New Invention

There's this new invention I discovered. It's called an electric guitar. It has six musical strings and plugs into a contraption called an amplifier. I really like the way it sounds, I think I'm gonna get one.

I got my toothbrush and I got my Stratocaster

For a 25th B-day present i got a 2008 Fender American Standard Stratocaser in Olympic White. I've always wanted a Stratocaster and now I have one fuck yeah. I remember as a 15 year old hanging out at my friend Derek's house (actually his parents house). And there i saw his dad's late 80s to early 90s dark red Fender Stratocaster with maple fingerboard. Whenever we were over there and his Dad wasn't looking, I'd always play with it. I don't know what it was but i like the way it sounded, the way it felt, and definitely the way it looked. I wanted one. Fast forward ten years and a dozen Frankenstein guitars later, I finally have a proper Stratocaster!

As with most mass produced guitars, I did proper set up after i got the guitar. Things like the string action. It was kinda too low and there was some string buzzing. I like my string action a little high anyways. Also, the neck was straight.. a little too straight, so I set some more relief to the neck. That's one of the features i really dig about the American Standards, the truss rod adjustment is at the headstock instead of at the heal where I would have to remove the pickgaurd and strings to get to it. Last, the nut was kind of muting the B-string and i was loosing a lot of sustain and volume. so all i did was take a steak knife and shaved a little more room on the string slot. Problem solved.

The guitar is really comfortable to play. As usual the neck has rolled edges with a satin back attached to the classic contour body. The new features are very vintage in nature which I really dig. The bridge saddles are no longer the block steel kind but the vintage bent steel type with the Fender name stamped on them. Fender says they did this because it gives a vintage tone which I'm sure it does, but probably also to save money since they can use the same type that are one their re-issues. Production cost or not I like the way the bent steel saddles look and sound. Also the set screws used to set the string action don't stick out as much so they don't dig into hand. One detail they added that strikes my fancy is the vintage style spaghetti logo on the headstock , they even added the "Original Contour Body" decal.

Even though these guitars are great right out of the box, they are great base instrument for modifications and personalization. Under the pickgaurd, you'll see that body is routed in a humbucker/single coil/

humbucker fashion instead of the usual S/S/S. This allows you to add humbuckers without having to cut

into body and devalue your instrument. My plan is to add new single coil pickups either in just the neck

position or all three. The stock pickups sound good but i just want a more classic vintage sound (late 50s early 60s).

I do like the way the Fender 57/62 stratocaster pickups sound, sparkly and warm. I heard them

a American Vintage 57 strat and was like i want these in my guitar. I would of just bought the 57 strat but it

was just out of my price range. Another pickup I'm considering is the seymour duncan SSL-1 or SSl-2.

I have a SSl-2 in a Fender Duo-Sonic, its a mellow but fat sounding pickup very balanced sounding. It has

flat pole pieces maybe that has something to do with it. The SSl-1 is the same but with staggered pole pieces.

Well I don't know what to do. I do know I want vintage sounding pick ups but can't decide which set.

Maybe I should of got the 57 reissue but then again it was a just outta my budget. SO i did the next best thing

and got a american standard to modify. Any suggestions?

Overall cool guitar. Later.

I'm a dad for the past six months

Sleeping in is nothing but a fanasty now. Elbow deep in poopy. Fun but challenging.

Two new additions to the pedal board

So I bought two new guitar pedals. I'm updating my rig and i decided that i needed a tremolo pedal and i overdrive (not a distortion pedal) pedal. First the tremolo pedal, i wanted to stay away from boss pedals because i need to try something different and those pedals sound like everyone else. I choose the electro harmonix Stereo Pulsar, although i don't use the stereo out, it gives me similar trem sounds as the tremolo on a fender amp. The controls are easy and the casing fits perfect on my pedal board. There's a Rate Knob, Depth Knob, Shape knob, and a Switch that lets you select between square and triangle waveforms. You can get some really cool surf trem out of this pedal. Watch out for junk tones though, which can happen when you set the parameters very extreme. Not much else to say, but i do give it 9/10. I did try to find the original Pulsar pedal which only had one output and was incased in a housing similar to the Big Muff pedal. If anyone can know where to get an original Electro Harmonix Pulsar, email me at nikyambao@yahoo.com. I really want to add the original to my collection.

Second I've added an Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer Pedal. The thing about this pedal I like is that it isn't a screamer. It gives me a very warm, subtle, and genuine break up though my amp. I like putting my guitar through the tube screamer first and then through the Pulsar tremolo with the tube screamer set at 9 o'clock on the drive knob. The tone i get is super 50's vintage. Another thing about this pedal that is pretty bad ass, is the construction. This pedal is built like a tank. If you are looking for a distortion pedal, you're better off with a boss DS 1 or Big Muff, but those looking for a versatile overdrive check the Ibanez TS9.

9/10.

So I got the Tremolo and TS9 pedal, next on the list is a Reverb Pedal and either a EchoPlex or a Rolnad Space Echo.

Looking for that special one

I'm on mission to find a new guitar. Thinking about American made Fender Stratocaster.


-- Post From My iPhone

Testing

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Lombardo Returns

What's up kid's?
Obamamania baby! Get diagnosed with it!

To all the female fans out there,
Please reduce your mail to me to just letters...
The overflow of pictures, gifts, trinkets ....it's too much.
My mailman shot up my house yesterday out of frustration..but
thank you none the less!

I am going to talk about the thing on everybody's mind. You
know....the " Big Event". History being made in our lifetime!
I'm talking, of course , about the Jonas Brothers.

I don't know much about them, the brothers; but their influence
on today's youth is undeniable, so I decided to check them out at
the T- Dome. Great show! They started out, surprisingly, with
Neil Diamond's " September Morning" followed by a montage of
80's metal band Quiet Riot. This contrast added a pensive
moment to the screaming of the young girls. The rest of the songs
I've never heard before....accept for the anthem " Eighteen" by
Alice Cooper. ( Some innocent lady with demented parents has that
name.)


I got backstage to meet them after the show and they ran away scared.
Weird experience , but a great night.

* News quote of the week : MSNBC
" Even the seagulls must be amazed at the humanity." ( inauguration ).

* To remember: ' Simplicity is not the cummulation of true art, but the rudiment thereof.' -unknown

* Whats killing our kids in society??......soccer.

* Best method for picking up the ladies??...... accomplishment.

Peace in this hood,
Lombardo.

Band Of Bees!!!! a cool band I discovered.

My friend, Gilbert showed me this band called A Band Of Bees. The album of there's entitled, Free The Bees, is fucking awesome!!! Its been a couple of years since I've heard an album that I got super excited about. They are a six peice from the UK where they are called The Bees. "Free The Bees" which is their 2nd album, was recorded at the famous Abbey Road Studios and has a very vintage 1960s' sound. If you really like The Kinks, The Byrds, or The Beatles, then you will more than likely dig The Bees. Out of all the Bands I see try to the "vintage" thing, The Bees sound pretty close to '67. Their song, "Chicken Payback", is the catchiest off the album possessing the same dance hall vibe as "Louie Louie". This is the first song I heard from The Bees and it quickly snatched my attention with lead singer Paul Butler's quirky lyrics and familiar rythm. The next little gem on the album is a song called, "This is the Land". In "This is The Land", you can hear vocal influences of The Byrds but with a rythm that sounds like it came from The Beatles album, "Revolver". Overall, "Free The Bees" is a diamond in the ruff and worth the price of admission. It's proof that bands can still do the "vintage" thing without sounding passé, ala The Strokes, The White Stripes, Jet, etc. which all suck ass. Do yourself a favor, turn on the time circuts and check out THE BEES.
3 1/2 out of 5.

Nik Yambao
The Pop Exposé

Thoughts on Apple's last Keynote at MacWorld.

The Good: Phil Schiller, awesome at delivering keynotes. New features in iPhoto and iMovie as part of the new iLife 09 suite. New iWork 09 suite, although I don't own iWork or had the pleasure to use it. New online service called, iWork.com, another example of how software plus services is the future, share and collaberate with people on iWork doacuments. The new 17 inch MacBook Pro with a built in battery lasting up to 8 hours and 1000 charge cycles. I am one of the few people in the world who like the idea of built in non removable batteries in mobile devices, I get it why Apple insits on implementing it on their iPods, iPhones, MB Air, and now their MB Pro 17 inch though I can't tell you why I get it. Also, MB Pro 17 inch gets a anti glare display option. New iTunes features such as DRM free music, later in Spring three new price points for songs on iTunes, $0.69, $0.99, $1.29. My favorite anouncment at MacWorld 09, you can now download songs onto your iPhone 3G through the 3g signal, no longer do you have to be on a Wi-Fi network to do that. I always wondered why you couldn't do that in the first place, kinda of a no brainer.

The Bad. No new iMac or Mac mini, thats a bummer and I think its kinda offensive that Apple charges you over $1000 dollars for an iMac with a basic Core 2 duo processer and a Gig a ram! Rip Off!!!! $800 dollars for the same old Mac Mini and the fucker does not come with a KeyBoard or Mouse. Rip Off!!!! The only Mac they decided to upgrade (for now) is their most expensive laptop, expensive for us common folk. Please Apple give us a four core iMac for $1799 that seems more reasonable. No iPhone nano, but come on, that is never gonna happen and I personally think an iPhone nano is a dumb idea, so keep dreaming nano lovers. No Midrange Mac that isn't an iMac or doesn't cost $2799. The anti glare option on the new MacBook Pro 17 inch cost $50 (are you fucking kidding me?) and the anti glare option is only for the 17 inch MBP model, once again their most expensive portable (fucking elitists). No Steve at MacWorld, kinda sucks, although Phil is great at it. This is Apple's last Macworld Keynote but I can see why, It cost a lot of money for Apple (millions of dollars) to put on a Keynote at MacWorld trade shows. Trade shows arent the best option for a company as big as Apple to spread the word on new products. I hope the money they save by not showing up at MacWorld they use to make a new iMac and Mac Mini for the rest of us.

Closing. Good riddance, no more Apple at MacWorld now, but I don't think the majority of Apple fans will loose sleep over it. I guess the rest of us Apple users who dont have $3000 dollars to blow on a Mac have to wait for a beefier iMac and Mac Mini, although I perfer to use MacBooks. Who do you think will take Steve Jobs place as CEO when he retires because you know this years MacWorld is a sign of things to come in regards of Apple being "Job-less" (get it? no Steve Jobs) . Go to Apple.com to find out more shit about this years MacWorld. Oh yeah iWork.com, fucking great idea, I hope on future they make an iLife.com, where you can collaberate with others on your iPhoto projects and your music with Garageband. That would be the shit. The Pop Exposé.

Macworld

Who's pumped for Macworld? I am

Mac Mini

Rumor has it that a new Mac Mini will be released soon this month. It is rumored to have the same Nvidia chipset as the new MacBooks, an extra USB port, and firewire 800 but no 400. In addition to the standard dvi port a mini display port is also added. These are just rumors and we'll soon see the truth.

Beauty Dies EP by The Raveonettes

In short EP is much better than the previous EP I reviewed, "Sometimes They Drop By". The four song collection sounds like early Raveonettes (Whip it On), which is my personal favorite. Their somewhat monotone boy/girl harmonies are addictive and lead me to believe that Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo are last to living vampires on earth. The song, "Black/White" makes me feel like a dirty girl, which is oddly a good thing, and sets the tone for a voyeuristic night. The drum track on "The Thief", is a worthy departure from their commonly used surf drums and is drenched in overdriven reverb (like thats  a surprise). Overall, Beauty Dies, makes a short tasty treat for any fan of the Danish duo. Much better then Sometimes They Drop By. 3 1/2 out of 5

5 am with Bo Diddley and the iPod Touch

5 am-   Chillin playing with new iPod touch listening to old Chris Pirillo rant about original iPhone and how much it sucks ass. Seriously if bought an original iPhone, you got completely ripped off!!! The 3G is a million times better.

 

MUSIC-  Just downloaded Bo Diddley collection from the iTunes wi-fi store off the iPod touch and its frickin great!!! The self titled song "Bo Diddley" and "I'm a Man" are fantastic and give you an overall jist of the man Diddley. Not only is he a skillful guitar player that is very underrated, he's a very capable singer (Rolling Stone put in the top 100 singers of all time list). His music has a real home spun sound with sprinkles of blues and dashes of jazz. Listening to Bo Diddley is like taking a trip in a time machine, and finding yourself in an underground dancehall in 55'. After listening to the compilation I started to realize how many musicians are influenced by him let alone the genre of Rock and Roll. I give it 4 1/2 out of 5. If you have the means download it right now!!! You won't regret it. If you are a musician, there is a treasure chest of goodies that Bo Diddley has you can add to your repertoire. Get it!!!! Get it!!! I am a better person for discovering Bo Diddley.