iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Will @willdarden.bsky.social · 03/01/2025

It’s starting to come together… …and I was able to chase down the pesky ground loop that was killing my sound.

A pedalboard in a carrying case. A total of 7 pedals are shown:

- A moog expression pedal
- Ernie Ball volume jr
- Chase Bliss Audio Automatone Preamp MK II
- Boss FZ-3 Fuzz
- Boss TU- 3 tuner
- Chase Bliss Audio Clean
- Strymon Timeline
- Strymon BigSky

A flowchart showing signal chain of the pedals

Will @willdarden.bsky.social · 28/12/2024

First impressions from my new CBA Clean: calling this a compressor is like calling an RV a large car; the compression is a platform for everything from clean boost and overdrive to volume, EQ, and modulation, all based on playing dynamics. Very excited to work this into my sound. Sample below.

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Will @willdarden.bsky.social · 26/12/2024

Merry Christmas to me! Now I just need to find TRS to TR splitters in town so I don’t have to wait a week to use it in stereo.

A Chase Bliss “Clean” guitar pedal is shown displayed on top of its packaging.

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Will @willdarden.bsky.social · 25/12/2024

Why not just go full-bore and get the hollow body and a surf green tele to go with your Leslie 122?

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Will @willdarden.bsky.social · 24/12/2024

Dear WSJ — 17 year olds cannot sign contracts or consent to sex with adults. The term we use for sexual contact without consent is “sexual assault” or “rape.” Matt Gaetz gave a 17 year money and then raped her. 👏🏻 Stop 👏🏻 Using 👏🏻 Biased 👏🏻 Language 👏🏻 TYSM

Front page of the 12/24/24 Wall Street Journal print version.

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Will @willdarden.bsky.social · 19/12/2024

Christmas Pro Tip: I was tired of spilling water when I water our Christmas tree, so I leaned on my #redneckengineering skills to build a watering system. The pipe is an IKEA curtain rod and I sourced the funnel from our kitchen.

A man’s hand is holding a gray pipe with a funnel in the top. The background is a wide shot of the interior of a home with a Christmas tree featuring prominently.

The pipe and funnel is an engineered tool for watering a Christmas tree directly into the stand without spilling from a jar or watering can.

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Will @willdarden.bsky.social · 16/12/2024

Project 1: Travel Guitar The onboard amp has failed and needs replacement. Do I: - Replace it with a 9v 2.5 watt onboard amp - Pull the speaker entirely and replace with a multi-effect - Wire in a Bluetooth output

A small guitar sits on a man’s lap in a family room. The guitar has a single coil pickup in the neck position and a volume knob. Cut into the guitar is a circle with a speaker grill and speaker.

The guitar itself has a maple neck with black dot inlay. The body is a strat-style double cutaway finished in zebra stripes.

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Will @willdarden.bsky.social · 11/12/2024

Afternoon guitar noodling. Laid down a quick backing track and spent an hour or so just improvising.

A bedspread is covered in multiple pieces of musical equipment. To the right is a surf green Fender Telecaster. Center left is a pedal board with four pedals, a Strymon TimeLine, a Strymon BigSky, a Boss tuning pedal, and a Chase Bliss Automatone Preamp II. These pedals are resting on a bamboo tray.

In the upper right corner of the photo is a Scarlett 18i8 interface.

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Will @willdarden.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

Today’s Journaling: Pen: Sailor Shikiori Tsukuyo-no-Minamo (月夜の水面 — water’s surface on a moonlit night), Shimoyo (霜夜 — frosty night). Stainless <F> nib. Ink: Pilot Iroshizuku Tsuki-yo (that’s right, another reading of the same characters — 月夜 — moonlit night)

A journal is shown with an open fountain pen. There’s and entry written and a photobooth strip is laid across the entry.

The pen is a Sailor ProColor 500 Shikiori “Frosty Night,” a deep, glittery turquoise with a pearlescent white top on the cap and gold trim. The nib is a stainless steel fine nib with coloring to match the other trim.

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Will @willdarden.bsky.social · 07/12/2024

A very classic model of Leslie. Pictured in the corner under my Mesa Nomad 45.

A music room is show. With a number of guitars, amps, and a keyboard

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Will @willdarden.bsky.social · 01/12/2024

Today’s Pen: Sailor PGS <EF> 万葉 — “Ten Thousand Leaves” Inked with a custom ink I call “Sage” mixed from two Iroshizuku inks.

An open fountain pen is laid across a notebook page. The pen is a Sailor Pro Gear Slim with an extra fine nib. The body and cap of the pen are a deep, pearlescent green with black end caps and gold trim.

There is text on the page listing the date and names of the pen and ink, written in the ink as named.

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Will @willdarden.bsky.social · 01/12/2024

Never did get into Lamy, more of a Japanese pen guy. I did go through a vintage phase, however.

A large variety of fountain pens are displayed on a table, laid out on a large piece of leather. Also displayed are an array of nibs, pen rests, and rulers.

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Will @willdarden.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

Today’s setup. Pen: Opus 88 Demo — 2022 Veri Peri — with Moonman <M> which I ground to an architect. Ink: Diamine Honey Burst

A fountain pen is laid across an open notebook with the nib exposed. The pen is an Opus 88 DEMO “Veri Peri” with a custom-ground nib — the body of the pen is translucent periwinkle-colored plastic with red ebonite caps and section. The pen has a black metal clip.

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Will @willdarden.bsky.social · 14/11/2024

I have a bottle of Vert Atlantidae to go with my Sailor PGS 万葉 <EF>. I love the KWZ but the idea of cleaning that shimmer out fills me with dread. I personally love Chiku Rin and I did a 4:1 mix of Chiku Rin and Fuyu Syogun that has a lovely sage color.

A green fountain pen (Sailor PGS Shikiori “Manyo” <EF>) with gold nib and trim. The body of the pen is a deep pearlescent forest green.

The pen is being held in a man’s hand with a laptop in the background.

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Will @willdarden.bsky.social · 14/11/2024

I have two tool chests like this that I love. One is my great grandfather’s Kennedy tool chest and one that I built from reclaimed built-in cabinets I scored off CraigsList for free.

A hand-built wooden tool chest is resting under a workbench in a garage. There are four drawers with simple metal handles, two large, two small.

The tool chest appears to be a rough cube measuring 3’ on a side.

The same tool chest from the prior photo with two of the drawers open showing their contents. The bottom drawer features a number of power tools including a grinder and a circular saw. The smaller drawer contains hand tools and scissors.

A vintage Kennedy tool chest displaying the contents of one drawer and the top of the case. The drawer is filled with a selection of sharpening stones and machinist tools.

An additional drawer is open featuring a variety of files and measuring tools as well as some files and rasps.

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Will @willdarden.bsky.social · 13/11/2024

Today’s Stuff Pen: Pilot Custom 912 <WA> Ink: Diamine Eclipse — purple/black Paper: Rhodia lined 90g/m2 notebook This is one of my favorite pens. It’s classy in an understated way, writes incredibly smooth in normal position and provides an extraordinarily fine line in reverse for drawing.

A black fountain pen sits on a bamboo pen rest, sitting across a notebook. The pen is a Pilot Custom 912 with a waverly nib.

There is writing in the notebook as follows:

“11/13/24

Pen: Pilot Custom 912 <WA>
Ink: Diamine Eclipse Diamine Eclipse

One thing I love about this pen is the ability to be inverted for a very fine line.”

Two ink sketches of a BBQ cart design with a kettle-style bbq set into a wheeled wooden table. There is a top and plan view of the cart, which measures 36” x 72”

The bbq takes up roughly half of the cart’s top. There is a marble cutting board and a galvanized steel pipe handle indicated on the left side of the design.

Art was drawn with a Pilot Waverly nib.

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Will @willdarden.bsky.social · 12/11/2024

Project of the day: repair the $10 travel guitar I picked up on Craigslist. New tuners and nut. The frets and electronics need some work still and I’m +/- on my nut work. Still could use a new bridge or at least new saddles.

Before photo of the guitar.

A zebra-striped travel guitar sits on a striped rug. The strings are detached from the tuners. The guitar has a lone single coil pickup, a volume knob, and a built-in speaker with a power switch.

The neck of the guitar is a lighter wood, maybe maple, with black dots. A decal on the headstock of the guitar indicates it is a “Littel Lyon by Washburn” (SIC).

Closeup before photo of the headstock of the guitar.

The head of the guitar sits on the same striped rug as in the previous photo. The tuners have been removed, showing the bare headstock and the old nut.

A closeup of the guitar’s original bridge and saddles.

The guitar, restrung on the same rug as before. The tuners and nut have been replaced but all else remains the same.

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Will @willdarden.bsky.social · 11/11/2024

Fude nibs changed how I draw. Seriously. I feel like it lets me be more free and less concerned with photorealism.

An ink sketch with watercolor of Haystack Rock in Cannon Beach, Oregon.

A large rock protrudes from the ocean in the shape of a haystack. Some smaller rocks surround it and all appear floating due to waves and mist. The abstract silhouettes of people walking on the beach are scattered across the frame in dark ink against the tan of the beach. Whitecaps are visible in the rough surf.

The artist’s signature is prominent in the lower right corner.

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Will @willdarden.bsky.social · 10/11/2024

Darlingside concert from Sept. 2023. If you see this, post a concert pic you took.

The band Darlingside plays on a raised stage in a historic church. Four people with various stringed instruments stand at microphones, their feet obscured by audio cabling and electronics. A drummer and keyboardist stand behind them and a rack of guitars sits on the left side of the image.

In the background, an old pipe organ looms, lit in pink and yellow from below, casting a shadow onto the arched ceiling.

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Will @willdarden.bsky.social · 09/11/2024

Thanks! Gonna have to do an intro post! Current project is building a pen storage box with some scrap leather and an old silverware chest. #fountainpens #leatherwork

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Will @willdarden.bsky.social · 09/11/2024

Here it is in process. Right now the hardware is housed in a kit neck/body combo. Long-term goal is to get a nice Warmoth neck and body blank and do Pelham blue top with cream binding and guard. Might rewire to Jimmy Page style. Pups are from gunstreet.co. Highly recommend for vintage PAF tone.

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Will @willdarden.bsky.social · 09/11/2024

Guitar Intro: - Gibson 1995 ES-335 Dot reissue with Bigsby. Sunburst. - USA Tele Pro II, Seafoam, with splittable neck humbucker and Warmoth neck - Tele deluxe baritone built by me - 1993 Japanese strat - Breedlove acoustic - Takamine 12-string - CV Tele Blackguard, modded

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Will @willdarden.bsky.social · 09/11/2024

A quick introduction since I’m new here: Looking for a few people to follow who are into music, art, food, and fountain pens. I build guitars, speak fluent Japanese, and like to take pictures.

Sunset beach photo on the Oregon coast. A family is gathered around a bonfire on the left side of the photo and there’s a small hill with trees on the right. A few people are silhouetted against the fading sunset, which fades from bright orange near the horizon to a light indigo near the top of the photo. Sparse clouds dot the horizon in the distance. In the foreground is the darkened sand, pockmarked with footprints and debris.

A man sleeps on the sidewalk in dirty, ruined clothes. He wears multiple layers, topped by a jacket and a hoody with the hood pulled over a ball cap. A water bottle sits on the ground near his head.

Behind him is an older building with a real estate sign hanging from a veranda. The building appears to be concrete painted red with multiple dark green doors that are locked shut. The frames around the doors are painted bright white.

The building is covered in various graffiti tags and a prominent statement says “FUCK MONEY PEOPLE MATTER MORE” in bright white paint against the red wall.

A music setup in someone’s house featuring multiple guitars, amps, and a keyboard. A pedalboard sits in front of one of the amps and wires crowd the room on the floor.

Guitars:
- a black Gretsch hollow body with a Bigsby tailpiece.
- Seafoam green telecaster with white pick guard and ebony fretboard.
- a Japanese-made black Fender Stratocaster with white pick guard and maple fretboard
- A deluxe telecaster with natural finish and dark fretboard
- Blackguard Squier classic vibe telecaster

Amps:
- Mesa nomad 45 with green tolex and tan grill cloth
- a Peavey
- Fender Mustang
- Leslie 122, with the back panels removed and facing the wall.

The keyboard is a Roland Juno DS 88

Multiple people are gathered around a table to eat dinner with disposable chopsticks. Drinks, disposable tableware, and takeout food are scattered across the table. A few other items like unlit candles and a cellphone are also on the table.

The scene is lit from above by a single hanging light with the background fading into the darkness. There is a large white column in the background and a wall of windows that look out on a darkened cityscape. It is night.

The people around the table are eating and taking. One man in the center is leaning over the table to look at the food and talk to the people sitting down. He wears a collared shirt and a backpack. Three other men sit around the table in casual collared shirts eating with serious looks on their faces. A single Asian woman sits at the head of the table with her head shaved, wearing a black tank top. She is reaching across the table as if to serve herself some food from one of the shared plates.

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Will @willdarden.bsky.social · 09/11/2024

I’m a simple man when it comes to pedals: - Tuner - Chase Bliss Automatone Preamp - Strymon Timeline - Strymon BigSky All through a Leslie 122 or a Mesa Nomad 45

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