Music F.A.Q

 What do you use to make your music?

(as far as the music we have published)

Not endorsements, just what we use (or have used), owned, bummed and borrowed.

The cheaper, the better…

Computers:

Compaq ?; Intel Pentium ? GHz, ? GB RAM, ? GB hard drive desktop (Windows XP)(the only version of Windows that we have used that was worth anything)

            Dell Inspiron 1545; Intel Celeron 2 GHz, 3 GB RAM, 150 GB hard drive laptop (Windows Vista Home Basic)

                  (liked the laptop, but Windows Vista was a bit annoying — we are being nice)

            HP Stream (2018-current); Intel Celeron ? GHz, ? GB RAM, ?? GB hard drive laptop (Windows 10)

                  (compact little laptop, actually better sound than my old Dell, but Windows 10 just seems to be Vista with a facelift) 

Software:

             Arpy synthesizer VST plugin

            Audio-Simulation DreamStation 1.0 virtual synthesizer

            Audio-Simulation DreamStation DXi2 plugin

            Bram Bos' HammerHead 1.0 drum computer

            Image-Line FruityLoops 1.?, 3.0.1, 3.5 digital loop sequencers

            Image-Line FLStudio Producer Edition 4.51 digital loop sequencer

            Koen Tanghe's KTGranulator VST plugin

            Mark of the Unicorn FreeStyle 1.05 MIDI sequencer

            Mark of the Unicorn Unisyn 1.20 patch editor and librarian

            Paul Whalley's QuasiFractal Composer

            Syntrillium Cool Edit 96 digital audio editor

            Voltkitchen MinimogueVA version 2.2 VST plugin

Guitars:

            Dean Vendetta XM electric guitar, natural

            Kay E-100 electric guitar, cherry sunburst (Lace "humbucker" modification)

            Squier Bullet Strat electric guitar, red

            Kay L.P. clone, black/blue (modified) 

Effects:

            DigiTech Grunge pedal

            DigiTech RP55 modeling guitar processor

            DigiTech RP70 modeling guitar processor

            EH nano LPB-1 pedal

            DOD FX56 American Metal pedal 

Recording:

            Nady SP-1 microphone

            Olympus VN-1800 digital voice recorder

            On Stage Stands Euro Boom microphone stand (very cool stand, we can position the microphone just about anywhere, when playing the guitar or keyboard; vocal or miking the amp; setting, standing, or just fooling around)

            Realistic dynamic microphones (the cheapo type that came with portable cassette recorders)

            TASCAM DP-008 portable digital recorder 

Other:

            ART Tube MP Studio microphone preamp

            D'Addario XL electric strings, light (.010 - .046") (originally, and still currently on the Dean)

            Dunlop 222 brass guitar slide

            Dunlop Tortex (.50 - 1.14mm), Tortex Sharp (1.50 mm) and Gator Grip (.96mm) picks

            Fender electric (? .010 - .046") strings (originally, and still currently on the Squier)

            GHS strings (usually .008 and .009") (on the Kays)

            KOSS KTX-8 headphones (for low-cost, light-weight, open back headphones, these had pretty good audio quality)

            Rogue RM101A mandolin

            Roland XP-10 synthesizer

            Sony MDR-7506 Professional headphones (these have good audio quality, but over the years, the vinyl material covering the foam ear pads has deteriorated) 

Can I use your music on my web page?

If it is a non-commercial, free public access web site. If you use any of our music files on your web page, it is not required, but appreciated if you link this blog or our YouTube channel. 

Can I record your music onto cassette or CD?

As long as you are not selling the tapes or CDs. 

Can I share your music with my friends?

As long as you are not charging anyone, you may copy and distribute it as widely and often as you like. 

Can I play your music at parties or clubs?

If there are no cover charges, membership or admission fees. 

Can I use your music on my YouTube video, Tik-Tok, or other similar video site?

If it is non-commercial and we are given proper attribution. Although not required you could drop us an e-mail with a link to your creation. 

Can I use your music commercially?

If you are interested in using any of our compositions commercially, contact us.(

We are not unreasonable.) 

Have you had any formal musical training?

Nope. We would not be doing the mixing and mastering ourself, other than out of necessity. 

What instrument did you first start playing and when?

Electric guitar, while in high school

(played a bit with bongos and a harmonica before that) 

Have you been playing all that time?

Oh, gosh no; if so, I might have been better at it 😃

(several big gaps in playing until about 2010)

— actually, my mom gave me a mandolin in 2009? and after playing it a while I dug out the Kay E-100, blew the dust off and started playing again 

When are you going to realease real songs, with lyrics?!

Maybe if I meet someone (preferably female) who can sing?? -- that would not mind singing our twisted lyrics; or some of their own 😳😉

Cheap guitars?

And cheap sunglasses. 😎

We do admit that some higher priced guitars do have better sound (after a certain point it is debatable), but we are not making millions of dollars, and doubt that we ever will. Making music is just a hobby for us, but actually, we like some of the lower priced guitars and equipment and would probably use them even if we were filthy, stinking rich.

Besides, cheap guitars (and equipment) are fun to twiddle with (a slip of a screwdriver should not cause the heart to skip a beat – I can afford to destroy an eighty dollar guitar); if we completely mess it up – well okay – at least it did not cost $5,000.

And yes, we have played real guitars (Les Pauls are a bit heavy). 

What do you mean by cheap guitars?!

My use of the word 'cheap' is not intended to imply inferiority, simply low-cost and economical.

(the ones guys like us can afford)

        cheap = less than $150 (US)

        intermediate = $150 to $500 (US)

        expensive = $500 to $1,000 (US)

Over $1,000? Well. We do not have that kind of money to spend on a guitar. Some are nice, but there are many nice guitars under $1,000.

Why is the model of guitar not listed on some of your tunes?

It was one of them. -?-

(we are not always good at keeping notes of the details) 

What is your favorite guitar?

Tough choice. Over the years we have played several different electrics and two acoustics.

– have always liked the sound of a Gibson Les Paul, when played by someone really talented 

Do you name your guitars?

No. They already have names. Nothing wrong with doing so, just never decided what to name them. 

How often do you change strings?

Are you supposed to do that????

...but seriously, (some suggest doing it more often) when they break or start getting too many black spots. It was almost twenty years (but not played much) before I changed strings on the E-100, when converting it to a humbucker pickup. If we were wanting a cleaner sound and used less distortion, we may be more particular. (...probably not) 

What has influenced your musical styles?

Everything we have ever heard. I like something from just about every genre that we have heard. (and that is a lot of different music) 

Why do you categorize your music? Some of them are listed as the wrong genre type.

We really do not like categorizing music, but since we have various styles and some people prefer certain types of music. We thought it possibly more convenient, for those visitors, for us to do so.

As for being in the wrong category, probably some of them are. With so many different genre categories and sub-categories (which we think has gotten silly), with many of which we are unfamiliar, we chose the closest genre (mostly parent genres) for each tune. Actually, most of our music could perhaps be called Experimental (or perhaps Amateur Abstract — is that a new genre?) because that is really what we are doing.

Since some of our stuff is similar to Classical, we label it pseudo-Classical – since we have no clue about real Classical music (other than listening to it).

Of your tunes, which is your favorite?

My guitar stuff, but IMHO the Electronic MP3 files are better; cleaner and more accurate.

More importantly; which is your favorite? 

Product endorsements?

Doubt that we will ever be asked, but then only if we could be brutally honest about any shortcomings. There is one product I will recommend (without any hesitation, or compensation), that is Dunlop Tortex picks; have used these nearly exclusively (and still have the first two picks; and although a bit worn, they are still usable) 

Some of your song titles reference mental disorders; what is up with that?

We are not trying to glamorize or exploit the idea of mental disorders, nor wish to make fun of, or offend, anybody with (or without) mental disorders. Have always found psychology an interesting subject, as well as space, supernatural, dinosaurs (and lately birds). 

Do you have any mental disorders?

Do you? 

Do you have any evil, hidden, back masked, brainwave f***ing stuff in your music?

Should we?

No, there is not.

There are some reversed sampling and/or sections, but those are usually indicated along with the description for the file. 

Some of your lyrics/titles reference biblical subjects; what is up with that?

I try to live life as a Christian, and there is certainly an influence for the music. 

What is your opinion on commercial, mainstream music, and is that what you are trying to accomplish?

Well, we like some of it (...but do get tired of hearing the same stuff repeatedly on the radio)

We think music and music makers have become somewhat oversaturated, but that is not necessarily a bad thing.

Commercial success would be nice, but that is not what our music is about. 

What is the purpose of your music?

Gives us something else to do, and perhaps other people something a little different to listen to. -?- 

How do you decide what to post?

Not much thought process actually 😃. Have no idea what people may like. So, we post whatever we want. We are still learning, and subjecting the unsuspecting visitors to the results.

(...but if we become big celebrities, our music files could be highly sought after collector items....) 🙄 🤣

Have you recorded any cover songs?

Yes, have played with a few cover versions of a couple different songs (including a mediocre, unfinished cover of The Doors Riders on the Storm), nothing special, but would like to release some files sometime in the future. 

Can you sing?

Have you heard some of our stuff? 🤨

— Not really. 

Do you have lyrics for any of your posted compositions?

A few, but most were intended as instrumentals. Personally, think they sound better without my singing. I enjoy listening to some of them now, not sure that would be the case if I were caterwauling over the music. Although, there is always a possibility we may go back and redo some someday. (that is one of the fun parts of making your own music (especially with a computer); you can easily change it) 

How long does it take you to compose a song?

Usually about two or three hours, for computer (loop-based) music, about twice that when playing the guitar.

(we really need to work on the pre/post-production and mixing skills; usually everything just gets thrown together haphazardly) 

What do you think of your critics that do not like your music?

No problem. We have heard music we do not like.

It is all subjective, that is part of the fun. 

Has any of your music been used commercially?

Just for our CD; "Music from the Outpost".

If you hear our music being used commercially by others, please contact us. 

What is up with the CD release?

just wanted to say I have released a CD/album

Who are you?

Who are you?

Are you serious?

Not always