| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| markwitz |
Posted - 03/20/2010 : 07:07:45 AM
I'm not a musician so pardon the dumb question. I was looking at a video today of someone playing a slack key song. He was doing a good job except for the fact that he had lots of very loud string squeaks. I have noticed that some guitar players seem to have a lot while others have virtually none. Someone please educate me on this. |
| 15 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| chip |
Posted - 08/01/2010 : 8:11:50 PM
I always throw away the wound G string & use a non wound G that has helped me alot. Chip |
| Haolenuke |
Posted - 04/06/2010 : 7:54:21 PM
Aloha,
Does anyone have any experience with the the D'Addario phosphor bronze wound flat tops? The strings are supposedly polished after winding to yield a string less prone to string noise. |
| rendesvous1840 |
Posted - 03/30/2010 : 5:02:03 PM
I must be thinking of ukulele, I forgot about the bass strings!
Unko Paul |
| slipry1 |
Posted - 03/29/2010 : 2:03:49 PM
I have LP's of Segovia and sundry Flamenco guitarists dating as early as the late 50's, and, I tell you, squeaks are heard. |
| Earl |
Posted - 03/29/2010 : 08:18:06 AM
Ah, but remember that there are wound strings on a classical guitar too. Only two or sometimes three of the strings are smooth nylon. |
| rendesvous1840 |
Posted - 03/26/2010 : 09:44:02 AM
Miss steak is when I eat chicken-I miss the steak!
Seems like the classical guitars wouldn't squeak too much anyhow, nylon strings seem a lot less prone to it.
Unko Paul |
| Earl |
Posted - 03/26/2010 : 05:31:34 AM
I remember recently reading an interview with a classical guitar player who disliked the squeaks captured during recording. He kept a bowl of water and small towel nearby. Dip the fingers briefly, then dry them, then hit record. There is enough softening of the skin to lessen squeaks.
|
| wcerto |
Posted - 03/26/2010 : 03:00:58 AM
But Ozzie's two cents are priceless. Way more than two cents. |
| Ozzie |
Posted - 03/25/2010 : 7:58:36 PM
When I started recording, and squeaks bothered me, I was told squeaks are an accepted acoustic sound - I've listened to some of the greatest slack key players and they squeaked on their recordings too. I know I've squeaked but I don't consider myself to be in the same category of those I listened to and learned from so it was reassuring in a way.
I like Elixir Nanoweb now - I used to hate coated strings because they felt so slippery and had a different sound in my opinion. Now, I like them and they last longer - also more pricey but I think worth it.
I think I went to nylon a long time ago to explore that issue too - which led me to play on a classical (and I still do now and then). Different texturally and not as easy to chime but still sweet to me and a lot less squeaks!
I squeak mostly on my lower wound strings - like the intro to Ke Anuenue - ouch. Some of the early players used flat wound electric guitar strings to avoid the squeaks but I don't know what sort of tension is involved on the acoustic guitar neck - I've never tried that. The only other way is to lift instead of sliding but you lose the smoothness and essence of "nahenahe" which is so dear to slack key.
Anyway, that's my two cents.
Aloha!
Ozzie |
| Retro |
Posted - 03/25/2010 : 2:33:31 PM
quote:
Originally posted by slkho
...mistakes?!!! what's a mistake?
Don't you mean "misteak"?
(Don't mention it.) |
| slkho |
Posted - 03/25/2010 : 1:01:03 PM
...mistakes?!!! what's a mistake?
~slkho |
| Retro |
Posted - 03/25/2010 : 12:41:34 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Mika ele
We were watching American Idol last night (yeah, I know, but ya gotta do some things to maintain family harmony) and my daughter tells me there is new software that ensures voices are on pitch when they sing. It has been used in many recordings and, she says, it is even being used in live performance. In my opinion, it makes something that it is not.
Antares AutoTune. Clever as an effect (listen to "Windward Skies" by Ten Feet or "Believe" by Cher to get the effect), but really annoying (to my ears) in live performance. Many of the acts at the Grammys used it this year.
There's already been a backlash against its use in the industry, for the past five years or so, leading some artists to put a note on their recordings to the effect that no auto-correcting software has been applied to the vocals on their album.
This is another example of a technology developed with a different purpose in mind - it was designed by a guy at Exxon who was working on ways to interpret seismic information. |
| rendesvous1840 |
Posted - 03/25/2010 : 10:02:28 AM
If I ever get to the point where I don't make any mistakes, I'll probably forget the words!
Unko Paul |
| Mika ele |
Posted - 03/25/2010 : 08:16:01 AM
We were watching American Idol last night (yeah, I know, but ya gotta do some things to maintain family harmony) and my daughter tells me there is new software that ensures voices are on pitch when they sing. It has been used in many recordings and, she says, it is even being used in live performance. In my opinion, it makes something that it is not.
The best thing about live performance is to be able to hear all those imperfections that convince us that THIS IS REAL; it is tangible. Should you try to minimize your mistakes? Of course, yes. But the "additional sounds" convince us all that the person playing is not a robot and is human -- that is what we appreciate. When we hear fewer mistakes we are convinced that the artist is a master at his/her craft -- but we still expect them to be human. |
| garson |
Posted - 03/24/2010 : 5:20:52 PM
When I started out I hated squeeks, so I tried sanding down wound strings. (Just wrap fine sandpaper around the string and run it back and forth along the whole length 10 to 15 times.) It works. You have to be careful to do this evenly because otherwise the string can go out of tune with itself.
But now I don't bother. First, playing a lot has the same effect, so why not sand e'm with your fingertips? Second, you get nice shiny calluses that way that help you glide better. Third you can use a more fluid motion on slides. Slides can be a lot slower than you think and still sound good. On Hawaiian time, a slide squeeks less. Fourth, I just don't care. Fifth, I just don't hear them anymore anyway, even when they are there. Sixth I would probably miss them if they were gone. |
