Warm & Fuzzy

I'll be the first to admit I complain entirely too much. And those who know me best, I am certain, will concur. You see lately (lately being the last 4 years or so mind you) I've openly sounded off about everything from the extreme tropical weather that perpetually encases my every move, to my favorite sports teams taking a beating, to the dangers of global cooling everyone keeps ignoring. However, in my defense, I'm also the quickest to thoroughly relish & appreciate the moment for all it's bloody worth when something indeed goes right! That's what living with an emotionally unstable "man of extremes" is like (just ask my wife. Hi wife!)...which brings us to my little pictured friend, the "RAT" as he's called. For those of you not familiar with guitar processors let me explain (Reader: Oh please do! Yawn, stretch, sleep, slumber, snooze, shut-eye, zzzzzzzz...).

For every sound effect you hear on your favorite recorded top 40 song, there is almost always a processor hard at work altering all those electronic signals being hammered out by your favorite artist to supply you the listener with that unmistakable groovy jive that takes you back to yesteryear when the grass was greener & your waist line was thinner.

For example, Distortion, Crunch, Wa-Wa, Tremolo, Chorus, Delay, are just a few of the colors in the typical electric guitarist's pallet (am i still boring you?). And processors can come in the form of an external box (as pictured) or they can be internal software in a PC. I know, who cares? Just because you drive a car doesn't mean you want to know the inner workings of a timing gear.

I only torture you with the above mentioned because last night, be it brief, I had one of those moments where everything went right! And boy was it brief! Talkin'... seconds! You see, the previous recording I was working on ended up being slightly sharp (like 10 cents sharp). Almost had myself committed over it because it meant all the following tracks I recorded ALSO had to be 10 cents sharp or it would all sound like alley cats being slowly mutilated over a girl scout camp fire.

I survived the ordeal (barely, & thanks for your concern) but last night was a different story. Everything was "on the money" in tune which was almost a religious experience for me after enduring the previous tuning nightmare. Better still, I dug out my old friend the "RAT" which drastically warmed my cold, sterile, digital signal up quite a little bit.

Recording is no fun. Not only is it meticulous time consuming hard work, it's a constant reminder of how bad you really sing & play (& dance!). And recordings never lie...especially unforgiving 16 bit digital recordings which are like a lot of pizzas I used to deliver: thin & crispy. And don't get me started on mp3's! We'll have to save that discussion for next time (Reader: Can hardly wait!).

Where was I? Oh yeah, So last night, just for a moment, when I experienced a perfectly in tune guitar, with fresh new strings going through a most righteous guitar processor (aka stomp box) while laying down some saucy new tracks with just the right eq & delicious effects sprinkled on top...well, needless to say your favorite blogger was in heaven.

Then harsh reality immediately reared it's grotesque head the moment I moved on to other tasks (namely singing! blech!).

Sigh...

I've come to the conclusion mountain top experiences take on a variety of forms in the average person's life. And sadly, they always seem to be anything but enduring. Perhaps that's why we're repeatedly reminded to... "enjoy the journey." Yes, day to day, to day, to day, is quite possibly where the battle is won or lost. No worries. Haven't you heard? "Ho-hum" is the new cool! ;-)