Author: Matt Merta/Mitch Matthews

Musician and writer (both song and print) for over 30 years. Primarily interested in roots music (Americana, bluegrass, blues, folk). Current contributing writer for Fiddler Magazine, previous work with Metro Times (Detroit), Ann Arbor Paper and Real Detroit Weekly, as well as other various music and military publications. As songwriter, won the 2015 Chris Austin Songwriting Contest (Bluegrass Category, "Something About A Train," co-written with Dawn Kenney and David Morris) as well as having work performed on NPR and nominated for numerous Detroit Music Awards.

Categories
Bluegrass Music

Bluegrass Unlimited’s Annual Talent Directory

Every November, Bluegrass Unlimited puts out its Annual Talent Directory. This lists a number of bands, artists, and songwriters that request appearance. I have been included for a number of years, and every July I get sent an application which I take five minutes to fill out and email back.

The Directory takes up about 12 pages of the magazine, and includes from around the globe, although the international representation is quite small. However, what surprises me the most about the listings is that there are so many bands and artists that do not take the time to request inclusion.

I can understand some of the A-list bluegrass bands such as Alison Krauss & Union Station, The Del McCoury Band, and Ricky Skaggs choosing not to, as they are well enough established that they do not need any type of recognition in the listings. However, looking through list, there are plenty of bands that I am familiar with that have performed at festivals and conventions I have attended that do not appear.

I am sure that it has little to do with not knowing about the directory. Bluegrass Unlimited is pretty much the only print publication exclusively covering bluegrass, and if anyone in any bluegrass band subscribes to the magazine, he/she would be aware of the Directory submission usually appearing in a summer issue. The listing is free of charge, and bands/artists are able to enhance their listing by submitting a photo for a small charge, as well as note that they are available for school programs.

I do see that managers/publicists such as Penni McDaniel and Wilson Pickens Promotions take full advantage of the Directory, listing all of the artists that they represent. This is great on both fronts, as it allows them to show who they represent, as well as any interested festival organizers to contact a single source for a few acts.

I highly doubt that the following is the reason, but perhaps a lot of bands do not want to promote themselves that much, preferring to playing occasional parties and VFW halls. I would think that any band that takes the time to continually practice in order to sound professional would take that five minutes to have themselves listed in the Directory, if only to show some reader that there is a bluegrass band that is in his/her vicinity, so that he/she can keep an eye out for a possible show in the near future.

As I do not do much performing these days, I choose to list myself in the Directory more for networking with bands and other songwriters for possible collaboration. Moreover, some promoter/manager may get in touch with me to find a location for he/her band to perform in the area.

The Directory should be filled with a lot more artists than it is, but Bluegrass Unlimited can lead a horse to water but not make it drink. Bands and artists themselves need to be more productive on their end and take the few minutes to fill out the form. I do not see how in any way that it can hurt the band.

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Bluegrass Music Nashville

A Short Trip to Nashville

I got back from Nashville late Thursday evening, and while I was there for only two days, there is some stuff that we can talk about.

  • I rented a car so that I could put my car in the shop that needed a few days of work. While I requested an economy car, I was given a small SUV. Comfortable, but it was a 2025 model that had way too many bells and whistles that was confusing me while on the road. The auto-bright-lights feature was throwing me off, as I thought that I was turning them on when going around a curve. Just give me four wheels, an engine and a steering wheel.
  • Sirius/XM Radio. It was on the rental car, and trying to find decent radio stations through Ohio is a pain, so I kept the satellite radio on. I dropped my subscription with Sirius/XM a few years back, and now I realize one of the reasons that I did. I kept the radio on the Bluegrass Junction station the whole time. I swear, they have a rotating playlist of about 12-15 songs that seem to get played every two hours, sparsely interspersed with a few classics by Bill Monroe or Jim & Jesse. The repeat ones were all modern songs, and as I listened, they were less like bluegrass and more like acoustic country/folk/pop. They also played a lot of Billy Strings, but at least they varied the song selection. No, not worth the cost for me.
  • Songwriter sessions. One got canceled (I’m not going to get mad, as I hope to reschedule in January when I go down for the SPBGMA conference), and the other, which was more of a Q&A session, I was late due to a stalled train at a crossing. The session was helpful to say the least as Brent (who runs SongwritingPro.com) got me interested in Suno.com, a website that helps make demos sound a lot better by providing instruments and vocals mixed in at the songwriter’s discretion. I haven’t used it yet, but plan on it soon!
  • Jack’s BBQ/Frugal MacDoogal. Two places that I can never pass up while in Music City. Jack’s has the best pulled pork I have ever eaten. I always order the three-meat special so I get the pork, beef brisket and smoked sausage, while dipping in six difference sauces! Enough to have lunch the next day. Frugal MacDoogal is the Wal-Mart of liquor stores! I always pick up a stash for my friends and brother while I’m in town. Prices are way lower than in Detroit.
  • Rosine, Kentucky. For me, it is worth the hour detour to visit the birthplace of Bill Monroe, I always visit his grave and lay a quarter on his stone for myself and one for my buddy Ken. This time, I was running a bit later than usual, so I was able to visit the Bill Monroe Museum. The place is filled with Monroe’s furniture, instruments, and loads of other memorabilia. As I was the only one there, the cashier/manager Christie walked around with me. I ended up telling her more about Monroe than she knew. She insisted that I take a photo with the cardboard cutout of Monroe in front of a microphone. I also went up to his boyhood home on Jerusalem Ridge. The dossier there named Ken was staying in his truck to keep warm, as the house was not fully heated. He told me that Doyle Lawson has been there a few days before just to look around. This town should have so many visitors because of Monroe, but there is no signage on the highways passing by, so really the only people that show up are the true fans like me, and those that come to the annual Bill Monroe Days Festival in September. The authorities that handle the state’s tourist functions need to get their heads in gear!
  • Theresa Kereakes. This is one of my dearest friends, not just in the music scene, but in my life. We text a lot, however, we don’t see each other much due to distance, so we make a plan to meet up whenever I am in Nashville. We worked together in the early days of the AMA AmericanaFest, and I can honestly say, if the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame had a Den Mother category, Theresa would be the first enshrined. I won’t even begin to list the artists she has worked with behind the scenes, but I can say there are a few that are legends in the business. For years I have told her that she needs to write a book of her life stories and anecdotes, and fortunately she recently has started on it. If you want a taste of her adventures, visit her blog at http://punkturns30.blogspot.com . Anyone that loves rock and roll with love her insights.

I won’t get into much else. Road construction down there is worse that here in Detroit, and that is saying a lot! Also, drivers down there are way worse. If they pulled the crap they do up here in Detroit, they would probably have their windows shot out!

As stated, I’ll be heading back down there in January, so the next two months will be busy emailing inquiries and recording a few more demos.

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Acoustic Guitars Lutherie

Tone Traveler/ToneRite – Are They Worth It?

Have you ever heard of the Tone Traveler? How about the ToneRite? While these products have been around for a few years, they (especially the Tone Traveler) have been in the acoustic guitar news as of late.

Their purpose is to “break in” a brand-new acoustic guitar so that it has the sound and characteristics of a well-worn model. The device basically vibrates the strings by attaching it to the bridge/saddle, let it run for a few hours (even days), which is supposed to translate into months/years of breaking in the guitar so that the wood stretches in its expected way in relation to the strings. The Tone Traveler looks like a microphone head capsule or a small Bluetooth speaker, with the ToneRite module is a square piece about the size of a large pack of gum. Both are plugged in to a power source to operate.

There are a number of reviews of these devices on YouTube, mostly with positive reviews. The player will leave them on for a few hours, then proceed to show before and after video clips. Some show the devices working, which vibrates all six strings by self-vibrating or producing specific tones. Think about how it sounds when you pluck all six strings without forming a chord. Now imagine that dissonant sound going for hours, even days! A few reviewers have said that they put it in another room (or in the basement) with the door closed so as to muffle the irritating sound.

With that said, by listening to the before/after results on both my laptop and phone speakers, I heard absolutely no differences. I don’t plan on hooking up the computer ot a stereo sound system to try and decipher the changes. I guess that one would have to be sitting in front of the guitar’s soundhole to shear any differences.

As readers may know, I recently purchased a Cirrus acoustic guitar. I also have a 1991 Martin D-28, the Sevillana 2208 dreadnought, my Blueridge dreadnaught dating probably from the late 1980s, and a few other lower-cost models. Each has its own distinct tone, but not as diverse as, say, a Gibson Les Paul humbucker and a Fender Stratocaster single-coil played through the same amp. However, there are differences in the woods used, the scale length, and size of the body. Even the string gauge can affect the sound.

The argument for one of these products is that a new guitar sounds too new, not broken in. Yes, that may be true, but is spending $150-$250 just to break in the guitar more important instead of actually playing it for a few months? With my new Cirrus, I want to break it in myself, like raising my son or daughter. The change in sound will be subtle over the months/years, and it will be your work, not some plug-in device.

If the “aging” is that important to anyone, I can perhaps see a guitar dealer or luthier using one of these products to break in the new guitars in their showrooms. It can be a selling point to a customer. However, customers rarely buy more than one guitar at at time, and don’t trade in or buy another for years. It seems to buy one of these for a one-time use and put it away for years may not be worth it. It’s not like a tuner or string winder that will be used often.

I plan to spend a bit more time researching these items and what they actually do. If vibrations is their main purpose, I am wondering if the use of a vibrating hand or body massager laid over the bridge/saddle can serve the same purpose for a lot less money (and has another use, of course). If it is tone generator-oriented, perhaps building a cheap tone generator (there are kits out there) may work.

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Bluegrass Music Music Instruction Songwriting

SEMBMA Bluegrass Kids Showcase/Songwriting Thoughts

It occurred to me that I forgot to post my thoughts about the Southeast Michigan Bluegrass Music Association’s 2025 Michigan Bluegrass Kids Showcase held on October 19 at the Woldumar Nature Center in Lansing. In short, it was a good time had by all.

The first hour was dedicated to the SEMBMA scholarship sponsored students performing tubes that they have worked on with their instructors, as well as a few past recipients showcasing their now professional-quality skills.

The second hour was held by the Edgar Loudermilk Band, who although from Georgia, have continually been supportive of Michigan bluegrass and the work SEMBMA has done to promote it in the area. Edgar has been a friend for years, and it is always a pleasure to converse with him when he is in town. The band gave a great free performance to those attending the kids showcase.

The third hour was special, in that Edgar and his band hosted a jam session with the kids as well as some adults attending a local jam session in another room of the building. While it was rough aroudn the edges, everyone seemed to have a good time, especially the younger musicians getting a chance to perform with a well-known bluegrass band.

My unfortunate incident involved my camcorder. I had numerous problems with it the last few times that I used it. I finally figured out the video end, but the audio has always recorded with a distortion, no matter if I use the built-in microphone or one of my many other pro mics plugged in I need to perhaps make some kind of attenuator to limit the signal, but as it is, the audio volume is low. Another job to work on during the winter.

For more information on the event, along with go to the article from Bluegrass Today: https://bluegrasstoday.com/2025-michigan-bluegrass-kids-showcase/ .

I will be heading to Nashville next week for a few days. I have a songwriter session scheduled, and hope to snag at least one more while I’m there. If not, I know I will find something to do down there. I have reached that point in my songwriting tenure that I need to definitely do more networking and co-writing with others outside of what is immediately available locally.

Co-writing with David Morris and Dawn Kenney proved to be my most fruitful, with “Something About a Train” winning the Merlefest Chris Austin Songwriting Contest, the IBMA Songwriter Showcase, and being recorded by Valerie Smith. But that was 10 years ago, and not much has happened since. I have done some co-writing over the internet and through mail communications, but nothing that has been breakthrough, although it has been positive. I tried to do some networking at SPBGMA last year, but it was much more limited in possibilities than what is available at the IBMA conference. I still have no real intention of attending IBMA next year, so I need to take alternate steps.

What I need to do most is be more aggressive in introducing myself. I have the business cards, as well as CDs and thumb drives with some demos. I can easily had them out and walk away, hoping that the artist/manager/publisher will take a chance, but I need to PR myself better. The next few days will be spent researching available resources in Nashville that I can at least get my foot in the door.

I’ll be here next weekend, then leaving Monday, so my report will be in two weeks.

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Bluegrass Music Music Technology

What the … ? Artificial Intelligence Bluegrass Music

As you know, I am always on YouTube searching for bluegrass-related videos. Performances, interviews, documentaries, instrument lessons, and anything else related to bluegrass. So it should be no surprise that YT sends me a number of recommendations based on my algorithms. In many cases, they are worthwhile to watch, as I have found a lot of interesting guitar/banjo/mandolin/fiddle lessons and players that I may have never learned about otherwise.

Then there are the clunkers. Poor performances, unhelpful lessons, and people posting stuff that makes no sense, just tagging it as bluegrass. The worst recommendation, however, has been a recent one that, even though I have tagged the channel as “Do Not Recommend,” YT keeps sending me new videos.

The channel is called Banjo Music AI, and it is exactly what it is says it is. Hours and hours (one video is over 11 hours long) of Artificial Intelligence-generated bluegrass music. The thumbnail and screenshot for most of the videos is of a pretty girl holding a six-string banjitar (not even a true banjo!) sitting on either a motorcycle or the bumper of an old car, which definitely looks AI generated.

Then there is the music itself. Hours of basic chord changes found in standard bluegrass tunes, played by AI-generated banjos, fiddles, dobros, mandolins and guitars. It sounds horrible to say the least. Every instrument sounds like a synthesizer program. Because it is AI, there is no feel to the performance. The songs move in such a robotic way. No groove, no swing, just strict metronome-forced tempo. I’m only posting a clip on here just so you can see haw bad it really is.

Most of the songs are instrumentals, although there are a few vocal tunes. As expected, the lyrics are so cliché and predictable that it literally has the feel that an infant with no musical experience wrote them. Even the worst actual bluegrass band that has never practiced together is 100 times better than listening to this!

What upsets me the most is that this will probably be viewed by people wondering what bluegrass music is like, without researching just a wee bit further to discover Bill Monroe, The Stanley Brothers, Jimmy Martin, or more modern performers like Billy Strings, New Grass Revival, and Alison Krauss. Forget the debates about progressive versus traditional bluegrass, this is truly one concept that every bluegrass fan, no matter what sub-format, can agree that it stinks to high Heaven!

With technology moving faster than humans can keep up, it was inevitable that someone would try to recreate with AI something that is wholly human. When AI started creeping into the music field, I saw many AI examples on the internet of concepts like “What if John Lennon and Beethoven write a song together” and producing a result. Maybe some found it interesting, but personally, I found it insulting to mankind in general. Art forms, including music, are part of the human soul, something that no machine can own 100 percent. Unfortunately, society is relying too much on AI and its advancement to resolve issues. Once that is conquered, then technology will control our emotions, and we will become the robots that we have created earlier.

Bluegrass is raw, unfiltered, and so much a part of the human heart and soul of those who love it. It moves like a human, not like a machine. There are different levels, different attitudes, different outcomes with each song and performance. Once we accept technology to make something like music generic in its presentation, we have lost our will to live as free thinkers.

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Bluegrass singing Bluegrass vocals

Bluegrass Harmony Singing: Part By Heart App

I have written a few blogs on bluegrass harmony singing (https://luegra.design.blog/2021/03/11/bluegrass-harmony-singing-part-1-either-you-have-it-or-you-can-learn-it/, https://luegra.design.blog/2021/03/19/bluegrass-harmony-singing-part-2-you-gotta-work-on-it-to-be-good/). For some, it can come naturally, but for many, it takes a lot of work training the ear to hit the correct pitch. Unless one is in a position to work with other singers continually, it can be extremely difficult to jump right in and sing another part to harmonize with the lead.

Only this morning, I came across the website Part By Heart (http://www.partbyheart.com/). Bluegrass musician Austin Scelzo has developed an app (also available online) to work on harmonies to many bluegrass standards. Two of the songs (“Angel Band,” “All the Good Times Are Passed”) are available for free, while others are available for $8.00 per month or $35.00 per year as a subscription.

With each song, the chorus is set up with the lead vocals as well at three harmony parts and guitar accompaniment. The student can work on each part by listening to it on its own, muting the other parts, then muting only that part and singing along with the chorus. Additional features include shifting the pitch of the song and panning each part to separate stereo channels.

I was testing it out earlier, and it seemed to work fine on my new Samsung phone, but was shaky on my laptop. As this is a relatively new site, they may be still working out some bugs (the intro YouTube video states that it can be used on cellphones, computers, laptops and tablets). There are currently 16 tunes up with more to be added.

I will check it out again in a few weeks, and hopefully the kinks will be worked out from the computer end. If so, it may be interesting to try out for a few months. At this point, I would recommend anyone wanting to work on harmonies to check out the two songs available to see if it helps. If it does, a subscription may be worthwhile, as it is a lot cheaper than trying to find a vocal coach or getting together with others to practice on your own available time.

In parting, here’s a great video to watch. I have never been a fan of the ukelele, but this brought a smile to my face this past week.

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Music Instruction Old-Time Fiddle

Applefest 2025 / First Guitar Lessons

Last week I went to the 2025 Michigan Old-Time Fiddler Contest, held annually at the Huron Township Applefest in New Boston. I’ve gone to this contest for years and have blogged about it many times. Last year, only two contestants showed up to compete, and I thought that it could not be worse than that. Well, this year proved me wrong.

Yes, only one person showed up to compete. Dave Langdon, who has participated in the event many times and is well-known in the state’s old-time fiddle base, was the only competitor. He received the $200 first-prize award after going through the expected contest performance of playing a waltz, schottische, jig and reel. If I would have known, I would have brought my fiddle (which I haven’t picked up in months), hacked my way through four tunes, and still made second place and gotten $100 pocket money.

Speaking with Jim McKinney of the Michigan Fiddler Association, he stated that each year it gets more difficult to have competitors, as this time of the year finds fiddlers doing fall dances and other activities. It also seems hard to find younger people interested in the old-time fiddle tunes. From my experience, this is completely true, as I talk to young fiddlers and parents that won’t commit to heading down to this festival for a few hours.

To save the day, host Tom McKinney and contest judge Trae McMaken joined Dave on stage for a jam session to use up the time allotted for the competition.

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I have a co-worker that is interested in learning guitar, and I told her that I would let her try out some of the acoustic guitars that I have for sale to see if she would like to purchase one. Out of curiosity, I went on YouTube to see what videos were available on the search “Beginner Guitar Lessons.” Of course, a number of videos popped up, but as I went through watching them, I noticed that pretty much all of them have no concept of making the easiest way possible to learn basic chords.

Anyone who has started out on guitar knows that there are a few relatively easy chords, such as G and C, that will get the student learning simple folk songs. About half of the “beginner” videos I watched showed the first two chords to try as Em and Asus2. Yes, these are easy to finger on the fretboard, but there are very few songs that a beginner can regularly practice with them.

Go going back to the G and C chords, one of the reasons that these are popular is that playing these two chords can open up a world of simple folk and popular songs to play. I found some videos implementing the G chord as the first chord a beginner should learn, but another problem I saw is that these instructors are making the student finger across the entire fingerboard and strumming all six strings. I remember from my experience over 40 years ago at first learning guitar chords that it takes a long time to perfect even the open G chord, as placing the pads of the fingers correctly without muffling strings is a difficult task for a beginner to acquire.

Next weekend I will be in Lansing to help out at a musical instrument “petting zoo” that the Southeast Michigan Bluegrass Music Association sponsors throughout the year. When I show young kids how to play a guitar and get a good sound from it the first time, I take the instructional route that I learned from a book that I had years ago – that you do not need to pluck all six strings of the guitar to get a good chord sound. With that, you don’t need to reach across the fingerboard to with your whole hand and start off uncomfortably to try and get a good sound. These are young kids often looking for instant satisfaction, so making them contort their hands will only dull their interest.

Instead, I show them that since the guitar’s 2nd, 3rd and 4th strings are tuned to a G chord, they can strum just those three strings to play a chord, and if they want to change the chord, they can just drape a finger across another fret, holding down those three strings, and strum just those three stings again. I also show them to finger the 1st (high E) string at the 3rd fret with the ring finger and strum the four strings to make an even bigger sounding G chord. If they are motivated by that, then we can work on just those four strings to finger a C chord with two fingers. If they become comfortable and motivated enough, I can show them a simple folk song such as “Tom Dooley” to let them know that it is possible to play a complete song in a matter of minutes.

If they are still interested and motivated, that is when I talk to the parents with recommendations of instructional books or teachers, and that once these basic shapes of chords is perfected, the student can expand on implementing the 5th and 6th strings. The idea is to get the student motivated to move on for the next task, NOT to make the first task hard enough to not want to move forward.

I won’t even bother showing any of the videos that I saw on YT for beginner guitar lessons, as watching them just irritated me. I plan to stick to my method when showing youngsters the guitar. I know that not every kid who I show these simple chords on a guitar will stick with it, but in my experience, it did brighten some young eyes when they strummed that chord and it didn’t sound bad.

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Electric Guitars Lutherie

Shielding an Electric Guitar Body

So after cleaning up the residue from the gigbag on the Ambertone Strat, I let the solvent dry for a few days and the proceeded to put shielding into the body cavity in order to get rid of some of the RF (radio frequency) noise generated by single-coil pickups.

A very short explanation: Just about every electronic device generates RF noise in some way or another. Televisions, appliances, calculators (fun trick – if you have an old working LED calculator, turn on an AM radio, tune it to the lower end frequencies, then hold to calculator next to it and start hitting keys, you should hear some weird noises from the radio), and electric guitars all give off some RF noise. You may hear that 60 Hz buzz through your amp if the amp is not properly grounded. Most guitars with humbucker pickups cancel out much of that hum (along with a quality guitar cord), hence the name. Single-coil pickups do not have the same kind of pickup winding, so the noise is much more apparent, and is why many guitarists like to install a metal cage in the cavity to cancel out much of that noise.

There are two popular ways to shield the cavity. The first is coating the cavity with a conductive paint, available through guitar part supply shops such as Stewart-McDonald. This is a very easy way to do it, just paint the entire cavity, let it dry, and it is done. This method is a bit more expensive, cannot be used on plastic parts, and can be messy if you are not careful with the paintbrush.

The second way is to line the cavity with thin metal strips. Conductive tape is available in copper and aluminum, and the adhesive backing has some conductive quality, so overlapping the pieces will create a continuous contact. I went this route and purchased a roll of Reflectix aluminum tape from Lowe’s for about $5.00. Note, I saw a YouTube video that one luthier shielded a guitar with simple aluminum foil and 3M adhesive spray, which seems a lot cheaper but one has to make sure that there is still conductivity between pieces as the spray adhesive is not conductive. There is also available aluminum sheets, which can cover the entire back of a pickguard, but is harder to mold into the cavity.

If attempting this job, it is wise to detatch the neck from the body, as I tried to do the project with the neck attached but could not remove the pickguard properly due to a lip on the fretboard where it attached to the body. After getting that out of the way, I first shielded the back of the pickguard. Fortunately, there was already some metal shielding on the underside where the controls are installed, so cutting pieces that eventually contacted this shield would mean a good metal cage effect. I covered as much of the pickguard as possible, making sure to keep it away from the wiring so as to not risk shorting.

I followed up with shielding the Strat jack housing, then proceeded to the pickup/wiring cavity. While it may seem like cutting one or two big pieces and molding them in might be easier, it is not. With the many curves and crevices in the cavity, it was better to cut small pieces and pressing in/overlapping each piece. Press the pieces in firmly so that it stays put. In a few spots, I left a lip of foil come over so that it comes in contact with the foil on the pickguard.

After shielding the pickguard and cavity, I checked for conductivity with a multimeter tester. I recommend anyone doing guitar work to get one of these, which small consumer ones can be had for less than $20.00. Besides checking for conductivity, it can be used to check battery and house wall outlet voltage when needed. The entire shielding checked out as solid.

Once finished, I put the guitar back together and tested it out. Dang! No signal at all! It turns out that within the jack housing, the area is so tight that there is a small indentation in the wood for the plug to insert all of the way, and I had covered it with foil, Once I cleaned out that area, I reinstalled the jack and tested it again, this time getting a signal.

The result? The buzzing hum was cut out probably 80%. Not bad, really. Because the single-coil pickups on this guitar kit were cheaply made in Asia somewhere, they won’t have the same quality output as a Dimarzio, EMG, or even a stock Fender pickup. However, I was happy that most of the RF noise was cut out, and this guitar is definitely playable through any amplifier without much buzz. As far as the roll of aluminum tape, I used only about half of it, so I can shield another guitar when needed. Not bad for $2.50 in supplies and a few hours work while watching football on TV.

If you have an electric guitar that is kicking out RF buzz when plugged into an amp, especially when flourescent lights or other appliances are on, I recommend this inexpensive project to help out. There are plenty of videos on YouTube that show how easy it is to do. If too afraid of taking apart your guitar, a good guitar repairman should have no problem handling it.

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Musical Instruments

Do Not Buy Cheap Guitar Gigbags!

After finishing my Ambertone guitar, I ordered a low-cost gigbag for it, as I was not expecting to take it out for playing, it was just going to be stored in the corner of a room for a while, perhaps to be sold when I needed a few bucks. I purchased a Chromacast electric guitar gigbag from either eBay or Amazon (I can’t remember), got it a few days later, and put the thing in my spare bedroom.

That was about a month ago. A few days ago, I wanted to do some finishing work on the Ambertone (basically, lining the body cavity with copper shielding, I’ll cover that in a future blog) and pulled the gigbag out of the corner. As I was unzipping the bag, I found that the flaps were not opening up properly. Then I started feeling a sticking as I opened the bag a bit more. Sure enough, the inside of the gigbag had adhered to the guitar itself in a number of places on the front and back of the body.

The inside of the gigbag was made of a really cheap vinyl, not cloth that I find on most other gigbags. Now I knew this wasn’t a great gigbag, not much better than a heavy-duty trash bag with a zipper and pocket on it, but I would think that it would at least not stick to the guitar finish after only a month.

Years ago, I pulled my Peavy T20 bass out of storage. It had been in its hardshell case for a few years without opening, and was in a closet that did not have great temperature/humidity control. The foam padding had stuck to the guitar and strings, and it took me a full day to clean it off. This Ambertone situation was quite similar, only that it had been in the bag for only a month, and the bedroom was temperature and humidity controlled.

Anyone who works with guitars a lot knows that vinyl does not work well with various lacquers used on guitar finishes, especially older guitars and mandolins. This is not supposed to be the case with polyurethane finishes. In fact, I googled “vinyl and polyurethane guitar finish” and found very little stating that there was a risk. Anyway, I spent about an hour last night with Goo Gone and a plastic paint scraper getting the residue off. Some spots required a little bit of elbow grease.

I have other gigbags around the house, and I checked the lining on them. Almost all had some form of cloth lining. I may have talked about this before in a previous blog, but there was a time (remembering Mars Music again) when you could get a quality gigbag for around $10.00. Yeah, they were most likely made in China or Vietnam, but they served the purpose. Today, gigbags are more the norm than hardshell cases, fully padded and with some durability. Of course, one can expect to pay well over $60.00 for a decent bag. When the guitar is not even worth that, why pay that much?

Well, in this case, I know that I shall invest a little more for a gigbag. Even if the guitar is not worth much, investing in a gigbag for more than $40.00 should be considered. If purchasing in-store like at Guitar center, open the bag up to see what the interior is made of.

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Bluegrass Music

IBMA World of Bluegrass 2025 – I’m Not There Again This Year

The International Bluegrass Music Association World of Bluegrass convention is being held this week in Chattanooga. I chose not to attend again this year, as the IBMA is still too political for me to tolerate. Once the organization realizes that bluegrass has never been that political, but has left-leaning officials and board members that force their political and social views and rids these vermin, then I may consider attending.

With that said, let’s take a quick look at what has been reported so far.

For the awards on Thursday evening, my “kid sister” Vickie Vaughn won Bass Player of the Year for the third year in a row. Billy Strings took home Entertainer of theYear (no argument here), and the fiddle partnership of Jason Carter and Michael Cleveland took away three wins (Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Collaboration of the Year). Most of the other awards were predictable, although Strings did not win Guitarist of the Year, that went to Trey Hensley.

Strings also was seen jamming with a number of elder Bluegrass statesmen, including opening the convention with a performance joining Junior Sisk. Ever since they first performed together back at the Charlotte Bluegrass Festival in June, there seemed to be a budding friendship. The best jam had to be when Strings joined Joe Mullins in the exhibit hall and sang a duet with the legendary Paul Williams.

Strings also provided the opening keynote address. He has had the biggest impact on bluegrass in the last 20 years, so it should be expected that sooner or later he would present this address at WOB. He talked about how music has always been a part of his life, and that bluegrass has helped him through his toughest times. He also talked about how traditional and progressive bluegrass artists and fans have to be more accepting of each other. While he has helped the format gain a humongous fanbase, I am not sure the full picture is visible to him and many others.

I’ve walked away from the IBMA (as well as the Americana Music Association) for non-musical reasons. Both groups have taken on a lot of political stands, which turned me off. The biggest one was supporting Black Lives Matter. IBMA never said anything about the vandalizing of the Bill Monroe statue during the George Floyd protests. And now that we are learning how corrupt the BLM officials were, using monetary donations to purchase mansions for themselves, there are no apologies.

One of my co-writers emailed me earlier in the week asking if I was attending. When I told him I was not but that he should still do as much to enjoy the week, he stated that he was sorry that I was not there but would check in with me in a few days. I don’t see spending hundreds of dollars on a conference that I don’t agree with politically just so I can do some jamming and possible networking. I actually enjoy attending SPBGMA in January much more because there is no politics, just people having good conversation as well as jamming in a much smaller area.

Chew on it and comment.

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