Music + Technology = Pete Lacis

Alder vs. Swamp Ash – what is better on a Strat style guitar? The tale of two Suhr Classics.

Posted by in audio clips

Being totally obsessed with how to make certain sounds (i.e. tone and timbre), for as long as I’ve been playing guitar I’ve been curious about which woods lend themselves to which sounds and tones. A common question that comes up is which is more preferable, alder or swamp ash? The answer to this depends on what style of music you play and what kind of feel you’re going for. When compared with the exact same electronics (Suhr V60LP single coil pickups and the Suhr Silent Single Coil system) there’s plenty…read more

Aug.29
16

Rockies vs. Cubs – my first professional baseball game

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While I’ve never been much of a sports fan (and by much, I mean not at all), I have to say that I now understand why people like spending hours outdoors in the stands drinking beers and eating hot dogs in the beautiful afternoon sun. Its just awesome! Coors Field in Denver, CO is a beautiful park (not that I’ve been to any other ball parks, but I digress) and I thoroughly enjoyed taking in the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of a true pro ball game. I’m now kicking…read more

Aug.28
0

The $28,000 Eddie Van Halen question

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A great thing about the Guitar Center’s in Colorado is that they are unlike any other GC’s I’ve ever visiting in that they actually let you play the fun expensive stuff. My buddy Kevin at the Arvada, CO GC totally hooked me up this evening in giving me some personal time with the $25,000 EVH Frankenstein guitar, the $2,000 5150 III amp and the corresponding $1,000 4×12 speaker cab. I have to say it was a real treat to check this stuff out for myself, as I’ve been hearing so…read more

Jul.05
1

Flying with a pedalboard (a.k.a. “Love notes from the TSA”)

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So I concluded my cross-country zig zag trip after playing a number of shows back east with Suspicious Brown. I was pretty excited that the pedalboard that I built just before the trip had held up so well. During each “hop” of the trip I would find a little “love letter” from the TSA stating that they had been inside my case. I suppose to a baggage screener all that wiring and electronics must look pretty darn odd. So to that point, I suppose I should feel some comfort in…read more

Jun.25
2

Life in Colorado requires discipline

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My new life in Colorado has been quite the change. Aside from the joys of home ownership (i.e. yard maintenance, cleaning, and all the time it takes), I was not prepared for the discipline that it takes to manage one’s own life. While that last statement may sound odd, take into consideration the fact that for as long as I can remember, I’ve had some sort of external structure in my life. Whether it was my parents, school or work, some external force was dictating where I have to be…read more

Jun.19
0

4am Monday Morning

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One downside to the move out west is all the time that is lost when traveling east (i.e. across multiple time zones). As Erin is now back on the road after a week off, we got to experience the joy of waking up at 4am so that she could make her flight en route to Jacksonville, Florida (via Houston, Texas). The good thing is that its a flat 30 minutes to DIA and I was driving slowly (still getting used to the 70+ mph speed limits out here). All things…read more

Apr.09
0

Welcome to Colorado

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After a very short overnight in Lexington, Nebraska, we hit the road for the final leg out our trip. The landscape morphed from rolly-polly countryside and farmland to vast plans with the widest reaching horizon I’ve ever seen. This meant we were getting close! With many, many hours on the road with nothing but the loud noise of a diesel engine and the vibrations of a poorly maintained Penske truck, one has plenty of time to be introspective about anything and everything. This trip has helped me realize just how…read more

Apr.06
0

Lexington, Nebraska

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Well our proposed ten-hour drive turned into a thirteen-hour drive (a new record for us). To add insult to injury, Iowa is a series of foothills…..rolling up and down, on and on for hundreds of miles. Each time I would have to climb one of these hills the speed of the truck would duck down to 65, 60, 55, 50, 45 mph (get the picture). It was bad. Oh yeah, and there was something like a constant 30-40 mph head wind that kept knocking the truck all over the place….read more

Apr.04
0

Schaumburg, Illinois

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Monday we found ourselves traveling through the rest of Ohio, Indiana and into Illinois….our arrival into which (Chicago) was timed precisely for 5pm so we could once again feel the maximum impact of rush hour and add an extra 1.5 hours to the trip just for kicks! 😉 Seriously though, the trip has gone well so far. Zoe (the pug) has yet to go postal nor has she needed any tranquilizers (yet). Erin has been soldiering on following me in the slow-ass Penske truck that won’t travel over 68 mph….read more

Apr.03
1

Youngstown, Ohio

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Well after a much later start than anticipated (i.e. 4pm), we made it to Youngstown, Ohio tonight. With only seven hours on the road, we’re running behind schedule, but since we don’t *have* to be anywhere at a specific time, we’re going to take it easy. Its so much less stressful to travel when you’re on your own schedule. BTW – having some difficulty with Word Press and the image uploader (all the thumbnails just show the background of CSS page) so I need to figure that out. Not to…read more

Apr.02
0
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