All These Things That I’ve Said
It’s just plain the worst when people quote themselves. So…I’m gonna do it anyway. The following are things that I have actually said at one time or another. Some of them…were said on this blog. Pretty much…I’m awesome. Except not at all.
- “Digital is the way of the future.”
–Karl Verkade, 2003. Said while desperately trying to make myself believe that my ‘Fat Match’ patch on my Boss GT6 sounded every bit as good (and definitely more reverby) than my friend’s actual Matchless.
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- “Edge might use digital delay live because of its functionality, but in the studio, he uses exclusively analog delays. The Korg SDD-3000′s.”
–Karl Verkade, 2004. Stated in a very heated discussion regarding analog versus digital. If you read this quote along with the previous one, you will realize that I may have a problem with moderation. 
It’s all or nothing for me. Oh, and as to where I got the information in this quote? I can’t actually remember, although I can photographically remember myself saying it. Which means I probably made up the information in my head, and then assumed that since the information originated from me, it just made it that much more credible.
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- “I will never sell this Tim pedal.”
–Karl Verkade, 2005. 2006. 2008, 2009, and 2011.
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- “Yes, I need all four of them. Don’t you know anything about tone?”
–Karl Verkade, 2005. In response to a question from the sound guy regarding the four amps I had brought and was in the process of setting up for our 75-person service. There were two to run in stereo, one that split out into a secondary board to run washy delays and phaser sounds in the background, and one that split out earlier before the effects for just straight crunch. The ground loop hum from this setup should have been enough to add an ambient drone all on its own. Luckily though, the tone suck from my 32 pedals rolled off so much high end that there was no hum at all. Oh, and of the 3 heads, 3 cabs, and one combo, we had red, tan, purple, two different shades of green, and tweed. It was pretty spectacular.
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- “I don’t ask people to stand. The people stand when the Holy Spirit moves them.”
–Karl Verkade, 2003. Which, of course, meant there were many an awkward service with no one standing. And me railing on about the spiritual warfare attacking the hedge of protection we’d prayed around ‘this place.’
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- “A capo?! Learn your bar chords!”
–Karl Verkade, 2001. Said before I knew how insignificant of a thing it is to know bar chords. That hit me full force one day when I saw my hero guitarist put on a capo for the next song, after ripping this amazing solo on the previous one. When I asked in horror why he was using a capo, he said, ‘Because it’s easier.’ Ohhhhhhhhhh.
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- “No Line on the Horizon is U2′s finest work.”
–Karl Verkade, 2009. That one was just good old-fashioned denial. If you look hard enough, you’ll probably even be able to find that post here, and hencetoforth (yep) never take anything I say seriously ever again.
But now, in all honesty, how seriously do you really take anything I say? Once you start explaining the reasoning behind 6 delay pedals, your credibility starts to slip just a little bit. Although as long as it’s on Internet, it must automatically be true and someone will google search it, find it in the synopsis without actually clicking on the site, and it will end up in a research paper. So, with that in mind, “Edge plays a Dumble.” hehe Take that, Internet. Or…tiny portion of the internet that cares about Dumble’s.
Splendid.
Karl.
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“It’s just plain the worst” and “Take that Internet” are pure classics in the making.
It’s okay, I once thought string gauge, bypass, cable length/quality, and this so-called “playing” thing didn’t affect tone. Also, Hillsong does not need improv indie-blues (not a thing. Thought it was. Not important.) solos between verses, but hey, couldve fooled me.
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…Bird Internet.
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NateT–thanks, bro. And sincere apologies for making you listen to No Line more than is necessary.
hahaCaleb–haha Now that would be a thread!!
Cam–not until next week. Don’t know why I mentioned it so early. Probably because I need a break. haha
Andrew–haha Awesome. There must be something about indie-blues solo’s whenever there’s no vocals, because I used to do the exact same thing. Must be a rite of passage or something.
Sam–me too!! I used to wonder why we didn’t just have the music part of the service continue for hours and hours!! Didn’t catch the whole music and worship not being synonymous until much later. lol
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I’m not clever enough to use a capo on an electric… I’ll most likely either forget to take it out of capo 1 when going into a song in E and try to play a high E inversion and accidently play a droning F… or think I’m too cool to have to worry about changing the capo position and do the same thing. Either way the outcome isn’t plesant!
When used properly on an acoustic you can really add a lot to a song with some nice chord shapes.
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I love posts like this. Honestly it is very funny and also convicting for me. I say ridiculously over the top things all the time. I play guitar, own a Mac and drive foreign cars I must be opinionated…
I like the 4 amp idea though. That may be happening sometime soon…
Also, I love my capo. I know, the intonation isn’t as good and you’re not a man if you don’t play bar chords… I honestly do not like the sound of bar chords. I’m a big fan of open chords so I will use a capo anytime I feel I can get an open sound over the closed(?) sound of bar chords. Sometimes they are appropriate though. If you’re playing lord I lift your name on high, there is no better way to get quick chord change after each line. And forget about the key change!
P.S. I hate that song in every key and in every language it has ever been played in. < ridiculous, over-the-top statement that I will take back some day. (probably not)
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Karl, sounds like maturity is arriving. Trouble is, at 40 I probably thought much of what I said earlier was dumb. Same thing at 50. Just had my 63rd birthday ( yes you can, in fact, still walk, talk, play guitar and sing at this age
) At this stage I think much of what I said earlier was dumb along with much of what I have yet to say.Thank God for His Grace! Somehow I just know he smiles as His creation stumbles through life, hopefully trying to be more like Him.
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There’s a psychology to the point about “moderation” that you make. We tend to defend things we invest heavily in, even if there’s good evidence to the contrary. This article does a good job of explaining it: http://healthland.time.com/2011/05/17/apocalypse-now-why-believers-will-grow-stronger-when-the-world-doesnt-end/. Great post, Karl, and a challenge to us all to seek truth, even if it runs counter to what we “know”. It takes a lot of humility to do that.
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I think this is true of most (if not all) atheists, they frame their argument against God logically but the truth is that their belief is based in emotion and then the logical arguments are created after the fact. It can be hard to have a discussion with them as a Christian because you have to realize that they don’t believe the way they do because a logical argument convinced them, but because of an emotional experience. So if you try to convince them of Christ through logical arguments you will very often fail. The same is true of most Christians as well, we believe in Jesus because of an emotional experience.
I could write a lot more on this issue but i won’t
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#17 written by caleb 2 years ago
Truth is truth, it’s still there no matter how we react to it. Sometimes we rationalize it away, and sometimes we try to dress up untruth.
If that someone was David Hume, I’m gonna kick him in the seat of his oxford-tweed pants. After I beat him at billiards (his cue ball example/no cause and effect always irked me).
And sometimes I just say things.
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Brandon–beautiful way to do it!
Sam–haha Way awesome. Makes me feel better, as I’m sure I’ve done the same thing. I think on some levels, we all think that the thing we do is the most important.
Caleb–interesting! It depends on the song for me…and also especially if I’m the only guitarist and which pedal tones I’ll need to get with open strings during riffs and solo’s. And then of course voicings. Any particular reason you don’t usually?
James–I totally hear you! Ya, with the capo playing lead, you have to think in one key for chords, and another for leads. I actually find it more difficult than playing without one at times.
Josh–haha Thanks! And I almost completely agree with you on the bar chords. I use them for jazzy stuff or every once in a while when I need that specific voicing (especially ambient stuff), but in most instances, it’s the capo that gives the nicest voicings.
Randy–Oh, I wouldn’t go so far as to say maturity is arriving! Remember, I’ve still got six delay pedals. haha
And I absolutely agree on God’s grace!!Nate–haha Thanks, brother.
Travis–very interesting, and I agree that we very often do that. Well, at least I do. Lewis explains it as man not wanting to admit to himself wasted effort…which goes back to pride. Unfortunately, I do this way too often.
Randy–crazy. I totally think that happens, and that that theory can be applied to a good portion of our lives. I’m hoping to make that portion less and less, though, haha, as my life goes on.
Dan W–so true. I’ve seen very few people argued into becoming a Christian. Most of our lives come down to what we feel and what we desire to feel. Nothing wrong with explaining your spiritual belief to others, but we should probably be counting more on our love to be the deciding factor in their lives, methinks.
Caleb–I definitely agree. There is truth that exists in the universe. It’s reason that’s the tough part, because so much of our thinking is an attempt to rationalize what we feel and want to feel, rather than an attempt to recognize what is true. As I prove over and over again with my inane tone statements. haha
Gilks–thanks, bro! And if this post got that song stuck in your head, than my work here is done. haha
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#20 written by caleb 2 years ago
@Karl
I guess I prefer without a capo because it gives me more control of my voicings–I can make them more percussive if I want, I can make them sound different (since I’ve learned different positions), and I can add passing notes usually with my pinkie or other fingers. That and we always have one keys who splits their pad/rhythm duties in half, and then sometimes we have a piano that plays rhythm too–so I don’t really need to fill a lot of sonic space.
And some of it is I don’t want to have to “think” too much when I’m playing–and oddly enough, playing barre chords, even in Eb, doesn’t require me to think, because the chords are all related by the pattern movements–two frets up, two down, etc, and we usually only play four. And I’ve played them enough times to get used to odd keys.
I probably also like them because they sound more aggressive, and I’ve been working on how scales interact with barre chords–so it’s not hard to put fills in (theoretically). Actually I’m getting better at doing that than I am with basic position chords (eek!).
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I look at reason like a tool–if you study logic (not symbolic logic), you’ll learn that it’s made up of clear or unclear terms, true or untrue premises, and valid or invalid reasoning (i.e. fallacies). I’m not saying it’s all cut and dry like that, especially if you begin to question categories, I’m just saying it can be applied like that, with success.
Of course we recognize that in terms of a hierarchy, God is way above us and so is Satan–so that may have to do with why we find our reason hitting its limits or why we find it corrupted. And our flesh isn’t all that pretty either.
I can’t think of a great analogy–but the image that comes to mind is someone using a tool who corrodes it every time they touch it–so eventually, the tool will be deformed and less suited to its use. Part of the problem with examining questions of the self (why do we love?) is that the subject we are trying to examine is our self (who is examining our self). But, I hold onto this–if God gave us reason (the tool, not the corrosive hand), and it’s relations hold together because that’s how He made it, he can keep it as such. And, as God is above us, there’s still mysteries that we (and even angels) cannot know by our faculties, but only if God reveals it:
Luke 10:21 21 At that very time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said, “I praise You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight.
o_O Long post.
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Very cool on the capo thing. There’s definitely also something to be said for voicings that can be achieved without a capo.
And I’ll do the same thing sometimes if there’s too many leads and chords interspersed together…just take the capo off and play the bar chords. It’s easier like you said, because all the shapes for each scale degree chord stay the same. haha
Also, cool stuff on reason and logic! I wholeheartedly agree that it starts to get pretty near impossible to maintain objectivity when discussing ‘thought’, because we’re ‘thinking’ in order to do it. Or, using reason to examine reason, as you pointed out. Nice to remember that God’s above us, and doesn’t require an exact understanding!
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#24 written by caleb 2 years ago
Yeah, I think I do it because it’s easier–since I’m still mastering it, I’ve been concentrating just on it–I’d probably use a capo and adjust scales to key of the song which works too, but I’m one of those learn-one-thing-at-a-time-kinda-guys. I need to be more familiar with the scales in general before I could do extended solos with a capo.
By the way, I go back and forth on the reason stuff. I keep trying to be a Platonist as much as I can, and then the Lord rebukes me (occasionally).
My belief is that every good system of thought (or single idea) admits that it rests upon a belief. I.e. the inherent reasonableness of reason. It’s the necessity of belief, and I think it’s a good thing. It also keeps man from getting too high and mighty and thinking he can swallow up the universe with his thought.
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Totally agree! Yep…when it takes ‘thought’ to try to figure out ‘thought’, there’s a bit of a conflict of interest that makes complete objectivity impossible. Meaning, like you said, that at some point you have to admit that every system of thinking, whether Christian or atheist or anything in between, relies on at least one ‘thought’ that cannot be backed up by fact.
Love what you said about man thinking he can swallow the universe, and the necessity of belief keeping that in check.
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That seems to be one of the biggest stumbling blocks: humans insisting that, in time, all mysteries will be revealed in this life. Reminds me of something that popped into my head one time when discussing my faith with my agnostic brother. I likened this “human arrogance” to a toy doll, sitting up, looking at his human “maker” and stating ” I don’t believe in you and you didn’t make me.”
Have you ever noticed on channels like “Discovery” and other “science” tv channels how they seem to go: ” on the day Moses supposedly parted the Red Sea, Orion might have been visible in the sky, and there might also have been a big storm that day, plus an earthquake. And if that was so then a Florida hurricane might have spread all the way over the Middle East, and “voila” wind parts the waves — thus no miracle.” 2 + 2=9
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Dude I know exactly what you’re talking about. I saw the exact same thing on a show called “Biblical Mysteries Explained” I think it was called. They also rationalized the pillar of fire and pillar of cloud as a volcano erupting. Crazy how we think everyone who doesn’t believe in God is nuts….but then again, we do have quite an “unbelievable” God (according to the world anyway.)
This is what I just read a night or two ago:
“Unless you people see signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.” – John 4:48.
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Caleb–haha That’s okay. Almost everything I say is stolen from an amalgamation of C.S. Lewis, Bono, and Marlon Brando. Meaning, at least your musings make more sense than mine.
heheheRandy–I’ve never heard that! haha But ya, I can see it being said. It comes back to the fact that for the most part, I think people are going to believe what they want to believe. Meaning, logic might not get them to believe in God, but love might.
On subconscious levels, people tend to want love more than logic, I think. -
#31 written by caleb 2 years ago
I tend to think the biggest stumbling block is that people either think they’re too good or too bad for God. But honestly I also look at many of deceptive trends out there as stratagems of Satan. I don’t know if anyone else approaches it like this, but I think he very much has an acumen that is really unparalleled in so many ways.
Does anybody else notice that when people are “off,” i.e. wrong about one thing, they’re wrong about many things? And not always very wrong, just slightly off-center. So if you go to correct one thing, you notice, “Oh, there’s a whole orchestration to this song he’s singing.”
Okay, that’s probably the tall beer from Applebees talking. Gotta love happy hour and half-priced apps. That last point is pulled from Prov. 3:5-6, scout’s honor.
Oh and I guess if it helps Karl I’ll try to throw in some Abbott and Costello quotes and references to Hitchcock films. And then just Flying House for no good reason at all.
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#33 written by caleb 2 years ago
Haha those days have been over a for quite a while, thank goodness. Great commercial.
But apparently they call them tall beers in Minnesota, which I didn’t know, and turned out to be important knowledge, because for every place a “tall” is there biggest (and most expensive) beer. Unlike at Starbucks, where it’s a small drink.Hmmm…too much of the city boy coming out…ironically enough it was Michelob Golden Light or something like that–normally I’d only drink that if it was free, I tend to like more spendy beers, but it was only $3, so I gave it a go. I’ve really been enjoying Blue Moon, Honey Weiss, Newcastle, Summer Wheat, etc, though I don’t drink all that often any more. I would love to have Bass Ale again sometime, haven’t for a while. Or Brooklyn Lager.
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#35 written by caleb 2 years ago
I wouldn’t say necessary, unless you’re doing some Hillsong stuff–but they do have a “ballsy” sound to them which sounds pretty cool with overdrive and delay.
There’s a particular sound I’ve found with octave on the A string at the 2nd and 9th (?) fret that I think sounds cool strumming percussively it as if it was a chord (kinda an indie rock thing).
I thought they would be a bigger part of my sound but they turned out to just be part of my sound. Still, it’s helpful to know moveable shapes that can be used for chromatic stuff that thickens out a line a bit.
Give it some time and they’ll be old hat (although I can’t seem to move around quite as fast as some of the Hillsong stuff does).
I’d find it kind of odd to do octaves with a POG but then again my experience with octavers have been suboctave. They’re just power chords without the fifth.
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On people believing what they want to believe, yes.
And I think that goes for Christians, too. If someone came out with undeniable proof that Jesus was not God (hypothetical, people…don’t shoot me here), I think a good many of us would have a hard time accepting it because we are have become intrinsically tied in to our belief. So it possibly becomes a good exercise to ask ourselves, I suppose: Do we believe in Jesus out of love, faith, and a good deal of logic? Or did we start out that way and now it’s regressed into a belief in Him simply because it’s the path of least resistance in our current lifestyle? Not that anyone’s saying that in this conversation…just thinking out loud some more. Freud might say that then this is what my own heart is dealing with. On octaves, I try to use them sparingly because they’re picky on when they sound good and when they don’t. I find them overtly overused in Christian music anyway over the last 15-20 years, so I use them only in instances when they match the bassline enough to just sound like fuller riffs, or when the song allows me to play them percussively enough to where they just sound like cleaner chords or triads.
On the SDD-3000, it is completely a digital delay. Oh most definitely.
hehe Hence, why my argument on Edge using solely analog delays must have originated from nowhere else than my own fantasy world. haha-
#39 written by caleb 2 years ago
I think Freud’s biggest fan is Peewee Herman. It astounds me that he says real love is “genital love.”
Feel free to quote him, by all means. I just find it ironic that he’s quoted so much in sort of a “I’m sophisticated and cultured” way when he really was a terrible person. Like how people wear Che Guevara shirts.
Sorry, I don’t know why I rant so much. I just need to head back over to Applebees. Haha.
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I found you’re soul mate Karl (from an interview with a guitarist from the band Bad Religion) “He says that one of his secrets for writing songs is buying a new guitar: “I judge guitars by how many new songs they have in them. When I get a new guitar, I usually get a new song out of it right away as soon as I get home, and sometimes I’ll even get two or three new songs just like that. Each guitar feels and sounds a little different than the other ones, so it makes me play a little bit differently, which leads to me coming up with new songs. Each guitar is like a new friend or a new writing partner.”
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Caleb–wow, someone doesn’t like Freud. hehe You know what Freud would say to that…
I’m just kidding, bro. I’ve read very little Freud…as in, only whatever Joey says in ‘Friends’ when he’s in the play called ‘Freud!’ I mention his name as a joke whenever I say something that accidentally reveals more of myself than I intended. And then I tell myself that the joke was funny.
Nater2d–haha Wow! Ya man, if I had money, that would so be me! “I think every different Tim pedal has about half a song in it…” haha
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Karl, dangit. Dangit, Karl.
Sooo… you’ve said something that pushed me over the edge. For a while now i’ve owned a Tim pedal and have (over time) thought to myself the following:
“Nice! This sounds exactly how i want my drive to sound!”
“This thing is the last drive i’ll ever need!”
“Hmm… it’s really transparant!! That’s great, yeah?!?”
“Hm… i can’t really hear my awesome distorted tone on the cd’s. Guess i just need to turn the Tim up past unity!”
“Oh no… the KOT is at unity and i can hear it perfectly on the recordings! The Tim isn’t the problem is it?? Impossible! It sounds so perfect!!”
-and finally-
“The Tim pedal doesn’t cut through a full band mix at full volume! If i tell someone, they’ll call me a tone snob and a corksniffer! I absolutely CAN’T tell anyone on TGP! I …dont need the Tim…”Yesterday I sold my Tim pedal. Yep, for $45,030. I turned a profit, so what??
So thank you/dangit Karl. What pushed me over the edge and made me sell it is your quick agreeing comment that you were selling the Tim because your FFB simply “cut thru the mix better”. Someone whose ears i trust agreed. It’s okay though, i bought new pedals (yes, plural) with the money already. My KOT and Crunch Box and Lunar Fuzz serve me just fine anyway.
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haha I’ve done the same thing, so many times. I think I’ve bought and sold 4 or 5 Tim/Timmy pedals over the years. But ya…mic’d up in isolation, I liked the Tim just barely more than the Fatboost. But live? Fatboost cut so much better and brought out the amp’s drive so much better. At least in my rig, and to my ears. Glad someone else is hearing the same thing!
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Great post Karl, needed a good chuckle! You delivered well!
I remember the no line on the horizon thing. I’m sure I really tried to get into that album after that, thinking to myself, “Karl thinks it’s great. I must need to oisten to it more.”
You’re doing great Karl. Some solid insight lately. Keep it up!
Nate