One of SuckaG’s fellow Riffcaster dubbed him as the “Kover King”. From reading comments, I was able to determine that 10+ years were spent playing in a cover band ( that may have been more than band involved) .

There are lots of 80’s covers and they are all, without exception, very well done. One of my favorites has to be his cover of Charlie Daniels’ “The Devil Went Down to Georgia“.

Listen to all of the great covers and some original stuff here.

RiffCaster Spotlight | 2 Comments »

Eric Mongrain - All I can say is wow.

Music | 1 Comment »

Tim is a tone master! Not only is he an accomplished musician, but he approaches his playing with soul and an emotion that shines through in every recording. I really like the way he masterfully uses reverb and delay. It is impossible for me to pick a favorite recording, so since I love the blues, I will direct you to the Blue Plaza.

For those wanting music that moves at the speed of light, check out Ethereal.

You can listen to more of Tim’s masterful manipulation of a piece of wood and six strings at Sonoma WireWorks’s Riffcaster.

Music, RiffCaster Spotlight | 3 Comments »

Rob is fairly new on the RiffCaster scene. But he installed the software, tuned up his guitar and let ‘er rip. I chose to spotlight Rob because of the way he builds his songs and his own style of putting songs together. I have listened to everything he has recorded and for the most part his songs start off light and build to a great finish. He continues to produce better mixes with each song.

Keep up the good work Rob and keep sharing your talent with us.

His recent song Mash contains the elements. Be sure to check out this and his other songs of his at RiffCaster.

RiffCaster Spotlight | 2 Comments »

I want to thank everyone that supported me by casting a “cheer” (vote) for me in the recent song competition.

The official results are out and I did not win the competition, but I am a winner in so many other ways. I could not ask for better friends and family.

A special thanks to Michelle and the entire crew at Sonoma for putting on such a cool event.

Cheers to all of you!

Music, RiffWorks | No Comments »

I have entered a song I wrote into a contest called RiffRumble IV. I am ask you to help me win by voting for my song entitled ‘Walking 2′.

My song is located here: http://www.sonomawireworks.com/riffrumbleIV/post.php?/129

Rules:
The voting begins on September 28 and ends October 5 at 11:59PM Pacific Standard Time.

Vote by simply adding a comment to the song of your choice. The comment doesn’t have to be anything elaborate. Just a simple ‘good luck’ will do.

Vote only once. Submitting more than one vote could get me disqualified.

If previous competitions are any indication it will take more than 150 votes to win. Thanks for your vote and please email everyone you know and ask them to vote for my song.

Thank you and God bless.

Music, RiffWorks | 4 Comments »

Native Instruments’ Guitar Rig is being touted as one of the best sounding amp simulators on the market. Read this audioMIDI.com Review. The jury is still out as far as I am concerned. It seems a little pricey. It would be great in the studio, but useless live unless a computer is part of your gig rig. Which I pointed out in an earlier post, a PC/Mac or portable equivalent will soon be on the list of live gigging equipment.

GuitarTricks.com has another review and a discussion forum.

Do you use a computer with your guitar setup in a live environment?

Hardware, Software | 1 Comment »

I sent the initial email to Sonoma Wire Works (SWW) today which begins the crossgrade journey. This initial email is required to get a redemption code from SWW so I can purchase v2 standard at a discount. Sonoma calls it a crossgrade because the earlier version of Riffworks (RW) was directly tied to Line 6 hardware. I could still upgrade to the Line 6 edition and save $30. But, I think this is a good time to gain some flexibility in recording.

I add also purchased some Instant Drummers from Line 6 which has to have something done with them so they will work in v2. The Instant Drummer purchase info was also included in the email.

I will update the progress of this process in the comments of this post. I can’t wait to get the new version and start recording.

RiffWorks | 4 Comments »

Even with little fan fare and no newsletter emailed to me (I am a subscriber), I still managed to find out that Sonama WireWorks has Riffworks Standard v2 ready for purchase. They did put together a limited FAQ about how to crossgrade from version 1.1.

The website has some much needed navigation improvements including a link to RiffCaster, Forums and the new Online Store at the top of each page. However, you do lose this navigation once you go to the FAQ.

The jury is still out on a couple of concerns:

1. Posting songs requires RiffWorks (v2). It appears that you can only post songs now via the RiffWorks software.

• Pros: You no longer have to email HUGE ogg files.
• Cons: If this is the case, you will no longer be able to mix your creation using a 3rd party tool like Audacity or Audition.

2. Drummers.

• Pros: Lots of new drummers available.
• Cons: Drummers purchased from Line 6 for v1 will not work in v2, until you participate in some cryptic ceremony with Sonoma.

If you crossgrade to the new standard version or upgrade to the Line 6 v2 (once it is available), let me know what you think.

RiffWorks, Product Info | 4 Comments »

It’s about time.� Check out Guitar Player TV. It has some neat tips and tricks videos.

Music, Tutorial | 1 Comment »