walkingdecay
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Post by walkingdecay on Jun 2, 2014 8:00:06 GMT
I think you're right in moving on, Alex, for all the reasons you cite.
I'll add that I once had a mate with a big Tennesseean electric who mitigated the discomfort he felt when playing sitting down by resting it on a towel that he carried in his guitar case. This was a boon to humanity in general, as he had once dropped his trousers to show the angry weal on his leg. Nobody who witnessed that wanted it to become a habit.
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walkingdecay
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Post by walkingdecay on May 30, 2014 22:43:18 GMT
Nice one Larry. How's the mando coming along?
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walkingdecay
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Post by walkingdecay on May 30, 2014 15:44:31 GMT
But sound? Entirely subjective. Which is why the only way to go is to find an instrument that sounds good to you and buy it This is true. I'm aware that my favourite guitar would seem all but unplayable to many of the fingerpickers, tunings-from-space users and flamenco wangers on this forum, but to me it's a very capable flatpicker with some character in its sound, and balanced enough that it can carry off a bit of jazz when needed. Suits me perfectly. Regarding Gibson acoustics, I associate them with some of the Nudie-suited country frontmen I used to play pick up for. They seemed to me to be bulky affairs, best suited to thrashing out chords. Maybe there are some out there I'd like if I played them, but as it is I have a sort of aversion to them and wouldn't even think to try them in shops.
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walkingdecay
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Post by walkingdecay on May 28, 2014 14:21:11 GMT
I kick myself for not taking a chance I had to get to know Bert a little. I'd met him in passing a couple of times when I worked at BBC Pebble Mill, but he always rushed off after performing to attend to a gig or lesson. Years on I emailed him to ask if I could link to his website on mine. To my surprise he not only agreed, but added my email on Messenger. I saw him on there quite often over the next couple of years and always said "hello," but didn't like to bother him too much in case I was crashing a conversation he was having with someone else.
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walkingdecay
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Post by walkingdecay on May 28, 2014 10:55:29 GMT
The only thing I'd say about bluegrass is that some mandolin styles are more suited to the requirements of bluegrass music, at least when played acoustically (without amplification), in that they will be louder, with more projection and typically have a bluegrass 'bark' when playing rhythmic chop chords. I found that out when trialling some mandolins for a bluegrass setting, and eventually plumping for an Eastman 'A' style with 'F' holes. That's true. You can get around the lack of bark for rhythm playing by muting with the back of the hand, simply because you're basically hitting the beat like a snare drum, but when playing breaks it becomes difficult to get the growl of playing partial chords on the lower strings that Bill Monroe made part of the sound of bluegrass mandolin. Nothing to stop you fudging, or playing those passages in a linear fashion though.
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walkingdecay
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Post by walkingdecay on May 27, 2014 23:34:47 GMT
If you have the chance I would try some flatbacks first to see if you favour them. Personally I prefer A and F styles for their rather less brittle tones and projection, and for me they are physically easier to handle than bowlbacks, but in the end if you like the feel and tone of the one you tried that's the most important consideration.
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walkingdecay
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Post by walkingdecay on May 27, 2014 15:08:55 GMT
Nice to see you back Michael, and with a man cave as well. Good move! It's great to have somewhere to keep your guitars. I don't know how I'd manage without my lady cave.
Over to Keith...
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walkingdecay
C.O.G.
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Post by walkingdecay on May 27, 2014 12:23:44 GMT
I agree with Robbie about different kinds of capos having an effect on the sound. I won't use the elasticated types because their holes or slots don't allow for the fine adjustment that the screws on the metal types do. I even think the elasticated ones have a slight muting effect, and when flatpicking can kill the ring of open strings.
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walkingdecay
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Post by walkingdecay on May 19, 2014 10:47:36 GMT
In general, just a good, well stocked Real Book (with notation as well as chords, because I have a habit of mixing up bridges between tunes!).
In folk terms I'd be torn between Cantiga's Renaissance Festival Favourites, which contains useful antique material from all over the world, and Pete Cooper's English Fiddle tunes For Violin, which ably demonstrates that Celts do not have all the best tunes.
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walkingdecay
C.O.G.
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Post by walkingdecay on May 19, 2014 10:30:06 GMT
Why is everyone being so secretive its only a few questions. Its hardly being questioned about a serious crime or handing over bank details... I understand it. This is basically market research, and how much folks have spent or intend to spend gives an impression of their finances and habits as consumers. I have no problem because I've stated before that I don't feel any need for high end instruments and couldn't justify the cost to my family in any case.
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walkingdecay
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Post by walkingdecay on May 19, 2014 9:59:23 GMT
1. Yes 2. No 3. No 4. b) 5. Cost, and relatively high quality of cheaper branded guitars. 6. Yes
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walkingdecay
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Post by walkingdecay on May 9, 2014 11:48:10 GMT
I believe it's all but impossible to sing a song with blue notes convincingly in an English accent.
Anyone care to prove me wrong?
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walkingdecay
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Post by walkingdecay on May 7, 2014 22:01:51 GMT
I have no problem at all with singers adopting foreign accents as long as they're true to the idiom and are practiced enough to be convincing. I'm very glad that accidents of location didn't prevent Paul McCartney from writing Get Back, or June Tabor from singing Le Vingt-Cinquième du Mois d'Octobre.
I'll add that we seem more forgiving of instrumentalists adopting "foreign" idioms, that we seem perfectly happy for an English fiddle player to use "authentic" ornamentation on an Irish reel, or a Scottish flamenco player to flail and pummel in exactly the way a Spaniard would.
Great thread. I hope to contribute more when I have time.
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walkingdecay
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My main instrument is: brownish and rather small.
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Post by walkingdecay on May 3, 2014 20:32:42 GMT
There's one at TAMCO, for £1895 if you didn't already know. Thanks mate. In truth it's only a dream. I could never justify spending that sort of money on a guitar, even to myself.
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walkingdecay
C.O.G.
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My main instrument is: brownish and rather small.
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Post by walkingdecay on May 2, 2014 21:23:14 GMT
Easy. This: Gallagher G-50I'd prefer a cutaway, as I do get up into the parts of the neck that produce sounds best appreciated by bats, but in the end it's the sound that matters and I love the sound of mahogany and spruce. There's a sort of creaminess in there, never getting too brittle. It's the formula used in my Ibanez AW1000, and I love that guitar.
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