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View Full Version : Helping people select an instrument


rjgoos
17th August 2003, 3.10 pm
I live nowhere close to other tap guitar players, so trying to decide on an instrument was difficult.

What would have been REALLY helpful to me would be an independent web site, where MP3s could be downloaded of people playing different instruments solo (Stick, ADG-10, Megatar, etc.) in a relatively un-processed form...ideally the same song recorded with the same equipment.

I eventually did find some MP3s of solo (or near-solo) playing of the Megatar (some of Traktor's MP3s), the Stick (on Greg Howard's site), but only one recording of an ADG-10 (from Ray's site, nag champa?). Unfortunately, this was all comparing apples and oranges, because they were all processed differently, but was the best I could do.

Maybe when there is a tap instrument get-together, something like that could be done? Just a thought. I eventually got a used 10-string Stick, mostly because it was the quickest way to get started and I probably wouldn't lose much money if I sold it a year or two from now to get a different instrument.


RJ


P.S. I thought the Megatar had a very clean, lovely tone. The ADG-10 had a very jazzy melody sound and perhaps the best sustain of the three, but maybe thinner tone on the bass side than a Stick? However, it was really hard to judge the merits of these instruments based on what I could find on the internet.

rockola
18th August 2003, 7.57 am
RJ, the problem with your scenario is that it would take a lot of time and effort to do those recordings, and nobody with a financial stake in it could really do it. A tap instrument get-together IS in fact something like that, plus you get to try the instruments yourself. Someone like Wolfgang Daiss (the only player I know who has instruments by all the manufacturers mentioned) will make the instrument sound wonderful anyway. Only you can decide if the instrument FEELS right for you. I hear Belgium is nice in July...

I think you made the right decision in getting a used instrument, and you're correct about selling it if you decide to go a different route. There's quite a demand for second-hand tap guitars, in part because the manufacturers often take a long time to deliver a new order.

Jersey Ray
18th August 2003, 4.25 pm
A website like that would be interesting, but I think it would be too controversial. Just remember that there are musicians who are always trying to play the instruments that they have as well as possible, and they are presenting them in the best possible light.

Thanks for checking out my MP3, I have others up there that I made with ADG from a radio show, which feature more distortion, as I'd use with a rock band. I also have an MP3 of me playing one scriabin prelude on my Warr 11 - see touchstyle dot com. I am going to record more of these, someday...