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The RTH Labs Need Your Help!

 Posted by
May 142007
 

Pursuant to recent discussions pertaining to the “good”-ness of amplifier modeling technology, technicians in the Rock Town Hall Labs have undertaken a side-by-side comparison, in order to illustrate the innate differences between “real” and modelled amplifiers.

Following is an .mp3 file with four separate “takes” of the same simple riff — in this case, taken from the chorus of Deep Purple’s “Into the Fire”, off of In Rock. The drums and bass are the same in all four takes; only the guitar tracks are different. The first two takes feature (though not necessarily in this order):

  • A Line 6 “Pod” set on “Brit High Gain” — a euphemism for a modern Marshall JCM 2000, set on “Ultra Gain,” or such like, and
  • An actual Marshall JCM 2000, set on “Ultra Gain.”

The second two takes feature (again, not necessarily in this order):

  • A Line 6 “Pod” set on “Brit Classic” — a euphemism for a classic, late ’60s Marshall Plexi or such like
  • A Marshall JCM 2000, set on “Classic Gain” — i.e., modern-day Marshall’s attempt to provide as close to a vintage Plexi tone as possible.

Both “real” amp takes were played through a Marshall JCM 900 Lead 1960B cabinet (4×12), miked close with a Shure SM57.

Here’s what the RTH Labs need from you:

This is *not* an effort to see whether RTHers can tell the difference between “real” and “fake” amps — though if you want to hazard a guess as to which is which, you can do so for extra geek credit. Rather, this is an effort to determine which of each pair of takes is preferable, which in turn may lead us to make conclusions about the overall acceptability of modelling technology.

Note also that this is not an effort to determine which of the four takes you like best, though you’re welcome to share that tidbit as well, if you like. Again: Choose your preference between the first two “high gain” takes, then the “classic gain” takes.

Thank you for your assistance in this effort.

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Spot the Differences!

 Posted by
May 092007
 

Though both of these are videos of very famous rock and roll combos from the 1960s, *they are not the same!* See how many differences you can spot in 90 seconds:


fig. 1


fig. 2

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Last Man Standing: Fake TV “Bands”

 Posted by
May 032007
 

When I was younger, the family and I used to play a drive-time game called, rather boringly, “Categories.” Somebody would simply shout out a category of something from the back seat, and each member of the family would take turns listing items — one at a time — from that category, until some poor schmo couldn’t think of any more and had to ignominiously admit defeat. The game would continue until there was one person left, who had to end the game with a triumphant final category item after everybody else caved, and he or she was gloriously celebrated as the “Master” of that category.

Here at RTH, we play a more freeform version of the game, and have ascribed a more Mandom-infused name to it as well: “Last Man Standing.” The rules are essentially the same, though those who moderate acknowledge it’s impossible to proclaim a “winner.” It may in fact be the least insightful activity RTHers pursue — it’s silly, pointless, a gigantic waste of time, leads to no greater understanding of any concept, and contributes nothing to any form of “healing” whatsoever. It’s our greatest achievement!

So it is that I offer the first edition of Last Man Standing here at RTH’s new home, in the hopes that it may amuse, and nothing more.

Today’s category is:

Fake TV “Bands” (ie, bands or artists that did not exist outside the boundaries of a TV script or animator’s cel.)

I’ll start with Johnny Bravo, as played by Greg Brady. I’ll throw a couple more in for good measure, to make the concept clear: Josie and the Pussycats and Spock when he jams the Vulcan blues on his Intergalactic lyre.

I look forward to your responses.

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Less Is More… More Or Less

 Posted by
Apr 152007
 

Fellow RTHers:

I urge you to watch the following videos, then report back on your assessment of the number of tracks : quality of music ratio throughout the history of recorded pop music.

Part One

Part Two

I’d appreciate thinking that runs a bit deeper than “well, it really depends on the artist” and so forth. I mean, there are interesting questions to consider here, beyond just “was pop music better before folks had 64 tracks to mess around with?”, such as…
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Thrifty Music, Vol. 5: Nashville

 Posted by
Apr 122007
 

Welcome back, my friends, to the show that never ends — the Thrifty Music show, that is! And why exactly does this show never end? Because people will never — repeat, never — stop throwing perfectly good music away. Well, society’s loss is our gain here at RTH, and it’s my job to scour the junk stores and thrift shops to catalog all the cool stuff that folks are tossing in the bin.

This week’s Thrifty Music sampler comes to you from Nashville, Tennessee, where I had the dubious pleasure of spending around 14 hours a few days ago. While on my whirlwind visit, I stopped by my fave thrift store on the outskirts of town, and — lo and behold — somebody had finally lost patience with the vinyl medium and dumped their entire collection of 45 RPM records. In this rather sizable pile, I managed to find a few oddities and nostalgic boomerangs that I thought worthy of sharing. So, onwards!


First up: “Dream Queen” by Rusty & Doug — as in Rusty and Doug Kershaw. I just love this number — a perfect stew of ’50s doo-wop, cajun abandon, and Everly Brothers polish. The number one find of the day, for sure. Dig that doo-wop backup vocal in the chorus!


Next: “Muleskinner Blues” by The Fendermen. Wow — what a wonderfully weird record! Before any Townsman goes conjuring up some romanticized, obscurantist fantasy about two barefoot hillbillies in overalls, a-stompin’ their feet and smokin’ corncob pipes, while waving jugs of “X X X” moonshine over their heads — the Fendermen were actually a couple of teenagers in Wisconsin who had a freak hit with this song back in the early ’60s. But, “authentic” or no, it still kicks major ass, sez I.


Track 3: “I Know I Should” by The Sophomores. I knew it would finally happen — I’d find a dusty old 45 out there about which the Internet seems to know nothing. This one has really grown on me — maybe it has something to do with the weird, circular chord pattern in the verses. Plus, every now and then, everybody needs a solid dose of Vox organ. Enjoy!
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