shedshrine build 3.0 - furniture, cats, gear, enlightenment, and yer mom, man

[Scodiddly]

I bought it from an offering by markmazoo in the Tape Op Buy/Sell/Trade section.

My only small-diaphragm condenser mic. Percussion and acoustic guitar thus far. We replaced a weighted 88 key casio with a real acoustic piano, an old Baldwin Hamilton upright, a couple years back when it became apparent the kid was going to stick with piano, so I'm looking forward to mic'ing it up there as well!

Oh yeah, I forgot people were doing that now and then. Had thought it was one of the kits maybe.

(I do still make and sell Alice mics, for anybody interested!)

Weirdly enough I'm using old CAD E-100 mics a little more often, though sadly with the live music industry collapsed I'm not putting mics out very often at all. But they do sound nice for video conferencing, when I can be bothered to set up something better than a homemade PZM.

[drumsound]

I'll PM you both Bob's email.

I'm interested too!

sent.

[shedshrine]

"Check it out, all 10 VUs light up"






Geez these Tascam 388's have certainly garnered a following. I love mine too of course, but as things are set up currently, I just don't have the room to get the beast in here. There are a couple places I could get it in leaning it back somewhat from vertical, with the back end elevated.

I have had it set up that way in the past briefly. It didn't affect the transport in my experience (look at the way many reel to reel decks are configured), and if you are using the deck to track and transfer, not mix off, having the faders like that is not a deal breaker. If you have a lesser incline you may find you can still comfortably maneuver. (like what the cat is working with there.) Having the connections up top is handy as well, especially if you don't have room to get behind it when it's horizontal. Oh, and that plexiglass transport door won't stay up. You either get really good at removing it or you just leave it off.

The 388 in the photos had basically never been used when it was purchased off ebay in 2006. These things were still selling for well under a grand at that point. Got it looked over and brought up to spec, did a few reels, and have used it sporadically since. So far so good.

A second parts unit (that could run with a repair on one of the main boards but has shot heads anyway) stays under wraps under a bed.

[markjazzbassist]

nice couch!!

[Scodiddly]

Nice couch, nice 388!

(probably doesn't need to be said, but please do fire up that 388 every now and then so the bearings don't gum up and etc)

[shedshrine]

nice couch!!

Here, let me move that brown heavy thing so you can see it better.

Nice couch, nice 388!

(probably doesn't need to be said, but please do fire up that 388 every now and then so the bearings don't gum up and etc)

Thanks, yeah, good to keep in mind for sure.

[markjazzbassist]

if you are ever in need of money the 238's and 388 will fetch a tidy sum these days. i've seen 388 go for 2K+ and 238's going for 1k+. not advocating selling them, just saying they are highly coveted out there.

[shedshrine]

I dig hearing from players like Mark(s), Vlayman, Scott(s), Tony, WInky, Snarl, Digitaldrummer, Nick and the many, many others on here who still have the fire in their belly to keep creating! I myself and doing my best to create a revival in that regard.

But to your point Mark. There’s a part of me that feels guilt posting these pictures of coveted recording gear. Like I’m saying “hey, look at me and my bitchin’ gear”. But I have been into music, into creating, into recording, into the gear involved, the technology and it’s history since I was 12. It’s been a constant in my life. I’ve picked up a lot of gear in that time. I rarely sell anything. The times I have I often regretted it. Hell, I keep all the boxes.

Anyway, as I alluded to earlier, I don’t seem to record as much as I used to, I don’t feel as compelled to play as much now as I once did. I still noodle around on unplugged electrics all the time. Sometimes my daughter and I have impromptu jams, she on some keyboard or ukulele, me unplugged or on a little practice amp.

At times I feel like I’ve just said what I have to say. Sure, a cool groove is just that, a nice beat, some cool roll of the tongue turn of phrase can get the ball rolling, but if at its root I’m not feeling like I’m saying something, revealing some truth, some insight about myself, or life or the world than I just lose interest. I guess what I’m saying is it’s harder to get inspired for me now for whatever reason.

But I still have the desire in there somewhere, and I have more than ample tools. One major roadblock which has certainly led to a dip in creative output has been that I have gradually run out of space to have a space. A place to have a basic recording setup ready to go that I don’t have to dis-assemble constantly because something else needs to happen in that area.

All of which is to say that what has transpired has led to making a room to place all this equipment. It’s a museum, a storage unit, a studio, a creative haven. I enjoy the utility, the history and the art of these pieces. I will not sell them unless, as you said, I was in dire need of money.

My daughter is making noises about playing with her friends, and the possibility of helping her into the world of create and capture is compelling for sure. Maybe she will become a daw whiz, and maybe she can also be the one to completely recap the 238’s ‘cuz she just digs the workflow.. (and 'cuz I happen to have a stash of hi-bias cassettes.)
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[Scodiddly]

All of which is to say that what has transpired has led to making a room to place all this equipment. It’s a museum, a storage unit, a studio, a creative haven. I enjoy the utility, the history and the art of these pieces. I will not sell them unless, as you said, I was in dire need of money.

Like I said at the start, nothing like having a space dedicated to being creative. I did something similar in the past year, after watching all these YouTube videos of people doing stuff and having a cool dedicated space to do it in. So I cleaned out and painted a storage room and built my own damn "YouTube set". I'll likely never make a video there, but it's really nice to have a dedicated electronics bench with all the tools right within reach, all the supplies organized and within reach, great lighting, and more outlets than I'll ever need.

Workspace.JPG (118.15 KiB) Viewed 1852 times

(forgive the shitty photo, it's much brighter in person)

And it doesn't have to be about music all the time either, a lot of my creative work the past few years has been woodworking and such. Right now the big project is building my own controller for a bread machine, because sourdough.

Keeping posting pictures of gear, it's neat to see that stuff.

[vvv]

Thanks for the mention!

When I get mad, happy, horny, angry, sad, bored, high, drunk, inspired, or new gear are some of the things make me wanna record.

[MoreSpaceEcho]

There’s a part of me that feels guilt posting these pictures of coveted recording gear. Like I’m saying “hey, look at me and my bitchin’ gear”.

Boss, that's what these threads ARE FOR. We are all recording nerds, we like seeing pictures of other nerds stuff.

Anyway, as I alluded to earlier, I don’t seem to record as much as I used to, I don’t feel as compelled to play as much now as I once did. I still noodle around on unplugged electrics all the time.

Same here. Exactly. Definitely was more compelled to record 20 years ago. Also, being busy with mastering during the day, I'm not always in the mood to spend the evenings in the studio as well...there's only so many hours a day you can pay close attention to music, sad to say. But I think it's important to not try and force anything, or to feel guilty about not creating more...inspiration will come if you let it. I generally have an unplugged electric close by, been playing a lot lately, feels good.

Anyway keep posting the pix and stories!

[winky dinglehoffer]

At times I feel like I’ve just said what I have to say.

Sometimes I think being a little more mature, more experienced, and hopefully a bit more content in life can cut into the artmaking thing. Misery, yearning, confusion, anxiety, longing, ambition, competition--that's where a lot of the good stuff artistically comes from. And hopefully, as one grows older, one gets a little better handle on life, becomes a little more settled and satisfied (or sometimes, unfortunately, more resigned) and some of the often negative motivators for artistic output are muted. (Seriously, if everybody in the world were happy, I think art would suffer tremendously.)

But there's still something to be said sometimes, & even when there's not there's solace and/or excitement to be discovered in a newfound riff or an amazing timbre from a synth--and sometimes that will lead you to the thing you didn't even know you wanted to say. And when that happens, it's always nice to be able to sit down & press Record.

Or something.

[markjazzbassist]

Sometimes I think being a little more mature, more experienced, and hopefully a bit more content in life can cut into the artmaking thing. Misery, yearning, confusion, anxiety, longing, ambition, competition--that's where a lot of the good stuff artistically comes from. And hopefully, as one grows older, one gets a little better handle on life, becomes a little more settled and satisfied (or sometimes, unfortunately, more resigned) and some of the often negative motivators for artistic output are muted. (Seriously, if everybody in the world were happy, I think art would suffer tremendously.)

some real wisdom here.

[shedshrine]

Whew!

Alright, let me see if I've go this straight. My takeaway thus far is: (through the filter of artistic license, natch)

For creative health, have a place. Have that place have more wall outlets and better lighting because sourdough. Post lots of pictures of machines for recording nerds to make them mad, happy, horny, angry, sad, bored, high, drunk or inspired because inspiration will come if you let it.
Experience costs your artmaking thing that let you use misery, yearning, confusion, anxiety, longing, ambition, competition because that's where the good stuff artistically came from so with maturity create anyway because everybody in the world (including the artist!) will be happy if you can 'suffer' tremendously while being content, settled and satisfied.

Got it. You guys are freaking awesome.

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Finding your voice TapeOp 2009

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Robert Fripp-

"To me, art is the capacity to experience one's innocence: craft is how you get to that point. Maturity in a musician would be the point at which one is innocent at will. At that point the relationship between music and the musician is direct and reliable.
The relationship with music is always mysterious: when it works, you can never tell. You can never guarantee when it's going to work. You can only to put yourself in a place where it's more likely to happen."

[Magnetic Services]

(Seriously, if everybody in the world were happy, I think art would suffer tremendously.)

I used to think this way too. But imagine how much great art would happen if everyone had their basic needs taken care of so they could devote more time and attention to art? Great things can come from joy and love and serenity, not just pain and sorrow and angst.

Edit: let me just add that I love how this conversation is taking place in what was originally a studio build thread