Guitar Stuff.

so i got this acoustic-electric guitar last Christmas... and i've noodled with it a wee bit but not enough to actually know what i am doing. mostly i have been putting off using it in any songs until i have a computer at home and of course have a decent audio interface. i was thinking the "Asteroid" would be great. but i am getting the impression Steve J. is punishing all of us by not releasing it ever.

so i've sort of been looking around at other little bits and pieces that interest me in the mean time. that don't cost over $100 and/or offer some sort of functionality that would make them be useful even if i did have an Asteroid or other more fully featured audio interface.

i found these little dealios from DVForge... basically there are 2 of them... an XLR -> USB and a 1/4" -> USB... no cable... just a little adapter you can plug right into the instrument or mic to get an away-from-the-computer A/D conversion happening then sent along a USB cord to your computer. totally cool i thought. and only $40 each. i might even pick up both of them. or just the 1/4" one... and continue to wait for "Asteroid".



though DVForge is supposedly the new company of the Jack Campbell guy... based on a bunch of stuff i read on him he sounds pretty shiesterish. but supposedly has 'turned legit' (perhaps he read some of the Chick Tracts?) and is not a scam artist anymore. besides that... at Macworld he tossed me a free "The Mouse" at his MacMice booth (i was just randomly walking by as they tossed free schwag and caught one). and it is actually a pretty decent mouse.

and moving on... i have no idea how to tune a guitar. i mean. i can probably guess... as i have a pretty good idea what sounds 'right' and what sounds 'dumb'. but i saw this little gizmo...



a guitar pick with a built-in tuner based on LEDs. they have a little animation and description showing how it works. pretty sweet i thought. better than one of those wallet-sized looking things. though i honestly might just use the built-in tuner in Garageband 2... as i doubt i'll be tuning every 3 minutes or anything requiring a dedicated magic tuner pick. but $35 ain't bad. and it looks sorta cool.

z.