Did you know Slash’s Les Pauls aren’t made by Gibson? When these miniature guitars first surfaced a few years back I rushed out to get one that matches my full size stratocaster in the vain hope that I could somehow reverse the process when buying a small scale Lamborghini Diablo Roadster. It didn’t work but, […]
Author Archives: Jamorama
Guitar Luthiers
SO when and why should you take your guitar for a bit of a check up?
Over time general wear and tear, vigorous playing, temperature and humidity can all affect the playability of your guitar. The action and the intonation are crucial contributing factors, and you can set these yourself, but if you don’t have the necessary experience it’s probably best to take your guitar to your local luthier. Because your guitar is a living, breathing, and evolving organism then change will be inevitable but just how can you tell if your guitar needs a little medicine?
Well, the key signs to look for are string buzz, general playability difficulties, tuning anomalies up and down the neck, and action problems. Although fret buzz can also be caused by significant problems, in many cases, simple adjustments like raising string action can make these problems go away
When it comes the the action, ideally your strings/action should be set at a height that allows you to fret easily and comfortably at any position on the neck but without ANY buzzing. Buzzing can be caused by a combination of factors such as the saddle heights, uneven and heavily frets, the setting of the guitars nut, the string action and the situation of the neck. You should not be struggling hard to fret or voice chords up and down the neck. If you are finding that chords become progressively more difficult to voice the further up the neck you play then your action may need a little tweaking.
If the neck has become bowed then the truss rod will need adjusting (do not do this yourself). The truss rod is an adjustable metal rod that runs down the center of the neck. Problems with cheap guitar nuts or poor quality bridges and saddles can ruin your playing experience too.
Uneven frets can contribute to buzzing and your expert luthier will be able to locate any inconsistencies and redress them through grinding, replacing or adjusting your frets.
As a guitarist it’s very important to develop a healthy and positive relationship with your local guitar specialist. Take the time to find out which luthiers in your area have a solid reputation for quality and excellence. Preferably your luthier should have a long history of building and repairing instruments. Take your guitar and ask them to have a look at the current set up and show you how and where any adjustments can be made.
Choose your luthier wisely because your luthier can contribute so much to the quality of your guitar playing experience. It`s highly worthwhile cultivating a healthy and positive relationship with them.
In New Zealand`s north island Simcha Delft is one of the most highly respected luthiers and Steven String in the South Island.
Paul Chase
When it comes to hooking up your jam or practice room with inspiration art is a great way to go. We`ve already had a look at Paul Babyak and today its the turn of Paul Chase.
Paul Chase is an internationally known artist, author, innovator, visionary and guitarist. He is the founder and CEO of Graphicguitars Inc., fine art guitar paintings, prints and posters. He received a Bachelors degree in Art and a Masters in Communications. He has taught art in high schools, vocational/technical school, and at the college level for over 30 years. Paul is a distant relative of the “other” famous American artist Georgia O’Keeffe (and they are both developed their art “roots” in hometown Sun Prairie, WI) and his large close up guitar images reflect her large close up flower series. Pauls art is available for purchase online here at Rock N Roll Vintage.
Listening and guitar II
After the last post on listening and guitar it’s time to focus upon one of the world’s greatest listeners, Evelyn Glennie, the Scottish virtuoso percussionist who has been profoundly deaf since age 12. This does not inhibit her ability to perform at the international level. She regularly plays barefoot for both live performances and studio […]
Fred Frith
“…the obnoxious stink of a too loud electric guitar… now that’s my idea of a good time.” Frank Zappa If you really want to make ridiculous, obnoxious, weird and strange sounds then your first stop is an electric guitar – your next stop is an amp and some crazy effects chained together. If you really […]
Playing the blues – its as easy as 1, 4, 5
Playin’ tha blues – it aint no big thing and it aint nobodies business if i do!
To play the blues you only have to count to five. Well holy schmoley Batman! That`s one number too darn many fo` some! Right , look out people because today’s post is about as much fun as a mouthful of sand – dry, uncomfortable and nitty-gritty; but just like your monster-in-law its a necessary evil if you want to reap the rewards!!!
Learn like a Real guitar Hero
Last week I had a quick look at some custom guitar hero controllers as well as the YAMAHA EZAG stringless guitar, a “guitar” that falls half way in between a stringless controller and a learning tool with l.e.d.’s to illustrate where you place your fingers upon the neck.
Guitar Rising is a music video game where the player plays a real guitar as cued by the game’s visuals. Following rock music sequences and streaming notes, players play guitar melodies and rhythms. Beginner difficulty levels are designed for non-guitar players and hard difficulties will challenge experienced guitarists.
The great news is Guitar Rising from Game Tank allows you to play a real guitar in a game that combines the Guitar Hero format with guitar tablature. There are six lines on the screen that represent the six strings just like the neck of your guitar. The color-coordinated notes have been replaced with numbers that tell you which fret to finger.
So a number seven moving across the third line or string from the top, means you’ll play a D note on your 3rd string. Guitar players who have spent any time with standard tablature will find this to be like second nature. If you haven’t then this game will help you move away from the stringless controller format into the territory of REAL guitar playing whilst still having fun.
Relics
It’s a funny old world that’s for sure. While some of the population seems hell bent on preserving their youthful good looks, brainwashed by the shallow whimsies of Hollywood`s plastic people, or even their own vanity; the world of the guitar is steadfastly running in the opposite direction. There is currently no botox available for guitar – but Keith Richard’s dermatologist is down at Gibson and Fender charging big bucks to mess up your axe with an old flask of tea, an ashtray of fag-ends, a rusty chisel and a dirty old palm sander!
keith.preview
Let’s face it, guitar design remains predominantly trapped back in the 1950’s -and in this world change is a suspicious and malignant blight that the the guitar stoic must resist!
We’ve had a look at modern materials here, but accepted wisdom holds that concepts such as old, vintage, traditional and classic are the foundations upon which tone, sound and greatness are built.
Indeed, the Fender custom sheep, sorry shop, have taken it upon themselves to introduce the Road Worn(tm) series – guitars that come pre-loved, pre-stressed or what have you!
You can of course do it yourself, but in reality there is no substitute for time tested, genuine, cut your teeth, on the ciricuit wear and tear.
Some fellers on ebay have been pre-loving their guitars and putting them up for sale but the results are often a little over cooked.
One guy even dragged his Strat’ body behind his I-roc – man he must hate guitars.
Let’s face it guitar design alone remains firmly trapped back in the 1950’s -and in this world change is a suspicious and malignant blight that the the guitar stoic must resist! We’ve had a look at modern materials here, but accepted wisdom holds that concepts such as old, vintage, traditional and classic are the foundations upon which tone, sound and greatness are built.
Indeed the Fender custom sheep, sorry shop, have taken it upon themselves to introduce the road worn(tm) series – guitars that come pre-loved, pre-stressed or what have you!
You can of course do it yourself, but in reality there is no substitute for time tested, genuine, cut your teeth, on the ciricuit wear and tear.
Some fellers on ebay have been pre-loving their guitars and putting them up for sale but the results are often a little over cooked.
One guy even dragged his Strat’ body behind his I-roc – man he must hate guitars.
Beginning with the major pentatonic
In the last post called Jamming I I introduced you all to a movable pentatonic minor blues box. It’s the foundation of most blues rock guitar and a really very highly versatile scale that will allow you to play licks, phrases and motifs across the neck.
BUT it’s definitely a scale with a dark and minor character: moody, doleful and chock full of midnight moonlight. What happens though if you manage to shake off those blues shackles and even crack a wry old grin into your sleeve every now and then?
So to complement the minor today I`m going to introduce the Major Pentatonic Box and this has a much more uplifting “major” character. If this sounds a litttle like GREEK to you then “DONT PANIC!” because it’s all about creating a mood, it’s all about discovering the way different sounds and intervals (the gaps between notes in terms of both pitch and space) create, enhance or combine to communicate emotion.
Paul Ubana Jones Fingerpicking
In the late eighties Paul and his family moved to New Zealand, which is still their permanent home. He has continued to perform internationally, to growing acclaim. Concert performances include opening for the likes of Bob Dylan, Patti Smith, Taj Mahal, Keb Mo’, Tuck and Patti, and Crowded House.
Understandably Paul’s “off the hook” skills aren’t something that’ll come to you overnight, unless you’re friends with the devil, but, to compliment the awesome Blind Blake style fingerpicking lesson from Jim Bruce, Paul’s approach to fusion expands upon an already eloquent vocabulary.
So, here is Paul discussing one of his clawhammer thumb picking patterns.
Whilst this may be out of your playing depth technically Paul describes some helpful techniques in approaching fingerpicking such as focusing upon a relaxed hand and extracting and concentrating upon the the rhythm of the left hand – it`s well worth spending some time in trying to apply Paul’s advice to your own picking practice regime.
In a world of increasing homogeneity and gratuitous eulogising of the mediocre by the media simply for what appears to be the sake of having something to talking about, it’s a rare sight to behold aberrations to the normal especially in the form of unique and uncompromising talent.