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Criticism, constructive & otherwise

11/29/2010

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An old joke:

Question: How many guitar players does it take to change a light bulb?
Answer: Four. One to change the bulb and three to say to each other, "I could do that!" 

Recently I was playing my regular gig and a guy came in whom I vaguely recognized. I'm not sure from exactly where, but somehow I seemed to remember he was a musician. He was with a younger person, possibly his son or a younger brother. 

They sat nearby for most of one set and I could tell from his body language and the slight sneer on his face that he was, shall we say, less than impressed with my playing. Oh well, I thought. There was a time in my younger days that these kinds of things really bothered me but they don't nearly as much these days. I guess I'm confident enough about my own playing that I don't really care all that much about negative vibes. I know what I know, and as long as I'm playing what I know to the best of my ability that should be enough. Most of the time it is. I know this because I get way, way more positive vibes from folks who are listening. This is gratifying and makes me want to play better. 

Still, as I was driving home after the gig that guy's attitude was like an annoying little itch that you can't quite reach. But then I had to admit that some years ago I was very much like him. It got so bad that my close friends and loved ones hated going out with me to hear music because I was so critical - and not afraid to let my opinions be known. 

Wish I could say that I had some kind of epiphany that made me change my attitude but it wasn't really like that. It was a gradual process. I think it's called "maturing" (!) The thing is, being hyper critical of other players is not a fault of mine along. Many, many others share it and no doubt it will continue. Why?

Well, my best guess is it has something to do with testosterone. Ever since Elvis shook his hips with a leather-covered D-18 over his shoulder young male guitar players have equated aggressively banging out songs with being tough and competitive. Probably has a lot to do with young ladies screaming and swooning. Many (most?) young guitarists go through a faze when they want to be the BEST, if even on a local level. Yes, even supposedly mellow acoustic players!

What they don't realize for some length of time - and some never do - is that 99% of the audience couldn't care less how fast they can play or how many ways they know how to play a Bbdim7. The only ones who do care are other guitarists - and most likely, most of them are sitting there thinking they can do it better anyway! 

In my other life, in the recreational fishing world, we have a saying. "The best fisherman is one who has the most fun." In a lot of ways that equates to guitar playing but the problem is, playing a musical instrument is a very "naked" thing. In a performance setting it's common to have to stifle doubts about your own playing - we all do that, even the so-called best players. You're putting it all out there for the world to see and you can't help but wonder what will happen when you start playing. Then it can't help but get down to the basic question: will the people who are listening like what I do? 

You know what? They will! At least all the ones who matter will. If you have doubts about that, go into a bar some night when karaoke is going on. People who can't sing a lick are up there, giving it their all, and their friends are cheering them on and giving them the strength they need. Then watch that person when they're done and go back and sit down. Sure, one of their friends might give them a bit of jive in a good natured way but the others, maybe even complete strangers will tell them how much they liked the performance. That is truly what it's all about: taking a chance, going for it and being willing to accept the give and take. 

Does this mean I sit there and cheer for some guy banging out yet another cover of Margaritaville on an out of tune guitar? Well, no. I don't mock him though, or sneer and shake my head like the guy at my gig. Because I know what it takes to get up there. I won't hang around and listen for very long however. Performers watch the audience all the time, even if they appear to be in their own world and if a performer can't hold an audience he should know he has some work to do. 

I firmly believe that the only way a musician can truly test him or herself is putting it out there in front of an audience. It might be only a few friends sitting around the back yard on a summer evening or it might be at the local open mike night. Just do it, as the ad says. And have fun!!!  And if Joe Cool the Awesome Guitar Player doesn't like it, ask him why HE isn't up there instead?

Peace & good music,
Gene
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Thoughts about the current state of guitar manufacturing

11/26/2010

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Just received the latest edition of Fretboard Journal magazine, which has become my favorite guitar publication. You won't get the playing tips you find in Acoustic Guitar  but the stories are a rarity in today's publishing world of fast hits, visual sound bites, and "McPaper" publications. They are long, well-written and always interesting. And the magazine itself is printed on heavy, glossy stock and it just makes you want to save each issue, which I do! I highly recommend Fretboard Journal.

The new edition has a great article on the history of Guild guitars. Guild has gone through many changes of ownership and places of construction in the last ten years or so. Although always viewed as something of a poor cousin of Martin and Gibson (and Fender in electrics - they are now the owner of the company), I always felt that Guild produced a very nice, good quality American-made instrument, if it bit over-built in terms of neck shape and design, finish and overall weight. I have heard and played some truly fine Guilds (mostly in the F series) and even today, Guild 12-strings are generally thought to be the best examples of that type of guitar.

Ironically, Guild had its factory only a few miles from where I grew up. Mystic, Connecticut is my hometown and Guilds were made in nearby Westerly, Rhode Island. I either never knew that back in my teenage days or didn't really care because I never visited the plant. Too bad! Today, "Westerly Guilds" are becoming fairly collectable, although not on the level of similar Martins or Gibsons. I've had many students over the years who owned the venerable Guild D-25, a dark brown or deep red (depending on the year) dread with a solid top and sides and a laminate, arched back. These things were built like tanks - and some sounded like them! - but they were generally good guitars and you can still find them on the used guitar market for well under $1k for late 1970 - about 1990 instruments. Anyway, read the story in FJ about how the company was sold a few times and moved from Rhode Island to California to Washington to China, back to Washington, and now are made at the former Ovation facility in Connecticut.

This got me to thinking about where we are these days in terms of the availability of good quality guitars. I'm talking about acoustics here because the electric guitar market is and always has been extremely fluid in terms of quality, availability and popularity. 

Most guitarists know that The Big Three in American-made acoustics are Martin, Taylor and Gibson, although some of the lower end Martins and Taylors are now made in Mexico. I'll bet that the meetings of the Powers That Be at those companies must be pretty high pressure events. With hundreds of thousands of decent to very good quality guitars from China and elsewhere flooding the market it must be a constant challenge to produce guitars that are up to the standards of the Big Three and still remain competitive. As with everything else, the single biggest expense in business is labor cost and there is no way the Big Three can compete with the low wages paid workers overseas. So they must figure other strategies. More on that in a minute.

I think it's ironic that the Japanese manufacturers such as Alvarez-Yairi, who produce world-class guitars are in the same position that the American companies were thirty years ago. Back then, Japanese guitars began showing up and soon they literally drove the cheap American companies like Stella and Silvertone out of business - as well they should: those guitars were junk. But they also put pressure on Martin and Gibson by unabashedly imitating the American guitars, to the point that one company (Takamine) was producing guitars that even featured their name in curved script so they looked from a few feet away just like a Martin (and later, Guild). Martin finally said, enough is enough and filed a successful lawsuit against Takamine. Now here's the real irony - even though those 'Taks were dull and lifeless compared to a Martin, "lawsuit Takamines" have become somewhat collectable. Go figure. 

But in the last ten years, manufacturers in Korea and especially China have done to the Japanese companies what they did to the American companies: produce guitars for a much lower price that in some cases are almost as good as their Japanese competitors, and in a few case are superior. The world of commerce is an interesting place, to say the least!

So what about these guitars from China? As I understand it, even though there are a few dozen identifiable names including Epiphone, Gibson's subsidiary that makes almost exact replications of much more expensive Gibbys for a fraction of the cost (interesting sales strategy there!), most come from only one or two mega factories. One is Saga. They produce a few of the popular Chinese guitars including many under their own name but also Silver Creek, The Loar, Recording King, Ibanez and a few others. The Chinese companies have done their homework. They know what guitar players want and expect these days. Many of these guitars are made of all solid wood or at that very least, a solid top, and feature nice touches like diamond abalone inlay, pyramid bridges, vintage style tuners and more. 

Some very nice guitars are coming out of Canada too, including those made by Godin, who produce the quite affordable Seagull line.

In some cases though, as the old Pepperidge Farm cookie commercial used to say, "you get what you pay for!" A good example are the Silver Creek guitars, made in China. They are only available in two sizes, dreadnaught and 000, and in two woods, rosewood and mahogany. They are all solid wood and can often be had from one of the mega online retailers for about $200. Sounds pretty good, right? Well, my opinion is that buying a Silver Creek is roughly the same as going to a casino and playing a straight color on the roulette wheel. You have a slightly less than 50% chance of winning. Some Silver Creeks come through perfectly set up and sound very good. Some need a thorough set up by a qualified guitar repairman, something that might cost an additional $50 or so. All have tuning machines that look very much like vintage Grover Sta-Tites but are barely adequate in terms of tuning ease and keeping the guitar in tune.

On the other hand, Recording King has begun producing a line of guitars in conjunction with acoustic guitar master Eric Schoenberg that from all reports are just fantastic. However, their cost bumps into that of the 15- and some 16-series Martins and the popular 214 series Taylors. Will they hold their value as well as an American made guitar? Time will tell.

The American companies are not sitting still and watching the lower end get taken over by the Chinese however. Last year Martin introduced their 1-series guitars. With a suggested retail price of about $1k, these American made guitars feature an all solid wood mahogany body with a composite neck. They are available in D- or OM size, with or without cutaway, with or without electronics. The word on the street is that they sound very good and the set up is excellent. Martin also has their X series which are mostly composite with solid top and made at a Martin owned plant in Mexico. They retail for well under $1k and are an excellent value. 

Another issue, for me anyway, is responsibility. I sincerely doubt that any of the import companies care a wit for where their wood comes from, how it is harvested or what the future holds for the countries whose forests are being cut for the wood. Neither do they care about the environmental costs of their manufacturing practices. Martin on the other hand has in their catalog their Sustainable Wood series, made from wood that was "rescued" from the reject piles of lumber companies. They have also begun producing more guitars from woods that are readily available like cherry. Although these guitars generally don't look as fancy as the rosewood or mahogany models, they sound and play great and there is no question that Martin is doing the right thing. Both Martin and Taylor made the decision to stop using rosewood from Madagascar due to its increasing scarcity. Unlike Brazilian rosewood, which is highly regulated the rosewood from Madagascar is under no such restrictions. I think that decision deserves our applause and it does factor into my buying choices.

What the future holds is anyone's guess. Another challenge facing Martin and Gibson are Chinese counterfeits - these are NOT made by the legitimate Chinese companies and are totally illegal representations of American guitars, down to small details and the logos on the headstocks. Be very, very careful of buying what appears to be a dirt cheap Martin or Gibson from an online auction site because more and more of these bogus and highly inferior guitars are showing up. Yet another reason to patronize your local dealer!

I really can't say whether someone should buy American or go with an import. I do know that an American made guitar will most likely hold its value better than an import. But some of the imports are so nice that this fact may not be all that important because your imported guitar may be the only one you'll ever need or want to buy. If you are considering an import, if at all possible try to play it before you buy because buying sight unseen may put you at the roulette wheel. 

I always go with red, by the way!

Peace and good music,
Gene



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Just a quickie!

11/25/2010

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Wishing everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving filled with good food, family and some good music too! My next few days will include playing at the Daily Brew in Cataumet on Saturday and Sunday morning, as usual, plus firing up my recording toys again to produce something of a "musical Christmas card" for our friends and family, essentially an EP of guitar Christmas tunes, maybe a half-dozen or so. I do think that guitar lends itself very well to traditional Christmas tunes. The classical guitarist Leona Boyd has a great Christmas guitar CD, by the way.

More later!
Gene
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Holidays approach & thinking back

11/23/2010

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I may or may not get a chance to ramble on in this space over the next few days with family coming for Thanksgiving and all that implies. It's easy to get nostalgic around this time of year and this evening a student asked me about my experiences at the Newport Folk Festival, back in the day, as they say. Easy to get nostalgic about those days, lemme tell ya! So bear with me. I'll keep it music related, promise.

The Newport Festivals in those days, specifically the 1964, '65, '68 and '69 versions that I attended were nothing like the event that happens every summer in Newport these days. While I do not mean to disrespect the new version of Newport - I think it is great - back in the 1960s it was entirely different in a couple important respects. In those days the entire event was designed to encourage interaction on a personal level between the performers and the attendees, at least during the daytime events. Plus there was a level of excitement about getting to hear performers who you may have heard of or heard on records (remember them?) but would probably never get to hear in person otherwise. Remember, this was another time when no one could even vaguely imagine the immediacy of communication and exposure that we enjoy today.

The festival ran four full days, with three major evening concerts and the performers were an amazing collection of knowns and unknowns, not just in "folk music" but also in blues, bluegrass, gospel, British Isles music and much, much more. Some of the evening concerts have become legendary, such as the night that Dylan "went electric" - I was there for that and was fortunate to sit a few rows from the stage. The stories that have circulated since that night about what happened have become half-truths and gross misrepresentations of what really happened. There was no near-riot; I did see Pete Seeger standing in the wings with his hands over his ears, glaring at Dylan, but I did not see him running around trying to unplug the amps.

But for me and my friend Barry who accompanied me to a couple of the Festivals the highlights were the daytime events. Festival Field was divided into a large covered stage area with seating for a few thousand people and the much larger "field" which was just that, with a fence around it and scattered all around the edges, a series of stages of varying sizes and one slightly larger stage in the middle of the field. Now here's the kicker - almost none of the dozen or so stages had PA systems, so the audiences tended to be small. Music would be going on at a few of them at the same time, which afforded the chance to hear a huge variety of music over the course of the day. Cost of admission: Four dollars!

Our favorites were always "The Blues Stage" and "The Ballad Tree." If you happen to own a copy of the Donovan album, "Catch the Wind" and look at the small photo of Donovan at Newport on the back, the person in the background looking into the camera is my friend Barry. I was right beside him but I was cropped out!

One day at the Blues Stage we had the pleasure of sitting a few feet from some of the greats of acoustic blues, including Rev. Gary Davis, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGee, Bukka White, and best of all, Mississippi John Hurt. After the performance was over we timidly approached John and asked him to sign our programs. Well, to this day I can still see his wide grin and hear him say, "Sure boys, I'd be happy to do that!"  But when we handed him a program he struggled to form each letter in his famous name and Barry and I just couldn't understand how someone whose fingers had just flown all over the neck of this old Guild could have so much trouble writing. At the time, it never occurred to two young white boys from Connecticut that this son of a sharecropper, and grandson of a slave was functionally illiterate. But John Hurt was determined to sign and he did it even though it took a few minutes and was obviously a huge effort. Much later in my life I surmised what he must have felt at that moment, a man who had grown up in poverty in the deep South and no doubt dealt with deep racism his whole life, being asked to do something that celebrities did, for two young white boys.

On another occasion, Pete Seeger was walking across the field after having given a workshop on constructing and playing some sort of reed flute. Barry and I approached him and and said, "Mr. Seeger, could you tell us what the chords are to 'Waist Deep in the Big Muddy'?"

Pete looked at us and saw Barry holding his guitar case. "Well you boys have a guitar. Take it out and let me have it and sit down!"  And then the father of folk music in the 20th Century proceeded to give us a guitar lesson! "See? You go Em to D to A to G, back to Em and then B7. Got it? Goes like this...." and he began to sing a verse. Barry and I just sat there trying to look like this was something we did every day - get a lesson from Pete Seeger! By that point a small crowd had formed around us and Pete proceeded to play a couple more tunes, then handed the guitar back to Barry and walked off.

That was what Newport was all about way back then.

Jerry Jeff Walker with David Bromberg - it was then that I realized that it was possible to play improvised lead guitar on an acoustic, watching Bromberg accompany Jerry Jeff singing "Mr. Bojangles" - me sitting about 10 feet away! Hearing the late Mike Bloomfield with the Butterfield Blues Band and learning that white boys COULD play electric Chicago-style blues with the best of 'em. Seeing Janis Joplin with Big Brother in '68 - what the heck they were doing on the bill I still don't know (her blues based vocals, perhaps?) and wondering with the interest of 16 year old if a.) she could really hit those notes night after night, and b.) would her dress fall off in the middle of a song?!

I absolutely HATED bluegrass at that time, which was too bad because almost against my will I heard Flatt & Scruggs, the White Family (featuring the late, great Clarence White of guitar) and even Bill Monroe. Again, always from no more than 100 feet away.

In 1969 I sat down at the back of the crowd gathered near the the stage in the middle of Festival Field. I was wondering why so many people were there for the "New Artist" showcase. Then I saw it was Tom Rush performing, who I had just discovered and really liked so I sat down to listen in spite of the fact that I couldn't hear all that well. Tom was great of course, but there were three other people seated on stage, and I was suitably impressed when they each took a turn singing. Their names were James Taylor, Joni Mitchell and Jackson Browne. James got the biggest hand when he did a jazzy send up of the latest Coca-Cola commercial that was on the radio at the time, "Things Go Better with Coke"  I couldn't understand why the crowd hooted and cheered and was laughing at the end and wondered why James would even bother to play a commercial?

Standing outside the back of the Tennis Hall of Fame in the pouring rain in 1964, the place where the evening concerts were held before they moved to Festival Field the next year. I stood there by myself while the concert was going on inside, hoping to get an autograph from my heroes, Peter, Paul and Mary. I was hoping against hope that they had not already arrived. Sure enough, a big car roared up and out stepped my heroes and a couple other people. Peter rushed past me as I held out my program and a pen without giving me so much as a glance. Paul stopped and with a big grin, signed the program. Then, there she was. Right there in front of me, not two feet away. The most gorgeous woman on earth, in my 13-year-old mind. She reached out and put her hand on my shoulder! "I'm sorry," she said, "but we're really late and we need to go on. I just don't have the time to sign!" She smiled and turned away. Two thoughts raced through my mind. "if she'd just shut up she would have had plenty of time to sign!" and "I'll never wash that shoulder again!"

I went back inside where my friends the Rookers were waiting for me in our front row seats - Wes was the purser of the Festival, and our family friend. I will never be able to repay the gift he and his wife gave me by nurturing my love of music. They were a bit perturbed that I had disappeared for so long, was soaking wet and had missed quite a few acts. But when I explained what had happened I think they understood.

Then the lights dimmed and the announcer said, "Ladies and gentlemen, Peter, Paul and Mary!" And out they came and immediately launched into the most intense, passionate version of Dylan's "The Times, They Are A-Changin'" It was a transcendent moment. You can still see it from time to time on PBS in a show they produced about Newport. And I was there. Not more than 50 feet away.

I'll say it one last time: That was what Newport was all about.

Well, thanks for putting up with my nostalgia. As always, I welcome comment.

Peace & good music,
Gene


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Upgrades: Worth it?

11/21/2010

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I am a firm believer that certain things can be done to guitars - even quite expensive ones - that will enhance their sound for a relatively small investment. One reason I do a few things to my guitars almost automatically is that we are fortunate here on Cape Cod to have a superb repairman/luthier in Fran Ledoux of Bay Fretted Instruments in Marstons Mills. Fran is one of those rare individuals who believes in giving his customers great service for a very reasonable price and doing it in a timely fashion. The coolest part is that you know instantly that he truly loves what he does, and he truly loves guitars. Plus a visit to his workshop is always an adventure in itself, complete with a greeting from Fran's Great Dane, Trumpie, which is impossible to ignore. Trumpie is an old softie but I would have no qualms about leaving a very expensive instrument there with Trumpie on duty! And I am not the only one who feels that way, considering the very interesting guitars that seem to always be on Fran's work bench.

My standard upgrade, which Fran actually calls "Gene's job" (!) is the installation of a good quality bone nut and saddle if my latest find doesn't already have them. I absolutely believe that bone improves the sound of ANY guitar, and the better the instrument, the more sense it makes. Bone is an extremely dense, hard material that transmits the vibration of the string to the sounding board (top) of the guitar much better than plastic, which is standard on most guitars including some very expensive ones. This fact has always confounded me. Why would a company use a plastic nut and saddle on a guitar that costs hundreds or even thousands of dollars when using bone would only add a tiny fraction to the overall cost of construction? Some companies use a man-made material called Tusq that is almost as good as bone from all reports, but my experience with the stuff is limited and I have never had the opportunity to replace Tusq with bone to compare the two.

Some guitar supply companies such as Stewart-MacDonald offer pre-made saddles and pre-cut nuts. Dropping in the saddle is not a big deal, although you might need to sand down the under side a bit if the action is too high. Using a pre-cut nut is a little more chancy because the slots may need to be filed a bit to get the string down to the correct height. This involves the use of files specifically designed for this task and while I've known players who've done this job just fine with no previous experience I would rather leave it to an experienced repair person. Your call on that one.
Another good source of bone (and more exotic materials - more on that in a minute) is Bob Colosi. Bob is hugely respected in the acoustic guitar community for the same qualities I mentioned above in Fran Ledoux. He makes saddles, nuts and bridge pins himself and his pins are true miniature works of art that enhance any instrument that is graced with them. Bob encourages contact too, and he is a fascinating guy to speak with. If you happen to be a Red Sox fan, so much the better! I never did figure out why Bob, whose shop is in Georgia is such a hardcore Sox fan, but that adds points to him in my book!

Regarding pins: this is a vigorously debated subject on the guitar forums, i.e., do bridge pins really effect the sound of a guitar? My opinion is - yes, although probably not quite to the extent that bone nuts and saddles do. Pin materials are much more varied and include the standard plastic and Tusq, plus ebony, various kinds of bone and the most exotic and expensive: fossilized walrus ivory and fossilized ivory (regular ivory being illegal to import). I swallowed hard and paid well over $100 for a set of Colosi fossilized walrus ivory pins - referred to in guitar circles as "FWI" - 
and I am convinced that they add even more clarity and resonance to my Martin 000028H, which Fran outfitted with a bone nut and saddle. Plus they are Colosi's "antiqued" version with abalone inlay and they look very, very cool. You can even find pins made from metal (not through Bob) that are purported to add a more ringing sound to the strings. In any case, except for the FWI pins, most pins are relatively inexpensive and it might be worth your while to experiment with a few types. Be aware however that guitars have different sizes of holes in their bridges, depending on manufacturer so be sure to determine which size your guitar needs - another good reason to speak with Bob as he will advise you on that. For example, Taylor guitars use an entirely different size than Martins.

Although not technically an upgrade, another hotly debated subject is where and if a strap button should be installed on the heel of a guitar. This little addition is certainly not a necessity but if you're like me and find a strap attached to the head of a guitar to be cumbersome and annoying, there is no question about doing this job. The problem is, this involves drilling a small hole somewhere on the heel of the guitar neck and if you happen to own a true vintage instrument you should think long and hard about how that little hole will affect the value of your prized guitar. Some dealers in vintage and collectible guitars won't even accept an expensive guitar that has one; some don't really care, but all will agree that having a strap button installed does affect the value. Just how much is totally up to the dealer.

I always use a strap when I play, including when I'm sitting down and I am willing to accept a certain devaluation of my guitars for the convenience and comfort of using my straps with a strap button. Be aware though that there is a right and wrong place to install one. Fran taught me that the correct placement is on the treble side of the heel, about a third of the way up from the bottom of the heel, and not too close to the side of the guitar. This position keeps the guitar flat against my body. Some people insist on installing their strap buttons on the underside of the bottom of the heel, that flat surface that is even with the bottom of the guitar. This is dead wrong because the guitar will want to fall away from your body if you let it. I suspect the reason this location is used is that the screw then goes straight up into the progressively thicker part of the heel and is very strong. That may be so but that location is to my mind both uncomfortable and potentially dangerous to your guitar if it was to fall forward and the strap became disengaged from the guitar. Using a device called a "strap lock" will save you from this regardless of where you install the button, by the way.

I've installed a couple dozen strap buttons on my students' guitars and my own and it is quite easy if you follow some simple precautions. Drill a hole where the screw will go and use a drill bit slightly smaller than the diameter of the screw. Be sure to put a piece of tape around the bit to mark the exact depth you want the bit to penetrate. This is VERY important so you don't drill all the way through the heel. Put a small piece of masking tape in the location where the hole will be made to ensure that a "wandering" drill doesn't scratch or gouge your guitar. Be sure to use a variable speed drill or better yet, a Dremel tool and keep the RPM very slow. Take your time and you'll be fine! Be sure to use a felt washer between the bottom of the button and the heel to avoid cracking of the wood over time.

Whether or not to upgrade your plain acoustic with some sort of pick-up is a subject for an entire discussion all on its own. Because I play out and need to be heard I almost always have one installed, specifically the K&K Pure Western Mini, which I feel is the absolute best passive pick-up on the market. But you can certainly debate whether or not this is an upgrade at all. I certainly would not do it on, say, a 1950s vintage D-28 or Gibson J-200. Doing so would severely affect the value of such vintage guitars, in a negative way. Collectors and vintage guitar enthusiasts generally want their instruments to be as close to original condition as possible. With a new guitar, its another story as far as I'm concerned, but remember: I play out and need one. If that doesn't describe your playing situation, think it through before going through with a semi permanent installation. Who knows? It may actually enhance the value. But maybe not. Do your homework on this and a great way to do that would be to pose a question about it on a couple of the guitar forums.

One upgrade that may be worth a try is the new "O-Port" from Planet Waves. I haven't used one but they get generally good reviews and are pretty reasonably priced. It is a plastic device that clips onto the inside of your guitar and supposedly adds volume and resonance to any guitar, while eliminating feedback in acoustic electrics. Worth a look.

An upgrade that cannot be seen but may well be heard is the use of a Tone Rite devise. I've written about these gadgets before and while the one I bought didn't seem to have any effect on my guitars, many people rave about them being able to "open up" the sound of new guitars, a process that normally takes many years. The company has a very responsible return policy so if you're willing to at least temporarily risk about $150 it may be something that will make your new guitar love it even more.

Some upgrades are purely cosmetic, such as replacing the pickguard with a reproduction vintage-style one. Supposedly this is a pretty easy job but I have never done it so I can't comment on that. Be sure to determine if the one that's already on your guitar is just glued on or is under the finish. If it is under the finish, you're out of luck.

Some guitarists are unhappy with the case that came with their guitar and will opt for a new one that is fancier, either in a cosmetic or structural sense. A good quality hard shell case is a necessity with a valuable guitar and most guitars costing more than about $500 come with one. Do NOT depend on a gig bag protecting your guitar from anything more than a rain shower between your house and your car. I happen to be attracted to the traditional arch top, black colored 5-ply plywood cases by TKL , otherwise known as "Geib-style" cases. They are standard with the more expensive Martins and some of the boutique makers. However, the reality is that the molded and padded hard plastic cases used by many companies work just fine for most normal transport and protection. Beware of plastic cases though - some can twist and flex in the process of transport. Fran showed me a guitar that was literally nothing more than firewood after making a plane trip half way around the world. The kicker is that there was NO outward damage to the case. But when Fran applied pressure to the top of the case it easily twisted in his hands. This was what happened in transit. Airline baggage people are notorious for their abuse of guitars. If you want to see a funny (but oh so sad) take on this subject check out this site with Dave's You Tube video.

There are some great cases out there that will protect your instrument but they can cost as much as some guitars! If you plan to travel a lot with your guitar, pack and pad it very carefully in a good quality hard shell case and carry it to the gate in hopes the flight personnel will let you carry it on board. If you do have to give it up before boarding, a well protected guitar will *probably* be OK. Good luck on that one.

There are other upgrades but I'll now get to the most important question. Are they worth it, in terms of adding to the monetary value of your guitar? Unfortunately, in many cases the answer is no. However, the fact that a guitar has been upgraded with bone and is housed in a better case may be the things that sway someone into buying it, should you decide to sell. In most cases there are many, many guitars out there that are similar to yours, so why not get ahead of the pack? And if you're keeping that guitar for the long haul those upgrades may very well make the playing experience just that much more enjoyable.

Peace & good music,
Gene

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Expectations, accomplishments and reality

11/18/2010

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It's really good for me to take a step back on a regular basis and think about why my students are playing the guitar and then take a critical look at whether or not I'm delivering the goods. Being a Libra, I tend to balance things off whenever possible and that really helps when analyzing whether or not the student is getting what he or she expected when they started their lessons with me.

One student recently told me that one reason he was enjoying his lessons so much was that I was prepared when he came for his lesson. I didn't understand what he meant at first, then he explained that with other guitar teachers the experience went something like this: he would show up for his lesson each week, sit down and the teacher would say, "So, what do want to play today?" The entire experience was random at best and he felt like he was accomplishing very little.

Well, maybe it's my family and the musical environment I grew up in, maybe it's the fact that I've been married to a former elementary school teacher for 36 years who did lesson plans every night, or maybe I'm just to chicken to "wing it" but I don't feel comfortable at all if I'm unprepared for a student when they show up for their lesson. 

My entire family on my dad's side were (and are) musicians, going back many generations. And my dad, uncle and grandfather were Old School all the way when it came to giving and going to lessons: You must suffer to create! It's not supposed to be easy! Or fun! Satisfying, perhaps....but not fun!!!  This was directly tied to the use of established courses on the instruments they taught and played, i.e., we'll start with Book One. When you can play everything in there to MY satisfaction, we'll go on to Book Two. And so on.

I can't think of a better way to turn off a student than making him play something he doesn't want to play in a book that he comes to despise. However, there must be structure and the student must be able to understand why he is expected to practice something. Knowledge must be both cumulative AND progressive.

In order for this to work there must be a level of trust on the student's part. He must be willing to accept what the teacher says even if it doesn't seem to be an attainable goal or directly bookends with what he wants to learn. That's a big, big part of my job - convincing him that what I'm giving him to practice has value related to the big picture, or the style of music he wants to play.

Interestingly, sometimes it is the experienced player who has the most trouble with granting that level of trust. He wants to get better. He started lessons because he wasn't progressing, possibly for quite a long time. But if what I offer doesn't seem to agree with what he already knows there is sometimes major resistance. And here is another important part of my job: I have to decide whether letting him keep that bad habit will be a major detriment to his progressing to a more advanced level. If it's not a big deal I have to say, OK, you can do it that way, even though my dad's ghost is sitting on my shoulder shouting into my ear - No! No! That is NOT the right way!!! Obviously, this is my issue, not the student's!

On the other hand, if what the student is doing is definitely going to impede his progress I would be remiss in my duties if I didn't try to eliminate the problem. It can be something quite simple like the way the guitar is being held and as long as the student hasn't locked into it as a habit, solutions and success follow.

See what I mean about balance? This is what I do when I teach. I have to plan lessons, yes, but I also have to be willing to either move on if I decide an issue doesn't warrant a big hassle or focus on solving a problem even if it means having to slow down the progress that both the student and I would like to see. Sometimes though I have to abandon a planned lesson entirely, even be willing to change course. 

In some cases I'm really not teaching a person to play the guitar at all! What I'm doing is helping them to teach themselves how to play. Steering the ship, so to speak. If the ship responds to the rudder, we'll make it into port just fine. When that happens I don't know who is happier, the student or me!

Peace & good music,
Gene
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Improvising. Can it really be taught?

11/15/2010

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My view of improvising, or "lead guitar" as it's sometimes called has changed radically over the years both as a teacher and as a player. I think I went through many of the phases so many guitarists do and I hope I learned from them. What follows here has a lot of the "do as I say, not as I do" (or did!) elements that used to drive me crazy when more experienced players would deign to pass on their wisdom. OK, that's too cynical. What I meant to say was, please forgive my preaching but I think an aspiring lead player can avoid many of the pitfalls I experienced, so bear with me!

Early on, when I discovered the magic of the simple Pentatonic scale I figured the best way to impress anyone who was listening was to try to be the fastest guitarist on the planet. Which was impossible of course. But I learned a few licks that I could whip out when needed. And whip them out I did, way too often. You see, what I didn't realize was that speed in single note guitar playing is relative. If everything you play is fast, nothing sounds all that fast after a minute or so.

Before long I managed to learn the good ol' diatonic scale and while I immediately realized it didn't have much of a place in the blues stuff I was playing it sure could fill in the gaps when playing lead over songs that had more to them than the I - IV - V. Unfortunately, speed was still one of my main focuses and if you practice diatonic scales over and over and over trying to play them faster all the time, your leads will inevitably sound like nothing more than - scales, played fast!

Eventually I began to break out of that when I discovered modes and the importance of playing to the chord as well as the key. More on that in a minute.

Here is the most basic challenge of teaching someone how to improvise. I think the best analogy is learning how to read and write. The first step is learning the alphabet, and that's what scales are. There is one huge problem with that analogy though. There are limitless ways to put together words and in order to do it well, whatever it is we're writing on a piece of paper or via a computer keyboard has to happen, i.e. be visualized in our mind first. We visualize a word and then write it down. Not so with a guitar fretboard. Although we memorize a sequence of notes in a scale or a key the process is backwards compared to writing: inevitably, when learning to improvise we play a sequence of notes and a micro millisecond later, listen to what we played.

At some point in my journey in learning to improvise, that simple but important fact hit me squarely between the eyes (or ears!). What a great improviser plays happens in his or her mind first, then appears from the guitar via the fretboard and the playing hand.

Is that great lead player listening to what he's playing then? Well, of course!! But there is something way more complex going on. In that micro millisecond he confirms what his mind created and digests it, then decides if it is an idea that has merit. Should he expand on that idea, or move on? The challenge is to make these decisions instantly. That is the creative process.

As I said earlier, I began approaching my improvising not just from the perspective of the key but also thinking about chord tones to begin and end phrases on and also creating interesting sequences of notes by employing a more modal style of playing. I'm not going to delve into what that means from a technical standpoint right now. Suffice to say, understanding those concepts is one good reason to take guitar lessons! ;~)

You notice I just mentioned "phrases." And there was the other thing I began to learn. Another analogy for you. WhenWeTalkTheWordsDon'tComeOutAllAtTheSameSpeed. Some of our sentences are long, some are short. Sometimes we repeat for effect. This is vital when you're trying to come up with an interesting solo! Let the music breath. Don't feel like you need to fill up ever moment of time with sound. Listen to someone like B.B. King. He wrenches more emotion out of a few notes with plenty of space between his riffs than just about anyone else.

I still wasn't satisfied with my solos though (and I never will be - which is a good thing, I think). Something was missing. And you know what it was? Melody!

Back when I started playing lead guitar the idea was to play anything BUT the melody, assuming the song even had something recognizable as one. It was all about being immediately creative and yeah, playing fast, loud and high up the neck in many cases. Pretty cool for a little while but booooooring in the long run - and let me tell you, some of those runs were long.

I began listening to jazz players more and more and realized that when they improvised, I could often "hear" the melody even though they were playing something completely different. How could this be? I thought. It confounded me for a long time. Then I began playing with some very good jazzers and it became surprisingly obvious. They always started with the melody (or "head") and went from there. That way, phrases, intervals and melodic passages were established from the beginning; it gave them something to build on.

I began learning melodies of many jazz standards and you know what? All of a sudden, that process I mentioned earlier - making musical sequences in your head first, then playing them began to happen. Sure, I would rip off a fast line once in a while, hopefully if it made sense to do so, but I was learning to make my ideas compliment something tangible.

So this is what I try to do with my students when I teach the concepts of improvising. I give them the "alphabet" first - the scales, some arpeggios. But as soon as possible we begin concentrating on being melodic, whether in the form of an actual melody or a phrase that pre-planned. This way it has to happen upstairs first.

Learn the scales, learn the language but never forget that an interesting solo breathes. And don't try to fill every moment with sound. Spaces create anticipation of what will come next. Expand on musical ideas - a great way to make this happen is to try to play a simple phrase exactly the same way a few times, then add one or two notes, and repeat the process. It is way harder than it sounds, but you'll be making your guitar respond to your mind, not the other way around.

Good luck!
Gene
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Guitar disaters! Witnessed ... and perpetrated!

11/12/2010

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Probably should have saved this one until next Halloween but I just couldn't wait. I just returned from dropping off my latest find at my guitar repairman's workshop. It is a new-ish Martin D-15 in absolutely perfect condition and Fran Ledoux of Bay Fretted Instruments in Marston's Mills ( www.bayfret.com ) will be installing yet another K&K Pure Western Mini passive pick-up for me. Fran is a superb guitar tech and he's done this job on about a half dozen guitars for me. Supposedly, the installation is a fairly simple job but my history with guitar alterations is pretty dismal with anything beyond adjusting the action. The fleeting thought of doing it myself got me to thinking about some of the injustices to poor innocent guitars that I've witnessed over the years and a few I've done myself. What follows is not for the weak of heart!

The first one took place when I was about 10 years old. A friend of mine named George and I were fooling around on the second floor of the barn that was behind his parent's house. That second floor was crammed full of things like old chairs, luggage, chests of drawers, and a couple old mannequins, the one's used by clothing makers. These "clothes horses" had no heads or legs and stood on some sort of metal rod and stand.

Back in those days, television Westerns were all the rage and boys like my friend George and I loved to play "cowboys and Indians" (oh, the political inappropriateness of such a game if played today! "Bang! Bang! You're dead!!") Anyway, on this particular afternoon I was the "Indian" and George was the cowboy. As we darted from one piece of old furniture to another, shouting out what we pretended were the sounds of our toy guns firing at each other, I noticed a gardening device in a corner, one of those long metal poles with a notched piece of flat metal on the bottom to pull weeds without bending over. To me it looked very much like a spear that an Indian warrior would hurl at a cowboy.

Now, I didn't want to actually hit George with it of course. But in the mind of a 10-year old boy there was no question about what had to be done. I picked it up and heaved it across the room in George's general direction. I hoped to hit one of the mannequins. That would scare him, I thought!

Well the next thing I heard was a loud CA-CHUNK as the device found a target. "Oh no!" said George.

From between some boxes I saw the end of my "spear" protruding. I ran over and pushed the boxes aside. My spear had made a direct hit on a guitar case and was well embedded. We pulled it out and opened the case.

Inside the case was what I came to find out later was sweet little Martin New Yorker, which now sat with a huge hole in its lower bout, out the back and right through the chipboard case.

"That's my mom's guitar!" said George. "She had it in college. She never plays it anymore but I know she loves it!"

I don't recall the next series of events but I know that put an immediate end to our cowboys-and-Indians session. Neither George nor I told his mother what happened.

For various reasons George and I drifted apart as we entered our teenage years but I remember running into him one day after I had been playing guitar for a year or so.

"Uh... so.... what ever happened to your mom's guitar?" I asked.

"Well, she was pretty mad when she found it a year or so later," he said, "but I said I didn't know what happened. My dad told her she shouldn't have kept it in the barn and then they started to have an argument so I left the room! She never said anything else about it....  It was a Martin New Yorker though and I think it was worth some money."

Thank goodness I didn't know about the concept of karma at that point in my life or I probably would have been paranoid for months! To this day I regret it though. Maybe by admitting what happened (here, for the first time) I've at least tipped the scales back in my direction a little bit. Or maybe all the trouble I had with my first Martin, a D-35 I bought a few years later was my penance.

Another horror story. Not of my doing this time, thank goodness.

Back in the 1960s in Newport, Rhode Island we used to love going down to the docks and hanging out. There was a bar there called the Black Pearl. It is still there but the place is absolutely nothing like the seedy joint it was back then. That part of Newport (then the U.S Navy home port of the East Coast destroyer fleet) was lined with tattoo parlors, bars, surplus stores, liquor stores and some very shady characters. We loved it!

A man named Jodie (something?) owned both the bar and a beautiful black schooner that was his home and his pride and joy. Both were named the Black Pearl. The bar had a small stage in the corner and often during the famous Newport Jazz and Folk festivals some of the performers would show up after evening concerts and take over the small stage and play as long as the crowd would keep the stage lined with full glasses. Jodie was also a bit of a guitar player and he had an old D-28 that was pretty much the "house guitar" which anyone could play. It would be worth many, many thousands of dollars today if it had survived in good condition. But that was not its fate.

That poor old Dread was a trooper. It would get banged around on a daily basis and I clearly remember going down to the dock one evening to find Jodie laid out on the dock, snoring away, with his old D-28 on the rough, damp wood dock right next to him. Even then I knew this was no way to treat such a wonderful old instrument. I have no idea what happened to Jodie or his old guitar but both were looking pretty rough the last time I saw them. That D-28 surely died a slow and painful death - but it was also well loved. I'm conflicted about the karmic implications.

Then there was the time I went camping with friends and after an evening of playing, singing and imbibing we turned in for the night. My trusty old Yamaha 12-string was put in its case. Unfortunately, I neglected to close the case - and I left it on the hood on my car. AND... it rained that night!

The next morning I looked in astonishment at about a half inch of water inside the guitar. Only one thing to do: turn it upside down, shake it vigorously and leave it out in the hot sun to dry. And you know what? That old Yammie was none the worse for the experience and played and sounded just fine a day later. Stayed that way too. In fact, I sold it to a friend in the late 1970s and as far as I know, he still has it and plays it. Wonder what the heck that thing was really made out of?!?

One final story. About ten years ago I had a student who was about 10 years old and while a nice kid with a great sense of humor, he just couldn't understand why he had to practice and I came to dread his lessons because I knew they would be a struggle. One day he showed up and was very quiet and didn't look all that well. The lesson was going along as usual and as I was writing out something for him in his notebook I looked up to see him suddenly place the guitar face up on his lap, lean over and proceed to puke directly into the sound hole! Oh my god I said (or words to that affect) - do you want a waste basket???!! 

"No," he said. "I'm OK now. Besides, it's my sister's guitar....!" 

By his choice, that was his last lesson. Which was fine with me. That was one guitar that I did NOT ever want to see again!

Gene



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Is guitar lust one of the Deadly Sins? It should be!

11/10/2010

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Right now I have three Martins. My primary guitar is the one you see in many of the pictures on this site - a wonderful, limited edition 0000-28H from 1998. I won't go into why I like this guitar so much except to say it sounds great and it "fits" me. The other two are for sale and are also very, very nice: a 1996 SPD-16TR (special edition) and a recent all mahogany D-15. But as much as I like that quad-O, something else has caught my eye: a new limited edition from Martin, the M-30 Jorma Kaukonen model. 

I've looked it over on the Martin site again and again and everything about it seems to be just about perfect, from the size and shape to the materials and inlay. It is like most other Martins in terms of understated elegance. Reports on some of the guitar web sites say it sounds just as good as it looks. The closest one to me is up in Lexington at the Music Emporium. I am way over due for a visit to that Mecca of fine guitars but knowing that Jorma was in da' house makes the financial warning bells go off. There is no way on God's Green Earth I can afford that guitar right now. Or maybe ever. Guitar lust is an evil thing!

It did get me to wondering about something else though. How much does a celebrity endorsement affect our buying decisions? Jorma was one of my favorite players back in the Jefferson Airplane days and he continued to be when he went back to all acoustic with Hot Tuna, and he remains one of my top five favorite finger style guitarists. I hope that I'm past the juvenile outlook of wanting to play the same guitar as my heros - I can say with certainty that I am - but there is no doubt that seeing Jorma's name associated with a certain model of guitar caught my eye. 

There must be something to this marketing strategy because based on what I saw on the Martin site, they have made or currently make well over 100 "signature model" limited edition guitars. Some people like Laurence Juber have 5 or 6 models with their name on them. Without being a fly on the wall during marketing meetings at Martin I have no way of knowing what value is placed on a name or what the results are in sales. But it must be substantial. 

Which leads to another question: do the people whose names are on the instruments really use them? In some cases, yes. The very popular Eric Clapton OM model is what Eric is always seen with when he picks up an acoustic (this is a little cagey on Martin's part though - there are TWO versions of this guitar, one that sells for about $2500 and is made of East Indian rosewood, and one that sells for about $8000 that is made of Madagascar - which one do suppose Slow Hand uses?!?). However, take the beautiful and very rare Merle Haggard OOO. This slot-head, rosewood cutaway is a spectacular instrument and I'm sure the Okie from Muskogee has one or two tucked away in a closet somewhere but if he's not playing his old Telecaster you will always see him banging on a beat up old Gibson J-35. I think Merle's choices are much more common among celebrity guitar players than Eric's. 

None of this matters all that much to very many people, I suspect. From the manufacturer's perspective it is an easy and concise way to showcase one of their designs with a variety of features not found on standard models. It's a win in that a special model will be produced in limited numbers and yes, implied exclusivity when someone purchases a celebrity branded guitar. I know this guitar won't turn me into Clapton but hey, Eric and I are at least bonded in terms of what we like in a guitar. This marketing strategy works, without a doubt.

Sometimes the plan backfires though. These days Dave Matthews is inexorably identified with Taylor guitars to the extent that if you asked ANY guitar player to name an artist who uses Taylors, Dave's name would be mentioned first in close to 100% of the cases. However, believe it or not, back about eight years ago Martin had, you guessed it, a Dave Matthews model! Does that mean that Dave suddenly discovered Taylors are better than Martins? Or was there, shall we say, a more pedestrian or practical business reason? Hmmmm...... 

It's doubtful that Jorma is in my future. I just don't have the money. And besides, I love my quad-O. But lets see...if I just sold those two other Martins and I could pick up another few students next month......  AAARRRGGHHH!!!!!

Gene
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The thing about strings

11/8/2010

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Picture
Is it possible to have too much of a good thing? Most of us would say no. These days we have a dizzying array of choices in everything from automobiles to types of lettuce in the grocery store. Variety is the spice of life and all that, but it sure can get confusing at times.

Take guitar strings. When I started playing back in the 1960s there were four or five brands that were readily available and the choice of materials was pretty much limited to nylon, brass and steel. I do remember a jazz guitarist I knew who insisted on going to a store that had a big box of strings on the counter, divided up in sections by string gauge and whether they were flat wound or round wound. He would buy individual strings to make his sets because the basic sets that were available just didn't suit his needs. I used to buy the cool black nylon LaBella "Folk" strings with ball ends for my Harmony classical guitar. Gauge? Who the heck knew or cared?

I was recently perusing the online catalog of a mega retailer and I counted 26 different brands of acoustic guitar strings, in which there were 519 variations! And you know what? My favorite brand wasn't even there! No wonder guitarists get confused and may secretly wonder if there is all that much difference.

I'm not going to attempt to delve into the specifics of those 519 variations. Heck, I couldn't if I wanted to because it seems a new string company pops up every week. And just about the time you find "the one," that perfect string, you can't help but wonder about the brand you used a couple years ago and if it was really as good as you thought back then. So you buy some, and the process begins again. Ugh. This is can be expensive but also time consuming and it does not take into account things like varying humidity at different times of the year that will surely affect the sound and longevity of any string.

What I will do is try to boil the whole thing down to the basics. I'm going to talk about strings for steel string acoustics, which are my passion and where I have the most experience. Let's start with materials.

The most popular string materials for the wrappings of strings for acoustic steel guitars are 80/20 Bronze and Phosphor Bronze. Not that long ago brass was popular but for some reason that has faded away, or perhaps the 80/20 is what used to be called brass, I don't really know. You notice I emphasized that the wrappings are made of these materials. That is because almost without exception the cores of the wrapped strings and the unwrapped high E and B strings are single strand steel. There is some variation in the shape of the steel (round core or hexagon core being the most common) but except for how the steel is tempered to be stiff or more flexible, it is still just steel.

You'll find debate on this, but many guitarists feel that 80/20 is somewhat brighter sounding than phos. bronze. I agree with that. In fact, some brands of 80/20 are so bright that they begin to sound almost abrasive, at least to my ears. So I usually stick to phos. bronze. Some strings are coated with a micro plastic coating that makes them stay new sounding, longer. I tried those and did not like them because I found them to be to "squeeky" when my fingers moved. But many players love them even though they cost almost twice as much as regular strings.

Next comes gauge, or the overall thickness of the strings in aggregate. Manufacturers label their string sets as being light, medium or heavy gauge. There are other variations that I'll get into in a minute but these are the most common. Although you can find some discrepancies from one manufacturer to the next regarding the string diameters in the specific categories, here is the general consensus of string diameters per classification, from highest to lowest pitch:

Light gauge: .12  .16  .24  .32  .42  .53
Medium gauge:  .13  .17  .26  .35  .45  .56

You notice I do not even get into heavy gauge. This is because all guitar manufacturers caution against using anything heavier than mediums because of the stress they put on the instrument.

And that stress is what it's all about. This is a conundrum that guitarists have faced for generations, ever since Martin and Gibson first produced guitars that were braced to accept all-metal strings back in the early part of the 20th Century. Medium gauge strings sound better than lights on almost all steel string guitars, but.... they HURT! And even though almost all guitars are supposedly braced to accept mediums, they definitely shorten the time before a guitar will need a neck reset (ouch!) and make guitars more prone to lifting bridges, cracks and other unpleasantness.

Lights are easier to press down but they don't exert as much pressure on the bridge, which means the top of the guitar will not vibrate to its maximum capability, which equates to less than optimum volume and resonance. In the extreme, some guitarists - especially those coming from an electric guitar background - will use Extra Light Gauge strings to make the acoustic easier to play. In my opinion, extra lights are all but useless - not only do they rob a good guitar of its best sound but they tend to rattle and buzz, especially when strummed. Do your guitar a favor. Skip the XLs.

String manufacturers have been listening to these issues however and some of them have begun marketing "custom" sets of strings. For example, Martin Custom Lights are a halfway point between XLs and lights and they sound pretty decent. My opinion is that if you can play these you can probably play a regular light, so why rob the guitar to volume and tone for just a tiny bit of ease? But that's your call.

Of more interest to me are the "medium/lights" that a few companies like John Pearse and Newtone (my absolute favorite brand) now make. These feature what are essentially light gauge treble strings and medium gauge bass strings, thereby getting some of the ease of lights, plus the punch of mediums, with less finger fatigue.

This is all pretty subjective stuff however. A lot has to do with the style of your playing and type of music you play. Someone who's in a pitched battle with his friend the banjo player in a bluegrass band will certainly stick to mediums, while the person playing some of the modern finger style music that requires a lot of hammer-ons, slurs and slides will probably be best served by lights. I fall somewhere in the middle (although thankfully I do not have a banjo player to contend with!) and I absolutely love the Newtone Master Class NMC-CU phosphor bronze strings that measure:
.12  .16  .24  .34  .44  .54

Newtones are made with a round core and are hand-wrapped, which results in a nice soft feeling string with amazing longevity.

There are some other variations that you should be aware of such as all-steel strings designed for acoustic electric guitars and silk-and-steel, which are a very light gauge, low tension string with a thin silk wrapping on the lower strings between the steel wrap and the steel core. These are great for very small bodied steel strings and can even be used on some older guitars that were designed for nylon or "gut" strings. Be careful using them and take them off at the first sign of the bridge warping or the top arching. If this doesn't happen you can end up with a very sweet sounding guitar. I once knew a woman who had a Martin "New Yorker" that was strung with silk-and-steel and it was a joy to hear.

So there you are. I really can't tell you which string is best for your style or needs but thankfully, compared to strings for other instruments like violin and cello, guitar strings are inexpensive enough to experiment with different gauges and brands. Just be aware that those "perfect" strings may be just one in a long line of perfect strings!

As always, I welcome comment and input on this and any guitar-related subject.
Peace & good tunes!
Gene
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