Kind of old news by now but I’ve been really busy with non-music stuff since. Innergrave have released their first EP, cryptically named Momigeonspigens. My contribution to this project was mixing and mastering the album and designing the covers. You can listen to an MP3-compressed version on Innergrave’s Myspace page or you can buy the album locally or order trough the upcoming schwag store.

OK, my setup is not very sexy but sure was cheap, around 100EUR! So let’s break it down (click for larger image—1600px):

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Here’s some promotional material, including two wallpapers (1600x1200px).

You’ve all seen ‘em: bedroom amps, mini- or micro-stacks, practice amps or whatever you may call them, they all share the same promise: Classic tone in a small, affordable package. Well this installment of Tech Talk is here to show you why that’s pure bullshit meant to bedazzle the ever-so-naïve young guitarist. Read the rest of this entry »

This is another one for the local peeps: you can now access voxmtv.ro for info about our studio/service shop/sound reinforcement outfit.

I’ve got the cure you’re thinking of!

This is the first production unit from Indefinite Pitch. Well, one could hardly call it a series since so far only three have been made and will be sold. It’s also strictly for the local market so I won’t bother you with details. This is Dr. Love in a nutshell:

• buffer/preamplifier/overdrive, chiefly for software ampsims (AmpliTube, ReValver etc.) and DI
• low-cost alternative to dedicated audio interfaces
• 9—12V power supply range

For reference’s sake, here’s a link to the Dr. Love User’s Manual (PDF, Romanian).

You can’t have “boutique” effects without fuzz, right? I actually made the furry enclosure about a year ago, I knew it just had to house some kind of fuzz but I only recently found a circuit that was “worthy”. So here it is, the Big Brown Beaver: a comparator fuzz with hyper-compressed, gated square wave output. Controls are sensitivity and output volume. Features bright blue LED for that extra bit of “boutiqueness”.

Audio sample (.mp3)

Also, as a bonus, a picture of another fuzz project I’ve worked on. It’s like a cross between a silicon Fuzz Face and a Fuzz Factory, just in case I ever need something more “classic” yet flexible.

Would you like fries for that shake? How about phantom power for your active pickups or onboard preamp/effects?

We usually think of phantom power as related to condenser mics but I’m not talking about the 48V you get from a mixing desk here, although it is pretty much the same principle: carry your power on the same cable as your signal so you don’t have to lug around a battery. On guitars with active electronics this system is particularly useful since:

• Obviously, there’s no onboard battery: no replacing, no recharging, no making room for an aftermarket installation.
• You’re not restricted to batteries, yet you retain the option of using them: you can just as well power your pickups from any standard 9V adapter. Or go 12V or 18V if that’s your cup of tea.
• One cable fits all: the system is compatible with any guitar that has been set up to use it or any other (mono) guitar for that matter:
  • phantom-powered active guitars: all that needs to be done to the guitar is to use a stereo jack and tie tip to signal, ring to where battery (+) would be and sleeve to ground. Anyone with basic knowledge of electronics should be able to figure this out;
  • “standard” active guitars: (i.e. those with onboard batteries) if for some reason you need to use one, just short the ring to sleeve, before disconnecting power, of course. Otherwise you’d be shorting out your battery or adapter. This is necessary because most manufacturers use (or should use anyway) the “insert jack to connect battery” scheme, i.e. the battery is floating unless you short R and S together, which is what inserting a mono jack plug does. This could be accomplished with a switch.
  • passive guitars: if for some reason the original TRS recommendation is abided (which people rarely do) power would again be shorted to ground, which is hazardous if not fatal to the supply. To be safe, you could simply unplug the battery or barrel plug from the adapter or again use a switch, possibly the same one as before: a single pole on-off-on switch can choose what the ring is connected to—supply (phantom power), nothing or ground.

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For a couple of years now I’ve been searching for the single distortion unit that can embody the spirit of Indefinite Pitch: “over the top”. Today I give you the Demolator, a kind of Distortus Maximus with a dash of Nigel Tufnel. It can go from a light crunch to scare-your-neighbour’s-kids saturation but if anything, this thing is loud! In fact you could plug it straight into a cab, since it’s based on the LM386 Low Voltage Audio Power Amplifier, two of them actually. This also means it will probably start to feed back before the volume pot hits 12:00, but hey—that’s what it’s for. So in a nutshell:

• high-gain distortion (theoretically capable of 72dB)
• Gain and Volume controls
• 9V operation
• virtually guaranteed to destroy your amp

This is an updated version of the restored Procrastinator, my very first guitar. It’s basically a maple Ibanez Destroyer copy shape-wise, which itself is an Explorer rip-off. This version features improved bridge and tuners and a single humbucker with coil tap. I’ve actually made the pickup from two vintage Schaller single-coils. The neck is also fretless after the 9th fret for whenever I feel an atonal solo coming up. Thinking of making it fully fretless, though.