Category Archives: Acoustic

GEAR 531 • Taylor Guitar through a Fishman Loudbox Artist

Acoustic, Amps, Gear, , , , , , , , , ,

This video is meant to explore some of the different EQ and effects settings on the Fishman Loudbox Artist. This is meant to serve as a sound demo for what the Loudbox sounds like with a steel string guitar (a Rosewood/Spruce Taylor with the ES1 system). I close miked the amp to get a truer representation of the echo / reverb effects, but you get an even more open sound when you hear it from across the room. (Also note, close-miking results in a slightly more bass heavy sound due to the proximity effect. I rolled off some of the lows slightly to compensate some.) Overall, the EQ and effects on this amp are well tuned to acoustic guitar, and the overall feature set is practical and useful.

Recorded with a Taylor 412ce LTD (Rosewood/Spruce, Gotoh 510 tuners, strings are Elixir Nanoweb Phosphor Bronze HD gauge set) into a Fishman Loudbox Artist amp miked with a Sennheiser e906 dynamic microphone.

Demo Guide:

Introduction 0:00
Reverb 1, Phase In 0:15
Phase button Out 0:38
Low 0:56
Mid 1:13
High 1:41
Tweeter Control 2:21
Reverb 1 (adj Time knob) 2:57
Reverb 1 + Chorus 1 (adj Depth knob) 3:07
Reverb 1 + Chorus 2 (adj Depth) 3:41
Reverb 1 + Chorus 1 (Chorus on/off) 4:21
Reverb 1 + Flanger (adj Depth) 4:54
Slap Echo (adj Depth knob… = echo time) 5:29
Reverb 1 + Slap Echo (adj Depth) 6:06
Reverb 1 (adj Time) 6:37
Reverb 2 (adj Time) 6:59
Delay (adj Time) 7:36
Delay (longer delay time / ambient delay) 8:35
Echo (adj Time) 9:19
Echo + Chorus 1 (mild chorus – nice setting!) 9:42

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Slack Key Improv on a Taylor 414ce-NR through a Fishman Loudbox Artist

Fishman Loudbox Artist – Review / Overview

LIVE 029 • Plaid Blues (Blues Improv)

Acoustic, Fingerstyle, , , , , ,

This little improv bit, dubbed Plaid Blues, was recorded between takes of another song I was working on and needed a break from. Sometimes it’s good to switch gears while recording (especially when recording at home) and work on another song or just do some improvisation and see what comes out. You may not always get a polished result, but you can return to working again on whatever it is you took a break from with a refreshed feeling.

Recorded with a Taylor 412ce LTD (Rosewood/Spruce, Gotoh 510 tuners, strings are Elixir Nanoweb Phosphor Bronze HD gauge set) and a Neumann TLM 102 microphone.

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Bron Yr Aur – Jimmy Page Led Zeppelin – Fingerstyle Guitar

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LIVE 028 • Take Me Out to the Ball Game – Cubs Tribute

Acoustic, Fingerstyle, Live, , , , , , , , ,

This fingerstyle acoustic guitar version of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” is posted as a tribute to the World Series winning Chicago Cubs. I’m not a huge baseball fan – I don’t really have time to keep up with sports in general – but the Cubs wining the World Series and breaking one of the longest droughts around was a great excuse to dust off and play this song. This version is based on one I heard in a TV commercial five or more years ago. Anyway, it’s a fun little song to play; hope you enjoy. Play ball.

Recorded with a Taylor 412ce LTD (Rosewood/Spruce, Gotoh 510 tuners, strings are Elixir Nanoweb Phosphor Bronze HD gauge set) and a Neumann TLM 102 microphone.

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Here Comes the Sun fingerstyle guitar arrangement

Is There Anybody Out There? Pink Floyd cover

LIVE 027 • Banyan

Acoustic, Fingerstyle, Live, Open Tunings, Slack Key, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Banyan (a/k/a “Banyans,” or “Banyan Tree Slack Key”) is a slack key style song I wrote about 10 or 12 years ago on nylon string guitar. I used to play my gut string ‘beach’ guitar around beaches and surf spots in Kona like Magic Sands, Banyans, and Old Airport. For one, the nylon strings aren’t as affected by the salt air, and for two, it was less expensive than my other guitar at the time, a Taylor 310ce that I didn’t want to take to the beach. So I guess this song is partially named after the surf spot, but also after some banyan trees near Magic Sands – some of which have since been cut down – or even those mystical banyan trees in general. Shortly after writing this song, I sold that nylon – an Ibanez, sort of crossover model – though I continued to rotate this and a few other related songs in and out of my set. Until recently though, it had really been a while since I played this song. Once more, owning a nylon string guitar again inspired me to go back and revisit some older material. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded with a Taylor 414ce-NR (Rosewood/Spruce nylon string) and a Neumann TLM 102 microphone.)

All rights reserved to this song, however students may perform the song in public.

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Magic Sands

Pua Lililehua

LIVE 026 • Keiki Slack Key on Nylon String Guitar

Acoustic, Fingerstyle, Live, Open Tunings, Slack Key, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Today’s song is a cover of the Ray Kane classic “Keiki Slack Key” (not to be confused with the Sonny Chillingworth song of the same name). To me, Ray Kane is probably the best example of an ‘old style’ slack key player, and his tracks are always nahenahe. I never got to take a lesson from Ray, though I did get to speak to him and his wife Elodia on the phone once, not long before he passed – a cherished memory. Keiki Slack Key is one of the first slack key songs I transcribed, and has stayed on my setlists ever since. This arrangement was inspired by my recent purchase of a nylon string guitar; I really think this song works well on nylon for a number of reasons. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded with a Taylor 414ce-NR (Rosewood/Spruce nylon string) and a Neumann TLM 102 microphone.

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Pua Lililehua – Slack Key Guitar

Magic Sands

LIVE 025 • Is There Anybody Out There? by Pink Floyd

Acoustic, Classic Rock, Fingerstyle, Live, , , , , , , , ,

Appearing as an interlude on The Wall, here is the guitar part from the end of Is There Anybody Out There? Originally done on a nylon string guitar, I think this song works well (and like it a little better) on steel string. This is one of the first songs I learned on guitar from one of my first guitar teachers. Years later, I taught the arrangement to some of my students – both using a pick and fingerstyle. It’s a great moody instrumental, and an arguably underappreciated acoustic piece from the classic rock canon. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded with a Taylor 412ce LTD (Rosewood/Spruce, Gotoh 510 tuners, strings are Elixir Nanoweb Phosphor Bronze HD gauge set) and a Neumann TLM 102 microphone.

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LIVE 024 • Study in Em – Francisco Tárrega

Acoustic, Fingerstyle, Live, , , , , , , , , ,

Study in Em – Francisco Tárrega – Nylon String

Here is my take on a Study in Em by Francisco Tárrega. This is a song I have taught in the past to students interested in learning a little fingerstyle or classical. To make the arrangement a little more fun for some students, I took some liberties and added a few flourishes here and there. This version of the study has also found its way onto some of my setlists over the years. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded with a Taylor 414ce-NR (Rosewood/Spruce nylon string) and a Neumann TLM 102 microphone.

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Lágrima by Francisco Tárrega

Tranquility – fingerstyle on nylon string guitar