Play It Again Sam is located in Montpelier, Vermont, USA, and is an authorized musical instrument dealer for: Fender Epiphone DeArmond Peavey Tacoma Weber Alesis Ovation Deering
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We now have three monthly guest columns! --Guitar luthier Chip Wilson from New Orleans --Harmonica virtuoso Richard Hunter in Connecticut --Ed Roseman on the coast of Maine handles music theory. For other musical tips regarding guitar, percussion, keyboards, PA, recording, and much more, see SOUNDADVICE, our archive of FAQ at www.guitarsam.com/soad/soundadvice.htm Do you have a special tip or trick? Email it to us! We'll publish our favorites, and give you credit for submitting it! kevin@guitarsam.com
www.guitarsam.com/interviews/edly.htm
We caught up with Edly this month, and asked him a few curious questions about some interesting stuff. You can read the outrageous things he told us at http://www.guitarsam.com/interviews/edly.htm We hope you enjoy this very special Ed Roseman interview at: http://www.guitarsam.com/interviews/edly.htm For more information about Ed Roseman and his best-selling music publications, see Edly's website at http://www.edly.com/
We share our favorite music manufacturers, musical artists, music interest, and other sites.
This question is provided courtesy of Edly's website http://www.edly.com/ --Dear Edly: I'm a bit apprehensive of someone e-mailing in a really really tough (or weird) question, such as "My music consists of polychords such as B/Bb7/F#. How do I analyze these for my 5th grade final quiz?" --Edly, Kennebunkport, ME --Edly answers: I'd appreciate your apprehension, if I were you, which I am, so let me begin again by saying I appreciate your apprehension, but you're just going to have to deal with that on a case to case basis, dude. Stop whining and eat your musical Wheaties.
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If you have questions about harmonica playing technique, use of different keys, bending, blowing, maintaining and so on, send them to us at sam@guitarsam.com, and we'll have harmonica virtuoso Richard Hunter provide an expert answer for you. --A reader asks: Hey guys, My husband is REALLY into the blues and has played for over 20 years. I've tried to find out some information on the Rod Piazza "Mighty Flyer" Harp amp with NO luck! Have you ever hear of one? Does it really exist? I have spent hours looking on the net and can't find a single reference for this amp. --Richard answers: Rod Piazza's amp is a custom-made tube amplifier with six 10" speakers. It is big, loud, and very expensive, i.e. in the neighborhood of $1,500.00. I would only recommend such an amp to someone who:
Excellent amps for people who do not match all of those criteria can be purchased new for $700 or less (sometimes much less). Whatever amp you choose, a microphone will be necessary, and the Green Bullet, which runs around $90-$100 new, is the first choice, along with the Astatic JT-30, which is the mic Piazza uses, and costs about the same. More information about the Piazza amp can be found in the Harp-L archives; there is a link to the archives at my site at http://www.hunterharp.com. I note again that many, many fine amps for harp can be bought new for less than $700. Look for an amp with all-tube preamp and amplifier stages. A VERY popular choice for harp players who want a big amp is the Fender '61 Bassman Reissue; other solid Fender amps for harp include the Blues DeVille, Deluxe Reverb, Blues Junior, and Champ, in order of decreasing power. An amp that will be used on stage should put out at least 15 watts, more if the player will be playing loud rooms or with a very large band. (Of course, a smaller amp can be miked through a PA system, and smaller amps are a LOT easier to carry. Piazza's monster weighs a ton.) The Pro Pages at my site will tell you what choices many of the top professionals have made, and I recommend a look at those pages before you decide to spend a lot of money on a boutique amplifier. By the way, here's more info on Piazza's amp: it's called the "Harp King" 6x10. It's manufactured by KINDER MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, (909) 242-5923, 25030 Yucca Drive, Moreno Valley, CA. 92553. http://www.kinder-instruments.com Kinder also makes a 4x10" Harp King model. Thanks.
Musician/luthier Chip Wilson lives in New Orleans, LA. Chip worked with Borys Guitars when master archtop builder James L. D'Aquisto served as a consultant, before opening his own business, Better Guitars. Better Guitars served as an authorized repair shop for most of the top US guitar manufacturers. Chip recently wrote a book review for Guitarmaker, the quarterly publication of ASIA. Chip is now primarily a performer in New Orleans, typically playing 25 to 30 gigs per month, as a soloist, sideman, and with his own band A Jumpin' Somethin'. His 1999 release "A Jumpin' Somethin" was nominated for Best Traditional Jazz CD By A Louisiana Artist by Offbeat Magazine, the most widely distrbuted Louisiana music publication. Chip is currently working on a new CD for release in 2000. "A Jumpin' Somethin" can be obtained online at www.louisianamusicfactory.com, or by contacting Chip at jumpinsomethin@aol.com --A reader asks: Someone told me that when you're shopping for an acoustic guitar, you can get an idea of how good it is by knocking on the wood. Is this true, and how do I tell the difference? --Chip answers: Tapping on the instrument, especially the top and back, will yield a certain amount of information to the knowledgeable buyer, but is somewhat akin to kicking the tires of a car to the average guitar shopper. Tap tone pitch differences between the top and back and the bass and treble side of the top are what aficionados will listen for, among other things. For most of us, just listen to see if the guitar sounds good in your lap, and several feet away as someone else plays it. For the typical acoustic guitar buyer, here are a few other suggestions to follow. First, the materials of an acoustic are important. If you can find one in your price range, select a guitar with a solid spruce top. Some players prefer the mellower sound of solid cedar. The solid wood will improve with time and playing, and will resonate more freely than a laminated top will. Make sure that there is a degree of adjustability in your new instrument. The bridge saddle should have a little room to be lowered to improve the action, and the truss rod should adjust freely. --Another shopping reader inquires: I'm looking for a new acoustic, and I'd like to get one with a pickup and controls already installed. What I'm wondering, is, do the electronics in a guitar take away from the sound quality? How about a cutaway, does that make any difference? --Chip answers: Many guitar makers feel that a non-cutaway instrument is superior in sound to a cutaway. A cutaway shortens the vibrating top on the treble side, and certainly this impacts on the sound. Every player needs to decide if they intend to play up above the twelfth fret frequently enough to justify the cost and potential loss in tone and projection in a cutaway guitar. A big consideration in a cutaway guitar is good intonation (no such thing as perfect intonation). Any good acoustic guitar should play reasonably in tune, but this factor becomes more important as you play up the neck of a guitar, especially past the twelfth fret. Finally, electronics or not? Guitars are many things: works of art, companionable friends, but most of all, tools for artistic expression. If you need to be amplified to accomplish this, you will want a guitar with a quality pickup system. However, the more onboard technology, the greater chance that it will affect the acoustic tone. If you are concerned with acoustic tone, you may want to get a guitar with an under-the-saddle pickup, no onboard controls, and with the jack mounted through the tailblock at the endpin. To get both the best acoustic and electric sound from an amplified acoustic, consider adjusting your EQ from an amp specifically designed for acoustics, and using a volume pedal. It's Mardi Gras time here in New Orleans, so if you are reading this on March 7th, think of me behaving as I always do on Mardi Gras: dressed in a tuxedo, playing for the people, using an amplified non-cutaway acoustic with a volume pedal… Ha! Gotcha, I'll be playing a Telecaster!
This contest is over! The answer was , of course the Who. If you're the first to email us with the correct answer to this musical question, you'll win a free set of Fretboard Flashcards for guitar, which are very generously supplied by Mike at 12 Tone Music. Check out http://www.12tonemusic.com/gemlsn.htm for the best on-line guitar instruction. The question is:
Send your correct answer to us at kevin@guitarsam.com
Congratulations to Mark Sweetnam of Missouri, for quickly providing the first correct answer to our question, which was:
Mark won a QuikTune electronic guitar/bass tuner!
"Guaranteed to Thrill You!"
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Past issues of the GuitarSam eZine are available at: www.guitarsam.com/ezine/archive.htm
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Watch for our next issue of the GuitarSam eZine, due on April 1, 2000.
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Ed
Roseman wrote the best music theory book this planet has
ever seen. "Edly's Music Theory for Practical People" is a
must-read for all musicians. As a writer, teacher, and
musician, Edly recognizes the language of music and
painlessly translates it into English. Edly's newest book is
"Edly Paints the Ivories Blue", a blues piano instruction
book that also is rainbows above the norm.
Richard
Hunter is the author of "Jazz Harp", from Oak Publications.
Richard's recorded works include "The Act of Being Free in
One Act", which is the first full-length CD of works for
unaccompanied harmonica ever recorded, and "The Second Act
of Free Being", a CD that takes solo harmonica to a new
level. Check 
Our
newest feature is Guitar TechTalk, with
Chip Wilson in New Orleans. If you have
a question about guitar building, repair, or maintenance,
send it to us at Play It Again Sam...66 Main St...Montpelier VT 05602...Phone (802) 229-0295...Fax (802) 229-0755