Play It Again Sam's GuitarSam eZine, Vol. 12 October 4, 1999 www.guitarsam.com   To eZine Index

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In This Issue... Our Email Policies About Play It Again Sam SoundAdvice (musical tips) Frankston Guitar Festival Cowsills--Site of the Month Best Music Links Didgeridoo Workshop New!..Ovation Guitars New!..DeArmond Guitars New!..Akai Guitar Effects Ask Edly..new music theory feature Guitars are Y2K OK---T-shirt The BOB COWSILL Interview Upcoming Interviews Monthly Giveaway Last Month's Winner Ordering from Us Previous eZine Issues Reader Feedback Contacting Us

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Q>I read your article last month on controlling feedback in a hollowbody electric guitar. What advice do you have for an acoustic guitar with a pickup? I've tried those rubber soundhole covers, but it didn't help much. I'm playing through a Peavey amp, and I recently added a Boss GT-3, but that didn't help much either.

A> Controlling feedback in an acoustic is a bit more difficult, as it's generally desirable to keep a good acoustic sound when not plugged in, and filling any guitar with foam, whether it's an acoustic or thinline hollowbody electric, really kills the acoustic tone and volume when played unamplified.

The rubber soundhole cover is a good try, and usually it does some good. You didn't mention which Peavey amp you use, but there are a couple things that could be a factor about the amp.

If it's a practice size amp with a small speaker, like a 6", 8", or even 10", the highs are accented, thereby making you more feedback prone. Using an amp with one or more 12" speakers, or even two 10" speakers, will give you a better chance at less feedback.

Also, with any size amp, the EQ setting can be very important, and this goes for the amp settings, and the guitar EQ settings as well. Be sure the treble isn't too high, like not over halfway up, or you'll get the high screech. Midrange and bass up too high will give you the howling type of feedback, and may actually cause one string or fretted note to take off in a Hendrix type feedback fashion.

Start with all of your EQ settings at mid-level. This should give you a pretty flat, uncolored (and maybe uninteresting) sound. Slowly add a bit more bass and a wee bit high end for sparkle, and see if you can reach your desired volume level that way, taking care to not face the amplifier with your guitar. The best position is to have your back to the amp, and slightly to your side.

One more thing, does your guitar have a "notch" control? Many guitars have one, but most players don't really know how it works. It'a a type of EQ that allows you to dial out the offending frequency. To set it, you need to purposely let your guitar feedback in the way it usually does, and while it's doing so, turn the notch control slowly until you find the spot where the feedback disappears. At that point, you may even be to turn up louder without feedback occurring.

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For musical tips about many instruments and music topics, see SoundAdvice, our FAQ site at http://www.guitarsam.com/soad/soundadvice.htm

 

RICH BRIERE http://www.richbriere.com/

Who is Rich Briere, you may ask? Rich is the regional Fender/Guild/Sunn/DeArmond sales representative for much of the Northeastern area of the US. Rich a great musician, a great sales rep, and a great friend. His new website, appropriately entitled "Rich Briere" is a very interesting and informative chronicle of music, guitars, bands, and humor. This site is a "must-click". Drop him a line and tell him Sam sent you.

ACOUSTICGUITAR WORKSHOP

http://www.acousticguitarworkshop.com/index.htm

The AcousticGuitar Workshop is dedicated to helping you learn authentic Acoustic Fingerstyle Blues online. The course can be downloaded very quickly, so you can start learning the art of blues fingerpicking today. Do not miss this excellent resource!

BIG HEAVY WORLD http://www.bigheavyworld.com

Get tuned in to the music scene in and around the Burlington, VT area. Big Heavy World will show you where to go, what to see, and who to listen to. Use their secure site to buy Vermont artist CD's.

DIANE ZEIGLER'S WEBSITE http://www.dianezeigler.com

Zig's website offers lyrics, audio samples, reviews, performance schedules, and a biography, as well as Zig news and notes from around the country. We also talked with Diane Zeigler for a recent feature interview, which you can find at http://www.guitarsam.com/interviews/diane_zeigler.htm

MUSICAL EDVENTURES http://www.edly.com

Ed Roseman, author of "Edly's Music Theory for Practical People" and "Edly Paints the Ivories Blue", wrote the best music theory book and blues piano book this planet has ever seen. Both books are now in their second edition, and are better than ever. Ed is also involved in other musical EdVentures, too. You can find out more about him, his books and other musical wanderings at this brilliantly illustrated site.

RHS DESIGN http://www.RHSDesign.com

Bob Sickler designed the Nokie Edwards website, which was our feature site last month, and Bob will soon be working on a new logo for Play It Again Sam. Bob is a guitar-playing graphic artist who knows music and knows design, so if you're in need of professional and affordable assistance for music-related websites, or any other forms of graphic design, Bob's your man!

BUCH SPIELER MUSIC http://www.bsmusic.com

Our friends Fred Wilber, Kevin Brown, and crew have one of the zaniest and most entertaining CD stores we've ever seen. In addition to the normal fare, they carry a great selection of soundtracks, world music folk, and lots of onbeat and offbeat stuff. Buch Spieler's site offers reviews and musings that are definitely the opinion of the management.

GUITAR NEWS WEEKLY http://www.guitarsite.com

Neil Shedden of Australia has the largest and best guitar newsletter in the world! Subscribe for free and receive the weekly offering of guitar articles, reviews, musical tips, contests, jokes, and lots more.

THE TWENEY REPORT http://www.tweney.com

Dylan Tweney is an Internet commerce reporter for InfoWorld Media, and Dylan offers a free weekly newsletter regarding electronic commerce. If you buy, sell, trade or bank on the Internet, you'll greatly enjoy and benefit from the facts and opinions of The Tweney Report.

See Play It Again Sam's extensive music links page at:

http://www.guitarsam.com/services/links.htm

We share our favorite music manufacturers, musical artists, music interest, and other sites.

Pitz Quattrone returns to Play It Again Sam for another instructional workshop on the history and playing of this 40,000 year old instrument. Bring your own didge, or try one of ours. Learn how to play the didgeridoo in two hours.

Admission $5.00.

When: Thursday, Oct 21, 7-9 PM
Where: Play It Again Sam, 66 Main St, Montpelier VT USA
Why: Because you've always wanted to learn to play!

The famous roundback guitars are on sale at:

http://www.guitarsam.com/catalog/ovation.htm

New line of retro Guild models from Fender/Guild!

http://www.guitarsam.com/catalog2/dearmond.htm

Analog and digital sounds from professional pedals like the

Shred-O-Matic, HeadRush, and Intelliphase .

http://www.guitarsam.com/catalog2/akai.htm

Here's this month's question of theory....

Dear Edly:

I was told by a music major that a trombone and a horn in F can't play the same part musically because it doesn't sound good. By that, I mean a horn playing an F and a trombone playing a C, same pitch. But I heard the two instruments in an arrangement of music playing the same pitches. What's up with that? I heard that there is some kind of effect or law or something saying that it doesn't sound good with an alto instrument playing the same pitch as a tenor instrument, but then I heard the two playing the same part in a piece of music.

Edly answers:

First off, a (French) horn playing its F will be a concert Bb, not a concert C. The easiest way to remember the transposition of transposing instruments goes something like this: "When a horn in F plays its C, it comes out an F" (a fifth lower). "When a trumpet in Bb plays its C, it comes out a Bb", and so on. See?

So, to complete the first part of your answer, the horn would have to play its G, not F, in order for it to be in unison with the trombone's (concert) C.

Now that we've dispensed with the nit-picky details part of the answer, let's get to the crux of your question. A French horn and trombone playing in unison will sound absolutely wonderful. The horn's conical bore yields a less sharp attack than the bone's cylindrical bore. The result will sound like a boney horn, or a horny bone, if you will. Examples abound in scores all around.

 

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Stop playing it wrong! 

Send Edly your music theory questions!

What is music theory, anyway? You hear so much about it, but does anybody really know what it is? Edly does!

Scales? Chords? Keys? Ear-training? Modes? Toads?

If you need help connecting the musical dots or playing musical works, send us your best (or dumbest) questions, and we'll have Edly, one of Earth's leading music theory experts, field the responses. We can't guarantee that all questions will be answered right away, but you do your best with the questions, and we'll do our best in getting you answers.

We'll start with the Q+A next month. To get your head keyed in the right direction, visit Edly's website "Musical EdVentures" at http://www.edly.com

Play It Again Sam has a Limited Edition supply of T-shirts with a very timely and important message. See the shirt being modeled by Play It Again Sam personnel at this very special link. Shirts are available for $12.00 each, or GET ONE FREE with any order in October that totals over $100.00. Just tell us whether you want L or XL, and your new shirt will ship out with your order.

http://www.guitarsam.com/catalog2/shirt.htm

Frank Marino, Mahogany Rush
Tom Rush, America's favorite folksinger
Colin Hay, Men at Work
Ed Roseman (Edly), music theory author
Pitz Quattrone, didgeridoo builder
Paul Rishell, country-blues guitarist

Congratulations to Carl Yalicki of VT, and Mark Sweetnam of MO, for quickly providing the first correct answer(s) to our question, which was:

Whose art gallery did Lou Reed's old band, the Velvet Underground, showcase at?

The correct answer was: ANDY WARHOL

Carl and Mark's answer each got here so close to each other, that we decided that they both won a copy of Charlie Messing's new solo CD "Bit".

Last month's interview was with Charlie Messing. See it at:

http://www.guitarsam.com/interviews/charlie_messing.htm

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