Solo Live Clip → Full Band Arrangement
A short production experiment: turning a solo live guitar clip into a fuller arrangement by adding slide guitar, guitar textures, drums, and bass while keeping the original live feel at the centre.
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Yewchi Blog
Notes on guitar, sound, listening, and musical life.
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R&D Log - Apr 18 : Mixing Organic Time Without a Click
This entry explores natural timing—allowing music to breathe rather than locking it to a grid. The recording consists of only three tracks: acoustic guitar, electric lead, and bass. There is no click track, no programmed drums, and no artificial layering. The goal was to make each source feel present and alive on its own. The Approach Modern production often uses density and grid alignment as a substitute for depth. For this session, I chose the opposite. I wanted to preserve
Vintage Maintenance: Restoring the Boss CE-3 Part 1
The Issue: Analog Instability For years, the Boss CE-3 chorus was central to my pedalboard. It offered that specific, dimensional shimmer that defines the analog chorus sound. However, like many vintage units, it began to develop issues. It introduced random, unpredictable noise into the signal chain—sometimes a hiss, sometimes a crackle. In a live environment, reliability is paramount. I couldn't risk the signal integrity of the entire board for one pedal, so I made the diff
What I’ve Begun to Notice by Living with a Classical Guitar
A friend entrusted me with a classical guitar that had clearly been deeply cared for. I could probably say it was “given to me,” but I still do not feel fully comfortable putting it that strongly. For now, what feels more honest is that something precious has been placed in my hands for a while, and that I am being allowed to spend time with it carefully. I have spent many years with steel-string acoustics, archtops, and electric guitars, but this is the first time I have had
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Solo Live Clip → Full Band Arrangement
A short production experiment: turning a solo live guitar clip into a fuller arrangement by adding slide guitar, guitar textures, drums, and bass while keeping the original live feel at the centre.
3 days ago
R&D Log - Apr 18 : Mixing Organic Time Without a Click
This entry explores natural timing—allowing music to breathe rather than locking it to a grid. The recording consists of only three tracks: acoustic guitar, electric lead, and bass. There is no click track, no programmed drums, and no artificial layering. The goal was to make each source feel present and alive on its own. The Approach Modern production often uses density and grid alignment as a substitute for depth. For this session, I chose the opposite. I wanted to preserve
Apr 18
R&D Log - Apr 14 : Recording Organic Time Without a Click
This is the first entry in an ongoing R&D series. Lately, I have been thinking about how to preserve an organic sense of time in recording without relying on a click track. Not in a nostalgic or anti-technology way, but as a practical musical question: how can I document a living, breathing flow of time in a way that still holds together as a recording? This session is part of that search. For this process, I want to work with instruments I can actually play myself in real ti
Apr 14
Lyle Archtop Restoration Log: Part 3 (Final) - The Ghost in the Machine & The Revival
(Link to Part 1) https://x.gd/0CQOG (Link to Part 2) https://x.gd/51Kn7 In the previous entry, the harness was built, and the components were connected, but I was met with silence from the bridge pickup. I tested the signal path with a multimeter, but the initial diagnosis showed no obvious breaks. In this final chapter, I will document the journey from that troubleshooting deadlock to the revived tone you hear in the video above. Restoration Plan Recap: Control Layout Correc
Apr 4
Lyle Archtop Restoration Log: Part 2 - The Ship in a Bottle
In the previous entry, I outlined the plan to restore and upgrade the electronics of my Lyle Archtop. I also posed a structural question: With no back access panel, how does one remove the entire electronic harness through the F-holes, rewire it, and—crucially—install it back into the sealed body without losing a component inside? —-------------------------------------- Restoration plan: 1. Control Layout Correction I will revert the wiring to the standard Gibson layout, brin
Apr 4
Lyle Archtop Restoration Log: Part 1 - The Patient and the Plan
following the conclusion of the CE-3 chorus pedal repair project, I am shifting focus to my main instrument for jazz performances: The Lyle Archtop. This series will document the repair and upgrade process of this vintage instrument.Previous Blog series: Vintage Maintenance: Restoring the Boss CE-3 Part 1 https://x.gd/N4wDe About Lyle Guitar First, I should provide some context regarding the "Lyle" brand, as it no longer exists. Lyle guitars were manufactured in the late 1960
Apr 4
Boss CE-3 Restoration Part 4 (Final): Troubleshooting and Revival
Welcome to the final entry of the Boss CE-3 restoration project. After replacing the capacitors and trimmers, I was left with a pedal that passed signal but produced no chorus. The "Last Mile" is often where the most difficult problems hide. The objectives were: Replace oxidized trimmer (Done) Audio Grade Recapping (Done) ACA to PSA Conversion (Done?) Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4: The Diagnosis I began by tracing the circuit with a multimeter. This vintage PCB
Apr 1
Boss CE-3 Restoration Part 3 : Ingenuity and Silence
This is Part 3: Old Boss CE-3 Chorus Pedal Restoration project. In the previous post, the restoration of the Boss CE-3 hit a physical wall: the leads of the new audio-grade capacitors were too thick for the vintage PCB holes. Force was not an option. Read previous post: Boss CE-3 Restoration Part 2 The plan remains: Trimmer Replacement Full Recapping (Audio Grade) ACA to PSA Conversion Here is how I navigated the hardware incompatibility. The solution required a workaround to
Apr 1
CE-3 Restoration Part 2 : The Physical Hurdles
In the Part 1 of this restoration series, I outlined the diagnostic process for my vintage Boss CE-3 Chorus. This pedal had been pulled from my board due to random noise bursts, but its sonic character is irreplaceable. Today, the parts have arrived, and we move from theory to execution. Part 1: Vintage Maintenance The restoration plan is threefold: Trimmer Replacement: Swap out the corroded component causing the instability. Electrolytic Recapping: Replace all capacitors, ut
Mar 31
Vintage Maintenance: Restoring the Boss CE-3 Part 1
The Issue: Analog Instability For years, the Boss CE-3 chorus was central to my pedalboard. It offered that specific, dimensional shimmer that defines the analog chorus sound. However, like many vintage units, it began to develop issues. It introduced random, unpredictable noise into the signal chain—sometimes a hiss, sometimes a crackle. In a live environment, reliability is paramount. I couldn't risk the signal integrity of the entire board for one pedal, so I made the diff
Mar 31
Experiment Report - Guitar Recording Signal Chain
Passive Pickup Loading Test: EQ Pedal, Passive DI, and Hi-Z Input A common problem with passive acoustic pickups is inconsistency at the input stage. Depending on what the pickup is connected to first, the same instrument can sound full and natural, or thin, brittle, and overly “quacky.” In other cases, a technically correct signal path can still produce excessive low end that becomes difficult to manage later. To examine this more clearly, I ran a simple comparison test usin
Mar 31
What I’ve Begun to Notice by Living with a Classical Guitar
A friend entrusted me with a classical guitar that had clearly been deeply cared for. I could probably say it was “given to me,” but I still do not feel fully comfortable putting it that strongly. For now, what feels more honest is that something precious has been placed in my hands for a while, and that I am being allowed to spend time with it carefully. I have spent many years with steel-string acoustics, archtops, and electric guitars, but this is the first time I have had
Mar 31
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