A Beatles Virtual Instrument

zed · Post by **zed** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 9:26 am

monkey man wrote:A this point, it's obvious you guys are well beyond any 12 step programme I'm aware of.

It's true! We're just bananas!

<Voice in head: Do you realize who you are talking to?? Don't say you're a banana if you know what's good for you!>

Oh yeah. We're NOT bananas, Monkey Man! We're Nuts! We're just nuts! i.e. CRAZY!

<Whew! That was a close one.>

Frodo wrote:Zed, I hope the magic Ricky comes your way. Thing is, you won't be happy unless you have just the right one, and you'll know the right one when you find it.

It's true, it's true.

Tim wrote:It'll run again. I saw it several months ago. That's when I had the guy email me the photos.

Thanks guys. I know that the perfect guitar will materialize at the right moment. I still have lots to learn and some nice guitars to practise on and record with in the meantime.

monkey man · Post by **monkey man** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 10:07 am

Tell me you didn't just say, "bananas", Zed.

I'll settle for Monkey Nuts any day though, so no worries - erratum addendum accepted.

Now that I've taken the bait and am here, why not employ me in my most valued and revered role?
Here, hold this poomunition while I load... I mean pump... the air rifle...
Oh, and here's a tip while I've got you... I sometimes use the insides of banana skins to lube the barrel prior to poomunition firing.
•••• off a shovel ain't got nothin' on this baby.

Time to duck... I think I spotted a small furry... hang on... it's just that fluffy rug-runnin' hobbit.
Dang. I thought a troll was on the menu for sure...

Frodo · Post by **Frodo** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 1:33 pm

Rug runner reporting in for duty--

It's going to take some time for me to get through my twelve-step program. Step one was to get some sort of Casino/Ricky/Grestch combo of guitars in the house. Step two will be to update the Ricky and Grestch to their 1964 Beatle equivalents.

Dunno-- from the looks of things, by the time I get to step 11 it may be time to start again at step 1!

Tim · Post by **Tim** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 2:14 pm

monkey man wrote:A this point, it's obvious you guys are well beyond any 12 step programme I'm aware of.

The fab four step program works for me.

Frodo · Post by **Frodo** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 9:39 pm

Just confirmed-- the Vox Headphone Amp thingies aren't shipping for another three weeks, fwiw.

zed · Post by **zed** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 10:08 pm

Frodo wrote:Just confirmed-- the Vox Headphone Amp thingies aren't shipping for another three weeks, fwiw.

Dang, I'm thinking of getting a pair of those too. It would be easier to practise at times when I don't want to be stuck to the amplifier or to the computer... like lying in bed, for example.

But I was hoping to use the Frodo guinea pig services, though. Will probably wait for your feedback before buying... but they probably won't reach Canada for weeks afterwards, anyways. We're so far away up here.

Lot of firecrackers and fireworks going off around here. I'll bet things are much more quiet in California with all that has been going on recently.

Frodo · Post by **Frodo** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 10:19 pm

zed wrote:
Frodo wrote:Just confirmed-- the Vox Headphone Amp thingies aren't shipping for another three weeks, fwiw.
Dang, I'm thinking of getting a pair of those too. It would be easier to practise at times when I don't want to be stuck to the amplifier or to the computer... like lying in bed, for example.

But I was hoping to use the Frodo guinea pig services, though. Will probably wait for your feedback before buying... but they probably won't reach Canada for weeks afterwards, anyways. We're so far away up here.

Lot of firecrackers and fireworks going off around here. I'll bet things are much more quiet in California with all that has been going on recently.

California is a big place, although in my area it's surprisingly quiet.

Yeah, I'll put in an order for all three models of the headphone amp-- AC30/Classic/Metal. The private pracitce idea is most appealing, and it will hurt less to practice late at night after I get a real AC30 and can't use it. At least there'll be some semblance of that Vox sound. Who knows, it might even port into DP in a not bad sort of way. One can get used to a certain sound during practice and may not feel like replicating it with a plugin in a pinch.

zed · Post by **zed** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 11:54 pm

Frodo wrote:Yeah, I'll put in an order for all three models of the headphone amp-- AC30/Classic/Metal.

Maybe you ought to just buy the AC30 version, first, and see how it sounds, before you invest unnecessarily in the others. Coming from the guy who bought a Casino and still hasn't touched it because he is too in love with his Ricky, I should think you will use the AC30 version and not be interested in the others. The Beatles never did any Metal, you know.

Frodo · Post by **Frodo** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 1:13 am

zed wrote:The Beatles never did any Metal, you know.

Oh, but hobbits have been known to bang their heads once in a while.

Days and eves have been pretty busy lately, so if I get a chance to pick up the guitar it's for about an hour or so about this time of night. Generally, I'll resume something I was working on the day before, and lately it's been Ricky-oriented kinds of things.... earlier Beatles. I'm still in late 1950s and early 1960s mode.

I'll make it to 1966 soon enough, though.

zed · Post by **zed** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 1:31 am

Frodo wrote:I'm still in late 1950s and early 1960s mode.

That sounds like a good strategy. I was looking for my Carl Perkins Cd so that I could practise all those licks that had such an influence on George.
Can't seem to find the damn thing, though.

Frodo · Post by **Frodo** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 1:40 am

zed wrote:
Frodo wrote:I'm still in late 1950s and early 1960s mode.
That sounds like a good strategy. I was looking for my Carl Perkins Cd so that I could practise all those licks that had such an influence on George.
Can't seem to find the damn thing, though.

Sounds like an even better strategy. To be honest, I realized that I know less about Chuck Berry than I ought to-- talk about having an influence on George. Other than maybe 2-3 songs, I'm woefully devoid of Chuck Berry recordings.

Also, since Lennon mentioned Toots Thielemans at least where the photo of him playing a Ricky motivated him to buy one, I should stock up on TT's recordings as well.

monkey man · Post by **monkey man** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 7:13 am

I've lyricd waxical about Toots before; he was the man.

Hobby, I know I've said this before, but I still keep thinking that a Line6 Variax electric might do you fine.
Apart from the resonators, acoustics, '59 Strat and 3 Teles, the Variax offers up a crash course in Beatles 101 guitar history:

1956 Gretch Siver Jet
1959 Gretch 6120
1968 Rickenbacker 360
1966 Rickenbacker 360-12
1967 Epiphone Casino

Not sure how relevant these are:

1961 Gibson ES-335
1957 Gibson ES-175
1953 Gibson Super 400

Then there's the fact that L6 sims most of the amps you'd ever need, thus negating the use of flash-in-the-pan, single-flavoured practice 'phones.
Heck, you could tweak your "serious" sounds as you practice quietly...
I'm thinking PODxt Live or X3 Live (so you have Fwog-foote control), as well as being mindful of the fact that you can hook up via the ethernet cable (which powers the guitar too, BTW) and build various guitar choices into your presets.
So, for instance, you might call up a Ricky and have an AC-30 all tweaked, mic'd and ready to go.

Fairdinkum, I Ricky... er... reckon you'd be happy wit' dem tones, homey... er... Hobby.

zed · Post by **zed** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 10:43 am

monkey man wrote:...I still keep thinking that a Line6 Variax electric might do you fine.

Sorry to disagree, but... I bought one of those and brought it home for a week, and unfortunately, while the concept is good, the implimentation did not meet my standards. Because of the peizo pickups, all the tones come packaged with a brittle digital quality that you might expect from a cheap AD convertor (like the ones that came in my Digi001 a few years back). It can get you somewhere near the ballpark of the sound, but listening back to your tracks in future years when you get used to the sound of a real guitar, you might cringe at the sound of those peizo tones. I know I cringe whenever I listen back to the peizo tones I used to record with my Godin.

However, let me just say, for anyone else out there considering this option, that if your money is really tight and you are bursting with ideas and will only be able to buy one fairly inexpensive guitar over the next few years, then maybe this is a good option for you. I guarantee (again form personal experience) that the VG Strat is better (but it is three times the price). Probably your best option is that for the price of the Variax, you could actually buy 2 real guitars in their Asian-made or Mexican-made flavours. While they might not be as good as the more expensive/locally-made models, they will get you much closer to the sound you want than the Variax is capable of. Real magnetic pickups are huge to a great guitar sound.

Some singer once wrote:Ain't nothing like the real thing baby!

As for our dear friend Frodo, I don't think he needs any guitar simulations at all.

Frodo · Post by **Frodo** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 10:52 am

Hey Monk--

Yes, the VariAx is definitely under consideration--- fills in a lot of gaps. Chances are, I'd get one long before I'm able to add another proper Ricky or Grestch. I'm weighing your opinions carefully as well as Zed's. I think part of the whole Beatles fascination was getting one or two of their instruments "to have and to hold", if you know what I mean-- nothing like having the look and feel as well as the sound. That was a 40-year itch finally scratched with picking up those two instruments last month. I do think the VariAx will be a nice addition where a diversity of sounds are concerned.

And, George played a Gibson 345 for a short period, Nov-Dec of 1965. Long story with this-- but it seem to kick in shortly after his Grestch Country Gent was splintered beyond repair havinig fallen off a luggage rack.

In addition, I think the VariAx will have considerable usefulness outsite of the context of the Beatles' sound.

Thanks for the reminder!

EDIT-Ah- I see Mister Z has chimed in before I could post this.

You know, my goal is to play one guitar well for the moment, but not being an official guitarist, I am not setting aside any stop gaps that may facilitate reaching a certain goal... at least not yet. My next endeavor in guitar world is the amp.

Time and money will tell (as they avail themselves!!).

zed · Post by **zed** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 11:44 am

Frodo wrote:... the VariAx is definitely under consideration--- fills in a lot of gaps. Chances are, I'd get one long before I'm able to add another proper Ricky or Grestch... I do think the VariAx will be a nice addition where a diversity of sounds are concerned.

I think you are being very diplomatic, but doubt that there is a chance in hell that you would buy a VariAx. Who are you kidding? By the time your realize you need a different guitar sound, you will have done all the shopping and research and will be gearing towards an authentic model. <insert "oh brother" smiley here>

With regards to 12 string guitar simulations... the VariAx did not do an effective job (at all) in my opinion, and the 12 string simulation was limited to a few specific patches. On the VG Strat, however, the 12 string simulation sounds MUCH more realistic and it is treated like a tuning option which you can apply to ANY of the guitar pickup simulations. Nevertheless, I don't think either of them can touch the deliciousness of a real Ricky 12 string.

Sorry Mr Monkey Man. I am not trying to undermine your advice or to have you questioning your purchase. I am just posting my findings, because I went out and checked all this stuff out after you first mentioned it back in September.