Inside the Joyo JF-31 Noise Gate

Inside the Joyo Tremolo JF-09 Pedal

Let's see what makes up this Joyo Tremolo JF-09 Tremolo Pedal (Optical)

Bored Out and Ready to Roll

Pedalboard for a Blustery Day

And One Day...The Summer Sun

For my current surf, horrorpunk, and lo-fi garage needs.

Modding a Joyo Sweet Baby Overdrive to Beat a Klon

I picked up the OD to see if it could really beat the tones of the almighty Klon.

So I tried different settings.

More drive? Still not getting it...

Let's check the internals

Gut Shot

Perspective

So the components appear to be low quality - ruining my Klon tone! I decided to increase warmth and grit.

At work

Almost done

PROPRIETARY GRIT MOD - PATENT PENDING

PROPRIETARY COMPLETED MOD

Perfect! All the tone of a Klon without the expense or hype!

Platoon Sergeant Defines Unit’s Deployment with Video

Platoon Sergeant Defines Unit’s Deployment with Video

BAGRAM, AFGHANISTAN – It’s time for the 705TH Military Police Company to come home, but first the memories of the past nine months must be diligently catalogued in a video and set to music.

“The guys are really proud of what we accomplished; hey look – there is an Afghan in the background of this photo!” exclaimed Sergeant First Class Michael Peters as he flipped through a collection of 160 tour images on his laptop. “We had responsibility for pretty much everything that happened on Bagram, which means this video I’m making must have pretty much everything – and it needs to rock.”

SFC Peters expects the video’s viewership to hit tens of thousands, though sources familiar with him and the unit morale believe the YouTube count will likely reach a few dozen.  The unit had responsibility for general law and order on Bagram, spanning parking enforcement, providing crossing guards, issuing speeding tickets, and driving in circles with sirens on after indirect fire attacks (IDF).

“Now the music is everything, and we were basically Infantry – cause of the raids we conducted – so I’m thinking “Let the Bodies Hit the Floor” by Downing Pool…or is it Puddle of Mud?,” Peters mused, acknowledging the unit’s role in health and welfare inspection response. “We were also basically EOD, because there were explosions, so perhaps AC/DC’s “TNT”. Here is a photo of SPC Andrews stacking some big bullets with EOD, and they were exploded with TNT…or was it dynamite?”

Peter’s preferred video editing software is Windows Movie Maker, a tool widely used by the elderly to perform basic transitions and apply music to a slide show of images. He favors it over Apple’s Final Cut Pro and Adobe’s Premiere as it came with his HP Laptop. The video quickly took shape with a bright blue title screen announcing “BULLDOGS!” and the deployment dates, followed by a masterful smattering of screen wipes, horizontal slides, and dissolve effects.

He paused for a moment, “We were basically Field Artillery – cause that’s the unit we replaced – so maybe I’ll use P.O.D.’s “Boom”. It’s really important to be unique.”

SFC Peters went on dragging and dropping images, forming the narrative of a capable and proud unit: Soldiers smiled while sitting at desks, smirked while driving modest Ford SUVs, and sat at picnic tables in a series of images that slightly over represented a November barbeque celebrating the unit’s Combined Federal Campaign program.

 “The commander and the guys will be so happy with this,” and thoughtfully added, “We are basically all patriots – so I’ll use Toby Keith’s “American Ride” – it will be completely unexpected.”

Written by:

Ithamar Eunice

Famed street horticulturist. A misunderstood soul. Rest in Peace.

The Best Values in the Boutique Guitar instrument and Effects Market

Our list of low cost / high awesome boutique guitar pedals manufacturers. Bench quality without the hyperbole.

Youtube is the New Audible and College Forum

Sorry local university. I don't need to

1. Drive to campus
2. Nod approvingly at the ushers
3. Find a seat
4. Wait
5. Listen to a hammy introduction
6. Wait for the speaker
7. Listen to college students yammer in half whispers
8. Stay for inane questions

Youtube talks to us. Deep stuff, light stuff, how to make metaphorical and actual sausage.

I turn on an interview or lesson and work around the house with my Sennheiser Wireless RS-170 headphones. Such bliss. No installed speaker audio to fade in and out.

You should try the following:

CinemaSins Jeremy - From the team that vivisects movies' factual and production errors comes...Jeremy. "Conversations with Myself" are well produced short essays in a stream-of-consciousness narrative. The visuals are pared down so that we are alone with Jeremy in his head. Poetic.


GoodBadFlicks - Another happy nerd's 10-20 minute long reviews and discussions of critically panned movies. Cecil is very forgiving of tepid filmmaking and turns his focus towards the creative, over-the-top, and daring aspects of film. None of the subjects are at fault for being boring; his merit is helping us discover the not-so-dark-side of entertaining duds.

More after the jump

Market Analysis - Fit Frappe Protein Drink Mix

Let's talk about Big Train Fit Frappe Protein Drink Mix, particularly the Mocha.




This is a curious product that promises

• nutrition
• workout energy
• a breakfast coffee substitute 

...but doesn't deliver on any of those points.

Boom Boom - The Best Guitar Cabinet Manufacturers

Nameless Wood + Stock Speaker = Mediocre Cabinet.

Getting a great cabinet at a terrific price is a bit more involved.

This article lists the sweet spot of value builders on the internet.

The Best Klon Copies and Descendants

What makes a Klon a Klon?

1. Low-to-Medium Overdrive*
        *This made the Klon different, as the 80s-90s trend was big-loud-heavy overdrive
2. Transparent lower end with a "sweet spot" on breakup
3. (Magical) germanium diodes
4. Mythical figure box art (sigh)

Not willing to spend over 2.5k on a used Klon? There are hundreds of variants, and most range within 95% to 99.9999999% as good as a Klon. That 000000001% is perception anyhow.

Try the following (very very good) variants.

Low Cost Guitar Clone (Klon?) Pedals and You - Saving Dollars on Accurate Sound

Guitar pedals cost a pretty penny. Sites like Cheaperpedals.com seek to remedy this by stocked Chinese knockoffs (and semi original ideas). We'll sketch out the recommended copies and the original undefeated champions.

RECOMMENDED CLONES:

My horror surf fuzz rock pedalboard, as it stands today

For my current surf, horrorpunk, and lo-fi garage needs.

VFE Triumvirate Distortion
VFE Bumble Bee Compressor
Coldcraft Harmonic Tremolo V2

Fairfield Circuitry Four Eyes
Catalinbread Topanga Reverb
Catalinbread Echorec Delay (and clean boost!)

Voodoo Labs ISO-5

Cusack 5/15 Goblin Amp

The Best of...Guitar Pedal Oddities - The Unique The Strange

A round-up of the unique (truly unique - not hyperbole) and different.

This list avoids the usual (EH B9, Sitar).

Solving Hum and other Noises in your Guitar Effects and Signal Path

60mhz hum getting you down?

Digital or solid state"cycling sound" keeping you up at night?

The solution is herein.