A Geek Goes Flying

Patent drawing I see a lot of confusion regarding locking tuners online. A lot of people seem to think locking tuners will provide additional tuning stability, or are redundant when a guitar as a locking nut (a la Floyd Rose). E.g., one person claimed: “Tuning stability is why they were invented.”  So, um, yeah. Not exactly. Or at least not completely. The first locking tuners were invented by Robert Sperzel, who was granted patent 4,625,614 . The main benefit Sperzel lists in that patent is that his invention “provides a tuning device having a string post which is rotated through a short distance to quickly and easily tune a string of a musical instrument to a desired pitch [...] by rotating the string post through a short distance.” His invention was intended make string changes less of a pain in the ass, faster and easier compared to existing tuners, which he describes: “The string post of the tuning device [then in use] must be turned through several complete revolutions ...

I now have two wireless guitar setups (three, if you count the NUX Mighty Air, which, I kinda don’t). Had to do a modicum of digging to get everything squared away. Here goes. Looks like Kesha was using the Neotech pouch on the Freedom tour Line 6 G75 I should get the Shure GLXD16+ , but $600 (even used, $500 or so) is a bit too spendy right now. I’ve heard excellent things about the higher end Line 6 kit, and although this is an older set, I got a great deal on it (used, obvi) and so here we are. This is a two-piece rig I’m going to use at home and when playing out. For home use, it’s kind of the same goal - not tripping over cables, not having the dogs trip over the cables, etc.  The transmitter (TB516G) has several third party strap mounts, including: Richter transmitter pocket ($65 6/2026 conversion rate) Neotech Wireless Transmitter Guitar Strap Pouch Medium ($20) (This came up in a search but the specs don’t quite  line up; it’s 4" x 2.5" x 0.8" while the T...

We’ll see if this setup survives the onslaught of The Puppers™ but I’m optimistic.  ESP Ltd single cut on Hercules stand Hercules GS405B SHOKSAFE stand (“features a shock-absorbing system [and] the yoke and cradle are flexible and secure to fully protect the instrument”), affixed to the perforated side of this credenza-ish thing with thin gauge aircraft cable . 🤞 ( Astrid II once tried to burrow under the cheap (also: inexpensive) Amazon Basics stand I had there before, to get to a ball that rolled under... Sigh...) The Office Guitar™ has returned... (And, I mean, I paid $150 used for this axe, so if it *does* do a faceplant I’ll survive... But given the design of the stand, and that I have it anchored, again, I think it’ll be fine 😌 ...) The anchor Honorary mention: The D&A Starfish also appears to be fairly topple-proof, but wouldn’t “catch” the guitar, and so I didn’t fully trust it would have been effective when the dogs are wrestling. Still, looks like a good ...

Things I’ve picked up to augment the used non-Mk II, non-Turbo Fractal FM3 I found on Facebook Marketplace for a very good price: Screen protectors from ChadBoston.com ($34.99 as of this writing; $44 shipped). This FM3 came with Mooer foot switch toppers , which I noted in the Notes section when I ordered the screen protector. The Humbuster™ cable from Fractal ($19.99, $42 shipped) (I got this as I was experiencing hum running into the FX Return input on my cheap Facebook Marketplace Marshall G50RCD , but this cable didn’t fix that) Headrush FRFR-112 Mk2  and a  CableCreation XLR Cable to connect it to the FM3 A Harbor Freight Apache 3800 case to protect it from the dogs, when traveling with it, etc. The Apache case is roughly equivalent to a Pelican 1450 if you want to go “pro,” but for my modest needs, the $39.99 Apache does the trick. I cut the foam to allow transporting the FM3 along with a USB A-B cable and the power cord, which you may or may not want to do (realisti...

BeatBuddy Mini 2 Transitioning from the NUX, which has built-in drum loops (they’re serviceable, and I actually really found I like playing against the percussion backdrop), to the Fractal FM3, which doesn’t, I looked for something relatively inexpensive but flexible, that could stand in. I settled on the BeatBuddy Mini 2  ( Amazon ) from Singular Sound. It’s available on the Singular website as a pre-owned SKU for $111, and they’re offering a 10% discount to new customers, so the total package was a few cents over $100, which also qualified for free shipping¹. It’s a kind of ingenious little device. The drums are actual recordings, not synthetic, and there’s 24 different genres (including Rock and Punk 😎 ) with multiple songs per genre (with different songs having different time signatures; you’re not limited to 4/4), lead-in intros, different verse and chorus recordings with transitions between them, and you can obviously adjust the tempo (beats per minute). Singular ...

Okay, I probably should have known this before taking the plunge ... I’ve been using NUX stuff as an audio interface basically (USB connected to a computer, with a TRRS headset connected, and the whole package used as the audio source for Google Meet etc. for online lessons ). At the office, I have the NUX patched into a Pignose, played at very low volume levels. At home, I really have only used the NUX with headphones; for light jamming / practice I’ve mostly been using a wireless Mighty Air . I have an amp at home, a 50W Marshall combo ( G50R CD ) I got from an apparent hoarder (that’s a whole story). I suppose I can  (at least temporarily) use that via the effects return (see below). But what I really should have is an FRFR (full range flat response) speaker setup. At the price point I’d like to stay, that’s probably something like a Headrush FRFR108 ($200 or so used) or FRFR112 ($300+ used) (the latter especially if I’m going to use it for bass at all), the Positive Grid...

But that’s where growth happens, right? (... right?) Heh. I went from a $139 (on sale) NUX to a device where at least one person is selling a $99 master class on how to use it! The user manual is hypertechnical, and informs the reader: “The language of the FM3 is for the most part the universal language of professional audio. This allows the FM3 to be used by casual and professional players, producers, engineers, and beyond. The terminology and concepts you will use and learn are accordingly not unique to the FM3. Understanding them will help you to master the craft of pro audio and to communicate with others.” Challenge accepted. Sitting down with the FM3, FM3-Edit on a Mac, and YouTube tutorials I’m collecting resources. Written Materials Start, of course, with the  FM3 Owner’s Manual . G66 AXE-FX III tutorial (a lot of carry-over) Yeks Guide to the Fractal Audio Amp Models  [ PDF ] and Yeks Guide to the Fractal Audio Drive Models  [ PDF ] (note: these no longer ...

This took me way longer to figure out than I expected, and all the AI tools got it wrong (maybe because firmware and Edit software versions differ?). Anyway. I picked up a used FM3 (oriignal, not Mk II Turbo) for a very good price. Immediately updated the firmware (from 8.00 to 12.00 ) with the latest version of FM3-Edit . (Tip: It will take a few moments between opening the app and Tools → Fractal Bot... being accessible (not greyed out). Just wait.) Loaded the FM3 Factory Presets . Reset System Parameters and Clear[ed] All Presets from Home → E:Setup → Utilities. But still a previous owner’s name appeared at the top of the display (FM3 Kip) and as the device name in FM3-Edit. FM3-Edit showing the Device Name Mildly annoying. To edit this, in FM3-Edit, click on Setup (upper right corner) and in the pane that opens at the bottom of the window, make sure Global is set, Config is the pane selected, and then over on the right side of that pane you can edit the Device Name (here r...

Yamaha bass, Fender amp, my audience Grabbed a “starter” bass, the Yamaha BB234 , and paired it with a Fender Rumble 40 [1]. Added on the usual assortment of accessories, like a cable , strap , tuner , heavy picks (’cause the first song I’ve been learning is Opiate , and, well, Paul D’Amour plays with a pick ). For the Fender I also picked up the  099-4049-000 foot switch to toggle between its modes, and for convenience this  C14 to C13+NEMA 5-15R Y Splitter Power Plug Cord so I can plug in the NUX MG-300 Mk. II (which has some bass heads and IRs and pedals, to augment the basic massaging the Rumble 40 has built in), without running another cable back to the wall. I’ve also been using it with headphone amps: Boss Katana:GO (had picked up a discounted used one to use with guitar, but it’s got a good bass mode) with a pair of AKG K92 headphones (which I already had) (cable hell, but it can also be used as an audio interface)] Positive Grid Spark NEO  (better interface...

Yesterday I stumbled across a great deal on an ESP LTD Deluxe H-1001 in “Violet Andromeda Satin finish.” ESP LTD H-1001 in Violet Andromeda Satin finish This thing is  sweet :  The first thing you’ll notice about the new LTD Deluxe H-1001 is its Violet Andromeda Satin finish. The Andromeda finish makes the guitar appear various shades of blue, violet, and even green as light is reflected from various angles. The H-1001 is the first LTD version of this outstanding design in a satin finish. It also features a set of direct-mount Seymour Duncan Sentient (neck) and Pegasus (bridge) pickups with push-pull coil splitting, a Hipshot bridge with string-thru-body, and stainless steel frets.   Maybe someday, this will be me?  Anyway. It checked  almost  all of my boxes:  ☐ Made in Japan ☑ Made in Korea ☑ Passive pickups ☑ Non-Floyd Rose (i.e., hard tail, Tune-o-Matic, EverTune [1]) ☑ Set-thru neck ☑ Locking tuners My (at this stage in life) dream g...

So, I got RockSmith 2014 working on the Mac Mini (a late 2014 model with an Intel® Core™ i5-4278U CPU @ 2.60GHz, 8GB 1600 MHz DDR3 RAM, and 256GD solid state storage (Apple SM0256F)). That machine maxes out at macOS Monterey, and I have no reason to upgrade it past that point; it’s just running Yousician and now RockSmith. (And I understand RockSmith 2014 won’t run on the newest macOS versions.)  (The Mini was a cheap eBay purchase that was meant to be a music streamer, but I never really ended up using it for that.) Although I have the “ Real Tone Cable ,” I didn’t have it handy when I was setting things up. I’m trying to keep things more or less wireless, because of the puppy. I’m wirelessly connected to the NUX Mighty Air amp. That, in turn, is connected to the Mac Mini via a USB C to USB A cable. The Mac (and thus RockSmith, as a “Microphone”) see the NUX as an audio input source when so connected: One quirk of this method of connecting things is, I hear the guitar through th...

O ne of my NYRs is to practice guitar more diligently. Towards that end, I picked up a “used” 2019 serial number EC-256 in immaculate condition at a price no one could say no to (basically $150!), picked up a very lightly used NUX Mighty Air wireless modeling amplifier for less than half price from a guy who lives down the street, and, finally, splurged a bit on the 50% off sale (archived) for Yousician (currently using their desktop app on my MacBook Air, but there's also, of course, versions for the iPad / iPhone, Android, Windows...) This system is kind of a trip. All the nostalgia (and addictiveness ?) of Guitar Hero . But in this case you're actually developing fretting skills, getting more precise with timing, etc. Any time spent practicing guitar skills is time well spent, IME. Jamming along with a (so far, snippet of a) recognizable song connects for me a lot better than playing a song's guitar parts in isolation, or even with most of the backing tracks you fin...

Much to my surprise, I found myself with six guitars[1] (seven, if you count the battered 10 year old JS34 Dinky I keep at the office, that I bought off a guy from Taft in the alley behind the Virgil ). And my small space was starting to get cluttered. Most of the cheap stands I found on Amazon were too big, or only fit a smaller number of guitars, or had enough 1-star reviews to make me nervous. $130 isn’t a huge splurge, but it’s more than I wanted to spend - but I’m glad I did, on this  String Swing Guitar Stand for 6 Electric or Bass, or 3 Acoustic Guitars for Home or Studio (CC34) . (After being inundated with ads for their stuff on Facebook etc.) (I kinda want to wall hang, too (or, like, shelf-hang, maybe with something like this ?), but I have no idea where I could do that where it would look “right.” I’m planning on wall hanging one guitar out in my living room where I’ll be reminded to pick it up every day.)   The CC34 stand with one acoustic, five electric guitars ...

The modified EC-500 guitar So Facebook Marketplace showed me this guitar (a made in Korea  circa 2006 ESP LTD EC-500 ) when it was listed for $280. I wasn’t that interested in a Les Paul style guitar, the price was good but not jaw dropping, and the seller was all the way down in Orange County. But. They dropped the price to $200 and I happened to be going down to O.C. to meet a friend at Disneyland, so, well, you know ... Original equipment / specs vs. as-modified: SET NECK CONSTRUCTION 24.75” SCALE MAHOGANY BODY 3-PIECE MAHOGANY NECK EBONY FINGERBOARD MODEL NAME AT 12TH FRET EMG 81 (B) / 60 (N) ACTIVE PICKUPS (replaced with “Hot ceramic pickup”) VOLUME & TONE CONTROLS W/3-WAY TOGGLE BLACK HARDWARE (Now mixed...) GROVER TUNERS (replaced with “Hipshot locking tuners” ( these? )) EARVANA COMPENSATED NUT TUNE-O-MATIC BRIDGE  (replaced with “Babicz bridge” ( this? )) W/STRING-THRU-BODY 24 XJ FRETS Anyway. It apparently had an MSRP of $899 when new. So far, I  love...

ESP LTD MH-100MQNT Finally sat down last night (er, early this morning) to restring and setup the new-to-me ESP LTD MH-100QMNT guitar (which isn’t made anymore; the lowest end offering they have now in the MH line is the 200-series). Before. I haven’t owned a “Tune-O-Matic” guitar before, so I watched a quick YouTube video on how to change the strings . (Easy.) That video producer recommends Dunlop Fretboard 65 Ultimate Lemon Oil for the fretboard (but not  for maple fretboards), but not having any of that, I just kinda scrubbed away the grunge with the fretboard conditioner that came in the  D'Addario Accessories Instrument Care Kit I got a few months ago (which also comes with a cleaner, wax, and detailer for the body, the mat I put the guitar on to protect the body, the neck support, etc). The MusicNomad string changing kit is still proving its value. It cleaned up nicely: After. A couple of tiny imperfections in the finish on the back; wondering if something like ...

This is a quick note about the  MG-101 Multi Effects Pedal  from Nux (pronounced “new-ex”). Nux MG-101 There are at least a dozen YouTube videos that explain and dissect the device better than I ever could. Suffice it to say this thing is awesome, and something I can only wish I had had decades ago when I was getting started. I haven’t gone past the presets yet, but have been enjoying Funk Starter (a cleaner set with a bit of character), Metal Starter, and Punk Starter (perfect for songs like Smells Like Teen Spirit ) most of all so far. But what has really been a game changer for me is the drum loop. For whatever reason (maybe it’s because it’s patched in to the headset, or because it sounds slightly less mechanical than a metronome?), it’s opened the door for me to just jam along with it, drilling song melodies until I can get them intertwined with the beat. One common complaint with this unit is that there’s no power switch, and the only way to turn it off is to disconnect...