Simon & Patrick Cedar Folk sound demo ... A couple of new covers

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by FloridaGull on September 10, 2012 at 8:58am

Very, very nice! I can only hear this on my wife's smartphone until I get home (my boss has a block on certain websites -SonicWall, I think), but the strumming comes across well - the fingerstyle, not so much - I've found this to be true in general...

Permalink Reply by Jud Hair on September 10, 2012 at 9:08am

Yeah, I've got a decent set of speakers with a separate "woofer" attached to my computer, so I probably have an advantage over some listeners.  It's a audio and video compromise, but it's just so easy to record and get something up on Youtube via iPhone ...

Permalink Reply by Paul H on September 10, 2012 at 9:10am

Nice job!  Agree with Florida Gull - the strumming in "Cowgirl" is much louder than the fingerpicking.  But it looks like you were also much further from the camera & mic  when doing the fingerpicking.  Audio quality seems pretty good - I ran it from my laptop to my old Sansui receiver & Infinity bookshelf speakers.  Nice little guitar!

Permalink Reply by Jud Hair on September 10, 2012 at 9:20am

Good point about proximity ... need to remember that in the future.  Thanks!

Permalink Reply by ian hopkins on September 10, 2012 at 4:41pm

jud

the Neil cover sounded great but Townes was weaker .

Permalink Reply by Rex Edmonds on September 10, 2012 at 5:53pm

Cowgirl in the Sand was very good.. Colorado Girl was good too but, sounded like your index finger was not plucking the string. Instead it sounded like it was sliding down it..against the grain if you would, of the string. I hope you take this as constuctive. It was like your finger nail was too long.

Permalink Reply by Dave Fengler on September 10, 2012 at 6:02pm

Great job!  

One thing I noticed is your right arm is almost reaching around the front of the guitar when you strum and pick, causing the strum & picking to be closer to the bridge than the sound hole, possible reducing the volume.

Permalink Reply by Jud Hair on September 10, 2012 at 6:59pm

Ian/Rex/Dave ... Appreciate the constructive comments. 

I haven't been doing fingerstyle but a few months.  It is tough to maintain the beat for vocal accompanyment.  I still have a lot to learn.  Need to work to somehow get my ring finger involved with the B and E strings!

Also, for doing youtube recordings, I guess I really need to be plugged in (voice and guitar) rather than depending on the iPhone to be sufficent straight acoustic.

Permalink Reply by ian hopkins on September 10, 2012 at 7:32pm

jud

I meant weak as I could barely hear it ....the picking I couldn't critque as Travis stlye is beyond me......right now.

Permalink Reply by Rex Edmonds on September 10, 2012 at 8:04pm

Ya done better than I coulda!

 

Permalink Reply by Craig MC on September 11, 2012 at 7:19pm

Fine playing and singing, Jud. And three cheers for Neil, Townes, and Simon & Patrick (maybe that's 4 cheers!) Still trying to sell the S&P parlor to get my own S&P folk (Woodland Pro) but I've decided (and told the wife) that I'm gittin' one in any case. I'm a Simon & Patrick man, for sure.

Permalink Reply by Jason Derrick on September 12, 2012 at 11:57am

Great job, Jud! I agree with most of the sentiments expressed. Nice job on the Travis picking! In terms of audio quality, Cowgirl did sound better, but again, that's due to proximity rather than technique. I've had good experiences with recording on my iPhone, but I do find that my iPhone 4S records at a MUCH higher quality than my old iPhone 3GS.

I have one suggestion regarding your fingerpicking. It appears that you've really worked hard on your technique, ensuring that each finger plucks one string and only one string at a time. While this is great technique for plucking out melody lines as you play, it's not particularly necessary for what I like to refer to as "rhythm fingerstyle guitar." In other words, when playing and singing to folk tunes and the like, you can get away with less precise fingerpicking. Moreover, you can feel free to pluck, or strike more than one string with your index and and middle fingers.

For example, when I Travis pick, I often strike both the G and B strings simultaneously with my index finder and the B and e strings with my middle finger. In other words, my style is a bit sloppy. However, what this does for me is sound like a hybrid between fingerstyle and a flat pick. I can choose to be more precise when necessary, but I also allow myself to be more free with my fingers, thus varying the dynamics throughout the tune.

I hope this makes sense! Oh, and that little guitar has a really sweet sound! I'm jealous!

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