Yabba Dabba Dooo, it's Bedrock City

Even if you didn't grow up in the Golden Age of cartoons you know who The Flintstones are.  Many years ago the idea of Flintstone themed roadside attractions came to be.

There were a few across the United States although I believe the one in Arizona is the only one still operating.

I went there as a kid and decided to revisit this awesome place on my way to The Grand Canyon.

Tremolo vs Vibrato: What's the difference

Some of the earliest effects available to guitarists were tremolo and vibrato.  These effects were usually built into the amplifier.  Between the vibrato, tremolo, and reverb there was little else available to the electric guitarist.

Leo Fender's company while prominent in the development of the electric guitar led to some great confusion with the mis-labeling of their amps tremolo channel as vibrato.

Seasoned guitarists have figured this out but for anyone who hasn't quite nailed down the difference here is a quick video to demonstrate to the difference between tremolo and vibrato.

DIY Octave Pedal

The
Octave pedal in it's earliest form was a fuzzy nasty pedal that produced an octave up effect if played around the 12th fret with the tone knob rolled off.  In more recent years, pitch shifter pedals have given us the ability to produce clean octave up and octave down tones

Still, these early crude octave pedals such as the Tychobrae Octavia or Green Ringer were used to great effect and produced some great tones

Many years back I fancied myself one of these old school octave pedals.  With an infant in the house and no disposable income I decided to learn how to build one of these beasts. With the abundant information on the internet and a lot of trial and error I got into the hobby of pedal building.

Below is a demo of the pedal that came to fruition based on my shear determination and want of a simple Octave Pedal.

Abandoned Mine, Acton CA.

Mining in it's heyday of the 1800's and early 1900s was prevalent across America.  From the high dollar items like Gold and Silver, to minerals and other metals, mines dotted the landscape all over the country.

The problem with mining is that once you've dug out all there is to dig, there's nothing left to do but abandoned the mine. 

These abandoned mines are all over the place. Some still have whole Ghost Towns around them and others are just big holes in the ground. 

I went searching for a mine who's history and origins are still unknown to me, and I found it.  

Please enjoy my trek to find this abandoned mine.

Danelectro Chicken Salad...Part Deux

The Danelectro Chicken Salad vibe pedal is an inexpensive, yet decent sounding pedal.  For very little money you can get the swirly goodness of a Univibe and jam on some Hendrix or Robin Trower.

I did a video demoing the stock Chicken Salad which is not true bypass.  Some would argue that a better tone could be achieved if only the pedal did not have those annoying buffers in the way.

I decided to rehouse a chicken salad eliminating the switching mechanism and adding a proper mechanical switch making the circuit true bypass.  Below is the comparison of the stock buffered unit versus the rehouse true bypass unit.

Which is better?  You tell me.. Enjoy.

Abandoned Oil Rig

The Santa Clarita Valley is famous for many things.  The history of the valley encompass  everything from railroads, to wagon trails to motion pictures, and oil.  While the oil industry isn't as big in the valley as it used to be,there are still some facilities working hard for those dead dinosaurs.

Placerita Canyon was a hot hotspot for oil drilling many years ago.  While the oil drilling equipment is long since gone there are still some remnants of this industry left for the adventurous soul.

I first spotted this gem a few years ago but it was so overgrown I was having a hard time blazing a trail.  The fires of July 2016 cleared the path for me and this past January I went full force into the wild to find what remained of and old truck and oil rig long since abandoned in Placerita Canyon.

The Dumbler Overdrive Pedal

Dumble amps are the things of legend. Handcrafted and owned by only the elite of the guitar world these elusive amps are extremely desirable.

For the common man the unobtainable nature puts these amplifiers well out of our reach.  There have been many clones as well as pedals that claim to capture that elusive sound.

The Dumbler Overdrive Pedal does not make any claims although the name alone would suggest m this pedal is inspired by the rare and expensive Dumble amps.

Since I've never played a Dumble amp I can't speak to whether or not this pedal sounds like a Dumble so you tell me, what do you think.

DIY Screamer boost pedal

The Ibanez Tube Screamer is undoubtedly the most ubiquitous and famous overdrive pedal ever.  It has been used by countless guitar hero's as well as being in the arsenal of a huge number of working musicians.

A number of years ago I decided to take a stab at building my own pedals. The Tube Screamer type circuit has so many iterations and variations that it is almost mandatory that one tweak the circuit and put their own twist on it.

Below is a video demoing my take on a TS type circuit with plenty of mods to satisfy my own needs.

Bouquet Falls Hike

If you live in the Santa Clarita Valley there is no doubt you've heard of the Bouquet Falls. In this time of extreme drought you may think that these stories date back to the olden days and there is no way there are active waterfalls in Southern California.

I recently decided to venture out the this mystical location to check it out for myself. What I found was what appeared to be an abandoned recreational area that at one time appeared to have been the place of many family picnics and barbecues.  Unfortunately these days it is accessible only by foot and no longer appears to be the family friendly area of yesteryear.  The below photos and videos document my findings.

Joyo Tremolo

Tremolo is one of the earliest effects guitarists had at their disposal.  Whether Optical or Bias based tremolo the warbling throb of the volume fluctuation in he guitar signal conjours a hypnotic feeling.

While most of us don't have a use for tremolo frequently, it is something the working guitarist should have in their
arsenal.

The Joyo tremolo is an inexpensive decent sounding tremolo that won't break the bank, yet give you that swampy throbbing goodness when you need it.

Check out my demo of the Joyo Tremolo.

Abandnoned Roadside Rest Stop

As I travel round Southern California I'm always looking for something interesting.  While I've been up and down Bouquet Canyon many times over the years it was only recently that I found this place.

The Los Cantiles Handicapped Picnic Ground was established in 1972. On my visit recently it was blocked off but looked to have been refurbished in the last 10 or so year.  I am not sure why this day use area is currently closed but it is an interesting place.

Check out my video of my exploration of this now abandoned day use/roadside rest stop in Santa Clarita.

Will it slide

Slide guitar is a staple for the blues guitarist.  Legends like Robert Johnson, Ry Cooder, and Dwayne Allman took slide guitar to amazing heights.  While I'm by far nowhere near proficient in slide guitar I got to thinking, what else could you use a slide on.

Join me as I investigate the musical and not so musical instruments that a slide can or cannot be played on in my quest to find out, "Will It slide?"

Fort Tejon Civil War Re-enactment

Fort Tejon hosted an authentic Civil War re-enactment over the Memorial Day weekend.  All participants were in full period authentic outfits and had complete Confederate and Union camps set up.

Fort Tejon on it's own is an awesome historic place and a great experience. Add all the dedicated re-en actors and vendors participating in this event and it made an great day for everyone.

Below are some pictures and video from my visit to this historic site on this day of remembrance.

 

Danelectro Pepperoni Phasor

Danelectro has had some great success with their pedals in the past decade.  Their small food themed pedals while not the sturdiest enclosures they are packed with sound.  I have purchased a few of these little gems and I think you get a lot of pedal for not a lot of money.

I decided to break out the Pepperoni Phasor and run it through it's paces. Its controls are super simple, just a speed knob.  Even I can handle that. Even if you only need this thing to get the EVH vibe going it's well worth it. Boba Fett says "Get one of these or I'll encase you in corbonite"

Check out the demo...

.

Random Roadside

Throughout my various adventures I stumble upon some intersting things. Some of these things warrant an entire post or video and some are just an interesting side note on the adventure.  The video below documents some of these unique roadside oddities over the past few months

Enjoy

Texas Canyon Rocks and Cave hike

Santa Clarita has a lot to offer for the casual hiker. There are many maintained trails to visit for a nice safe hike. There are also many areas that offer a little more of a challenge and some spectacular scenery if your willing to venture out to less maintained areas.  For those who want to venture off the beaten path here is one location well worth visiting.

Rowher Flats is mainly known for off road, ATV, and Dirtbike trails.  There is one trail however that leads to an awesome rock formation with some small caves.  This hike is moderate to easy and the trail head is easily accessible by most vehicles.  (I drive a Toyota Corolla and I've done this hike twice).

Once you get to the trail head you'll be amazed at how secluded the area looks considering that you are only a few miles from condo's, apartments, and strip malls. This hike is best suited for Spring or Fall as the Santa Clarita Valley gets very hot in the summer.

Below are some pictures and video of  my adventures to this awesome site.

Halloween fun

It’s that time of year again.  All the ghouls and goblins come out of hiding to scare all us mortal beings.  As a kid, we all had that fear of the dark, or the monster in your closet.

A few years back I employed my wife and my son to help me record a family Halloween song. It was a great experience and it captured my son at an awesome period in his childhood.  That age where you live for Halloween and Christmas.  My wife is also immortalized as the calming reassuring voice of mom, the person who makes everything OK.


“Monster in my Closet” is a fun, slightly scary, retro Halloween song for all ages.

Enjoy