Fran Guidry Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 I'm lucky enough to be able to leave a nice guitar in Hawai`i instead of carrying them back and forth when we visit. Well, actually, I have two Masterbilt EFs that stay on O`ahu, so I guess my wife is right when she says I'm nuts and have too many guitars. We usually stay in Kailua on the windward side, and it's bordered by a large wetlands with a fascinating geologic and cultural history. On this trip I've been exploring an area called Na Pohaku O Hauwahine (The Boulders of Hauwahine). This area features a natural ampitheater, and local conservationists have been working over 10 years to restore pre-contact vegetation and control the invasive species. There's an old Hawaiian song called "Wai O Ke Aniani" that talks about the beautiful flowers and the sparkling water - it seemed a natural for this site: I recorded the audio using a Zoom H2 and shot the video with a Sanyo Xacti HD2000, Panasonic Lumix TS2, and a Lumix GH2. Fran Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike54 Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 Very nice. Your EF sounds great, and your style is way cool. I spent a couple of years stationed at Pearl Harbor. Love the island music. Of course back in the day it was Don Ho and Cecilio & Kapono:) Who was the lolo who stole my pacalolo? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meanstreak Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 sounds great! The birds in the background are perfect! Where did you place the zoom H2 at? I'm wondering how close you need to be to an acoustic to get good sound! I've been thinking of buying one ever since I heard the results when a friend used it record a Chris Cornell acoustic show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cunningham26 Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 I have to say that on a rainy, unseasonably cold and grey day in Boston, that was about the most beautiful thing I've seen and heard in awhile! I've often contemplated moving to a tropical climate, but do you need to take any additional steps with your masterbilt to deal with the humidity? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Guidry Posted May 14, 2011 Author Share Posted May 14, 2011 Very nice. Your EF sounds great, and your style is way cool. I spent a couple of years stationed at Pearl Harbor. Love the island music. Of course back in the day it was Don Ho and Cecilio & Kapono:) Who was the lolo who stole my pacalolo? I only developed an interest in Hawaiian music about 10 years ago and missed the explosion of Hawaiian pop in the years preceding my discovery. This slack key style is really an old folk music that has experienced a resurgence. It's physically easier to play than standard tuning, so my creaky old fingers can play this style without too much complaint. Learning to sing Hawaiian language songs is making me a bit nuts, though. Fran Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Guidry Posted May 14, 2011 Author Share Posted May 14, 2011 sounds great! The birds in the background are perfect! Where did you place the zoom H2 at? I'm wondering how close you need to be to an acoustic to get good sound! I've been thinking of buying one ever since I heard the results when a friend used it record a Chris Cornell acoustic show. Thanks, the birds make me smile too. I had to cut around the trucks rumbling and one loud plane that flew over, but I was happy to have the birds in there. I realized afterwards that I should have shot some "making of" clips or stills. The H2 was propped up on the boulder just in front of me, just out of the camera angle. So it's about two feet down from the guitar, and maybe a foot in front of it. The windsock is a must here and for most outdoor work. I got mine from Redhead http://www.redheadwindscreens.com/ and it makes a huge difference. The camera sound was unusable due to wind noise. I have found the H2 to be one of the most useful musical tools I've ever had. I've used it to catch audio for my videos, to record from mixing boards, as an audio interface into a DAW, and as a portable MP3 player. The "electric shaver" form factor is easy to handle, the recording process is dead simple. The mics are directional (most small recorders use omni mics), and there are four mics for surround recording. This clip http://www.youtube.com/kawilinakaleponi#p/u/5/lvJTFckFBPQ was recorded on the H2, you can see it in the middle of the opening overhead shot and in the shots of the vocalist. It's certainly not without issues - the line in is too sensitive, there's very limited control of input level, the buttons feel clumsy, the back lighting on the display is too dim and the text is small, but all these can be dealt with (external attenuator, reading glasses, etc). Fran Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Guidry Posted May 14, 2011 Author Share Posted May 14, 2011 I have to say that on a rainy, unseasonably cold and grey day in Boston, that was about the most beautiful thing I've seen and heard in awhile! I've often contemplated moving to a tropical climate, but do you need to take any additional steps with your masterbilt to deal with the humidity? I have had issues with bringing guitars to Hawai`i, one handmade in particular swelled up pretty noticeably. The EF-500M required a little lowering of the saddle for optimum action but has stayed perfectly stable since then. The EF-500RCCE had no issues, but I think the action on that one was a bit low before bringing it here. The real problem seems to come with trips back and forth. The change in dimensions stresses the glue joints and can lead to problems. If I were traveling between areas of widely different humidity I'd reach for a composite guitar first. The Ovation, Rainsong, and Composite Acoustics instruments are quite popular with pros here. Fran Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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