plugging a guitar into an atari 130xe

[Kernal]

Ok, so I have a program called digital audio controller that says i can hook a guitar up to an atari and use the atari as an effects pedal.

 

It says theres one device for the joystick port 1 and another one for the cartridge slot. are they talking about a covox?

 

any ideas and or schematics on how to build this sort of device?

[[email protected]]

Ok, so I have a program called digital audio controller that says i can hook a guitar up to an atari and use the atari as an effects pedal.

 

It says theres one device for the joystick port 1 and another one for the cartridge slot. are they talking about a covox?

 

any ideas and or schematics on how to build this sort of device?

 

I don't know, but suspect it might be a Midi guitar they talk about? Doesn't Midimaster use joystick or cartridge?

[UNIXcoffee928]

Myself, Flashjazzcat, bf2k+, and MEtalGuy are all guitar players. I'm sure that there are also countless other guitar, bass, and synth players here. Anyone who plays an electric/electronic instrument, or uses a microphone, & likes messing around with their Ataris, at a technical level, would surely be very into using the Atari as a Unique Effects Device.

 

Really, a whole new open source program should come into existence, specifically for the purpose of using the Atari as a very unique audio effects processor.

 

First of all, please post a link to the software that you are describing. Secondly, no, this wouldn't me a MIDI device that he's looking for... plug a MIDI guitar into a midi port, and it just works... He's looking for some type of Audio Digitizer.

 

A long time, right after High School, I used to sell Atari Computers. One of my favorite demos, that I used Specifically to push the Atari, over the other systems, was a short snippit of Van Halen's "Eruption" guitar solo, that had been digitized.

 

Of course, the Atari system had to blank it's screen out to black, to be able to pull it off... but It Worked! This is in a time when other computers just said, "...beep...".

 

Result: I sold A LOT of Ataris!

 

Mu-hahahaha!

 

Anyway, it is my guess that the Effects Program, that you are speaking of, samples about 1/10th of a second or less of the Audio IN signal, applies a very short Effects Algorithm (of, say, the user's choice of maybe flange/delay/distortion, or chorus), spits it out the digitizer's Audio OUT, then samples again, repeatedly, until the program is stopped.

 

As long as the sample time is Very Short, and the Effects Algorithm is very tight, it would work, without too much noticeable lag time.

 

& it would be Very Cool! Particularly for studio usage, to create a very neat effect that few other people would have for recording.

 

Cool find!

 

 

[Kernal]

Myself, Flashjazzcat, bf2k+, and MEtalGuy are all guitar players. I'm sure that there are also countless other guitar, bass, and synth players here. Anyone who plays an electric/electronic instrument, or uses a microphone, & likes messing around with their Ataris, at a technical level, would surely be very into using the Atari as a Unique Effects Device.

 

Really, a whole new open source program should come into existence, specifically for the purpose of using the Atari as a very unique audio effects processor.

 

First of all, please post a link to the software that you are describing. Secondly, no, this wouldn't me a MIDI device that he's looking for... plug a MIDI guitar into a midi port, and it just works... He's looking for some type of Audio Digitizer.

 

A long time, right after High School, I used to sell Atari Computers. One of my favorite demos, that I used Specifically to push the Atari, over the other systems, was a short snippit of Van Halen's "Eruption" guitar solo, that had been digitized.

 

Of course, the Atari system had to blank it's screen out to black, to be able to pull it off... but It Worked! This is in a time when other computers just said, "...beep...".

 

Result: I sold A LOT of Ataris!

 

Mu-hahahaha!

 

Anyway, it is my guess that the Effects Program, that you are speaking of, samples about 1/10th of a second or less of the Audio IN signal, applies a very short Effects Algorithm (of, say, the user's choice of maybe flange/delay/distortion, or chorus), spits it out the digitizer's Audio OUT, then samples again, repeatedly, until the program is stopped.

 

As long as the sample time is Very Short, and the Effects Algorithm is very tight, it would work, without too much noticeable lag time.

 

& it would be Very Cool! Particularly for studio usage, to create a very neat effect that few other people would have for recording.

 

Cool find!

 

 

i found the program on atarionline.pl its called digital music controller, and its in the musijica section..

no schematics or anything on how to build it though...

[MEtalGuy66]

I would think, it'd have to be a full 8-bit sampler in order to get enough resolution on the digital audio to do anything useful with it.. and then youd need an 8-bit digital output (like the covox).

 

but even if you had that, the effects that the 6502 would be fast enough to apply in realtime would be EXTREMELY limited..

 

Even on an AMiga (there are several programs that allow you to TRY to do stuff like this) the output sounds like total cheese..

 

You get a fast processor (like several hundred mhz at least) and 16bit digital in/out, and with a program like Protools, you can do some kewl stuff, but ony anything but a very modern machine with a VERY fast CPU, a cheap standalone digital effects processor does a waaaaaaay better job..

[Fox-1 / mnx]

I would think, it'd have to be a full 8-bit sampler in order to get enough resolution on the digital audio to do anything useful with it..

 

I did some real time voice effect things using the Mirage 4-bit A/D converter. When mixing the effect at very low volume with the source you could get some funny things. This was basically 'cause the effect followed the voice pattern (rhythm/pitch/delay) but the effect alone was way distorted to be useful.

 

This was when only using pitch- and delay-routines. The Atari just isn't fast enough to do some (kind of) real DSP effects.

 

This A/D converter is definitely not one of the best but even the best 4-bit converter doesn't give enough audio resolution.

[flashjazzcat]

Given the speed I play, I doubt the 8-bit could keep up with my notes. In any case, I'm a no-effects kind of guy...

 

More useful for us players is a chord finder kind of program I seem to recall from the distant past. I can't remember the name, though.

 

 

 

[+bf2k+]

Given the speed I play, I doubt the 8-bit could keep up with my notes. In any case, I'm a no-effects kind of guy...

 

 

I'm pretty sure the 6502 would have no problem keeping up with me!

[Kernal]

Given the speed I play, I doubt the 8-bit could keep up with my notes. In any case, I'm a no-effects kind of guy...

 

 

I'm pretty sure the 6502 would have no problem keeping up with me!

back in the mid 90's i have an XL with 320k and a stereo headphone input and output.. i lost that one in a storage flood, and i used to be able to input and output guitar at a pretty decent clip... i mean it wasnt perfect.. but it worked.. i had bought it at a yard sale... andit had stereo ports drilled into the back...

 

now my question is.. where can i buy a co-vox and how do i build the inputs.. either cart style or maybe thru the PBI on an XL.. im thinking about getting one of those 320K on that site i saw the other day.

[MEtalGuy66]

That Guitar Chord program is called Guitar Wizard.

[UNIXcoffee928]

Oh, Lordy... I momentarily forgot that I was amongst guitarists... lol.

 

There is an old joke that goes a little like: "How many guitarists does it take to change a lightbulb?".

 

"IDK, How Many?".

 

"100.".

 

"What?!? A hundred guitarists to change a single phreakin' Lightbulb?!? Surely you've lost your mind...".

 

"No, Really. Here, let me explain... It does take a 100 guitarists to change a lightbulb... you Need 1 Guitarist to Actually change the bulb, and 99 others to say that they could have done it better."

 

ha.

 

Being a guitarist, I have always found this amusingly true. Hey, I'm guilty of doing it too. ha.

 

BUT... I wish that I could be a Master of Modesty & Understatement, like bf2k+. Heh, this guy pulls a setlist from 100+ songs that he knows, and has been doing it, on stage, for years & years!

 

I'm pretty sure the 6502 would have no problem keeping up with me!

 

When Jane's Addiction said, "I Want to be More Like The Ocean. No Talk, and All Action."... That's what they were getting at! Nice. That taught me something. Thanks!

[flashjazzcat]

That Guitar Chord program is called Guitar Wizard.

Ah, that's it. Thanks!

 

Oh, Lordy... I momentarily forgot that I was amongst guitarists... lol.

 

There is an old joke that goes a little like: "How many guitarists does it take to change a lightbulb?".

 

"IDK, How Many?".

 

"100.".

 

"What?!? A hundred guitarists to change a single phreakin' Lightbulb?!? Surely you've lost your mind...".

 

"No, Really. Here, let me explain... It does take a 100 guitarists to change a lightbulb... you Need 1 Guitarist to Actually change the bulb, and 99 others to say that they could have done it better."

 

ha.

 

Being a guitarist, I have always found this amusingly true. Hey, I'm guilty of doing it too. ha.

I think guitarists are naturally the most competitive musicians of all, and this may have something to do with the fact that everyone and his dog plays the instrument (to a lesser or greater degree of accomplishment). Guitarists also tend to learn in a completely chaotic fashion (even many of the "greats"). Personally, I was relieved to escape the one upmanship of Rock Guitar, but years after the switch to jazz, I am now faced with bitter, expletive laden flame wars on YouTube arguing about whether Larry Coryell is better than George Benson, etc (of course he's not, because GB is the best guitarist in the world, lol). It seems there's just no getting away from it when it comes to guitar. Of course, some guitarists (and - I think - a good deal of jazz guitarists) "talk" a great solo, and herein lies part of the problem. Put up, or shut up, as it were. I have a number of musical friends who theorize endlessly about music, but it's me who's to be found mixing it will all ability levels at the (jazz free) local buskers night. If I can comp along behind someone who's just starting out and make them sound a little better, or boost their confidence some, well - it wasn't a wasted night, regardless of the fact I never got a single decent solo.

 

Anyway: I think Guitar Wizard might be genuinely useful (if for nothing else than mapping out all the inversions), and it would be fun to involve the Atari with the music in some way.

Edited February 17, 2011 by flashjazzcat

[MEtalGuy66]

Anyway: I think Guitar Wizard might be genuinely useful (if for nothing else than mapping out all the inversions), and it would be fun to involve the Atari with the music in some way.

 

Would be kewl if it used dual pokeys, and 16-bit (channel pairing) range..

[UNIXcoffee928]

Ha, there's a great part in an old Flea instructional video, where he says: "A Great Musician plays One Note and it's a beautiful thing.". & it's so true. I play everything from Bird & Dizzy Be-Bop to Van Halen Hard Rock, to Carlos Montoya Flamenco, Dick Dale Surf, Psychedelic, New Wave, Death Rock, West Coast hardcore punk, 70's NYC punk, 70's English punk, NYC hardcore, old school Sabbath metal, Slayer & Exodus old school thrash, Muddy Waters, Son House, Robert Johnson & Delta blues, 70's funk, Segovia inspired classical, Industrial, Goth, Stones Rock & Roll, etc. Music is music. There is absolutely no reason whatsoever to lock yourself into one genre. The more you play, the more you can mix & match & invent new things.

 

It is all about feel & dynamics. There are a thousand ways to play One Note. After that, it's all idiomatic. If you know your scales, you can construct any chord, on the fly, in real time, and put anything together, based upon the intervals of the scales.

 

Chord books are ok for route learning, but really, if you take a day and learn how to play octaves, in every position, you will always know where your 1 is... then you can just play your notes from the scale off of it, and determine any chord & where your progression will go, based upon the scale- interval that you choose. That's the mechanics, but the Truth is in the ears... bend notes like Muddy playing live, to train your ear to all of the microtonal variations available in the palette of a single note, then you're onto something. Learn to play soft & loud, slow & fast, with a pick, without a pick... slap it, tap it, let the harmonics ring out... there are millions of right & left hand variations. Take a chord you know,and play it with a different fingering... if it's easy, make it hard, otherwise you get lazy. The main thing is... Don't play like a robot. A lot of shredders and most contemporary jazz guys are purely mechanical. Then there is no Feel. & Feel is the whole thing. The Be-Bop guys had the Speed, feel, and technique. Even, later, Miles was a master of Feel. Listen to John McLaughlin during his experimental stage. Most "Jazz" that's played today is very pale & anemic, in comparison. It's all about the Feel.

 

It also helps your technique to play other instruments, and not be locked in to one. A keyboard can be thought of as one very long Guitar String. Conversely, a guitar can be thought of as six short keyboards, each starting int a different key. The main trick is to keep trying new things, and keep thinking about what you already know, but in new ways. Charlie Parker had it all. if you play along with his Alto Sax lines on your guitar, you will be better than most jazz guitarists.

 

When I was young and just starting out, I was playing Black Flag, Plasmatics, Sonic Youth, and listening to the local jazz stations, WBGO & WKCR. & of course, lots of WFMU... ha... Back then, all of the Be-Bop jazz greats were dying off, and they were playing all of their music... I was playing along to it day after day in eight to 12 hour stretches. I would also play the game of randomly changing the dial, and playing whatever I landed on, whether I liked it or not. Trained my ear very well doing that. Oh, the other thing is, lay off the tuner (unless its way out of whack)... if you tune to the harmonics, you will always intuitively know the sound of each string. With that knowledge, you can pick out the key of anything that you hear, just based upon the consonance of the intervals that you hear & simultaneously play to. You can essentially quickly play 3 harmonics, eventually, then just octave to where you need to go to. It's all been really multi-genre for me... I learned composition & arrangement from the Beach Boys "Pet Sounds" album... picking out every layered instrument & vocal harmony... for months. Then there was Television's "

" album... Ha, those were fun times.

 

Well, I didn't intend to get this deep about things... I just have a passion for guitar, and wanted to share some memories & tips. If those tricks help anyone, well, that's a good thing. Enjoy.

[+bf2k+]

Ha, there's a great part in an old Flea instructional video, where he says: "A Great Musician plays One Note and it's a beautiful thing.". & it's so true.

 

Amen to that. I am always explaining to my guys this truth using sayings like:

"Less is more..." or "Let it breath a little...".

[Syfo-Dyas]

So there are others out there that envy what has been done on the C64 musically and would like to see such things on the Atari.

 

This is a VERY intersting post indeed!

[Stormtrooper of Death]

In the 90s, I had an 130Xe with the Stereo Pokey upgrade. I also had 2 digitisers/samplers. An 4bit and an 8bit sampler. I programmed in assembly using Atmas II.

 

I had a guitar, so i made a nice guitar FX program, that had the following options:

 

- Echo / Delay : you could change the delay time by using option or Select

- Distortion : A nice distortion effect.

- Stereo - Outputting the mono input to stereo. (simple done by copying the input twice for each output channel)

 

and the best FX was the special super thingy, that made it possible to analyse the frequency of the guitar input and play a sample that you could load from disk.

 

Like, for instance load a trumpet sample, play the guitar and you could hear a trumpet sound according to the frequency of the guitar. I also did play with human voice or piano sounds, while playing my guitar.

 

The algorithm i programmed was simple, just a small frequency analyser, that used the number of the frequency to change the pitch/speed of the sample. and voilas.

 

So, the Atari 6502 is ABLE to be used as a very nifty sophisticated guitar sampler module.

 

The program i made was not very well copied among our Dutch Atari scene, by the simple fact that not many Atarians also had a sampler and a guitar. I bet the program went in obscurity or so, but it can easy be remade or so.

[UNIXcoffee928]

So there are others out there that envy what has been done on the C64 musically and would like to see such things on the Atari.

 

This is a VERY intersting post indeed!

 

There is no mention of a C64 anywhere in this thread. In fact, somewhat ironically, back when I was selling Ataris, showing off the digitized sound, I often would have the 1541 disk drive on the 64 bleeping, crunching, & GRINDING out Christmas Carols. lol.

 

"Envy" is a really strong word. Hardware-wise, do I wish that there was a standalone POKEY device similar to the

? Hell yeah! A Quad POKEY Standalone unit would be so awesome! Other than that the 64 never did much for me. The SX-64 was a cool design... though, Commodore, in their Infinite Wisdom called it "SX", which, of course is pronounced, "Sucks". So, no, I don't really have any great love for the 64. ha. More like ambivalence... but, that's just me.

 

 

In the 90s, I had an 130Xe with the Stereo Pokey upgrade. I also had 2 digitisers/samplers. An 4bit and an 8bit sampler. I programmed in assembly using Atmas II.

...

 

 

So, the Atari 6502 is ABLE to be used as a very nifty sophisticated guitar sampler module.

 

The program i made was not very well copied among our Dutch Atari scene, by the simple fact that not many Atarians also had a sampler and a guitar. I bet the program went in obscurity or so, but it can easy be remade or so.

 

Ha, Ha, I have the first SOD album on vinyl, from back in the day. Great band, and quite funny, too. ("What the %^&@ is that %&$*in' Noise?!?!") lol. Used to skate to it in ditches & pools. From that time-period, AOD was also a funny band (Humongousfungusamongus albulm) ha, FTW!

 

I bet Lars Ulrich has a copy of your program. Damn drummers... Knowing him, though, he's probably waiting for you to pass away, so he can auction it off at a really high price. lol. (joking) (Re:"Some Kind of Monster") Oh, wait, he was from Denmark, wasn't he, ah, then scratch that lead. ha.

 

That movie really showed what kind of people that band is made up of... & it wasn't pretty. Kirk seems like the only semi-cool guy in the band. Conversely, watch any interview with Dave Mustaine, and it is easy to see that he is clearly an intellectual, with depth, and has a great personality... I'd have him & Keith Richards over for coffee any day, lol.

 

Somebody must still have your program, somewhere. Sucks. You don't have your old floppies anymore? Good to hear a confirmation that it's a do-able thing.

 

More coffee needed. END OF TRANSMISSION.

[flashjazzcat]

Ha, there's a great part in an old Flea instructional video, where he says: "A Great Musician plays One Note and it's a beautiful thing.". & it's so true. I play everything from Bird & Dizzy Be-Bop to Van Halen Hard Rock...

I can't really add anything to that whole exegesis: it's all so absolutely true. I especially like the remarks about the modern jazz guitarists. A few players I've jammed with have encouraged me to listen to a few of the established modern players, and - thinking my listening was a little too narrow - off I went to investigate. For the most part, I found the players I'd been pointed to were mannered, self-indulgent, lacking in melody, and devoid of feel. Feel is everything, and if you don't have that, you're always going to sound "stiff". I've played jazz numbers with decent keyboard players who managed to sap all the life out of the tune with their mechanical approach. And a good ear is a gift. I get more complements about my ears than I do about my fingers, lol.

 

There are a number of GB impersonators out there who totally and utterly miss the point of Benson's guitar sound. They think that because he has a highly accomplished technique and is capable of tremendous speed, that's what characterises his playing, and by playing fast jazz licks you can get the sound. Wrong. It's all in the phrasing. Benson and many other top players have great ears, great feel, and a great sense of melody. Having other-worldly agility and speed is just a great bonus, an extra gift...

[UNIXcoffee928]

Do you know what gauge of strings that George Benson was using, during the time period of

? I mainly play my Fender Jazzmaster, with Dean Markley Lights (round-wounds), as my main guitar, but I have an old 60's Gibson ES-120T that would probably sound even better with his setup. To me it sounds like he's playing a heavier gauge of flat-wounds... has a nice tone.

 

Incidentally, a very good trick that I have been using for 20 years, on round-wounds, is to use "Pledge Original" liquid furniture wax (yellow can), on both my fretboard, and my strings, themselves. It is totally safe on Rosewood fretboards. If you wipe down your fretboard & strings with it, every time that you play, you will be very pleased with the results. It acts to reduce friction, promotes a more even string surface, reduces extraneous fret noise, and the end effect is that you will play even faster, with better articulation. It very good to use before recording, because there is zero unwanted string noise, when recording with with round-wounds, when you do it. Additionally, I have found that it makes your strings last much longer (probably because each ridge gets filled in with wax, over time, so no bad gunk gets in between the windings of the strings). I don't really find much of a reduction of "Brightness" to the sound, either, if there is, it is a pleasing reduction. Have fun, tell me how you like it, if you try it out.

 

 

[flashjazzcat]

Do you know what gauge of strings that George Benson was using, during the time period of

? I mainly play my Fender Jazzmaster, with Dean Markley Lights (round-wounds), as my main guitar, but I have an old 60's Gibson ES-120T that would probably sound even better with his setup. To me it sounds like he's playing a heavier gauge of flat-wounds... has a nice tone.

Nowadays, I imagine George uses his signature Thomastik-Infeld Flatwounds. I use those in gauge 12, but I know George is also partial to his 14s. He could be playing 14s on Take Five, but his guitar will be very nicely set up. The thick strings give a nice fat sound even in the upper registers, of course, and I've never found thick gauges to be an impediment to fast playing. The fact is, I'm so used to flat 12s on my GB10 now that it's an effort to play a "widdly" guitar with slinky strings. I enjoy the firmer response of thicker gauge strings. Unfortunately the flatwounds go off quicker than roundwounds, and they're 15GBP a set...

 

But for sure that guitar will be set up just so. In addition, the GB10/20/100 guitars have a very particular tone, and sound very sweet

. Edited February 18, 2011 by flashjazzcat

[UNIXcoffee928]

Do you know what gauge of strings that George Benson was using, during the time period of

? I mainly play my Fender Jazzmaster, with Dean Markley Lights (round-wounds), as my main guitar, but I have an old 60's Gibson ES-120T that would probably sound even better with his setup. To me it sounds like he's playing a heavier gauge of flat-wounds... has a nice tone.

Nowadays, I imagine George uses his signature Thomastik-Infeld Flatwounds. I use those in gauge 12, but I know George is also partial to his 14s. He could be playing 14s on Take Five, but his guitar will be very nicely set up. The thick strings give a nice fat sound even in the upper registers, of course, and I've never found thick gauges to be an impediment to fast playing. The fact is, I'm so used to flat 12s on my GB10 now that it's an effort to play a "widdly" guitar with slinky strings. I enjoy the firmer response of thicker gauge strings. Unfortunately the flatwounds go off quicker than roundwounds, and they're 15GBP a set...

 

But for sure that guitar will be set up just so. In addition, the GB10/20/100 guitars have a very particular tone, and sound very sweet

.

Hey, thanks for posting the link to your playing; I checked out all of the solo stuff. Music, to me, is always like a conversation, or hearing someone speak about what's on their mind, or what they're feeling inside. I feel like I know you a lot better, now.

 

One day, I'll get to put up some of my stuff... like once I get through the ten thousand other things that I'm supposed to be doing. lol. I have a studio here, and I'm recording an album. Not done yet. It is actually an extremely time-consuming process, and a lot of hard work... not just the playing, but the engineering, production, maintenance of the gear, etc.

 

Your work is beautiful, and even more great, considering that you are also a top-notch software engineer... a lot of people are only good at one thing. I like the right hand pinky placement idea, and I'm going to try that, because it looks like it's good for playing in the dark. ...but, you're using it all the time... If you try clasping all of your fingers up, into your right palm, you will find that physics will work with you better, particularly for very fast up/down pick strokes, just by shaking your wrist in a fast flamenco/surf tempo. Try it, you'll get a lot of mileage out of it, if you incorporate it into your current technique. Watch Dick Dale's right hand,

, & try it out.

 

Other than that, I play in front of a mirror. I managed to get one of those big, 8' wall sized ones, like they have at department stores. I didn't always. One day, of all things, I saw the footage from Motley Crue at the US Festival, in 1983. They didn't sound too good, since Vince Neil was messed up, BUT I was wildly impressed by Nikki Sixx's stage moves (which he managed, even in high-heeled boots, ha)... and I realized that I stood in one place A LOT. The mirror fixed this. It also made me realize that I was looking at my fretboard too much. Now, I have starring contests with myself, lol. The mirror is definitely a good trick.

 

I use flatwound Chromes on one of my basses, and I love 'em. It's a black 83 Roland G-77 Electric/MIDI bass, and it has a beautiful round & warm tone. By far, it sounds better than my Fender Bass. It's an awesome tool. I can play directly into a sequencer & control backing synths right from it, too. Great Bass!

 

I'm gonna try out the strings that you recommended, on my Gibson ES. The only thing that I don't like about that guitar is that it's not cut-away. If it wasn't a valuable vintage Gibson, I would have taken a saw to it, long ago... ha.

 

I have a great Kay acoustic that I found in the garbage. I took a wood rasp to that sucker's neck, and thinned it out to Jazzmaster thickness. Sanded it down, stained it dark, Spanish style, because it looked too country... filed the edges of all of the frets, since they were hand-biters, and came up with an interesting idea, while doing the neck, to create a small indent at exactly the place my thumb goes (inline style) when my hand is at the 5th fret... works like a charm for playing in the dark. If I get signed to a major label, and get guitars flowed to me, they will all have that mod, it's nice. I wish that I could find more guitars in the garbage! ha.

[+bf2k+]

...

I wish that I could find more guitars in the garbage! ha.

 

About 3 months ago, I found a Hartke Bass amp in the garbage at a friend's house. The speakers were gone so I bought a small cabinet for it and had a bass amp - not real loud but it works perfectly.

 

So I had to go buy a bass guitar since I didn't own one anymore. While picking out the bass at a music store, I spied an Epiphone 57 re-issue Les Paul that played like silk - I had to have this guitar.

 

To make a long story short, I came home that day with a bass and a guitar... and went straight to the doghouse!

[littleman jack]

...

I wish that I could find more guitars in the garbage! ha.

 

About 3 months ago, I found a Hartke Bass amp in the garbage at a friend's house. The speakers were gone so I bought a small cabinet for it and had a bass amp - not real loud but it works perfectly.

 

So I had to go buy a bass guitar since I didn't own one anymore. While picking out the bass at a music store, I spied an Epiphone 57 re-issue Les Paul that played like silk - I had to have this guitar.

 

To make a long story short, I came home that day with a bass and a guitar... and went straight to the doghouse!

 

I know the feeling. I have sold gear, and no longer bring any more home these days, in order to stay out of the doghouse. However, I got lucky and was given some old MXR/Dunlop pedals for my birthday this year, doghouse free.

[flashjazzcat]

Hey, thanks for posting the link to your playing; I checked out all of the solo stuff. Music, to me, is always like a conversation, or hearing someone speak about what's on their mind, or what they're feeling inside. I feel like I know you a lot better, now.

To paraphrase Oscar Wilde: music is a window into the soul.

 

One day, I'll get to put up some of my stuff... like once I get through the ten thousand other things that I'm supposed to be doing. lol. I have a studio here, and I'm recording an album. Not done yet. It is actually an extremely time-consuming process, and a lot of hard work... not just the playing, but the engineering, production, maintenance of the gear, etc.

Sounds good: if it wasn't for my wife operating the video camera, I wouldn't have much recorded evidence or my playing (certainly not live stuff).

 

Your work is beautiful, and even more great, considering that you are also a top-notch software engineer... a lot of people are only good at one thing. I like the right hand pinky placement idea, and I'm going to try that, because it looks like it's good for playing in the dark. ...but, you're using it all the time... If you try clasping all of your fingers up, into your right palm, you will find that physics will work with you better, particularly for very fast up/down pick strokes, just by shaking your wrist in a fast flamenco/surf tempo. Try it, you'll get a lot of mileage out of it, if you incorporate it into your current technique. Watch Dick Dale's right hand,

, & try it out.

Thanks for the kind comments! I always felt I was spread a little thinly, lol. I used to write short stories, I knocked out a novel, I drew portraits; most of that went by the wayside over the last twenty or so years when the guitar took over. And now the Atari's back.

 

As for the fingers on the pickguard: while I'd studied other areas of my RH technique, I handn't really noticed the pinky. Of course, a lot of players' picking hands float completely free of the guitar. I guess I've been unconsciously doing things this way for nigh-on twenty years (moving from rock to jazz) and it's become natural. I don't think it's an impediment, but I've been working on some string-skipping stuff lately and maybe the approach you suggest would help there. It's certainly disconcerting at first (I tried it last night and my playing fell apart, hehe).

 

Other than that, I play in front of a mirror. I managed to get one of those big, 8' wall sized ones, like they have at department stores. I didn't always. One day, of all things, I saw the footage from Motley Crue at the US Festival, in 1983. They didn't sound too good, since Vince Neil was messed up, BUT I was wildly impressed by Nikki Sixx's stage moves (which he managed, even in high-heeled boots, ha)... and I realized that I stood in one place A LOT. The mirror fixed this. It also made me realize that I was looking at my fretboard too much. Now, I have starring contests with myself, lol. The mirror is definitely a good trick.

My wife has remarked on how visually unappealing I am when playing, lol. I wish I'd inherited my mother's voice: that would give me a reason to lift my head up!

Edited February 19, 2011 by flashjazzcat