Snapshot - 30 July 2006

[mrpicard]

Hi,

I'm Bjorn Juhl proprietor of BJF Electronics, maker of pedals and designer of amps, writer of articles at the age of 40 advanced- yes I am farty. I am happily married since 10 years, to Eva , who's my graphic designer on what spare time her day job gives and we have two daughters M&M and three cats and I collect books and T-shirts and Eva reads and wears them as I have little time these days. I used to have a serviceshop for amps guitars and pedals fixing anything from a tubon to an electric fence for horses, though there is little time for that now with many pedal orders and new designs lurking each day.

I've played guitar since the age of 12, and started with the clarinett at the age of 9- as they would not let me play guitar at first I had my first job as a guitar technician at a music store at the age of 16 and was likely doomed from that day I have played with various punkbands on the most disappointing gear there was at the time and later with various powerpopbands, and been guest artist with blues and rock comboes, and played guitar with Sex Pistols tribute bands as well as Beatles tribute bands and backed independant songwriters, and worked with recordings of electrical guitar tracks, setting sounds, and worked as a guitar instructor ( mostly with female students ), and sometimes give lectures in analog amplifier electronics even these days, and I have worked as a tech to unknown stars and composers, examining the pick to speaker cloth to hear what makes the sound, and toured and recorded mostly on an independant label, only to find what I'd really like to do at the age of 31, playing the same style of music I started with but with some knowledge gained and feel at home playing live or recording original music.Yes I am a compulsive guitarplayer- I have thought about letting that go- I mean 39 years of playing and still not better than this? But it's comforting and relaxing and it's a core
started once when hearing Hank B Marvin or George Harrison or just maybe it was because my mother went to see the Beatles in her late pregnancy while this was developed when hearing Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols and Johnny Ramone, something I needed to be able to understand Jimi Hendrix and BB King, Ritche Blackmore and Clapton- yes I liked their sounds but lusted for the powerful sound of the distorted rythm guitar, such as that Malcom Young plays, (come on 10CC had some major rythm guitar tracks ) and the melodic leads such as that of Chris Isaac's guitarist.

My father told me as a piece of advice that the best thing about getting old is that you understand more of what you really want and perhaps also have the means of getting that, but more importantly be able to make correct choices less based on just curiousity, but such that you'd be happy with for extended times. Oh yea, I'll get old and grow roses At the time I thought I'd die young and make a cute corpse.

Through the diversity of music I have been hired to play I had to build myself a new circuit once a month to get this or that sound needed- there just wasn't around these things I needed- if there had been I'd have played and shut up I enjoy good sounds and used to when I was younger go to every music store to find out what was new and how to apply new sounds- yes well there are limitations to what I'd like to explore and some of the low fi sounds it took 20 years for me to understand the virtues of as when there are options to an abundance of good sounds also the ugly sounds fall into place to wake up things.

These days I have and use better things than I started with many years ago in terms of guitars, pedals, amplifiers and strings you name it and have even recently picked up the acoustic guitar to learn ballads. A good friend sent me slide the otherday and it fits my pinky finger so I guess
I'll have to sit down and learn.

Les Pauls are my main guitars, though I enjoy a strat and a Tele for somethings and they all suggest different things to be played. Generally I believe you can play anything on a strat and those are indestructible and I also played a strat for many years, and still do if the sound is called for, but Les Pauls have the sustain and Teles the dynamics.......and P-90's well those touch the soul............ decisions,decisions and choices galore, got to have them all.

Throughout the years I have always had trouble with amplifiers either not producing the sound in a stable way or not producing the sound as I'd like it or just plain dying, which is the spirit in which the MP amp was made to get rid of all of that and just make life easy.

I make pedals in most of the shades of the rainbow to fit most of the sounds on a sound rainbow, and all have impossibly long names so they are reduced to acronyms. They do all combine because most of my old pedal collection would never do that.

Uh gear? well enough.

I'd say this though I have never owned a Tube Screamer, but have that covered by a TTS from Pedal worX. Also I have never owned a Fuzz Face- though I have had VoX Tonebender but have a Mc Fuzz for that type. Last year I got a RAT, which I don't use. Hm, I wonder why I don't anymore own a wha as the best one I had I lent to a friend who lost it in a studio, and many years later I got one that was just as good but lent it to a guy that was too poor to afford gear but that was a brilliant player- this guy got so happy when he met the girl of his dreams and got engaged that he celebrated in cognac and died of heart failiure that same night- it seemed wha's were not for me though I have tuned more whas than I care to remember, but that was back in the day I'd fix anything anybody would put on my table. I have never owned a Uni Vibe- I just don't get along with them- I'd say though that the Mojo Vibe is the best I have tried and one I'd actually consider owning. Yes I know, the Pedal Detective told there is a penalty for playing unvibed.......Big Muffs I have never owned either always they seemed to dark or too bright or just the midrange placed in the wrong place for the kind of amps I have played. I did like the Skreddy pedals though.

The only Fender amp I have ever owned was a Fender 75 Lead with an EV 15". Nor have I ever owned a Marshall or a Vox. But I have had access and played through good examples of each. Yup I have serviced and restored all kinds of amps and all kinds of pedals and there have always been something that make this sound that just inspires to something

Thanks
BJ
30 July 2006

'What It Is' Steven Bruton