1,851 Reply by Doug_Smith

(86 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)

Howdy Ozy,

  Actually I took a few lessons in the beginning of a "classical" nature just to get the mechanics correct (posture, position, picking style etc.), and self taught with the help of a whole bunch of novices like myself sharing what we learned in jam sessions and garage band type environments.

  If I had it all to do over again (and I could have afforded the lessons), classes would have been the better way to go.  I say that because I missed out on all the music theory that would have opened new vistas for me in music.  Learning that stuff now after 36 years of playing the darn things, and finally getting to the point where I might be knowledgeable enough to put some of my stuff to music.

Take Care;
Doug

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1,852 Reply by Doug_Smith

(20 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)

Jerome....  Truth is truth.

All hail Clearchannel Communications!  The same old play, nation-wide, at the same time every day!

  Fortunately there are those smaller stations running around with fewer affiliations that still have the power in programming held closely by the station administration and the program directors.  Those are the stations to seek out whenever possible and in that way continue to support the independent radio broadcasters.  As long as they have the following and the advertisers, they will continue to function and allow us to have choices.  Now for the disclaimer:  Yes I have in the past and still do some radio and TV work, but although I understand why the big boys are taking over... I do not necessarily support the policy of monopolizing any medium of information. (please don't fire me! I need the work).

Take Care;
Doug

Go to forum: Chordie's Chat Corner

1,853 Reply by Doug_Smith

(12 replies, posted in Acoustic)

Hey again AW,

  Know what you are saying there about looking foolish...  OK I'm 53 and a bit grey around the beard.  I used to think it would look funny, me playing something by.... Oh... Nirvana, Maroon 5, Puddle of Mud....!!  C'mon, we grew up with Steppenwolf, Led Zeppelin,
Ted Nugent, Pink Floyd, and that genre.  It ain't no thang!  As for the acoustic guitar in a rock band... look at Modest Mouse, Rilo Kiley, John Mayer.  You are gonna find at least one hollow piece in the woodpile... Nothing sounds like real wood, and sometimes no amount of wire and megawatts of power will give you the sound, that might set you apart from all the other metal thrashers on the planet. 

  Dare to be different!

Take Care;
Doug

By the way stop by your local music store and see if they have a bulletin board... sometimes you'll find a lead on a jam group looking for another player.  I live in a College town and there are always folks new in the berg looking to meet up with like minded musicians.

Go to forum: Acoustic

1,854 Reply by Doug_Smith

(12 replies, posted in Acoustic)

Howdy AW,

  Sometimes you just have to "bite the bullet" and play stuff that isn't exactly your favorite genre.  I know I have over the years, and have grown as a result.  What exactly I've grown into still is a mystery....LOL

  But it is a real boost to your repertoir to be able to play with others, not just because of the interaction between players, but because of the different voicings and chord progressions you will encounter along the way.  When you are "jammin" usually there will be someone who is guiding everybody else through the music in their interpretation of whatever tune happens to be on the menu.  There will come times when you will be the one putting down the tune (something you really like) and everyone will be following you through it.  Everybody learns something from everybody else and you have to remember that most times the music will not be the same as you first heard it if it is a cover.  Things evolve and an old country tune gets reworked into heavy metal, or a classic rock number might be reborn as a folk ballad.  Sometimes it is a drag.... but sometimes it is magic!

Take Care;
Doug

Go to forum: Acoustic

1,855 Reply by Doug_Smith

(7 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)

Why, yes it is.... and yes there are.

  There are regional differences in style and taste in music in a country as geographically large as this, but the lines are getting a lot blurrier by the influences of mass media and "cross over" bands and their recordings.  That is expected in a land where the common language doesn't segregate, one style of music or the region of origin from the others.

  Living here we kind of take for granted the "largness" of our country, but I became aware of the difference in viewpoints when a friend of mine came over from Germany with his uncle and cousin to visit the "West Coast" shopping for holiday properties.  They flew into San Diego and rented a car thinking they would just "drive up to Seattle" and sight see along the way looking for some oceanfront land to build a vacation home on.  Three days later they stopped and visited me and my family here in Oregon and they still had another long day of driving ahead to Seattle!  It took two days to drive through California (on the coast road), not quite like getting a rail pass and passing through five countries in 24 hours in Europe.

Take Care;
Doug

Go to forum: Chordie's Chat Corner

1,856 Reply by Doug_Smith

(77 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)

Wow good question, and one requiring much more memory cells than I think I have anymore (it's an "old age" thing).

  First guitar was an old Alvarez that I got in 1972 from a Doctor, who happened to be the dad of my girlfriend at the time.  He played in his youth and quit because the calluses interfered with his ability to "feel" the knife in surgery.  Nylon, classical and a pretty nice guitar as I recall.  He taught me a few chords and with the help of a Mel Bay book.... I was on my way!  Took a couple classical lessons and when I was able to afford it, moved on "up" to a 12 string Matao (which I still have in semi-retirement for those special occasions when I want to sound really terrible!). 

  Over the years I have aquired and sold a few others.... another 12 string, a Yamaha, a Strat (which I wish I still had it was from the 60's).  Currently I'm down to three besides that old Matao, a classical (built locally), an older Epi ST275, and a newer Ovation acoustic/electric Adamas body.  Just about enough of an arsenal to do everything I want to without going broke.

  The funny thing is that you can only play one at a time....


Take Care;
Doug

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1,857 Reply by Doug_Smith

(16 replies, posted in Guitars and accessories)

Hello It's me again,

  41 years, that is a long time and certainly enough time to forget to remember what it was like to be starting out!  Some of us however put the thing away for a bit and got back into music after a little while off (not necessarily for good behavior).  And the suffering is just as bad the second time around as the first... except that you don't have that death grip thing to contend with, having gotten over it once before.  So to give you heart and perhaps a hint of a way to get around the cramping etc. I will have to go back to my old "classical" fix for everything that you might be doing "wrong" (even though there is no "wrong" way).

  First off that reaching across the neck to fret the upper strings (lower notes, but higher as you reach out for them), you might try settling your guitar a bit higher on the neck angle as it crosses your body.  That forces you to get your thumb behind the neck of the instrument and naturally allows more finger extension across the width of the fingerboard.  You might think that it wouldn't let you get as much pressure on the strings, but it actually lets you pinch the neck between your thumb and fingers in a more natural and stronger grasp without cramping up the palm of your hand.  The wrist and forearm will be in a straighter line which keeps the tendons running freely through the tunnels in your carpals and lessens fatigue as well as irritation.

  It doesn't look as cool as playing with the guitar below your belt buckle, but a lot easier on the body.

  Take Care;
  Doug

Go to forum: Guitars and accessories

1,858 Reply by Doug_Smith

(7 replies, posted in Acoustic)

Ahhh, another multi-instrument player....

  Well you play keyboards also, so you likely have a grasp on standard notation sheet music (the genuine advantage).  I say advantage because unlike tab, you have the cadence of the music integral in sheet music which is absent in tab.  Tab tells you where to go, but not how fast, slow, or for how long.  So without having heard the tune or having a recording of the piece to play along with it can be really difficult to decipher tab and come out with anything sounding like the original version.  If you could imagine "Sunday Bloody Sunday" as a "blues" tune you catch my drift.

  Take Care;
  Doug

Go to forum: Acoustic

1,859 Reply by Doug_Smith

(6 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)

You know I'm not too sure about the rattlers thing, but I've been told that MY guitar playing sounds much better with a small pillow stuffed through the sound hole!

Seriously though, resonator guitars have all kinds of neat cones and things inside them to enhance volume and tone, so Maybe there's something to that.

Take Care;
Doug

Go to forum: Chordie's Chat Corner

1,860 Reply by Doug_Smith

(4 replies, posted in Electric)

Hi Jimmy,

  Actually getting a good finish is not that difficult, but spraying is the best option for applying any finish (no brush stroke tracks).
There are some cool composite finishes out there that would look really nice on an electric body, including crystalline and color changing. I think it is Alsa coatings that makes one that even changes color with the temperature. www.alsacorp.com/

  If you are dealing with a raw wood body, the most time consuming thing is getting it properly sealed and sanded so that your topcoats don't just soak into the wood.  That usually requires at least three coats of clear wood sealer and sanding between coats with progressively finer grits of abrasives.  If you use an acrylic laquer based sealer, you won't have to worry about acrylic enamels and urethanes reacting adversly with the undercoating.  Here's a tip for you... if you are using an acrylic enamel color that requires a catalyst, use the compatible acrylic urethane hardener in that color coat. That way if you do not like the final gloss, or you have a tape edge to deal with, you can freely apply a urethane clear topcoat with the same hardener in it to build to a smooth result.  Some hardeners don't play well together and it is a real bummer to have the whole thing go wrinkle finish on the final clearcoat.  If your body is already painted and you want to repaint, you will have to seal that other coating also, and I would recommend one of the single step epoxy sealers for that. I happen to like DuPont Corlar, but it is white and nearly impossible to sand if you get any flaws in the sealer coat.


Take Care;

Doug

Go to forum: Electric

1,861 Reply by Doug_Smith

(24 replies, posted in Recording)

Hello All,

  I received this cryptic summons from Lord Russell earlier.... so I had to come and take a look!

  Lets see, Radio, Television, Poetry?  Sure why not!  It's a narration thing isn't it?  Can I use my own voice, or did you really want Boris Karloff? 

  Thanks Russ!
  Doug

And Helena, I'll try not to disappoint this time....

Go to forum: Recording

1,862 Reply by Doug_Smith

(7 replies, posted in Acoustic)

Greetings Resprod, and welcome to Chordie (assuming you are new here).

  Well you have been playing chords so you should have a basic feel for how to place your fingers in the respective frets in the order that they were installed on your hands.  You will find that by looking at the Tabs you will start to see the patterns of common open and barre chords emerge and knowing those patterns is the "secret" (if there is one).  But as you will see repeated here and on other sites, there is no "right" way to do any chords, just those that are easier on your body, the easier most comfortable way is what will be commonly used and considered "correct", but it is what works for you.

  Tab has the advantage over "chords" in that it can be used in place of standard sheet music to represent graphically, both chords and the melodic sequence of individual notes for those of us who do not "sight read" standard notation.  The individual notes will usually represent notes in the "scale" of the chord derivative. What's that mean?  Riffs in the tonal range of the chord being played in accompaniment.  Really handy if you are trying to play that lead line!

  For more on scales, you might want to refer to the music theory section, where there are a bunch of folks that have a firm grip on all that magical mumbo-jumbo (most of which still defeats me).  But you will find that knowing some of the theory, will really enhance your understanding and broaden your repertoire of performance.  Stuff you should know some of, if you are interested in writing you own original music sometime in the future.

  Take Care;
  Doug

Go to forum: Acoustic

1,863 Reply by Doug_Smith

(4 replies, posted in Electric)

Hi Jimmy,

  You wouldn't happen to know any "bikers" or "hot rod" car buffs would you?  Paint shops that cater to clients looking for radical graphics for their "wheels" usually will have some talent in the use of air brushes and an artistic bent.  You know I have some friends (I have to include myself in this group), who have done or are doing that kind of "art", and the chance to try something on a different "canvas" just intrigues the heck out of our kind.  I've done a few guitars in my time and if the body is stripped of all the hardware and "sealed" ready for the magic to begin, it does not require a lot of materials or time to squirt the color layers and clear topcoat.  I would take a photo of the effect you are looking for and ask around the auto paint shops for advise.  You might just bump into one of us curious types and get a really outstanding result for a killer price.  To give you an idea... my first guitar painted for somebody other than me, I did for free using left over materials from paying jobs, just for the fun of it.

  Good Luck and Take Care;
  Doug

Go to forum: Electric

1,864 Reply by Doug_Smith

(2 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)

Just a thought Laurie,

  You say your "student" already has the skill of reading music... so you might try playing some traditional piano duets.  The notation is the same with the exception that middle C is played on the 5th string 3rd fret on the guitar, and the bass cleff omitted.  Transposition should be redundant with that common point of origin.

  Good luck however as I personally have not seen any guitar books of only duet arrangements.

  Take Care;
  Doug

Go to forum: Chordie's Chat Corner

1,865 Reply by Doug_Smith

(16 replies, posted in Guitars and accessories)

Hi again wannaplay,

  I can't remember exactly what scale length is "standard full size", but the trend has been to go to "short scale" guitars at least here in the States.  It has to do mostly with the string tension factor.  Reducing the length of the string allows you to not have to put as much pull on the string to get it to a 440 A reference note (for example).  In acoustic guitars that is a big advantage, to allow the Luthier lighter bracing in the body of the instrument and the additional volume and resonance that results.  From a "playability" viewpoint... easier fretting and bending.  You might find that manufacturers refer to their scale as " 3/4, or 5/8" or somesuch but there are variations from make and model.  I don't think that there is any set in stone rule about what length a guitar has to be, although one would think that it should be an even multiplier of the desired wave length of a frequency that relates to a particular note.  My guess would be the A note, string 5 open at 440Hz.  But considering that all fret locations are calculated from the bridge using the total scale length as the constant, you could make a guitar any length you wanted within the limits of practical tuning with common gauge strings.

  As to the buzzing, it is most likely not fretting close enough to the wire or not being able to get the string fully depressed.  The other variable is excessive bridge height.  Assuming that the guitar is set up properly, and you said that it doesn't happen when others play it.  It's probably you and something you are doing.  It could be that your finger strength is not up there yet and especially if you are using barre chording, it takes awhile.  You do practice a lot and that will get you physically conditioned fairly rapidly in that area, but don't over do it in one sitting.  Break your playing time into many short periods, and don't, like sit and try to go four hours straight.  Take breaks and stretch your hands and wrists or your tendons will let you know about having overdone.  They heal real slow and come back to haunt you again and again!

Take Care;
  Doug


Was that like too much information?  PS: Did a little research and the Baby Taylor is considered 3/4 scale at 22 3/4".  Martin, Alvarez, and Yamaha also build in that 22 to 23 inch scale on some models, mostly "travel" sizes.

Go to forum: Guitars and accessories

1,866 Reply by Doug_Smith

(6 replies, posted in Recording)

Oh Russell you did it again!

  Keep this up and those fellas at CNN will be hounding you for an anchor position (LOL).

Thanks;

  Doug

Go to forum: Recording

1,867 Reply by Doug_Smith

(26 replies, posted in Recording)

Hello Russell and Roger,

  Sure, I'm in for a challenge now and then.  Still unemployed and seem to have a lot of free time on my hands these days.
My PT asked me what line of work I was in and I told him that I'm a "househusband" which sounds a little better than "unemployed with poor prospects in a failing economy".

  Always glad to help if I can.

  Take Care; 
  Doug

Go to forum: Recording

1,868 Reply by Doug_Smith

(16 replies, posted in Guitars and accessories)

Howdy wannaplay,

  Well I can understand your frustration, and although I'm not an expert on all of the various models of guitar that have ever been made or are currently being made, I might make a suggestion.  Measure the scale length of the guitar you are currently having such difficulties with (distance between the nut and bridge).  The reason I say that is because if the neck width and body size are comfortable, and the distance between frets is the problem, a shorter scale guitar may get you there.
 
Youth guitars are usually a really short scale for a couple of reasons; Item#1  shorter overall string length means less tension on the strings to bring up to pitch, thus easier in the fingertips.  Item #2 short scale equals narrower fret spacing which is easier to reach for shorter finger length.

Knowing the scale of what you are playing may enable you to find something that has a better spacing "for you".  My Ovation is a 25.5" scale and the neck is 1.75" and works well for me with rather short stocky fingers.  There are others out there, and I think that the "Baby Taylor" has a shorter scale than that, with outstanding sound and feel but it seemed a bit tight for me when I played one (sorry I didn't ask the scale length while at the dealership).

  A little online research might be in order.  But then again, surely there is a "Chordian" out there who will respond to your post with better information.

Hang in there, keep practicing and have fun with your music... it just gets better and better!

  Take Care;
  Doug

Go to forum: Guitars and accessories

1,869 Reply by Doug_Smith

(8 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)

Yesterday morning (November 10) I stood on my front lawn and watched the sun come up, wishing a Happy Birthday to all my Marine brothers and sisters...

Tonight I will stand on my back lawn and watch the sun go down with a prayer for all those Armed Service Men and Women around the world who have fallen in the fields of conflict, and those who walked back out.  For Every soul still serving in some part of the  globe...

  Godspeed, Be Safe, Pray for Peace, and Come Home Soon.

  Amen;
  Doug

  Semper Fi

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1,870 Reply by Doug_Smith

(18 replies, posted in Songwriting)

Good Job Roger!

  I feel like a dolt, but I'm blaming it on my medication (it makes me stoooopid!).  I posted my congrats on the Recording Forum.


  As Russell has pointed out and Roger suggested in his posting on how it was done.  Amazing things can be accomplished with a little "team effort" and a stalwart "captain at the helm".  So by all means, if anyone here in the songwriting section has aspirations to put together a "virtual band" and record a tune or two.... assistance is readily available right next door in the recording forum!

  Once again "goodonya" Roger for a fantastic effort, and a hearty Thank You for allowing me to participate.

  Take Care; 
  Doug

Go to forum: Songwriting

1,871 Reply by Doug_Smith

(34 replies, posted in Recording)

Well Done Roger,

  Twelve tracks are a lot of streams to bring together and a "Hurculean" effort with input from a group so far removed from each other physically.

  WE are pleased that you are pleased, and appreciative of the opportunity to work with you on this project.  For those of you who have not tried multitrack mixing yet on any scale... it is not an easy job and consumes an inordinate amount of time and effort.  In the end the results can be really surprising and quite good.  Those sound engineers really DO earn their pay!

  Thank You Roger!

  Take Care;  Doug

Go to forum: Recording

1,872 Reply by Doug_Smith

(9 replies, posted in Recording)

Good one Russell,

  There was a version earlier I believe, saw it at one of those darn antique malls that the better half is always dragging (screaming and kicking I might add) to.

  Used spools of wire rather than tape, and was driven by a clockwork.  The batteries only powered the heads and amplifier.
Early 1900s period, maybe between the wars.  Sorry no photo, but I could have purchased it for a couple hundred dollars...
like I need more old stuff!

  Take Care;
  Doug

Go to forum: Recording

1,873 Reply by Doug_Smith

(10 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)

Thank you for the chuckle Helena.

  Actually I do have a dog and a wife....  and although I am awfully fond of both,
  my wife IS my best friend for 28 years now.

  Not to mention that locking either in the trunk of a car,
  might be considered cruelty to animals.

  On a quest for good Karma points;
  Doug

Go to forum: Chordie's Chat Corner

1,874 Reply by Doug_Smith

(3 replies, posted in Bands and artists)

Howdy Y'all and welcome to Chordie!

There's nothing wrong with country that's for sure!

Visit often, don't be shy, there are lot's of folks here with our common interests and a bent towards being helpful.
Have fun with your music, it just keeps getting better!

Take Care and Welcome!
  Doug

Go to forum: Bands and artists

1,875 Reply by Doug_Smith

(6 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)

Howdy Billystarr, and welcome to Chordie!

  I've had pretty good luck with a site:  www.letssingit.com
Anyway I have found lyrics there in the past, and although they are contributed by users, seem fairly correct.  I usually go there
if I remember part of a song and want to get the title so I can search the tune at (of all things...) Chordie!

  Have fun with your music and remember to visit often and post anything that you care to (within limits of course).  There are lots of good folks here that are a wealth of experience and information and more than willing to share both.

Take Care;  Doug

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