In a little rowboat

Cool thanks! I am glad you like Monsoon Season; that song is very important to me for a number of reasons. I know the album is very mellow but it is a tribute album to a family member who passed away. Thanks for taking the time to listen to the tracks!

welcome sir...shake the haters, street team away...

in regards to members' albums on this board, please see me sig

j

I'm with you.

 

I wonder how difficult it'd be to customize a regular Tele into a 12 string.

i might be getting old, but I seem to remember a thread on this subject sometime in the past...ill look...

regardless, to convert a tele to 12 is impractical at best...near impossible...for example, youd need a custom saddle assembly for proper intonation, a new neck and headstock to accommodate the nut width and extra tuners required, as well as considering tension for the extra strings...you could use the existing pickups and string-thru ferrules, but it would be a tight fit and the action would likely suck...your better off having one custom made...id also consider a treble cut (capacitor) in there, as teles are bright and twangy enough even without the octave strings...

THe dano style Jerry Jones Nels plays would be a similar guitar in theory...i think Dano even makes one cheap...id go that route personally

Hi All,

I'm a big Wilco fan. Would like to buy a portable keyboard-something that might be something to play the music of Wilco and other similar bands. Any advice is appreciated. I don't have the money to buy what Mikael and Pat may play and am not sure of what specific boards they play. Also am clueless about amps. Thanks in advance for help. John

not an expert in this field...if portability and flexible programability are what you need, I use the MircoKorg XL, which I can highly recommend...

http://www.korg.com/product.aspx?pd=545

In regard to amps, do you mean for a keyboard? If so, you want clean headroom with some stereo/DI apps, but my advice would be to focus on the keyboard choice first, as you can always go direct in to the board with keys and sound good...

dont be silly, man....you are a fucking genius!!

I have seen it work...as well as the 'pay what you want' model...but I am a firm believer in that idea of assigning a value to your work. Psychologically, the purchaser is less likely to discard or ignore the download after obtaining it...you deserve that for your labors, if not the money, then at least their respectful mind-set...

I live in a town where there are musicians in every car on the road, and the idea of 'donating' to the artist unfortunately has negative connotations (musicians are treated like beggars all too often)...

while on the subject, and example...

record review

a stellar review of our last record from a notoriously snobby music-town newspaper...we decided $5 was a fair (even significantly discounted) download price, and have sold quite a few without gouging our prospective fans, or giving away the work to folks who would likely listen once and forget...not bad for 3 geeks recording in a remodeled bedroom...

Incidentally, I cant recommend bandcamp.com enough to those who dont know about it...

let us know how it works for you...

Interesting. I hadn't thought of that. In my house, there's a good possiblity that happened. My cats constantly carry whatever they can find all over the house.

 

My friend who is an ace guitarist with some electrical/electronics skills came over yesterday. I demonstrated the amp problem for him. He agrees that it most likely has to do with the tubes.

Filter caps and diodes will do this as well...but if you have a DRRI, then yes, its likely tubes...there also could be problems with the tube sockets if you gig a lot and the thing gets bumped around....

Congrats...please shelf your implied apologies in favor of a vigorous defense of what it takes to play your recorded efforts in a live setting...looks like a triumphant production! Good job.

We are 2 weeks from attempting a live debut ourselves, wish us luck!

j

according to wikipedia:

 

Kay manufactured guitars under different names: 'Old Kraftsman' guitars for Spiegel, 'Sherwood' and 'Airline' for Montgomery Wards, and 'Silvertone' for Sears. Also, Kay produced a line of Archtop Acuostics called Kamico, which have become rather rare.

add to that: 'tru-tone'

That version tweedy has--looks like the pickups are the Kay Barney Kessel signature 'kleenex' style, which were only made '63-'67, so i guess that dates the guitar...i just did a restoration on a similar guitar (kay galaxy) that someone had pulled a hendrix on with some light fluid and a match, sad...good sounding guitars...

Oops the price of those things just jumped a bit...

dude from stone temple pilots was a big kay fan for a while, too...

Wow. Jealous. Must...Resist...GAS!

 

Any pics you can share?

this was from last year...bad pic i know

this years collection

the 12 string is a breedlove with a small j style body, i love it too...

I just got an 00-21 (martin) so that I can channel my inner Dylan. It's got an adi top and rosewood back/sides. I never considered myself a rosewood guy, but this baby just sings. Of course, the problem with this is that I now want a small bodied mahogany guitar too. Jeff's got a pretty sweet 0-18, of course. Crap!!

 

Anyway, just weighing in with some love for the 0s and 00s of the world.

ive had a Martin SWOMGT which was wonderful, an 00-21, and a Gibson b-25...the best small one ive owned so far was, believe it or not, a '65 Gibson LGO...love those things, all mahogany. Sound and look incredible, although theyre build much like elementary school desks... i almost picked up an F-25 not too long ago--pretty cool...

heya...a pic would help...i hvent found any

holy crap that ending was cool

NICE!

.aiff is the mac version of .wav

is this thing audio only tonight?

Using a good preamp and a sticky pickup (like a k & k or a frap) or some of the better piezos that have come out would be better, but also alot more expensive. It really all depends on what you can afford and how often you are going to be using it in places that it really would matter. I am of the opinion that an amplified acoustic is never going to be as good as the real thing, so close is good enough. I also dont play solo acoustic too often.

 

I am happy with just the LR Baggs, but when I get more money (out of college!), I probably will get a k&k pickup and a preamp.

haha i agree that close is the best you can get...

I think the baggs retails for $160 and you can get the

K&K pwm with its pure preamp for $200...vintage jacks are less than C-note...fraps arent made anymore, but the trace audio acoustic lens us the same thing, that product is way expensive

Thanks so much rowboat! Can I ask a few follow-ups?

 

 

 

Haha, ok, so I see why I was confused. You are basically telling me that I might need a DI box and a preamp whether I get the passive or the active. But then what am I missing? What's the difference between a passive and an active pickup? Functionally, I mean?

 

 

 

I will definitely check out the vintage jack if it allows me to avoid the 1/2" endpin cut. Here's where you lose me though -- the BaggsM1a does require the 1/2" endpin cut. So I don't really understand how you run a combo. You use the vintage jack with the K&K? How do you run a stereo out from the Baggs? Through the soundhole?

 

 

 

Hmmm, this is what I was worried about. I dont attack the strings with all that much authority (I like to think that I attack with love), but since the majority of the time I am sitting on my couch playing, do you usually remove the Baggs m1a before sitting and strumming on the couch? Not too much of a hassle?

 

 

 

You tried, and succeeded, and were a huge help. Really, I can't thank you enough. Any chance you ever bring your live rig to NYC so I can buy you a beer?

Follow ups accepted:

Basically active means 'powered' which means an amplified circuit of some kind...in this case by a watch-type battery. However, this isnt always an efficient way of boosting the signal, depends on the circuit. Passive works without a gain stage, so output is weak, but relative to the pickup...so, a single coil on a strat for example, is a passive circuit. Active lessens the need for other pre-amplification. Id recommend the active version of the Baggs between the two, because it has a small volume wheel on it, which i always seen to hit by accident.

Well, a DI is a nice thing to have, but less important than a preamp in most cases. For plugging in at coffeeshop open mics, you could easily bypass this. However, a nice balanced xlr signal to the board is something I seldom play without--DIs are cheap.

Ill post this, then upload a nifty diagram...but, the Baggs doesnt require a 1/2 inch hole for the included jack, because you dont have to use that jack assembly. To use the vintage jack, youd desolder the 2 polar connections from the included jack, and then hook the vintage jack to the baggs...there is no difference other than size. In fact they are both stereo out, allowing you to add a second source. In my set up, the K&K is my main source, going to the 'tip' of the jack, the baggs is secondary, going to the 'ring' of the jack, and the 2 pickups share a common 'ground' I then use a 1/8 inch stereo plug to a stereo instrument cable, and either run each source in to its own PA channel or its own channel on my amp. Its even easier than it sounds. The baggs sounds like a mag pickup listening to my guitar, the K&K sounds like my guitar, dig?

In regard to the Baggs, i usually put it in my case pocket, and only use it when I really need it, like in loud band situations or when I dont trust the soundguy in a club...otherwise, the K&K is my goto pickup. So on the couch, no baggs. And its no hassle to remove the Baggs M1a, need a small screwdriver and 15 seconds.

Id highly recommend visiting this page for a comparison on the sounds and set ups of the pickups...pickup shoot out Or hope in the car for a day trip to Maury's, they have the best rep Ive seen in regard to Martins and pickups.

Wish i were closer, Id happily do the install gratis. Takes about 20 mins. NYC, mmm Next time im up there, Ill take you up on that beer...

Im happy to run on this one...as I have a lot of experience, and play mostly acoustic live, as well as install pickups...amplifying acoustics is always a compromise...

1) DI box serves a few purposes. To match impedance, to balance the signal in order to avoid signal loss over long cables (like stage to mixer), and to ensure a continuity in the signal. Many DI boxes, like the baggs PADI, offer eq and gain stages, as well as phantom power...but bear in mind a DI box and a preamp are 2 different things. So, a DI is a luxury for the soundguy more than the guitarist. Active pickups still benefit from a DI box. And, to complicate things, even active pickups sometimes need/improve with a good preamp. I have used the aphex acoustic xciter as a DI with great results.

2)Structural integrety aside, fi you dont want to cut (which I seldom recommend), you dont have to. Many pickups come with jacks which require you to ream the endpin to 1/2 inch, and thats the only cut---for example, the Bags M1a, fishman rare earth, etc. My advice to my repair clients and fellow musicians is to never use an on board 'barn door' preamp, which requires a 2x3 hole in the side of a nice guitar. Next step is something like a Fishman Matrix Infinity, which I love, which requires only the jack ream and a small 2mm hole under the saddle.

For those (like me) that would never cut on a nice instrument (like my Martin), I recommend this vintage jack which eliminates the 1/2 inch endpin cut. I use K&K pickups almost exclusively, as do many folks I play around. They are non invasive and semi-perminent installs. Its a great product, the company is small and very customer oriented, and easy to use. My preference I use this in tandem with a Baggs M1a running stereo out, giving me the best combo of mag pickup bass, and SBT crispness. The can be played louder and is more feedback resistant, but the K&K simply sound better. Beck uses a similar set up live (although he uses FRAPs).

3)The Baggs m1a is somewhat heavy, but not some much it causes any problems. The install is not permanent, there are to screws on each side, as well as a 1/8 jack on the back of the pickup, it simply unplugs and removes in a second. Not many playability issues, but you have to be careful playing hard, the strings can bump the pole pieces...also, the weight of the pickup COULD affect the vibrations of the top, so I never record with the Baggs in...I do not like the sound of magnetic acoustic pickups by themselves, but to each their own...in my experience, the Baggs doesnt pickup the top vibrations as well as advertised...

4)The Baggs wouldnt be impacted much by the body size, as it really picks up the strings the most...however, the K&K would be...

If you like the Baggs, just get a second jack and needed 1/8 cables ($15), and swap from one guitar to the other in seconds. The Baggs is designed to work with regular acoustic strings, other types will work, but may not sound better...adjusting the pole pieces is recommended to get the most out of the acoustic magnetic pickup, but just like in electric guitars, there is an art to it.

I have tried address each question...that said, Id just like to add that your needs greatly affect what pickup works best on acoustics...most pros I know (Tweedy, for example) prefer a dual source set up (combo of 2 pickups)...and after doing this a while and playing nearly every kind of acoustic pickup, the above combo of K&K and Baggs works best for my live rig, and Ill go without the Baggs and just the K&K whenever I can...

Well, my friend, first let me break it to you gently, you fell for the marketing there...there is nothing special about the 'anti-latency' tone direct whatever they call it...because you are monitoring from headphone jack on the unit. Laughable in a way, you just dont hear your latency...latency comes from monitoring the files on the computer BEFORE the mix goes back to the unit, which means you are hearing the mix milliseconds after the computer processes and sends the mix back to the pod. Nothing wrong with this technique, which will be fine until you have a mix to complex for that to work properly, but, THERE IS NO WAY TO ELIMINATE LATENCY, no matter what tech or marketing gimmick they come up with; its a fact of life...but memory, fast processors, and the right buffering makes it manageable. When you start doing 12-16 track mixing with midi syncs and realtime edits, youll be really unhappy.

In your situation, your mic preamp would go between the mic and the ux1, and youd first adjust the gain on the pre to get a good signal before boosting the gain on the ux1.

FWIW, my advice would be to invest in a better interface to replace the ux1 before investing in a preamp for the mic...most interfaces have pretty decent built in pres, as well as better a/d d/a converters that that unit--each factor helping your noise issue. But if you like your unit alot, the presonus unit would serve you well.

In regard to hiss/air sounds, its extremely difficult to eliminate it, and while some plug ins can help, you sort of have to compromise and embrace it with a good signal. I always think of Wilco's 'Sky Blue Sky' and Radiohead's 'Faust Arp,' both acoustic songs with terrific sounding acoustic instruments, but noticeable noise at the very beginning of the song.

I'm using an sm57 connected to a line 6 ux1. Maybe I had the mic gain up too much. Also, can you suggest a good preamp?

Dont take this as an insult, Im not a huge fan of the POD, but Im sure it suits your needs. Keep on mind, noise comes from the weakest part of the chain, so if the noisy part is the POD's gain, youre in trouble regardless of your frontend gear.

it is a shame that the preamp market goes from budget to expensive with no middle...two bits of advice i can give here are that 1) any lower end 'tube' preamp that supposedly adds 'warmth' in essence adds distortion, and is really a marketing tool designed to cover for cheap components. 2) many mics (not the 57 really) need a lot of clean headroom to operate properly, and so the gain ends up getting cranked to get an audible signal, so a pre with 2 gain stages, really has 2 preamps, which means twice the potential for noise.

That said, I have 2 presonus bluetube mic pres ($100) that work well for the price point, but i only us them on drums and loud guitars, sources that seldom need much gain. I have a solid state K&K xlr preamp ($145) that is made for guitar, but I use it for many other sources, and I love it for the price. Dieter at K&K is a super cool and knowledgeable fellow, the products are clean sounding and well made. The Grace Designs m101 is the main pre in my rig, I have 2. They simply cannot be beat for the price $500, and they do it all, especially good match for mics that need high dB to noise ratios like my shure sm7 or EV RE20.

Other than that, there arent many good pres in the cheap price range, although im sure there are a few i havent tried. I can steer you away from behringer and art products, hate them noisy things.

Anyone have any tips for removing hiss in recordings? Or preventing it? I'm using Ableton Live 7, and I put some EQs and compression on a track, but when converting it to .wav the hiss becomes much louder it seems.

well, I dont know what your hardware is, so ill be grasping a bit...but one thing to remember is that if the hiss is in the original recording, compression will only bring it out. You can roll off some high end with eq and there are some plug ins to get rid of noise, but the the best recipe is to not get it if at all possible.

the best way to avoid such noise is to use high end preamps and mics, not everyone's option...but I find getting the right signal level is key, make sure your gains arent higher than you need to get the recording you want. Not everything needs to be recorded loud, etc. Also make sure the environment in the room isnt contributing.

Practice doesnt always have to be practice...

I can only vouch for what worked for me...play alot, and play alot with others...i always have a guitar or something within arms reach, while watching tv, studying, whatever, theres always an instrument nearby.

it really depends on your needs...are you playing out...with a band or solo...recording as well?? that said, its a cross to bear by lefties that youll end up paying more...

without answers to the above, takamine is a very good option in your price range, lot of pros us them, they are durable, and the electronics are time tested...seagulls are nice and well built solid wood guitars....electronics in them i am not that familiar with, but after market pickups are usually the way to go anyways...

in my sig!

We start touring in March, SE and Midwest US...we are in talks with Chris Taylor's label Terrible about distributing thru them...