Tag Archives: Taylor guitars

GEAR 506 • Taylor Guitar Nut/Saddle Material

Acoustic, Gear614ce, 814ce, academy series, acoustic guitar, bone nut, bone saddle, bridge pins, bright tone, colossi, Elixir, Elixir HD Light, Fingerstyle, fingerstyle guitar, fossilized ivory, guitar strings, Martin guitars, Micarta, Taylor guitars, Tusq, walrus

Several people have asked me lately about upgrading to a bone nut/saddle, and specifically in relation to Taylor guitars. A drop in saddle can be an easy experiment, but if you’re looking at a nut/saddle replacement and set-up, I would say first (if your action / playability are ok) to try some different makes of strings and different alloys. Next, be advised that bone saddles often make a guitar sound brighter and more clear; Taylors already sound bright and clear so adding a bone nut/saddle may be “too much.” If your guitar is 5-7 years old a Tusq nut/saddle (or Tusq/Micarta) will probably do the job. That’s just my opinion; milage may vary.

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“Banks of the Ohio,” recorded using the Ear Trumpet Labs Edwina & Neumann TLM 102

Polytune Clip – clip-on tuner demo / review

LIVE 034 • Holualoa Blues

Fingerstyle, Live, Slack Keyblues guitar, fingerstyle guitar, Holualoa, kona coffee, kona hawaii, open g tuning, slack key guitar, Taro Patch, Taylor 310, taylor 310ce, Taylor 310e, Taylor Dreadnaught guitar, Taylor guitars

From the vaults, here is a demo version of my tune Holualoa Blues. This song is primarily a blues piece, but with some slack key influence as well. Done in open G / taro patch tuning. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded with a Taylor 310ce (Elixir Polyweb 80/20 Bronze) and a matched stereo pair of Shure KSM 141 microphones in Holualoa, Hawai’i, 10/11/07.

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Tranquility – fingerstyle on nylon string guitar

Pua Lililehua – Slack Key Guitar

LIVE 033 • Banks of the Ohio (+ Neumann TLM 102 & Ear Trumpet Edwina Comparison)

Acoustic, Gear, Liveacoustic guitar, banks of the ohio, berlin, Bill Monroe, Bluegrass, boutique mics, darlin’ say that you’ll be mine, ear trumpet labs, edwina, Elixir HD Light, Fingerstyle, fingerstyle guitar, Fred Kelly, grand concert, guitar, large diaphragm condenser microphone, Malachi Graham, Neumann TLM 102, oregon, portland, Taylor 412ce-R, Taylor guitars, thumbpicks

Here is my Clarence White inspired arrangement of the Bluegrass classic, “Banks of the Ohio,” played fingerstyle with a thumbpick (rather than flatpicked or cross-picked). I’ve uploaded two versions of this song: one was recorded with the Neumann TLM 102 microphone that I have been using for a while; the other features my new Ear Trumpet Labs Edwina mic. So if you’re interested in how these two mics sound, this provides a comparison. The Neumann is a little bit smoother to my ear, while the Edwina has a little more clarity with a slight top end boost (though not too hyped). Both are fine microphones and I look forward to continuing to record with them both.

Using the Ear Trumpet Labs Edwina microphone:

Using the Neumann TLM 102 microphone:

Both recorded with a Taylor 412ce LTD (Rosewood/Spruce, Gotoh 510 tuners, strings are Elixir Nanoweb Phosphor Bronze HD gauge set) and a Fred Kelly thumbpick.

LIVE 031 • In a Little While – U2

Classic Rock, Fingerstyle, Live2000, All That You Can’t Leave Behind, Bono, classic rock, fingerstyle guitar, instrumental guitar cover, Larry Mullen Jr, relaxing guitar. Rode nt-5, Taylor 310, Taylor 310e, Taylor Dreadnaught guitar, Taylor guitars, The Edge, US

Here is a demo version of my arrangement of the U2 song “In a Little While,” from 2000’s All That You Can’t Leave Behind. This was recorded a few years back when I was using dreadnaught size Taylors, before I got hip to their smaller, more comfortable guitars. The mix is a bit more compressed than what I’ve been doing lately, but it gets the job done. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded at Goldsmith Studios in October, 2011, with a Taylor 310 (Elixir Polyweb medium gauge set) and a pair of Rode NT-5 microphones.

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Every Breath You Take – The Police / Sting

LIVE 030 • Every Breath You Take – The Police / Sting

Classic Rock, Fingerstyle, Live1983, andy summers, classic rock, every breath you take, every move you make, fingerstyle guitar, instrumental guitar cover, relaxing guitar. Rode nt-5, sting, Taylor 310, Taylor 310e, Taylor Dreadnaught guitar, Taylor guitars, the police

Here is a demo version of my arrangement of The Police song “Every Breath You Take” I recorded a few years back. I was using dreadnaught size Taylors back then and the mix is a bit more compressed than what I’ve been doing lately, but I think it works for this song. Weren’t The Police great? Hope you enjoy.

Recorded at Goldsmith Studios in October, 2011, with a Taylor 310 (Elixir Polyweb medium gauge set) and a pair of Rode NT-5 microphones.

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Something – Ukulele Cover – Beatles / George Harrison

LIVE 020 • Make (Demo)

Blue Sky Guitar, Liveacoustic guitar, altered tuning, indie guitar, open tunings, Shure KSM141, taylor 310ce, Taylor guitars

Here is a strum intensive song from the vaults called “Make”. The louder strumming in this song was meant to provide a counterpoint to some of the mellower fingerstyle and slack key songs I was playing at the time. I recorded this while living in an ohana unit with a large, tiled room that I kept mostly empty because I enjoyed the acoustics. (Plus, I didn’t own a lot of furniture.) Hope you enjoy.

Recorded with a Taylor 310ce (Elixir Polyweb 80/20 Bronze) and a matched stereo pair of Shure KSM 141 microphones in Holualoa, Hawai’i, 3/19/08.

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Pua Lililehua – Slack Key Guitar

Magic Sands

LIVE 017 • Pua Lililehua

Fingerstyle, Slack Keyacoustic guitar, fingerstyle guitar, open tunings, performances, Pua Lililehua, relaxing guitar, Slack Key, Taylor guitars

Here is a rendition of Pua Lililehua from the vaults. I always enjoyed this song because it is mostly sweet and mellow, but still has a bit of tension that creates a sense of yearning in it. I recorded this while living in an ohana unit with a large, tiled room that I kept mostly empty because I enjoyed the acoustics. (Plus, I don’t own a lot of furniture.) Hope you enjoy.

Recorded with a Taylor 310ce (Elixir Polyweb 80/20 Bronze) and a matched stereo pair of Shure KSM 141 microphones in Holualoa, Hawai’i, 2/27/08.

LIVE 016 • Iris

Fingerstyle, Live, Open Tuningsacoustic guitar, fingerstyle guitar, open tunings, relaxing guitar, taylor grand concert, Taylor guitars

Iris has a lot of harmonics, which creates a light, chimey atmosphere. A thunderstorm rolled in while I was recording and gave some interesting punctuation to the take. I’ll probably try to record another version of this song, but thought the lightness of the song coupled with the thunderstorm left an interesting contrast. 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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Bron Yr Aur – Jimmy Page Led Zeppelin

Here Comes the Sun fingerstyle guitar arrangement

GEAR 504 • Polytune Clip with Open & Altered Tunings

Fingerstyle, Gear, Open Tunings, Slack Keyacoustic guitar, altered tunings, clip-on tuner, fingerstyle guitar, open tunings, Taylor guitars, TC Electronic

Not long ago I picked up the Polytune Clip from TC Electronic and have since been very pleased with the way it works on acoustic guitar in particular. (Of course it also works on electric guitar and other instruments as well.) I do a lot of open and altered tunings and this tuner handles them like a champ. In addition to latching on to notes quickly and accurately in chromatic mode, the Polytune picks up the low 6th string bass notes well (I tune down as low as Bb). Tracking is great and you can see the note steadily move into tune as you turn the tuning pegs. Of course the polytune mode doesn’t really work with open / altered tunings, but the Polytune Clip works so well as a chromatic tuner that it’s worthwhile for that alone. Highly recommended.

TC Electronic: http://www.tcelectronic.com/polytune-clip/

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Video on the Gotoh 510 tuners I have on my guitar here

Here Comes the Sun fingerstyle guitar arrangement

How to tune your guitar to Open G

LIVE 015 • Morning and Night

Fingerstyle, Livefingerstyle guitar, gotoh 510, relaxing guitar, taylor grand concert, Taylor guitars

Morning and Night started out as a fingerpicking study I wrote for one of my students way back when. I added a little to the study to perform it as a slow, relaxing solo piece and it has stayed in my repertoire ever since.
A few years back I decided to write a harmony part for the song, which I almost forgot about until I found a demo take while combing through some old files. I think it’s interesting to hear the song both with and without the harmony. Hope you enjoy both versions.

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Bron Yr Aur – Jimmy Page Led Zeppelin – Fingerstyle Guitar

Magic Sands

BlueSkyGuitar.com

Slack Key and Fingerstyle Guitar

Tag Archives: Taylor guitars

GEAR 506 • Taylor Guitar Nut/Saddle Material

LIVE 034 • Holualoa Blues

LIVE 033 • Banks of the Ohio (+ Neumann TLM 102 & Ear Trumpet Edwina Comparison)

LIVE 031 • In a Little While – U2

LIVE 030 • Every Breath You Take – The Police / Sting

LIVE 020 • Make (Demo)

LIVE 017 • Pua Lililehua

LIVE 016 • Iris

GEAR 504 • Polytune Clip with Open & Altered Tunings

LIVE 015 • Morning and Night