My guitars and equipmentCurrently I am using 4 guitars pretty much all the time but I also have 2 others back in my Seattle home along with one ukelele. My main guitar now is a custom made 6-string Froggy Bottom. The other 3 include a late 60's American made Frontier Model Ephiphone, a 1932 (approximate year) Dobro and a not so old (80's ?) 12-string Ibanez. In Seattle I have a cheap small bodied nylon string, a mid 50's Anniversery Model single cutaway Gretch electric and a mail-order Sears uke. I use Sunrise pickups and amplification systems on all 3 acoustic guitars and for the Dobro I have installed a Countryman contact microphone that I use in conjunction with a Sabine SM-610 Feedback Illuminator to correct feedback problems.
In conjunction with the Sunrise system I have a Matrix guitar tuner that I mount on my mic stand and that I use with an A/B box so that I can cut off the signal to the speakers during tuning if I choose. For guitar tuners on the 2 six strings I use Sperzels for speed in changing strings and I also like the accuracy. Currently I use Martin medium gage (.012 , .017, .027, .036, .046, .056) phospher bronze on the 6 strings which I try to change before every show and extra lite D'Addario on the 12 which I hardly every change. The dobro uses the heaviest nickle strings I can find with an unwound 3rd (G) that I never ever change . I also use Golden Gate large thumb picks and Dunlap metal finger picks (.018) for my 1st and 2nd fingers. Lastly but not leastly I employ one of those gray Jim Dunlap nylon flat picks (.88mm) and a solid brass slide. Below you will find a more detailed description about the guitars.
Over the past years I have had many guitars and have experimented with many different kinds of picks and such. Like most players I am sure I will always be looking for new and better sounds and gear. I am pretty happy with the sounds I have now on the six string guitars. The Dobro is a constant battle (or should I say challenge?) to keep her running smoothly. In the future I would love to purchase a good quality gut string guitar from Spain and also a Froggy Bottom 12-string would complete the arsenal for me but that's another story. Some folks ask me why I have or need more than one guitar but the answer is really quite simple.
In my opinion each guitar has their own story and songs locked inside them and so this why I enjoy owning more than one (I'm going to write a songwriting page soon and I'll explain how I use the different guitars in that section). It's a luxury to own more than one though but I fully appreciate this fact but I don't collect guitars just to have them. I play and work with all of my guitars as much as possible. I have never forgotten for one minute all those years of playing that one little box Yamaha!
Microphone
I've just recently bought for myself a microphone that I intend to carry with me now to all my gigs. Some of my friends travel with their own mics but it's taken me this long to do so as well. I must say that I'm more than happy about my choice. At one of my gigs in Germany this past spring I was talking to the soundman during a break and telling him how nice and smooth the mic sounded and how much I enjoyed singing into it. He immediately asked me if I wanted to buy it. "How much", I asked and when he said 200 euro's I jumped at the chance. Later he told me that if he'd known I wanted it that bad he would have raised the price but nevertheless for 200 euros I was the proud owner of a Beyer TG-X81 dynamic microphone.
It's a little bit strong on the low end and you must adjust that at the sound board but it is very smooth and even and has an excellent response. Another thing that is
good for me is that I tend to 'wander' off from the center of the microphone and thus my vocals fade in and out. This Beyer has a very tight center (sweet spot) and you must stay right on the microphone for it to work right but that's good for me. Another problem solved.It took me a few shows to figure out the best usage but now I am quite happy with making this investment. Not only does this microphone increase and compliment the
tonality of my voice but it's so much easier to sing night after night.
When your using old and tired microphones you often 'oversing' to make up for lack of response or tone and oversinging can certainly be the cause of loosing your voice. When you get to the place where your singing quite a lot I highly recommend you look into purchasing one for yourself. You can go down to any good music store that has a selection mics and ask them to let you try some out. Buy the one that you think makes your voice sound best. Of course usually the more money you can afford to spend the better the microphone will be but, as in most things , a compromise will still get you a good mic. Different voices have different sound requirements and what works for me might not for you. Cool!Also a fact not to be overlooked is that singing into your own microphone each night mean you won't be picking up germs from who knows where. Having to tour while sick is awful, not only for you but for those who paid to see you AND if your sick you can pretty much count on the fact that soon everyone in the van will have the cold too! Colds and flu's are easily transmitted through microphone contact! Thinkabout it!
Harmonicas
Harmonica playing I enjoy a whole lot even though I'm not so good at it yet. I practice at it a lot though (that means daily) and have improved considerably by that practice. It adds a whole new dimension tonally to any song. Also I play guitar differently while blowing a harp and I'm always interested in different guitar techniques. I like and use the Lee Oskar harmonica's for their ease of playing and also they have some very cool minor tunings that I've not been able to find in other brands.
The one drawback with all harmonica's is that they are too expensive by far (why are Hohners which are made in Germany the same price there as they are in America?)! I also employ a harmonica rack that I discovered from an advertisement in a guitar magazine. It is made by Blues Tools and I believe it's about $35. What's great about it is that you can pretty much adjust the position of the harmonica any way you want and then lock it in. It's totally comfortable and easy to use on stage as well. I never had much luck with one of those wire holders that uses the wing nuts although I know a lot of players use them. (I've just checked through the internet looking for the web page so that I could include it here and apparently Blues Tools is out of business. I hope this is not true as they made a real fine product. Perhaps there was just not enough demand……….. ?).
A Short Guitar History
I don't remember what the brand name was of the first guitar that I ever played but for sure it was a nylon string and owned by a cousin of mine. I used to try and play it whenever he wasn't around and that's basically how I learned to play. Self-taught for sure. My own first guitar was a big Stella that I bought new in Yakima Washington probably around 1967 or 68. I stomped on that in a drunken rage of frustration one night and for years after that I played a small bodied Yamaha 128 which a friend gave to me in Portland Maine. I hated that guitar but it was all I had and play it I did. I ended up passing that guitar on to a guitarless friend of mine in Seattle in 1987! My first good 6 string was also a Froggy Bottom which I bought in 1974. That guitar was stolen from the trunk of my car where I had foolishly left it one night in Seattle probably in 1986 or so.
After that I owned a Gurian for awhile before I traded that in with some cash for the Epiphone. For electrics I have owned a Hagstum, a Gibson Baby Les Paul, a G&L and a mint condition Gretch that I bought for $90 from a farmer back in 1973. I also had a Resophonic for awhile but I don't remember what I ever did with that guitar. Like most guitar players I know, there are happy and sad stories attached to all their instruments and I'm no different. I was happy and lucky to own , even for a short time, each and every one of those guitars that I did. They all served their purpose and I trust the ones I owned all found a good home with another player somewhere else.
Sunrise Pickup Systems
Over the years I have tried and used many different acoustic guitar amplification systems with varying degrees of success. I used a Lawrence for a while and also I remember liking the Shadow sound hole pickup (with adjustable poles) for a long time. I kept noticing though in pictures of some of my favorite guitar players that they all seemed to be using this same kind of sound hole pickup and finally I discovered it was the Sunrise. After some research and much soul searching I went ahead and bought my first pickup and buffer box (basically a line signal booster) back in 1994 or so. I liked that so much that since then I've purchased the tubed pre-amplifier and 2 more pickups. It's all very expensive I think but for me it's worth the cost.
The pickup itself has adjustable poles which is good as individual tastes vary. With the tubed pre-amp you get a strong and clear sound and it's easy for sound engineers to use in the different PA systems that I plug into each night. And it sounds like an acoustic guitar too which for me is all important!! The pickups perform well at loud volumes and hardly ever feed back. Although the promotion says they are good for using for recording purposes I have found that not to be true. I think the recorded sound is a bit flat and thin and really, nothing beats the natural sound of a guitar recorded with a good microphone. Nevertheless in my opinion it's a great acoustic amplification system for live shows. Probably the only thing that could improve this sound would be to install a little cardiod microphone inside the guitar itself and use this in conjunction with the Sunrise but then you would have to have some sort of amplification system for the microphone and on and on. That certainly is do-able but for ease of use, durability and general sound quality the Sunrise system alone is the best I have found for acoustic 6 and 12 string guitars!
My Guitars
Froggy Bottom
This is my main guitar these days. Like mentioned in the above, this is the second Froggy Bottom guitar I've owned and quite simply I love playing it! Before I ordered this instrument though I did shop around the music stores in Seattle and played all the standards (Martin, Guild, Gibson, Taylor ect ect.) both new and used and even some other artisan guitars but didn't find anything close to what I was looking for both in the way of quality or price. Although it had been long years since I'd actually played a Froggy I still remembered the deep bottom end sound that I love so much and the nice balanced tone all across the sound spectrum.
Froggy Bottom guitars are made in Vermont by Michael Millard. I first met Michael years ago while I was living on the east coast and have actually visited him in Newfane where his shop is. Back then he was just getting started though and it's good to know he's managed to stay in business all of these 30 years. Certainly he has been doing something right in a very competitive world! I had a variety of choices but this current guitar of mine has a mahogany back and sides with a Sitka spruce top and an ebony finger board. The shape and size of the guitar and neck was my choice as well. I have an unvarnished neck which I prefer on all my guitars and I use Sperzel tuners which I consider outstanding.
The guitar was made to order just for me and I really enjoyed the whole process of talking to Michael at length about what I liked and didn't like in my guitars. He really does an outstanding job in the construction of his instruments and takes great pride in them I'm sure. I wouldn't hesitate for an instant in recommending them to other guitarists! An extra note- Because I travel so much and because I value my custom guitar I chose to buy a guitar case of good quality to protect that guitar.
Calton Cases
Mmade in Canada was an easy choice for me. Once again I shopped around before deciding, comparing prices and durability. This is an expensive product but believe me when I say it would take a very severe trauma to damage a guitar locked inside one of these babies (not impossible though considering the kind of treatment the airlines tend to use!). The inside of the case is custom made just for your guitar.
You send them detailed information about the size and shape of your guitar and 6 weeks later you have your very own custom guitar case. The only drawback I can think of (other than price that is) is that the case is pretty heavy and it can be a load if you have to do a lot of walking. If you have an instrument that you value and do a lot of traveling I can't recommend this product too much.
Epiphone "Frontier Model"
I have had this guitar a long time now (8 years + years ?) but she has become the second and backup guitar these days. I still enjoy playing her though and she has a distinctly warm and "tight" sound. I've added Sperzel tuners to her and also scraped the neck of varnish and drilled a few holes here and there but she still plays well and sounds great. The neck is a little narrow for me but she's easy to play all the way up and down the fingerboard. It's an American made Epiphone from Kalamazoo Michigan (Epiphones are now made in Japan) with solid construction and a cool design. Basically it's a cheaper model Gibson but for my opinion really not that much different than the more expensive big brother models. It's my understanding that they were made in factories across the street from each other! I've played her a long time now and she has been a good and faithful friend. If you could find such a nice old model you would be lucky. In America you can still find these old gems and for not so much money I think. I've done a lot of songwriting on this guitar and still do as a matter of fact.
Dobro
This guitar is my honey. How I came to own the guitar is an interesting story I think. I was passing through Tuscon Arizona a few years back (I was a roadie driving Matraca Berg's band equipment around western America) and I'd gotten Rainers Ptaceks number from the Glitterhouse boys. I'd always been a fan of Rainers music and jumped at the chance to pay him a visit while in Tuscon. Rainer worked as a luthier at a local music store called The Chicago Store. I stopped in late one morning and introduced myself. Rainer I don't think really knew who I was but in his warm and friendly way invited me out for a beer as it was pretty close to his lunchtime and it was quite warm outside. We retired to an old downtown hotel bar that he seemed to be quite familiar with and everybody there seemed to know him as well! Lots of his friends came by the table to say hi while we were there.
Anyway we spent the next couple of hours together exchanging stories and talking about music and stuff. We were about the same age, both had families and kids which he talked about a lot and of course there was the music. All lunches must end and so I walked him back to the store a little bit tipsy but happy to have made what I considered to be a new friend. The Chicago Store was packed full of lots of old and new guitars and everything else for that matter. I asked Rainer if there was anything "cool" to be had and he immediately pointed out this old Dobro that he had personally fixed up and said I should own that guitar. Well I was in the fortunate position of possesing my very first (and last!) credit card and after playing the guitar I immediately set about trying to get a couple of hundred dollars knocked off the price from the owner.
This old man knew exactly what that guitar was worth though and would not budge one little bit other than to tell me he would "give me" a case to go with the guitar. Well I told him I just thought the guitar was too expensive and that I couldn't afford it and walked out but of course hoping he would relent and give me a better price if he saw me walking out the door. He did not though and so there I was the next morning waiting for the store to open at 9AM, credit card in hand and red of face. The old man kinda chuckled but kindly said nothing as he filled out the credit slip which I signed and which made me the very proud owner of the Dobro that I own today.
I never saw Rainer again and only talked with him once via the phone at another time and it was shortly after that that he became ill. But that one afternoon changed my life quite profoundly both in the sense of the new friend that I had made and the physical guitar that I would spend so much time and energy learning how to master. Bob Brozeman, the great Dobro and slide player, recently looked at the instrument and said he felt like it to be around a 1932 or so. He also noticed that the tuning pegs, the face plate were not original and that there were 2 or 3 holes in the guitar that should not have been there but I'm not so concerned with how a guitar looks or what's original or not. Playability is all that matters to me!
There is a small defect in the neck caused the seriel number to begin with a D but it's a fine guitar nevertheless and I'm lucky to have her. She's old though and I'm constantly working on her to keep her playable. She rattles a bit now and then but her tone and playability are great. I don't think I've really found the best amplification method for her. I know Bob just uses a special microphone for his dobros but for me I move round too much and find the microphone to be too restrictive. I called some guitar store in New York that are specialized in Dobro and National guitars and they recommended using a Countryman contact microphone placed on the spider and in conjunction with a Sabine SM-610 feedback eliminator. I bought both and that's what I'm currently using. The Sabine is noticably noisy though but it does allow me to play at high volumes something I'm quite fond of. As I've already mentioned I don't ever change strings as she has never broke one. I think it's because she has a very short scale which means less string tension. I've never owned a National all metal guitar but have played them of course. For my money I surely prefer the mellower Dobro tones. Voila ! That's the story.
Guitar tunings, capo positions, the usage and "practical" sequence of song choice:
I thought you might be interested to see what I'm playing these days (or could anyway on any given night!) and also the tunings and their organization. Each grouping is similar not in their styles but in the movement of the strings as I change from one tuning to the next. For example: if I were to play Eye Of The Moon (dobro) I would probably then next play Rainers song as there are only two small half-note moves on two strings and then I'm ready to go again. After those two I might then play Devil Blues as the songs go well together and, once again, there are a limited number of moves. In the same set I almost never would go from Was A Friend into Celebration What For as that would entail changing every string. Time consuming and most times a yawner! It's bad enough making all of the moves I do but I try to keep them as short as possible even with an eye out for song selection (what's fun for me AND the audience) and pacing (fast, fast, medium, slow, medium ect.ect….).
Over the years I've managed to gather more than one song in each major (and minor) tuning. Even today if I discover a new tuning and write a song with it I immediatly try and write another (perhaps using a capo to change the flaver!) in the same or similar (a minor verses a major chord for instance) key. That way I can keep the moves to a reasonable amount. As much as I'd like to perhaps change a tuning after each song, it is a really difficult thing for an audience to sit through. I think most folks understand what I'm doing (or am trying to do anyway!) with the instrument and are quite generous with their patience. But the slowness of it all has been painfully pointed out to me as I've listened to live performance tapes from years ago. There I am on stage, twisting strings up and down and it's boring to hear UNLESS it's done in a timely manner. I would guess that this kind of guitar playing is only possible in a solo or duo context.
You can't ask the whole band to be standing around waiting between songs while you fiddle away with your tunings. Although it's true that I tour with bands, in those instances I always carry 3 or 4 guitars and this enables me to play in the different tunings. I just change guitars which are already pretuned of course. Voilà! I hope this is of some use for you in your guitar ramblings. I know that all guitar players become at times bored with their own playing and one thing open tunings are useful for is that they help break you out of your rut. Both by your having to figure out different finger positionings in the open tunings themselves AND when you go back to standard tunings you will approach the guitar a bit differently and hopefully with a fresh ear. Good luck and don't hesitate to send your questions or comments along. I do love to talk about guitars and guitar music!
Dobro:
Was A Friend C G A#G A#D capo 2
Cheyene D G A G A D
Tonight
I Don't Know D#G A#G A#D
Eye Of The Moon
Rainer's Song D#F#A#F#A#D#
Big Sigh D# F B F B D# capo 2
Devil Blues B F#B F# B D#
Black Cloud D F# B F#B D
High Noon D E B E B D
Celebration What For E E B E B D# capo 4
12-string:
Throw A Match D G D G A#D
She Makes Me
Unmet capo 2
Old Hand capo 4
Bad Luck Hand
If You Don't Love Her D G D G B D
Big Mountain
Knocking On
Lucky World capo 2
6 String:
Big Stick E A D G B E
Crud
My Confession
Fools Like Me
Bluebonnets of Texas
Freak Show
Whatabouta…….. ?
If You Want
First Get Over Falling
Who's Fooling Who
Edenless
Control F A#D F A#F
Who Is He
Say It And See F A#D F A#D# capo 1
Ice Skater F A#D F A#D
Slow Train capo 4
Pretending
Call Me Ann F A#D D A#A#
Useless D A D G B D
Feeding The Rat
Talk To Me D A D F#A D
Just Ask Me
I Still Want You
Hardly Ever Two
Stuck Inside Blue
King Of The World
In Too Far
Ragged Caravan D A D F A D
Forget About Love
Like Michigan Weather D A D G A D
Short Chain capo 2
Postscript/Blues Walk D A D G A#D
The Work Song
Land Of Plenty C G C G C E capo 2
Little Wood Guitar
Baby Bean
Dead IsDead
The Ballad Of Molly and Shelly capo 1
Tornado Alley C G C G C D# capo 4
Texas Rose
Big Mountain D G D G B D
Ride Hard capo 1
Ah Love capo 2
Where The Weeds Grow
Time Bomb capo 4
Blue Room D G D G A#D capo 2
Maybe This Will Be The One
Regret E E B G B E
Hold On E G B G B E capo 2
It's Only Love capo 2
One Single Rose capo 7
Dakota E G B G B D
City Life C G B G B D capo 1
Little Toes D G B G B D
All For You capo 1
Barbara Ann capo 2
Backroads D G A#G A#D capo 4
Main Thing capo 4
Withered Bouquet capo 4
Strange Love
I Remember
Toss E G C G C E capo 2
What Kind Of Fool
Slow Poison D#G#A#G#A#D#
