The Blog:
Music, Gear, & More
The DecoWaves blog will playfully entertain various discussions on a variety of fun topics with a touch more focus on music while always leaving the opportunity open to meander off the worn path and dabble in conversations about art, books, and the greater enjoyments of life.
To the music and, with appreciation for the great many enthusiast and experts that have helped guide me along my own journey, I embrace embrace the opportunity to pay it all forward, to explore the fantastic gear and tools of the trade while providing reviews, compare & contrast exercises, helpful hints and nuanced insights. Opinions shared are just that, opinions. It is important to note that many of these articles were originally written for and posted on TheGearPage.net forums and, in now being shared within this new context, I feel they are provided a healthier, more unified framework for engagement — this is not to take away any value from the resulting forums discussions. To the gear specific articles, the goal here is not to declare “Winners” or “Best of”, but rather, to share insights and understandings so that fellow musicians can make informed decisions while getting the most out of the tools they use.
#1 | The HM Strat
My 1st Guitar; The HM Strat (circa ~1989) Some thirty years later and she is still here; my original HM Strat. The recognition long overdue, it's occurred to me that I’ve neglected to write about one of the most meaningful components of my studio collection -- the...
Sketchbook Series: Dreams of Summer
Sketchbook Series: Dreams of Summer As to the sketchbook series, these melodic vignettes play in my thoughts, a soundtrack to my journeys each day. Recorded in but a few takes, the articulate arpeggios and chord progression remind one of classic surf melodies while,...
Sketchbook Series: Voyager
An instrumental I've been working on these past few months -- and certainly, still some work to be done -- this video represents the first official recording; No editing, just an iPad. I've toyed with a few variations of the piece, mostly differing with respects to...
A Day With … The “Baby” Way Huge Blue Hippo
Way Huge Blue Hippo III | A Quick Overview Having grown up in the 80's and, if not clearly demonstrated in previous articles, I have an obvious affinity for certain guitar effects; this, for sure to include, delay and CHORUS. Thus, it only makes sense that, at the...
A Day With … Shine On You Crazy Phaser
MXR's Deep Phase M279 | A Quick Overview Remember when you were young, you phased like the sun? Okay, so maybe that isn't exactly how the lyrics go but, one thing I'm quite certain of, the MXR Deep Phase M279 pretty much nails those classic Gilmour lead tones that...
A Smörgåsbord of A-n-n-n-n-a-l-o-g Delay
A true indulgence, it's not often one gets to enjoy a delicious Smörgåsbord of delay pedals featuring a great selection of the analog variety or emulations thereof. As is the customary approach, the focus here is to compare and contrast, to listen and learn, to come...
A book recommendation for the holidays | The Birth of Loud
Fall has arrived in Miami; temperatures actually dipped into the 60's (oh Joy!). To the casual observer, changes between seasons can certainty be a bit more challenging to discern and, while the humidity is ever so slightly less, my go-to sign is the ever so nuanced...
Sketchbook Series: A Dance with the Sun
A variation of a theme that has found its way into a few recent compositions, the song was composed on a recent summer's day, inspired while watching the late afternoon rays of sunlight playfully dance with the leaves in our garden. Recorded with just a few takes, no...
Keeley Hydra & Strymon Flint
The question of the hour, “How does the Hydra COMPARE to the Flint?”
Keeley Hydra: The mythical power of three
… by providing the traditional effects of Reverb & Tremolo/Vibrato, the Keeley Hydra serves as a fantastic pedal to perfectly finish off one’s pedalboard.
Test Driving some Drive Pedals
Compare & Contrast … a meandering exploration of the many great options that today’s marketplace has to offer
Chase Tone Secret Preamp & Catalinbread Epoch Boost
The task is really quite simple: Compare & Contrast the Chase Tone Secret Preamp & Catalinbread Epoch Boost, two pedals based on the same circuit; that of the fabled preamp found within the Echoplex EP-3
A Day With … The Walrus Audio Demo Board
Reflections from a fun opportunity to spend some serious time playing around with the Walrus Audio Demo board.
ThorpyFX Peacekeeper | The overdrive that plays nice with everyone
… having an overdrive that finds its home within low gain levels is a nice tool for one to have; enter the Peacekeeper.
The REVV D20 | An uber-light Tube Lunchbox Amp with powerful utility features
[NAD | The thoughts behind and, first impressions in getting the REVV D20] Recently took advantage of a great deal and acquired the REVV D20. I scoured the web for weeks in exploring all similar options with respects to price point and features -- No YouTube Video was...
The Strymon Deco | The classic warmth and richness of studio recording
The Deco was one of those pedals that, in first unboxing and turning on, I was like, "Ok, this is sort of cool but, I'm not sure where all the craze about it comes from". The demos I watched sounded so very awesome, my expectations were definitely set to 11 -- Click...
Walrus Mako D1 | An Uber-Compact, Full Featured Multi-Delay w/ creative twists
The Mako D1 High-Fidelity Stereo Delay has some fantastic sounding Algorithms, well thought-out and innovative control schemes, and a solid build quality
The JHS Clover | The Edge thinks it’s Magically Delicious
I can't say this pedal was ever something I was on the hunt for and yet, being that is was just around St. Patrick's Day, the visual design caught my eye and, the fact that there was some relation to U2 and the Edge, my interest was piqued. After taking some time to...
Quick thoughts: Keeley 30MS vs Strymon Deco
During my explorations of the double-tracking effect, I enjoyed having the Strymon Deco and Keeley 30ms side-by-side, providing the opportunity for some compare and contrast exercises. The following are some quick thoughts: – Keeley’s included reverb was great,...
Source Audio’s Nemesis | The ‘Leatherman’ of Delay Pedals
Much like the Leatherman is to one’s toolbox, the Nemesis serves as the versatile go-to multi-tool for one’s delays needs.
Boss CE-2w | The 80’s called and wants their Chorus back
Perhaps to no one’s surprise, and certainly as covered in countless reviews and product demos, the new CE-2w washes over us with the classic 80’s & 90’s chorus effect.
The Seaverb by Andy Green Pedals | Time to Surf!
Inspired by the classic Fender Amps, this pedal delivers their reverb effect in spades; it’s dripping with surf-a-licious deliciousness.
SA’s Programmable EQ | Yes, an EQ Pedal can be sexy
This will surely be a bit different, certainly shorter in length, than my normal NPD (New Pedal Day) reviews but, no less informative. After a few years of working through the configuration of my board, the project slid into a very comfortable holding pattern this...
A Day With … The Source Audio One Series 2016 TourBox
Hard to imagine, it has already been a year since this Source Audio Tourbox was first announced; these pedals have traveled countless miles, traversed the United States more than a few times. With their journey coming to an end, many thanks to the folks at Source...
Iron Bell & Musket
These two pedals are more similar than they are different.
The Strymon Flint | The Perfect Gentlemen
Strymon describes the FLINT as ‘A Perfect Gentlemen’ and, after spending the past month with it both at home and in live performance, I would have to agree that it certainly is the ‘Perfect’ description
A Day With … Bearfoot FX 2015 TourBox | British Selection
Perhaps it was destined, with the ‘Box-O-Brit’ Tourbox arriving to my house just a few days before Christmas that, out of the four Pedals included, my favorites would be Red and Green in color. Given the available choices, the odds seem stacked in my favor. Just a few...
A Day With … The Bearfoot FX Tourbox 2015 | USA Selection
INTRO With the savory reminders of a delicious Thanksgiving dinner fresh on the mind (and taste buds), a little white box arrived at my doorstep filled with fun treats for my listening pleasure and experimentation – “Hello Bearfoot FX Tourbox – Winter 2015 Edition –...
TC Electronic Nova Delay ND-1 | A Classic Digital Delay that still has value
The TC Nova Delay, a bit older compared to the many of today’s new pedal choices, is still by all accounts a great digital dela
MXR M234 Analog Chorus | The unheralded workhorse of chorus pedals
I can’t say that I am a Chorus Effect aficionado, at least not yet but, I do appreciate the effect and like to incorporate it from time-to-time into my tone libraries. With anticipation of limited use, I have been trying to find something affordable; certainly not...
