Crafty and Cool Drum Repairs

We’ve been getting a lot more repairs through the store, and we’re starting to get pretty crafty. Pictured here is Norman Westberg, God-Like Guitarist and Drum Repair Tech (go figure) laying up an extra ply on a seriously shattered bass drum hoop. The repaired spot was stiffer than the rest of the hoop, and the original integrity of the set was maintained.
Another cool trick we pulled off was on a major shell ding on a beautiful old Round Badge, Gretsch Silver Sparkle bass drum. After the fracture was fixed, we were left with some some collateral damage in the form of a drilled hole. Doweling with a maple dowel took care of the hole, but we left it just below the finish of the wrap and built it up with epoxy mixed with some Silver Sparkle shavings. This was brought up close to the surface plane, and then finished with a very thin layer of epoxy in the hole to build it up to the surface. It’s really hard to tell that there was a hole!
Repairs like these aren’t ridiculously expensive because we enjoy doing them. Got a weird drum or hardware repair? Challenge us with it!

Old World Craftsman Norman Westberg

Gretsch Visits Main Drag

Yesterday afternoon I had the pleasure of taking John Palmer and Paul Cooper, Product Manager and Production Manager, respectively, through the store. We checked out drums of all kinds and talked for quite a while. For Main Drag, being a Gretsch dealer is an honor and almost a responsibility given the rich, New York history of the company as well as the specifically Brooklyn element – That Great Gretsch Sound was conjured right down the street!

I deal with a lot of drum companies on a lot of different levels, but what amazes me about these guys is that in spite of the magnitude of the Gretsch legacy, as well as the present size of the company, they were both extremely hands on and in touch with the real world of drums, drummers, and music gear stores. Every new brand of drum that we sell has a long history and a story of its own. The legacy of Gretsch is in very good hands with these two guys.

John

Check out the Jerry Fuchs Page NOW!!

This is the best place to go for Jerry info and so far it’s looking like an awesome tribute which will only get better. Check it out:

http://jerryfuchs.net/

The Jerry Fuchs Memorial

Jerry’s memorial last night was very beautiful and a vivid, brilliantly shining reminder of just what an awesome man he was. Enid’s was standing-room-only with friends packed around the windows and doors on the sidewalk, and the love of his friends really raised the roof. The fake Jerry mustaches handed out were a stroke of genius, the wall of photos touching, and his family showed a level of strength, dignity, love, and even humor that was incredibly moving. Our hearts go out to them. Jerry would have been honored to see so many people who cared about him so much.

But now it’s time to enjoy the eternal element of Jerry’s music……while he may be gone his work will live as long as the media that that it’s recorded on. We’re all so lucky to have known this guy, but if you’re reading this and didn’t, it’s time to get to know his drumming because it’s in the present tense and unreal-good!!! This was a man who left behind an incredible body of work, so get busy! Buy, download, share, youtube, whatever, but make sure that you listen to what this incredible musician has given the world, spread the word, and know that his musical legacy lives in perpetuity.

Jerry Fuchs, we miss you already.

For those of you that knew Jerry Fuchs, I’m sure that you’re as in the dumps as we are around here. Writing this helped a little.

Read on and try to feel better,

John Fell
11/9/2009

Jerry Fuchs came into my life back in 1996 or ‘97. I’m sorry to say that I can’t remember which or place the date on a calendar but that period in my life was vibrant and fast and resultantly a bit blurry. We met through a shared rehearsal space containing a shared band. He was the guy who replaced me in a project that I had to bow out of due to a huge label commitment, though I think the word replaced is inaccurate. Jerry was an upgrade to that band. One night I listened through the door of the studio when he was in the room carving it up with my old associates and it became clear that I had been wasting my friends’ time by playing with them; he was the right guy and I was the wrong guy. It smarted a little, but it was cool. I left that night undetected and went home and thought about how perfectly composed and executed his parts and playing were in the very same songs that I had struggled with, trying to concoct what I only then realized he was the better player for. His groove was a mile wide and his ideas and facility were really beautiful. I never mentioned that I had heard him play through the door for those five minutes until later. And he was in his early twenties at the time.

Not long thereafter I was in the same room shedding a brutal 15/16 groove I was really starting to get cooking. When I stopped he walked in and said, “Dude! That’s sick!” Without pausing he sat down behind his little Silver Sparkle Ludwig bebop kit and asked me to play it again. I dug in, feeling a little self-conscious as I really was floored by his playing and expected him to slash into something crazy. Instead, he jumped in on the downbeat of one with a crazy 4/4 part that he managed to superimpose on top of my ridiculously over thought part. I was playing the snare on 2 and 4 with this derivative, Gadd inspired, inverted paradiddle tom thing going on. Due to the offset in meter, our parts resolved every other measure in an eighth note pulse. He was keeping it really simple but his groove was so deep I felt like I was locked in a tractor beam. Then he started comping with his right hand and right foot between the toms and bass drum on our off by a 16th note measure. The effect was of this perfectly controlled wall of drums that had a crazy, ricochet/slapback like quality. We hung on for a few minutes and the feeling was a bit like having a wolf by the ears; I was afraid holding on but also afraid to let go.

Inevitably, the groove crashed down around us as we were reaching further and further out. We were both completely giddy and I was so full of love for this guy from that moment on and laughing so hard we were crying. What we played was at once so amazing and yet so absurd and we both knew it, but that was the beauty of the moment. We joked about playing double drums in some band and decided if what we had just done was any indication of what would happen that the rest of the band would just walk off stage, and whether or not it would have been in admiration or disgust we weren’t quite sure. While he was packing up some cymbals, I asked him how he had picked up this crazy groove I was playing so fast as he walked in, sat down and nailed me to the wall in seconds. He started laughing so hard and said, “DUDE!!! I”VE BEEN STANDING OUTSIDE THE DOOR FOR LIKE TEN MINUTES!!!!!” I laughed so hard and told him all about standing outside the very same door studying what he was doing. What amazed me about Jerry at that point as both a drummer and as a person was that he just barged in and played. It was that amazing combination of confidence and humility that made him so endearing.

Jerry and I would see each other fairly often in spite of fairly different social circles and there was always the hope of rekindling that fire that we made that night. Whenever I was playing a show and saw him in the audience it always made me want to play my best game, he was just so naturally good. But even after one night when I played like shit, he popped up with serious praise and asked me to break down some fill, then told me I was amazing. And yet he wouldn’t have any of it when I would tell him just how amazing I thought he was. He’s the guy that you wanted listening to you play because you knew he listened to every note of it and was genuinely understanding about the bad ones. Like the person that loves you for your strengths and weaknesses.

A few years ago when I stopped playing and started the Drum Shop, a ‘Drummer Wanted’ flyer showed up on the bulletin board. On it was the usual listing of gigs, empty promises, and a list of drummers who the band liked. Among the more storied names were my own and Jerry’s. I was so honored, not so much by the absurd association with a bunch of household name drummers, but by the fact that he was in the list. We were both at sort of the same point career wise and the juxtaposition with him meant far more to me than any other name on that listing. It was such an honor to be compared in any way to him. Over the last few years we’ve joked many times about getting in touch with the guy that posted the ad and how he could have both of us for his band but only at the same time. The beauty and the horror of that would have really been something, and “atomsmasher” which might have been either the guy’s name or that of his band, we were never really sure, might have gotten a little more than he bargained for. I recently built Jerry a custom snare drum and inscribed in it: Atomsmasher would get a kick out of this, XO John

When I heard the terrible news, I just fell apart. I started scanning the news and blogs for any details I could find to help me get my head around it. It was just so unbelievable that someone so full of life and talent could be gone in a flash. As I read on I was struck by a terrible irony. The building in which he fell was the very same building that I moved into when I first moved to Brooklyn in the mid eighties. I had ridden that damnable elevator many times up and down from my loft on the fourth floor. And ultimately, the reason that I moved out was the restriction of the use of said elevator; moving drums up and down four flights wasn’t really practical. I got so caught up in the irony that my reaction before my brain caught up was that I wanted to tell Jerry just how odd that was. But my brain and heart caught up to reality andI guess that’s not going to happen. We’re all left with the need accept the terrible and irrevocable change that has occurred, and I hope that reading what I’ve written might help someone just as it has helped me just a bit in its writing. I miss you Jerry, there are already a million things I want to tell you, like how the Timpanist’s grip that I saw over the weekend sort of reminded me of yours.

John Fell Interviewed with Buck Nelson

I just had the pleasure of being interviewed along with massively mega awesome rock drumming god Buck Nelson. Over the course of the tour of the store and the interview we talked about his unique approach involving over 30 pedals, 16 bass drums, and 54 cymbals. The guy’s a monster and his ideas about rock are, well, unique. Check it out.

 

 

MOOG Theremin Halloween Contest

CONTEST NEWS: The deadline for posting your entry has been extended to 12:00 Noon EST, Tuesday, November 3, 2009. This gives you the opportunity to film on Halloween night.

In addition to its more serious side, the Theremin has a long history of use in horror/sci-fi movies. In celebration of this history, we’re awarding prizes to the videographers who do the best job of re-creating this experience.

Rules & Regulations:

Videos must be at least one minute in length. Theremin(s) used must be manufactured by Moog Music.

Participating is easy:

1. Create your best Theremin video with a Halloween Theme.

2. Upload it to your YouTube channel.

3. Post the YouTube URL for your video on the Moog Music Forum www.moogmusic.com/forum in the Theremin Forum, under the Halloween Theremin Contest topic by 12:00 Noon EST, Tuesday, November 3, 2009. If you are not already a Moog Music Forum member, you must register.

An online poll will be set up on the Forum On Monday, November 2 at 5:00 EST. Videos judged by Moog Music not to have significant Theremin or Halloween content will not be entered into the poll.

On Monday, November 30, at 12:00 pm EST, the video with the most votes in the poll will be the 1st prize winner. At that time, the judges will also check to see which video has the highest number of views on YouTube. The video with the highest number will be the 2nd prize winner. If a video wins the poll and has the highest number of views, the lucky winner will receive both prizes! Winners will be contacted through their YouTube account.

Moog reserves the right to unilaterally remove any video which it, at its sole discretion, deems to be unsuitable.

Prizes:

1st prize – Best Video – MF-104Z Analog Delay

2nd prize – Most views – MF-102 Ring Modulator

All contestants whose videos make it to the poll will receive a Moog t-shirt. Limit one t-shirt per video.

LINK HERE

Guitar obsessed…. we found the answer

Check out the newest addition to the ever growing 3G phones available from T-Mobile. A ‘Fender’ matchbooked flame top phone.

From: engadget.com

Check this out. T-mobile has re-imagined the myTouch 3G. They’ve added something that was sorely needed: a 3.5mm headphone jack for a new version of the phone later this year. The other news is that the new myTouch is being released as a special edition thanks to a partnership with Fender.

This baby sports a super nice woodgrain finish, comes bundled with a 16GB microSD card
, and has some preloaded music content. Pretty nice huh?

We don’t have a release date or any price info yet however.

Want to contribute? Are you into gear? Read more…

Main Drag is currently looking for contributors to our blog site. Whether it be gear stories, photos, new music, videos, or even band interviews, we want your help.

Main Drag Music is all about community and what better way than to include our closest friends and family, (aka..YOU) to join in on the fun of our blogspot.

Sound interesting? Sure it does… Send an email to Matt Welsh at: webmaster@maindragmusic.com for more info if interested.

Check out Ludwig’s interview of Sam Fogarino of Interpol

Courtesy of Ludwig.com

Direct Link HERE

LUDWIG HQ: So tell us what it has been like getting back in the studio with Interpol?

SAM FOGARINO: It’s been fantastic this time around. We cut a bunch of scratch tracks, so that I could record alone to fully take advantage of the large room in studio A, at Electric Lady, NYC. We have recorded live, basically, on our previous three LPs – which I have really enjoyed, and felt it necessary to achieve any level of a ‘band feel’. However, this is a different record for us, and the songs lend themselves to a more layered approach to recording. It has also allowed for me to try various tunings, and head types, on both kits that I’m using – Stainless and Legacy.

LUDWIG HQ: Is there anything you are doing differently for the recording of this record?

New drum guy’s feature in Drummer Magazine

Hey all,

Check out this feature on our new drum guy, TJ, in Drummer Magazine.  Not only does he know his drums, he plays in a hot up-and-coming NYC band.  Check em out!

Neil Peart’s first Slingerland drumset up for auction!

CLICK HERE FOR THE LONG AWAITED EBAY AUCTION OF NEIL PEART’S ONE OF A KIND DRUM KIT!

Here’s what Main Drag’s own John Fell has to say about it…

“Up for bidding is Neil Peart’s first Slingerland drum set purchased shortly after he joined Rush in late 1974 and used through the recording of 2112. It’s featured on the subsequent live album, All the World’s a Stage, both as a photographic centerpiece on the cover and sonically on the tracks. Peart’s solo on Working Man/Finding My Way from All the World’s a Stage is one of the most well known Drum solos in the world of Rock Drumming, and was introduced by Geddy Lee saying, “The Professor on the drum kit!” This set was also used to record Fly by Night, Caress of Steel, and as mentioned, their commercial breakthrough 2112. This is one of the most iconic drum sets from the world of Rock music and was highly influential–following the release of All the World’s a Stage drummers everywhere studied the cover photo and copied the setup, not to mention Peart’s style. Again, this is the very same drum set that was used on the record and is shown on the cover. It was played at first without the four concert toms, which were added later, circa 1975.

There are a total of 11 drums and this set DOES NOT INCLUDE THE SNARE. The sizes are as follows: 6, 8, 10, 12” Concert Toms in Copper Wrap, (2)9×13, 10×14, 16×16, (2)14×22 and a 13” Timbale all in Chrome Wrap. There are tom holders on the bass drums; a Slingerland Set-O-Matic on the Stage Right drum and a Ludwig Rail-Consolette mount on the Stage Left drum.

The heads, with the exception of the 10×14, are all-original and in the same tuning as the set was received. They consist of Evans Rocks on the toms (Mirror Glass batters, clear blue, like Hydraulics on resonant side), Ludwig Silver Dots on the concert toms, and Remo CS’s on the Batter side of the bass drums. The bass drum resonant heads are one of the more interesting features of the set in that they have the original silver foil appliqué saying “RUSH” on each head as well as “Neil” on Stage Right and “Peart” on Stage Left.

Prior to this auction, we debated whether or not to restore this set, and the decision was to tidy it up without making any changes to its condition, e.g. replacing heads, hardware, etc.. If the auction winner wishes to have it restored it is their decision solely as this cannot be undone. The set is exactly as it was last used by Mr. Peart; there have been no modifications, head changes (except as noted), etc.. The condition of the drums varies, but all are quite used. They’ve obviously been cased in transport as the scratches and rash are all from contact with each other or adjacent hardware while set up and being played, not from abuse. There is surprisingly little pitting on the chrome finish and they polished up nicely. The shells appear to be round and healthy, though we decided to leave the drums assembled so as to maintain their character as played by Mr. Peart; we can’t say much about the condition internally. The heads are all worn, but intact and still in tune! The Stage Right bass drum resonant head was badly torn and repair attempted presumably by Mr. Peart and crew. The mic holes at 12 o’clock on each bass drum resonant head were framed with silver duct tape, which is now quite brittle and frayed.

There are no stands included in this auction; it is for the shells only, and the spurs are not original Slingerlands, though the brackets are. The floor tom legs appear to be original, as do all of the mounts, lugs, tension rods, and heads, except where noted on the 10×14”

This kit was won in 1987 in a Modern Drummer Magazine drum solo contest as judged by Neil Peart. The winner of the contest is keeping the original copy of the letter Mr. Peart sent him along with the set, but a photocopy will be provided to the winner of this auction.

This drumset is being sold as is. Bidders are responsible for asking any questions that might pertain to the value, perceived or otherwise during the auction. This is a one of a kind artifact; its authenticity is unquestionable, and the final sale is non-refundable.

Winner of auction is responsible for shipping or pickup, FOB 330 Wythe Ave, Brooklyn, NY. The seller will aid the winner in any way possible, but will not be responsible for the packing or shipping of the item. Upon release of the item to the winner, a shipper, broker, or third party authorized by the winner, the seller ends all responsibility for the safety of the item in shipment. We can refer the winner with a shipping company that specializes in high-end insured transport of instruments and are happy to do so at the end of the auction.

Thank-you for your interest.”

up for auction on ebay 8/2

Two new bitchin boxes from Electro-Harmonix! New unto you!

The “Riddle: Q-Balls” is a nuanced envelope filter/follower. It’s the evolution of Q, everything you need with tight precision controls for the auto-wah type of thing. Check out the video demonstration; you’ll be impressed with what an acoustic guitar sounds like through a Q-Balls.

The Enigma is the Bass-orientated Riddle. Come try one out with your bass babe.

New Electro Harmonix 22 Amp!!!

The 22 Caliber is a versatile 22-watt guitar head that fits in the palm of your hand. Just plug it into any 4-, 8- or 16-ohm speaker, and you’ll get a big, sweet musical sound.

Crank the 22 Caliber’s volume, and it’ll go into overdrive – like a vintage amp with a single volume control. Flip on the Bright switch to add some bite and definition.

It’s not just a guitar head; it’s a shrunken head, with all good voodoo.

Interesting product from Electro-Harmonix, all you need is an overdrive pedal to add a bit more gain and you’re all set!

Come check one out now at the only place in Brooklyn with this amp! MAIN DRAG MUSIC

For more info check out the Electro Harmonix site.

The Yamaha CP-60M… We’ve got one… shouldn’t you?

The Yamaha CP-60 isn’t as popular as the Fender Rhodes or the infamous Wurlitzer 200…    Could 20+ years really be the issue?

The Yamaha CP-60M came out around 1984, roughly 20+ years after the famed Fender Rhodes and Wurlitzer’s 200 model which most know simply by, “Wurly.”  Yamaha had done pretty well with an earlier, larger model, the CP-70 which was geared toward large touring bands that wanted a real mic’d stage piano worthy of the rough life on the road.  The CP-70 was essentially an electric baby grand.  Similar to the 70’s Helpinstill, it had a full sound board and double voiced strings, a real piano at that point.  Under each string was an independent piezo-electric pickup that was used to amplify the sound. This custom design eliminated any possibility of ‘howl around’ even at high volume and for most, this was more than adequate.

With a full range of pickups and onboard eq that gave far more range than the Fender Rhodes, it seemed like the perfect touring piano. 

Yamaha spent ten years perfecting their little oyster and made the CP-60M.  Unlike the CP-70, the CP-60M was smaller, more compact, and easier to load due to it’s slim stance and folded keyboard.  It was also dressed in a protective armor-like shell.  But wait…   what’s the “M” stand for?  Midi!   Holy sh$t!

The CP-60M is the ultimate stage piano.  An electrified REAL double voiced upright piano with full electric eq with midi and vibrato.  The midi really makes this instrument shine.  With any midi brain you can turn this organic instrument into anything you can dream up.  Synths, organs, voices, triggers, etc…. all at the touch of a hammer-weighted piano. 

The interesting thing about the CP series is that you rarely see them up for sale.  This is our third in ten years.  I’ve seen a CP-70 twice in my travels.  Do people just never let these babies go?  It has been used in the past by  Peter Gabriel and also Abba, U2, Simple Minds, George Duke, Bruce Hornsby, Genesis/Tony Banks and countless others. More recently, the UK band Keane have adopted the Yamaha CP as their primary piano sound.

Due to the push for a more average, consumer-friendly, mass-produced keyboard, Yamaha pushed production on much lower priced, lighter digital pianos towards the end of the 1980’s.   The CP-60M was only made for a short period in the mid eightees making it a hard instrument to track down.

This particular one has been modified to accept a modern AC-adapter unit.  Why?  The CP’s had a very specific power adapter with a pronged cable similar to the Vox’s.  Once lost, a trip to Japan may get you a new one.   We’ve taken the liberty to convert it for you so while on tour and your bandmate leaves the utility box behind, a trip to Radio Shack will calm your nerves.

-Matt Welsh

$1300 only at MAIN DRAG MUSIC

What Could it Be? (a new pedal from EH on this day)

a Polyphonic poly-octave generator with presets (Hazarai!?); Sweepable Low-Pass filter with variable resonance (“Q”); sweepable unison-continuum (detune); and transient shaper (“ATTACK!”). Dial it in baby. POG2 on the shelvings.

(it's the new POG2 from ElectroHarmonix

Stylophone makes any dull moment more exciting than a Snickers bar…

What is it with Rolf Harris and wacky instruments? If he’s not assaulting our ears with his wobble board, he’s blowing into his jumbo didgeridoo. And let’s not even talk about those weird ‘ahoo-aha-ha’ breathing noises. Let us instead talk about Rolf’s finest musical moment (yes, even finer than his recording of the smash hit Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport): his association with the legendary Stylophone. Why? Because the brilliantly bonkers Stylophone is back and it’s just as entertaining as you remember.

Classic Stylophone box!

This “electronic organ in your pocket” was all the rage back in the 70s, and thanks to Rolf’s (over) enthusiast ad campaign, most of us assumed the beardy paint-chucker had actually invented it. He didn’t, but he should have because the Stylophone was as inexplicably enthralling as Rolf himself!

Original vibrato feature

So what exactly is a Stylophone? Well, basically, this bizarre little battery-operated instrument is a box packed with transistors, resistors, diodes and other old-school electronic thingamajigs. The idea is to press the integral stylus against the various metal keys in order to close the circuit and emit a peculiar but unique squeal. Weeeeeeiii!

Control the volume, Change the sound, Plug in your mp3 player or headphones

Tweak your wacky sounds even more!

This re-issued version is just the same as the original except you can now control the volume (phew!) and play along to your MP3 tracks (bizarre). There are even a couple of all-new Stylophone sounds and a vibrato knob. Bonus! And if you think the Stylophone is unfit for real musicians, think again. Luminaries as diverse as Bowie, Pulp, Kraftwerk and Marilyn Manson have all used the Stylophone to add a touch of whiny ethereal lunacy to their recordings. Whether you owned one as a kid and can’t remember where your mom hid it, or you’re a first time fiddler in need of an ironic retro fix, the Stylophone Original is guaranteed to bemuse, amuse, irritate and fascinate. Skweeeall!!!

New EH PEDALS are here!!!!

Come in and try out the newest creations from Electro Harmonix! The good news is Electro Harmonix has realized that good things DO come in small packages. Check out the newest Holy Grail Reverb housed in a nano case! Now you can have the amazing qualities of EH’s Reverb used by so many live, in a pedal the size of it’s boutique counterparts.

Other pedals to check out are the new Voice Box for on stage vocal manipulation, as well as the new smaller White Finger!

Gian Carlo Calorie Count

Four ham and swiss sandwiches and counting….

Goodtime showtime at West Nile tnite

Kaia Wong (of Mixel Pixel) plays her Mbira
Jennie Bringaker (Norwegian Performance Artist)
Unicornicopia
Nothingberryplasma (from Baltimore)

and special niceguy guest DJ Travis Stewart (aka Machine Drum) with fun

285 Kent Ave. #2
(next to “the glasslands” between South 1st and South 2nd)

MAIN DRAG on Coolhunting.com

Thanks to Emily for crediting us in Coolhunting.com’s review of EH’s memory man delay.   Check out the article HERE

Garg Viking Drum Lord

I am Garg the the infamous viking drum lord! I have landed here in Williamsburg at Main Drag music with my treacherous army of vintage drums and snares. Together we will conquer the landscape of studios and dungeonous practice spaces and reign supreme for centuries to come! Look in awe at the ancient wall of majesty behind me made of the finest drum kits NYC has to offer!!!

Roland RE-201 Space Echo

You asked for them, and they have arrived – the original and the imitation.  Like every other toy we collect for you, we’re offering free test drives of this magnetic interstellar explorer deep into the outer regions of your sonic space.

Eventide Pitchfactor – Harmonizer Pedal

Freddy Nighliker took the Pitchfactor for a spin in his home studio.  These are his notes, scrawled on a piece of paper:

“As advertised, superior sound quality, fun for the whole family (full mix=freak out), slaphappy, 12 oz. mouse voice from adult swim”

Fred tells me he tested the pedal by watching movies and routing the audio through the harmonizer.  In addition to his note he says, “it was ridiculous, but manageable.”

SXSW Day three continued

Glasvegas and other fun things…

SXSW day three…..

So last night ended up at the most insane lineup ever which included Tori Amos and L.A.’s Steel Panther….. Wow. While backstage i found our ad in the Vice Magazine’s Sxsw picks. Austin’s last call is 1:30am which sucks. We moved the party ti the Marriot pool.

Day three has been another scorcher. I caught the new Columbia ‘it’ band, Glasvegas at Stubb’s. The free tallboys of High Life definitely helped last nights effects blend into the day.

Hopefully tonight I will catch the long awaited Primal Scream show. Stay tuned….

Better know a tech… Garrett Landes

I’ve only heard Garrett tell two stories.  One of them uses “and then I got hammered” as a central plot device, and the other always beings with, “well I was really hung-over…”  Despite his lack of variety in adventures, one story I’m sure I’ll never hear is one of Garrett intoxicated on the job.  The tube amp shop is not a place to risk getting sloppy.  Working with the kind of heart-stopping current that a charged up capacitor can send through your body will teach you some painful lessons.  This time of year is especially dangerous for the boys in the back.  With the annual migration of aspiring rock stars from Williamsburg to Austin comes a violent surge in “rush” tube amp repairs.  Garrett recalls a few SXSWs ago when his mentor Pat got a little ahead of himself at the bench trying to get everyone ready for Texas.

“I heard a noise, and thought Pat had gotten mad or something and thrown his stool.  I turned around, and Pat had been thrown off his stool, and he landed on a pile of amps.  He had forgotten to discharge a filter cap(acitor), and it knocked him off his ass.”  Pat remembers it well saying, “yeah, it was bad.  I haven’t forgotten to discharge a cap since.”

Death aside, the main thing these students of arcane electronics fear is producing sub-amazing work.  Garrett obsesses over every solder joint; each one challenging him to perfect his skills.  He sees a lot of amps with quick and ugly repairs.  When an amp comes through with unsatisfactory connections, he will resolder them, making each one mechanically sound, and visually impressive.

Making each connection neat and clean not only means a long lasting, better performing amp, but it also looks great and tells the next repair guy, “somebody took the time and cared for this amp properly.”  Garrett feels that it doesn’t matter how much of his work will go unseen and unappreciated by his customers – he takes pride in the details of every job.  A couple weeks ago, Garrett put in an extra hour and fifteen minutes of wiring that might have taken forty-five minutes if he had rushed through.  The task was to completely rewire a Traynor 8×10 bass cabinet (for the laymen: that’s eight 10″ speakers inside a wooden box made by the amp manufacturer Traynor).  This particular make of cabinet is odd in that, instead of taking off a back panel and seeing all eight speakers at once, each speaker is loaded in through the front.  What this means for Garrett is that no one will probably ever see the care and time he invested into each speaker connection, but that’s not what matters.  This Flint, Michigan native has a working class pride that fuels an impressive work ethic, and a equally impressive drinking ethic – after-hours, of course.

-David Morrin

Sxsw day two cont..

Caught Tim Easton play with long time customer Aaron Tasjan on guitar.

SXSW day two

Well we had a great first day here in Austin. My total tally so far for being tagged as, “hey… Your the dude from Main Drag!”: 14.

The finally of day one was catching Gary Louris and Mark Olsen of the Jayhawks at a private acoustic show put on by New West records. Simply stunning!

Today is started off once again with a tall cup of overpriced joe and a bonus morning cig. I will try to sqeeze in a dirty projectors show as well as seeing Tim Easton and The Waco Brother’s Bloodshot showcase. Stay tuned…

Freddy Nightliker//Physical Filter//Telescopic Boundary Mic

Freddy Nightliker, electro-acoustician extrordinaire, is spending evenings perfecting his latestest auditory marvel: the physical filter/telescopic boundary mic.  I decided to journey deep within his hamster hole at the West Nile art space to document what is undeniably history in the making.

The night began with driving in circles in Freddy’s SUV, listening to bubbly synthesizers below an operatic recitation of poetry on what Nightliker called “weird radio.”  After agreeing that we should cover the tune for our next performance, it was time to enter West Nile and get ready to record some live music.

Freddy seemed satisfied with his efforts after about 3 minutes of recording.  Perhaps he will be kind enough to allow me to post what he captured once he has properly Nightlikened the raw material.

-David Morrin

Sxsw brooklyn’s ‘the states’

Good fellas and Main Drag Music customers playing a slew of dates this week.

More SXSW

Brad from brooklyn outfit ‘This Frontier Needs Heroes

Elvis perkins

Amazing! Not to mention main drag customer Matt from Nada Surf enjoying the show!

Gringo star

These guys are about to go on a European tour with Trail of the Dead in April. Great fun band and Main Drag Customer!

“Is that a Nagra?”

When I first noticed the Nagra IV-L in the front counter display case, it didn’t really catch my eye.  As a teenager, I had indulged an obession with tape and tubes and all things analog, but these days I’ve grown more and more comfortable with the digital world, and an old tape machine just didn’t spark much interest at first.  I completely overlooked its existence until customer after customer would bring this relic from the 1960s to my attention on a daily basis.

“Is that a Nagra?  Wow, that’s awesome, those things are amazing – can I check it out?”  Hmmm.  Why all the fuss, I wondered.  A quick google returned this statement from Wikipedia:

“Nagra is a generic term referring to any of the series of professional audio recorders produced by Kudelski SA, based in Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Switzerland. The machines were initially designed by Polish inventor Stefan Kudelski, and his company won numerous technical awards for their precision and reliability.”

Our drum guru, John Fell, gave me a proper introdruction to the Nagra one day, asking me if I’d care to see “under the hood.”

Opening up most electronic devices is a pretty boring, ugly, and/or frustrating enterprise for the average human being.  And who opens up their electronics just to admire the beauty of the care and skill that went into the soldering and bundling of wires?  John Fell showed me the guts of the Nagra like we were poking around in a vintage muscle car.

I don’t know much about art, or electronics, but I think anyone can appreciate the visual impact of the amazingly neat, compact, and even colorful work inside this Swiss marvel.

First day….

Well the only saving grace waking up this morning was the starbucks in the lobby. I will be playing in an hour and within two hours will be severely drunk over at mohawk seeing atlanta band Gringo Star and my fav, Elvis Perkins. Stay tuned.

Freddy Nightliker: greetings

as you would that it were… erstwhile knob twiddler and electro-acoustician at your server.

What it is

This just in… Prophet 5

Sequential Circuits Prophet 5 Rev 3.2 with midi retrofit – very clean and just fully serviced.  Everyone who’s come in and fired up this thing has left smiling.  There’s very little this analog, polyphonic, and programmable monster can’t do.  Rev 3s are known for their reliability – toss that troublesome Juno one-oh-sh** in the trash and pick this up before someone puts this thing in a museum.

I am Garth

Hey fellow tragic hipsters! I am Garth, the new Drum guy (ed: a new drum guy – John Fell is still THE drum guy) at Main Drag Music. I will help you with your sonic needs or punch you in the face for being uncool.  But seriously, you guys got any vintage drum kits you wanna sell?!! Give us a call or bring them by! We’ve also got some new ultra knowledgeable staff on board to help you pinpoint whatever ridiculous sound you are looking to make. Cheers and happy fuzzing.

-Garth

SXSW ‘09

So once again I am heading down to SXSW to partake in the yearly tradition of playing unpaid shows while trying to stay sober enough to be operable. Lucky for you, I will be blogging about it while drunk and full of BBQ on a live, daily, up-to-date, basis… so stay tuned….

This year I will be playing guitar along side Main Drag Music customer “Tim Williams.” Every year I run into our entire customer base on 6th street in Austin. I will surely be approached again this year as…”HEY! IT’S THE DUDE FROM MAIN DRAG!” Yes, Yes…. indeed I am….

As an added bonus this year they will be having a Vintage Guitar Show at the convention center… pretty amazing! If it didn’t cost me $100 for every extra piece of gear I bring on the plane… I could do some damage down there. Anyway… stay tuned because the next six days will be exciting.

-Matt Welsh “AKA: THE MAIN DRAG DUDE”

The elusive Chamberlin Rhythmate

So while on the road this week I was fortunate enough to find a piece of gear I have only heard about around vintage guitar geek camp fires and sparklehorse chat room sessions.. (kidding….not really)

Now, being that I am no stranger to strange gear in my own musical quests, I have already used this piece of gear in my own music. The problem…. I had to use samples of said gear. Like catching “the big one,” on a man’s weekend fishing trip, no one ever expects to see it.. just talk about it their whole life.

So now I have a record with samples of Chamberlin Rhythmate drum loops plastered beneath my songs and will never be able to change the tempos or organically recreate it live…… till now!

Little Drummer Boy

Congrats to our drum raffle winner! We’re glad that our Gretsch rental kit is in good hands! Stay tuned for more exciting events at Main Drag Music

Been a long time since I’ve rock n rolled….

Well friends… here we go. I haven’t written here in a while. Main Drag Music has been busier than ever and I have found myself working more and more on an upcoming music project. But in my time off of the blog-o-sphere… I have been finding some amazing examples of what other people spend their time on…. (all music related of course) ENJOY!

Here is a guy that is completely fed up with being older than he “should be.” He doesn’t have time for music anymore and he sure as hell doesn’t have time to list all of his gear individually…..

Casper Electronics now available at MAIN DRAG

Check out Casper Electronics here at MAIN DRAG MUSIC.  Currently we are selling his circuit bent speak and spells but will be getting more things soon.  Stop on by and check one out.  Here is a recent interview with the man himself, Pete Edwards. CLICK on the image below. 

You can find more about Pete and Casper Electronics HERE