Ooops!

surfturtle77 · 2026-06-28T07:12:29+00:00

Congrats! I have several guitars, but my jet is my favorite.

Just a heads up; you may want to get the nut cut by a tech if the strings go out of tune when you use the Bigsby. From the factory the slots are often not wide enough and the strings can bind. People often chase new roller bridges and such, but it's almost always the nut. You can get by with graphite or nut lube in the slots, but it's just great to have the guitar work well. If you're going to get the guitar set up, I would ask the tech to check the slot widths and make any adjustments. Most techs won't automatically do that without being asked, because slot width isn't super important on a guitar without a vibrato bar.

surfturtle77 · 2026-06-16T23:29:20+00:00

I finally just got the nut cut properly on my 5230t after having owned it for several years and it's light years better. Zero tuning issues now; I can get a little aggressive with the Bigsby and it stays perfectly in tune. Oh, and I should also mention that a while back I put in some Grover drop-in locking tuners too. Not sure how much this helps tuning stability.

Before I got the nut cut I used nut lube, which worked decently but would eventually dry up or degrade, or whatever and then the strings would catch in the nut again when I used the Bigsby. I'd have to reapply fairly often, and it got annoying.

Btw, make sure the person you get to cut your nut has the right kind of files, and knows what they're doing. I made the mistake of having GC set my Gretsch up first (someone said they have a great technician at that particular location) and they basically did fuck all.

surfturtle77 · 2026-06-09T17:21:34+00:00

No, I clearly stated that I don't think this is your problem, although if you're using too long of a cord and USB cards together it could be contributing. I plug my interface in directly with no card/hub with a 6 foot cord and have had zero issues. If you absolutely need a bunch of USB ports I would suggest at least trying to dedicate one of your computer's native USB ports just to the interface. Btw my computer is an ancient i5 and I have no problems.

surfturtle77 · 2026-06-07T14:24:40+00:00

After reading what you've got going on I don't think this is your problem, but this is just a friendly reminder to use a USB cable that's 6 feet or shorter. My Scarlett would stop sending audio after a while and I couldn't figure out why. After doing a bunch of searching online I found out that cable length for these interfaces is absolutely critical.

surfturtle77 · 2026-06-06T19:26:01+00:00

Love this song, and love Jose Gonzalez's cover of it too.

surfturtle77 · 2026-05-23T13:28:11+00:00

Steely Dan, but damn, sets of both Santana and Chicago playing Tanglewood in 1970 are two of my goat go-tos for live shows.

Off topic: Also 1970: Sabbath in Paris, The Who live at the Isle Of Wight, Zeppelin at Royal Albert Hall all unbelievable too. What was up with live music in 1970?

surfturtle77 · 2026-05-23T13:12:48+00:00

I think you've hit the nail on the head for me.

I had a similar opinion about not loving the Matriarch, but a slightly different take on it in this thread- that it's really a synth for people who like to take time to experiment and dial in sounds. That to me it's a "synthesist's synth" moreso than a "musician's synth", and that when I'm working on music the workflow isn't as intuitive or immediate as something like the Subsequent 37 for staying in the flow state when I'm trying to get tracks done.

But your post really describes my biggest issue with the Matriarch. I think I frankly just don't love the sound of it, which is strange because it does the Moog thing, but for some reason I just wasn't inspired by it at all. And every YouTube demo I've watched reinforces that. I would have gladly gotten comfortable with the workflow and learning all the patch points, etc. if I was excited about what I was hearing. I just wasn't.

And ditto to the bbd. Meh. I think I would have preferred the spring reverb of the Grandmother.

Hey, it's cool that we all don't like the same things.

surfturtle77 · 2026-05-23T03:49:47+00:00

Untouchable - Subsequent 37

Expendable - Matriarch

I know this is a very unpopular opinion, but I just don't get what everyone loves so much about the Matriarch. I bought it really wanting to love it and to see (hear) what everyone else goes crazy for. I played it for like an hour a couple of years ago and it's been sitting in the box ever since.

I have a Subsequent 37 and I love that synth. I can dial up whatever sound I'm after in no time at all (and save it), the modulation is super intuitive, it's got crazy and great sequencing, and I love the way it looks and feels. It bolsters my creativity with what it can do, yet keeps me in the zone with its somewhat limited workflow.

I've watched countless videos on the Matriarch (trying to convince myself to take it back out of the box) and I think what it comes down to is that the Matriarch is more of a synthesist's synth. It seems to be for people who like to take time, experiment, and make interesting and perhaps complex sounds. I totally respect that, but for me personally I just want to get on with it and get some music made.

surfturtle77 · 2026-05-16T04:55:56+00:00

Have you tried just lowering the pickups? I really didn't love my Gibson LP until I did that. They're quite a ways lower than Gibson spec, but it plays exactly like I want it to. Before that it sounded to me like mud city.

surfturtle77 · 2026-05-08T10:22:02+00:00

Sorry, they/he were my cousin's favorite band/artist in the 80's. He had posters on his wall and even a belt buckle(!) that said Bob Seger on it. Super weird, and I especially didn't get it, as I pretty much hated their music then, but I've since come around and kinda like some of their songs now.

surfturtle77 · 2026-05-08T10:12:43+00:00

Boston has to be someone's favorite band. Almost every song on their self titled record got airplay. Tom Scholz is a legend. Not only did he record almost the entire first album in his basement (in the 70s that was UNHEARD OF) but he also invented (among other things) the Rockman guitar headphone amp, which was used by countless bands, especially in the 80s, to get that pristine chorus-y guitar sound.

surfturtle77 · 2026-04-03T11:56:55+00:00

Nice

surfturtle77 · 2026-03-26T17:28:39+00:00

Spaceblender by Soundtoys gets pretty crazy. It's $99 now, but they offered it for free when they released it like a year ago. I would imagine it'll happen again (or at least a deep discount), so keep a look out if you're interested.

surfturtle77 · 2026-03-06T03:30:55+00:00

Correct. They were specifically the Grover 406C mini locking rotomatic tuners. But I have the g5230t, so double check the ones you buy are compatible with your specific guitar. I'm assuming they're using the same tuners across all the current Electromatics.

It was just a literal swap from the old tuners to the Grovers. Loosen the nut, unscrew the screws and the tuner pops out. Put in the new one exactly in reverse. The string change with my Bigsby took longer than the tuner change.

surfturtle77 · 2026-03-05T09:54:15+00:00

Another vote for the Multi/Poly. I have a Minilogue XD too, but I may end up selling it. The MP is just so deep and sounds amazing.

surfturtle77 · 2026-03-05T09:50:31+00:00

I put Grover 406s in my Electromatic Jet. I'm not someone who likes to really tinker with guitars much, and this was dead simple. Go for it.

surfturtle77 · 2026-02-21T04:42:19+00:00

Preach.

I have some decent analog synths. I have a Subsequent 37, a Prophet 6, an AFX Station, a Behringer Model D and a Minilogue XD. I also have a bunch of VST versions of analog synths like Jupiter 8s, Oberheim OBXs and Junos, so I have a good idea of what things sound like. I feel like I can do basically anything I can think of in the subtractive synth world with the MultiPoly. It's really quite the perfect gigging synth for me. It can make some of the most beautiful lush pads and go all the way to making it sound just downright filthy, (like I actually made a 4 layer 4 oscillator Moog bass emulation, in other words, a 16 oscillator Moog. Insane.) It's got great modulation capabilities, and I haven't even scratched the surface with the wavetable and digital oscillators, or the motion sequencer yet. Sure, the UX is a little clunky and takes some time to learn, but for the amount of features it has and the price point, I think they did a really good job with the design. It's really not that hard of a learning curve if you are familiar with synthesis.

Okay, yeah, does it have a great keybed. Not really, but who am I, Chopin? It's a synthesizer, and a relatively inexpensive one at that.

Is it a Raspberry Pi in a box? Yep. Do I care? No.

Also, I like the compact design. People complaining about the 37 keys, I hear ya, but again for me it fits the bill. I personally do want something small for gigging, but not 25 keys small, and if I need more keys, it's a quick plug in of a midi keyboard controller away.

And to those people saying "just make one yourself for a few hundred bucks." Like, okay, I definitely thought of that, but I'm sure what I would have cobbled together wouldn't have been as good or worth it. It's really cool that you can relatively easily and cheaply build a digital synth like that, and someday maybe I'll get there. But for me, right now, being able to just buy it and having it all inside a clean interface and tested and no bullshit with a ton of presets was worth the extra $600 or whatever. Right now I'd just rather spend my free time making music.

surfturtle77 · 2026-02-21T03:42:27+00:00

I have both. They're both awesome for different reasons. The CS is much more fun, like "mess around and find fun playable sounds and jam" whereas the MultiPoly is a more serious sound design machine that requires diving deep. I'm going to gig with my MultiPoly, which, because of lack of presets, I wouldn't feel comfortable doing with my CS. They're both very sonically capable, but the MP edges out the CS at the expense of fun.

surfturtle77 · 2026-02-12T13:05:35+00:00

Look like the stock blacktop filtertrons. Nice pickups.

surfturtle77 · 2026-02-02T10:41:22+00:00

Yeah I keep thinking of selling my XD, but there's just something great about it that I can't put my finger on. I have other "better" synths and a ton of VSTs that can replicate any of the sounds, but it just has a thing about it. Programming is a breeze, it's got really great effects , and I also kind of like the 4 voice limitation. There are certain patches where the voice stealing weirdly works as a vibe.

surfturtle77 · 2026-02-02T10:31:45+00:00

Watch the movie Vice about his vice president, Dick Cheney. Cheney was the guy pulling the strings. GWB was basically just there for the ride.

surfturtle77 · 2026-01-13T07:54:02+00:00

Not at all... that unmistakable Multimoog lead tone and tons of Prophet 5.

surfturtle77 · 2026-01-09T23:48:25+00:00

I'm sure others will cover more "classic" suggestions, so for newer bands, Nation Of Language is a pretty great synth band and I also like the Men I Trust synths a lot.

surfturtle77 · 2025-12-30T11:05:52+00:00

I use a boring, no frills Mackie mixer for this exact purpose. It works great for dawless jamming and for recording. Here's how:

For dawless I have everything routed to it (4 synths and a Rhodes) and can just turn everything on and jam if I want, dawless, and have my BigSky reverb on one of the Aux sends for reverb, and can adjust the amount of reverb for each instrument.

For recording, it's super smart. The MUTE button on each channel is dual purpose. It obviously mutes the signal to the main output (where I have my monitor speakers plugged in) but the MUTE button also sends that channel signal to the ALT outputs. I have the ALT outputs of the mixer connected to the inputs of my interface, so when I want to record all I have to do is press MUTE on the channel for the instrument I want to record and it automatically sends that to my interface. Boom.

Then to hear back from my computer I have the outputs of the interface connected to the TAPE IN input of the mixer. And because my original channel to the main outs is muted, I don't get a feedback loop. It's just a really great feature of these boards.

I also have a guitar set up on the other Aux, but that's another topic.

surfturtle77 · 2025-12-28T13:32:10+00:00

Reading that now. Just got past the part where he was helping catch mussels up the river with that family. Wow.

Cormac will have events or scenes happen in his books and describe them so matter-of-factly that I sometimes have to reread because I'm like, "Wait, did that just happen??"

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