Random Thoughts
by Rhoy Pamparo on Feb.25, 2009, under Personal Thoughts
Gabby’s Prayer
God has answered a prayer that my 3-year old son has been asking for ever-since he has learned to talk and had the notion of going to school. That is to go and study at John Fisher Public School. He was officially registered yesterday after getting picked in a lottery because that school is not his ‘official home school’. Nowadays, when he prays before he sleeps, he wants to be alone. Last night he prayed and gave thanks for his admittance for the coming school year. Just to see and hear him grow with the knowledge of God brings tears to my eyes. It has been a real blessing for us!
Voodoo Labs Pedal Power 2 Plus
I won this yesterday afternoon on EBay. It’s used and I may have paid more than what it’s really worth. But I am still very happy because …
1. I am saving over $100 by getting this instead of a new one.
2. It’s my first time winning an item on EBay without using the “Buy Now” feature. It’s shipping today.
3. I was trying to sell some of my gears to generate some cash for this purchase and it seems like I don’t have to part with some of them, at least my Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive!
4. I would be able to power my Diamond ML (18V) with it and run my Zendrive/Bi-Chorus at 12V each.
Tax Return Fun
I am trying to do our tax returns before the end of RRSP (Registered Retirement Savings Plan) season to see if I need to acquire some more.The trouble is that I have been using Quicktax to do our returns but it only runs on Windows. I had to borrow my cousin’s Macbook with bootcamp. Last night, I spent my time patching the Windows XP. Finally, I managed to install Quicktax, imported my 2007 return and filled-up all the necessary forms. So far so good! With everything claimed (RRSP & Donations), I’m getting a pretty good refund. But I’m the type of guy who would always try to save for a rainy day. I will try to play with how much I can forward for next year and getting some money back as well. Looking at our returns again, I can’t help but recognize how God has been very faithful to us financially. Praise be to God!
My American Std Telecaster vs My Les Paul Studio
They are both priced evenly, stock-pickups, not entry-level guitars and they are both my own guitars. I said that because this is based on my own setup for this guitars and not for any Tele/LP in general. So far I am loving my Tele and been using the LP less frequently. I thought I was being bias because I’ve been using the Tele constantly since I got it. So I used my LP last week during rehearsal and Friday night jam with the real intention of using it on Sunday for worship. My ears just kept looking for that Tele twang and I had to revert back to it. Maybe its because of the type of songs we play or my rig just reacts better with the Tele. Maybe …
Friday Night Jams
I initiated this about a month ago for our church’s worship guitarists. We would come in every Friday to talk about basic theory, gears, techniques and whatever comes to mind like gears (did i say that already). The rest of the night is dedicated to just jamming! So far, it hasn’t fan out like I have envisioned it to be. There are two loyal attendees and that is more than enough encouragement for me to continue on. The plan is to mentor the younger kids and really introduce them to the more seasoned veterans (it doesn’t mean better players) in the worship team. As well as cater to the vets who don’t have a lot of time practicing at home due to some commitments. Also to be able to come in once a week and just let it rip! Let’s see how God will move on this venture. By the way, this is FREE of charge. My reward is being able to plug-in for 2-hours at least once a week!
My Random Thoughts …
Wow! I could have gone on and on about a lot of different things but I am just going to stop now. Next post would be random again … random rhythm guitar techniques and styles that we can use in worship!
March 1st, 2009 on 7:19 pm
Hey bro!! Congrats on the PP2. I’ve been dying to run my pedals at 12v just to see what happens. hehe.
And yeah, the Fender Tele twang is really coming back into all styles of music. Plus the playability (ie, the butta neck). The LP sometimes just feels like a block of wood.
Keep it up!
BTW, did you ever get a response from Hermida on what exactly the mid knob does on the Zen?
March 2nd, 2009 on 7:38 am
Thanks Larry! No, I didn’t get a response from Mr. Hermida which kinda ticks me off a bit. I’m sure he’s busy, but part of the business is catering to your customer base. Oh well, this might be the last purchase from his company!
March 3rd, 2009 on 2:38 am
Congratulations on getting the school for your son! My daughter (going to be 3 in Apr) just started pre-school today as my wife is going back to work. We are adjusting to the change of having the kids away from home for part of the day.
Regarding the Fri Night Jams, any tips on what not to do? I did one clinic at my old church for some high schoolers and my friend asked me to do a guitar clinic at his church.
March 3rd, 2009 on 7:50 am
Thanks Dan. I’m sure it’s not easy at first and I think it would be tougher on my wife since she’s a stay-at-home mom right now.
As far as “what not to do”, I would say don’t assume that your audience know anything but at the same time not to make it too heavy on the theory. It’s quite hard to balance between the two. At first, I didn’t know what to expect. After a month, I think I know somewhat where the guys are as far as skills and which area to focus on. It might be a little different for your case since you will be doing a clinic as supposed to us, we are very loose & informal in our sessions. Oh yeah, one more “not to do” … don’t ever mention modes if you’re not ready to explain it to eager teenagers!
I hope this helps & God bless!
March 3rd, 2009 on 2:50 pm
Mmm……PP2+…I put off getting one of those for so long, and when I finally got it, it just made such a huge difference. Both in noise level lowering, and in being able to run certain overdrives at 12 volts. Props!
March 4th, 2009 on 6:44 pm
Just got the PP2+ in the mail today! Will hook-up the board tonight and hopefully try it out right away.