Sickness, Christmas, and 2024

What an interesting couple of months it has been. Apparently I have had a chest infection that has gradually progressed since October and peaked in mid to late December. That is the most ill I have been for a long time, and I am still resting and recovering.

I have also finally got access to my ‘new’ car, after three months of being messed about. That is a story for another time though.

I was a very lucky man this christmas, and recieved 3 guitar pedals. Black Arts Tone Works Pharoah (black edition) - this is a pedal from the early 2010s that is a suped up big muff. It has both germanium and silicon transistors (or it can override both), and is great for solos or thick power chords. A handy tool for recording.

I also received a Wampler Plextortion pedal. I have wanted one of these for the last decade, another dirt pedal that has a specific sound that can be manipulated well for recording.

The cherry ontop however was the Boss CE-2 Waza. I previously sold my CE-2 from the 80’s over a year ago, and it was replaced by the wonderful Past Fx Chorus Ensemble, a lovely re-creation of the original Roland (boss) CE-1. However, as it was based on the original, it was made mainly for keyboards. Although guitarists have used it, it’s been mainly single coil guitarists. And despite the switch inside, I have found it is not ideal for medium hot- to compemporary humbuckers. So I have relegated this to being a recording piece of gear, and it has been replaced on the board with the CE-2W. It is the CE-2 pedal, but also settings for CE-1 chorus and CE-1 vibrato, but works with humbuckers and distortion well.

So, the end of 2023 was rather difficult, but it was tinged with some positives in the regard to gear. Going forward, in 2024 i want to start focusing on recording. This will involve upgrading my rather dated setup. I also want to find a project or band that I can contribute to, as I really miss playing with other musicians and writing with other people. Having just been very ill, it makes you appreciate the small things, and I would also like to generally be doing more this year.

Stay tuned - Sly.

Past FX Chorus Ensemble: 'Buckers, Dirt, Reverse Delay trailer

I finished the first video I’ve been working on over the last week or so. I am quite happy with it, and I released the trailer above, which was shared by Past FX on Instagram.

It’s a great pedal, and has replaced the Boss CE-2 on my pedalboard.

I look forward to making more interesting videos in the near feature, I have 3 more in the bag I will release over the next month and a half. Watch this space!

The Woes Of Editing

I love making videos, syncing audio and video, creating thumbnails, and making interesting content. In fact, sometimes I watch my older videos to learn from previous mistakes, and to see the journey from the old shakey videos to using green screen and high quality videos.

What I am not so keen on is when my macbook struggles with the editing software. Alas, I am at a point now where I am fighting against the macbook in order to edit. Making the process a bit more outdrawn. This means in the near future I will need to get a new one that can handle modern laptops. It is a shame, as my current computer works very well for everything else. It is a shame this must co-inside with the ULEZ expansion, meaning I have to pay to drive so the mayor of london can get his name in the history books but expanding to poorer outer boroughs of London. Still, I must Endeavour to create!

Above is a rough snippet of what I am currently working on. There’s no polish, but it allows you see what I am doing. The pedal in the video is the Past FX Chorus Ensemble, which is a beautiful re-Imagining of the Boss CE-1. I will make a video with single coils in the future, but the video I’m currently working on is around using it with humbuckers and other effects.

I look forward to getting this one out - Sly.

Time Flies

It’s amazing how quickly time has past since my last entry. It’s been really busy, with lots of interesting things happening in between.

Christmas has come and gone, I had a nice meal with the family. Guitarwise, I picked up a Charvel 24DK Pro - pink. I have since decorated it with a Vegeta sticker.

I purchased a steam deck, to allow me to play some more obscure games. I intend to be added content more frequently to the site again, and I have been writing material for future videos. I just need time to source another editing software, as Adobe’s subscription platform is not economical.

I have written a script review of Laney Ironheart series - a decade review. Laney also recently released an Ironheart pedal, which I have been enjoying.

Shoot You sir is still going, although we need some more review material to stock up on. Keep your eyes on this space!

Takamine Mini G

My car is currently out of action, and has been for nearly a month and a half. Despite that, I picked up a Takamine Mini G on the cheap. And I must say - what a lovely little guitar.

Those of you that follow me know that I love a good travel acoustic and parlour guitars, and I have to say this is probably the best I have played to date. Not only does it look rather snazzy, it sounds great with the Martin XP strings I put on there (the orange Tommy Emmanuel ones).

In terms of sound, it blows my Sigma TM-1 out of the park, and the fondest memories I have with a travel guitar are with the Taylor Baby, and this guitar fits into that tier of travel guitar for me. Except, this has a pickup system. Although I have not tried the pickup system - and to be frank it’s probably just a piezo system- which I personally don’t think sound that great on their own, without a dedicated mic inside the guitar.

I have also been playing a hell of a lot of Dragon Quest builders 2 - really not the sort of game I would normally be interested in. I blame Tim Rogers of action button, formally of Kotaku.com. I really enjoyed the extended demo, which is the most generous sized demo I have ever played- and then decided to bite the bullet and buy the game.

I also bought TMNT Shredders Revenge, which is a beat em up arcade-style game. Holy wow is this game well developed. The mechanics are really tight, and one of the better ones i have seen in a beat em up. Not only have they gone back to get the original cartoon imagery, graphics, and voice actors, but they have built a solid game that plays really well (and is really cheap).

29.11.21

Saturday 27th November I went to my friends stagg do, where I met up with a lot of old friends from college. We had a great time, went for a nice meal, went to watch a comedy show, and even a bit of clubbage - random! I had a fantastic time, and can’t wait to see them all again!

So it is time to jump back into reviews & articles again. 2021 has been fantastic for SHMUPs, and Shoot You Sir is going strong! I would like to get some more podcasts in, as I know there is interest there. It would be fantastic to get some cross overs and chats in with some other people involved in the gaming industry.

Speaking of STG’s, DoDonPachi Daifukkatsu (resurrection) was ported to Switch, and I have had a lot of fun playing it again. in fact, I even got in some Mushihimesama HD & Space Moth. Yes that’s right, a lot of STG love recently. i am still playing KOTOR, and hope to complete it soon.

I have been playing a LOT of guitar recently. I have missed it, as it has always been a large part of my life. I’ve been keeping it simple with my setup: Gibson LP or Patrick Eggle Berlin Pro into the IRT Studio’s clean & dirty channels. A hell of a lot of fun.

Overall it’s been a good- but extremely busy week! I look forward to some more fun times ahead.

Sly & Silent Rob

This Week 11.09.21 New Guitar!

So this week I have received the Patrick Eggle Berlin Pro (1997) and have been playing around with it. The intonation is off slightly, so it might need a setup. However, it feels so nice to play, it is going to be a great edition to the ‘family’. I love how the neck pickup sounds clean, and the bridge pickup sounds alright, but might end up getting replaced. See me play the guitar in the intro to the video below!

So Ronaldo is officially back, and this week the premier league and media seem to be rather fixated on this - and there is no surprise to that. Hoping he has a lot of fun, and I will watching him back in the league!

Espgaluda II released on the switch store this week, and having played it on the 360 I know how good a game it is. Any SHMUP fans should be really happy to have this CAVE game in their collection. In my opinion it is not as good as Mushihimesama, but it looks brilliant and plays really well. I would like to hear Graham’s thoughts on it on a podcast soon - if you are reading and up for it Graham!

Other SHMUP news is the fact that Razion EX will be a digital download soon - great news for people who have not yet had the chance to try this game.

Knights Of The Old Republic has been announced for a remake - this could be interesting. I loved the original when it came out, but wonder how it has aged… is this a complete system/ mechanic revamp ala final Fantasy VII remake? We shall have to see.

WALOD Pod 4 with guitar intro and outro:

This Week(s)07.09.21

So a lot of things have happened since my last post - this is because my Macbook Pro finally died after the famous ‘beer incident’. Firstly, What a Load Of Dribble Podcast channel is well under way with three videos now - please subscribe and like our videos here: WALOD

Shoot You Sir has been going strong, with issue 11 has come out, with DoDonPachi series overview, and Ironclad, and news! Download for free here: SYS

So I have been play a lot of guitar recently, mostly acoustic and electric unplugged. I am in the process of trading in my Gibson SG Standard for a Patrick Eggle Berlin Pro - I will show some pictures when available.

I have booked tickets for Old trafford for Manchester united vs West Ham in the Carabao cup - so watch this space and the WALOD channel!

So now I have a temporary Imac, I should be able to continue editing - apologies to our Podbean and subscribers, as it has been rather difficult recently with things going on at work and having no Macbook Pro to edit on. Lots of content to come!

What have I been playing

Lots of SHMUPs and Neo Geo, but the last week or so I have been playing Aliens fireteam elite