What were you doing at 16?

[yungman]

I was doing anything but schoolwork, mostly the wrong things. I graduated High school 2nd from the bottom of my class at age 17. I went to work as a farm hand, sandwich shop cook, cashier, cook, lawn care, 3rd shift quality control at concrete plant. It was there that I became interested in math (dealing with the calculations for pre-stressed hollow core slabs-temperature corrections). I started college as and adult student part time.( I had to beg to be let in on the condition I got all A’s first semester). I was working full time overnights at the plant, and attending school part time undeclared. I did that for about a year and a half, until I decided to quit the concrete plant and enroll full time. I picked up a part time job working as a loader at UPS ( I was about 24 at that point). Every morning before going to school I would do 4 hrs (4am to 8 am) loading packages. I managed to do that for 2 year until my grades took a hit. Graduated ( with honors ) in at the ripe age of 28 with a B.S.M.E.T… Now almost 40 -stay at home dad.

I realize this is more than what I was doing at 16, but I felt I would just explain, since my start was ( I imagine) very atypical for the path to this website.

I have similar history in the sense I was so sure I'd a musician when I was young. I did went to 4yr college in Chemistry just because my parent supported me and I did it for them. In 1978, I realize I hated Chemistry, I got married. I actually started out as pizza delivery. I was still into music. BUT it's hard over here in US. Back in late 60s and early 70s, guitar was in, you went far being a good guitar player. But that changed. I can't sing, I am not good in writing songs. Still there's not much of a future.

When I was playing guitar, I had the best amplifier at the time and still it's very limited, one cannot make it sound good until really cranking it up. At the time, only available amps were just overdriving the preamp to get the distortion. But it didn't sound good. I came up with the idea of lowering the voltage of the output stage to make the signal clipped at much lower level and it sounded great. I literally let the preamp section power at full voltage, the filament of all the tubes at full voltage. Then I put a variac to control the voltage of the power tubes to control the clipping. It was beautiful. That's how I first got into electronics.

After working in pizza delivery, that's not the way to live. I started looking for something that I can use the little knowledge of electronics I know. I got a field service tech job for Norelco which made micro cassette recorder used by attorney and other office people to dictate the message and have the secretary type it out. I started learning more. The more I got into it, the more I love electronics. I started staying in the car between service calls and study. It's to the point I screwed up my job and I got fired.

I then spend 3 months studying 18hrs/day and got a better job, a real test technician job in the production. I managed to transfer to the engineering division to test new circuit boards. I started writing assembly test program for testing. Before I knew it, they literally dumped all the programming to me. I literally started as programmer. I got promoted to jr EE in 1980.

I worked very hard, I got a chance to get into LeCroy(one that make digital scope) in 1981, first designing controller using 8085, then I got a chance to move into designing the front end of the ADC unit. Did I study to keep up. I did it. Long story short, I got into RF analog design, Promoted to Sr. EE in 1987 in Seimens and Manager of EE in 1990 in another company.

I really never have formal education in EE, all by self study and using common sense( you won't believe a little common sense go so far even in electronic design). I felt bad to the point I actually started studying all the calculus to PDE AFTER I RETIRED IN 2005. I study Electromagnetics and all AFTER I RETIRED. I just want to be WHOLE. Believe it or not, I was actually RF engineer design circuits before I study all that!!! Just good old common sense.

Speaking about my variable power guitar amp above. I SHOULD HAVE PATENTED IT. NOBODY CAME OUT UNTIL THE 90S from a company in Canada!!! But I was too busy chasing my dreams and just let it go.

Here is a dumpy recording of my playing in street jam in 1978, you can hear the sound of my amp even recorded with a handheld cassette recorder. I quit soon after that. Don't laugh about my playing, this is 46yrs old.

 

[erobz]

I have similar history in the sense I was so sure I'd a musician when I was young. I did went to 4yr college in Chemistry just because my parent supported me and I did it for them. In 1978, I realize I hated Chemistry, I got married. I actually started out as pizza delivery. I was still into music. BUT it's hard over here in US. Back in late 60s and early 70s, guitar was in, you went far being a good guitar player. But that changed. I can't sing, I am not good in writing songs. Still there's not much of a future.

When I was playing guitar, I had the best amplifier at the time and still it's very limited, one cannot make it sound good until really cranking it up. At the time, only available amps were just overdriving the preamp to get the distortion. But it didn't sound good. I came up with the idea of lowering the voltage of the output stage to make the signal clipped at much lower level and it sounded great. I literally let the preamp section power at full voltage, the filament of all the tubes at full voltage. Then I put a variac to control the voltage of the power tubes to control the clipping. It was beautiful. That's how I first got into electronics.

After working in pizza delivery, that's not the way to live. I started looking for something that I can use the little knowledge of electronics I know. I got a field service tech job for Norelco which made micro cassette recorder used by attorney and other office people to dictate the message and have the secretary type it out. I started learning more. The more I got into it, the more I love electronics. I started staying in the car between service calls and study. It's to the point I screwed up my job and I got fired.

I then spend 3 months studying 18hrs/day and got a better job, a real test technician job in the production. I managed to transfer to the engineering division to test new circuit boards. I started writing assembly test program for testing. Before I knew it, they literally dumped all the programming to me. I literally started as programmer. I got promoted to jr EE in 1980.

I worked very hard, I got a chance to get into LeCroy(one that make digital scope) in 1981, first designing controller using 8085, then I got a chance to move into designing the front end of the ADC unit. Did I study to keep up. I did it. Long story short, I got into RF analog design, Promoted to Sr. EE in 1987 in Seimens and Manager of EE in 1990 in another company.

I really never have formal education in EE, all by self study and using common sense( you won't believe a little common sense go so far even in electronic design). I felt bad to the point I actually started studying all the calculus to PDE AFTER I RETIRED IN 2005. I study Electromagnetics and all AFTER I RETIRED. I just want to be WHOLE. Believe it or not, I was actually RF engineer design circuits before I study all that!!! Just good old common sense.

Speaking about my variable power guitar amp above. I SHOULD HAVE PATENTED IT. NOBODY CAME OUT UNTIL THE 90S from a company in Canada!!! But I was too busy chasing my dreams and just let it go.

Funny story, I too thought I was going to be a musician (rock star) circa 2001. I did essay in 11th grade Civics telling my teacher that! He laughed hysterically and bet me 100 dollars I wouldn't! I still owe him that 100 dollars...

 

[erobz]

Here is a dumpy recording of my playing in street jam in 1978, you can hear the sound of my amp even recorded with a handheld cassette recorder. I quit soon after that. Don't laugh about my playing, this is 46yrs old.

P.S. sounds like a pretty good jam band to me! Gov't Mule esq...without Warren Haynes, but still solid playing!

 

[yungman]

Funny story, I too thought I was going to be a musician (rock star) circa 2001. I did essay in 11th grade Civics telling my teacher that! He laughed hysterically and bet me 100 dollars I wouldn't! I still owe him that 100 dollars...

It's not easy, I really tried. Being able to sing is very important. If one can't sing, it's hard to write songs with singing. Just playing guitar is not enough. I was playing in nightclubs before also. It's not a steady job. Pay is not that good. People keep thinking about those big stars earn millions, That's like one out of a million people, the rest hardly can survive, have to work a second job to make a living.

 

[yungman]

P.S. sounds like a pretty good jam band to me! Gov't Mule esq...without Warren Haynes, but still solid playing!

For 1978, that's not bad, but the world moved on. Mine is old style before shredding. It's still Santana, Eric Clapton days.

 

[erobz]

For 1978, that's not bad, but the world moved on. Mine is old style before shredding. It's still Santana, Eric Clapton days.

I was going to say you predated them, so maybe they took your style! Perhaps you were there just a bit early. The Allman Brothers (from which they sprung) did well with that genre around the same time, perhaps a bit earlier. I was listening to jam music around 2010, I think there was a bit of a resurgence.

Anyhow...I'm not a rock history buff, but I do enjoy it!

 

[yungman]

I was going to say you predated them, so maybe they took your style! Perhaps you were there just a bit early. The Allman Brothers (from which they sprung) did well with that genre around the same time, perhaps a bit earlier. I was listening to jam music around 2010, I think there was a bit of a resurgence.

Anyhow...I'm not a rock history buff, but I do enjoy it!

Thank you so much, It's 46yrs too late, but I appreciate this. I still have a Les Paul Custom and 2 strats. I built 2 new amps and are sitting in the closet for yrs now.

I honestly enjoy electronics much more than music. I hardly listen to music anymore. I actually got a US patent on noise cancellation for single coil pickup like in Strats 11yrs ago. I never did anything with the patent, just a plaque hanging on the wall and be happy.

https://patents.google.com/patent/U...yungman+alan+liu&oq=Inventor+yungman+alan+liu

I did a demo, I was missing notes, so embarrassing.

 

[LZ-129]

I was certain I was going to conquer the world as the next big rock n roller. I had started songwriting the year before, hadn’t learned barely any material or scales but I was armed with a repertoire of four major chords and one minor. Success was certain in my mind!

 

[Janus]

Junior yr of high school. Was on the football( lineman), wrestling, and track team( discus & shot. Made it to state with the discus) Treasurer for the FFA chapter. Living in a small rural community of Northwest Oregon, in a house surrounded by forest, with the nearest neighbor 3/4 mi away.

 

[LZ-129]

Junior yr of high school. Was on the football( lineman), wrestling, and track team( discus & shot. Made it to state with the discus) Treasurer for the FFA chapter. Living in a small rural community of Northwest Oregon, in a house surrounded by forest, with the nearest neighbor 3/4 mi away.

I’m not fluent in American sports but you sound exceptional compared to where I was at your age!

I salute you sir

 

[yungman]

I was going to say you predated them, so maybe they took your style! Perhaps you were there just a bit early. The Allman Brothers (from which they sprung) did well with that genre around the same time, perhaps a bit earlier. I was listening to jam music around 2010, I think there was a bit of a resurgence.

Anyhow...I'm not a rock history buff, but I do enjoy it!

This is off the subject, I found a guitarist that I am very impressed. Somehow she just popped up when I was on youtuble. So far she's the only one I've seen that combine the wild shredding with string bending, vibrato that give the emotion. She can run a line and landing in the perfect time. I know is Van halen style, But I like her a lot better, not just see who can run the keyboard the fastest. I like her screaming notes.

Now, I suggest you listen and not looking at the screen as she's distracting. Her playing is so much more than her looks

 

[Janus]

I’m not fluent in American sports but you sound exceptional compared to where I was at your age!

I salute you sir

It's not as impressive as it sounds. As I said, it was a small rural community, and a small high school. Thus the competition for a position on a team was not that large.

 

[yungman]

It's not as impressive as it sounds. As I said, it was a small rural community, and a small high school. Thus the competition for a position on a team was not that large.

Hey, at least you did it, big or small town, you still got in, that's exceptional already in my book. I always want to be stronger and all, I just not born that way and don't have the genes.

 

[berkeman]

I noticed a funny juxtaposition coincidence of these two thread titles in the forum list just now...

 

[collinsmark]

[...] I know is Van halen style, But I like her a lot better, not just see who can run the keyboard the fastest. I like her screaming notes.

In all fairness though, the guitar solo in Michael Jackson's "Beat It" was written and performed (as in played/recorded in the studio) by Eddie Van Halen himself. So I suppose her style on that song was apropos.

 

[yungman]

In all fairness though, the guitar solo in Michael Jackson's "Beat It" was written and performed (as in played/recorded in the studio) by Eddie Van Halen himself. So I suppose her style on that song was apropos.

I know Van Halen invented the style, I did not credit her on the style. I just said she's the only one I know( I really not looking either) that mix the old style string bending, vibrato with fast shredding. All the others including Van Halen just fast and fast, no feeling and emotion in it, all technical.

The amazing part of her is she can run a line, but always ending on the right note, not just keep running and running. It's the control that I appreciate the most. Search her other videos and you'll see.

BUT she can never take away the creativity of Van Halen that actually invent the style and change the guitar world...( and made me obsoleted).

 

[erobz]

Thank you so much, It's 46yrs too late, but I appreciate this. I still have a Les Paul Custom and 2 strats. I built 2 new amps and are sitting in the closet for yrs now.

I honestly enjoy electronics much more than music. I hardly listen to music anymore. I actually got a US patent on noise cancellation for single coil pickup like in Strats 11yrs ago. I never did anything with the patent, just a plaque hanging on the wall and be happy.

https://patents.google.com/patent/U...yungman+alan+liu&oq=Inventor+yungman+alan+liu

I did a demo, I was missing notes, so embarrassing.

Cudos on your patent. It's been a while since I broke the Strat out, but I remember playing on the front pickup - great tone, always had the annoying "buzz" that your circuitry appears to negate. I always played in between the humbuckers and the middle.

 

[pinball1970]

One thing I do miss about being 16 was reading and my passion for it. Just the joy of reading and putting yourself in the book.
I read "Lord of the rings" in the summer holidays and there is nothing that compares to switching off from the world and visualizing another.
16-17 is an important year for a student but that was also the LA games and "V" for me. Great series at the time when we had four channels only and no www.
Also Mathematics was getting me down and my brilliant friend and I revised in that summer, he helped me fumble through calculus, read LOTR, watched V, the Olympics and experimented with his home brew.
My 1981 anaerobic respiration project had funding removed and the project was shut down after my 15th birthday. Phase 2 trial results were not well received by my mother.

 

[yungman]

Cudos on your patent. It's been a while since I broke the Strat out, but I remember playing on the front pickup - great tone, always had the annoying "buzz" that your circuitry appears to negate. I always played in between the humbuckers and the middle.

There's a lot of people playing around on noise cancellation, idea is very simple, just detect the hum, inject the signal to cancel the original hum. Just like the reverse winding of the middle pickup that sense the hum but 180deg out of phase.

The difficult part is the pickup is very very sensitive to loading. Even very high impedance like 100K will change the sound. That's the reason the value of the volume pot is very important on guitar pickups. The higher the resistance(1Mohm), the more treble you get. You can hear the difference using a 250K pot for sure.

The difference of my invention is I inject current with current source that have very high output impedance. Higher than 1Mohm. So it's invisible to the pickup. I have people come to compare with my circuit connect and disconnect, nobody can tell the difference in the sound. Also, if the battery dies, my circuit is turned off, and becomes invisible to the pickup. So the guitar doesn't depend on the battery to work. If the battery dies in the middle of the concert, it just loses the noise cancellation, the guitar still function like normal.

This is going in full circle, I started my electronics life because I want to have an ideal amp, I have to make that, so I learn some basic electronics to give me a jump start. Now I retired, I do something about musical instrument using my electronics.

 

[mathwonk]

I was working on my edrnase bottom deal;

 

[yungman]

I was working on my edrnase bottom deal;

You ever try to use this in casino or gamblings?

 

[mathwonk]

I just liked to show people that the eye can be fooled. some people I taught said they saw casino personnel using similar methods on the customers however.

 

[yungman]

In all fairness though, the guitar solo in Michael Jackson's "Beat It" was written and performed (as in played/recorded in the studio) by Eddie Van Halen himself. So I suppose her style on that song was apropos.

I since listened to more of Van Halen, I really cannot even finish one of his complete solo. YES, he created the style that revolutionize the guitar world 40yrs ago. But I want more from a musician, the emotion and expression. His is just new way of playing and very technical like a machine cranking out notes so fast.

Here is another one from Sophie Llyod, just an old song, but the way she run and land on the right place to me is just so much better as a guitarist( notice I don't say creator or song writer, just as a guitarist).



I guess I am looking for emotional connection, which to me is very important. Like Mariah Carey have good techinque, can sing 5 octaves, but to me, there's no feelings. Whitney Houston can sing a lot of octaves, but how many people cry when she sang to National Anthem in 91 Superbowl. I was one of them, I felt the hair on my forearm stood up Reacting to her singing.

 

[yungman]

In all fairness though, the guitar solo in Michael Jackson's "Beat It" was written and performed (as in played/recorded in the studio) by Eddie Van Halen himself. So I suppose her style on that song was apropos.

It just happened I picked the Jackson's song, there are other songs she play. Just don't look at the screen, walk away and listen.