hello all.......new BJFE fanatic here

[Bobby D]

Bobby D!

I listened to your myspace last night- sweet stuff, nice tunes. I'm stoked to see the pedal board you are building. Have you used the LGW to boost the DRD yet? Gorgeous combo man- such a singing lead tone.

I've been enjoying your posts, and I'm looking forward to see how you put all the pieces together for your board.

thank you TCTA!

the stuff currently on my myspace (therealbobbyd one) is from the 80s, when I was SHREDDING a bit......sort of satriani-like stuff. i put it up there to have an outlet for it, as my ambient music stargarden & LVX Nova have been a bit more "successful" in the biz......and also, as a memorial to my old bass player Les Talent -- he was amazing, and a lifelong friend who took his own life last year....another frustrated victim of the music biz who simply had lost his way, fell into depression, and hung himself. It still makes me sad......he was possibly one of the BEST bassists I have ever played with, and was even better than when I was playing with Mike Starr (Alice in Chains) -- another of my fave bassists.......so I keep a few of those songs up there in his memory......

I have tried the DRD into the LGW, but not the other way around yet.....I may change the order and put the DRD last in the "dirtbox" chain.....but I usually tend to use my main overdrive sound as my last dirtbox in my chain, and then stack the fuzz and dist into the overdrive......

it's such a joy to discover the tones in these pedals, however. I have spent MANY hours so far, just tweaking, playing, and enjoying them. There is a special, dare i say spiritual quality to the BJF pedals.

Maybe BJ and Eva are putting something special inside these.......maybe it's simply the LOVE that BJ has for good tone....

All I know is that in a week that has been filled with sadness, death, and loss.......these pedals have been a very bright spot in my life.

[Donner]

yeah - making music is like air for musicians --- gotta have it, period .....


and it is sad that so many musicians go that way - I think its partly becuase of t he depth of feeling and sensitivity you have to have developed to play music in the first place --- leaves you open to spiritual wounds ....



but yeah its great to have you and looking forward to sharing your journey in tone and many other things

[Bobby D]

yeah, you guys are right -- the DRD sounds better to my ears with the LGW in front of it

I guess the DRD gets the distinction of being the last dirtbox in the chain now!

and the SWAW (or is it SWAF? i keep calling it two different things. mine says SWAW on it)

it ROCKS HARD with the LGW.....really good funky combo.

it has to be tuned a little differently to be as special with the DRD.

it makes the CAF do some funny things i like that.

a couple of more boxes on my little board, and it wil be done and it will be gig time again. i won't be online nearly as much, because we will be on the road most of dec/jan.....but i will uploads clips photos and vids from the shows when i get a chance.

[Bobby D]

continuing saga of the bobby d pedalboard build.

I got the SBEQ today, and it's really very nice quality sounding -- I do a fair amount of solo acoustic gigs, so I got this to be on both my electric board, and to use with my acoustic rig.

I like the SBEQ a lot -- it makes everything a bit bigger and sweeter. I can totally see a lot of uses for this pedal, I just have to make sure to turn it OFF sometimes

But on gigs where amps are supplied, the SBEQ could be a LIFESAVER......and I have the feeling I will be touring Europe and UK again in the near future (maybe next summer), so I need to be ready....

This board is REALLY sounding good. I don't have a gig tonight, so I am going to my friend Eric Austin's gig (an amazing guitarist his own self), and just busting in on HIS party, so I'll do a set with him, we'll have some fun, and maybe if I can set up my camera I can get a vidclip.

Oh yeah.....I know some of you are gonna ask "hey, what's that SKREDDY pedal with the buddha graphics?"

but I am sworn to secrecy regarding that pedal. Let me just say that it is a VERY extreme pedal, and Marc is one of the only builders that effect me like Bjorn......

[Bobby D]

and it is sad that so many musicians go that way - I think its partly becuase of t he depth of feeling and sensitivity you have to have developed to play music in the first place --- leaves you open to spiritual wounds ....

Donner, I think this is very true. But one has to strike a balance between being an artistic sensitive person, and the hard cold reality of life on life's terms. It's not easy, trust me, I know....

I felt that sort of pain.....after coming home from playing to crowds of 10,000 people in Europe, then back to the same old bars in Tampa....it made me depressed REALLY badly for about a year or two. BUT THATS MY OWN FAULT.

One has to enjoy it the same whether it is for 10 people or 10,000.

It is about the process, and not the product.....the journey and not the destination.....the MENU is not the MEAL...and all that sort of stuff

[Donner]

Music - Business ~ two different things, if you cant keep them separate you may not enjoy either....

[Bobby D]

Music - Business ~ two different things, if you cant keep them separate you may not enjoy either....

very true Donner, very true -- it has taken me some time to find a balance between the two. And I enjoy BOTH sides of the coin.....but......I enjoy PLAYING music a lot more than selling it

TONAL REPORT FOR THIS EVENING....

went to a friend's gig, since I was not booked, and had a free weekend, which is unusual. So instead of sitting home practicing, I went to my friend Eric's show, and basically just showed up and set up my stuff to play with him.

I ended up doing 2 hours of serious playing tonight through all the BJF pedals, and here are my findings tonight:

1. I need to find a happy balance between natural amp overdrive and the pedals -- at times, I was bordering on getting "squishy" and over-compressed.

2. the SBEQ sounds GOOD - really GOOD. In fact, I could show up to a blues gig with just my guitar, amp, and the SBEQ and sound damn good. The Soldano has a good tone to begin with, and using the SBEQ to boost it into tonal Nirvana is very nice.

3. the DRD sounded GREAT at a loud volume, I used some amp overdrive, but mostly the DRD -- and it was one of the best tones of the night. It made the other guitar player look over to see what I was doing when I turned on the DRD -- he could hear it immediately, and it sounded GOOD.

4. The CAF "nature" knob is VERY touchy, and while in the madness of being onstage, it was kind of hard to dial it to that 11:58 position that I like it at.

5. the LGW is the tubescreamer I have always wanted, and sounded just as good as the DRD, I used it as a basic rhythm sound much of the night. Add the SBEQ, and it gets even bigger and better.

At the end of the night, I realized that I should dial DOWN my amp gain just a little, to allow more of the pedals to shine. I need to find that "happy medium" where the amp is overdriving just a little, and the pedals are allowed enough headroom to shine -- and this is typical with ANY effects pedal setup -- but the more I get used to the pedals, the more I trust them to do what they do so well, and I can make the amp cleaner with more headroom.

I did get some really nice tones tonight though.....seriously, the amp cranked up loud with the DRD on was just a BIG sound, with nice gain and sustain........notes sing and bloom, and they speak to you themselves and sing out to the audience, while you just let them out of the guitar....instead of having to "push" them out, they just fly out of the guitar like they are alive

[Bobby D]

just for laughs, i tracked this down online -- i don't have a digital copy of this on CDR, i need to try and find the producer to see if he'll send me one.

this is Michael Boydstun's work -- who won Grammies for "Gate to the Mind's Eye" series -- if you were in a dance club in the 90s, you saw his work....

we had fun shootng this. they concentrated on filming mike, since he is such a better looking guy than me, which was fine....i chilled out in the catering room, ate fancy food, and enjoyed some of seattles best coffee!!! while HE had to WORK

ah....my one brief time on MTV, back when it still had music on Music Television

http://www.concertattack.com/lvx-nova/k ... deo/29822/

[mfolet]

Thats cool.Nice playing on that!!You are so right about the DRD,it is soooo good.This pedal just has MOJO all over it!!!

[Jagattack]

Yep, and you know what? The DRD is also one of BJ's favourites!