Lars68

BK, that was beautiful! Lars

Good songwriters react to the world around them, as they see and feel it. It has to eventually involve politics. I can't see how it couldn't. I think all good writers, who want to go beyond “ah do be do be da” work that way. Whether the listener agrees with the writer's view of the world, or not, well that's another story... Great guitar, and beautiful song. Lars

Here is my attempt at a love song, trying not to make it sound generic. I usually don't get very private here on the forum, but when I was younger I had lots of social anxiety and periods with stints of the blues. Hiding from the world was my solution. It was an easy escape but it never made things better. Meeting the mother of my children sixteen years ago changed my life. Had that not happened, who knows where I would be today... This is a song about finding love and finding oneself. https://soundcloud.com/lars1968/black-velvet-blanket Lars BLACK VELVET BLANKET a long black belvet blanket - was hanging over me a long black velvet blanket - as far as I could see It kept me from harm and tears but alone with my doubts and fears can you see me now, can you see me? (x3) a long black velvet blanket - my comfort and my curse a long black velvet blanket - never better, but forever worse with courage stabbed and pierced so far from your arms for years can you hear me now, can you hear me? (x3) my long black velvet blanket - you tore it asunder my long black velvet blanket - you brought me out from down under and your love is my saving grace my beacon for cloudless days and you see me now, and you hear me (x3)

Sal, I´d like to hear you do more original songs. The ones you have posted here have all been fantastic. I especially remember one you wrote for a family who lost their son. Just stunningly good! Why not devote some time to to setting up a good home studio and record those songs of yours? Maybe record an album of all originals? It's a facet of this hobby I would like to investigate more once my kids get older and there hopefully is more free time. Recording is fascinating, and songs like yours should be documented for the future. Lars

I’m in a sort of related spot right now. I have written a song, which I think by my shakey standards has great potential. The chords and melody came to me very, very fast, like within five minutes. The lyrics also came very fast the next day. I’ve now been struggling to realize the song I hear in my head into a decent recording. It’s not happening so far... So it’s like the muse came, dropped off a song and then went away (probably to hover around the Galveston area). Lars

So even the custom Martin D-18 is gone? The CW looks stunning! Lars

I was very, very tempted by this a a few years ago, but managed to resist. I'm a huge fan of the Music of Townes Van Zandt. Townes custom guitar Lars

Glad to see you back here Avery!! I always enjoyed your contributions, and I remember you giving me great feedback on my early songs. I'm still writing and I have asked myself the same thing you do many, many times. It really is a wonder where the songs/melodies come from. In relative terms (I know I'm a beginner…), melody is the part of songwriting I struggle the least with. Playing and especially singing is where it hurts for me, although singing has come along okey recently. My way of writing is to find a topic first, then a few starting lyrical lines. The melody tends to come out of those few lines, from just how the words sound together. I then pick up the guitar looking for chords, riffs etc. Once a partial melody is set, the rest tends to fall into place based on those early short lines. I find songwriting a MARVELOUS hobby! It's the unknow, or magical, part that fascinates me. I imagine a sculptor or painter having a pretty good mental image of what the end result will look like. Writing a song is different; it just happens. That's what I love about it, having that first idea, but not knowing what will come out in the end. Do you have anything for us to listen to? Lars

Jepp that’s the one! I can’t do mine justice the way you do. That song was awesome! Lars

Beautiful song!! Is that the Madagascar version from around 2007 or so. If so, I also have one of those. I bought it for a very good price some years ago. It had suffered a complete headstock break that had been repaired. It has stayed solid , so no worries. So powerful! Lars

Tom, my sincere condolences from Sweden. It's in times like this music matters and is a friend by your side. Lars

I have bad a right wrist from playing tennis for 40 year. Also working for 25 years with a mouse behind a computer doesn't help. I'm right handed, but thaught myself to use the mouse with my left hand many years ago. It really has helped save my right hand/wrist, and enabled me to play guitar more easily. Lars

Hey, I liked that version. Very cool sound on the guitar too. With regards to Dylan's birthday, here is how Jason Isbell put it this morning. ”Happy birthday to Bob Dylan, the Bob Dylan of songwriting” Lars

A 2016 Standard model, with the tuners changed to the key stone variant. I love the color scheme from that period. Not a fan of the cherry to be honest, so the subdued variant suited me perfectly. Quite a few of my songs have been recorded with it in the last couple of years. Posted pictures at the time, but I can't seem to find them now. Lars

True, but they do migrate frequently. One landed with me here in Sweden a few years back and decided to never leave. Lars

Is there a Dove hovering above perhaps? 😀 Lars

Thanks! The picture is not mine, just one I found on the web. It's an Ear Trumpet Labs Myrtle mic, same as I use for my home recordings. Lars

Testing an image.

Yes, that was good. Big fan of Billy here. Lars

I get that reference! :-) D-28 and J-45 for me. Two icons, one rosewood one mahogany. Classics! Lars

In my opinion, what's wrong with it is that the Banner looked good to Gibson, but the correct logo would have looked even better to the majority of their customers. Of course, a few of those customers wouldn't have cared one way or the other, but to them the correct logo would most likely have been just as good. Very, very few would have been upset with the correct logo and looked for ways to have it changed to a Banner logo. So why not try to please as many customers as possible? This is my gripe with Gibson in the recent past, they didn't have the ability to anticipate the customers reactions to the choices they made. I bet there are modern J-35 owners, who knew nothing about this logo business, but they bought the guitar because they liked it. Later they got interested in the history of the model, did some research, found out about the logo and got annoyed at the inconsistency. Why risk it, when a period correct logo would have pleased most, if not all, of the customers? If you make these kinds of mistakes throughout a full product range, over a period of many years, I bet you would end up losing a substantial chunk of revenue from lost sales. Personally, I think all Gibson logos look good, but they look their absolute best when placed on the appropriate guitar model. I wouldn't like the Banner logo on a Les Paul... Lars By the way, I would have preferred a narrow bridge, on the current J-45 Vintage, or a different logo...

Exactly, that’s the correct way to do a vintage replica, I think. All important features are there, and it’s easy to distinguish from its vintage counterpart. Lars

QuestionMark, you make a good point about respecting the vintage market, and make guitars that can not easily be misrepresented by shaddy individuals. With that said, I really have a hard time believing this is the reason Gibson put a Banner logo on a J-35. Also, their most faithful reproduction acoustics, The Legends, don’t have such non-vintage correct features, put there on purpose. In the case of the logo on the J-35s, there are numerous other ways to make it obvious that the guitar is a modern reproduction. There is after all a serial number stamped on the neck block. Also, I don’t think the market value of vintage J-35 would be negatively affected, now or in the future, should Gibson have put the correct logo on the modern version. In my view, Gibson made these weird design choices simply because they where not fully in touch with their own market, and didn’t fully realize how much that very same market valued and loved the company history. To Gibson, it was just an old logo that happened to look good on that particular guitar. That’s how I see it... Lars

I understand your point of view exactly, and I think you should do it. As far as I can tell from looking at online pictures, Gibson went to the trouble of replicating the shape of the headstock on the new J-35, as compared to the shape of a normal J-45, but then they slapped on the "wrong" logo, one that historically was never on that guitar or headstock shape. I just don't get it. This is one of the many outright stupid, and extremely easily avoidable, mistakes of Gibson in the past. One can always argue, that Gibson can put together any set of features they want, and that it's not supposed to be a vintage replica guitar. However, that's not how 99% of the market sees it, and in my opinion exactly why Gibson in the past so often missed the boat. I see what the new management has done to the line of Les Pauls and I'm hopeful for the future when it comes to these kinds of choices (I'm not much of an electric player, but the new 50's style Les Paul Standard looks super...). Go for it and don't look back. You're just doing what Gibson should have done! Lars

My favorite rock song at the moment. To me this is just unbelievably good, in so many ways. Lyrics, playing, singing, soloing, a complete package. Lars