ginandcigarettes

On the other, Via Chicago is our home and I hate to have a competing site where I have to log in to something else to change something and police another set of tabs from people with SERIOUSLY no ear

God, I'm an insufferable dick.

Thanks Anthony. And thanks for taking the initiative to create a site and putting all that stuff there. I know that was a lot of work.

I'm of two minds on the topic. On the one hand, from a student's perspective, having a more or less definitive or evolving toward definitive version of the tabs in a single place would save a lot of wear and tear on the search engine and scrolling through a bunch of pretty outlandishly wrong versions.

On the other, Via Chicago is our home and I hate to have a competing site where I have to log in to something else to change something and police another set of tabs from people with SERIOUSLY no ear (I'm assuming that eventually, Anthony, other people will get to edit the tabs?).

On a third hand, I've already noticed some mistakes in my tabs (which have mysteriously migrated to Anthony's wiki) so that's convenient in tracking that stuff down. I'll get to correct that, right? I'll just correct that here.

Anyone think about a format more like Elliott Smiths? http://www.sweetadeline.net/tabs.html

Last time I had money and would research this stuff, I found the Alesis Ion, which would totally fit the bill. 500, 600 bucks maybe? They don't still make that, though.That was a wonderful piece of gear -- intuitive layout, a knob for everything, graphical interface, Tom Sawyer bass sound as a preset. It was that middle price point that was edged out by the MicroKorg for the cheapies and the Nord Lead for the snobs, I guess.

The problem is that you seem to want two separate things -- both of which any decent synth will be capable of doing, but which will complicate choosing a synth. If you're trying to layer atmospherics and such and have real-time control over what's going on, you'll need a fairly decent user-interface with some knobs for tweaking as there is going to be something about a preset that annoys you and you're going to want to fiddle with things live.

You'll need none of this, really, if you just want to plink out melodies and simple things like the MicroKorg with a ridiculously user-disinterested interfaces will be fine -- find your preset, write it to a storage button, press it when you're playing live, play.

The irony is the less you want to do, the more you have to do. If you don't want to spend your life programming, then you'll spend your life cycling through presets until you find the one you like. Love that preset but wish it didn't have portamento? Frak me, now you have to figure out how to turn off portamento or you try to find a similar preset without portamento or you grit your teeth and take it like a man (or woman, as the case may be). Art thrives on restriction, anyway. Maybe the song was meant to have portamento?

But seriously, if you have a laptop, consider doing the soft synth. A hundred or two for a decent soft synth. $20 on Craigslist for a USB controller and you're done. You can find a lot of soft synths for free or relatively cheap on the interwebs. I use my laptop for Mellotron, Chamberlin, Optigan, and some synth sounds (SampleTron I purchased, SampleMoog I got free because of the purchase, and SampleTank is just free to everyone) and I also use SoundPlant (16 bit is free and 24 bit is $40?) to trigger samples when the synth-ing is too complicated/ layered to pull off live or when we just want to nail the album sound exactly (yankee... hotel... foxtrot...).

Or you can grab this for $25: http://wilco.kungfus...-songbook-wil03

I would probably not recommend that. It's piano arrangements, so if you're looking for tab of a specific guitar part, it won't have it. I do own it (and the Being There book) and it's a fine piano arrangement book with lots of songs from lots of albums that I care about, but it's not note-for-note guitar tab.

The video of Art of Almost in the WilcoWorld roadcase has a lot of good shots of Mikael's gear. He has a fair number of pedals and I think rack and laptop stuff, but I can pick out a Hammond A100, a Nord Stage 88, and a Virus ti (v2?).

That's some serious gear.

There's a picture of Mikael with a Nord Electro 2 on his lap in the Wilco Book and I think I've seen him play a Korg CX-3 (new) which may have been controlling a Nord Electro Rack.

Yes, yes I do. But hey, I use it all regularly! That counts for something... Right? Right? I can quit any time I want...

What kind of hole in your heart are you trying to fill with gear? We all miss "Cougartown," but buying another guitar pedal won't bring it back. We may have to stage an intervention.

I think Dave's comment was more about young players who spend more time obsessing over gear than actually becoming proficient at their instruments. I see no problem with accomplished players gushing over equipment while in pursuit of the perfect tone. We all have sounds in our head that we want to create. Hell -- I'm a guitarist, and I think one of the most fantastic sounds in the world is Paul McCartney's bass...I'd love to get something so rich and buttery through a guitar...hence my avatar.

No, I get what he's saying, and I mostly agree -- kids need to put the hours in; I just want to be careful about constructing a false dichotomy between practicing and geeking out. I might have gotten to be a better guitar player while I was worrying about what guitar Jay Bennett played; it's hard to tell because it happened at the same time I was practicing.

Damn, son.

Yeah, seriously, Reflectedinthemoon. You have a problem.

Awesome! Thanks for that!

Got me a custom Montuoro 00 similar to Jeff's on Please Be Patient and i just treated to myself to this for Crimbo which the Mrs won't let me at till the morn:

Gibson J185 Custom 60 th Annivarsary Maple quilt

which he has a 56 vintage of course!

Congratulations! She's a beauty.

In the next month's issue, Dave Navarro (who I don't really care for) had a letter published that said "I never became a better player by reading about what kind of amp Carlos Santana uses. I practiced."

I mostly completely agree with this while simultaneously kinda not agreeing. There's just so much fun in geeking out about guitar gear that I can't judge anyone for wondering how Johnny Marr got that tremolo sound on How Soon Is Now.

I too subscribed to those magazines and I remember an article by Eddie Van Halen where he said that one of his first tours he opened for Ted Nugent and the Nuge became enamored with Eddie's sound (according to Eddie). At one soundcheck, Ted played Eddie's guitar and amp and all that and still sounded pretty much exactly like Ted. I get his point that guitar tone comes from the fingers and brain, but Eddie couldn't have created his sound unless he was a guitar geek and spent forever putting random guitar pieces together from the Charvel shop on Sunset Blvd until he could realize the sound he had in his head. You'll still sound like you, no matter what you play, but if you have a sound in mind, go for it.

If we expand to keyboards, my vaguely Wilco-related gear increases somewhat:

Epihone Casino with Bigsby (king of all feedback)

CIJ Tele Custom with Bigsby (modded with Seymour Duncan Antiquities)

Fender Deluxe Reverb (modded with Weber Blue Dog speaker to be slightly more Vox-y and to get speaker distortion at 2)

Korg CX-3 (this is the new version; I believe that Pat and Leroy use the older version but I'll seen Mikael and Jay with the newer one. Once.)

I think Pat loads Mellotron samples into a Korg workstation (Triton?) but I use IK Multimedia's SampleTron, which I'll then control using various other keyboards for Mellotron, Chamberlin and Optigan parts (sometimes all three on a single song).

My Danelectro Mod 6 is solely because AC Newman from the New Pornographers used to play one.

Wow, I've wasted a lot of money on gear. Luckily, social security will totally be there for me, right? Right?

I don't want to spend a lot of time on this as it is not a Jay Bennett-era Wilco song, but are you sure this isn't in standard tuning? I mean, at the very least you can do a really good imitation with it:

..............................V.....V.....V.....V......

e--------------------------|--------------------------|

B--8-----13----15----------|--10-------13----12-10----|

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

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

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

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

............................

e--------------------------|

B--8-----6-----5-----4-----|

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

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

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

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

............................

e--------------------------|

B--0—-1--0-----0--3--0-----|

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

D--2--2--2-----0--0--0-----|

A--0--0--0-----2--2--2-----|

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

Of course, I didn't put all the notes and strums in there as, again, I don't want to spend too much time on non-Jay Bennett related material.

Cheers,

Gosh, I wonder how this will affect production of Gibson's new ivory and baby seal pelt Ted Nugent signature Byrdland? That's why I play a Japanese tele. When have the Japanese ever done anything environmentally unsustainable?

These are all from a few years ago, but:

At 2:29 you can hear me completely miss the cue! Awesomeness.

The thing is, you can pinpoint the exact moment where I totally forget what the next chord is. I'll just play the same thing again.

I don't think I screw up in any obvious way, but I look like I'm just waiting for the song to end so I can drink a bottle of anti-freeze.

Hey, I remember when I used to like Wilco songs!

Without listening to it too much, here's something that sounds a lot like his lick in the intro (between the B and C#m chords -- did he skip one?):

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

e--------------------------------------------4------|

B--------------------------------------------5------|

G--4----/6----/8-----11----------8-----------6------|

D--------------------------------------------6------|

A--2----/4----/6-----9-----------6-----------4------|

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

That descending thing he plays somewhat like this (which is slightly different than the chords in the tab above, which I might have done also):

| F#m | F#m(maj7) | F#m7 | B7 |

e--2--|----2------|--2---|--2--|

B--2--|----2------|--2---|--4--|

G--2--|----2------|--2---|--2--|

D--4--|----3------|--2---|--4--|

A--4--|----4------|--4---|--2--|

E--2--|----2------|--2---|-----|

He also does a descending bass line during the B in the chorus:

|. B .| B/A | F#m7 | B/F# |

e--2--|-----|------|-------|

B--4--|--4--|--4---|---4---|

G--4--|--4--|--4---|---4---|

D--4--|--4--|--4---|---4---|

A--2--|--0--|--x---|---x---|

E-----|-----|--4---|---2---|

Okay; I need to go to bed.

Cheers,

Gin

Huh. I had no idea that is how that sound is produced, thanks for spelling it out.

Wait, did I say ring finger? I meant middle finger. Mute and pick with the middle finger.

I have a feeling that Jay (RIP) played with the capo on five strings in California Stars live, but photographic evidence is sketchy. I'm guessing because you can do some really great drone-y banjo stuff like he does using that technique. But this is not a technique of mine on which anyone has commented.

I get a couple of compliments on my ability to James Burton chicken pick (which, by definition, suggests that I didn't come up with the technique), which involves picking and muting and picking with the ring finger. I think people notice this because it's so unusual in the LA indie-rock scene (of which I am mostly no longer a part), not that I am particularly good at it.

not the oral sex thread I was expecting

Things can change

There was a topic a while back that had some decent discussion of compressors:

http://forums.viachicago.org/topic/42529-time-for-more-pedals/

For what it's worth, I tend to like the DynaComp over the CS3, but I have a really specific sound in mind when I want compression (I like obtrusive). It might not be the sound you are after.

I realized that there's another way to play the funky chords that might be easier for some folks:

| Dbm7b5 | Cmaj7 | 
 
e---0----|---0---|
B---0----|---0---|
G---0----|---0---|
D---2----|---2---|
A---4----|---3---|
E--------|-------|

Thanks!

I think I tabbed this in the heady days of 2007 when I was trying to get over an ex who was threatening to ruin Wilco for me. I had to wait for SBS before that happened. Anyhoo, here is my go (luckily I save everything):

[G] [C] [Cm]

[G]I won’t ever cry for you[C]

And [Cm]you won’t ever shed tears for [G]me

There’s [G]nothing up my sleeve[C]

That [Cm]you haven’t already seen[G]

[G] It’s not that I don’t care[C] at all

[Em] We lost [D]touch so long[C] ago

[b7] It may be our anni[Em]versary but I

[A7] I wouldn’t really know[D7] [D7sus4] [D7]

Your [Em]phone won’t ever ring[Am]

In the [D7]middle of the night[G]

And [G7]if it ever does[C]

I can a[Cm]ssure you it won’t be me[Em]

[G] [C] [Dbm7b5] [Cmaj7]

I’ll [G]find somebody new[C]

And [Cm]you might find somebody too[G]

There’s [G]something up his sleeve[C]

That [Cm]you haven’t already seen[G]

[G] It’s not that I don’t care[C] any more

[Em] We lost [D]touch so long[C] ago

[b7] It may be our anni[Em]versary but I

[A7] I wouldn’t really know[D7] [D7sus4] [D7]

My [Em]phone won’t ever ring[Am]

In the [D7]middle of the night[G]

And [G7]if it ever does[C]

I can a[Cm]ssure you it won’t be me[Em]

[G] [C] [Dbm7b5] [Cmaj7]

Whistle Solo (Duet?):

[G] [C] [Cm] [G]

[G] [C] [Cm] [G]

[G] It’s not that I don’t care[C] at all

[Em] We lost [D]touch so long[C] ago

[b7] It may be our anni[Em]versary but I

[A7] I wouldn’t really know[D7] [D7sus4] [D7]

[G] [C] [Cm] [G]

Funky Chords:

  | D7sus4 | Dbm7b5 | Cmaj7 | 
 
 e---3----|--------|-------|
 B---1----|---5----|---5---|
 G---2----|---4----|---4---|
 D---0----|---5----|---5---|
 A--------|---4----|---3---|
 E--------|--------|-------|

Haha! In 2007, we used words like "funky" -- what a stupid, stupid time that was.

1. Good Piano sound

2. Good Hammond organ type song

3. Different sounds ( the Cure, The Cars).

 

What about if our band wants to cover "Won't get fooled again" or something like that? Do most keyboards have that sequencer type capability?

Any of the workstations will get you a lot of good sounds (Yamaha Motif, Korg Triton, Kurzweil PC3X, whatever the hell Roland makes). I tend to like Yamaha and to a lesser extent Kurzweil for pianos. None of their hammond organs will fool anyone if it was solo'ed in a track, but they can all do a decent enough job in-the-mix.

I think all of these workstations will also have a sequencer, but that's really not what "Won't get fooled again" is (unless you just wanted to have the keyboard play the part for you). I think it's two sine waves (one an octave higher) with a tremolo effect (probably done by syncing the synth's amp section to one of its low-frequency oscillators) -- i think that's right; it's been a long time since I programmed a synth. Anyway, all workstations should be able to do this. And you could probably do a good job of this on a Nord Electro or Stage (which are not workstations and have fewer sounds, though the sounds they have might be better) just by pulling out the 8' and the 4' drawbar on the Hammond section and adding tremolo with the depth set all the way up.

Wow, I'm thankful for your reply, Out of Tune, although somewhat overwhelmed (I have only bought one keyboard in my life-1981 Casio) but definitely want 72 to 88 keys, a piano "feel," and some various sounds that might be give me a little variety to the basic piano sound. I'm probably only looking to spend 500 to 600 dollars on the keyboard, and then finding an amp to go with it.

Is Out of Tune me? Oh well, I'll take the credit even if I don't deserve it. Definitely check out the Casio CDP series and the Yamaha P85. They'll both set you back around $400 to $500 and they're pretty darn good for the price. If you're looking at keyboards online, remember that only HAMMER ACTION keys feel like a piano. They might say that they have weighted keys or soft touch or piano-like, but none of those feel like a piano. If you want to play something that feels like a piano, make sure it says it has hammer action.