We are the band of bling
I don't know how you guys feel after making large internet purchases, but I feel a bit squeamish every time. Maybe there's still some doubt as to the security of shopping online. Maybe it's the fear factor - my heart starts racing and my hands start shaking even before I click the dreaded "Add to Cart" button. Maybe it's a spousal fear - "Did she REALLY mean it was okay for me to spend that now?"
Hehe...whatever the case, I get nervous every time I spend a lot of money on anything. In this case, however, I think it was worth it.
For years, I've been playing that beat-up old Crate 2x12 amp that Ben G. bought for Fusion (old church plant). Calling it "beat up" is no lie. It's literally held together with glue, since - when we bought it - it looked like it had been run over by a truck. Still, Ben tested it, and it sounded okay...and for the price (nearly 1/4 of its original price of $450), we figured we could make it work. And it has worked, though one of the speakers had to be replaced back in the day, and Mars replaced it with a genuine P.O.C. (piece of crap - meaning I could never turn it up past 5 without the P.O.C. "farting" at me). After the demise of Fusion (a good thing), I bought the amp from the church for a measly $100, and I've played it ever sense.
Sure, I took the occasional jab from people who own less 'redneck' amps (except for Kyle...I won't take crap from someone who plays through an old Peavey that has some electrical shorts when he's got a 'fly' Mesa Boogie rig at home but never brings it out...hehe). I just jabbed back with some crap about how "thrifty" I was in my music equipment purchases.
But, as the church grows, and the band matures, it is time to retire the Piece 0' Crate. I replaced it this week with a Vox Valvetronix 120watt head, 2x12 cab, and control pedal. Much mo betta. I'll be eating Ramen for a while, but I have a new setup. I can't believe the difference in the quality of sound, either. Amazing.
So, with Eric's new cab and my new rig, sound should be much improved tonally. Now, if we can only get Mesa B. boy to lug more than a guitar to church...LOL.
Had band practice last night, so I got to test it out in the room. Good sound...can be very, VERY loud if I want it to be.
After band practice, we headed to O'Charley's. Steven joined the regular crew of Stacey, J-mo, and I. Eric and Wendy made it out, too.
In other news, I actually have a copy of Half-Life 2 sitting on my PC. Yes, the most anticipated game since the original came out in 1998 (?). The sequel to the best game of all time. Of course, I'm not the only one who has it. Valve software released it via their Steam download service, so thousands of people have it now, though none of us can play it until its 'officially' released and they send you an activation key. :-
KEY PHRASES:
Eric: (talking about our waitress) "There goes a living reason why you should not do drugs."
Kyle: "I don't know the songs."
Me: "That's okay. It took me years of playing them week after week to learn them, too." (hehe...j/k).
Me: "J-mo, go talk to that girl." J-mo, on the phone, starts to 'strut' over there, then turns around, not being serious.
Kyle: "No, really, you know her. It's okay."
Hehe...whatever the case, I get nervous every time I spend a lot of money on anything. In this case, however, I think it was worth it.
For years, I've been playing that beat-up old Crate 2x12 amp that Ben G. bought for Fusion (old church plant). Calling it "beat up" is no lie. It's literally held together with glue, since - when we bought it - it looked like it had been run over by a truck. Still, Ben tested it, and it sounded okay...and for the price (nearly 1/4 of its original price of $450), we figured we could make it work. And it has worked, though one of the speakers had to be replaced back in the day, and Mars replaced it with a genuine P.O.C. (piece of crap - meaning I could never turn it up past 5 without the P.O.C. "farting" at me). After the demise of Fusion (a good thing), I bought the amp from the church for a measly $100, and I've played it ever sense.
Sure, I took the occasional jab from people who own less 'redneck' amps (except for Kyle...I won't take crap from someone who plays through an old Peavey that has some electrical shorts when he's got a 'fly' Mesa Boogie rig at home but never brings it out...hehe). I just jabbed back with some crap about how "thrifty" I was in my music equipment purchases.
But, as the church grows, and the band matures, it is time to retire the Piece 0' Crate. I replaced it this week with a Vox Valvetronix 120watt head, 2x12 cab, and control pedal. Much mo betta. I'll be eating Ramen for a while, but I have a new setup. I can't believe the difference in the quality of sound, either. Amazing.
So, with Eric's new cab and my new rig, sound should be much improved tonally. Now, if we can only get Mesa B. boy to lug more than a guitar to church...LOL.
Had band practice last night, so I got to test it out in the room. Good sound...can be very, VERY loud if I want it to be.
After band practice, we headed to O'Charley's. Steven joined the regular crew of Stacey, J-mo, and I. Eric and Wendy made it out, too.
In other news, I actually have a copy of Half-Life 2 sitting on my PC. Yes, the most anticipated game since the original came out in 1998 (?). The sequel to the best game of all time. Of course, I'm not the only one who has it. Valve software released it via their Steam download service, so thousands of people have it now, though none of us can play it until its 'officially' released and they send you an activation key. :-
KEY PHRASES:
Eric: (talking about our waitress) "There goes a living reason why you should not do drugs."
Kyle: "I don't know the songs."
Me: "That's okay. It took me years of playing them week after week to learn them, too." (hehe...j/k).
Me: "J-mo, go talk to that girl." J-mo, on the phone, starts to 'strut' over there, then turns around, not being serious.
Kyle: "No, really, you know her. It's okay."
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home