New silly song Console Wars for you gamer geeks out there.

Yesterday, it struck me to make some music.  Being an avid gamer, the topic that inspired me was the Console Wars, which anyone who follows video game news can attest is an ugly rivalry between the major players in console hardware.  It used to be Nintendo and Sega, then Sony entered the picture.  Now, years later, the big three are Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo.

I wrote this to comment on how gamers seem to miss that their hobby involves “playing games”.  Sure, we play to win, but we play for fun.  Why all the fighting?

This tune is my take on it all.

Alesis Pro X Kick Pedal and StealthKick 2 Combo Pack Review

After months of waiting around, (and ultimately forgetting that I ordered it) I received my Alesis Pro X Kick Pedal Combo Pack in the mail.  First shipment, WooHoo!

There are two main components to the combo pack, a midi trigger and a kick drum pedal.  We’ll look at them separately first.

StealthKick 2 Trigger Pad

This is the part of the combo pack that registers velocity sensitive hits and translates them to midi data.  You can attach your kick pedal of choice to it, so you don’t have to use the one included in the combo pack, but if you already have a pedal that you like, you probably won’t be buying the combo pack.

I expected the StealthKick 2 trigger pad to be firm, like a Korg PadKontrol, or MPC style pad.  The one included with the Alesis combo pack is much softer rubber than I expected.  It’s got a fair ammount of play.  Its a good design as it acts as a bit of a dampener for your kick beater.  It seems to replicate the give that a real kick drum has, at least more so than the solid wall trigger pads included with the Alesis DM10X Kit.  But most fittingly, given the name, the StealthKick 2 is quiet, quiet, and quiet.  The StealthKick 2 earns its name here.

There are two 1/4” jacks on the StealthKick 2, one for connecting to the drum module, and one for use as a pass-through, called “Link”.  With the Link port you can chain StealthKicks to make your own Double Bass setup.

The StealthKick 2 offers quite a dynamic range of velocity hits.  So far, I’ve experienced no missed hits.  In fact, it’s so sensitive that it might bring out ghost notes that other kick pads would miss.  Depending on how “clean” your kick attacks are, this could be a minor issue, but one that can be fixed with a subtle technique adjustment.

Alesis Pro X Kick Drum Pedal

Alesis proves once again why they have a reputation for value.  The Pro X Kick Drum Pedal is a solid feeling pedal with plenty of adjustability.  Fastening the Kick Pedal to the StealthKick 2 is easier than it seemed it would be.  I expected a defined ‘click’ or something, so I struggled a bit longer than I should have.  Just place the StealKick 2 up against the the clamp and start cranking.

There is a standard straight beater for traditional Kick Drums and Kick Triggers, and there is an inverted beater included with the StealthKick 2 for use with it.

The included drum key allows for most of the adjustments to be made on the Pro X Kick Drum Pedal.  You can adjust beater length and angle, as well as tension.

The Kick Pedal has a very smooth and quiet operation, and is steady, thanks to the double chain drive.

Wrap-up

I love how quiet the StealKick 2 is, and the Pro X Kick Pedal is great for a fairly new drummer like myself.

Setting the Mood: How to aid church goers in worshipping comfortably, completely, and corporately.

Worship is something that all of God’s people do at some time or another and in different ways.  We can worship through the sacrifice of our time and financial resources.  Another way we show God that he is deserving of being at the forefront of our attention is through prayer; simply laying out your heart before him and seeking his will in your life is a beautiful form of worship that can be done privately or even with a small group.

But the form of worship that this article focuses on is worship in the context of the modern-day “church service”.  The scene is familiar to many who attend large churches in first world countries.  The lights dim, darkening the congregation’s seating area.  The music starts, you can feel the bass thumping.  It’s loud, but not too loud, and it’s crystal clear.  A familiar song starts up, nearly everybody in the church is singing out and praising God, and half or more of the people are raising their hands.  This weekly ritual is the only version of worship that some people are even aware of.  When done right, it’s a cleansing, wonder-filled, refreshing time to spend in the presence of almighty God.  When done “wrong”, it’s a strained, uncomfortable period of time that can bring dissonance to the body of believers present.

Continue reading →

Free Jam Track album (for a limited time)(time’s up)

I’m offering my album, Guitar Jam Tracks from The Tool Shed for free for a limited time.  What I ask in return is that you review my album at Amazon.com.  At the time of this writing, I have zero reviews for the album.  Reviews are useful for people to gauge whether a particular product is in their vein of interest.  If you download my album, please review it at Amazon here Guitar Jam Tracks from The Tool Shed.

Click the image below to download the album.

Edit:  Thanks to those of you who showed interest in m Jam Track album.  The link is down.

My “miracle” guitar strings finally died

June 28, 2013.  This was the day they died.

I have played guitar for 20 years now.  I have broken a lot of strings, but never before had I seen a set of strings give so much music before giving that last audible sacrifice, the *pop* of one string that destroys the balance and tune of the rest.

Sure, I had heard stories about guitars whose strings “hadn’t been changed in years”.  But any guitarist who has played on a crusty old set of these strings can attest to the horrid, dull, lifeless, shadow of a sound that accompanies such strings.  Strings like these have remained untouched by human hands since days long past, only to have their metal corroded and rough to the fingers.  These strings are brittle and are likely to break if given a good solid strum, let alone a full step bend.

But these were different

 

How long my strings had been creating wonderful tones before that fateful day in June, I cannot say exactly.  I never mark my calendar to schedule my next string change.  I simply wait until a string breaks and then replace it.  Most of the time, after a break or two, I will then change the whole set out for sparkly new strings and vibrant tone.  I do however have a benchmark that helps me to know how long these fabled strings were in action.  I know that I used them on a New Year’s Eve gig playing with A Band Of Ninjas.

I also have the vague recollection of having the same strings, at the very least, a month and a half prior to the show on Dec. 31, 2012.  But again, I don’t have a date marked.  In the case of the guitar strings that had been stored, unplayed for years, they were probably played sporadically by a once-practicing beginning guitarist who lost interest and stowed the instrument.  My strings were played every week without exception for over 7 months!  I even cut and released an album with those strings, well after they had been beaten and stretched for 4 months or more.  In addition to all of the Ninjas shows, there was church band practice and Sunday morning worship, because of the regularity of these events, it’s possible to quantify to some degree the amount of time logged playing these strings.  This metric seems more important than simply how long the strings had been “strung” for.

It’s not uncommon for the Ninjas to perform 5 or 6 times in a month, but things had been slow at the beginning of the year.  Because of this, I will use conservative estimates to determine the play time of the strings of legend:

I will use a low-end estimate of 3 shows per month at 7 months, each at three x 45 minute sets or longer.

(3 x 7)*(3 x 45) = 2835 minutes of play time with A Band Of Ninjas

Then there is church music.  I regularly practice and play with a local church band.  I will figure I play 3 Thursday night practices a month for 7 months, each at total playing time of 20 minutes (even though we hang out for like an hour and a half). Then there is Sunday morning practice and Sunday worship service.

(3 x 7)*20 = 420 minutes (Thursday night practices)

(3 x 7)*20 = 420 minutes (Sunday morning practices)

(3 x 7)*15 = 315 minutes (Sunday worship service)

There is also time for recording music projects and playing for personal pleasure, or just jamming with others.  I can’t even begin to account for that time.  But even without it, adding up the conservative estimates for actual playing time, we get 3990 minutes of vibrating strings.  That’s 66 and a half hours of (hard) strumming, bends, hammer-ons, recordings, jams, performances, worshipping.  All without a single string breakage.  On an acoustic guitar.

How to extend the life of your strings

 

I use Elixir Polyweb Extra Light guitar strings, and I think that explains how my guitar tone was still great after well over 60 hours of play time.  After every play session, I wipe down my guitar strings to remove as much sweat and oil as I can.  I also periodically check the saddle of my guitar to make sure there are no burrs that could be wearing away at my strings.  Another good trick is to look at where the string broke.  If it breaks mid-length, this could mean a sharp fret wire that could use a filing.  If the string breaks near the nut or saddle, then just make sure that there are no sharp edges cutting into your strings, if there are, sand them down a bit.

And if you want to try my favorite acoustic guitar strings, get some here: