Hochstrasser Electronics

From right to left: a Boss DS-1 distortion pedal, Boss CH-1 super chorus, and a Boss DD- digital delay sitting atop a Fender Bandmaster in a custom plywood head case.

I took a walk down memory lane a few weeks ago with this rig. My middle school pedalboard also included a Crybaby and later a Digitech Whammy IV and Danelectro Hash Browns flanger. I was surprised at how good the DS-1 sounds given how harsh I remember it being.

#bosspedals #pedalboard #fenderamp

Ampeg V4B tone controls

The Ampeg V4-B tone stack is awesome. It is also loud enough to let the whole town know that I haven’t been practicing enough lately. Always a pleasure when one of these comes through the shop for some attention.

#ampegV4 #tubeamp #vintageamps

Jimmy Smith “Root Down” vinyl record

This album is spectacular and the Beastie Boys agree.

#rootdown #hammondorgan #jimmysmith #vinyl

It’s odd when the mundanity of adulthood and the bleakness of seasonal depression intersect in such a way that the highlight of your day is finding the fork you thought you lost like 3 weeks ago. It’s certainly not joy, but there is something quietly victorious in it.

To be fair, Strava is pretty loaded down by their little AI assistant that says “you went slower on this ride than previous ones” as though the user is incapable of reading 2-digit numbers and drawing fairly simple conclusions.

Some days I feel sorry for the other folks in this Planet Fitness who are totally unaware of the absolute barn burner of a “Tweezer” jam that’s being fed into my ears while I’m on the treadmill. Hartford 2013 if anyone partakes.

raffi: regime change in America

they've got Raffi calling for regime change. something has shifted.

May every delusional private equity parasite be visited by 3 ghosts this Christmas. Your AI-driven lack of talent and creativity might make you rich, but it will never make you cool.

Finally giving a listen to the much-praised Albany “YEM” 👍🏻 Good stuff

Not to sound smug, but I’ve never once used ChatGPT. The closest I’ve gotten is watching former coworkers use it on a shared screen and even then I never found myself feeling curious about asking the earth-murdering robot for bad information.

Feels good, man.

It’s that time of year when a lot of “Is ‘Die Hard’ a Christmas movie?” discourse floats around, but for those who live with depression and don’t much care for action films: Is Joni Mitchell’s “Blue” a Christmas album?

I vote yes.

Boom boom acka lacka lacka boom 🦖

Martin 112T tube guitar amp

Control panel on Martin 112T vintage tube guitar combo amp

This Martin 112T needed a recapping, some reimagining of the grounding and filament wiring to help eliminate hum, and a much-needed new (and grounded!) power cord.

Under the hood it’s more or less a Fender 5E3 Deluxe and it sounds spectacular. Super cool little amp.

#vintageguitaramps

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: “Building a Mystery” has an incredible collection of guitar sounds

Ponkapoag Pond

Late October in New England is a top tier vibe

Custom guitar amp made by Hochstrasser Electronics using solid walnut, a repurposed Hammond organ amplifier chassis, and cane grill cloth

I finished building an amp recently.

It’s sort of Deluxe Reverby under the hood, but with a variety of mods that keep it from being any kind of exact clone. The chassis and transformers are repurposed spare Hammond organ parts.

Making stuff is cool.

#guitaramp #tubeamp #walnut

If you ever have the opportunity to play with a Digitech PDS2020, go for it. I’ve repaired a number of these and they all tend to need every capacitor replaced to work properly again. It’s not a small job, but it’s well worth the effort. Loads of fun.

#guitarpedals #vintagepedals #delaypedal

A wizard playing a theremin

HBO charging more after removing Joe Pera Talks With You and True Detective inspires an all too common question: why must we pay more for things that are worse?

Personal growth is hating on “Lido Shuffle” for the first 30-something years of your life and then one day realizing it’s actually a banger and a half.

Yes, and as Trey said on the Long May They Run podcast, “You can cry in your milk or do something cooler.”

You may think that it’s gravity that holds us all together but it is not, it’s music.
(Sun Ra)

I know this thought will get me put on a watchlist, but the line “I wanna get lost in your rock n roll and drift away” hits way harder than it gets credit for.

For all the issues with social media, I do appreciate that it occasionally turns me on to music that wasn’t on my radar.

This week it’s the Jerry Garcia Band doing “Shining Star” apparently.

Custom tube guitar amp chassis in the process of being assembled.

While the main point of building an amp is to goof around with all the stuff in your shop and eventually make your guitar louder, every once in a while you get to enjoy a fleeting moment of feeling accomplished as the process unfolds.

#guitaramp #electricguitar #tubeamp #makestuff

I watched “Before Sunrise” for the first time over a week ago and I feel like I’m still unpacking that record store scene 🤯

Progress pic of the guitar amp head I’m building. Next I’ll need to build the guts.

#guitaramp #makestuff

Have we considered sharin’ Sharon’s outlook on the topic of disease as public health policy?

Did you know you can buy Snack Pack pudding as an adult? They literally don’t check.