Mike Hoodenpyle

Thanks Gary.

Thank you!

Thanks. I haven't been to a retreat yet, but I sure would like to go.

I have a Martin J-40 that's my all-time favorite guitar, so I've been thinking of ordering a custom shop Martin J, but with mahogany back and sides, for about a year now. I thought I'd either order one with 40 series appointments, or a more basic version. I was more than a little timid about ordering, because I really wanted to be able to play it before committing. Lo and behold, my favorite local shop got a new custom shop J in mahogany the other day, so I checked it out and snagged it immediately. It's basically a J-18, but with a premium grade torrified Sitka top. Very sweet guitar. It has plenty of volume like the 40, and the tone is solid and rich, but snappier and with more clarity than the 40. Love it.

That's awesome! Congrats and have fun!

That was very cool! Loved it!

Thanks very much!

Congrats! NGDs are the best days.

Thanks, Doug!

Here's my personal arrangement of "Near the Cross".

Just scored third-row tickets to see Tommy Emmanuel on 12/5. Really looking forward to seeing him again.

Thanks a lot!

Thanks very much!

Haven't been here for a while, but I'm still playing just about every day. Finally recorded my cover of Martin Taylor's "True," so here it is, warts and all.

I'd really like to see the session on Ashokan Farewell.

Nice. I've got a Reunion Blues for my electrics. Really good soft case.

I haven't posted, but I did add two pieces of gear this year. I bought a Fender Limited Edition '65 Princeton Reverb with 12" speaker in May, then about a month ago I bought a Martin D-41. I'm very pleased with both of them.

Thanks very much!

Thanks very much.

Thank you all very much!

My cover of Brad Paisley's version of "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" on my Taylor K24ce. A spur of the moment recording on my iPhone to see how it would sound. Trimmed the ends and added a fade in/out in iMovie, added a little reverb in Garage Band, and voila, here it is, warts and all.

Any time you see a chord name such as G9, A9, C9, etc., it's just a dominant chord extended. A dominant chord is a triad with a flatted 7th, so the notes of a G7 are G-B-D-F. A G9 adds the 9th, so the notes are G-B-D-F-A. A Gmaj9 would be G-B-D-F#-A.

Thanks! The back and sides ain't bad, either.

Santa brought me a Gretsch Broadkaster. I plan to record "True" on it in the near future.

What a great song. I see some backing tracks available on Amazon. Not sure where you could find reliable sheet music, but I think I'll do some digging.