Hofner Shorty Review

NGD! New Guitar DAY!!! Ok so as I began playing more and more and got involved with a band I realised that my little acoustic parlour guitar running through a lead channel of an amp was just not gonna cut it for the sound I wanted. The problem is due to the big move to London and all the travelling I've been doing, I didn't have a lot of funds to devote to a guitar. Another problem out current flat is extremely small and so we didn't have room for full-sized guitars and amps. We also knew we would be moving around a lot and eventually we would like to move back to the states. So I set my self to finding a small, inexpensive guitar that played well and sounded good enough for playing the types of gigs we where playing. Oh and by the way my budget was about £100 (about $160 USD). I know what your thinking easy right. (sarcasm just in case you didn't pick that up). I also didn't have a lot of time to find this guitar that I wasn't even sure existed as out next gig was coming up. So I did my research and eventually came across the Hofner shorty. These are popular with a small group of people who know what they are capable of,  from people who use them I have heard nothing but good things about them. The best part is they where selling on eBay for around £120 used. So started bidding and got one at right about £100. I wasn't crazy about the teal-ish blue colour and I usually don't like buying guitars or equipment sight unseen but I didn't have much of a choice with my time and budget constraints. So it came in and yes there where a few issue as will all used things: the case had seen better days and the zips where useless (the cases seem to be really cheap anyway), the jack was kinda worn but I was able to fix the connection without soldering by bending it back to place. Other than that I was extremely surprised at the quality. The neck is comfortable and fast, the fret board and frets where installed well I had no issue with dead frets or sharp ends. The action was great when I got it but it was even better after a slapped some medium gauge strings on and set it up properly, then it played unbelievably well. The bridge is a little confusing to work on, but it's a pretty interesting wrap around bridge/tail-piece all in one sort of deal. Its similar to what you seen on a PRS. It set up great and I was able to easily get the intonation right (which was so nice after fighting with the intonation on my parlour guitar). The feel of it is awkward but it doesn't take long to get used to and the weird little body actually has some ergonomic qualities. If you try one of these and you find with a strap that is hangs in a odd position then I recommend tying the front of your strap to the headstock like you would an acoustic guitar. Also it's much more comfortable when sitting if you play it in your lap like a classical guitar. Another great plus about these guitars are they are extremely light and super comfortable on stage. As for a case I found I can fit my Hofner, my tools, my accessories, cables, effects pedals, and anything else I want at the gig in the case for my parlour guitar. I've also put this guitar in my back pack with just the headstock and a few frets sticking out. The best thing about the shorty is that despite all these advantages of being a compact guitar the shorty has a full scale 24 feet neck so you don't have to sacrifice any playability. As far as sound goes I was extremely please when I first plugged this guitar in. It tends to be a bit bright but rolling back the tone knob seems to fix the issue without making it too muddy sounding. The guitar has one humbucker, a volume knob, and a tone knob. I am able to get a surprising amount of versatility in my sound just from playing with the tone knob. Unfortunately I don't know the model of the humbucker and I also don't know for sure what wood is in mine. I know some of the early models where made with woods like maple and mahogany but I think mine is probably something like basswood. I also found out if I take the strings off and remove the neck it fits in a carry on. Not something you would want to do with an expensive guitar but I think this will be a great way to move back to the states with my shorty. All in all I am extremely happy with this guitar and even the colour has grown on me a bit. It's a bit odd looking but it has sort of become a signature look that I'm known for around here, I've gotten many compliments on the look and the sound.

For more info on the Hofner Shorty here is a great website: Hofner Shorty Fact File

Some photos. As you can see I managed to fit it into my pack, pretty cool. I also managed to completely disassemble it and see all the mojo this particular guitar has earned from its previous gigs.

Atlantic Rising

So it's been a while since I've posted anything and a lot has happened so I will split it up into several posts. So after living and working in London for a few months I started looking for a band. Through gumtree I met a lot of good musicians and jamed with a lot of them in the studio in my building. In the end I got on with a singer songwriter I met from Kentish Town and we put together a set list of songs he wrote during his solo project. We had a lot of influences in common and felt comfortable playing blues rock together, me on guitar and him on guitar and vocals. We both put ads on gumtree and began auditioning for other musician. We took on a lead guitarist for a while but it didn't really work out so I became the lead guitarist and soon had to find myself an electric guitar. I scored and awesome deal on eBay on a Hofner shorty (yep another travel guitar), I will review this nice little guitar in a post later. Next we found a bassist that had played with the the singer (from here on our front man) and soon after we found a good fit for a drummer. After we had filled the position for drummer we had a reply to one of our wanted ads from a lady who still really wanted to audition. When we met her we explained that we had found a drummer already but where always keen to jam with new people, so she pulled out a set of harmonicas and told us to play a 12 bar blues. When she joined right in with the harmonica we realised this kind of sound was perfect for our band. We spent our time for a month or so learning the songs writing our parts to them and rehearsing the set list. Soon it was time for a name to give the promoters we looked around at how we all came from different places, decided on the name and Atlantic Rising was born. Our front-man had been in the business for a while during his solo career and got to know lots of venues and promoters so as soon as we felt comfortable he started contacting people and in just a short time we had a gig at the Enterprise in Camden. I'll never forget the feeling of walking in for my first sound check on a proper stage at a proper venue above a pub in London. I was extremely intimidated and excited at the same time. It was a dream come true, I had been hoping for this ever since we made plans to move to London but it was so surreal to actually be experiencing it. Luckily you wife's family was in London visiting us so they got to come to the show and see me. It was so great, we got a great reception from the crowd and so many compliments. I even got complimented on my little travel guitar. Up there on the stage looking over the people that had come to hear us play and knowing I had reached my goal and could truly consider myself not only a musician but a lead guitarist in a working band was amazing and I will never forget it.

Compact and Travelworthy Recording Gear

One of the main reasons I started this blog was to review my gear, so if feel its time I did a side by side comparison of some of the gear I am traveling with and using to record my music. In case you haven't noticed I can kinda nerd out when it comes to guitars and music gear, I will confess I am a gear head, I am always researching and obsessing over new gear. I often change guitars and gear and I love to take things apart, test things, see how they work and talk about gear. This is great for you as a reader because I aim to share my opinions, knowledge and experiences with the gear I use. My goal in doing this is to help readers make informed decisions when buying new gear and to help spread the word about some of my favorite guitars and equipment. I will post some details about the gear I am using but if you would ever like more information or to see my other gear you can visit my Guitar and Music Equipment Page, or of course you can always comment or Contact Me.

So I am currently using two different methods to record, the first is my Tascam DR-40 and the second is my Iphone 5s with iRIG interface and various apps. I often use these two interchangeably to record my ideas and original songs. For the most part though I use the Tascam to record high quality acoustic and vocal tracks (usually my finished songs), and I use the Iphone to record quick little riffs, ideas and songs that I do not want to forget. I also like to use the Iphone's modeling capabilities to play my acoustic guitar as an electric and to just play around with effects and lead guitar parts. I will be posting everything on my Sound Cloud Page, if you have problems listening just drop me an email or leave a comment and I will find other methods to post them. I would also love to hear your opinions and questions on the gear (or anything on the blog for that matter) as well as any ideas or suggestions you may have.

So, for this review I created 4 recordings of my acoustic guitar comparing these two methods as well as 2 recordings I made on my Iphone that are just for fun where I use some cool effects. Please keep in mind I am not claiming to be a guitar expert or a recording expert so try to listen more for the differences in the equipment than my ability or my playing style. I apologize if there is any background noise, I wanted this to be very raw so you hear exactly what you get strait out of the the recorder. If you wanted to you could edit your recordings on your computer using various software, if you just starting out or a hobbyist like me I recommend Audacity because its free and its relatively simple to use.

The first recording is with the Tascam. Here I am using the two built in condenser mics with no effects or any sort of editing or mastering. Listen Here.

Now compare that to the next recording in which I use my iPhone 5s built in microphone and the Garage Band app. Listen Here.

Just a note of recording with micraphones, the thing to keep in mind is that mic positioning and environment (as in the room or space your recording in) make a huge difference in recordings. I prefer recording with mics because you will never get the same thing twice and it sounds very natural and organic. After comparing these two myself I came to the conclusion that I prefer the Tascam recording because you can hear more of the harmonics and overtones of the guitar, but on the downside it also makes for a messier recording because the condenser mics pick up EVERYTHING including breathing. Although I prefer the Tascam I was pleasantly surprised in the quality of recording I got out of the Iphone, I expected much less. Also as a another side note, you may not be able to tell a difference on soundcloud but the Tascam is recording in stereo (using two different microphones), where as the Iphone just records in mono.

The next recording is the guitar plugged directly into the Tascam using a standard 1/4" guitar lead (same cable you would use to plug into an amp). Listen Here.

Compare that to the next recording in which I plug the guitar strait into my Iphone iRIG interface with no effects or modeling. Listen Here.

When recording like this by plugging strait in there are a lot more things to take consideration, such as the quality cables you are using, the interface you are using, input levels, if you are plugging strait into the recorder or going through some sort of amp or effects processor, and finally the quality of pickup (and preamp if you have one) that you have installed in your guitar. Fortunately all of these variables are easily controlled, to get the best recordings you should experiment with different cables, pickups, preamps, or any other gear in your "signal chain" (anything components between your guitar pickup and the recorder/ amplifier). In both of these recordings I used a cheap off brand acoustic pickup/preamp combo installed in my guitar and a cheap off brand lead. Personally I felt that the Iphone was a much better option for this type of recording. The Iphone was much simpler and much cleaner in this case. I had to play around with the input levels on my Tascam to get a decent sound and even in the one I posted you can hear some distortion and noise. Also because the Tascam has two inputs and the ability to record in stereo you will notice the first recording will only play through one speaker (this can be fixed with some mixing and mastering using a recording software). The Iphone also had some cool and fun effects you can play with that can be added before or after you finish the recording.

The next recording was just something I did for fun, I have been asked before if I can get some cool crunchy (heavy distortion) metal tones from my acoustic using the built in modeling in Garageband so I gave it a try. Here I recorded by plugging strait into the interface for my Iphone again, but this time I used the built in amp modeling and some effects to simulate a "heavy metal" style amplifier on the lead channel. Listen Here.

Compare that to this recording which is essentially the same recording, but I switched amp models to a "fender style" bluesy amp with a more mild gain setting. Listen Here.

Keep in mind because I am using an acoustic guitar and a pickup with a preamp that's just meant to be plugged into a PA or acoustic amp, these last two recording would sound a lot more like an authentic electric guitar "rig" (guitar, effects and amplifier) if I had been using an electric guitar. That being said, the fact that I can get theses sounds out of an acoustic guitar is an awesome concept for anyone in my position that doesn't have the option of buying multiple guitars to lug around. This makes garage band a great tool for a traveling musician. Also worth noting is the fact that garage band allows you to change effects and modeling after recording, this is extremely helpful because you can record and just worry about getting the guitar playing to sound the way you want it and then you can see how that recording sounds through different amps and effects till you find the right tone for that particular recording. You can also duplicate the original recording and make it sound like multiple guitar through different amps. You can also overdub and add other instruments or recordings to the track and end up with a complete song that sounds like a full band using just your Iphone! The interface of the Garageband app is really cool and after a bit of playing around you can quickly learn how to use all of the features. There are many more amp models in Garageband, endless options to fine tune your tone and plenty of effects that are meant to model the traditional "stompbox" effects pedals. For example here are the effects I like to use a lot.

This is also only one of the apps that are available to guitar players on the Iphone and although you do have to pay for garage band there are many other great apps like this that are free.

All in all my opinion is the best mic'ed up acoustic recordings come from the Tascam but for a bit of fun or modeling the Iphone is the way to go. That's just my opinion though, make sure to comment and let me know your opinions. 

Until next time,

-Peghead
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Flying with a guitar, my experience...

So I apologize for not posting this sooner. In the last post I wrote back in the states I talked a little about packing my guitar and my plan for flying with it. In that post I promised that I would follow up on how everything went once I got to London and settled in. Well the settling in took a little longer than I thought and I have been seeking employment here in London as well so I have not been able to post for a while. In case you haven't seen the older post here is it: Counting Down To London!! 1 week left
So here it is my story of flying with a guitar, I complied a bunch of research on how to travel and fly with a guitar and I feel after all the advice and research I have came up with a pretty good way to go. I decided not to take an expensive full sized acoustic guitar, in stead I bought a lower end (but still good and plenty playable) parlor (or parlour) guitar. See the pictures below to see how I packed the guitar and equipment. The first flight I had was from Atlanta to Chicago. It was about a two hour flight. I got through security just fine with no issues what so ever, even despite my forgetting to remove the batteries from the guitars pickup and the tascam recorder I had in the case (which I had been warned to do). I never once had the case searched or got stopped by anyone from security about the guitar or equipment.We booked through American Airlines but when we got to the airport we hit the first snag in my plan. The plan was the carry the guitar on the plane with me in a soft gigbag which usually is is not a problem on long international flights in a large plane. The first and biggest problem we hit is that American Airlines had outsourced this domestic connecting flight to one of its smaller partners. The plane was much smaller than anticipated with stricter baggage restrictions and on top of that it was way overbooked (as they usually are). As we walked to the gate a lady approached me and told me that I couldn't take my guitar with me, if I wanted to bring it I would have to check it. Because of the baggage and passenger situation they had to route baggage on other plans so not only was I informed I would have to check my guitar and pay for an extra checked bag but my guitar would be checked all they way through to London! Here is where I had to take a few deep breaths and remain calm. I calmly asked to speak to someone else who could give me more information. I spoke to a manager and after some tactful persuading I was able to get them to let us check my wife's carry on all the way through to London for free and instead carry my guitar on. I was warned however that if it did not fit in an overhead or if there was no space that it would have to be checked. I have to admit I did my research on the size of the guitar and overhead compartments I was pretty sure it would fit, but not having a spare jet complete with overhead storage lying around I could not actually test this theory, needless to say I was a little nervous. Despite my fears though the guitar fit, luckily I found a man standing nervously by an overhead compartment where he had stowed his precious miniature sitar, because of the size and shape of both our instruments the fit together perfectly and we both assured each other we would take care when removing them so the neither instrument got damaged. So the guitar made it just fine to Chicago, I also have to give another shout out to road runner cases for the little brat. Because of the different options of straps I could either wear it like a back pack or hook up a separate shoulder strap I took of one of my other cases, which made it extremely comfortable and easy to carry around the airports. On the international flight I was warned again that if it did not fit the guitar would have to be checked through, of course this time it fit with plenty of room to spare and there where plenty of overhead compartments so I had no problems. Our flight was a little delayed but we had no issues with customs or anything else when leaving the airport. Also because I was using the shoulder strap I was able to easily throw on my backpack (which was overloaded but I still managed to pass it off as my personal item on both flights) and carry all my baggage along with the guitar on my shoulder. If you buy this case for your small guitar I highly recommend getting a shoulder strap or using one from one of your other guitar cases. When I opened up the case the guitar was in great shape, I had of course de-tuned the guitar. I loosened the strings just enough to take some of the tension off the neck but left them tight enough that when plucked they did sound an audible note. I believe this is the best policy when traveling because they still counteracted the tension from the truss rod but they weren't "pulling" on the neck so much, I personally feel this allows for pressure changes an humidity changes so that the neck does not get warped. There where no cracks, dents or any other cosmetic damage to the guitar so the case did its job. I checked the RH using the humidity gauge I mentioned in the other post and the planet waves humidipacs seemed to have done their job (see pictures below). The guitar played well right out of the case (after tuned up of course) but I did make a small adjustment to the truss rod after a few days of letting the guitar "adjust" to its new environment (its worth noting that I always wait a day or so after some careful observations before making any adjustments). Also I recommend making small adjustments while tuned to what ever tuning you plan to use the guitar in and waiting for everything on the guitar to "settle" before making additional adjustments (after all we are dealing with wood here and a "balance" of different tensions from different parts of the instrument). I am by no means an expert at setting up guitars but I feel comfortable making this sort of adjustment. If you are in doubt or uncomfortable with it at all, it's worth finding a good guitar tech or lutheir to do this sort of work. All in all I feel that the move went extremely well and I believe so far I have a great setup for traveling and even playing out or busking, which I plan to do soon and I will post more about my experiences in this area later on. Thanks for reading and as always please comment or contact me if you would like to talk more or give me any feedback.

Until next time,

-Peghead
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DIY small scale feedback buster

Here is a cool DIY video of an idea I came up with just by trying different ways to combat the feedback I was getting at loud volumes with the pickup in my parlor guitar. Hope you enjoy, leave me some comments and tell me what you think. More videos like this to come.

-Peghead
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Arrived in London!

This post may be a short one since I've been so busy with preparations and traveling. So... we have arrived in London with all our luggage (including the guitar which arrived in great shape). I'll post details on how I packed and traveled with my guitar when I have a chance.I have created a page for my guitars and gear, and I'm in the process of creating pages for the places we travel to along with contact information where you can reach me. I am also linking this blog to my YouTube channel where I will be posting videos about traveling, music, and DIY projects, so check it out. I do have one update about the guitar I am taking with me. I have made a homemade feedback buster from the lid of a can of folgers coffee. Check out the guitar and gear page for more info. If I have time I'll post a DIY video and an entire post about the feedback buster. It's really easy and really beneficial  for anyone that has a smaller guitar with a smaller sound hole. We are getting settled into London this week and next week we will be in Paris for my wife me's 1st wedding anniversary, but I'll try to post as regularly as I can. Keep checking back because I have a lot of cool guitar and travel stuff I'll be posting soon.

-Peghead
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Counting down to London!! 1 week left

In this post I wanna talk a little about how I plan to pack and travel with my guitar. I have decided after some research to take a small scale guitar in a gig bag and carry it on the plane with me. I have checked and although my guitar is too long (it is built to be the dimensions of a "traditional parlor guitar") to fit the requirements of most airlines' carry on policy, it should still fit into an over head compartment. In case any readers are wondering what the measurements of my A&L AMI parlor guitar are here is a link to the website with all the manufacturers specifications: A&L AMI. I have also done extensive research on the specific policies of the airlines we will flying with and plan to have print outs of their policies in my case and ready to be shown to anyone that doesn't comply. One thing to keep in mind is that policies differ from airline to airline even if they are owned by the same company so be careful with connecting fights. I also plan on calling the airlines to confirm their policies on musical instruments and just as a backup I plan to pack my gig bag with extra cushioning (socks ect.) and take a picture with a current newspaper to document how well it's packed, the condition it's in, and the date in case the worst happens. I've also been playing around with modifications to the guitar and gig bag to make it safer for travel.  After doing research on some of the ways guitars can get ruined during travel I realized that the end pin is a weak point and I have a way to reinforce it. It is basically just a large washer with a piece of cloth between it and the body of my guitar. I installed it on my end pin jack so if it does take a rough drop the force of the drop will be distributed over a larger area instead of one small point that's on the seam where the two halve of the body come together. I would also recommend to anyone in a similar situation, just removing then end pin while traveling. This is easy to do and a similar, maybe even more effective way to avoid the same tragedy, although if your guitar has an end pin jack it's not so simple. I have also use and old travel bag for toiletries to hold my recorder, tuner and other more fragile accessories. This bag fits perfectly under the neck of my guitar in the gig back and with some cushioning should help hold the neck in place. I am using a road runner little brat gig bag made specifically for 3/4 scale guitars. It was very reasonably priced, you can buy them here: Road Runner Little Brat. Its not as protective as a hard case but it has a thick layer of padding and plenty of pockets. I plan on locking the main compartment on the bag with some TSA approved master locks in case I get told it has to go to the coat closet or, heaven forbid, I'm forced to gate check it.The bag fits the depth of my guitar perfectly, it fits the width good except for around the upper bout where its a little loose, and lengthwise it is a little snug. I want it to be snug when I pack it to travel so I will just fill in the gaps with things like shirts and socks and I will pack the head stock area very tightly and carefully to help avoid a head stock break. Another travel tip I have picked up may seem obvious but I will say it anyway, make sure you loose the strings with flying with a guitar, they don't have to be completely off but they do need some slack in them to take some the tension off the neck. Keep in mind even when carrying on your guitar it will go through a lot of pressure, temperature and humidity changes when changing flights, boarding and even in transit. This is why I'm packing my guitar with a planet waves humidipack to help with humidity changes. If I have time I will try to post pictures of my packing methods ect. next week before my flight and I will post a follow up after I arrive to talk about how well everything went.

Until next time,

-Peghead
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