Recently, I’ve been playing the bass more, and finding out how “out of the pocket” my playing has been. One helpful way to practice this, I’ve found, is to record yourself playing over a drum…
Music
Yellow
This was my first “real” guitar. We all have that friend who borrows something and then breaks it or doesn’t return it. Well, I was that friend, but to my dad, because this guitar looks…
Five (+1) Guitars, One Solo
I recorded all the guitars with volume and tone pots set to 10, and switched to position #2 (middle+bridge; except the St. Vincent which was neck+middle+bridge, because it has its own switching).I used Reaper with…
Flight
I recorded this using my new Arcturia Keystep MIDI controller. I’d been joking for a while that I’d rather just play all the instruments in a band by myself, so here we are: https://soundcloud.com/bryansim/flight/s-Z5KnE
Hello Kitty
A few weeks ago, I found this at my local Guitar Center for $50. I also saw a small, pink Vox amp that was sold on the same day; it looked like a small child had…
Ghostwalk
I recently got a new set of guitar pickups from The Creamery, which is a one-man hand-wound operation in the UK. They’re slightly higher output than typical Startocaster pickups, and comparable to the output from…
A Bad Copy
I’m very rarely proud of my songwriting, but I am proud of getting the words “demagnetized” and “database” into this, and having it all make sense (well, you can be the judge of that). I…
Thirteen Years Later
A few days ago, I found a recording of me playing the guitar in 2005: Listening to this has been quite a trip: I can hear influences that I’ve shaken off over the years –…
A Gypsy Jazz Love Song, Redux
Last weekend, my friend Sarah and I re-recorded this song I wrote. I played the guitar, and composed the random 8-bit accompaniment. She’s a way better singer than I am, so you should definitely listen…
I Tried to Write a Gypsy Jazz Love Song
Ever since learning how to play “la pompe“, the signature rhythmic guitar style of gypsy jazz, I’ve wanted to write a song in that style. At the risk of sounding super nerdy, I was inspired…