76 Reply by flester

(15 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)

tonynulty wrote:

A friend of mine a long time ago,(this chap was a bit of an eccentric) said that everything should be measured and thought of in Snickers or mars bars, these have been the same for so long everybody knows you exactly what they are, if somebody asks how far is it from A to B and you replied 300 snickers they would know exactly how far it is, same with weight, how heavy is that? 200 snickers, no more lbs, inches, mm, kilometers it would be much easier.

Great, but when I was in the US in 1988 I was confused because we then called the Snickers a Marathon (but now its a Snickers). And a US Milky Way was what we called a Mars Bar (and still do). Probably the same length though.

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77 Reply by flester

(6 replies, posted in Guitars and accessories)

So I should be able to get a very distorted sound while still feeding a relatively low level of signal to the amp?

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78 Topic by flester

(6 replies, posted in Guitars and accessories)

I want to use a distortion pedal with my small home-made amp. Will the output from the pedal be similar to the output from the guitar alone, or is it going to be higher? Essentially I want the distortion effect at a relatively low volume but the little amp can only take so much before distorting (but not in a good way).

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79 Reply by flester

(8 replies, posted in Guitars and accessories)

Doug_Smith wrote:

Pick?  What's that?

Isn't that WHY the Lord made Fingernails?!?

Doug

The trouble is , he made some of them very soft.

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80 Topic by flester

(2 replies, posted in Guitars and accessories)

May be playing guitar in public in a few weeks ... gulp!

I expect to be amplified and am guessing that the other instruments will be miked into some sort of PA system. As I'm not likely to know the setup in advance, I need advice. Can I expect a typical PA system to take a standard 1/4" guitar cable directly, or is some other kind of interface usually required? I'll be playing an Ovation guitar with undersaddle active pickup. I've never played through a PA before so its all new.

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81 Reply by flester

(5 replies, posted in Guitars and accessories)

Not a smartphone, but there should be some apps available.


MKM, recording reference notes is a great idea, think I'll do that anyway

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82 Reply by flester

(5 replies, posted in Guitars and accessories)

Modifying my original query slightly, what I probably need to do is download an app to my phone (not a touch-screen phone). its a Nokia5130c.
Anyone done this successfully?

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83 Reply by flester

(8 replies, posted in Guitars and accessories)

All Along the Watchtower. Can play it in my sleep. Or any of the usual Irish ballads e.g. Whiskey on the Jar

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84 Topic by flester

(3 replies, posted in Recording)

trying to plug guitar directly into PC to record - windows vista.

Do I plug in to 'Mic' input, 'Line in' , or what? Doing either of these, the computer does not recognise that a device is plugged in. Any ideas?

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85 Reply by flester

(12 replies, posted in Acoustic)

Strumming is definitely harder when you think too much about it.

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86 Reply by flester

(3 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)

Yes, some of the Irish legends are starting to go. Liam and his brothers' influence on the international 'folk' scene has perhaps not as widely recognised as it should be. Ní bheidh a leithéid ann arís.

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87 Topic by flester

(0 replies, posted in Guitars and accessories)

Standard 12-string acoustic guitar sting sets usually have something like 0.023" and
0.008" gauges for G.

Have any of you 12-stringers ever changed the 5th/6th (G) string pair to a unison pair? I currently have 0.023" and 0.008" (typical 12-string setup) there but thought I'd try a pair of 0.016" plain strings instead.

The above works fine for chords but recently I've been playing melodies (a bit like a mandolin-style) and that high-pitched G (0.008") sometime sounds wrong to my ear (not out of tune, just 'wrong').

Anyone like to share their custom 12-string setup?

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88 Reply by flester

(13 replies, posted in Acoustic)

Don't eliminate a US-made Ovation i.e. not an Applause or Celebrity. They are a totally different animal! Expensive new though but good value used

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89 Reply by flester

(9 replies, posted in Guitars and accessories)

Guitarpix wrote:

I'd keep it OEM.... On a 12 string you have to worry about it getting too much going on.... To much sustain can muddy everything IMO.... Mr Collins himself (Collins guitars) said that if you want a good 12 string don't order a custom built with all the extras just go out and buy a Yamaha smile

Interesting comment. Sometimes a 12-string just has 'too much sound' (if you know what I mean). Structure is important in a 12-string i.e. the extra string tension can deform things over time if not built right, but if it's still good after 36 years it probably was. As was my 1979 Ovation 1615 12-er.

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90 Reply by flester

(4 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)

Well, we didn't make the record this time but had fun trying. Got up to 800 plus. Could be the largest ever to play a song IN IRISH I reckon.

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91 Reply by flester

(10 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)

Really I was referring to the 'system' in this country,  which includes insurance companies and other companies who derive major parts of their income from insurance claims (like car bodywork repairers for example).

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92 Reply by flester

(10 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)

I'd agree with DOUG_SMITH, just get a competent woodworker (yourself ?) to build a new case, out of solid wood instead of MDF. Once you've given up on the insurance route, that is. I accept that insurance employees are just doing their job. However from my dealings with that industry, it seems to be structured so that you just give up after a while unless the amounts are huge.

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93 Reply by flester

(32 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)

StranSongs wrote:

... when you're dressed up to go out and herself says she'll just be five minutes ( and you know you have half an hour )...!!!

YES! thats when I do most of my playing.

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94 Topic by flester

(0 replies, posted in Bands and artists)

www.johnspillane.com

See also my post at http://www.chordie.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=12775

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95 Reply by flester

(4 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)

John Spillane is a force of nature.

www.johnspillane.com

I'll put a link on Bands & Artists as well

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96 Topic by flester

(4 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)

http://www.clonguitarfest.com/
A new attempt on the record for the largest guitar ensemble playing the same song is to be held in Clonakilty, Ireland on Sept 19th. Anyone care to join in?

This seems to be the current record
http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/rec … emble.aspx

It's intended to play  the song "Oró Sé Do Bheatha 'Bhaile" http://www.celtic-lyrics.com/forum/inde … mp;id=585, led by our own John Spillane

Go on, if you've any chance at all of getting there. You can easily learn to play Am and G if you can't already.

I have nothing to do with the event except that I intend to participate if I can.

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97 Topic by flester

(1 replies, posted in Acoustic)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNxfTh1Tdgo&NR=1

Not the guitar, that seems to be an Ovation.

But he has fitted some sort of device where you press keys instead of plucking the strings. I remember seeing one of these before but does anyone have any idea what it's called? Is makes the guitar sound louder without electrical amplification. It also makes it sound awful, and I will not comment on thus guys 'singing'

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98 Reply by flester

(22 replies, posted in Guitars and accessories)

Interesting to see recommendations for Ovation and Applause here. Usually outside of the great Ovation Fan Club ()OFC) website they don't get the respect they deserve. A new Applause (deep bodied) is way better than anything else at the price (under 300 Europe in Irl). I have one 20 years old and also an Ovation 30 years old. The top end Ovations go for serious money new but you'll get a great used one. But don't buy before visiting the OFC.

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99 Reply by flester

(26 replies, posted in Acoustic)

nortond1 wrote:

I use the 2-3-4 and have always used this. But I play mostly Bluegrass and Classic Country. So my keys are probably alot different than say Rock. I can plat both but don't care for 1-2-3. I am quicker with the 2-3-4 change but I prefer this. So use what feels best. But, on your twelve string if you are deading your A you may have to compromise with comfort a little. After all it is only a chord. We have all learned them before. You got it. Tear it up and nail it.

Can't seem to physically manage to get the finger at the correct angle to miss the lighter A string properly. However the other a is not muted so maybe no-one except me will notice it

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100 Topic by flester

(26 replies, posted in Acoustic)

How many of you play a G chord with the 1st, 2nd and 3rd fingers as opposed to the 2nd, 3rd and 4th? (see my diagrams below, horizontal lines are frets and verticals are strings and 3 means 3rd finger etc.)

I started off using the 1,2,3 but saw people using 2,3,4 and adopted it as it makes for quick chord changes between G and C.

But now with a 12string I find I am muting the A string(s) with 2,3,4 so am thinking of re-learning the 1, 2, 3 but its not easy as I've been doing it the other way for so long.


1,2,3 method
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2,3,4 method
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|    2    |    |    |    |
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3    |    |    |    |    4
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