The acoustic music discussion thread
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Sí. Looks like a flamenco guitar as opposed to a classical, if you want to be pernickety about it, which I generally do.
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Nice, not often you see blues on a nylon, I play a nylon so this gives me hope. Me and Davy would probably be mates and everything.
Have been grinding away a lot actually, woodsheddin' most days for over a year now. My ragtime's come along quite well, although I'm sure my technique is still shocking, but hey fuck the haters, right? If it sounds alright it sounds alright. I think we had this conversation before actually. -
Ooo, mine is a flamenco guitar to boot, a Portugesesese one.
In fact I was looking at getting a steel string parlour guitar over xmas but just never did in the end, got a cheap uke instead. Felt very strange playing on steel strings again after years on the flamenco. Fretboard felt tiny too. -
One for Gonz:
Love those solos.
I found this very useful in explaining the split and triple, not sure if I posted it before:
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I notice this thread I made has carried on, sporadically, in my absence and has turned into kind of an acoustic musicians thread, which is quite cool I think. I love all three three videos that were posted in March, thanks all!
Here's a nice one from Doc Watson - "let's do a little country counterpoint now son."
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And here's something from me that obviously sounds like garbage in comparison (I posted a video of me playing this new instrument in the musicians and producers thread, but this is a different tune).
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Never realised your avi was actually a photo. Nice. Makes me want to play."..the pseudo-Left new style.."
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Lovely stuff in both clips there scrawl. Really like the sound you're getting from that whateveritsnameis you've got. What kinda tuning & strings does it use?
I've been spreading myself all over the place lately, playing wise. I was on the lookout for a new acoustic around Xmas but couldn't find anything that grabbed me for my price range at the time so just got a cheap ukulele instead and have been boshing that with gonz most Wednesdays since. Is great fun, I don't really practice at home though, been cracking on with classical (the guitar, not the playing - I still stick to pretty hamfisted blues and folky stuff) and got back into electric playing fairly recently after getting the surf itch (why did I wait 10yrs to get a reverb gizmo?).
That first clip you posted, reminds me of bron y aur stomp quite a lot. If I find one more of my favourite zep songs is lifted from somewhere else I'm going to cry. I only just got into Bert Jansch recently and when I heard black waterside did a little cry. Yeah fuck zeppelin.
Still no banjo for me btw but I did try a banjolele out the other week. Too many instruments, too little money.
Anyway, some clips for the thread; saw this first guy on tv a few weeks back and thought he was amazing:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=C4SGFtHubdM
http://youtube.com/watch?v=hkX7Q2J7k48 -
Amazing - like the Bert Jansch clip especially. Really percussive, but with all that syncopated ornamentation too. Lovely.
The Merlin has steel strings and is strung like an Appalachian dulimer - the lowest string is D - same octave as a d-string on a guitar. Then the next string is the A above that, and the top stings (which is a course of two strings) are D - an octave above the lowest string. So DAdd. The fretboard is diatonic rather than chromatic, so you can only play notes that are in the D-Major scale (although you can play in E-Minor using a capo).
So, four strings (three, practically speaking), one key, one scale, one octave. No one's going to be playing be-bop on it. But it's fantastic for quick and dirty arrangements of old Irish and American fiddle tunes and folk songs. -
nick_md wrote:I was on the lookout for a new acoustic around Xmas but couldn't find anything that grabbed me for my price range at the time so just got a cheap ukulele instead and have been boshing that with gonz most Wednesdays since. Is great fun...
Isn't it just? Uke's are so easy to pick up and play for a guitar player, because once you've spent a couple of minutes adjusting to the fact your two lowest strings are missing, you can start bashing out twee versions of dozens of songs you know the chords to. I really like playing Ziggy Played Guitar and After Hours by the Velvets.
Also, even the cheapest ukes are usually perfectly playable. Buy a guitar for £20 and you're in for a world of pain. A brand new £20 Mahalo on the other hand is a real instrument. It might not be very loud and maybe a little bit out at the top frets, but you can make proper music on it with very little effort at all.
I got a nice solid top Lakia with a built in tuner for a Christmas present. It has a slightly louder and richer sound than the bog standard ukes - but even that was only about £70. Again, I'd be surprised to find a decent guitar for that much - not new anyway. -
Aye I got a £40 Mahalo, simply because I didn't fancy any of the paint jobs on the £20 ones (natural wood all the way, plus a better case). Playing a good mix of clllllassic pop hits at uke weds and formby style stuff at home; love anything ragtimey and there's loads of that in George's stuff. Always room for more at uke weds btw
I still want get a steel string acoustic guitar though, it's been so long since I had one that whenever I try these days I really struggle to play any stuff on one, outside bashing chords anyway. It's depressing. Too used to my own guitar I think, just need to pick one, buy it and crack on. Thinking a nice parlour guitar.
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nick_md wrote:Too used to my own guitar I think, just need to pick one, buy it and crack on. Thinking a nice parlour guitar.
Funny you should mention that, as I just got a lovely Tanglewood parlour guitar with a solid mahogany top and back (composite sides, but who cares?) Model is TW133ASM. Nice big sound, and the strings are placed quite far apart for a steel string, which might well suit you as someone that's used to nylon string guitars. I won't tell you how much I paid as it was quite stupidly cheap and I don't want to get your hopes up of finding one at a similar price. I suspect mine fell off the back of a truck as it were. Looks like the going rate is around £240.
If that's within your budget, it might well be exactly what you're looking for. -
@krs - just WOW! Look at that dude's right hand! He's just wailin' on that thing! Lovely.
You so seem to have an incredible arsenal of unusual and impressive videos I must say. That thing you posted last year of the fiddle player in the cable car (I think it was you) has become a perennial favourite if mine to show people when YouTube vids are being traded back and forth.
EDIT: My mistake, it was igorgetmeabrain who posted the video I was on about. I guess I got mixed up because I know you're a fiddle player, krs.
But my point still stands - you do post great videos. -
I've changed the thread title and original post to reflect the fact that the thread has become something much more interesting than me looking for fellow banjo players.
And to mark this occasion, allow me to share with you Ry Cooder playing the mandolin like a fucking boss.
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If you like acoustic guitar stuff, check out Jamie Brewer. I myself find it a little boring, but I can appreciate his technical skills. Would love him to get a singer. But until that day he shall remain just outside my interests.
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I'll stick this in then. I can't help loving it, but anyone who I force to listen to it can't help telling me how much they hate it:
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Diluted Dante wrote:You're really selling it.
Chet's a tough sell at the best of times, especially his call and response duets.
Edit:
See? -
Moot_Geeza wrote:I'll stick this in then. I can't help loving it, but anyone who I force to listen to it can't help telling me how much they hate it:
Challenge accepted.
UPDATE: Actually I thoroughly enjoyed that! Very silly, but I'm quite sure it was meant to be. And the musicianship is top notch. A fun three and a half minutes for sure. -
I'm off to hide from the internet. This sort of stuff should remain hidden in sub-folders on my MP3 player.
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Diluted Dante wrote:If you like acoustic guitar stuff, check out Jamie Brewer. I myself find it a little boring, but I can appreciate his technical skills. Would love him to get a singer. But until that day he shall remain just outside my interests.
You weren't joking about technical skill were you? Phewee! Crazy right hand stuff that must take a very, very long time to even start to get to grips with, let alone master as this guy has done. And then some. It's all very melodically and harmonically pleasant too, which is maybe part of the reason you find him boring, and I tend to agree. It's the kind of chord progressions you'd imagine driving a Nick Hornsby or Don Henley song. I kind of wanted him to throw in just one slightly dissonant note somewhere. But fair play to the guy, he's got some major chops. -
Can't see a mention of 6- & 12- String Guitar. It's well worth a listen. -
Ooh Kottke, what a picker! Careful now, you'll get me started on John Fahey. Actually, too late. Fahey it is, as played by me.
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^ Nah, that was me! That is without question my all time favourite recording of a live musical performance. I wish I could flat pick.
EDIT: Turns out I originally posted it in the YouTube thread. -
I went through a gazillion Youtube thread posts to find that recently, so I could show my dad on Facebook. So many Beeswing performances on Youtube if you just type the title in.
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Think I searched for "beeswing pub" and there it was, although it might just be because of my Google profile.
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Wow, amazing vid Krs, he seems to be what people call a 'badman' on that thing. Had no idea you were a fiddle player either, I feel somewhat stupid now, moreso than usual.
Scrawl - that tanglewood sounds exactly what I'm after; for some reason I was avoiding tanglewood as I figured they weren't a great make (I've got a tanglewood electric, is not bad actually) but I honestly can't think why I came to that conclusion. I'll have a look for one of those, I was looking to spend ~£300.
Will check the rest of them clips at lunch, got this damn work thing to do atm...
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