"BOB" help me, I want this!!!!

[Caevan O’Shite]

Man, I must be a really boring guitarist. I can't see a possible use I could put that pedal to in what I'm doing now.

 

How come I can't be weird? I wanna be weird, but I'm not weird. How can I get weird?

 

Just be the best at being yourself, be the best YOU, that you can be. That in itself is weird enough in this world these days.

 

Seriously, just be yourself, and have fun with your guitar. Uninhibitedly so.

[Winston Psmith]

Man, I must be a really boring guitarist. I can't see a possible use I could put that pedal to in what I'm doing now.

 

How come I can't be weird? I wanna be weird, but I'm not weird. How can I get weird?

 

Picker, I'm really not right in the head, for one thing. I got hooked on space sounds, way back then, too, but in my case, I never fully returned to Earth. I spend a lot of time and effort making my guitars sound like anything but guitars, using synths, sound effects and loopers.

 

In all seriousness, though, I think the important phrase in your post is "what I'm doing now." There's nothing wrong with you as a musician, if this toy doesn't appeal to you; the British guys thought it was the funniest thing they'd ever seen, but I don't think they really took it seriously. Honestly, I can't see bringing this thing to a Blues jam, for example, unless I wanted to get laughed off the stage, or have a beer poured over my head, and if you brought this toy to a Jazz session, your buddies might stage an Intervention, right on the spot. Sitting in with a bunch of Devo fans, however, it might just be the coolest toy there.

[whitefang]

I think one question to ask here might be:

 

"WWJD?" (What Would John[McLaughlin] Do?)

 

NOT that he should be the yardstick to which all should be measured, but in that he's been known to use all SORTS of devices and effects in HIS form of "jazz", and NObody's laughed HIM off ANY stage!

 

I say, if it's YOUR money being spent, and this device helps you make the kind of music YOU wish to make, then TO HELL with what anybody here has to say in the negative.

 

Bear in mind, there were probably those earlier "jazz" guitarists who had nothing good to say about Charlie Christian daring to "sully" up the image of jazz by using (gasp!) an ELECTRIC guitar!

Whitefang

[Caevan O’Shite]

Man, I must be a really boring guitarist. I can't see a possible use I could put that pedal to in what I'm doing now.

 

How come I can't be weird? I wanna be weird, but I'm not weird. How can I get weird?

 

Picker, I'm really not right in the head, for one thing. I got hooked on space sounds, way back then, too, but in my case, I never fully returned to Earth. I spend a lot of time and effort making my guitars sound like anything but guitars, using synths, sound effects and loopers.

 

In all seriousness, though, I think the important phrase in your post is "what I'm doing now." There's nothing wrong with you as a musician, if this toy doesn't appeal to you; the British guys thought it was the funniest thing they'd ever seen, but I don't think they really took it seriously. Honestly, I can't see bringing this thing to a Blues jam, for example, unless I wanted to get laughed off the stage, or have a beer poured over my head, and if you brought this toy to a Jazz session, your buddies might stage an Intervention, right on the spot. Sitting in with a bunch of Devo fans, however, it might just be the coolest toy there.

 

I could work that pedal into deployability in Blues or Jazz, but I wouldn't do so with just that pedal all by itself; I'd blend and blur it into my overall sound, in parallel with my main, straight tone- clean or overdriven or distorted- and probably feed it through some other overdrive, distortion, fuzz, or octave-fuzz, either with echoes, or completely delayed after my initial playing- so that my notes seemed to be copied and repeated after the fact by an exotic sounding singer. Think Call-and-response, as well as more 'out there' effects and stylistic approaches. That'd be cool, and I could make it work within Blues and Jazz.

 

I also would know better than to overuse it, all the time.

[Scott Fraser]

How come I can't be weird? I wanna be weird, but I'm not weird. How can I get weird?

 

For me, taking music way out of the mainstream started with hearing very early Pink Floyd, in about 1968 or 69, the time of the 'Umma Gumma' album. Their use of space, improvisation, & electronics showed me what I wanted to do. That and exposure to some early European electronic music (oscillators & tape manipulations,) & 'musique concrete' shaped my entire focus away from the rock I'd been playing in high school bands & set the controls for exploring sound at the molecular level. And this occurred in '60s when the overall cultural mindset was shifting toward experimentation & expansion, questioning the status quo, openness toward non-Western arts & beliefs, etc. I think it was all of a piece. That's what made me 'weird', at least in my musical taste & pursuit.

[Fred_C]

Man, I must be a really boring guitarist. I can't see a possible use I could put that pedal to in what I'm doing now.

 

How come I can't be weird? I wanna be weird, but I'm not weird. How can I get weird?

 

Just be the best at being yourself, be the best YOU, that you

can be. That in itself is weird enough in this world these days.

 

Seriously, just be yourself, and have fun with your guitar. Uninhibitedly so.

 

+1 on Caevan's comment.

 

Besides, as far as being a "really boring guitarist", I've got you beat by a mile. I play almost exclusively through a "dry" amp. Occasionally, I'll add a bit of reverb, but that's about it. The only stompbox I own is an ABY pedal that enables me to switch between two amps or both at once, if I want. This is Pretty Exciting Stuff for me.

 

In the interest of full disclosure, I will admit that, as a toy, I bought the original version of the Peavey Vyper 30 amp which was touted as "The most advanced modeling amplifier in the world"! It's got a slew of amp models and two banks of effects (12 "stompbox" and 12 "Rack") plus a ton of other features. It only cost me $200 in 2009 and truth be told, really doesn't sound bad for a $200 amp. But, it sits in the corner looking lonely and forlorn, while my Roland Cube and Ampeg GVT15 get all the use.

 

So, it seems to me that I deserve the title of "most boring guitarist".

 

P.S. If any of you gents would like to acquire this fine piece of equipment, I'd be willing to part with it for a very small amount of money. It's practically brand new.

 

[Larryz]

Man, I must be a really boring guitarist. I can't see a possible use I could put that pedal to in what I'm doing now.

 

How come I can't be weird? I wanna be weird, but I'm not weird. How can I get weird?

 

You are weird Picker! You know how I know? Because I'm weird and I agree with you LOL! I have no use for this pedal while other less boring players are all excited about it. Boring is weird but I like it that way. Unlike Fred, I must have reverb LOL!

 

There was one setting I liked on the OP pedal because it made the guitar sound like a flute. I would like to play around with that setting but would never fork out the bucks to do so. If I want a flute sound, I'll learn to play a flute. I also don't care for modeling guitars that make the guitar sound like a banjo, for the same reason(s)...

 

This pedal reminds me of Frampton comes alive with the surgical tubing stuck in his mouth to make the guitar sound like it's talking. Very cool concept, but I would use it very sparingly and therefor wouldn't get a very big bang for my buck...

 

Take advantage of being boring and let your fingers do the talking...

[skipclone 1]

Thanks, Skipclone, but I think I'm going to hold out until they release it in the U.S., since Korg gave me the word it's coming. That way, there's no issue with shipping, and I can plug into a U.S. iTunes account. I just hope they don't try to make it 'sing' in English for the U.S. version, but it seems that they're shipping to Great Britain, without any change, expect maybe to the power supply.

 

Oh, man, I love the look of that music store site, but I'm very glad I gave up hallucinogens a long time ago, or that would have just blown all my circuits!

 

No worries Winston, hope it comes through for you.

Ya that website is typical for Japan-crowded and chaotic.

 

[picker]

So, it seems to me that I deserve the title of "most boring guitarist".

 

Thank God there is at leaST ONE guy out there more boring than me...

[Fred_C]

@Picker,

 

Got ya' covered, pal.

[Caevan O’Shite]

So, it seems to me that I deserve the title of "most boring guitarist".

 

Thank God there is at leaST ONE guy out there more boring than me...

@Picker,

 

Got ya' covered, pal.

 

I doubt that either of you are "boring".

 

So long as you yourself aren't bored in your playing and music, you won't be boring to anyone with an ear and appreciation for real music regardless of genre.

[Fred_C]

Caev,

 

I appreciate your positive affirmation and reinforcement. Actually, it was sheer boredom that propelled me toward Jazz guitar. As I have often mentioned in the past, I had played electric and acoustic Blues for 35 years. It was fine. I had earned the respect of other Blues players,audiences applauded and I got paid. The only problem was that I was bored with my playing. I needed to try something completely new, something that would challenge me as a musician. What solved the problem was Jazz!!! I've been studying for 16 years now and I ain't bored anymore! I am very happy.

 

 

 

 

 

[Caevan O’Shite]

Caev,

 

I appreciate your positive affirmation and reinforcement. Actually, it was sheer boredom that propelled me toward Jazz guitar. As I have often mentioned in the past, I had played electric and acoustic Blues for 35 years. It was fine. I had earned the respect of other Blues players,audiences applauded and I got paid. The only problem was that I was bored with my playing. I needed to try something completely new, something that would challenge me as a musician. What solved the problem was Jazz!!! I've been studying for 16 years now and I ain't bored anymore! I am very happy.

 

I'd bet that when you DO play Blues now, it's got even more variety and texture, color, styles, what have you, your vocabulary and abilities informed by your work in Jazz. And vice-verse, your Jazz playing is probably occasionally all the more colorful with a bit of what you learned playing Blues.

[Fred_C]

Caev,

 

Absolutely correct on both counts. My Blues playing is much Jazzier due to more sophisticated changes in the harmony and an increased emphasis on intervallic ideas derived from chord shapes and arpeggios, rather than a strictly scalar approach. Plus, I haven't totally lost my old Blues chops and can still play "down home" when I want to.

 

I inject some blues influences in my Jazz playing when they seem tasteful and appropriate.

[whitefang]

Well, why NOT?

 

It WAS Charlie Parker who claimed, something like,

 

"You can't really judge how GOOD a man blows 'less you hear him play the BLUES!"

Whitefang

[Fred_C]

"I inject some blues influences in my Jazz playing when they seem tasteful and appropriate."

[Winston Psmith]

@ Fred C., Picker, Caevan, Larryz, Scott, & Whitefang,

 

FWIW, I don't think there's anything boring about being able to play well. One of the greatest performances I've ever seen was a tv clip of two middle-aged guys sitting in comfortable chairs. One guy had a plain guitar in his lap, the other had a drink in one hand and a lit cigarette in the other hand: It was Sinatra and Jobim, together. Hell, if I could play like Jobim, and sing like The Chairman, I probably wouldn't want a guitar that sang like an Anime cartoon character! Being a Dadaist at heart, however . . .

 

http://www.artfortune.com/images/pages/dada_oppenheim(1).jpg

[Fred_C]

Winston,

 

+1 on Jobim/Sinatra.

 

However, I can't totally agree with you regarding boredom and playing well. I can tell you from personal experience that the two concepts are not necessarily mutually exclusive.

 

Toward the end of the 35 years that I was totally focused on Blues guitar I was bored out of my mind and almost gave up playing. As I've mentioned so often in the past (it is a source of great pride to me) I was fortunate enough to have studied Blues with the great Philadelphia Jerry Ricks (may he rest in peace). Jerry was not only a very good teacher, but a demanding one as well, who forced me to develop my skills. On acoustic, I was playing the music of Doc Watson, Miss. John Hurt, Sam McGee, Blind Blake et. al. Under Jerry's tutelage, My electric chops also developed very well. But, I got bored. If I was going to continue to play, I needed to seek out a new sound. I needed new challenges and new music. I needed something completely new and different. As I had stated previously, the study of Jazz guitar provided me with exactly what I was looking for. It was new. It was different and it was challenging.

 

I know that I've told the anecdote about taking a lesson from my first Jazz teacher. It was not going very well at all and I said to him, "I used to think I could play". He replied, "the only thing that the music you used to play and the music you're learning now have in common is that they are played on the same instrument". It was new. It was challenging and it was exciting! I have not been bored since.

 

I apologize for this lengthy and repetitive post, but I wanted to explain what had happened to me.

 

 

[Larryz]

@ Fred C., Picker, Caevan, Larryz, Scott, & Whitefang,

 

FWIW, I don't think there's anything boring about being able to play well. One of the greatest performances I've ever seen was a tv clip of two middle-aged guys sitting in comfortable chairs. One guy had a plain guitar in his lap, the other had a drink in one hand and a lit cigarette in the other hand: It was Sinatra and Jobim, together. Hell, if I could play like Jobim, and sing like The Chairman, I probably wouldn't want a guitar that sang like an Anime cartoon character! Being a Dadaist at heart, however . . .

 

http://www.artfortune.com/images/pages/dada_oppenheim(1).jpg

 

That's why I say "let your fingers do the talking". I really didn't mean to imply that any of the guys are weird and boring, just trying to imply that it's OK to be into straight ahead stuff that others might find boring even if you don't have all those whistles and bells with the space, distortions, overdrives, etc., pedals. I don't think there is anything wrong with plugging straight into an amp without any pedals. Or better yet, playing on an acoustic guitar with no amp...+1 Beautiful music can be made either way. I always like injecting a little jazz and blues into old rock and roll and rockabilly especially with the chords and add a little scale work. I hear a lot of improvisation in the blue grass genre that is very cool too...

 

It's amazing that people will get up and walk out on a Sinatra and Jobim type of act (even if the players are very good) as they are just young and bored with this kind of genre. While others such as myself, would never leave and sit there in awe. Beauty is in the [ears] of the beholder, even if it's just your ears IMHO.

[Fred_C]

Bro. Larry,

 

Well said. Well written.

[whitefang]

I think what "Bro Larry"(oy!) is trying to say partly is THIS---

(or maybe I'M just tryin to say it, and now I fear you may take it TOO personal)---

 

My grandmother once told me, when I was very young, and made some whiny gripe about being "bored", well, she said something to the effect of...."Only people who lack imagination get bored." She might have suggested that if you found at some point that playing the blues was "boring", then it was probably YOUR PLAYING was what was "boring" about it!

 

Maybe, it's NOT the "challenge" of jazz that keeps you from being bored by it( as many claim to find jazz boring in and of itself), but rather, the FREEDOM jazz offered you that keeps it exciting for you. Now, could it be that you fell into the familiar "trap" of beleiving certain musical genres HAVE to be played a certain way? And that after playing it within the arbitrary LIMITS you felt there were for so long that you couldn't HELP but get bored? I mean NOW you're saying how much BETTER it feels to you when you inject "jazz" themes into your blues playing! Now, WHO told you that you COULDN'T have done that in the FIRST place?

 

I mean, there WAS a time when bluesmen DIDN'T use 9th chords in their charts, but over time, it's become pretty standard and static stuff.

Whitefang

[Fred_C]

I don't care what you think. The opinion of a musical illiterate is not that important to me. It is worthy of note that two studios thought enough of my skills set to hire me to teach for them. In addition I have dozens of student references who will attest to my abilities as a musician and as a teacher. I told you once and I'll tell you again: I can outplay you any time YOU HACK!!!

 

 

HOW DARE YOU IMPUGN THE SKILLS THAT I WORKED SO HARD FOR SO LONG TO ACQUIRE. GO AWAY AND LEAVE ME ALONE-JERK!!!

 

 

[Larryz]

I don't think you are paraphrasing any of my comments correctly Fang. I mean I didn't talk about whether or not the 9th chord was used in blues, your Grandmothers philosophy on boring(although from your past postings she was a pretty smart old gal that had a lot of influence on you growing up), the "challenges" in jazz, etc. I can tell you that there are many approaches to the jazz genre (none of which are boring IMHO). Most players use big box guitars instead of solid bodies (which we have discussed at length and I know you don't need me to tell you about it again). Many of them are also straight-in-guys that need no pedals and almost all of the old guard play clean on a single neck pickup...then add those piano guys and what they can do playing chords and scales at breakneck speed with max improvisation and combine that with a guitar player (like Joe Pass) that can keep up on the fly and you will get my drift. That is why these guys don't need whistles and bells electronics to get into what they want to play while playing what most of the jazz genre people will enjoy. Many times these same musicians playing their elevated stuff play for much smaller audiences that appreciate and understand what they are really into. None of them are bored while most of us are lost in this elevated jazz genre and are just not interested in showing up. If they are playing at a level that I can't understand and the results are not pleasing to my ear I stay home too LOL! That doesn't make it boring, it's just a style I don't grasp or care for.

 

I appreciate Brother Fred referring to me as Bro Larry (without your added OY!) and giving me an atta-boy on what I wrote. Coming from him I consider it quite a compliment. We use the terms Brother on the forum for each other as we discovered that we have so much in common that we feel like brothers. We may not always agree on some theory or whatever (but I always take my hat off to his opinion). We still respect each others opinions and our common history. I know he can play circles around me too. I'm still glad to have found a kindred spirit...

 

ps. more important to me in blues and jazz than the 9th chord (although I love 9ths, 6ths and 7ths) is the flat 5 blue note...

[Fred_C]

Thank you. We are indeed kindred spirits and I am pleased and proud to call you my friend and "brother".

[Winston Psmith]

Wow! I am truly sorry I even started this thread. My original thought was that one way or another, we'd all get a laugh out of it. Somehow, it's gone in a very different direction . . .

 

Gentlemen, I've enjoyed hanging out with you, I appreciate all the help and support I've found here, but I think it's time for me to gracefully withdraw. All the best to all of you . . .

[Larryz]

I truly wouldn't want to see you go anywhere Winston as I've more than enjoyed your company over the years. I apologize if anything I've written on this thread or any other would cause you to feel like leaving...

[Fred_C]

Winston,

 

I would like to reiterate Larry's sentiments. I do need to stand up for myself and cannot tolerate abusive behavior.

 

I hope you will stay. If you feel that I am culpable of wrongdoing, I will be the one who should leave.

[whitefang]

Nobody's "abusing" you, Fred.

 

And I DID state a fear that you WOULD(and you did)take it all too personally.

 

IF you recall,YOU were the one who complained about being BORED!

 

All I did was offer a suggestion as to why. I, in NO WAY, impunged your level of skill.

 

I only CHALLENGE you to provide a VALID quote in which I "impunged" your level of skill. In looking over my post, I only suggested it was the FREEDOM jazz offered you, rather than the "challenge" that made IT not so "boring" for you. Now, HOW THE FUCK is that an INSULT?

 

I'm MORE interested in learning HOW you managed to build up CALUSSES on your fingers with having such THIN SKIN!

 

NOW you're telling the OP that you feel if YOU'RE the one capable of wrongdoing, YOU'LL be the one to leave?

 

Gonna take your ball and go home AGAIN?

Whitefang

 

 

 

 

Whitefang

 

[Fred_C]

I, in NO WAY, impunged your level of skill.

 

I only CHALLENGE you to provide a VALID quote in which I "impunged" your level of skill.

 

 

Whitefang

 

"it was probably YOUR PLAYING was what was "boring" about it!"

 

 

BTW: The word is "impugn" not "impung".

 

I've told you before and I'll tell you again. I don't like you. I don't want to interact with you. I don't respect you as a player. I think you're a bullshit artist. It would be much better if we went our own separate ways.

 

[Caevan O’Shite]

Just drop it.