EuroAussie

Ill add to that as my Aaron Lewis SJ was also built during this exact period ...

In terms of gage I like both 12's and 13's and regularly switch them on mine. I like the extra growl I get with 13's but I also like the honey drip from the 12's. Right now Im using 12's and will probablyl stick with them for a while. In terms of strings, Im a big fan of DR Sunbeams on mahogany. But I found them a bit too mellow for the Bird' and also I found the Bird' likes relatively fresh strings, with still a decent abount of zing. So I use EXP PB 12's as they are a bit more brighter than the Sunbeams and retain their zing longer, which is important on the low EA strings, for me at least.

Wow, great vocals, good work. Hard to judge the real tone of the guitar through this recording. Sounds a little tight from being new, I always found maple needs some time to warm up and open up. She will sound awesome in a few years.

Very cool indeed ! That looks like one heluva played in J-45, great tone.

What a pleasent surprise ! I was literally listening to Aaron's EP this morning before going to work, my favourite piece of music right now. Very well played, the SWD sounds great, really good clarity and warmth, lovelly. What strings are you using btw if I make ask, and how old were they ? Ive been trying to have a go at country boy but came to the conclusion i just dont have the vocal depth to give AL justice. Put it in the cupboard for now, maybe a bit later. Thanks for sharing, enjoyed it very much !

Nice work Lefty! I think youre doing just fine and that J-45 sounds great for bluegrass. Im just getting into bluegreass patterns myself and I know what you mean, but the key is to getting it rights is definitely starting slower and clean and then pickup the pace once you have the confidence. I found bluegrass to be fantastic training to getting a steady, right rhythm going, in addition to all the cool bass runs which also is really good practice. I foudn this training really helped me with playing more 'modern' tunes that we play out. thanks for sharing !

So last night .... we had our return gig at the Hard Rock Cafe in Prague after a break of a couple months. Naturally it was great to be back at this uber cool venue with an appreciative audience. We recorded the show and I though I'd post a couple of the tracks. We've been learning some tracks that have a funky rhythm basis as these tracks really work in large venues, with a strong upbeat feel. First on is Last Night by The Strokes which combines a really clever use of octaves and funk rhtythm (not to mention a wacky solo). Second track was voted by NME magazine as one of the best tracks of the last 20 years, Take Me Out by Franz Ferdinand. Its a really well structured track as it has a killer driving bass line before moving into a sing along funk rhythm. As the NME wrote, first half of the track is for the boys, second half for the girls. I used my SWD for the whole show but had the SJ as a backup incase my G-string popped .. :-) Hope you enjoy it, any feedback or suggestion always welcome ! cheers. Last Night Take Me Out ps: sounds much better at 480 than 360

I think a guitar set up is an ongoing process. There is the major set up when you first get a new guitar and might have to give the truss rod a tweak, lower the saddle, try different strings etc ... but then its about maintainig your ideal guitar set up, which might involved truss rod tweaks mainly, but its sort of an ongoing process in my mind.

Ah, its was just a Gibson tech's way of telling you that you should get a bone saddle anyway and replace the stock rubbish.

This is the first time I took BOTH the SWD and AL SJ to a gig. A very special guest perofrmer jammed with us on a few tracks. Hope to record some footage with both babies next time !

I would suggest practicing scales, like a C major scale from a piano or guitar, lots on youtube referances. Record yourself as you do the scale as see if you are flat or high, then correct it. Secondly just re-record the song but try singing it generaly a half note or note higher, staying concsious that you need to be higher than the previous effort. When you hit the right note you'll know it as you will feel the harmony with the instrument. you can also transpose the song to fit your vocal range through different key /chords or capo. I have same problem, often sing flat but it is about that confidence, warming up your vocal chords and also very important to use your diaphram with singing, activating that will by default give you a bit more oompf and also let you go a bit higher.

Fine effort Lefty, and congrats for having the guts to make your first recording. The J-45 sounds great and just how it should. Vocals just a little flat but that can easily be worked on. Thanks for sharing, and also, I love your fireplace !

Third and final installment from our recent recorded gig ... Its a nice day to .... Start again ! Plus some vocal lead from yours truly.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2kP0oHqVN0

Have you had mids on the HB before ? If not the additional tone youre talking about might not necessarily be from the string brand but simply from putting 13's on the Gibson. I know that both my mahogany Gibson dreads sound massivelly better with 13's then with 12's.

Dhanner, I thought that was way, way cool ! I dont know the song but it sounds great in minor key, fits right in, and I in particular love all the slurs and hammer ons you throw in there, gives the song a great driving feel. Really enjoyed it and thanks for sharing !

Thanks a lot Anne, it was a lot of fun performing in a nice, relaxed environment, and for a great cause ! If youre ever in Prague drop in when were playing ! :-) cheers.

Thats great AJ, I really like the way you guys combine together, and in particular the vocal harmonies, that is very cool. Something I really need to work on personally. Thanks for sharing mate !

Last Monday we participated in the Christchurch Earthquake fundraiser on the banks of the Vlatava River in Prague. There were a number of bands including us doing our little covers, jsut as a two piece that day. It was a great event and several thousand dollars were raised from raffles and auctions. Here is a video of us perfroming Use Somebody by Kings of Leon from the event. Hope you enjoy it ! cheers, Mark

Nice one Vince !

I would recommend Belushis bar at the Mosaic House hotel. They have live music some five nights a week on a cool stage. We play there regularly, actually this wednesdy night. http://www.belushis.com/venues/prague email is kristyna@mosaichouse.com, shes the booking manager. send he a link to your youtube channel. Just tell her you got contact details from Mark from Doubleshot. cheers, let me know how you go. quote name='Markus W.' timestamp='1301319424' post='891503'] Thanks EuroAussie…that's nice! The two Gibbys are a J-45 TV on the left and a J-45 Legend on the right. The sound isn't very good because its recorded with a cheap compact camera… Do you know some venues (cafés, clubs, etc.…) in praque where we can make a gig or two…;-)? Then we can visit praque for a weekend or a few days and met us there if you want. Greetings, Markus

Markus, just watched your youtbube vids, really, really enjoyed your duo perofrmances, very impressive and lovelly feel and mood. The two Gibbys sounded majestic, looked like a J45 and advanced jumbo ? greetings from prague !

Thanks for sharing Mr Gibs, really enjoyed that. Very smooth and soothing, you have a lovelly group of musicians there with you.

Mr Jones - Counting Crows. We recorded this track actually sometime back, and then forgot about it ... But we would like to re-recorded it fully, right now it is only first chorus and verse, but would love to hear your feedack or suggestions before we record the full version. We also play this out in the slower arpeggiated version that Counting Crows sometimes play, but actually i prefer this version. Was recorded on my CW but we will probably have a go at it with the new SJ.. :-) http://www.reverbnation.com/taylorprague#!/artist/song_details/7743717

Well in this case it was clear this AJ really NEEDED the brigther strings rather than coated or uncoated. The Pearse strings Im guessing were PB's and they downriht made that guitar sound like it was stuffed full of socks, just aweful. The 80/20's brought it completely alive and great sounding,so for me its more like brighter vs warmer strings, and for rosewood I found you really NEED brighter strings for it to shine.

I haven't read all the threads and maybe this question has already been answered, but how does a LP studio stand up against the standard and customs LP's from a purely tone point of view. I have a 90's LP studio which admittedly I hardly play (prefer acoustics) but was always wondering if the studio is a significant compromise to the standard and custom LP's. Can anybody offer their perspective?