blog

The Switch by RAILhead Effects

We finalized the artwork for my A/B channel switch, The Switch (formerly known as Switcha-Rooski). I am totally loving the new look:

Posted at 10:09am CDT | Permalink | Comments (1)

Motorola HEP 53 Fuzz

A friend of mine is a parts junky like I am, and he hooked me up with a few old school transistors for me to goof around with in my fuzz pedal. I'm still looking for pinouts for one group, but out of the others, I really liked the sound of the Motorola HEP 53. I can't put a date on this transistor, much to my chagrin — but it looks like it was something bought in the early 80s. With a maximum hFE of 85 (though I'm getting around 30, measured), it's a pretty good candidate for a classic fuzz sound — and here's a totally lousy recording (the SM58 is hanging in front of the speaker because I was too lazy to go out and get my mic stand). This is my Les Paul, bridge pickup, volume max, tone rolled all the way out:

http://www.maurymccown.com/images/uploads/Motorola_HEP_53_Fuzz.mp3

Thanks, Mark!

Posted at 6:15pm CDT | Permalink | Comments (1)

Finalized: The RAILhead Effects “TUA”

I finished the artwork for my metalcore distortion pedal, TUA — and here it is in all its metallic black glory:

I kept it simple with this art, so it's only text and metallic black paint. I love how you can see the sparkles in the black paint, too — as well as the great reflections from the clear coat.

Coming soon from RAILhead Effects!

Posted at 10:22am CDT | Permalink | Comments (6)

Speaking of Taxes…

Upon further research, it seems that if you sell "tangible personal property" (which is anything you can literally touch) — or if you sell 3 or more items online from your home in a calendar year — you're a business. So, you have to collect and report sales tax on those items. So, if you live in Texas and buy one of my effects pedals, I have to collect and report sales tax, obviously. This also means that if you live in Texas and buy one of my prints — which are ordered from a seller in New York and shipped to me for delivery to you — I have to collect and report sales tax. These taxes are to be reported quarterly, and require a tax permit.

For now, sellers still don't have to worry about taxing people that live outside their State — but Big Brother is trying his best to change that. Last I knew, Amazon had started charging tax for people buying from New York. That totally stinks. And as much as I'd love to tell The Man to shove it and conduct my affairs in hopes of never being found out, my Mom and Pop brought me up too well to be comfortable breaking State and Federal law. And of course, there's the potential for being audited, which brings up another point: you can get your butt handed to you by Feds not only by them auditing you and finding out you're a cheat — but if someone who has purchased something from you gets audited, and the Feds follow the paper trail back to you. Most people forget about customers being audited — and that's how Big Brother gets lots of people.

Isn't Government fun?

Posted at 2:00pm CDT | Permalink

Early Morning Post

I haven no idea why I'm posting this early in the morning — I guess I mainly need something to do while I drink my cup of freshly brewed, Panamanian Luna de Oro coffee. This is my first cup of this coffee, and I'm quite impressed.

••••••••

I have to go to the County Clerk's office today, which is always a fun trip. I always think of the courthouse as I do the DMV, even though it's never been that way before (for me, at least). Anyway, I'm filing my DBA (Doing Business As) for RAILhead Effects to get established with the State. It should be fairly quick and painless.

Speaking of business-related stuff, I also got my tax permit taken care of so that I can properly report taxes paid by people who buy from me here in Texas. A couple of people I talked to thought I was nuts for worrying about it, but it is the law. Even if I sell I a $10 photograph, and not a $200 pedal, I'm supposed to report that a portion of that sale was taxed. A lot of people don't worry about this, though — but if they have an extra $400 to $600 income reported on their 1040 and can't account for taxes when audited, they'll have Hades to pay. Of course, this assumes those people are reporting their extra income like they should be. I mean, I'm no fan of Government, but the law is the law — and with taxes, once you're discovered not reporting/charging them, you can get fined up to $500 a day.

So get your tax permit, people — and report your earnings on your 1040 like you should. Just because your home-based business doesn't generate a W2, that doesn't mean you aren't responsible for reporting the income. Believe me, you don't want Big Brother looking at your papers in 3 years and suddenly owing him back taxes on income you didn't report!

••••••••

I finished up the new paint job for my io Super Distortion, and I love it. It's finishing-up its curing, but I'm planning on posting pics in a day or two.

••••••••

I have another residential photo shoot today. I like shooting big, empty houses because there are so many cool shots and angles. Hopefully it won't rain and kill the natural light...

Posted at 6:14am CDT | Permalink | Comments (0)

Another Peach Custom Fuzz Sample

I really need to get back to my "regular style" posts, but until then, I'll keep posting my RAILhead Effects related goodies. That said, I tweaked my Peach Custom Fuzz once again, and I'm really, really getting close to the tone I'm looking for in a fuzz. My recording setup is my 88 Les Paul w/Goodwood pickups, bridge position, guitar volume max, guitar tone rolled out, fuzz at max. I start out playing a simple rhythm riff (and eventually have to fade out because I have so much sustain!), then I play a simple blues-type run. After that, I roll the guitar tone all the way in and play the blues riff again. Here's the MP3:

http://www.railheadeffects.com/sounds/Pv2001.mp3

I like it quite a bit — but there's one more transistor I'm waiting on to test, so I may be changing it again ever so slightly...

Posted at 9:34am CDT | Permalink | Comments (2)

My Little 3PDT Board

For over a year now, I've been looking for some way to make wiring my effect pedals' foot switches and DC jacks easier to wire, and now that I have an awesome PCB boardhouse at my disposal, I've done just that:

This little guy is only 26x31mm, and it fits right over the lugs to a 3PDT switch. Starting from the bottom left, I have pads for the DC jack's positive and negative hookups — airwire I loathe running because of the distance it has to travel to the board. Now, all I have to do is tap on a 10mm wire and I'm done with the power (my DC jacks align right next to these pads). Next we have the input jack sleeve pad, which is another short jump. Above that is a resistor spot named "INR," which is an optional spot for placing your input pulldown resistor. Beginning at the top left, we have the standard board in, then a +9v pad which is spliced to make room for the LED resistor (in case your circuit doesn't include one already). -9v comes next, then the pad for the aforementioned LED power. Next is the standard LED ground, switch ground, then the board out. Going down the right side, you see another spot for an output pulldown resistor, and finally, the output jack sleeve.

This will greatly simplify the running airwire all inside my pedals, and it'll take care of those pesky DC taps I hate so much. Also, I designed this board to be used by pretty much anyone, as the pulldown and LED sections are totally optional — and once I get them in and verify them, I'll be making them available for $1 each (plus shipping) to my fellow DIY enthusiasts.

Posted at 6:44pm CDT | Permalink | Comments (1)

While I Wait…

Today is "Stencil Day" here at the RAILhead Effects shop, and while I'm waiting for some stencils to finish exposing, and others to finish soaking, I thought I'd post a quick comment to let everyone know how much I've recently been loving the font Bodoni.

It's easy on the eyes, contains great serifs, has wonderful kerning, and radiates an all-around pleasant attitude. I wish more people were as pleasing as Bodoni, but so many are just your typical Helvetica.

Posted at 4:02pm CDT | Permalink | Comments (1)

Mid-Week Schtuff

Things are getting really, really close to going public over at my guitar effects site, RAILhead Effects. I have the vast majority of product detail pages finished up (they're offline to the public), and all that remains after that is final product shots and finishing the demo goodies. The adage "good things come to those who wait" should be the banner for any business, and we've been meticulously planning our grand opening for over a year — and I'm pretty dadgum confident that things will go well.

••••••••

I'm still getting some email from you guys (and gals), asking about the medical stuff I was talking about a few weeks ago. I was being intentionally vague until we knew what was happening, and now that we *do* pretty much know what's happening, I can fully let the cat out of the bag.

My Dad has cancer.

Man, it sucks to type that.

I'll post more about this in the coming days, but the nutshell version is that Dad has Large Cell Type B Lymphoma. We were afraid he had lung cancer or mesothelioma from his asbestosis, but a biopsy of a fast-appearing tumor that was removed from his side gave us the good news it was neither of those two cancers.

For weeks, hundreds of people have been praying for him and our family, and God has been compassionate and merciful — and we're crazy thankful for that. The pieces of this puzzle have been falling into place in such a manner that there's no doubt that God has been at work — from tipping us off with the sudden "cyst" so many weeks ago, all the way to providing care for Dad at M.D. Anderson with the top minds in the cancer field. Everything in relation to this situation has been touched by God, and it's been awesome to see Him work — and I'll post about all that later.

As far as the cancer is concerned, we had a visit with the oncologist (Dr. Nathan Fowler), and his preliminary diagnosis is that Herman Hospital did, in fact, identify the cancer correctly. Of course, MDACC will perform their own tests and confirmations — but Dad's presenting the classic symptoms of this cancer. The good news is that, while Type B large Cell Lymphoma is highly aggressive, it's eagerness to replicate makes it weak and highly susceptible to therapy. This means that Dad has a near 60% of going into full remission, and an 85% to 90% plus chance of being able to manage the cancer with sporadic treatments as needed. Those, my friends, are tremendously positive percentages! To quote Dr. Fowler, "the odds are stacked highly in [Dad's] favor."

We meet with Dr. Fowler again next week, and he will then give us his official diagnosis and plan for therapy. He said the typical regimen is R-CHOP every 3 weeks, with a total of 6 treatments. We'll know more details next week, though.

So there you have it: my Dad has cancer, and we're thankful it's a cancer with a butt that's readily kicked. We're blessed to have the best of the best working on this, and we're looking forward to being yet another case of cancer being made history at M.D. Anderson. That said, please continue praying for healing and strength and continued good news from the doctors. Stay tuned for more...

Posted at 3:56pm CDT | Permalink | Comments (2)