Visual Mantra Studios

Recently,  I needed a tripod mount for my PXL-2000 while working on a project.  And since this product doesn’t exist , and the PXL-2000 doesn’t have a 1/4 inch receptor on the bottom like every other camcorder on the planet, I decided to make my very own PXL-2000 GHETTO TRIPOD MOUNT!!  Now I’m sure there are better ways to do this but I needed this to happen quickly and I didn’t have time to discuss this solution with my team of MIT research engineers!

All you need is a standard tripod that has the 1/4 inch camera mounting screw, and the following items: (approx $8.00)

1/4 inch Nut  (for mounting to the tripod receptor)

1/4 inch X 1″1/2  U Bolt

Metal Conduit Clamp 1″ EMT  (2″ long, top to bottom and also comes with a 1/4 inch X 1 ” Bolt / Nut)  - this is for the actual tripod mount.

Strap – N- Tie , Hook and Loop Cinch Straps  -  (these are for security reasons only, just in case the mount fails the camcorder won’t fall to the ground.)

*Make sure that you line the inner wall of the Conduit clamp with something (an adhesive velcro) so you don’t stratch the plastic on the PXL-2000.

This was so easy to make that I won’t explain it step by step.  Just look at the pictures and you should be able to figure it out quickly. Just make sure that you have an extra 1/4 inch bolt to use for the actual mounting to your tripod receptor.  Notice the conduit clamp (which is what mounts to the tripod) has a hole in it, which you use with your  1/4 bolt for mounting to the tripod.

Enjoy, VisualMantra

Ok, get this, recently a friend of mine asked me,  ”who is this guy, Jack White and why do I care?”   I answered, “BECAUSE,  he is a bad ass!”  Well I’m not really sure that’s exactly what I said, but I personally think that this guy is one of the best guitar players in recent history.

For whatever reason, most guitar players are fixated on having some amazing digital rig that can make their guitar sound like a violin, a jet plane, pond frog, or any other number of sounds, you know what I mean…  This type of “guitar player” needs a full time guitar technician setting up his rig because he can’t keep track of all the effects that he has.   Jack, on the other hand, just uses a guitar, a guitar cord and an amp.   Jack sometimes uses the Big Muff distortion box or some other analog effect but, really this guy plays a simple guitar rig, and plays it well.  I had the pleasure of seeing the White Stripes in concert at the Greek in Berkeley California a few years ago and this was one of the best performances that I had ever seen!  I have a great deal of respect for someone who plays with such passion and creativity.  I think he has made it clear that you don’t have to spend a fortune on effects and still sound great!  So plug your guitar straight into your amp sometime and hear what you really sound like for a change.  You might be surprised to find that you like the raw sound of your guitar better than your $20,000 guitar rig!!!  Thanks Jack!

A few years back, I decided to pay a visit to my favorite guitar shop on the planet, “Real Guitars” in San Francisco. This little “hole in the wall” guitar shop is filled with vintage gear and it looks just like the guitar shops I used to frequent in my youth back in New Jersey.  The co-owner, “Gary Brawer” is best known for being the guitar tech for SF’s own Joe Satriani.  Gary and his staff are amazing and their knowledge of guitars is second to none.  While I was asking about lowering the action on one of my telecasters, Gary told me about the Plek machine he used in his shop.  Here is a definition of the Plek.

The PLEK device is a spectacularly accurate machine for smoothing and shaping frets on a guitar. Whether electric or acoustic, six-string, twelve-string or a bass guitar of four, five or more strings, this Northern European invention (straight outta Berlin!) sharply reduces the amount of time required to bring a guitar up to its all around best possible playability with a greater accuracy possible than even the most experienced technician can approach. Like any tool, it’s usefulness is explicitly defined by the user.

So, to answer the question, To Plek or not to Plek?  PLEK!!

The telecaster’s action is now outstanding and the tone has never been better.  So do yourself a favor and give Gary a visit sometime and check out the Plek machine!  You might even run into JS while you’re there! FYI, Much to his credit, Gary and his staff are incredibly mellow and treat everyone the same, including rockstars, local musicians, and posers…  

VMS

If you’re starting to play live gigs around town and are tired of plugging in all of your individual guitar effects on stage, may I suggest purchasing a PedalTrain pedalboard.  Using a Pedaltrain will make setting up your live guitar rig a snap.  Of course, you will soon find that you also need a few other items such as custom cables for your effects and a killer power supply to mount on your new pedalboard.  Check out “Planet Waves CableStation Pedal Board Kit” or something similar for your cables.  This way, you can customize your own cables to whatever length you want.  As for the power supply, I recommend the “Voodoo Labs Pedal Power 2 plus“.  Note: Some of the PedalTrain models also ship with a killer road case which I highly recommend for those who want to protect those valuable vintage effects!  Check it out at http://www.pedaltrain.com

I was recently listening to some Radiohead, and was reminded of one of my favorite guitar effects,  The Electro Harmonix Small Stone Phase Shifter!  The Small Stone Phase Shifter is one of the most recorded phasers of all time.  Don’t believe me, do the research.  The unit I have,  is from the mid 70’s, and the real deal. It delivers the smooth Leslie / Univibe sounds that you would expect from this unit.   If you can purchase one of these older units, you will be arming yourself with a notoriously great phaser as well as a collector’s item!

Electro Harmonix Small Stone

VMS

For those of  you guitarists out there who happen to own an iPhone, I highly recommend the iphone application “Guitar Toolkit” made by Agile Partners.  Not to be confused with “Pocket Guitar”…  It has many features including a metronome, extensive chord chart, and my favorite, an awesome chromatic tuner!  I have tested the iphone tuner against my Korg CA30 and it is spot on!  Great for acoustic musicians who need a tuner in a pinch and chances are, you always have your iphone on you so no need to worry about forgetting your tuner.  This tuner works great with my world instruments as well as guitar.  Of course, you can’t connect it to your electric guitar rig which isn’t what it was made for anyway.  For a mere $9.99, its a bargain!  That is, if you have already shelled out $199 for an iphone!

If you are in the market for a Dual input audio interface (Firewire) for your Mac, I can recommend the Apogee Duet Firewire Interface.  I was informed about this unit by a good friend of mine, Endosine’s Gavin Cook who is an audio expert / electronic musician living in Berlin.  This unit is perfect for the solo musician with a home studio!  I also use it for a volume control knob when DJing Runway fashion shows with my Mac laptop.  The quality of the soundcard can’t be beat for the money.

When I played the Los Angeles music circuit back in the early 90’s  (Als Bar, Club Lingerie, Madam Wongs, The Central, etc) I was in a band called “Urban Artillery” and used to play shows occasionally with a local band known as  ”Rage Against the Machine”.   I didn’t pay much attention to the other bands that we played with in those days and Rage was no exception.  I guess there was always a rivalry amongst bands in the early 90’s. Anyway, years later, I was reading an article about Rage’s guitarist Tom Morello and how he used a vintage Ibanez Digital Flanger DFL. (A rare digital flanger from the 80’s, which he has replaced with an MXR Phase 90 since Audioslave. It can be heard in the intro to “Killing in the Name” as well as the main riffs of “Wake Up” and “Wind Below”)

Well, coincidentally, I too have owned and played one of these units for 20 years!  Great minds think alike!  :)   It is an amazing effect and I highly recommend it!  And I’m sure Tom Morello would say the same!

If you ever come across one of these effects pedals, buy it!!  Don’t hesitate…   It could be another year or two before the opportunity presents itself again.  If your lucky…

VMS

Robert Keeley Electronics Compressor

All of you guitar players out there all know Robert Keeley Electronics or they should….    Keeley makes one of the most famous guitar compressors in the world.  Actually, they make a ton of great modded effects for every occasion!  Some of the best musicians in the world ask Mr Keeley for a pedal.  He is a great guy and has made a few pedals for me over the years.  They are top of the line pedals for sure!  Recently, there was a fire in the parts room of Keeley Electronics which was devastating.  Here was there posting after the fire:

As many of you may have heard there was a fire at Keeley Electronics. The Fire has caused us to relocate until we find a new building. We are several weeks behind on email and orders. We are glad to say that no one was hurt and that really only parts were destroyed. Customer units that were sent in are safe. There was smoke damage and water damage to the shop so it is taking us a long while to clean up and reorganize. Thanks for your patience, it may be a long time between emails from us, but we are working hard to take care of everyone as soon as possible. Orders will be shipping as soon as product is rebuilt. Insurance is covering everything and our company will be running strong again shortly.

So, from one audio geek to another, if you want to add a new pedal to your arsenal, now would be a great time to do it and support a great manufacturer of the effects pedals that we all love.   We all hope Keeley Electronics is back up and running strong soon! Please visit Robert Keeley Electronics today!

VMS

A modified PXL-2000

The Fisher Price PXL-2000, which records video onto ordinary audiocassettes, was dropped by the toy manufacturer not long after its appearance in 1987.

http://www.totalrewind.org/cameras/C_PXL2.htm

I have been using one of these since they came out in 1987.  A good friend of mine was taking some film classes at the Kansas City Art Institute and was using one of these camcorders for her film.  In 1998, I created the first dedicated PXL-2000 website that featured quicktime video of the grainy black and white video content created by this unique camcorder. The website is called “evilmind.com” and is still up and running today.  Anyway, I now own three of these camcorders, one which I had “modded” by Patrick Gill of Wichita Kansas. Patrick Gill  aka waterhed (ebay) is well known throughout the PXL world.  He does quality mods and is the best in the PXL business for sure!  I used my modded PXL for a video short called “The Interview” which was featured on the 2002 DVD “The Art of Pixelvision“.   So if you are in the mood to shoot some cool video, look up Patrick and grab a modded PXL-2000!  PS: Don’t forget to ask for the “signal amp” which will make it easier to video straight from your modded PXL-2000 to another digital video cam or computer.

VMS