Soul Soothing

01/09/2024

Happy fathers day to all the Dad's.

08/08/2024

A new Jensen C12N 12" 8ohm 50 watt speaker arrived this morning for the 1x12" guitar speaker cabinet, the original el cheap speaker was only 10" and the new Jensen is clearer, cleaner and brighter sounding, had to cut the speaker baffle hole 1 3/4" larger, added a speaker input jack to use a seperate speaker cable and converted the cab to a Fender style open back cabinet. This cab will be used with my Marshall Origin 50 amp head, an external speaker for my vintage Roland Cube 40 and an external speaker for my Fender 1964 Champ clone.

14/07/2024

More governmental bu****it, this time regarding so called invasive weeds one of which is Gazanias. Many of the governments so called invasive weeds have many health and or medicinal properties and benefits. The government is trying its hardest to stop people being healthy and self sufficient. The government is one of the main reasons there is so much illness in humans, domesticated pets and live stock (farm animals)-
"Retail giant Bunnings under fire for stocking invasive weeds that threaten Australian ecosystems.
Major Australian nurseries, including retail giant Bunnings, are selling plants listed by governments and their own industry body as invasive weeds.
Mallee Conservation president Fiona Murdoch said the invasive ground cover gazania — imported from South Africa and popular among gardeners for its pretty flowers — is causing a "massive problem" as it spreads in the Mallee and Wimmera."
Here is the truth about Gazanias-
"In addition to their aesthetic appeal, gazania plants also play an important role in attracting pollinators (bees, birds, other insects and animals that pollinate flowers) to your garden. (This is why Gazanias are great to have when growing fruit and/or vegetables).
Beyond their visual allure and ability to attract pollinators, gazania plants possess medicinal properties that have been used for centuries. The leaves of gazanias contain certain compounds that have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. These properties make them valuable in traditional medicine for treating various ailments.
Gazania extracts are often used topically to soothe skin irritations, sunburns, and insect bites. They are also believed to have antimicrobial properties, making them useful in the treatment of minor wounds and infections. Additionally, studies have shown that gazania extracts may have potential in preventing or managing certain chronic diseases due to their antioxidant activity.
In conclusion, gazania plants offer numerous benefits and uses that make them a valuable addition to any garden or landscape. Their stunning beauty, ability to attract pollinators, medicinal properties, and low-maintenance nature make them a versatile choice for both experienced gardeners and beginners alike. Consider incorporating these vibrant treasure flowers into your outdoor space and unleash their power today."

14/07/2024

Daily Health Fact-
Watching television numbs the brain and leaves the body sedentary. Even if you eat well and don’t smoke or drink too much alcohol, television will still take its toll on your brain.

10/07/2024

A nice afternoon to be out in the sun getting some guitar practice in after playing drums for 1 1/2 hours before lunch.
Attached a shortened tie down to my free music stand/ guitar stand that wraps around the neck of the guitar a couple of days ago to stop guitars falling off the stand if they accidently get knocked.

05/07/2024

This morning removed the speaker baffle from my speaker cabinet and ironed the hessian baffle cover while still attached to the speaker baffle by lightly spraying the hessian with some water and using the iron set on linen (hottest setting) as there was a few creases in the hessian, this also shrunk the hessian slightly tighten it on the speaker baffle.
I also covered the the black blank off panel I made to fill in the cabinet where the old amplifier mounted into the cabinet with a piece of left over hessian from the speaker baffle.
1st photo is before, 2nd photo is after.

30/06/2024

This morning I had a play with a spare 1x12" speaker cabinet I previously made from an old cheap guitar amp that stopped working, I removed the front metal grill panel, cut out the foam in front of the speaker, that was muffling the speaker, which is glued to the front of the speaker baffle, then covered the speaker baffle with a piece of hessian that was wrapped around a bunch of flowers and screwed on a Fender amplifier badge I made a while ago.
This works well as a 12" external speaker for my Marshall MS2 1 watt 9v battery and 9v power supply practice/travel amplifier. Using the 12" external speaker with this amp makes the amp less plastic sounding and a lot bigger and fuller sounding on both the clean and overdrive channels.

28/06/2024

Too nice of a day to be inside today, so set up my laptop and guitar out in the sun to work on music.

25/06/2024

16/05/2024

I have now registered my music business under a new business name and as a separate entity to both BeeZ Brew Eco Surf Wax and Soul Soothing.
The new name for the music business is Counting The Beat Music Acadamy.
page is https://www.facebook.com/countingthebeatmusicacademy/
Instagram page is

29/03/2024

This morning changed the bridge and bridge posts on my 2021 Epiphone Les Paul Custom.
Photo 1 & 2 are the original Epiphone loctone bridge and bridge posts. The bridge posts are 2 piece, cast cheap alloy stud screwed into a cast cheap alloy bushing.
Photo 3 & 4 the new abr1 bridge with the small mounting holes closest to the tailpiece, original bridge with the larger mounting holes original bridge posts and bushings on the top of the guitar, the new bridge posts mounted into the body of the guitar, the new posts are a one piece solid bell brass studs and thumb wheels.
The one piece studs give a more solid mount to the body for the bridge transferring the vibrations of the strings to the body more effectively and efficiently making the guitar resonate and vibrate more for better tone as well removing the metallic sound from the 2 piece studs and bushings to a resonant timber sound due to the 1 piece solid bell brass studs.
The new bridge and solid posts are similar to the original Les Paul's from the 1950's. I've modified this Les Paul to be as close as practically possible sound wise and cosmetically to a late 1959/ early 1960 Les Paul Custom.
Photo 5 filing the low E, A and D string slots in the saddles of the new abr1 bridge.
Photo 6 & 7 the new abr1 bridge and studs fitted and set up.

27/03/2024

Picked up a great bargain this afternoon, a free Rhythm Traveller complete drum kit (photos 1 to 4) as I want a more compact drum kit in the studio than what I have now.
This is similar to the Pearl Rhythm Traveller drum kit, though the bass drum on this kit has 8 rim lugs per side where as the Pearl bass drum only has 6 rim lugs per sided and the 12" & 14" toms have 1 extra rim lug each compared to the Pearl kit. The drum sizes and configuration are the same as the Pearl kit 20"x8" bass drum, 13"x5" snare, 10"x5" tom, 12"x5" tom, 14"x5" floor tom.
Photos 5 & 6 are of my drum kit that is in the studio with 22"x18" bass drum, 13"x10" mounted tom, 16"x16" floor tom and 14"x6" snare drum.
I will be making a compact club or jazz drum kit from both these kits that I will put in the studio and the kit I make from the pieces I won't be using I will sell.
From the Rhythm Traveller kit I will possibly be only using the 20"x8" bass drum and either the 10" or 12" mounted tom as I will only be using 1 mounted tom.
From my other kit that's in the studio I will be using the hardware, cymbal, hi-hats and kick pedal.
When I get the kit set up in the studio and start playing it with the snares and toms I will then decide which mounted tom and snare drum I'll keep, though I'm leaning towards the 14"x6" snare drum that is with the kit in the studio as it is a lot better snare drum and whether I use the 13"x10" mounted tom on the kit in the studio as the floor tom or the 14"x5" floor tom from the Rhythm Traveller, leaning towards the 13" tom as it has a resonant skin and is deeper so it should sound better than the 14" tom.