by Jay Ratkowski | Aug 29, 2021 | Upgrades
The Strymon Deco is one of my favorite pedals that anyone has ever made. The Tape Saturation side makes a lovely warm boost and overdrive. The Doubletracker side is a lush flanger that, of course, can do a lot more than flange. If I fell on hard times, I’d sell...
by Jay Ratkowski | Sep 3, 2015 | Lessons, Playing
The folks at Jazz Advice just posted a list of ideas that will inspire you to play. We’ve talked about inspiration here, quite a bit. No really. So of course we have some quick thoughts on the topic. First off, it’s a perfectly fine list of ideas. I try...
by Jay Ratkowski | Apr 3, 2015 | Lessons, Repairs
If you’ve been playing your guitar for a while, or have a strap button hole that just was never drilled properly, you might have this happen every so often: That can be bad news. If you ignore this long enough, the results can obviously be bad. Lots of people...
by Jay Ratkowski | Mar 31, 2015 | Lessons, Repairs
I learned how to solder from guitarists writing tutorials online and in books. That is to say, I was given a 25% of the way overview that left me making a lot of mistakes and being generally frustrated. Embarrassed too! I just discovered that I never really knew about...
by Jay Ratkowski | Jul 28, 2014 | Building, Gear, Good Finds, Lessons, Music
Whenever guitar players go on a gear rant I usually pull out a line about how guitar players are dumb and bass players will play a bass made out of a2x4 plugged into a speaker from a 1986 Camaro Berlinetta. That’s a thing. About six months out of every year I go...
by Jay Ratkowski | Jun 29, 2014 | Lessons, Playing
I’ve seen Berklee offer some free programs online before, but this is the most comprehensive listing of courses I remember them offering. Thanks to /u/nostrongfeelings for sharing this. Here’s the complete program at Coursera. Ignore the “sign...
