Any fans of Larry McCray here?

So what was the general consensus regarding Guthrie's album with the aristocrats ? Halfway through, and I am in love with this thing, i think I like it more than Erotic cakes, or just about as much. I am so glad Marco didnt join DT and is doing this stuff instead

I listen to the polished 'song' oriented Erotic Cakes more, but jeez the Aristocrats album just bashes you about the head. Unbelievable stuff, but a even lot of Guthrie fans dont like its abstract approach. I find that every couple of weeks, I listen to it - jaw wide open, but then when it sfinished, I cant listen to it again for a while.

I think the reason you mentioned for people not liking it is why i liked it in the 1st place. For 3 musicians as incredible as featured, I would want them to go all out, and bash my head about. Having listened to Greg Howe, I find too much in similarity with his work on Erotic Cakes(which is not a bad thing). with the aristocrats, he literally is pulling out everything he can think of, and the sheer diversity of it is what won me over.

However, I'll have to see if i can listen to it again. It is only early days.

so i'm thinking about getting a classical guitar, with nylon strings and all that. But i was wondering how the nylon responds to different tunings and tensions. Is a classical guitar something where you can mess around with the tunings without it getting out of tune a lot?

nylon strings are more sensitive than steel - to tuning changes, to climate changes, etc.
(not quite as sensitive as gut strings, but probably in between those two extremes)

you can still retune them, but not as freely as you would with steel strings. at least try not to do anything drastic. the strings were designed to be able to withstand a particular tension - based on the standard tuning. so, from that perspective, detuning wouldn't be a big issue (except they tend to want to retain their previous state, so they get a little sharp quickly, and you have to overcompensate a bit, but that'll come with experience), but as far as tuning up, i suggest you should probably avoid exceeding 2-3 semitones, especially with highest-tension strings, like E and D. i've no idea what you want to do with it, so i'm saying it just in case.

in my case, i usually retune several times in one sitting between standard and drop-D... very often F# (renaissance tuning)... so i guess other than D, i rarely use open tunings, though i have experimented with open E... it's certainly a major drag to have to retune between standard and open E, i.e. extremely impractical if you're retuning that many strings just for one piece during a concert, let's say - it's a guarantee for a tuning disaster.
(one of the main reasons why DADGAD and other open tunings are so popular among steel-string guys, but very rare among nylon-string players... stuff like "koyunbaba" are exceptions to the rule and it hasn't caught fire, unfortunately)

anyway, that shouldn't stop you from getting a nylon-string guitar, though... the sweetness of the tone, the timbral range, the sensitivity to touch, the very feel of the strings... all these wonderful things certainly outweigh the limitations ((((-:

thanks george, that's definitely useful information, since I would be bringing the guitar for a semester on an island and probably wouldn't have access to new strings or anything like that.

I definitely want to get this guitar though. I remember I took classical guitar lessons for a few months as a kid with a rented guitar. And I still remember how it feels and sounds to play so i get urges to try stufff out on nylon everyonce in awhile. Do recommend any starting pieces for classical guitar (preferably one with tabs available)? (btw i youtubed that koyunbaba piece, very cool)

is it sacrilege to think his latter albums in the 90s and 00s are better than Blow by Blow and Wired ?

I don't agree, but I wouldn't call it sacrilege. I can certainly understand why someone would have that opinion. Who Else is particularly amazing.

Wired is untouchable for me personally.

I'm glad someone else prefers Wired to BbB.

Its just a lot more innovating and fresh. I love his past albums, but the new ones just pack so much punch. Id take Brush with the blues and nadia and where were you and Seasons over most of the older stuff

I always have! It's not like it's a landslide though, as both are spectacular and brilliant.

There is no other guitar performance that grabs me like Goodbye Pork Pie Hat. Utterly sublime, his sense of note placement is just extraordinary.

Beck is a minimalist, and the perfect representative for the "less is more" school of guitar playing.

Some of his studio recordings are indeed perfect as far as well-placed notes go, but I find his live soloing to be much too reliant on out-of-place tapping licks and whammy abuse to be representative for a "less is more" approach. For that kinda playing, I usually turn to David Gilmour.

I remember watching this one and just not seeing the genius: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZhgsdJRvKE

Fortunately, many other Beck performances have shown me how great he can be, but that one stuck with me for many years and made me less than enthusiastic about his live playing.

Yeah that's definitely not among his best live performances...

On the other hand, there's brilliant stuff like this...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UIptI2r ... re=related


I think playing with Stevie pushed him to new heights...

from a pure guitar playing perspective that is the standard opinion. in bbb the other band members are on becks level, i personally rate it as the best druming album ive heard. the album as a whole is brillaint