Pamparo in Toronto

Days after I said that I might not buy a single pedal in 2-years, I ate my very own words. Lucky that I had a disclaimer that the decision can change in a heartbeat … and it did!

Well, I just got an Xotic EP-Booster. It’s supposed to be just the pre-amp section of the legendary Echoplex. Rumor has it that the pre-amp is used by guitar legends such as Page, Van Halen and Johnson to make their tones sound spectacular… Well, I really couldn’t care less whether they used it or not as I have my own reasons for getting it. I need a boost pedal & I need it small. And this pedal pretty much fit the bill. To give you a bit of scale on how small this pedal is, here’s a picture I took shortly after receiving it:

EP-Booster's small footprint

It’s very small but this thing feels like a rock! Literally, it’s very heavy for a pedal this size. Don’t be deceived by the size, though. This thing is packed with TONE!

Here’s a demo by Pro Guitar Shop …

Does it work? Yes, it does boost my signal, almost transparently. I said “almost” because it does alter the tone ever so slightly in a good way. Try it out, you might like it, too!

Gabby’s Prayer

God has answered a prayer that my 3-year old son has been asking for ever-since he has learned to talk and had the notion of going to school. That is to go and study at John Fisher Public School. He was officially registered yesterday after getting picked in a lottery because that school is not his ‘official home school’. Nowadays, when he prays before he sleeps, he wants to be alone. Last night he prayed and gave thanks for his admittance for the coming school year. Just to see and hear him grow with the knowledge of God brings tears to my eyes. It has been a real blessing for us!

Voodoo Labs Pedal Power 2 Plus

I won this yesterday afternoon on EBay. It’s used and I may have paid more than what it’s really worth. But I am still very happy because …

1. I am saving over $100 by getting this instead of a new one.
2. It’s my first time winning an item on EBay without using the “Buy Now” feature. It’s shipping today.
3. I was trying to sell some of my gears to generate some cash for this purchase and it seems like I don’t have to part with some of them, at least my Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive!
4. I would be able to power my Diamond ML (18V) with it and run my Zendrive/Bi-Chorus at 12V each.

Tax Return Fun

I am trying to do our tax returns before the end of RRSP (Registered Retirement Savings Plan) season to see if I need to acquire some more.The trouble is that I have been using Quicktax to do our returns but it only runs on Windows. I had to borrow my cousin’s Macbook with bootcamp. Last night, I spent my time patching the Windows XP. Finally, I managed to install Quicktax, imported my 2007 return and filled-up all the necessary forms. So far so good! With everything claimed (RRSP & Donations), I’m getting a pretty good refund. But I’m the type of guy who would always try to save for a rainy day. I will try to play with how much I can forward for next year and getting some money back as well. Looking at our returns again, I can’t help but recognize how God has been very faithful to us financially. Praise be to God!

My American Std Telecaster vs My Les Paul Studio

They are both priced evenly, stock-pickups, not entry-level guitars and they are both my own guitars. I said that because this is based on my own setup for this guitars and not for any Tele/LP in general. So far I am loving my Tele and been using the LP less frequently. I thought I was being bias because I’ve been using the Tele constantly since I got it. So I used my LP last week during rehearsal and Friday night jam with the real intention of using it on Sunday for worship. My ears just kept looking for that Tele twang and I had to revert back to it. Maybe its because of the type of songs we play or my rig just reacts better with the Tele. Maybe …

Friday Night Jams

I initiated this about a month ago for our church’s worship guitarists. We would come in every Friday to talk about basic theory, gears, techniques and whatever comes to mind like gears (did i say that already). The rest of the night is dedicated to just jamming! So far, it hasn’t fan out like I have envisioned it to be. There are two loyal attendees and that is more than enough encouragement for me to continue on. The plan is to mentor the younger kids and really introduce them to the more seasoned veterans (it doesn’t mean better players) in the worship team. As well as cater to the vets who don’t have a lot of time practicing at home due to some commitments. Also to be able to come in once a week and just let it rip! Let’s see how God will move on this venture. By the way, this is FREE of charge. My reward is being able to plug-in for 2-hours at least once a week!

My Random Thoughts …
Wow! I could have gone on and on about a lot of different things but I am just going to stop now. Next post would be random again … random rhythm guitar techniques and styles that we can use in worship!