Wednesday, August 27, 2025
Display of Affection: Laptop Screen Replacement
Monday, August 25, 2025
Fallen Musical Heroes
The recent passing of Ozzy Osbourne dug up a few past emotions for me from the passing of other musicians who I also truly admired. There have been a lot of great musicians who have passed away in my lifetime, for a myriad of reason, but I'll be covering the losses that affected me the most. The ones with whom I feel I have the deepest musical attachments. Since we started off with Ozzy, it's only right we also speak about Randy Rhoads. I'm only 42, so I wasn't even a twinkle in my parent's eyes when Randy Rhoads was tragically killed, but once I started playing guitar and really listening to Randy's playing, I realized what the world had lost. I think you can't talk about Ozzy without also including Randy (obviously post-Sabbath), so for them to both now be reunited in the great beyond brings a little bit of solace, however they are both greatly missed in our Earthly musical realm.
Dimebag Darrell's passing, I think we can all agree, was the most distressing because of how it happened. In terms of my guitar playing Dime's influence wasn't as strong as Randy Rhoads, but he was certainly on the list of guitarists I admired. He himself was influenced by Randy Rhoads, among others. Sadly his life was cut far too short, and what might have been hangs heavy within the minds of his fans.
Peter Steele was the engine that drove Type O Negative. That's not trying to take away from the other guys, but I believe that sentiment may be how they also feel as they disbanded after Peter's passing. A completely one of a kind, Peter Steele's vocals and bass lines gave Type O Negative something no other band had. Although "what ifs" have surfaced, there is absolutely no replacing Peter Steele's vocals. Even though we knew Peter had health issues, even going so far as to make a joke about his own passing five years prior to his actual passing, it was still a bit of a shock.
Ronnie James Dio had quite a career prior to stepping into the boots left behind by Ozzy in Black Sabbath. From his early days with The Vegas Kings, to Ronnie Dio & The Prophets, to Elf, to Rainbow, then to Black Sabbath, to his solo career, back to Heaven and Hell. I think it's safe to say Ronnie James Dio truly loved to entertain. His passing was sad, but he had been sick, and while that didn't completely take away the shock, it did help blunt that razors edge.
Gary Moore had become such an important guitarist to me in the five years prior to his passing. In the early 2000s I had read somewhere that Ozzy wanted Gary to replace Randy, but Gary declined. A complete unknown to me at the time, I started listening to some of his music. This took me from the metal head I had been to the blues lover I am today. Although Gary did play rock, and he did knock on the doors of heavy metal, let's not deny that, his career will mostly be remembered for the blues. By early 2011 I was listening to all the Gary Moore that I could. Sadly, it wasn't long into 2011 when he passed away suddenly.
Jani Lane, to me, is an underrated talent that most people saw as just another hair metal pop singer. When I was a teenager my friend traded me two Warrant CDs for Siamese Dream by the Smashing Pumpkins, and, I'm sorry Billy Corgan, but I feel I got the better end of the trade. I loved Siamese Dream, don't get me wrong, but Cherry Pie and Dog Eat Dog opened my musical world up to a completely different level. I often reminisce about the summer I spent locked away in my dark room listening to Dog Eat Dog over and over while playing Resident Evil Director's Cut. Jani's writing felt far deeper than just your average Aqua Net endorsement. His voice was also one that stands out to me. I recently ran across some of his time in Great White and, no disrespect to the late Jack Russell (himself a fallen musician), but Jani's vocals on Great White songs made them even better. His passing was sudden, shocking, and to be completely honest the one that hit me the hardest. Of all the great musicians on this list, it was Jani Lane's passing that hit the hardest.
Monday, August 18, 2025
Solder Supply, and Reviews
As an electronics nerd, and amateur guitar pedal builder, solder is one of the most important things to have on hand at all times. I'm always going through it, and I can always use more. Throughout the years I've been trying to find the best deal on the best solder, and along that journey I've found some really good stuff, and some really horrible stuff. Ideally I'm 60/40 rosin core, but even if that's how the spool is marked, that doesn't always mean that's what you're actually getting. Back when RadioShack was an actual place I bought a spool of their stuff and it was great. Smooth flow, great adhesion, and the finished product was nice and shiny. The only problem was, back then I didn't know what diameter to buy and it was way too big. What would have been perfectly fine for large jobs, or maybe even plumbing, was cumbersome for soldering a wire back in an NES controller.
Once that spool ran out I turned to Amazon, and found Kester. Kester is just as good as the RadioShack spool, but in a diameter that I could actually use on the smaller projects I had. In fact, Kester may have been the brand who would OEM for RadioShack, who knows. I used Kester 83-3000-0000, 83-4000-0000, and 83-6337-0027. I'm not sure what the differences in the numbers mean, but I do remember them all being really, really good solder. I think I event tried some 63/37 and didn't notice any differences. Kester just makes really good quality solder.
As solder became far more important, by way of building a ton of guitar pedal circuits each year, I decided to try some cheaper, wacky named solders from Amazon and even Aliexpress. These were 100g spools for a few bucks, and they all flowed like milk left out in the sun for a week, and their finishes were just as lackluster too. I found out they were lead-free, even though they claimed to be 60/40, tin and lead alloy. I tried to avoid using them, but I couldn't afford to keep buying Kester, so eventually I had to make them work. I found they flow best when I turned my soldering iron up to 700f (371c). Sure they would flow and adhere better, but they cooled as shiny as a lump of charcoal. Long story short; they're not very good.
Then I found what I consider to be the best middle ground solder. It flows like Kester, it cools like Kester, but a 100g spool doesn't carry the Kester price. At first the name had me worried it was just like the other bad stuff, but Yi Lin solder, I found, is the best inexpensive spool of solder I've used. I purchase the 100g spool, then I spiral it around a Sharpie and put it into the little personal Kester dispenser tubes. It usually fills 4 or 5 of the Kester tubes, which usually builds quite a few guitar pedal circuits.
If you're happy with your current brand of solder, that's perfectly fine. If you're looking for a cheaper alternative, try Yi Lin. At least as of the time I'm writing this, it's been the best quality solder I've used. I'm hoping it stays that way. Below I have a link to my wishlist where, if you're feeling generous, you can purchase a spool of solder for all of my future soldering needs. I can always use solder, and I'll greatly appreciate it. While you're at it, buy yourself some too!
Saturday, August 9, 2025
Spare Parts Slasher (Keeley Katana Clone)
Sunday, July 27, 2025
The Best Bluesbreaker Overdrive Ever? *shrug*
Tuesday, July 22, 2025
Bittersweet Bluesbreaker Build
On this day, Tuesday 22nd of July 2025, I sat outside blissfully putting together one of my most exciting builds of the year. Six months ago I saw a post on Reddit where OP had built a Bluesbreaker overdrive and used J-fets instead of 1N4148 diodes in the clipping section. I was so impressed I put the kit together that night. Of course I had to order the J-fets, which were the tiniest little things you would ever see, and converter boards, but once they arrived I was excited. As much as I was excited, I was also quite put off by the fact I was going to have to solder the J-fets to the converter board. My micro soldering is absolutely horrible, but I knew I eventually had to make it happen.
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Roosevelt is using a J-fet as a bluetooth ear piece |
I was actually quite concerned about soldering the J-fets to their converter boards, but I did the micro soldering inside, in case anything went fucky, thankfully it didn't. The next day, today, I built the pedal and put the J-fets in the clipping section. It was a beautiful sunny day, with low humidity and decent 80 degree temps. I listened to my music as I was soldering, and just as I finished up and was about to head inside to test the circuit, I received a message saying Ozzy Osbourne has passed away. My heart sank.
On this day, the birth of this circuit, it also happens to be one of the saddest days in heavy metal. The overdrive turned out great by the way, but the glee of another successful build was smothered by the passing of heavy metals God Father. May he rest in piece.
Crazy ... but that's how it goes.
Wednesday, July 9, 2025
Bluetooth Headphones Are a Blessing... and a Curse!
Ever since I can remember headphones have been my most preferred way of listening to music. In the past I've discussed, and even reviewed, a few sets that I've owned over the years. It must have started when I was young, and I would sit in a Little Tikes plastic chair in front of my Dad's stereo cabinet. (70s, 80s and 90s kids know the one) One of my parents would set it up for me and I would listen to either the radio, their cassettes, or their vinyl records. My Dad had these puke green colored headphones from the 70s that I used. The main issue though was the fact I was tethered to the stereo by the headphone's cable. Being the rambunctious little scamp I was, I couldn't sit still. What if young Sam wanted to listen to his music AND get a snack, or some Mountain Dew, or my Teddy Ruxpin?
Back in the day there were some, let's just say very primitive sets of wireless headphones on the market. The ones I've tried weren't very good. They ate batteries quicker than a Sega Game Gear play-a-thon, and the range was pretty abysmal. My parents bought one set, which was meant mainly as a means to listen to TV quietly. There was a microphone which mounted onto the TV's speaker, that plugged into a transmitter, which sent that signal to the headphones. The transmitter could also be plugged into a headphone jack. Overall, they functioned, but they just weren't very good. There were probably much better, and more expensive, options on the market, but this was my experience with early wireless headphones.
It's now 2025 and I finally decided to delve into the world of bluetooth headphones, just to see what they're all about. Bluetooth has been a thing for quite some time now. I remember the days of thinking people were talking to me in stores, only to be 3 responses deep before I finally saw their bluetooth earpiece. Thank goodness those embarrassing days are gone, right? Right? I picked the least expensive pair I could find, just in case I hated them, and I have to say they're actually pretty nice. I've never been one to scrutinize the fidelity of headphones, so this pair may not be for someone who does. All I really require is something that delivers music to my ear holes. Most of my MP3s were ripped from CDs years ago, in mud quality, so I'm not a purest by any means.
It took me a while to adjust to wireless because I kept worrying about the non-existent cable in situations where I previously had to worry about the cable. After a while I noticed myself really letting go of the whole cable notion, to the point where I would sometimes forget where I left my phone. Now that I'm not tethered to my cellphone, I would set it down, walk around, and listen to my music as I went on about my day, forgetting where I had left it. I think the worst part is that sometimes I even get so caught up in what I'm doing that I forget I'm even listening to music, or that I have headphones on at all! I love the freedom of bluetooth headphones, but throughout my first 42 years of life I had become accustom to headphones being a certain way, that now I had to unlearn. Once I'm adjusted to them I'm sure everything will be alright. Finally at 42 I've learned it's better than being tethered to the music source, unable to listen to my music AND go get my Teddy Ruxpin.
Thursday, June 26, 2025
140th Circuit Built
Tuesday, June 24, 2025
Another Involuntary Internet Detox
Imagine paying way too much for the internet you get, but only getting it occasionally. Or more accurately, only getting it at your ISP's leisure. That's the BrightSpeed experience. They are firmly amongst the world's most detested internet service providers, if you can even call them that. A few years ago our internet was out for an entire month, and more recently out for two weeks. Since BrightSpeed took over from or previous ISP, who themselves were pretty deplorable yet BrightSpeed is somehow worse, there have always been moments where the router needs reset, the internet drops out random, or slows down for seemingly no reason, amongst the complete outages without warning. BrightSpeed, should really run an escort service; as long as you're paying you're getting fucked. Everyday. Guaranteed. They lied about there being an outage, then acknowledged it and said it would be fixed in a few days. That time came and went, then they claimed it was fixed, when clearly it wasn't. After far more hassle than they're worth they finally said they would send out a tech, in a fucking month! Which proves they are such a mess of a company their techs are backed up fixing their horrible mess for a month.
I've been housebound since I had quite a hellacious anxiety relapse in June of 2018. I was making good progress in my recovery, that is until the plague of 2020 derailed that. In 2024 I decided it was time I made a massive change in my life, so I started seeking medical assistance to overcome this once and for all. I even started doing virtual therapy, which was pretty abysmal. Don't get me wrong, my therapist and I got on very well, but it just didn't give me the confidence I originally hoped it would have. In fact, I would be filled with anxiety a few days before the next session, so much so to the point it was actually better to just stop. Well, here we are over eight months later and I'm finally getting out of the house! After the first week of having no internet I finally decided it was way more advantageous to get out of the house and risk it than sitting and rotting away. For anyone else suffering with debilitating anxiety, let me assure you; I was in the house – apart from medical outings – for seven long years, and getting out isn't anywhere near as bad as your brain tells you it will be. I promise you! I PROMISE you! And it's worth it! The world is fucking amazing! So much has changed, but yet so much has stayed the same. Again, if you're reading this, and you been housebound for any period of time, please try it. Baby step it. I promise it's worth it. I'm actually finding getting out of the house has become addictive.
So, what have I learned from all of this? Firstly, I missed the world far more than I thought I did. I'm having a blast creating a network of places with open wifi. There are almost enough places that my VOIP phone app could get me through without ever activating my phone. Secondly, I hate normal TV these days. Without internet I only had access to local digital TV, which is mostly reruns of stuff I've seen ten years ago, or more. I hate the massive quantity of hokey infomercials trying to sell me junk too. The upside is, being forced to watch normal TV I've officially decided which local news anchor I have a crush on. I'm pretty sure she's married, but she is beautiful! Sucks to be me, I guess! I'll update you on circuit builds in another entry. This lack of internet stuff has really been draining.