Gundam is a long-running Japanese anime franchise featuring large combat walkers (Mecha). The hobby of building plastic model kits of these Mecha is known as Gunpla, and to my knowledge the most popular form of plastic kit in Japan, with many new models being released each year. Availability in Europe […]
When Charles & Ray Eames were asked to design outdoor furniture, they departed from their previous shell models and went with an aluminum frame with fabric/leather stretched over it instead. Funnily, these new Aluminum Group chairs were not successful as outdoor furniture, but became iconic office chairs instead. There are […]
While Mid-Century Modern is a style that encompasses architecture and product design, it is maybe most clearly defined through furniture, as in architecture it overlaps very much with the International Style or Modernism. I also think that in regard to furniture, it has had the more lasting impact, maybe because […]
It can be somewhat difficult to define what exactly Mid-Century Modern architecture is. It not only covers a time range of more than 40 years, it also overlaps with other styles such as Bauhaus and the International Style. I have previously tried to position Mid-Century Modern within 20th Century design. […]
No century has seen more changes than the 20th Century. Not least two World Wars brought about major changes in society, culture, and technology. This naturally had an impact on design and architecture. One could consider 20th Century design being centered around Mid-Century Modern, an era ranging from approx. 1930 […]
Some pictures taken during a visit to Wildlands Emmen, the Netherlands’ newest zoo. It is divided into three areas (jungle, savannah, and arctic), with all of them having been given a nice thematic look and feel. I still feel that it struggles a bit with wanting to be both an […]
I’ve been playing through a Peavey Valveking Royal 8 for many years now, but despite a number of mods, I’ve never been really satisfied with the sounds I get out of it. I think it’s the combination of 8″ speaker and cheap output transformer. The sound is quite boxy and […]
Guitar FX pedals are booming. Despite digital/modelling amplifiers getting better and better, low-wattage tube amplifiers for home and mic’ed stage use are more popular than ever. FX pedals provide flexibility for these often simple and straightforward amps, to the point that pedal platform amps, which only provide a base clean […]
There’s an innumerable amount of Overdrive pedals these days – but this can’t hide the fact that many of them are based off a limited number of “reference” pedals. This is (most likely incomplete) list of such reference pedals, in no particular order. Tubescreamer Quite likely the most famous overdrive […]
US-made (“MIA”) US-made Stratocasters are built in Fender’s factory in Corona, California. The finish is generally polyurethane, except on the Originals, which are finished in nitrocellulose lacquer. With the exception of the American Special, they all come with cases. American Performer The American Performer Stratocaster is Fender’s entry-level US-made Stratocaster, […]
Any (electric) guitarist knows the problem – as soon as you’ve got more than one effects pedal, your cables become a tangled mess and moving the pedals to practise or a gig is a nuisance. The solution is, of course, a pedal board, and there are many commercially available solutions […]
My American Original ’60s Stratocaster came with a very nice vintage-style case, but I prefer a gig bag for walking the 500m to guitar class. There are several brands out there, but Fender also sell gig bags with a nice set of features at a decent price. My choice fell […]
