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Post by blueshome on Feb 20, 2009 22:27:37 GMT
Pugsley, 3 of the samples you posted are on amplified guitar, maybe this is the route to the tone you want? In that case a cheap electric and a small valve amp would just get inside your budget, or perhaps a flat-top with a suitable soundhole pick up. The acoustic option would be a budget reso as recommended by those guys above who play them themselves.
I would listen to a bit more of the music and then be sure on the sound you want, there is plenty of audio and video material out there of the masters of the genre and of present day exponents.
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Post by blueshome on Feb 19, 2009 10:07:36 GMT
By the mid-60s I was a confirmed blues freak. I was also fascinated by the sound of early Muddy Waters and Kokomo Arnold. Then I saw Fred McDowell. Around the same time I saw someone play at a jazz event in Leeds and he had a shiny metal guitar - probably a Style O.
Move on 20 years and I start to learn guitar seriously and learn a little more about guitars, shiny one in my mind and by some process identified as a National.
A further 10 years and I inherit a little cash - new guitar! Start searching for a National - can't find anything at all so I picked up a Korean Dobro copy to keep me going. Then I discovered Slide & Picket in Worcester. Saw what they had there and, on Perry Foster's advice, ordered an NRP Style O. Been at it ever since. Since I got my FR tricone in 2004 I really haven't needed another reso (it's that good!) except for the feeling that I should own an old one for the sake of it.
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Post by blueshome on Feb 19, 2009 9:56:03 GMT
You are right Michael half the fun is getting it "wrong" and coming out with your own version of a song. As you get more and more into listening and playing blues it gets easier as you begin to relate patterns of sounds to various keys and tunings. For quick entry into identifying tunings and keys, John Miller has some great lessons you can download. Go to www.weeniecampbell.com and look around.
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Post by blueshome on Feb 16, 2009 16:53:52 GMT
Black Ace is cool, a great singer and player. If you search youtube there is a clip of him.
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Post by blueshome on Feb 15, 2009 11:01:37 GMT
set up both a digital recording medium and an analogue one and record to both media simultaneously
Done it! it's easy to do in the studio. Analogue sounds so much "nicer". (If you send a PM I'll happily give you details of the set up, and here I'll only say that the comparison was made using state of the art gear on both sides.)
I'll ask again, if digital sounds so great, why are the manufacturers all tspending a fortune on promoting that their gear sounds like analogue?
BTW re "Bop till You Drop". Mr.Cooder has been reported on many occasions as saying that the digital recording of this album was one of his big mistakes and he hates the sound. I have to agree when you compare it to earlier efforts whether played back on vinyl or cd.
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Post by blueshome on Feb 15, 2009 10:47:36 GMT
I get my strings via Todd Cambio at Fraulini, he has La Bella make up sets for him: 13/13;17/17;26/12;38/17;48/20p;66/26 These work great on my Angelina which came strung with these gauges except a 26 instead of the octave 3rd. I swap around between these now and then and have also tried 10 as octave for the 2nd course when down to A or Bb. I find that I can play quite comfortably tuned to C,B or Bb. A is doeable but the volume starts to go a bit. I would not tune this guitar above C, neither is it recommended to do so, but with a modern X-braced guitar I'm sure D would be OK with these gauges. I normally play tuned to B as it makes transposition easy when playing with others - just like cross-harp. (BTW I am not referring to open tuning here - the highest I go for Vastapol is Bb and for Spanish Eb) There is quite a bit of info on 12-string tuning and stringing on the Fraulini site www.fraulini.com
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Post by blueshome on Feb 12, 2009 9:41:37 GMT
Barry, A studio live room is not acoustically dead, it has its own character, echo etc and is an important part of the final sound, it may be treated to eliminate unpleasant effects but this room is where the sound that is recorded is produced. If the live room is poor, the sound of the recording will be poor whether the recording is digital or analogue. (Yes I know that close miking can reduce the effect of the room, it also screws up the sound as well.). Your flat may well work as an excellent live room.
What needs to be acoustically neutral however, is the control/mixing environment so that the final mix can be balanced and sound at its best and this is an area which gives the most problems to amateur recordists. Not so important though if it's just you and your guitar.
What we must not overlook in this rather esoteric discussion is that most important thing in all this is not the recordings, or the medium, or where there are made, It's THE MUSIC that we all enjoy making and sharing with others.
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Post by blueshome on Feb 11, 2009 22:14:28 GMT
As the part owner of a professional analogue recording studio built around 60's valve gear, I must agree with everything MM has to say on this issue - you can A/B analogue and digital, the result is that analogue is most pleasing to the human ear. This is an accident of the physics of the tape recorder, but is real, and is recognised by all in the audio world. Why else would all these companies be marketing their digital gear as emulating the sound of analogue?
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Post by blueshome on Feb 10, 2009 9:06:12 GMT
Heres another thought. Left handed resonator players have an easier time of it than other left handed playing guitarists. After all, to turn a resonator into a left handed instrument, all you have to do is change the top nut, swap the bridge around, restring, and the guitar even looks the same each way round as well
Not with a tricone you don't!
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Post by blueshome on Feb 8, 2009 23:20:27 GMT
Albert King played left upside down. Bob Brozman is another lefty playing right.
When I first tried to play guitar in the 60's I was fine making chords right handed, as well as doing many other things right-handed - shooting, batting, archery. When I passed about 25 I lost this ability and became much more strongly sinistral, so much so that when I really got down to try to play guitar 20 years later I couldn't pick with my right hand at all so I had to get the guitar converted.
Both my Fraulini and my Fine Resophonic triplate (obviously) were built left-handed.
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Post by blueshome on Feb 8, 2009 23:13:04 GMT
Roy Rogers has played a 12-string Dobro in the past.
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Post by blueshome on Feb 6, 2009 22:37:48 GMT
Willie McTell, Barbeque Bob.
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Post by blueshome on Feb 6, 2009 9:27:49 GMT
Nice playing G.
Sound on Come on caused distortion on my system and the little adjuster on the Youtube player to turn red until I had the volume almost off. Still distorted then.
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Post by blueshome on Feb 3, 2009 9:46:47 GMT
I think Bill's comment about ending up a better player at the end is valid. You don't need a high action or reso guitar for slide, most great recordings were made on wooden guitars (yes, I know all about ladder bracing etc). These things can help if you are after a particular sound. If you Martin is set up with a decent action - not too low (it's not an electric) I think you can have a lot of fun. A quick and safe way to help might be to just change the top string for a 12 or 13 when tuning down. This will give you a bit more tension on the string you'll play most and make life a little easier without increasing the tension as much as putting a full heavier set.
Pick it up, tune it, play it and enjoy!! My bet is you'll sound great if you put the time in, whatever tools you have to hand.
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Post by blueshome on Jan 27, 2009 23:13:05 GMT
Revox was the non-professional brand of Studer, both machines made in the same factory and some of the 1/4" machines are virtually identical.
You can generally find a usable 1/4" Studer B47 or Revox for £2-300. We have an ex-BBC B47 and it sounds great, although it has currently been demoted for use as a tape delay in our studio as the heads are getting a little worn.
If you go up the scale to an A80 or similar you will need to pay a lot more for a good one and remember that tape costs soar as the size increases - 1" is £60+ a reel at the moment. You will also need to source calibration tapes to set up correctly - these can sometimes be found second-hand, otherwise they are costly.
If you can find good 2 or 4-track A80 1/2" machine that could be a good way to go.
I would look for a machine that gives the cleanest "mastering" quality sounds - things can be warmed up by putting valves in the signal chain, mics and/or pre-amps.
Make sure that the heads on any machine you are thinking of buying are not too worn or you'll be into more expense getting them lapped or replaced.
Still. to get a decent sound that eats digital it's worth all the hassle and cost if you are serious about your recordings.
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