Tag Archives: Scott Collins

Line 6 Pod Farm 2.0 Overview

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I’ve taken advantage of Line 6’s free 14 day download of POD Farm Platinum 2.0 ilok version and have been working on formulating somethings for a review.  I won’t be able to post a full review now, but I wanted to post a couple of brief observations.

1.  The demo version was a little glitchy in standalone version, so I’ve been using it with AU LAB.  For those of you who don’t know about it (I had to find out about it on the super looper forum) – AU Lab is a free app that comes with the OSX Xcode Tools.  It was designed to test AU plug ins with but its a stand alone app with a fully configurable mixer ( inputs, outputs, effects busses) .  It records output and even generates midi clock!  Also it makes a very small cpu impact – so it’s perfect for hosting something like Pod Farm and say SooperLooper.

2.  2.0 supports midi – which means you can control it with a foot controller like the FBV shortboard MKII or the Behringer FCB1010.  I didn’t get to work with this yet – but this brings the live laptop rig very feasible for me.

3.  Stereo rigs which you can A/B/Y!!!  which alone would have been really cool – but you can use multiple effects in the same rig – something you can’t do on the POD for example.

Here’s a screen shot of a modification I made on the Outer Space preset.  I just added a preamp in the beginning of the chain.

So here is an mp3 of a guitar track I improvised with this setting:

Outerspace II

This was made with a FNH ultrasonic guitar, Behringer FCA202,  Macbook Pro (2007), and AU Lab.  No post processing.

So this particular sample doesn’t sound very guitarish – but that’s part of the reason I really like this approach.  You can create things that you never could create with pedals without a ton of gear and/or a ton of noise.

As with many other sims – getting usable clean tones is pretty easy and getting dirty tones that respond the way an amp would is a little trickier.  But the presets on all of these models are light years away from older line 6 presets that I’ve heard.  It’s pretty easy to get a tone in the ball park and tweak it from there.

Line 6 has some great audio/video demos on their site, so I wont go into too much here for demos as they’ve done it really well.   Also the May lesson uses the same signal chain for all the mp3s that will be posted there.

I need to also give kudos in that all of the sounds on the sites are included in the presets and they have also noted processed vs unprocessed sounds.  Yes there is a big difference between the two, and it’s important to note those differences so that when you dial up a preset you know what to expect.

The only thing I wish it had was a dedicated looper, but that’s not a deal breaker.

If you have an I-LOK I’d say to definitely check it out.  It’s more flexible than the POD and does some very cool things.

For further applications of this set up you can also  go here or here.


Tension And The Soda Can Or Practicing Part III

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Practicing Part III

In order to practice properly, attention needs to be paid to a number of different areas.  Today’s post addresses some issues regarding fretting hand tension as a precursor to proper form in practicing.

Fretting Hand Positioning and Tension

Many guitarists begin playing guitar without being aware of how much tension they are exerting on their fretting hand.  While the title refers to fretting hand fingers, hand tension is actually a complex coordination of muscles working in the hand and forearm.  The concept here is to talk about hand tension as it relates to your ability to move your fingers freely.

Here is an example that may help explain how much of a performance issue this can be.

For the purposes of this example, let’s imagine that you have taken a break from the rigors of guitar practice and have gone to spend the day at muscle beach with your friend Charles Atlas.  After arriving there and seeing miles and miles of Herculean figures – you have decided to show off to your friends and crush the can of soda you have been drinking.

Okay – hold your fretting hand out in front of you – like you were holding a soda can you were drinking from.

Really visualize the can.  Try to feel the ice cold metal against the palm of your hand.

Okay, now try to crush it.  But imagine that the can has been replaced with some infinitely strong material that can’t be crushed.  You don’t want to crush the imaginary can – but truly struggle against it.  If you’re doing the exercise properly, your arm is probably shaking from the exertion.

Okay – now try to move your fingers while you crush the can.  You may be able to move them a little but it’s going to be very difficult.  You should feel (or even see) a lot of tension in your forearm.

Now stop trying to crush the can.  Wiggle your fingers.  This should be much easier.

If you grip the guitar neck with too much tension, it’s the same as trying to crush the soda can.  If you are carrying tension it will be very difficult to move your fingers freely.

What follows is an exercise that can help with proper hand tension.

Proper Fretting Hand Tension Exercise

Sit in a comfortable chair (preferably without armrests) with your guitar around your neck as if you were going to play (you are wearing a strap aren’t you? If not you may want to read the last post.)

Relax your fretting hand by letting your arm hang fully extended by your side.  Wiggle your fingers a bit and try to relax as much as possible.

Take a deep breath.  While inhaling on that breath, make a fist.  As you exhale –  fully release the fist.  Just let your hand naturally relax into a position.  Look down at your hand.

Note – this is your hand in a relaxed position.

Now, keeping your hand in position, bend your elbow and bring your hand up to the neck of the guitar as if you were going to play.  Your fingers should be bent slightly at each knuckle (i.e. the fingers should be curved similar to the relaxed position).

Proper Fretting Hand Thumb Tension

Reverting back to the soda can example, it’s important that the thumb remain in the back of the neck as relaxed as possible as to not tense the rest of the hand.   This is something that I never thought about until I had studied with Jack Sanders.  So I need to thank him for bringing this to my attention in my own playing.

It’s also important to note that your hand position will change if you are doing a lot of string bending.  While it is possible to bend strings with your fretting hand thumb in the middle of the neck,  most people will be used to moving the thumb so that it is more on the bass string side of the fretboard to facilitate bending.   Since this isn’t the majority of what most people play on guitar – I view bending hand position as the exception rather than the rule.

The thumb acts as a balance to pressure from the fingers;  so the location of the thumb is very important.  Ideally the thumb should be in the middle of the guitar neck and typically in line with the middle finger or between the middle and ring finger.  What you are trying to do is put the thumb in an area of minimal tension.

Proper Fretting Hand Tension Exercise

Try playing a scale on the guitar.  If you think that your thumb is squeezing the back of the neck hard, try removing the thumb from the back of the fingerboard while you are playing.  Now gently and gradually, move the thumb back to the neck so that it is very lightly touching it.  Repeat as necessary.

Obviously a huge component in hand tension is how the fingers are actually connecting with the strings and that will be the subject of the next post on practicing.

I hope this helps!

-SC

 

Proper Posture Is Required For Proper Performance – Practicing Part II

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In the last post, I talked about some of the pre-requisites for setting up to practice.  While I want to discuss specific issues with  proper picking and fretting hand techniques, it’s important to address how the actual guitar is positioned when playing.

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When practicing, it is imperative to practice the same way consistently so that performance is consistent.

A key component of this is posture.

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First, a brief anecdote.  When I started playing guitar, I didn’t pay a lot of attention to how I was practicing or how I was holding the guitar.  I just paid attention to whether or not I was getting the notes out (more on what’s wrong with this in future posts).  I started noticing my live playing was really inconsistent.  Sometimes the solos I practiced came out fine and sometimes they were really sloppy.  I initially attributed it to nerves or adrenaline, but after reading a number of books on performance I was introduced to the concept of “muscle memory”, and realized the root of my problem.

For those of you who have never heard of this term, when performing repetitive tasks synapses actually rewire themselves in your brain to short cut the mental processing behind the activity.  This is known as “muscle memory”.  Muscle memory is different from your dad’s memory of where he might have set his car keys down, and more like words carved in stone.  On the plus side – if you’re doing things correctly – you don’t have to worry about it – but on the minus side if you have to fix something that’s ingrained in muscle memory  – it takes a lot of effort to erase them.

Here’s an example that illustrates this idea.  

If I am walking and need to tie my shoe lace –  “tie my shoe” is a short cut for the following steps (or some variation):

  1. Notice my shoe is untied
  2. Stop walking
  3. Bend down
  4. Grab one lace per hand
  5. Cross laces to opposite sides of shoe in an x shape
  6. Tuck one lace under another
  7. Pull laces taught
  8. Move laces in opposite direction
  9. Make a loop with the first lace (i.e. “bunny ears.”)
  10. Cross one “ear” over the other, in the opposite order of your overhand knot.
  11. Bend one loop over the other
  12. Pass the tip of the bent ear through the hole
  13. Pull the loops tight
  14. Double knot if need be

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Once you’ve mastered this skill,  you probably don’t have to put any thought into it at all.  You could easily have a conversation and do it at the same time.  A complex list of processes have been broken down into a single mental shortcut in this case called “tie my shoe”.

In music, muscle memory works the same way.  If you play a lick over and over again the same way your brain actually rewires itself so that the numerous physical events that go into playing “lick #7” in your brain just becomes a mental shortcut “lick #7”.

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In my first person anecdote above, because my playing position varied between sitting, standing, squatting and lying down – I wasn’t developing proper muscle memory.  Instead of learning one lick – my brain was trying to learn how to play that idea in a variety of contexts.  This sounds small – but if you’ve ever been in a situation where you weren’t able to nail a part you normally can – you know what I’m referring to here.

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The Solution?

My solution came in the form of a guitar strap.

Some people do not use guitar straps.  In playing steel string guitar, I believe that a guitar strap is every bit as important as a guitar string.  Again, if your hands are not in the same position when you practice as when you perform you will not have proper muscle memory and the chances of flubbing notes goes up dramatically.

The key to using a guitar strap is to make sure that the guitar sits on your frame the same way when you stand as when you sit.

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Note:

You may be asking.  Well – what about nylon string guitars?  While it’s pretty rare to see nylon string guitarists use a strap, if you see a number of players you’ll notice that the majority of the good ones have very consistent posture.  Posture is a big part of the classical pedagogical tradition and while flamenco guitar posture may be unorthodox with regards to the classical tradition, it is most definitely a consistent posture.

This is not to say that muscle memory isn’t flexible.  You don’t have to have your hands in exactly the same position or expect total failure.  If you’re playing live and you move around – your body will typically adapt to what’s going on and accommodate you.  If you like to practice sitting(and many people do unless they’re practicing with a band) having a consistent instrument position will help you perform more consistently when you stand – which is likely how you are going to perform unless you’re used to performing when sitting down.

Give it a try.  When practicing try adjusting your strap differently when you sit or when you stand and see if makes a difference over a couple of weeks.  You might be surprised.

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In the next post I’ll start the long process of addressing left and right hand placement, tension and the thumb (i.e. some common sense “secrets” that evade a lot of teachers and students).

Thanks for reading.

-SC

 

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A brief thought about music theory

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One of the reoccurring  areas of concern that comes up in lessons is the issue of music theory.   This is both in terms of people who don’t want to be taught any kind of  theory, (as in, “No – don’t show me that!  It’ll mess up my playing!”) to people who have been exposed to terms that they have questions about. Usually both scenarios involve a lot of trepidation and discomfort (much of which is needlessly inflicted).

I would guess that the only people who have ever leapt for joy at the sight of a musical note on paper without hearing it are composers.  For most people, music is an expression solely existing in an aural form (i.e. it’s something we hear).

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Theory is secondary to sound.

The history of music originates in organized sound.  Theory and jargon were developed over time as a way to replicate those organized sounds.  A term like “C major” is just musical jargon.  When “C Major” is said, it tells the informed person what kind of sound is going to be produced. This jargon then, is nothing more than a way for musicians to express ideas to each other without written music in a more efficient manner.

It’s much less important to be able to look at something and say, “that’s an altered dominant chord” than it is to hear an altered dominant chord in your head and be able to realize it on the guitar ( or to hear someone else playing it and know what to play against it).

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In other words, theory and/or analysis should always be in the service of sound.

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I think theory should have two functions – first to help us realize sounds that we want to reproduce and (to me the much more exciting option) to expose us to sounds we didn’t know were there.

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The entire concept of GuitArchitecture (presenting applied theory as a set of approaches that can be used to help access both known and unknown sounds) is why a lot of the book material is less about licks and more about approaches.  

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From a teaching perspective, it probably doesn’t matter if you can sound like me (unless that’s what you’re striving for), the important thing is developing your individual voice and being able to replicate sounds either intuitively and/or with theory is a major component of any player’s individual sound.

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Theory, then,  is just a tool.  It really isn’t anything to get tripped up on.

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FNH Ultrasonic Guitar review

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Photography by Nancy MacDonald

4/11

Full disclosure – I am now endorsed by FNH guitars but was not at the time of this review.

This gear review is for a customized Ultrasonic guitar that was built by FNH guitars.  FNH guitars are a small custom shop consisting of Chris Fitzpatrick and John Harper (i.e. FNH) that are making hand crafted electric guitars starting at $1299 and several other instruments at other price points.  Many of the stats can be found here.  Note that the guitar pictured above is from the website as Nancy McDonald is a much better photographer than I am.  The review model differs from the photo in bridge, color and lack of a pickguard.  These are discussed in more detail below.

The body and neck aesthetic remind me of some of the 1960’s EKO designs.  While many of the designs from that era looked really cool on paper they were also either impossible to play or just sounded awful, FNH has taken the best visual elements of those designs and hot rodded the instrument  for playability.  Wrist and belly cuts are nice features and make you feel like you’re playing a guitar and not a block of wood with strings.  The weight of the guitar is light and well- balanced.  It’s comfortable to play either sitting down or standing up.

In terms of build, the body is one piece poplar (I believe that poplar is similar to alder in a lot of ways if that is the body material you’re currently use to).  It has a nice resonance to it when played acoustically – which is generally a really good sign of its amplified potential.  FNH offers several varieties of finish – I went with a flat black which is a good call, but there are some nice finishes on various guitars on their web site as well.   The Ultrasonic on the website has a Tele-style bridge but mine shipped with a Gotoh fixed bridge.  Since the guitars are customized – you can also get them with any bridge style you’d like.

The neck is a 25 ½ inch scale (just like a fender) with a choice of fingerboard materials.  22 frets is the standard but mine shipped with 21 (so I’d have to go all Blackmore or Yngwie for those high D, E and Eb notes!).   I requested a maple neck with rosewood fingerboard and a 12” radius.  The website mentions maple and ebony as other fingerboard options but everything here can be customized to player specifications.  The neck has a gorgeous amber tinted oil finish (nitrocellulose is also an option) that really brings out the rock maple.  The neck is extremely comfortable and didn’t have any dead spots on the fingerboard.  The rounded heel joint makes upper fret access very easy and assisted with playability as well.

The electronic controls (volume knob, tone knob and a 3-way selector switch,) are in a very logical place.  They’re low enough on the body to be out of the way of strumming but still easy to reach.  The Electrosocket output jack is mounted on the lower bout of the guitar which doesn’t get in the way when sitting down with the instrument. Pickups are customizable (They typically will use OC Duff, Seymour Duncans, Lollars, Fralins or Golden Age but no neck pickup is also an option) – I asked John to choose for me and he picked a Duncan Pearly gates for the bridge and a Golden Age ’59 for the neck.  This is a really great combination that offers a lot of tonal variety.  The pots are 250K which has some nice roll off characteristics for both volume and tone.

I’ve included some mp3’s of various tones recorded with a POD x3 straight into my laptop.  The tracks have been kept as raw as possible – no post EQ or sweetening – to give you a sense of what the guitar sounds like when you plug it in.

First just some simple solo guitar sounds, I used a clean Hiwatt model with a little verb here are some simple fingerpicking sounds.  There are 3 samples – recorded in order of neck, middle pickup selector position (out of phase) and bridge positions.

Next,  9 versions of a simple G major strum here with the same amp setting.  First is a strum in the neck position followed by a strum with the tone knob rolled off to about 50%, then with the tone knob rolled off all the way.  This order is repeated for both the middle pickup selector position and bridge pickup.  MP3 of that is here.

Next is more of a lead tone recorded with a Marshall amp model here is a solo lead tone in the neck position with tone rolled off about 50%.  MP3s can be heard here and here.  A few more of these samples can be found on the April online lesson where all the mps3 were done with this guitar.

Next is a guitar/drum duo.  The track ren can be found here. This was played on a LINE 6 Sparkle model.  The drums are the Jazz expansion set of EZ drummer.  Guitar part is fully improvised in kind of a Daniel Lanois type of mode and uses each of the pickup selections over the track.

Finally a short dirge/doom metal kind of track with a drop D guitar.  This was played through a LINE 6 Big Bottom  model.  The drums are the Drummer From Hell expansion set of EZ drummer.  Guitar part is full improvised – but uses the middle pickup selector position.  The mp3 can be found here.

A hallmark of truly great design is translucency.  A well designed guitar should just play, feel and sound great, and not draw attention to how it is done.  $1299 for a completely hand built guitar of this quality is nothing short of miraculous.  Additionally, FNH has another guitar model (The Beaumont), the Subsonic bass and an AMAZING electric mandolin based on a danelectro vibe the mandolectro.

FNH GUITARS

http://www.fnhguitars.com/