Posted on

T5 Samples

I did quick samples from a bunch of songs with the T5. Unfortunately, as Nono mentioned, the Powerbook has a lousy input jack: you have to have some sort of preamp before plugging it in the line-in before you can get a decent input level from the guitar.

It is also worth noting that the few “picked” songs don’t represent a true picked song – as I just used the hotel room’s card-key (I didn’t have a pick handy)

Just crank up the volume if you can’t hear it, or better yet, use headphones. But this should give you an idea how the T5 sounds like. I ran it through the GT-8 first, in bypass mode of course, just so I can use its volume controls. Still, there’s no effects, no EQ, and everything was in the detent (flat) position… straight to the line-in of the Powerbook. No post-processing as well.

Simply put, the samples below are the pure, unembellished voice of the T5. Read More

Posted on

Just for the heck of it

I’ve been opting to stay-in whenever I can while the rest of the group go on their respective “excursions.” I guess I’m lucky that so far, all the houses I’ve been to have WiFi (I’m not surprised, but it is a good bonus nonetheless).

I guess I might as well post since I got nothing better to do.

We’re in Los Angeles right now, and we still got 2 days till our concert… that means I’m staying in for two more days. It isn’t really a big deal since I’m used to it. Plus the fact that I pretty much have been to the places worth visiting here from our last tour. I’ve been able to save quite a lot because of it, so I’m not regretting it one bit.

To give you an idea, a safe amount I usually allot for a trip to the states (exclusive of plane fare) is at least 500USD for pure needs (e.g. transportation, food, etc.). That’s your minimum. Put shopping, theme park hopping, etc. in there, and that budget goes up dramatically.

We’re at the 2nd leg of the tour and I’ve only spent about 63 dollars. 34 of which, I could’ve avoided if I hadn’t let people persuade me to gimmick with them on our first night in NY and gotten a cheaper metro card (I got a 7 day unlimited pass… which I only used about 5 times) I’m making sure these things will never happen again.

In any case, that’s quite an accomplishment… and proof of sheer willpower hahahaha. Read More

Posted on

Jetlagged

Here I am at 5:00am composing this entry. I don’t know when sleep will get a hold of me but in any case, might as well blog.

To say that I had a very unfortunate incident, would be an understatment – I lost a TON of cash at the airport before I left the country a couple of days ago. I don’t really intend to expound on it as it really depresses me to think about it, so I’ll leave it at that. Suffice to say that it was enough to “ruin” the tour spirit in me. But God has some weird way of showing you the brighter side of things.

Initially, I was really stoked on going on tour, then plummeted right down to 0-motivation that fateful day, now I guess I’m back up to about 80%. I’m not so sure that will get any higher – while I do enjoy the whole BP-tour side of everything, having that amount stolen is not something I could just brush off. But nonetheless, I’m not a defeatist, and I do acknowledge the “lucky” breaks we’ve had after the incident.

Read More

Posted on

Taylor T5, here I come!

So basically, more or less I reached my quota to get the guitar. God will make a way talaga, since all the rackets were practically within a month! My only issue now is that it’s too exact – meaning I have no funds for anything else while in the states (food, transpo, gimmicks).

I planned to get a Taylor T5 Thinline Custom with a Koa top. Because it sounded best out of the three soundboard choices. Plus it’s the only choice which will get the finish I want (Natural Edgeburst).

So of course, now that I have the money, it was time for me to get down and dirty and start doing what I do best: rationalizing every aspect of the situation. I was to reevaluate if the Koa was really needed, or if I could opt to get a [cheaper] Spruce or Maple top – which would allow me to have the needed extra funds to actually survive a month in the US.

Read More