Random musical ideas: is it the journey and not the destination?

This morning, as I stand in the shower wondering why someone with barely any hair still uses shampoo, I had a thought. I wouldn’t classify it as an epiphany, because that’s probably giving the idea and myself far more credit than it deserves. No, it was just a thought. But that in itself was fascinating, […]

Boss GT-1 multieffects board/pedal: first impressions

Recently, Roland held an event in which dozens of products were released simultaneously, in different cities across the world. It certainly got a lot of attention, but there didn’t seem to be a ton for guitarists, except for a new line of affordable amps, the Boss Katana series, and the new GT-1: a multieffects board […]

Atomic AmpliFIRE: likes and dislikes

Okay, so I’ve had the AmpliFIRE for a bit now, and I’ll definitely be keeping it. For awhile. Until something better comes along. LOL It’s a powerful, flexible little box for sure. However, there are definitely some Pluses and Minuses to what it is, and I bet that’s a combination of keeping costs down, as […]

Atomic AmpliFIRE: Round 2, this time with feeling

So, I bought the Atomic AmpliFIRE right when it came out last year. I was underwhelmed; not because I thought it sounded awful, but because I felt it didn’t sound any better than much cheaper alternatives. So, as I often do, I returned it. Then, I heard clip after clip that was just the AmpliFIRE […]

Amazon’s “Add-on” Deal

So, last night, I’m waiting for a server to load, working on MCSE, when I decide I need a “brain break” from learning about Microsoft Server 2012 crap. I remember I wanted to order a small bag of picks from Clayton, but wanted to try a different material before committing to a bag of 100. […]

Tired of the Hero Losing His/Her Powers BS

So last week, on The Flash, Barry gives up his powers to Zoom in order to save his “step-brother” Wally. This week’s episode is Barry trying to be a hero, without his powers. If this sounds familiar, it’s because they did a similar thing in Superman II. And in The Wolverine. And in the series […]

Installing Ubuntu 14.04LTS on Microsoft Hyper-V

Hyper-V is a pretty cool hypervisor platform from Microsoft, that’s come quite a long ways in the last few years. It’s vastly cheaper than vSphere Enterprise is, and if you run Server Core and not the full GUI, the performance is pretty good. Luckily, you can also install many supported flavors of Linux on there […]

The PRS CE24 is back, and it looks great!

More than a decade ago, probably nearly two, I worked at a Wolf Camera shop in Bloomingdale, IL, doing camera sales and photo development. One of our “regulars” was a guy who was not only a photographer for the local municipality, but also a pretty great guitar player. He and I often chatted about gear, […]

I’m done with Apple Music…..and streaming music services in general

So, like many Apple users, I signed up for the trial for Apple Music in July. For a time, it was awesome. Yes, it’s really no different than Spotify, Rdio, etc. but it had all my music and everything else in one app. Pretty convenient. However, over time, I found two things: I really only […]

“Cheap” Guitars

There’s something to be said for a $3000+ guitar, in many cases. Take for example a Paul Reed Smith Custom 25 30th Anniversary guitar. Versatile switching, beautiful selected woods. Resonant and loud before you even plug it into an amp. Amazing-sounding pickups. Flawless build quality in every respect. But…..it’s $3000+. Not everyone can afford, or […]