ISSUE 5 Credits EDITOR Roberta Pia 0131 229 8227 roberta@reddogmusic.co.uk DEPUTY EDITOR Alex Marten 0131 229 8227 alex@reddogmusic.co.uk CHIEF WRITER Roberta Pia STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Andy McKay (Purrrfect Photography) CONTRIBUTORS Allen frae Fife, Will Baker, Shaun Baxter, Carrie Beattie, Alex Fenton, Dave Gardner, Alex Marten, Guy Perchard, Cenk Sayinli, Rod Vaughan. Shop Photographs DN Anderson www.dnanderson.co.uk ADVERTISING Roberta Pia 0131 229 8227 If you would like to advertise in The Dog, please email marketing@reddogmusic.co.uk Front cover ILLUSTRATION The 16K Design Works & Daniel Seex (The Joy of Seex) www.thejoyofseex.co.uk DESIGN & ART DIRECTION The 16K Design Works 0131 661 3737 info@16kdesign.com www.16kdesign.com PRINT Cocoa Creative Consultants 0800 644 0646 info@cocoadesign.co.uk www.cocoadesign.co.uk CONTACT Red Dog Music 1 Grassmarket, Edinburgh EH1 2HY 0131 229 8211 info@reddogmusic.co.uk www.reddogmusic.co.uk
WINTER 2011 THE DOG 3
DOG EDITORIAL top DOGS REDDOGMUSIC PRESENTS THE
REDDOGMUSIC’s
happy birthday to The Dog!
happy birthday to The Dog, happy birthday to The Dog... happy birthday to The DOG! Well, in the words of Barry Manilow “looks like we made it!”
T
he Dog is officially one year old! Tell you what, he’s looking good for his age; if we’re going by dog years that makes him a fruity 7 years old. Since The Dog reared its musical wee head, we’ve had nothing but amazing feedback from you lot out there, wherever you may be. Numerous offerings of articles, help with distribution, people allowing us to pick their brains for interviews... my personal favourite was man, myth, legend, Rod Buckle, who called me up personally to let me know that he’d found The Dog in a venue that he was playing at somewhere down South and he liked it so much that he bought an amp from us and told his pals to do the same. So, give me a moment just to say thank you to Rod, Rod’s pals and everyone else out there who’s reading this. We’re nothing without you so cheers for sticking with us. Because it’s the birthday issue, we thought we’d push the boat out. Not only did we get an interview with the king of cut ‘n’ paste aka DJ Yoda, we also missioned it to London (just
in our heads though, not in real life) to interview pop rockers, Jakil. Our new pals at Swanfield Studios wrote us an article on how to record acoustic guitar while Sacre Noir took The Dog on tour and brought back photographic evidence and - as if that wasn’t enough - one of our coolest customers went old school and hand-wrote us a wee review of the shop. It melted our hearts so
What’s on the Red Dog Music stereo this Issue Little Roy ‘Battle for Seattle’ Nirvana inna dub reggae style – so wrong but... so right.
Death in Vegas ‘Your Loft, My Acid’ Imagine your first acid trip in musical form. Breathtaking.
Vector Lovers ‘Melodies & Memory’ Tasty 80’s synth action without the haircuts.
Digitalism ‘Blitz’ Euphoric electronica - instant smiley faces!
Koop ‘Koop Island Blues’ Jazz tinged melancholic lounge, perfect antidote to the rain.
“IT’S THE DOG’S 1ST BIRTHDAY! GIVE US CAKE!”
4 THE DOG WINTER 2011
much that we simply had to share it with you. Ok, I think that about covers it.
In other news, it’s the DOG’s 1st birthday! GIVE US CAKE!
Check ou
r blog at.
blog.redd
..
ogmusic .co.uk
DJ Yoda IS ON E OF TH ES E ARTISTS TH AT, S get sic mu his n whe played at a party,
everybody will nod in agreement, look at each other and say “TUNE!” All bow down to the king of cut ‘n’ paste...
“Think about what you’re adding to a crowded music scene - whether it’s original or new.”
H
ow did you come up with your name? Actually I’ve never really liked the name DJ Yoda! But it got named “upon” me by a friend when I had a big Yoda toy by my turntables when I was much younger. I think I’m kind of stuck with it now, and when you think about any DJ name for long enough they sound a bit silly.
• Describe your musical style in three words. Hip-Hop with everything.
WINTER 2011 THE DOG 7
DJ YODA
“When you think about any DJ name for long enough, they sound a bit silly.”
Recommended!
Ableton Live or Serato Scratch
8 THE DOG WINTER 2011
• Your best and worst gigs? Some of my favourite gigs have been in faraway places, as I can’t believe that I get to be in China or Brazil or South Africa and people can enjoy what I do so far from where I grew up. Worst gigs? I did my fair share of entirely empty clubs when I was first starting out. I mean ENTIRELY empty! Good practice though! • Tell us the best and worst descriptions of your music so far. Best “like DJ Shadow but with a sense of humour”. Worst “can you play something I can dance to please?” • What is your favourite tunes / albums at the moment? “I Love My Life” by DeMarco, “Flight School Vol. 2” by Sparkle Motion... Any moombahton music! • Who are your favourite bands/djs/artists? I play so many different genres and styles of music that it’s really hard for me to narrow that down! I have favourites within each genre I guess. So my favourite rapper of all
time is Big Daddy Kane if that helps? Or Biz Markie. Or Lord Finesse. • Which of your records are you most proud of? I did two tracks with Biz Markie on my first album, which was like a dream come true, as I grew up listening to his music. So, probably those two tracks. • How do you go about writing a new tune? It’s a different process with each track I make. But a typical starting point for me would be a small sample that I like - then I start manipulating it and adding to it. • What do you want your music to achieve? Put a smile on people’s faces. Which bits of music gear would you recommend to the masses? Ableton Live or Serato Scratch. • What advice would you give to a DJ looking to get into music production? Don’t overload yourself with technology. Just think about what you are adding to a crowded music scene – whether you’re adding something original or new. • What’s up next for you? I’m going to take the dog for a walk. Also I’m putting the finishing touches to my second artist album. Probably in that order. • Tell us a funny DJ Yoda story. I once pulled the hair of a girl who stole a taxi from me outside Fabric nightclub in London. And her hair turned out to be a wig and came off in my hand. • If you could’ve written any song in the world, what song would it be? 93 Til Infinity by Souls of Mischief.
Yodas KITLIS’ T 2 turntableS
a mixer
& a laptop
www.djyoda.co.uk
WINTER 2011 THE DOG 9
REDDOG
PRODUCT
PICKS!
Picked By:
A few of the Red Dog Music staff take time out to tell us what they think are the coolest bits of gear in-store at the moment. Let’s meet them and find out what they think rawks...
Takamine TAN15C Electro-Acoustic Guitar (Rrp:£1,318.80 / Red Dog Price: £1,099)
Name:
Roberta Top Tune... Stanley Odd ‘Broken Has Morning’ The moment I heard this tune, I fell in love with it. It’s beautiful and filthy in equal measures (and by filthy, I mean pure bangin’). It makes me want to throw shapes on the dancefloor at the same time as sit back, relax and get high, so high. One word: goosebumps.
Alternative Recommendation Martin DC15E Electro Acoustic Guitar (£1,299.00)
I
“understated elegance with some unusual twists.”
’m not a guitarist. I’m a singer. In saying that, I’ve played the guitar almost every day for the past year. I had a trusty Oakland for 7 years until there was an unfortunate accident involving a wardrobe and a It also includes a rare Cool falling suitcase. Thankfully, I’m lucky Tube preamp – the first and enough to work in an instrument shop only tube preamp in an so spent the next day drowning my acoustic guitar – which sorrows in the dulcet tones of our allows you to accentuate extensive range of acoustics. your personal style. Choose First stop: The Takamine Wall. I’d between a high degree of heard incredible things about Taka“CUT” for the more aggresmines but the one that happened to sive strummer; expanded catch my eye that day was the “sweetness” with fatter TAN15C. It’s part of the Supernatural lows and rounder highs; series - famous for their understated or voluptuous richness for elegance with some unusual twists finger-style players. thrown in: a genuine abalone rosette, At about a grand, gold tuning machines with amber it’s not cheap... pearl buttons, a pinless bridge... but there’s no Honestly, on first strum, it was pretty doubt about bright sounding for my liking but once it; it’s an axe I’d worn it in and applied a cheeky for life. Man. string change, everything fell into place. It has a lovely, warm, rich tone to it and I’ve had endless compliments on how mellow it sounds - and this is before it’s even been Buy online at plugged in. RedDogMusic.coat.uk the This model includes and use code ‘dog2’ Takamine’s Palathetic pickup, checkout to get 5% OFF your purchase or come which is known as one of the into the shop for most natural-sounding pickups. a demo!
WINTER 2011 THE DOG 11
R E D D OG
T PRODUCK S! PIC
Korg Wavedrum Mini (Red Dog Price: £259)
A
big WELL DONE to Korg for bringing out some great new battery powered products! Korg’s newest product in this vein of portable goods is the Wavedrum Mini - a drum synthesizer with a difference. The most fun aspect of this device is the external microphone clip that can be attached to a wide range of things -
“A drum synthesizer with a difference.” desks/feet/other percussion, etc. The clip acts as a velocity trigger and can transform almost ANY surface that it can stretch around into a drum or tuned instrument. The unit also boasts a rubber pad that is both positionally and velocity sensitive, yet can be played in unison alongside the sounds triggered by the clip. All of the sounds
onboard can be assigned to either the pad or the clip and playing around with the looping functions and in-built backing tracks can produce some fun noises. Be warned: the looping doesn’t have any smooth quantisation functions that are often present in other loopers this means what is played out of time, stays out of time. Having said that, this product is designed with drummers in mind and can act as either a handy training aid or as a live performance instrument. Korg have added the ability to transpose the tuned instrument patches which makes it a great jamming tool. Capable of 100 different sounds ranging from synthetic to acoustic, there are sounds to suit almost everyone. The Mini benefits from its own built in speaker and while it’s not exactly high fidelity or loud, it’s adequate for on-the-go jamming. However, when the drum is plugged into a good set of speakers or ‘phones, the famous Korg sound quality is definitely evident. I’d recommend trying it out with either good studio headphones or as we did - through a 1000W PA! In summary: great price, great clip thing, great times.
Buy onlin
RedDogMusice at .co.uk and use code ‘dog checkout to ge 2’ at the t 5% OFF your purchase or co into the shop me for a demo!
12 THE DOG WINTER 2011
Picked By:
Name:
Will
Top Tune... Canned Heat ‘Going up the Country’ This classic track always conjures up a mental image of the front man performing at Woodstock. The whole band are mid set when a fan bursts on to the stage and steals a cigarette out of the singers top pocket, security go to move in but then the singer nods at them to leave him alone. In short: the man’s a legend.
Alternative Recommendation Alesis Performance Pad Pro (£229.99)
R E D D OG
P R O D U CT
PICKS!
Korg Monotribe Analog Synth (Rrp: £202.80 / Red Dog Price: £169)
Picked By:
Name:
Cenk
Top Tune... Autechre ‘Rotar’ Top tracks are the tracks from the past for me. Currently, this tune by Autechre – the duo from Sheffield – has to be my top tune. It reminds me of the good special old times with special people. This track takes me on a journey, just like water does when you take the plug out of the sink.
Alternative Recommendation Korg Monotron (£49.99)
O
ver a year ago, Korg released the small but mighty Monotron upon the unsuspecting world of digitalized electronic music gear. It was a big hit! Selling faster than fish n chips, it was obvious that there would be an updated model to follow of this fun, analogue but portable and fat sounding synth. After many moons passing away, we now have the Monotribe upon us! Compared to its predecessor, has a sturdier build, more controls to shake your stick at, more ins and outs to poke and better audio quality (Yes! fatter, crazier and deeper). It is portable and it has an inbuilt speaker, meaning you can entertain your grandma at picnics if you have six AA batteries spare. It even comes with batteries which they last around 8 hours of heavy bashing, ready for action. Just like its predecessor, Monotribe has the analogue MS20 filter and it sounds fuller, smoother and easier on the ears. So, what are the differences to its smaller brother? Well, it has an inbuilt sequencer, drum section, nicely detailed LFO, noise control, 3 different
synth / LFO waveforms which are Saw, Triangle and Square. The sequencer acts very much like a looper would do. Hit the record but-
“It will have a place in every electronic musician’s heart.” ton and slide your finger on the keys and it will loop that phrase - instant electronic loop. Combine this feature with the Octave knob, it is a powerful feature. To accompany this, there is the Drum section. It only has kick, snare and hi-hat sounds but it goes very well with the overall Monotribe sound. Korg have done well here as they have kept everything which made the Monotron a success and added a welcome twist. Monotribe, with its in depth controls, I am sure that it will have a place in every electronic musician’s heart.
Buy online at
RedDogMusic.coat.uk the and use code ‘dog2’ checkout to get 5% OFF your purchase or come into the shop for a demo!
WINTER 2011 THE DOG 15
R E D D OG
T PRODUCK S! PIC
Roland HPi-7 Digital Piano (RRP: £3,546.78 / Red Dog Price: £2,949)
O
ver the years, the piano has proved itself as one of the most expressive and versatile of instruments. People from all walks of life learn to play and often play for years. In this busy world we live in, it’s sometimes hard to dedicate the time
“In essence, it is a piano that teaches you how to play the piano!” to practicing and even learning an instrument like the piano. Fortunately, Roland have come to the rescue with the HPi7F. The HPi7F is not only a world class digital piano, it also has a totally unique teaching system built in. In essence it is a piano that
teaches you how to play the piano! Amazing! As a digital piano, it is just about the closest thing you can get to playing an acoustic. Using Roland’s incredible SuperNatural modelling technology and authentic hammer action, it not only sounds amazing but also behaves and feels like a fine acoustic piano. You can even design your own piano sounds right down to the amount of string resonance and hammer noise. The music rest has a large high resolution full colour screen built into it which can display musical score and any of the teaching applications built in. Piano teachers will be pleased to see that it has many standard study pieces and exercises built in as well as a whole array of classical pieces and popular songs. If you are teaching yourself, the “Visual Lesson” guides you through a song and scores your progress as you go. Even young kids can get involved with the HPi7’s plethora of interactive games and activities that make learning the piano even more fun. Whether you are a beginner, an expert or somewhere in between, the HPi7 will have something for you! For a full demonstration, please give me Buy online at a call or pop RedDogMusic.coat.uk the in to the store. and use code ‘dog2’ checkout to get 5% OFF your purchase or come into the shop for a demo!
16 THE DOG WINTER 2011
Picked By:
Name:
Dave G Top Tune... Betty Davis ‘They Say I’m Different’ Foxy model with awesome voice, who marries Miles Davis, cheats on him with Hendrix and starts a funk band with members of Sly and the Family Stone, Tower of Power and the Pointer Sisters and makes three of the funkiest albums ever? ‘Nuff said!
Alternative Recommendation Roland HP307 Rosewood Digital Piano (£2,549.00)
R E D D OG
T PRODUCK S! PIC
sE Electronics RNR1 Rupert Neve Active Ribbon Microphone (RRP: £1599 / Red Dog B-STOCK Price: £799)
W
hile it’s true that, in his heyday, Rupert Neve masterminded some of the greatest mixing consoles and preamps the world has ever seen, it’s also true that I would no more trust a half-deaf octogenarian to design a microphone than I would a Parkinson’s sufferer to install my pacemaker. Jokes aside, the ‘Neve’ hallmark instantly adds class, sophistication and collectability to audio equipment. His superb innovation, knowledge and ability has created the world’s first ribbon microphone which not only matches the high-frequency sensitivity of most condenser microphones, but exceeds them. What this brief review will lack in detail it will make up for in stating the obvious: The fact of the matter is that a microphone that costs more than most computers, guitars, pianos and even some cars is
Buy online at
RedDogMusic.coat.uk the and use code ‘dog2’ checkout to get 5% OFF your purchase or come into the shop for a demo!
18 THE DOG WINTER 2011
going to be something rather special. Many highly renowned producers, engineers and production facilities seem to be considering the RNR1 as a modern classic, counted along-
“imparts a wonderful sonic texture to most sound sources.” side stalwart classics from Royer, Neumann, Oktava, Telefunken and other companies with similarly quirky names. Having personally used the RNR1 in a variety of different applications, I can give the RNR1 a full and heartfelt recommendation as an excellent, lustrous sounding microphone that imparts a wonderful sonic texture to most sound sources. The rich, fibrous, raspy sound of antiquated ribbon microphones was overshadowed by their lack of bright high frequencies when condenser microphones became the go-to gear of modern studios. SE Electronics have not only magically created a beautifully hi-fi ribbon mic, they also seem to be raising a crafty eyebrow to other top-end microphone manufacturers, as if to say “hey guys, you’ve had a century to make a ribbon mic like this, and we’ve done it in less than a decade!” HA! I reviewed a ribbon mic without saying ‘smooth’, ‘natural’ or ‘warm’! Go me!
Picked By:
Name:
Guy
Top Tune... Pop Will Eat Itself ‘Get the Girl + Kill the Baddies’ I can’t get enough of Pop Will Eat Itself at the moment. Awesome, gritty, urban rap-rock with its massive tongue planted firmly in its cheek.
Alternative Recommendation sE Electronics Voodoo VR2 (£549.00)
R E D D OG
T PRODUCK S! PIC
Go-Go-Gadget! Numark DJ2GO Laptop DJ Controller
Wharfedale Connect 502 Compact Mixer
Are you a DJ? On the move a lot? If so, hold it for just a moment while we tell you about the DJ2GO. You probably guessed it – it’s a super duper compact DJ controller featuring everything you need to control DJ software on your laptop. All you DJs out there will know how tiresome it can be lugging a bunch of heavy equipment around, so here’s a
If you’re looking for a nice ‘n’ simple, easy-to-use, basic live mixer - this, friend, is your golden ticket. With FIVE inputs including phantom powered, balanced XLR microphone inputs - it features some of the best bits of “The Big Mixer” but incorporated into a pint-sized, portable unit that’s suitable for both beginners and professionals. The 502 is awesome for live sound, home studio recording or whatever else floats your musical boat. To sum up: a cost effective as fork mixer that is practically perfect in every way for the job. Like Mary Poppins.
RRP: £55.80 / RedDOG PRICE: £39
Hercules GSP38WB Guitar Wall Hanger Hercules: making guitar-hanging easy since... well, for a while now. Not only does it come with a tasteful wood block mounting base to maintain that “natural” look, it also comes with an AutoSwivel yoke meaning that pretty much any acoustic/electric/bass guitar - of any shape or size - will slot in there. This particular wall hanger has specially formulated foam that completely covers the yoke, to ensure your guitar is as comfortable as possible at all times AND it even has its own self-locking Auto Grip System, so you can be sure your guitar is in safe hangs... Decorating your walls with hunners of guitars has never been easier. RRP: £15.65 / RedDOG PRICE: £14.99
20 THE DOG WINTER 2011
solution to that very problem in its most compact form! All you need is your laptop and your DJ2GO before setting up your “tune spinning apparatus” in a jiffy and making the dance floor throw all kinds of shapes in the blink of an eye. Big fish, little fish, cardboard box.
RedDOG PRICE: £49.99
Tanglewood FCT1 Fusion Capo
Orange Crush Micro Amp Let’s face it; amps don’t get much cooler than Orange: pure unusual, pure vintage and pure dead stylish. Just like its predecessors, it comes with the legendary Orange Basket Weave Tolex, Woven Speaker Grille and the signature ‘old school picture frame’ edging – classic. It’s only a wee one watt amp but it brings the noise whilst remaining super cool and super... orange. It’s also got a cheeky wee builtin tuner, an overdrive function and perhaps a slight bout of wee-man-syndrome. Awww. The perfect (and coolest) practise amp that 34 of your earth pounds can buy. RedDOG PRICE: £34
Is it a capo? Is it a tuner? No, it’s Superman! It’s not actually Superman though, it’s a fusion capo. Although some may argue that the FCT1 is the Superman of the capo world. If you’re a guitarist, you’ll understand the problems of going out of tune during a performance. You know that awkward feeling of being on stage with a whole room full of people watching you tune your guitar in silence? Of course you do. Well, this device will solve all your problems. It’s a capo AND a tuner in one! Not only will you have to carry fewer accessories around with you, you’ll also be able to change key AND tune your guitar like a smooth criminal.
RRP: £29.95 / RedDOG PRICE: £26.99
SP T LIGHT that Shedding light on thingsof be t no may may or interest to you...
THE YOUTH
Music
Initiative
DEMO FUND Once upon a time, Patrick Findlay approached us with what seemed to be the beginnings of a promising musical project. He wanted to find five young, talented and enthusiastic Scottish musical acts and help them to record their first demo. Cut to almost a year later; the project has been completed and resulted in one of the acts being approached by EMI. We love a good old-fashioned success story...
What is the Youth Music Initiative Demo Fund? First things first, What is the Youth Music Initiative Demo Project? Let’s meet the North Edinburgh Arts team and find out what it’s all about... North Edinburgh Arts (NEA) works to promote the education, development and creativity of North Edinburgh’s residents through engagement in the arts. Over the past year, NEA has been busy working on Creative Scotland’s Youth Music Initiative Demo Fund. The Project’s aim - headed by
Caroline Muirhead and Patrick Findlay (Graphite North) - was to identify and assist local young musicians who could benefit from recording a professional demo of their music. In total, NEA engaged with 14 young musicians in the Edinburgh Area, producing over 25 original pieces of music.
The Auditions. Next step, The Auditions. Musicians flocked from all over Edinburgh to perform for and convince the panel to pick them for the project... North Edinburgh Arts held auditions earlier this year to find five young bands or artists to work with technician, Patrick Findlay (aka forward strategy group’s Patrick Walker) who then worked with the bands to record some very promising demos. Red Dog Music helped spread the word by noising people up through their social networking websites and mailing
list. The panel of experts included Tam Treanor (producer & musician / BMG / More Protein), Alex Burden (music journalist / DJ Mag / Clash Magazine) & Patrick Findlay (producer & electronic artist / forward strategy group). These panellists have a wealth of experience to share and gave the bands some excellent and in-depth feedback during the audition. WINTER 2011 THE DOG 23
The Artists. Last but not least, The Artists. After much humming and hawing, the panel managed to whittle it down to a final five. Let’s meet them...
Reubam Our first impressions of Reubam were simply ‘WOW’; having heard some of their music on Soundcloud and after being tipped off by our friends at Red Dog Music about them. Their sound is comparable with bands such as Love, The Mock Turtles, The Kooks and The La’s; with Reuben’s soaring vocals and complex guitar-work interweaving Sam’s solid and often experimental rhythms..
Her lyrics cover tough subjects whilst also dealing with the brighter aspects in her life. Mercy really put us to the test as one of the first missions for our engineer was to help write backing tracks which meant writing 2 instrumental hip hop tracks in 2 days! Mercy continued to set the pace hard bringing in no less than 3 different backing singers. Though young, we feel Mercy has a massive career in front of her, if not in music, then in some way dedicated to bettering the lives of other human beings and we can’t give her enough praise.
SP T LIGHT Shedding light may or may on things that interest tonot be of you...
The Studio Kit 1 x Yamaha Stage Custom Kit (Drums) 1 x Tama Rockstar Kit (Drums)
Ion digital Drumkit (Drum Machine)
1 x Washburn Mercury M4 (Bass Guitar) Tascam DM 24 Digital Desk (Studio Desk) Mackie HR824 (Studio Monitors) Peavy Mark VI (Bass Amp)
M-Audio Radium 49 Midi interface (Midi Keyboard) Roland Jazz Chorus (Amp)
Yamaha EMX 2000 portable Mixer / PA (PA/Monitoring) Rode Nt1 Vocal Mic (Mic)
Tom Vevers Our introduction to Tom came via his YouTube broadcasts; we were instantly taken with his original lyrics and his very ‘Scottish’ sound. Tom’s time in the studio was hugely productive; laying down a total of 7 tracks, most of which containing extra harmonies and experimental guitar overdubs. One track even features Tom playing drums - talk about a one man band!
The Flashbacks The Flashbacks made a big impression on us at their audition. For one, they have the right haircuts... but on a more serious note, they have a wealth of influences which extend far beyond their years. Take one part Paul Weller, one part the Arctic Monkeys and add a little bit of Franz Ferdinand and you have a potent combination – and that’s exactly what the boys have.
Cry and The Blocks
Mercy Queen Mercy blew us away with her audition; she’s an inspirational act with a huge amount of stage presence and charisma. 24 THE DOG WINTER 2011
Korg 01/W Music Workstation (Synth/Workstation) Shure SM 58 (Mic)
Various AKG Drum Mics / General Mics. (Mics)
Apple Mac G4 Power PC running Pro-Tools and Reason (Computer) digidesign ADAT 24 (Analogue to Digital Converter) Yamaha Electro Acoustic (Guitar)
Pop-shields + Mic Stands
2 x Numark Direct 3-piece rockers Cry And The Blocks Drive Turntables know a thing or six about music. What 2 x Focusrite Pre Amps impressed us about these guys is their (vocal processing) direct sound and punky attitude, our engineer Patrick got really excited about their sound proclaiming them Check out th e to be the product of ‘Joy Division Youth Music Initiative Demos at: so jamming with Black Sabbath’ undcloud.com / north-edinbu and we think he was right. rgh-
arts.
Roland Presents...
The SPD-SX Sampling Pad The new SPD-SX Sampling Pad is the successor to the hugely popular SPD-S, which these days seems to pop up anywhere there’s a drummer, stage and a TV camera. In a nutshell, the SPD-SX is an amazing drum pad that allows you to incorporate sampled audio into your drumming, featuring velocity-sensitive pads with LED status indicators, up to six hours sample playback and direct audio import via USB. Here’s why we think it rocks:
The Pads The SPD-SX has nine highly sensitive rubber pads featuring Roland’s most advanced triggering technology for accurate, fully dynamic performance. Each pad has a companion LED that glows to show the pad’s status and when you trigger sampled phrases, the LEDs remain lit to show you which pads are in play and which are not. In addition, the LEDs change illumination strength according to audio-level
“a must for people looking to introduce a state-of-the-art sampler to their set up.” Craig Blundell
samples into their performance, but don’t need a fully-blown e-kit setup. The SPD-SX is therefore perfect, with practical, essential features such as individual click output routing, dedicated volume controls, Pad Check function, individual Sub Out, and more – all in a package little bigger than a laptop.
“It really is a blank canvas for users to push themselves musically and bring a completely fresh perspective to their performance.” Craig Blundell
INFO BOX
Onboard Effects
Wave Manager Software Included
The SPD-SX has three powerful multieffects units onboard: one master unit and two units that are assignable per kit. The master effects engine lets you perform in real time – like a DJ - using the dedicated front-panel controls. There’s an inspiring arsenal of effects as well as filter, delay, short looper, and the effects are even user-assignable and can be tweaked with the four frontpanel buttons and two control knobs.
The SPD-SX has 2GB of internal memory – enough for around 360 minutes of audio at 16-bit, 44.1 kHz – more than enough to hold most sample libraries. The built-in USB ports let you directly import audio files from USB flash memory and the bundled SPDSX Wave Manager software app lets you import audio files directly from computer via USB, assign the samples to each pad, and organise your samples efficiently.
Multi-Pad Sampling Multi-Pad Sampling means that while audio streams in from an external audio player or computer (via Audio In or USB), you simply strike each pad at the appropriate start/end points, and the sample will be automatically truncated and assigned to that pad. It’s a fast, friendly way to create multi-sampled phrases and pad maps.
“You can carry your sample library around and just slot right into any gig. Love it!” Craig Blundell
• Directly import audio via USB flash memory • 2GB internal memory as standard - around 360 minutes at 44.1 kHz • USB MIDI/AUDIO and mass storage • Large backlit LCD screen • Three multi-fx onboard • Nine velocity sensitive pads with status indicator LED lights
activity (similar to level meters on a mixing board). Finally, the high-contrast red divider lines help you see the pad zones clearly onstage.
Improved Playability and Functionality Many drummers and percussionists need to incorporate audio
26 THE DOG WINTER 2011
AUTUMN 2011 THE DOG 27
Tips from The
Studio...
Recording
Acoustic Guitar
by Alex Fenton Studio Manager (Swanfield Studios)
Welcome to the first in a series of articles on recording techniques, bringing you studio tips straight to your own recordings. by Alex Fenton, Studio Manager (Swanfield Studios)
ost musicians have picked one of these up at some point and have seen countless renditions at open mic nights. However, capturing a natural recording of our beloved acoustic guitar isn’t as straight forward as it seems. In this article I’ll demystify the process and help you get to that ideal recording.
M
WINTER 2011 THE DOG 29
Tips from The
Tips from The
Studio...
Studio...
AcousticGuitar
AcousticGuitar
Recording
Recording
First things first, don’t just plug it in! I
t’s a natural thing to assume “It’s got a socket on it - let’s plug it in!” But that’s really not a good way to go. Pickups on acoustic guitars are primarily designed for live performance where the goal is loud signal and reduction of feedback. As soon as you plug it into your recording setup, you get an unnatural version of what the instrument is doing. How can the vibrations directly in the bridge accurately reflect what we hear? If you’re recording an acoustic guitar - use a mic. I quite often take a mic and a pickup signal so I have the flexibility to blend the two or treat the pickup signal separately with something more radical.
Who is Alex Fenton? A
lex is an experienced sound engineer and music producer who started out by setting up his own company, Fentek Audio, after gaining an honours degree in Music Technology. You might also know him as the sound engineer at the Wee Red Bar where he built a reputation for quality live sound and attention to detail. Alex has helped many local bands enhance their status with the likes of White Heath and Birdhead gaining label deals off the back of his recordings and creative production style. He now runs Swanfield Studios, a custom built studio in Leith offering recording, mixing and mastering as well as training in music technology and recording techniques.
Choosing a mic -condenser all the way Y
ou should almost always use a condenser mic for acoustic instruments because they most accurately capture the detail and dynamics. Dynamic mics lack the high frequency response required and therefore can rarely do an acoustic guitar justice. The only occasion I’d use a dynamic like a 57 is if I’m after more of a lo-fi sound. The traditional choice of mic would be a small diaphragm condenser, also known as a pencil mic such as the Rode NT5. For a transparent sound a mic with an omni-directional response pattern is commonly used, but if you’re doing home recordings in a small and less than desirable recording space, a cardioid pattern is usually the best option. Many home studios might only have a large diaphragm condenser such as an SE2200, but there’s no reason you can’t use one of those for acoustic guitar. In fact, I often find if I want a fuller and warmer sounding guitar, a larger diaphragm mic helps give it a bit more body.
30 THE DOG WINTER 2011
How many mics? F
or starters, I’d suggest one mic and practice getting the right sound for different guitars with your recording space and equipment. Once you’ve got a tone you like, it’s worth experimenting with a multi mic setup. The most obvious of these is a stereo pair. If tweaked correctly, you can get a good stereo image and a natural feel to the performance. There is plenty of information on stereo
mic techniques on the web if you want to find out more. It’s important to give yourself as many options at the recording stage as possible. It gives more flexibility at the mixdown given you don’t always know where something will sit best in the mix until that stage. With acoustic guitar, I often take a close mic and a distant or room mic. Then there is the option to blend the two signals.
Where do I put the thing? S
o you have a mic and a guitar. Where’s the best place to put the two? Well, from an acoustics perspective, it’s always good to have absorbent material behind the performer to avoid reflections from behind coming back into the mic. Try playing in front of closed curtains, an open wardrobe or hang up a spare duvet. This makes a huge difference to the tone and cleanliness of the recording and will help to avoid nasty resonances. A good starting point for positioning is to point the mic at the fretboard where the neck meets the body. This will give a good balance between treble and bass tones. The general rule is that moving the mic towards the neck will brighten the sound, whilst moving towards the sound hole brings more fullness and body to the sound. Obviously make sure it’s not in the way of the performer too. You don’t want that perfect take ruined
by a stray hand! Try to avoid pointing the mic straight at the sound hole. This is where the bulk of the guitar’s energy comes from but the sound is coloured by the boominess of the body resonances and usually needs more radical EQ. As with all recording, try to get the sound right from the point of recording rather than ‘fix it afterwards’. Other placement ideas can make for an interesting recording. Try placing the mic over the shoulders of the guitarist. It’ll give a different feel, almost as if you’re hearing it from the ears of the performer. If you are recording acoustic for a full band, you can really add to the arrangement by doing something a bit more radical. I would often use a really distant sound on intros, outros and breakdown sections to give a change in ‘space’ to the production and enhance the arrangement.
NEXT ISSUE: Alex unleashes his deepest, darkest, top secret studio tips on vocal recording.
WINTER 2011 THE DOG 31
They WERE a home-grown Edinburgh act who won a Red Dog Music ‘Battle of the Bands’. These days, they’re a hugely successful “tight, tasteful pop” band, living the dream in The Big Smoke. Allow Jakil to charm your socks off...
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How did you come up with your name? It came from Kieran, Jamo & Liam deciding to start a band and having the tricky task of coming up with a band name. We took the first letters of each of our names which made J, K & L; stuck ‘em together with a few in between and voila! Describe your music in three words. Tight. Tasteful. Pop. Best & worst decriptions of your music? Being likened to Radiohead & Blue Oyster Cult. I don’t believe we sound anything like them but to be put in the same sentence as two acts of their stature is something we won’t shy away from. I guess that answers both best & worst descriptions; not accurate yet very complimentary! Your best gig? Our best gig of the year was at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall in May. It was an honour to play in such a prestigious venue to our home crowd. It was the final date of our ‘Homecoming Tour’ and our first return to
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WINTER 2011 THE DOG 33
JAKIL
JAKIL
a new tune? We live together, which helps as we’re churning out tunes! The beginnings can come from anywhere: a melody I can’t get out my head, Jamo or Liam coming up with a guitar part or Callum & Kieran just jamming something out and everyone joining in. Most frequently, you’ll find all of us in a room with a couple of acoustics, bouncing ideas off each other from a core piece that’s been brought to the table. What do you want your music to achieve? We’d be happy just being able to live off our music; touring, writing, recording and getting it to the people that enjoy it - even if we’re scraping by. To have the luxury of your own music as a career is a hard fought battle nowadays and one we’re tackling head on. We still have big dreams and aspirations and we’d love to say that we helped ‘change the music scene’ or gave control of music back to the people but at the end of the day, if people listen to and enjoy our music and believe it to be something genuine, we can’t ask for much more... except maybe just wear our T shirt to finish off the ‘been there, done that’. Which bits of music gear would you recommend to the masses? Try before you buy. Read a bunch of user-reviews, find a shop with the gear you want and spend a few hours with it. Only you can decide whether something sounds nice or not. Guitarists & bassists: try different strings until you find the ones that suit your playing style. Try a heavy set if you’re a light string user, or vice versa;
Who are Jakil?
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“Only you can decide whether something sounds nice.” Edinburgh since our big move to London, so it had a special buzz about it. Big enough to overwhelm yet enclosed enough to feel intimate - perfect mix! What’s you favourite tunes/ albums at the moment? A band favourite is Bon Iver’s second outing. The fluidity of the record is outstanding, a very evocative album. It really opened my eyes wider to the significance of melody. On first
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34 THE DOG WINTER 2011
listen, we had no idea what the lyrics were but the melody was just so charming that it didn’t matter what he was saying; it was more you understood how to feel. Which of your records are you most proud of? Our new EP “Swings” is, to my ears, our best to date. Maybe it’s moving to London, the line-up change or general growth but this EP definitely has a more mature sound to it and a lot of thought went into every detail. We worked in the most amazing studio with a fantastic engineer who really made the new material come alive. The majority of what you hear in Swings was recorded to tape, which was a first for us but something we will definitely be using again in the future as we instantly fell in love with the way it sounds. It’s much warmer and richer than anything we’ve recorded before. How do you go about writing
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you might be surprised. You may then need to get your guitar neck tweaked accordingly to help the tension. Pick thickness is also important! They all feel different to play with and can have a dramatic impact on your tone. Singers: Vocalzone, ginger beer, pineapple
“We’d love to say that we helped change the music scene.”
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• Mapex Saturn with a 14 x 5.5 Maple/Walnut Black Panther • 13” AAX Studio Hi-hats • 16” A custom Crash • 17” A custom Projection Crash • 18” HHXplosion Crash • 21” Armand Ride • Fender ‘10 American Standard Stratocaster • Fender ‘01 Mexican Stratocaster w/Bareknuckle “Mother’s Milk” pickups • Gibson ‘97 Melody Maker • Epiphone Dot Studio • Fender Blues Deluxe reissue amplifier (tweed) • Boss BCB60 pedalboard • Dunlop Cry Baby GCB-95 • Boss DD-6 Delay • Marshall BB-2 Bluesbreaker Overdrive • Boss Turbo Distortion • Boss Chromatic TU-2 Tuner • Ernie Ball Power Slinkies (gauge 11-48) •Yellow Dunlop picks • Fender ‘04 Highway One Sunburst Stratocaster w/ ‘89 Fender USA Rosewood neck • Fender ‘04 Natural
juice & warming up plenty of time before any bouts of prolonged singing. Any funny band stories? At the time, terrifying; in hindsight, a chuckle: we were sitting in the kitchen in the early hours of the morning, exchanging stories. Kieran started explaining a horrific dream which involved pregnancy, shadow ghosts,
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blackouts, abandoned cities... dark stuff. As I was telling this tale, candles started flickering, our kitchen lamp was sparking on & off and the wind picked up. Cue Liam & Kieran huddled under a duvet watching Disney Pixar out-takes from A Bug’s Life chanting “No such thing as ghosts”. Name a song you wish you’d written. Marvin Gaye’s ‘Heard it through the Grapevine’. What’s up next for jakil? We’re currently touring ‘Swings’ (available on iTunes and from jakil.bigcartel.com), another tour planned for early 2012, starting work on writing a new album and carrying the Olympic torch while winning Gold at High Jump, 100m Sprint and the diving simultaneously at London 2012... Busy boys. In a parallell universe, which band would you like to be in? The Saturdays.
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Having made a firm dent in the Scottish music scene and only in their early twenties, Jakil have performed extensively throughout the UK and have sold out many of the best and largest venues in Scotland. Since moving down to London together at the end of 2010, the band have written and recorded their next EP “Swings”, completed a nationwide tour that finished with a headlining show at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall and went on to play to 60,000 people as the main support for JLS and Olly Murs on three open air concert dates in July. Jakil pride themselves on having a predominately DIY approach to promoting tours and selling records. A large part of this is due to the extremely strong online following that they themselves have built. Newsletters, podcasts, competitions, video diaries, exclusive cover tracks and blogs are sent out to thousands of fans on a monthly basis. www.myspace.com/ jakilonline
finish, Maple Neck • Standard USA Telecaster • Vox AC15C1 Vintage Red • Boss OD-3 • Electro Harmonix Small Clone Chorus • Cry Baby Wah Pedal • SE-ADL Artec Analog Delay • Boss Chromotic TU-2 Tuner • Ernie Ball Power Slinkies (gauge 11-48) • Fender Geddy Lee Jazz (w/ J-Retro pre-amp and Hipshot D-tuner) • D’Addario Chromes Flatwound (tuned B-E-A-D), Ashdown EVO-410 • 3Leaf Audio Groove Regulator • Aguilar Octamizer • Boss TU-2 Tuner • Team Awesome Fuzz Machine • Wharfedale PA system. ...PHEW!
WINTER 2011 THE DOG 35
Three is a Magic Number!
Jam Track Central are spreading the musical love on thick by giving away THREE lots of ÂŁ100 Jam Tracks Vouchers to, not one, not two, but THREE lucky winners. Sweet! All you need to do is answer this mind-boggling question: Q/ Which word can be used to mean either a fruit preserve or a musical get-together? A) Jam
B) Chutney
C) Marmalade
WIN!
To enter this amazing competition, go to and answer the AMAZINGLY simple question. www.reddogmusic.co.uk/jamtrackscompetition.php One winner will be picked at random from all entrants on 31st January 2012. WINTER 2011 THE DOG 37
It’s a Set-up!
T
he proximity of the strings to the frets is referred to as the action. This is dictated by three elements; the truss-rod and the amount of neck relief it enables, the height of the bridge and the depth of the nut slots. Most guitars
“Set-ups have traditionally been offered by the better music shops.” come with a nominal set-up - the action is left rather higher than is strictly necessary - the idea being that it can be tailored to suit the playing style of the individual. Set-ups have traditionally been offered, where necessary, by the better music shops, some of whom have the luxury of an in-house guitar tech. It’s a relatively simple procedure to carry out but cutting the string slots in the nut requires the use of delicate, round-edged nut files which, at £15-£20 per string, are quite an investment. It’s an inescapable fact that the harder the strings are hit the more they move and the more room is required to accommodate this movement. A lot of people find it difficult to take on board that the way they play is the big38 THE DOG WINTER 2011
gest component part of any set-up. It’s still not uncommon to hear customers asking for the action to be set as low as possible without any buzz, forgetting that a low action requires them to play with a light touch. For harder
“Setting the intonation on an acoustic guitar is much more of a compromise.” players, the only way to have a low action without the attendant fret buzz - is to use heavier gauge strings. The greater tension required to get them up to the same pitch restricts their lateral movement. As well as the strings being set for height they also have to be adjusted longitudinally for correct intonation. On most electric instruments this involves using individual saddle screws to alter the length of the string. If the note, at the 12th fret sounds sharp when compared to its octave harmonic (pluck gently, over the 12th position, without fretting) the string’s playing length is too short. If the note sounds flat then it needs to be reduced. Setting the intonation on an acoustic guitar is much more of a compromise, where altering the string’s break point over the saddle is usually the only practical means of adjustment.’.
Dr. Fretlove returns next time... AUTUMN WINTER 2011 THE DOG 39
RoundUp
A LOOK AT SOME OF THE BEST PRODUCTS IN THEIR CATEGORY, ThIS ISSUE IT’s...
CONTROLLER KEYBOARDS Ask yourself this: are you playing your software, or is it playing you? . With the humungous proliferation of software instruments of recent years, it’s easy to forget the “instrument” part and focus too much on the “software”, and consequently get lost in a world of mousey clicks and power-user short-cut keys. However, there is still nothing like hands-on engagement with the sound that you’re making, whether that sound
ultimately comes from computer speakers or the wobbling of guitar strings, and keyboard controllers are expressly designed to exploit this fact. Below, dear reader, we guide you through the myriad options at your disposal if your aim is to tinkle, tweak, flam or paradiddle those sounds inside your PC or Mac via that handy USB connection.
“All of the keyboards in the series feel Akai reassuringly MPK series weighty” from £169
inc. MPK25, MPK49, MPK61 & MPK88
A
kai originally took the music market by storm with their MPC sampler / drum machines, much loved by hip hop aficionados from Dr Dre to DJ Shadow to, um, Linkin Park. The MPK keyboard controllers feature the legendary MPC drum pads alongside weighted or semi-weighted keyboards (25 keys up to 88 weighted hammer action keys in the aptly named MPK88), transport controls and masses of sturdy rubber knobs (ooer). All of the keyboards in the series feel reassuringly weighty and as if they would be able to handle a boisterous B-boy battle in the Bronx (was there really any need for that alliteration? – Ed). What’s more, the MPC pads don’t just look like MPC pads, they behave like them: the Note Repeat and MPC Swing features intelligently quantize and repeat the beats that you play into them, to give them that badass east-side flava (you’re not fooling anyone with this street-talk – Ed).
WINTER 2011 THE DOG 41
“somewhere between “Kit” from Knightrider and the front grate of a Mazda” Novation Impulse series from £199 inc. Impulse 25, 49 and 61
T
he newest of the bunch here, the Novation Impulse range of keyboards look a little bit different – somewhere between “Kit” from Knightrider and the front grate of a Mazda. Whether this is a good look is up to you, but we’re personally quite keen on the black and red stylings as the keyboards conven-
Round Up
A LOOK AT SOME OF THE BEST
PRODUCTS IN THEIR CATEG
CO NT RO LL
ORY, ThIS ISSUE IT’s...
ER KE YB OA RD
S
iently match our company colours! As with all recent Novation controllers, the Impulse keyboards ship with Automap software, which (as you might expect) automatically maps controllers to whatever software you’re using, so e.g. if you’ve got the DAW mixer up on screen, the faders will become track volume controls; if you’re running a synth plugin, one of the knobs might become a filter cutoff control etc. The Automap software cunningly appears on screen overlaid above whatever you’re looking at to show you what’s mapped to what, which is a great feature that saves a lot of time.
“get twiddling right out of the box”
C
urrently only one in the range – a 49 key model – but offering a great specs to cost ratio, the Alesis QX49 offers the standard velocity sensitive keyboard plus pitch and modulation wheels. On top of this, however, there are a few extra control methods: eight faders, four drum pads, eight knobs, six assignable buttons, and basic
transport controls. Other than the above, the keyboards ship with a Lite version of Ableton’s worldbeating Live software, meaning you can pretty much get started with your twiddling right out of the box. Clearly Alesis have managed to offer this functionality at a great cost, and this is the key selling point of these keyboards.
Alesis QX49 from £119
WINTER 2011 THE DOG 43
Round Up A LOOK AT SOME OF THE BEST
CO
PRODUCTS IN THEIR CATEG
ORY, ThIS ISSUE IT’s...
“As you’d expect, the A series keyboards are really well built”
S KE YB OA RD NT RO LL ER
Roland A-Pro series from £139
inc. A300 Pro, A500 Pro and A800 Pro
B
eing the undisputed kings of the synthesiser, it’s no surprise that Roland have entered the fray when it comes to controller keyboards. As you’d expect, the A series keyboards are really well built, and the key action is better than anything else in this round up. As with all of the above, masses of knobs, faders and pads are included and, again, these have a reassuringly sturdy feel to them.
Where these controllers really stand aside from the rest, however, is in the bundled software: Roland own the software company Cakewalk, so can afford to include a great selection of sequencing software and soft synths, including Sonar LE (a basic DAW), Rapture LE (a great little soft synth) and more. The keyboards also aport a MIDI Thru connection, meaning you can attach other MIDI controllers for extra versatility.
Comparison
Buy online
RedDogMusic.at co.uk and use code
‘dog2’ at the checko ut to your purchase get 5% OFF or come into the shop for a Demo!
Chart RANGE Price (from) Keys
Included Software
Akai MPK
£169
25, 49, 61 or 88
Ableton Live Lite Akai Edition
Alesis QX
£119
49
Ableton Live Lite Alesis Edition
Novation Impulse
£199
25, 49 or 61
Automap, Ableton Live Lite, Novation Bass Station
Roland A-Pro
£139
32, 49 or 61
Sonar LE, Rapture LE, Sound Centre + Studio Drums
P L E A S E N O T E ! P R I C E S A R E L I A B L E T O G O U P A S W E LL A S D O W N . C H E C K ONL I N E A T R E D D O G M U S I C . C O . U K F O R A LL T H E L AT E S T P R I C E S . 44 THE DOG AUTUMN 2011
ECONOMY PICKING: PART 2 Economy picking is a combination of sweep picking and alternate picking. These techniques are applied in conjunction with each other in order to produce the most economic pickin pattern possible. In order to understand how this works, we must study each of these techniques individually. Alternate picking is the most economical way of playing more than one note on the same string, and involves alternating between downstrokes and up-strokes (a different stroke for each note).
Outside Versus Inside
Let’s take an A note on the 5th fret of the high E string, and an F note on the 6th fret of the B string. If you were to repeat these two note (A, F, A, F etc), it is possible to alternate pick this pattern in two ways. Firstly, you could use a down-stroke for the A note and an up-stroke for the F note. Secondly, you could do the opposite. Both methods use alternate picking, but one is more economic than the other. The first of these methods demonstrates the old adage, “The shortest distance between two points is a straight line”. Here, the pick works within the gap between the two strings (this is known as ‘inside ‘picking); whereas, in the second example, the pick has to pass over each string in order to pick from the ‘outside’ each time. This involves far more work with the right hand. So, from this, we can see that there is a simple rule that ensures maximum economy when picking; ‘Always move the pick directly to each new string’. In other words, always move from a fat string to a thin string with a downstroke and vice versa. In order to apply this rule,
you need to be able to sweep pick. Sweep picking is a technique that involves picking more than one note with a single continuous stroke of the pick. This can only be done when changing from string to string. In the future, we will see that sweep picking can also be used with
“Sweep picking involves picking more than one note with a single continuous stroke of the pick.”
scales, but, for this lesson, we are going to confine our study to arpeggios.
EXERCISE 1 In the previous lesson, we studied this exercise, and it was emphasised that the two consecutive up-strokes in each 3-note group should be played as one continuous stoke (like a controlled up-strum). Remember, you must only hold one note down at the same time with the fingers of the fretting hand.
WINTER 2011 THE DOG 47
EXERCISE 2
This exercise allows you to focus on playing two notes with one continuous down-stroke. Downsweeps are more difficult than up-sweeps, and so most of you will find this exercise more challenging than EX1. Yes, it starts on an upstroke and that you’re already thinking to yourself, “How am I supposed to know which stroke to use at the start of each lick when I’m improvising?” Good point! However, there’s nothing to worry about – as will be explained next time. Until then, just follow the strokes that are written in the transcription.
EXERCISE 3
This exercise comprises two three-note arpeggios. Remember, as with the previous exercises, you should only hold one note down at any one time when changing from string to string so that you don’t sound as though you are just strumming a couple of chords. Here, each six-note repeated figure is played with two continuous sweeps and,
48 THE DOG WINTER 2011
yet, to the listener, should sound like evenly spaced single notes.
Pick Angle
The pick should be angled on each down-sweep, but should be held straight for each up-sweep. Ideally, you should show a very small amount of plectrum to the string when picking (about 2mm). Then, when sweeping, the fingers and thumb of the picking hand can act like stabilisers on a child’s bike – allowing you to lean on the back of fingernails during down-sweeps and on the side of thumb during up-sweeps. This helps to angle the pick in the appropriate way. Note that if you show too much of the plectrum to the strings, the change of pick angle between down-strokes and up-strokes will become too pronounced. In the following lesson, we’ll be studying a way of practising that will ensure that your sweeping patterns are as smooth as possible.
came into Allen frae Fife ay, singing the shop one d es before The Dog’s prais s very own handing me hi review of hand-written nd... our shop. Lege
50 THE DOG WINTER 2011
WINTER 2011 THE DOG 51
DOG ON TOUR REDDOGMUSIC PRESENTS THE
Lo-fi electronica act Sacre Noir
is a studio-based vehicle for self-expression, fuelled by lo-fi aspirations and a non-conformist attitude. Home recordings of loops and samples from field recordings merged with ambient atmospherics and found percussion, infused with the layered vocal parts to produce dark haunting soundscapes. Sacre Noir went on tour... so she took The Dog with her. Check out Sacre Noir at www.savagerecordings.com/sacrenoir
DOG TH E
WITH
ON T OU R
Sacre Noir :
@ Tea Tree Tea, Edinburgh (5/8/11) First night of the tour. Fresh-faced.
@ Belushi’s Paris (21/8/11). We played 3 different gigs for Belushi’s Bar in Paris. The first was on their Paris Plages stage - we played at about 4 in the afternoon; it was 35 degrees outside & everything got covered in sand. It was an amazing gig though...
@ The Stairway Club, Glasgow (10/8/11) On the rainiest day (ever) in Glasgow. Cool space, great sound, friendly staff.
@ The White Lion, Streatham, London (1/9/11). Second last night of the tour & we were stoked to be supporting Music4Children charity.
@ The Royal Academy, London The Dog visits the Royal Academy of @ The King’s Head, Acton, London Music. Tourist(12/8/11) Our first tastic. ever gig in London and we arrived the Friday after the riots. There were cops everywhere but we played a great set to some happy punters.
@ The Vibe Bar, Brick Lane, London (15/8/11). Sacre Noir played as part of the ‘Plugged In Switched On’ event that runs every Monday night.
@ The Vibe Bar, London. 29/11/11 @ Belushi’s Club, Upcoming gigs: 12/11/11 @ The Engine Rooms, Leith. 28/11/11 Bar, Edin. (With the Savage Sound System). Paris. 1/12/11 @ Goldman’s Bar, Berlin. 8/12/11 @ Henry’s Cellar
WINTER 2011 THE DOG 53
DOG EVENTS REDDOGMUSIC PRESENTS THE
Sunday Questions? Those of you who follow us on Facebook will know about our Sunday Questions... Those of you that don’t, why don’t you? Here’s the deal: we ask you a music-related question every Sunday and all YOU have to do is give us an answer. The answer with the most likes by midday on Monday wins a prize! Easy peasy. Just make sure your answer is THE BEST. Or just get your all your pals to like it. Up to you. Here are a few of our personal favourites... • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
What features will the guitar of the future have? Matthew F: Hendrix’s hands. Tam M: Guitars of the future will come fitted with a high voltage shock discharge every time you play an Oasis song. Tom M: A flux capacitor.
Who’s your favourite singer / lyricist of all time? What makes them so great? Jack R: Roger Waters. His simple approach to writing lyrics with such fluency and fluidity is genius. Also, for his scream. Robert C: Freddie Mercury: a man that could sing anything and wrote Bohemian Rhapsody – ‘nuff said. Dennis B: Neil Diamond.
Who are the top 3 guitarists of all time? Euan K: Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix & Prince. Barry G: John Squire (underrated as a rock guitarist), Pete Townshend (great expression) and David Gilmour (the greatest tone of any guitarist)
54 THE DOG WINTER 2011
Olly I: John Frusciante, Carlos Santana & that guy from AC DC.
What is the future of music? Jack H: What goes up must come down. So I’d imagine now would be the time to go back up. Tony M: Plaid shirts, knackered Converse and detuned guitars. But, wtf would I know, I’m still rooted in 1993. Callum M: Whatever we make it to be.
What is the most ground-breaking musical product ever released? Tom M: Headphones. David R: The Piano Richard A: I would say the I-pod (or MP3 player) as it totally changed the way we listen to and store our music and closed many record companies/ record stores in the process. It has made music more invisible (i.e. no packaging/product to hold) and created new mini-industries to serve it (ie podcasts, torrent sites) - a musical revolution the traditional music scene couldn’t see coming 10 years ago.
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Hair of the DoG Sundays • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
All events 1pm -4PM Hair of the Dog Sundays has condensed its weekly shows into ONE BIG MONSTER SHOW. Join us for THREE FREE LIVE ACTS on the first Sunday of every month. • • • • •
Sun 6th Nov
• • • • •
Astronaut HeaD
Kevin Nicholson
& Martyn McKenzie • • • • •
Sun 4th DEC
• • • • •
Reubam
Calum Carlyle & Erin Todd • • • • • Sun 1ST JAN • • • • •
Hogmanay Hangover Show S pe c i a l