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Jim Wright "Jimmy Smith Jam"

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Jim Wright demonstrates the superb triggering and accuracy of the optional MIDI converter/controller installed into the Warr Guitar. Jim is performing on a Warr 12-String Phalanx with Piezo/MIDI.

Warr Guitars MIDI/Synth Demo

Jim Wright gives a brief demonstration of the control knobs and switches on the 12-string Warr Phalanx touch-style bass guitar. Jim Wright is using the Roland GR-30 for his MIDI/Synth converter. For the analog side of things Jim is playing bass through an Eden World Tour 400 through a 4X10 Eden cabinet. For the guitar side Jim is playing through the Lone Wolf Amplification. http://www.lonewolfamps.com/

LA AMP SHOW

     Thanks to my good friend Ed Thomas for making sure I was aware of the LA Amp Show, and in attendance one early Saturday morning in October.
     This is definitely like porno for anyone as thrilled as I am by the concept of hand-made tube guitar amplifiers. The secret location in a hotel near the Van Nuys airport was set up with each different manufacturer in their own hotel room, providing some semblance of privacy and sound isolation. Even so, the same people you hear at "Guitar Barn" (y'all know who I'm talkin' about) managed to find the place and perform their time-tested versions of crunch classics at full volume. Deep Purple would have been proud.
    But on to the amps.
    I'm reticent to give reviews of each manufacturer, as there were so many good choices, and it would be unfair to choose one above the rest, but here are the high points for me.
    The folks at Brown Note amps had me plugging in right away, and were only slightly confused when Ed insisted they find an amp to plug in the bass side of Blackie (my Warr Artist 12), so they could get the full effect. Since it was too early on Saturday morning for anything extremely complicated, I started with a 12-bar blues. The amps were just wonderful. I have been experimenting with guitar-side pickups in Blackie, and the amps seemed quite comfortable with the output and frequencies they were getting from my tapped strings.
   The whole thing was  going OK, when guitarist Chuck D'Aloia joined in, and sent it to the next level. Fortunately, Loren from Brown Note got some of it on video, and posted it on You Tube. (See Above).
What an honor it was to play with Chuck, who was brought in by Brown Note to demo the amps. His talent is obvious to anyone who views the video, and I'm planning on stealing all his great licks! Seeing and hearing the video convinced me that I am on the right track with my pickup experimentations...
    Don at Club Amps spent a lot of time with me explaining why the amp you choose was dependent on the sound you ultimately wanted. His amps were made specifically for certain types of music, and each had it's own wonderful flavor. I thought the smallest was perfect for intimate jazz gigs.
   Carr Amps were very nice. I have had some previous experience with their products, and find them quite  enjoyable. Great tone and selection.
   Schreyer amps found a special place in my heart with their Moonlight Twin, a sweet-toned amp with 2-10" speakers. It had the most subdued, but still very present, high end that seemed to compliment my tapped strings quite well.
    At some point, it became all too much, and there was nothing left to do but pack the guitar in the car, and dream of how I could afford to buy a few of these wonderful amps.
    A week later, I had the pleasure of playing Lone Wolf amps at a party in Simi Valley, and the list grew even longer.
   This really could get out of hand!
Jim Wright

www.shreyeraudio.com
www.clubamps.com
www.brownnote.net
www.carramps.com
www.lonewolfamps.com

Independence Day by Randy Strom

INDEPENDENCE DAY by Randy Strom

I have had the good fortune to work with a great keyboard player in our town by the name of John Raczka. He can play (on the B3) a bass line with his left foot, comp with his left hand, and blow any kind of bebop to blues solo with his right hand. He can even play with the right hand playing behind the time (creating a laid back swing feel) or with the right hand playing free time over the groove. I strive to emulate this kind of freedom and independence in my Warr guitar playing (although its kind of hard to get the foot involved).
The question is, how do we get to a place with our playing to make this kind of groove+head+soloing become second nature? Here are a few things I do.
First, I set my sequencer (drum mach, metronome) to a strict straight 8ths feel and play quarter-note octaves in the left hand, while playing scales in the right hand (mostly diatonic but also harmonic minor, whole-tone, dimished, blues and bebop) and start with strict 8th-notes over the left hand quarter-notes. A slow tempo with very even time and articulation is a must. Then I change the right hand to 8th-note triplets and finally to 16ths and 16th triplets. In this way, I'm working on my time and memorizing scale fingerings simultaneously.
Now this exercise is a bit boring, as it has no musical content. So, for the second step, I like to choose a left hand groove pattern (swing, latin, funk, etc.) and a few simple chord changes and sub-divide scales, arpeggios etc. with the right hand over the top of that. Staying strictly with the "click" or maybe just a frogs' hair behind. Never get in front.
The third step is of course, choose a tune, a standard, an original, etc., and keep a steady, strong left hand (stay with the click) and an expressive free grooving right hand playing the head, comping, and soloing.
This is my goal, to make every day a touch-style Independence day. I wish the same for you, especially on July 4th (barbeque, beer, fireworks, etc.).
RS

Randy Strom has been an innovator and key player in the touch-guitar world since 1976, and has many impressive credits as a musician, composer, performer, and in the field of music production.

For a complete list of his credits, please visit http://www.myspace.com/randystrom