BillFitzmaurice.info

Grey Owl wrote: ↑Sat Jul 18, 2020 5:01 am Gidday Peeps,
Ha ha ha.
If it's not one thing, it's another!!!!!
Unexpectedly we've bought an RV as an ex-Covid19 escape gift to ourselves and been away on the road for a week testing how everything works. Very enjoyable.
Since returning, it's been pissing down with rain, windstorms, tornado's etc. so winter has finally arrived with a vengance.
My 80% completed Omni15TB still sits on the workbench where I left it about 3 weeks ago. I can feel it glaring at me as I, with eyes averted, quickly pass by ignoring its plea for attention.
Otherwise it's boring and tiring waiting for the return of spring and some much longer days of sunshine etc.
Having cleared my mind publicly I trust you are all well and coping with life's daily scheming diversions.
Cheers All

Glad you're doing well David. The interesting thing about projects is you can put them down for endless amounts of time and and they're still a project when you get back to it. Pretty amazing how that seems to work.

Good hearing from ya

What's up fellas? Been lurking around as usual, using BFM build posts to maintain my sanity. Not a lot to do here so I have a few vices to keep me happy. I spend a lot of time at work and hit the gym twice a day.

I was looking for a nice 6-string acoustic to go with my 12-string and settled on the Blueridge BR-160 (D-28 clone). I wanted the holy grail duo: D-18 and D-28; but I just buried my little sister a few weeks ago and the wife would kill me if spend that kind of cash in addition. Had no idea funerals were that expensive, but I digress.

Interestingly enough, I read in several places that if you want Martin guitars on a Bud Light budget, Blueridge is the way to go. They capture the depth, volume, and roundness of the tone but lack a little of the harmonic overtones. Meh, that'll do for me. I'll probably buy the Blueridge BR-140 (D-18 clone) in the future if the BR-160 impresses me. I'll have to find an under-saddle pickup to install but I won't need it for awhile.

You'll see what looks like a Les Paul gold top in the pic. It looks and plays damn good but it's an Agile AL3200MCC. I am smart enough not to bring any of my real Les Paul's to Turkey. They let that shit sit in Customs for up to three months and sometimes you don't get your stuff at all.

Agile is a Korean company who specialize in well crafted guitars and aren't trying to capitalize on the Les Paul name like some of the Chinese ones do. I still call it my Chibson though.

So between music, books, the gym, work, and whiskey, I occupy my time fairly well. Gotta stay sane for when I get back and can build a whole herd of speakers in addition to the ones I have. I need to have enough to piss the wife off. If she says it's too loud, it's just right.

Bryan Cox wrote: ↑Sat Aug 08, 2020 4:37 am What's up fellas? Been lurking around as usual, using BFM build posts to maintain my sanity.

Sorry for your loss and thanks for your service.

I haven't ever heard of the Blueridge guitars before....just looked 'em up. Look pretty nice. Of course, once you put a peizo pickup in the bridge - it sounds like every over guitar with an under saddle pickup. I've always used a soundhole pickup in my D35. I just like the warmer tone.....seems like it actually sounds like the guitar. My Maton has a built-in piezo along with a mic inside that lets you mix the two independently. It plays better than the Martin and is more comfortable, but the Martin sounds better....it's always a trade-off. Seems like the best sounding acoustics that I've mixed over the years have been those with a soundhole pickup. Some others have been good too, but those are the ones that stand out. A guy named Seth James had a 50s Gibson (not a big body) with a soundhole pickup that is the absolute best sounding acoustic I've ever mixed. Of course, he's a great player and singer. He lives here in town and I've mixed a couple of his acoustic shows.... worth checking out. This is one of my favorites of his...kind'a like a young Delbert McClinton. https://youtu.be/hqLGZcnOfPk

Smart of you not to drag good stuff over there. It will make them feel and sound even better when you get home to 'em.

Keep posting and let us know how you're doing.

Thanks, Bruce. That guy is really good but hard to pin down. If that song was an instrumental I'd say it was blues. His playing reminds me of Joe Bonamassa and Roy Buchanan. https://youtu.be/deeBQZ8Aklc

I drop in about once a day to read up on threads. I'll be sure to post something periodically. Talk to you guys later.

I wish I was more versed and genuinely interested in musical instrument nuances. Seems the best I can do most of the time is smile and nod. My dad has played a 12 string Ovation forever. I think the serial number on his guitar is something like #0006, or something like that. Anyway, having heard that specific guitar throughout the majority of my life, in my mind, that's what an acoustic guitar is "supposed" to sound like... just based on my repeated exposure. It's just the reality I live in, and I'm aware isn't any truer than any other reality out there. Anyway, I've always enjoyed it's sound and whatever sort of pickup it has installed sounds pretty good to me too. But again, I really don't have the ear for it that you guys (guitar players) have. I really keep my mind open when you guys chat about this stuff.

And Bryan... I'm sorry for your loss too. Way too young, way too soon. I've lost 2 younger brothers over the past 4 years (separately, but both drug related) and I miss them nearly daily, still.

I'm happy to hear from you. Glad you're well buddy.

SethRocksYou wrote: ↑Sat Aug 08, 2020 1:59 pm I wish I was more versed and genuinely interested in musical instrument nuances. Seems the best I can do most of the time is smile and nod. My dad has played a 12 string Ovation forever. I think the serial number on his guitar is something like #0006, or something like that. Anyway, having heard that specific guitar throughout the majority of my life, in my mind, that's what an acoustic guitar is "supposed" to sound like... just based on my repeated exposure. It's just the reality I live in, and I'm aware isn't any truer than any other reality out there. Anyway, I've always enjoyed it's sound and whatever sort of pickup it has installed sounds pretty good to me too. But again, I really don't have the ear for it that you guys (guitar players) have. I really keep my mind open when you guys chat about this stuff.

And Bryan... I'm sorry for your loss too. Way too young, way too soon. I've lost 2 younger brothers over the past 4 years (separately, but both drug related) and I miss them nearly daily, still.

I'm happy to hear from you. Glad you're well buddy.

Thanks, Seth. You crack me up, man. When I tell my wife I need a new guitar or amp she says, "Let me guess, this one somehow sounds different?!" Haha. Yeah I'm very particular about my instruments. I've been a Les Paul/Stratocaster/Ibanez player most of my life and I don't stray much from that. As far as acoustics go, I'm not nearly as picky. I've had the super cheap Washburns and the expensive Takamine's but didn't have much preference either way since I'm mostly an electric player. I decided that since I'm gonna get another now I may as well get what I want, or as close to what I want as possible. Buy once, cry once, right?

A man is entitled to as many guitars as his wife has shoes.

Bill Fitzmaurice wrote: ↑Sat Aug 08, 2020 3:08 pm A man is entitled to as many guitars as his wife has shoes.

I absolutely agree. And by my count, I have many more to go.

Bryan Cox wrote: ↑Sat Aug 08, 2020 2:59 pm
Thanks, Seth. You crack me up, man. When I tell my wife I need a new guitar or amp she says, "Let me guess, this one somehow sounds different?!" Haha. Yeah I'm very particular about my instruments. I've been a Les Paul/Stratocaster/Ibanez player most of my life and I don't stray much from that. As far as acoustics go, I'm not nearly as picky. I've had the super cheap Washburns and the expensive Takamine's but didn't have much preference either way since I'm mostly an electric player. I decided that since I'm gonna get another now I may as well get what I want, or as close to what I want as possible. Buy once, cry once, right?

My other dad (bio) is into cycling (sporadically now-a-days). He's got 5+ $5000-$10,000 bicycles on his wall in the garage. I've always joked with him, how many of those things can you ride at once? Or, "if you are into it for exercise, wouldn't you want the heaviest, least streamline, most inefficient bike you can find?"

Ultimately, I know darn well we all get geeked out AF when it comes to our hobbies and the next best thing to have/own/buy... is just the next best thing. Crazy humans, we are. Always climbing that proverbial mountain.

I miss Corona Operator around here. Anyone have a contact for him? Give him a jingle and get him back on here, would ya?

Bryan, sorry about your loss.

Tom Smit wrote: ↑Sun Aug 09, 2020 12:54 am Bryan, sorry about your loss.

I appreciate it, Tom. Thank you.

Have any of you used the FBD (feedback destroyer) function within a Behringer Ultracurve DEQ2496? Do you have anything to say about it? Work well, not so well? What's your overall impression and opinion about your experience with it?

Thanks guys.

SethRocksYou wrote: ↑Tue Aug 18, 2020 4:08 pm Have any of you used the FBD (feedback destroyer) function within a Behringer Ultracurve DEQ2496? Do you have anything to say about it? Work well, not so well? What's your overall impression and opinion about your experience with it?

Thanks guys.

Yes, I have before, but don't bother much now as I'm much better versed in EQ and frequencies.
Did it work? Yes, and well, in that it stopped the feedback. It also instituted a reasonable amount of other frequency filters at the same time, and not all of them were necessary.
Why is it effective? It creates deep but narrow notch filters (up to - 60dB IIRC) at the offending frequency(s).

If you're interested, check out the manual, which seems totally inadequate in that section, but repeated reading helps.
It might also be firmware version dependant, but when I was using it, you had to implement at one filter (eg -3dB@ 20K, or -3dB at 20Hz) before FBD would work. Use the Learn function button.
Harder to work out was how to remove the other filters already there lol (mine at the time was second hand).

It's worth mucking around with, if for no other reason than it helps you learn frequencies (and their often co-dependant relationship with upward and downward harmonics), but it does work live.
Just get a monitor on the verge of feedback, and go for it...

Grant Bunter wrote: ↑Tue Aug 18, 2020 4:28 pm

SethRocksYou wrote: ↑Tue Aug 18, 2020 4:08 pm Have any of you used the FBD (feedback destroyer) function within a Behringer Ultracurve DEQ2496? Do you have anything to say about it? Work well, not so well? What's your overall impression and opinion about your experience with it?

Thanks guys.

Yes, I have before, but don't bother much now as I'm much better versed in EQ and frequencies.
Did it work? Yes, and well, in that it stopped the feedback. It also instituted a reasonable amount of other frequency filters at the same time, and not all of them were necessary.
Why is it effective? It creates deep but narrow notch filters (up to - 60dB IIRC) at the offending frequency(s).

If you're interested, check out the manual, which seems totally inadequate in that section, but repeated reading helps.
It might also be firmware version dependant, but when I was using it, you had to implement at one filter (eg -3dB@ 20K, or -3dB at 20Hz) before FBD would work. Use the Learn function button.
Harder to work out was how to remove the other filters already there lol (mine at the time was second hand).

It's worth mucking around with, if for no other reason than it helps you learn frequencies (and their often co-dependant relationship with upward and downward harmonics), but it does work live.
Just get a monitor on the verge of feedback, and go for it...

Thanks Grant

Yeah, I've read through the manual a few times. I think I've got a good idea of how to set it up. I highly appreciate you sharing your experience with it. I guess I do need more time and experience (would love as many opportunities as I can get). The issues I've had in the past are with the mains. Not every time, but I've got a Labor Day thing I'm doing and it would be great if I could do a whole show without ANY feedback. This particular venue puts the mic (which never leaves the stand and is for the most part stationary) and guitar (Ovation 12) about 3-4 feet behind and 6-7 feet off to the side of a main speaker. Apparently close enough to catch a little spill in the mic and occasionally the guitar feeds back. I think one mistake I've made is not pushing the system into the red during sound check. I have pushed it to a volume I think is sufficient, but it always seems that mid show I feel it's necessary to give'r a little more. That's when I find out I'm feed back limited. I hate being limited, and I feel like feedback just sours the show a little. It definitely knocks my Dad off his game a little in performing. I learn something new every show. So, I figured I'd give this a shot this time... and give'r all she's got in sound check.

Thanks again Grant, you're a legend I'll fiddle around with it this evening and see how it goes.