Having a sick day here... Using the time productively.
#pickguard #leather #es335

Edit: pic vanished

Active Pickguard Makes For A Great Guitar Mod

Much discussion goes on in the guitar world about the best hardware to use. Whether its pickups, how they're positioned, or even the specific breed of wood on the fretboard, it's all up for debate. [Eli Hughes] put much of that to one side, however, with his innovative "Active Pickguard" project.

The project reimagines the electronics of an electric guitar from the ground up. Instead of typical electromagnetic pickups, six individual piezo pickups are built into the bridge - one for each individual string. The outputs of these pickups is conditioned and then read by the analog-to-digital converter of a Freescale Kinetis K40. The DSP-capable chip can then be used to apply all manner of effects. [Eli] demonstrates the guitar providing an uncanny imitation of an acoustic guitar, before demonstrating jazz and overdrive tones as well.

The Kinetis chip also features touch-sensitive inputs, which [Eli] put to good use. All the hardware is built into a pickguard-shaped PCB, complete with touch controls for things like volume, tone, and choosing different DSP patches.

Unlike a regular guitar, this one needs a power supply, which it gets via a CAT 6 cable, in place of the usual 1/4″ guitar cable. The CAT 6 also carries audio out to a converter box which allows the audio to be output to a regular guitar amplifier.

It's a neat build, and one that shows just how modern technology can reimagine a simple 20th-century instrument. DSP really is magic, after all. Video after the break.

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#musicalhacks #digitalsignalprocessing #dsp #electricguitar #guitar #pickguard

Guitar Pickguard Adds MIDI Capabilities

For a standard that has been in use since the 1980s, MIDI is still one of the most dominant forces on the musical scene even today. It's fast, flexible, and offers a standard recognized industry-wide over many different types of electronic instruments. Even things which aren't instruments can be turned into musical devices like the infamous banana keyboard via the magic of MIDI, and it also allows augmentation of standard instruments with other capabilities like this guitar with a MIDI interface built into the pick guard.

[Ezra] is the creator of this unique musical instrument which adds quite a few capabilities to his guitar. The setup is fairly straightforward: twelve wires run to the pick guard which are set up as capacitive sensors and correspond with a note on the chromatic scale. Instead of using touchpads, using wires allows him to bend away the "notes" that he doesn't need for any particular piece of music. The wires are tied back to an Adafruit Feather 32u4 microcontroller behind the neck of the guitar which also has a few selectors for changing the way that the device creates tones. He can set the interface to emit single notes or continuously play notes, change the style, can change their octave, and plenty of other features as well.

One of the goals of this project was to increase a guitar player's versatility when doing live performances, and we would have to agree that this gives a musician a much wider range of abilities without otherwise needing a lot of complex or expensive equipment on stage. We've seen a few other MIDI-based builds focused on live performances lately, too, like this one which allows a band to stay in sync with each other.

#musicalhacks #32u4 #adafruitfeather #capacitive #guitar #live #microcontroller #midi #music #performance #pickguard #touch #wires

A Post About Louise Post and the Importance of Photography

A few years ago, I photographed a Veruca Salt concert at the 9:30 Club in Washington DC. I wasn't an official photographer, I was just having fun with the then still available Fuji FP-3000b peel apart instant film and my 1960's Polaroid Automatic Land camera. But it was a great night anyway and I'll always remember the experience.

Then there was a crazy chain of events that just goes to show that it pays to befriend other inspiring, driven creative artists. Fellow photographer Ben Eisendrath found my blog and revealed that he is Veruca Salt guitarist, Louise Post's cousin. Ben put me in touch with Ms. Post, who, apparently enjoyed my blog and images. - S W O O N -

For her birthday this past December, I had one of my peel apart photos of the concert matted and framed by The Artist Angle in downtown Frederick, MD. Then I typed up a letter to Ms. Post on my 1940's Underwood, explaining all the reasons that I think that she is awesome. And, because I enjoy collecting autographs and could not imagine a better person for it, I boxed up the pick guard from my first guitar; a 1994 Fender Stratocaster, for Ms. Post to autograph.

Despite the crazy COVID/election mail issues occurring, my package arrived at Ms. Post's address exactly on the day of her birthday. So, massive thank-you to the US Postal Office. I don't care what anyone says, you always come through for me!

Some weeks went by as I bit my fingernails down to my guitar-string-callused fingertips in anticipation.

Then, one fateful day, I opened my mailbox to find a tattered version of the bubble mailer that I'd sent off a few weeks ago.

Not only had Louise Post, autographed my pick guard, but she hand wrote a very kind and encouraging letter to me.

Can you imagine being a rock goddess and STILL taking time to respond to fans with handwritten notes?!

I think about being a teenager when Veruca Salt's Seether was first tearing up the analog air waves and how the song, the album and other amazing music of the 90's inspired and guided me through those confusing soul-searching years. The electric guitar was one of the first tools of artistic expression that I tried before my high school girlfriend introduced me to the darkroom and I picked up a Pentax K1000 for photography class. I didn't become the rock star that Veruca Salt inspired me to be but this whole photographer thing is working out okay.

Anyway, not only did I want to brag about getting Louise Post's autograph, I think this story is an awesome example of how we can use our photography to connect us to personal history and the people and events that are important to us. Which, at the core is the very reason I got into photography.

Thanks for reading, happy shooting!

_Follow, Favorite, Like, Add, Insult, ContactJohnny Martyr _

#celebrities #concert #filmphotography #fujifilm #instantfilm #livemusic #martyrmusings #90039s #930club #alternative #americanthighs #analog #analogphotography #artist #artistanglegallery #autograph #autographedguitar #bw #beneisendrath #blackandwhite #blackandwhitefilm #blackandwhiteinstantfilm #bnw #celebrity #club930 #electricguitar #fan #fujifp300b #fujiinstantfilm #fujifilmfp3000b #ghostnotes #ginacrosley #grunge #guitar #guitarist #handwritten #jimshapiro #jimmymadla #johnnymartyr #kelliiscott #kroq #letter #letters #louisepost #manualtypewriter #music #musician #nicolefiorentino #ninagordon #notes #peelapartfilm #peelapartinstantfilm #performance #photography #pickguard #picture #polaroid #polaroidautomaticlandcamera #retro #rock #seether #signature #signed #signedguitar #stacyjones #stephenfitzpatrick #stevelack #talent #tickets #typewriter #verucasalt #vintage #washingtondc #whfs

A Post About Louise Post and the Importance of Photography

A few years ago, I photographed a Veruca Salt concert at the 9:30 Club in Washington DC. I wasn't an official photographer, I was just having fun with the then still available Fuji FP-3000b peel apart instant film and my 1960's Polaroid Automatic Land camera. But it was a great night anyway and I'll always remember the experience.

Then there was a crazy chain of events that just goes to show that it pays to befriend other inspiring, driven creative artists. Fellow photographer Ben Eisendrath found my blog and revealed that he is Veruca Salt guitarist, Louise Post's cousin. Ben put me in touch with Ms. Post, who, apparently enjoyed my blog and images. - S W O O N -

For her birthday this past December, I had one of my peel apart photos of the concert matted and framed by The Artist Angle in downtown Frederick, MD. Then I typed up a letter to Ms. Post on my 1940's Underwood, explaining all the reasons that I think that she is awesome. And, because I enjoy collecting autographs and could not imagine a better person for it, I boxed up the pick guard from my first guitar; a 1994 Fender Stratocaster, for Ms. Post to autograph.

Despite the crazy COVID/election mail issues occurring, my package arrived at Ms. Post's address exactly on the day of her birthday. So, massive thank-you to the US Postal Office. I don't care what anyone says, you always come through for me!

Some weeks went by as I bit my fingernails down to my guitar-string-callused fingertips in anticipation.

Then, one fateful day, I opened my mailbox to find a tattered version of the bubble mailer that I'd sent off a few weeks ago.

Not only had Louise Post, autographed my pick guard, but she hand wrote a very kind and encouraging letter to me.

Can you imagine being a rock goddess and STILL taking time to respond to fans with handwritten notes?!

I think about being a teenager when Veruca Salt's Seether was first tearing up the analog air waves and how the song, the album and other amazing music of the 90's inspired and guided me through those confusing soul-searching years. The electric guitar was one of the first tools of artistic expression that I tried before my high school girlfriend introduced me to the darkroom and I picked up a Pentax K1000 for photography class. I didn't become the rock star that Veruca Salt inspired me to be but this whole photographer thing is working out okay.

Anyway, not only did I want to brag about getting Louise Post's autograph, I think this story is an awesome example of how we can use our photography to connect us to personal history and the people and events that are important to us. Which, at the core is the very reason I got into photography.

Thanks for reading, happy shooting!

_Follow, Favorite, Like, Add, Insult, ContactJohnny Martyr _

#celebrities #concert #filmphotography #fujifilm #instantfilm #livemusic #martyrmusings #90039s #930club #alternative #americanthighs #analog #analogphotography #artist #artistanglegallery #autograph #autographedguitar #bw #beneisendrath #blackandwhite #blackandwhitefilm #blackandwhiteinstantfilm #bnw #celebrity #club930 #electricguitar #fan #fujifp300b #fujiinstantfilm #fujifilmfp3000b #ghostnotes #ginacrosley #grunge #guitar #guitarist #handwritten #jimshapiro #jimmymadla #johnnymartyr #kelliiscott #kroq #letter #letters #louisepost #manualtypewriter #music #musician #nicolefiorentino #ninagordon #notes #peelapartfilm #peelapartinstantfilm #performance #photography #pickguard #picture #polaroid #polaroidautomaticlandcamera #retro #rock #seether #signature #signed #signedguitar #stacyjones #stephenfitzpatrick #stevelack #talent #tickets #typewriter #verucasalt #vintage #washingtondc #whfs

A Post About Louise Post and the Importance of Photography

A few years ago, I photographed a Veruca Salt concert at the 9:30 Club in Washington DC. I wasn't an official photographer, I was just having fun with the then still available Fuji FP-3000b peel apart instant film and my 1960's Polaroid Automatic Land camera. But it was a great night anyway and I'll always remember the experience.

Then there was a crazy chain of events that just goes to show that it pays to befriend other inspiring, driven creative artists. Fellow photographer Ben Eisendrath found my blog and revealed that he is Veruca Salt guitarist, Louise Post's cousin. Ben put me in touch with Ms. Post, who, apparently enjoyed my blog and images. - S W O O N -

For her birthday this past December, I had one of my peel apart photos of the concert matted and framed by The Artist Angle in downtown Frederick, MD. Then I typed up a letter to Ms. Post on my 1940's Underwood, explaining all the reasons that I think that she is awesome. And, because I enjoy collecting autographs and could not imagine a better person for it, I boxed up the pick guard from my first guitar; a 1994 Fender Stratocaster, for Ms. Post to autograph.

Despite the crazy COVID/election mail issues occurring, my package arrived at Ms. Post's address exactly on the day of her birthday. So, massive thank-you to the US Postal Office. I don't care what anyone says, you always come through for me!

Some weeks went by as I bit my fingernails down to my guitar-string-callused fingertips in anticipation.

Then, one fateful day, I opened my mailbox to find a tattered version of the bubble mailer that I'd sent off a few weeks ago.

Not only had Louise Post, autographed my pick guard, but she hand wrote a very kind and encouraging letter to me.

Can you imagine being a rock goddess and STILL taking time to respond to fans with handwritten notes?!

I think about being a teenager when Veruca Salt's Seether was first tearing up the analog air waves and how the song, the album and other amazing music of the 90's inspired and guided me through those confusing soul-searching years. The electric guitar was one of the first tools of artistic expression that I tried before my high school girlfriend introduced me to the darkroom and I picked up a Pentax K1000 for photography class. I didn't become the rock star that Veruca Salt inspired me to be but this whole photographer thing is working out okay.

Anyway, not only did I want to brag about getting Louise Post's autograph, I think this story is an awesome example of how we can use our photography to connect us to personal history and the people and events that are important to us. Which, at the core is the very reason I got into photography.

Thanks for reading, happy shooting!

_Follow, Favorite, Like, Add, Insult, ContactJohnny Martyr _

#celebrities #concert #filmphotography #fujifilm #instantfilm #livemusic #martyrmusings #90039s #930club #alternative #americanthighs #analog #analogphotography #artist #artistanglegallery #autograph #autographedguitar #bw #beneisendrath #blackandwhite #blackandwhitefilm #blackandwhiteinstantfilm #bnw #celebrity #club930 #electricguitar #fan #fujifp300b #fujiinstantfilm #fujifilmfp3000b #ghostnotes #ginacrosley #grunge #guitar #guitarist #handwritten #jimshapiro #jimmymadla #johnnymartyr #kelliiscott #kroq #letter #letters #louisepost #manualtypewriter #music #musician #nicolefiorentino #ninagordon #notes #peelapartfilm #peelapartinstantfilm #performance #photography #pickguard #picture #polaroid #polaroidautomaticlandcamera #retro #rock #seether #signature #signed #signedguitar #stacyjones #stephenfitzpatrick #stevelack #talent #tickets #typewriter #verucasalt #vintage #washingtondc #whfs