Guitar Pedals

I’m often asked about my acoustic guitar set-up, so here it is. I use three main boxes:

1) LR Baggs Para Acoustic DI. This box serves as a DI box, as well as a great sounding, easy-to-use, EQ. You can really make a guitar sound “huge” through one of these.

2) Digitech JamMan. This little box actually degrades the audio quality slightly, but the benefits vastly outweigh the drawbacks. The JamMan is a “loop pedal.” You step on it and it starts recording. When you step on it again, it plays back exactly what you just recorded, allowing you to play multiple parts. You can do it continually, creating interesting combinations of sounds and textures. I’ve posted an example below.

3) TC Electronic G-Natural. This bulky box is the best all-in-one pedal available for acoustic guitar. I use it for compression, to give my sound a lot of clarity, and for reverb, which can make you sound like you’re in a big hall.

KGMB9 Morning News

Here’s the news segment for the Hawaii State Art Museum promo on KGMB9, early in the morning!

Video Interview on 808Talk

Here’s the latest interview with V-Brown on 808Talk!

Zoom H2 Field Recorder

In response to Mark Nelson’s in-depth review of the new Zoom H2 field recorder, I just had to try one. Now I’m hooked. The sound quality is amazing and it fits in the palm of your hand. Great for recording lessons, concerts, jam sessions, and random thoughts.

The H2 has several different audio fidelity settings, and also allows you to easily switch between mic patterns.

The sound quality is wonderful. Here are a number of clips of my song, “Manoa Morning,” recorded with different mic settings and at different audio fidelity settings.

The recordings were all done by placing the H2 on the table, sitting in front of it, pushing record, and playing. That simple. Enjoy!

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Clip-On Tuners

I’ve used an Intellitouch clip-on tuner for years. It’s a useful tool, but often has given me trouble when there is a lot of croud noise, and has given me incorrect readings when attempting to stay in tune with other musicians on stage.

So, I recently ordered an Intelli-500 (also known as the IMT 500). I received the Intelli-500 in the mail a few days ago and did a comparison with the Intellitouch. I put new batteries in both tuners and put them both on the headstock of my guitar. I also switched the positions of the two tuners on the headstock, to make sure that the area where each tuner was placed on the headstock was not a factor.

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Official CD Release for Five Years and Many Miles

I’m happy to announce that “Five Years and Many Miles” will be available in stores throughout Hawai`i on September 25, 2007! The album will be distributed by the Mountain Apple Company. If you’re in Hawai`i, keep an eye out at a store near you. Of course, if you’re outside the 808 state, you can always find the album on CDBaby or iTunes.

As always, thanks for supporting my music! You make it possible.

Digital Distribution for Independent Artists

Finished an album? Got the cd in your hand? Want to get the music up and selling in iTunes, Napster, Rhapsody and other internet outlets that sell digital downloads? Want to manage your digital distribution yourself? You need a digital aggregator.

One of the great benefits for independent artists in recent years has been the ability for artists to reach across the internet and offer music to fans directly. That’s where digital aggregators come in. Basically, a digital aggregator will take the artist’s music, distribute it to outlets like iTunes and Napster, and funnel the income back to the artist.

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Album Progress

The recording, mixing, mastering are done! Final touch-ups on the artwork are in progress, then it’s off to the manufacturer.

The album is called, “Five Years and Many Miles.” The title is a tribute to the time my wife and I spent in New York City. We moved to NYC just a couple weeks prior to 9/11, and moved away from the city a couple months after the five year anniversary of that history-defining tragedy. One of the pieces on this album is called “Five Years,” because it was written on 9/11/06, the five year anniversary of the terrorist attack.

It is an incredibly rewarding, time consuming and educational process to produce, record and manufacture your own music. The music industry is changing, and for independent musicians like myself, the change is for the better. Distribution is more accessible. Manufacturing is more accessible. Recording tools are more accessible. But, the goal of capturing emotion through music is still constant. The music is still the focus, the magic and the energy that keeps everything moving forward.

It will be an interesting adventure to have this album with a home base of Hawaii, rather than NYC, but so far everyone has been more than welcoming as I’m making the musical adjustment to being in Hawaii.

Thanks for supporting!

Album Update

The studio work for the upcoming album is finally finished, with the help of some great friends: super-bassist Nathan Aweau of the group Hapa, slack key guru Andy Wang and steel guitarist Trever Asam. I’m back in the studio, next week for final mixdown, then the project is off to Florida for mastering

Music and Passion

Composer Mike Post is the “Tiger Woods” of television music production. His resume includes Law and Order, Hill Street Blues, NYPD Blue and Magnum PI just to name a few. He’s produced for the likes of Van Halen, and has two pieces of music playing somewhere in the world every second of every day. His interview on Greater Good Radio is nothing short of inspiring, and in my opinion, a must listen for musicians and music fans alike. Mike has a single-minded passion for music, and his enthusiasm is contagious. You can listen to the interview HERE.

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