Guitar-ness

ferventlover — Fri, 22 May 2009 19:55:13 +0000

Well, I decided it was time for me to put some new humbuckers in my Gibson SG. I don’t know why, but I had never really considered the possibility of changing them out and after a little research and suggestions, I decided to change out the Gibson humbuckers with a Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates in the bridge position and an Alnico II in the neck.

The next decision I made was to solder them in myself which was new territory for me. Hoover Music said they’d do it for fifty bones but I figured the learning experience of doing it myself and saving fifty bucks was way worth it.

So, I started on my Squire (the brightly painted guitar on the left. I took THAT guitar apart first, then soldered it back together to make sure I knew what I was doing. As you can see, my room was a mess at this point because I had all of my supplies surrounding me.

After I was sure I could solder well enough, I disassembled my Gibson.

I put the new pickups in and ran into a few snags in the soldering. At first I couldn’t get the wires to stick to the backs of the pots so I researched online of people having the same problems. Most of them suggested intentionally scratching the backs of the pots to create some crevices that the solder could grab on to. So, I did just that. I scratched the pots with a screwdriver and the solder held just fine. After I had “finished” it, I needed to try it on an amp besides the crappy squire one in my house. I drove to the church, where I keep my relatively decent amp, and tried it on there. The problem is, the guitar was buzzing and that amp buzzes slightly. I then took it to Hoover to try it on a really good amp and it was still buzzing. I realized I had made a stupid mistake. I had soldered the red and white wires together and then to the backs of the pots when they are only supposed to be wrapped together and then wrapped with tape and NOT soldered to anything. So, after fixing that, it works as well as it should I’d say. We’ll find out this weekend when I play.

All in all, a great learning experience and I know how to solder now.

Photo Credit: Alexandra Crowder

Living Where Arcane Clouds Brood High to Steal the Sun

ferventlover — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 16:18:23 +0000

I have recently taken up film photography. My father has basically given me his old film camera that he bought new in the 1980′s. It’s a Minolta XG-1. I’ve only been taking pictures of stationary objects like plants and scenery. Rarely do I catch myself taking pictures of people. I don’t really know why that is. I suppose that, since I’m not experienced at all, the pictures I take of people don’t turn out so great. Maybe, in time, I’ll be able to take pictures of people. Pictures of people aren’t timeless in the sense that it is easier to tell what year a picture was taken if the person has a mullet or a Furby in their hands. I don’t know why, but I am extremely anal when it comes to taking pictures of someone holding a piece of technology. If someone is on the phone or holding a camera, I don’t like to take a picture of them. As if I’m experienced enough to be picky. I’m not experienced at all. I am just more satisfied with plants and scenery. They’re both beautiful around here. I had always though that but taking pictures enhances that thought. Sometimes when just walking outside, I’ll make a general observation that it’s a pretty day but when taking pictures, I specifically look for appealing things to take pictures of within that pretty day. From there, the day, the plants, the land and this world become all the more enticing.

While I was out and about at a local park taking pictures, an old man in passing stated, “It’s a peaceful morning.” I agreed. “Peaceful” is a good relief from “beautiful” and also so different. I haven’t described anything as “peaceful” for a long time. When that man said that, it really made me think deeply into the meaning. Things have been so hectic for me in the last year. I go to school full time. I work basically full time. On top of those things, I volunteer time to the church. I hang out with friends and spend time with my family. I’m slowly getting pushed in to “the real world.” A break on a beautiful day now becomes peaceful.

Religious discussions scare me. I am a Christian. Sometimes not a great one. I’m hypocritical about a lot of things but I try to be a strong believer. I guess I should be more specific: Religious discussions with non-believers scare me. They scare me because when a non-believer asks me why I believe in God, I know it is a perfect opportunity for me to tell them the good news of God and I feel like I might screw it up or make it sound hokey. I definitely do not know everything about God, Jesus, the Bible or Christianity. Non-believers expect believers to be able to explain why God is so great and be able to prove somehow that God deserves the hearts and minds of everyone breathing. I agree that we should know everything about something if we believe in it with all of our hearts. So why is it so hard for me to put myself in a position to learn? Even if I knew the Bible backward and forward, and I knew the history of Jesus and Christianity, I still wouldn’t be able to prove to anyone that God exists. It takes a faith and vision that can’t be taught or explained.

I used to enjoy going to see movies in the theater right as they came out. A friend of mine who worked at a local theater would get me into the sneak previews of movies the night before their release. I loved being one of the first to see a movie when it came out. I now find people like that very annoying. It seems like so many people are so anxious to give you an opinion on a new movie or a new CD. It’s frustrating because I’ve learned over the years that hearing an opinion from someone never helps anything. Sure, it helps you get to know your friends better and sometimes you can judge, by a person’s opinion, whether you would like that movie. For the most part, an opinion sways you to either delve into a movie or CD or stray away from it. I’ve seen movies where everyone told me it was terrible, but I gained a lot from seeing it. I’ve heard CDs that no one enjoyed but have touched me. I’m open to statements like, “You may like (insert movie title or album title here).”

With that said, here is what I’ve been listening to that you may like as well:

Bonnie “Prince” Billy- Then The Letting Go

Murder By Death- Red of Tooth and Claw

Iron and Wine- Our Endless Numbered Days

Borne by Branches

Guitar-ness

Living Where Arcane Clouds Brood High to Steal the Sun