I enjoyed the article on the Pretenders Chrissie Hynde (Hynde Sight, June). With all of the experience that she has, she is not a very technical person and does not read music. This gives me hope that I too can have fun while not knowing everything from hammer-ons to what string gauge is best. Hynde shows us this in simple terms as she simply loves music.
Maury Estabrooks
Costa Mesa, California
I would like to correct some information given in the June Gearbox. The acoustic pickups used by Chrissie Hynde on the Pretenders Isle of View recording were made by Mike Vanden of Scotland and are marketed under the brand name Mimesis. I actually did the pickup installation and guitar setup work for the recording, but I did not make the pickups as stated. The current Mimesis models consist of a magnetic soundhole pickup with an integral preamp, a three-volt lithium battery, and a blend system where this pickup is combined with an AKG mic on a mini-gooseneck. Both systems have noise canceling circuitry for the magnetic pickups, and the blend system has a variable mic/magnetic mixing facility. Vanden can be contacted at the Old School, Strontian, Acharacle, Argyll, Scotland PH36 4JA.
Bill Puplett
Harrow Weald, England
Id like to contribute to Kristina Olsens great article on The Unfriendly Skies (Shoptalk, June) by adding that you can avoid the perils of the baggage goons altogether by gate checking. You carry your guitar to the gate, and if they will not let you board the plane with it, you can check the instrument there and watch them carry it down to the baggage compartment. Always specify that you want the pressurized compartment so that your ax can ride in comfort with Fifi. At the other end, you pick your guitar up at the gate. The only downside is that you usually have to wait at your arrival gate long after everyone else has moved on their merry way. I hate flying my guitars, but I have found this routine to work pretty well.
Kent Everett
Atlanta, Georgia
I enjoyed your story on the Gibson J-200 (Stetsons and Stage Lights, May). I think we should also mention the name of Elton Britt among the many singer-guitarists who used the flattop Gibson guitars. Elton featured his Gibson on Bluebird and RCA Victor recordings and his live radio broadcasts out of New York City. He was quite popular on the East Coast from the late 30s to the mid-50s. His recording of Theres a Star-Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere won the first Gold Record award. He was also known as the worlds highest yodeler.
Lou Stebner
Newton, New Jersey
I totally agree with reader Dave Martins recent criticism of Mike Marshalls article about home recording (Bringing It All Back Home, March). How about some help for those of us who wont be cutting a CD but would like to make a good-quality tape using tools we have on hand? I think I speak for a majority of readers in saying my goal is to simply make a good, clean field recording without overdubs, special effects, or hours of mixing, but with a full frequency response and minimal noise.
John A. Wolfe
Fort Collins, Colorado
I cant help commenting on a letter from Dave Martin regarding his amazement by the lack of depth in Mike Marshalls fine article on home recording. It is important for anyone truly interested in the art and science of recording to know what the state of the art is and to have some experience hearing recordings made with and played back over the very best equipment. And the article included plenty of tips that would be useful to those whose equipment budget is on the lower side of the scale. However amazing the results might be with an ADAT, a small mixer, and a little outboard gear, those results might be even more amazing if some of Mr. Marshalls recording ideas (not necessarily exact equipment) were used. The one piece of advice that really stands out is the use of separate mic preamps. Mic preamps in mixers are notorious for being crappy, and the sound you get on tape will only be as good as the mic and preamp.
Instead of buying an ADAT (not cheap), a mixer, and outboard gear, why not get a really good stereo mic preamp, a couple of great mics, and a two-track analog or DAT machine and record in a great acoustic space? Listen to most of Harvey Reids recordings or to anything on Water Lily Acoustics--straight to two-track. My point is that there are a lot of different ways to spend money on recording, and if you want to do multitrack on the cheap, youve made a qualitative choice about how your recording will sound.
The best recordings Ive heard were made with the shortest signal chain possible using the fewest pieces of the highest quality equipment the recordists could afford. Thats what Mr. Marshall was doing, and I thought he conveyed the process very well.
Rick Turner
Topanga, California
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