Elantric's Tips and Blog

Started by Elantric, May 27, 2012, 07:16:34 AM

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Elantric

#225


Elantric


Elantric

Dont play in the street in Brazil





Elantric

get your bike off my lawn



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Elantric

#238
Rider for the ZZ Tops ( Tribute band)
http://www.thezztops.com/2012Pix/Graphics/zz%20tops%20tech%20spec%20%202012.pdf

THE   ZZ   TOPS   TECHNICAL   SPECIFICATION   2012
This document has been put together with help from a crack team of technicians, and
other highly trained monkeys . The aim is to help THE ZZTOPS show run as smoothly as possible
and so that we, you and most importantly - the audience, has a great time!
If you have any further questions, please contact NIK via email bigguns1@btinternet.com or
telephone 07533306975.
Thanks for reading!
STAGE   DETAIL:
Drum Riser*
A straight forward 7ft x 7ft drum riser is required. The band do carry their own if one is not
available in house.
Custom Stacks
1 1/2 full size stacks (1 on restricted stage size) will be positioned each side of the drum riser,with
video projections shown onto cabs on either side.
Custom Truck Exhaust Mic Stands
2 Truck Exhaust Chrome Mic Stands with neons inside will be placed front of stage left and right
STAGE   NOTES:
Please keep the stage as clear as possible and move any monitors to the side of the stage as side
fills as Billy and Dusty have worked hard at their funky dance steps and the audience would be
shortchanged by only seeing them from the knees upwards !
STAGE   SETUP:
STAGE LEFT – Nik (Billy Bigguns) Lead Vocals & GUITAR
2 x 50 watt Marshall Amp Heads & 3 x 4 x 12" Speaker Cabinets.
FEED 1 DI via Palmer Speaker Simulator XLR
FEED 2 MIC`D ISO CAB VIA HEIL PR30 MIC JUST NEED XLR
We bring our own custom mic stands and mics AKG D5 just need XLR at front of stage
STAGE RIGHT – Col (Dusty Thrills) ocassional Lead Vocals& BASS GUITAR
Tech 21 Bass DI Pedal (Needs Phantom Power )into poweramp feeds 3 x 4x12" Speaker
Cabinets.
DI`d via XLR
We bring our own custom mic stands and mics AKG D5 just need XLR at front of stage
STAGE CENTRE – Matt (Franks Weird) – DRUMS Mapex 6 Piece Drum
Kit consisting of:-Kick Drum, Snare Drum, 3 x Tom, 1 x Floor Tom, Hi
Hats & Cymbals. The drums are triggered through a Roland Drum
Module which comes to you via a di box needs an xlr The kit needs 2
overheads and a mic for the snare and hi-hat.
ONSTAGE Backing Track Pedal The Backing Pedal supplys any synthy type noises and needs
an xlr
TECH SPEC
Stage Setup THE ZZ TOPS
CHANNEL   LIST:
1 – Drums via Roland TD 6Vdrum module
2 – 2X Cymbal o/heads
3-- Guitar Mic Heil PR30 supplied xlr
4 – Guitar DI (via palmer speaker simulator)xlr
5 – Main Vocals (Billy) stage left (most of the time !)xlr
6 – Bass DI from sansamp pedal xlr
7 - MainVocals (Dusty) stage right (some of the time!)xlr
8 - snare drum sm57 supplied xlr
9 - Backing Track pedal (Keyboards &Odd noises FOH only!)xlr
RETURNS
1. Vocals to trantec s4000 iem transmitter identical mix for both Billy and
Dusty
2. returning to Franks in ear amp
He needs Drums,Bass,Vocals guitar in there too and backing track !
MIX   NOTES:
Firstly, its ROCK 'N ROLL – So turn it up, it needs to be loud. Deep and thundering
loud. We don't lug all those Marshall's around just for fun you know!
ZZ TOP are guitar orientated, so the guitar should be loud (can you see a theme emerging
here?) and full sounding, not tinny like 80's pop guitars so roll off the 10k and push those warm
soundin mids to achieve cut through the mix.
There are no whizz-o guitar effects, or "clean" sounds to worry about. Simply raise the level of Nik
(Billy) when he does the solos – don't forget to turn him down again once he's done though!
Next up, the bass drum!
This should also be loud and thumping, it should basically pound you into the ground from a
distance
of 50 meters. It shouldn't be "clicky"!
Bass Guitar
As you might have noticed, this has been transcribed here after the bass drum, as the bass drum
should be slightly dominant in volume over the bass guitar. This isn't down to an ego spat between
the bass player and drummer, but just the way ZZ TOP have always done it. The bass needs to be
heard (and felt), but not to the point where the sensation of the big bass drum is lost.
Lead Vocals.
These should be "surfing on the mix". Not too loud, but clear and intelligible (well, as intelligible as
they get!) On the Blusey / Ballady song we would like some Reverb on the vocals a nice big hall if
at all possible.
Backing Vocals
Don't mix them too high! Dusty is a very exitable chap especially if he spies a gaggle of dusky
maidens dancing in front of him !
Backing Track Pedal
Don't forget the Backing Track Pedal,During the 80`s the ZZ`s decided to add synths ,boings and
bangs to their brand of BBQ Boogie and during the show this will on occasion be brought into play
PLEASE PLEASE (PLEASE)
keep the Backing Track channel open at all times during the show !
Mix everything else around this and you should have it sounding
basically right!
But really.. You never heard any ZZ TOP before ???

https://www.facebook.com/TheZZTopsTribute/
https://www.gofundme.com/nickryan






Elantric


Elantric


Elantric


GT100- Guitar Input Level
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=12822.0
Gumtown wrote
Attached below is a calibration patch to set the input level (due to the lack of metering), set the input level so the EXP pedal led is just peaking on.
The GT-100 won't clip with high input levels, but it does compress beyond a certain point, making the preamps less responsive to volume change on the guitar.

An average passive humbucker input level setting sits around -7dB

You load the patch into the GT.
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=12822.0;attach=10471
Then with hard picking on the guitar, adjust the system setting for "guitar input level" until the EXP pedal switch light is only just peaking 'on'.

Typically a hot output/humbucker guitar will require the input level reduced down around the -12dB to -8dB range.



Dont forget the VG-99, GR-55, and GP-10, GT-1  all have "Normal PU Input Level controls as well

Elantric


Elantric


Elantric

#244




https://www.guitarplayer.com/gear/john-lennons-weirdest-guitar-the-sardonyx

John Lennon's Weirdest Guitar: The Sardonyx
Christopher ScapellitiOct 8, 2016
Image placeholder title
Think of John Lennon's guitars and most likely his Epiphone Casino comes to mind, or maybe his Rickenbacker 325 or Gibson J-160E acoustic-electric. You almost certainly don't think of the Sardonyx 800 D II.

But as the above photograph shows, Lennon—who died 35 years ago today—used the Sardonyx during the making of his last album, 1980's Double Fantasy.

So what exactly is it?

As it turns out, the Sardonyx is something of a mystery guitar. Its builder, Jeff Levin, was a guitar repairer at Matt Umanov's guitar shop in Manhattan's West Village back in the Seventies. He built his Sardonyx guitars at home and sold them through Umanov's, which is most likely where Lennon acquired his

"[Levin] and I went to Brooklyn Tech high school together on the subway every day," Umanov told Guitar Aficionado magazine. "We sold a few through my store and John Lennon ended up with one. He might have bought it from us, as he had an apartment a few blocks away and came through a lot."

From the earliest days of the Beatles onward, Lennon was on the lookout for new sounds, and the unusual design of the Sardonyx most likely drew him to the instrument. Although the guitar looks as if it's made of a synthetic material, it actually features a wooden body and an ebony fretboard. The matte black finish has a thick lacquer clearcoat that gives the Sardonyx a plastic appearance.



The guitar's electronics are as unusual as its appearance. Its two Bill Lawrence pickups are connected to a complex, three-output wiring system that allows the player to send completely independent pickup combinations, including different phase-reverse and series-parallel configurations, to two separate stereo outputs or to a single mono output. Other features include Schaller hardware, a pair of stainless-steel "outrigger" bars with anti-skid rubber feet, and an adjustable balance arm on the upper bout.

"Back then, Brooklyn Tech was still based on a Twenties and Thirties curriculum that included a lot of technical stuff, like a machine shop, technical drawing, and pattern making," Umanov says. "There was even a foundry. You can see all of that training in the design and execution of this guitar. If you look at the work of some of the most famous industrial designers of all time, like Raymond Loewy, who designed the most iconic Studebakers, or Henry Dreyfuss, who designed the Princess phones, the lines are sharp and deliberate, just like they are on this guitar."

Only 15 to 20 of the Sardonyx 800 D II were built, making it one of the rarest guitars associated with Lennon, a guitar legend who remained an original right up until the very end of his life.

You can learn more about the Sardonyx and see a photo of Lennon playing the guitar in the video below.



Elantric

#245


When presented with new concepts, its likely to be initially misunderstood and castigated as worthless by a few "trusted sources" . All too often its human nature for many to join in with their fellow masses like lemmings and say  "Yes- I'm just as you, I hate it too!", in an effort to remain secure and and feel part of the herd.

Folks often misunderstand many new tools and technology today, or cant think past the marketing hype

People who possess genuine critical thinking skills are becoming rare.  Sadly too many folks read the word "critical", then assume this must mean:  "How many ways can I express to my peers my hate for this new concept! " then spend boundless energy selling their negative judgement to their peers,   convincing others to share one common global one size fits all negative collective belief system,  where all can be full of hate for anything outside the norm.
   
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_thinking

One thing I know, if you seek conformity with the masses, you are reading the wrong forum.



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