It's just after Christmas 2007 in my household, and the graphics card that I bought my daughter (an NVidia GeForce Ge7300) won't run in her pre-Intel Mac (which is not that old). This is yet another disappointment of the Mac platform that I keep encountering. Usually, I have to keep a watchful eye on the operating system, sorting out in my head the non-intuitive three-decimal system with the counter-intuitive feline imagery, to make sure that I can run a compatible program.
But now, the pre-Intel G5s seem like persona non grata of the computer world, and I'm fast losing patience with the way Apple keeps revamping its platform at my expense. Speaking of expense, it's getting harder and harder to justify the cost increase of Mac computers over their Windows counterparts, especially as more and more core programs (MS Office, Adobe CS, browsers, Digidesign Pro Tools, Steinberg Cubase, etc.) become cross-platform. Sure, I'd love to learn Final Cut, but not enough for me to buy a Mac. I use Sony Vegas, and it's just fine.
I was an early-adopter Mac user. I still think the Mac is elegant and technically dazzling. But over time, you will eventually become victimized by Apple (witness the current price-drop fiasco of the iPhone). Windows can be infuriatingly slow to adopt commonsense upgrades (the Start menu in XP is just one example of woefully out-of-date interface design), but you can use machines that are several years old without incompatibilities. And more and more, I'm coming to respect that. And my bank account is too.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Monday, January 22, 2007
NAMM SHOW 2007
Just got back from the "Las Vegas" of gear shows: the Winter 2007 NAMM show, in Anaheim, CA.
I hadn't been there in three years, so it was quite a shock to see just how much the show has evolved and honed its technique. The exhibitors are largely manufacturers, and they display all their new gear (sometimes the ship date is months way), as well as highlights of their product line.
All the big guys are here: Roland, Yamaha, PRS, Gibson, Fender, Korg/Marshall/Vox, Taylor, Martin, Peavey, Crate, Mackie, Washburn, Apple Inc., Digidesign/Avid, MOTU, Steinberg, Cakewalk, Sony, DigiTech, Tascam, AKG, Audio-Technica, Shure, Blue, etc.
It's probably easier to name the companies who were not there.
One of the highlights of the show were the performances. Sure, there's a lot of "in-booth wanking," but there are world-class performances and concert experiences at night, in the ballrooms and makeshift venues. I saw Johnny Hiland twice, and was just blown away. A few years ago he was a delightful Tele-picker. But as amazing as that was, it wasn't that uncommon.
How far he has come. He now plays and endorses Paul Reed Smith guitars, and he's playing rock and roll with the best of them. His sound is steeped in the humbucker sound, and he's gone way past the lickety-split chicken-pickin' stuff. Rich, emotional, and lyric lines pour forth from his fingers. He's staying close to his southern roots, for sure, but his rock vocabulary has expanded, and he's now emerging as one of the pre-eminent voices in that genre -- right up there with Warren Haynes.
I hadn't been there in three years, so it was quite a shock to see just how much the show has evolved and honed its technique. The exhibitors are largely manufacturers, and they display all their new gear (sometimes the ship date is months way), as well as highlights of their product line.
All the big guys are here: Roland, Yamaha, PRS, Gibson, Fender, Korg/Marshall/Vox, Taylor, Martin, Peavey, Crate, Mackie, Washburn, Apple Inc., Digidesign/Avid, MOTU, Steinberg, Cakewalk, Sony, DigiTech, Tascam, AKG, Audio-Technica, Shure, Blue, etc.
It's probably easier to name the companies who were not there.
One of the highlights of the show were the performances. Sure, there's a lot of "in-booth wanking," but there are world-class performances and concert experiences at night, in the ballrooms and makeshift venues. I saw Johnny Hiland twice, and was just blown away. A few years ago he was a delightful Tele-picker. But as amazing as that was, it wasn't that uncommon.
How far he has come. He now plays and endorses Paul Reed Smith guitars, and he's playing rock and roll with the best of them. His sound is steeped in the humbucker sound, and he's gone way past the lickety-split chicken-pickin' stuff. Rich, emotional, and lyric lines pour forth from his fingers. He's staying close to his southern roots, for sure, but his rock vocabulary has expanded, and he's now emerging as one of the pre-eminent voices in that genre -- right up there with Warren Haynes.
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Blues Guitar for Dummies on sale December 18, 2006
My latest entry into the Dummies juggernaut is Blues Guitar for Dummies. This 384-page book includes a CD-ROM of all the musical examples that appear in the book (over 140 of them). The book provides tips on buying guitars, lists must-have recordings, gives a history of the blues and its key guitarists, and includes lots and lots of instruction and music examples. Everything from fingerstyle (Delta, Piedmont, ragtime, country) to electric (Chicago, blues-rock) to slide (standard and open tunings) is explored in depth. Blues Guitar for Dummies is perhaps a little easier than Rock Guitar for Dummies, and a good next step after Guitar for Dummies.
One of the most interesting things I discovered in researching the book was just how much the blues has been ignored by instrument manufacturers, record lablels, and even listening audiences over its history. Most of the blues knowledge we have is due to the resurrection of the genre beginning in the mid- to late-1960's (during the Great Folk Scare). Many of the primary, first-generation blues artists (Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf) were middle-aged or elderly by the time they were rediscovered, having spent the prime of their careers (and lives) in obscurity. So the information before this period is scant, and scholars vigorously disagree on even the most basic issues, like the spelling of artist's names (Charlie vs. Charley Patton, etc.) and birth data (year and location). Even the living artists themselves gave conflicting accounts of events.
Then there's the collective ignorance of the public. Most people don't even know where the Mississippi Delta is (it's not at the mouth of the River; it's 200 miles north), and are hazy about what is history and what is lore.
When I was researching early electric instruments, there was plenty of available material on popular and jazz players of the day, but relatively little on blues players, despite blues preceding jazz (and in many cases influencing it). You can find celebrity endorsements by Nick Lucas, Jonny Smith, and even Trini Lopez (!), but not T-Bone Walker.
One of the most interesting things I discovered in researching the book was just how much the blues has been ignored by instrument manufacturers, record lablels, and even listening audiences over its history. Most of the blues knowledge we have is due to the resurrection of the genre beginning in the mid- to late-1960's (during the Great Folk Scare). Many of the primary, first-generation blues artists (Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf) were middle-aged or elderly by the time they were rediscovered, having spent the prime of their careers (and lives) in obscurity. So the information before this period is scant, and scholars vigorously disagree on even the most basic issues, like the spelling of artist's names (Charlie vs. Charley Patton, etc.) and birth data (year and location). Even the living artists themselves gave conflicting accounts of events.
Then there's the collective ignorance of the public. Most people don't even know where the Mississippi Delta is (it's not at the mouth of the River; it's 200 miles north), and are hazy about what is history and what is lore.
When I was researching early electric instruments, there was plenty of available material on popular and jazz players of the day, but relatively little on blues players, despite blues preceding jazz (and in many cases influencing it). You can find celebrity endorsements by Nick Lucas, Jonny Smith, and even Trini Lopez (!), but not T-Bone Walker.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
