Tech Talk by James

Guitars and Guitar related Tech Talk
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  • Tech Talk by James   Pizza by the Slice and When to Roll the Dice   “You can get it if you really want it. But if you don’t really want it you’ll never get it”…Tony Brock, Music Producer , Silver Dreams Studios.   You have paid your way and paid your dues for years now. You’ve done everything they ever told you to do but you still feel you can’t really make your guitar sing like you dreamed of when you first picked it up? You’re tired of playing Top 40 in bar bands and never making any real money and are thinking of quitting to attend law school or med school. Take Heart. There are times when you will hate the instrument and times when you’ll love it. But stick with it because eventually you will see results and achieve a level of success you never thought possible. Someone once said to me “When are you going to quit?” and I said “Oh I quit every day, but I’m back the next day. They naturally wished “ To know why?” My reply: “ Oh, well that’s just my training at Berkeley, I vent and get feedback , then I feel better, and then I’m back at it like nothing ever happened.” If venting doesn’t work on stress I simply get a slice of pizza, say a prayer, and go for the Guitar again knowing I have changed the energy and made things better. Usually I see results within 5 minutes that make me think “What else can I play that’s new or what can I learn today?” Sometimes I am given two diff exciting opportunities: One is to play a dream gig and or work with someone I admire, and the other is to make a pile of cash for a few hours work. This is perhaps the most difficult situation. This is a conundrum as now I want to do both and it looks like I need to clone myself to pull it off. Time to flip a coin or roll the dice!   Now maybe all that seems funny to some folks but I don’t mind.  Perhaps your life requires a  good studio, loads of guitars, nice car, trophy spouse, and a few goodies now and then- and you have an ambition to succeed that is very strong. Just remember you only need one great guitar and one good amp to make a living. And of course, some good songs. If you can’t sing then find a great singer to write songs with and be all the best parts of you that you can be all the time for them. If you don’t wish to give more than what is asked for then you are not very likely to be asked back to fill the slot as “First Call” Guitarist. Music makers, such as Producers and Composers and Band Members will always remember the guy or gal who is thoughtful and who can do the job and is a pleasure to be around.  And they most certainly recall who not to invite back.   One of the funniest stories I ever heard came from the LA Studio Giant, Tommy Tedesco. Tommy, when he was alive, was the most recorded guitarist in the history of the planet ! No easy feat to pull off. Tommy loved good music and good food. He was a natural storyteller and a great musician to boot. On his first big studio gig he was well mannered, polite and set up early and ready to go. There were 100 orchestra guys there all gathered to be conducted by John Williams. It was either a score for a blockbuster movie or an important recording artist. Tommy felt pleased he got the gig. He was a good sightreader.   One problem occurred he didn’t bank on…He got a case of stage fright or nerves. It started in his left foot and worked its way up his leg and across and down his right leg, and then back up to his chest, arms, and his neck. He had the shakes. By the time the orchestra had played all the parts they were expected to enough time had elapsed Tommy was in a cold sweat. They played perfectly and it was now time for Tommy to take a solo on his Classical Guitar. His hands shook as he held the guitar. He made a sound that closely resembled broken glass and 100 guys all turned in unison and looked at him. The Conductor for the gig looked at him and pointed to him and simply said “ You- out!”  The next day he was back on the assembly line at Douglas Aircraft in Burbank, California. But he learned from the experience and two years later he returned to the same employer and all went well. By then the Composer and Producer had forgotten him and his faux paus. He never got so discouraged he gave up. And of course he did a great job so they had him back again and again. He had rolled the dice that things would be different the second time around and it paid off. He made $800.00 that day. The parts were extremely tricky and he nailed it. Tommy would also drive 45 miles out of his way to play a gig with friends for very little money - $30.00 usually, sometimes nothing. But this built a new thing into the friendship and a regular gig that was good for the soul.   Most people who only play for the money don’t last in the music industry. People who love music have a passion for it and a certain something in their hearts that can’t be defined except to say they would play music even if it was just a hobby. They have something inside that can’t be denied and will transcend all difficulties just to get to the perfect  note and tone and play something sublime.    James PS: Live The Dream, and don’t forget your iPod !

    Tech Talk by James

     

    Pizza by the Slice and When to Roll the Dice

     

    “You can get it if you really want it. But if you don’t really want it you’ll never get it”…Tony Brock, Music Producer , Silver Dreams Studios.

     

    You have paid your way and paid your dues for years now. You’ve done everything they ever told you to do but you still feel you can’t really make your guitar sing like you dreamed of when you first picked it up? You’re tired of playing Top 40 in bar bands and never making any real money and are thinking of quitting to attend law school or med school. Take Heart. There are times when you will hate the instrument and times when you’ll love it. But stick with it because eventually you will see results and achieve a level of success you never thought possible. Someone once said to me “When are you going to quit?” and I said “Oh I quit every day, but I’m back the next day. They naturally wished “ To know why?” My reply: “ Oh, well that’s just my training at Berkeley, I vent and get feedback , then I feel better, and then I’m back at it like nothing ever happened.” If venting doesn’t work on stress I simply get a slice of pizza, say a prayer, and go for the Guitar again knowing I have changed the energy and made things better. Usually I see results within 5 minutes that make me think “What else can I play that’s new or what can I learn today?”

    Sometimes I am given two diff exciting opportunities: One is to play a dream gig and or work with someone I admire, and the other is to make a pile of cash for a few hours work. This is perhaps the most difficult situation. This is a conundrum as now I want to do both and it looks like I need to clone myself to pull it off. Time to flip a coin or roll the dice!

     

    Now maybe all that seems funny to some folks but I don’t mind.  Perhaps your life requires a  good studio, loads of guitars, nice car, trophy spouse, and a few goodies now and then- and you have an ambition to succeed that is very strong. Just remember you only need one great guitar and one good amp to make a living. And of course, some good songs. If you can’t sing then find a great singer to write songs with and be all the best parts of you that you can be all the time for them. If you don’t wish to give more than what is asked for then you are not very likely to be asked back to fill the slot as “First Call” Guitarist. Music makers, such as Producers and Composers and Band Members will always remember the guy or gal who is thoughtful and who can do the job and is a pleasure to be around.  And they most certainly recall who not to invite back.

     

    One of the funniest stories I ever heard came from the LA Studio Giant, Tommy Tedesco. Tommy, when he was alive, was the most recorded guitarist in the history of the planet ! No easy feat to pull off. Tommy loved good music and good food. He was a natural storyteller and a great musician to boot. On his first big studio gig he was well mannered, polite and set up early and ready to go. There were 100 orchestra guys there all gathered to be conducted by John Williams. It was either a score for a blockbuster movie or an important recording artist. Tommy felt pleased he got the gig. He was a good sightreader.

     

    One problem occurred he didn’t bank on…He got a case of stage fright or nerves. It started in his left foot and worked its way up his leg and across and down his right leg, and then back up to his chest, arms, and his neck. He had the shakes. By the time the orchestra had played all the parts they were expected to enough time had elapsed Tommy was in a cold sweat. They played perfectly and it was now time for Tommy to take a solo on his Classical Guitar. His hands shook as he held the guitar. He made a sound that closely resembled broken glass and 100 guys all turned in unison and looked at him. The Conductor for the gig looked at him and pointed to him and simply said “ You- out!”  The next day he was back on the assembly line at Douglas Aircraft in Burbank, California. But he learned from the experience and two years later he returned to the same employer and all went well. By then the Composer and Producer had forgotten him and his faux paus. He never got so discouraged he gave up. And of course he did a great job so they had him back again and again. He had rolled the dice that things would be different the second time around and it paid off. He made $800.00 that day. The parts were extremely tricky and he nailed it.

    Tommy would also drive 45 miles out of his way to play a gig with friends for very little money - $30.00 usually, sometimes nothing. But this built a new thing into the friendship and a regular gig that was good for the soul.

     

    Most people who only play for the money don’t last in the music industry. People who love music have a passion for it and a certain something in their hearts that can’t be defined except to say they would play music even if it was just a hobby. They have something inside that can’t be denied and will transcend all difficulties just to get to the perfect  note and tone and play something sublime.

     

     James

    PS: Live The Dream, and don’t forget your iPod !

    • 3 weeks ago

  • Tech Talk by James

     

    Powers of Ten and the Five Types of Capos

     

    There’s a lot of talk about the Metrics of Music. Music literacy is another very easy to learn language for kids. It is easier to learn to the power of 10 at a young age. Kids are natural born learners. They gather up knowledge like a sponge and by the time they are in junior high they are pretty much fluent in all things music and can fix the laptop or desktop for mom and dad too.

     

    There’s Multi-level Capos, Bird of Paradise Capos, Old fashioned Strap Capos, Capos with built in tuners, and Floating Capos, even an Electronic Capo that simulates the neck position of your choice! These things are for fun and their use is to get more outta the Guitar. They change the key you’re in. They give a lift to the song and usually put a smile on the face of player and listener both. I haven’t used the electronic capo yet but I guess I’ll need to cover that at another time once I’ve put it thru the paces.

     

    I happen to like the Kyser Capo that looks to me like a Bird Of Paradise flower I saw in California and Hawaii. I’ve owned several capos over the years and I like that they are improving the design as time goes by. To me a sweet sounding guitar can sound even better or sweeter when I pop one of those capos on there. Sometimes a song isn’t catching fire and I put on the Kyser and the song suddenly flies like a free spirit that was just waiting to be born. The funny times and the laughs I remember were when we made up our own comic words or lyrics to songs by other people when we forgot the words of part of a song. Try passing the guitar around and playing a song from the archives. It is a timeless tradition certainly in the Music Capitals of North America and perhaps even everywhere.

     

    In what has become a sea of new fantastic gear from music merchants from all over the world I would say if your just beginning to play an instrument, any instrument- go and read the catalogs and try out anything that catches your eye in the Music Shop of your choice. It’s an endless journey once your into it, and can be a return to the good insights on your place in the musical firmament you had prior to the time when math, PHP , engineering, computers and commuting took over your days and months.

     

    We so love to applaud them Hard working dudes and gals for their manufacture of innovative new products, and NAMM loves to show off all the wares under one roof in Anaheim, Nashville, New York, and Chicago. For those of you who don’t know -it is the National Association of Music Merchants. They put on several shows every year, sorta like a builders get together to show off new guitars and related gear…I went one year and felt lucky to go, it was like: “Let’s have a good time at the NAMM Convention”. Really enjoyed talking to everyone and having a cool time checking out all the new equipment. NAMM requires an invite to attend, but lets the general public in for a day from time to time. So go if you can!

     James Walsh

     

     

     

    • 1 month ago
    • 1 notes

  • The Players Crush on Love

     

    Tech Talk by James

     

    iStomp on U, and The Players Crush on Love

     

    The most important thing a guitarist can have in his or her arsenal of tools besides his Guitars is the ability to Tune and play by Ear. Seeing notes as colors certainly helps and that’s where basic theory is useful. Ear training is something that comes with time, and in the words of Steve Vai “The only way to do it is to do it.” Transcribing music you love— the art of writing out the notes you hear on paper known as Lead Sheets—for others to sight read and play on guitar or piano is a way to fine tune your ear. This forces you to get it right. You check it on your guitar to see if it’s correct and through trial and error your skill improves.

     

    If you have an iPhone or Android phone, download the da Tuner APP for guitar today. It is by far the most accurate and sensitive tuner for guitar I have ever come across. And best of all it has a freeware version called Da Tuner Lite. Knowing how to tune without it is also a skill. Tuning up manually, that is, without electronic help is important, too. By knowing how to tune by ear and by fine tuning using harmonics and a relative pitch assessment you can have perfect pitch. This is something you must practice and develop in conjunction with other skills even if you have a Robot Guitar that self-tunes. Both Peavey and Gibson make guitars that self -tune and this is a time saver as long as it works right. What if it doesn’t? Then you’re back to the old school way of doing things! That’s the players crush on the love of the instrument. You have to be able to hear it in your head just in case there’s no juice in Electric Guitarland. And it’s back to being unplugged where you prove your metal.

     

    The tried and true blue ear training is to name chords and intervals without even looking. Use flash cards and a buddy or your iPhone. And then there’s the genius of Vai. Steve Vai made a tape loop of A440 and listened to it in his sleep every night for a year with headphones. Everything else on the guitar was relative. I know this was true because I saw him being tested—put on the spot—at M.I. in Hollywood. The ability to do this with his own ears was something he had to have. He sang the note and then struck the A string on his guitar and it was perfectly accurate in response. Not a bad way to start your career in music.

     

     

    There are some folks who make a living transcribing other people’s hit songs and enjoy it. It can be very rewarding and it beats flipping burgers. But if that’s not for you then go after picking songs off your iPod  by ear until you have it all figured out. Play along and eventually integrate the songs you learned to play by ear from your iPod song collection and inventive live playing – making up your own guitar parts or solo that complements the song. This is something you can do as different parts of your practise routine. This can be rewarding when it gets boring to play the same riff or solo again and again. It’s a natural thing to progress and it might be only your friends will notice you have improved.

     

    The iStomp Pedal is a Guitar pedal that will allow you to constantly change pedals using the iPhone as a link to an infinite variety of amp models and pedals. So it’s like a universal remote for those who don’t wish to collect  8 or 9 different pedals and are happy with the software and some cool impressive sounding APPS. This is an improvement as anything that has an easy portability factor is a winner in today’s busy travels for solo artists and bands. Being a happy camper means you’ve got your equipment working good and you know where you’re headed. When your playing over changes at a club or just tracking a new song you wrote it’s important to have your gear working to your satisfaction. It doesn’t matter if you’re a techie or not, you gotta have a good time and love what you play.

     

    There is what Jimi Hendrix called the Rainbow Bridge, where you’re connected into a higher level of awareness and you get out of your own way. It’s a stream of consciousness that is where it becomes effortless and you don’t have to think. You may feel like you have upped your game. You’ll know when you hit it because you’ll be smiling. So keep smiling. And keep learning.

     

    And by the way, Hendrix was a genius of the highest order on Songwriting and Guitar Playing. He has been voted the greatest Guitarist of all time more than once by fans and guitarists who are the readers of several top Guitar magazines and Rolling Stone magazine. He is definitely worth checking out.

     

    • 2 months ago
  • Tone Monsters  Tech Talk by James   Tone Monsters and iPod Farming   Line 6 and IK Multimedia are attempting to take over my iPod and iPhone. We should all have this problem. Lol. Writing, recording, practicing, playing, gigging and rehearsing all eventually fall into the same schedule. At least in my mind they do, I just happen to be flex in what I prioritize. So… what is missing from this list? Touring and making videos. Also if you have a car you may very well be the guy who takes us all to the Cat Club on the Sunset Strip on jam night with Gilby Clark, formerly of GNR , and Love Mongers alumni. Yes it can happen to you! I thought wah wah pedals were old hat till I saw Gilby use one to cover the synth part of the Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again”.    One day while in Newberry, California I stumbled across Line 6’s office/factory. A secret pod farm with technical geeks and guitar players as pals. A weekend party animals dream factory. Dudes who got it together with Amps and Pedals and made it so amps did more cool sounds for your hard earned money . Modeling of Amps and sampled Tones captured for instant use. Some amps are actually hybrid arsenals of 10 diff amps – a valve amp and computer server all in one box.  Then came new rules. Airlines charge extra for freight. What to do? IK Multimedia put a slew of pedals and amps on the iPod and iPhone. Portable and powerful in an all in one APP tailor made for the cel phone-   with downloadable Sounds galore. And some are even free! Once you’re in the room you may not leave for hours or days. Not made for the Google Android phone yet but something to enjoy nonetheless.   Then PreSonus made Studio One Recording software a free download. And yet all this stuff is easily plugged into the the new laptop, Mac and PC. You dear reader may be confused by too many choices but don’t be. Simply play around with the gizmos and gadgets at your local Guitar Shop or download the freebies and try them out before you commit to a final purchase decision. I played around with the new Apple iBooks, iPods, iPads and iPhones and the Macbook Pro at the Apple Store for months before finally making up my mind what I liked best. But once I did make the jump the flood gates opened and I was knee deep in sounds, recording ideas for songs, and sometimes even sharing tech support info with friends.  My Home Studio was born, and lucky for me I loved all this gear and the new learning curve. I credit my wife Keri for all this wonderful Toyland of Tones. She was the one who wanted Garageband on the iPad and asked Apple to port it to iPad. Cool ideas are abundant in the Land of Music.   Today we have an incredible selection of sounds, pedals, toys and tools to suit every style of music and possible need. There’s even the Line 6 Guitar that can do the job of 6 or 7 different guitars and styles of music including sounding like an electric guitar and then with the flip of a switch an acoustic guitar. Of course, sometimes playing guitar is effortless and flows like a river, and sometimes it’s like walking into Baskin Robbins Ice Cream Shop in Laguna Beach and trying to decide what flavor of ice cream you want from a list of 157 kinds.  Due to the fact that time marches on and geeks love to tinker and upgrades never stop coming out- there’s one every 6 months- we can safely say Guitar Players will always enjoy what they get their hands on. In my quest to master the guitar and my future playing it I have one sage piece of advice definitely worth sharing… embrace change as it is the one thing we all can’t escape. Human beings who love music are more creative than ever before and their quest for tone and self-expression is limitless.   Playing that Riff on the guitar is still fun. Products made for musicians are as incredible as they have ever been. The internet has made the Music Highway available so it is possible with a few clicks to compare equipment such as accessories and guitars without even leaving your kitchen or study room. This is creating an enduring new legacy made possible by a Timeline borrowed from sites like Facebook even if we are unaware of it.  In less than 10 seconds Google has your choice for sources of info on equipment and reviews of equipment right in front of you. You might even think these diverse things co-exist together. But nothing beats a hands on approach when it comes to guitar.    

    Tone Monsters 

    Tech Talk by James

     

    Tone Monsters and iPod Farming

     

    Line 6 and IK Multimedia are attempting to take over my iPod and iPhone. We should all have this problem. Lol.

    Writing, recording, practicing, playing, gigging and rehearsing all eventually fall into the same schedule. At least in my mind they do, I just happen to be flex in what I prioritize. So… what is missing from this list? Touring and making videos. Also if you have a car you may very well be the guy who takes us all to the Cat Club on the Sunset Strip on jam night with Gilby Clark, formerly of GNR , and Love Mongers alumni. Yes it can happen to you!

    I thought wah wah pedals were old hat till I saw Gilby use one to cover the synth part of the Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again”. 

     

    One day while in Newberry, California I stumbled across Line 6’s office/factory. A secret pod farm with technical geeks and guitar players as pals. A weekend party animals dream factory. Dudes who got it together with Amps and Pedals and made it so amps did more cool sounds for your hard earned money . Modeling of Amps and sampled Tones captured for instant use.

    Some amps are actually hybrid arsenals of 10 diff amps – a valve amp and computer server all in one box.  Then came new rules. Airlines charge extra for freight. What to do? IK Multimedia put a slew of pedals and amps on the iPod and iPhone. Portable and powerful in an all in one APP tailor made for the cel phone-   with downloadable Sounds galore. And some are even free! Once you’re in the room you may not leave for hours or days. Not made for the Google Android phone yet but something to enjoy nonetheless.

     

    Then PreSonus made Studio One Recording software a free download. And yet all this stuff is easily plugged into the the new laptop, Mac and PC. You dear reader may be confused by too many choices but don’t be. Simply play around with the gizmos and gadgets at your local Guitar Shop or download the freebies and try them out before you commit to a final purchase decision. I played around with the new Apple iBooks, iPods, iPads and iPhones and the Macbook Pro at the Apple Store for months before finally making up my mind what I liked best. But once I did make the jump the flood gates opened and I was knee deep in sounds, recording ideas for songs, and sometimes even sharing tech support info with friends.  My Home Studio was born, and lucky for me I loved all this gear and the new learning curve. I credit my wife Keri for all this wonderful Toyland of Tones. She was the one who wanted Garageband on the iPad and asked Apple to port it to iPad. Cool ideas are abundant in the Land of Music.

     

    Today we have an incredible selection of sounds, pedals, toys and tools to suit every style of music and possible need. There’s even the Line 6 Guitar that can do the job of 6 or 7 different guitars and styles of music including sounding like an electric guitar and then with the flip of a switch an acoustic guitar. Of course, sometimes playing guitar is effortless and flows like a river, and sometimes it’s like walking into Baskin Robbins Ice Cream Shop in Laguna Beach and trying to decide what flavor of ice cream you want from a list of 157 kinds.  Due to the fact that time marches on and geeks love to tinker and upgrades never stop coming out- there’s one every 6 months- we can safely say Guitar Players will always enjoy what they get their hands on. In my quest to master the guitar and my future playing it I have one sage piece of advice definitely worth sharing… embrace change as it is the one thing we all can’t escape. Human beings who love music are more creative than ever before and their quest for tone and self-expression is limitless.

     

    Playing that Riff on the guitar is still fun. Products made for musicians are as incredible as they have ever been. The internet has made the Music Highway available so it is possible with a few clicks to compare equipment such as accessories and guitars without even leaving your kitchen or study room. This is creating an enduring new legacy made possible by a Timeline borrowed from sites like Facebook even if we are unaware of it.  In less than 10 seconds Google has your choice for sources of info on equipment and reviews of equipment right in front of you. You might even think these diverse things co-exist together. But nothing beats a hands on approach when it comes to guitar.

     

     

    • 3 months ago

  • Guitar Pickups Form and Function

    Tech Talk by James

     A Look at Pickups, Their Form and Function

    Fun Tech is really Cool…

     

    The First pickups on guitars were “microphonic” or a mic that you slapped on the guitar with putty or tape. Today we have Soapbar Pickups, Toaster Pickups, Humbucking Pickups, Single Coil Pickups, EMG Active Pickups, Duncan P-Rails 3 in 1 Pickups, and Quartz Piezo Pickups to name the main categories. There’s even the Hex Pickup by Roland for Guitar synthesizer. Quite a few Guitar Pickups to say the least. The most important factor for sound from a pickup is warmth and bite and overall tone. Replacement pickups are quite popular such as those made by DiMarzio and Seymour Duncan. Let’s have a look at guitar pickups, and the many styles of pickups for guitar.

     

    In simple terms pickups are magnets with wire wrapped around them, dipped in paraffin wax to prevent hum and noise, and enclosed in a plastic and or steel casing- also called a cover- and then mounted in or onto an electric or acoustic guitar. Guitar Pickups have poles that pick up the vibrations of the guitar strings and convert the sound waves into vibrations and send the corresponding electrical signal to the output jack of a guitar and through the cable plugged into the jack. The cable is plugged into the amplifier which takes that signal and makes it louder providing tones that either excite or soothe the ears of the listener.

     

    The proliferation of Boutique Pickup Makers has quietly come in on the guitar world. The quest for better and better tone has created a grass roots cottage industry that is thriving in the USA, UK, and Canada. I installed a boutique Bill Lawrence pickup in my 1968 Ovation acoustic guitar. Bill made the pickup in California at his Custom Shop near San Diego. This is a great sounding pickup which was a “humbucker made for acoustic”. I paid only $25.00 for it at the time as it was pre-owned and it has always worked fine. A bargain to be sure. The output jack which doubles as a button for my guitar strap was ten bucks from Sam Ash. And with a little splicing of wires and a solder kit from Radio Shack I was good to go.

     

    The Big 7 USA Guitar Builders are Fender, Gibson, Ovation, Martin, Rickenbacker, Gretsch, and last but not least Seymour Duncan. There is also Ibanez of Japan or Hoshino. (We will cover the major guitar builders later in a special chat about Steve Vai and Joe Satriani.) We have come a long way since Les Paul and Gibson and Leo Fender of Fender made the most famous solid body guitar designs ever built. Pickups are a natural part of the sound where you achieve your first step in your tone. You might say it started the electricity revolution in 1939 with the Rickenbacker Hawaiian lapsteel “Frying Pan” guitar.

     

    The Bottom Line: Single coils sound thinner, Humbuckers sound fat, Soapbar’s (P-90’s) sound somewhere in between and slightly less modern, Toaster style pickups have a jangly temperance and are well suited to Byrds/Tom Petty type of music but sometimes suffer from unwanted “quack”. Active pickups made by EMG are silent, rich in tone and require a D-Battery to work. By far one of the best is piezo quartz and it is usually found in acoustic guitars made by Ovation. Some Fender Stratocaster guitars have combinations of single coil and humbucking pickups and “piezo in the neck” too. P-Rails is a 3 in 1 that gives humbucker, single coil and P-90 sounds and in combo with your other pickups already on your guitar can offer up to 6 distinct sounds or tones allowing you to sound like many types of guitars such as Strat, Telecaster, or Les Paul. I had the Duncan P-Rails pickup installed in my Fender Telecaster guitar and have been quite happy with the results.

     

    Whatever your style of music you can find all the sounds you’re going need. It all starts with the pickups.  One of the good things about them is they are adjustable and interchangeable allowing for a better playing experience overall, and a happier you. I think of guitar pickups as the vocal cords or voice of the guitar that allows the guitar to speak and sing.

     

    • 4 months ago
  • Tech Talk by James The Secret Value of… Music and Ice Cream Therapy Have you been to the Beach lately? What do you see? Sand, water, sky, people walking, and bicycles and surfers! Leisure time activities on the Weekend.  But out of the corner of my eye I spot famously,  the Drum Circle. It’s a natural phenom that has been occurring on Venice Beach in Los Angeles since the 1970’s and before. They gather every summer to make their beats and dance to the music just a block from the Jim Morrison apartment building on the Speedway Strand. Not surprisingly this is where The Doors got started in the 1966-67Golden Era of the west coast music explosion.  Even President Clinton in 2000 had jogged on by the Drum Circle and waved his approval, being a sax player and lover of “ the whole Rock’ n’ Roll thing”. These are freedoms of expression given to us by our forefathers who we believe also loved music. The right to gather your friends together, share some music and beats in the form of hand claps and on drums you can carry anywhere, all around a summer campfire or at the beach hasn’t changed in hundreds , if not thousands of years. Living Legend and multi-Platinum singer songwriter Joni Mitchell started her career in popular music by singing folk songs around a campfire at summer camp in her native province of Saskatchewan, up in Canada. Isn’t it great that the folks of all ages who love music can gather together and share a song and a laugh and a story? The favorite food of the Drum Circle was pizza and ice cream. Ice Cream therapy was also a fave of everyone on the boardwalk every summer during “high season” when tourists came and bought t-shirts , sunglasses , and  learned to skateboard in Dogtown, surf in Santa Monica and Venice, or just take in a ride on the Ferris Wheel at this sun drenched Pier that was also part of the famous Route 66 highway from coast to coast. “Get your kicks on Route 66.” Everywhere you look there’s girls playing volleyball, guys working out, vendors selling their goods and people sharing beautiful music, food and songs on the guitar and/or dancing to their iPods. A little bit of summer heaven was waiting for everyone.  Musicians are the Storytellers. And everyone loves a good story. They hand down through the ages the Stories that give our lives meaning, show us who we are and who we might wish to aspire to be. They show us the way and for that reason are worth more than all the gold in Fort Knox. And that is the Secret Value of Music. Live and recorded music is timeless. It gives to us again and again in a way that you can’t get from anything anywhere else. Music is Life, and life is good. James

    Tech Talk by James

    The Secret Value of… Music and Ice Cream Therapy

    Have you been to the Beach lately? What do you see? Sand, water, sky, people walking, and bicycles and surfers! Leisure time activities on the Weekend.  But out of the corner of my eye I spot famously,  the Drum Circle. It’s a natural phenom that has been occurring on Venice Beach in Los Angeles since the 1970’s and before. They gather every summer to make their beats and dance to the music just a block from the Jim Morrison apartment building on the Speedway Strand. Not surprisingly this is where The Doors got started in the 1966-67Golden Era of the west coast music explosion.

     Even President Clinton in 2000 had jogged on by the Drum Circle and waved his approval, being a sax player and lover of “ the whole Rock’ n’ Roll thing”. These are freedoms of expression given to us by our forefathers who we believe also loved music. The right to gather your friends together, share some music and beats in the form of hand claps and on drums you can carry anywhere, all around a summer campfire or at the beach hasn’t changed in hundreds , if not thousands of years. Living Legend and multi-Platinum singer songwriter Joni Mitchell started her career in popular music by singing folk songs around a campfire at summer camp in her native province of Saskatchewan, up in Canada.

    Isn’t it great that the folks of all ages who love music can gather together and share a song and a laugh and a story? The favorite food of the Drum Circle was pizza and ice cream. Ice Cream therapy was also a fave of everyone on the boardwalk every summer during “high season” when tourists came and bought t-shirts , sunglasses , and  learned to skateboard in Dogtown, surf in Santa Monica and Venice, or just take in a ride on the Ferris Wheel at this sun drenched Pier that was also part of the famous Route 66 highway from coast to coast. “Get your kicks on Route 66.”

    Everywhere you look there’s girls playing volleyball, guys working out, vendors selling their goods and people sharing beautiful music, food and songs on the guitar and/or dancing to their iPods.

    A little bit of summer heaven was waiting for everyone.

     Musicians are the Storytellers. And everyone loves a good story. They hand down through the ages the Stories that give our lives meaning, show us who we are and who we might wish to aspire to be. They show us the way and for that reason are worth more than all the gold in Fort Knox. And that is the Secret Value of Music. Live and recorded music is timeless. It gives to us again and again in a way that you can’t get from anything anywhere else. Music is Life, and life is good.

    James

    • 5 months ago
    • #Music Guitar
    • #Ice Cream
    • #Rock
    • #Pop
    • #Country
  • Tech Talk by James All You Need is 3 Chords In 1978 there was a problem in Rock N Roll. There was nowhere to play, and no jobs for working class kids. The recession of the 70’s made an impact across the world of music. The Musical Landscape in Pop was diverse but Punk Rock was the new normal.  A clear class rebellion appeared tailor made against the Corporate Rock of the day. Everywhere you looked the Punk movement was growing into a New Wave. The anti-fashion movement shocked the establishment. And Punk railed against the grownups whose greed was stealing the future of their kids and grandkids. The attitude reported by Johnny Lydon of Public Image who was all of 16 years old was “No Future For you in England”. One Parliament member actually said “Let’s kill Punk before it kills us”!  New Wave in New York was saying let’s do as we want and ignore the mainstream. In the UK very much English kids rebelled against overpriced fashion on Carnaby Street in London. New York had the same feeling at CBGB’s but was less hard core punk. Equipment “fell off the back of Bob Marleys truck” for the Clash to start a band. Simple chords was the required thing, in fact if you played 3 chords you could start a band. Bloated or advanced playing was now a detractor to being accepted. And if you were over 24 you were too old to be in a punk band! A new generation sprang up and made aggressive music that broke all the corporate rock rules including self-releasing the singles and albums and keeping all the money from the sales of the vinyl records and major labels made nothing off the movement. Bands like Van Halen still thrived in America and around the world. Van Halen Clones sprang up simultaneously, and Van Halen made fun of punk rock! Clearly it’s always better to be the groom than the best man, but punk encouraged total abandon in the music and a live for today attitude because tomorrow never knows. Like the skiffle and folk movements in the 1950’s the Punk and New Wave Movements of the 70’s and early 80’s meant anyone could get on stage and have a go. People who had never thought of playing an instrument could suddenly, with little or no training, have a viable career. At the heart of all this was a social movement, a fashion movement, a monetary movement, and the birth of a new music genre. It is interesting to note that at the same time teens like Bill Gates and young adults like Steve jobs and Steve“the Woz “ Wozniak were about to change the world of computers too, which would create another musical and scientific revolution that still affects us today. An amazing time to be alive. No doubt the actions and reactions of adults created a huge generation gap although a few older established musicians embraced the punk movement it was not destined to last more than a few years and things returned to the corporate norm. As New Wave took over Punk died out. The excesses of Punk took a toll on youth and their lives. But as the recession vanished under “Reagonomics” of the 1980’s  so did the short lived rebellion against the establishment. The wonderful thing was many great bands sprang up and were genius music makers who only knew 5 chords on the guitar at the very most!  Great bands like U2 who started in 1980  are still here today. This freedom broke the idea that you had to be an Eric Clapton virtuoso to be in a band and it was imminent that a guy or gal who had something to say could learn a few chords and be musical. This freedom still exists today. James —————

    Tech Talk by James

    All You Need is 3 Chords

    In 1978 there was a problem in Rock N Roll. There was nowhere to play, and no jobs for working class kids. The recession of the 70’s made an impact across the world of music. The Musical Landscape in Pop was diverse but Punk Rock was the new normal.  A clear class rebellion appeared tailor made against the Corporate Rock of the day. Everywhere you looked the Punk movement was growing into a New Wave. The anti-fashion movement shocked the establishment. And Punk railed against the grownups whose greed was stealing the future of their kids and grandkids. The attitude reported by Johnny Lydon of Public Image who was all of 16 years old was “No Future For you in England”. One Parliament member actually said “Let’s kill Punk before it kills us”!

     New Wave in New York was saying let’s do as we want and ignore the mainstream. In the UK very much English kids rebelled against overpriced fashion on Carnaby Street in London. New York had the same feeling at CBGB’s but was less hard core punk. Equipment “fell off the back of Bob Marleys truck” for the Clash to start a band. Simple chords was the required thing, in fact if you played 3 chords you could start a band. Bloated or advanced playing was now a detractor to being accepted. And if you were over 24 you were too old to be in a punk band! A new generation sprang up and made aggressive music that broke all the corporate rock rules including self-releasing the singles and albums and keeping all the money from the sales of the vinyl records and major labels made nothing off the movement.

    Bands like Van Halen still thrived in America and around the world. Van Halen Clones sprang up simultaneously, and Van Halen made fun of punk rock! Clearly it’s always better to be the groom than the best man, but punk encouraged total abandon in the music and a live for today attitude because tomorrow never knows. Like the skiffle and folk movements in the 1950’s the Punk and New Wave Movements of the 70’s and early 80’s meant anyone could get on stage and have a go. People who had never thought of playing an instrument could suddenly, with little or no training, have a viable career.

    At the heart of all this was a social movement, a fashion movement, a monetary movement, and the birth of a new music genre. It is interesting to note that at the same time teens like Bill Gates and young adults like Steve jobs and Steve“the Woz “ Wozniak were about to change the world of computers too, which would create another musical and scientific revolution that still affects us today. An amazing time to be alive.

    No doubt the actions and reactions of adults created a huge generation gap although a few older established musicians embraced the punk movement it was not destined to last more than a few years and things returned to the corporate norm. As New Wave took over Punk died out. The excesses of Punk took a toll on youth and their lives. But as the recession vanished under “Reagonomics” of the 1980’s  so did the short lived rebellion against the establishment.

    The wonderful thing was many great bands sprang up and were genius music makers who only knew 5 chords on the guitar at the very most!  Great bands like U2 who started in 1980  are still here today.

    This freedom broke the idea that you had to be an Eric Clapton virtuoso to be in a band and it was imminent that a guy or gal who had something to say could learn a few chords and be musical. This freedom still exists today.

    James

    —————

    Source: facebook.com
    • 6 months ago
    • #music and love
  • Rockin’ the Country in the Bristol Kids Video Room

    Rockin’ the Country in the Bristol Kids Video Room

    • 7 months ago

  • The Woodshed

    Tech Talk By James

     

    The Importance of The Lonesome Jubilee Woodshed

     

    It’s been said that the great American pastime is Baseball but I say it’s woodshedding on Guitar. It doesn’t matter what decade your into. According to Guitar Player Magazine there are approximately 37.5 million Guitar Players worldwide. The animal in the shed is into shred guitar... A time honored tradition sparked by the legendary Allman Brothers guitarist Duanne Allman. Duanne got so good he was very quickly making a name for himself in the studios in the Southern States. A  consumate bluesman and powerslide guitarist, he even played for the living legend Wilson Pickett. Rumour has it he used Coricidin D bottles to play slide guitar on all the sessions he was hired to play on. He claimed it gave a sweeter smoother tone.

     

    Other great guitar players like Eddie Van Halen spent his entire teenage years sitting on the end of his bed playing guitar seven days a week. Even though his mother had “started him on piano playing Strauss waltzes at age 5” Eddie could not see himself doing anything else. He never was bored or tired of guitar even for a moment. He played by feel and by ear.  His passion and drive was so great he developed his own Rock Style inventing the tapping guitar genre. This came directly from having played piano. Woodshedding had everything to do with this. Other guitarists who played with taste had an all-consuming passion too but Eddie invented a new genre influencing a new generation to play guitar. They heard the call to woodshed.

     

    The music they pursued had a special place in the room, any room. Countless professional musicians gathered together in clubs and dance halls gaining not only knowledge to play, but the often overlooked breaking of traditional rules necessary to create new genres. Things like Nashville Tuning and Open Tuning and Tuning Down a Half Step, or Drop D Tuning came about as Artists searched for their own voice, style, or identity.

     

    Punk rockers couldn’t afford a lockup so they practiced on stage. Groups before them like the Beatles had woodshedding down cold. By gigging in clubs from Hamburg to Liverpool they got their chops together. It was an important training ground. The Late great George Harrison’s mom tolerated the Beatles noisy covers of songs they heard on BBC Radio 2 and their subsequent songwriting sessions. She believed in what they were doing and made it a point to encourage music in the home.  Music was the point of it all. Experimentation was the catalyst. Mike McCartney, brother of Paul McCartney said “Rock Music from America was a shock, but it was a delightful shock”.

     

    Just like Paul McCartney, both Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughn rose from working class beginnings and had the guitar as their best friend from their early years. In fact Stevie shredded on Hendrix songs thanks to his older brother Jimmie Vaughn. Stevie was a happy “practice-aholic” putting in more time than most folks did over their entire careers.  Jimi Hendrix needed that guitar he was given by his dad not just as his personal close friend, and expression and extension of his mind, body, and spirit, but to keep his sanity. His childhood was so traumatic and unstable it was the one thing he could depend on.  When he started on the club circuit there was maybe only five or ten bands under contract. Today there are countless musicians and bands – too many to even count. But each has a style and voice. The best of the very best will get our attention. And the cream rises to the top.

     

    It is a Lonesome Jubilee to shred and woodshed and then still play with taste and not sound like you’re playing what Frank Zappa called “Knat Notes”- like bugs buzzing by your ears. Knowing how to play and knowing what not to play is as important as it ever was.  You will play better and sound better than ever before if you practice.

    Steve Vai was certainly the King of Woodshedding in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s while learning his craft.

    He logged 12 hours a day “literally living on 10 Dollars a week”! An amazing feat of physical engineering and financial wizardry even back then.  Drummer Alex Van Halen said “Our parents forced us to practice, and told us later that we would thank them and they were right”.

     

    Conclusion: You still get out of something whatever you put into it. Just like a computer your brain accepts I/O, or input and output. The brain does not judge right or wrong. And while it’s true knowledge is power, what you do with that knowledge is entirely up to you. You may become rich in the mind, but poor in the pocket while getting there. You could very well show us a cool new way to make music and see all your hard work pay off, not just in cash, but in the happiness it gives everyone who hears you play.  If you are determined and patient you could be the next great Woodshed Genius to step onto the world stage. So get in the woodshed and have some fun! SRV never thought he was a guitar hero, just a guy having fun playing guitar, and as RIngo Starr of the Beatles says -“That’s what it’s all about.”

     

     

    • 7 months ago

  • Guitar Sounds

    Tech Talk By James

     

    Why Guitar Sounds and Smells Better Than Piano

    Guitars are traditional instruments that descended from the Lute in Medieval Times. If you don’t know what that is simply think of early days of England centuries ago which is long before Harry Potter came on the horizon. A celebrated time of Shakespeare, and song and dance that celebrated a good harvest at the end of summer.

    Guitars are made up of metal, graphite, and steel and plastic, and even composites of glass resins to be sure. But they are also made up of Wood from trees from as far away as Alaska, India, Canada, and Brazil. “Tonewoods” to be exact.  Tonewoods are the best quality woods that are dried over time for years and sometimes dried in a Kiln. Wood has a unique property of improving a guitars sound with age. As the wood continues drying and aging over time it gets better and better.

    Modern guitars are far superior in quality and construction yet at the same time vintage instruments from the 1950’s and 1960’s are collectible and continue to be prized for their wonderful tone. Why, you may ask? Guitar players call themselves “Tone Chasers” as they search for better and more interesting sounds. In simple terms, warmer sounds are better. Modern guitars are a marriage of electronics and gorgeous woods.

    We generally prefer acoustic guitars that hand crafted and made by the best guitar makers. It can be argued that older is better but that must be coupled with the idea that ease of use is important too. A good guitar is easy to play and comfortable in your hands. It has what is called a good setup. It stays in tune and is a pleasure to play and listen too. As you develop your ability over time you will become more and more familiar with a instruments character and versatility, and explore its wide range of sounds and colors. You will not only gain a musical foundation but will have a lifelong friend and companion. Where ever there is a guitar player there is music, and people who love music. People that have mutual love music become friends. Music is a universal language that crosses all borders.

    So why is a guitar a better instrument than piano and why does it smell better? Well, in my opinion, because it has strings that you touch with your fingers and also because it is more affordable and portable than a piano. Why does it smell better? The woods breathe and come from a living thing called a tree, and give off an aura of natural function and stability that modern keyboards made of plastic will quite often lack. Guitars strings chime, have beautiful overtones, and resonate with the tonewoods in the neck and body. This is an enhancement built right into the design.

    Favorite tonewoods include Spruce from Alaska and Canada, Rosewood from India and Brazil, Mohogany from the USA and UK, Ebony from Africa and India, Maple from Canada and USA, and even exotic woods such as Koa from Hawaii. Builders of Guitars pick them carefully and stockpile the best tonewoods like a wine maker caring for their finest premium vintage wines. Indeed, we are fortunate to live in an era where the guitars are great value for the money and give us years of pleasure regardless of musical style.

    In conclusion, if you’re buying your first guitar it is always best to seek the advice and help of your teacher. This is smart for two reasons: 1. You get the benefit of an experts eyes and ears. 2. You will avoid problems that a novice or beginner might stumble into such as buying an instrument that is not right for you . Be wise and always seek the advice of your teacher who knows the instrument market and has advanced knowledge of what to look for in an acoustic or electric guitar. This is good because it will help you purchase a good guitar that will last a lifetime.

    Case in Point: an $850.00 Guitar that lasts 50 years costs about 5 cents a day for a top of line instrument that will deliver the best possible service to you, and perhaps your child too.  When you pass the instrument you love into their hands as a family heirloom, it could be the best return on investment you ever made.

    James 

    • 8 months ago
    • #music and love
    • #guitars and piano
    • #Fun
    • #Sweet Life
    • #Google
    • #Guitar World
    • #Tech Talk
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