Back in the game

[Dave Stagner <dave@spnz.org>]

Hey strangers!  It's been a long time since i was on this list... i
drifted away from looping for a while. But i'm back at it again. :} 

I found something cool for the Vortex that hasn't been mentioned on the
list, i don't think... the MoogerFooger expression pedal for the new Big
Briar Moog stuff works great as a Vortex expression pedal.  I picked one
up new for $35 at a local shop.  It sweeps perfectly 01-64, and has a
firmer feel than the Roland/Boss pedal.  Sure, it's cheap plastic, but
aren't they all?  I'm sure it'd work well for any other expression pedal
use, too. I'll probably try hacking mine to make it work with my old
DeltaLab Echotron as a feedback control. 

More equipment geeking, since y'all can appreciate it... my newly
rebuilt looping rig consists of my Lexicon Vortex in mono to a DeltaLab
Echotron, out to a Trace-Elliot Velocette amp. The front end is a Gibson
Blueshawk into a Prescription Electronics Germ, Rat, volume pedal, MXR
Flanger, and a no-name analog echo. 

This system represents me accepting the nature of my instrument. For
years, i believed that high fidelity was the way to guitar nirvana. Hum,
noise, and poor frequency response were my enemies. I struggled with
sterile stacked-humbucking pickups on Stratocasters, HUSH pedals that
squashed my tone, and clumsy stereo amplification. Then my tone would
suck, and i'd go find solace in unamplified acoustic music. 

Obviously, my current setup is NOT hi-fi! The Blueshawk hums, the Rat
buzzes, the flanger hisses and squeals, the analog delay is murky, the
Vortex hisses and whooshes, and the Echotron has the bandwidth of a
hearing aid, all going into an amp that distorts at anything above
conversation volume, with a speaker that bottoms out on low notes. And i
LOVE it! 

I've been working the Blueshawk/Velocette combo for a while now. The fun
of that guitar/amp combination is that it feeds back in a controlled
manner at very reasonable volumes, on any string. Now i'm looping the
feedback, getting really fat tones. The Echotron loops on its input even
when bypassed, so what i'm doing is turning its mix all the way down for
normal playing, with about four seconds of delay and moderate feedback.
After a while, i turn up the mix and hear whatever i've accidentally
looped over the last minute or so of playing. If i like it, i can hit
infinite repeat and play over it. Loops from the Vortex may be somewhat
out of sync, adding to the rhythmic complexity. 

Now THIS is an instrument i can play! Sure, it's noisy and rough. It's
also incredibly touch-sensitive, and sounds as warm as a human voice.
It's good to be back. :}
-- 

-dave

"...'cause she knows that it's demanding to defeat those evil
machines..."
 -The Flaming Lips, _Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots pt. 1_