11 Nov 2008

Ultimate Guitar Techniques - Effects And Pedals (Full DVD)


From the revolutionary ideas of Jimi Hendrix, right up to modern day masters such as Thurston Moore, Jonny Greenwood and Kevin Shields, the art of twisting and transforming the sound of the electric guitar has become an art in itself. Armed with filters, echoes and other toys, the guitarist has become capable of creating staggering walls of sound. In the hands of Steve Vai, pedals appear to make the guitar 'talk', and Tom Morello's uncanny record-scratch mimicry is also possible thanks to the right choice of stomp box.

In this unique DVD, Michael Casswell teaches all you need to know about effects pedals old and new, and guides you through the various combinations and sounds that can be achieved using Flangers, Wah Wahs, Distortions, Compression, Delays, Reverbs and much more! Transform the way your see your guitar with this unusual and insightful tutorial, suitable for players of all levels

LINKS:

DVDRip
http://rapidshare.com/files/113377733/LLUGTEP-1.avi
http://rapidshare.com/files/113384343/LLUGTEP-2.avi
http://rapidshare.com/files/113388860/LLUGTEP-3.avi
http://rapidshare.com/files/113394467/LLUGTEP-4.avi
http://rapidshare.com/files/113406316/LLUGTEP-5.avi
http://rapidshare.com/files/113414582/LLUGTEP-6.avi
http://rapidshare.com/files/113433128/LLUGTEP-7.avi.001
http://rapidshare.com/files/113484938/LLUGTEP-7.avi.002
http://rapidshare.com/files/113531229/LLUGTEP-8.avi.001
http://rapidshare.com/files/113552290/LLUGTEP-8.avi.002
http://rapidshare.com/files/113553556/LLUGTEP-8.avi.003

Play Through
http://rapidshare.com/files/113555556/01PlayThru_-_IGotATick.avi
http://rapidshare.com/files/113557073/02PlayThru_-_ThatDemoChoon.avi
http://rapidshare.com/files/113566273/03PlayThru_-_SlideInThePark.avi
http://rapidshare.com/files/113569426/04PlayThru_-_RandomSequence.avi

FULL DVD
http://rapidshare.com/files/92282574/LL_UGT_EP_DVD.part01.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/92283226/LL_UGT_EP_DVD.part02.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/92290305/LL_UGT_EP_DVD.part03.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/92291371/LL_UGT_EP_DVD.part04.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/92291828/LL_UGT_EP_DVD.part05.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/92292052/LL_UGT_EP_DVD.part06.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/92292050/LL_UGT_EP_DVD.part07.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/92292370/LL_UGT_EP_DVD.part08.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/92292757/LL_UGT_EP_DVD.part09.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/92292836/LL_UGT_EP_DVD.part10.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/92294537/LL_UGT_EP_DVD.part11.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/92293602/LL_UGT_EP_DVD.part12.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/92295677/LL_UGT_EP_DVD.part13.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/92295610/LL_UGT_EP_DVD.part14.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/92297205/LL_UGT_EP_DVD.part15.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/92296363/LL_UGT_EP_DVD.part16.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/92296707/LL_UGT_EP_DVD.part17.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/92297127/LL_UGT_EP_DVD.part18.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/92297516/LL_UGT_EP_DVD.part19.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/92297495/LL_UGT_EP_DVD.part20.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/92297937/LL_UGT_EP_DVD.part21.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/92298423/LL_UGT_EP_DVD.part22.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/92298706/LL_UGT_EP_DVD.part23.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/92298554/LL_UGT_EP_DVD.part24.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/92299095/LL_UGT_EP_DVD.part25.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/92299133/LL_UGT_EP_DVD.part26.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/92299261/LL_UGT_EP_DVD.part27.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/92299622/LL_UGT_EP_DVD.part28.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/92299698/LL_UGT_EP_DVD.part29.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/92300531/LL_UGT_EP_DVD.part30.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/92300167/LL_UGT_EP_DVD.part31.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/92300176/LL_UGT_EP_DVD.part32.rar

Megaupload Mirror

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=0LC65UL0
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=NJOR4J99
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=0Q21VCGR
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=UPVY7U1W
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http://www.megaupload.com/?d=RK521GPR
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http://www.megaupload.com/?d=8QPOSRDD
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=LA4USFEZ
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=ABUJRYJB
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http://www.megaupload.com/?d=T0AULSHH
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=AZIV75V4
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=OTHAVONN
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=7MVXZ2WI
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=CKBP3MNR
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=OJNEUMLR
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http://www.megaupload.com/?d=N3K182LT
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=RNXUYFMH
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=9SBI5CJH
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=HTPKEVBI
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=1D6UZ1J3

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14 Oct 2008

DAO Vs ADO (Database Management)

DAO vs ADO - The latest viewpoints.

DAO or ADO? Which should I use? This is a commonly asked question, especially in view of the changing development paths that Microsoft has taken over the last few years. Which is best for your application? The answer may not be as straightforward as you may think!


Let’s start by defining a few things:

DAO - Data Access Objects
Allows VB applications to talk to a database (the JET Engine) via ODBC. DAO was Microsoft's first object oriented solution for the manipulation of databases using the Jet Database Engine.

ADO - ActiveX Data Objects
Allows VB/Other Web Tools (Browsers) to interface with different kinds of data sources. ADO is a more recent Microsoft Data Access technology.

ACEDAO - Access Engine Data Access Objects
Allows VB applications to talk to a database (the Access Database Engine). ACEDAO is Microsoft’s enhanced version of DAO, built specifically for working with the new ACE database engine in Access 2007.

Is newer always better?

In the early days of Microsoft Access the choice was simple. DAO was the only option. It was built to talk easily and efficiently with the built-in Jet Engine of an Access application. Since Access 2000, things started to get a little murky, as ADO was packaged as the default object model. Why did Microsoft change their paradigm? As newer technologies developed, ADO was seen as the preferred method to connect to disparate sources (SQL Server, Oracle, XML, etc.).

In order to fully utilize all the rich features of these newer sources ADO has more things going on “under the hood”. This tends to slow some things down if all you need are the basics. If you are dealing solely with an Access (Jet) database, then DAO will perform faster than ADO and should be your tool of choice for your application. If you are using Access as a front-end for connecting to another source that can benefit from the newer ADO features, then ADO is for you.

Listed below are some pros and cons for each. This should not be considered as an exhaustive list.

DAO Pros:

* Fast
* Stable, bug-free code
* Integrates well with Access (Jet) databases.
* Shares the Access connection. Does not open a separate connection to the database when running in Access.


DAO Cons:

* Does not scale well to other databases
* Does not scale well to large recordsets (million+ record queries with lots of business logic can take a long time)
* Has a very deep object model requiring a lot of "." notation
* Does not scale well to web interfaces
* Does not support disconnected recordsets


ADO Pros:

* Scales to virtually all databases that run on a MS platform
* Runs quickly on large recordsets. (DAO can sometimes outperform ADO in that it does not load the entire recordset when first called, but rather loads records incrementally, only as necessary. ADO will yield faster results with functions performed on the entire large recordset.)
* Works great with tables in Access that are really connections to tables or views in other types of databases
* Has some nice methods that DAO doesn't for testing status of recordset
* Has a very shallow object model (basically Connection Command And Recordset)
* Supports disconnected recordsets
* Supports stateless HTTP protocols
* Providers are also available for non-MS platforms such as AS/400
* Supports ANSI-92 DDL query statements such as GRANT + REVOKE statements.
* Can apply Sort and Filter properties 'in place'. Does not require a separate Recordset object to use Sort and Filter.


ADO Cons:

* Slightly slower than DAO
* Does not really work with Access 97 and previous versions
* Syntax is more difficult for beginners
* Requires second library for some data definition activities (ADOX)


Some more things to consider. Since Access 2003, DAO has returned to be the default library in Access. This includes Access 2007. The ADO library is no longer referenced when creating a new .MDB or .ACCDB in A2007. In Access 2007 Microsoft has included more features in DAO (ACEDAO) to allow you to work with the new features of the enhanced database engine (.ACCDB). Most notably, these features are:

Multi-value lookup fields
A multi-value lookup field is a field that can store multiple related values for a given record in an embedded recordset.

Attachment fields
The database engine supports a new data type called Attachment that can be used to store files in a database. The files are compressed for storage unless the file being added is already compressed. There is also a new Attachment control in Access 2007 to support this data type.

Append only memo fields
Memo fields support a new property called AppendOnly that is used to track column history for data changes to the field. Each change made to an append only field is saved in the database and can be retrieved using a new method on the Access.Application object called ColumnHistory.

Conclusion:

DAO is not going anywhere. Microsoft is committed to supporting it well into the future. If your application is purely a Microsoft Access database, then DAO should be the obvious choice. If you need some advanced recordset manipulation features and are connecting to a supportive outside source, then ADO is the ticket. Also, it should be noted that there is nothing wrong with mixing these two methods within the same project.

Source: UtterAccess.com
Read More.........

12 Oct 2008

Mike Portnoy - Liquid Drum Theater DVD (Two Parts)



Volume One features music from both CD’s by Liquid Tension Experiment and includes footage shot at Millbrook Studios where both were recorded. Mike performs eight songs/segments and breaks down parts from each. In addition he explains how to develop a “toolbox” of fills and patterns to draw from. Featured throughout is exclusive “home footage” of Liquid Tension Experiment in the studio and rare live footage of the band. 89 min.

Volume Two focuses on the music of Dream Theater and features footage shot at Beartracks Studios. Mike performs eleven songs/segments from the “Falling Into Infinity” and “Scenes From a Memory” CD’s and isolates the drum parts from each song. He also discusses playing in odd-time signatures, developing double bass technique, soloing and much more. Also included is exclusive live footage of Dream Theater from their 1998 Touring Into Infinity tour. 86 min.

Special DVD Features: Two Bonus, Live Performances, one by Dream Theater and one by Liquid Tension Experiment! Over twenty minutes of new footage! Also features a full-length commentary by Mike, a camera switching option, allowing the viewer to "direct" four studio performances, a photo gallery, and more!

Video Link: http://rapidshare.com/users/A651QG (Join the video parts using HJSplit)
Drum Transcription Link: http://rapidshare.com/files/152850475/MP-LDT-T.rar


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30 Sept 2008

Rock Guitar Secrets



The ultimate guitarist's reference book with playing techniques, solo and improvisation concepts, exercises and jam tracks. The purpose of this book is to demystify the relatively simple concepts or tricks around which much of rock guitar is built. The book is designed modularly, allowing the reader to choose any topic at any time, but is can also be sequentially as a method. Topics includes warm-ups, pentatonic scales, bending and vibrato techniques, blues scales, string skipping, major scales, alternate picking, modes, economy picking (sweeping), arpeggios, two-hand tapping, minor scales, legato techniques, exotic scales, whammy bar, how to build a solo, practice planning, and improvisation. Each concept is discussed in a thorough and easily understandable manner. The accompanying CD includes over 80 licks and exercises plus more than 20 jam tracks, helping the student put the concepts directly into practice. In notation and tablature.

Link:
http://rapidshare.com/files/2699099/Fischer.rar
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27 Sept 2008

MIKE PORTNOY - PROGRESSIVE DRUM CONCEPTS


Mike Portnoy, the drummer for the progressive heavy metal band Dream Theater, presents a fantastic instructional DVD for intermediate to advanced players.

Topics include: drum set assembly, double-bass techniques, odd time signatures, grooves and phrasing, and more. Portnoy, with John Myung on bass and Derek Sherinian on keyboard, plays various examples from Dream Theater songs including Pull Me Under , Voices , Metropolis , A Change of Seasons etc.

This DVD was originally released in Japan, but the response was so good it is now available to the rest of the world! Contents include Drum Set Assembly, Odd Time Signature examples and Groove and Phrasing examples.

Links:
http://rapidshare.com/files/128328838/MP-PDC.part1.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/128665587/MP-PDC.part2.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/128685518/MP-PDC.part3.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/128724576/MP-PDC.part3.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/128745767/MP-PDC.part4.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/128762914/MP-PDC.part5.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/128792500/MP-PDC.part6.rar

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26 Sept 2008

Guitarworld Magazine Jan 08 - Jun 08



Links:

June 2008 Issue
May 2008 Issue
April 2008 Issue
March 2008 Issue
February 2008 Issue
January 2008 Issue
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Secrets of the Pros Modern Recording & Mixing 1 & 2

This 2 DVD set from SECRETS OF THE PROS is a fast and easy way to learn how to record, mix, and set up your studio. It will show you the basic grear you need, how it works, and old and new techniques used by the best Producers, Engineers, and Artists in the music industry. You don't need a lot of money to create professional recordings, but you do need the skills. The fastest way to learn these skills is via DVD.

DVD 1
01 Introduction
02 General Studio Layout
03 Pre-Amps
04 Signal Routing
05 Click Tracks
06 Loops
07 Recording Setup Basics
08 Recording Drums
09 Recording Bass

DVD 2
10 Recording Guitars
11 Recording Keyboards/MIDI
12 Recording Vocals
13 Mixing
14 The Big Secret
15 Conclusion

With over three hours of information, these DVDs will take you through standard methods of audio engineering that have been refined over decades by the best of the best.

If you were to closely observe the best producers and engineers in the audio world as they record, edit, and mix, you would see many of them using similar techniques. This is because almost every one of them learned their skills from a lineage of other top-notch talent in the audio production industry. This 2-DVD set will show you these techniques.

You will also hear a world-class studio designer show you easy and inexpensive ways to correctly set up your studio. This process is critical if you want to record and mix pro sounding tracks and have your mixes accurately translate from your studio to the outside world.

Links:

DVD 1

http://rapidshare.com/files/132173780/SotP-MR_M_-_1.iso.001.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132173774/SotP-MR_M_-_1.iso.002.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132173782/SotP-MR_M_-_1.iso.003.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132173779/SotP-MR_M_-_1.iso.004.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132173773/SotP-MR_M_-_1.iso.005.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132192377/SotP-MR_M_-_1.iso.006.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132192374/SotP-MR_M_-_1.iso.007.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132192381/SotP-MR_M_-_1.iso.008.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132192375/SotP-MR_M_-_1.iso.009.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132192367/SotP-MR_M_-_1.iso.010.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132210021/SotP-MR_M_-_1.iso.011.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132210014/SotP-MR_M_-_1.iso.012.html
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http://rapidshare.com/files/132210025/SotP-MR_M_-_1.iso.014.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132210023/SotP-MR_M_-_1.iso.015.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132233099/SotP-MR_M_-_1.iso.016.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132233094/SotP-MR_M_-_1.iso.017.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132233091/SotP-MR_M_-_1.iso.018.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132233092/SotP-MR_M_-_1.iso.019.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132239351/SotP-MR_M_-_1.iso.020.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132243997/SotP-MR_M_-_1.iso.021.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132244022/SotP-MR_M_-_1.iso.022.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132244167/SotP-MR_M_-_1.iso.023.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132244165/SotP-MR_M_-_1.iso.024.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132249611/SotP-MR_M_-_1.iso.025.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132254165/SotP-MR_M_-_1.iso.026.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132254187/SotP-MR_M_-_1.iso.027.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132254307/SotP-MR_M_-_1.iso.028.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132254334/SotP-MR_M_-_1.iso.029.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132259320/SotP-MR_M_-_1.iso.030.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132263216/SotP-MR_M_-_1.iso.031.html
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http://rapidshare.com/files/132267948/SotP-MR_M_-_1.iso.035.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132271933/SotP-MR_M_-_1.iso.036.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132233089/SotP-MR_M_-_1.iso.037.html

DVD 2

http://rapidshare.com/files/132281900/SotP-MR_M_-_2.iso.001.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132281906/SotP-MR_M_-_2.iso.002.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132281901/SotP-MR_M_-_2.iso.003.html
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http://rapidshare.com/files/132295993/SotP-MR_M_-_2.iso.008.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132295997/SotP-MR_M_-_2.iso.009.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132296002/SotP-MR_M_-_2.iso.010.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132319012/SotP-MR_M_-_2.iso.011.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132319015/SotP-MR_M_-_2.iso.012.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132319009/SotP-MR_M_-_2.iso.013.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132319013/SotP-MR_M_-_2.iso.014.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132321984/SotP-MR_M_-_2.iso.015.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132333918/SotP-MR_M_-_2.iso.016.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132333957/SotP-MR_M_-_2.iso.017.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132333979/SotP-MR_M_-_2.iso.018.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132334033/SotP-MR_M_-_2.iso.019.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132337736/SotP-MR_M_-_2.iso.020.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132349701/SotP-MR_M_-_2.iso.021.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132349761/SotP-MR_M_-_2.iso.022.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132349837/SotP-MR_M_-_2.iso.023.html
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http://rapidshare.com/files/132353083/SotP-MR_M_-_2.iso.025.html
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http://rapidshare.com/files/132365120/SotP-MR_M_-_2.iso.028.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132365138/SotP-MR_M_-_2.iso.029.html
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http://rapidshare.com/files/132380368/SotP-MR_M_-_2.iso.031.html
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http://rapidshare.com/files/132394730/SotP-MR_M_-_2.iso.036.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132394883/SotP-MR_M_-_2.iso.037.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132395070/SotP-MR_M_-_2.iso.038.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132395145/SotP-MR_M_-_2.iso.039.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132398628/SotP-MR_M_-_2.iso.040.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132409014/SotP-MR_M_-_2.iso.041.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132409258/SotP-MR_M_-_2.iso.042.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132409426/SotP-MR_M_-_2.iso.043.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132409443/SotP-MR_M_-_2.iso.044.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/132319011/SotP-MR_M_-_2.iso.045.html

INSTRUCTIONS:
Join all the files using HJSplit or any other software. Once all the files are joined, open the file using Ultra ISO or Daemon Tool.
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Eric Johnson: Signature Licks


A step-by-step breakdown of his playing technique by Wolf Marshall.

Accompanying CD explores both the theoretical and hands-on aspects of his best recorded work.

Length: 64 pages
Language: English
Catalogue #: HLE00699317
ISBN: Not specified
Media: Sheet Music and CD

Download Link:

Booklet
CD
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25 Sept 2008

Zakk Wylde - Pentatonic Hardcore


Originally brought out on VHS by "Young Guitar", this is the best Zakk Wylde video available.


This is an Instructional video by Zakk Wylde teaching you some pretty awesome guitar techniques. It was originally brought out on VHS by Japan Magazine, 'Young Guitar'.

Lessons Include
1.Basics
2.Pentatonic Phrasing
3.Country Style Licks (Pedal Steel Bends, Chicken picking)

*DEMO: Losin' Your Mind* Horse Called War* Sold My Soul* Dead As Yesterday*

Links Incl Booklet:
Links:
http://rapidshare.com/files/109974853/ZWPH.part1.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/109985087/ZWPH.part2.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/110169948/ZWPH.part3.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/110182095/ZWPH.part4.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/110608043/ZWPH.part5.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/110366849/ZWPH.part6.rar
Read More.........

Mike Campese: Creative Speed-Building Picking Techniques


MIKE CAMPESE is back with his second CFH release "CREATIVE SPEED-BUILDING PICKING TECHNIQUES". In this 55 minute video Mike will show you over 50 examples to allow you to become an incredibly clean and precise speed-picker.

This DVD / CD ROM set covers single-string and multiple-string licks, string skipping, intervallic lines, sweep picking, chordal picking, shred licks, and an excerpt from Paganini's Caprice #16. Mike also demonstrates creative ways to develop your own patterns and scales, as well as shows how to play many examples from several of his own compositions. Included is a special bonus "performance section" with Mike shredding up two complete songs from his CDs. Either watch the entire 55 minute video or use the "Direct Access" menu to access individual examples. Also featured on the accompanying CD ROM is the 27 page "MC2.pdf" file containing the "MIKE CAMPESE: CREATIVE SPEED-BUILDING PICKING TECHNIQUES" lesson notation/tab.

Download:
http://rapidshare.com/files/142887299/MC2.part1.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/143014260/MC2.part2.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/143026773/MC2.part3.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/143040350/MC2.part4.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/143052558/MC2.part5.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/143055779/MC2.part6.rar

Booklet:
http://rapidshare.com/files/143056452/MC2.PDF
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Robben Ford - Back To The Blues


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20 Sept 2008

How to spot counterfeit guitars

With the increase in number of counterfeit guitars shipped out to different parts of the world (mainly from China and overzealous private guitar manufacturers), major guitar companies like Gibson, Ibanez (mainly for the JEM series) have already sent out alarm bells to all potential buyers and victims. Luckily, the fellows from HARMONY CENTRAL have started a new forum called "Counterfeit Info Central," that's dedicated to helping people identify whether what they're buying is legit or not.


Below is a copy of the newsletter sent out to all members of Harmony Central:

Dear Musician,

It's happening to too many people. They save up for some great guitar, then are "lucky" enough to see a great price on exactly what they want on the net. So they spend their hard-earned cash, only to find that their guitar doesn't quite feel like what they tried at their friend's house or at a music store. And then a couple months later, cracks appear in the finish, and the tuning pegs start to "grab"...

Counterfeit guitars (and other instruments) are becoming more and more common. While we're certainly in favor of musicians getting the best deals they can, counterfeit instruments almost invariably lack the quality of what they're imitating, and the "low price" is much higher than the instrument's actual value—which is more on a par with a budget "beginner's guitar."

Of course, some musicians don't realize they're playing counterfeit instruments—until they need a repair or try to resell it. And companies have a real problem with counterfeits, but interestingly, it's not always about the lost income; after all, there are plenty of legitimate, low-priced guitars that play very well and provide honest competition. Rather, it's concern about the company's reputation. What if you buy what you think is a gorgeous guitar, and six months later, the neck is warped? If you don't know it's a counterfeit, you're going to think nasty thoughts about the company; and due to the power of the internet, putting those thoughts online can affect a company's reputation in a way that's almost impossible to undo.

Because we owe our success to the Harmony Central community, we want to do what we can to make sure you're not victimized by counterfeit scams. So, we're starting a new forum, "Counterfeit Info Central," that's dedicated to helping people identify whether what they're buying is legit or not. For example, one musician was able to identify a counterfeit Les Paul that "didn't feel right" because it had three truss rod cover screws instead of two. This eventually led to the arrest (on two felony counts) of a North Carolina man who'd acquired the guitar from a Chinese web site and resold it.

These days, it's not difficult to make a guitar that looks legit, but whose flaws become apparent only after a period of time—at which point the seller has moved on. "Counterfeit Info Central" is intended to provide information that helps the HC community make sure they're buying the real thing, and well as provide tips on how to identify counterfeit goods. We want you to spend your time being musicians—not being victims of scams.

—Your Harmony Central Team
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Distortion / Compression / Amp Sims / Post EQ - Some Ideas

Another great post that I had saved for a number of years on my hard drive. I believe this post was originally from the Boss GT forum some four years back. Read, relax and enjoy:

I've been off in my own little world analyzing some things - namely taking apart various distortion boxes, distortion circuits, tube amp circuits and various other little goodies that has been nothing but fun, and time consuming. A couple of things about this post. You may find some of the references a bit “confusing” to you. Please don’t be. This was originally created for the POD XT (LINE6 board) and has been “translated” for the GT6. So some statements embedded in here may not directly apply to posts on this site, even though it seems to reference them. 99% of this material is applicable, though.
I've come up w/ some interesting observations that I thought I'd share w/ ya'll cuz all of this applies directly to the GT6 in some form, or fashion. Secondarily, we need to understand the factors intrinsic to it to get the best out of it.
First, let's tackle distortions in general. One of the things that has come up time, and time again, on this board is the "flabby" aspect of the MESA models - as well as some of the other amps.
Now, that said, let me take a personal experience and add this to the mix. I recently obtained a Marshall MG100DFX (solid state) amp. That thing is as Marshallesque as they come. However, I noticed that when the "Gain" was set to give me that "heavy" distortion and the channel volume was set higher... followed by large increments in "Master Volume" the real amp got very flabby.
Flabbergasted, I grabbed a real JCM800 2x12 from a friend and experienced the same thing - the louder it got, especially w/ higher gain settings on the preamp the "flabbier" the thing got. Transient events (pick attack) and various other things all generally got pushed into the 'mudrange' yielding an overall un-tasteful distortion. A quick trip to my local GC and a few minutes on front of a MESA amp gave me similar results.
So, I went to venerable world-wide web to see if there was any information to assist me in my quest for "tight" distortion and tone. By George, there was one site that had a single comment in it:
quote:

Consequently, it is usual to limit the bass response before the overdrive section.

THIS COMMENT IS QUOTED VERBATIM FROM http://users.chariot.net.au/~gmarts/ampovdrv.htm - A SITE DESIGNED AND MAINTAINED BY GM ARTS...


This got me to wondering, a bit. So I dug through the TS9 and TS808 schematics and, sure enough, darned if the things didn't actually have limited gain at low frequencies (little to no distortion) and much more gain at high frequencies (lotsa distortion).
Similarly, Marshall's MG100DFX amplifiers have a two-leg input network to the distortion section in which the bass/low frequencies are significantly attenuated.
Marshall Bluesbreaker, MXR Distortion+, Marshall Guv'nor, RATT, etc. they all are compensated with high-pass networks with severely attenuated low-frequencies somewhere prior to, or within, the distortion circuits.


So, I grabbed me a "treble booster" type circuit and fed the Marshall off of that... ahh, improvement...


So, I moved onward, in my quest. I bought a few pedals (BOSS Super Overdrive - SD1, BOSS DS1, BOSS BD2, MXR Double Shot, etc). Taking apart these circuits yielded similar information, so we're on the right track.
About 2 months ago in "Guitar One" (I think that's the one) there was one of those small back-page articles on a no-name band. The guitarist from that band was making the following statement about nu-metal sounds:
quote:

You know, the MESA's produce a lot of distortion but they get eGT6remely "tubby", "muddy" and "flabby" when driven to those levels... the other day I was listening to this band that had a killer tone and they were using all MESA's. When I went up on stage, I noticed they were driving the MESA's w/ distortion pedals and their tone was tight, focused and heavily distorted...

So, that got me thinking... so I dug back through years and years of rig info for all my favorite guitarists - Chet Atkins, Brad Paisely, Duane Eddy, Buddy Holly, Randy Rhodes, Jake E. Lee, Zakk Wylde, Eddy Van Halen, Eric Clapton, etc...


One thing became very clear as I focused on the content of these gear rigs - THEY ALL USED EITHER BOOSTERS OR DISTORTION UNITS IN FRONT OF THEIR AMPS... what the hey??? They've got these beautiful Marshalls, and MESA's, etc and they're using cheap ol' distortion boxes???? MXR Distortion+, MXR Distortions, RATT's, BOSS SD1, Fuzzface, etc.


So, I grabbed my Fender Hot Rod Deluxe (all tube w/ crappy distortion) and started plugging in the following chain:


Guitar -> Compressor -> Distortion -> Amp


WOW! What a difference, from flabby, loose and grungy to clear, crisp, clean, chunky, controlled and tight... The Marshall MG100DFX - same thing... JCM800 2x12 unit - same thing. CheckMate 18 Solid State - same... in all cases each of these amps cleaned up immensely and immediately "tightened up..." Even the Guitar Center MESA sounded more like a MESA w/ an MXR Distortion+ feeding a BOSS GE-7...


There are some "tricks" here that need to be noted:

1) If you're going for a more "focused", very "distorted" tone it seems that using the distortion boxes distortion is the way to go, in most cases. The MXR's are very "crisp", very "clear" and very "focused" and "tight" in their tone. This is the EVH, Randy Rhodes approach and it works very well. Different boxes have different characteristics and will yield slightly different results. Those boxes that have more low-frequency content feeding the distortion circuits will yield a slightly "warmer" tone but have a "flabbier" response to them.

2) You can use the box to enhance the amplifier distortions. Much of the "flabby" noise that comes from the amps is due to the power amp draining the power supply. To significantly reduce this, from happening, one must overdrive the preamp a lot more. Thus, you can use the distortion pedal as a booster for the preamp thus taking the load off the power amp - in the GT6 this works the same way. To do that you'd turn down the "Distortion" setting on the pedal and turn up the "Gain" setting. This, effectively, introduces little eGT6ernal distortion to the amp, but allows the preamp to be driven sufficiently hard to clip. Master volume can be set appropriately, then, to drive the power amp less and keep headroom in your power stage for input transients, etc. and it doesn't turn the entire signal to "mush".

3) Older vintage amps and many of the modern tube amps DO NOT have frequency compensation in their distortion circuits. Thus, the entire range of frequencies feeds these areas. Because the bulk of the "power" of the signal is in the low-frequency range, this range becomes the primary range of frequencies, which distort leaving little distortion occurring in the high frequency range. The end result is a "muddy" and somewhat "flabby" tone as the compression that results from the higher low frequency energy is somewhat unacceptable. To compensate this many folks (Eric Clapton, Randy Rhodes, Brian May, etc) used front-end treble boosts of one sort, or another, to attenuate the bass frequencies and produce clarity in the distortion.

Zakk Wylde, for instance, drives JCM800 or Marshall 2203 heads with a BOSS SD1 (Super Overdrive). He uses this pedal for two purposes. 1) As a "gain stage" to drive the preamp a bit harder. 2) For the "bass cut" to "clean up" the distortion coming from his amps. The MXR Zakk Wylde Distortion unit is really a re-vamped BOSS SD1 (which has been in Zakk's arsenal for years).

The other thing to keep in mind, here, is that just because a band uses a MESA, or Marshall, or other amplifier and gets raging distortion out "the amp alone" doesn't mean that it's just from the amp... other things in the signal chain, eGT6ernal to the preamp, can be driving the preamp harder, may be providing some hi-pass filtering, etc... even the internal preamp stages may have been modified, at some point in time, to actually reduce the low frequency content entering the distortion stages. Those are things that we're not privy to, and I'll say, right now, modifications that get made to a lot of amps. Even my friends JCM800, which he bought used and "un-modified" actually had changes made to the front-end to assist the distortions a bit...

Distortion performance varies by guitar plugged into the distortion device (amplifier or eGT6ernal unit). There are ways to "tame" this and provide a more consistent distortion result every time you use the box. To that end, the compressor is the God-send of the distorted guitar.

First, distortion, in general, really works way better when the signal feeding it is somewhat constant. In solid-state distortion units, and even in tubes, you'll notice something IF you really listen. Play a note on the uncompressed guitar and listen to the distortion as the guitar "fades". You'll notice a nice "rounded" distortion at the pick attack... it then decays into "buzziness" and finally "dies away to clean". That second stage of the decay - buzzy - is a result of a bunch of things that can be eliminated/reduced w/ compression.

The goal is, really this: 1) Let the transients through so that you get a feeling of "dynamics" in your playing. 2) Keep the level of the signal up during the "decay" portion of the signal such that the distortion is "fully utilized" and doesn't get to the "buzzy" part of the decay. The compressor CAN do this. A secondary cool part of some compressors (especially the guitar ones) is that they have a high-cut circuit that allows you to add more hi-end, as needed, to "clean up" wimpy distortion.

So, plug the guitar into the compressor... plug the compressor to the distortion, distortion to amp, yada, yada, yada. Then, take the "Attack" setting on the compressor and set this to "Slow" attack. If your compressor reads in ms (milli-seconds) set it for a higher number. On those w/ "Slow / Med / Fast" set the thing to slow, etc.

The "Attack" control determines at what rate the compressor starts to compress. Setting this to a "slow" rate allows transients (pick attack) to go through and compression to start on the "decay" portion of the note. This yields two results: 1) It makes your playing "feel right" in the sense that you can hear varying levels of pick attack clearly. 2) It controls the level of the decay, yielding a better sounding distortion during the longest part of your note. It also allows the tone (initial) to be "brighter" and more "transparent" and "clear".
Then, you can set the "Sustain" control (on many compressors such as the BOSS CS3, etc this controls the "Ratio" AND "Threshold") to whatever makes your style of music sound best.

If you've got some "mud" in the result - increase the "Tone" control to add more treble/edge so that you're driving less bass energy into the distortion circuit. This will "tighten" the tone of the distortion... and you can reduce the "Sustain" some and this will allow a bit more high frequency to pass, as well cuz the bass energy won't be clamping the compressor as tightly.

Last... the output gain control. Setting this up higher will cause your distortion section to distort even harder... set to taste... and voila, lots better distortion with "dynamic response", unlike the distortion you'd get from just plugging a lone guitar into an amp.
On the GT6, I realize, this presents a bit of a problem cuz NONE of the compressors in the thing allow for "Attack" to be set.

With regards to the "Post EQ" dilemma on the GT6. If you read the studio notes (now a part of the new "Guitar Player" format) in some of the magazines (Guitar Player, Guitar One, Guitar World, Recording, Home Recording, EQ, MIX, Sound on Sound, etc) you'll notice that very few recording/mixing engineers saying something like this:
quote:

Gee, when I tracked ____ guitars, I just slapped a perfectly flat mic in front of the guitar amp and recorded it direct to tape without using any EQ or compression. In fact, I even used a transparent mic pre so I didn't color the sound and mess with the track....

For instance, in one of the later "Guitar Player" magazines there's a blurb called "Tracking Zakk Wylde" where his producer is discussing how Wylde gets his tone. It's very clear, and I paraphrase:

"I put an SM57, on-axis, pointed right at the center of the speaker to capture the highs... I put an AKG C421 mic slightly off-axis to the speaker to capture some of the girth of the amp... I then apply a large amount of boost at 110Hz, 220Hz to provide some depth and a large hi-shelf to add some clarity... the mics were run through a Neve channel strip (major coloration) and compressor (even more coloration)."

Zakk has the ULTIMATE tone setup (IMHO only). Les Paul w/ hi-output EMG's into the SD1, to a JCM800 w/ 4x12 cabs loaded with EV12H speakers (yeah, ElectroVoice). His recorded tone is HUGE but his stage tone isn't so great. It's cuz a liberal amount of post EQ was added to the actual amp tone (just like we need to w/ the GT6).

In any studio configuration we have a plethora of instruments that all need sonic space. The actual guitar has tones that range from approximately 80Hz to 1280Hz. A guitar is good for 12 harmonics and that puts the final frequency, 24th fret, 12th harmonic, at approximately 15kHz. Quite a range... As you can tell, that's going to "interfere" with voice, keys, bass guitar, drums, backup vocals, accordion, lute, piccolo and every other instrument on that nu-metal track.

A recording engineers job is to "capture the tone". So, as a recording engineer my job is capture a 150dB SPL amplifier WITHOUT distortion on tape, or hard disk, a goodly portion of the room and several different "perspectives" of that amplifier tone (using different mic's, ambient mic's, etc). All of this must be as "clear" as possible.

Once the basic tones are captured using various mics and they're all "on tape" then the mixing engineer comes in. The job of the mixing engineer is to "make everything fit". Sonically, all the instruments are all over the map and stepping over everyone. The mixing engineer then uses panning, compression, EQ, delay, reverb, chorus, flanging, level, etc. to "separate" the elements, control their levels, enhance their apparent position and allow each instrument its sonic space. In some cases EGT6REME levels of EQ are used - boost and cut. In other cases, the recording engineer has already done this and printed the signals "hot to tape". But, the end result is, many cuts/boosts have to be made to each instrument to get them all to fit - very few do on the first pass.

After the mixing engineer gives the space, clears up the mix and gives everyone the sonic space the neGT6 step is Mastering Engineer. The mastering engineer does several things:

1) Creates the sequence of tracks that makes the most sense - both in terms of levels, sonic content/material, keys, etc.

2) Creates a "glue" that allows a certain sonic element to "bind" every track so that it all sounds like it was created at the same time. If different studios were used to record/mix and a different balance of bass / mid / high is used on each track mixed, the mastering engineer will "balance" these so they're more consistent among the tracks. They may even add a light dash of the same "reverb" to each track in order to add more "coherence" to the final product.

3) EQ's the entire mix for a certain "sound". Country has a boost around 80Hz about 1 octave wide and another around 8kHz 1 octave wide... a bit of "thump" and a bit of "presence". Rock is more mid-range... Jazz is "flatter" w/ a slight roll off at the bottom end, etc.

4) Tames any final elements in the mix that need taming (i.e. wild transients, etc).

5) Compresses to get a "radio friendly" mix...

6) Makes it loud - which I, personally, have some disagreements with.

7) Creates the final copy...


All of those elements are changing the guitars tone. EVH's early sounds, for instance, were not only based on mic elements, post EQ, console coloration, mix EQ and mastering EQ but also the fact that the original signal was delayed slightly and panned Left and Right.
Randy Rhodes sound, for instance, wasn't just a single take. Rhodes would play the solo sections at least 3 times. The best take was panned center and loud. The other two takes were panned L/R and about 6dB lower producing a natural chorus effect. There were other elements of the Randy Rhodes tone including being recorded in the basement of a stone castle... the amps were in a stone room direct mic'd (a large diaphragm condenser and an SM57) along w/ two other large diaphragm condensers located in a stone stairwell - one at the doorway and one further up the stairs. All 4 mics were mixed to create a composite tone, sent through a NEVE console with EQ applied (coloration from the NEVE alone PLUS EQ), into an LA2A compressor and finally to tape - which was then re-EQ'd during the mix-down stage.

The other thing about Rhodes sound on the tape... Rhodes guitar was recorded direct to tape and the tape output (considerably hotter) was fed to the effects chain/amp! This produced a LOT different tone than that of the guitar fed directly into the amp.

What I'm trying to point out, here, is this: We've all made a lot of comments about the GT6 requiring a POST EQ. This is a direct recording device... in a real recording environment POST EQ is DONE DURING MIXING NOT DURING TRACKING. Printing hot to tape yields less than happy results, many times. Understanding the process is key to utilizing the system correctly.

Anyway... those are some things that I've learned in the past few months that I thought I'd share w/ ya'll.
Dar
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Gain Staging for POD users

Another post which a fellow forum member friend made somewhere in time (don't remember exactly) which I had then taken to different forums ever since. Below is a reproduction of a soft copy from my hard drive from one of the popular guitar forums that I had earlier posted. The topic was originally posted on the POD forum and is POD centric.However, the same should be applicable for all decent guitar processors:


I have just finished reading Dar's post on GAIN STAGING from POD forum. I am repasting it here.

There are several definitions that we need to start w/ in order to truly understand the topic of gain staging and what we're trying to accomplish when we do this.

First... Signal to Noise Ratio. That's the first step. Signal to Noise Ratio is, simply, the level of the signal with respect to the level of noise. It's also expressed as S/N.

The S/N of the human ear is 120dB from the lowest volume you can hear to the highest volume you can put up w/ at the threshold of pain.

The ambient environment, in a quiet studio is about 40dB SPL. Most gear, because it's analog, has an S/N of 85dB, or higher, usually in a single piece of gear. That said, you're already left w/ a 45dB S/N as a result of the environment and a piece of gear IF you mic doesn't add any noise. Better audio equipment will run something like 92-95dB of S/N giving you a bit more S/N, overall.

S/N is an AVERAGE measurement. That means we take the signal power and average it over some period of time. That "levels" the peaks and "raises" the values to some relative value that represents the changes over time.

The next thing to understand is the concept of headroom. The maximum gain a device can provide to you, before distortion, is what we refer to as "peak power handling" or "peak power output". It is during these periods that the actual peak power, with respect to noise, is MUCH greater than the rated S/N (a good thing).

The difference between the signal power average (S/N) and the peak power handing is called "headroom".

The more headroom you have (i.e. the signal power average, or S/N) the lower your S/N. The less headroom you have the less headroom you have and the more you have to control your overall signal levels.

Hopefully, that explanation is slightly clearer than mud!

So... moving on, then. The idea of gain staging is to start w/ your most critical component in the signal chain and get it adjusted so that you have the best tradeoff between S/N and headroom. If you're playing classical music you have to create more headroom than S/N. If you're dealing w/ rock, country and modern music you can lean more toward S/N than headroom. By the time a CD reaches your ears on a car stereo there's less then 5dB of dynamic range left on it... 5dB doesn't require much meter travel.

Gain staging is, simply, this: The creation of the proper balance between S/N and headroom such that all musical peaks can be handled w/o changing the character of the original signal while maintaining the maximum S/N allowed by the equipment. Additionally, the settings of each parameter of each device in the signal chain is set such the the original tone is altered only by that device and not at any other point in the chain, when the device is enabled or disabled. (unless, of course, that device is designed to modify the behavior of other devices in the chain - i.e. the use of a Tube Screamer to provide extra input gain but not distortion). To explain, when you turn on your compressor there should be no apparent level change (especially if measured) it should just smooth the peaks and bring up the volume of the lows. When you add distortion (via Ratt, or such) you add distortion, not volume... when you add Delay you don't increase the overall low-end level, or high-end level beyond what the amp is currently producing, you tone those down and "balance" the level of the delay, etc.

To achieve this on the XT.

1) Choose an amp/cab/mic/room sound that you're going to want to work with. Set the channel volume, output volume, gain and tone controls such that when you play the guitar the loudest you're going to play it doesn't get overly compressed or "saggy"... and when you play the softest that you'll end up playing you still have plenty of good clean tone coming out of the thing. Tweak... tweak... tweak at this point because this becomes the fundamental building block of the entire tone you're creating.

2) If you need to "smooth" your playing out then you'll add a compressor to the signal chain. This can either be pre-amp or post-amp/cabinet modeling. So, first, remember (or measure) the output level of the amp/cab/mic model. Add the compressor. With the same signal input level, then, adjust the compressor gain, threshold, attack, compression and release controls such that when the compressor is on, or off, you end up w/ the same average signal level. Once you've done this, you've successfully gain-staged the compressor into the circuit and it's addition, or subtraction, will not produce wide variations in level...

3) Need some distortion... grab your distortion pedal and plug it in. Leave the compressor off, at this point. Tweak the gain and tone knobs to get the overall tone out of the thing that you want. Remember, distortion adds a TON of high frequency harmonics so make sure that you A/B the sounds to be sure you're not adding too much high end to the basic tone (unless, again, that's what you want). Then... once you've the overall tone that you want tweak that distortion level to be about the same w/ the distortion on, as with it off. If you're using this for lead, etc. then you can tweak the level to be about 3dB hotter than the original signal level IF you have the 3dB of headroom in your original amp setup. If you don't, you're going to have to revisit the original amp tone and tweak that down 3dB to get some headroom.

3) Add some chorus... Chorus, unless it's really used to effect the sound, is a "subtle" thing. So... 1) Tweak the chorus to get the overall "tone" you're looking for. Then tweak the "level" on the chorus so that adding it to the effects loop doesn't noticably change your levels.

At this point, double check the entire chain. Start out w/ the amp/cab/mic model. Then add the effects one at a time. You should notice that as you add the effects the output level should not be changing NOR should your basic tone (unless, of course, the basic tone changes by design w/ the addition of pedals). If things are changing dramatically go back and check each item individually till you find the one that's wreaking the sonic havoc. Once tweaked check them all, again.

4) Add some delay. Delay does two things when added, if you're not careful. It, of course, repeats a bunch of stuff. So, all those low-end noises your guitar makes when you palm-mute... well, the delay loves to repeat them over and over and over again... making your tone sound like mud. Thus, use the delay levels judiciously. It's VERY easy to run out of headroom, here, w/ this very useful and painful effect. You may spend a good amount of time, right here, just trying to find that right balance. You can do it! - Happy Gilmour.

5) Add reverb... ahhhhh... the last thing in the signal chain. Lush, deep, loud reverb sounds so awesome in the headphones... even w/ a nice wide stereo field and some good speakers, while you're playing alone. Put that in a mix and instant "washout"! So... tweak up the reverb just a hint, just so you can start to hear it w/o having it muck w/ the overall tonality... reverbs have a nice way of accentuating high-frequencies... so tone those down if you need to turn it up, a bit (remember - you can't get more level out of the thing when you turn this on)...

There you have it... gain staging in a nutshell. It's not too terribly hard.

Couple of things... in the real, rather than the fairy tale world of the POD XT, effects actually create a great deal of noise. Here's a quick rule of thumb.

The "louder" the input signal to a device the better the S/N will be. Conversely, the less headroom you're going to have. In noisy environments (such as the one created by vintage gear - hums, hisses, buzzes, crackles, pops and various other treats) it's best to try to crank out the most volume you can w/o changing your basic tone and compromising the basic dynamic range of the music you're trying to perform. (remember to always wear your Hearo's ear plugs when doing this).

The louder things get, the more you have to drop back on the extreme settings of the tone controls, especially the bass control. Everyone loves that knob at 10... however, remember, in the XT as in the real-world, the louder things get the louder, and more pronounced, all the bad things get. Just because you have headphones, or studio monitors, available and you're listending at a cool 85dB and protecting your hearing doesn't mean that your virtual Fender Twin isn't running at 125dB and suffering all of the evils of that intense volume level. It still works the same in the XT as it does in the real world. Thus you really have to pay attention. The louder the volume gets, the more you have to back off on the tone controls, etc. to get the amp back into a resopnsive mode where it does what it's supposed to. There are some other posts where folks describe similar issues w/ real life amps, including Bogner, Fender and others. I, also, have experienced this first hand.

Have fun. Hope that helps... let me know if ya'll have any more questions.

Dar "
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Setting up Amps live for Guitar Processors

I've recently dug out one of the posts I had made on gigpad(dot)com forum somewhere in 2004. The post is now buried somewhere amongst thousands of other posts and hence, I have reproduced it here in case it may benefit someone else who is struggling to find the real sound that they want or tweak around with their sound settings.
The patch (i.e. sound setting on guitar processors) setting on a processor will never sound the same when played through other amps because the processor have their own preamps set to a certain values (eg, bass, treble, EQs etc).

To move further on, let us classify amplifiers into two types: pre & power which may be combined or separated as separate power amp, separate pre-amp or pre & power combined together as a combo. Most of the guitar amplifiers that we use are of the last kind (combo) which has both the pre & power amp combined.

Now, when you connect the processor to the combo, the preamp setting of the processor will not sound the same because the sound will be coloured by the preamp setting of the combo. I think this is the main reason people with awesome processors/amp sims connect directly to the PA System to reproduce the sound that they have created at home/studio as close as possible. Here, since there are no preamp section of the amplifier to go through, the sound will be very close to what you have made. Only a few minor adjustment at the mixing desk will get you closer.

Based on what I have read, tried some from Barry Pearce's Manual, I will try to give a few suggestions. I hope this will be useful for others too.

TERMINOLOGY: Let us get familiar with the amps terminology of most combos (guitar amplifier with both preamp & poweramp) first so that there is no confusion.
1. Preamp Input: Guitar In/Input
2. Preamp Output: Send
3. Poweramp Input: Return/Main In/CD Input (For smaller amps like Marshall 15W, 30W etc, I believe this is the poweramp input as it bypass the preamp section)
4. Poweramp Output: Speakers.

Now, we will look at the different connection options available.

1. PROCESSOR IN FRONT (Mono/Stereo) - This is the simplest of connections. Just connect from your processor main output to the amplifier. This set up works well for keyboard amps or studio power amps which goes into guitar cabs.
PROS: Simple and you can use the preamp of your amplifier to modify your tone.
CONS: You cannot remove the preamp colouration of your sound (guitar amplifier), hence it will be difficult to reproduce the same sound if using different amps.

2. EFFECTS RETURN: Instead of connecting the main output of your processor to your amp main input, connect the processor's output to the RETURN socket of your amp. (this should be same as the CD IN of the smaller amps). By doing this, we are effectively bypassing the preamp section of the guitar amp. This will remove the colouration of the processor's patch settings.
PROS: Uncoloured sound from your guitar, simple. The patch you set at home will be as closely replicated as possible (provided you set your patch using the same connection).
CONS: Your guitar amp's volume may not work. Hence, all volume control will have to be done from your processor.

3.OTHER EFFECTS LOOP: This is when you want to put your processor in the loop of other equipments. Hence, your processor will act as more of a secondary effec device ie. you use your processor for the effects only and not necessarily for preamp/distortion. Connect your guitar to the other device input (this may be your amps/any device main input). Connect the device's loop send to your processor's MAIN IN and then, the processor's OUTPUT to the return of the device. If the device used here is not an amp, then you will have to run another cable from your device to your amp to complete the loop.
CONS: Preamp of guitar amp is not moveable in the signal chain.

4.4 - CABLE METHOD (MONO): This method allows you to use an external preamp in the middle of your processor's effect chain. This is useful for those people who have great amps and loves the sound that they obtain from their guitar amp (like Marshall's high end tube amps, Soldano, ORANGE, Fender Hotrod, MESA BOOGIE ) but still want to use the processor for its other effects.
Connect your guitar to the input of your processor. Processor's SEND goes next to amps INPUT. Amps SEND to processor RETURN. Then processor main OUTPUT to amps RETURN.
PROS: The power & capability of your great amp is not lost.

5. POWER AMP ONLY & PROCESSOR EXTERNAL EFFECTS LOOP: This is almost the same as the 4 - Cable method. The only difference is that the effect in the loop here is a preamp from another device/amps set up, and instead of going to the same device/amps, the main OUTPUT from the processor goes to a second guitar amplifier. Any effect/preamp/preamp rack system can be used in this loop.
CONS: A good quality cable is required as more cabling leads to more noise.

6. PA/Mixing Desk: This is a direct connection from the processor to the PA. The main OUTPUT from the processor goes directly to the PA system/Mixing desk. If the distance between the stage and the Mixing Desk/PA system is far, then it is important to use a DI Box (Direct Injection) to minimise sound & signal loss because of the long cables involved. If your processor does not have a speaker simulator, it would be advisable to get an external one as distortion will not sound at its best without them.

THERE WAS ONE PARTICULAR QUESTION ASKED ON THE POST WHICH GOES AS FOLLOWS:

Should the amp sim be kept on or off?
Micing the amp- Amp sim on or off(which one is it?)
Line out- Amp sim on or off( which one is it?)

TO THIS QUESTION, WARREN ADDS THE FOLLOWING REPLY:

*I would suggest keeping two sets of patches:

*One with the speaker/amp sim off for use with amps and when the amp is miked

*One with the spkr/amp sim on when the amp has a line out to the mixer or when your processor goes straight to the mixer.

*The reason being your speaker simulated patches generally don't work well when connected to the front end of your amp.

*Fiddle with the amp to get your sound. the knobs are meant to be moved.

*If the amp has a fx loop try plugging your processor into the fx return of the amp. you may need to turn the volume up on your processor [usually the output volume].

Use only as much gain as you need. Too much gain turns your tone to mush.

Don't go overboard on the chorus-reverb-delay thing. too much of any causes your tone to lose its in-yer-face attack.

Above all: use your ears.
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19 Sept 2008

Dream Theater - Images and words (Scanned Tablature Book)

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Dream Theater - Awake (Scanned Tablature Book)


Links: http://rapidshare.com/files/12388901/Dream_Theater_-_Awake.pdf
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Dream Theater - Scenes from a memory (Scanned Tab Book)


Link: http://rapidshare.com/files/12389466/Dream_Theater_-_Scenes_From_A_Memory.pdf


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18 Sept 2008

For All the Bassists

This folder is dedicated to Pu LRa


Check out the folder:

http://rapidshare.com/users/FUKI7E
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Jam with Michael Angelo

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Metallica - Guitar Legendary Licks



File: Metallica The Legendary Licks 1983-1988

Folder: http://rapidshare.com/users/QFEL0


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Play Guitar with Iron Maiden

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17 Sept 2008

Jam with Van Halen

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Guitar Backing Tracks (mp3 Audio)

The folder consists of Guitar Backing tracks Of:
AC/DC

Aerosmith

Alice In Chains

Audioslave

Bon Jovi

Dream Theater

Iron Maiden

Joe Satriani

Judas Priest

Korn

Lamb Of God

Marty Friedman, Jason Becker & Cacophony

Megadeth

Metallica

Ozzy Osbourne

Pantera

Rage Against The Machine

Steve Vai

Symphony X

Van Halen

Vinnie Moore etc etc.



FOLDER: http://rapidshare.com/users/FK3AFT



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16 Sept 2008

The Subprime Primer: Idiot's Guide to the subprime crisis

IDIOTS GUIDE TO THE SUBPRIME CRISIS:What really happened and how did the subprime actually start and evolve.

(Click on the red arrow/button on the white screen to move to the next slide).
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RUSS LONG's GUIDE TO NASHVILLE RECORDING

THIS ONE IS DEFINITELY NOT TO BE MISSED (Total 18 Parts Approx. 2 GB)

Russ Long's Guide to Nashville Recording.The concept of this DVD is simple:

The only way to learn audio engineering... is to watch a pro do it - then do it yourself
*Link removed at the request of Chris Graffagnino, Copyright owner for this work*

An actual documentary of a recording session, this innovative DVD puts the viewer right at the console!

Watch Russ record two songs, with five Nashville session musicians. YOU are Russ's second engineer - documenting every microphone position, every EQ & compression setting....all the way from tracking to the final mix.

To make things even more interesting, Russ records the two songs with radically different signal chains.

Russ uses his arsenal of gear to capture song #1. Over $37,000 in microphones, preamps, and outboard gear!

With the home recording studio in mind, Russ records song #2 with low cost dynamic microphones and a popular 16 channel mixer

Russ Long's Guide to Nashville Recording

comes with a second DATA DISK, with all the audio files! Once these files are imported onto your DAW, you can:
1. Compare the two songs - decide if the "expensive" gear sounds that much better.
2. Analyze Russ's creative choices - You watched every move he made; now listen to the results.
3. Take charge of the tracks - manipulate, or even re-record them to your liking. You are in control of the production now.
4. Re-mix the songs - The record company needs a radio remix.... and you're the first call. Go for it!

Home recording has never been easier to learn

File Name: Russ Long's Guide to Nashville Recording (DVD)
Folder: http://rapidshare.com/users/QFEL0

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260 Drum Machine Patterns

ONE FOR THE RECORDING DRUMMERS


Hal Leonard 260 Drum Machine Patterns Features:

96-page book

260 patterns and breaks



File Name: 260_Drum_Machine_Patterns

Folder: http://rapidshare.com/users/9Z2YN7
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Megadeth - Prime Cuts


From the Signature Licks series.

A step-by-step breakdown of the guitar styles and techniques of Dave
Mustaine and Marty Friedman. Learn to master the licks from 12 Megadeth
masterpieces, including, "A Tout Le Monde," "Hangar 18," "Mary Jane,"
"99 Ways to Die," "Peace Sells," "Train of Consequences," "Wake Up
Dead," "Youthanasia," and more.

Hal Leonard Megadeth - Prime Cuts (Book/CD) Features:

Songlist:
99 Ways To Die
A Tout Le Monde
Foreclosure Of A Dream
Hangar 18
High Speed Dirt
Lucretia
Mary Jane
Peace Sells
Skin O' My Teeth
Train Of Consequences
Wake Up Dead
Youthanasia

Be a better metal guitarist
Folder Link: http://rapidshare.com/users/QFEL0
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15 Sept 2008

Synchronize Outlook, Google Calendar, Gmail, IPod and Mobile phone

This is a guide for synchronizing Contacts (address book) and Calendars (schedule) across multiple computers and gadgets. This is one of the articles which I had bookmarked for more than a year and hence, may not necessarily be the best solution today.

Common Terms:
  • synchronization - making the information the same on two different applications
  • WAP/GPRS - wireless Internet access for mobile phones
  • SyncML - a synchronization protocol
This is the setup I am trying to sync:
  • Calendars


  • Contacts
    • Gmail for email addresses

    • Microsoft Outlook at home for contacts

  • Gadgets
    • Nokia 6682
      for access to contacts/calendar on the go (or any mobile phone that has
      software to synchronize with Microsoft Outlook, ie: all of them)

    • iPod for access to contacts/calendar on the go

ScheduleWorld wasn’t something I used before I tried to do this, but it is the glue that holds it all together.

Here is a beautiful drawing of The Plan. It was made with Gliffy, a web-based Visio clone.The Holy Grail of Synchronization

This is how I want to sync it (follow the diagram):
  • Contacts are sourced from my Phone + Outlook (at home).
  • Calendar is sourced from Outlook (at work), Google Calendar, ScheduleWorld.
  • I only want to synchronize my phone/iPod when I’m at home (so I don’t have to bring the USB cables back and forth)
  • I don’t want to synchronize over WAP/GPRS (wireless data) because I am a cheap. My local wireless provider charges too much.
It should be easy to extend these instructions to your specific

situation. If this isn’t your boat I also list some alternatives at the
end of the article. If you have a specific question, post a comment and
I’ll try to answer it. Sometimes the owner of ScheduleWorld pops by and
gives suggestions as well.


But why?


  1. Why use Outlook? Isn’t Microsoft “Outbreak” the devil?
    • I won’t be using Outlook for email. Outlook is a necessary evil if
      you want to do contacts synchronization since it is the only software
      that you mobile phone supports synching with.
    • ScheduleWorld also supports Evolution/Linux and Thunderbird/Windows.

  2. What about Linux/Mac OS X support?
    • Microsoft Outlook is fundamental to how I’m moving the data from my computer to my phone/iPod.
    • You can replace Microsoft Outlook with Evolution or Thunderbird and still use it with ScheduleWorld.

  3. Why not source contacts from Gmail?
    • You can’t automatically sync Gmail to anything.
    • If you have a free solution for synching Gmail to Outlook then please post a comment.
    • Gmail also adds any you’ve emailed to your address book automatically. Gets cumbersome.

  4. Why use ScheduleWorld?
    • It’s there. It’s free. It automatically supports Google Calendar synching.
    • The interface for ScheduleWorld looks like PHP iCalendar. You could run your own Funambol
      server instead, but it wouldn’t be as slick. No, Funambol isn’t a
      clever name for a new hemorrhoid cream. ScheduleWorld uses the Funambol
      server for SyncML interoperability and that’s it.
    • ScheduleWorld is quite a large project and does a number of things outside of SyncML.

  5. Why don’t you sync email?
    • I like using computers for email. My thumb gets sore.
    • The approach I’ve outlined doesn’t sync email. I’d recommend using Mobile Gmail with a data plan to access mail on your phone and on any computer.

  6. Why don’t you use Remote Calendars and cut ScheduleWorld out of the loop altogether?
    • I tried Remote Calendars and I found it a bit of a pain. It
      requires three other Microsoft tools installed (.NET, Office Something,
      VSO). It would still give me “Invalid URI” errors even though it was
      synching properly. Screw that. The Funambol Outlook plug-in is simple.


#1. Synching Phone to Outlook

syncflow2-phone.png

I used a fresh install of Microsoft Outlook. I chose not to
associate it with an email address or import data from Microsoft
Outlook Express. You could use an existing install.

Connect phone to PC.
  1. (Optional) Use Nokia/phone supplied software to BACKUP existing phone contacts.
  2. Use the Nokia/phone supplied PC Suite synchronization software to
    sync existing phone contacts to Outlook (also synching Calendar, Notes,
    To-do).

#2. Synching Gmail to Outlook (at home)


syncflow2-outlook-gmail.png


There are several solutions out there, but I recommend manually
updating by downloading your Gmail contacts to a CSV file and then
importing it into Outlook. More information on CSV files here.


  1. Login to Gmail and export contacts:

    • Contacts >> All Contacts >> Export >> Outlook CSV >> Export Contacts



  2. (Optional) I recommend loading it into Excel and hand-merging the
    contacts with the contacts you copied from your phone. Delete all the
    hand-merged and unnecessary contacts and THEN import the pared down CSV
    file into Outlook.This really is the best way. Every one of your
    friends has three different email addresses. You have to hand-merge
    them, and no program is going to do it for you (properly). It goes
    faster than you might think.
  3. Import the merged contacts into Outlook:

    • File >> Import from another program or file
      >> CSV (Windows) >> [Browse] >> Next >>
      [Contacts] >> Next >> Finish



  4. (Optional) Now comes the fun part. Sift through the Outlook
    Contacts list a few times and make sure the data is correct. Now is the
    time to remove duplicates, before they’re synched everywhere else. That
    person from the bar that time? Probably don’t need that number.
  5. Go take a break and have some cookies and a glass of milk. Watch
    something on TV. I think America’s Next Top Model is on. Then sift
    through the address book again.
  6. (Optional) BACK UP THE OUTLOOK CONTACTS! You won’t be doing
    anything with them, but if something screws up this could be an
    essential recovery point.

    • File >> Export >> CSV (Windows) >>
      Next >> Contacts >> Next >> outlook-backup.csv
      >> Next >> Finish.


#3. Synching Google Calendar to ScheduleWorld


syncflow2-google-calendar.png


  1. Log in to ScheduleWorld and click on Preferences.
  2. Scroll down to the Calendar Preferences. scheduleworld-calendar-1.png
  3. Enter your Gmail account name that is used with your Google Calendar.
  4. Click “Grant Access” to allow ScheduleWorld to connect to your Google Calendar.scheduleworld-google-calendar-2.png
    • ScheduleWorld is in the process of registering with Google
      (2006/09/19), so by the time you try this there won’t be the same
      yellow warning text.

  5. You will be taken back to the ScheduleWorld Preferences page.
    • scheduleworld-google-calendar-3.png

  6. Click on the “Automatically sync with your specific Google Calendar…” checkbox.
  7. Click on the “Find Calendars” button, wait, and then select the calendar you want to sync from the drop down box.
  8. Click on the “Test URL” to make sure you can access the Google Calendar.
  9. Click “Save” to save your calendar Preferences.
  10. Under “Standard SyncML Client Configuration”, take note of your
    ScheduleWorld server url, username, and password. Save it in notepad.
    • scheduleworld-calendar-4.png

  11. Click on the supported clients link: http://www.scheduleworld.com/tg/syncmlInfo.jsp
  12. Download the Outlook client.
  13. NOTE: I had trouble getting the Funambol iPod synchronizer working, so we’ll use a different method (iTunes).

#4. Synchronizing Outlook (at work) to ScheduleWorld

syncflow2-outlook-work.png
  1. Close Outlook and install the Funambol Outlook plug-in at http://www.scheduleworld.com/tg/syncmlInfo.jsp
  2. Run the plug-in.

    • Start >> All Programs >> Funambol >> Outlook Plug-in >> Funambol Outlook Plug-in



  3. Input configuration settings for ScheduleWorld.

    • Configuration >> Edit >> Communication Settings >> [Input ScheduleWorld url, userid and password]



  4. At work I want to push the calendar to ScheduleWorld (one way sync) and I don’t want to sync contacts. You may want to do something else, like use File >> Recover (slow sync) for two-way synchronization.

    • Configuration >> Edit >> Synchronization
      Settings >> [unclick Contacts] >> [Calendar: Update remote
      data]



  5. Click Synchronize and wait
    • .Outlook Funambol client

  6. Set up automatic synchronization.

    • Configuration >> Edit >> Scheduler Settings
      >> [Click activate] >> [Set the time period, I chose 12
      hours]




I set up my Outlook at work to synchronize automatically every day at 5pm/5am (before my home syncs).


#5. Synchronizing Outlook (at home) to ScheduleWorld


syncflow2-outlook-home2.png


  1. Close Outlook and install the Funambol Outlook plug-in at http://www.scheduleworld.com/tg/syncmlInfo.jsp
  2. Run the plug-in.

    • Start >> All Programs >> Funambol >> Outlook Plug-in >> Funambol Outlook Plug-in



  3. Input configuration settings for ScheduleWorld.

    • Configuration >> Edit >> Communication Settings >> [Input ScheduleWorld url, userid and password]



  4. At home I want to push the contacts (one way sync) and pull the calendar (one way sync). You may want to do something else, like use File >> Recover (slow sync) for two-way synchronization.

    • Configuration >> Edit >> Synchronization
      Settings >> [Contacts: Replace remote data] >> [Calendar:
      Replace local data]



  5. Click Synchronize and wait. A while. Got any more milk and cookies?
    • Outlook Funambol client

  6. Set up automatic synchronization.

    • Configuration >> Edit >> Scheduler Settings
      >> [Click activate] >> [Set the time period, I chose 12
      hours]




I set up my Outlook at home to synchronize automatically every day at 6pm/6am (after my work syncs).


#6. Synchronizing Gmail with ScheduleWorld


syncflow2-gmail.png

The Gmail / ScheduleWorld synchronization isn’t automatic, but it does
allow you to push your contacts from ScheduleWorld to Gmail. Instead of
exporting from ScheduleWorld, you could simple export from Outlook (at
home) to Gmail as documented here.

I like using the ScheduleWorld approach because it will only
synchronize contacts with email addresses. You can also use
ScheduleWorld as an LDAP server for Gmail.


  1. Log in to ScheduleWorld:

    • Contacts >> Utils >> Download Contacts in Google Format >> [Save GoogleImportContacts.csv]



  2. Log in to Gmail.
  3. (Optional) Delete existing Gmail contacts.

    • Contacts >> All Contacts >> Select All >> Delete



  4. Import contacts.

    • Contacts >> Import >> [Browse to GoogleImportContacts.csv]




#7. Synchronizing iPod with Microsoft Outlook using iTunes


syncflow2-ipod.png


  • Connect iPod.
  • Open Outlook.
  • Open iTunes.

    • Edit >> Preferences >> iPod >>
      Contacts >> Synchronize contacts from: Microsoft Outlook >>
      Calendars >> Synchronize calendars from Microsoft Outlook
      >> Ok



  • Go to Outlook and look for “A program is trying to access” dialog box and choose “Allow access for 10 minutes” / “Yes”
  • Wait, but not very long.

Your Microsoft Outlook contacts/calendars will be synced whenever you connect your iPod and run iTunes.


Known Issues:


  • This is a Windows solution that requires Microsoft Outlook, but
    that is only because Outlook is the only thing supported by my Nokia
    6682 cellphone.
    • ScheduleWorld supports Thunderbird/Evolution.

  • Manually synching your phone to your computer via Bluetooth / cable
    is pointless if you have a flat GPRS data rate. I don’t. You can
    directly sync your phone to ScheduleWorld over GRPS, and skip a bunch
    of steps.
  • Gmail synchronization is manual, not automatic.
  • ScheduleWorld only supports synching to (1) Google Calendar (but there are plans to support more).
  • This solution is dependant on ScheduleWorld.
  • May need Microsoft Office opened before autosync to iPod using iTunes.
Source: The Holy Grail of Synchronization (internetducttape.com)
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