In a discussion about innovation in operating systems, someone on Reddit wrote "look at the electric guitar, that hasn't changed much in fifty years and you don't see people complaining."
Which got me thinking. And blathering. Appended is a somewhat rambling discourse arguing that yes, in fact, electric guitars and their related gear has changed considerably in the last fifty years. My apologies for the lack of editing; I was mostly just getting a string of ideas down.
You are correct that the biggest-name manufacturers seem mostly to be looking backwards: all the vintage reissues, replicas, etc., and even the models where they take a perfectly good guitar and destroy it to make it look like it's been played hard for 50 years. Because there seems to be the most money to be made in feeding nostalgia back to aging guitarists.
But this isn't the whole picture -- there have been some very significant developments. The Parker Fly alone has a pretty radical tremolo redesign, and that carbon fiber and fiberglass make it incredibly light (resonant, and easy on the back). That line alone has a lot of patents.
There's the Adamas graphite-top acoustic, much better protected against humidity and temperature changes than the traditional spruce top. And the Rainsong and similar models that are nearly indestructible compared to traditional acoustics that can crack just sitting in the case, because they get too dry during the winter.
Electric-acoustic pickup designs are vastly improved, to the point where I can record my Ovation without using a mic and have it sound very much like recording it with a good mic. (In fact, I recently tried this, using an Apogee Ensemble direct input compared to a Rode NT-5, and they are fairly hard to distinguish).
There's the guitar synth, the Roland VG-88, the 13-pin output becoming a semi-standard. Fender has a guitar with a built-in guitar synth.
Truss rods are becoming more usable because companies have decided that you shouldn't actually have to take the neck off to adjust the relief. There's the Peavey micro-tilt adjustment, which has made it into other brands; I think you can do the micro-tilt adjustment on some Fenders and G&L instruments now. It really helps tweak the setup.
Pickup designs are proliferating, from the G&L single coils and the somewhat oddball Alumitone pickups. Shielding and noise rejection are much improved. Bridges and nut materials are much improved.
There's the Peterson virtual strobe tuner line, with such improved accuracy that I can use it for setting intonation, something very hard to do with an ordinary tuner. I have one of these that I got used on eBay, and it has made it possible for me to set up my own guitars better than ever before. They play far more in tune.
There's the Buzz Feiten tuning system, which is proprietary and only included on particular models, but it is a huge unsung advancement in making a guitar actually play in tune in more than one key and in more than one part of the neck. And there are related products and parts and technologies.
There's the piezo bridge on electrics, now common. There are now nylon-string semi-solid-body piezo electrics that sound very cool. Godin is making an 11-string oud-tuned electric nylon "Glissentar" for Turkish oud players. That's crazy cool.
There's the whole Variax thing, where one guitar can play like a simulation of a dozen varieties, perhaps not perfectly but enough to inspire considerable creativity, and limited more by your tastes than by the technology.
There's the Chapman Stick, and a whole lot of knockoffs, with tapping and crossed-hands technique and alternate tunings. I don't own one currently but I used to, and I love to play them; they are incredibly challenging and give you a whole new palette of sounds.
There's amp modeling, whereby I can buy a cheap Roland amp that sounds really amazingly like a wide variety of tube amps (basically, solid-state amps in general sound much better than they did when I was a kid). And tube amps sound better too -- I have a 5-watt Peavey Mini Colossal tube amp that is small and reliable and sounds fantastic. It's the first tube amp I've owned despite having played guitar for 25 years.
There's the Gibson robot guitar (which I actually think is pretty dumb, but I'm sure they will sell quite a few of them).
There's even a Moog guitar.
There's a new line of decent-sounding Steinberger guitars and basses including a headless/fretless bass with an ebony bridge, carbon fiber reinforcement in the neck, and piezo pickups that sounds remarkably like an acoustic upright bass. The original Steinberger basses are now highly collectible. The new ones are so strong you can lay one between two chairs and jump on it and it won't even go out of tune. (There's a YouTube video showing this, although I'm not gonna try it on my own instrument, thanks).
There are locking tuners. There are self-locking tuners. There are self-locking tuners that cut off the excess string for you. Yes, even such a basic thing as tuning knobs have vastly improved. It's easy to forget until you go back and actually play a real vintage guitar. You can get locking tuners that are replicas of vintage tuners, to combine the old look and the new tech.
The whole CNC machining thing has existed only since the late 1970s. On the downside, it has made floods of cheap knock-offs available, but on the upside, the basic shaping is heavily automated, which makes even high-end guitars less labor-intensive; it lets the luthier put his or her energy into the finishing touches and final set-up.
Strings are better -- of better quality metals, more uniform and consistent, with coatings, more resistant to breakage. Most of the touted advances are pure marketing drivel (do I really want my strings to be cryogenically treated?) but there is no denying that electric strings with improved windings and ends break less often, and acoustic strings with the various coatings, shipped in nonreactive airtight packaging, stay less oxidized and sound brighter longer. Bass strings come in a huge variety of types now including tape-wound (easy on the fingers), half-ground, flat-wound...
Fretting materials are better. My Parker Fly and Jag-Stang with a replacement neck have stainless-steel frets. There are more varieties in fret shape and design. There's the Plek machine that can do incredibly accurate fretboard leveling, allowing lower action.
There is an absolutely bewildering variety of specially-designed tools available for luthiers. If you get the Stewart-MacDonald or "Stewmac" catalog, you know what I mean. You can even buy them as a home luthier without a true workshop and benefit from some of these great and time-saving tools.
So, actually, I think there have been significant improvements. They are just not radical and revolutionary, more stepwise. And there will always be traditionalists who want their fragile, heavy Les Pauls and Marshall stacks. But if you put did a direct comparison of, say, a vintage Les Paul and Marshall with, say, a Parker Fly Adrian Belew signature model with a rack of synth and modeling gear, you'd see that, yep, things have changed!
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Monday, January 5, 2009
Skullcrusher Mountain Nylon Guitars
I recorded 3 parts using my Godin nylon-string electric guitar (with piezo pickups) and mixed and edited them to get this track, which is part of a forthcoming cover of Skullcrusher Mountain. The lines were recorded directly into Logic using my Apogee Ensemble and then run through "virtual" EQ, compressor, and reverb.
MP3 File
Again, not a final complete song, but of possible interest to guitar geeks. I'm quite happy with the way it came out, minor timing flaws and slightly raspy fret noise and occasional buzzing string included.
MP3 File
Again, not a final complete song, but of possible interest to guitar geeks. I'm quite happy with the way it came out, minor timing flaws and slightly raspy fret noise and occasional buzzing string included.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Skullcrusher Mountain Drone Guitar
On "Snowmageddon" (Friday the 19th) my office was officially closed due to weather, but since I live very close by I managed to drive in to do some work. But since I knew I was also going to the the only person in the building, I decided to take my Honeyburst T-60 and my Roland Cube Street along with the Sony PCM-D50 to do a little recording.
The track I wanted to work on is a "drone" backing track that sits low in the mix on Jonathan Coulton's song "Skullcrusher Mountain." It follows the major chord changes to the song, except that it is primarily played using "fifths," or chords reduced to their bare essence, just a root and a fifth and maybe the root again an octave higher, without the flat 3rds or dominant 7ths or other intervals that tend to sound very dissonant and produce a lot of beat frequencies when highly distorted.
I set up the amplifier inside the completely unused ladies' rest room in my building. I put my digital recorder on a chair inside a stall, next to a toilet, so that it would pick up as much reflected sound as possible from the hard tile floor and metal stall walls. I set the D-50's microphones to their wider 120-degree settings so that they would pick up more reflected sound. To avoid my own body damping the sound too much I propped the door open with the amplifier, and sat in the doorway next to it. This allowed me to hold the guitar up close to the speaker to generate the extended feedback on the final chord.
I put on my headphones (wearing them in part to keep myself from being deafened by the high volume) and played my takes while listening to the karaoke "Skullcrusher Mountain" for timing reference.
The final take is assembled from about six parts. Aside from one audible poorly-fingered chord, it sounds pretty much exactly like I envisioned, reverb, noise, feedback, and all. I'm very pleased with the result! It sounds totally grungy.
Note that this isn't a complete song, and doesn't truly make musical sense by itself; for example, there is a silent section in the middle because the drone guitar doesn't play under the bridge.
The MP3 file can be found here.
The track I wanted to work on is a "drone" backing track that sits low in the mix on Jonathan Coulton's song "Skullcrusher Mountain." It follows the major chord changes to the song, except that it is primarily played using "fifths," or chords reduced to their bare essence, just a root and a fifth and maybe the root again an octave higher, without the flat 3rds or dominant 7ths or other intervals that tend to sound very dissonant and produce a lot of beat frequencies when highly distorted.
I set up the amplifier inside the completely unused ladies' rest room in my building. I put my digital recorder on a chair inside a stall, next to a toilet, so that it would pick up as much reflected sound as possible from the hard tile floor and metal stall walls. I set the D-50's microphones to their wider 120-degree settings so that they would pick up more reflected sound. To avoid my own body damping the sound too much I propped the door open with the amplifier, and sat in the doorway next to it. This allowed me to hold the guitar up close to the speaker to generate the extended feedback on the final chord.
I put on my headphones (wearing them in part to keep myself from being deafened by the high volume) and played my takes while listening to the karaoke "Skullcrusher Mountain" for timing reference.
The final take is assembled from about six parts. Aside from one audible poorly-fingered chord, it sounds pretty much exactly like I envisioned, reverb, noise, feedback, and all. I'm very pleased with the result! It sounds totally grungy.
Note that this isn't a complete song, and doesn't truly make musical sense by itself; for example, there is a silent section in the middle because the drone guitar doesn't play under the bridge.
The MP3 file can be found here.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
The T-15
I bought a Peavey T-15 on eBay. The ad said:
"IN STUNNING CONDTION. IT ALSO HAS THE VERY RARE PEAVEY HARDSHELL CASE WITH THE ORIGINAL BUILT IN AMPLIFIER AND IT WORKS GREAT. THIS BEAUTY HAS THE ORIGNAL PEAVY SUPER FERRITE PICKUPS AND THE KLUSON DELUXE TUNERS. SERIAL # 00948975. NOW IT DOES HAVE SOME LITTLE NICS AND A FEW SCRATCHES NOTHING MAJOR. ALSO IT IS MISSING ONE KNOB AS SEEN IN THE PHOTO. THE GUITAR SOUNDS GREAT AND IT IS EASY TO PLAY AND HAS A SWEET RETRO LOOK."
The pictures looked pretty good, and although the starting bid was a bit high compared to other T-15s on eBay, I pulled the trigger. I also ordered bid on (and won) a set of four T-60 knobs, to replace the missing knob.
Here is what I got. First, I was shocked to find that the seller shipped the guitar in the taped-up case, without a box:
It seems to me that if you pack an item for shipment, and shake the package, if you can hear the item banging around in the case, then the shipping is inadequate. And that is exactly the situation. The T-series cases are pretty tough, and they have pads above and below the guitars, but they don't have foam or padding around the edge to hold the instrument in place. So every time the UPS truck hit a bump, the guitar banged against the sides of the case. You can see how the finish was literally ground off the guitar by this treatment. Here is the fresh-ground finish in the case:
There are several other spots where you can clearly see the ground-off, powdery finish in the case, and the corresponding spot where the case rubbed against the guitar, but the spots in the case are a bit hard to get my camera to focus on. It is much easier to get the camera to focus on the guitar. Here are some of the spots where you can see the fresh damage.
First, these two areas of damage (inside the horns) are entirely in areas where one does not typically find wear and tear. They seem to be entirely a result of the shipping, and they were entirely preventable. Had the seller took even a moment to stuff bubble wrap, or even newspaper, around the instrument to make certain it would not rattle around loose in the case during shipment, this would have been prevented.
It is very common for older guitars to have some finish damage, especially on the lower edge where the instrument may have been dropped, or fallen over. And the top of the headstock almost always has some dings where the instrument has gotten banged against a piece of furniture or another guitar or something. That is completely expected.
Here is the lower edge of the guitar. In this area you can see an older area of damage top left, where the guitar probably hit a floor or a stage twenty years ago or longer. (Note: damage through the finish that exposes the wood is not "nothing major," so the seller's description was somewhat deceptive).
But you can also see the newer shipping damage in which the finish is chewed up, in addition to the old "dings."
The good news is that since this is a nitrocellulose finish, some of these spots (at least, the parts where the damage does not go all the way through to the wood) can probably be restored. The bad news is that this kind of finish repair work is very expensive and can't easily be done in a home (I've done basic repair on polyurethane finishes using superglue and wet-sanding with graded papers, which works great, but nitro requires some nasty solvents). The other spots where the finish is damaged all the way to the wood might be repairable as well, but it would be much harder.
There is a more significant problem, though. I could not get the instrument to tune up well. The E string would not stay seated in the saddle, and did not seem to line up properly with the edge of the fingerboard. It seemed as if the bridge was not properly lined up with respect to the neck and strings. So I took the strings off. I found that the bridge was essentially sitting loose, held in place by only a single wood screw. I unscrewed that, and here is what I found:
The T-15 bridge consists of a cast aluminum piece with a combined sliding saddle for all the strings, that can be adjusted at two points. The bridge itself mounts to the body at three points: it sits on two metal studs bolted deep into the body, and is then kept from wobbling by a third wood screw. The metal studs are height-adjustable. The whole system forms a triangle and the 3 mounting points keep it from skewing around.
This instrument was entirely missing the two large, heavy studs that mount deep into the body. The bridge was held in place only by the single wood screw, which means the force of all six strings was being countered only at that one point, which is completely inadequate (I'm surprised it didn't pull the screw out). It also makes the tuning completely unstable, because if you tighten one string the bridge would literally pivot. It also had very little tone, because the bridge was actually resting on the soft plastic pickguard instead of on its metal studs.
There is yet another consequence: those studs are attached to the ground wire, which grounds the electronics. Without them, the ground wire isn't attached to anything:
Which means that the strings are not grounded to the electronics, and so the guitar picks up hum and buzz from televisions, lights, etc. (I expect some hum from single-coil pickups, but the sound of an ungrounded guitar is awful; it will even tend to pick up radio stations. In addition, if you have two single-coils with a 3-way switch, with the switch in the middle position the noise will generally improve as you have made the circuit hum-cancelling. But this doesn't work with a missing ground).
Now, the seller also has the following wording in his ad:
"As with many of our auctions, this item is being sold "AS IS". All sales are final."
I understand that, so I am not asking to return the guitar. However, I paid the seller $222.22 for this instrument. I paid extra (these often go for less) because this instrument seemed to be in better-than-usual condition.
The seller's ad downplayed the damage to the guitar, and It is not actually in playable condition (between the unstable bridge and the lack of a ground).
In addition, I paid the seller $32.52 for shipping, which was carried out in an entirely inadequate way, resulting in further damage.
The seller can't undo the finish damage, but in order to make this instrument playable at all, I will need to find a set of T-15 bridge studs and install them, and re-install the bridge (assuming the holes are not stripped or otherwise damaged, which I can't tell for certain until I try). That most likely means tracking down another T-15, preferably a heavily damaged or non-functional one, and cannibalizing it for parts. Even a damaged T-15 will cost me, with shipping, upwards of $100. And of course this does not take into account the value of my time in doing this repair work.
Here are the two messages I sent to the seller:
"I received this guitar today. 2 issues:
1. It was shipped _in the case_ with no box and no bubble wrap
or padding. There is fresh damage where finish was "ground off"
by the guitar banging against the sides of the case. I've bought
almost a dozen guitars on eBay and no one has ever done such
an poor shipping job. The case is not made for shipping!
2. There are supposed to be two adjustable metal studs
mounted in the body. The bridge normally sits on them. They
are missing. The bridge is held with _one wood screw_. One
of the studs is also supposed to connect to the ground wire.
Without it the instrument has terrible buzz.
I'm very disappointed by the needless damage, and I'm going to
have to find a set of bridge studs -- I'll probably have to
buy another T-15 to find these.
I want a $100 refund because of these issues. The guitar is
needlessly damaged and with the missing parts s not usable
as-is. I have detailed photos of the issues. Thanks."
And:
"For reference, this is how to pack a guitar for shipping. The
other guitars I've purchased via eBay have all been packed
more-or-less as this guide recommends and they have arrived
in fine condition.
http://www.danerlewine.com/freestuff/shippingaguitar.pdf"
I believe this is an extremely fair request. Any further advice on how to handle this situation?
UPDATE 1: the seller offered to refund the purchase price if I ship the guitar back. So that's what I'm doing. I'm packing it up again in the same case, but this time the case is carefully stuffed with closed-cell plastic foam so the guitar is completely immobile inside the case. I put the incomplete bridge with wood screw inside the case pocket in a folded plastic bag, included a new set of strings, and replaced the missing knob with an original Peavey knob. So it will be his problem again, and I'm only out the shipping cost. I believe him when he says he didn't know about the missing bridge parts. I will leave positive feedback for his willingness to work out the problem!
UPDATE 2: the seller received the guitar, and it was re-listed again on eBay -- with the exact same ad as before, same photos, not disclosing the problem with the bridge, or the additional damage. Said re-listing took place several days before I received my refund. I wrote the seller a note saying "you know, I'd feel better about this listing if you refunded the money I paid you for this guitar before selling it to someone else." I got back a muddled note talking about how they were not really obligated to refund my money because all sales were final, but allowing as how they would anyway. I again politely wrote back saying "I am patient -- I'll look for a refund in a couple of days." The time to debate about whether a refund should be paid is before agreeing to accept the return, not after. I did receive my refund, only a few days after the seller received the returned item. But I repeat: never, ever deal with pawnshops when buying a guitar. I just wish there was some requirement that eBay sellers disclose the fact that they are pawnshops in their listings, because it isn't always obvious. I'm considering in the future asking every seller "are you a pawnshop?" before I place a bid.
"IN STUNNING CONDTION. IT ALSO HAS THE VERY RARE PEAVEY HARDSHELL CASE WITH THE ORIGINAL BUILT IN AMPLIFIER AND IT WORKS GREAT. THIS BEAUTY HAS THE ORIGNAL PEAVY SUPER FERRITE PICKUPS AND THE KLUSON DELUXE TUNERS. SERIAL # 00948975. NOW IT DOES HAVE SOME LITTLE NICS AND A FEW SCRATCHES NOTHING MAJOR. ALSO IT IS MISSING ONE KNOB AS SEEN IN THE PHOTO. THE GUITAR SOUNDS GREAT AND IT IS EASY TO PLAY AND HAS A SWEET RETRO LOOK."
The pictures looked pretty good, and although the starting bid was a bit high compared to other T-15s on eBay, I pulled the trigger. I also ordered bid on (and won) a set of four T-60 knobs, to replace the missing knob.
Here is what I got. First, I was shocked to find that the seller shipped the guitar in the taped-up case, without a box:
It seems to me that if you pack an item for shipment, and shake the package, if you can hear the item banging around in the case, then the shipping is inadequate. And that is exactly the situation. The T-series cases are pretty tough, and they have pads above and below the guitars, but they don't have foam or padding around the edge to hold the instrument in place. So every time the UPS truck hit a bump, the guitar banged against the sides of the case. You can see how the finish was literally ground off the guitar by this treatment. Here is the fresh-ground finish in the case:
There are several other spots where you can clearly see the ground-off, powdery finish in the case, and the corresponding spot where the case rubbed against the guitar, but the spots in the case are a bit hard to get my camera to focus on. It is much easier to get the camera to focus on the guitar. Here are some of the spots where you can see the fresh damage.
First, these two areas of damage (inside the horns) are entirely in areas where one does not typically find wear and tear. They seem to be entirely a result of the shipping, and they were entirely preventable. Had the seller took even a moment to stuff bubble wrap, or even newspaper, around the instrument to make certain it would not rattle around loose in the case during shipment, this would have been prevented.
It is very common for older guitars to have some finish damage, especially on the lower edge where the instrument may have been dropped, or fallen over. And the top of the headstock almost always has some dings where the instrument has gotten banged against a piece of furniture or another guitar or something. That is completely expected.
Here is the lower edge of the guitar. In this area you can see an older area of damage top left, where the guitar probably hit a floor or a stage twenty years ago or longer. (Note: damage through the finish that exposes the wood is not "nothing major," so the seller's description was somewhat deceptive).
But you can also see the newer shipping damage in which the finish is chewed up, in addition to the old "dings."
The good news is that since this is a nitrocellulose finish, some of these spots (at least, the parts where the damage does not go all the way through to the wood) can probably be restored. The bad news is that this kind of finish repair work is very expensive and can't easily be done in a home (I've done basic repair on polyurethane finishes using superglue and wet-sanding with graded papers, which works great, but nitro requires some nasty solvents). The other spots where the finish is damaged all the way to the wood might be repairable as well, but it would be much harder.
There is a more significant problem, though. I could not get the instrument to tune up well. The E string would not stay seated in the saddle, and did not seem to line up properly with the edge of the fingerboard. It seemed as if the bridge was not properly lined up with respect to the neck and strings. So I took the strings off. I found that the bridge was essentially sitting loose, held in place by only a single wood screw. I unscrewed that, and here is what I found:
The T-15 bridge consists of a cast aluminum piece with a combined sliding saddle for all the strings, that can be adjusted at two points. The bridge itself mounts to the body at three points: it sits on two metal studs bolted deep into the body, and is then kept from wobbling by a third wood screw. The metal studs are height-adjustable. The whole system forms a triangle and the 3 mounting points keep it from skewing around.
This instrument was entirely missing the two large, heavy studs that mount deep into the body. The bridge was held in place only by the single wood screw, which means the force of all six strings was being countered only at that one point, which is completely inadequate (I'm surprised it didn't pull the screw out). It also makes the tuning completely unstable, because if you tighten one string the bridge would literally pivot. It also had very little tone, because the bridge was actually resting on the soft plastic pickguard instead of on its metal studs.
There is yet another consequence: those studs are attached to the ground wire, which grounds the electronics. Without them, the ground wire isn't attached to anything:
Which means that the strings are not grounded to the electronics, and so the guitar picks up hum and buzz from televisions, lights, etc. (I expect some hum from single-coil pickups, but the sound of an ungrounded guitar is awful; it will even tend to pick up radio stations. In addition, if you have two single-coils with a 3-way switch, with the switch in the middle position the noise will generally improve as you have made the circuit hum-cancelling. But this doesn't work with a missing ground).
Now, the seller also has the following wording in his ad:
"As with many of our auctions, this item is being sold "AS IS". All sales are final."
I understand that, so I am not asking to return the guitar. However, I paid the seller $222.22 for this instrument. I paid extra (these often go for less) because this instrument seemed to be in better-than-usual condition.
The seller's ad downplayed the damage to the guitar, and It is not actually in playable condition (between the unstable bridge and the lack of a ground).
In addition, I paid the seller $32.52 for shipping, which was carried out in an entirely inadequate way, resulting in further damage.
The seller can't undo the finish damage, but in order to make this instrument playable at all, I will need to find a set of T-15 bridge studs and install them, and re-install the bridge (assuming the holes are not stripped or otherwise damaged, which I can't tell for certain until I try). That most likely means tracking down another T-15, preferably a heavily damaged or non-functional one, and cannibalizing it for parts. Even a damaged T-15 will cost me, with shipping, upwards of $100. And of course this does not take into account the value of my time in doing this repair work.
Here are the two messages I sent to the seller:
"I received this guitar today. 2 issues:
1. It was shipped _in the case_ with no box and no bubble wrap
or padding. There is fresh damage where finish was "ground off"
by the guitar banging against the sides of the case. I've bought
almost a dozen guitars on eBay and no one has ever done such
an poor shipping job. The case is not made for shipping!
2. There are supposed to be two adjustable metal studs
mounted in the body. The bridge normally sits on them. They
are missing. The bridge is held with _one wood screw_. One
of the studs is also supposed to connect to the ground wire.
Without it the instrument has terrible buzz.
I'm very disappointed by the needless damage, and I'm going to
have to find a set of bridge studs -- I'll probably have to
buy another T-15 to find these.
I want a $100 refund because of these issues. The guitar is
needlessly damaged and with the missing parts s not usable
as-is. I have detailed photos of the issues. Thanks."
And:
"For reference, this is how to pack a guitar for shipping. The
other guitars I've purchased via eBay have all been packed
more-or-less as this guide recommends and they have arrived
in fine condition.
http://www.danerlewine.com/freestuff/shippingaguitar.pdf"
I believe this is an extremely fair request. Any further advice on how to handle this situation?
UPDATE 1: the seller offered to refund the purchase price if I ship the guitar back. So that's what I'm doing. I'm packing it up again in the same case, but this time the case is carefully stuffed with closed-cell plastic foam so the guitar is completely immobile inside the case. I put the incomplete bridge with wood screw inside the case pocket in a folded plastic bag, included a new set of strings, and replaced the missing knob with an original Peavey knob. So it will be his problem again, and I'm only out the shipping cost. I believe him when he says he didn't know about the missing bridge parts. I will leave positive feedback for his willingness to work out the problem!
UPDATE 2: the seller received the guitar, and it was re-listed again on eBay -- with the exact same ad as before, same photos, not disclosing the problem with the bridge, or the additional damage. Said re-listing took place several days before I received my refund. I wrote the seller a note saying "you know, I'd feel better about this listing if you refunded the money I paid you for this guitar before selling it to someone else." I got back a muddled note talking about how they were not really obligated to refund my money because all sales were final, but allowing as how they would anyway. I again politely wrote back saying "I am patient -- I'll look for a refund in a couple of days." The time to debate about whether a refund should be paid is before agreeing to accept the return, not after. I did receive my refund, only a few days after the seller received the returned item. But I repeat: never, ever deal with pawnshops when buying a guitar. I just wish there was some requirement that eBay sellers disclose the fact that they are pawnshops in their listings, because it isn't always obvious. I'm considering in the future asking every seller "are you a pawnshop?" before I place a bid.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Stratocaster, Telecaster, Rickenbacker, Ooh Shiny!
That's about what happened when I was browsing guitars on eBay. I'm now the proud owner of this super-cool Japanese-made Squier Super-Sonic. Ooh, ahh! It arrived in fabulous condition for a ten-year-old guitar, and is flashy yet relatively traditional and retro-looking at the same time. And best of all, these things aren't terribly expensive. People keep claim they will become "vintage" but they are still tremendous deals for someone who wants one to actually play, not stick in a climate-controlled storage facility for twenty years.
For a few years a decade ago the Vista series short-scale guitars were pretty much the best short-scale guitars you could buy. They are certainly superior in quality to the Jag-Stang which was rushed into production and has numerous issues, and generally better than most of the other Squier models, and perhaps some of the Fender models from that time period too!
There are four models of guitar and one bass. The guitars are the Super-Sonic, the Jagmaster, the Venus, and the Venus XII. The Jagmaster and the Super-Sonic are quite similar; I will talk more about these guitars in future posts.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
YYZ Riffs Tabbed Out
Note that in the original recording on the album Moving Pictures, Alex Lifeson plays parts of this song (especially the solo) using a lot of vibrato applied by the tremolo bar. I don't really like using the tremolo bar so the vibrato I apply is only done with my fingers. Note that in more recent live recordings he plays this song on a Les Paul with no tremolo bar so it can be done, but of course you are only bending up.
Without further ado, the tabs:
Without further ado, the tabs:
1. Intro Phrase
Plays over synth pedal notes: F#/G#/D#/C#/C
5 (A) ---3---3-3-3---3-3-3-3---------
6 (E) -----2-------2----------2-2----
Repeat the above pattern 9 times, then:
5 (A) ---3---3-3-3---3-3-3-3---------
6 (E) -------------------------------
2. Bridge to Chorus (3 parts):
Listen to recording for timing,
hammer-ons, and vibrato. I actually
play this in a position around the
9th fret now because it seems to
sound better up there, and also so
that I can do a slide back down
into the chorus. I'll let you work it
out from the videos; the notes
are the same!
1 (e) -----------------------------------
2 (B) ------------------------4-5-4------
3 (G) -------------------4-6---------4-5-
4 (D) ------------4-6-7------------------
5 (A) -3-3-4-6-7-------------------------
6 (E) -----------------------------------
1 (e) -----------------------------------
2 (B) -----------------------------------
3 (G) --4-5-4----------------------------
4 (D) ------------5-4--------------------
5 (A) -----------------------------------
6 (E) -----------------------------------
1 (e) -----------------------------------
2 (B) -----------------------------------
3 (G) --7-7-5-7-5-4----------------------
4 (D) ---------------7-5-4-(4) slide down
5 (A) -----------------------------------
6 (E) -----------------------------------
3. Chorus
Play twice:
1 (e) -----------------------------------
2 (B) -----------------------------------
3 (G) --2-2-----2------------------------
4 (D) -------4-----4-3-2-----------------
5 (A) --------------------4--------------
6 (E) -----------------------------------
1 (e) -----------------------------------
2 (B) -----------------------------------
3 (G) --2-2-----2------------------------
4 (D) -------4-----4-2-------------------
5 (A) ------------------4-3-2-4----------
6 (E) ---------------------------2-------
Play twice:
NOTE: although the video claims that the phrases
are identical but simply shifted in position,
on the original recording Lifeson does not play
7-6-5 descending but 7-5-5, so I have tabbed
it that way. These notes are quite fast so the
difference is hard to notice unless you slow
down the recording.
1 (e) -----------------------------------
2 (B) -----------------------------------
3 (G) --5-5-----5------------------------
4 (D) -------7-----7-5-5-----------------
5 (A) --------------------7--------------
6 (E) -----------------------------------
1 (e) -----------------------------------
2 (B) -----------------------------------
3 (G) --5-5-----5------------------------
4 (D) -------7-----7-5-------------------
5 (A) ------------------7-6-5-7----------
6 (E) ---------------------------5-------
Note: on second time through, the phrase above is
altered as follows to lead back in to the repeat
(listen carefully to recording for timing):
1 (e) -------------------------------------
2 (B) -------------------------------------
3 (G) --5-5-----5--------------------------
4 (D) -------7-----7-5-----5-5-----5-5-----
5 (A) ------------------7-------7-------7--
6 (E) -------------------------------------
Repeat the above, skipping the variation.
In the phrases below, pay particular attention to the
whole step bends. These can also be played
as slides. The left hand has to change position
and hammer in a way that might require some
careful practice.
1 (e) --------------------------------------------
2 (B) --4-5-7-----4-5-7-^bend^-7------------------
3 (G) ---------2----------------------------------
4 (D) --------------------------------------------
5 (A) --------------------------------------------
6 (E) --------------------------------------------
1 (e) --------------------------------------------
2 (B) --4-5-7-------------4-5-7-^bend^-7----------
3 (G) ---------2-2-2-2-4--------------------------
4 (D) --------------------------------------------
5 (A) --------------------------------------------
6 (E) --------------------------------------------
In the repeat after the solo, apply artificial harmonics
as per the recording of your choice.
This phrase is difficult to notate: listen for hammer-ons
and slides and position changes all while playing notes
on a single string as well as vibrato. "/" means to hammer
to the higher note on the same string.
1 (e) --------------------------------------------
2 (B) --1-3/3-5-3-5-3-5/8-1-3-3/5-3-5-3/5-8-5-8-5-
3 (G) --------------------------------------------
4 (D) --------------------------------------------
5 (A) --------------------------------------------
6 (E) --------------------------------------------
4. Rhythmic Section
The two chords are B7 and C7 (barre an E7 chord form
at the 7th fret and 8th fret).
Listen for variations: pick root on 6th string and strum,
or "scrub" rapidly with muting via your fretting hand to
achieve a staccato sound, or pick additional bass notes
to parallel the bass line:
To B7, add:
4 (D) -9-----7-------------------------------------
5 (A) ----9----------------------------------------
To C7, add:
4 (D) -10------8------------------------------------
5 (A) -----10---------------------------------------
In more recent live performances Lifeson seems to play
the last two B7/C7 as a barre form down at the 2nd/3rd
fret instead, but I'm not sure why. Maybe he's playing them
as straight major chords the last time through? It's pretty
difficult to pick out a one-string difference in a heavily
distorted and chorused chord played on top of maniacal
drums and bass.
5. Guitar Solo
The first part of the solo (before the synthesizer
chords) is broken into five riffs. Listen carefully
for the bends (see the videos, too).
Riff 1:
1 (e) -10-8-7-------------------------------------
2 (B) ---------0-7-8-10-8-10-8-7-8-7--------------
3 (G) --------------------------------9-----------
4 (D) --------------------------------------------
5 (A) --------------------------------------------
6 (E) --------------------------------------------
1 (e) --------------------------------------------
2 (B) --------7-8-10-8-7---------7-^-7------------
3 (G) -8-8-9--------------9-8-9--------9-8-9------
4 (D) --------------------------------------------
5 (A) --------------------------------------------
6 (E) --------------------------------------------
Riff 2:
1 (e) ------------------------14-12-11-12-11------
2 (B) -0-1-4-1--0-4-7-4-0-12----------------------
3 (G) --------------------------------------------
4 (D) --------------------------------------------
5 (A) --------------------------------------------
6 (E) --------------------------------------------
1 (e) -----------11------11-12--------------------
2 (B) -13-12-13------13---------14-13-------------
3 (G) --------------------------------------------
4 (D) --------------------------------------------
5 (A) --------------------------------------------
6 (E) --------------------------------------------
Riff 3:
Note: extremely fast with slides. If possible, drastically
slow down the original recording and play the phrases
very slowly until the pattern begins to make sense.
1 (e) -17-12-14-12-15-14-11-12--------------------
2 (B) --------------------------16-13-12-13-15----
3 (G) --------------------------------------------
4 (D) --------------------------------------------
5 (A) --------------------------------------------
6 (E) --------------------------------------------
1 (e) -----------------------------------
2 (B) -15-^-15-13-12-13-12-13-^-13-12-10-
3 (G) -----------------------------------
4 (D) -----------------------------------
5 (A) -----------------------------------
6 (E) -----------------------------------
1 (e) ------------------------------
2 (B) --12-13-12-10-12-10-8-10-8-7--
3 (G) ------------------------------
4 (D) ------------------------------
5 (A) ------------------------------
6 (E) ------------------------------
Riff 4:
Note: entirely on the B string! Watch my video, since
this one is complicated.
2 (B) --0-1-4-1-0-1-0-5-7-4-0-4-5--
2 (B) --4-5-4-0-10-13-10-12-10-8-10-7-8-7-8-10--
Riff 5:
The final series is played as a descending series of
hammer-ons/pull-offs:
2 (B) --0-10-12-10-0-10-12-10-0-8-10-8-0-8-10-8-
2 (B) --0-7-8-7-0-5-7-5-0-4-5-4-0-1-4-1-0--
The note Lifeson uses to sustain and generate
feedback during the first part of the synthesizer
section is "A," maybe played on the G string at
the second fret and then played an octave or
two higher; I'm not certain.
6. Synthesizer section
Note: to play this song on solo guitar, I play the
synth chords Am, G/A, D/A, F/A
as x02210, x00033, x00232, x003211 twice
then play some minor variations on what
the guitar does in the original recording,
which is more or less as follows:
1 (e) --------12-----------------------------------------
2 (B) --------------13-12-13-12-----------------13-------
3 (G) -----------14-------------12-14-14-14-14-----------
4 (D) -----14--------------------------------------------
5 (A) --12-----------------------------------------------
6 (E) ---------------------------------------------------
1 (e) --------12-----------------------------------------
2 (B) --------------13-12-13-12--------------------------
3 (G) -----------14-------------12-12-12-12-14-14-14-14--
4 (D) -----14--------------------------------------------
5 (A) --12-----------------------------------------------
6 (E) ---------------------------------------------------
1 (e) -------------------------
2 (B) ---13-15-13--------------
3 (G) -------------------------
4 (D) -------------------------
5 (A) -------------------------
6 (E) -------------------------
7. Closing
Play the chorus, ending on a sustained "G" on the
8th fret of the B string. Hold this with vibrato (and
feedback if possible) for 2 bars, then the big finish:
5 (A) ----3-3-----3-3-3-------------------------------------
6 (E) ---------2---------2----------------------------------
(Hold the F# with vibrato)
4 (D) ----4-2-----------------------------------------------
5 (A) ---------5-2------------------------------------------
6 (E) ------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Summer's Really Over
We're back from a week's vacation in Grand Marais with my father and stepmother, visiting from California.
I made a video -- my first -- using Apple iMove, and uploaded it to a brand-spanking-new YouTube account. The video is our family vacation, in the form of a music video for Jonathan Coulton's song "Summer's Over" (Thing a Week #51).
Here is the video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSVuCYOYYKM
I find Mr. Coulton's lyrics to be simple but beautiful; the song has been stuck in my head for the last few weeks.
Summer’s over
You’re going back to school
I’m staying here
Where else would I go?
Watch the leaves turn
Close up the swimming pool
Winter comes in
Sooner than you know
Nights get cold
And the flowers let go
Bide their time
Under the snow
As they go down they say
Goodbye
Goodbye
Summer’s over
Because it has to be
Just like before
Around and around
It’s a circle
Bringing you back to me
Stay where I am
I’m lost and found
When you go
You come back again
Close the door
The cold’s getting in
As I go down I say
Goodbye
Goodbye
I recorded a lot more still photos and a bunch of nifty audio on this trip. Most of you won't be interested in my raw home movies of kids waving, or my endless still shots of the kids walking down dirt roads. You might even think I'm a bit off my rocker for taking so many pictures of dying flowers. (It was all to fit in with the song lyrics, but I'll spare you the outtakes).
I also recorded several hours worth of water, wind, and people sounds. I took my Sony digital recorder to various spots along the Lake Superior shore at Grand Marais, and also recorded at Munising Falls and upper and lower Tahquamenon Falls. I've got a lot of water sounds, wind sounds, footfalls, boats, boardwalks, and stairs. Some of this material will eventually make it into podcasts. In particular, the William Hope Hodgson novel The House on the Borderland features a waterfall, so that should be very cool! There are also lots of other Hodgson stories set on ships, and Lake Superior will just have to serve as a stand-in for the Sargasso Sea.
Finally, I'm trying to get some recordings of my father playing ukulele and/or banjolele and singing. I picked up a summer cold and my voice is shot this week, but I might try accompanying him on guitar or tenor ukulele, or maybe I'll try to track the parts separately and add a bass or guitar parts later.
We had an ambitious recording project in mind when we headed up north, but it started to seem too much like work, and I could not figure out how to do true stereo recording using the Boss portable studio he brought with him. Consequently, we're going to have to try to complete something a little more modest before he leaves at the end of the week. It is a busy week for me -- my son Isaac is starting high school, I'm back at work after a week away, and as usual I have far more projects planned than time to finish them!
I made a video -- my first -- using Apple iMove, and uploaded it to a brand-spanking-new YouTube account. The video is our family vacation, in the form of a music video for Jonathan Coulton's song "Summer's Over" (Thing a Week #51).
Here is the video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSVuCYOYYKM
I find Mr. Coulton's lyrics to be simple but beautiful; the song has been stuck in my head for the last few weeks.
Summer’s over
You’re going back to school
I’m staying here
Where else would I go?
Watch the leaves turn
Close up the swimming pool
Winter comes in
Sooner than you know
Nights get cold
And the flowers let go
Bide their time
Under the snow
As they go down they say
Goodbye
Goodbye
Summer’s over
Because it has to be
Just like before
Around and around
It’s a circle
Bringing you back to me
Stay where I am
I’m lost and found
When you go
You come back again
Close the door
The cold’s getting in
As I go down I say
Goodbye
Goodbye
I recorded a lot more still photos and a bunch of nifty audio on this trip. Most of you won't be interested in my raw home movies of kids waving, or my endless still shots of the kids walking down dirt roads. You might even think I'm a bit off my rocker for taking so many pictures of dying flowers. (It was all to fit in with the song lyrics, but I'll spare you the outtakes).
I also recorded several hours worth of water, wind, and people sounds. I took my Sony digital recorder to various spots along the Lake Superior shore at Grand Marais, and also recorded at Munising Falls and upper and lower Tahquamenon Falls. I've got a lot of water sounds, wind sounds, footfalls, boats, boardwalks, and stairs. Some of this material will eventually make it into podcasts. In particular, the William Hope Hodgson novel The House on the Borderland features a waterfall, so that should be very cool! There are also lots of other Hodgson stories set on ships, and Lake Superior will just have to serve as a stand-in for the Sargasso Sea.
Finally, I'm trying to get some recordings of my father playing ukulele and/or banjolele and singing. I picked up a summer cold and my voice is shot this week, but I might try accompanying him on guitar or tenor ukulele, or maybe I'll try to track the parts separately and add a bass or guitar parts later.
We had an ambitious recording project in mind when we headed up north, but it started to seem too much like work, and I could not figure out how to do true stereo recording using the Boss portable studio he brought with him. Consequently, we're going to have to try to complete something a little more modest before he leaves at the end of the week. It is a busy week for me -- my son Isaac is starting high school, I'm back at work after a week away, and as usual I have far more projects planned than time to finish them!
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