My friend Chuck was sporting one of these this weekend!!

Tacoma Guitars - US Made, Fine Acoustic Guitars, Mandolins and Basses

Music listenings

All this talk about instruments and playing and no specific music mentioned . . . tsk tsk tsk.

I have been on a blues kick in the last few days (Probably because I am trying to learn the 12 & 8 bar blues).


My iPod screaming the blues!

My iPod tells me that the most recently played albums are:

Rolling Stones - Love You Live
Particularly the rousing live renditions of Mannish Boy and Little Red Rooster

Eric Clapton - Me and Mr. Johnson

Willie Dixon - I am the Blues

Muddy Waters - Hard Again

Robert Johnson - The Complete Recordings

I have a pretty wide ranging tastes in music, and find music useful in all aspects of life. I will occasionally post stuff about music that I am listening to or new music that I have discovered.

JAMMING

Last weekends Jam was much fun, and I am anxious to do it again so I am trying to get one together at the house this weekend. I have invited Bryce, Ed, and Johhny from work. 3 guitars and a fiddle. Fun!

The Nu-String Project: Phase one

After all the previous string writing I finally got around to restringing the Stratocaster. Actually what happened was that I was all geeked up to get some new wires on a week ago, but when I looked at the guitar it became clear that my masterful acoustic restringing skills weren't 100% applicable and I was thrown by the complex bridge and the string guides on the neck.

I have been known in the past to hastily dive into technical challenges that were a bit above my head and figure them out on the fly, but I have to admit that I love my guitar, and fear of screwing something up cooled my jets. I did a little reading (apparently restringing a Fender is so rudimentary that even Fender doesn't have any materials on it, and my Idiots guide to guitars doesn't cover it. I found some cool schematics of my guitar on their site though.

So tonight I took the dykes to the strings, and got the new Fender strings on the Strat. Pshaw. No biggee. It really was simple and although I feel my calm head should be rewarded . . . I fear that I was a total wuss in this case.

Now rating the strings . . . blah! They are only marginally better than my old ones (Strung at the factory Fender strings). I am used to a magical tonal difference that I have experiences with my acoustic, this did not provide any noticeable magic. They feel a little better than my old dirty tired factory originals, but so far the rating is * (one star).

Guitar Tracks Pro 3

Guitar Tracks Pro 3
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OK I am officially overwhelmed. I got a copy of Guitar Tracks Pro 3 to go with all my other gear because the version of Cubasis that came with my Tascam Box seemed a little sucky.

GTP3 is super cool, extra powerful with lots of wizzy stuff, but it is clear to me that the learning curve is steep. The good news is I was able to get GTP3 and my drum machine to clock properly so that when I press the record button in the software the drum machine starts automatically (that is the extent of my midi powers, and I couldn't really explain how that works or if that was the right thing) if you have any midi expertise I would love to tap it.

Also if any of you are CakeWalk GTP3 users I would love to hear your experiences, and any practical tips. It turns out that there are a weatlh of web based resources, but there seems to be some sort of implied knowledge that I do not posses. Perhaps it will come to me after I have paid my dues in time spent struggling. Just remember fiddling, and frustration can be fun and rewarding.

Weird

My blog disappeared.

6/28/04 20:30 - How nice. They fixed it. Thank you Blogger!

Strings followup + Fiddle info

I was talking to my friend Landon about my string post. He is a fiddle player (quite a fine one I might add) and mentioned that the notion of buying 3 sets of strings for his fiddle was difficult as a decent set of strings cost ~ $30.00. Perhaps Landon should shop here: Juststrings.com

Let me point out that the 3 sets of strings that I purchased cost between $5.00 - $7.00. There are finer strings that are more expensive, however I have been satisfied with the standard less expensive ones so far.

Other interesting things Landon taught me about Fiddle:

1. The strings are expensive
2. Some of them are metal (I thought they were all organic, turns out they used to be made of cat intestines)
3. The bow strings are made of horsehair and rosin applied to them creates the friction that makes the sound
4. The difference between a violin and a fiddle has nothing to do with the instrument but more to do with the music and style of play

Thanks Landon!

Jamming

Learning music has been fun, but I have mostly played by myself for the last few months. I would love to be able to play with other people but have been pretty intimidated about playing with other musicians because I feel like the novice I am.

At a party recently I was talking to a friend (who is a guitar player also) about learning guitar and he mentioned a book that he likes called "The Garage Band Method: How the Rest of Us Can Learn to Play ... Really Play" that promotes the notion that playing with others is the best way to learn (like people have been learning for ever!!). He suggested that we get together at another friends house and play.


My first Jam session
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It ended up that we had 2 guitars and a fiddle plus the occasional ukeulele. Although they kept it simple (to accomodate my beginer status) it was a blast, I learned alot (most notably that learning 12 bar blues will get me a long way in Jam sessions) but most importantly it was amazingly fun and I am a little more confident about my playing. I can't wait to do it again!

A 2nd photo because Landon and his fiddle were the star of the show!
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Thanks Chuck, Landon and Ed!

Strings

It turns out strings are really important. For the first 38 years of my life I felt that new strings were unnecessary unless one broke (twang! Love that sound!). That might have a little to do with my lack of success with the many failed attempts to learn guitar on my own (the inability to properly tune a guitar also hampered progress).

I learned when I first started playing that not only do fresh strings make a difference, but there are vast differences between manufacturers and type of strings. The approach I took was to buy a handful of different ones from different manufacturers and generously change the strings every 2 weeks until I found some that I liked the sound and feel of. I settled on Martin Extra Light Silk & Steel Folk Guitar strings for my acoustic.

I am ready (probably overdue) for a string change on my strat so I repeated the string exercise and bought 3 sets.
- Fender Pure Nickel Wound Original 150's

Fender Original 150's
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- Gibson Pure Brite Wires

Gibson Brite Wires
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- Dean Markley Nickel Steel Electric

Dean Markley NickelSteel Electrics
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All 9 - 42 gauge (Remember if you put a different gauge string on your guitar without adjusting it you could damage your guitar.

I will post how the string selection is going in a few weeks when I either pick one of these or buy some more.

Effects 101

My new multi-effect pedal!
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I finally decided to bite the effects bullet. I had been researching effects pedals, and I think I mentioned earlier that I felt that there was a heavy try before you buy effect happening there. I don't know the difference between a phase and a flange, so how do I a) know what I want my guitar to sound like? b) which effects make those sounds, and c) which effects pedals ($60 - $150 each) are the right investment for me to grow into?

Yet another Showcase music guy hooked me up, spent about half an hour telling me what I suspected was true (I don't know what I want, so better to get a cheap multi-effect pedal and figure out what stuff is and how I like it before dropping coin on really good pedals).

I am finding over and over again that even though it is sometimes difficult to expose yourself for a complete clueless newbie, in the right place talking to the right person it can get your questions answered, teach you something, and generally improve your situation.

The pedal I ended up with is a Digitech RP80 (I payed $80 at Showcase, it is $79 + shipping at Musiciansfriend.com). I has all sorts of effects, Amp/cabinet modeling, a tuner, a drum machine, 2 footswitches, and a foot pedal for controlling volume or effects.

I played with it last night for an hour or so and it was fun. I have yet to do anything but play with the presets (40 from the factory and 40 user programable) which are cool if not a little intense.

I plan to summarize me experience at a later date.

My Home Studio area
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This is where it all happens . . . OK that sounds quite hilarious. All that happens here is me hacking away at a bunch of gear and trying to make some music. I have fun, and I feel like I am improving a little every day.

My wife picked up the rocker stool at a garage sale . . . I desperately want to paint it, but I must wait for the statute of limitations to expire.

All this stuff and the alesis drum machine which is not obviously visible connects to my laptop via a single USB cable. I can simultaneously record 2 tracks at a time and I can stack up to 16 tracks. I have yet to record more than 4 (drum track, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals) however I am begining to understand the benefits of digital recording and how forgiving it can be. Don't like something? Edit it, or delete it. Heck save it for reuse later. . . all it costs are your time and hard disk. Cheap and easy!

DRUMS

So there I sit all singer/songwriter/folksy recording my acoustic guitar and voice tracks, maybe adding a little electric track over the top . . . and realize that I prefer to rock a little more. So I pick a song, and start jamming, and singing, and tapping my foot (not in that order).

I playback the complete track and it sounds shitty. Arguably more than half of that is because I am a novice guitarist with a barely tolerable voice, but at least 10% has to do with the complete lack of banging things. No drums.

So I mic my desk and start pounding on the top of it like we did in high school (hey it sounded good to me at the time), and played it back. Ack! It sounded like someone pounding on a desk. Not what I had in mind. What is a lonely guitarist to do?

This is a good option: Alesis SR-16. One of the most popular electronic drum machines ever made. It is simple to operate and sounds great for my needs. Programming is pretty straight forward and it comes with a ton or reasonable pre-programmed songs.

My SR-16
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Microphone

This is my Superlux CM-H8A Condenser Mic
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I got a condenser mic because I wanted to record my acoustic guitar as well as my singing . Apparently those microphones that you see people singing into on stage are optimized for voice recording and do not do a good job of picking up other sounds like strumming an acoustic guitar.

They are more expensive and fragile than your typical voice microphone, but if they do a good job then it is worth it.

The one I got has a large diaphragm and needs phantom power (conveniently provided by my Tascam US-122). It does a good job, and is super sensitive. It picks up the extra pops on my prolific P's and hisssssssing sss's. which brings me to the art and science of microphone placement.

I have no idea how to do it, I have tried a bunch of stuff. Recording acoustic guitar sounds best with the mic placed near the neck, NOT the sound hole. I am currently looking for online resources to help understand the best way to place a single mic.

I would like to record some playing and singing on the same single mic, but that has proven to be a challenge to get the levels balanced. Which leaves me recording seperate tracks which feels weird to me.

More on this topic to come.

Did I mention . . .SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL MUSIC STORE?!?!

My favorite is Showcase Music and Sound in Portland, OR.

They are helpful genuine folks who don't seem to mind answering newbie questions, and provide kick ass customer service.

Sometimes it is tough to beat the prices of the big stores (and if it comes down to price alone we all understand), but if it is something big that you will have to live with for a long time (like a guitar) it helps to have someone who will support you.

Showcase Music has always told me that if I have questions or need help that they will be there for me, and offered to adjust my Stratocaster for free if I needed it. I may never need it, but it is nice to know that the good folks there are thinking about me while they take my hard earned jack.

Recording

I got a Tascam US-122 which connects to your computer using a simple USB cable and allows 2 analog inputs (Guitar/Mic), has Phantom power (for condenser mics), and 16 channels of Midi. It is inexpensive and comes with some basic software that will allow you to plug in and record your electric guitar within 15 minutes.

For me it was perfect because I wanted to listen to my playing objectively to see how I was progressing, and focus on improving particular things that I could notice by listening to myself. I was unsure whether I would be "into" recording so I didn't want to invest heavily. I was able to borrow/purchase a used unit from a friend so it was a pretty easy thing for me to try then buy.

You can get them for $200 at Musiciansfriend or on ebay.

My Fender Champion 30 Amp!
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This is the Amp that I went with, it is loud enough for my home use, and has a DSP that provides some basic effects (Delay, Reverb, Chorus, Flange, Tremelo). Perfect for starting out. The one thing that it is missing (it is something that I thought sounded good, but have never tried) is an in jack for an MP3 or CD player to play music to jam to.

Champion 30™ DSP Combo

The above link is informational only, not a suggestion that you buy anything from Musiciansfriend.com or Guitar Center. Remember to support your local music stores!

My new Fender Stratocaster!
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Here it is in all of it's glory! Hard to go wrong with a Fender Stratocaster.

Thing's that I didn't know about electric guitars:

1) Does the body matter like an acoustic guitar? For example does a Les Paul sound different than a Stratocaster souly based on the size/shape/materials of the body?
A: Yes, it all matters, however the most important thing for a beginner has to do with feel and sound. My experience is that how it feels to you (weight/size/comfort/action) is the most important thing as well as how it sounds to you. I found the Fender Stratocaster to be the most comfortable (and affordable, that matters to most people as well) for me.

2) Does the number and type of pickups matter?
A: Yes. The pickups (in combination with all of the other elements of the guitar) dictate the tone, and the number and placement of them have everything to do with that tone (or sound). My Stratocaster has 3 pickups and a 5 way switch to toggle between each one as well as combinations of them.

3) What about strings? Do electric guitar strings need to be changed as frequently as acoustic guitar strings? Do the type of string matter as much as acoustic guitar strings?
A: Yes. The strings and their vibration create the tone through the pickups. Dirty, stretched, and worn strings will effect the tone of your guitar. A new set of strings will get your old sound back. Just like acoustic strings, different brands and types of strings will bring different sound to your guitar, but be sure to pay attention to gauge. Installing the wrong gauge string can damage your guitar.

I got it home and loved it. It was easy to play and sounded great. The action felt fantastic and I was worried that I would never play my trusty acoustic again. To my joy I discovered the next day that both are equally fun to play and bot provide unique guitar experiences.

My Fender Acoustic
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My trusty acoustic that I spent 6 months learning the basics on. I love this guitar. I played a dozen guitars before chosing this one. I felt right and sounded the best (in the $250 price range). I tried more expensive guitars, but at the time I couldn't discern the difference.

I have learned to appreciate some of the finer things about well crafted and vintage guitars, but my trust dusty will do for now.

Why a blog?

Eight months ago my wife finally got tired of seeing "Learn to play guitar" on my New Years resolution list and hooked me up with a friend who loaned a couple of old guitars and gave me some basic lessons. He taught me how to tune the guitar, how to play some chords, and how to read tablature. I saw him about once a week for a couple of months then he left me on my own.

The rest of the journey is why I decided to blog this experience. I have immensely enjoyed learning to play, and have navigated my way around the music world enough to purchase a couple instruments and supporting gear, as well as a simple affordable home recording setup for my computer.

I hope that sharing my experiences will be of value to other people who are considering becoming musicians.