2
Flatpicking Guitar Magazine July/August 2006 76 Orrin Star’s Flatpicking Guitar Primer What The Tab Won’t Tell You A comprehensive introduction to bluegrass lead guitar playing by one of Americaʼs top flatpicking teachers, this video brings to light vital, yet often overlooked, subtleties that are at the heart of this exciting style—those things that the tablature wonʼt tell you. Among them: • how to think like a fiddler and get the “dance pulse” into your playing • the central role of strums in lead playing (as applied to Carter-style and Blake-style) • right hand fundamentals like: how to properly alternate your pick, how to modify your right hand technique when strumming, performing double-stops, and rest strokes • the role of double-stops and harmonized leads • using lyrics & singing styles to guide your solos Starting with a simple scale and then progressing through eight cool arrangments of classic tunes, this 2-hour video doesnʼt just spoon feed you solos—it provides a systematic guide to the thinking behind and within the style. Call 800-413-8296 to Order $24.95 Our Best Selling Flatpicking DVD! Now Available on DVD! Gear Reviews The Planet Waves NS Capo When it comes to capos there are a lot of choices on the market. We have reviewed a dozen different capos in FGM over the past ten years, but Iʼd have to say that the new NS (Ned Steinberger design) capo from Planet Waves is one of the most functionable designs that Iʼve seen. It is also very reasonably priced for its quality and design. The capo is made of aerospace aluminum and thus is one of the lightest capos that you will ever use. The clamping mechanism is controlled by a smooth micrometer screw and is very easy to employ, in fact, it can be loosened and retightened with one hand. The screw threads are very small, which allows for small adjustments. These small adjustments make it possible to clamp down on the strings to a sufficient degree without pulling the string out of tune as typically happens with capos that clamp down too hard. I am also able to keep this capo clamped onto the nut of the guitar while it is not in use, which allows for easy access during a jam session or show. Keeping the capo clamped on the nut when Iʼm not playing the guitar also adds the advantage of always knowing where the capo is located. No more digging around for the capo while someone else has already kicked off the tune. The sleek and lightweight design of the NS Capo is such that you hardly notice it is there. It does not interfere with my left hand movements and it does not look bulky or cumbersome on the neck. The suggested retail price of this capo is $24.95, however, a quick search of the internet revealed the “street price” to be as low as $15.00. To be able to get a capo of this quality for anywhere under $20 is a great deal. The Planet Waves Ratchet Capo For those players who have a hard time holding onto a capo, and thus do not like spending much money for one, the Planet Waves Ratchet capo may be the perfect way to go. This is a sleekly designed, light weight, easy to use capo that is available on the internet for right about $9.00. Much smaller and lighter weight than any other capo in its price range, the Ratchet can be clamped onto the nut when not in use. Although this capo is not as finely adjustable or durable as the higher priced NS capo, it is still a good design and works well. The bottom part of the device is pushed upward and locks in a manner similar to the “zip-tie.” A quick-release lever unlocks the capo. The $9.00 street price makes it the perfect capo for those players who have a habit of leaving their capos at the gig or jam session.

Flatpicking Guitar, July 2006

Embed Size (px)

Citation preview

Page 1: Flatpicking Guitar, July 2006

Flatpicking Guitar Magazine July/August 200676 Flatpicking Guitar Magazine July/August 2006 77

Orrin Star’sFlatpicking Guitar Primer

What The Tab Won’t Tell YouA comprehensive introduction to bluegrass lead guitar playing by one of Americaʼs top flatpicking teachers, this video brings to light vital, yet often overlooked, subtleties that are at the heart of this exciting style—those things that the tablature wonʼt tell you. Among them:

• how to think like a fiddler and get the “dance pulse” into your playing • the central role of strums in lead playing (as applied to Carter-style and Blake-style) • right hand fundamentals like: how to properly alternate your pick, how to modify your right hand technique when strumming, performing double-stops, and rest strokes • the role of double-stops and harmonized leads • using lyrics & singing styles to guide your solos

Starting with a simple scale and then progressing through eight cool arrangments of classic tunes, this 2-hour video doesnʼt just spoon feed you solos—it provides a systematic guide to the thinking behind and within the style.

Call 800-413-8296 to Order $24.95

Our

Best Selling

Flatpicking

DVD!

Now Available on DVD!

Gear Reviews

The Planet Waves NS Capo

When it comes to capos there are a lot of choices on the market. We have reviewed a dozen different capos in FGM over the past ten years, but Iʼd have to say that the new NS (Ned Steinberger design) capo from Planet Waves is one of the most functionable designs that Iʼve seen. It is also very reasonably priced for its quality and design. The capo is made of aerospace aluminum and thus is one of the lightest capos that you will ever use. The clamping mechanism is controlled by a smooth micrometer screw and is very easy to employ, in fact, it can be loosened and retightened with one hand. The screw threads are

very small, which allows for small adjustments. These small adjustments make it possible to clamp down on the strings to a sufficient degree without pulling the string out of tune as typically happens with capos that clamp down too hard. I am also able to keep this capo clamped onto the nut of the guitar while it is not in use, which allows for easy access during a jam session or show. Keeping the capo clamped on the nut when Iʼm not playing the guitar also adds the advantage of always knowing where the capo is located. No more digging around for the capo while someone else has already kicked off the tune. The sleek and lightweight design of the NS Capo is such that you hardly notice it is there. It does not interfere with my left hand movements and it does not look bulky or cumbersome on the neck. The suggested retail price of this capo is $24.95, however, a quick search of the internet revealed the “street price” to be as low as $15.00. To be able to get a capo of this quality for anywhere under $20 is a great deal.

The Planet Waves Ratchet Capo

For those players who have a hard time holding onto a capo, and thus do not like spending much money for one, the Planet Waves Ratchet capo may be the perfect way to go. This is a sleekly designed, light weight, easy to use capo that is available on the internet for right about $9.00. Much smaller and lighter weight than any other capo in its price range, the Ratchet can be clamped onto the nut when not in use. Although this capo is not as finely adjustable or durable as the higher priced NS capo, it is still a good design and works well. The bottom part of the device is pushed upward and locks in a manner similar to the “zip-tie.” A quick-release lever unlocks the capo. The $9.00 street price makes it the perfect capo for those players who have a habit of leaving their capos at the gig or jam session.

AngelaM
Typewritten Text
As seen in Flatpicking Guitar, July 2006
Page 2: Flatpicking Guitar, July 2006

Flatpicking Guitar Magazine July/August 200676 Flatpicking Guitar Magazine July/August 2006 77

���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������

������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������

� �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������

� ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ��������������

��������������������������������������������

�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������

�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������

��������������������������������������������

�������������������������������������������������������������� �������������������������������������������������������������

� ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������

���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������

������������������������������������� ������

�������������������������������������������������

������������������������������ ����������������� ��������������������������������������������

������������������������������������������ ���������������������������������� �������������������������������������� ��������������

��������������������������������������������������������������������������������

�������������������������

������������������������������������������������������

The Planet Waves Chromatic Pedal Tuner

While acoustic guitar players, especially those in the bluegrass world, are not very accustom to the use of floor pedals when playing their instrument, the new Planet Waves chromatic pedal tuner is one pedal that I feel in love with recently. I played a series of gigs and kept my instrument plugged into this tuner all night. It was so nice to be able to press the pedal, look

down at the large brightly lit note indicator and strobe display, and casually check my tuning without the audience really even being aware of what I was doing. If you have a pick-up in your guitar, I highly recommend this product. The rugged stomp-box design allows you to easily turn the tuner on and off with your foot. There are two tuning modes, a strobe mode and a sweep mode. In the strobe mode the note appears in green on an oversized rotary display while red LEDs chase clockwise if youʼre sharp and counter-clockwise if you are flat. As you zero in on the correct pitch, they slow down and finally stop. In the sweep mode, the LEDs sweep left or right indicating whether your pitch is sharp or flat. A large note indicator in the center of the display indicates the note pitch and is large enough to be very legible when sitting or standing. If you are plugged into an amp, the signal can be muted while tuning, or can bypass the mute function and remain connected to the amplifier. The bypass function does not degrade or change the instrument tone in any way. The tuner also includes a calibration

mode and can be calibrated between A435 and A445 (the default pitch is A440). The tuner runs on either a 9V battery or a 9V 300mA power adapter. Two DC power jacks allow for easy daisy-chaining to power additional pedals. I have used a lot of tuners over the years and with the use of this pedal tuner, tuning my instrument while Iʼm at home, or playing out has never been so easy. I found the tuner to be sensitive and accurate across all of the strings. I even used it to tune my upright bass. While most tuners have trouble with the low E string on the upright bass, this tuner picked up the pitch with no problem at all. While this might not be the tuner you bring along to the parking lot or campground picking session, at home or one stage I have found it to be the one I turn to every time. The street price on this tuner is around $80.