Comment

Comment by Ron "Oily" Sprague on January 21, 2012 at 10:07pm

Thanks, Tom! Woke you up, did I? Been playing this several hours a day for the last few days (I had a 3-day weekend), ever since I came up with the initial riff about a week ago. It does have kind of a happy sound, don't it?

Comment by Ron "Oily" Sprague on January 21, 2012 at 10:03pm

For the technically curious: This is my first vid on CBN (finally). I'm playing The Busker, made by my good buddy Harrison Withers (of Ghettoborn fame). It contains a 2.5 watt Artec amp and speaker (which is turned on in the vid, so you get a bit of "natural" distortion). The tuning is kinda bizarre: A# (4th) - F (3rd) - a# (2nd)- d (1st). This seems to be what the box likes, and it causes the amp to feedback mightily (which I will use in a later song) at certain notes on the 2nd string at the 7th, 8th and 9th frets. The percussive nature of this song is caused by my heavy right hand technique, a Techpik metal pick, the pick striking the metal speaker cover more than occasionally, and my left hand fingering. Some of my long-forgotten left hand banjo finger rolls also came back as a result. Due to the tuning, the old-timey banjo sound, and the percussive vibe, it gave me a sort of "Tick Tock" clock feel, hence, Grandpa's Pocket Watch. I started off calling it TIn Soldier's March, because to me it has kind of a Civil War march feel to it, but the new title seemed to fit better. And yes, the slide chords are a direct Led Zep rip-off, but they seemed to me to work for this piece. If you listen carefully, the desert dog is registering her disapproval in the background, and right at the end, you may be able to hear the answering machine go off with my 11-year-old son telling me he'll be home from a friend's house soon. I played this standing up, because it was easier to film (and this way, you can't see all the crap scattered about in my home office!), but I play it much more cleanly and reliably sitting down (especially my slide intonation). Standing, the guiitar is atad neck heavy (not uncommon wiht CBGs), and I need to put in some neck side markers; almost got lost there a coupla times!

 

For the fearful: There will be more to come. Real soon. Hehehehehe...

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• …
• 5
• 6
• 7
• Next ›
• Page