Little Sadie (NMC)

[Mark Gunter]

Got a couple new picks and a new capo in the mail today, and they sounded good to me on a new (cheap) guitar I bought last month, so I recorded this tune and made a collage video as a backdrop to include the lyrics. It's a little macabre, I know, I'm a sucker for murder ballads.

Lyrics:
"Hacks and buggies" - a hack is a type of horse drawn carriage; that use of the word is archaic now for the most part.
"standin' on a corner readin' a bill" - this refers to a handbill, probably a 'wanted poster'



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffBszfoI1hs

[Bertram Henze]

What do you mean, ball and stripes - no death sentence?

[Roger Adams]

One of my favorites old ballads. Nice job. That little Gretsch sounds great!

[Drew Egerton]

nice job Mark! Always one of my favorite killin songs. Sounds great!

[CES]

Very nice, Mark! Amazing how good some of the less expensive flattops out right now (Gretsch, Recording King, and Seagull come to mind) are sounding. I’ve just downsized, otherwise I would have come home with a smaller bodied Recording King I played about 2 weeks ago...

[Mark Gunter]

Very nice, Mark! Amazing how good some of the less expensive flattops out right now (Gretsch, Recording King, and Seagull come to mind) are sounding. I’ve just downsized, otherwise I would have come home with a smaller bodied Recording King I played about 2 weeks ago...

I played a Yamaha 12 string yesterday at the music store that had a killer tone, perfect action, very nice grade AAA spruce top, near perfect fit and finish with bound fret board, etc. for $325 - hard to believe some of the stuff coming out of the Pacific rim right now.

[John Kelly]

Great performance, Mark. I liked the contrast between the pace and brightness of the playing and singing and the gruesome subject matter of the ballad.

[Jim Armstrong]

Great sound and video! Thanks for getting my Friday off to a good start.

[Mark Gunter]

Your comments are much appreciated, thanks guys.

[Mark Wilson]

That's a pretty neat video composition. Well done on the tune. What key was that? I've played it in Dm

[MissingString]

Love playing that song on clawhammer banjo. Easy but powerful.
Great version Mark! Thanks for posting this.

[Mark Gunter]

That's a pretty neat video composition. Well done on the tune. What key was that? I've played it in Dm

I've played this for years in Dm, Mark, but that day I left the capo on and played it in Em.

There are numerous songs I love to play capoed at 2, mostly in C (D), but I absolutely hate capos. I just got a Planet Waves NS capo in the mail on the recommendation of Chris Bowsman, and it works better than all my others so far.

One thing I particularly hate about capos even when they work is that they tend to interfere with my index finger knuckle when I play an F shape chord with thumb on bass, and it's a necessary chord shape for stuff I play. I think I might be able to adjust to this capo, though. On this Gretsch, the nut has sharp corners that also cause trouble with that chord, so I have to do a bit of work on it to round those over.

Another problem with this Gretsch was the dead flat finish on the neck, it felt a bit "abrasive" and just felt bad to my hand. I scuffed it with 400 grit paper and feels like a dream now.

[Don Grieser]

Sounds great, Mark. Thanks for posting.