Archive for Learn from Mike
A Guitar and Life Lesson
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Mike Tafoya
My advise is to (is there anybody there, listening?) “forever learn your instrument”, find a track for your sound. Remember, “this IS a business”, and try to clean up or straighten up your life style to accommodate your dreams.
Sounds like good advise, believe me it’s not always that easy.Taking time for practice is one thing, making time to learn your instrument is ALL the rest! If I were paid for each time I heard some cat say that it’s “his style” that he plays, nothing fancy.
That’s great for an intended approach, though I know many cases where someone would tell me that and I knew he just didn,t know how to play his guitar. To me, I see a difference between a guitarist and a guitar player. Learn your “guitar” language and get an understanding on how to physically handle that beast.
Having someone show you and someone teaching you how to get there are, two different things. Get an idea of what it is you want to learn. Until you really know that, start or continue your studies. When the time comes for you to come up with a new part or arrangement, you’ll know how to find which way to go to get “there”.
A quote (or part of it) from Miles Davis is; basically “steal from everybody, eventually it becomes yours”. Everybody who’s good at all learned how to play that thing!
This is “your life, live it! Be strong, to go where you need to be. Be strong enough to say no!
Peace,
Mike Tafoya
Mike uses Gibson Guitars, Gibson Strings, Epiphone, Marshall, and Crate amplifiers, and Dunlop guitar Picks.
I use Gibson Pick-Ups, Why?
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By – M. TAFOYA
 Mike Tafoya For years or decades I’ve played electric guitar in bands at bars, schools, concerts and recording sessions yet I couldn’t tell you what pick-ups (p/u’s) were about. I mean, I didn’t have a clue as to what a pick-up did what to my sound. I grew up in a Gibson family. I mean that my relatives, when they didn’t ridicule me for my participation as a rock and roll guitar player, said if I played a guitar, it had to be a Gibson. So, I only had a clue about humbucker type pick-up’s Gibson used. Oh yeah, it’s little brother the P-90. My first electric was a Tiesco Del Ray I got for Christmas in 1967. I did get a Mattel Tiger guitar that was made of plastic and used a contact type pick-up. My brother and I each got one that XMAS so often times we’d use one of the pick-up’s as a vocal mic. Those days’ electric strings were extremely limited in types and gauges available to young poor city folk like yours truly. I think I only remember Gibson, Fender and Black Diamond strings. This is before the Maestro Fuzz and the Vox Wha-Wha were available to the buying public like me. Back to pick-up’s! With the limited info as to how the stars were getting “THAT SOUND” we just kept trying to learn guitar without “how to” magazines and poor sounding phonograph players playing 45’s on a tiny speaker. You could say there was no reason to discern between p/u’s. In the mid 70’s I was already playing full time and knew about vintage Les Pauls and the legendary PAF pick-up’s that were installed in them. Around that time a N.Y. Co. was making a name for them selves as a replacement for your non- Gibson brand type (humbucking) pick-up, DeMarzio. I ended up buying one for my 76 Explorer. Mind you I owned since the mid 60’s, a late 50’s Epiphone symmetric cherry finish Coronet with a, I think someone called it a cobalt pick-up. It is referred to as the “P-90”, or “soap bar” single coil type pick-up. I loved that guitar and its sound. I just thought I should have a “real vintage”sounding guitar with a humbucking p/u installed. I also owned a Les Paul Deluxe with the mini humbuckers. It sounded great, I just thought it should have full sized p/u’s to sound and look right. To quote Ian Hunter in the mid 70,s, “Rock guitarist’s seem to have this Gibson fetish”, and I did! I wanted the “look”. Gil Pini, the other Guitarist playing with me was using the DeMarzio super Distortion humbucking , and I for some reason didn’t feel good about it’s sound and feel, although it was touted as “heaven sent “ sort of thing, especially for Marshall amplifiers back then (no master volume on the pre-amp stage). I eventually purchased a Super 2 p/u, because it had more bite. And to me, meant, it would cut through cleaner and not be as transparent in the mix. I even bought the Alembic ‘Hot Rod Kit” for my 56 Les Paul Jr. (stupid) in 1976 or 77. That was supposed to be a good idea because it was hotter (better sounding) with a ceramic magnet to install, and since it was from Alembic (from California) and not some “upstart p/u manufacturer” it was the right thing to do. I didn’t think about the DeMarzio pick-up’s and I didn’t know that those pick-up’s used the ceramic magnets at the time. As I started to record in major recording studios I’d learn to discern my sound. I didn’t have those how to magazines to hip me to that elusive vintage “sound”. Yet, I could hear my Gibson Explorer and my Les Paul Jr. distorting at all volume levels as well as attack approach. It just wouldn’t smooth out. I was puzzled. Still trying to connect the look with the sound, I stumbled through the maze for years. Not having the patience, or the money to buy and compare p/u’s, I just tried to make a sound with what I had. I had all the right Pro equipment. Yet I was looking back, “wagging the dog”. A good sound starts from the fingers, to the guitar to the P/u’s. If you don’t start there, you’re spinning in circles and you’ll end up with a transparent (fuzzy) sound without body and response. “Your fingers are your tone generators”. Not the amps or pedals. Those are tools to augment your expression. And if you learn anything about trouble shooting on the fly, you go down the line to find the problem with your sound or rig. The same goes for finding your sound. When establishing your sound you start with your technique, through the pick-up on down to the amp. With trouble shooting on stage, you should start with the amp and go down the line back to you. Which makes sense since you’ve established your rig set up, and you’re trying to fix what was working, you back track. If not, you’re spinning in circles, again! So, I had a friend who made the point about how some pick-up’s play you and PAF’s don’t. I soon tried two 57 Classic pick-up’s installed on my 92 Les Paul Classic and what do you know? I had a sound that was tight on the bottom ringing on the top and honking clear / dirty mids when I played hard, and subtle soft tones when I backed off the and played lightly. I was in HEAVEN!! And the great thing that went with it was that, this same thing happened regardless of the volume setting on the guitar. My experience was that the tone I got on full could be bright and tight with honk, and as soon as I backed off the guitar’s volume, the tone would take on a dark or dull shade. This meant I would spend a lot of time tweeking the blend between my rhythms (clean and crunch) and lead tones. Looking for each was a drag, and a waste of time! I’m no tech. so I can’t and won’t waste your time with my take of their specs. I do know that there’s something about the combination of the enamel coated copper wire and the alnico magnets that give me a sound I can play with and use dynamics. It was soon after I started using the Gibson 57 Classic pick-up, that Gibson came out with their 57 Classic plus. This p/u was designed as a bridge p/u. that meant I didn’t have to adjust the pick-up height between the two (front and back) pick-ups to get a blend. The neck or rhythm pick-up is louder so you’d have to lower it to be even with the bridge pick-up. In the 50;s the gals at the pick-up dept. would wind these pick-up’s using an egg timer or something like that. Sometimes they’d be distracted and some pick-up’s would end up with more winds. Other times they would end up with less. The p/u’s with more windings sounded “hotter” and when people started going for the tone, they’d notice the sound of certain pick-up’s compared to others. It wasn’t rocket science to come up with the idea to put one of those “hot” pick-up’s in the bridge position you would have a bright, tight, and honk’n lead tone where there wasn’t. And a whole new sub market in ‘vinatge’ pick-up’s ‘ came about. Which brings us full circle, “I use Gibson Pick-ups and I’m sure that the other brands quality alnico pick-ups are a good sounding product. I do know what sounds good to me and what I know from “my” experience. Peace, Mike Tafoya Mike uses Gibson Guitars, Gibson Strings, Epiphone, Marshall, and Crate amplifiers, and Dunlop guitar Picks.
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Guitar Strings – Cont…
Posted by: | CommentsWhat are they good for?
String varieties or types
By – M. TAFOYA
Mike Tafoya
Getting in tune and staying in tune, are what the job requires, for sure. I’ve been in so many situation’s where string breakage and not staying in tune just creates havoc on the band, Audience, and music. I’ve had situations in my youth and now a days to be sure, where I’ve neglected to either change my strings, and a couple of times I like a dumb kid just didn’t bother to properly tune my guitar.
I used to work for the Gibson Guitar String and Accessories Division (now called GIBSON GEAR) as a shipping and receiving clerk then moved up to Regional Sales Manager in Elgin, IL. In those capacities I was able to see the Gibson String line from start to finish, as well as learning what alloys the strings were made of. I got to understand how those alloys affected their overall tone feel and playability.
Also, with trying to sell these products I found the questions and some of the answers to many of the issue’s we guitarist encounter.
Mind you, I’ve been playing now for over forty years and I’ve used most every brand of string manufactured. Obviously I haven’t tried every string brand sold out there, just most of them. I tend to play very hard when I’m rocking and I’m used to certain brands of guitar strings giving (or wearing) out. I don’t pretend to know what the ins and outs are to manufacturing strings. I do know what works for me!
I’ve used The Gibson Brand string for decades before I worked there and after I got the job in shipping (working for minimum wage); I’d buy the strings and turn them on to my guitarist friends. I’d also give them to some friends who weren’t guitarist, just guitar players. My point was to hip my buddy’s and other local “axe slingers” to these strings that seemed to tune well, not break from a good workout. Besides, I’d get them on discount.
I know the whole subject of strings is a subjective point of view. Here is mine.
ELECTRIC STRINGS
Basically we find three or four types of string covers for the windings. The plain strings are stainless steel at least as far as I know when it comes to a quality string set.
We have
Nickel wrap wound strings
NPS or nickel plated steel wrap wound strings
Steel or stainless steel wrap wound strings
Flat-wound stainless steel flat wrap wound strings
These different wound strings have each have a tonal difference as well as a feel or touch difference.
The NICKEL wound or “Pure Nickel” wound strings are generally referred to as the “vintage” electric string type. These strings have a warm, smooth attack and a gradual decay. This type of string is suitable for guitarists who play an arched top or Jazz-box type of guitar (usally with a wound third string), or the Vintage sound fan (blues, rock or country) and those who can afford to purchase strings regularly since they are a softer alloy and tend to lose their tone after a nights performance. These strings offer a different sound and feel in recording sessions because of their attack, decay, and punchy smooth tone
Electric String Types
The NPS or nickel plated steel wound strings are the choice of most of the artist I’m in contact with. These strings are brighter and harder than their nickel counterparts so they last longer, keep their tone and aren’t as prone to wearing out after one nights work out. You tend to feel these strings at the finger tips more than the nickel (harder alloy). So these are finger tip callous builders for you beginners and young artists alike.
The STEEL or stainless steel wound strings are the loudest and punchiest of the bunch. There’s a school of thought that these strings aren’t good because they tend to wear out or wear down the frets on your guitar. That’s especially true for the beginner guitar player who plays in a rather small or limited area of the fret board; you’ll find fret wear in concentrated areas of your fret board like the first fret of the G or third string especially. Pros tend to play chords with voicing’ that require playing guitar all over the neck using all the strings up and down the neck. That isn’t as much a problem for them.
The FLAT WOUND stainless steel wrap strings are a special application string used by The Jazz artists and commercial “jingle musicians who don’t want string and finger noises emitting from their amps during these “money sessions”. These sets do use a wound third string. The smooth feel and tone is a joy to play on, though you don’t bend these strings. You play a fluid glissando style of voiced solo and the attack is light and the tone is dark and warm. “Smooth”
Acoustic String Types
I’m familiar with the three main types of acoustic guitar strings, based on the alloy of the cover wire or wrap. Again the plain strings are usually stainless steel.
We have
1. Monel
2. Phos. Bronze
3. 80/20 Bronze or Brass
The “MONEL” string cover or wrap was a name for the Gibson for the first manufactured guitar string. I liked the long decay of the string with that cover. The string didn’t have a loud, sharp attack. That coupled with the decay made for a nice recording guitar that could produce notes evenly and ring with a nice slow decay. Since this is the set you have on your guitar, you really shouldn’t feel or hear a big difference between this type and a brighter type.
One gets used to the sound you get on your instrument, and as you play you would adjust to that sound. Sadly Gibson has discontinued the manufacture of the “MONEL” type covered string. Hopefully some one will produce these strings. Like I said these strings were a useful tool in the studio as well as live.
The PHOS. BRONZE string by contrast has a loud sharp attack that is considered to be the choice and favorites among professionals and semi. Pros. alike. They don’t keep the ring as long, and that will work for a pro.
80/20 BRONZE or BRASS are brighter and ring more than Phos bronze but generally don’t hold their tone as long as the Phos bronze.
There are other elements and factors that could be instrumental in your decision of brand and types of guitar strings. Like cover to core ratio, round or hex core types of strings, and of course string gauge. That’s another article and I’m not sure how to tackle those on paper just yet, maybe, later kidz.
I’m no expert, that’s for sure and I don’t make or manufacture guitar strings. So I’m just making observations based upon an outsider guitarist point of view. I hope I’m able to illuminate this “dark territory for us broke and or slow to learn impatient types of guitarist’s
Peace, Mike Tafoya
I’d like to thank Dave Timmons of Gibson Gear (1150 Bowes Rd. Elgin IL. 60123), 1-800-544-2766 (1-800-5 GIBSON) for his help and friendship.
Mike uses Gibson Guitars, Gibson Strings, Epiphone, Marshall, and Crate amplifiers, and Dunlop guitar Picks.
