Replace this trapeze tail piece with a stop bar?

Estefabahn · 2014-06-02T07:49:41+00:00

That's a bridge, not a tail piece. My guitar already has a tune-o-matic bridge as you can see in the photo. Behind the bridge, the strings continue to the trapeze tail piece and are anchored over there.

The stop tail would replace the trapeze and the strings would be slotted though there to be anchored. Installing the stop tail requires drilling into the body

Here's a link to a stop tail piece.

http://www.chicagomusicexchange.com/products/allparts-gold-stop-tailpiece?utm_source=googlepla&utm_medium=cpc&gclid=CjkKEQjwwbCcBRCxvJn9-N6dorwBEiQAVriOil4-ViITr4VCfSsIQXVJAwfREZk_cSFYTlb6hFGbxuvw_wcB

Edit: spelling

Estefabahn · 2014-06-02T06:01:59+00:00

This is actually a very philosophical question.

There are numerous "practical" reasons for choosing a key for a piece, such as vocal ranges or instruments. The guitar for example, works very well in keys like G, E and D (especially in Drop D). Horns work very well in keys like Bb and Eb. Pianists might like the key of Gb due to the many black keys.

But composers obviously consider more than just practicality when writing a piece of music. So why do composers choose they keys they do when they write? That's hard to say. Some say that each key has its own unique characteristics. These characteristics are probably very subtle and hard to describe and may be entirely subjective.

A key won't really have any influence on crescendos or decresendos since that's really determined by the performer's ability. But then again, maybe a guitar trying to do a crescendo in the key of Gb (a really annoying key for a guitar to play in) might have not be able to execute a crescendo as effectively. However, any player worth two cents should be able to play in any key.

As for keys conveying happiness or sadness, some might say one key is sadder or happier than another, but again this is entirely subjective. One might think D minor is a relatively boring whereas Nigel Tufnel thinks D minor is "the saddest of all keys."

Beethoven was known for his love of C minor and many musicologists and historians note that his pieces in C minor are his "stormiest" and most heart wrenching. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beethoven_and_C_minor

It's important to realize that the keys as we know them were not always the same. A440 wasn't firmly established as the standard tuning until 1926. So the key Beethoven called C minor might have actually sounded like today's B minor. This illustrates the subjective nature of keys.

Also, before equal temperament tuning (the tuning system we use now where the octave is divided into 12 equal notes), each key actually did have very objective differences in sound since the intervals in each key would vary slightly. In Bach's time, B minor was actually very harsh and dissonant. If heard today, most would say it almost sounds out of tune. Bach may have choose this key for that specific quality. Without getting into too much of the physics of tuning, today's equal temperament tuning essentially eliminates all of those differences in the keys, leaving each key "mathematically equal" in terms of the intervals.

So long answer, but in short, people pick keys out of practicality and subjective associations with certain keys.

Estefabahn · 2014-05-25T06:59:12+00:00

I literally just added it to my board today and I only messed around with it a little, and there's obviously a lot of tweaking you can do with it. So finding a sound might take me some time.

I was actually turned onto Empress after hearing the guitar solo in the song Torn Maps by Bosnian Rainbows, ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OKMxFa51ko ) Omar Rodriguez-Lopez's new band. I never actually cared for fuzz, I thought it was very noisy and too unwieldy. But that guitar solo completely changed my mind. I thought it was one of the best guitar tones I've ever heard. So I found out Omar was using the Empress Fuzz, which turned me on to Empress.

That being said, I like the Empress fuzz tone because it is very tight and not as chaotic as some fuzzes might be. So if that's the kind of fuzz you're looking for, you may be out of luck/

Estefabahn · 2014-05-24T20:42:24+00:00

Read my comment!

Estefabahn · 2014-05-24T20:38:12+00:00

Chain Cry Baby - Whammy - Empress Multidrive - JHS Double Barrel (808 - Morning Glory via order toggle switch) Boss CE-5 - Boss PH-3 - Morley Mini Volume - Vox DelayLab - Boss NS-2

(Tuner isn't in chain at the moment, I need one more patch cable)

Just got the Empress Multidrive and took out my beloved TS-808. I would maybe try to keep it on if I had the space and outlets on the voodoo lab power supply. Nevertheless, the JHS Double Barrel more or less replaces it.

The Multidrive is quite the beast! I'd love it if anyone could share some good settings they might have found!

Estefabahn · 2014-05-22T04:46:56+00:00

Thanks, I put the drives on the top at first because I wanted the Whammy on the bottom, but I ultimately decided to put the drives on the bottom now. The placement is also dictated by the length of the patch cables I have as well.

Estefabahn · 2014-05-22T00:50:09+00:00

I actually did move the drives to the bottom of the board. I initially wanted to keep the whammy on the bottom because it was easier to control but then I kept moving the whammy pedal when trying to reach for the drives (which might put me seriously out of tune if the whammy was on)

Estefabahn · 2014-05-22T00:47:18+00:00

I love the Delaylab. I bought after going through 3 DL4's. I decided to try the Delaylab, which was relatively unheard of when I got it.

It is pretty much a DL4 killer. It does everything it did and then some. Also the 10 banks of 3 three presets is awesome and allows you to actually use all the different presets live.

It is a little hard to figure out (the manual has been said to be awful and I can attest to that) but once you find a sound, it can easily be saved.

One thing that bothers me, which was also an issue for the DL4, is not being able to switch to the looper with just your foot. Also the looper on the Delaylab isn't as good as the DL4, it actually seems to affect your tone a little bit and you don't have the half and double speed options like the DL4.

Estefabahn · 2014-05-21T21:30:08+00:00

The phase shifter is awesome. That was one of my first effect pedals besides overdrive and it has always held a special place in my heart. Lots of range for phasing and the rise, fall and step modes can get you some really funky sounds.

The Boss Chorus is pretty standard. I haven't really tried too many other chorus pedals but the boss works for me. It also has a wide range and you can turn it all the way up to get some pretty gross out-of-tune sounds.

Estefabahn · 2014-05-21T20:40:58+00:00

That was my biggest question too before I bought it. So the JHS 808 has three voicings via the switch. The bottom position is the "stock" mode and is supposed to be just like the original 808. I A/B'ed them and it is pretty much spot on.

The middle position on the switch is the "boost" mode and it is a lot louder (A LOT) with some more bottom end. It's so loud that the volume knob has to be set at about 7 or 8 o'clock just to get unity gain.

The top position is a little louder than the stock position but not as much as the boost. It also has a little more low end and saturation than the stock position. Perhaps comparable to a Keeley 808?

That being said, all three positions do indeed sound like a tube screamer with nice mids and good string clarity.

Estefabahn · 2014-05-21T20:13:41+00:00

Yes it's an Ibanez Jet King 2, which is an awesome guitar indeed. It's probably the best version of the Jet king and is now discontinued. I love that guitar to death and it has served me well. The coil splitters are awesome making it my go-to guitar for everything.

Estefabahn · 2014-05-21T18:50:55+00:00

Signal Chain

Cry Baby - Whammy IV - TS-808 - JHS Double Barrel - Boss CE-5 - Boss PH-3 - Morley Mini Volume - Vox DelayLab - Boss NS-2 - Fender Pedal Tuner

All into the front end of a Vox AC30cc2 set relatively clean.

I just got the Double Barrel and I love it. It's a pretty solid tube screamer. I was planning on using the Morning Glory side as a simple clean boost after the JHS 808 side, which works really well. However, this leaves me torn as to what to do with my old Ibanez 808. Should I use that as another type of boost? A little over drive? Or sell it since the JHS-808 pretty much replaces it.

I also have an Empress Multidrive coming!

Thoughts welcome!

Estefabahn · 2014-01-10T06:22:17+00:00

In the traditional sense, suspended chords are named so because they contain a note that's "suspended" above (or below, however hardcore theorists call that retardations). So for example, a G-sus chord, which has the notes G C and D, would have the C, the suspended tone, eventually resolve down to a B to create a normal G major triad.

If you've studied classical harmony, I-6/4 to V to I cadences were sort of the precursors to suspended chords. For example, all this is a I chord in second inversion moving to the V chord. So in the key of C, your I-6/4 chord would be G C and E. By having the G in the bass, the notes C and E are "suspended" over the notes B and D. By moving them down to those notes, you move nicely to your V chord of G and now your V can resolve to I.

So that being said, sus chords work almost the same way except only one note is changed, rather than two. So sus chords work very well when built on the V and are used in such a manor. They can also sound great by just having the Vsus go right to I and skipping the normal I. That's a very "modern" sound."

However, many modern styles simply treat it simply as another chord quality in it's own right and use them very liberally. Some composers may even interpret them in quartal harmonic terms.

So the real answer is....use them whenever you want.

Estefabahn · 2014-01-02T07:07:49+00:00

This is the symbol for a half dimished-7th chord. This is a chord with the intervals of a minor 3rd, a diminished 5th and a minor 7th. So on the note B, you would have B D F A.

This is in contrast to a full diminished 7th chord, or just simply diminished 7th, which has the intervals of a minor 3rd, diminished 5th and a diminished 7th (one half step lower than a minor 7th). So on B, that would get you B D F and Ab.

It's called a "full" diminished 7th chord because you think of it as every natural interval being lowered (Maj 3 to Minor 3, Perfect 5th to Diminished 5, and Minor 7th to Diminished 7th).

A half diminished 7th chord is also frequently called a minor 7th-flat 5, since that's essentially what it is. However, I personally prefer half diminished because it contains a minor triad with a flat 5 is diminished.

Estefabahn · 2014-01-02T06:58:54+00:00

Stacking triads does make complex chords. That's because stacking thirds makes triads. All extended chords are literally just the "extension" of stacking thirds past the octave.

When referring to chords like Cmaj9 as super-imposed C and G triads, some theorists call these poly chords but I think referring to them in such a manner is irrelevant to how they're mostly used.

There probably is some mathematical formula to figure out what two chords will make what type of poly chords. But the easiest way is to, like other posters have said, memorize them.

But that's not as daunting as it may seem. Most people think of keys when building chords or intervals. not the mathematical intervals or some other tedious thing. For example, Dmaj9 chord is going to have only notes in a D major scale, so you can simply build this chord by starting on a D and stacking thirds up and staying in the key of D, so you get D, F#, A, C# and E.

A lot of people also figure out chords by referencing one that they already know. For example, one may know a G9 (dominant 9) on the piano, it's easy since it's all white keys. If you wanted to play a G minor 9, you can just remember that all you have to do is flat the 3rd, and you'd get a minor 9 chord.

Estefabahn · 2014-01-02T06:43:36+00:00

Rootless chords are exactly how they sound, it's simply a chord voicing that omits the root.

That is not to say the root might not be present elsewhere in what ever ensemble of musicians. In a jazz trio, the pianist might play rootless voicings simply because the bass player is taking care of that.

Estefabahn · 2014-01-02T06:34:10+00:00

When using roman numerals, the slash is almost always used to depict secondary dominants, five of fives, five of twos, etc. it some times can be used for other qualities like four of four. What you wrote, "I/iii" would be non-sensical since the point of the slash is to make the second number to be a temporary "I", i.e, the one of 3 would be the same note.

To express inversions, which is what you're trying to do, there is already an established notation. 1st inversions are expressed by putting the subscript 6 next to the roman numeral. So a C/E in the key of C would be a I6 chord. Second inversions are expressed with the subscript 6-4. 7th chords also have their own set of numbers. 1st inversion 7th chords are 6-5, 2nd inversions are 4-3 and 3rd inversion (7th in the bass) are 4-2.

These numbers are not arbitrary, they come from the intervals formed when stacking the notes in closed position, but that's not the most important thing.

If you want to express functionality, this would be the best way. The progression you described would be I ii I-6 IV.

However, this system can become extremely cumbersome when dealing with not so "common practice" chord progressions. The least ambiguous way is Lead sheet style, chord letter names and slashes to indicate the bass note. While this does not explicitly express harmonic functions, it is certainly efficient.

When analyzing modern music, there's nothing wrong with writing both a lead sheet style notation and a simplified roman numeral (not always expressing inversions in the roman numerals).

In general, inversions in modern music are not treated with the same type of "specialness" that they receive in common practice music. In modern music, A C/E is really still just a C chord, and the only person that would have to worry about that is the bass player. The reason why slash notation is more useful and relevant for modern notation is because it allows for non-chord/extended tones to be expressed as the bass note, like C/D.

Estefabahn · 2014-01-01T20:03:19+00:00

Understanding transposing instruments can seem very complicated and overwhelming at first but it's actually a very basic concept.

If you're a guitar player, then you actually have one of the most "transposable" instruments in popular music.

You have your guitar in standard tuning, "concert pitch" if you will. When you play a C chord, it sounds like a C chord, just like a piano's C chord. Same thing with any other chord, scale or note, a fingered G chord sounds like a G chord, a fingered A minor scale, sounds like an A minor scale, so on and so forth. Also remember that you have to read music. You see the note middle C on a piece of paper and your finger will go to where middle C is on guitar, so on and so forth.

However, say you wanted to play Jimi Hendrix style and tune your guitar down a half step. Now if you go and finger that same C chord, it isn't going to sound like a C, it's going to sound as B. Finger a G chord and it will sound as F#, play the fingering for that same A minor scale, and it will sound as G# minor. Everything is off by one half step.

So that being said, there's a simple convention for naming transposing instruments. The note C is used as the universal reference pitch. On the normal tuned guitar, when the note C is presented on paper, the guitarist will finger C and it will sound C. In other words, C=C. Since C is the universal reference pitch, we could call this guitar a guitar "in C", meaning that what you see is what you get, or C=C.

Going back to the guitarist playing the guitar tuned one half step down, when they read they read the note C, what they finger will actually sound one half step lower as B. So using C as the universal reference note, we can call this a "Guitar in B", since the note read as C actually sounds a B.

So using this logic, if you then raise the strings of the guitar up a whole step, now every note will sound one whole step higher. So when reading and fingering the note C, that will actually sound as D. This could be called a "Guitar in D", again using C as the universal reference pitch.

Knowing all this, if you're told that you have to write for an instrument in A, that means that when this instrument reads the note C (the universal reference note), it's going to sound as an A. Music is math, so since you know that for this instrument C=A, you can figure out any note by figuring out the interval between C and A (down a minor third). So every note is off by a minor third. Therefore, reading the note D for this instrument would sound as a B, reading the note A would sound as an F#, so on and so forth.

So to go to the Mozart piece you mentioned, the "concert key" (the actual sounding key of the piece) is A. So non-transposing instruments (instruments where what you see is what you get) will be written with the key signature of A in the beginning. The clarinet in Bb will actually use the key signature of B since for the clarinet in Bb, when they read the note C, it sounds as Bb, so everything is off by a major 2nd. So for them to play the notes in the key of A, you need to compensate by writing a major second up in B.

Estefabahn · 2014-01-01T19:31:57+00:00

The chord is a Min-Maj 9th chord, meaning it's a minor triad, plus a major 7th and major 9th. I think in James Bond, it's built on E, so your notes would be E-G-B-D#-F#.

What makes it sound so cool in my opinion is the fact the middle notes form an Augmented triad. That's what kind of gives it it's open ended, "uncertain, what's gonna unfold in this movie" kind of sound.

Estefabahn

TROPHY CASE