Book Review: "Give Death a Chance: The British Zombie Invasion 2"

Well... I never thought I'd end up doing a book review, but here I am! I really loved this book, so much so that I decided to review it (oh, and there's also the fact that I received the book in advance because I promised to review it, but...)! What would happen if The Beatles reunited and toured? What would happed if they were ZOMBIES and reunited and toured? Well, that's what the book's about. It's called Give Death a Chance: the British Zombie Invasion 2, and it's by an amazing author named Alan Goldsher. As you may have gathered from the title, it's a sequel to an earlier book: Paul Is Undead: The British Zombie Invasion, which was an amazingly hilarious book by itself.
This book was much shorter than the first in the duo, weighing in at eighty-something ebook pages, compared to the original, which was a relatively hefty print novel. That's another thing: it's only available as an ebook. But it shouldn't matter too much, as Barnes and Noble and Amazon both have free computer based ereaders for those of you without a dedicated device. But, despite its slightly small stature, Give Death a Chance was highly entertaining. We follow three zombified Beatles plus one Ninja Ringo and Mr. Goldsher across the US on The Beatles' Poppermost Over America tour. We watch them get into hilarious conflicts with pop stars, presidents, and rednecks. We see their humorous brawls amongst themselves, all the while being assaulted with foul language and rotting, smelly imagery of stinking limbs and festering wounds. Give Death a Chance is a fun, quick read, and will be available as an EBOOK ONLY on March 27th, 2012.You will be able to purchase it from Barnes and Noble and Amazon.

Digitech Whammy review

For Christmas this year, all I wanted was a red box of joy: a Digitech Whammy. I first heard about them is association with Jack White. I thought they were cool, but really paid the no mind in terms of actually wanting one. Then, my friend got one. I messed around with it, but thought it sounded a bit thin and gimmicky. But after that, I got into U2, and everything changed.

I used to think playing The Edge's parts would be near impossible, but then I discovered U2 Guitar Tutorials on the web. I bought a delay, and learned my first U2 song: Pride. I got really deep into playing U2 on guitar (and still am), and eventually I discovered Achtung Baby. I wondered what was used for the intro of Even Better Than the Real Thing, and a quick Google search led me to the Digitech Whammy pedal. I wrote it off as impossible for a while, but in early November of 2011, it came back. I needed a Whammy. There were all sorts of songs I needed it for: Real Thing, Gone, Magnificent, Peace on Earth, Do You Feel Loved, Beautiful Day, and others. It became the only thing I wanted for Christmas. Come Christmas, I finally got it, and began experimenting with tones. I planned to write a review as soon as I got home from the family's house, but other things called me. Looking back, it's probably a good thing I let this post simmer for a few weeks, as I can write a better review for all of you!

As soon as I got the Whammy, I stuck it in front of some drive, and let rip on Real Thing. I loved it. It gave me a big fat tone in front of some drive. I never use it without drive now, as it sounds really thin without it; it sounds like a mouse clean. For the most part, there aren't any tracking issues, except when you play, say, 3 or more different notes, then it starts to glitch up. Think My Iron Lung. It also needs recalibration every once in a while, but that literally takes 15 seconds, and isn't a big deal at all. Again, it definitely needs to come before some drive (preferably first in the chain, actually, except maybe after a wah or a tuner or something), and some delay doesn't hurt either. I haven't messed much with the harmony settings, but they sound pretty cool. I definitely use the octave up more than any other setting, followed by -1 octave, +2 octaves, droptune, divebomb, and -2 octaves. The detune (chorus) settings are great as well, and create a really thick, lush sound. I just wish you could use it along with the whammy. All in all, the Whammy is a great pedal, and can be used for lots of purposes. I say every guitarist should own one.

Old Guitars

I really love old guitars. Love them. It doesn't matter if it's a Gibson, a Fender, or even an old Matsumoku no-name. The vast majority of old guitars sound and feel great, regardless of monetary value. A cheap 60's Dano can sound as good as any modern day Gibson in the right hands.
Boom. Dano. In my experience, there is NO SUCH THING as an old guitar that sounds bad, once it's fixed up and set up. There's a sort of magic that comes with vintage. Go find some old Sears or Montgomery Ward guitar and play around with it. You'll have fun.

Spider Capo and Harmonik Gloves!

This is a cool contest; check it out here: http://www.guitartrump.com/2011/12/giveaway-spidercapo-harmonik-gloves.html

Line 6 Echo Park delay!!!

     So this summer I made some money selling some old trading cards I had. I got $100 for them, and I was planning to spend the money on a Dunlop Fuzz Face; I'm a huge Jimi Hendrix fan. Then, being a big U2 fan as well, I realized that a delay would be a lot more useful. The best I could find for my price range online was a Boss DD3 Digital Delay. After I got my money, I asked my dad to take me to Guitar Center to buy the DD3. I got there, and after messing with it for a few minutes, I asked the guy if there were any more delay units in that range. He showed me a Line 6 Echo Par for $100 on clearance. My friend had of these, so I knew they were good. I would have planned on one from the start, but they're about $150 new, and that was mostly out of the question. I went to check out, and it turned out there was some other sale, bringing the price down to $70. I ended up purchasing a protection play and a couple of 6 inch right-angle cables with my extra money, bringing my total up to about $116, if I remember correctly. Happy with my purchase, I went home and started messing around. Since I bought it, I have learned multiple U2 songs, and have gained even more respect for The Edge (How does he come up with those parts anyway?). I've also been left wanting even more pedals so I can play more U2 songs (hopefully I'll be able to get a Digitech Whammy review up after Christmas!). Anyway, down to business.
     The Echo Park is a great delay. My favorite feature is the Tap Tempo. It's great for U2, because you just have to set it to Dotted Eighth Note, tap to the tempo of the song, and it'll automatically convert your beats into  dotted eighth note delay intervals. You can also set it to Reverse, Ping Pone, Eighth Note Triplet, Slap Back, Quarter Not (or course!), and more. I also like how it can emulate tape or analog delay, or use straight digital delay. I usually use digital, as that is what The Edge usually uses, but I have messed around with the tape and analog settings, especially when I need good modulation for my infinite-repeat soundscapes! Setting the Repeat knob to max and twisting the Time knob produces some pretty spacey and siren-like sounds, that scare the living daylights out of my cat, especially when I'm using stereo outputs. I have virtually nothing bad to say about this pedal. The only thing that could make it better would be a digital readout of exact milliseconds. The Echo Park is the perfect delay for an Edge wannabe on a budget. I highly recommend it to anyone who plays guitar.

Fender Stage 100 DSP Combo Review!

The Fender Stage 100 DSP is a great little (or not so little) combo amp. At 100 watts (solid state), it packs a punch even at low volume. I rarely use it above 3 or 4 on the volume, or I'll blow my ears out in my reverb-filled basement. It has great tone, and the onboard effects are mostly pretty good. It has nice drive, and even an effects loop, so I can actually use my delay AFTER the amp effects. My only complaints are pretty minor. First, the amp always has a slight static/hum that can be heard when you're not playing. Most amps have this, but it is definitely more noticeable on this amp, and is very undesirable for recording. Second, It only has a single Celestion speaker. There's easily room in the cab for 2 speakers, and I'm planning to add another sometime in the future. It sounds great, though, and it has an output for an extension cab, too. I got the thing for $100, so I shouldn't complain at a buck per watt. Third, every once in a while, the amp will develop a hiss beyond what it normally has. At first it's just annoying, but eventually it overtakes the guitar signal, and you have to turn the amp off and leave it for a while before it works again. This happened a couple times a few months ago, and didn't happen again until very recently, and now it's doing it a lot (any help in the comments would be appreciated!). All in all, this is a great amp, and I love the tones I can get from it.