If you are like me and are of the same generational and cultural stock, you might remember programmes such as How! or Play-Away that would show little films of how lightbulbs are made or how they put toothpaste into the tubes. I used to find all that kind of stuff fascinating and while perusing YouTube I found a little film that tickled that particular itch. Currently, I am playing a Godin xtSA guitar and it is probably the best made guitar I’ve ever owned. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve still got “Blackie” in its case – my 1997 Fender Fat Strat on which I wrote and recorded the majority of my recordings up to the last one – Textures. Since then, I had a Epiphone Black Beauty, which was a nice guitar but a little too anonymous and easy to play for my tastes and the aforementioned Godin. I am still bonding with the Godin and at the beginning I was worried that I’d made a mistake in buying it as I didn’t feel it was my guitar. It’s hard to describe, but for me to get anywhere with an instrument, I need to have a physical bond to it. My fingers need to feel comfortable on the fretboard and I need to know where all the sweet and dead spots are. With my Fender, it was literally love at first sight, but with the Godin it took time and I am only just cementing our relationship. The great thing about it is that it can be an electric, acoustic or synth in one guitar. Very clever. Anyway, I am again detracting from the starting point of this post. I found this great video of how they make guitars at the Godin factory:

Recently, the Crimson Guitars website announced its signature Robert Fripp instrument. I’ve never been too keen on signature instruments, but I was interesting to see how they tackled the MIDI guitar aspect of the guitar. Again, they relied on the Roland GK range of pickups and I was surprised by this because the guitar is quite futuristic and I was kind of expecting a rock-solid piezo type MIDI pickup, the same kind they use on the Godin Synth Access models. I like the shape and contouring of the guitar, but not too enamoured on the wood used for the body. I am sure it looks better in the flesh, but I would have preferred an all-black model. And yes, it is too expensive so I’ll be sticking to my tried and trusted Godin. 🙂
Currently trying to do a re-recorded version of “The Clock Keeps Ticking” for this vocal CD I am pulling together. Now the original version was recorded a long time ago when I thought all I needed was a solid drum track and growling bass line. It’s not a song in the conventional sense of the word as it just jumps around four or five notes all the way through – it’s more of a sound palette for the poem lyric that runs through the song. I’m trying to get the vocal together, but the hayfever is playing havoc with me tubes and I sound like Malcolm from the Tunes adverts from the 1970s. Anyway, here’s the incredibly dull backing track…trust me, you will nod off…


Direct download: CLICK HERE

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