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The UPS man just delivered a set of new-to-me Gretsch USA Custom drums. I'm still getting them properly set up and dialed in, but I can already tell you that these are unbelievably good sounding instruments.
I bet I'm not the only inmate with an especially well-loved instrument. Please chime in with yours.
Happy listening,
Jim
"The passage of my life is measured out in shirts."
- Brian Eno
Follow Ups:
I have a set of Yamaha Recording Customs that belonged to Steve Gadd. They haven't been set up in a while -- but should be.
I also have about a dozen very thin Old Ks that I've been collecting since I was 15.
jec01 ... are you on Drum Forum?
That's excellent! Steve Gadd is one of my favorite drummers. The first time I saw him was in the early '70s in Atlanta at the Music Educators National Conference (MENC). He was the featured drummer with the Eastman Studio Orchestra under the direction of Chuck Mangione. The last time I saw him live was about 7-8 years ago when he was doing a clinic here in the area (I think for Yamaha - not sure anymore).If you haven't already got it, you should check out Eric Clapton's "One More Car, One More Rider" DVD from 2001/2002. Very well-recorded, too. Steve Gadd was the drummer. Just awesome. There were parts of some tunes where he absolutely wailed on his drums! He was like a wild man. And then, he'd pull out the brushes and do the most laid back soft playing during "Over The Rainbow".
Another fave drummer is my acquaintance Stockton Helbing. Really nice guy. He lives here in the Dallas area, and was Maynard Ferguson's drummer and music director. More recently, he's played with Doc Severinsen's big band. He also has a few CDs of his own small jazz group. Check him out.
Ok, that's all I've got.
:)
Edits: 05/30/17
After fighting a J$% adjustable bridge Gibson for 40+ years I finally got a Taylor 814 ce LTD and it's a blessing.
I tried to learn electric guitar, plan on moving on to bass or mandolin already play violin and a bit of keys! Starting on ukulele!
1986 Westone MIJ Spectrum ST electric guitar.
I kept it all stock, and has THE most comfortable neck I have ever played with.Now if only I wasn't such a third-rate hack...................................
Steve
Edits: 05/23/17
A nice topic!
I've owned many bassoons in my lifetime but now have only three; a Polisi, a Masi from Florence, and my latest acquisition, a Ducasse from Paris. This instrument is interesting in that it is a French bassoon with a German key system.
However, my pride and joy is Heckelphone #5021. As the story goes, Wagner wanted an instrument to bridge the gap between the oboe and bassoon and went to the famous Heckel firm near Wiesbaden to develop this. Wagner died before it was ready but Ricard Strauss among several others embraced the instrument.
There are about 100 of these in existence and mine is the last one to enter the U.S.
Heckel stopped making them last year as their bassoon back order list has gotten longer and longer.
My Getzen Severinsen Eterna Bb trumpet, serial # 354, is a very nice horn, but I'm not in love with it. I am much more fond of my Getzen Eterna C trumpet. But it's not particularly special, either, although I'd rate it as an "8.5" on a scale of one to ten.
The instrument which really sticks in my head is my friend's violin. In 1974, she boarded a train to Cremona, Italy. There, she bought this awesome violin with a very pronounced "tiger stripe" wood grain on the back. She says it is still her favorite violin.
Ok, that's all I've got.
:)
For most beloved saxophones it's tough to beat the legendary Selmer VI. In the sax community there's a great deal of spirited discussion over the legacy of iconic saxes; the Selmers, Kings, Conns, etc. But pound for pound I really don't think any of them have the same allure and legend of the VI. It's to the point now that collectors who have no otherwise interest in saxophones are snatching them up as investments. Because of this "reasonably" priced Selmer VIs are getting fewer and further between.
I'm lucky to own a later vintage VI soprano. It's not without its quirks, but really is a special horn.
That being said, for my personally most cherished horn I'd have to go with my tenor - a simple Selmer USA. I've had it since 1983. There's something special about it. I've tried other vintage tenors, a Conn Naked Lady, Selmer Balanced Action, VIs and VIIs (the VII is not as bad a horn as its reputation) as well as newer Keilwerths, Yamahas, Yanigasawas, but the sound and feel of my early production USA is home to me.
But any way you cut it - it's hard to beat any cherished musical instrument.
["But any way you cut it - it's hard to beat any cherished musical instrument."]
Very profound, I couldn't agree more.
I've had a few valuable and well respected instruments that easily exceeded their reputations. Oddly, its my low valued knock around instrument that I seem to use the most that I find I cherish the most. Recently it needed a major repair and I found a Luthier, new to me, give it a major going over costing more than its worth and the results are simply breathtaking to me.
Now, what's the story behind the photograph of that massive stand mounted contra baritone? What is it called and what's its low note?
you stand to play it, on a stand, of course!
The key-spread and opening must be hard to navigate.
Low, Low Bb, Concert Ab, 3 leger lines below the Bass Clef Staff is the low note.
I only played regular Bass Sax once, Low Bb was easily twice as loud as any other Low note on it, an amazing Note!
Ya gotta hear/see my good buddy Denis DiBlasio play bari sax.
Google Denis DiBlasio.
The guy does amazing scat on flute, too.
:)
And don't forget Gary Smulyan and Frank Basille.
He used to teach here at Mills college.
Published a Multi Volume Set of Books, about exactly what I'm not sure.
Probably anyone who read any isn't either...!
Mostly a very avant guard player, played w/Chick Corea, but put out an album of Standards.
He should stick to the weird stuff, IMO!
That is indeed Braxton! It appears that I may have a more favorable opinion of his catalog, but "For Alto", "Six Monk's Compositions", and Circle's "Paris Concert" are stellar recordings essential for anyone interested in avant-garde jazz.
I don't dislike him, and anyone who played w/Chick has got to have something going on!
I just didn't think his Standards album was at the level of, say Phil Woods playing Standards.
But that's not really Anthony's thing.
I'll be getting the Paris Concert on Hi-res Download one of these days.
I heard Circle Live at the Both/And in SF, way back when...
/
HA! I've been a lurker here for years and years, occasionally post/reply, and I've seen so many of your posts...
But I'm such a lazy reader I always thought your moniker was OldMike.
Man, I REALLY gotta start paying more attention to stuff. Welp, good to meet you Ol' Mike. :)
And it's ( Old ) Jim!
Great to have an official introduction Ol' Jim! I'm Middle-Aged Shaun.
OK, I give up. What is "mkvi", beyond "Mark 6"?
:)
which is what they All are now!
Yeah, yeah, old Mark 6. But What?
The last Revox A77 was MkIV (which I have).
What's a Mark 6?
:)
What's a Mark 6? Well, it's only...
Hahahaha!
Great! Thanks!
:)
Mid 1930s Conn Baritone Sax.
Just a little newer than Gerry Mulligan's, tho his was Gold Plated.
Mine was The Official Baritone Sax of the 1936 Olympics.
Or could have been.
I have a garage sale set of drums with decent dw hardware so Drummers don't have to shlep their kit which has worked out very well. People rarely consider drum construction and materials and the affect it has on the overall tone. Regardless, you now possess my absolute favorite drum tone.
ENJOY and see Brian Blade at every opportunity.
By "people", you presumably mean "non-drummers". If so, you are absolutely correct.
Drummers, on the other hand, are obsessed with the species, thickness and number of plys of the wood in a drum's shells, the construction technique used in making the hoops, the configuration of the lugs, the number of wires on the snares and what they're made of, and what hardware configuration is used to hold the drum up. To say nothing of the type of heads, or the type of sticks. And let's not even talk about cymbals.
Happy listening,
Jim
"The passage of my life is measured out in shirts."
- Brian Eno
*
Drummer joke.
"Once this was all Black Plasma and Imagination" -Michael McClure
a
"Once this was all Black Plasma and Imagination" -Michael McClure
An old picture of my 1975 Vistalites with Zyldjians
=========================
You paid HOW MUCH for that electrical receptacle?!!! Are YOU nuts?
*
My Guild D-55.
Edits: 05/14/17
Search Central and AA, under me and 'chorister'.More? Unmodified 17C violins.
Viennese action fortepianos.
Natural trumpets.
......
Warmest
Tim Bailey
Skeptical Measurer & Audio Scrounger
Edits: 05/13/17 05/14/17
The human voice; the most beautiful of instruments.
Florence Foster Jenkins, Sarah Brightman, Cher, Yoko Ono, Tom Waites,
among MANY others!
I'm glad Timbo has such a high opinion of his...
No shortage of Humility in the Music World, that's for sure!
Edits: 05/15/17
And I do have perfect pitch. This means that I find equal temperament quite difficult. All the time.I've been singing in Choirs since I was nine, that's 57 years ago. Not so much lately.
I don't actually have a high opinion of my voice, as I am severely aware of my several flaws, always have been, .... I just work at it, always have, once I was trained.
Lots of people tell me that I have a lovely singing voice. Particularly choirmasters.
I simply love singing.
You love taking the piss, I see!
Warmest
Tim Bailey
Skeptical Measurer & Audio Scrounger
Edits: 05/17/17 05/17/17
"I do have perfect pitch."
Actually, there's no such thing as perfect pitch. I can present you with a tone, and you will not be able to identify its frequency nor its musical note. Although, with experience, you may come close. Similarly, I can ask you to sing a concert C, or a tone of 285 Hz, and you will not be able to do so without a reference tone.
There is, however, "nearly perfect relative pitch", which is probably what you mean. It's the ability to identify/produce a correct/natural interval ('just intonation', which is based on the harmonics of a tone) between two notes, as opposed to an interval which is a bit "off" (such as 'equal temperament').
While some people are better at this than others, much as some people are better at painting or math or whatever, it's largely a brain predisposition to readily learn the skill.
:)
They tend to regard themselves as having perfect pitch.
I simply find equal temperament difficult to like. Sometimes very, mostly I cope.
Have to.
I do prefer HIPerformances.
Warmest
Tim Bailey
Skeptical Measurer & Audio Scrounger
"They tend to regard themselves as having perfect pitch."
Most of us tend to regard ourselves in some positive way or another, but that doesn't make it so.
Often, amateur and semi-professionals mistakenly assign/label a skill as this-or-that, when it is not. Such is the case with "perfect pitch". It is always relative to another tone. Who doesn't get that?
:)
I had a friend in college who could identify ANY note played on Alto Sax ( his Inst ),
Blind Testing.
Never missed.
George Duke transcribed Dolphin Dance ( Including Chord Symbols ) while listening to it on an LP, no piano used.
I've known lots of people w/Perfect Pitch.
They wouldn't agree with you either!
"I've known lots of people w/Perfect Pitch."Sorry, but, as a musician and audio engineer, I've never met anyone who could perfectly identify a tone's frequency/musical note without having a reference tone.
You'll have to prove your assertion, or agree that it's anecdotal and unsubstantiated.
:)
Edits: 05/17/17
So, you tell me....
Anyway, I didn't mean to imply you aren't a good singer.
Edits: 05/17/17
:-)
Warmest
Tim Bailey
Skeptical Measurer & Audio Scrounger
Beloved tho they may be!
Hamburg Steinway piano. Amati, Stradivarius, and Guarneri violins. Bach and Schilke trumpets. Powell flutes. Fender and Gibson electric guitars. Marshall guitar amps. Hammond B-3 organ. Ludwig, Gretsch, and Tama drums......
Eastman AC220, this is not a premium guitar by any means. It is a dreadnought guitar that has a laminated rosewood body with solid spruce top. I purchased this as a everyday guitar that I could leave out and not worry about humidifying. They say that laminate guitars don't improve their tone with age. I don't care this guitar sounds and plays great as is. I am very impressed with this guitar. Only $420 bucks....
My favourite basses are a 1978 Fireglo Rickenbacker 4001 (owned since new) and a 2010 Tobacco Burst Gibson Thunderbird. My favourite guitars are a 1987 Guild Nightbird and a 2000 Taylor 310KCE, both natural spruce finish.
Prehistoric 4-Channel Lizard
Get a good workout, tonight!
8^)
Some of my favorite amps & one axe:
nt
The Sound of Silence.
The Tune, or the Actual Silence...
/
got into bass guitars because of Les Claypool of Primus fame.
I don't own a violin, nor can I even play, but i have a fascination with the instrument. I recently listened to a revealing comparison of several Stradavari and Guaneri violins. As I get older, my interests in these instruments continues to grow. Having gone recently to a Lucia Micarelli concert (my favorite player), I was struck by how a live violin can be so much better sounding that what we hear in our listening rooms (and I consider myself to have a fairly high end system). No comparison between live and recorded violin in my mind.
Big J
"... only a very few individuals understand as yet that personal salvation is a contradiction in terms."
A classical guitar custom made by Lance Litchfield who is an Australian guitar maker. It is a lattice braced guitar which means it has a very thin ceder top with carbon fiber impregnated wood bracing and heavy side and back wood. The side and back wood is an Australian blackwood. It was made in 2002 and was bought by me about 7 years ago. If you wanted to buy this guitar today it would take about two years and would run about 12 to 15 thousand dollars. I love this instrument
Alan
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