My First 7-ply Neck Blank Is Out Of The Clamps

It doesn't look like much right now, but laying next to an actual instrument I can start to visualize where it is going.

Postcolonial Death Match Preview Clips

I posted clips from all 11 album tracks as a set on Soundcloud. Take a listen!

Latest tracks by DJ Dual Core

http://soundcloud.com/dj-dual-core/sets

Downloads will be available at iTunes, Amazon, eMusic and other stores soon. I don't know yet whether or not there will be physical CDs.

CD Mastering Scheduled for Postcolonial Death Match

On Thursday, Nov. 11 I will be taking my final mixes for Postcolonial Death Match to Catamount Recording for mastering by Travis Huisman. Catamount is one of the premiere recording studios in the midwest and has been used by artists including Greg Brown, Stone Sour, House Of Large Sizes, Robert James Waller, Living Sacrifice, Johnson Co. Landmark, The Nadas, Blue Band and Callie Weiss.

5-Ply Neck Finally In The Clamps

I prefer not to think about how long ago I bought and cut the wood for this. It's a hobby, right? I don't have to keep to a schedule.

Ya. ...just keep telling myself that.













Obviously, the wood is not even and neither the top not the bottom of the blank are flush/flat. The idea is that there is enough extra wood in every dimension that precision won't be an issue until later.


Ya. ...just keep telling myself that, too.

Jean Baudin's Gear Photos

This guy has some severely cool looking instruments.

http://www.jeanbaudin.com/bassgear.html

Why Are Extended Range Instruments Still Obscure?

Depending on how you count, the modern extended range bass has been around since the mid 1970's. That is to say, it is almost old enough to be a grandparent. Why is it still seen as exotic?

I noticed today that some of the traffic to this blog (according to Google Analytics) comes from people Googling "7 string bass." On one hand, I find this flattering, based on my shallow understanding of Google's PageRank system. The other hand, as you have probably deduced, is more problematic.


After all these years why would my blog, which isn't even specifically about bass, be one of the more relavent sources of information about 7 string or other extended range basses? Seriously, my instruments that I have written about here aren't even really basses.


The reason is that extended range instruments, be they >6 string guitars or > 5 string basses still aren't mainstream. Have you noticed that Sweetwater doesn't even carry new 7 string guitars? They have 40+ solid body Ibanez models on their web site (as of today) but the sole 7 string is in their used gallery. (Although they do currently carry the Ibanez RG2228 8 string, which I find odd.)

I like to talk about moving beyond convention and creating unique things, but when you think about it extending the range of a stringed instrument isn't exactly a revolutionary idea. Once upon a time banjos all had four strings, but now 5 strings are standard, with the additional one not even being the same length as the others. Why have multi-string guitars and basses not penetrated deeper into the mainstream?



That's a rhetorical question. It's inertia. It's convention. It's the human tendency to think inside the box and stick with what's familiar. It's also a sad commentary on people's ability/willingness to grasp and accept a fairly simple idea that can expand their musical horizons.

Massive Album Prep This Weekend

Here is a link to my other blog about progress toward a new album.

http://oldmixtapes.blogspot.com/2009/10/massive-album-prep-this-weekend.html