Any musicians on the forum?

@NewRetire18

Looks great. No reverb? LOL What is the model/make of the guitar? Is that your new custom built you picked up?

I have a

Greg Bennett-Designed USA Series Royale​

GB guitar.jpg
It was as close to a Gibson 335 as I could find locally. Here is backtrack I played to...It is as close to George Benson as I can play too. :) I learned most of my chops playing around with the minor pentatonic scale. I picked up various "tricks" along the way.

https://audiomack.com/paco-dennis/song/13555127
 

Paco Dennis said:
@NewRetire18

Looks great. No reverb? LOL What is the model/make of the guitar? Is that your new custom built you picked up?

I have a

Greg Bennett-Designed USA Series Royale​

View attachment 165736
It was as close to a Gibson 335 as I could find locally. Here is backtrack I played to...It is as close to George Benson as I can play too. :) I learned most of my chops playing around with the minor pentatonic scale. I picked up various "tricks" along the way.

https://audiomack.com/paco-dennis/song/13555127
Click to expand...
Reverb is at home, lol! Yes, that was the guitar. It is made by a Doc Welby, of Welby guitars. He makes some really nice instruments. He is working on a beautiful arch-top similar to that now for a client. I mentioned that I like fast action, and left the rest up to him, as was not familiar with his work. When I got to my best friends house to meet with him and Doc, I was astonished to see the breath of his work, and I got to play with him and his lead player on some of his creations. I was amazed at what I found, and even more humbled by the gift considering his talent all around, player, luthier, and really good guy. Plus he is my age, and that was key :geek: !
 

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Paco Dennis said:
@NewRetire18

Looks great. No reverb? LOL What is the model/make of the guitar? Is that your new custom built you picked up?

I have a

Greg Bennett-Designed USA Series Royale​

View attachment 165736
It was as close to a Gibson 335 as I could find locally. Here is backtrack I played to...It is as close to George Benson as I can play too. :) I learned most of my chops playing around with the minor pentatonic scale. I picked up various "tricks" along the way.

https://audiomack.com/paco-dennis/song/13555127
Click to expand...
Beautiful ax, by the way!!
 

It has GREAT action. When on the road in '85 I played a 330 Gibson at first. Then the band leader wanted me to upgrade to a more showy guitar. We went into Philadelphia and I traded it for THIS!!! :mad:

5831534_1_x.jpg


Wide neck, and great action, but a flat and thinner tone, and would go out of tune all the time. I'd come to the gig at least a half hour early just to let the guitar warm to room temperature! Ha!

If I would of known about Welby I would have gotten this beauty.

Welby.JPG
 
On the other hand, had you been able to play them all, and had the pleasure of playing the red guitar on the far right, you too would have been blown away. It is Doc's own design, and the tone capabilities out of this guitar is beyond amazing. It is owned by my best friend, (a collector), and Doc only built one. I drooled all the way home to Michigan after having played it for about two minutes. I really like mine, but want to ask Doc if he can make another of these...
 
What got you started?

When I was eight I took drum lessons at school. The I switched to trumpet (hand me down from my big brother). Then I played in the Junior High Band/Orchestra. In eight grade I switched to French Horn and Tuba. As a freshman I played in the orchestra and it was also the marching band. I played football, so I quit playing the trumpet. Also when I was a freshman I took "Music Appreciation"... I LOVED IT!
 
Paco Dennis said:
What got you started?

When I was eight I took drum lessons at school. The I switched to trumpet (hand me down from my big brother). Then I played in the Junior High Band/Orchestra. In eight grade I switched to French Horn and Tuba. As a freshman I played in the orchestra and it was also the marching band. I played football, so I quit playing the trumpet. Also when I was a freshman I took "Music Appreciation"... I LOVED IT!
Click to expand...
Boy...hard to say. I remember as a kid not knowing how to play, but two friends and I built guitars out of plywood, (no strings), and we pretended to be a band. I think I was somewhere around age 8. When I was about 12, my parents got me a cheap guitar for Christmas, and that kicked off the start of my mental issues, lol!

After that, I listened to everybody that I could find in my circle of friends/family, but the kicker came when two of my older brother's friends started playing finger-picking style at the local folk-music house, and in live concerts. I was hooked, and took some lessons from one of them. Then, one of my dad's co-workers, an older black blues musician, told him he was going to quit as a social worker to concentrate on music full time. My dad asked him if he would like to teach, and Clabe said 'hell yeah'! I took two years of blues lessons from that guy, and he changed my life forever. He was a true Saint of a person/musician, and set in stone some life lessons/ideals I am still trying to live up to. RIP, Clabe. I am doing what I can to pay it forward, based on his teachings.

Like you, I ended up in orchestra in 8th grade, but on Trombone instead. I was a small kid, and remember thinking that I could use the trombone case as a canoe if it ever flooded. Could have been worse, though, they also needed a Sousaphone player...
 
Knocked my soprano saxophone off it’s stand accidentally and bent some keys so it doesn’t play properly. I’ve done this a couple of times now so will have to take it in to get fixed if I can find anyone. I might have to ship it to my instrument technician in Ontario to get it fixed properly. Meanwhile I’ll have to play my alto which is ok. It just takes my ombriture a while to adapt. Plus I actuslly like my soprano better. It’s much more fun to play and has a nicer quality sound.
 
Keesha said:
Knocked my soprano saxophone off it’s stand accidentally and bent some keys so it doesn’t play properly. I’ve done this a couple of times now so will have to take it in to get fixed if I can find anyone. I might have to ship it to my instrument technician in Ontario to get it fixed properly. Meanwhile I’ll have to play my alto which is ok. It just takes my ombriture a while to adapt. Plus I actuslly like my soprano better. It’s much more fun to play and has a nicer quality sound.
Click to expand...
This is Charlie Parker's way of letting you know it's time for a tune-up! He's up there you know, and regardless of what he USED to do, he doesn't have a good grip on them these days, so when he tries to pick them up, this is what happens...
 
NewRetire18 said:
This is Charlie Parker's way of letting you know it's time for a tune-up! He's up there you know, and regardless of what he USED to do, he doesn't have a good grip on them these days, so when he tries to pick them up, this is what happens...
Click to expand...
Hummm. I had a tuneup on this saxophone just last year. Since it’s a straight soprano it doesn’t sit as secure on the saxophone stand as the curved one does.Luckily my alto just got tuned up before I left so it’s good to go. It will take my mouth a bit of adjustment is all. Plus I think I’m going order a better saxophone holder so this hopefully doesn’t happen again.

Cute answer though.
 
This tune was done on a reel to reel recorder. It could record up to four tracks and "sink" them together. This was about 1990. It was called a "Docoder."
I used a drum machine and programmed the whole song on it first. Then listened to it and put the bass track, then the rhythm, then vocals, then solo guitar.
Kinda of a Grims fairy tale type song for my children. :)


https://audiomack.com/paco-dennis/song/green-eyes
 
This thread evokes a re-post of mine from a few years back

‘Again’

I’ve nursed a fondness for music
Not an obsession
But it’s there
When I was around 13 I thought the guitar was a sexy, easy thing to conquer
Mom took me to a music teacher
A teacher of the guitar
Older Spanish fellow
Thick accent
Learned the keys, notes
High E to low E
And back
Over
And over

‘again’

He’d go eat dinner

Come back

‘again’

Years later (seemed) we proceeded on to ‘Little Brown Chug’
And there we stayed

‘again’

Dinner

‘again’

After the fingertips of my left hand developed calluses on their calluses I came to the conclusion we weren’t gonna move on to House of the Rising Sun right away,
or in my lifetime

But, man, could I ever knock out Little Brown Jug

A few decades later, I happened onto another guitar
Ran thru a few Brown Jug riffs, then centered on It Takes a Worried Man

Found it relaxing

After several renditions, and weeks turned into months of relaxing, singing a worried song,
one day while I was at work, the family sold my instrument to the lowest bidder
We went to dinner at the local smorgasbord that night, their treat
During dessert, they told me of their deed
I wondered how they'd come in to such extravagant funds
Heh, I was gettin’ rather weary of that song too

Anyway, other than profound lilts from the echo of the shower walls, I’ve never been given to creating a tune worthy of listening

But

I’m a good listener

“Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.” Emerson
 
I love this thread; it gives me hope that music will survive as a support pillar in the aging process. Speaking of aging...I just had a medical scare that could have derailed my studio plans permanently.

I spend some of my time on audio engineering webs, and pick up good bits of pieces on mixing, mastering so when my studio is finally functional, I will be starting the process above zero. In one of the posts, someone mentioned that he doesn't hear some high frequencies out of one of his ears, which is a problem when balancing a mix. Just for shiggles, I downloaded a frequency->wav file generation program, and decided to give myself a hearing test by panning different single-tone frequencies from left ear to right ear and back, to try to get an idea of my hearing without having to go to an audiologist since, (despite my wife's insistence that I am deaf when she demands things), I'm not aware of any major problems yet.

I set out creating a range of tones, 0-500hz, 500-1khz, 1k-9khz, 9k-15khz, 15khz-20khz. When I got to the 9khz test, I discovered that the tone disappeared when I panned from right to left ear, and reappeared back at the right ear. Above 9khz, nothing from either ear. Hmmm. This is bad. Bumping the volume did nothing.
Woof. This is bad, and I have my 'best' (most expensive) earphone headset on to keep my experimenting from driving my wife insane. In desperation, I bailed on the earphones, went down into the basement storage, and found a pair of decent range speakers with three frequency ranges (piezo, midrange, and a ported bass), and hooked them up. Bingo. The 9KHz is back, and the 15khz is 'iffy'. To see how bad my mixes can be, I took one that I recently did (which will have to be completely redone now that I know my earphones are bad), equalized everything above 12khz to zero, and the mix came out absolutely boring and flat. I don't know the DB loss range, but it isn't so bad as to be missing. I may never be a master at mastering, but at least I know my mixes won't be totally devoid of high-frequencies.

The moral of the story: don't EVER use headphones in a final mix. Not only does the mix sound 'less than good' on speakers, but you never know what your missing.
 
As you can probably tell, my mixing capabilities are surly lacking. :) I have had to rely on the low-middle priced equipment...and I bought a $50 music making program. For me the really good quality stuff is superb, but I love listening to the wierdest, and some "not the best quality" recordings/videos.

Oh, I just ordered some new headphones yesterday! I have used the old ones for about 10 years. They are duct taped and starting to fall apart. :)
 
Paco Dennis said:
As you can probably tell, my mixing capabilities are surly lacking. :) I have had to rely on the low-middle priced equipment...and I bought a $50 music making program. For me the really good quality stuff is superb, but I love listening to the wierdest, and some "not the best quality" recordings/videos.

Oh, I just ordered some new headphones yesterday! I have used the old ones for about 10 years. They are duct taped and starting to fall apart. :)
Click to expand...
Yeah, this is the digital age. We don't use tape anymore....
 
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