Friday, January 29, 2010
9:04 AM | Posted by
Donovan Banks |
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2 Years ago I had a 70's Fender Bassman in fair condition but it was looking tatty. I undertook to re-cover it in white vinyl. It was a wonderful sounding amp but it was too big for me to haul around so I sold it.
This is how it looked before. That speaker was from another old valve amp that died.
It was quite old looking and had a fair amount of damage to the tolex
I set about removing the old tolex from the head
and cleaned off the remaining glue
I used the pieces I took off to cut the new vinyl and used contact glue to stick it on.
I covered the front face with the only black fabric I could find at the time using staples
After cleaning up the metal trimming I assembled it again when the glue was good and dry
The Cabinet had water damage (have no idea from where) and it was made out of chipboard. When I tried to remove the tolex it just disintegrated. I bought some pine and made a new cabinet using the same face and back board but I put castors on it this time to make transport easier....
I also covered the cabinet in the same vinyl and black face cloth
It turned out much better and even made my guitar look cooler....
I had a good time with this project and I intend to do it again some time, although not with a new amp, I'll find another old one.
This is how it looked before. That speaker was from another old valve amp that died.
It was quite old looking and had a fair amount of damage to the tolex
I set about removing the old tolex from the head
and cleaned off the remaining glue
I used the pieces I took off to cut the new vinyl and used contact glue to stick it on.
I covered the front face with the only black fabric I could find at the time using staples
After cleaning up the metal trimming I assembled it again when the glue was good and dry
The Cabinet had water damage (have no idea from where) and it was made out of chipboard. When I tried to remove the tolex it just disintegrated. I bought some pine and made a new cabinet using the same face and back board but I put castors on it this time to make transport easier....
I also covered the cabinet in the same vinyl and black face cloth
It turned out much better and even made my guitar look cooler....
I had a good time with this project and I intend to do it again some time, although not with a new amp, I'll find another old one.
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Thursday, January 28, 2010
1:50 PM | Posted by
Donovan Banks |
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When Jimi Hendrix came on the scene he was brilliant. He had showmanship and could play really well for the time and took a new perspective on some old songs as well. He adopted some cool stage moves, loud guitars and what I can only describe is blasting the audience away with something new and exciting.
If I were to go and play like that today I will be seen as unoriginal, with uncontrolled audio, poor guitar tone and I wouldn’t play much again. I certainly wouldn’t become world famous. But Why?
The industry today has become very technical. A lot more people have access to a lot more info and teaching so there are a lot of really good musicians out there. With this amount of technical knowledge, simple music isn’t very simple and has to be really tight to sound good. A good guitar solo today has to be a great guitar solo and must be played extremely well or it will be considered amateur.
I guess it will happen that way, we need to progress with everything, including music. So the musicians we revere and hail as heroes or pioneers have been studied and improved upon. My problem is now we have incredibly high standards being set. The guitar world is made up of rockers like Satriani and Vai who are immensely good. Jazz musicians like Tuck Andress, finger style players like Paco de Luca and yet people are still craving something new and exciting. While the Rock and Roller’s of the 60’s were new and exciting, Then the heavy metal of the 80’s. Nirvana brought something new in Grunge and after that Metal got heavier and even started fusing with Hip Hop. Now we have guitarists like Andy Mckee who plays a very interesting mix of finger style and tapping. Zak Kim who plays 2 guitars at once has also become a YouTube sensation because it is new an interesting.
But what next? Does that mean I need to learn to play guitar in a new, fancy way? Do I need to learn to play ultra fast or with new, crazy effects? The odds are against us as average musicians.
There are a lot of musicians out there. I think even more guitarists because it is fairly easy to learn compared to some other instruments. The competition is hot, the standards are high and I reckon it is a mammoth task to make some sort if living from this industry.
Sometimes I wonder why I bother….
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
8:07 AM | Posted by
Donovan Banks |
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Someone at GT Central has created software to edit the GT8 via MIDI cable from the PC. I have been trying it out and made this short vid so you can see the interface. I do love it as it has taken me from confusing multi effect to having knobs and buttons like using single pedals....
I've loaded it on my netbook so I can use it in the band room....
I've loaded it on my netbook so I can use it in the band room....
Monday, January 11, 2010
8:39 AM | Posted by
Donovan Banks |
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Okay so it's not THAT exciting, but I did win the Beginners Category in the GFSA Birthday theme competition.
Here's my entry to the competiton.
I basically played around with theose chords and tried to use all my guitars in it. I used six guitars in total;
Ibanez Nylon String
Fender Mexican Stratocaster
Epiphone Zakk Wylde Les Paul
Aria Fretless Bass
Warwick Bass Guitar
To get the beginning tone from the Nylon string I taped the strings with insulation tape to dull it a bit. I was very happy with the way that came out. i was also impressed with the transition to the clear guitar.
My prize is a Boss TU-80 Tuner/Metronome. I look forward to getting it and letting you know how it works...
The Prize was sponsored by Music Madness who has also given me some good deals on Gear
Here's my entry to the competiton.
I basically played around with theose chords and tried to use all my guitars in it. I used six guitars in total;
Ibanez Nylon String
Fender Mexican Stratocaster
Epiphone Zakk Wylde Les Paul
Aria Fretless Bass
Warwick Bass Guitar
To get the beginning tone from the Nylon string I taped the strings with insulation tape to dull it a bit. I was very happy with the way that came out. i was also impressed with the transition to the clear guitar.
My prize is a Boss TU-80 Tuner/Metronome. I look forward to getting it and letting you know how it works...
The Prize was sponsored by Music Madness who has also given me some good deals on Gear
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About Me
- Donovan Banks
- Durban, KZN, South Africa
- I am a musician who does anything and everything else. I write about what I do and how I do it. Enjoy and feel free to comment.
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