David

playing guitar always works for me, pretty much any mood you can be in guitar can be a good way to relax or get rid of some aggression or just have fun jumping around i quite like going out on my bike too, just going out riding to get rid of some energy and inwind a bit - kees you healthy too David

how much are you wanting for everything? that synth looks quite nice... David

try backing off the compressor a little, they way they work they tend to amplify some noise also, what eq are you using? turning the treble up high will boost high end noise too David

its not an aberdeen music only thing, i have seen it mentioned a few other places as a thing you just shouldnt do, apparently one of the 'unwritten rules' (always help people who have fallen, etc...) David

Walkers sensations sea salt and cracked black pepper, yum followed (in no order) by - the sensations thai sweet chilli, salt and vinegar squares, salt n shake David

there is no greater game than the Command and Conquer games generals rules David

i liked the stereotypical slayer tshirt he was wearing in the article in the P&J nothing more metal than listening to slayer and killing geese David

if you are buying parts in maplins, dont go up to teh counter with a list of stuff, have a look through the catalouge (there are ones in store, you can buy one for a few quid or online) and look through and find all the parts you need there (type and value and whatnot) then take that to the counter, and they just need to find that code i usually end up with them not having a few of the parts i have wanted, so have had to jump back and forth to the catalouge looking for equivalents (different types of cap - ceramic or film or whatever) while they are still looking for other bits i did have a problem trying to get resisters, when quite a few times i have been given 3 ohm resisters instead of 3mega ohm (whihc i only found out whe i got home as i cant read colour codes by heart - a journey all the way there for 3 7p parts, seems a bit stupid) so always make sure and point out its mega not kilo or just ohms for building pedals, the biggest parts maplins wont have are switches (they have dpdt, but you need a 3pdt if you want true bypass and led) 2.1mm dc jacks (i think they may have uninsulated, which you would then need washers and other stuff for) and led bezels (whihc are in teh catalouge, butthey have never had in stock) i have used www.cricklewoodelectronics.co.uk for the led bezels and other components, and both www.wah-wah.co.uk and www.monkeyfx.co.uk for dc jacks and switches David

what sort of settings are you using? using very high gain settings will introduce noise, like the fuzz settings or metal style ones, if you are running the gain flat out that could be one source another would be the compressor, how do you have that set (if you use it) using high settings on that will add some noise to the signal (amplified by using a distortion patch) does the noise dissappear when you roll off the volume completely? David

sony do a little stereo mic that is supposed to be good for recording to minidisk, not sure if it could handle a gigs levels or not though David

both are just as bad to me, either way the person has betrayed their parner, it dosent make a difference if its was male or female David

small bear issupposed to be excellent for small builders and diy guys for a uk place, check out www.cricklewoodelectronics.co.uk i ordered parts from there before and everythign went fine, i was looking for older parts (AC128 transisters - like used in trebleboosters which are out of production) which they had David

if you want a couple of sites about diy stuff, generalguitargadgets is pretty good, as is geofex, and home-wrecker the forums at www.diystompboxes.com are brilliant to, and very helpful if you have questions David

that sustainer looks very interesting, though i cant be bothered wading through just under a thousand posts for the schematics/designs of it my strat needs new pickups and stuff soon (when i can get them past my paretns) but that would be interesting to try beforehand big muffs are sweet, i might have to try building one sometime, i have been playing with fuzzes a lot recently and would like to compare one to what i have, there is a nice us one sitting in cash converters for 45, but i hwould have no chance of getting that past the parents (someone please buy it soon before i am tempted to) David

stripboard is pretty cool, though you do need to plan in advance to get everythign wired properly another similar option (which i have forgotten the name of) is exactly the same, but minus the metal strips on one side, so you put the components legs through the holes then wire the legs directly together to make the circuit, simple to do and maplins have big boards for pretty cheap, buy a big board then just cut it down to the size you want David

a digital delay with a high cut mod will go a long way to the analouge's sound (ie treble getting rolled off as it delays) you can get mods for the boss dd-x pedals to do this you should easily be able to get a replacement adapter for foreign climates, i dont know specifically about the dmm, bt you can definately get replacement adapters for ehx pedals, check what the supply it needs is, if its a dc voltage then you should be able to get a foreign adapter, if its ac there may be problems, and you would need to use a converter or similar if you are buying a dmm, the new ones are supposed to be better than the older ones, before you go on a hunt for a mojo filled vintage pedal. David

i ordered the who's who;s next and quadraphenia off amazon last week both excellent albums, i didnt really appreciate quite how good the who were, keith moons drumming is all over the place, rolls and fills everywhere and him banging away seemingly at random, yet it works perfectly in the who. and john entwhistles bass, always playing exactly what the songs needs, sometimes just simple rhythm, sometimes harmony or even lead. married to a great singer and one of the greatest songwriters ever... perfect David

i dont think you can ever really say they improved, as so much of it depends on your opinions and views of their albums muse is a good example, with showbiz - origon of symmetry - absolution, they have definately got more ambitious with each one and tried to impove the sound, but it is a personal opinion whether you prefer the sounds of absolution to symmetry... radioheads first three albums all improved on each other, pablo honey was an excellent album with some brilliant songs on it, the bends improved and sounded a lot more individual and 'radiohead', then ok computer is one of the best albums about (in my opinion, and from quite a few of the polls you see in magazines/on channel 4) whether things went up from there or down is down to whether you liked the change in direction they took after that metallicas first three albums did that too, kill em all is a brilliant thrash album, ride the lightning improved on it and had more of the 'metallica' sound, and master of puppets is one of the finest metal albums of all time, what came after is a personal opinion David

www.monkeyfx.co.uk do some decent cables, using top notch parts, and not too expensive the other alternative is to make your own, if you can solder its piss easy, and fairly cheap (depending on what parts you use and if you buy in bulk or anything) i like the planet waves cables i have had, i had one that started dieing (crackling if you stopped playing and wiggled it, though it still worked well enough) so i just got it switched for a new one under the lifetime warranty planet waves have, i just took it back to the shop, they sent it off no questions asked and i got a replacement sent out David

yep there are other ways of doing the etch resistant stuff, i am sure i read somewhere about using marker pens of some sort to draw the traces with, and the chemicals to burn off the rest not sure if you would need different chemicals or special pens or anything, and press and peel would probably be a lot neater David

which one? the moogerfoogers are a range of pedals - phaser, ring mod, murf, etc... or are you meaning a moog synth? David

to my knowledge the bassist in muse uses a big muff pi i have been trying to find a good fuzzy bass sound too lately the proco rat is quite nice on bass, not exactly the sound i am trying to find myself, but the best out of the pedals i have, and definately worth a try at least (i have tried a high quality fuzz face clone, zvex fuzz factory, rat, marshall amp) i am intending making a fuzz pedal sometime, so i will see how well that works on bass if you can afford it, the zvex wooly mammoth looks awesome, only problems being the price (200 odd i think) and the lack of an led (which should be fixed soetime soon) one thing i would like to try is something to put half the signal through the fuzz, but leave half of it clean, so you get both the nice fuzzy sound, but also the clear defined clean sound, another diy plan for the future... David