Guitars and Life

Bellowwho?  Is what many people seem to say to me when I mention them - well go find them out.  They are a large multi instrumental folk group.  However before all you rock fans turn away and ignore them - they are very rock sounding to me in their arrangements even if they don't have a traditional rock rhythm session - in fact the bass instrument of choice is brass - Helicon, Tuba or Sousaphone...  Most of the band are multi-instrumentalists too adding incredible range to the bands sounds.  The venue I thought would suit them well, the Winter Gardens is an old seaside dance hall/ theatre- very ornate big rectangle with the stage on one of the long sides, which was more suitable with a dance but not maybe a modern gig.  But what made it worse was the decision by someone for it to be all seated.  I've been to gigs there before when the "dance floor" is standing only.  Sadly this lack of dancing/jumping about meant the atmosphere was a little flatte...

Inspired by my friend Judy over at So Very Slightly Mad  here are some ideas for Christmas Gifts for the guitarist in your life. NOTE - the recommendations here are made purely on my experience I'm not being paid or otherwise reimbursed by any shop or manufacturer neither does my endorsement imply an exhaustive set of tests alongside competitor products... it is just my recommendation based on my experience, unless otherwise stated. Strings Seriously any guitarist with any kind of collection goes through so many sets of strings.  Find out what they use - or what they'd like to try.  We're a conservative bunch.  I had never tried coated strings but kept reading players raving about them that I respected.  I went to a guitar show in London and got a free set as part of a goody bag.  I'm sold!  Once I get through the box of old ones I'm moving to them on all my acoustics.  Not convinced yet on electrics but on acoustics I am sold big style. ...

Uriah Heep - The Outsider.   I've passed by Uriah Heep over the years. I remember really liking Conquest back about 1980 and there last album had some good stuff on it but... The Outsider the first one they've done since long standing bass player Trevor Bolder. I gave it a listen on Spotify - I found myself repeatedly playing it so when my sister gave me an Amazon voucher for my birthday I bought the CD... I'm an old Luddite and still love to have the CD in my grubby mits!  Just brilliant - great searing vocals, stomping drums and bass, super riffing guitar work and above it all a throbbing Hammond Organ! Yes part of the "Heep sound" since Ken Hensley was in the band and still brilliantly there front and centre. You can do what you like with synth patches and what have you but in great rock a Hammond just has such a great warm sound. The Opener Speed of Sound is a punchy jump to your feet rocker and that mode continues throughout. Is Anybody Gonna Help Me...

Now if you're going to do a cover, make it your own.  I was thinking this when I remember this stunning song I first heard on Unleashed in the East and bought my leather wrist band and headbanged along with the faithful at Hammersmith. Somewhat different from the original... That's how to do a cover... :-)

Here is the first appearance of the 12 string anywhere! Really I was just trying it out after a bit of fiddling with the nut etc. So - you'll hear all 7 sounds on a little motif from one of my songs (On Christmas Day) starting from bridge, then bridge and middle, middle, middle and neck, neck, neck and Bridge and all three on together.   Then a little noodle with me just playing about - middle position I think which I really like.  Direct into my little Boss BR-600 with a Roland JC clean amp patch.

I've completed the final assembly on the 12 string. First the string ferrules at the back. Then the Tuners... so many tuners! One minor mod, like all my electric guitars I've fitted this with Schaller strap locks - I've used these on everything for so many years now it is just a default for me. Final wiring up. Waiting for stringing. Fitting the string tree and getting it strung up was one of the most challenging and stressful bits of the build! Finally all strung up.  It plays!  The wiring mods all work.  It needs a lot of set up work, the g pair in particular are way out in intonation initially.  I need to look at the intonation, action, nut depths and adjust the pickups.   I'll let is settle for a day or so then have a slow look, might take one or two stabs I think.  Also I will finally restring with some better strings - those on it now came with the kit but I've bou...

The last installment in Ken Follett's "Century Trilogy".  This whole series has been about showing the history of the 20th Century through the lives of intertwined families in the UK, USA, Germany and Russia.  The story shows the rising of the Berlin Wall and the descent of the Iron Curtain and how that broke up families in Berlin.  A Kremlin insider who manages to maintain his career from Khrushchev to Gorbachev provides great insight into the workings of the Kremlin. This is a well researched and written book that covers the later part of the 20th century history expertly.  There is less emphasis on the UK this time around but no doubt due to the bigger story being the oppressive Soviet administration continuing to maintain its grip on power and the civil rights movement in the USA, the separation of Germany etc.  However that does miss a trick in telling the building of modern Britain with the NHS, university education opened for all in short the building o...

... they come along in packs. I was asked back to play at the Coach & Horses in Strood at the last minute this weekend.  Really nice to be asked even if it was because a scheduled act pulled out a the last minute.  But I got a longer set time on this occasion.  I must have had a premonition as only a couple of days earlier I'd restrung the 12 string acoustic so was ready to use that and the Yamaha for a full set.  It was quieter this time around, no doubt due to it being the predominant "fireworks night" of the year so I expect a lot of people were at events as we would have been if I hadn't had the call Friday night asking me to play.  I've also got a gig lined up early in December in Faversham supporting Wax Collector.  Looking forward to that one too.

I've finished the body.  A quick rub down with 0000 wire wool and then a polish with my old beeswax finishing wax. I've just test fitted the neck in these photos.  I'm going to leave it a few days for the finish to harden before starting to add hardware etc. Really pleased with how it is looking. One thing this kit (for the 12 string) was only available with a basswood body.  In retrospect I should have sanded it more with 250 grade paper prior to starting finishing maybe, or it maybe basswood is less "grainy".  Personally I'd prefer Ash which has a better grain pattern for me.  Pleased with the colour though