist, something almost as underrated as a good bassist. But a great songwriter? Hardly.

Back in the 90s I saw one of the best pieces of advice for guitar solos - from an 80s speed metal shredder no less. He said if you want to learn how to solo, don't listen to other guitarists. Listen to keyboard players because their solos are composed melodically instead of by finger patterns.

There's just a lot more thinking involved on piano than guitar, and that's without getting past the basics of 3 chord blues progressions. On bass I can even lose 3 strings and still be fine. I've never lost 3 at once, but I have lost my A string in mid-song, which is arguably the hardest one to do without. All I had to do was play chord roots - 1 4 5 - through the rest of the song (and set) and nobody besides the band even noticed.

40hz · « **Reply #184 on:** January 30, 2015, 08:08 PM »

Back in the 90s I saw one of the best pieces of advice for guitar solos - from an 80s speed metal shredder no less. He said if you want to learn how to solo, don't listen to other guitarists. Listen to keyboard players because their solos are composed melodically instead of by finger patterns.
-Vurbal (January 30, 2015, 07:54 PM)

Yep! And if you want to be a really good bass player, when you're just starting out skip most bass lesson books. Work out of a beginner’s saxophone lesson book instead. You'll never regret it.

40hz · « **Reply #185 on:** January 30, 2015, 08:27 PM »

It reminds me of something I remember Lindsey Buckingham saying about Van Halen, which I completely agree with. He said his problem with their music is that Eddie's solos are like a completely different song.
-Vurbal (January 30, 2015, 04:27 PM)

Lindsey had a lot to say about a lot of things IIRC. Not bad for a guy who launched his career primarily by sponging off his girfriends and generally driving them clinically insane until he achieved his middling success. (As bluesman Tinsley Ellis so famously said when speaking of his own career: "It's been a long hard climb to the middle.")

EVH was far better on his first two albums than he was for much of anything he did afterwards. (And I think we can all agree that the Sammy Hagar years were the absolute pits for VanHalen.)

That said, I think the solos and guitar work on Women in Love, Beautiful Girls and Somebody Call Me a Doctor are among some of the best in the rock genre.

However, for really good rock guitar, I still think the pinnacle was Frampton on the Frampton Comes Alive album. Skipping the Heil "Bag" nonsense in Do You Feel Like We Do (hey, it was the times...nobody had ever heard much in the way of effects beyond a wah pedal or fuzz box) Frampton's playing was spot-on. He's also one of the few guitar players I think sounds better on a Les Paul than a Stratocaster. Not an easy feat. Les Pauls can sound amazing in the right pair of hands. Too bad they so seldom do find themselves held by such hands.

(Note: absolutely love Bob Mayo's gorgeous Hammond/Leslie and Rhodes piano work on this one too!)

Frampton's trick (if you want to call it that) is that he works his solos around chord forms rather than off of scale patterns. It's a more "orchestral" (i.e vertical structure) rather than single line scale pattern approach. It's how most jazzers think of things. Start thinking within the chord progressions - not memorized and heavily practiced scale patterns. Even his noodling is more musical than most guitarist's signature solos are. And that chord vamping he does towards the end starting at approximately the 12:04 mark is positively inspired.

Most guitarists today focus on scale patterns played just short of the speed of light. And the results speak for themselves. Fast multi-octave runs and riffing mostly devoid of musical interest. Or so I think.

Want to do a good sounding solo? Work inside the chord shapes and chord progression.

Just my

anyway.

Edvard · « **Reply #186 on:** January 31, 2015, 12:18 AM »

RE: Slap bass - I remember reading an interview with a famous bass player (I always though it was James Jamerson, but he never played slap) in Guitar Player (?) magazine around 1989, where he said the technique came from a session where the drummer had either broken the head on his snare, or it was stolen, so he just started accentuating the note where the snare would hit, and kept doing it after the drummer got a new snare, because it sounded cool.

RE: Whipping Post - The best version I ever heard (because it was so twisted) was Daddy Longhead and their take called "The Post". DL were a bunch of idiots gathered together by ex-Butthole Surfers bassist Jeff Pinkus. This is what happens when brain-damaged punk rockers attempt to "Jam Band".

RE: Guitar wankers - I never was into "shredding", even being a dedicated metal guy. I was more impressed by a tight performance that didn't have to devolve into stupid guitarist tricks to stay interesting. Then again, if you're going to wank, might as well wank like the devil gets your soul if you stop. Caspar Brotzmann, Helios Creed, Buckethead, Thurston Moore, Gibson Haynes, take a bow.

40hz · « **Reply #187 on:** January 31, 2015, 03:59 PM »

Getting away from all things bass (and bass players) for a moment (YAY!), here's something useful I recently found.

If you want a regulated hum-free power supply to handle multiple effects pedals, but don't cotton to paying the prices some of the commercial versions go for, it's fairly easy to build your own IF you have some electronics project experience.

The key to the ease of building this particular power supply is an unusual transformer sold by a company called Weber Magnetics. It takes 120VAC-in and provides eight separate isolated 11VAC @ 300ma pairs - plus one with 9VAC @2A.

If none of the above makes sense, STOP READING. You don't have enough experience or technical background to safely attempt a homebrew project like this.

To continue...

This transformer, which is specifically designed to power effect pedals, is called a WPDLXFMR-1 and it runs for $25 per unit. There's also a 120/220/240VAC configurable primary version for non-US voltages called the WPDLXFMR-2 available as well. Info and links can be found on this page - look towards the bottom.

Do we have any musical people on DC?

Pedal and effects power supply transformer, Eight 11 volt, 300ma windings and one 9 volt, 2 amp winding. 120VAC input. This is a transformer, NOT a power supply. The output is AC, not DC. You must build a power supply that converts AC to DC in order to use this transformer.

Drop a voltage rectifier and (optional) voltage regulator circuit after each pair and Bob's yer uncle! A discussion (with schematics of suggested circuits) can be found on on the project page for the Geofex Spyder power supply located here.

I'm being sketchy about details because a project of this type involves potentially lethal voltages on the side of the circuit you'd be plugging into a wall outlet. If you don't know what you're doing - DON'T. And even if you do know what you're doing - be extremely careful. All the usual "At your own risk" disclaimers apply.

Note: This post is only being provided for educational purposes. Any safety risks are the sole responsibility of the project builder.

Vurbal · « **Reply #188 on:** February 01, 2015, 01:26 PM »

The key to the ease of building this particular power supply is an unusual transformer sold by a company called Weber Magnetics. It takes 120VAC-in and provides eight separate isolated 11VAC @ 300ma pairs - plus one with 9VAC @2A.
-40hz (January 31, 2015, 03:59 PM)

That's pure awesome. Currently my only pedal is a tuner, but I've been running it off a battery until I could find an acceptable quality power supply. The only universal PS I own currently was designed for laptops, so the lowest output is 14V. It's certainly nowhere close to the quality of that design.

Vurbal · « **Reply #189 on:** February 01, 2015, 02:04 PM »

Here's another tidbit for what to listen to when you're learning an instrument. For harmonica, I'd start with horn players, primarily trumpet and saxophone. That's an integral part of Magic Dick's sound with the J Geils Band.

40hz · « **Reply #190 on:** February 01, 2015, 09:13 PM »

stoic bassists...lol. Yeah, that is a thing.
-superboyac (January 30, 2015, 01:07 PM)

To go back to the stoic bit for a moment, this is an example of that "gimmee more bass" thing guitarists love to do to their bass player when they launch into an interminable solo.

My old band had a few 'rules' when it came to solos:

No drum solos. (fine by our drummer)
No bass solos. (fine by me)
Guitar solos to run no more than 1 minute long.
Always leave the audience wanting more - not less

Unfortunately, my band had this one particular (very fast) song that one of our guitarists staked out as his showcase piece. He gradually stretched his speed solo beyond our 1-minute limit until it ran as long as he thought he could get away with. He'd just close his eyes and go into the Ego Zone until the rest of us (and sometimes the audience) were on the verge of mutiny.

When he launched into his solo, I'd be playing this for his backing riff in second position, with the metronome running around 155:

It's not a difficult a passage to play. But since this song was invariably played just before break at the end of our second 50 minute set (most clubs where we worked contracted for three 50 minute sets if you were the only band on the marquee) - it was not the most reasonable time to expect me to play this part for 5+ minutes straight while he bored the tar out of everybody. (I think he was doing it mostly to impress his girlfriend, who was convinced he was a 20th century Orpheus or something.) Nobody but him was shocked when our lead singer (who wrote the song) finally removed it from our playlist.

This is the sort of nonsense a bassist often gets to put up with. $:-\$

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #191 on:** February 02, 2015, 10:40 AM »

LOL

40hz · « **Reply #192 on:** February 03, 2015, 07:16 PM »

Think you've seen it all? How about a Gibson SG Tenor guitar? Haven't seen one? No surprise. Built in the late 50s and early 60s, they're incredibly rare.

Do we have any musical people on DC?

If you're interested in learning more about them, visit Steve Pyott's Vintage Tenor Guitars website for more info and pictures of the surprising variety tenor guitars come in. Most have a 23" scale length with 4 strings tuned in ascending 5ths. (Same as banjo BTW.)

But suppose you want to own one? Well...the originals go for a fair amount of change. But Eastwood Guitars will be releasing a close twin based on a guitar in Steve Pyott's collection.

Due out and available for ordering in May 2015, it's called the Astrojet Tenor which they are self crowdfunding here. The goal has already been met so it's a go.

Usually tenor guitar is associated with Bluegrass, Celtic and similar music. But there's nothing to say it has to stay there. Here's a demo by a more modern player named Jose Macario playing an electric solidbody tenor. A bit too much reverb for my taste, but still an interesting example of some out of the box thinking when it comes to this instrument.

Edvard · « **Reply #193 on:** February 03, 2015, 11:23 PM »

...
Unfortunately, my band had this one particular (very fast) song that one of our guitarists staked out as his showcase piece. He gradually stretched his speed solo beyond our 1-minute limit until it ran as long as he thought he could get away with. He'd just close his eyes and go into the Ego Zone until the rest of us (and sometimes the audience) were on the verge of mutiny.
...
-40hz (February 01, 2015, 09:13 PM)

As a guitarist, I pledged long ago never to do that kind of thing. It rankled me personally, so why put others through the pain. Though sometimes I understand restraint to be a very difficult thing under the right circumstances.
Or, as Steve Albini put it (commenting on the extended intro the the song "Cables" on their live album, 'Pig Pile'):

The silly guitar noises at the beginning go on entirely too long, yeah, yeah. You try restraining yourself when you've got 30,000 watts of PA blowing your genius into a half-million cubic feet of ballroom. Be thankful we didn't break into "House of the Rising Sun" or "Supernaut".

40hz · « **Reply #194 on:** February 04, 2015, 03:31 PM »

^ Other than "to minimize cases of self-inflicted injury," the risk of guitarists soloing over the House of the Rising Sun is the single most frequently cited reason why bass players are invariably denied 'carry permits' in most parts of the USA. Hundreds (possibly thousands) of lives have been saved because of that policy.

40hz · « **Reply #195 on:** February 09, 2015, 08:14 PM »

How to be a "jerk guitarist." Works for bass players too!

Feel free to add your own.

40hz · « **Reply #196 on:** February 09, 2015, 08:24 PM »

How many of these have you heard during a recording session?

40hz · « **Reply #197 on:** February 12, 2015, 08:31 PM »

(Note: the first part of this post will likely only be of interest to actual bass players. You have been warned!

)

Are you a bass player? As in a bass player doing some serious recording work? If so, check out one of these bad boys - a Keeley Bassist Limiting Amplifier (also known as a compressor/limiter):

Do we have any musical people on DC?

I have wanted to find a very subtle and musical compressor-type device specifically designed for electric bass for some time now. And I think I probably tried out at least dozen or so before I stumbled on this one. It's surprisingly affordable for the signal quality and transparency it offers. As good as what you'd find in a recording studio rack IMO. And it's usable too. Great sound plus simple logical controls that behave the way you'd think they would. (Not every similar device can make that claim.) And it doesn't get in the way of your sound like so many of these devices sometimes can.

If you're a bassist who knows what a compressor is used for - and you're in the market for a really good one - look no further. Highly recommended.

(Note: the standard disclaimer applies here. I'm not affiliated with Keeley Engineering in any way, shape, or form. I bought mine with my own money through the regular retail channels.)

----------------------------------------------

For those who are curious as to exactly what a compressor does, this video explores some of the sonic benefits such devices can bring to the party. You'll need headphones or decent speakers to really hear the difference in this video because (when properly used) most applications of this 'effect' will be fairly subtle. And you may need a few repeated listens before your ear becomes attentive enough to clearly hear some of them.

But do you actually need one? The next video gets into that thorny and subjective question in some depth.

Skip forward to the 1:00 mark to get right into the explanations and demos.

Cool tools! Check it out!

Edvard · « **Reply #198 on:** February 13, 2015, 01:18 AM »

RE: the Keeley compressor - Nice find! I've always known compression to be a 'secret weapon' for keeping the bass 'in the pocket' sonically (musically depends on the wielder of said four-string weapon). Never found a really good one though, I'll check it out.

The only compressor for guitar that I've ever been truly impressed with was the Ibanez CP10 Compressor/Sustainor. With guitar, sometimes the best thing is for it to be a little on the non-subtle side; transparent, YES, but for the brief time I was allowed to play with this thing, the more I became aware that there finally existed a tool that would smooth over the jangling mis-pick or the 'oops, I muted that bend again' that so plagued me in my formative years.
Now, I'm painfully aware that nothing will EVER replace experience, practice, and some good 'ol fashioned talent, but sometimes, technique be damned, I just wanted to jam and boy did this little pedal let me do it, politely sweeping up the garbage as I went.

Solo demo:

and vs. the Keely C-4:

The CP10 has some serious hang-time and 'smoove' without raising the noise level like so many other compressors-in-a-pedal that I've heard and played.
Now I just gotta clone that thing...

40hz · « **Reply #199 on:** February 13, 2015, 07:50 AM »

^Really like that CP10. It adds a bit more coloration. But it's a lovely butterscotch sort of coloration. Which on guitar works very well. And the absence of noise in a compressor that old is amazing. (Remember the ubiquitous MXR DynaComp anyone?)

Guitarists have a definite advantage over bass players when it comes to their tone palette. All those extra high frequencies give effects (and our ears) so much more to work with. And while I have seldom heard bass benefit much from using an 'effect' pedal (beyond "remedial" signal processors such as a limiters or compressors), most guitars can gain a whole new dimension by their judicious employment. They key word here being "judicious."

So little time (and money!)...so many interesting things to try. Wha' fe do, Mon...wha' fe do?

Tom Hughes did a very fine book on effects called Analog Man's Guide to Vintage Effects, which covers over 150 different manufacturer's devices. It's a history book, a collector's wish-list/catalog, and a tech guide all rolled into one. The $45 asking price may be a bit of a put-off. And what's covered will likely only appeal to the diehard effect users, "gear-geeks," and serious collectors out there. But it's well worth it IMO. This book is as good as guitar-porn gets. If you love stomp boxes, look no further. Here is bedrock.