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My music of the week was provided by the birds of the Austrian countryside, mountains and forest , where I've spend a few relaxing days - though I also had access to a workbench that allowed me to progress on my current project - about which I will post when it's more advanced...

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Didn't listen much to music in the last days, I had guests and prefer not to impose my music... But I still played some Herbie Hancock and Headhunters, also watched on YouTube live videos of late Cure concerts with Reeves Gabrels holding the guitar - I understand that he will still part of the band for the next album, that is promising... And I looked at and listened to some Steve Reich - also on YouTube...

I'm still late on many RL projects like usually, yet I expect to post more regularly here now...

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Main music of the week: the two albums the Headhunters recorded in the 1970s without Herbie Hancock, Survival Of The Fittest and Straight From The Gate. Unavoidable if you want your head blown off by free improvisation while grooving on funky beats... On a funky mood, I also listened (and danced) to songs of Prince's  album - I had forgotten how much I loved Prince back in the 20th century...

Won't be building anything and still not posting much in the coming weeks, for I'm busy with several projects until fall - some of them I will talk about here very soon I hope...
  

Plankaster demo

Yes I know, I posted this video of David B. demoing his plankaster on Guitarz a couple of days ago, but it's worth being watched again, isn't it? I had very little time to test the guitar before sending it away and I did it on my Roland Microcube on the distortion channel - not the best way to hear its soul. Here I find that the alu cover on a chamber generates a quasi resonator sound, that makes this guitar a real blues machine, exactly what David needs for his Beefheart-esque band the Dirty Primitives!

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I've decided to cheer up my guitar sketches posts with a few lines about music - more exactly about the music I listen to while drawing. Most of the time I listen to many kinds of music on the radio or social networks, so I will focus on albums that made it through, or musics that are new to me.

So on my album list are newly acquired Lou Reed's Berlin and The Drones' Wait Long by the River and the Bodies of Your Enemies Will Float By (about which I will write on my upcoming CDs non-review post). Also Gong's Shamal, an album I faithfully listen to since its release in 1975 (I didn't buy it then - I was too young -, but it was at home I don't know why, and I've been a Gong fan ever since, even in my gloomiest batcave teenage time), and that I used to motivate myself to get out of bed and proceed with daily life though it happened on unusually early hours.

My favorite band of the week is Black Angels that I just discovered thanks to Fuzz Box Girl's mix-tape, and of which I looked at all the live videos I could find on YouTube - I'm jealous of these guys, truly! And I thought I discovered something great when I heard this song of the Killers with Lou Reed, Tranquilize, then I heard other songs and without Lou Reed's presence, it's quite shallow, in spite of their singer's talent...

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New tools for a new project

Yes I know, another guitar related project (I do also have other kinds of projects going on lately, hence the scarce posting and the lack of concrete achievements in the field of guitar/pedal making)! This one will require new tools and the uncovering of old and unused skills... 

Oh such a mystery! To be unveiled soon!

Devi Ever's Console project

I'm supporting Devi Ever's Kickstarter Console project - I think it might interest some readers of this blog. 

You probably already know that Devi Ever produces extremely interesting fuzz boxes - I will acquire one very soon, well as soon as possible -, now she's busy with a cartridge based effect platform, available for one, two or three cartridge. A kind of anti-iStomp, its open-sourceness will allow anybody to conceive and release cartridges to be used on it - as much boutique makers (including Ohnono whose Chk Chk Boom I enjoy very much) as DIYers, and of course the first cartridges will be Devi's own very cool fuzz devices.

The project looks for funding with the help of Kickstarter and new backers are welcome, please go have a look and maybe join!

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another good working day

Didn't lose my time today, having access to a band saw, I could cut my Ikea butcher block as a modified telecaster - though I still don't know if I should use my Microfret neck or wait until I can buy a baritone neck (the extra horn makes of course more sense with a longer scale neck)...

I also prepared planks for my next plank guitars and advanced finally on the fuzz box project - I should  finish it soon since I just had some enlightenments about electronics and I'm not stuck anymore...

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A few extra pics of the Plankaster...

Ladies and Gentlemen, let me introduce you to the Plankaster!

Here it is, just finished and almost ready to ship - just have the time to test it...

 

 

More plank guitar

Plank Guitar

The new plank guitar project goes well - a couple extra days and it's done and shipped to its owner...

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