Pedalling Nowhere

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VikingBlues
Posts: 4466
Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2010 7:44 pm

Pedalling Nowhere

Post by VikingBlues »

I thought I'd try an experiment.

There was a thread on an acoustic guitar forum I'm on which asked about what pedals we used when playing acoustic guitar.

Which in my case was, in essence none, as I prefer the sound of an acoustic recorded by microphones in it's natural state.

But I got to wondering about the idea, so I planted a TC Electronic Flashback Delay pedal in front of my Fishman Loudbox Mini amp and dialled in some of the amps reverb and chorus and added a little bit of compression in the recording software. Given my Giltrap signature acoustic guitar has a Fishman Presys Blend system which has an onboard microphone as well as an undersaddle piezo pickup I was encouraged to also try out some percussive guitar body technique. Oh Dear!

I only hit it gently though - I don't like to be cruel to one of my best friends.

So after 15 minutes of noodling and experimenting I plugged the amp direct into my PC interface and hit record. First and only take, one guitar only. Probably about 4 1/2 minutes too long and all I can be sure of is that it is different to my usual! :icon_whoknows: Here's the link to Box.com:-

guitar_fire:: https://app.box.com/s/tj6aeq5o5grbezssr9ivmj8criahy9sx : "Pedalling Nowhere" :yikes:
An improv a day keeps the demons at bay!
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losaavedra
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Re: Pedalling Nowhere

Post by losaavedra »

Very interesting sound you have there, I like your acoustic posts. The percussion adds to the effect too although if I was to try something similar I'd avoid guitar tapping and use something like a cajon which can produce a bit more bass end if mic'd from the hole in the back. Great stuff though.
Mike
"I feel more like I do now than when I first came on" (Ronnie Scott, Maidstone)
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VikingBlues
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Re: Pedalling Nowhere

Post by VikingBlues »

losaavedra wrote:Very interesting sound you have there, I like your acoustic posts. The percussion adds to the effect too although if I was to try something similar I'd avoid guitar tapping and use something like a cajon which can produce a bit more bass end if mic'd from the hole in the back. Great stuff though.
Glad you liked it thanks! :thumbsup:

I remember looking at the possibility of a Cajon some time back, but somehow never got around to it.

One plus to me in this recorded exercise about using guitar tapping was that it allowed me to do the whole thing live in one take. It was quite fun playing a note sequence and then while that was repeating on the delay I could react to it with percussive sounds, and then react to those percussive sounds with more notes etc. So it was a bit like I was always playing along with another player whichever part I was playing.

Though it did take some concentration to keep it going. You'll notice a lapse or several through the piece. :roll:

Quite nice to do something different to my usual. :D
An improv a day keeps the demons at bay!
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tytlblues
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Re: Pedalling Nowhere

Post by tytlblues »

Hello Mark, how are you? This is quite nice! Nothing wrong with expanding the sound of the acoustic......I think it gives a warm, and full sound. Really like this track.....well developed, and beautiful sound! Tom
Tytlblues

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VikingBlues
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Re: Pedalling Nowhere

Post by VikingBlues »

Thanks Tom :D - sorry been very busy and I've not been able to visit the forum.

I had wondered about trying to develop this idea into a few other pieces but as yet no inspiration has struck - I don't want to just repeat what I've already done. :think:
An improv a day keeps the demons at bay!
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