Give You Some More Flacke Some More

This is a fretboard map of the A7 chord near the fifth position, showing the roots [A] in yellow, major thirds [C#] in red, fifths [E] in purple and dominant sevenths [G] in light blue. There's a growl, for lack of better terms, that I'm beginning to get when I play it that's the specific tone I'm going for. It's the low string growl that, to me, is the signature of a country guitarist. And, for the life of me, I don't get it.

...Bears the Devil's Flower

This is my entry in the Eastwood Guitars contest, trying to win one of their Airline remakes. I did it with my cellphone because I didn't want to plug the camera into my netbook. The top prize is one like Jack White plays in the White Stripes, except I know he plays an original. All you have to do is video yourself playing the "Seven Nation Army" riff.

Well, there's slightly more than that. Check with them.

I did it on my baritone, which is tuned BEADF#B right now, and I just love that growl. Don't you?

My Sweep Picking Attempt

I will be watching, observing my lack of technique. Please do the same.

Woolgathering

Pearl dots made me think of pearl buttons.

Pearl buttons made me think of pearl buttons.

The tentative name for the beast is "Satellite". The instrument I am leaning toward emulating with this one on has two banjo tuners on it, to get a quick and easy transition to D and G. At least when Clarence played it. Now that Marty has it, he has them on the E strings and just goes to drop-D.

Pearl dots? $7 for 10, plus shipping.

Pearl buttoned tuners? $25 for a set.

Pearl buttoned banjo tuners? $80 for a set of 2.

Plus of course $200 or so for the Hipshot B-Bender that I'll need to catch the flavor.

I won't hit this all at once, but by Crom, I shall have it.

No Pictures Today

The non-orange of the maple is apparent now. The first four buttons are now totally gone. I went to Hobby Lobby today, hoping to find the right kind of dowel to fit in there and replace the buttons, but guess what? Hobby Lobby is closed on Sunday. I also need them for the logo.

StewMac also has buttons. Lots and lots and lots of buttons. I don't know if pearl or abalone buttons will show up on a maple neck that well, but that's how I'm leaning.

I showed the neck to a friend who works with wood on occasion, and he suggested hitting the fretboard (and the fretboard only) with another blast of stripper, because there's filler or something fairly thick on there.

It's worth it to order a set of StewMac buttons, I think, because I'll have to end up getting a new nut anyway, and that'll just add $7 to the order.

Cat Power and the Raconteurs on WFYI's feed of Austin City Limits this evening. It makes crazy sense to me for the Raconteurs to play ACL, as there's a lot of Jack Black (Correction: Jack White) stuff that sounds to me like it could easily be 13th Floor Elevators.

The worship leader is leading a band for National Day of Prayer, and has asked me to play at noon. I'm unsure, as I'll be working at noon. I can probably arrange something. The biggest amp I have is a Frontman 25R, which is not big enough to play out with. Most of the time, I play going DI. But I think I'd enjoy it, and should I really say no when people give me a chance to play out. So, I'll see.

And tomorrow, I will try to first saw up and second take pictures of the thing I hope/plan to make into my first home-made instrument. Well, it'll still be homemade if I order the pickups from Guitar Fetish or something, right?

Do You See What I See?

This is a 1950 Fender Champion lap steel. Thank you to the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign and the Physics of Electronic instruments course for these pictures.

I look at these to try to see the essence of a lap steel. I have a dedicated lap steel, but as it works and it's a little over-engineered, and I don't feel like tearing it apart to understand it. By tearing through these pictures, I can begin to understand what is adaptable.



The headstock is raised up from the body, enough that you can set this down on a table and it will not knock the tuners around. I have some wood, roughly the width of a headstock, that can be stacked up and glued. Don't have clamps, but I have weights. I can do this.



This is the part that made me think "Hey, I can do this." What we see is a Champion lap steel pickup. What that is very much like is a Broadcaster pickup. Don't listen to me, listen to G.E. Smith,, who used this as the basis of his signature Telecaster.

So, that's a Tele pickup. A Tele pickup mounted into wood. The different mounting screw alignment is not a point of obsession to me. That's also an awful lot of metal that I'd have to replace. I have a Telecaster bridge floating around, a top-loader at that, but A) There is no real need for an intonated bridge on a lap steel and B) I would feel so much cooler if I did as much as I could myself. I am sure that bridge is rolled steel with holes drilled for the strings and other holes drilled for the mounting screws. It would be cool to have a drill press to countersink the screws, but not too important.

A more purist person might insist on having the metal cover, too. I have found that I do gobs of right-hand muting, that I do it when playing lap steel, and I REALLY. DON'T. LIKE even a really nice lap steel like my horseshoe-and-handrest-having Supro with legs.

(I'll point out that this has no legs. And it is unlikely that I'll add legs to the new one I'm planning.)

My issue here is, I spent a little while walking around Menards, and I'm not seeing the steel. I don't know where to get it. Four inches is all I need. Or maybe eight. More on that later.



Like my Supro, and unlike the PeeWee, this has some sort of fabric on the back. Bottom. Whatever. Good for keeping the instrument sliding off your lap. A bigger thing is the ferrules. Should I go with the old bridge, I won't have this issue, but if I make one, I will have to stop it on the other end. We have ferrules because, really, the string heads will cut into the wood.

The previously-mentioned Supro has six little holes, looking like Qs with elongated tails run parallel to the string direction. The ball end pops in, the string runs into the tail and holds it in place. Clever, really.



The Supro has Klusons. Not feeling the love. Been considering getting a replacement set, replacing the gummy, not happy set. But I would not willingly put those in a guitar I'm not wanting to make exactly like Leo Fender made in 1952. And that's OK. I can get a set for $25 from Guitar Fetish.

More ... interesting, I guess, is the nut. The saddle was just an edge. This has specifically rounded corners. Which makes sense. Think about string movement over the saddles. Not much. Much more over the nut. So, you round out the nut and add grooves. And somehow, cutting a bone nut seems so much easier.

I have a circular saw. I have wood. I have wood glue. I have weights. I can get started on this. Won't necessarily look like a Champion, but it will be something.

The After picture for the Before part, the Before picture for the After part

Not quite perfect, but pretty good for now. Some more work with the Dremel and a wood block and it'll look good. Then I'll strip it, then finish it. Then the rest of my dreams will come true.

I have a soldering gun now (Thank you, Patrick!) and I plan to combine the 4-way switch and the push/pull phase switch , which should get me a Jerry Donahue/Baja wiring. Plus a no-load. And yes, I keep repeating that. I guess the more I repeat it, the more I will it into being.

No-Load Tone Pot
Push/Pull Volume Pot
4-way Switch
1/4" Jack

$45 of parts (above), a little solder and the pickups and you got yourself a a nice guitar.

Couldn't Find The Coping Saw

So I went with the Skil saw.

It is rough. My it is rough. But I will have sandpaper to smooth it out. And Dremel.

You know, I think that Blogspot uploaded those pictures backwards....

And this one is JUST RIGHT!

Or so it seems. I will have to go home and do work on the thing to be sure. And, beyond the headstock cutting, I have a VHS tape to extract from a TV/VCR. VCRs are dead to me. Dead to most of the rest of the world, too, but I guess not my library or my wife.

Anyway, more pics later. Speaking of pics, anyone have a pointer to a good free (and Free as in Open Source is great!) Windows-based webcam pic or video taker? The built-in tools suck.

The Road Ahead

This is not my SX STL. It is this SX STL, which has had the headstock cut down to be more like a Telecaster headstock. I don't mind the SX headstock, but I am getting less and less enamoured with the orange tint of the finish.

I bought the thing to be a testbed, a swappable spare I could mod to my hearts content, without worrying about affecting the value.

Neck

• stripper and sandpaper
• new finish
• cutting down headstock
• Custom (not saying "Fender") headstock decal
• bone nut, which is about the only part of the neck process I feel totally unequipped to handle. How much does a set of nut files cost? I did file this nut to handle the Not Even Slinky low E string with a file from fingernail clippers, though.
• a dedicated strap, because switching between this and the acoustic is annoying

Hardware

• tuners (under $30 from Guitar Fetish, depending on style)
• saddles
• white pickguard
• Schaller strap locks. Actually, I intend to buy a black set for the #1 and move the chrome set to this one.

Electronics

• I am currently satisfied with the pickups
• but I am not sure about the pots. Strongly considering doing a Baja-like 4-way switch plus push-pull pot for this one, too

That, is, should I get the money together to do it. I have a Dremel, so beyond the tuners, I should be able to get the neck together for not too much. And I actually kinda like the electronics as-is, so despite my want to get my wiring act together and learn something,

In other news, Jim Campolongo has his endorsements and preferences together. He's always considered a great player and good guy by this blog.

He also provides a link to Curtis Novak, who makes pickups on a design that should've occurred to me long a go, but didn't. Consider the P-Bass split pickup. One pickup covers the high 2, one pickup covers the low 2, and because one is reverse-wound, they in effect buck hum. Look at G&L and you'll see plenty of pickups that use that. So, the question becomes, why not do the same, but in the same form factors already used. Like something that, with the protective braids hiding the secret, looks exactly like a standard Telecaster bridge pickup? That's brilliance in my mind.

Has it beent that long?

Yes, I think it has.

Above is a Trussart Steelcaster Pink Paisley. Throw in a B-Bender and the spat of drooling will make me die of dehydration. This is my Gratuitous Tele Pic of the ... quarter? I would guess it has been three months since my last gear shot. I have been kinda busy. Including....

Playing Bass My musician friends and I have had a regular Tuesday jam, and as they're keys and guitar, I'm on bass. This is an interesting roll, because I think I can have more power over song direction on bass than as a second-chair guitarist. Not every bassist uses that power — for every Pastorius, Entwistle, Jamerson, Collins or Sheehan, there's a hundred folks who are holding the position because the guitarist is their brother/cousin/boyfriend/father/child and asked them to — but it is there, and the fewer people in the band, the more clear it is. Here's John Entwistle's bass part for "Won't Get Fooled Again". With the chaos that are Pete Townshend and Keith Moon taken out, you can hear that this is the song, and because Entwistle had it, they could go and and be the wonderful chaos they were.

Considering Taxes I am not sure on this, but I might be able to get a #2 guitar with the tax money. My preference would be a Les Paul copy from Rondo, but I'm thinging a Strat copy, at less than half as much, is much more likely. I'm planning to string it up with ropes and make it my slide guitar. I have country-bending .009s on my Tele, with the lowest action I know how to set. Wish me luck.

Playing Guitar I've been playing every Wednesday. Mostly acoustic. We have someone sitting at the Hammond now. So that's vocals guitar guitar bass drums piano and organ. I was playing acoustic, but I might be bringing my Tele (or, later, the Stratocopy). If everyone else has power, I might as well bring the power, too.

Wanting To Play Guitar I've been tapped to play Sunday. They want to have click-tracks set up so that the choir can practice to their tracks and sing to the band. So the leader's setting up Band A and Band B, so the unpaid band doesn't get burned out. And he wants me to play on Band B. Next Tuesday is the first practice.

Working As a temporary programmer/admin/helpdesk guy. Until Monday. When I become the permanent programmer/admin/helpdesk guy. Benefits and everything. Boo-yah!

A Clever Comment Proves Nothing

Marty Stuart has a show on RFD-TV, which you might not be sure you have. I wasn't aware I had it until I did a search for Mister Marty Party himself, after which I said "Well ain't that a humdinger". Brother Kenny is one good picker, and while I can listen and watch and say "this is good music", I could imagine my wife and two of three kids watching and just enjoying the fun. My eldest would just consider it to be corny and stupid.

Ever really listen to James Brown? I mean, hard? I drove the two big kids to a church-sponsored New Years' thing, and on the way back, I started counting measures on "Get Up (I Feel Like Bein' a ) Sex Machine". Count the times you hear "Get on up!". If I recall correctly, he goes 13 times the first time, five times the second, and four times the third. That is so interesting. He's putting it together as he goes along, assembling pieces of song. No overriding structure, except what he calls for. Or negotiates with his band. "Can we take it to the bridge?"

I got a video from Netflix a while ago. Monster Licks and Speed Picking. There's stuff to consider and stuff to learn, and there's enough bad video from good guitarists that a video that isn't great still passes on the curve. But I have to say, if you aren't learning, if you have an arm used to alternate picking, learning sweep picking is tough. You almost have to relearn everything. Tough.

How Do You Make A Guitarist Turn Down?

My sister gave me a gift certificate. I am now considering my options.

One of the options I am considering is an aid to my guitar skills. I saw the books [Sight-Reading|Fretboard Knowledge|Ear Training] For The Contemporary Guitarist. I am always curious as to whether my knowledge of the fundamentals is sufficiently complete. I am sure I have a mess of music knowledge in my head but only a small amount has reached my hands.

So, my questions are twofold. First, for anyone with familiarity with that series, are they good? Are any of them particularly better than the others? Would you recommend them?

Second, which skill of the three — fretboard knowledge, sight reading, and ear training — would you say gives you the biggest bang for your Amazon buck?

Also, Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Shoot the Hostage

So, I did some web work for my cousin. And he's sending me a check for $125.

I have a few ideas as to what I could do with this.

I might get a new big hard drive for one of my home machines.

I might get an inexpensive Strat from Rondo.

I could get a volume pedal.

I could get so many things!

So, I ask you, the reader: If $100 plus shipping landed on your lap, what would you do with it?

Squeeze Your Fingers Around Her Neck

Gary Willis of Tribal Tech on finger pressure.

And man, it's good advice. Even on guitar, although I think it's worse on bass. But I have tried to teach two of three sons how to play guitar, and they've driven themselves to tears from squeezing the strings too hard.

One of the Guitar Craft things I've heard and not been able to internalize is Fripp saying you have to control how far you pull your fingers from the strings if you want to have efficient playing. I think I pull off too far, but then you can't get a decent hammer-on without some distance, too. But pushing down too far is probably just as bad. The death grip slows you down, it pulls you sharp, and it hurts your fingers, and it gives you nothing in return.

Give Me A P! Give Me An E! Give Me An N!

Clearly, Paul Gilbert is done with boring instructional videos. So, he's gone to strange instructional videos. In Terrifying Guitar Trip, he handles the tuneup contractual obligation by doing it as a Grand Funk ending.



And, clearly, the guy can do whatever he wants with the strings. He's a terrific technical player. So, in order to tap into some of that, I'll get what I can out of this guy. I'll watch his other instructional videos, find what I can on the internet, and more.



But, is it just me, or is there just not much there musically? I mean, I'd rather hear someone like Jay Farrar play an E minor chord than Paul play an E minor arpeggio.

The Terrified and the Tripping

I have a Paul Gilbert instructional video out from NetFlix. I've had it for a while, and I just started back in. Exercise 2 is a decending C bit starting high on the neck.

And, as you know, I play a Telecaster. If there has been an advancement in the design of the electric guitar since 1947, the Telecaster doesn't have it. Including the contoured heel. And I rarely spend time at top of the neck. Sure, I get there, but not regularly and I don't tend to stay there. I'm really understanding why some folks insist on the contoured heel.

But, evidently, as shown in the third part of that YouTube video, Paul thinks the old-school heel gives better tone.

Anyway, I'm hitting this with the metronome, treating it more as a right-hand exercise and sticking to one position, rather than moving it down like the exercise teaches. I'll do that later. I'm doing sixteenth notes with a quarter note at 100BPM right now, working it up. My technique isn't terrifying yet, but I have time.

Whatcha Gonna Do About It? That's What I'd Like To Know

I have developed a few plans. Kinda interconnected.

First, I have developed two of a set of twelve major scale exercises for violin in Finale Notepad (which I use enough to warrant a link in the sidebar). This helps me figure out what notes go where when reading music.

Scales Exercise - C Major
Scales Exercise - D Major

Getting into my head, that's one thing. Much more important is getting it in my ears and into my hands.

Scales Exercise - C Major (MIDI)
Scales Exercise - D Major (MIDI)

Eventually, there will have to be twelve of these, and I'll have to make a playlist going through these in the circle of fifths (and reversed, in the circle of fourths), to get these into the head enough to build from there. As that otherwise fairly meh movie goes, "Fundamentals are the building blocks of fun".

Enough of this and I can stop saying I'm a fiddle owner and start saying I'm a fiddle player.

Root Down

Funny. I remembered this as Tony Rich on a real Hammond, not emulated. Still, that is a Leslie next to him, and a big one.

And there is no Telecaster in sight.

I'm thinking about keyboards these days, and what you hear here are two of the sounds necessary. The Hammond organ sound and the Rhodes electric piano sound. I'd take the Farafisa and the Wurlitzer, even.

Thing is, I don't know enough about the technology, and I'd have to spend time and money to learn hands-on, and I don't have either. I see virtual instruments online, and I wonder how I can control them, whether I would need to gig with a computer to run this stuff through or what.

So, I guess, this is what I need to know:

• What are the cool keyboard sounds? The ones that really rock? The crucial ones for butt thumpin' music?
• What gear is available that can emulate those sounds well? Because, y'know, even Goodwill has an ear to the vintage market, making bargains for the real stuff too hard to find.
• What cheap gear is available that can emulate those sounds not-too terribly?
• I see MIDI In, MIDI Out, MIDI Thru, and I get confused. How much of that do people who aren't, for example, Crystal Method, use?

Why Don't People Tell Me These Things?

Bill Kirchen, tomorrow. $10.

Ever heard "Hot Rod Lincoln" by Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen? Kirchen's the twanger on that.

Unlikely I can make it. If I had only known earlier....