The only Dropkick Murphys I know is Rose Tattoo. I learned the mandolin part. I hadn't thought of electric mandolin on it though. Hmmmmm.
The only Dropkick Murphys I know is Rose Tattoo. I learned the mandolin part. I hadn't thought of electric mandolin on it though. Hmmmmm.
I think you could tackle any of the angry Irish (ish) bands. Pouges is another that comes to mind. Irish Rover maybe don’t forget to add a bit of pogoing whilst playing
I took the JBovier in for a proper set up by Jamie Swanell in Cambridge. Nut slots, bridge adjustment, intonation. He did a brilliant job. He turned a slightly frustrating little beastie into a proper instrument.
I used it in a recording session on Sunday (28 Jan). Ran it into the desk through a Boss tremolo unit. Lovely big 5 string chords Dm, Bb, C, and F.
Another reason to record e-mando: ya get the comfy chair in the control room rather than the drum throne in the studio.
Might need to resurrect the emando blog.
Daniel
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Last edited by Mandolin Cafe; Jul-09-2018 at 8:15am. Reason: spam
Ahh, I see we have been infiltrated by a spammer. No matter, it gives me the opportunity to update things.
I have continued the recording process and have been leaning ever more frequently on my EMC-5. We have run it through the desk, as above, and more recently have run it through a 70s Fender Champ.
I have never been fond of the stock pick-ups in this instrument, they have always been too smooth Like a Les Paul that never quite overdrives the amp. But recently I have tried some different amps/amplifying electronics. The Fender Champ is nice. I have made use of a stomp box I bought a while ago but have failed to use well, an origin effects SlideRig. Finally I have got myself a Vox AC-30 headphone amp.
I need to stop using the Boss pedal board. The power unit is too weak. I lose top end when more than one box is plugged into it. Makes it all a bit eh.
The SlideRig is brilliant. Think of Lowell George's sound and you've got it. It's a pair of preamp/compression units that work as a pair.
The Vox headphone amp is a revelation! I love the tone I am getting. (yeah OK the effects it carries are rubbish, but who cares!) I spend hours into the night with my 5 string in my lap and my ear buds in. This little thing gives a bit more bite than the Fender. I'm hearing a bit of Keith Richards's McCawber Tele.
I've recorded 5 songs for a new CD and this EMC-5 is on 4 of them. Mixing and mastering may be a bit difficult unless I get some of it on that 5th one!
So how do I square this new obsession with the fact that I am booked as a folkie? All I am saying right now is G5, and I'll keep you posted.
Daniel
To kill three birds with one stone; (first back to your original post), I took my '72 Champ to get it looked over and serviced a year or so ago as I hadn't used it in years and the tech threw his hannds up in horror when he discovered it was a US version designed to run on 115 volts. He then discovered that somebody had changed the transformer - before I bought it back in the 70s. I suspect that the modification has done something else as I can't believe that the sound I get is only 5 Watts.
I originally got the thing out again when I bought an electric guitar. Crank that up half way and it didn't distort it just sounded as though the speaker cone was ripped. I've since replaced the speaker with one from Watford Valves and it's now fine - just loud!
Second, I've just put all my pedals onto one new board and these are being driven by a Voodo Labs power supply and they're fine.
Finally, as I've said elsewhere, I've just bought an Almuse pickup for my Mandostrat - the original just didn't cut it with the Champ. I found a spare half hour to fit it last week and it already sounds better than the original although I havn't tried it straight into the Champ as yet or even had chance to adjust the pole pieces - I think a new set of strings are called for first!
Howdy all,
I have been concentrating lately on both the JBovier and my new to me Arrow (Paul Lestock) G5.
The Arrow has a longer scale length than the JBovier, which makes playing up around the 12th fret a lot more comfortable. I gave it studio time a few weeks ago by putting a solo on an original song I was recording at Saltwell Studio.
I haven't gigged with the Arrow yet, but I am in rehearsals with a new guitar player here in northern France (I moved in August) and making more use of it.
Next studio session is 17 November, back in the UK. I'm planning on recording a waltz I'm still in the middle of writing. The Arrow will feature on it.
Also, just for kicks, been teaching myself Apache from recordings by Hank Marvin and the Shadows.
Daniel
Daniel, you have just named the group who were the biggest inspiration of my young teens. As soon as a new Shadows single came out, we would buy the 45 record, head for the nearest record player and start to learn the tune on our acoustic guitars (no electrics then, and in fact I believe it was Cliff Richard who bought the red Strat Hank played and brought it in from the states for him). I had all the Shadows numbers off and still perform them on rare occasions as a change from my usual Scottish repertoire, though I play them all on my Strat now.
Never really thought about playing them on mandolin before, so you have given me food for thought. Back in the early 60s sheet music was not available in the way it is today (no internet to browse or apps to slow down tunes, etc) and any music we managed to get was always written for piano, so learning the tunes was a labour of love. My other great guitar hero at the time was Bert Weedon, who wrote the tutor book "Play in a Day - Guide to Modern Guitar playing"
Thanks for re-awakening this phase of my life!
I'm playing all the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order. - Eric Morecambe
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheOldBores
Hi John,
Happy to be of service!
You may or may not know that Bert Weedon recorded Apache before Hank and the Shadows did!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSh9ET2xKOE
To be fair, I'm doing Apache on what is essentially a mandola (CGDA). I don't get to the e string on my 5 string emando when I play it. This is because it's hard to get enough punch in the tone without using the octave that includes the C string. And even then there's still one note Hank hits (an open A on the guitar) that I just don't have.
Have fun!
Daniel
Out of curiosity, what strings are you using for amped up mandolin? I’ve got an 8 string F type with a Charlie Christian pickup, and I’m working on a Tele-shape mandocaster 8 string refurb...curious to know what would work best with the pickups.
I use Newtone steels on mine. But they’re UK based which, depending on where you’re located, may make shipping expensive
I’m in the U.K. too, so I’ll check them out! Cheers for the tip!
Happy to help
Good Morning Jennings,
For the Arrow and the JBovier I buy single strings 5 or 10 at a time form Strings Direct. (Or I did until I moved the France. Not sure I can still use them!) Gauges 56, 42, 24w, 16, 10 for both. Though the JBovier has a slightly shorted scale length and could use maybe a 52 at the bottom end. I would prefer D'Addarios, but Strings Direct send Ernie Balls, which work fine.
best,
Daniel
Hi mandroid,
Both the UK and the EU go with 240v alternating current. So all I need to change things is the proper adapter. Some UK plugs have fuses in them, but not all. I do have a 45w transformer, bought in the UK, to allow my amp, which was designed for the US market, to function in this electrical environment. And it works great.
These are the types of problems you run into when living permanently in 3 different countries! I really hope we're settled for good. It will give me a chance to learn French properly.
best,
Daniel
Parisian French as I recall (reportedly)has more status than rural french,
as the Parisiennes will demonstrate..
then, there's PQ French and southern Belgium
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walloons
Lovely countryside , passed through on a bicycle tour in 1991..
...
writing about music
is like dancing,
about architecture
I'm back from spending three hours practicing/rehearsing in Laon.
I have to plug in when I go there. The other bands are all electric. No way in hell not to hear them just down the hall. The doors are an afterthought in this place.
As an experiment, I took only instruments with passive electromagnetic pickups: My Squier Tele, the JBovier, and the Arrow in the photo above. But I also took my Orchid Electronics Preamp.
I started on the Tele and really enjoyed playing guitar for a while. Big fat tones on the neck pickup (it's a stacked humbucker). I 'm using 10s right now. Might bump that up to 11s, I hardly bend anything anymore. (I gotta remember to put the bridge pick up back in it.)
I ran the Arrow into my little Marshall, and then ran that into the PA via the line out. OK. Nice big sound. All the adjustments I can dial on the Marshall. Not bad.
Then I ran the Arrow through the Orchid into the PA directly. ooo... Much rounder tones. The a and e strings sounded fatter. Kind of like a JC 120 without the chorus. Dialed in a little reverb. Very nice. I think this'll be my rig unless the room lacks a PA.
I'm still developing the muscle memory for the chords. But I made progress tonight. I got through several songs without reaching wrong position.
Also trying out rhythmic and right hand techniques. This ain't a mandola, and it ain't a mandolin. So I can't simply use the same RH techniques. Comping rather than chopping. Being OK with muted chords.
Fiddle tunes sound way different. I'm trying to get a Chet Atkins feel rather than a Sam Bush feel. So playing a tiny bit behind the beat, using a bit of rubato, etc. It's getting there...
Daniel
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