Tomorrow I will be headed out to Galveston to play at the Gravity Bar.
I am there from 2 to 8pm & then they have an open mic night.
I am hoping it will a busy sunday since the weather is supposed to be nicer & it is a 3 day weekend.
Who knows?
I will find out tomorrow.
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Friday, December 29, 2006
keeping up with stella
My guitar amp was sounding kind of weak. I thought it was being drowned out by the bass amp that I just started noticing the high notes were sounding really weak so I decided to swap out the tubes.
Not all the Tubes. Just the two power tubes which in this case woud be Groove Tube EL84s. It is a small amp and just has two power tubes and I think 3 pre-amp tubes. I left the pre-amp tubes alone but I had a set of Groove Tubes with a 5 rating. I had been using 4s but they were out last time I went to buy some so I went with the 5s.
They rate them between 1 & 10 with 10 being the cleanest. The lower numbered ones break up easier and provide a little better blues tone. The heavy meatal players would like the higher rated ones.
Groove Tube is a company buys a bunch of tubes and tests them and matches up the sets. I have been using the EL84-S version. They have some that are called R's also which are made in Russia and I like them in my Pre-Amp Section of this amp. The Russian made ones are a little cheaper but since I have been happy with the sound, I have been trying to stay with the same tubes.
I try to buy a set as soon as I replace them so I will have a back up set in case one goes out.
I know most people aren't going to be that interested in my tubes but so what. I got nothing else to talk about right now except maybe my bass amp cabinet that I just put togeather.
My Carvin 15" 600 Watt Speaker came in the Mail (UPS) and I put in in a Speaker Box. I had an old Radio Shack 15 inch PA Speaker but it was worn out so I decided to make a bass cabinet out of it & see how it s0unded.
I did put some strips of 1x2' wood in it to reinforce it and break up the midrage coloration & I also stapled some fiberglass filler on the walls to deaden it a little. I have a book about making speaker boxes that I bought at Radio Shack several years ago. It has all kinds of formulas for figuring out box and port size but I just decided to try this out and see how it sounds. If it doesn't work I can always build another box.
It sounds pretty good at home & I will find out how it works at the gig this weekend. I will keep my other bass cab sitting on top of it and experiment by switching back and forth to see how they compare & also try using both at the same time. The Gravity Bar is an open air type place so I can get away with it being a little louder at the source and still not blowing everybody way.
I am also experimenting with using my other Twin Reverb as a guitar amp & have been experimenting at home usine a dual amp set-up. I can use both amps or either one by itself and I like having the extra options but I may not do it at to many show since I already have alot of stuff to haul around. I will know more how I feel about it after I play a few gigs.
I wish my Blues Junior had the tilt back legs like the Twin Reverb. I am thinkin about making a stand for it so I can tilt it back. They sell em at the Guitar Store but I don't want to spend any more money than I have to right now since I have had to buy several things lately.
Is all this keeping you on the edge of your seat?
I didn't think so.
It is not good for your back anyway.
Well, I just made some pop corn so I think I will eat it now.
Keep the faith.
Not all the Tubes. Just the two power tubes which in this case woud be Groove Tube EL84s. It is a small amp and just has two power tubes and I think 3 pre-amp tubes. I left the pre-amp tubes alone but I had a set of Groove Tubes with a 5 rating. I had been using 4s but they were out last time I went to buy some so I went with the 5s.
They rate them between 1 & 10 with 10 being the cleanest. The lower numbered ones break up easier and provide a little better blues tone. The heavy meatal players would like the higher rated ones.
Groove Tube is a company buys a bunch of tubes and tests them and matches up the sets. I have been using the EL84-S version. They have some that are called R's also which are made in Russia and I like them in my Pre-Amp Section of this amp. The Russian made ones are a little cheaper but since I have been happy with the sound, I have been trying to stay with the same tubes.
I try to buy a set as soon as I replace them so I will have a back up set in case one goes out.
I know most people aren't going to be that interested in my tubes but so what. I got nothing else to talk about right now except maybe my bass amp cabinet that I just put togeather.
My Carvin 15" 600 Watt Speaker came in the Mail (UPS) and I put in in a Speaker Box. I had an old Radio Shack 15 inch PA Speaker but it was worn out so I decided to make a bass cabinet out of it & see how it s0unded.
I did put some strips of 1x2' wood in it to reinforce it and break up the midrage coloration & I also stapled some fiberglass filler on the walls to deaden it a little. I have a book about making speaker boxes that I bought at Radio Shack several years ago. It has all kinds of formulas for figuring out box and port size but I just decided to try this out and see how it sounds. If it doesn't work I can always build another box.
It sounds pretty good at home & I will find out how it works at the gig this weekend. I will keep my other bass cab sitting on top of it and experiment by switching back and forth to see how they compare & also try using both at the same time. The Gravity Bar is an open air type place so I can get away with it being a little louder at the source and still not blowing everybody way.
I am also experimenting with using my other Twin Reverb as a guitar amp & have been experimenting at home usine a dual amp set-up. I can use both amps or either one by itself and I like having the extra options but I may not do it at to many show since I already have alot of stuff to haul around. I will know more how I feel about it after I play a few gigs.
I wish my Blues Junior had the tilt back legs like the Twin Reverb. I am thinkin about making a stand for it so I can tilt it back. They sell em at the Guitar Store but I don't want to spend any more money than I have to right now since I have had to buy several things lately.
Is all this keeping you on the edge of your seat?
I didn't think so.
It is not good for your back anyway.
Well, I just made some pop corn so I think I will eat it now.
Keep the faith.
Thursday, December 21, 2006
More Amazing News
That's what you want so that's what you get.
The first big news is that I built a cart.
Excieted?
Well, There is more.
It is collapsable. The walls will fold down so I can load it in my truck.
Keep your cool here. I know that is alot of news but Somebody has to live in my world.
It should make it much easier to load up my equipment and since I used hinges for the sides, I can more easily fit it in my truck.
I started thinking about it when I played at the Balinese and the actual club is a long walking distance (Relatively) from where I Parked (on land).
I bought one of those furniture movers with four caster type wheels. They swivel and roll. I took the wheels off and put them on some 2x4s and put a piece of plywood on top of that. Then I used hinges from Home Depot to connect the side walls. I connected the front and back walls with hinges so that when you fold the side walls down then the front walls fold down on top of them.
I will keep you updated on this exciting information. Email me if you have questions.
Since I had bought a more powerful bass amp I decided I needed an additional Speaker Cabinet for it & I purchased a 600 Watt Speaker from Carvin (carvin.com) I am going to put it in a PA speaker box that I already have and see how it sounds. I will probably use it and the speaker box that I already have. At least in bigger venues anyway. My current speaker is rated at 400 watts so I will be a little less worried about the 600 watts speaker getting fried by the 450 watt amp. Probably wont happen but if it did I would be dead in the water and you know we don't want that.
I also stopped by Radio Shack and bought some connectors to make a new speaker cable. I already have some speaker wire so I will probably solder that tonight depending on how I feel.
There you have it. Enough Exciting news to keep you going for weeks.
I am playing my third anual Eve of Christmas Eve (Dec 23rd) Concert this Saturday night at the Stag's Head Pub. Stop on by if you get tired of the corporate hype and have an ale or soda pop. They make some good food also. It is an authentic English Pub with barstools and everything.
The first big news is that I built a cart.
Excieted?
Well, There is more.
It is collapsable. The walls will fold down so I can load it in my truck.
Keep your cool here. I know that is alot of news but Somebody has to live in my world.
It should make it much easier to load up my equipment and since I used hinges for the sides, I can more easily fit it in my truck.
I started thinking about it when I played at the Balinese and the actual club is a long walking distance (Relatively) from where I Parked (on land).
I bought one of those furniture movers with four caster type wheels. They swivel and roll. I took the wheels off and put them on some 2x4s and put a piece of plywood on top of that. Then I used hinges from Home Depot to connect the side walls. I connected the front and back walls with hinges so that when you fold the side walls down then the front walls fold down on top of them.
I will keep you updated on this exciting information. Email me if you have questions.
Since I had bought a more powerful bass amp I decided I needed an additional Speaker Cabinet for it & I purchased a 600 Watt Speaker from Carvin (carvin.com) I am going to put it in a PA speaker box that I already have and see how it sounds. I will probably use it and the speaker box that I already have. At least in bigger venues anyway. My current speaker is rated at 400 watts so I will be a little less worried about the 600 watts speaker getting fried by the 450 watt amp. Probably wont happen but if it did I would be dead in the water and you know we don't want that.
I also stopped by Radio Shack and bought some connectors to make a new speaker cable. I already have some speaker wire so I will probably solder that tonight depending on how I feel.
There you have it. Enough Exciting news to keep you going for weeks.
I am playing my third anual Eve of Christmas Eve (Dec 23rd) Concert this Saturday night at the Stag's Head Pub. Stop on by if you get tired of the corporate hype and have an ale or soda pop. They make some good food also. It is an authentic English Pub with barstools and everything.
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Return Policy
Hey,
It's me again.
Marc.
I took it easy today except for unloading my equipment and also driving over to Guitar Center.
Last night at the Balinese in Galveston my new bass amp went out again. Just went dead.
Luckily it was when I was setting up and checking my sound so I had time to go out and get my back-up amp. It is a guitar amp but I can use it to power my bass cabinet in a pinch. And I was in a pinch. I was playing as part of a presentation that included a Photoagraphy Slide Show by Jon Steele and also a live performance by Herb'nPipeline, a rockin Reggea band from Corpus so I had set slot of time and no time for major equipment failure.
I have really only heard good things about the GK amps but after the same thing happening two times in less than 3 weeks, I decided to return it and get another brand. I went with a Behringer 4500 which is a 450 watt model. More power than I need but hopefully not more power than my bass cab can handle.
I will keep you up to date on how it all works out.
The gig at the Balinese turned out to be a good one. They moved at the last minute to the Casino Bar which is where there used to be a casino and I think Howard Hughes even hung out there.
Everybody was very cool. Jon Steele is a very positive guy and did a great job putting the event togeather as well as bring a hell of a slide show of his photagraphy. He travels the world and takes pictures of Surfers and waves. His work is featured in the Surfing Magazines.
The band Herb'nPipeline turned out to be some cool guys also. The bass player even offered to loan me his amp when he found out that mine had just gone kaput.
They played good music and all were very supportive.
It was an overall great event and I thank Jon Steele for inviting me to participate.
The only drawback to playing at the historic Balinese Room is that it is a long way from the Seawall out to the end of the pier where the clubs are. It is a long hallway or you can take the outside route and walk just above the crashing waves. It was foggy out there last night and too wet to go outside.
I need to build a cart that I can carry my stuff with. I used a furniture mover cart last night and just set a large plastic tub on it and threw stuff in that.
OK . I am starting to ramble.
The time has come to be gone.
It's me again.
Marc.
I took it easy today except for unloading my equipment and also driving over to Guitar Center.
Last night at the Balinese in Galveston my new bass amp went out again. Just went dead.
Luckily it was when I was setting up and checking my sound so I had time to go out and get my back-up amp. It is a guitar amp but I can use it to power my bass cabinet in a pinch. And I was in a pinch. I was playing as part of a presentation that included a Photoagraphy Slide Show by Jon Steele and also a live performance by Herb'nPipeline, a rockin Reggea band from Corpus so I had set slot of time and no time for major equipment failure.
I have really only heard good things about the GK amps but after the same thing happening two times in less than 3 weeks, I decided to return it and get another brand. I went with a Behringer 4500 which is a 450 watt model. More power than I need but hopefully not more power than my bass cab can handle.
I will keep you up to date on how it all works out.
The gig at the Balinese turned out to be a good one. They moved at the last minute to the Casino Bar which is where there used to be a casino and I think Howard Hughes even hung out there.
Everybody was very cool. Jon Steele is a very positive guy and did a great job putting the event togeather as well as bring a hell of a slide show of his photagraphy. He travels the world and takes pictures of Surfers and waves. His work is featured in the Surfing Magazines.
The band Herb'nPipeline turned out to be some cool guys also. The bass player even offered to loan me his amp when he found out that mine had just gone kaput.
They played good music and all were very supportive.
It was an overall great event and I thank Jon Steele for inviting me to participate.
The only drawback to playing at the historic Balinese Room is that it is a long way from the Seawall out to the end of the pier where the clubs are. It is a long hallway or you can take the outside route and walk just above the crashing waves. It was foggy out there last night and too wet to go outside.
I need to build a cart that I can carry my stuff with. I used a furniture mover cart last night and just set a large plastic tub on it and threw stuff in that.
OK . I am starting to ramble.
The time has come to be gone.
Friday, December 15, 2006
Howdy
Hey,
I don't know who is reading this but I hope you are doing fine.
It has been a while since I typed antything out and posted it here. I have been busy mostly with stuff & also some things. Not to mention other stuff also. So you can see how busy I have been. Right?
I went and saw the Casino Royal James Bond Movie. I liked it OK. It is a good movie but I was disapointed that they didn't have that many gadgets. They had a car but didn't really show too much in the way of cool buttons or switches. Also they didn't have a cool watch or a briefcase. No special Shoes. Nothing like that.
My new bass amp that I wrote about in the post just below this one went out on me about a week ago. Last Sunday, I played one song at the Gravity Bar and then it just died. No smoke, Sparks, or anything else dramatic. It just went dead. The light would not even come on.
I went over to Guitar Center on Monday and found Jeremy, the dude who sold it to me, and he swapped it out for another one. I think it was just a fluke. Everybody says that Galian Kruger makes good products so I am just thankful that they were cool about it. I had bought about 32 days ago and the return policy listed on the receipt sad 14 days. It does have a 2 year warranty but I would have had to buy another one while warranty work was done and then I guess just return that one. Luckily I had an extra Twin Reverb that I used as a back up and it worked very well. I am not sure that it doesn't sound better than the GK but I don't want to use it for a bass amp. I like having it as a back-up for my guitar amp, bass amp, and PA. I had hooked it up to my Bass Speaker Cab and there was no problem.
I am headed over to Mollys Pub later tonight and then tomorrow I am playing a set at the Balinese Room in Galveston as part of a Presentation by Jon Steele, a Well known Surfing Photographer. I am not sure what to expect but it should be fun. I am opening for a Reggea Band called HerbnPipeline (Urban Pipeline) which is somewhat of a rocking Surf type band. I will find out more when I get there.
Thats about all the news I got for now.
Except last night I was outside on my driveway and the geese were flying over. It was foggy so I couldnt see them but they were low and honking quite a bit.
I don't know who is reading this but I hope you are doing fine.
It has been a while since I typed antything out and posted it here. I have been busy mostly with stuff & also some things. Not to mention other stuff also. So you can see how busy I have been. Right?
I went and saw the Casino Royal James Bond Movie. I liked it OK. It is a good movie but I was disapointed that they didn't have that many gadgets. They had a car but didn't really show too much in the way of cool buttons or switches. Also they didn't have a cool watch or a briefcase. No special Shoes. Nothing like that.
My new bass amp that I wrote about in the post just below this one went out on me about a week ago. Last Sunday, I played one song at the Gravity Bar and then it just died. No smoke, Sparks, or anything else dramatic. It just went dead. The light would not even come on.
I went over to Guitar Center on Monday and found Jeremy, the dude who sold it to me, and he swapped it out for another one. I think it was just a fluke. Everybody says that Galian Kruger makes good products so I am just thankful that they were cool about it. I had bought about 32 days ago and the return policy listed on the receipt sad 14 days. It does have a 2 year warranty but I would have had to buy another one while warranty work was done and then I guess just return that one. Luckily I had an extra Twin Reverb that I used as a back up and it worked very well. I am not sure that it doesn't sound better than the GK but I don't want to use it for a bass amp. I like having it as a back-up for my guitar amp, bass amp, and PA. I had hooked it up to my Bass Speaker Cab and there was no problem.
I am headed over to Mollys Pub later tonight and then tomorrow I am playing a set at the Balinese Room in Galveston as part of a Presentation by Jon Steele, a Well known Surfing Photographer. I am not sure what to expect but it should be fun. I am opening for a Reggea Band called HerbnPipeline (Urban Pipeline) which is somewhat of a rocking Surf type band. I will find out more when I get there.
Thats about all the news I got for now.
Except last night I was outside on my driveway and the geese were flying over. It was foggy so I couldnt see them but they were low and honking quite a bit.
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