We Will Go On Blog Back Online

I am continuing to blog on another site, as well.  It is called We Will Go On and can be found at this link:  wewillgoon.blogspot.com

On this blog I write about life with a neurological syndrome called "Parkinsonism-Plus."  If you are interested, please visit.  Thanks -- Guitar Man

Taylor 210ce Acoustic Lives Up to its Name

Taylor guitars are known for their excellent construction, quality materials, wonderful playability and tremendous sound.  In June of 2011 I bought a Taylor 210ce for $1,000, with a hard gig bag case included, and I couldn't be happier.  Let me tell you why.

This guitar plays magnificently.  I know what you are thinking-- this guitar is not one of their high priced, made in USA versions with the solid wood sides and back.  No, but it is a great instrument!  Taylor makes quality guitars and the plant in Mexico is right in step with the California shop just across the border.  The guitar neck is very comfortable and allows for quick and smooth changes.  I am able to get up in the high notes with a cutaway that gives you the freedom to bend strings playing blues runs.  It came with medium strings and I went ahead and tried light gauge.  I found that mediums play like lights, and yet give you a greater volume and solid, brassy notes that ring out.  I recommend the medium and you won't have a problem with the action on this great neck.

These 210ce guitars are build very well.  This guitar is airtight in its construction.  The joints are all well designed and put together, and the fit and finish are as great as their $3,000 models.   Examine the guitar and you come away knowing it was constructed with pride and expertise.  It looks fantastic.  I love the resonant sound that comes from a chamber that is constructed without bracing on the inside of the back, allowing more room for sustain and tone (this design reminds me of the Guild D25 arch back accoustic they made in Rhode Island in the 1970's).

The tone woods sound beautifully.  This guitar does have laminated rosewood sides and back.  Do not underestimate the value of the rosewood, because, though it is in a veneer state, the rosewood is a factor in the sound character of this guitar.  It possesses a full, warm sound that rivals the 310 or 314ce.  In my opinion, it sounds better than the 314ce, which I have played.  It projects loudly and has a brilliant clarity to each note and an overriding sustain to a strummed chord.  The solid spruce top is a carefully selected piece of wood with a tight and beautiful grain.  I haven't seen a better looking and sounding spruce top on either my Martin D28 or Guild D55, both of which are much higher priced instruments.

The electronics in this guitar sound great and allow for the natural woodiness to shine through.  The Taylor system amplifies the guitar in a way that does not compromise its clarity or sustaining warmth.  I am proud to play this guitar on stage through an acoustic amp or a PA system. 

The case is very nice, and though it is a bag, it has a hard construction where it counts so it reduces weight while stylishly protecting this beautiful instrument it carries.

The machines or tuners are the best I have on any of my axes-- it holds tune quite well.  No, let me rephrase that-- it stays tuned in a surprisingly satisfying way!  I think this is one of the best reasons to buy and use this guitar to perform.  This guitar's tuning doesn't slip and I attribute that to quality construction, coupled with the excellent tuners possessing a favorable gear ratio.  I can't emphasize tuning enough in recommending this guitar.

I love the dreadnought shape and its sound.  It is big and full, while not getting muddy in the low end.  It remains clear and it provides very nice single note leads.  The sustain is inspiring as you accompany lyrics with chording.  The sound is particularly tasty when finger picking.

My Taylor 210ce sits here on the left next to my Fender Strat.

I am a happy Taylor 210ce owner.  Though I have several USA-made high end guitars, the Taylor is my every day practice instrument and sounds like a winner on stage.  When I don't want to risk taking my more expensive guitars, I don't give away quality or sound to happily take my Taylor to a gig or jam session.  I give it an excellent rating.  -- Guitar Man

By the Time I Get to Phoenix on an Ovation Al DiMeola Guitar

Glen Campbell is a tremendous guitarist and an accomplished singer.  He has made some landmark recordings that have been huge hits, world wide.  This song is the all time greatest, in my humble opinion.  Written by Jimmy Webb, this song has an amazingly universal quality incorporating jazz and pop styles, while being made popular in the country genre.  Here is my cover if this great song. 

Why the California Reference in "Sweet Home Chicago?"

Now you have had the chance to listen to Robert Johnson's version of Sweet Home Chicago.

Johnson sings, "Back to the land of California, To my sweet home Chicago."  Now, I ask you: Why does Robert Johnson sing the line about California?

I did some research and found that the song is an adaptation of an old blues number by a blues man named Kokomo in the 1930's.  But in adapting this song and writing his own lyrics Robert Johnson clearly used the phrase of his own I quoted above with the reference to California.  Chicago is not in California!  What did he mean?

There are two options:  First, California represents the "land of milk and honey", or the promised land if you will.  Second, it could be that Johnson's geography training just left him lacking on his knowledge of the location of California and he associated it with Illinois in some way.  This is also a reasonable assumption, because with Johnson's tremendous talent, he was also a very young man at this point.

Reference:  http://blueslyrics.tripod.com/lyrics/robert_johnson/sweet_home_chicago.htm

Give the song a listen again as played by Clapton.  Awesome version!  -- Guitar Man

Sweet Home Chicago

I haven't been able to post since Friday, since I have been recovering from a routine Gallbladder surgery that didn't go completely smoothly.  I am doing slightly better and expecting to recover well, in time.  The parkinsonian disorder complicates situations such as this one. 

I have to get back to where I can press the guitar against my abdomen (if you think about it, the gallbladder is right under where you put your guitar against your body, especially in a seated position).

I am never far from my blues music-- have been enjoying my blues CD's and was really drawn to Sweet Home Chicago after hearing a blurb of the President singing it with BB King last week.  Great song by Robert Johnson.  Here is his version:

I Couldn't Stop Shaking

I couldn’t stop shaking.  The night was creeping in and I tried to sleep, but couldn’t.  Then, it dawned on me.  I am overwhelmed.  Thanks to a recent visit from a dear family member I was made aware that it is okay to realize this-- that I am in a tough spot.  I don’t have to keep a stiff upper lip and try to convince myself that all is fine, when sometimes it is not. 

It is enough sometimes just to keep it all straight.  I am not always able to do so, but I give it my best.  I think being ill with a neurological disease of this magnitude is all encompassing and you are trying to make sense of something that is not very definable.   And let me say, though I may seem to be out of touch and unaware of the great love and grace of my heavenly Father, I am not actually.  I just have a hard time putting it all in context sometimes.  It is as though I am trying to sort out the reality of this life as a man impaired, and then at the same time, I want to be able to go on in the strength of all I once held.  It isn’t an easy task on any day, for any human being, let alone one who is brain impaired.

You see “looking the same,” as I often hear, isn’t enough.  We with Parkinson’s and Parkinson’s-like diseases don’t always look impaired or so different from our previous status that we held prior to the changes these diseases brought forth.  We are simply working at keeping it all together.  We shake yes, and sometimes the shaking can be overwhelming and very challenging.  But it involves much more than shaking.

I was outside in our yard with a dear family member who visited recently and the trembling became just so unreasonably strong that for a moment I could barely think of the conversation.  It was such a nice visit and so fulfilling a discussion that I was able to set aside the constant trembling inside my whole body and the continual nodding of my head to respond and learn from a wonderful and caring person.    I learned so much from that talk because there was a great perception of my station and an empathy that touched a place deep within and I was strengthened from that.  My point: there is more going on than the more obvious, “shaking,” but the other medical challenges persist too.  This all comes with the package.  The health struggles are enough, but capping it all off is a mind that is affected greatly.  My personality is on overload and I try to keep the rudder of my ship steering the real me on the right course, but it isn’t so easy to do.

Tonight I awoke troubled, and it dawned on me.  When I can’t stop shaking, it isn’t just my body, but my whole being.  Who I am now-- who I was before.  Yes, this disease is part of me now, as my caring visitor reminded me. There is no turning back.  But if I seem less able to put it all together than I once could, don’t think I am being unreasonable or less faithful to my beliefs.  Sometimes the questions are more real than the answers.  But I am not throwing in the towel; to the contrary, I am opening the door to places most of us have never walked or experienced.  It is lonely through that door and I don’t exactly understand or know where it is leading me.  I am trying, but sometimes I just can’t stop shaking.

Rich Mullins - Hold Me Jesus (song about Tremors)

This is the studio version of Rich Mullins' song I lasted posted as covered by Phil Keaggy.  I relate to this song for some obvious reasons.  Going through much medical difficulty and the tremors that come from my disease, a rare form of Parkinson's called Striatonigral Degeneration, this song says it all.

Keaggy Plays Rich Mullins' Hold Me Jesus

I was watching this video of Phil Keaggy singing one of my favorite songs I have covered in the past, HOLD ME JESUS.  This guy can play, although the video isn't always really clear.  Still you can get a sense of his technique.  It appears he has removed the steel strings and installed nylon/classical strings on this instrument, which is a high end boutique guitar similar to the one James Taylor plays.

The lyrics on this song say it all for me, and others:  Hold Me Jesus, because I'm shaking like a leaf...

I think of my tremors and this song represents that emotion that comes from a movement disorder like the one I have.  Enjoy the video and give me your feedback if you get the chance.

VOX AC4TV played through a VHT Special 6 Speaker Cabinet

I was setting up to jam with friends the other day and I found out how useful my new VOX AC4TV10 amplifier is when playing with a band.  We were just practicing, but my son was playing a full set of drums and my friend was playing a keyboard and/or guitar along with my vocal and guitar.  I set up my VHT Special 6 head and VHT speaker cabinet.  I was mixing my guitar amplification before the guys arrived and I realized that I wasn't getting enough break up for a true overdrive sound at a low enough volume.  The VHT is an amazingly great sounding, low watt tube amp, but it is best clean.  It breaks up beautifully but must get loud to do so.  Not a bad thing, but best if performing in a medium to larger venue for that purpose if you are going to utilize tube distortion.

The VOX AC4TV was purchased for individual practice and distortion at low volume levels.  I decided to stack my VOX AC4TV on top of the VHT Special 6 closed back speaker cab with the 12 speaker and run the VOX through this larger speaker output.  The AC4TV has an output jack to plug into a 16 ohm speaker, which is exactly what the VHT Special 6 Speaker Cabinet requires.  Perfect match, and, wow, what a difference. 

With this set up, I was able to put the VOX AC4TV on the 1/4 Watt setting, turn the volume and tone levels up to the half-way point, and was getting great overdrive sounds through my VHT Speaker cabinet.  It was plenty loud-- as a matter of fact it was almost too loud, so I had my Strat on 7 or 8 and any louder would have overwhelmed the band and been too loud for the neighbors.  I loved this combination of the VHT Special 6 Speaker Cab paired with my VOX AC4TV 4 Watt tube amplifier.  The tones were great and we played everything from rock covers to old time blues and it was a great guitar sound that I was able to produce without being much too loud for everyone concerned.  -- Guitar Man

Fender '63 Reverb FRV-1 Pedal Review

After using the Fender '65 Deluxe Reverb Pedal for a week, I realized that it was having one serious issue.  The reverb setting had a random crashing and sometimes pinging noise that kept popping up.  It was very distracting and I would be concerned that it would be present if I ever were to play in public using this BOSS Fender Reverb pedal.  I read of others having this same problem in online postings and reviews.  I took this pedal back and exchanged it for the BOSS Fender '63 Reverb Pedal, which is a clean reverb and has no gain knob or vibrato.  The vibrato was a nice option, but I didn't buy a reverb pedal to get that effect.  The gain knob on the '65 pedal was probably causing the crashing  noise in the reverb.  The gain was there for the purpose of getting overdrive sound; the AC4TV produces a great tube overdrive and you do not need to add an overdrive pedal to that set up. 

The BOSS Fender '63 Reverb pedal produces a quality, vintage Reverb sound without causing the problems that the '65 pedal is known to bring about.  I recommend the '63 pedal for those of you who are looking for a pure reverb sound to add to a Class  A Blues type amp.  -- Guitar Man