Progress: I Am Making It

Yesterday was a big step forward in getting my guitar effects store, RAILhead Effects, up and running. The main issue I’ve been dealing with was determining which boardhouse I was going to use for mass producing the PCBs that make all my stuff work. After a couple of months of searching and waiting, I found the place I’ll be using, and they got me my boards in just 9 business days. SWEET. I assembled an “io” with one of these boards last night, and everything works like a charm. So until they do something that makes me change my mind, I have my boardhouse selected — and PCBs for my effects are on order as I type this.

A second step forward was the delivery of a clearcoat my wife found online. While no one should expect a guitar pedal, whose purpose is to be stepped on, to have an everlasting finish — it’s nice to have a rugged exterior to fend off blemishes as long as possible. Supposedly, this product beats the pants off automotive clearcoats, even, and it dries to a “deep clear” — and it’s been hammer-tested for durability. Of course, I can’t find what PSI they hammer tested with, so that’s somewhat moot. That said, this clearcoat is typically used on marine vessels, so it’s designed to protect the surface while maintaining the appearance of your fancy boat. My concern is that it won’t cure-out 100% clear — which will be totally noticeable on my boost, PURE, because it’s pure white. I’m hoping to give it a go tonight or tomorrow, so keep your fingers crossed…

The step is to begin mass board population and shell painting, then I’m ready to open for business full-on.

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Speaking of pedals, I’ve decided to give ribbon cable a shot for pot connections — and I have no clue as to why I’ve never though of using flat cable for pots before. So, I ordered myself a spool of 24 AWG cable today, and it should arrive tomorrow. The good thing is that it’ll make wiring a LOT cleaner, a lot less breakage-prone, and the 100 foot spool should be good for around 1200 pot hookups. Looking at it that way, this will be a lot less expensive than buying basic cable in the long run.

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It seems that almost every time I’m supposed to lead music on a Sunday, I get a sinus infection. It’s so nice to worry all week about whether or not I’ll have a voice for Sunday — especially since I have to use said voice on Thursday at practice. Couple that with not enough sleep, and things are looking interesting for our big Father’s Day Sunday. At least I’m only singing 2 of the songs, so I won’t be too vocally stressed. I think I’ll hunt the medicine cabinets for some antibiotics, just in case…

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The Watson Twins have a new album coming out June 24. Hopefully it will be good.

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A new pet-peeve: people that place their sunglasses on their forehead to hold them in place while indoors. I don’t mean on the top of the head, like ladies do to help hold back hair (or whatever type of illustration makes the point) — I mean placing them on your dadgum forehead, like you have 4 eyes. WHAT IN THE CRAP? This “technique” has eclipsed my previous sunglasses pet-peeve of people putting them on their neck, backward. With behavior like this, I am still amazed that we, as a species, ever managed to land on the moon (or have microwave macaroni and cheese).

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Did you know that it’s incredibly difficult to find metallic black spray paint? Luckily, our local “Mom and Pop” hardware store was able to order me a load of it — along with some other colors you’ll soon see…

Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 06/11 at 10:40 AM

Comments:

On 06/11 (02:16 PM), Amy said...