Not in a long time. I still have my guitar and now that I'm settling into my new place, I may just start playing again.
http://www.cathedralguitar.com/Ramirez1984.html (mine is an '83) What an amazing guitar! You are playing a 10 string? I have never played one but I can't imagine my short troll fingers could manage the wide neck. Big Joe Williams used to put 3 more strings on his guitar by drilling holes in the headstock. He doubled up some of the lead strings to get more volume. I use a high gage high E for the same reason. He also used to shoot off a pistol during his show if things got too rowdy! A long way from a lute performance. I hope you get you fingers back on those strings. Playing guitar is one of life's deep pleasures isn't it? Vaj would agree. --- In [email protected], "sparaig" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > --- In [email protected], "curtisdeltablues" <curtisdeltablues@> wrote: > > > > Great details Spraig. Thanks. I was definitely preaching to the > > choir on classical guitars, you obviously know a lot more about them. > > I was particularly interested in the detail about Segovia not > > performing with older guitars. It is very common for folk and blues > > musicians to prefer a guitar's sound after it has settled in for a few > > decades. Of course if it gets too pricey then they start leaving them > > at home! I guess Segovia's guitars really were antiques and not just > > guitars that had aged a bit. > > Segovia apparently DID play one guitar for 25 years, according to a collector's website, so > maybe I'm wrong, or maybe he retired it from concert life and played it at home for a long > time. However, starting in 1961 he used Ramirez guitars and both he and Ramirez said he > got a new one every year. Ramirez said he "traded in his old model"... > > Most of the guys playing the 1930's > > resonator guitars or old Martins spend a great deal of time re-tuning > > the old guitars while they play. Sometimes it gets so distracting > > that I wish they would give up some of the "authenticity" and get a > > guitar with decent tuning pegs! > > > You should watch a lutenist tune. It's a hoot. Even 400 years ago, the reutining done by > lute players was considered a joke. You're right about the gut-string thign. That's why > Segoiva wanted to use nylon strings. That and the fact that they sound dead compared to > good nylon strings. > > I don't know that Segovia was tuning "to the piece" but I've noticed that my own guitar > doesn't sound quite right if I do a low-fret tuning and I'm playing a piece that has a lot of > high-fret action. > > > > > > Great darshon story about his concert. Must have been amazing. I > > didn't realize that you were so into guitars. I misread your > > intentions about Segovia re-tuning while playing because most > > performing artists end up doing this from time to time, myself > > included, and I never seen to get any extra props for it! > > > I've seen plenty of folk/rock guitarists tune while playing, but they weren't playing Bach or > whatever. Segovia would tune during a rest, or a sustained note, while in the middle of a > classical piece. He did it so fast, it looked like he practiced the tuning. May have been a > way of showing off, who knows? > > > Do you play > > classical now? > > Not in a long time. I still have my guitar and now that I'm settling into my new place, I may > just start playing again. > > http://www.cathedralguitar.com/Ramirez1984.html (mine is an '83) > To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
