Some of you have missed me - awwwww...how sweet.
Most have no idea that I still draw oxygen through my lungs.
That's ok, too...
So anyhow, been an eventful few months. Work has been really busy, but not completely horrible - but we'll see what the next couple of months hold in store (no pun intended) for me.
Took my yearly pilgrimage to NAMM in CA...got to see lots of old friends and was a good time.
Started new psoriasis meds. They are working with limited side effects, though I do feel a bit more run down than usual - there is always something.
And I am now doing a LOT more recording/playing/composing of music. Working with a couple of friends on stuff for possible inclusion in all different types of media. Don't wanna go too deep into it as I do not want to jinx anything at this point - or ever, actually... :-)
But what that does for me is it helps focus my addictive personality toward something I actually LOVE - MUSIC!
Music is, was, and will continue to be my life. If I didn't have music I wouldn't have anything. I wouldn't want to lose ANY of my senses, but if I had to choose an order of loss, hearing would be near the bottom of the list. Ironically, with musicians it's usually the FIRST to go after years of ear abuse. And I abused my ears. A lot.
This new venture also feeds another addiction - buying shit! I love toys...musical toys are among the best, and I would love to buy everything. However, I do not have an endless stream of disposable income. Hell, I don't even have a slow trickle of disposable income, so this impulse has to be tempered. Though sometimes my frugality in these situations pays off HUGE!
I was in musical instrument store that my company works with to do a little shopping - basically to browse, but with intent. Was with a co-worker and we were discussing wish list type items for our respective studios, etc, and decided on a couple of items we wanted.
My co-worker then pointed out this:
Universal Audio UAD2 Solo card
Well, that got me off track, as I had set my mind on something else. *Sigh* So I opted to get it.
As I finished my transaction, the salesman said "ya know what, lemme open the box to make sure everything is there..." I'm glad he did.
Not only were things missing, but the pci-e card was actually broken (a capacitor had fallen off) and it was evident that this was used and returned. So, I immediately asked to return it, and instead purchased my first option which was this:
Guitar Rig 4 Pro w/ Rig Kontrol 3
So, as we were finishing the new transaction, I was asked sorta off the cuff if I would want the broken card for $20... Half-joking, I said yes. What the hell, at least the plug-ins would be worth more than $20 (the package is normally $399). At worst, maybe someone would wanna try and fix it.
I get home and install the software, and for the hell of it I install the card to see if I could watch a puff of smoke come out when I turn on the computer.
The f**king card works perfectly. Been a week and no issues to this point at all. And that is a good thing, because I found out you can't use the plug-ins WITHOUT the card anyway!
So in the end, as Borat would say, "Great Success!" I needed a win.
Then this week while I was in Rochester, I was scouring Craigslist for any cool deals or anything of interest to me... Found an ad for a Zakk Wylde Camouflage Les Paul for $300. Of course, I wrote to the guy and asked 50 questions. He replied with a phone number. Now, to me that is odd...but I guess in the Craigslist world there are tons of fakes and people that aren't really interested, so I guess I had to prove my mettle.
Still, I was a bit put off by not having my questions answered, so I waited a couple of days to call. Finally called yesterday at about 1:30pm - my flight home was 5 pm - and after talking to the owner for a bit I got him down to $300 w/hardshell case (I needed it for the plane!). At this point I am worried about time. Turns out he lives 6 min from the airport - WIN! Now I'm REALLY hoping that the neck is straight, that there is nothing traumatic with the guitar, as this is a pretty good deal.
So how did it end???
There it is...
Probably 9/10 condition. Def needs new strings and a polish, but other than that is in near mint condition. I may replace the pickups with active EMG's to get that real BIG sound, but right now its a good player.
Next on the wish list is the Axe-Fx by Fractal Audio...THIS will take a while to get. Costs about $2k, but seems and sounds like its worth every friggin' penny. I encourage all working/recording musicians to check it out...it's outstanding.
And I'd like to get some Universal Audio LA-610 compressors...that would be nice...donations accepted :-P
L8r!
