matonanjin

A really interesting tribute article in Premier Magazine. So much I didn't know about him. He was of Lebanese descent and " Dale was taught by a musical uncle to play the tarabaki (aka goblet drum) and oud (a Lebanese and Middle Eastern stringed instrument similar to a fretless mandolin). He would later say that the rhythmic tarabaki technique influenced all of his playing since"

RIP King of the Surf Guitar. **** Dales dies at 83. How many of us loved that " twangy" Strat sound of the 60's? I did. " CBS Los Angeles points out that Dale had never let age slow him down — he was on the bill for a show May 31 in Agoura Hills, California, and July 14 in San Juan Capistrano. "

Don't you think they should discount it a little since it only has 4 strings? 😅

I haven't posted about Lakota Leathers in quite a while. Allow me the indulgence. If you are looking for another guitar strap I encourage you to at least take a look at those offered by Lakota Leathers. They are high quality and, speaking from experience, unbelievably soft and comfortable. I now have around 5or 6 of them. There a few members on here who also have them and have offered their very positive experiences in the past. And their straps are made by members of the Lakota tribe in South Dakota. Shannon County, SD, which is the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, is the poorest county in the United States. I'm not asking you to purchase a Lakota Leathers strap for that reason. I am suggesting you take a look at their product because it's a fantastic guitar strap and I love mine. Should you decide to purchase one you will help provide some economic support to people desperately in need as an additional benefit. ps. I have no business relationship with Lakota Leathers. I just like their product and think you may as well.

@CliffMcCartney, great job finishing session 4 in 5 weeks. As Doug said, many stay in session 4 much longer. I know it took me a lot longer. In fact, that may be near record time. Enjoy the Pat Metheny concert. I would love to see him sometime.

John, it's great to hear your cataract surgery went well. Thanks for the update. (did they use the word "entropion"?)

Diane, thanks again. Somehow I think I signed up for the Pro version😮🤣😉

@Triple-o, @DianeB, @Plantsman13 and @Oldjock, Thank you! I'm sure one of those, or probably all them, is going to be exactly what I need. Thanks again.

I am trying to find the sheet music or tabs for "I Love You Too Much" by Santana. And I am not having much luck. What is everyone's "go to" source for tabs or sheet music? I did find one guy trying to provide a lesson to it on YouTube and it was difficult to follow. I did buy Steve's offering of a Best of Carlos Santana book a while back and it has a bunch of songs I want to learn ultimately but no ""I Love You Too Much". I'm not opposed to buying a Hal Leonard book but searched his site with no luck. Anyone seen a sheet music site that has it? Any ideas where else to look? Any suggestions appreciated. edited: I did not get that book from Steve. I was probably thinking about the ZZ Top books or Joe Bonamassa books. Santa brought me the Santana songbook.

@S Bach, I am hardly the one to be giving advice here since Santa brought me a new looper a year ago and I have yet to take it out of the box. And so we are clear: Not Christmas 2018 but Christmas 2017!😮 But, I know Steve views the looper as a valuable learning tool. And I think he would he would view where you are at in L&MG as a beneficial time to start with the looper. The looper that Steve recommends is the Ditto Looper by TC Electronics. It is about $99. There is also a Ditto Looper X2 and Ditto Looper X4, with increased capabilities (and cost). Someone on here at one time posted about the difference but I can't remember what what the differences between the models are. Here is Steve's Ultimate Looper How To Video. " An in-depth 40 minute HD video of Steve explaining the features of the Ditto Looper by TC Electronics. Steve demonstrates several musical examples on electric and acoustic guitars for building loops and using loops to help in your learning of chords, songs, and soloing. A valuable resource for getting the most from your looper pedal. Looping tips and tricks for learning chord progressions, songs, and soloing. Don't just get a pedal, get the training you need to make a difference in your playing."

Josh Smith is a monster guitarist. I highly doubt that anyone who has seen him play would argue with that. @Dan Brown and I, and our wives, have had the pleasure of seeing him in concert the last three years on the Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea Cruise. And actually saw him multiple times on each of those cruises. And he is a self described "Gear Junkie". Here he is describing his gear in an interview with The Captain from the Anderton's. This is not just another "Here is my pedal board video". Very early in the interview one realizes passion for his tone and his immense knowledge. And every pedal he talks about is an education. A lot of what he is saying is way over my head. Just as an example, his discussion of headroom and why he doesn't use a compressor is fascinating. The only problem is that after every pedal he talks about I want to go shopping! It's a long video, about 45 minutes. But well worth the time investment, IMHO. Especially if you are at that stage, session 15 or so, where you are getting concerned about tone. Of course, I had to insert this from the cruise. 😎 Josh Smith, left, me in the center and Kirk Fletcher.

Oh Oh! Ben is eyeing another Gibby!😮

Six, I saw that also. What the h....?!?!

The thought was, originally, that since I've been working some of these techniques, that I wouldn't be here long. So much for that theory. I got distracted by some other things, guitar, health and family. So I have been away from this session for months. But the beginning of last week I started over. Dare I say, "I don't think I'll be here too long"?! 🙄 Ok. I won't say it. But I'm back!

Most of you probably haven't heard of John Kilzer. I wouldn't have except a local PBS station plays a weekly show called "Beale Street Caravan" and that show played the song below, "Sleeping in the Rain", and I really liked it. He was scheduled to play the Beale Street Music Festival in May. I did a very brief study of him and what an interesting guy. A basketball star, PhD English professor, then rock star, then alcoholic, then recovery, then minister. The Memphis paper has an good story about him. The bottom line is, to me anyway, here is a guy that used his music for good. Apparently he died very suddenly at 62. An interesting YouTube story about him here:

Once again, Heritage Auctions has a consignment of drool-worthy vintage guitars. I'm sure most are going to consider the '57 Ebony Les Paul the most drool-worth. Or maybe the '52 Goldtop? If I win the lottery in the next two days, unlikely since I've never purchased a lottery ticket, I will be going after the '64 Sunburst Strat.

And Plantsman, you're doing it correctly. Purchased two and sold one! I have the ratio all wrong. I sold two and purchased one!!! That is just sooooo wrong!🙄🤣😎 What the heck is wrong with me?!?!?!

Yes, thanks @Randy120

I'm sure everyone got this. But just to make sure and make sure everyone is clear. The Live Lesson is NOT tonight but tomorrow night. The Live Lesson with Robben Ford is Tuesday, like all Live Lessons, at 7 PM. See you there.

@Triple-o, I have only purchased one guitar on Reverb but I have also sold two on it. I've also purchased a few smaller items. All transactions without incident.

Good information Triple-o. Thanks for sharing it.

@CliffMcCartney, I'm glad Barb and Mandy welcomed you. Usually one of us from the mod pool do as well and I'm not sure how you snuck in with us not seeing you. Welcome! And yes, there are a lot of us that tried a little with guitar during the career years but then picked it up more seriously in retirement Please keep us posted on your progress. And anytime you have a question, or just frustrated, post here. There are a lot of us here that want to help.

Cliff, first off, and most importantly, you did not look stupid. Or if you did!, we all have? And secondly, SLOW IT DOWN! I don't care what the issue, what the error, what the problem, what is frustrating you. 97.3% of issues can be solved by slowing it down. As Barb ( @K9kaos) said, " way, way, way, down". I wish I would have learned this a lot earlier in my L&MG studies. I slowed it down, but not enough. I still get impatient and don't slow it down enough. Just the other day I was working a blues lick that had a pull-off on the 5th string and it took a while to register to slow the #$%^ thing down! Lastly, a couple above mentioned Session 4 is a "biggie". It will take a while. It took all of us longer than we anticipated. If you haven't glanced at it or started it, the real "meat" for this session is in the bonus materials. So be prepared to be here a while. And please keep us posted on your progress.

I just want to add a small bit to Neil's post about Robben Ford. What a great artist Steve has been able to get for this Live Lesson! Just a few facts about Robben Ford: He is 5 time Grammy nominated He is named one of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of the 20th Century by Musician Magazine. He recently released Purple House which is getting rave reviews. " The balance between its canny production, well-written songs, killer playing, and honest, emotional singing is downright inspiring. " Robben Ford and his co-Truefire teacher are going to offer their (along with John Jorgenson ) 3 day Guitar Dojo at Sweetwater April 25-27 for $1295. I thought I had seen something about a collaborative retreat in the Catskills with Robben and Jeff but can't find any information about it. Robben is probably one of the most respected instructors over at TrueFire. Barring severe illness or such every member of Guitar Gathering should tune in for this Live Lesson IMHO.