john watilo » Miscellany

Hello, New Friend

John — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 23:55:21 +0000

Well, it wasn’t long after the departure of the beloved SQ|80 that my keyboard stand’s upper tier began calling out for me to fill the void. Something a bit more modern, that could reproduce the bread & butter sounds needed for live gigs. Enter the Korg M50.

This ‘board has turned out to be a great bang for the buck. It sounds great and has already become quite useful.

Goodbye, Old Friend

John — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 05:11:15 +0000

Yesterday, I said farewell to a loyal, faithful companion of twenty years: my Ensoniq SQ|80 Cross Wave Synthesizer. For years, this was the centerpiece of my project studio, from which I sketched out and recorded musical ideas too numerous to mention.

Now, two decades later, computers have long since become the platform of choice for my recording endeavors. Over the years, as recording technology advanced and virtual instruments became commonplace, I found that I was using this magnificent analog/digital hybrid beast less and less until finally it sat alone and untouched, day in and day out, making me feel guilty for ignoring its simple pleasures. Sigh. It was time to let go.

Luckily, thanks to God and a little help from Ebay, I found a home for my baby. I am confident that galaxiesmerge will provide the loving and nurturing environment that it deserves. After watching Arun’s video demonstration of the Yamaha CS-80 (another classic synth), it became obvious that this was a person who truly appreciates vintage gear like this and will take good care of it. I look forward to hearing how galaxiesmerge integrates this into their unique soundscapes…

So goodbye, old friend.

(sniffle)

Guitar Pre-Op

John — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 04:06:43 +0000

Well, here she is. My trusty Mexican Strat that is about to become my “project guitar”. After thinking about this for quite some time, I’ve decided to try my hand at some much-needed modifications.

The first changes will deal with what I hope will be some solid tuning improvements. This includes a set of locking tuners, a graphite nut, and removal of the string tree. At the same time, I will be departing from the stock fender bridge by installing an L. R. Baggs X-Bridge, to add some variation to the tonal palette.

Phase II, Lord willing, will involve replacing the bridge pickup with a dual humbucker. I haven’t decided for sure what it’s going to be, so at this point I’m open to suggestions!