Rosemary by Sierra Ferrell_cool old slope J

[uncle fester]

There's an issue with my login where I have to reset my PW every time I log in, so I've only been lurking, but came across this, wanted to share, but also had a question.  The song is Rosemary by Sierra Ferrell,   She's playing what looks to be a very old slope J of sorts, cool guitar so wanted to share.

My question - Right at 1:04 she goes into a fast bit of strumming with a little bit of picking.  Is this a common strumming style and does it have a name (I'd like to try and learn it)... kind of makes me think of bonanza.  Thanks for any input.

Not a huge fan of the nose ring... but ooooh, what a voice.

 

Edited January 18, 2021 by uncle fester

[j45nick]

8 hours ago, uncle fester said:

There's an issue with my login where I have to reset my PW every time I log in, so I've only been lurking, but came across this, wanted to share, but also had a question.  The song is Rosemary by Sierra Ferrell,   She's playing what looks to be a very old slope J of sorts, cool guitar so wanted to share.

My question - Right at 1:04 she goes into a fast bit of strumming with a little bit of picking.  Is this a common strumming style and does it have a name (I'd like to try and learn it)... kind of makes me think of bonanza.  Thanks for any input.

Not a huge fan of the nose ring... but ooooh, what a voice.

 

It 's a J-45 from between about 1955 and 1960.  The pickguard looks to be out-gassing badly.

I could probably adapt to the nose ring and the face tattoo. 

If you want to hear a strumming style similar to what you are referring to, listen to Dylan's version House of the Rising Sun on his first album. Similar style, just a bit slower.

 

Edited January 19, 2021 by j45nick
added additional thought

[uncle fester]

Thank you Nick, I'll check out the Dylan song. ..  maybe a little bit slower is what I need to figure it out.

Out of curiosity, with the pickguard outgassing like that, would you suggest replacing it, or what would you do.

Rgds - UF

[j45nick]

1 hour ago, uncle fester said:

Thank you Nick, I'll check out the Dylan song. ..  maybe a little bit slower is what I need to figure it out.

Out of curiosity, with the pickguard outgassing like that, would you suggest replacing it, or what would you do.

Rgds - UF

I'd have to see it to know. Normally, you would remove and replace it, since a deteriorating pickguard can damage both the guitar's finish and nearby metal parts. In this case, there isn't much finish to damage.

Some out-gassing pickguards deteriorate rapidly into a gooey mess, others take their time.

You'd really have to see this in the flesh to know if it is really going bad or not, but it looks like it.

[QuestionMark]

12 hours ago, j45nick said:

It 's a J-45 from between about 1955 and 1960.  The pickguard looks to be out-gassing badly.

I could probably adapt to the nose ring and the face tattoo. 

If you want to hear a strumming style similar to what you are referring to, listen to Dylan's version House of the Rising Sun on his first album. Similar style, just a bit slower.

 

I’ve always referred to that style as “double strumming” or “double timing picking and/or strumming”.  Bob Dylan did it quite regularly in his early music, especially when he played live. Part of the musical genius of his guitar playing in his early work.  It involves picking and/or strumming in double time to the tempo one is singing at.   It’s quite a cool technique.
 

QM aka “Jazzman” Jeff

Edited January 19, 2021 by QuestionMark

[Jinder]

Wow, her voice (and specifically the way it's recorded) is sensational. Is she singing into a Green Bullet? I've only ever seen those crystal mics used for harmonica, never ever for vocals in all the 20yrs or so that I've been in and out of studios doing session work and recording my stuff. 

The sound is so '20s but without the crackle and clipping, modern clarity with old world tone...I'm smitten.

There is a little of Karen Dalton about the artist, she can certainly write and perform. 

[uncle fester]

22 hours ago, QuestionMark said:

I’ve always referred to that style as “double strumming” or “double timing picking and/or strumming”.  Bob Dylan did it quite regularly in his early music, especially when he played live. Part of the musical genius of his guitar playing in his early work.  It involves picking and/or strumming in double time to the tempo one is singing at.   It’s quite a cool technique.
 

QM aka “Jazzman” Jeff

I searched double strumming on you tube, and a bunch of different things came up but none on topic.  Maybe you should do a video 🙂 

FYI - I did slow the video down and do a lot of hardcore studying and think I've at least got something similar.  Seems like alternate picking on the root note and next string down between strums...  done fast, done well, and very cool.

1 hour ago, Jinder said:

Wow, her voice (and specifically the way it's recorded) is sensational. Is she singing into a Green Bullet? I've only ever seen those crystal mics used for harmonica, never ever for vocals in all the 20yrs or so that I've been in and out of studios doing session work and recording my stuff. 

The sound is so '20s but without the crackle and clipping, modern clarity with old world tone...I'm smitten.

There is a little of Karen Dalton about the artist, she can certainly write and perform. 

Well said, thought the same thing, a '20s sound, mesmerizing IMO

23 hours ago, j45nick said:

I'd have to see it to know. Normally, you would remove and replace it, since a deteriorating pickguard can damage both the guitar's finish and nearby metal parts. In this case, there isn't much finish to damage.

Some out-gassing pickguards deteriorate rapidly into a gooey mess, others take their time.

You'd really have to see this in the flesh to know if it is really going bad or not, but it looks like it.

TY

Edited January 20, 2021 by uncle fester

[QuestionMark]

Here’s a double strum tutorial I quickly found on YouTube.  When finger picked or picked and strummed, it’s the same concept.  Basically instead of a quarter note or strumming, two 1/8th notes or strum are used, etc.

Question Mark aka “Jazznan” Jeff

 

[j45nick]

6 hours ago, Jinder said:

Wow, her voice (and specifically the way it's recorded) is sensational. Is she singing into a Green Bullet? I've only ever seen those crystal mics used for harmonica, never ever for vocals in all the 20yrs or so that I've been in and out of studios doing session work and recording my stuff. 

The sound is so '20s but without the crackle and clipping, modern clarity with old world tone...I'm smitten.

There is a little of Karen Dalton about the artist, she can certainly write and perform. 

It certainly looks like a Green Bullet. The guts of those have apparently changed a number of times over the years, but it's hard to miss that distinctive case. I had a family friend back in the 1950s who was a big ham operator, and used one of these on a stand.  My late father-in-law, who was the communications officer for a Marine squadron of B-25s in the Pacific during WW2, used one in his ham rig as well. They are really distinctive, and were very popular with ham operators.

Apparently, they were first marketed as vocal mics back in the late 1940's and early 1950s. The relative fragility of the crystal element probably makes them less than perfect on the road, but they are cheap enough to carry spares.

This one has a great vintage tone,  cracking a bit and a bit brittle  at the top end --perfect for blues harp--but we don't know the rest of the recording set-up. 

I see a couple of these in that studio. Somebody there is a fan of vintage tone.

You wonder if this one is vintage, or modern.

[JuanCarlosVejar]

Sierra is one of my favorites.

Love her voice and her picking.

 

“Rosemary” and “Why’d you do it”are some of my favorites from her.

A true gem of an artist!

 

JC

 

[Jinder]

On 20/01/2021 at 5:32 PM, j45nick said:

It certainly looks like a Green Bullet. The guts of those have apparently changed a number of times over the years, but it's hard to miss that distinctive case. I had a family friend back in the 1950s who was a big ham operator, and used one of these on a stand.  My late father-in-law, who was the communications officer for a Marine squadron of B-25s in the Pacific during WW2, used one in his ham rig as well. They are really distinctive, and were very popular with ham operators.

Apparently, they were first marketed as vocal mics back in the late 1940's and early 1950s. The relative fragility of the crystal element probably makes them less than perfect on the road, but they are cheap enough to carry spares.

This one has a great vintage tone,  cracking a bit and a bit brittle  at the top end --perfect for blues harp--but we don't know the rest of the recording set-up. 

I see a couple of these in that studio. Somebody there is a fan of vintage tone.

You wonder if this one is vintage, or modern.

 

This video has sent me down a rabbit hole of researching old, lo-fi gear to make my next record with...I adore the tone she has and want to explore that area a little more. I looked into the modern Green Bullets and they're a relatively clean dynamic mic now, which I'm sure isn't what we're hearing in the video here...I'm on the hunt for a vintage example, either a GB or an Astatic JT30 or possibly one of the early Japanese made alternatives, but for now have ordered a Superlux D112 which allegedly sounds similar to the modern GB but with a little more mid-inclined vintageness to it.

 

I also picked up an old Russian Oktava dynamic on a whim from Reverb for £13 posted from the Ukraine, most of them have DIN plugs but this one has been converted to XLR which sold it for me. They're cheaply made mics but were industry standard in the Soviet Union for many years and have a sort of crankily beautiful tone for recording acoustic guitar. 

I've always strived for pure, clear and harmonically rich recorded tone and have spent many years chasing down the sound in my head. I love valve mics and crisp, full tone, but I really want to go the other way after seeing this video and make a sort of vibey, old timey record with all the rattling cuff buttons and mistakes left in.

[uncle fester]

On 1/28/2021 at 8:12 PM, Jinder said:

 

This video has sent me down a rabbit hole of researching old, lo-fi gear to make my next record with...I adore the tone she has and want to explore that area a little more. I looked into the modern Green Bullets and they're a relatively clean dynamic mic now, which I'm sure isn't what we're hearing in the video here...I'm on the hunt for a vintage example, either a GB or an Astatic JT30 or possibly one of the early Japanese made alternatives, but for now have ordered a Superlux D112 which allegedly sounds similar to the modern GB but with a little more mid-inclined vintageness to it.

 

I also picked up an old Russian Oktava dynamic on a whim from Reverb for £13 posted from the Ukraine, most of them have DIN plugs but this one has been converted to XLR which sold it for me. They're cheaply made mics but were industry standard in the Soviet Union for many years and have a sort of crankily beautiful tone for recording acoustic guitar. 

I've always strived for pure, clear and harmonically rich recorded tone and have spent many years chasing down the sound in my head. I love valve mics and crisp, full tone, but I really want to go the other way after seeing this video and make a sort of vibey, old timey record with all the rattling cuff buttons and mistakes left in.

As said to your monel strings thread, I look forward to hearing what you come up with.  

[BoSoxBiker]

On 1/18/2021 at 8:07 PM, j45nick said:

It 's a J-45 from between about 1955 and 1960.  The pickguard looks to be out-gassing badly.

I could probably adapt to the nose ring and the face tattoo. 

If you want to hear a strumming style similar to what you are referring to, listen to Dylan's version House of the Rising Sun on his first album. Similar style, just a bit slower.

 

Nice one! Just my opinion, but I think the Bob Dylan version is a step up from the Animals' version. I had not heard it loud enough to notice it before earlier this year on a Spotify playlist. I've been hooked since. I play and sing it in that style once in a while. Especially when the strings are close to their sweet spot on one of my RW B&S guitars.

I also use a strumming style close to it for the Buck Owens' "Act Naturally". Good times!

[j45nick]

4 hours ago, BoSoxBiker said:

Nice one! Just my opinion, but I think the Bob Dylan version is a step up from the Animals' version. I had not heard it loud enough to notice it before earlier this year on a Spotify playlist. I've been hooked since. I play and sing it in that style once in a while. Especially when the strings are close to their sweet spot on one of my RW B&S guitars.

I also use a strumming style close to it for the Buck Owens' "Act Naturally". Good times!

 Here's some pretty cool context on several versions of "House of the Rising Sun" that influenced me. 

House of the Rising Sun

I love this song, and probably play it at least once a week. It comes out a bit different every time I play it. That's part of the beauty of it.