Playing the Guild/Fishman combo at gigs was quite difficult because in many cases, feedback was always right there, waiting for me to turn a little to the right, or left. This was really bizarre, considering the speakers were in front of me, more or less. You can imagine how frustrating that can be. I even got a sound-hole cover, and although that helped some, it was not as much as I had hoped.

Long story short, one of my sons brought his Taylor 814CE to one of my gigs. I ended up playing it all night, and he almost didn't get it back! It sounded great, and feedback was minimal. The next day, I did some pricing on the internet, and headed over to the local Guitar Center, fully intending to buy an 814CE. Ultimately, I did, but I actually started off with the 810CE. However, it had a problem with a hot B string, so I took it back. Once again, I played everything else they had, and settled for the 814CE.

A bonus in the new Taylor line is their redefined electronics called the Expression System. It was initially a bone of contention for me because it only had 3 little knobs, compared to the larger slider-type EQ of prior years. How could it possibly sound as good. I don't know, but it did, and it does. The major benefit of the ES electronics is that it's output is balanced. That means, hold onto your shorts when you crank it up. The volume increase is 4 or 5 times that of an unbalanced system. Did I mention, there is no feedback, except when I do something stupid like walk up to the speakers with the guitar around my neck.

During my electric rock days, I played a 1966 Gretch Tennessean, which was likely influenced by the fact that George Harrison played one. (The photo at left shows me and the Gretch along with Sonny Nesmeth(sp) on the Hoffner bass. Others in the group were Kenny Urbansky on lead guitar, Bill Kidd on drums and Terry Durakis on keyboard and autoharp.) Anyway, at some point in 1976, I traded the Gretch in on the Guild. (The shot at right is a newspaper ad that Ron Zehel Guitar Land, Amherst Ohio did as a marketing thing. Why I kept this article is beyond me.)

This Gretch/Guild deal represents the second major stupid thing I did as a youngster. (I actually did a lot of stupid things, but this, and one other are the notables.) It wasn't the fact that I bought the Guild, because I put a ton of time into selecting just-the-right guitar, but that I got rid of the Gretch. I recently found a 1968 Tennessean on the web selling for $3,800. What a bonehead! (The other stupid thing? I sold our 1968 Camaro Z28 for $1,800, and thought I made out like a thief!)

After a lot of research, I had a Fishman Matrix Natural II installed, the one that does not add bass enhancement. There's enough natural bass in D55's big dreadnaught body to satisfy anyone. (Rappers not included.)  This is a piezo, under saddle style pickup. After a couple months of having to adjust the volume at the PA controls, I decided it was time for some on-board control. For that I bought the Fishman Ellipse Blend with the goal of installing it myself. NOT! The instructions call for the unsoldering of a tiny resistor and capacitor from the existing jack-mounted preamp. You then have to solder in a miniature surface-mount, 2k ohm resistor. Sorry, but I can barely see the thing, let alone, solder it. Here's the deal; on the top right hand corner of the instruction sheet is a statement that says something like, "Dude, don't even try this installation unless you're an expert at this stuff." Believe me, this was not a waste of ink on Fishman's part. Plan to have a pro install it right from jump street. It will stop the premature sprouting of at least 9 gray hairs.

This control unit fits very neatly out of sight, just inside the sound hole. Of course, the little mic is visible if you look hard enough. This soundhole mic combines with your existing Fishman Matrix Natural I or Natural II to give you both types of pickups. The function of the Ellipse Blend is to allow you to blend the outputs of the under-saddle pickup and the sound-hole mic.  The controls include volume, blend (mic and under-saddle) and a push button to select either Natural I or Natural II type sound effects.

I've wanted a 12 string for a long time. What better way to justify the expense than with paying gigs? I was impressed with the on board electronics. It actually sounds fairly natural when plugged in, which is not an easy thing to do with acoustic instruments. Besides that, if it's good enough for Glen Frey of the Eagles, it's, sure as shootin', good enough pour moi. Further justification is that there are some great tunes from the Byrds, Beatles and a few others that just don't sound right without a 12 string. Sure, you can play them with the 6-string, but the sound just isn't the same if you're looking to be true to the original. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!

Everything that goes on the road with me can be categorized into 4 separate families. They are:

1. Amp - Fishman SoloAmp

2. Guitars - I usually bring the Guild and the 12-string. There is a dual purpose for 2 guitars, a. there are dedicated 12-string songs that have to be played on one. It's the law!,    b. when the batteries die on one guitar, it's a simple matter to hook up the 2nd.

3. Stands - that consists of 2 guitar stands and a music stand. I always have a book of lyrics consisting of around 170 songs. Also included in this bunch is a stool for my weary body. You'll notice there is no mic stand, that's because I use the WH30 head-worn mic.

4. Everything Else - I carry a 22" carry-on bag everywhere. It holds all cables, a portable CD player for break time, my sign, the Alesis Mixer and a compartment full of spare batteries.

It's no secret that acoustic guitars quit sounding like acoustic guitars the instant they are plugged into an amp or PA. The best amplified sound has always been produced by standing in one spot, and pointing an instrument-quality mic towards the guitar. This isn't always practical. One solution that eliminates the harsh, clanky sound is Mama Bear. It is a preamp that digitally removes all the nasty sound, and replaces it with an adjustable combination of your guitar's natural sound, and that of your choice of 16 classic acoustic sounds. A word of caution; I was completely dissatisfied with my Taylor when I first started using the Mama Bear. I made a ton of adjustments, and it still sounded shrill, clanky, well, just plain electric, and I was ready to send the 814 back to the factory to repair the terrible plugged-in sound. Then I read the Mama Bear manual. (Hush, girls!)  It basically said to find the lowest possible values in the output and blend controls that will give you the sound you are looking for. So, I backed off of the max values I had been using and voila, I have an acoustic guitar that sounds like it should.

This is the effects mixer I use to provide reverb for vocals. It is capable of much more than just reverb, but I don't find anything else necessary when used in conjunction with the Bose L1. Also, the amount of reverb dialed in is miniscule in comparison to its capabilities.

This is my first major step toward better studio sound. I've used it on many recordings and there is no doubt that it captures and sends a better, full spectrum sound to the software than the dynamic mics I had been using. Initially, the sound was very muddy. Turns out there were a couple problems: a)  the mic pre wasn't sending enough oomph until the operator got his program together and learned how to use it. b) Proximity effect - it basically means I was too close to the condenser mic. 

This is a mic pre amp. It provides a huge amount of sensitivity that simply isn't there without a pre-amp. It allows me to back off the mic, and pick up on the subtle, and not-so-subtle nuances of the voice and instruments. There are many different preamps, all with different attributes, and a price range from $100 to $10,000. This one, at about $150 had several good reviews, and for me at the moment, cheap is good. update: This thing started making a bunch of noise that was outside my hearing range, but other folks filled me in on. I had to analyze all my recordings, using Sonar's Analyst to find the offending noise and strip it out. Needless to say, this thing is retired.

Sonar 8