Episode 23: The Germ Demos

  I have to say I was really excited to put this episode together. It gave me a chance to try out a lot of things at once. First and foremost I got to sit down with the Germ from Caleb Cook at Hazel Effects and put it through the paces. I really like the sound our this pedal and how it changes from guitar to guitar. It enhances qualities already inherent to the guitar driving it. Next, I experimented with the wattage control on my Vox AD30 VT. One of the big selling points for me on that amp was the variable wattage (from 30 watts down to 1 watt) because I wanted to be able to record the sound I wanted at lower volume levels. So far, I am REALLY loving that feature. The last variable was using the iRig mic to record the amp straight into the Bossjock app for easier play back when recording the actual show.   It was the last variable that made me aphrensive and delayed me from the actual task. When I started recording digitally and recording live guitars, I could never get a sound I was happy with. I read every article and tried every trick the pros used, but still just lifeless sound. I finally made myself sit down and try to record and I used a technique I picked up from the Project Studio Network podcast. The technique is from a book called "Mixing with your mind" and it's a different way of looking at recording. The technique fir mic'ing the amp revolves around where to place the mic. What the Author says to do is place your hand between the mic and the amp and move your hand around while some one is playing the guitar. When the hairs on the back of your hand stand up, that is where you should place the mic. Sounds simple right? The first three samples were mixed with that technique and the others were not, so you can judge for yourself how it sounds. I am much happier with the first three samples. For the first three audio samples my signal chain consisted of my Fender Pawnshop '51 into the Germ and then into the Vox AD30 VT. On the Vox I used the boutique clean amp setting to take all the drive out. I wanted just the Germ pushing fuzz. The '51 has coil splitting built in, so I demo it with the bridge humbucker and the split out single coil. For the second set of audio samples I use the same chain, except I swap out the guitar to my Epiphone Korina G-400. The more I play that guitar the more I like it and want to re-wire it. I am jut not entirely happy with the pick ups. For the other sound samples, I have no Idea what all was used because I forgot to write it down (insert smiley face here, ha ha ha). I know my TS9 and my Demeter Tremulator made it into the mix, but I am not really sure which guitars we used. Last thing is if you have bee following my social media, you probably know that I am a fan of the Movie Sound City. If you have not seen it yet, check it out. That movie really inspired me to push things with my recording and I recorded a real guitar Amp in stead of using a plug-in. I might never go back. I am finally getting the sounds I have always wanted. Until next time... make some noise!