Guitar

Christmas in August – Recording on the Road

Ho ho ho….Merry Christmas!!! In August…

Greetings from 30,000 feet. I am on my way from Denver to San Jose right now to do my usual August Bay Area workshop. Sorry for not posting in a while…I have not forgotten about you or the blog, just been busy.

It’s been an exciting 2 weeks. With a minimum of recording equipment, I have recorded 18 Christmas hymns and carols, hopefully to be released just in time for Christmas 2009.

In case you are wondering how I recorded this, here goes. Here is a brief rundown of what I used for my bare bones travel recording setup:

Guitar – Cole Clark FL2AC
2 RODE NT5 mics.
A table top mic tripod from Guitar Center – designed for podcasts
A “stereo” extension for mic stands, so I could do an X-Y configuration
with the mics
2 XLR Cables
ZOOM H4 Digital Recorder
Mac Laptop with Garage Band

A key aspect of recording (I am a newbie – forgive me if this is obvious) is having a nice quiet spot to record. Things like refrigerators, air conditioning, traffic, and neighbors thumping all come through on recordings. Out in Colorado I was able to use a friends empty office space, with fabric covered dividers, carpets, etc.

The ZOOM H4 is cool. What’s key is that it offers “phantom power” along with it’s XLR inputs so I was not limited to the mics on the unit. Inside is a memory card just like a digital camera, as opposed to an internal hard drive. It mounts on the Mac via USB and each track is a stereo wav file.

While Garage Band is not ideal software – it really has a lot of very cool features. After a while with it I got quicker at the editing process. As well, I did my best to play takes right minimizing editing.

The AU effects are a bit more complex than their “out of the box” effects. Ultimately I will go to a real studio with great sounding gear to mix and master, but Garage band is an excellent tool to edit with. A real mastering house has compressors that cost $20K and the guys who are experienced engineers can listen and know what frequencies are missing or overloaded…so I’ll leave that to them!

The only slight drawback was not having a real mic stand…I had to put the mics on a chair close to me and do my best to get a good position. But hey, what I have fits in a suitcase!!!!

While my setup may be less than ideal compared to a fancy studio – I had a quiet environment, great mics (ok, really good mics) and most importantly – the TIME to be creative and spend a whole day on one or two songs. Some takes were done 10 times until I felt that I captured the spirit and essence of the song. So, despite any technical flaws this “open ended” studio time I think allowed for some great music to emerge.

Please post comment especially if you have good mobile recording advice!!!

Until next time….

Busy and Joyful in Nashville

By Adam Rafferty 1 Comment

As a stone cold, New York, Harlem bebop funk kinda guy the last place I ever thought I’d appreciate and love is Nashville. Wow, it was amazing!

I have just returned from 2 trips to Nashville in a course of 2 weeks. First trip was to visit the Chet Atkins Appreciation Society (CAAS) annual gathering. The second trip was to attend Summer NAMM where I did demos for Cole Clark Guitars.

It was my second time at CAAS and already it feels like a family. Correction – it is a family. And youtube makes it all the stranger and lovelier…I walked in knowing the names, faces and music of many of the fine players there and they knew me. It really makes me wonder…how love and appreciation of guitar and music draws certain souls together. Beautiful!

I spent quite some time hanging out with Tomi Paldanius of fingerstyleheaven.com, Joscho Stefan, Joe Robinson…but there were so many other fine players there…Edgar Cruz, Muriel Anderson…the list goes on. Oh yeah, there was also some talented guy named Tony Enamel…Emmanuel…or was it Tommy? I forget what the heck his name was, but he seemed to play pretty good 🙂

NAMM was also neat-o! The convention is much more personal and less of a freakshow than L.A. NAMM. Everything has it’s place, but I really liked the vibe of this NAMM show. HIghlights included – buying a “porchboard” and rocking the house (product review will come), Muriel Anderson’s All Star Guitar Night (best guitar concert I have ever seen), Jerry Douglas stopping by the Cole Clark guitar booth, and eating breakfast at Cracker Barrel 3 days in a row. More butter, please.

The musicians in Nashville are generally…well…awesome to say the least. Great taste, great feel and no room whatsoever for attitude. For a guitar picker like me it felt like home, I must say!

Well…back to work. I am still preparing my handouts and lessons for the Swannanoa Gathering where I’ll be teaching “the ways of the funky fingerstylist” from July 26 to Aug 1, 2009.

Until next time…God Bless, and keep pickin it – never let it heal!

It is all Much Stranger Than We Think; Michael Jackson Remembered

By Adam Rafferty 13 Comments

For the past few weeks I have been working on some new Michael Jackson arrangements for solo guitar. “Rock With You” was to be, and will be my next youtube upload. A week ago I sent letters to publishers requesting permissions to create legal guitar tabs for “Billie Jean” and others.

(After writing this blog entry I got the cam out at 6am…here you go. I do, really want to Rock With You)

What’s strange, serendipitous and heartbreaking is that MJ passed away yesterday – June 25, 2009. (Rest in Peace, Michael). He has been so on my mind for the last few years. I was literally dancing a night before for “Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough” at home, alone (I could not sit still!!!!) and emailed countless videos to friends the past few months. Songs like “I’ll Be There”, “Rock With You”, “Never Can Say Goodbye” and “Billie Jean” have become some of my all time favorite songs ever….

He and some of the old funksters have been my main youtube viewing this past year…James Brown, some Boosty Collins, and old MJ where he is nothing but a little genius of soul.

My grade school schoolmates, after his passing, started a thread on Facebok “wow, remember that party and that year when we danced and sang to ‘Off The Wall’ by Michael?” I am sure there are many…

And what’s strange is how the past becomes the future, how this music connects us so deeply to each other, how it feels “so good” for me to play it…and how these bonds I made with other children as a child myself have not faded into nothingness, but now Facebook is somehow keeping it all alive…and the music was something we all agreed on and loved.

To witness it all is bizarre and makes me think – wow if computers can do this – show me videos, help me rekindle emotions, connect with others, give of my own talents, – God only knows what lies beyond the sheath of what we think is reality.

Hope this makes sense – in how it all makes no sense.

Yours in wonder, awe – and may MJ rest in peace. Thank you for your take on soul, funk, dance and melody.

Savoring Your Accomplishments

By Adam Rafferty 4 Comments

Greetings Friends.

As tempted as I am to make this a “plug” for my new DVD, I’d rather once again speak from the heart, and just be a regular guy.

I woke up this morning very early – 5 am – , drifted over to Starbucks at around 6:30 and practically helped them open the place. Over coffee I just sat, and allowed myself to feel good, and accomplished.

Before I get into the accomplishment, and the deliciousness of it, I’d like to convey an anecdote I just read from “The Answer” by John Assaraf and Murray Smith.

“Six frogs are on a lilypad, and one decides to jump off. How many are left?”

If you think 5 frogs are left – that’s good but you are wrong! There are six left. Deciding ain’t the same thing as doing!!!! Get it?

It was very very easy to say, “wow I should make a DVD with Stevie Wonder songs” when I saw that viewers on Youtube dug the tunes.

Ideas and words can happen quickly. Actually doing, takes mental muscle, resolve, and repeated visualization of the goal as if it was achieved.

Things like…

– writing a thesis
– planning a wedding or party
– cooking a Thanksgiving meal
– taking a vacation
– exercising

and more….

are all easy to talk about, but to “do” the rubber must hit the road, so to speak.

I have gained an enormous appreciation for anyone who accomplishes anything. It also makes me want to pay for things and not get a free ride!!!

Enough said. As always, I encourage you to follow your dreams and take action! Nothing is as satisfying as banging out goals and racking up achievements….it’s addicting!!!

In case you’d like to view the sneak preview video, here it is!

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5TgLXLx-xY]

Until next time!

– Adam

Youtube Recording Technique for Guitar Videos

By Adam Rafferty 34 Comments

Since the original 2009 post is outdated, I have made 2 NEW walkthrough videos showing how I do my process. Check these newer videos out, and be sure to get the current “7 recording tools” cheat sheet.

Watch the Videos & Get Cheat Sheet HERE

ORIGINAL 2009 POST:

Hey friends! After several requests, I figured I’d write this once so that it is easily accessible, and hopefully will save at least one of you some hours of frustration.

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