Musician Links/ Gear I Use/ Organizations/ Books I find useful
This page will have links to some of my favorite musicians, gear I use (or wish I could), other sites I admire, groups I belong to, books and teaching aids I’ve found on-line. Hope these help you along your musical path as they have me on mine.
This is a work in process - please check back often for new stuff! Thanks!
Musicians:
Leroy Deuster - Steel Guitar/Dobro - what a touch, what a stage presence!
http://leroydeuster.jcmediaservices.com/
http://www.myspace.com/leroydeuster
Dusty Knapp - possibly the best young keyboard player and arranger I’ve ever heard
http://www.myspace.com/dustyknapp
Justine Bethune - Lead Guitarist
http://www.myspace.com/justinbethune
Matt Damon Walker - Lead Guitarist
http://mattdamon29.tripod.com/
http://www.myspace.com/mattdamonwalker
Michelle Bailey - Fiddler and vocalist/any harmony
http://www.myspace.com/1michellebailey
etc etc
If you decide to try working with any of these folks, let ‘em know you found out about them here, please. Always cool to know how they got the work - thanks!
BASS GEAR:
Kay Basses - 1939 and 1953 http://www.kaybass.com/
The ‘39 is fitted with all steel strings. The ‘53 has 2 gut strings (G & D) and 2 steel strings (A & E) - a lot easier to slap for longer periods of time with this set-up.
My new favorite piece of gear, a mini-shotgun microphone from DPA is amazing! http://www.dpamicrophones.com/en/products.aspx?c=Item&category=118&item=24329 The DPA 4099 clip-on with both violin and guitar mounts have all kinds of flexibility of where you can mount the mic for any number of instruments to get the best sound at the instrument/mic combination sweet spot. It is very clean sound and really true from what I’m hearing. When I ordered it I asked for the flat XLR adapter (not the standard HPF one (Hi-Pass Filter)). I use either the phantom power 48V from the board or from my portable ART battery operated unit (I can use in Europe, too). The Power Mute from Pro Co is another great find http://www.procosound.com/?page=currentpromotions This gives me the opportunity to temporarily turn off the signal to the board and tune. Very clean OFF/ON and it passes 48V phantom power with no problem. I tried recording a few clips of this using it for my guitar and bass and love it. Much more clean sound than the Shure BETA 98 and not as muddy. Very clear tone in fact, the DPA is.
I used to use a Shure BETA-98H/C clip-on microphone http://www.shure.com/ProAudio/Products/WiredMicrophones/us_pro_Beta98H-C_content. This little gem gives me the natural mic’d sound of my bass, rather than the cigar box tinniness of a pickup. Be very careful handling this as its cord is so tiny and a bit frail (not designed for Rockabilly antics, and the clip is not sturdy either (thankful for duct tape!). I wrap the cord up at the XLR connector and tape it in place on the back of my tailpiece. I leave enough room to enable me to connect an XLR cord to the board from the unit’s. That way it doesn’t get mishandled. The gooseneck attached to the mic is handy to be able to adjust the power coming to it from my bass by moving it closer or farther away from the f-hole or the body.
When I absolutely need a pickup:
Underwood Pickup http://www.underwoodpickups.com/ 30 year old technology but hand made and tested and steady steady steady!
Realist Pickup http://www.gollihurmusic.com/product/1428-REALIST_BASS_PICKUP_FOR_BASS_CELLO_OR_VIOLIN_VIOLA.html This is my back-up pickup. It is a lot stronger than the Underwood (more gain right out of the box) and very bass heavy. Check out the whole gollihurmusic.com site for lots of upright bass information.
David Gage Upright Bass case http://www.davidgage.com/catalog/default.php?cPath=23&osCsid=0417b9f2d6b7c721ad19c65ddc830c48
Gator Bass Guitar flight case http://www.gatorcases.com/productsdetail.aspx?LID=2&PID=32 I also use their handy light-weight mandolin case http://www.gatorcases.com/productsdetail.aspx?LID=2&PID=15
Fender P-Bass Custom (has a Jazz neck and both P-Bass and Jazz pickups)
Trace Elliot TAB-100 amp
Bass amp I wish I had: Gallien Krueger http://www.gallien-krueger.com/products_mb_co_150e.html - used this up in Canada when playing with The Tennessee Three. “WHAT’s THAT?” I thought when I saw this little itty bitty amp sitting there. Looked like a small suitcase with knobs and a speaker. But ohhhhh the sound! Perfect for my ‘53 Kay Bass and Underwood pickup. yeah!
NEWS Flash - just saw Dennis Crouch with The Time Jumpers. He showed me an awesome Ampeg The Micro-VR stack. It’s small and portable and oh so powerful. He used it at 2009 The Grammys. Said lots of folks there were impressed and taking pictures and asking about it. Check out the article: http://www.ampeg.com/roundsound/2009/02/microvr-delivers-the-goods-at.html Can’t wait to try it out on my bass set-up and see if it’s for me.
Boss TU-2 tuners http://www.bossus.com/gear/productdetails.php?ProductId=122
Monster cables for bass http://www.monstercable.com/productdisplay.asp?pin=2308
Fishman Pro-EQ Platinum Bass Preamp http://www.fishman.com/products/details.asp?id=43
ART Tube MP preamp (for phantom power - sweet little tube amp when you need it most) http://www.artproaudio.com/products.asp?type=79&cat=1&id=1
GUITAR GEAR:
Fender Squire Tele http://www.squierguitars.com/products/search.php?section=guitars&cat=telecaster cuz I love the Tele sound and this was a great inexpensive way to start on an electric (for us hard-drivin Bluegrass flat pickers!)
Fender Blues Junior Amp http://www.fender.com/products/search.php?partno=0213205000
Danelectro pedals:
Tuna Melt Tremelo http://www.danelectro.com/effects_3.html and
Dan Echo http://www.danelectro.com/effects_6.html
Gibson ES-120T
etc etc
ORGANIZATIONS:
International Bluegrass Music Association - http://www.ibma.org/
Milwaukee Area Bluegrass Music Association - Linda Sandersen Monthly newsletter:
(414) 961-0660
Southern Wisconsin Bluegrass Music Association - http://swbmai.org/
Grand Old Opry Fan Club - http://www.opry.com/MeetTheOpry/FanClub.aspx
etc etc
BOOKS:
The Nashville Number System (by Chas Williams) - http://nashvillenumbersystem.com/ Helps the budding musician quickly figure out songs on gigs, in the studio, changing keys is a snap with this system.
All You Need To Know About The Music Business (Donald Passman) - http://www.donpassman.com/allabout.html This author nailed it. He talks indepth about the business. Check it out.
Get It In Writing (Brian McPherson, Esq.) - http://www.singers.com/6350b/Brian-McPherson/Get-It-In-Writing/
Music Money and Success (Jeffrey Brabec and Todd Brabec) - http://www.musicandmoney.com/ Written concisely with real life examples by brothers who are former recording artists, writers, and entertainment lawyers.
How To Make A Band Work (Pete Wernick) - http://www.drbanjo.com/drbshop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=213 yeah it’s hard but with some common sense, responsibility, courtesy, hard work and biz smarts you can do it!
Songwriter’s Market - http://www.songwritersmarket.com/index.asp For 30 years they have been guiding songwriters on how to submit their songs. Read the guidelines and follow the individual company’s instructions precisely and that should help you find the key to get “in”. Plus it has many tips on songwriting, dealing with the industry, and more! Best wishes!
etc etc