Are your guitar strings wrong?

Probably. If you are not using ZOG strings. (see link below)

I have to say that I am a believer and I am now using these strings. I have some spares, and at this point in time I will probably replace and order more. I will let you know how they hold up. Right now I like them better than Elixirs, but I don't think they will last nearly as long.

FYI I am using a 9 set on my Tele - its sounds Tele Spanky and surprised the hell out of me. I always thought 9s were wimpy and failed to understand the Tele Spank connection - thanks to the magic of the ZOGs (and the recommendation of their legendary inventor) I am now a believer that some guitars simply need a certain kind of strings. Silly me I am playing my Tele more than ever so there is something to it - no doubt. Also I put a 10 set on my Onyx Forge and like the improved tone especially overdriven.

Without a doubt I will change out strings on my other players but for the moment I'm not quite to throwing out otherwise fresh strings until I have a big gig or recording project to motivate me.

Sound wise they sound like D'Addarios which is what I now have several new unused sets of sitting around - I'll probably give them away.

With these strings I am finding more tone and a more natural playing style across the strings. The theory behind this string seems to feel correct.

Intersting the strings are NOT labeled as to gauge and there are no specs, but not to worry as they are so reasonably priced as to make it silly to search elsewhere or build your own sets. (Also I suspect perhaps some of the sizes are not off the shelf spec.)

http://www.zacharyguitars.com/Strings.htm

Watching the Indy 500 - at The Track

I suppose its all been said but I did enjoy seeing a legendary event. Believe me 500,000 or so people and a $1,600,000 prize makes it much more than cars going around in circles. Our trip back to Chicago included staying with my uncle who shared many life stories, a lot of fine cooking, and several fine beverages. His place at Lake Dalecarlia in Indiana is absolutely idyllic.

A Very Difficult Day on a Bicycle

Well I did it. The Breathless Agony. If you are looking for a physical challenge here it is. 7+ hours is a long time on a bike. And climbing mountains while you are doing it makes it even harder. This ride is like one of the difficult stages in the Tour de France. Which makes those pro racers seem even more amazing. I did this one day thing and it was really hard. These guys do similar stuff almost every day for a month. I had to work up to the task. Although I have been using bikes for fitness for the better part of 20 years, you need to notch it up to do this kind of a ride. I was up to five days a week between two and five hours per ride. Once you can do 70 or so miles on steep hills, you can probably do this 7 hour 114 miler. Actually this ride felt like three hard ordinary training rides back to back. After 80 miles or so the hard part is over and the last bit is almost all downhill. Not that you can ignore it because its on a winding road and you need to keep your wits. It was cold at the top at 8600 feet, but there are some refreshments and a bit of celebration. Then trying to keep warm in the wind chilled descent. Back under 6000 ft it was much more pleasant. Near the end there was a major headwind, but only a few miles to deal with it.

As much as I enjoyed earning the achivement, I can't say I'll ever do it again.

Click here to see the ride web site.

Roast Your Own Coffee

Remember when you discovered Starbucks and then ordinary coffee simply sucked. Well this is the same sea change at another level. Green (raw, unrosted) coffee is inexpensive and available in tremendous variety from a number online sources. Unlike starbucks where you might have 20 varieties of coffee, each roasted to Starbucks spec, you have a virtually unlimited number of choices to make regarding which beans, what blend, and how dark the roast.

If you are like me you like your coffee dark at times, and light but flavorful. And flavor you cannot imagine.

Good roasted coffee is decent maybe for 10 days to two weeks after roasting. Maybe longer if you seal it up and keep it in your freezer.

I hope you have as much fun with this as I do.

Onyx Forge Custom DC

This is one tone monster of a guitar. Custom built to my specs by Roy Bullis of Laguna Hills, CA.

This guitar features a mahogany body, quilt top, maple neck with ebony fingerboard. It has Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates humbucking pickups, and an LR Baggs piezo bridge. Coils on the pickups can be split and the piezo mixed. Instead of a switch, there is a blend pot for the pickups.

8 String Guitar

Saw this during my typical guitar web surf fest. I would love to play with it. Do I need one? Maybe.

http://www.zacharyguitars.com/040705pics.htm

Fender Stratocaster VG - Pretend Guitar Tone

Well I was at my local music retailer the other day, Jim's Music in Irvine. Great store BTW - nice guys and good pricing, mostly mainstream mass-market stuff, but they will set you up well.

I played with the Strat VG and it was exactly what I expected. It does what they say, but it left me with the same feeling I have about all digital modeling. Quite simply, it sounds and is fake.

The strat in N (normal) mode just uses the mag pickups and its a normal strat. Its a good one too, like the standard US strat. Great tone and action, quality. It is what you would expect.

Now in the modeled mode, where you pick a guitar (S-strat, T-tele, H-humbucker, A-acoustic) and a tuning (N-normal, D-drop D, 12-string, DADGAD, OpenG, Baritone-b) it just digitally fakes it. And that's where it loses me. The modeled Strat mode in normal tuning - back to back with the Normal (not modeled) strat - is simply weak. The highs are muted. The pick articulation details are lost (that's good for some clunkers I suppose). Same with the rest. My baritone guitar sounds better. A real 12 string is better. My Taylor acoustic is insanely better. My Tele is better. WTF go figure - they are all REAL!

But if you can't afford all those guitars, or need to change in the middle of the song, or if you play through a bunch of crappy digital modelers or effects anyway, you might actually love this guitar. It sure is convenient for the tuning stuff. But its certainly not the real deal.

Like I said, it does exactly what it is supposed to, and I'm impressed, but I don't need one.

The Eternal Search for Guitar Tone

How much time and money do we spend looking for new and better amps, pedals, guitars? Does it make us better musicians? I don't think so. Billy Gibbons (for example) could walk into guitar center and pick a low end Epiphone Les Paul off the rack and plug it into a Vox Valvetronix (nothing exceptional about either of these, I'm just using them to make a point here) and wail up a storm. And so could I, and lots of other guys. But its satisfying to have that extra edge on your riff. Something that sets you apart. Kind of like the taste of a really fine wine. Sure you can buy a decent wine at a good gourmet market, but to really enjoy, you need to research, taste, buy and cellar your own. Its subtle but satisfying.

I am going to share my discoveries about guitar tone here, and hope you enjoy. Feel free to comment and or add your own experience.

My Bicycle Distracts Me

I ride bikes. I have been doing this seriously for 25 years or so. Mostly on the dirt (that's for another post) on my mountain bike. I live in Laguna Beach, near what is probably one of world's best single park for riding a bike on dirt without getting lost, killed, or too far from good food and coffee.

A while back my buddy Stu who I ride with constantly convinced me to race in the Sea Otter Classic in Monterey. So we trained like mad and had a great time. Finding myself in relatively remarkable shape for a 52 year old, I decided to do something nuts. Saturday I am going to ride in the Breathless Agony (go ahead google it). So more training. The last week I rode 5 out of 7 days. A couple of 4 1/2 hour days. A couple of days with 70 miles and LOTS of hills.

I hope I'm ready. I'll fill you in.

Too Many Guitars

Yes, I collect guitars. I have too many. I want more. I like them. I play them. I suppose if I did nothing at all but play my guitars I would not be completely unhappy, but I find joy in interacting with my family and friends, and the rest of the world, so I seek to involve myself in that as well.

To the degree that one must also pay some debt to be allowed to exist in this, things like work, taxes, taking out the trash, shaving, and so on, are also things I must do, but I will spare you those details.

Expect to see a lot about my guitars and music here. And I also plan on talking about other things that make me happy.

Why is this Here?

Some of us have already figured out that there are too many blogs. But I have some things I would like to share, and honestly, some things that I have learned that I wish somone had shared with me so I did not have to figure them out for myself. So here is my 2 cents. If you find it valuable or entertaining, you are quite welcome. Your comments are welcome, and after discarding any unwelcome hate, I would be quite happy to learn from them as well.

Hope your day, and every day is going well. I for one, am through with constant cynicism, and look forward to finding the best I can in every day. Should I revert to dark humor or cynical commentary, please poke me and help me return to the light.