Guitarist of the Day: Jonathon Grasse on Surrealestate's Lacunae (Acoustic Levitation)

 

Guitarist of the Day: Jonathon Grasse on Surrealestate's Lacunae (Acoustic Levitation)

 

In the track I Still Dream of Nana, whispering, as a musical-dramatical device, has the effect of drawing the listener into the sound world created by guitarist Jonathon Grasse and the LA-based group Surrealestate on their new release Lacunae on the Acoustic Levitation label.

Grasse is an imaginative and oh-so patient player. He treats the Stratocaster like an alto or soprano instrument, coaxing the most delicate, yet complete, sounds and overtones in what can sometimes be the harshest range of the electric guitar. I’ve always admired this unique aspect of his playing. By the time he shifts into the instrument’s lower ranges, you’ve almost forgotten that the instrument has lows (and this is just part of Grasse’s afore-mentioned patience). In I Still Dream of Nana, he shifts between tonal and non-tempered sounds, and employs articulations that alternately remind me of a koto, gongs and bells, environmental, and imaginary spatial sounds. The recording preserves the nuances of the microstructures that Grasse constructs/releases. Throughout the CD, Grasse draws your attention to his uncluttered yet timbrally loaded guitar gestures. His career as a composer definitely informs his guitar playing. No shredding here, just music through masterful playing…thank goodness.

The title of the album (Lacunae) is perfect for this track, as a metaphor for a (spiritual) space previously unexamined, omitted, or unthought. Grasse’s playing is well suited to the ensemble that includes Charles Sharp on percussion and little instruments, David Martinelli on drum set, Jeff Schwartz on bass. Ken Luey on flute/clarinet/tenor sax, and Bruce Friedman on trumpet. 

LA keeps coming up as an expanding place for new and inventive music and as a home to practitioners of the highest quality. Hopefully, Surrealestate's Lacunae, and Grasse’s contribution to it, will get the attention it deserves. This is music beyond category and well worth a listen.

-Amigo

Jonathan's website
 

Available for purchase/listen at iTunes
 

Guitar Technique of the Day: Plateaus and habits

An interesting problem of late. Some very simple possibilities/variations are escaping my notice and don't show up in improvisations. I think I've become too accustomed to my habits, so I have to start transcribing and copying other guitarists again. Also, setting limits helps. For example, using just the 1st and 2nd finger of the left hand on the fretboard, and, relatedly, playing across the fretboard more (Django did this a lot, as do sitarists of the Ravi Shankar school). I was watching some old George Benson videos and noticed that, in spite of using all four left hand fingers, he often uses just the first, second, and third, omitting the fourth. This enables a great kind of slower to medium-fast phrasing and can make smaller riffs and lines more interesting. Plateaus are tough to get out of, but I'm hoping to move past this one soon. It's weird-having practiced so much that certain basic things fall out of your purview. Who ever heard of practicing too much? :)

Please vote for "A Beautiful Life" in GC Keith Urban contest.

Please vote for "A Beautiful Life" in GC Keith Urban contest. I could use the millions. Heck, I could use the hundreds.

Guitar Technique of the Day: "natural" electric guitar latency

 

I recently had the realization that an essential difference between the response of an acoustic and electric guitar is, regarding the latter, I can hear/feel the micro-delay between the acoustic pluck and the response of the amplifier speaker at the end of the line. I've never read or heard about this phenomenon, and was quite shocked to stumble upon it.

I  thought that electricity travels at the speed of light, but according to Bill Beatty, the speed of electricity is dependent on the value of the current; the lower the current, the slower the speed. If this is true, the small milliamp AC outputs of guitar pickups indeed conduct slowly relative to higher current values. But Beatty still doesn't give speeds.

see: http://amasci.com/miscon/speed.html

I'm not that interested in the final scientific resolution of this question, but I am psyched that my ear/touch have gotten sensitive enough that I can hear/feel differences. If I'm not imagining it, then the sensitivity and complexity of the human architecture continues to amaze me. I believe this insight will yield major benefits in my electric guitaring.

Any thoughts, equations, negations?

Tube Amp Reference Books/Videos

 

There's nothing like getting your hands dirty in electronics to realize the true potential of the AC signal/Voltage that is your sound.

A guy named Wayne Reno compiled this list. Thanks Wayne.

1. “How To Service Your Own Tube Amp” (book and video) by Tom Mitchell – If you only buy one, this is it, in my humble opinion.

2. "The Guitar Amp Handbook: Understanding Amplifiers and Getting Great Sounds" by Dave Hunter - An excellent introductory treatise to the world of guitar amplification. Very readable and he does a great job of making the concepts understandable. Highly recommended.

3. “Video 1 - Tube Amp Basics for the Guitarist” by Gerald Weber – I found Gerald’s videos and the one above by Tom Mitchell very, very helpful. It’s great to be able to see and hear about tube amp circuits instead of just reading about them.

4. “Video 2 - Basic Tube Guitar Amp Overhaul and Servicing” by Gerald Weber

5. “Video 3 - Advanced Tube Guitar Amp Overhaul and Servicing” by Gerald Weber

6. “A Desktop Reference Of Hip Vintage Guitar Amps” by Gerald Weber – Lots of good info and schematics

7. “Tube Amp Talk For The Guitarist And Tech” by Gerald Weber – more good info. Check out “The Trainwreck Pages”

8. "Tube Guitar Amplifier Essentials" by Gerald Weber - The latest in his series of books.

9. “The Ultimate Tone – Volumes 1 and 2” by Kevin O’Connor

10. “The Tube Amp Book” by Aspen Pittman of Groove Tubes

11. “Tube Amp Workbook” by Dave Funk

12. “Audio Cyclopedia – First Edition” by Howard Tremaine – The bible, with everything knowable about tube circuits. Very technical. Make sure to get the First Edition since after this one a lot of the tube circuits were dropped in favor of solid-state. I bought mine used on eBay and it wasn’t cheap.

13. “RCA Receiving Tube Manual”

14. “General Electric Essential Characteristics”

15. “Tube Substitution Handbook” by Howard Sams

16. “The Fender Amp Book” by John Morrish – a small book with the Fender models and specs on each

17. “The Amp Book” by Donald Brosnac – an introductory treatment

18. “Amps! The Other Half Of Rock ‘N’ Roll” by Ritchie Fliegler – a good history of tube amps with lots of photos

19. “The Complete Guide To Guitar And Amp Maintenance” by Ritchie Fliegler – good practical advise but not very detailed

20. “Fender Amps. The First Fifty Years” by John Teagle and John Sprung – good history of all of Fender’s amps with photos

21. “The Fender Inside Story” by Forrest White – an insiders view of the history of Fender

22. “Marshall. The Illustrated Story Of The Sound Of Rock” by Michael Doyle

23. “Ampeg. The Story Behind The Sound” by Gregg Hopkins and Bill Moore

24. “Blue Book Of Guitar Amplifiers” by Zachary Fjestad – Specs on many brands of amps and what they are selling for now

Zen Posts

Music as THE vehicle, not as A vehicle for something else like ambition, ego, or power. This is an especially delicate point for (mostly male) guitarists. Perhaps amateurs are closer to the truth of why we started playing the guitar in the first place: so we could make music. The guitar is an instrument/tool for our creativity, not the locus of it.

zen posts

Don't let you eyes fool your ears, grasshoppers. Close the eyes, listen and focus. Inhabit the now and the near future simultaneously. Don't play if you don't hear anything.

Zen Posts

1. Play THROUGH the strings, like a conguero plays through the drum skin/head.
2. There are no strings, thus no resistance.
3. Minimum effort, maximum sound.