Man or Astroman Guitar Sound: A 10 Year Quest

 

Just WHAT IS that Man or Astroman sound anyway?  Am I the only one interested in solving the mystery behind that eerily authentic gurgling reverb astro-crunch?  I mean while most surfy bands seem perfectly content sliding into the easychair of that  Fender Jaguar or simple Gretsch hollowbody sound, these proported "extra-terrestrials" offer a truly stunning one of-a-kind authenticity. 

To date, I have found very little interest in the way of online articles on the subject of the Man or Astroman? guitar setup.  So after years of research & experimentation, I've finally decided to come forward with previously unreleased documentation containing the results of my 10 year quest for the Man or Astroman sound.  This is my story.


I. The Guitar: 

 

What I gather from early videos, Star Crunch used a 1965 Mosrite Mark I re-issue. But after searching online, I was sticker shocked at it's starting pricetag of around $2500! "Ed Roman" is the individual responsible for the website that sells Mosrite's and after viewing all the images of rolls royce's and celebrities it is apparent that the high cost of Mosrite's are obviously needed to support lavish wealth and Keith Urban's endorsement. 

 But as for myself with a limited budget of around $600, I re-adjusted my sights on the seemingly affordable Univox Hi-Flyer, of which I bid on FOUR seperate guitars and lost- each time within the last 5 seconds of bidding.  Apparently Kurt Cobain and some dude from the Ramones played them exclusively so good luck trying to get one. 

Then I considered Eastwood, a manufacturer of cool looking new guitars modeled after classic ones of the 50's & 60's. Their Mosrite copy, called "Sidejack DLX" ($450), did have P-90 pickups, basswood body & tremolo bar but....I just had this lingering bad feeling about buying a NEW guitar claiming to sound vintage when no guitar shop around here carrys them (for me to try out) and the impossibility of judging what it will actually sound like from online videos due to the fact that  EVERY FREAKIN person seems compelled to play the EXACT SAME show-offy generic guitar-center blues riff on every single video no matter what the guitar is. (With the one exception being of course the intermitant attempt at "surf" where you might get a quick-picked downward scale slide followed by a 'walk don't run' mini riff BEFORE the bluesy brag fest begins).  So I kept looking.

 

Next up: SILVERTONE- plenty available on Ebay plus made in the 60's & affordable! Only ONE particular model seemed suitable however, the 1969 model 1445 listed as a "Mosrite copy". Unlike others including the 1968 1440, the 1445 is almost identical to the Mark I,  featuring a THIN body made of "Flamed Maple over Basswood", angled "hound dog" single coil pickups, and "German carved" edges. As a bonus,  no famous guitar player is associated with this baby, so bidding was a cinch and I won it for around $600.
Prologue: At home I was pleasantly surprised. Gambling on the Silvertone paid off BIG TIME- when I hit that low string and heard the tangy gurgling of low-frequency reverb resonate from the cabinet of my 1971 Fender Twin; I knew I was on my way. So please, if you're looking for that genuine Man or astroman sound on a budget and come across a 1445,  don't miss out! 

Here is a summary of the Silvertone's similarities to the Mosrite Mark I that seems to be VERY important in any guitar when searching for that Man or Astroman sound: 

  a) BODY:  must be extremely thin and made from quality material such as Maple, Basswood or  Mahagony. (no "ash")

 b) PICKUP:  Will make or break your sound- they must be single coil, but extremely "hot". There are several P-90 models available for purchase for around $100 and CurtisNovak.com sells thier "JM-Mosrite" pickup ($120) which is wound to the 1963 Mosrite specs of 13.5k (ohms).

c) Neck: Longer than most, the Silvertone 1445 has a 25" scale length, the same as the Mosrite Mark I!  (note: The Eastwood Sidejack is only 24 3/4".)  Also, the Moserite & Silvertone 1445 both have a "zero" fret.

d) Fret Wires: Very thin so that the strings are sitting close to the fretboard. Several people I talked to complained that the Mosrite's thin fretwires wear out quickly, but there is obviously a design reason why this is done as the Silvertone is the same way.

e) Tuners:  Old tuners really suck and I had a big problem with staying in tune. But none of the replacement kits I found matched the existing hole sizes. Foolishly in a hurry, I chose to take my cordless and just carefully drill out new holes in the headstock, myself.  In the end, the holes were too big & not at a perfect 90 degree angle which,  still works I guess but looks rediculous.  I highly recommend just having this done by a pro at your local guitar shop instead.



II. Playing Techniques:

* Use light (bright) or even super light strings, I have had great success with Fender brand.

*When picking the guitar, never stray too far away from the pickup, especially when going nuts with the tremolo. The tremolo should be a Bigsby with a flat arm, the longer the better to allow for the easiest transition from playing to tremolo action.  You know, for some reason alot of bands just barely touch the tremolo, and it's like at the end of a song.  LAZZZYYYY!!!!!  You gotta feel comfortable bending that sucker fast! 

*When playing chords on the bottom 2nd, 3rd, & 4th strings, try playing only strings 2 & 4 instead. You can tell Star Crunch frequently does this like on Miracle of Genuine Pyrex and it's what I feel is a major part of the Man or Astroman sound.

*Detune to lower than normal key for added bass and depth 

*Only use the pickup closest to the bridge, and make sure it is as close to the strings as possible without causing any buzzing. 

*The amp will need to be adjusted for high treble, low bass with some gain boost needed. I set my reverb at about 3/4 but not all the way up as this seems to cause muddling of the sound when recorded with a mic.  



III Amps/Pedals:

This website details a 1999 phone interview with Trace Reading about his guitar, amp & pedal setup. I am unashamed to have a printout of it posted in my studio like a centerfold pinup. 

Though I DID manage to get a 1971 Fender twin reverb amp, Dan Electro Dan-Echo delay (don't expect to get this at guitar center, apparently they think they're too good to stock this brand though you WILL find the pro-co rat there for about $80) and an MXR Analog Delay,  I must say that for $50 bucks  the next best thing has been my Digitech RP50- YES is that crrrazy or what! This very common cheap-o effect pedal actually has an outstanding fender twin modulation that, when tweaked, sounds grrreat going right into your mixer or recording interface!!! 

In fact, micing an amp is such a pain that for all but one track on the Beady Dine album I used the RP50. If you are gonna mic your Fender Twin though, I recommend the Shure SM57 or a pencil shaped condenser mic layed out right ontop of the amp and hanging over the speaker grill upside down (pointed towards the floor).

In Conclusion, there is still much more to discover about the man or astroman guitar sound. I'd ask that anyone with further information on the topic please post a comment. There are still unanswered questions about the specific recording, mixing & mastering processes of each album and I will update this blog with further research findings.  

Balancing a Flycam Nano

What to expect: a 20 minute "setup" time each and every instance something is moved on the rig even a fraction of an inch. Millimeter accurate adjustments must be made on a clumsy bulky sliding sled apparatus in order to maintain balance, and the whole process is very frustrating- if anything moves, (like if you rotate the camera's preview display window or even if it moves the slightest amount) balance is lost and time consuming adjustments must be made.

To make those left/right precision adjustments much quicker though, (and actually possible) I've inserted a machine screw horizontally through the existing openings in the forward and back slider (below where the camera is mounted) with a couple of nuts on there for weight that can be moved left and right quickly and precisely calibrating the balance. Then, another for front and back. With lots of practice, accurate balance can be achieved in a fraction of the time (like 3-5 minutes OR less). Important: when you use those washers at the bottom to adjust front and back balance, you are also slightly changing the left and right pitch balance as well so practice is an absolute must.

Pinnacle Studio vs. Power Director Pro

The hard truth is that Pinnacle Studio 14 Ultimate Collection, even with today's latest systems, is still a 32bit software and a poor one at that. You can expect to have to wait 5-30 seconds after making ANY editing change in the timeline for a render progress bar to finish, not to mention the delay if you choose to be so BOLD as to add a 3D transition not to mention the 3 to 5 minute wait just for adding clips to an AVCHD project.

See my frustration comes after being told by Pinnacles tech staff for years that my computer hardware simply wasn't good enough, though it was well above the minimum specs. So twice I went out and spent thousands of dollars on a new latest/greatest systems with virtually NO difference in performance whatsoever! Then I heard about Cyberlink's 'Power Director Pro', the first 64-bit consumer editing product out there and for the same price as Pinnacle Studio! The reviews were good so I gave it a try.

No words could describe what it was like to use this program for the first time- it is just phenomenal, and there is NO RENDER BAR!!!! You simply add transitions and clips to the timeline and IT JUST WORKS...immediately! And when you're done editing the project, the actual render time is at least half that of Pinnacle Studio.

It's blaringly obvious now that the whole problem with Pinnacle Studio is poor software design and wasteful use of system resources.

Carla French Hair Clips

From the desk of Carla French: a new floral pattered creation is making its way to the CFC online store, and it's unlike anything I've seen in projects past. With mountains of floral material piled high on the craft table, I had to ask..."just what are those colorful fluffy incarnations?" To which Carla replied "hair clips! I just love flower pins, and wanted to try something different."

I'll say, some even double as both clothing pin and hair clip. Yep Carla is at it again, this time transforming dull 'yo-yo' pins into flowery jewels of colorful delight. It seems the fleeting beauty of actual flower pins and hair clips inspired Carla to create something with a bit more permanence, incorporating lasting vibrant materials in place of withering petals. The result- well see for yourself at carlafrenchshop.com. These delightful gems truly remind me of our honeymoon in Maui and Carla’s certainly has done a great job recapturing that fun & light-hearted feeling.

PUZZLE GIRL: A Revealing Look At Artist & Photographer Carla French

My very first memory of Carla French is of elegantly clothed body parts mounted to a closet door in her parent’s basement. Yes, body parts. Life size images of them to be exact, strewn together as a whole with some fine thread. From afar, the puzzle-like display gave one the impression of an actual life-size girl standing there, quietly observing. Then daring to get a closer look, I noticed that each section derived from a separate photograph, having separate outfits, and separate identities.

To analyze this, I immediately thought of the assortment of personalities one accumulates during a lifetime. That perhaps this bizarre installment was a mere incarnation of the many complex facets to the individual as a whole. Quite willing to accept this explanation (and not wanting to ask out of fear of seeming foolish or un –artistic), I dismissed further inquiry and pretended to ignore the mysterious Puzzle Girl montage. Though one haunting question remained; who WAS she?

Over the next few months, I enjoyed the privilege of getting to know Carla and made frequent visits to her basement gallery. There I had unlimited access to her work, paging through the most fascinating abstract photography I’d ever seen. Then, similar to puzzle girl, I noticed a pattern emerge whereby most of Carla’s photos seemed constantly layered with drawings, textures and material. In a telling paper for one of her classes at College For Creative Studies, Carla wrote:

“My fashion signature consists of combining photography with drawing. This process is done using a Mamiya RZ medium format camera. By cross processing the film, an uncontrolled, ethereal color is born giving the photograph an enigmatic and sensuous feeling. Then, I scan my images and manipulate them in photocopy. I select a section I want to change and add a photocopy filter so that the image changes to a drawing. I then print the work and go into the drawing area with a pencil, to create a realistic drawing. Then I rescan the drawing. My prints are life-size, mounted on foam-core. The prints are in pieces. The photographs are in one section and the drawings in another. When put together, the pieces are not aligned. They are off-centered. This technique gives the viewer a sense of mystery because an exterior view is not always like the interior. It is also a notion about the unconscious self because in reality, life is not always aligned.”

Even more intriguing was the common theme chosen by this shy and unassuming artist; self-portraiture. Carla’s colleagues at CCS often recall her many trademark self-portraits consisting of blurred shadows and silhouettes. In stark contrast (dare I say in bold opposition) to conventional fashion photography, the work of Carla French is strangely obscure. Double exposures, long exposure time with movement, elaborate outfits & accessories not to mention the addition of actual fabric and other three dimensional materials to printed works, are clues to her artistic intentions.

In an artist statement written to her mentor Linda Soberman, Carla reveals:

“I’ve noticed that my work relates to my struggles. How people perceive me from the outside is not who I am on the inside. So my projects address how things on the outside (clothing, looking away from the observer of the photograph) do not necessarily reflect what lies beneath. The photos are about hiding and revealing. Hiding something, then revealing it to those who are looking ”

Immediately after reading this passage, I gazed up once more at Puzzle Girl with chills. Could it be? Yes of course, those beautiful eyes and familiar expression…for the first time ever I was looking beyond the complex mural of drawing and fabric, and into the heart of the artist. To my surprise, the girl cleverly hidden beneath the puzzle-like montage of photos was Carla French herself!

Having never seen anything like this, I asked Carla who or what inspired her. She then listed some very interesting artists including Cindy Sherman, Sarah Moon and Ralph Meatyard. But aside from that, in regards to her own intentions Carla writes:

“For one series I chose to photograph a woman’s back with blonde hair and a thin body, wearing an elegant dress with a mysterious feminine quality. The viewer is then left to wonder what this woman looks like since her face is away from the camera. I chose this type of person because most women wish to create an image of self that will be accepted by society. And so my vision speaks through the imagery I create, about one’s struggle to find the meaning of beauty within themselves.”

Now capable of looking beyond the complex and into that which should’ve been obvious all along, I could see clearly that Carla’s work was speaking of her own personal struggle to re-define that which is beautiful. In her own words, “My goal is to capture the beauty in things that go unnoticed by most people, because those are the things that are the most beautiful to me.”

For more about Carla French, visit her website at www.carlafrenchcreations.com

Clash of the Titans Remake Rant

I entered the following rant about the possibility of a clash of the Titans remake at:

http://screenrant.com/clash-of-the-titans-remake-good-idea-or-bad-niall-1080/comment-page-1/#comment-152162

It’s gonna be more of the same laughable, rediculous digital effects on par with a kids cartoon followed by an utterly mainstream snoozefest of characters who’s dialogue and actions were formulated by some marketing group’s research on how to appeal to the masses. Just like American automakers, Hollywood studios are SO concerned about their bottom line that they LIMIT their creative potential to the same old boring designs of the past that have proven to sell. Fine, so what do you get? A bunch of cars that all look the same….and sell the same. Meanwhile people are intrigued by the radical designs of foreign cars & ‘independant’ films and I’d rather stay home and watch YOUTUBE. I really think Hollywood ought to stop trying to passify their weak, inept stories with computer animations. Instead, I think they should just forget about it and take a chance on some radical new characters (like people who are less than perfect for a change) and make the focus of the movie…are you ready….THE STORY instead of effects, gore, or celebrity power. Finally, I’d like to mention to those Hollywood mainstreamers…if you want to see better sales at the box office, try making some PRO-AMERICAN films for a change. you might be surprised.