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Post by Mike Floorstand on Jan 16, 2018 0:11:14 GMT
The first leg of the latest De Faoite Road trip involved An Fea Caol travelling by bike, train, and bike again, from deepest Buckinghamshire to North London. I'm a fairweather cyclist but was surprised how comfortable the journey was - the Gewa guitar case straps worked well on the Gator case (I think they would not work on a Hiscox case, they need something with a waist...), and quite possibly quicker than by car. On getting home I was struck by the similarity between An Fea Caol and my Brook Creedy - proper "parlour" body sizes: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bd_VTaZF2y2 And so I thought I'd start with a recording of a tune I'm currently working on, played on both instruments for comparison. An Fea Caol is tuned 3 semitones higher than standard, so the Brook is (after a bit of fiddling) capo'd at the third fret to make the recordings in the same key (C Minor):
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ocarolan
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Post by ocarolan on Jan 16, 2018 0:47:29 GMT
Lovely! Whetting my appetite nicely. I enjoyed your slow, wistful tempo for MiM - I do it with a similarish vibe to the Kenny Ball version that I learned many years ago from an LP I was a bit embarrassed to own, Kenny Hits Golden Balls or something like that. Some good tunes on it though. Looking forward to hearing more from you Joe! Keith
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leoroberts
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My main instrument is: probably needing new strings
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Post by leoroberts on Jan 16, 2018 8:26:05 GMT
A nice comparison, Mike Floorstand - I thought AFC's 'brashness' suited the uptempo version very well indeed. I've a bit of a wait before she gets to me - it'll be interesting to see how she settles down over the next few months
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Post by Mike Floorstand on Jan 16, 2018 8:54:49 GMT
Thanks leoroberts,I'm actually finding AFC surprisingly, and very pleasantly, "unbrash" for a new instrument - the trebles in particular are very clean and harp-like. If you can hear rough edges it's probably my recording setup and playing. Glad you found it wistful Keith, I clearly achieved my goal of emoting the sorrowful feeling of not being quite sure where the next note is on a tune I've only just learned! Look forward to hearing your version?
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Post by lavaman on Jan 16, 2018 10:31:31 GMT
Kenny Hits Golden Balls Keith I think you need to tell us more ocarolan
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Post by Mike Floorstand on Jan 16, 2018 22:53:39 GMT
Here's my second recording on An Fea Caol, the jazz standard Bluesette:
Really enjoying my time with An Fea Caol so far! A very pick-up-and-playable guitar.
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davewhite
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Post by davewhite on Jan 16, 2018 23:04:15 GMT
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Post by jubbo on Jan 17, 2018 10:40:12 GMT
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Post by ocarolan on Jan 17, 2018 10:46:49 GMT
That was lovely, Joe - beautifully played, great sound and arrangement!
Keith
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Post by jangarrack on Jan 17, 2018 12:18:09 GMT
I've never heard Bluesette played as an acoustic arrangement before and I really like it. Also as leoroberts commented, the slower tempo of Midnight in Moscow, a tune I am quite fond of, is nice. I know it's always difficult to tell from a video, but that guitar sounds both very resonant and articulate at the same time, a balance which I would imagine is challenging to achieve when building a guitar.
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Post by andyhowell on Jan 17, 2018 15:14:55 GMT
It certainly has a nice recorded sound. Makes me think of putting it in DADGAD — or FBFBB or something or other!
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Post by andrewjw on Jan 18, 2018 17:42:30 GMT
Really enjoyed "Bluesette"! I get the sense from the vid that you are really enjoying playing AFC...lovely tone and beautifully played ! Really looking forward to my fortnight ...not too long now!
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Post by Mike Floorstand on Jan 25, 2018 23:09:45 GMT
Thanks for the kind words folks - modesty prevents me from saying anything other than "the guitar's the star" We were away for the weekend so I've been a bit quiet on the recording front, but managed to get one more tune recorded tonight, another one I'm still learning so there are a few rough edges again. Recorded with my Zoom H4n like the others, plugged straight into the USB port so no effects, and using the webcam on my laptop recording into Movie Maker. Hopefully it shows on the recording but for me this arrangement highlights the balance across the strings but particularly rather fabulous sound of the trebles up the neck.
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Post by Mike Floorstand on Jan 27, 2018 23:00:24 GMT
This particular chapter of the Road Trip ended today with the instrument safely returned to High Wycombe. Here she is on the train: https://instagram.com/p/BeeB0XbFIZy I was hoping to do another recording or two and take a few more photos but sadly time ran out Concluding thoughts: Sound - fabulous, esp. trebles Aesthetics - liked the headstock design (incl. very smart tuners), very pretty fretboard wood (and really liked the offset markers), body woods are nicely contrasting (and the top perhaps starting to honey already?). Lovely. Playability - definitely invites you to pick her up. The parlour size is probably my favourite although it can be a bit difficult to decide how to hold them - have the same issue with my Brook Creedy. Cross-legged seemed to work OK but might militate against very long sessions. No strap buttons yet, so certain positions ruled out (incl. standing up). "Fit and finish" - No issues for me. Note for those who may be new to Dave's instruments, they are matt-finished so if you look hard enough you'll probably find some toolmark or other "imperfection", which other builders and particularly factories mask with heavy gloss finishes. I like the fact that matt finish highlights the beauty of the wood in a different way, and if it does happen to expose any imperfections they just remind you that the instrument was made by hand. An honour to be the first participant in another De Faoite roadtrip - thanks Dave!
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Post by ocarolan on Jan 27, 2018 23:56:26 GMT
Blue Bossa is lovely - great stuff Joe. I'm seriously looking forward to trying this guitar. You've shown it off beautifully. Keith
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