Many musicians just randomly open their DAW (Digital Audio Workstation such as Pro Tools, Logic, Sonar etc) and create files and hit SAVE when done.
No bueno. You are definitely going to have file problems.
Disk allocation in music recording sessions, when done incorrectly, can cost the recording musician thousands upon thousands of dollars, when they need to hire an engineer to come in and find their files for them.
Always check PREFERENCES in your recording software to ensure that all files are being stored in the same DIRECTORY (folder). That way, your files are allocated to the correct directory, and you can spend your money on Atari synth carts and analog synths instead.
When it’s time to go guitar shopping for a child, parents are often confused about what to buy. This is a guide for how to save money and make sure that your child enjoys his or her time on the guitar.
I recommend printing this list and bringing it to the store with you. If you can’t buy a guitar before your lesson, it doesn’t matter, because I have a ton of awesome guitars that you are welcome to use!
If you’re in Portland Oregon, I recommend buying at:
Trade Up Music, located at SE Division and SE 47th in SE Portland. Tell them Amanda of Whirling Squirrel sent you! 503.236.8800
Old Town Music on SE 11th. Talk to Hank. 503.295.6808
Showcase Music and Sound at SE 34th and Hawthorne 503.231.7027
Purchasing Options: Ages 3-6
Buy the child a small, very inexpensive acoustic guitar, ukulele, or other instrument of deadly unintonated cacophony, and let them pound away at it, making noise. If you’re in Portland Oregon, I recommend signing the child up for Music Together: inexpensive group kids’ music classes at Community Music Center on SE Francis and 33rd in Portland Oregon. I wouldn’t spend time on private lessons until the age of 6. Joy in music is important. Do not expect much of the kid with practice at this time.
Purchasing Options: Ages 6-10
New/Used Small “Child’s Size” Acoustic Guitar: Inexpensive $100-$200, expensive $500-$5,000+
PROS: Cheap, easy to buy, no hassle in the store, so things “seem” okay at first purchase.
CONS: Much, much harder to play. Much less cool sounds. Kids tend to give up more easily when their instrument is an inexpensive acoustic guitar. You’ll end up replacing it anyway down the road. Kids will be very impressed by my electric guitars and their weird sounds. Inexpensive acoustic guitars are just about the most physically difficult situation a beginner could be placed in.
MODELS: BABY TAYLOR, MARTIN BACKPACKER, TAYLOR MINI, AND CORT, EPIPHONE, AND OTHER LOW-END MODELS.
New Small “Child’s Size” Electric Guitar and Amp Package: $100-$200
PROS: Super easy to play! Inexpensive. The electric guitar can make weird sounds, and kids love cacophony.
CONS: He/she will outgrow it. I do not generally recommend child size electric guitars. They have loads and loads of problems, including staying in tune. However, if price is a serious issue, take this option. Just remember that these packages are often new, and the guitar and amp that you just bought for $200 decrease in resale value by about $125 or more as soon as you leave the store. If you went to Guitar Center to buy this package, the price you’ll pay for these packages also goes to corporations that don’t support local musicians. You’ll also get terrible customer service, and chances are, that Guitar Center deal you got doesn’t include the guitar being intonated, so it won’t play in tune, so you’ll need to take it to another repair shop and spend more money and time.
MODELS: SQUIER, FENDER, EPIPHONE AND OTHER LOW-END MODELS.
RECOMMENDED: Used Regular Size Electric Guitar and Amp Package: $150-$250 on up
PROS: Super easy to play! Inexpensive. The electric guitar can make weird sounds, and kids love cacophony. The child will never outgrow it. It will not have intonation “tuning” issues like the smaller guitars do. The resale value will be great, because you bought used.
CONS: You’ll spend $50-$100 more at the beginning. The child may simply be too small for the guitar (but this usually changes in about 2 months). Thankfully, Trade Up Music has a great refund policy and you can get another instrument at Trade Up for the same value within 1 week.
MODELS: YOU ARE NOT LIMITED. SINCE YOU’RE BUYING USED, YOU CAN GET A QUALITY INSTRUMENT AND BRAND. ASK THE STORE EMPLOYEES TO HELP YOU.
MAINTENANCE
Once you buy the guitar, you’ll need to know a good “luthier.” A luthier is someone who repairs and/or builds instruments. You’ll need to bring in your guitar to a luthier about once every three months for “intonation” and “adjustments” to keep the truss rod in shape. YOUR GUITAR WON’T PLAY IN TUNE UNLESS YOU TAKE IT TO A LUTHIER EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE. I recommend:
12th Fret Custom Guitar Shop 2402 SE Belmont, since 1979. 503.231.1912. I used to work at the 12th Fret for many years. They are fantastic people and luthiers, nationally renowned experts. >>website
Ryan Lynn’s EastSide Guitar Repair at 34th and Hawthorne. I have known Ryan for 10 years or more when he was the master luthier at Trade Up. Ryan runs a great shop and he’s a good guy. >>website
There are a lot of great shops, here are the shops run by my friends. Here are the shops where you’ll get the best gear for a great price, and there are nice people there, too!
Portland Musical Instrument Sales Stores
Old Town Music – Portland Oregon
Where I teach. Best prices in town (ridiculously low) and nicest people. Old Town has been owned by the same person since 1994, and before that it was Denny’s Music, and Old Town is very kind to me. I have many years of experience working in guitar shops, repair shops and the like. Old Town does instrument sales, boutique and mass manufactured effects and pedals, synthesizers, guitars; instrument repair and custom electronic repair and buildouts.
TradeUpMusic – Portland Oregon
oodles of great, cheap, mostly used gear, with some new – guitars, amps, basses, synthesizers, pedals, ukuleles, PA systems, drum parts, drum kits, melodicas, harmonicas… friendly service, right next door to Stumptown Coffee. >>website
Trade Up Music 4701 SE Division St., Portland, OR 97206 *503-236-8800* 11:00 am – 7:00 pm daily Google Map
Trade Up Music 1834 NE Alberta St., Portland, OR 97211 *503-335-8800* 11:00 am – 7:00 pm daily Google Map
Portland Musical Instrument Repair Shops
Little Trees Custom Guitar Shop – Portland Oregon
Dan runs a great little shop in SE Portland, I highly recommend him.
nationally renowned lutherie and repairs of stringed instruments of all sorts, serving the general public and prominent artists since 1979… friendly service, wonderful people who really go the extra mile. >>website
12th Fret Custom Guitar Shop 2402 SE Belmont St., Portland, OR 97214 *503-231-1912* 11:00 am – 6:00 pm Tue-Fri and 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm Saturday Google Map
Portland Custom Shop + Sour Sound 1115 SE Morrison St. Portland, OR 97214 *503.227.9260* 11:00 am – 7:00 pm Mon-Fri and 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm Sat-Sun Google Map-Amanda ‘Machina
This is not a lesson for the experienced or intermediate electronic musician. It’s a beginning level lesson.
In this lesson we are going to edit an audio file and cut it up for use as a sample. We will be using iTunes to convert audio file formats; we will be using Audacity to chop up the audio, and we will be using Reason for music production. Keep in mind that in the beginning, this stuff can be a little challenging, because there is a bunch of stuff you probably don’t know. It’s ok to take it slow. The best instruction comes from a teacher who is teaching you, in person or over Skype. Whirling Squirrel offers lessons on Ableton Live, Reason, Logic, Pro Tools, Cakewalk, or cassette tapes. Video lessons, so if you are not in Portland, contact me and we can set up video lessons.
Step 1: Get the song on your computer.
Overview:
You need to have the song on your computer before you can edit it, and you need to see the folder the song is in. What to do:
Import your Music From CD: THE IDEAL SITUATION FOR A BEGINNER LEARNING TO SAMPLE.
Set up iTunes import settings, to import audio TO A WAV FILE (high quality) or MP3 file (SMALLER FILE)
iTunes: — Preferences… General…Import Settings…Import Using … WAV Encoder or MP3 Encoder.
If you can’t find this, look under iTunes Advanced Menu for Import Settings.
Put CD in computer. Open up iTunes and import the song into your iTunes library. Note: If the song is already on your computer, then find the audio file on your computer. Open up that folder.
Step 2: Find out if your song is in a useable format.
Format means: song.wav or song.mp3
Go to the song folder. Windows users: Right Click—– Properties. Mac users: Control Click —– Get Info.
If your song is: WAV, or AIFF (from CDs/PRO AUDIO) or MP3, then GOOD!
If your songs is MP4 or M4A, or God forbid the copyright projected M4P, STOP!! and consider using a different song. If you are taking this lesson, converting files will not make the process fun. You are a BEGINNER. Do not try to do something awesome. Just try to do SOMETHING.
If you really really want to convert stuff, go here first, before you move on to Step 3. http://wiki.audacityteam.org/index.php?title=How_to_import_files_from_iTunes … basically, it involves burning a CD out of an iTunes playlist, then, importing the CD back into your iTunes library as a WAV or MP3 format. Again, this stuff can be complex, so don’t hesitate to contact me for a lesson.
Step 3: Convert files if necessary, to MP3 or WAV.
Open up your song in iTunes. Right click (Windows) or Control Click (Mac).
Convert to MP3. This also may be under Advanced – Create MP3 version.
Then FIND IT in your iTunes library.
Step 4: Get (import) the audio into Audacity.
You can either drag files into Audacity,
or you can IMPORT using the PROJECT menu. I recommend importing.
Go to PROJECT … IMPORT AUDIO. Wav’s will take longer than MP3’s.
Step 5: Chop it up into small samples.
Use the Selection Tool. It looks like a big capital i. It’s in the upper left corner of the screen.
Select audio you want to delete, and delete it. Mess around. Get the feeling of it.
This is often where an in-person or video lesson comes in handy: here is the point in the lesson where I would show you how to use tool tips to figure out what tools do on your own. I would also show you how to chop up audio in a more advanced way. It really helps watching an expert when you are learning, so that you learn good work flow. For more information on my views check out my blog post here on kinesthetic learning processes.
Step 6: Export your samples/chops as WAV files (audio)
Select the audio you want. make sure you play it to hear it. Make it a SMALL, SHORT piece.
File …. EXPORT Selection as WAV.
Make sure you remember what folder you put it in! Better to make a folder called rad-samples on your desktop.
Step 7: Rock your samples.
Open up Reason, open up ReDrum Drum Machine, and assign the sample to one of the triggers.
Open up Ableton and use the File Browser to HOT SWAP a sample in Impulse drum machine or similar instrumentation.
There are other options as well for Logic, Pro Tools, Cakewalk, etc.
Trigger the sample whenever, and record it in a session.
Export your session as a wav file.
Done!
(of course you will need basic instruction using Reason/beatmaking …. because using samples doesn’t make a whole lot of sense unless you know how to create music first…. contact me at squirrel@whirlingsquirrel.com… or at
503 577 2311).
In this article, I’m going to address some of the typical problems that “cheap” guitars have.
What does “setup” mean?
When a guitar has a “setup” already done, it means that the action and “settings” on the guitar are optimized to help you play the instrument. Not all shops do this, especially for their “super cheap” guitars (more below).
Make sure the guitar you’re looking at has been “setup.” Ask your salesperson: “hey, has this guitar had a setup yet?” If not, do not buy it.
What does “cheap” mean?
The word “cheap guitar” is relative.
If you’re saying, “I’ve decided the amount I want to spend for a guitar, yet I don’t know anything about guitars or the industry,” you may be choosing the wrong thing. It is very difficult to make concrete decisions about things you’re really unfamiliar with. Sometimes it can be better to do research and learn how the market is, and then adjust to that. Hopefully this article will help you do that.
I have custom books made by wealthy people – former customers of the custom shop I used to work at – of their entire guitar collections, which are worth millions of dollars. I’ve sold $70,000 vintage collector’s guitars. This post isn’t a “gear snob” post for people like me. This is for beginners who are just looking to buy an inexpensive guitar.
Price points for used guitars (do not buy a new guitar that’s “cheap.”):
Less than $100 (do not buy new): It is fairly likely that you will be be buying an instrument that is permanently damaged beyond reasonable repair.
Between $100 and $250 (do not buy new): There is a chance that the instrument that you are buying may not be permanently damaged beyond repair. With careful inspection using the tips below, proceed with caution.
Between $250 and $500 (do not buy new): With careful inspection using the tips below, proceed with caution. You can also be fairly confident that in this price range, the guitars are “set up.”
$500 to $1000 (do not buy new): You’re going to have a good time. Make sure you use the tips below, however.
$1000 (do not buy new): Now you’re like me.
$2000: Only people with “real money” buy guitars this expensive. That excludes pretty much all musicians. I’ve never paid this much for a guitar, and I never will. I consider it unnecessary.
Regardless of the price point of your guitar, you’ll need to check it for a few things.
What to look for in any guitar you buy
1 – Avoid High Action – but not so low that it buzzes. This is the most important issue for all guitars, but especially cheap ones.
this photo is courtesy of frets.com – a fantastic guitar and lutherie site
High Action can be assessed relatively easily, visually. Play the guitar – if you like an electric guitar but it seems a bit hard to play, ask the store to adjust the action. If it’s an acoustic guitar, you’ll have to pay to have the action lowered. Don’t be overly picky in the store about action before purchasing; skill still matters. If the luthier tells you “it can’t get any lower without buzzing,” then believe them, and take a few lessons so you learn about how to avoid buzz.
2 – Don’t Buy at Guitar Center
A deal from Guitar Center is not a deal, it is a waste of time and money. If you’re buying a NEW guitar, you just spent $300 on something that would have cost $100 otherwise.
If you don’t play in bands, being in a music store may seem intimidating; but you won’t learn how to interact in a music store by going to Guitar Center. Go to the local shop first. Even if you don’t buy anything. You’ll save thousands in the long run.
3 – Great shops often have no sign
Unmarked recording studios and shops are a hallmark of music industry tradition. Nondescript, small shops are generally the higher quality, better reputation places for guitar purchase and repair.
4 – Great shops employ musicians, not “sales pros”
The best shops are the quieter, local shops. The quiet, local, cool shops attract quiet, cool people who know their stuff. They are there to build a good reputation.
5 – Salespeople on commission are more aggressive. Great shops are where you get left alone.
Don’t interpret a salesperson bothering you as “customer service.” They want to spend your money.
6 – Ask Your Guitar Teacher To Go With You
I offer this service for free to my students; owners of music shops love when I bring in customers who buy things. It’s symbiotic, there would be no reason for me to charge students in helping them buy guitars. Contact me to make an appointment. Good teachers generally accompany their students to guitar shops, because a teacher would rather spend an hour helping a student, instead of helping that student deal with a low quality instrument for years.
7 – Avoid A Heavy Guitar
This is a picture of an oak Telecaster. By the way – if you’re starting out, don’t buy a Telecaster.
Again, if you like it buy it, but try to avoid the Les Pauls and heavier guitars at first.
ONLY CAN HULK HAZ.
8 – If You’re Not Deliberately Seeking Obstruction, Don’t Buy A Telecaster
Telecasters are cranky, tough guitars. Muddy Waters, Jimmy Page, James Burton, Jack White, and Curtis Mayfield play(ed) Telecasters, and Keith Richards both plays Telecasters and uses them to hit people with who come onstage with the Stones (no, really). I had a Tele for 15 years, and I bought it because I wanted to play the most difficult guitar on earth to level up my skills and tone.
Almost anything else that you pick, will be easier to play than a Telecaster. Please do not buy one if you are a beginner.
Recommended Music Stores & Repair Shops In Portland
There are a lot of great shops, here are the shops run by my good friends (they also happen to be the best). 🙂
Trade Up Music
oodles of great, cheap, mostly used gear, with some new – guitars, amps, basses, synthesizers, pedals, ukuleles, PA systems, drum parts, drum kits, melodicas, harmonicas… friendly service, right next door to Stumptown Coffee. >>website
Trade Up Music 4701 SE Division St., Portland, OR 97206 *503-236-8800* 11:00 am – 7:00 pm daily Google Map
Trade Up Music 1834 NE Alberta St., Portland, OR 97211 *503-335-8800* 11:00 am – 7:00 pm daily Google Map
12th Fret Custom Guitar Shop
nationally renowned lutherie and repairs of stringed instruments of all sorts, serving the general public and prominent artists since 1979… friendly service, wonderful people who really go the extra mile. >>website
12th Fret Custom Guitar Shop 2402 SE Belmont St., Portland, OR 97214 *503-231-1912* 11:00 am – 6:00 pm Tue-Fri and 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm Saturday Google Map
Portland Custom Shop + Sour Sound 1115 SE Morrison St. Portland, OR 97214 *503.227.9260* 11:00 am – 7:00 pm Mon-Fri and 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm Sat-Sun Google Map
Tomorrow and Sunday, I’m a judge for the Oregon Lego Robotics tournaments.
I’m lucky enough to be able to do a lot of interesting things, but I’m posting this to the Whirling Squirrel site because it involves kids. I’m so excited to be a part of this and to help Oregon youth immerse themselves in science and technology.
FIRST LEGO League (FLL) is an entry-level robotics program for 9 – 14 year olds using a LEGO Mindstorm NXT robot kit to meet an annual robotic and research challenge based on real world issues.
Last year was at the Evergreen Air Museum in McMinnville, so we were surrounded by jets, planes, bombers, and as shown below, Howard Hughes’ Spruce Goose.
I’ve been recording a political heavy metal album that’s still kinda secret, with a few friends.
This project will involve a LOT of editing on my part, as we are editing our music around clips (which clips exactly, will remain a secret for right now). It’s a bit odd for me, because I’m somewhat of an old school perfectionist: I’d rather do a bunch of takes, and use the perfect take. It’s fun and I look forward to more editing in Pro Tools.
Punching in, cross fades for smooth wave forms and edits, are part of my daily life right now. LOL!!
I’ve played the metal tracks for a few friends of mine, and of course for my bandmates. A lot of people are very excited about the record. The first song has a lot of twin guitar harmonies, very Iron Maiden-esque.
I get a the occasional email or phone call from other music teachers, requesting information on how to teach music and run a music lesson business.
I’ve received these kinds of calls for years and I’ve finally implemented a solution. Consulting for Music Instructors. Click here to pre-purchase a consultation session. I’ll be contacting you by phone or email to schedule a session, you can also Schedule Online for Free. Students generally visit my studio in inner SE PDX on SE Division and 12th. In addition, I have a recording studio at a separate facility with isolation booths, control bay with window, headphone mixes, and vaulted ceilings, a decent ProTools project studio.
This is the “thickness” or diameter of the strings. Musicians refer to guitar strings by the gauge of the high E string. A “set of 10’s” is lighter (smaller in diameter) than “a set of 12’s.” String gauge varies widely. You need to consider your guitar’s scale length before you choose strings.
If you’re a geek, click here for more about scale length. Otherwise, it just basically means, length of the string, and you can read on.
Short scale guitars are easier to play. Use heavier strings for thicker tone.
Here are some short scale guitar manufacturers and models.
Gibson
Epiphone
Gretsch
Fender Duosonic
Fender Jaguar, Mustang, etc
Gibson basses
Long scale guitars are harder to play. Use lighter strings in general.
Here are some long scale guitar manufacturers and models. Remember, the long scale makes it more difficult to play, but also produces a different frequency and/or signal quality due to the extra length in scale. Why is this? Well, think about a ukulele, and then think about a guitar. Now think about a bass guitar. Now, think about a cello. Is a cello larger than a ukulele? Yes, it certainly is. Transitively, a bass guitar is larger than a guitar, and a guitar is larger than a cello.
A cello makes lower sounds than a ukulele or a guitar, right? Yes, that’s definitely true! So every time you think of “long scale,” think of a “longer neck” and “deeper sounding tones.” Bass frequencies oscillate at a much lower rate. This means that the waves are longer. Without getting too much into physics, I will leave it at this: longer scale guitars are harder to play, but often can produce deeper sounding tones with more clarity.
Fender
G&L
Parker Fly
Most Fender basse
Fender Bass IV, a baritone instrument
Most baritone guitars are long scale
Strings and tone
Lighter strings = lighter tone (generally). Best for more finesse players.
Heavy strings = bolder tone/harder to play (usually). Better for heavy hitters.
As far as I can tell, most luthiers measure from the nut to the center of the 12th fret and double that measurement for the “scale length.” The only thing is that it doesn’t seem to fit a lot of manufacturers’ stated specifications if you do it that way. I like to measure to the 12th, double that distance, and call that the scale length, just to be consistent. Then, adding compensation for various strings, I’ll call each of those lengths “compensated scale length.” That way, at least I don’t go crazy right off.
Now, just to drive us all nuts, some builders shorten the distance between the nut and first fret to improve intonation in low positions. That, of course, messes with our ability to measure the scale length on a given instrument.
Precise measurements are critical in building an instrument, but for the practical purposes of comparing instruments as to their tone and performance, approximate measure is just fine. I don’t think 1/8″ one way or the other will have much effect.
I was trained in these matters by Chris Brandt, owner of the 12th Fret Custom Guitar Shop in Portland, when I worked there for about 3 years. Not only are they a great bunch of guys, but they are very knowledgeable luthiers, and kind individuals as well. They do everything from string changes, to refrets, to steaming apart necks of old Martin guitars and doing who-knows-what in there. Saul Koll of Koll Guitars, also used to work there and Saul is an amazing luthier as well (and a fabulous electric guitar player). The 12th Fret is a little shop who does repairs for the likes of Robert Cray, and Saul builds guitars for Sonic Youth. I think I was taught by the best (or close to it).
Since I didn’t know the scale length of Parker Fly guitars, I googled it.I found out that the scale of the parker fly has a 25.5″ scale. This is a long scale. So my student should use lighter strings. I have taught this particular student for quite a few years, and he’s more of a delicate technician than a heavy hitter. Light strings work best for players who are more finesse focused. Hard and heavy hitters, use heavy strings.
And remember, if you’re having issues with buzzing strings, make sure not to hit your guitar too hard! That “buzzing” sound comes from the string whacking against the frets. The force you use with your pick, as well as the angle of the pick, all comes into play. Before you take your guitar in to be repaired, take a lesson or two with a good instructor to verify your technique isn’t causing the problems.
Rock on and good luck!
– Amanda
Recommended Music Stores & Repair Shops In Portland
There are a lot of great shops, here are the shops run by my good friends (they also happen to be the best). 🙂
Trade Up Music
oodles of great, cheap, mostly used gear, with some new – guitars, amps, basses, synthesizers, pedals, ukuleles, PA systems, drum parts, drum kits, melodicas, harmonicas… friendly service, right next door to Stumptown Coffee. >>website
Trade Up Music 4701 SE Division St., Portland, OR 97206 *503-236-8800* 11:00 am – 7:00 pm daily Google Map
Trade Up Music 1834 NE Alberta St., Portland, OR 97211 *503-335-8800* 11:00 am – 7:00 pm daily Google Map
12th Fret Custom Guitar Shop
nationally renowned lutherie and repairs of stringed instruments of all sorts, serving the general public and prominent artists since 1979… friendly service, wonderful people who really go the extra mile. >>website
12th Fret Custom Guitar Shop 2402 SE Belmont St., Portland, OR 97214 *503-231-1912* 11:00 am – 6:00 pm Tue-Fri and 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm Saturday Google Map
I’ve been teaching the guitar in Portland for 11 years. Over time I became bored with the guitar, and focused on playing synthesizers, and using programs like Ableton Live and Reason for music performance and production. After many requests from my students, I began to teach Ableton Live, beatmaking, and hip hop music production and performance. Being “classically trained” in rhythm gives you creative control over your own beats. Usually these classes begin with rhythm theory, then cover drum set theory, then we program beats on hardware drum machines before working with Ableton and Reason, and similar software.