Variations on a theme by Carl Miner

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by UKPhil

Well, that is indeed a beautiful short piece. Your playing is excellent too Glenn. I wouldn't like to say which is my favourite sounding guitar because they all sound good to me.

You certainly have some lovely guitars in your collection

Hi Phil,

Thank you for listening and taking time to comment! I'm sure you can see what I am playing if you wanted to try this. Emadd9 going to Cmaj7add9, etc. It's really not difficult compared to so many of the pieces you have recorded.

I am very fortunate to have some really nice guitars. I enjoy them a lot. I should spend more time working on instrumental pieces! I certainly enjoy them once they are put together!

Be well Phil!

- Glenn

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by TJN

Very nice Glenn.

Thank you TJN,

I appreciate your taking part here and letting me know you felt that this piece came out okay! Much appreciated!

I hope all is well for you -- take care!

- Glenn

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by Wrighty

Hi Glenn

That's a beautiful piece of music for sure and you really do it justice playing with your fingers.

I have to admit that I think the Olsen really suits it well - warm and fat tones whilst still cutting through with its trebles.

Lovely :-)

Hi Wrighty,

Thank you for your thoughts and comments! Much appreciated! I'm really pleased that you thought this came out well and that you liked the melody. I, too, think this piece is really lovely.

I really like the way Carl Miner plays this -- I feel certain you do, too -- but I am also glad you feel that playing it with my fingers worked out well. And my approach takes a lot of liberties, so it sounds similar but quite different.

I really like all those guitars, but I, too, react with appreciation when I hear that Olson in comparison to the other guitars. I know that guitar well, and yet I am still surprised when hearing it's character compared to the others.

I hope you and your family are all doing well!

- Glenn

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by J-Doug

Beautiful Glenn!

Thank you Doug!

Nice of you to take time to listen and comment! Much appreciated!

I have been enjoying your recordings of the rags you have been doing lately! They really suit your style of playing!

Take care Doug!

- Glenn

[Mr Picky]

That's beautiful Glenn, right up my street.

Guitars can be played in many ways, and this is an obvious example when addressing that question: why use a capo?

I'm going to nick it and try it on my Atkin!

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by Mr Picky

That's beautiful Glenn, right up my street.

Guitars can be played in many ways, and this is an obvious example when addressing that question: why use a capo?

I'm going to nick it and try it on my Atkin!

Hi Mr P,

Thanks for your thoughts and comments!

Yes, the capo way up on the 7th fret tends to turn the guitar into a different sounding instrument, doesn't it! It's a very sweet sound, for sure!

You are certainly welcome to borrow those chords and notes to give this a try on your guitar! I'm sure it will sound great! After all, I borrowed them from Carl Miner and I'm thinking he doesn't mind too much.

Be well Mr Picky!

- Glenn

[MHC]

Thanks for that Glenn. A beautiful comparison of some beautiful guitars beautifully played.

As a Huss & Dalton TOM-M (w/Italian top) owner, I had listened to that clip may times.

I thought your tasteful and subtle variations really showed how much depth there is to Carl's musical ideas.

All your guitars sounded wonderful, but comparison's inevitably encourage the listener to chose a "favorite." I'd have to go with the Olsen, with the Collings DB a very close second. Interesting because they are on nearly opposite sides of the tonal spectrum, so they highlight different aspects of the theme.

Thanks again, Glenn.

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by MHC

Thanks for that Glenn. A beautiful comparison of some beautiful guitars beautifully played.

As a Huss & Dalton TOM-M (w/Italian top) owner, I had listened to that clip may times.

I thought your tasteful and subtle variations really showed how much depth there is to Carl's musical ideas.

All your guitars sounded wonderful, but comparison's inevitably encourage the listener to chose a "favorite." I'd have to go with the Olsen, with the Collings DB a very close second. Interesting because they are on nearly opposite sides of the tonal spectrum, so they highlight different aspects of the theme.

Thanks again, Glenn.

Hi MHC,

Thank you for your very interesting thoughts and comments!

That's very cool that you own a Huss & Dalton TOM-M guitar and that you are very familiar with the particular Carl Miner demo video using that guitar. I'm glad you thought my variations came out okay. I do agree with you in that it shows the kind of depth available in Carl's musical ideas.

I also find it interesting that your choices about the three guitars I used in my video tend to fall where my choices fell. I like the Olson and the Collings in my own video best, though I am very attached to my Santa Cruz OM/PW, as well. But this opposite-of-the-spectrum thing does have some appeal, I'm not sure why. Maybe we tend to look for contrasts -- though who knows?

That piece also sounds very good on my Gerald Sheppard GA. But I thought that mixing four guitars into my video would just be too much. Also, I wasn't sure how many people were familiar with Gerald Sheppard's guitars.

Thanks so much for taking the time to listen to this video. And I very much appreciate your thoughtful comments!

I hope things are going well for you!

- Glenn

[tdlwhite]

Love it! Recognized the tune straight away, and really liked your version of it.

All three guitars sound fantastic, my favourite is probably the Collings, but I definitely sat up and paid attention when the Olsen started!

Great work putting this comparison video together - one good take of a Carl Miner tune is hard enough on its own, so three in a row is impressive!

Tom

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by tdlwhite

Love it! Recognized the tune straight away, and really liked your version of it.

All three guitars sound fantastic, my favourite is probably the Collings, but I definitely sat up and paid attention when the Olsen started!

Great work putting this comparison video together - one good take of a Carl Miner tune is hard enough on its own, so three in a row is impressive!

Tom

Hi Tom!

Thank you! How nice of you to stop by and comment on this thread!

I played around with this for a couple of weeks, first with a flat pick to see if I could do what Carl Miner was doing. And I learned a lot from that, probably got fairly close to his version. But my skill with a flat pick is not even close to Carl Miner's and I was not getting that big fat tone he is capable of getting.

So I experimented with my fingers. With my relatively short and strong nails and with that extra-heavy Fred Kelly Slick Pick on my thumb I was able to get a more solid tone. Not quite like what Carl Miner gets, but closer.

So then as I messed around, I found myself taking liberties that fit in with finger picking this. That's why I referred to this as "variations on a theme..." Because it's not terribly close to Carl Miner's exquisite version, which I just can't get enough of.

One evening I came up to my studio after supper while waiting for my wife and I started playing this on the different guitars in the studio. Then I realized how terrific this piece sounded on all sorts of guitars.

I recorded all three verses on each of the three guitars that I used in the video along with two video camera views on each guitar recording. Then I put them together, one track on top of another in the video editing program (Adobe Premier) and started putting this puzzle together. It actually went together easier and faster than I expected. I recorded all three guitars in a couple of hours in one evening then did the video editing the next morning and then uploaded this to YouTube.

So, from a technical standpoint it was not quite as intimidating as I had feared it might be. Very much a relief!

Thank you for your kind comments and thoughts Tom; I am so glad to hear from you!

I hope all is well for you!

- Glenn

[mesa]

Very nice Glenn!

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by mesa

Very nice Glenn!

Thank you Mesa!

How wonderful to hear from you! Thanks for taking time to listen and comment! It's much appreciated!

I hope things are going well for you!

Take care and be well!

- Glenn

[Gerhard Gschossmann]

Hi Glen,
this a really some outstandig guitars that you are presenting here....
if you ever sell them - I take them all.... ;-))))

beautiful soundig guitars on a beautiful tune - and my deep respect - the recording quality is perfect !!! (I wish, I would get the sound of my guitars recorded that beautiful !!!)

greetings from Germany
Gerhard

[Rogerblair]

Wow Glenn, that was just lovely. Sitting on my back porch following a day of working in the yard, this really hit the spot for me.

You are very articulate and precise in your playing, something I need to work on. Very inspirational, Glenn.

Thanks for posting.
Roger

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by Gerhard Gschossmann

Hi Glen,
this a really some outstandig guitars that you are presenting here....
if you ever sell them - I take them all.... ;-))))

beautiful soundig guitars on a beautiful tune - and my deep respect - the recording quality is perfect !!! (I wish, I would get the sound of my guitars recorded that beautiful !!!)

greetings from Germany
Gerhard

Hi Gerhard!

Thanks so very much for your kind words! I am so very pleased and honored to receive your comments! If I ever decide to sell those guitars, I will certainly let you know!!!

Thank you for your thoughts on the recording quality! I have always appreciated the recording quality that you manage to obtain, so I very much appreciate your complement!

I used two, Warm Audio WA-84 small diaphragm condenser microphones located about 15" or so back from the guitars. One microphone was aimed at about the 12-14th fret on each guitar, the other was aimed past the soundhole at the center top in the bass bout area of the guitars. The mics are both located on a 7" (~18cm) long bar using a single mic stand. The WA-84 mics are attempted copies of the famous Neumann KM-84, so they have a similar character.

Greetings back to you Gerhard from the northwest coast of the USA!

- Glenn