Wednesday, July 29, 2009
12:10 PM | Posted by
Donovan Banks |
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Last night I played at the Blues Train with Swell Band at Zack's on Wilson's Wharf in Durban. I've been going on and off to watch some of the finest older musicians around play for a while. They are very good and it's a little intimidating to play in their company and I felt a little like I didn't belong there. That turned out to be one of my downfalls.
We were unprepared as a band and had no idea what to play or how we were going to. So we just hacked through some numbers we thought were bluesy enough.
I used someone else's amp which is never good for me. I found my tone wasn't the way I wanted and the GT8 responded differently to this amp. Although that was the least of my worries, I forgot all the chords. I had a shocker of an evening. Thankfully it was short.
My learning points were;
a) don't be intimidated by your surroundings. You deserve to be there.
b) Practice at least once, if not have some sort of discussion before or a plan in place.
c) Check the gear. I tell myself this all the time and I don't practice it. I like my amp and I know my amp so I should use my amp.
All in all, I had a rough one. I got a few compliments which means it was worse by my standards than others. But we are booked there again in September so I can implement my learning's.
The one thing I know above all is that Swell Band is good. We had an off night, so what. We all had our moments and I had a good, blazing solo in "Holding Back the Years." Most importantly, we live and we learn. Rock on!
We were unprepared as a band and had no idea what to play or how we were going to. So we just hacked through some numbers we thought were bluesy enough.
I used someone else's amp which is never good for me. I found my tone wasn't the way I wanted and the GT8 responded differently to this amp. Although that was the least of my worries, I forgot all the chords. I had a shocker of an evening. Thankfully it was short.
My learning points were;
a) don't be intimidated by your surroundings. You deserve to be there.
b) Practice at least once, if not have some sort of discussion before or a plan in place.
c) Check the gear. I tell myself this all the time and I don't practice it. I like my amp and I know my amp so I should use my amp.
All in all, I had a rough one. I got a few compliments which means it was worse by my standards than others. But we are booked there again in September so I can implement my learning's.
The one thing I know above all is that Swell Band is good. We had an off night, so what. We all had our moments and I had a good, blazing solo in "Holding Back the Years." Most importantly, we live and we learn. Rock on!
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Monday, July 20, 2009
11:03 AM | Posted by
Donovan Banks |
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This weekend I played at the Awakening as part of Nelisa Kala's band. We've been working for a few weeks to put together this show (hence the quiet blog).
We have a good band with very talented musicians, Keith Naidoo on guitar, Lazarus Pillay on Keys and Ross Viljoen on Drums.
We had some issues that we could learn from this weekend.
Friday: We arrived to do a sound check to discover they had a 6 channel sound desk with 2 monitor sends, they had no monitors and their equipment was shocking. One would normally expect a theatre to have top level sound systems and be well equipped for anything. We took it for granted that the venue provided what they said they would. As a result we had to fix it by borrowing equipment and using a separate feed as monitors and to try boost the quality of the house sound.
Saturday: The gig went very well. Keith played outstanding solo's and people loved it. Nelisa did something amazing in that she forgot the words to one of her poems but she covered it so well and nobody was the wiser. Being a professional is not about never making mistakes, it's about being able to handle them. The crowd LOVED the way she did so that night. She was brilliant and it showed in the audience reaction.
Sunday: we had a substantially smaller crowd. We were comfortable with the venue and sound by now so we were set to have a smooth gig. Keith had issues with his pedal which was buzzing badly every time he tried to change effects. This, of course, happened mid song. There are a few learning points here that we can look at.
Keep an eye out for Nelisa Kala and the Awakening. We'll be doing the rounds soon enough and it is something definitely worth watching.
We have a good band with very talented musicians, Keith Naidoo on guitar, Lazarus Pillay on Keys and Ross Viljoen on Drums.
We had some issues that we could learn from this weekend.
Friday: We arrived to do a sound check to discover they had a 6 channel sound desk with 2 monitor sends, they had no monitors and their equipment was shocking. One would normally expect a theatre to have top level sound systems and be well equipped for anything. We took it for granted that the venue provided what they said they would. As a result we had to fix it by borrowing equipment and using a separate feed as monitors and to try boost the quality of the house sound.
Saturday: The gig went very well. Keith played outstanding solo's and people loved it. Nelisa did something amazing in that she forgot the words to one of her poems but she covered it so well and nobody was the wiser. Being a professional is not about never making mistakes, it's about being able to handle them. The crowd LOVED the way she did so that night. She was brilliant and it showed in the audience reaction.
Sunday: we had a substantially smaller crowd. We were comfortable with the venue and sound by now so we were set to have a smooth gig. Keith had issues with his pedal which was buzzing badly every time he tried to change effects. This, of course, happened mid song. There are a few learning points here that we can look at.
- check your gear before you play. If there are any problems that can't be fixed, and if there is a chance it would happen in the set, remove it and make do. A clean guitar solo can be just as effective as an over driven one. It is also impressive at times to see just raw guitaring. While effects can add to the ambiance, as long as your guitar works you are able to play.
- Nelisa had walked over to the opposite side of the stage to give Keith focus at his solo time. That's when his gear failed so he could do nothing. She could have turned her focus to either the keys or even the bass to fill in the solo gap. Take the focus off the problem and get the audience looking somewhere else so the problem can be sorted out on the side.
- When a lead guitarists gear fails on him, there is obviously a big gap. Other guitarists in the band should be able to cover the empty space. Again, get the focus off the problem so it can be handled quickly. If not another guitarist, the keys, bass or even drums can sort it out. You should generate a good enough feel for each other so you know who will step in if something goes wrong.
Keep an eye out for Nelisa Kala and the Awakening. We'll be doing the rounds soon enough and it is something definitely worth watching.
Friday, July 17, 2009
11:55 AM | Posted by
Donovan Banks |
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I was playing bass on a Fender Bassman 100 recently. It had a constant annoying hum, but when the lead was unplugged or muted it went away. I asked the owner if he knew what the problem was and he said it had been like that since he got it.
It was being used in a church. On the stage each instrument is connected straight into a DI box, the signal is then split. One to the desk, and one to the amp for monitoring.
what happens with some DI boxes is that the desk supplies phantom power. It sends 48V up the cable to the DI box. In this case the phantom power was passing through the DI box and being fed into the amp, thereby creating the hum.
when I flicked the ground switch, the power was no longer passing through the DI but was being used up instead so the humming went.
I had a Fender Bassman 50 previously and it too had an annoying hum. although I never used a DI box the ground switch on that amp too was in the wrong position. If you have a hum, check that first before you start replacing costly parts. It could save you some good time and money in the long run.
It was being used in a church. On the stage each instrument is connected straight into a DI box, the signal is then split. One to the desk, and one to the amp for monitoring.
what happens with some DI boxes is that the desk supplies phantom power. It sends 48V up the cable to the DI box. In this case the phantom power was passing through the DI box and being fed into the amp, thereby creating the hum.
when I flicked the ground switch, the power was no longer passing through the DI but was being used up instead so the humming went.
I had a Fender Bassman 50 previously and it too had an annoying hum. although I never used a DI box the ground switch on that amp too was in the wrong position. If you have a hum, check that first before you start replacing costly parts. It could save you some good time and money in the long run.
Monday, June 8, 2009
11:39 AM | Posted by
Donovan Banks |
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When I learned to play guitar I never bothered learning to read staff notation. As a result every time I wanted to learn a new song I had to hear it, memorise it and then try play along with whatever guidance was given to me, which was usually either "fake books" or Tabs. Recently I have been reading and the best way to explain it is like this:
If you speak mainly English and try speak another language, like German, there are subtle nuances and pronunciations you will miss out. I went to Germany and was given a basic run down of phrases, like how to order a beer, "Ein Bitter." I was even taught to count and got given a dictionary with a few phrases.
I got lost one day looking for Mülheim. I asked a lot of people how I could get there and nobody had heard of it. After asking everyone one guy looked eager to help so I showed him the map, "OOooh,"he exclaimed,"M(ule) heim. That's round the corner."
I was utterly disappointed that all those people couldn't help me, but I was saying, "Mullheim," when it was supposed to be pronounced, "Muleheim"
I had completely failed to communicate. While I had learned a few phrases, I certainly wasn't well versed at communicating, like I though I was.
Music is another language altogether. We can speak it, play it, write it and read it. By writing a letter in English, we have the ability to communicate well with other English speaking people. When we write down a piece of music, a musician (who can read!) will pick it up and play it exactly as you wrote it.
If you learn the language of music fluently, you will be able to create, understand and communicate in a language of Gods. Once you know the language you can make people feel how you want them to, think what you want them to. You can make people fall in love, be excited or you can make them scared, sad or angry.
Yet so many of us try to learn a few phrases, then we try communicate anything and everything we feel. Sometimes we get lucky but one has to look at great composers and wonder why they never had a song consisting of only 3 chords.
At least we'll always know where the bus station is.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
10:02 AM | Posted by
Donovan Banks |
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One of the outstanding tasks for the Ibanez RG was to get the Trem arm which was proving rather difficult. In the end I popped into Coastal Music to see what they had. Oddly I was told there was nothing but Dieter dragged me into the back room where they had all sorts of parts and we found what looked like a trem arm for a strat but it fit my guitar. He gave it to me for nothing.
Seeing as I was so stoked I decided to look at their Classical guitars.
Now I've been in the market for a good Nylon string for a while now. Since I sold the Bassman I also had the cash on hand for it. Now a really good Nylon String could set you back a few thousand rand, I had a limit of R2000, less because I wanted a bag with it and some spare available for strings. That didn't leave me with much of an option.
I believe every guitarist needs a good Acoustic-Electric. It gives you another dimension in your music, not everything must be loud and thrashing, there are times when people want to see you play without major 'electronic assistance.' I wanted a Nylon string because I love the mellow sound, and I also love playing with my fingers. It is not the guitar for everyone but I enjoy it immensely and I feel it gives me a competitive edge over other working guitarists in the area who all run the risk of sounding the same. Think "Rodrigo y Gabriella" vs any rock band you hear doing unplugged, aside from Incubus' "A certain shade of Green" that was phenomenal.
I played a Crafter at Turnkey Music which was OK, but on further jamming the action was a bit high and the price was over my budget. I also tried the Ashland guitars which were within the price range but not good enough so I left it.
My previous classical was an Aria which I liked the action and feel, but at the time I had just acquired an Ibanez which had much better electronics and sound, although the action, once again, was a bit high.
Back to Coastal Music, I was shown a few, there were some nice Ibanez guitars and they are reasonably priced for the quality. I had put Coastal Music in the category of stocking only expensive to very expensive guitars but to find a fair range from R1500 to R2500 was impressive.
I was shown a second hand classical which was OK, I would have taken it at R1495 and played it for a short while in the shop.
Then I was handed the G5ECEAM. It is a budget Ibanez Nylon String with a piezo pickup and AEQ200T Preamp with a built in Tuner. Now, that's all a bunch of useless numbers, but this guitar had a great sound, great feel and was priced at R1700.
I'm not too sure about how the business side of music shops work, and maybe they picked up my reluctance to pay that much for this guitar, but I was offered a good discount and bought the guitar and a cheap carry bag for R1550.
What a deal!Now there isn't much that stands out from this guitar, in fact it feels very much like the guitar I first learned on. Maybe that's what I love so much about it. It feels like home, but it has a few features that my first guitar didn't have.
As a kid I was fascinated by the decoration around the sound hole, I believe it's called a Rosette. I haven't paid much attention to them but in the process of scrutinising the guitar for this blog, I noticed that while this one isn't striking, it reminds me of the quality finish old guitars have and it gives me that little bit of useless nostalgia and reminds me of watching my father play.My early guitars never had a cutaway, which never mattered as I never ventured into that region of the fretboard as much as I do now.
The preamp is fairly decent, with a 2 band equaliser (bass and treble) which I still need to figure out the right settings for when I do use it. I generally play into a PA system. The general rule is that you need a balanced input into a PA which I never needed for my previous Ibanez which had a balanced output. This guitar doesn't have that, I wouldn't expect it to for the price although I have noticed that I could previously get away without a DI box but with this guitar it is necessary. There is a hum present that goes away when the signal is balanced.
What I found amusing is that inside the guitar is written "Salvador Ibanez" then something that looks like Spanish. Not far beneath that it says "Made in China." Mind you, as Chinese products go I think it will be a while before they get some respect (much like blonde's and the Irish) but this is a very good quality item so far. They have done well to keep the look, sound and feel like a hand made Spanish guitar.
Overall I feel this guitar is exactly what I was looking for. It is a quality instrument, well built and sounds great. It feels easy to play and makes me want to play more, exactly what I expect from a guitar. Ibanez have done very well to provide a low price instrument and they will ensure that everybody can play a great guitar, unlike other manufacturers who are extremely overpriced and lacking in the quality you expect.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
12:09 PM | Posted by
Donovan Banks |
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In case you're wondering I thought I'd tell you about my gear.
1990 Squier Stratocaster
I bought this guitar off a friend of mine in 1999. He had a similar design in stuck on Vinyl, i just painted it on rather badly. It needs a bit of a clean up and now that I have more guitars I can afford to "decommission" them one by one and get them up to scratch. The N Series Squiers were remarkable and the neck on this guitar is pristine. It still has the original pickups and I reckon its about time for new ones. I am thinking of the Jeff Beck Noiseless pups. I love the tone and feel of this guitar and it was my first that I bought myself.
2006 Epiphone Les Paul 100
I found this guitar online for very cheap. I had a Les Paul Special before which was absolute rubbish. The differ
ence between the LP100 and other Les Pauls (excluding the studio) is that the body of this guitar is very thin and excludes binding. This makes it a lot lighter than a standard Les paul but with similar electronics and neck. One major flaw in these is that they are made very cheap. I am changing the selector switch as it doens't work 100% and the D and G strings go out of tune after a song or two of heavy bending. New Machine heads are on the cards but I am going for grover Rotamatics when I have the budget available. I love the tone but I don't give full credit to the pups on this baby. They are standard but sound very sweet. I may keep them on. I also like the finish on this as it looks great
You have seen my Ibanez.
The amplifier pictured with the Strat is a Fender Bassman 50, made sometime in the 70's. It was black I recovered it with white vinyl and it looks sweeeeeeeet!!! I recently sold it as it was too big for me to use in gigs and I have a small car and an even smaller apartment.
I currently use a Laney TF200 amp. I'll get a picture sometime soon. Its a standard 120W combo amp with two lead channels (that I dont really use) and a Spring reverb unit which is quite nice.
For effects I have the Boss GT-8 effects processor. I am still learning to use it but the more I play with it, the more I learn. It is a superb item and is definitely cheaper than buying even 10% of the effects it holds.
I am in the process of getting a Boss Micro BR recorder. I say in the process as it belongs to a friend who wants to sell it and I am playing with it at the moment. It is a fantastic item and I will write more about it soon.
Feel free to tell me about your gear, I love guitar stuff in all shapes and sizes.
1990 Squier Stratocaster
I bought this guitar off a friend of mine in 1999. He had a similar design in stuck on Vinyl, i just painted it on rather badly. It needs a bit of a clean up and now that I have more guitars I can afford to "decommission" them one by one and get them up to scratch. The N Series Squiers were remarkable and the neck on this guitar is pristine. It still has the original pickups and I reckon its about time for new ones. I am thinking of the Jeff Beck Noiseless pups. I love the tone and feel of this guitar and it was my first that I bought myself.2006 Epiphone Les Paul 100
I found this guitar online for very cheap. I had a Les Paul Special before which was absolute rubbish. The differ
ence between the LP100 and other Les Pauls (excluding the studio) is that the body of this guitar is very thin and excludes binding. This makes it a lot lighter than a standard Les paul but with similar electronics and neck. One major flaw in these is that they are made very cheap. I am changing the selector switch as it doens't work 100% and the D and G strings go out of tune after a song or two of heavy bending. New Machine heads are on the cards but I am going for grover Rotamatics when I have the budget available. I love the tone but I don't give full credit to the pups on this baby. They are standard but sound very sweet. I may keep them on. I also like the finish on this as it looks greatYou have seen my Ibanez.
The amplifier pictured with the Strat is a Fender Bassman 50, made sometime in the 70's. It was black I recovered it with white vinyl and it looks sweeeeeeeet!!! I recently sold it as it was too big for me to use in gigs and I have a small car and an even smaller apartment.
I currently use a Laney TF200 amp. I'll get a picture sometime soon. Its a standard 120W combo amp with two lead channels (that I dont really use) and a Spring reverb unit which is quite nice.
For effects I have the Boss GT-8 effects processor. I am still learning to use it but the more I play with it, the more I learn. It is a superb item and is definitely cheaper than buying even 10% of the effects it holds.
I am in the process of getting a Boss Micro BR recorder. I say in the process as it belongs to a friend who wants to sell it and I am playing with it at the moment. It is a fantastic item and I will write more about it soon.
Feel free to tell me about your gear, I love guitar stuff in all shapes and sizes.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
3:16 PM | Posted by
Donovan Banks |
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Well in the interim there are some people that impress me greatly, mostly for different reasons but I think they rock.
Andy Mckee
I found this video on Youtube and was amazed. He totally defies traditional guitar playing. There are videos where he plays normally but the creativity here is amazing.
Tony Melendez
For a guy with no arms he plays with Spirit. He has a beautiful voice too.
Orianthi
Man this girl can play! There aren't many spirited musicians around like this these days.
Tal Wilkenfeld
Anyone who gets to play with Jeff Beck must be good, but I reckon Jeff Beck is more stoked to be playing on stage with her than the other way around.
Then there's this....
I love it.
Andy Mckee
I found this video on Youtube and was amazed. He totally defies traditional guitar playing. There are videos where he plays normally but the creativity here is amazing.
Tony Melendez
For a guy with no arms he plays with Spirit. He has a beautiful voice too.
Orianthi
Man this girl can play! There aren't many spirited musicians around like this these days.
Tal Wilkenfeld
Anyone who gets to play with Jeff Beck must be good, but I reckon Jeff Beck is more stoked to be playing on stage with her than the other way around.
Then there's this....
I love it.
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About Me
- Donovan Banks
- Durban, KZN, South Africa
- I am a musician who does anything and everything else. I write about what I do and how I do it. Enjoy and feel free to comment.
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