The 6 things you will need to learn electric guitar when living off the Grid !
You may or may not know that I have been living on my boat now for 17 years. You may also not know yet that I also have a mad passion for playing electric guitar. This my latest post will explain to you how i go about having the power necessary to play " hard and loud " while being on the water with no mains electricity supply available !
The issues are this, firstly on a boat you can only have batteries onboard for power supply. I use 12 volt batteries with an amperage of 110 Amps. Amps being the power available inside the battery to supply to whatever electrical machine you may connect to it.
I am sure you can imagine that a guitar amplifier is a pretty hungry beast power wise, so when you require to use a battery for this sort of purpose you really need first to make sure that your battery is well charged and has the necessary power to make your desired machine work for a reasonable amount of time. The system which I have at my disposition allows me to play at, I assure you, unhindered volume for at least 7 hours a night which is when I generally prefer to play.
THE 6 THINGS YOUWILLWILL NEED FOR POWER ON THE WATER !
So the first thing you will need is a solar panel !
This is a must for anyone requiring a charge supply to a battery when plugging into the grid is not possible ! People living in remote places, camping vans and of course people like me surrounded by nothing more than water. Its basically a light sensitive surface which when exposed to light produces a certain amount of Amps per hour or power which can then be fed to your battery or power collection cell for want of another phrase. It must be kept clean from dust as this can prevent the panel from seeing the light and will hinder quite seriously i have found the potential power production. It also helps that its orientation to the light be optimal , so not in the shadow of something else or facing in the wrong direction to the passage of the sun in your particular locality. As i live on a boat which clearly moves with wind direction changes and current flows I have little or no control over this ! But then I do live in the Canaries and so my panels " sing " most of the time and I have not encountered any real problems other than ensuring that the Moroccan desert dust is not allowed to accumulate on its beautiful blue surface !!
http://www.ebay.co.uk/bhp/used-solar-panels?clk_rvr_id=1094113307426&rmvSB=true
the next thing you will need is a charge controller !
The charge controller is essential as it prevents your battery from over charging ! If you connect a new battery to a solar panel without one of these, well you risk a fire as the panel will send charge into the battery without knowing if it is full or not ! So this clearly is essential to prevent you from firstly damaging your batteries or losing you home all together through the battery literally melting down and no doubt at all fire !!
https://www.solar-electric.com/solar-charge-controller-basics.html
then you will need a good quality battery !
Batteries come in all shapes and forms. I would highly recommend that you buy a quality marine battery which will be a maintenance free sealed one using a gel style electrolyte inside. I have two 110AMP batteries on my boat, so 220AMPS in all, they are expensive sure but I have had mine now for eight years and they are still going strong ! A quality maintenance free gel battery when connected permanently to a constantly recharging system of solar panels last,s forever ! This i can tell you from experience !
http://www.doityourselfrv.com/best-rv-battery-choosing-reviews
then you will need a 12 volt power inverter!
A power inverter is a wonderful thing, it transforms the DC current emanating from your battery into the essential AC power supply needed by all electrical equipment normally working from a household mains supply. They used to be very expensive but like most things in this electronic technology their price have significantly reduced in the last few years. I bought my current inverter for just 30 Euros....... a bargain when you consider what it does !! It connects very simply to your battery plus and minus feed through a simple 12 volt cigar style power connection set up that you find in most cars today !!
/ http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/gadgets/automotive/dc-ac-power-inverter.htm
So there we have it for the power side, you see it really not so hard or actually expensive as second hand solar panels are to be found fairly easily now a days. My two panels on my boat cost me as I recall no more than 100 euros for the both of them, and produce 50 watts of Power each !! That,s just 1 euro a Watt which is cheap as chips in my book !
So all that said and done, now we get to the fun part and it.s this......
You will of course need an amplifier, this was my choice
The VOX Valvetronix 20Plus is for me one of the best and most compact amplifiers on the market actually. It has so many effects, built in pedals and all sorts of model style amps to choose from. You will be able to produce any style sound of electrical guitar you wish or could possibly imagine. I thought long and hard before buying this little beast and i have absolutely no regrets. I have no car so its size makes it more than transportable by hand, whereas when its cranked up.....well then its capable of waking even my most distant of floating neighbors from their no doubt well deserved sleep ; - ) Maybe time to change your anchorage ??
......Last but not least, my pride and joy ! My Black Bess of guitars !
the Washburn OE30 semi acoustic guitar is truly a beautiful thing. Sadly now assembled in China but under the supervision and control of Washburn, Chicago who have been building the finest guitars since 1883. This particular model is an exact copy of the legendary Gibson 335 and its sound is just so distinctive and the one I was aiming at when I first decided to try and pick up this art of playing electric guitar. Its become my best friend at sea in many ways and I love blasting away to the early hours on my favorite anchorage on my beautiful island of La Gomera.
http://www.washburn.com/community/
And now to the music recorded on my boat with all the Energy of the Sun !!
I hope you see that " Power on the Water " is indeed possible !! Enjoy
The illustration featured on the video is incidentally from our resident artist @michaellamden68. I thought it so cool I had to show it here !! Hope he is fine with that. I am sure he will let me know !!
My biggest influence musically by the way are these guys, if you have not heard of them you should watch this actually insanely hilarious documentary " Dig " to know the Vibe I love !!
I love your first pick because if my garage threw up, that's what would come out of it, just a different model guitar and a DIY wind turbine.
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Oh great good to hear that other,s are making free music other than me !! send me a link to your stuff !! would love to hear it @bluehorseshoe ; - )
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Sorry, the talent is at college currently, I'm just the provider of the equipment solar/wind thru one solar wind controller with a couple of deep cycle marine batteries. Yes I use the guitar to play some old old tunes but wouldn't shame myself by recording it. Upvoted, love the post and will forward to my son.
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Ah ok I see !! well that's cool. I hope your son is kind on me at least !! I have only been playing a year so its a long road ahead, like most things you love eh? ; - )
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cool :)
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hey thanks @sulen... much appreciated !!
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Hi @gomeravibs,
We really enjoy your post and the music knowledge you've shared here. We are now following you.
We hope to see more content from you in the future!
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Hi @thirstyrecords...that,s real nice of you, likewise me for you !! ; - )
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Would love to hear you jam out sometime if you post a video of you running through some guitar rifts either freestyle or muscle memory. Unless you have already then I'll need to check your earlier posts but thanks for the very detailed post. This is valuable information for those who want to go sailing or exploring the world cross seas and still put on a live performance for passing ships with tourists and the likes :) I'm sure the sounds were tripping out the big and small marine life beneath your boat haha Upvoted.
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well the rcording i placed on my post is made with a flashbackx4 looper pedal. It allows you to record stuff layer upon layer. I start with a basic rhythm, then build it up with fill upon filll to a point where i like the sound. Then i just go on top and like you say jam and let rip. I will be doing more I think. So i hope you get the opportunity to hear more of my stuff !! thanks for your comment...... a nice one......gives me a nice feeling that you like what i am doing @verbal-d !! Steem On !!
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Definitely, steem on! I love loopers, we use them in hip hop sessions often, especially when mapping out an instrumental for a song. I'll definitely check out your music and leave you some more comments and feedback. Keep jamming on as well. :)
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hey thank you for your interest in what im doing @verbal-d !! Be good to hear how you are using your loopers too !! My pedal is a dedicated delay pedal, can you use that with a microphone do you think. I have always wondered what that my result in voice wise !! steem on !! Im here !!
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You're very welcome. There's only one way to find out and that is to set up your mic and sing your soul's inner tune. Just let it flow freely and you will gain more control over your voice with muscle memory the more you practice. I don't have any videos of me and edgar using the looper but I've posted three songs so far on my steemit page. I'll prepare more for the future soon. :) steem on, can't get enough.
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Listened to the entirety of your music post on here and I was so zoned into the creative flow of all the musical possibilities. I was humming and singing ideas to it. I was waiting for you to hit some really high notes and just freestyle your heart away. It'll be a great track once you layer it and map out the structure of the song but as it is, it is definitely a nice idea so far, you can easily get lost into the emotion of the song. Felt like I was on the boat in tune with the currents of the ocean.
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Hey there @verbal_d.... I am real sorry i lost track of the replies to this post and i was not even aware that you had replied again. Iam greatly touched by the fact that you took the decision to listen to the whole recording. As I explained its like an artist sketch, with just idea,s bubbling up on the basic theme laid down at the foot of the trackand yes you are right there is a feeling of the sea beneath my boat as i play, great you feel it too !!. So you hear the thing well, yes I am sure I can have fun with this as I too hear the drums and bass lines to be added of which there are none as I hoped you have noticed. Maybe we could do something together you could try laying down some vocals onto it, you said yourself that you were humming and hearing something come up inside as you listened. Well give it a go, would be fantastic to have an external input into it. Whatever inspires you and comes to my mind when you let yourself to the flow of the thing. ?? This is undoubtedly the nicest and most inspiring comment i have received so far here, you sir are a cool guy and I am glad you are here on this our super blockchain of exchange !!
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