Humidify!

It's that time of year again in the Northeast; time to worry about humidity levels (unless you own a Stratocaster or other solid body guitar, in which case skip this post...)

But for acoustic owners, you should be concerned about humidity. Standard disclaimers apply, and I'm not going to go into the whys and wherefores here, but I did come across this interesting specific information about what humidity levels you need to aim for in this post on the UMGF:

"Bob Taylor wrote in “Wood & Steel” a while back [...] that if a guitar was kept in a humidity range that was within 20% of its build conditions, its geometry (the relationship of its various parts to each other) would be fine.

If a guitar is assembled with seasoned wood in a 72 degree F room that is kept at a relative humidity of 45% (typical of the conditions most N.American guitars, including Martin, are assembled in) then a 20% plus/minus range based off of a 45% center would be 36% to 54%."

Everything's A-OK In The USA

Darrell Scott is someone that I wasn't familiar with until yesterday. A friend told me about him and recommended that I check him as he was playing at Club Passim.

Darrell is a singer-songwriter who I guess used to live around Boston, though he moved to Tenessee several years back. It turns out he's had some success with other's performing his songs; including Divie Chicks and Faith hill. He played We've Got Nothing But Love To Prove (which you'd think was titled 'Everything's A-OK In The USA' and was performed by Faith Hill on the album Fireflies.

Amazing guitar player, great voice, a really great performance. I really liked the song 'We've Got Nothing But Love To Prove' which he performed in the middle of another song; Mahala (which was great too) and another fun song: It's A Great Day To Be Alive

Lack Of Wood

For the past week or so there's been an ongoing discussion at the UMGF about Martin Guitars move away from mahogany necks.

Much to the chagrin of traditionalists (i.e. any Martin guitar owner) Martin has started describing their neck material as 'Select Hardwoods.' What does that mean? Well at the moment, most likely 'Spanish Cedar,' though if you order a Martin right now there's a variety of wood that might be used...

According to Martin's wood buyer:

Currently, all necks are either solid Mahogany, Mahogany with wings on the headstock, solid Spanish cedar, solid sustainable Cherry, 2 piece (glued up the center) Hard Maple, flame red maple 5 pc. (3 piece barrel with wings on the headstock) on the Archtops, or Stratabond (laminated birch - natural or color dyed) on the X series. There are even a few solid Indian rosewood necks out there.

The truth is, Martin is finding it difficult to get the wood it needs. Necks have traditionally been carved from a single block, but that can mean using a 4" x 4" square block of about three feet long. That's a big piece of wood.

The Taylor Guitar company changed their neck design a couple of years ago. The pegboard is now fingerjointed to the neck. This allows them to use much less wood to make a neck.

But it's harder for Martin to make such changes since they are a company with a long history.

But other realities are intruding. Witness this report about a new survey which shows that the Amazon rain forests are being decimated at a greater rate than previously thought.

Revealed: the true devastation of the rainforest.

The Amazon rainforest is being destroyed twice as quickly as previously estimated, according to a satellite survey of the region.

Scientists have discovered that previous satellite photographs of the Amazon have missed a form of surreptitious logging that is equally destructive, but not as apparent from space.

Ten Most Expensive Guitars

This article is dated 1997, so it's out of date, but still an interesting compilation of expensive guitars. Guitar World:The 10 Most Expensive Guitars,

To Perform Or Not To Perform?

There's a party coming up and there's going to be some performers, some jamming and the question; do I want to play? And if I 'play;' what do I play?

I've only played for an audience (of more than three or four) once before. It was a New Year's party and I played with other people for a couple of songs; one of which I sang. So, not much crowd experience. That's my problem; I'm a big wuss when it comes to performing for others. I tend to avoid the possibility.

Also, I have no real idea what the setup is going to be. Is it actually going to be that you get up in front of a bunch of people and do a song, or is it going to be like a big song circle and people play together etc., etc., I have no idea, and I don't think the party organizers know either, so anything could happen.

I'm considering practicing a couple of things, just to be ready...in case...

Unless I decide to chicken out and not even take a guitar with me.

video iPod

Lots of new stuff today.

Apple unvieled it's video iPod. It wasn't exactly a huge surprise, and yet I kind of thought that maybe they wouldn't... I don't know why. I guess because I wasn't really that excited about the idea in the first place, and even after seeing it, I'm not that excited. Why would I want to watch video on such a tiny screen? I'm also not sure I want to spend $1.99 for a music video...

Maybe when I see one in person I'll feel differently. At least the price remains the same, so it's kind of like they threw in a new feature that you may or may not use, but it's not really costting you anything.

I guess I have to think about it some more.

This is cool!

Sony has announced the PCM-D1, a field recorder that features 96K-24 bit recording capability, 4GB internal flash memory, removable Memory Stick Pro high-speed storage and a built-in USB 2.0 port for Macintosh and Windows/PC operating systems.

Other features include: built-in condenser microphones in an X - Y configuration, Analog level meters and a battery life of about 4 hours.

That's the good news. The bad news; the recorder is expected to be available in December at a suggested list price of $2000.

One World

The E.U. is pushing to create an EU-wide copyright license for online music.

Germany is Europe's biggest online user of both legal and pirated music with 9.5 million people downloading, according to a Forrester Research report from August 2004. Some 89 percent of people questioned said they never paid to download music or video.

#1 Benefit Of Being A Roadie

R.E.M.'s original four members reunited recently to play a seven-song set at the wedding of guitar tech Dewitt Burton. It occured at Kingpins Bowl & Brew in the Athens, Georgia.

Kingpins owner Ed Connolly told Billboard.com that the actual wedding band was taking a break when he noticed vocalist Stipe and company setting up in the bowling alley's arcade.

"I couldn't believe it," he said. "I was transfixed. I heard the count in and then 'Sitting Still,' and by the time they got to the first chorus, it was packed shoulder to shoulder."

The group went on to play some of its most beloved early tunes: "Don't Go Back to Rockville" (with bassist Mills on vocals), "Wolves, Lower," "Begin the Begin," "The One I Love," "Permanent Vacation" and "Radio Free Europe."

Nearly Purchased The Same Song Twice

This past week iTunes had a free song by James Blunt. As I went to download it, I recognized the voice, and that I'd heard another song by him that I'd liked. Looking in the iTunes 'popular download' part I saw the song listed: You're Beautiful and I was just about to buy it when I had a brain wave. Did I already buy this?

I looked in the Purchased Music folder of iTunes, and sure enough, there it was!

phew!

New Strings

A tip I came across when restringing your guitar; put on the strings, tune to concert pitch, then leave the guitar overnight before playing.

I guess that doesn't really work well if you're a performer or only have one guitar and really want to play...

However, advocates swear that it both reduces tuning issues, and increases string life. I haven't tried it yet; but would note that most of my guitars don't go much out of tune from day to day. Maybe it's the way you play, the type of guitar, or how you store them that has as much to do with it? My friend David was having a lot of problems with a guitar that constantly went out of tune until he discovered that keeping it properly humidified greatly reduced the problem.

NavFest 2006

Martin guitar fans are nuts! For the past five years they have had a yearly gathering in Pennsylvania (conveniently close to the Martin Guitar Co. factory.) NavFast is actually a fun event, with about 150 people turning up. I have been twice (I went this year and have been meaning to write up my trip report) and they just yesterday announced the dates for next years events.

Before the day was out, over 30 reservations had been made at the hotel; not bad given that there's only a block of 90 rooms is reserved.

I nearly missed out on a room at the Inn for NavFast 2005 because I waited so long before deciding I was going, so this morning I decided to call and make a reservation; even though I'm not certain that I'll go! I guess I just got caught up in the excitement.

When I called the hotel and said I wanted to make a reservation for Aug 4th the person said 'Are you with the Martin group?' right off the bat; I guess they had had a lot of calls about it! So now I'm counting the days; 309 according to the website!

Guitar Neck Tension

On the UMGF forum someone posted a question about hanging a guitar on the wall, and in discussing the pros and cons, someone posted: The weight of the guitar helps counteract the 160+ pounds of tension that the strings are exerting 24/7 which just doesn't make any sense to me. So my office mate Dave and I immediately set to work trying to figure it out with no knowledge or experience to assist us.

When I say 'figure it out' I mean; we speculated wildly.

We decided that we didn't think gravity would have much effect at all. But we're not sure. This is my reasoning (and I'm probably wrong):

Since we're not sure how the body of the guitar works in relation to the strings and neck exactly, I'd start with two other examples;

1) if you had a wire, and a weight on it, clearly gravity has a big effect on the wire when the weight is being pulled down.

2) A piece of wood with two nails at each end and a wire wrapped between them. Hanging that vertically would not seem to have much effect on the wire or the wood. (though I'm sure it has some, I'm just guessing it's so tiny you can barely measure it.)

A guitar would seem to fall in between these two, but I suspect much more towards example 2, than example 1.

In neither case can I imagine the effect of gravity releiving the tension....but as someone else just pointed out; I'm not a physics major!

Richard Thompson

From his website:

What hardware & software & mikes have you been using to record Front Parlour Ballads?

It was recorded on my Apple G4 laptop, using Digital Performer software. I used two Neumann KM184 condenser mics on the guitar as a stereo pair, and a Superlux CM-H8A on vocals. The Neumanns were used for most of the other instruments. The vocals went through a Universal Audio LA-610 Preamp/Compresser/Limiter.

Wow! The Neumann KM184 cost $729.99 each...but the Superlux CM-H8A is just $89!!!

iTunes, iPod, and 'value pricing'

MTV news writes about Steve Jobs and the record companies bickering over song pricing (Steve wants to keep the 99cent price, and the record companies want variable pricing):

The source said the comment by Jobs was likely aimed at provoking a reaction from the music industry, which is generally in favor of variable pricing, i.e., higher prices for hot, current artists and lower ones for less popular or older material.
"Music is art; it's not a commodity," the source said. "Things that are more relevant command more money. The idea of saying it should all be 99 cents is absurd. Variable pricing is the norm in the music business and every business -- even the iPod business."

Variable pricing is the norm in the music business? It is? Maybe for concert prices, but I have never thought that CDs were priced that differently based on popularity. That's changed a little over time with new CD's being more than back catalog, but event here the difference seems minor; the location you buy the disc at can have as much effect on the price as anything.

I'm sorry; in my mind I have always thought that CDs cost around $11-$15, but it depended on where you bought them, not that the U2 album cost more than the new Ah-ha album because U2 is more popular.

Am I missing something? Have things changed in the last couple of years and I didn't notice?

Nothing For Sale

In the buy and sell section of a guitar forum someone posted: I have nothing for sale or trade. I currently like everything I own and I'm not offering anything. Very satisfied condition. Original cases also not available. Don't contact...

To which others responded:
Is this guitar still not for sale? Please don't contact me.
I wish you the best for your no sale or trade I have bought nothing from this member previously and have been greatly pleased with the results.
I've got plenty of nothing... not for sale but I might consider trades Let me know if you need my address so you can not ship what I've not bought.

and finally:
I think I'm not going to bid on this, but first I am going to have a cup of coffee without cream - nope, it wil have to be without milk because we have no cream....

Lennon Broadway Show Ends Run

After just six weeks a Broadway show about John Lennon's life will close this weekend. Various reports claimed that a) it focused too much on his later life with Yoko, and b) it was confusing because there were 9 (9!) people playing Lennon.

I heard an interview with one of the actors in the show a couple of months ago. I don't remember all the details, but I do remember the interviewer noting that there were several people playing Lennon throughout the show, and also asking how involved Yoko was, and whether she had changed things or interfered. He said that she didn't, though she was definitely involved.

Neil Young, Praire Wind

Scott Simon of NPR interviewed Neil Young on NPR's Weekend Edition. They talk about his recent health issues and the recording of the new album.

He also mentioned the D-28 he owns that used to belong to Hank Williams and speaks about how he thinks it's important to play it versus putting it in a museum.

Young wrote some of the songs on Prairie Wind in 15 or 20 minutes, he tells Scott Simon. "It doesn't take me very long when I get started. I just try to remain open." The album is released Sept. 27; a concert film directed by Jonathan Demme is also forthcoming.

FlashMic DRM85

HHB has announced the FlashMic DRM85, a Sennheiser omni-directional condenser microphone with 1GB of flash recording memory. The mic has a small LCD panel, control buttons, and a USB connector at the bottom. It's supposed to be available in January (the image looks to me like it might be 3D rendered; but maybe I am too suspicious!) No price mentioned either, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was at least $200-$300.

I recently bought the Samson C01U Condenser Microphone with USB Output, which is a mic with a USB connector on the bottom, but you have to have it connected to your computer to record.

Martin D-28 Special "Walk the Line" Limited Edition

From a Martin Company press release:

To commemorate the Wind-up Records release of the original cast recording for “Walk The Line” chronicling Johnny Cash's life, Martin has created a limited production run of the Martin D-28 Special "Walk the Line - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack" Limited Edition. The guitar is a black D-28, labeled inside with the following:

"To commemorate the release of Walk the Line - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. In memory of Johnny Cash 1932-2003".

The production run has been limited to only 12 units, and number 1 is to be presented to Joaquin Phoenix (the actor playing Cash in the film). The remaining 11 guitars will be given away through a variety of exclusive contests.