Guitar thread

[Nebu]

Also ran across this tuning video with accompanying comparisons.  I appreciate what he's saying as a bass player... the heavier gauge strings do ring sharp when you attack them.

Taylor tuning

I also found this tuning to provide a much warmer sound.

[Raph]

Nobody mentions Gregg Allman? :(

[Sky]

Not in here. Played a ton of ABB after it happened, though.

Now that I have a decent laptop for work, I plugged my interface into it and made a quick test recording last night.

http://cashwiley.com/test1-61617-12-15-am/

[Nebu]

Came across this video of Mark Knopfler discussing the evolution of his picking style and his use of different guitars.  He seems like such a humble guy given the talent that he has.

Enjoy.

[Raph]

What a fantastic video, thanks for posting it. He's one of my favorites.

[Fraeg]

recently bought an EVH lunchbox 15 watt tube amp to go with my Orange Tiny Terror.  Running it through a 2x12 with Celestions - Texas Heat and The Governor. I borrowed two guitars from my brother so now I have:

2x heads
1x  two by 12 cab
4x electric guitars

• PRS CE 22 with Gibson humbuckers
• Strat knockoff - single coil
• Gilford with active pickups
• Ibanez (forget model) with Zack Wylde EMG active pickups

I am in heaven.  This many options.  I will come up with a riff on the Ibanez and think "Hmm more of a strat riff" swap guitars and presto, or go "yeah this is more of an Orange vibe than the EVH".  Granted the Gilford and Ibanez are simply loaners, but man I am in heaven.  I realize I have been trying to make orange juice with apples for years.  Trying to get modern high gain metal tones through the strat and PRS through the orange pedals.  Simply plug the Ibanez into the EVH and off we go.   Tempted to buy a 1x12 with V30 Greenbacks in it to absolutely seal the deal on the metal tone.

I haven't felt this much desire to just play in ages.

/Squeeeee off

[Raph]

One of these:

https://www.larrivee.com/products/omv-03-recording-series

is sitting at a local thrift store for $800, and has been for two months.

But I need a new laptop (mine died). And various pricey house repairs. And...

[Sky]

I think I've officially inherited the ampeg SVT head I needed for my 8x10 cab, along with a 15 cab. I was storing them in my garage for an old friend who's dad died. She got kinda bummed when I told her most of the stuff (including his handmade standup electric bass) was broken or junk, but this head and cab are decent. It's not the best SVT, but it's worlds better than my old Peavey POS.

Moves into the basement this winter after years of sitting in the garage, and it ain't coming out unless I start gigging. Excited to play the Gibson through it, the weak spot on my old ESP custom was the pickups, it never sounded punchy through the Peavey...

I think my classical guitar is in protest, decided to break a string on the stand. Granted, I only change strings when they break...(and then I replace the set). I don't even remember what I had on it.

I did buy a couple MXL condensers on a good AMS sale, so I should probably record stuff. You know, now that I don't have excuses for not plugging in the Scarlett 18i8. The last remaining snag in my recording ideas is how to track everything myself, since 90% of what I do is improvisational and writing and planning sucks all the enjoyment out of it for me. Also, I'd need to pick up a set of drum mics. And tune my drums. And get another cymbal.

I love drums and avoid that rabbit hole.

[Fraeg]

the drum hole... yeah I have a half build Ludwig set I inherited from an uncle in my garage.  I really need to soundproof that place before I start smacking drums.

[Sky]

Mine are in the basement, when I first looked at my house there was a kit in the living room. And that kid sucked bad. So I'm pretty much good with drumming as long as I don't go over into sound ordinance times...and even when I may have had an urge at midnight to play a bit, nobody has complained, ever.

My guitar was probably much louder, I used to play my amp cranked for natural tube distortion back in the day. It's amazing how loud a 12W amp with a 12" speaker can get.

[Sky]

I'm trying to ignore gear mostly because I've not been playing so much since picking up art...but I was watching a thing with Isaiah Mitchell and holy shit is his fuzz pedal amazing. And just about impossible to get (a Tym Seaweed).

edit: he plays for Earthless and is a monster: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sicDBhLQo4U

[Nebu]

Like him or hate him, James is a master.  I thought you'd enjoy seeing how he does his job in a sort of unorthodox way.

Enjoy.

The camera placement is amazing.  

[Sky]

Who could hate James Taylor? We saw him a couple years back. I'm not too into folk music but he transcends the genre into just a wonderful warm listening experience.

Very cool, he's great at what he does.

[Sky]

I've been focusing on art the last couple years and I feel when I come back around to guitar I'm going to hit Stephane's stuff really hard. It's just sooo good, and he is willing to sit and talk like this video, I've talked with him about this stuff and it bums me out I don't study harder to be worth getting such great instruction.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RH-82YLTjaM

[Nebu]

For all of you that were forced to learn piano when you wanted to play guitar, I bring you THIS.

Creative people... love em.

[Sky]

I wish I had been forced to learn piano!

[Raph]

Almost no posts all YEAR? This cannot stand.

I went to a closing music store today because they were selling things for 50-70% off. Picked up guitar cables and the like on the cheap. All the instruments left were Chinese makers I'd never heard of. There was one all solid very nice looking Merida acoustic -- list $1800 for half that. Passed it up -- slightly too boomy for me. But they had a whole mess of concert ukuleles, and one lonely tenor. We're talking all solid wood $600 ukes. I grabbed the tenor -- solid spruce top, solid bookmatched sapele with a lovely sapwood figuring on both the back and sides, onboard electronics. Sounds pretty sweet. They had the soprano one right next to it -- looked like probably the same tree. Sound was almost identical. But of course, the tenor was sweeter and more playable.

They also had an all cherry wood soprano, but frankly I didn't like the sound of it as much.

If anyone else wants to take a flyer on mail order, or happens to be in the vicinity of Carlsbad CA, it's this place: https://audio-depot.com/ Also on Reverb here: https://reverb.com/shop/audio-depot

[Sky]

Taking up art has really put a crimp in my musical pursuits!

I still plonk away now and again, but it's mostly just noodling to keep the chops from disappearing entirely. I have started playing bass more regularly (via Rocksmith), because the 2015 SG Bass I picked up a while back is just such a joy to play. For guitar, still mostly playing my spanish nylon stringer. I've been toying with the idea of getting an EHX C9 (or B9 or Mel9, but iirc the C9 suits me best), but I just don't play enough to justify it right now (and art is expensive).

I also bought a cheesy little USB cassette deck to transfer a couple old band rehearsal tapes I found, but the build quality is so abysmal, that project stalled. I hate to spend the money to have them transferred, since they're just rehearsals and pretty bad (even the best audio quality one is when we were breaking in a new drummer). Don't want to spend much on a deck, either, because I'll only use it to transfer a handful of tapes and I hate reselling stuff. Blah.

[Raph]

Threw this together this evening. Just me and my nylon-string, though I actually wrote it on electric. Standard tuning.

http://www.raphkoster.com/music/plagueyear/PlagueYear.mp3

In a plague year, here we are inside
Just you and me together, letting minutes slide
Outside you’d never know it, sun is shining bright
Spring is sprung and flowers do not hide
Open all the windows, but don’t go out the door
You’re here with me,
And I don’t need nothin’
Don’t need nothin’
Don’t need nothin’ more

In this plague year you’ve got to stay in line
Sleep all day, worry all night, and sip our hoarded wine
We are each other’s safety, I’m yours and you are mine
We’re counting on each other’s hands and on borrowed time
Dontcha know that loan has always come due
We can tally up the years
But I don’t need more than
I don’t need more than
Don’t need more than you

(instrumental break)

In this plague year, crows are cawing loud
Such a cliché for them to parade around
Some may call it bad luck, having to hide
But where else do you keep love but on the inside
Let’s hold each other close, do what we do best
You’re here with me
And I don’t need nothin’
I don’t need nothin’
I don’t need nothin’ else!

[MournelitheCalix]

Threw this together this evening. Just me and my nylon-string, though I actually wrote it on electric. Standard tuning.

http://www.raphkoster.com/music/plagueyear/PlagueYear.mp3

In a plague year, here we are inside
Just you and me together, letting minutes slide
Outside you’d never know it, sun is shining bright
Spring is sprung and flowers do not hide
Open all the windows, but don’t go out the door
You’re here with me,
And I don’t need nothin’
Don’t need nothin’
Don’t need nothin’ more

In this plague year you’ve got to stay in line
Sleep all day, worry all night, and sip our hoarded wine
We are each other’s safety, I’m yours and you are mine
We’re counting on each other’s hands and on borrowed time
Dontcha know that loan has always come due
We can tally up the years
But I don’t need more than
I don’t need more than
Don’t need more than you

(instrumental break)

In this plague year, crows are cawing loud
Such a cliché for them to parade around
Some may call it bad luck, having to hide
But where else do you keep love but on the inside
Let’s hold each other close, do what we do best
You’re here with me
And I don’t need nothin’
I don’t need nothin’
I don’t need nothin’ else!

Right before COVID-19 became a thing here in the US I was able to purchase a 1980 Alvarez Yairi CY-117 in near mint condition from an old couple who wanted it gone and whose son decided he didn't want it.   Been learning to play Beethoven and Bach on it while social distancing.   The strings are nylon I believe (got it restrung at a local luthier here, cleaned up and polished) .  Its been an amazing find.  Really eye opening to hear translations of Bourree and Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring translated for guitar tableture.   I have played since I was a boy in grade school but limited my exposure to rock and metal.  I never had the desire to try classical music and I am impressed not only with how hard it actually is but how much skill it takes to play these instruments.   La Vie en Rose took me a lot longer then I care to admit as the movement was relentless.  In order to properly learn the timings, I had to invest in a metronome and even today I practice 30 minutes each day just doing progressions to the beat of that machine.   One thing this plague has given me is time, time to learn new things.  I haven't tried composing, hopefully I am not too far from that.  One thing is for certain, I wish I had some formal training on musical theory.  My compliments on your tune.

[Sky]

Dude, I was practicing classical and got pretty good but when I went to record an album I got really burned out trying to get takes that were clean enough. In metal and blues, my feel playing (which was considered 'sloppy' was a huge asset in a sea of mechanical precise metal players and lackluster old white blues dudes. But for classical, though the feel tends to give me a good interpretation of many pieces (my Capricho Arabe is still on of my favorite versions), having to be so precise was a serious challenge.

Here's the A section of Capricho Arabe I recorded back in 2012. I can still hear the two mistakes that caused me to reject it, and a couple more I could live with but still make me cringe a bit. The B section modulates up and was much more difficult to play, never even got it that good. Though sitting here in 2020 I wish I had just stuck with it and released it with flaws, just to have a record (ahaha) of what I was playing at the time.

I'm still playing a lot more bass on Rocksmith.I've gotten so many more CDLC tunes over the last couple years, I've been getting into a lot of new and old stuff. My nostalgia playlist is getting pretty epic with old school rock and metal, from Distant Early Warning to Harvester of Sorrow to A Mansion in the Darkness to Angel of Death. For newer stuff, I've been digging into Mars Volta, Goliath and Cicatriz ESP are my favorite jams rn.

[MournelitheCalix]

Here's the A section of Capricho Arabe I recorded back in 2012.

Absolutely beautiful.   Classical guitars are an absolutely amazing class of instruments.  You should have definitely published it, I couldn't tell where it was though admitting I have never heard the piece your playing before.

[Sky]

Mine is a spanish guitar I got from a colleague when she moved to Seattle. She knew I loved playing it (she kept it in her office and I'd play it every time there was a meeting in her building) and she wanted it to have a good home. It's my favorite guitar by a long shot, the tone is rich and has a ton of overtones. I paid 250 for it and like it better than some guitars I've played that were in the 2k-3k range. Though I still weep about that nylon Taylor cutaway I let get away years ago (800 for a 2k guitar, ouch), it was pretty comparable (and had more access to higher frets).

I like the wider classical necks because it's more comfortable despite having short fingers. Since I play bass, I'm used to longer frets and wider spacing, as well as playing with my fingers (I play both guitar and bass almost exclusively with fingers unless the song calls for a pick). It's not too uncommon to find crossover between bass players and classical/flamenco/roma/etc. Robert Trujillo from Metallica plays some flamenco: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXcxRF1_4HA

[Fraeg]

Raph,

Thanks for posting this.  On a surreal Monday night as I contemplate a host of uncomfortable topics this is a great soundtrack to have in the background.  Thanks for sharing.

As for guitars - as the shutdown hit I ordered a cheap Ibanez and Seymour Duncan Black Winter pickups (can you guess what style of music they are intended for  ) and have been making the local squirrel population nervous with my shrieks, wails, and chugs.

[Raph]

I have been remiss. There are now a HOST of "Songs for a Plague Year."

"At the Mercy" - about the politico-medical mess.
https://www.raphkoster.com/music/plagueyear/At%20the%20Mercy.mp3 (studio)

"Plague Year" - about quarantining with your sweetie
http://www.raphkoster.com/music/plagueyear/PlagueYear.mp3 (version above)
https://www.raphkoster.com/music/plagueyear/Plague%20Year.mp3 (newer studio version)

"Sign it Love" - about NOT quarantining with your sweetie, aka "save the post office!"
https://www.raphkoster.com/music/plagueyear/Sign%20It%20Love.mp3

"Another Hero's Gone" - RIP John Prine
https://www.facebook.com/raphkoster/videos/10158349673186528/ (live)
https://www.raphkoster.com/music/plagueyear/Another%20Hero's%20Gone.mp3 (studio)

"Optimistic Beast" - about quarantining with pets
https://www.facebook.com/raphkoster/videos/10158357098371528/ (live video)
https://www.raphkoster.com/music/plagueyear/Optimistic%20Beast.mp3 (studio)

"Essential" - about essential workers
https://www.facebook.com/raphkoster/posts/10158383094186528 (live video)

"My Back Yard" - about having the back yard as a refuge
https://www.facebook.com/raphkoster/posts/10158388431191528 (live video)
https://www.raphkoster.com/music/plagueyear/My%20Back%20Yard.mp3 (studio)

"George Floyd" - about Black lives mattering
https://www.raphkoster.com/music/plagueyear/George%20Floyd.mp3 (studio)

"Karen" - brand new!
https://www.facebook.com/raphkoster/posts/10158654722276528 (live video)

[Sky]

Has anyone played a Harley Benton guitar? I just heard about them, and as much as I hate the thought of buying a cheapo chinese guitar, I'm seriously tempted by a few of these.

Namely this one, a black Ricky. I've always wanted one but can't justify the cost of an actual Ricky... but at this price... https://www.thomannmusic.com/harley_benton_rb_414bk_classic_series.htm

If I still have a job by the end of the year, I've been thinking about rounding out my stock of guitars with the basic set: LP, Strat, Tele, etc, and basses Jazz, Grabber, P, etc...