The Hermit’s Cave – Page 26

7th July 20205th July 2020

Studio Diary #21: Homemade Shelving For My Amps

In February, I decided to change the layout of the room at home that doubles as my home office and home studio. It was a good decision. Now I just have to work through the consequences.

There isn’t the same amount of space for my amps as there was before. I needed new furniture to put them on. In a world of metric measurements and largely imported furniture, amps and their dinosaur imperial measurements are a very awkward fit. I wasn’t able to find anything in the shops that would suit.

I had to make my own. And, partway through, the pandemic lockdown started.

This one’s a bit of a long read, as much about the story as step-by-step instructions. If you’re interested in making your own, I hope you find it useful!

4th July 202011th September 2021

First Impressions: Keeley D&M Drive

Thanks to its association with That Pedal Show, the Keeley Electronics D&M Drive has to be one of the most well-known drive pedals to launch in recent years.

I’ve finally taken the plunge and bought myself one. What do I think of it? Here’s my first impressions of this award-winning pedal.

3rd July 20205th July 2020

First Impressions: Mythos Pedals’ Lark (Rhett Shull Signature) Overdrive Pedal

Back in May 2020, my pre-ordered Mythos Lark drive pedal arrived. It’s been on the practice board most of the time since then, sharing time with various other tweed-tone pedals that I’ve been looking at.

How has it gotten on? Here’s my First Impressions of this drive pedal. It’s a bit of a long read …

1st July 202030th June 2020

What I Learned From Buying Music Every Week

When the UK lockdown began in late March, a lot of musicians lost the majority – if not all – of their income. I was in a position to help, so I started buying an album every single Monday.

I lasted about 12 weeks before I stopped.

What was it like, and why did I stop doing it every single week? Here’s my thoughts on what I learned.

30th June 20205th July 2020

New Arrivals For June 2020

I’m keeping an eye on eBay for extra-unusual items, just in case. This month, though, is all about overcoming my fears, and starting to make good use of what I’ve already got.

Here’s everything that arrived this month, with first impressions to follow.

29th June 20205th July 2020

First Impressions: Universal Audio’s LUNA DAW

The thing I hate most about digital recording? Latency. Even though I’m about as far away from a technically-accomplished player as you can get, I really struggle with coping with latency when I’m recording with Reaper. It’s the main reason that I bought my first UAD Apollo interface back in 2016.

So when Universal Audio announced LUNA, and made a huge song-and-dance about how it enables recording with virtually zero latency, I had to try it.

That was at the end of April 2020. I’ve been using it on-and-off throughout May, and scribbling down notes as I went along.

When you read this, please remember that it’s perfectly possible that some of these points may have been addressed in more recent releases of LUNA. UAD seem to be doing a great job of getting regular updates out for users.

That kinda hints that I ran into a lot of pain points with LUNA …

26th June 2020

The Green Strat Is Back

My green Strat is back from the shop. It’s been in for some more mods. What have I had done to it this time, and am I happy with the results of the upgrades I asked for?

24th June 20202nd July 2020

Followup: D’Addario XT Strings

At the start of the month, I tried D’Addario XT strings for the first time. With the end of the month almost here, I thought I’d write a quick follow-up about how I’m getting on with them.

They’re coming off both guitars, just as soon as I’ve got replacement strings.

10th June 20205th July 2020

First Impressions: Boss FBM-1 Fender 59 Bassman Overdrive Pedal

Above all others, there’s one tweed-tone pedal that I haven’t yet tried. It might not be the very first tweed-tone pedal, but it’s certainly the earliest one that I know about. It’s a pedal that’s rumoured to have graced the boards of many successful recording and touring artists.

And finally, after years of watching them go for very high prices, I finally won one on eBay. Was it worth the wait? Or will it remain forever in the shadow of my beloved SHOD?

5th June 20205th July 2020

First Impressions: Synergy BMan

Recently, I picked up a BMan preamp for my Synergy rig. How did I get on with it? Read on for my First Impressions.