mandovark
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Post by mandovark on Sept 24, 2014 17:59:27 GMT
I guess this partly depends on what kind of gigging you're doing. If you're going to be carrying around your own PA system and/or amp, etc, then I you can probably be reasonably confident that if the setup works ok in one venue it'll probably be ok in most similar venues (obviously this might not work if you're going from the Dog & Duck one night to Wembley Stadium the next!). If you're relying on the venue's PA and sound engineer (if they have the latter at all) you probably need your guitar's setup to be as idiot-proof as possible - which might rule out some of the more weird and wonderful pickups and other assorted gizmos that lots of us like to use.
Usually when I play live, I use instruments with passive pickups into an Orchid acoustic preamp that gives me easy tone and volume control on stage (important for switching between instruments and between plectrum and fingers). If I was playing in a situation where for some reason I couldn't use my Orchid, e.g. if there was no phantom power available, I might be more inclined to dig out my trusy old Yamaha electro-acoustic with onboard controls. It doesn't sound anything like as good as my other instruments, but in some ways it's a lot more foolproof.
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mandovark
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Post by mandovark on Sept 24, 2014 16:21:24 GMT
What Keith said One thing that might be worth adding is that a lot of tunes played in sessions are also dance tunes. If you're playing tunes for a Ceilidh, what you do as the rhythm section can have a big impact on whether the dancers are able to follow the dance. The trick is to find ways to vary the rhythm that you're playing without losing the rhythm that the dancers are trying to follow. It sounds tricky, but in practice it can actually be easier to find the rhythm of the piece when playing for a dance: forty or fifty shoes hitting the ground at the same time makes it nice and easy to find the crucial beats! In the last ceilidh band I played with, our caller (and concertina player) used to like us to vary the rhythm patterns a bit within tunes, particularly if we would be playing through the tune several times to fit the dance. There are lots of ways to do this. One of the most obvious (though not always the easiest to get right) is to switch from on-beat to off-beat strumming. You can also try things like strumming in 16ths for one part of the tune and then dropping down to just one or two beats per bar for the second part. The most important thing is to learn to listen well. As Keith said, tunes tend to have a rhythm to them even if you're only hearing a melody. Try to get used to hearing that rhythm. It's also good to listen to as many other players as you can and pay attention to what they're doing with the rhythm. Good luck, and enjoy!
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mandovark
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Post by mandovark on Sept 23, 2014 13:23:30 GMT
Martin and Mandovark - you both mentioned "The One". But in typical fashion with me it wasn't quite that simple! Had the Lowden not been there I am 99% sure I'd have been happily coming away with the Clyst as "The One" instead. It really was that good. It was quite a difficult decision and lead to real doubts for the next 24 hours that I'd got the decision right. Now once I've saved more and paid off the Lowden, maybe I can save up for a retirement Clyst!! Mark Well, that's the beauty of GAS - THe One becomes The Two, The Three, and so on...
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mandovark
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Post by mandovark on Sept 23, 2014 12:00:22 GMT
Congratulations Mark - looks like a beauty. Just goes to show that whatever you think you're looking for when you start shopping, there's nothing like playing a guitar for the first time and knowing it's The One.
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mandovark
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Post by mandovark on Sept 22, 2014 19:48:01 GMT
The Atkin that interested me the most I didn't buy — the little O bodied instrument. The reason I didn't get around to it was each guitar had to be 'unchained' from the alarm system and it all seemed a bit of a faff! It's true, they do seem a little worried that their guitars are going to run away Interesting to hear your response to the Atkins. I played an OM at Forsyths ages ago, and I didn't really like it until I took a plectrum to it, when it just came to life - it was by some distance the best flatpicker I've ever played of that size. It wasn't the guitar for me, but I could completely understand why an excellent flatpicker like Kris Drever plays Atkin guitars.
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Post by mandovark on Sept 22, 2014 19:34:25 GMT
Oh, I should have said as well that Andy and Simon at Brook are really helpful. If you order a guitar from them directly, they'll set it up however you want. If you buy one from a shop like I did, they're happy for you to take it in to the workshop for a setup. It's well worth dropping them a line if you have any questions about the guitars.
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mandovark
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Post by mandovark on Sept 22, 2014 19:30:22 GMT
I didn't try the Taw in dropped tuning. With the shorter scale-length, you might find that you need to go up a string gauge if you want to use low-C tunings. D-tunings would probably be ok. In terms of the setup, the action on my Tamar was very low when I bought it. If you play with a light touch, it was fine for dropped tunings. Unfortunately, I needed to be able to play a bit harder and I was finding that I got some buzz on the A and B strings when strumming or flatpicking. I gave it a bit of time to settle down (always a good idea with a new guitar) then after about 3 months I slackened off the truss rod a bit. It doesn't quite have the super-slick action it used to, but it's still very comfortable and at least now I can do everything I need to without any buzzing.
My Tamar is European spruce and the Taw I played was sitka. Both had rosewood back and sides. I'd say that the Euro spruce had a mellower tone with a really nice natural reverb to it. The sitka Taw didn't have the reverby quality, or at least not as much of it. The best way I can describe the Taw is that it was livelier: not quite as rich and complex, but brighter and very responsive. Hard to say how much of that is down to the wood and how much is down to the body shape.
I couldn't really say that one guitar was better than the other. I preferred the Tamar, but then I was after more of an all-rounder. I also prefer the look of Euro spruce, so that probably influenced my decision as well. What I would say is that every Brook I've ever heard has sounded like a Brook. The body shape and wood combinations change the flavour of the sound, but there's a very strong family resemblance across the range.
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Post by mandovark on Sept 22, 2014 13:17:35 GMT
There are a few Brooks there at the moment, and there's usually a Lowden or two knocking around.
Enjoy!
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Post by mandovark on Sept 22, 2014 8:31:20 GMT
I'm used to sight-reading vocal parts (mainly classical choral music), so I can read notation. I couldn't just look at a score for guitar and play it, but I could read the note values and could probably work out the score given enough time.
If I'm learning a piece from a written score, I prefer to have both TAB and notation - each gives information that the other doesn't, so it's useful to be able to look between them.
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Post by mandovark on Sept 22, 2014 8:24:52 GMT
Definitely worth getting in touch with the Brook team directly with any questions - Andy and Simon are very helpful and willing to give advice if you drop them an email. Personally I think you can't go wrong with Brook guitars, but obviously it's down to personal preference so the best thing is to play a few if at all possible. The workshop is a bit of a trek from the north-west (I have the same problem), but Forsyths in Manchester and Promenade Music in Morecambe stock Brooks and are within easy day-out distance. But be warned: get one Brook and you'll probably end up wanting more
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Post by mandovark on Sept 21, 2014 12:21:06 GMT
I have a Tamar (Euro spruce/rosewood) and I've played a Taw. I'd say the main difference is that the Tamar has a little more low-end - it just sounds a bit bigger than the Taw. Obviously whether or not that's a good thing depends on how you play and the kinds of music you might want to use it for. If you're likely to want to play rhythm at all, the Tamar is a better strummer and in that sense is more of an all-rounder. It also has a longer scale-length (by about 2cm) which might be something to keep in mind if you use a lot of dropped tunings. My Tamar loves low-C tunings.
I've never played or heard a Brook that wasn't an excellent fingerstyle guitar, and that seems to hold up across all the body shapes and sizes. It probably comes down to which model you find most comfortable to play and what you want to use it for. If you want a pure fingerstyle guitar, go for whichever speaks to you the most. If you want something that's more of an allrounder, or you're looking for a bit more bass and a longer scale-length for fingerstyle, a Tamar might be a good choice for you. Whichever you go for, you'll get a great guitar.
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Post by mandovark on Sept 20, 2014 13:14:25 GMT
2 - definitely my favourite. Nice mellow sound and a kind of natural reverb that made the melody line sound very fluid. Good low end on the strummy bit.
3 - lots of nice overtones and a similar kind of mellow sound, but for me the trebles were just a little less appealing.
1 - my least favourite of the three, at least for this piece. For me, it was a little too bright and sparkly. I did like the sound on the strummed part.
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Post by mandovark on Sept 10, 2014 20:48:16 GMT
Maybe not an obvious one for a thread like this, but one of the biggest influences on my playing for a long time was Eva Cassidy. Not because she was a great player - she wasn't - but because she was the first artist that really made me start to see how a well-constructed accompaniment can support and enhance a vocal. There's no great technical wizardry in her playing, but her accompaniments to her own voice on songs like 'Over the Rainbow', 'Time After Time' and 'Danny Boy' are perfectly suited to the songs. I eventually discovered players like Martin Simpson and Phil Beer and started to see what more technically accomplished players could bring to accompaniments, but it was Cassidy's music that first made me think about accompaniment as more than just rhythm.
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Post by mandovark on Sept 10, 2014 19:23:45 GMT
It's also interesting to see the banjo described as a 'very Fashionable Instrument...' But then it also says that the banjo is a 'very pleasing instrument', so clearly it must be taken with a pinch of salt
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Post by mandovark on Sept 8, 2014 7:51:36 GMT
Not sure if this helps, but when I tried a Linville a while ago, the guy in the shop said that they usually recommend them to Taylor fans who are looking to move up to something handmade. I could see what he meant - the Linville did have a 'Taylorish' sound and feel to it. To me, it played more like an American guitar than a British one. It wasn't quite to my taste, but it seemed a well-made guitar with a good sound if that Taylor kind of tone is what you like.
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