New Mandolin Day!!!

Well, as you all know I have an obsession with stringed instruments. Yesterday, A, and I were  looking at the Musician's Friend Stupid Deal of the day and low and behold they had Mandolins for a ridiculous price. So, A says why don't you get it? I was so excited! I have always wanted a Mandolin and now I finally have one. It is a Rogue A style with an oval sound hole in a beautiful sunburst finish. It will arrive on Friday and I will give a full review this weekend. Hope everyone had a great day and an even better tomorrow!
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Guitar Workshop

I am always amazed at how setting up and maintaining a guitar seems like a huge mystery until you actually do it. I remember how I used to be afraid of doing anything other than changing strings on my guitars. Now, I am at the level where I can take them apart and do any work I need to and reassemble them. Today was no exception. I noticed that my awesome Highway 1 Tele's action was sort of high. I am really lucky because A pretty much lets me get whatever gear I want and she also listens to what I talk about and she then goes out and spoils me by getting these items for me. One of the things that A got me for my birthday was a string action guage by Stewart MacDonald. I felt it was time to show A how to do a set up! She was a great sport. It was exciting because she was asking questions and showing a genuine interest! Well, a long story short I now have a well set up Tele. Thanks A for watching and making it fun!

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North Country

It is amazing how and where inspiration comes for a song. The last couple of days I have been just noodling around on my Telecoustic and out of this came a new song which I will be recording in the next couple days. After kicking around with song titles my wife said why don't you call it North Country. I am blessed because I am married to such an incredible woman and inspiration is never hard to find!So in honor of  my wonderful wife and the area we love to call home "North Country" is going to be recorded. It is an instrumental acoustic song so I am really looking forward to laying down the tracks! Once I have it recorded and mixed I will post it here. I hope everyone has a great President's Day tomorrow!
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Different type of session

Lately I have been sequestering myself in the studio to record. I was having some serious challenges with timing and overall quality of my playing. I came up with a new technique. I started out by plugging my ipod into the board and warming up playing songs I used to cover in my band in college. It may sound silly but having the luxury of owning my own studio I am able to do this and not have to pay excessive studio fees. By doing this I have found that I am much more relaxed once the red light is on and the tape is rolling...(well digital signal)..LOL This has helped me a whole bunch for my timing and my playing is spot on.

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Mic Techniques

This is the first in a series of articles to help with mic techniques for your recording. This is just one of many different techniques and can be done anywhere and with any type of mic. Some of the other equipment for example the baffles can be made with blankets and any material that absorbs sound. The basics are like this. Mic one is a typical dynamic mis it could be a Sure SM 57 or 58. I generally place this about 48" from the amp and about 50"above floor height and pointed down at an angle towards the amp. Both mics are great solid mics for any purpose recording. Mic 2 I prefer to use a Condenser mic usually spaced about 18-36" from the front of the amp. The Condenser mic which I currently use and really love is the MXL 990. This mic is reasonably priced and has a fantastic response. Mic 3 another Dynamic mic (SM 57 or 58) depending on the room size I like to place it about 36" from the wall. This picks up a really nice slapback reverb from the room. The Baffles are just to add some deadness to the room. This is personal taste. If you like a really live room then omit the baffles Again, this is just a technique and the distances and mics are all dependent on what you have and your room. Have fun experiment and good recording.
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Fender Telecoustic Review

Yesterday my new Fender Telecoustic arrived.  I was more than plesantly surprised as I unpacked it from the box. The guitar is an Acoustic-Electric. The top is made of spruce and has really great bracing. The sides and back are fiberglass. The neck is a bolt on Telecaster neck with Rosewood fingerboard. The tuners are standard tuners. There is a nice little electronics set up of a BG3N pre amp with Tuner built in. This is one incredible guitar. I chose the Black finish with white binding. This is a very loud guitar when unplugged. It has a nice acoustic balance. Not over powering and not weak! When finger picked this guitar has some absolutely beautiful tones. With a pick this is a really nice strong toned guitar. I played unplugged for a good while and then plugged into both my amp a Fender Super Champ XD and then into the board of my recording studio with no effects added. Plugged in I felt like I was playing one of Glenn Frey of the Eagles guitars. I was absolutely amazed at how gorgeous this guitar sounds! The neck is fast which I truly enjoy and the action is perfect for my style of play. I have heard some folks say that this is a head stock heavy guitar but mine seems to be perfectly balanced. This may have been solved in the new design. The only issue that I see which is really no big deal are the strap buttons. They are a little small but a few Grolsch rubber washers will solve any issues that might arise. I was extremely excited to see that this fit into an extra Fender Deluxe gig bag that I have. The verdict 5 stars out of 5. Fender has made an incredibly nice guitar for the budget conscious person. In my case it is for a guy who is more of an Electric player than an acoustic guy. This guitar is fun to play and sounds great! I can see many hours playing this up in our beloved North Country!

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Some direction changes

I have decided to make some changes to my blog. I am going to start posting some weekly articles on such topics as Recording/mic techniques to live sound reinforcement. This might help some folks and then again it might not. With each post I will have diagrams to assist in some of the techniques. On another note, I will be starting my luthier certification so when I retire back home to the North Country in 6 years there will be a reasonable place to get gear fixed AND teach folks how to do basic guitar maintenance. That said, the first article which I will publish will be on Monday's blog. It will cover close in miking of smaller tube amps in the studios to get different ambient sounds from several different mics.
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