I realized the other day that I have no contact info to give to anybody in case they hear me play and maybe would like to book.  Like an open mic night or something.  So, business cards here we come.  These would be for solo acoustic gigs.

Of course, that’s not my real phone number…

I’m kicking around the idea of releasing a series of acoustic EP’s digitally for free.  These would be 4-7 song albums featuring stripped-down versions of previously released material as well as new stuff I’ve written.  The music would be primarly acoustic guitar driven.  Maybe some drums and another random instrument here or there, but mostly acoustic.  The idea would be to distribute these for free digitally, and sell them cheap at solo acoustic gigs.

Here is an album cover concept:

And one more concept:  The Vine EP

What do you think?  Would you download it?  Like the cover?

Don’t get me wrong, I really, really like my Takamine.  It’s special to me in so many ways.  Still, there are better guitars out there, and every time I play them, I want one.

I used to think it really couldn’t get any better than Taylor’s acoustic stuff.  Specifically, a Taylor 614ce.  Let’s just take a look at one…

Pretty…  It sounds about as good as it looks.  If there’s one thing about a Taylor that sets it apart, it’s the way they play.  One word:  effortlessly.  Here’s what I don’t like about them.  When you really dig in, which I do a lot as a strummer type player, they don’t punch – at least not as much as a…

Martin.  Yep – the original, which is where my “I want THAT guitar” obsession has gone lately.

I played a few the other day at a local dealer.  Two of them struck me as awesome.  The DC-16rgte Aura, and the DC-28e.

DC-16rgte Aura

DC-28e

When you dig into a Martin, it punches.  That’s what I love about them.  Plus, it’s a Martin.  Enough said.  I played both of these models.  I actually liked the DC-16 model a lot (it’s a lot cheaper).  I kind of had a Taylor-sounding vibe to it, while still sounding like a Martin.  Very cool.  The D-28 felt better.  At least I liked the neck more…

So, new I just need to save up $2000-$3000 so I can actually buy one.

I’ve had an interesting history with amps.  Back in the day I used to be all about modeling stuff – I guess I thought Line6 was pretty cool.  My first amp ever was a Line6 Spider 1×12.  Man, that thing sounded terrible.  Then I moved up and got a POD 2.0.  Then came a POD XT Live.  I never could get those things to sound like real amps.

Somewhere along the line I picked up a Peavey Classic 30, which was a great amp, and I never should have sold it.  But I did, because I guess I thought I wanted a modelling amp.  So, still keeping with the modelling thing, I bought a Vox AD60VT, which is an early Valvetronix “Blue” series modelling amp.  It sounded way better than the POD stuff, but it was still a modelling amp.

In December 2008, I decided that my electric guitar tone needed to be pure and simple, and that meant a tube amp.  I always used the “Vox AC15″ model on my Valvetronix amp, so that’s what I bought.  Now, Vox makes a couple versions of these.  There is the Custom Classic line, made in China (that’s what I’ve got).  They’ve got a stock model, and one with a Celestion Blue speaker, which costs a lot more.  Then there are the hand-wired made in England versions.  They are expensive.  Mine is the Custom Classic line.  How about some photos.

[flickr-gallery mode="photoset" photoset="72157610968103578"]

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This is my beloved Takamine FD-360sc.  I bought this acoustic back in 2001, which makes it a 2000 model, I think.  I was in college at the time, and I saved long and hard for this.  I remember I had a buddy who had a nice Takamine, and I would always go over to his dorm room and play it.

First, here are some photos:

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I picked up a new camera – an Canon HV20.  I’ve been doing videos with the built-in iSight on my laptop.  Expect the video quality to jump dramatically.