Except for the acoustic guitar, all the tracks on here are BIAB. I did the guitar work. But, I have to tell you...each of the two acoustic guitar parts I did are actually several efforts cut and pasted....not played straight through. I wanted to be up front with you about that. I have Focal Dystonia which makes it very difficult to type and even more difficult to play guitar for any extended period of time. I took the best parts from the several cuts and pasted them together to get what sounds like a full, uninterrupted acoustic guitar lead. Don't want to try to fool you fine folks!
File:Al - Smoke On The Strings.MGU
Key=Em , Tempo 132, Length (m:s)=4:05
4 bar intro, 64 bar chorus, from bar 5 to bar 68. Repeat x2 choruses
Song is saved with Volume, Pan, Reverb, Chorus, Bank0,
Song is saved with bar changes for Volume Changes,
RealTracks in style: ~427:Bass, Acoustic, Bluegrass Ev 130
RealTracks in style: ~426:Banjo, Bluegrass Ev 130 (Rhythm)
RealTracks in style: ~431:Guitar, Acoustic, Strumming Bluegrass Ev 130
RealTracks in style: ~432:Mandolin, Rhythm Bluegrass Ev 130
RealTracks in song: ~434:Fiddle, Soloist Bluegrass Ev 130
RealTracks in song: ~436:Mandolin, Soloist Bluegrass Ev 130
My guitar parts were played on an Alverez acoustic-electric played through a Peavey Nashville 112 amp. Hope you enjoy it.
http://www.doubletrouble-music.com/song/23/90/c
Al, Red hot pickin. Yee haw! Nice job on the mix and editing. There are some outstanding tracks in the bluegrass RTs. You cover a lot of genres and you do it well. I look forward to hearing a lot more. Tom
Thanks! Just what I needed to get off my seat and put the towels in the dryer:)
Wonderful arrangement!
DA...
Yeah, what Tommy said. You bridge a lot of genres and do it exceedingly well. Few people can pull that off so seamlessly. Bravo!
Thanks so much.
Hi Al,
no wonder, you couldn't play it in one take, as it's
really fast!
It's fantastic playing though.
In some parts it reminds me a little of
Django Reinhardt's gypsy jazz.
Enjoyed it a lot.
Guenter
nice.... I enjoy the minor key bluegrass tunes...
Alan,
Nicely put together. Great pickin'. Solid mix.
A very enjoyable listen...
floyd
Hi Alan
Yes, a really nice balance of everything. Nothing gets in the way of anything else. Nicely played. Well done!
Hi, Al !!:))
You gotta have your
fire extinguisher ready
at hand !!:))
What a swing.....huh....!!!
You´re getting sweat just by
listening !!!:)) (lol) !
I liked it !:))
Cheers
Dani
Al,
Great composition, arrangement, and performance! Wow!! Thanks for sharing and not letting condition slow you down.
SD
[quote=Al-David]Except for the acoustic guitar, all the tracks on here are BIAB. I did the guitar work. But, I have to tell you...each of the two acoustic guitar parts I did are actually several efforts cut and pasted....not played straight through. I wanted to be up front with you about that. I have Focal Dystonia which makes it very difficult to type and even more difficult to play guitar for any extended period of time. I took the best parts from the several cuts and pasted them together to get what sounds like a full, uninterrupted acoustic guitar lead. Don't want to try to fool you fine folks!
Al - often with music, its not what you do, it's the way that you do it. MANY MANY recordings are composites of MANY MANY Takes - mine in partic'lar!! LOL!
Its well played ,no matter how you arrived there and its a great sounding axe too.
cheers
ian
TO(m...
Thanks for the listen and the very nice comments. We sure do appreciate it. And yes, BIAB has a plethora of great Bluegrass tracks. I have 4 or 5 other Bluegrass songs recorded, although Bluegrass is not a natural style for me...I have to work very hard at it. We're delighted you enjoyed it! Best to ya...
Al & Di
Hi DA!!!
So nice to hear from you. Glad you liked it and hope the towels got dry! We appreciate the visit and kind comment...thanks! Wishing you the best...
Al & Di
Hi Don...
So glad you enjoyed this one. Thanks for letting us know!
I hope I don't sound too full of myself but I take a little pride in the fact that I can compose and play in most common genres. We write soundtracks and as such must be somewhat skilled and well-rounded in many genres.
Before I was diagnosed with the Focal Dystonia, I could play this faster stuff pretty decently but since then it's a lot of hit and miss. My fingers want to curl inward...as though I'm making a fist and they are more rigid than they used to be. But hey...I had over 40 years of following my musical dream and making a decent living at it, so no complaints. Many folks aren't that fortunate!
We've recorded in several other genres we've not yet posted. In time we'll get a lot of out there for you guys & gals to listen to. We hope you like it. best to you...
Al & Di
Hi Guenter...
Thank you for the very nice words! At one time, I was able to play this stuff all the way through. but, times have changed. So glad you liked it...thanks!
Al & Di
Hi Herb...
Yeah, the minor keys have a sweet but mysterious aura about them. For me, in the Bluegrass genre, I prefer to play in the minor keys. That's often true in most of the Blues styles, too. Thanks so much for the listen...
Al & Di
Floyd,
Thank you very much. I just wish I could still play this good consistently. But, I had my years of music playing so not gonna complain too much! Glad you liked it! Best to you...
Al & Di
Hi VT!
Thank you so much for the very nice comments. They mean a lot. Thanks again! best to you...
Al & Di
Dani...
Fire extinguisher, eh? Ha!!!! Actually, I had to slow it down about 5 bpm from the original idea. It sucks getting old!!!!
Thanks, my friend. Stay warm up there near the tundra!
Al & Di
Hey SD...
Thank you for the listen and those generous comments! It does slow me down but I work around it the best I can. I'm gonna have BIAB do a lot more of the lead riffs for me for the faster stuff in the near future. Glad you enjoyed your listen! Bst to you...
Al & Di
Ian...
Thank you so much for those words of encouragement! It can be frustrating when one can no longer do what he once was able to do. But, that goes along with being blessed with a long life. So, I'm not complaining! I'm delighted you enjoyed the end product of my labor. It was very kind of you to say so. Wishing you the best...
Al & Di
Al,
It's no shame to splice and dice solos, one of my recent songs "Hullo Mabel" (I won't link as this is about YOUR pickin')had a solo that was a composite as there was NO way I could play what I wanted/needed in one take.
Pink Floyd's, Dave Gilmour, outro solo in "Comfortably Numb" was just one of those apparently AND then he had to learn it to play it live...thank goodness we don't have to do that!!
Back to you..... great pickin'
Thanks for sharing
Alyn
ps Just thought that, in a way, this is what BIAB RealTracks do with each regeneration.
Al,
This is outstanding! Even if you had to record your guitar solo, one bar at a time, it would still be very impressive. Really enjoyed this!
And yes, getting old is not for sissies!
(Not that I would know, of course.)
Steve
Hey Alyn,
Glad you enjoyed this foray into a genre that I don't often work in. I like the genre but just don't have a natural ability for it. I really struggle to sound even half-way decent. But I sure do appreciate the encouragement!
And yes, may of the songs coming out of Nashville (can't speak for other music hubs) are composed of cut and pasted segments melded into a single production, much like I did on this. I have a good friend who is an independent sound engineer in Nashville and he has told me quite a bit about that.
As much as I pride myself in my God-given talent, I did not want to mislead anyone here. Thanks so much for the listen and kind words! Best to you...
Al
Hello Steve...
I lived in San Antonio for about 6 years in the 70s and I am familiar with Canyon Lake. Although it's not real close to SATX, I've been through there a few times...nice place!
Thank you so much for those very kind words...you are very gracious! of course you wouldn't know about the ravages of growing old at this point...but in another 12 or 15 years you'll start to undersa5tnd...ha! Actually, I am very fortunate. I'll be 68 years old in March and this is the first real medical issue I've had...other than getting shot up a bit in Vietnam. But that's a whole different conversation. I have no significant aches or pains and have never taken a chronic medication in my life. So, I have no complaints...just thankfulness for the good health I've been given up to this point.
Again, thank you for your kindness! Best to you...
Al
Well (former) neighbor Al, the way cities grow, Canyon Lake is much closer to San Antonio than you might think now.
I guess I have to say yes sir and no sir to you. I just turned 58 this past year. It was a year of great opportunity. I had a total hip replacement in June, and during my recovery process I was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy. God has been very good to me. I can still play my piano, guitar and violin, and when I'm not fighting the flu I can still sing somewhat.
I just looked up focal dystonia and that doesn't look like much fun. I will be praying for you. God gave us or talents and He can sustain us. I will be listening to some more of your music, and if this one is representative of your abilities, I can't wait to hear them.
Blessings to you,
Steve
No need to worry about your guitar work - that's some mighty fine pickin'.
You've got some very creative transitions in this. Really keeps the listener engaged.
Steve...
I haven't taken a look at the map of the SATX area in quite some time. I'll do that tonight. I was there from 1974 - 1978. Our band played at "The Farmer's Daughter" on W.W. White Road, what was then called "Randy's Rodeo" on Culebra Road/Street and often at "The Elbow Room" on Austin Highway. We had the opportunity to back up Moe Bandy, Boxcar Willie, Daryl McCall and Johnny Bush on several occasions. If you're not that familiar with Country Music, they were fairly popular country music stars at that time. Okay, done braggin'!
Focal dystonia is nothing compared to MD. In turn Di and I will keep you in our prayers. We've all three ben blessed with some decent talent and it appears we've done a pretty good job of serving those talents.
Wishing you good health as the pages on the calendar turn. Best to you...
Al
Hello oleman!
Why, thank you so much. Sure do appreciate those words of confidence. I'll keep picking and cutting & pasting& as long as I can! Thank you for your very nice comments!
Al
Hi Al,
This is incredibly well put together. The mix is awesome, the arrangement is spectacular and your playing is sensational. When the piece ended, I couldn't believe that I'd been listening for 4 minutes! Wow!
I have say that even with focal dystonia, your guitar playing is outstanding. You're an inspiration to us all. It's great that you and Di came along and joined in the forum
Best wishes to you both for 2014,
Noel
P.S. There's nothing wrong with cutting and splicing that's what they do in studios all the time! Just call yourself a 'producer' and that covers it nicely!
Noel...
You are much too kind! But we do appreciate those very kind comments. Thank you so much!!!
At one time, I would have been able to play this through on one take. But, that's no longer the case. Worse things could happen! I'm not complaining. Again, thank you so much!
We are enjoying our time on the forums, particularly this one. Everyone here is incredibly talented and seem to be great people. It's quite a treat to be hanging out with all this talent!!! Best to you in 2014 as well. We hope it treats you marvelously well...
Al & Di
Al,
A belated welcome to the BIAB forums. Some hot picking going on and it all sounds mighty fine. One suggestion: All of the lead work (fiddle, mandolin and guitar) seems to be on the right side of the stereo field. I would re-mix and move some of the instruments around. The stereo field is your friend -- use it.
Well done, for sure. I took a crack a bluegrass playing for awhile -- it was too hard and it took too much work (ha, ha -- my sig line makes sense in this context).
Nice sharp cutting mix w/o instruments stepping on one another -- essential for the genre. We enjoyed the listen!
BTW I understand your cutting and pasting the solo. Janice and I played in hard core bluegrass bands for 30 years and now days just playing rhythm with the ole hand arthritis creeping makes us love those RealTracks!
Certainly got my feet a-tappin'
Thanks, Malcolm
Al,
It does not matter how you recorded it, unless you are asked to play it again live :>, weak joke aside this is a wonderfully done toe tapper as the old folks say!
PS: I am hearing some great runs in there that had to come on single takes, very nice picking. Great job Al!
Later,
Hi Kevin...
Good to meet you over here on the PG Forums. Thanks for the welcome! How long have we known each other now...5 or 6 years?
Thanks for the kind words. There's a lot of cut and past/splice on this one. But it all came out okay, I guess. i thought about the lead tracks all being on the righht channel. the reason I did it that way is because the main rhythm instrument (mandolin) is on the left channel and I didn't want to drop it...soiunds very empty without it. I guess I could move it more to themiddle and play with the lead tracks.
Thanks again, Kevin. Best to you...
Al
Janice & Bud...
Thank yas for the nice words!!! Bluegrass is not my strong genre. I never was real fond of the genre until I heard Alison Kraus and Nickel Creek. Also there was a group of short duration called NewGrass Revival. I love everything all them did and converted me to a fan.
I'm fortunate not to have arthritis anywhere in my body...no significant aches or pains. just this darned focal dystonia. In a couple of years, I probably won't be able to play at all. But, I'm giving it hell until then! Thanks again!
Al and Di
Hi Malcolm...
Good to "meet' you, mate! We sure appreciate the rhythm asnd glad we could put your feet to work! Best to you...
Al & Di
Very nice job this is the kind of stuff I am working on trying to put together. thanks for posting it
Wade...
Welcome to the PG Music Forums. We're delighted you enjoyed your listen. Thanks for letting us know! best to you...
Al & Di