Hey Fellow Omni Guitar Peeps. My band is playing our 20th Anniversary show. If anyone is up in the CT area and would like to come up, it is a free event! Here is the event link on Facebook: https://facebook.com/events/s/the-caligulists-20th-anniversa/631456219836772/

Do any of you do any home studio recording? If so, PC or MAC and what software do you use?

While we'd all like to own several vintage and/or signature guitars (I would like a Nita Strauss signature Jiva), they're typically out of our budgets, right? The most expensive guitar I bought is a Jackson Pro Soloist, and even then, it was on sale. I got it for under $1K. I do own a vintage Guild Starfire V, but I didn't pay a dime for it. It's my uncle's. My aunt gave it to me after he died in 2019. I think there's something to be said for cheap guitars. Over the past few weeks, I've purchased 8 inexpensive guitars. I got most of them for far below retail price… here's the list. - Crescent ST style - I got this one for $40 on FB Marketplace. It's a restoration project. I may sell this one, or I may keep it. Haven't decided yet. - Rogue Rocketeer SSH ST - I bought this one for $20 on FB Marketplace. Only thing wrong with it was that it was missing the tip for the tremolo bar. I'm contemplating swapping out the pickups, but it sounds good with the stock pickups. Planning on selling this one. - Glarry HH ST - I bought it because I really liked the lightning bolt artwork on it. Was surprised at how well it plays and sounds. No annoying fret ends that need to be filed. May swap out the pickups… Zakk Wylde Signatures. I got it on Temu for less than $60. - YangShen HSH ST - Bought it because I liked the green quilted maple finish. Again, I was surprised at how well it plays and sounds. No annoying fret ends that need to be filed either. Will probably swap out the pickups. Don't have a specific brand or model yet. Temu - paid $82. - Fender Squier Debut Series Stratocaster - flat sunburst finish - won it at a local online auction site. $50 (MSRP $126). Lots of fret ends that need to be filed. - Fender Squier Debut Series Stratocaster - flat red finish - won it on a local online auction site for $65 (MSRP $126). Nothing wrong with this one. Pickup swap? Maybe. - Fender Squier Classic Vibe 60s Jazzmaster - white finish - another guitar I won on a local auction site. Paid $100 (MSRP $379) - A chip in the finish on the back. Repairable. - EVH Wolfgang Standard - probably a fake - serial number look up says it's a white Wolfgang USA Custom, but the guitar I ordered looks like an EVH Wolfgang Special Electric Guitar - Satin Striped Red/White/Black and it had a foil sticker over the label on the headstock. Even so, I paid $215 on Temu for a solid, good sounding, great looking guitar. Somebody is really good at creating fake guitars. - Not really a cheap guitar, but I bought an ESP LTD LP style guitar a few years ago for around $600 at Guitar Center. Swapped the stock pickups for a set of Nita Strauss signature Pandemonium pickups and WOW! They transformed a nice sounding guitar into a beast.

I’ve been working on two different songs for several months. One is an original, and the second is a remake of a song a couple of friends and I recorded for a Birmingham, Alabama, rock radio station back in 1983. The first song is called Love Almost Died. I wrote the lyrics first, and they came together rather quickly. Later, I wrote the riff and rhythm guitar. I’m practicing it almost nightly, trying to nail it down so I can start laying down tracks. As I mentioned, the second song is one that some friends and I recorded in 1983 for a “Battle of the Bands” contest that a Birmingham, Alabama rock radio station was running. The song is called Innocent Bystander. The original recording, which I lost in one of my many moves, wasn’t very good. We recorded it in one of my friends’ carport on a basic tape recorder. The bass player didn’t show up, and we didn’t have a drummer. We used a drum machine, which back then was pretty basic. The lineup was Ned on lead guitar, Tommy on rhythm guitar and lead vocals, and me on rhythm guitar. Tommy’s vocals were pretty good (he missed a note or two), but we rushed to submit the songs to the radio station before the deadline. I’ve wanted to re-record it for a long time. Now’s the time. I’ve been practicing it almost every night, too. Here are links to videos of me playing Lave Almost Died and Innocent Bystander. Love Almost Died — https://youtu.be/W2qf-VvGpY0?si=zcR-21CExY8AtBDF Innocent Bystander — https://youtu.be/4dGZ6F4NMJc?si=DBXOcY25vszL6z2b What are you working on? I, and I’m sure others, want to see or hear whatever you’re working on—an original song, a cover song, scales, or a technique—anything. Get out of your comfort zone and post links to videos or audio.

I'm wondering who has tried the Elixir Nanoweb strings from the test panel. I just ordered mine this morning to try out and review. Normally I prefer D'adarrio NYXL's. Can anybody give a pre test comparison for me. Just wondering how much I will like these strings before I even get them.