M.B. wrote:
Zurf wrote:There's always someone better. - Zurf
Yeah, but when am I gonna be better than someone . . .
I found someone!!
177 2012-03-16 02:41:16
Topic: Hollow Body Electric Guitar Question (24 replies, posted in Electric)
I'm not an electric guitar player, so I don't have any direct experience, but I'd appreciate it if someone could describe the difference in sound between a solid body electric guitar and a hollow body electric guitar. Since electric guitars are played through amps that effect the tone and quality of the sound, does it really make a difference in what the audience hears if you play a Gretsch White Falcon vs. a Fender Stratocaster?
178 2012-03-16 02:24:39
Re: Getting put in my place (10 replies, posted in Acoustic)
Zurf wrote:
There's always someone better. - Zurf
Yeah, but when am I gonna be better than someone . . . 
179 2012-03-15 21:00:36
Re: How the guitar works. (8 replies, posted in Guitars and accessories)
I learned a lot from the videos, but I'm confused about the guitar as an air pump. A guitar moves a certain amount of air molecules, but I bet it moves less air than a human voice does when singing. As my physics teacher exlained it to me, the air doesn't move so much as the sound energy moves through the air, like a wave moving through water. So isn't the guitar move like an energy pump? If you strummed a guitar in a vacum it would still be creating energy, but without the air, the energy wouldn't be able to travel.
180 2012-03-15 20:53:25
Re: Getting put in my place (10 replies, posted in Acoustic)
Yeah, just when you think you're kinda doing all right, YouTube is there to demonstrate that there are 10,000 people better than you thought you were.
181 2012-03-15 20:48:08
Re: Question about Taylor Guitars (21 replies, posted in Acoustic)
Guitarpix wrote:
MB Most companies use precut bracing and just stick them to the top and it's done... Good makers will tap the top after it's braced and then ,if it doesn't resonate well enough, they shave the bracing until it's in the right resonate range... It takes lots of practice to get right and you have to develop the ear for it but it makes all the difference IMO. Check out my post in Guitars and Accesories titled "How the guitar Works" for some more info and you may also want to check out the Yairi factory tour vids on youtube where luthier Kazuo Yairi talks about the tap tuning process he uses to get the best sound from his guitars.
Thanks for these references Guitarpix--so far, I've learned a lot!
182 2012-03-15 14:04:11
Re: Is It You, I Wonder (5 replies, posted in Songwriting)
I like your song; my favorite line is, "And your quizzical brow,/Seems way to furrowed now"--really has a nice swing to it. Also, using the capo makes it sound kind of etherial, which I like.
183 2012-03-15 13:58:25
Re: You know what my problem is? (8 replies, posted in Songwriting)
Thanks everyone for your responses! You gave me a lot to think about.
184 2012-03-15 13:57:14
Re: Question about Taylor Guitars (21 replies, posted in Acoustic)
Guitarpix wrote:
Top thickness, bracing design, etc.. all play a role but to me what sets Taylor apart from most major brands is that they actually tap tune the tops so you get the best tone out of each guitar
Most companies build by specs and that doesn't work optimally with wood because every piece is different. If I wasn't a Yairi guy I'd be a Taylor one
Tap-tuning . . . I'm not sure how that works. I've seen video of a guitar maker demonstrating the different resonant qualities of guitar tops. When he tapped a high grade piece of spruce it sounded incredible, more like a drum a xylophone than guitar.
But how do you tap tune? Do you want the top, back, and sides to all resonant in the same pitch or create a chord?
185 2012-03-13 13:49:48
Topic: Question about Taylor Guitars (21 replies, posted in Acoustic)
Hi,
I tried finding an answer to my question on the web, but couldn't find anything, so I'm hoping people here will know. What is it that Tayor does to get that bell-like sound from their guitars; like how it sounds as if you've got an amp with a chorus effect turned on but the guitar is not even plugged in.
I got to try a Taylor 312ce at a music store and it was sooo beautiful!
Thanks,
Mary Beth
186 2012-03-13 00:02:51
Topic: You know what my problem is? (8 replies, posted in Songwriting)
My problem, well one of them, is that when I'm writing lyrics I have a tendency to be too literal, if that's the right word. What I mean is, that I try to make everything too clear, insofar as trying to get my meaning as clear as possible.
See, one thing I've noticed about song writers I admire is that there's also some ambiguity to their lyrics . . . and sometimes, it's like they aren't really saying anything very profound, but the words they use are just weird enough to make it SEEM really profound. I think Bob Dylan is the MASTER of this (not that he hasn't written some awesomely profound things). Sometimes he just seems to be playing around with language . . . John Lennon seemed to do this too.
Has anyone else noticed this??? I don't have anyone to talk to about guitar because no one in my family is a musician and I just started about playing guitar a year ago, and all my friends would rather play Guitar Hero than a real guitar. Plus, I live outside of town on a farm, so I'VE GOT NO ONE to talk to too, and so I think about things alot when I'm doing chores, but I don't know if it's just me or if other people might think about this too.
Thanks!
Mary Beth
187 2012-03-12 23:44:25
Re: chord usage. (3 replies, posted in Songwriting)
hi bobwell,
I don't know if this will answer your question, but I think it may be a helpful tool, and that is to get a chord wheel. It is great for showing you circle of fifths, and for allowing to you analyze chord progressions, apply music theory, and transpose keys. I picked mine up at a local guitar store, but you can order one through Hal Leonard, the big music publisher. You can also find online information about circle of fifths that will show you groupings of chords that work well together (at least as far as Western music theory goes), for example,
http://www.all-guitar-chords.com/circle-of-fifths.php