The Jam Room Blog Thread.

[jibberish]

omlet, do you have nice old hagstroms floating around cheap?

schecter string thru guitars have nice sustain too.



I found the power amps I will get.  there is a series of crown amps spec'd for 2ohm. $499 for the 280w/ch 8ohm model(700w/ch into 2ohms)
they also have a series of "class d" magnetic switching power supply amps also. the ones that only weigh 10 pounds. those are based on trickery and do fine if not pushed real hard.
amps built for current weigh a ton and cost more due to the extra materials

crown xti 1002. at 700w into 2 ohms we are looking at like 17-18amps at ~35volts. that's some current
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/XTi1002/

their class d amps look super sexy on paper, but they are specifically NOT recommended for 2 ohm loads like the xls1500, which I would buy no problem for general loading. I dig the crown brand. it has been around forever. notice more 8ohm and 4ohm power than the xti 1002 and a lower price.
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/XLS1500/

[Omlet]

My HWY1 tele has enough sustain for me
I love the Skervesen and probably I'll keep it - it's great for black metal or classic metal but not so outstanding for doom, stoner or drone. But I still like it very much.

At the end of the upcoming week I should know if they plan to fire me or keep me in the company so it will determine if I'll start looking for some people to play stoner or sludge doom. If i lose the job it will be impossible to buy an amp (I have only 15W roland cube ) or pay for any practice space, so it will be quite stressful week for me.

I want to play some really dirty and fucked-up sludge/doom similar to Sourvein, but a) i'm not sure if anyone here wants to play such music b) i'm not very good at coming up with such riffs. So maybe I'll stick to some stoner/doom stuff, maybe something similar to Acid King, as I absolutely love Lori's riffs. She is the Queen of the Riff, at least for me.

Uhh, I don't even want to think about my future right now

[liquidsmoke]

I want to play some really dirty and fucked-up sludge/doom similar to Sourvein, but a) i'm not sure if anyone here wants to play such music b) i'm not very good at coming up with such riffs.

Can you get the type of tone you like for sludge? When I'm going for a certain sound my guitar half plays itself if I've got the tone the way I like it for said sound. I've had good luck running distortion pedals into amp distortion for more extreme sludgy sounds.

[dogfood]

and finally do some ac rewiring and run AC drops to both the control desk and amp stack. I want to scavenge off of 3 different 20 amp circuits for powering up the whole room.  I am thinking of splitting a spare 220line into a pair of 110's. it isn't being used for the stove any longer. that would do it. the original circuit plus those 2.

Split that circuit.  Pull two #12s...#10 if it doesn't kill your wallet, WHY? decreased resistance on the grounds and neutrals and while we are at it-why not MC all that armor/sheilding couldn't hurt + metal jboxes, it's what I'd do if I were building/remodeling a practice/recording space)

[jibberish]

and finally do some ac rewiring and run AC drops to both the control desk and amp stack. I want to scavenge off of 3 different 20 amp circuits for powering up the whole room.  I am thinking of splitting a spare 220line into a pair of 110's. it isn't being used for the stove any longer. that would do it. the original circuit plus those 2.

Split that circuit.  Pull two #12s...#10 if it doesn't kill your wallet, WHY? decreased resistance on the grounds and neutrals and while we are at it-why not MC all that armor/sheilding couldn't hurt + metal jboxes, it's what I'd do if I were building/remodeling a practice/recording space)

I am freak enough to pull 10 so watch what you say haha

but I seriously am close to the breaker box(the upper NW corner of the basement is literally about 6 feet from the box in the garage on that same wall. I was planning just to use normal romex .

but now you got me thinking some more, so yeah, more meditation needed on the final setup heh.

3 circuits may be overkill, but I guarantee one 20 amp circuit cant handle all the gear ill have when I fire the whole room up. even the pc uses some juice, and lights, etc etc.   I would be tempted to put the dehumidifier all on it's own circuit. that fucker is like a microwave, it draws some juice. I have to use it in the summer tho. no choice.

actually you have helped. this house is old and the current breaker box is out of code.  I think this is the perfect time to say fuck it and replace the whole fucking breaker box. old school needed 220 for several things.  I have natural gas service, which is superior in every way to electric for heating, so I don't need 220's for stoves or dryers etc.

edit: I pulled and trayed the 8 speaker wires through the ceilings and the  3/4" PVC tray setup I made. I added the 4th set of speaker wires for the eventual subs I will build into the brick woodboxes on either side of the fireplace.  I will own a truly zero flex cabinet haha all brick and cement. that will be some tight fucking bass with no cabinet softening it.  saved a future "oh no"

so those 8, 50 foot wires are all wrangled into submission acceptably.

next comes the cable tray for the misc signal wires from the control desk to the amp stack, and also a network cable.
the last thing will be the power distro since I am still in flux regarding the sourcing of powering the room

[liquidsmoke]

If I've lived in the same place for 35 years is it okay for me to say fuck this state once in awhile when show turnout is super weak? What the fuck WI? If you didn't see Slough Feg last time or Spirit Caravan last night don't expect to get another chance here.

[dogfood]

The more I think about it...more circuits = less noise due to more (relatively) isolated neutrals and grounds.  I say put a new panel in and run a shit ton of 15A circuits that feed one receptacle.  

[dogfood]

Also, had both the Traynor YBA-1s exorcised and had a bias mod put in both.  One has the GT el-34s it has always had and I had the other re-tubed.  Bought some JJ 6550s and they sound like golden tits! GOLDEN TITS!

[Danny G]

Will be grabbing my SVT-II from storage tomorrow. Very anxious to take a look at it and locate the aforementioned possibly faulty electrolytics.

Will post my findings.


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[Danny G]

And I would like to acquire some JJ 6550s when time for the imminent SVT retube. Been reading lots of overwhelmingly good things about them.

Shit. If the SVT-II comes back into service, it'll need new tubes as well...


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[Danny G]

Ok. Picked up the SVT-II and immediately set to pulling it apart.

Already noticed a burned out resistor and a fried solder joint. Electrolytics look fine far as I can see.

Need to track down resistor value as not much left of it for identification purposes.



Pulling the board was a commitment.



Burned out solder trace to a cap



Fried resistor, opposite end of the board




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[RacerX]

Ok. Picked up the SVT-II and immediately set to pulling it apart.

Already noticed a burned out resistor and a fried solder joint. Electrolytics look fine far as I can see.

Need to track down resistor value as not much left of it for identification purposes.



Pulling the board was a commitment.



Burned out solder trace to a cap



Fried resistor, opposite end of the board




Sent from a can on some string using Tapatalk

[Danny G]

Ha! Yeah and I'm going to assume that thing also does not weigh 85 pounds.

Attempted to remedy the Acoustic B200H. Noticed the plastic connector for the wires from power section to speaker jacks was very loosey-goosey. Hard wired them in place.

Didn't work. Shit.




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[RAGER]

I've gotten 3 responses back from my CL electronica collab ad.  The first was a no go right away.  The other 2 seem promising so I emailed and have not heard back.  I had to edit my ad to specify no Republicans or religious types at all.  Not interested in joining your worship band.

I know people that I could actually do some stuff with but I'm trying to broaden my network I guess to people I don't already know.

[Lumpy]

I would consider doing it solo if possible, less problems with logistics, drama, shirkers, flakes etc. One of the big plusses with electronic music is that you don't need a band... depending on what you want to do...

[RAGER]

I'm hoping to incorporate live drums and some guitar into the whole mix.  So I envision being on the drums while the other dude is running the keys and shit and then there will be passages where we can both be on the synths/software stuff while mixing in some guitar here and there.

But believe you me I'm not 100% sold on the idea of working with somebody.  1 persons bullshit is better than 2.  Besides I've become more and more non social the past few years.  At the very least I can glean some logistical things from the other person.  I've got way more electronic gear than I know how to operate.

I've gotten some more responses.  One guy sounds especially on the same page.  Gonna hopefully just meet up for a beer first.  I'm a little leery showing off all my gear to strangers right away.

[Lumpy]

Keep hope alive.

[liquidsmoke]

Playing mostly with bands you like and not playing out that much vs playing shows with random bands and playing out more.

Discuss. If you feel like it.


On a somewhat related note, right now I feel like the heavy/metal/doom/whatever scene/scenes in WI is/are almost nonexistent dispite metal supposedly being back and 'doom' supposedly being all the rage. I think it works like this: old and truly legendary bands as well as newer bands that are hyped to 20 somethings by certain sources can sometimes get good show turnouts in big cities. Otherwise, it's a total crapshoot and generally pretty dismal.

I'm realizing that if you're playing out and there are even a handful of people actually standing up watching you, be grateful. And if even a single person is there play your asses off and enjoy the moment. Me and two friends, a door guy, and maybe two bar tenders saw Aquilonion once and it was a great set, I was right up by the stage fucked up rocking out and I'm very glad they didn't just pack it up after 5 minutes.

[dogfood]

How funny would it be if they put an 85 lb plate of lead in that pedal?!

[RAGER]

And then wrote on it " you can't have everything asshole"

[RacerX]

Playing mostly with bands you like and not playing out that much vs playing shows with random bands and playing out more.

Discuss. If you feel like it.

Assuming you don't really mean "bands you like" as much as "bands of a similar style,", I'd go with #1 because I (and most folks, imo, don't usually appreciate mixed-style bills). I've played with plenty of similar-style bands I thought were great, plenty more that sucked, and a whole lot more in between.

If you really mean based upon your own personal taste, step back & look at the bigger picture: is it likely some of their following will dig yer band (assuming they have one)?

[liquidsmoke]

Playing mostly with bands you like and not playing out that much vs playing shows with random bands and playing out more.

Discuss. If you feel like it.

Assuming you don't really mean "bands you like" as much as "bands of a similar style,", I'd go with #1 because I (and most folks, imo, don't usually appreciate mixed-style bills). I've played with plenty of similar-style bands I thought were great, plenty more that sucked, and a whole lot more in between.

If you really mean based upon your own personal taste, step back & look at the bigger picture: is it likely some of their following will dig yer band (assuming they have one)?

I didn't word that the best. I meant a like/similar combo. It's tough to make sure all the bands are similar. Plenty of black metal fans don't like stoner rock and vice versa but one can do worse. I definitely think about the tastes of the followings.

[RacerX]

There ya go.

The way things are these days, if the show adds even 1 fan, it was worth it.

A slow build is better than no build.

[agent of change]

I really like playing with other bands, doesn't really matter who. The few dives here that we can play are pretty good about booking generally heavy shows. I most enjoy wiping the stage with the other bands.

On another note, we're going into the studio in a few weeks to record a demo. Just a local guy with one big room. Gonna track everything live, and add vocals. Spending a $100 day tracking, and then however long it takes us another day to mix everything down. Stoked. It's been a long time since I've been in a studio. Still remember though how easy it is to make mistakes over and over again, even when you know the material through and through, because there's suddenly a sentient ear recording every move you make. Like having someone staring at you from all directions while you try to ignore it.

[RAGER]

My favorite part of the studio is when everybody is in the control room and you're listening to just your vocals blasting in the monitors and rewinding to certain parts and scrutinizing them and rewinding and doing it over and over.  That's a good time.


On another bloggy note, I have a date tonight.  With a man.  He's saying all the right words like Tame Impala, Neu!, Melvins, Locrian, Moon Duo, Dead Meadow, etc....  Turns out through some internet sleuthing he went to school with my girl and she says he was always a super nice guy and a skater.  So we're having a beer tonight to meet up.  If all goes well we might jam on Sunday.  i think this will give me the chance to get behind the drums again and also do synth stuff cuz he's a synth nerd too.  Kinda stoked.