Burlap and Blues, The Blues Blog

Any news on the district competition?

A few youtubes I found of the Florida District competition...

Neat guitars for sure!

The other day I was browsing an online catalog and saw these guitars... Pink.

I like pink, but pink pink guitars?

how about pink bass guitars?

now, I am all for girly guitars and such, but how much pink can you stand.

I like this for a pink guitar, but not much more than that!

We need a pink guitar holiday, how about that!

Today, being national columnists day, I thought I would write in my blog about columns. Columns are kind of like rows, and the study of these columns and rows is columnology, not to be confused with cumulonibology, the study of big fluffy clouds. So, let your inner OCD out today and put everything in a column!

Summary of StoneWorks Picks

This review has been really fun to write. Here is the summary of the individual characteristics that I look at for every product.

1. Delivery and Packaging: 5 out of 5 stars. Sent as expected, in bubble wrap mailer. I have to question a bubble wrap mailer, my goodness they are made out of stone what could happen, they get dropped? Their website tells you not to drop them on concrete.

2. Visual Appearance: 5 out of 5 stars. Cool looking picks. Just like any other cool looking stone. Great variety.

3. Construction: 5 out of 5 stars, Best stone picks I have ever felt in my life. I am very honored that I have the ability to do this review.

4. Ease of use: 4 ½ out of 5 stars. I am giving this 4 ½ stars due mainly to the learning curve from using a regular pick

5. Tone: 5 stars out of 5 stars. Tone from these picks is really neat. It gets the tone that it says it will get.

6. Communication: 5 out of 5. Great guy to communicate with, easy and returns emails quickly.

7. Value: 4 out of 5 stars. This was a very hard value to assign. The picks start at around $25 and go up from there. If you are prone to losing picks on a frequent basis, these picks can be a very expensive proposition.

Guitarists are always in search of the ultimate tone. Seeing that most guitarists use a pick that is 0.08% or less of the value of their guitar, it is now evident to me that this is the most overlooked aspect of tone. $25 may be a lot to spend on a pick, but we do not hesitate to spend $100, $200 or more on a new effect, or even more on a new amp or guitar. The tone circuit starts at the pick, goes through the guitar, the effects, the cable, the amp and the speakers. Any weak point can be a weak point.

Taking the previous comments into consideration, $25 does not seem much for a cable? Maybe high for a pick, but certainly well worth the cost.

Overall Rating 4.8 out of 5 stars. Beautiful picks, excellent tone, takes some getting used to, a tad bit pricey compared to standard cheap-o picks, but well well worth it.

If you would like to leave a comment, please let me know at http://burlapandblues.com/bluesblog/blog1.php?disp=msgform&recipient_id=1 Thanks!

Additional thoughts –

Up until I received these picks I had only heard of stone picks being used on acoustics. Most of the videos I had seen were acoustic players using a stone pick. This video was one I had actually watched about a month ago.

But never had I thought about using a stone pick on an electric guitar. After reviewing a few other youtube video’s I decided to give it a shot. I chose a readily available backing track on the internet. I chose a thinner StoneWorks Pick for this jam. This is the pick that I chose for this song

I wanted to see if I could get some serious artificial harmonics and wanted to see how the dynamics affected a dynamic filter.

http://burlapandblues.com/bluesblog/reviews/stonejam.mp3

Overall a pretty good clip. The pick performed excellently, no slippage, great harmonics, great speed.

Remember StoneWorks picks can be found on the internet here http://www.stoneworkspicks.com/. . .

Review equipment – Ibanez Jem 7V, StoneWorks guitar pick as above. Keeley Mod DS-1 into Mesa Boogie simulated amplifier.

If you would like to leave a comment, please let me know at http://burlapandblues.com/bluesblog/blog1.php?disp=msgform&recipient_id=1 Thanks!

Playability

A pick is no good if it cannot be a pick. To be honest, this pick takes a little getting used to. If you have been bending the pick in your fingers for years, you obviously cannot with a StoneWorks pick. I have a few clips to share with you comparing a regular Delrin pick with the StoneWorks Pick.

This is the pick that I used for these tests

This clip is a simple scale first with the Delrin pick, then with the StoneWorks pick.

Scale sound clip. - http://burlapandblues.com/bluesblog/reviews/stonescale1.mp3

It is easy to tell that the StoneWorks pick has a much brighter tone. The tone has a much fuller harmonic wave. At this time I do not have the oscillator set up for video recording, but the difference in the two can be seen on the oscillator.
Next I did some quick and simple strumming (hard) on an acoustic guitar. For the first 30 seconds of the clip I used a regular Delrin pick and the end I used a StoneWorks stone pick.

Strum sound clip - http://burlapandblues.com/bluesblog/reviews/stoneacousticstrumming.mp3

Again note how much brighter the stone pick is when strumming. It certainly takes some getting used to holding the pick. The StoneWorks picks are much easier to hold than other stone picks that I have used. Some reviews complain about the brightness of the pick. If you are not looking for a brighter sound, you may not want

Remember StoneWorks picks can be found on the internet here http://www.stoneworkspicks.com/. . .

Review equipment - Seagull S6 acoustic guitar. Direct recording. StoneWorks stone guitar pick as pictured above.

If you would like to leave a comment, please let me know at http://burlapandblues.com/bluesblog/blog1.php?disp=msgform&recipient_id=1 Thanks!

Part 1 of the review . . .

To start a review on a guitar pick, one must first understand what a guitar pick does. A pick is what we use to strike a string. Physics would tell you that there will be a different tone based on what type of material you are using to strike the string. Finger picking will result in a softer tone, while striking a string with a chunk of metal will produce a harsh tone. Energy is transferred to the string through the pick. A flexible pick will bend, altering the tone and volume based on the relative flexibility of the pick and the thickness of the material. A very stiff material that is thin will give a very different tone than a thick pick that is floppy.

Additionally, during this review I have learned that if the pick is easily worn down, the consistency of the tone will be altered throughout the life of the pick. I had been practicing a heavier song the night before and decided to pull out the close-up photography equipment to see what kind of wear this pick had. This pick was new and has about 2 hours of playing time.

Note over time the shape of the pick changed. Although the tone was not audibly changed, subtly over time, there will be a potential for changes in the physical shape of the pick.

Now, let’s talk about innovation. Stone is not pliable, it is not flexible, it will not wear down. I could do a 100 hour test and never see a wear pattern on a stone pick. I played one of the sample picks on a tune for about an hour and was unable to see any alteration in the pick at all. This pick is perfectly smooth, the indentations you see are colorations in the actual StoneWorks stone pick. Under high power view any regular pliable pick will have wear.

I was ordering picks in bulk (200 or 300 at a shot), so changing picks was not a problem to maintain consistency in tone. But that is not necessary with a stone pick. Yesterday I mentioned several problems with other stone picks that I have owned. Tomorrow I will discuss how this pick plays and feels.

Remember StoneWorks picks can be found on the internet here http://www.stoneworkspicks.com/.

If you would like to leave a comment, please let me know at http://burlapandblues.com/bluesblog/blog1.php?disp=msgform&recipient_id=1 Thanks!

Welcome back to reviews my fellow Burlap and Blues Blog readers. I will be reviewing something that is very unusual. I have heard several times from several pick sellers that what guitar players need for tone is better picks. I had to agree that there had to be a component in a pick making better tone while playing. I have tried pretty much everything I could find as far as picks. I had tried acrylic, plastic, metal, old cymbals, Delrin and even a shaved down quarter. Someone at a local guitar store asked if I had ever tried a stone pick. I purchased one, although I was somewhat put back by the price. Picks are something that guitar players loose, not something that they invest in.
I purchased a stone pick from this store. What I found was a very pretty guitar pick that was bulky to hold and very well polished. It was slippery to hold. Did not like it, could not get it to sound good at all. I have tried other stone picks since then, and I never really found one that I liked. So, I finally just went back to a standard white Delrin and that is what I have been using for years.

So…. I found myself in an interesting situation a few months ago. A guitar player friend of mine asked me to try a stone pick from StoneWorks picks. I chuckled and relayed my story about the last stone pick that I used. This good friend asked me to take it home and give it a good try and review. After taking this home I felt it was someone better than the other stone picks and it was a little easier to hold. With KOTB 2011 coming up, I thought as soon as I am done with KOTB 11, I will start reviews of guitar equipment again.

After an email last week from Mike from StoneWorks Picks, I found myself on the receiving end of a neat assortment of picks from StoneWorks. The first think I can say about these stone picks, is there is no doubt StoneWorks stone picks are not like any other stone pick you will find. The StoneWorks picks are easy to hold on to and extremely smooth but not slippery.

You will not want to miss a moment of the reviews!
If you can’t wait, please check out their site at http://www.stoneworkspicks.com/

Happy Fathers Day. Go buy your daddy a big guitar!

If your daddy don't play, go play him some sweet blues now ya hear!

If'n he don't like dem blues, then at least bring him some dinner!

Have a great day celebrating with your families!

Today is National Eat Your Vegetables Day..

Strategically created in the middle of National Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Month, this day is the perfect opportunity to re-introduce a healthy portion of vegetables into your diet. No doubt about it, Eat Your Vegetables Day was created to promote a more heallthy diet.......for life!

On this day, you are encouraged to eat vegetables for every meal, and for a snack. Better still, try to be a vegetarian....for the day. Short of that, any additonal vegetables at meal time today will honor the event, as well as make you a little healthier.

We encourage parents to let the kids help with dinner, preparing the salad and vegetables. Along the way, you tell your kids a little about the importance of vegetables for a long and healthy life.

In honor of today, this is what I will be eating.

For Breakfast:

Steak and eggs, whole milk, and a half dozen cream filled long johns..

Mid morning snack:

either Landjager or beef jerky and sting cheese...

Lunch will be a burger and fries at a local eating establishment (fries=my first daily vegetable!)

Mid afternoon snack:

Probably bypass this one due to the large lunch.

Dinner:

Four Meat Pizza with extra cheese. Maybe throw in a few beers.

What was this day about again?

Last August, I purchased and did a review on a converted amp. This amp was built in 1956. You can read the review here.

http://burlapandblues.com/bluesblog/blog1.php/2010/08/20/1956-was-a-very-good-year-for

Well. I sold the amp recently as it was getting very little playing time and I wanted to find someone who would appreciate it's pure tube goodness.

How often do we get great equipment just to move it forward in the quest to get the ultimate tone?

A volume pedal review? What... Have I totally lost my mind. Well maybe I have. A volume pedal is a volume pedal. IF.. It it is smooth and bonus points if it is stereo.

Well, what about when you are pulling your volume down between songs, how do you make sure you get back where you were supposed to be. How do you give yourself a good reference to where you should be. As a gig goes on, does your hearing lose a little bit, and do you play a little louder?

Developed in the 1940’s, the volume pedal was one of the earliest effect pedals ever produced. Some of the earliest users of it included the members of Bob Will’s Texas Playboys. Those hillbilly jazz cats had to be ready to solo whenever their cigar chomping, fiddle-playing bandleader would point his bow their way. Later, steel guitarists would begin to not only use it to facilitate volume changes like those Playboys, but also to make a smooth swelling effect. Two decades later, legendary guitarist Larry Carlton would use that same swelling effect with his electric guitar on hits by The Crusaders, Joni Mitchell, Steely Dan, and many others.

The Visual Sound Visual Volume solves all of these problems giving you a series of lights as a reference to know where you are at! The Visual Volume is a stereo buffered volume with reference. I have found that those reference have saved me from getting yelled at by the sound guy on numerous occasions.

You can find out more about the Visual Volume here
http://www.visualsound.net/index.php/products/guitar_effects_pedals/v2_visual_volume/

If I lost or broke this pedal, I would replace it. I have been gigging with the one I have for about 4 years now with no problems at all. Quiet, smooth throughout the whole range of motion. The only downside is as most volume pedals it is a bit bulky and big, but if it was smaller, it would be to difficult to use! The Visual Volume is a must have pedal for my board.

If you would like to leave a comment, please let me know at http://burlapandblues.com/bluesblog/blog1.php?disp=msgform&recipient_id=1 Thanks!

I promised some reviews...

Well here is a list of upcoming reviews here at the Blues Blog.

StoneWorks Picks

The Gunk in your strings.

Visual Sound Visual Volume

I hope that you enjoyed or laughed at the last 12 videos. Over the past few years, this one is still one of my top 5 favorites, and I would be wrong not adding it to the end of this years group.

A ton of people could take a lesson from this one. That's a fun take

Thanks for viewing my favorite KOTB tracks!

King of the Blues 2011.....

Everyone was wondering how my Dad didn't win?

I guess you have to work at Guitar Center to win!

Go Dad!

I would have hoped he won. My daughters thought I was the best too! It is great that you went out and did your best!

The guy in the back must be looking for some sort of guitar center promotion.

Dang a tie at guitar center... Did his mama tie it?

Unbuttoned purple shirt

cool blues hat

cool blues guitar

Cool blues

Guitar Center King of the Blues 2011 - Youtube featured artist

Can you see the excellent mouth work here.

Another Rocker..

KOTB 2011 rocker day!

rocking the blues

Here's an interesting rocker..

Playing a tele. Wonder how many pointy guitars this guy owns...

Seeing that Oscar the Grouch played some mean blues, let's switch places.

This Youtube was tagged with "Didn't win, but got his T-Shirt"

I got a T-shirt too, but it shrunk and is only suitable for anorexic kids.

Here's what Oscar the Grouch would look like playin the blues . . .

7 string..

Use of octaves and such.

Excessive use of octaves.

lots of octaves and stuff

Featured artist winner from Youtube

Yee Haw!

These videos sound really bad when you cannot hear the backing track

Maybe it is a South Dakota Thing

Featured artist winner from Youtube

Now that was interesting!

2 months since the announcement and no changes...

This week, You Tube Featured artists! Some good, some not good, some funny, some not so funny, some painful!

I have left the announcement of Guitar Center's king of the blues as my main blog entry for the past several weeks. Last year when I made this blog post, site traffic went up by 300% for about 4 weeks. Additionally, on our forum searches for GC's KOTB increased site traffic by 350% over the previous month. This year, well I just have to say, has been a dud for people searching for this on the internet. I thought that after the store finals there might be some more interest, but there has not been.

Next week my top five winners! (from YouTube!)