ginandcigarettes

This may be shameless self-promotion but it's for a good cause:

Your viachicago board-mate/mortal enemy, me, ginandcigarettes, James, will be sitting-in as guitarist for SpongeBob and the Hi-Seas at their next show. Yes, THE SpongeBob Squarepants, or, at least, THE voice of THE SpongeBob Squarepants, THE Tom Kenny, playing music from THE SpongeBob Squarepants album, THE

Purchase a Tube Screamer and also a Boss Tremolo. Those are the best two pedals you can have for my $$. I have the Fender Blues Deluxe reissue, which is basically just a higher-wattage amp with the same features you're getting in the Blues Jr. Let me tell you -- those amps are AWESOME sounding. As far as strings go, I use 10 gauge D'addario XL on my Fender and Gibson. They're pretty durable, sound good and that gauge gives a little more sustain than a 9 gauge string.

Good points, all! A Tube Screamer and its clones (Full-Drive, Route 66, 4,000 others) are industry standard for any rock guitar gig (though I recently replaced my Full-Drive because I got kinda tired of that creamy sound and went in a more AC30 direction). A tremolo is something to have, but don't ignore the cheap Danelectro Tuna Melt ($20 or so on ebay) -- It's good enough for Bill Kirchen.

Strings are right up there with pickups and amps; 10's will get you a good twangy sound, though whether this is the tele tone you have in mind depends on your tele heroes: James Burton uses a hybrid set with banjo strings: 9, 10, 12, 24, 32, 36; Clarence White from the Byrds supposedly used 9's with a 12 for the G string).

The Fender Blues Deluxe is well-loved for getting a vintage Fender sound with modern conveniences like an overdrive channel. My friend uses one in his band and sounds great, and when our two bands went for a psuedo tour to Las Vegas, we shared his amp to save space (I brought my tele and pedalboard including tubescreamer). Let me tell you, I hated everything about that amp. No matter how I tweaked it it sounded harsh with an ice-pick-in-the-ear character. It didn't compress how I wanted it to (solid-state rectifier?) and just felt really unmusical like it was fighting me. Greg plays through = great! James plays through it = crap. All this to say, as with any piece of equipment, your mileage might vary; try it out with your guitar and your pedals (this is important) at gig volume (Tele into Carl Martin AC-Tone through Deluxe Reverb at bedroom volumes = crap; Tele into Carl Martin AC-Tone through Deluxe Reverb at gig volumes = God.

That said, I really like the musicality of the Fender Pro Junior, but I don't feel that the Blues Jr or Blues Deluxe are just louder versions of it.

Also, a lot has been said about Fender amps, but don't ignore Vox amps such as the AC30 and AC15 and their clones (Laney VC30, VC15). The honk in the upper midrange and the compression of the AlNiCo speakers compliment teles quite well. Mike Campbell from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers uses a Broadcaster with an AC30, and Brad Paisely (I know, I know, but he sounds great) uses a Dr. Z amp that is based on the AC 30.

There's probably more voodoo surrounding the tele than any other guitar. That's not to say that it's unwarranted just that almost everything in that went into the original nocaster is reputed to be essential in getting great tele tone. A whole boutique industry has popped up based on the voodoo. Whether the voodoo is true is totally up to your own ear and I won't seek to dispel any of it, but here are some thoughts on the things that were mentioned and some stuff that wasn't:

Brass saddles are generally considered part of the tele voodoo supposedly because the extra mass provides more sustain and the fact that two strings rather than one are pushing down on the saddle supposedly gives a stronger connection between the saddle and the body. If intonation is a problem, get a compensated set, which are angled just slightly to match the standard string stagger on individual saddles. Stew-mac.com sells a set. Remember you need a new bridge if you want to drop it into a Mexican tele. James Burton did not have brass saddles (he had smaller diameter threaded nickel-steel); Danny Gatton did have brass saddles. Take your pick.

I dunno about noiseless pickups. I've heard good things about Fender's new line of SCN pups, but I tend to think that you need a bit of 60-cycle hum and microphonics to nail that 50's tele tone (I had a set of Kinmans that I felt were missing something). I love Seymour Duncan Antiquities, and some people swear by Fender's Nocaster bridge pup. SD's Alnico 2 neck pup is quite popular.

Mexican teles have either alder or poplar bodies, which have become the standard woods since the 60's for teles. 50's teles were typically swamp ash and a lot of voodoo has sprung up around that -- in a nutshell, swamp ash is supposedly THE tele tone, and the lighter the body, the better. Don Rich probably played with alder bodies, though, but I don't know for sure.

Highway One teles are prized because they have a couple of modern appointments with some vintage stuff, too. They have the three saddle bridge, and the body is finished in lacquer (though, they don't advertise that it is not, in fact, vintage-correct nitrocellulose lacquer). They also have a more modern nut width (1 11/16), radius (9 1/2), and medium jumbo frets. I personally love big frets, but I hate wide, flat necks (I like narrow, curvy necks with deep, chunky profiles).

I tend to think that the pickups and the amp play the biggest role in getting the tele sound. Spend money on both and work on the rest later.

For all things tele-related, check out the Telecaster Discussion Page Re-Issue: www.tdpri.com

They have dedicated forums for each of these things and I've generally found that everyone there will bend over backwards to help.

I hope this helps!

I think it's an issue of even though a person has 2000 sounds at their feet, they may not need to use any of them. Sort of a less is more deal. For example in a nice, strummy song there shouldn't be auto-wah, hendrix overdrive, tremolo, phase and chorus put together -- that just sounds like shit. I don't think there is one 'perfect' guitar tone, but I do think that a good tone isn't going to be achieved using cheap digital effects -- It's only my opinion.

 

My frustration is compounded by the fact that the person I'm playing with has to be louder than everyone else...throw in the terrible effects, plus the loud volume, and it's just ear diarrhea.

 

My argument is that most of those effects just aren't needed. Listen to your favorite records, see your favorite bands live -- for the most part those tones aren't present. I think some people need to develop their ear more and hear the overall sound as a whole and realize that certain sounds just don't mesh with others very well. I think that's my argument -- just be really be aware of what sound you are making.

I get it. I really do. And I mostly agree with you. I don't think there's much distance between us at all. But I think that most of the problem you have with digital effects isn

Which is the best wurlitzer "clone" ?

The Nord Electro is very good. The velocity switching is almost imperceptible. Plus you get a great B3 and Rhodes. I find it needs a little compression and a tube in the chain to warm the whole thing up, though.

The Yamaha Motif and Motif ES (and their cheaper siblings with the same sounds -- S90 and S90 ES) are also excellent and give you a few more options if you like to play with that stuff.

Kurzweil is probably number three in my book. I don't like Roland's or Korg's EPs, but it might just be prejudice (something about the EQ).

All these things run at least $1200. You could probably get an actual Wurly for $200 to $800 depending on the condition.

I hope this helps!

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that 95% of guitarists who use these simply have no idea how fucking bad most of their tone is.

 

Case in point: I've been playing in a 50s cover band and the other guitarist just got one -- and it is killing me, literally. Why does one need such a device? I've been playing guitar for almost 20 years and I really don't think most of those tones are necessary. A good overdrive, reverb and tremolo should get most people by. Just my $.02 as I sit here with my right ear ringing.

I

THANK YOU VERY MUCH for your time and help

lol @ the silverlake part

No problem. I'm glad I could be of help. My mounting credit card debt is your gain!

RE: the Silverlake part: Yeah, I love and hate my own hipster-ism.

I'm an hammond lover and i'd like to know which is the best Hammond clones,'cause it's hard and expensive buy a REAL hammond.

A friend of mine told me the Korg BX3 Combo Organ is the best one

I have a Korg CX-3 (new) and it is very, very good. I've also owned a Nord Electro until I sold it to my bandmate (so I still get to use it at gigs). The electro is also very good.

I like the basic sound of the Korg as well as the layout of the controls. The 1' drawbar is a little shrill, but the Leslie sim is to die for. It's also pretty tweakable and just about every parameter is editable. Also, the CX3 has reverb, which the Nord doesn't have. The Korg's overdrive leaves a bit to be desired, though.

The Nord has better chorus/vibrato (at least to my ear it sounds more like the real deal) and it's lighter and cheaper. Plus, it's got killer Rhodes and Wurly sounds. The tradeoff is there is very little that is tweakable. If you think the Leslie takes too long to speed up, too bad; you're stuck with it. Still, the stock sound is pretty incredible, and you have to remember that nothing was tweakable on the B3, anyway. The layout of the controls is weird (the Leslie control is on the right side -- huh?) and the virtual drawbars confuse me (though others claim it takes only a little while to get used to it -- I want to grab the last white bar and pull it all the way out, not press a button that I have to check to see if it represents the right drawbar). One final note: in the Silverlake scene, the Nord appears to be the clonewheel of choice.

Overall, I enjoy playing the Korg more. I love actual drawbars and the layout of the controls. I've tweaked it enough such that it sounds like the B3 that I have in my head (I spent a few hours nailing the sound of Jay's B3 in "She's a Jar"). The key action is a little lighter and more B3-like. The Nord seems like a compromise between B3 action and action appropriate for electric pianos. All of this is just my opinion, though. (It's interesting to note that Mikal used to play a CX3 but now plays a Nord when he doesn't have his B3.)

One last thing, if you use pedals, neither one has that option.

You might also look at the new Hammond XK3 and XK1. Apparently, the XK3 is the new gold standard (it better be; it's the most expensive of the bunch) and the XK1 has the same engine in a compacted package. Also, apparently, Nord is coming out with a dual manual organ.

A couple of years ago, Keyboard magazine had a clonewheel shootout. See if you can track that down. Also, trawl around the clonewheel discussion group on Yahoo. There's a lot of good information there. Ultimately, you just have to try them all out and see which one is best for you.

Finally, you might consider just getting a Hammond. If you're into portability and reliability, then the clonewheels are the way to go; but if this is for playing around the house and you're into the vintage stuff, you could get an M3 for around $200 and a Leslie for maybe $600 (depending on the model). The M3 does not have all the features of a B3 (I think it doesn't have the scanner vibrato or foldback in the upper register -- but you can get foldback installed), but it has tonewheels, drawbars, and that preamp (it's rumored to be the organ used on Green Onions by Booker T and the MGs). All told, you'll come in at around $800 to $1000 depending on the Leslie, which is less than a new clonewheel.

I hope this helps.

I play lead guitar and some keyboards in the breakups: www.myspace.com/thebreakupssuck

If you're in LA, check us out at Mr. T's Bowl on July 23rd.

I also play piano, organ, and synth with Biirdie: www.myspace.com/biirdie

Biirdie is talking about touring in the fall so I'll keep you posted when dates and locations are set.

I was watching a dvd from that tour too yesterday and noticed that this wasn't the same at all. I figured it all out last night and he's on the d chord hammering with his middle finger, capo on second fret, drop d. I'll tab it out this weekend if I have time, but just mess with that.

Oh yeah, you're right, Drop D capo 2 is much easier. Thanks, socbret. It also exposes an error that I made in the original tab. Luckily the tab tansfers over so easily:

1..V.....^.....V.....^.....V.....^.....V.....^......

f#-------------------------------------------------|

C#-------3--3--------3--3--------3--3--------------|

A--------2-----------2-----------2-----------------|

E--------------------------0-h3--------0-----------|

B--------------0-h3--------------------------3-----|

E--0-h3--------------------------------------------|

2..V.....^.....V.....^.....V.....^.....V.....^......

f#-------------------------------------------------|

C#-------3--3--3--3--3--3--------3--3--3--3--------|

A--------2-----2-----------------2-----2-----------|

E--0-----------------------------------------0-----|

B--------------------------------------------------|

E--------------------------0-----------------------|

3..V.....^.....V.....^.....V.....^.....V.....^......

f#-------------------------------------------------|

C#-------3--3--------3--3--------3--3--------------|

A--------2-----------2-----------2-----------------|

E--------------------------0-h3--------0-----------|

B--------------0-h3--------------------------3-----|

E--0-h3--------------------------------------------|

4..V.....^.....V.....^.....V.....^.....V.....^......

f#-------------------------------------------------|

C#-------3--3--3--3--3--3--------3--3--3--3--------|

A--------2-----2-----------------2-----2-----------|

E--0-----------------------------------------0-----|

B--------------------------------------------------|

E--------------------------0-----------------------|

5..V.....^.....V.....^.....V.....^.....V.....^......

f#-------------------------------------------------|

C#-------3--3--------------------------------------|

A--------2-----------------------------------------|

E--0-----------------0-----0h3---------0-----------|

B--------------3-----------------------------3-----|

E--------------------------------------------------|

6..V.....^.....V.....^.....V.....^.....V.....^......

f#-------------------------------------------------|

C#-------------------------------3--3--3--3--3--3--|

A--------------------------------2-----2-----------|

E--0-----------------------------------------------|

B--------3-----0-----------------------------------|

E--------------------3-----0-----------------------|

7..V.....^.....V.....^.....V.....^.....V.....^......

f#-------------------------------------------------|

C#-------3--3--------3--3--------3--3--------------|

A--------2-----------2-----------2-----------------|

E--------------------------0-h3--------0-----------|

B--------------0-h3--------------------------3-----|

E--0-h3--------------------------------------------|

9..V.....^.....V.....^......

f#-------------------------|

C#-------3--3--3--3--3--3--|

A--------2-----2-----------|

E--0-----------------------|

B--------------------------|

E--------------------------|

10.V.....^.....V.....^.....V.....^.....V.....^......

f#-------------------------------------------------|

C#-------3--3--------3--3--------3--3--------------|

A--------2-----------2-----------2-----------------|

E--------------------------0-h3--------0-----------|

B--------------0-h3--------------------------3-----|

E--0-h3--------------------------------------------|

11.V.....^.....V.....^......

f#-------------------------|

C#-------3--3--3--3--3--3--|

A--------2-----2-----------|

E--0-----------------------|

B--------------------------|

E--------------------------|

You can vamp on something like this:

...V.....^.....V.....^.....V.....^.....V.....^......

f#-------------------------------------------------|

C#-------3--3--3--3--3--3--------3--3--3--3--3--3--|

A--------2--2--2--2--2--2--------2--2--2--2--2--2--|

E--------0-----------------------0-----------------|

B--------------------------0-----------------------|

E--0-----------------------------------------------|

Sometimes you play this (I'll rock the cradle when you're gone):

...V.....^.....V.....^.....V.....^.....V.....^......

f#-------------------------------------------------|

C#-------------------------------------------------|

A--------------------------------------------------|

E--------------------------------------------------|

B--------------------------0-----3-----0-----------|

E--0-h3--------3----5------------------------3-----|

ginandcigarettes! ginandcigarettes! ginandcigarettes! ginandcigarettes!

 

grace us with your tablature!!

Didn't someone already take a stab at this?

Actually, I've never heard this version. Is there an mp3 floating about?

you can't write simple tags, ha.

This is true

Hey "ginandcigarettes" this is really damn good. I was still plugging away at trying to figure it out, but now I don't have to! Thanks a bunch.

Thanks! Glad I could save you some trouble.

Cheers

Have I told you lately that I hate you? Just kidding-- I totally could've answered this question had I been on the board in the last two months... I gotta take a break from work and school.

I waited almost a whole week to give others a chance to reply. Oh well. Maybe you can give "Patient With Me" a shot:

Patient with Me (new song) tabs

Oh, wait.

I'll make two passes at this song, first, just the chords for the beginners and then the fingerpicking for the intermediate class.

With capo on the 3rd fret:

[C] [F6] [E7] [F] [Em]

[C] I should've [F6]warned you, [E7] I'm not [F]well, I can't [Em]tell

[F] Oh there's nothing I can [G]do to [F]make this easier for [Em]you

You're gonna [Aadd9]need to [bb6]be [G7/B]patient with me

[C] [G] [F6]

[C] I'm this [F6]apple, this [E7] happening [F]stone, when I'm [Em]alone

[F] Oh but my blessings get so [G]blurred [F] at the sound of you [Em]words

I'm gonna [Aadd9]need to [bb6]be [G7/B]patient with me

[C] [G] [F6] [E7] [F] [Em]

[F] [G] [F] [Em] [Aadd9] [bb6] [G7/B]

[C]How can I [F6]tell you my [E7]time turns to [F]dust, like we've dis[Em]cussed

[F] It doesn't mean that I don't care[G] It [F]means I'm partially [Em]there

You're gonna [Aadd9]need to [bb6]be [G7/B]patient with me

[C] [G] [F6] [E7] [F] [Em] [C]

Tricky chords:

| F6 | Aadd9 | Bb6 | G7/B |

|-1--|-------|-----|------|

|-3--|---2---|--3--|--3---|

|-2--|---4---|--0--|--0---|

|-3--|---2---|--3--|--3---|

|----|---0---|--1--|--2---|

|----|-------|-----|------|

If the Aadd9 is difficult, you could also play an A chord and virtually no one would notice.

----------

Now for the intermediate part of the class:

Here are the fingerpicking parts. I've transcribed the intro, the second half of the verses, and a couple of miscellaneous bits. From that you can cobble together the entire song. Except for a few melody lines on the top strings (you'll hear them), the exact notes aren't that important as long as the picking pattern is maintained (the Scotty Moore alternating bass note -- boom chick boom a chick).

Capo 3

Intro

1..+.....+.....+.....+.....2..+.....+.....+.....+.....3..+.....+.....+.....+.....4..+.....+.....+.....+......

g--------3--------0--------|--------1-----------------|--------0--------------0--|--------0--------0--------|

D--------------------------|--3--------------3--------|-----------------3--------|--------------3-----------|

Bb-------0-----0-----0-----|--------2-----------------|--------1-----------1-----|--------1-----------------|

F--------------------------|--3-----------------3-----|--------------------------|--------------2-----2-----|

C--3-----------------------|--------------0-----------|--------------------------|--------------------------|

G--------------------------|--------------------------|--0-----------0-----------|--0-----------------------|

5..+.....+.....+.....+.....6..+.....+.....+.....+.....7..+.....+.....+.....+.....8..+.....+.....+.....+......

g--------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|

D--------1--------------0--|--------1--------0--------|--------0--------------0--|--------0-----------------|

Bb----------------2--------|--------------2-----------|-(0)-------------0--------|-----------------0-----0--|

F--------3-----------3-----|--------3-----------------|--------2-----------2-----|--------2-----------------|

C--------------------------|--------------------3-----|--------------2-----------|--------------2-----2-----|

G--1-----------1-----------|--1-----------1-----------|--0-----------------------|--0-----------------------|

The intro (with subtle variations that aren't worth describing) can suffice for the first line of each verse. When you get to the F part, do something like this:

9..+.....+.....+.....+.....10.+.....+.....+.....+.....11.+.....+.....+.....+.....12.+.....+.....+.....+......

g--------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|

D--------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|

Bb-------------------------|--------------------------|-----------0-----------0--|------------0-------------|

F--------3--------------3--|--------2--------0--------|-----0-----------0--------|-----0-----------0--------|

C--------0--------0--------|--------------3-----------|--------2-----------2-----|--------2--------------0--|

G--1-----------1-----1-----|--1--------------------1--|-h3-----------3-----------|--3-----------3-----3-----|

13.+.....+.....+.....+.....14.+.....+.....+.....+.....15.+.....+.....+.....+.....16.+.....+.....+.....+......

g--------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|

D--------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|

Bb-------------------------|--------------------------|-----------2-----------0--|-----------0-----------0--|

F--------3--------------3--|--------2--------0--------|-----2-----------2--------|-----2-----------2--------|

C--------0--------0--------|--------------3-----------|--------2-----------2-----|--------2-----------2-----|

G--1-----------1-----1-----|--1-----------------1-----|--0-----------0-----------|--0-----------0-----------|

13.+.....+.....+.....+.....14.+.....+.....+.....+.....15.+.....+.....+.....+.....16.+.....+.....+.....+......

g--------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|

D-----------2-----------2--|-----------2--------------|-----------3-----------3--|-----------3--------------|

Bb----------------4--------|-----4-----------4--------|--------0--------0--------|--------0--------0-----0--|

F--------2-----------2-----|--------2-----------2-----|--------3-----------3-----|--------3-----------3-----|

C--0-----------0-----------|--0-----------0-----------|--1-----------1-----------|--2-----------2-----------|

G--------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|

(rake the 3rd and 4th strings on the second beat of the 15th and 16th measure.)

Between the 1st and 2nd verses

17.+.....+.....+.....+.....18.+.....+.....+.....+.....19.+.....+.....+.....+.....20.+.....+.....+.....+......

g--------3-----0-----------|--------3-----0-----------|--------1--------------1--|--------1-----0-----------|

D-----------------1--------|-----------------0--------|--3--------------3--------|-----------------3--------|

Bb-------0-----0--------0--|--------0-----0-----------|--------2-----------2-----|--------2-----2--------0--|

F--------------------2-----|-----------------------0--|--3-----------3-----------|--3-----------------3-----|

C--3-----------------------|--------------------2-----|--------------------------|--------------------------|

G--------------------------|--3-----------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|

Honestly, if you can play this much of the song, you can figure out the solo, which has more variations, especially in the [Aadd9] [bb6] [G7/B] parts, so I'm not going to bother to write up that whole thing.

I will, however, give you the last C chord of the song:

1..+.....+.....+.....+.....2..+.....+.....+.....+......

g--------3-----0-----------|--------------------------|

D-----------------0-h3-----|--------------------------|

Bb-------0-----0--------0--|-0------------------------|

F--------------------------|-2------------------------|

C--3-----------------------|-3------------------------|

G--------------------------|--------------------------|

I probably screwed up somewhere so, as usual, I reserve the right to make corrections and not tell anyone about them. Questions? Concerns? Presents?

Enjoy.

Speaking of this, I received a Bozuki (sp?) the other day as a gift. If I'm not mistaken, that's the instrument that it's played on. Giandcigarettes, since you know everything, do you know the bozuki version of it? If you do I will bow down to you.

Save your bows for some one more worthy; I don't even know how a bouzouki is tuned.

dude, I don't know how you figure some of this stuff out, but I continue to be impressed

It's called "not having a girlfriend."

And thanks.

PageTheSage1275 transcribed a pretty accurate version of the

During his solo set, he played "Junior," which is probably my favorite Bennett song, and "quite possibly the stupidest thing I've ever written." Jay took on a frontman/rhythm guitar player role. He only busted out the soloing once, which was a damn shame. Jay's soloing is even better in person than it is in bootlegs.

I saw him play Junior at the Troubadour on the Palace at 4 AM tour. He solo'd so much on the song that HE HAD TO SIT DOWN to continue solo'ing. It was pretty cool, though.

Seriously, how much would a decent pedalboard (the actual board, not the pedals) cost?

In the indie-rock scene in Los Angeles (I'm such a hipster -- kill me), I've noticed a preponderance of Rockstand pedal cases by Warwick. They go for $120 but they used to be considerably cheaper ($90?), so if you find one in a store like Sam Ash (which caries them), you can probably talk them down a bit.

that sounds like it, nice going man

Thanks.

So, I

size queen

Yeah, I'd totally trade mine for the smaller version. The big guy takes up too much real estate.

Huh! Tweedy has a Ernie Ball Volume Pedal Junior AND a Holy Grail Reverb? So do I! We're like brothers!

It's a little interesting how little my pedal board shares with Jeff's. Actually, it's not that interesting at all. Just the Boss Tuner snd the Volume Pedal (though, I've the larger version).