TSPguitar

Spoon says Blog

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April is the cruelest month

Funny how I’d almost forgotten what it’s like, that buoyant highline ride across a string of performances that just won’t let you stop til it’s all done. But after two days of wake-up, travel, play til numb, stare at alien bedroom ceiling, get up too soon after a dawn ice storm, absorb coffee and carbs, play too many hours too long but not stop even after the last video is shot, prattle on over burgers before bed, and then performing for a third day at the Martin Museum despite swollen fingers and the unexpected construction of a special presentation site for a private, deep-pocketed tour heard just off-camera, and ending up in a hotel room rented to construct our own makeshift video studio because some new Martins suddenly became available at the Distribution Center, just as I was on my way to that stage coach home, I still ended up spending Friday night back in Brooklyn, vibrating in front of my best friends while gratefully absorbing their 21-year-old Balblair and Insanely-year-old Caol Ila, and then staring at my own bedroom ceiling only to not be able sleep past 7 on Saturday, what with my girlfriend sick as a dog in Florida when I can’t take care of her, and so much back log of writing to do after the soul-crushing fatigue of my own 30-day bout of the flu has finally dissipated just in time for this past week’s trip. And here I am on Saturday night, now after midnight, after a good sushi dinner with “super dry” hot sake, after borrowing a pre-CBS seafoam green Stratocaster, after one too many glasses of the Great Malt Which Wounds from the Isle of Skye, after Season 1 episode 2 of Grantchester, here I sit, with roommates and cat having given up long before. And 11 hours from now I head out, Strat in hand, to the plush Battalion Studios in Gowanus for a large amplifier reunion jam with my 1990s rock band, the Cheese Beads. (And me with no ear plugs!) I have a sneaking suspicion that sometime Monday morning I will fall off the proverbial cliff… Until the next tour gets underway. But at least that one will require of my fingers little beyond giving massages to some very special toes situated near, if not always on, a beach in Florida, and lapping up some sun and sea. I’ve never been that far south before. I hear it’s nice there.  

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Day 3 – 2019 Martins for NAMM

Day 3 – OM-28 Modern Deluxe With a special vintage neck and ultra modern construction features of the new Modern Deluxe Series    

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Gear and Guitars

2019 Martin Guitars – Modern Deluxe Series

Looks like a good time for guitar players I am helping out Maury’s Music spread the word about this year’s new line up of Martin guitars, including the brand new Modern Deluxe Series. Super Cool! First up, the 000-28 Modern Deluxe.

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Events

Live in New York City, It’s Dick Boak!

Equipment Check A OK! Ready for the gallery exhibit of the Illustration and Guitar Designs of Dick Boak Saturday November 17, New York City, I will be playing solo acoustic fingerstyle guitar for my friend Dick Boak at the opening of “Illustrations and Guitars by Dick Boak and Paintings by Tullio Desantis.” 273 Bleecker Street (formerly Matt Umanov Guitar Shop,) NY, NY 10014.  5 – 9 PM. Self portrait (2016) For those unfamiliar, Dick was the longtime good will ambassador and public face for C. F. Martin & Co., the premiere builder of acoustic guitars in the world, before his retirement earlier this year. Tullio Desantis is a painter, author, and educator who Boak cites as a major inspiration for his art and outlook.      

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Gear and Guitars

New Fan Art Guitar Strap

I just received a new guitar strap in the mail out of the blue. And it features artwork from my new album, Lost and Haunted Ways. The coolest part is, the strap fits perfectly, despite having no way to adjust it. So I start to use it whenever I am in need of a guitar strap.

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Albums and Recordings

Errors in Digital Download of Lost and Haunted Ways

For those who downloaded the Hi-Def FLAC audio files of my album Lost and Haunted Ways, I discovered the wrong files had been uploaded.   Although the sound quality is no different than the final versions, the files you received do not have the metadata tags that allow the Artist, Album, Date, etc. show up in your music players. And there was some mastering info left at the end of certain song titles.   I regret the error.  The corrected files have been added to the DropBox folder. Please contact me if you no longer have the link and would like to download the new files. If you do not care about having the data tags, or added them yourself, you do not need to download the new versions. As stated, there is no difference in sound quality.

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Albums and Recordings

The New Album is now available!

Original Solo Acoustic Guitar Compositions At long last the CD, Lost and Haunted Ways, is finished and reading to ship. Order YOURS today! CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS  

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Spoon’s Martinfest Schedule

Spoon’s Martinfest Schedule: Thursday and Friday: C. F. Martin & Company, Nazareth, PA, catching up with old friends and playing new guitars. Saturday: Martin on Main Street Fair, center of town at the top of Main St. 2:45 Spoon will be appearing with the Paul Ukena Trio on the main stage. 5:00 Spoon will be preforming solo on the main stage Sunday: Nazareth Boro Park, rain or shine. Hope to see you there!

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Albums and Recordings

Lost and Haunted Ways – the new album has arrived and is ready for release

Twelve years in the making. Recorded in June. Mixed and mastered in July. Lost and Haunted Ways, the solo acoustic guitar album featuring all original compositions by your humble Spoon, goes on sale August 9, 2018! Orders may be made at this website, or at onemanz.com, on that date. Pre-orders for the digital download version of the album may be made on that date as well. The original multi-track recordings are being remixed and remastered specifically for the Hi-Def download version, and the MP3s made from them. Both types of downloadable files will be available to anyone who purchases a CD with the digital download bonus. Read all about the tunes, the inspiration behind them, see album art and other information about the new record, Lost and Haunted Ways HERE *SPECIAL OFFER FOR MARTINFEST ATTENDEES* From August 2 through August 6, a limited number of CDs will be available for sale for those attending the 17th Annual Martinfest in Nazareth and Bethlehem, PA. CDs are $15. For $20 you get a copy of the CD and a coupon with a unique code that can be used to download the digital version of the album, in Hi-Def or MP3, or both. I will be remixing and remastering the original multi-track recordings for the digital download album starting next week and I expect to have it available sometime between August 15 – 20. See Spoon at Martinfest for details.

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Gear and Guitars

Six Microphone Pairings – Your thoughts?

Help Spoon on his way toward his new album Listen to these microphone tests and add your opinion, please! May 3rd Mic Test (replaces the May Day test) ** Totally forgot you must DOWNLOAD the files from Sound Cloud to be able to hear the real wav files.** To download, go to my SoundCloud page HERE OR click on the SOUNDCLOUD logo in the upper right corner and it will take you to page for each file. Otherwise you just get crappy mp3s when you listen online. Blind Test for Now. I will reveal the mics in a few days. Same guitar, and the mics were set up in the same positions and same distance from the guitar. One example sounds much more like the actual guitar than the others. But for me that is not important, compared to what listeners hear and “that sounds good” or “pleasing” or “listenable without fatigue” etc., when it comes to someone listening to a 45 minute album of guitar music, etc. There was no EQ or compression etc. I just played the same piece over and over six times, as fast as I could switch microphones and adjust levels. I was surprised how different some of them sound in terms spacial effect in the virtual soundstage. I am curious to know what YOU hear, think about the six mic pairings in this test. Which one(s) do you like? Please use the comment form below, or write to me at spoon@tspguitar.com Thanks!