RARWRITER PUBLISHING GROUP PRESENTS

CREATIVE CULTURE JOURNAL

at www.RARWRITER.com      

--------------------"The best source on the web for what's real in arts and entertainment" ---------------------------

Volume 1-2016

MUSIC    BOOKS    FINE ARTS   FILM   THE WORLD

ARTIST NEWS    THIS EDITION   ABOUT   MUSIC   MUSIC REVIEWS  BOOKS  CINEMA   FASHION   FINE ARTS  FEATURES   SERIES  MEDIA  ESSAY  RESOURCES  WRITTEN ARTS POETRY  CONTACT  ARCHIVES  MUSIC LINKS

                                 

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JOIN THE LIST

Use this link to add your email address to the RARWRITER Publishing Group mailing list for updates on activities associated with the Creative Culture and Revolution Culture journals, and other RARWRITER Publishing Group interests.

 

ABOUT RAR: For those of you new to this site, "RAR" is Rick Alan Rice, the publisher of the RARWRITER Publishing Group websites. Use this link to visit the RAR music page, which features original music compositions and other.

Use this link to visit Rick Alan Rice's publications page, which features excerpts from novels and other.

RARADIO

(Click here)

Currently on RARadio:

"On to the Next One" by Jacqueline Van Bierk

"I See You Tiger" by Via Tania

"Lost the Plot" by Amoureux"

Bright Eyes, Black Soul" by The Lovers Key

"Cool Thing" by Sassparilla

"These Halls I Dwell" by Michael Butler

"St. Francis"by Tom Russell & Gretchen Peters, performance by Gretchen Peters and Barry Walsh; 

"Who Do You Love?"by Elizabeth Kay; 

"Rebirth"by Caterpillars; 

"Monica's Frock" by Signel-Z; 

"Natural Disasters" by Corey Landis; 

"1,000 Leather Tassels" by The Blank Tapes; 

"We Are All Stone" and "Those Machines" by Outer Minds; 

"Another Dream" by MMOSS; "Susannah" by Woolen Kits; 

Jim Morrison, Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson and other dead celebrities / news by A SECRET PARTY;

"I Miss the Day" by My Secret Island,  

"Carriers of Light" by Brendan James;

"The Last Time" by Model Stranger;

"Last Call" by Jay;

"Darkness" by Leonard Cohen; 

"Sweetbread" by Simian Mobile Disco and "Keep You" fromActress off the Chronicle movie soundtrack; 

"Goodbye to Love" from October Dawn; 

Trouble in Mind 2011 label sampler; 

Black Box Revelation Live on Minnesota Public Radio;

Apteka "Striking Violet"; 

Mikal Cronin's "Apathy" and "Get Along";

Dana deChaby's progressive rock

 

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Rick Alan Rice (RAR) Literature Page

ATWOOD - "A Toiler's Weird Odyssey of Deliverance" -AVAILABLE NOW FOR KINDLE (INCLUDING KINDLE COMPUTER APPS) FROM AMAZON.COM. Use this link.

CCJ Publisher Rick Alan Rice dissects the building of America in a trilogy of novels collectively calledATWOOD. Book One explores the development of the American West through the lens of public policy, land planning, municipal development, and governance as it played out in one of the new counties of Kansas in the latter half of the 19th Century. The novel focuses on the religious and cultural traditions that imbued the American Midwest with a special character that continues to have a profound effect on American politics to this day. Book One creates an understanding about America's cultural foundations that is further explored in books two and three that further trace the historical-cultural-spiritual development of one isolated county on the Great Plains that stands as an icon in the development of a certain brand of American character. That's the serious stuff viewed from high altitude. The story itself gets down and dirty with the supernatural, which in ATWOOD - A Toiler's Weird Odyssey of Deliveranceis the outfall of misfires in human interactions, from the monumental to the sublime. The book features the epic poem "The Toiler" as well as artwork by New Mexico artist Richard Padilla.

Elmore Leonard Meets Larry McMurtry

Western Crime Novel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am offering another novel through Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing service. Cooksin is the story of a criminal syndicate that sets its sights on a ranching/farming community in Weld County, Colorado, 1950. The perpetrators of the criminal enterprise steal farm equipment, slaughter cattle, and rob the personal property of individuals whose assets have been inventoried in advance and distributed through a vast system of illegal commerce.

It is a ripping good yarn, filled with suspense and intrigue. This was designed intentionally to pay homage to the type of creative works being produced in 1950, when the story is set. Richard Padilla has done his usually brilliant work in capturing the look and feel of a certain type of crime fiction being produced in that era. The whole thing has the feel of those black & white films you see on Turner Movie Classics, and the writing will remind you a little of Elmore Leonard, whose earliest works were westerns. Use this link.

 

EXPLORE THE KINDLE BOOK LIBRARY

If you have not explored the books available from Amazon.com's Kindle Publishing division you would do yourself a favor to do so. You will find classic literature there, as well as tons of privately published books of every kind. A lot of it is awful, like a lot of traditionally published books are awful, but some are truly classics. You can get the entire collection of Shakespeare's works for two bucks.

You do not need to buy a Kindle to take advantage of this low-cost library. Use this link to go to an Amazon.com page from which you can download for free a Kindle App for your computer, tablet, or phone.

Amazon is the largest, but far from the only digital publisher. You can find similar treasure troves atNOOK Press (the Barnes & Noble site), Lulu, and others.


 

 

Guitar Effects Board Setup

If you play electric guitar, you are almost certainly going to want to use digital effects pedals to provide you with the range of sounds that you will want to have for the types of music you wish to play. And if you are a particularly ambitious player, you are probably going to want to create your own distinctive sound, which can be done by the guitar you select and the way you match it to your amplifier and speaker cabinet (use this link for a good overview on that aspect of rig selection) and augment it with the effects pedals that you select.  You will want to build an effects board consisting of electronic devices to process the signals that you send from your guitar(s). Guitarists who feel the need for an effects board are almost certainly players who will use more than one guitar, and your effects board should give you the versatility to quickly and easily select the correct sequence of signal processors for the type of sounds each guitar is designed to produce.

On this page, we have provided some basic overview information on the types of effects pedals available and how they are used. And, once you have your pedal components, we provide guidance on how to chain your effects to get the most out of them.

 

Overview of Pedal Effects for Electric Guitar

TYPE OF EFFECT

DESCRIPTION

FLAVORS

PURPOSE

POPULAR/HIGHLY RATED MODELS

Drive

Drive effects are used to ‘push’ your guitar’s signal before it reaches your amplifier.

Overdrive: Pushes a clean sound so that it breaks up slightly, giving it a warmer, thicker sound. It adds sustain and volume.

Blues, Rock

  • Ibanez Tubescreamer

  • Fulltone OCD

  • Joyo JF-02 Ultimate Overdrive

  • Boss BD-2 Blues Driver

  • Fulltone Fulldrive2 MOSFET Overdrive Boost

Distortion: Like overdrive, it pushes the signal coming from your guitar, but in a more extreme way, adding thickness to the sound.

Metal, Punk

  • Electro Harmonix Big Muff

  • Boss DS-1

  • EHX Metal Muff with Top Boost

  • ProCo the Rat

  • Wampler Sovereign

  • Suhr Riot

  • MESA/Boogie Throttle Box

  • AnalogMan King of Tone

  • Weehbo Morbid Drive

Reverb

Adds warmth and depth to a clean tone by simulating the sound of your guitar being played in a larger physical space.

Many combo amplifiers have a reverb effect built in to their design (e.g., Fender's famed spring reverb).

NOTE: Users of Head/Cabinet stacks typically need to add a reverb pedal to their effects board.

Universal (i.e., Rock, Blues, Jazz, Country, etc.)

  • Strymon Blue Sky

  • Strymon Big Sky

  • Boss RV-6 Digital Reverb

  • TC Electronic Arena Reverb

  • Electro Harmonix Holy Grail Plus

  • Electro Harmonix Holy Grail Nano

  • Rowin LEF-662 Reverb Pedal

Delay/Looping

Delay repeats a signal at pre-determined intervals. It is typically applied to a clean sound.

Looping is a long-form version of delay, allowing a player to record an entire passage that can then be looped to repeat.

Delay: Repeats a played signal.

Looping: Records whole sections of music so that it can be repeated while additional sections are played over it.

Pop, Experimental, Alternative

  • TC Electronic Flashback (delay and looper)

  • Boss DM-2W Waza Craft Custom Delay

  • Boss RE-20 Space Echo

  • Dr. Tone DLY101 Delay

  • Boss DD-7 Digital Delay

  • awesome Boss DD-3

  • Strymon Timeline Delay

Modulation

Modulation effects add flavor and texture to tones.

Chorus: Adds warmth to a signal by mimicking it with a subtly detuned duplicate.

Universal

  • TC Electronic Corona Chorus

  • MXR M234 Analog Chorus

  • Electro-Harmonix Small Clone (Analog Chorus)

  • Danelectro D-5 Fab

  • Boss CE-5 Stereo Chorus Ensemble

Phase: Emulates the sweeping of the frequency band, alternating between cutting the bass and treble frequencies.

  • MXR M101 Phase 90 Phaser

  • Moog Moogerfooger MF-103

  • Strymon Mobius

  • Electro-Harmonix Nano Small Stone

  • Pigtronix EP2 Envelop Phaser

  • Red Witch Deluxe Moon Phaser

  • TC Electronic TonePrint Helix Phase

  • Boss PH-3 Phase Shift

  • Whirlwind Rochester Orange Box Phaser

  • Behringer Vintage Phaser VP1

Tremolo: Subtly alternates signal volume in a repeated pattern.

  • Diamond

  • Fulltone Supa-Trem ST-1

  • ZVex Vexter Series Sonar

  • BOSS AUDIO TR2

  • EHX Stereo Pulsar

Wah: Emulates the human voice by using a bandpass filter or an overcoupled lowpass filter that exhibits a resonant peak just at its lowpass rolloff frequency.

  • Dunlop 535Q Cry Baby® Multi-Wah

  • MXR MC404 CAE Dual Inductor

  • Morley VAI-2 Steve Vai Bad Horsie 2 Contour

  • Dunlop GCB95 The Original Cry Baby

  • Fulltone Clyde Deluxe

Flange: Similar to the phasing effect, but more extreme.

  • Electro-Harmonix Stereo Electric Mistress Chorus/Flanger

  • TC Electronic Vortex

  • Mooer Eleclady (Analog)

  • MXR M117R

  • Boss BF-3

Multi-fx

Packages multiple effects in a single effects box that allows the user to select and mix effects options.

 

Universal (not typically used professionally)

  • Boss ME-25

  • BOSS GT-100

  • Line 6 POD HD500X

  • DigiTech RP1000

  • Zoom G5

OTHER COMPONENTS: There are components other than the effects described that may be added to your signal processing, including a tuner, filters and other components described below.
Tuner Displays the frequency of individual notes so that players can tune their instrument. Digital tuners should be the first component in the effects box loop. You are always best advised to tune a straight, un-modulated signal before it enters other effects. Universal

Boss TU-3 Tuner

TC Electronic Polytune 2

Dr. Tone FTN101

TC Electronic Polytune 2 Mini

Sequencing Effects Box Components

There are few rules for building an effects box and chaining components, though how effects are chained does have a dramatic impact on the tones and sounds that you will be able to use your effects to produce. It comes down to how pure your signal needs to be as it enters any chosen effects unit. The sequencing suggested here takes the signal from pure/clean to various states of filter and modulation.

1. Chromatic Tuner Plug your guitar directly into the tuner. You will then be able to tune a clean, unmodulated signal, which will provide a constant tuning status state during live performance. Some guitarists check their string bends in the tuner to make certain they avoid being flat or sharp - especially useful in situations where you might not be able to hear your own instrument with clarity. Some tuners allow you to cut the signal from your guitar so that you can switch from one instrument to the next using the same cable.
2.(Optional) Signal Splitter - A/B Switch An A/B switch provides options for sending your guitar's signal through alternative filter and effects chains, and much more. Some guitarists keep two channels active, each providing its own processing equipment, so they can easily move from one to the next during a performance. For example, you might use a Channel A sequence to pass a signal from your archtop to a low-wattage tube amp, and Channel B to send the signal from your metal hardtop through a bunch of filters and effects on its way to a full stack transistor amp. The potential variations are endless, and the use of signal splitters is common among touring professionals. Wide ranges in sound can be controlled with the touch of a single foot-switch. You can also use the switch to kill the signal while you switch instruments.
3. Filters Filter pedals rely on a clean signal and should be placed before modulation effects.
4. Compressors Compressor pedals "level out" your guitar's volume, boosting the volume of quieter tones. Place them before modulation effects.
5. Extreme Modulation: Overdrive and Distortion These pedals generate and amplify the overtones of each note played.
6. Less Extreme Modulation: Chorus, Flanger, Tremolo, Phaser. The order that you place these types of modulators in is part of getting the sound coloration you may want.
7. Volume Pedal Control the volume of filtered, modulated signals.
8. Delay Pedal For best control, place a delay pedal last in the chain.

 

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How to Select a Guitar Amplifier

There is a really nicely done introductory guide at this website.

 


   

 

 

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Copyright © November, 2018 Rick Alan Rice (RARWRITER)