On The Beat - Episode 417 - Weekly Guitar Video News Wrap Up May 11th, 2018

tgjameela
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Fri May 11, 2018 5:43 pm

Hi Everyone,

This week's wrap up has just been released!

Enjoy!



http://www.totallyguitars.com/blog/guit ... 11th-2018/

Last week I had a great catch up call with my old friend Richard Hoover, of the Santa Cruz Guitar Company.
We caught up about old times and he told me about the string set they have developed, over quite a few years.
It is a really interesting concept about balancing tension rather than worrying about string gauge. He sent me
some samples and today’s update started off with me playing the strings I had just put on the guitar last night
without really touching them until the camera was running. I have to say they felt and sounded quite different
from the D’Addario EJ-17s I have played for a couple decades. I was pretty impressed and I will explore more
in the next few hours. I improvised a little A Minor piece with them as I recall.

I apologize for not getting to an update last week but a few technical issues arose with the lesson I was working
on and I had to address them. As it was part of a lesson on Al Stewart’s Time Passages was finished and posted
early this week, with the rest to follow soon. The next part will be based on the type of stuff Dave Nachmanoff
plays when he accompanies Al live nowadays.

Other recent new lessons included Those Magic Changes by Sha Na Na, Still by The Commodores, and a FOTW
lesson as Sandy’s project Landslide continued
.

Max brought us a couple lessons with a different take than most of what we have once again. It started last week
with a theory lesson on Soloing Over Dominant chords, and followed this week with a classic jazz tune from
Herbie Hancock, Cantaloupe Island. Both of these offer great insight into the inner workings of the guitar.

I just got some of the last video from IGC 2017 and took a moment to remind people that all the video from every
year is available to anyone signing up for this year’s camp. We have room for about 5 more people so if you are
thinking of joining us, please do it soon.

The last thoughts I had were about a couple of the recent uploads from the TG Community, Bob’s Jamming With
Friends thread
, John’s nice rendition of In My Life, and Craig’s double tracked Wonderful Tonight. For that one I
offered suggestions on embellishing and smoothing out the melody, after congratulating him again for a job well
done.

And, as usual, there was a bit of random playing as I enjoyed the new strings. I definitely encourage everybody to
give them a try. Maybe we’ll even look into a TG discount at Santa Cruz Guitars, if a few people seem interested.
I would also like to hear from anybody else who has tried them. Maybe we need to start a new thread on the Forum
to trade thoughts and experiences with strings.


Craig
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Sat May 12, 2018 12:03 pm

Neil,

Thank you so much for taking the time to address my post and offer some suggestions. I really appreciate it!

Craig


kelemenj
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Sat May 12, 2018 7:53 pm

I have been lusting after a Santa cruz Guitar ever since IGC#1. I came close to pulling the trigger on a used model on Reverb.com. What is this discount you are hinting at? At least I can enjoy the strings in the meantime...


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TGNeil
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Sat May 12, 2018 9:50 pm

Hey John,

Unfortunately it was a comment on strings, not guitars, yet. The Santa Cruz Guitar Company really opened the door to a level of guitars higher than Martin, that no one knew existed in the late 1970s (Taylor was not on the map yet and Collings came along a bit later as well). So if you find a used one that looks right you should try to snap it up. On the other hand, their guitars have improved unbelievably over the 40-odd years we are talking about. I can't imagine you would ever regret a decision to pick up one of their guitars, used, new, or even a custom order. You just have to decide on the financial commitment.

Neil


thereshopeyet
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Fri May 18, 2018 8:41 pm

Neil

Great weekly news Episodes 417 and 418 !
Some interesting lesson choices recently.

The Santa Cruz Low and Mid Tensions Parabolic Stings sound interesting.
The price is quite high especially with delivery added too.

Here's a link with Richard Hoover discussing their strings ...... Parabolic Tension Strings.
It's always nice to try other strings.

Dermot


elennon
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Tue May 22, 2018 2:55 pm

I bought a few sets of the low tension when I visited the Santa Cruz factory around IGC2017. I don't know if they improve my sound but I like the feel of them. BTW, the factory tour was fantastic. The location is not in a very nice part of town and the premises are quite unassuming. But the tour is just awesome and Richard does it himself with an amazing amount of enthusiasm for someone who has been doing it for all these years, and its free.


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