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Split
Saddles
Q What kinds of pickups
are available for guitars with split saddles?
Rob Bruce
Atlanta, Georgia
A Guitars that have split-saddle
bridges, such as Lowden steel-strings and some Takamines, present
an obvious roadblock when you’re installing standard under-saddle
pickups. Fortunately, several manufacturers offer systems that are
either specifically designed for split saddles or can be easily
modified to work in these guitars.
Two popular pickups, EMG’s AT125 and Fishman’s Acoustic Matrix,
have long been available in split-saddle versions, and both have
been used by Lowden as factory-installed options. Both systems use
two pickups of different lengths, one for each saddle, requiring
the drilling of two holes for the pickup wires (new Lowdens are
now shipped with these holes pre-drilled at the factory).
EMF recently introduced a version of its B-Band pickup made for
split-saddle guitars. Designed as a single, Z-shaped element, the
B-Band eliminates the need for two separate pickups.
Due to its flexibility, Highlander’s coaxial pickup design also
lends itself to use with split-saddle guitars. With this system,
there are two options. One pickup can be routed along the two saddle
slots (which, as with the B-Band, will have to be modified slightly
to create a single channel), or a system consisting of two independent
pickups can be special-ordered. According to Highlander’s Bob Wolstein,
it is important that the two pickups are the same length in order
to keep a balanced output signal.
A final option is custom-building a split-saddle pickup with two
L.R. Baggs Ribbon Transducers. Lloyd Baggs advises that a brand-new
razor blade be used to cut the individual pickups to length and
that the pickup be held upright while it’s being cut. It’s important
not to pinch the pickup, as there is a risk of shorting it out.
After cutting, the ends should be sealed with a drop of superglue.
The two pickups then have to be soldered to a mini-plug that will
connect them to the internal preamp. If doing this kind of modification
yourself makes you nervous, you can order a custom pickup directly
from L.R. Baggs.
—Teja Gerken
Fingerpicking
Christmas
Q Where can I find arrangements
of standard Christmas carols for solo fingerstyle guitar?
Mark Lucas
Mesa, Arizona
A Mel Bay Publications offers
a large and varied selection of fingerstyle transcriptions of Christmas
music. These collections favor the old standards, but there are
also a few anthologies of lesser-known gems. Portraits of Christmas
for Fingerstyle Guitar is a book-and-CD sampler featuring familiar
offerings from fingerstyle masters such as Alex de Grassi, Ed Gerhard,
Laurence Juber, and Muriel Anderson. Other Mel Bay holiday collections
include International Carols for Acoustic Guitar by Boguslaw
Przbylski, Carols of the British Isles by Jamey Bellizzi,
A Scottish Christmas for Guitar by Al Petteway, and Ancient
Christmas Music for Acoustic Guitar by Gerard Garno. These last
three books have companion CDs available so that you can hear the
arrangements played on the guitar. Get the details from Mel Bay
online at www.melbay.com,
or call (800) 8-MEL-BAY.
A Guitar for Christmas is classical artist Liona Boyd’s
contribution to the season. Pick up her book at your local music
store or read more about it at www.halleonard.com.
Mark Hanson’s Fingerstyle Nöel (with a companion CD)
includes some nice arrangements of traditional favorites for solo
guitar. Hanson has also filmed a two-volume Fingerstyle Christmas
Guitar instructional video set for the intermediate to advanced
player. Both collections are available from Accent on Music via
the Web at www.accentonmusic.com
or by phone at (800) 313-4406.
El McMeen’s Christmas Carols and Songs for Fingerstyle Guitar
uses the video format to illustrate his unusual voicings, special
techniques, and arrangements of yuletide melodies. It’s available
from Stefan Grossman’s Guitar Workshop, www.guitarvideos.com
or (973) 729-5544. Another video collection is Fingerstyle Christmas
with Rick Ruskin (Vols. 1 and 2), published by Video Progressions.
Call (800) 243-4335 or visit www.videoprogressions.com/fingerxmas.htm
on the Web.
—Paul Kotapish
Holding a
Flatpick
Q I’ve heard that the
proper way to hold a pick is to curl your index finger and place
your thumb over it, but I don’t do that. Will the way I hold my
pick hurt me later on when I get to playing more difficult stuff,
or is it more important to be comfortable?
Rob Pala
Waldwick, New Jersey
A There is no one proper
way to hold a flatpick, although the way you describe is probably
the most common and seems to work well for most people. I’ve heard
plenty of great musicians with unusual pick grips, however, including
Dan Crary, who holds his pick with three fingers. The two most important
things are that your arm and hand be relaxed and fluid and that
you get the tone you want out of your instrument. You may want to
consult a teacher, who can watch you and see if the way you hold
the pick is going to work for everything you might eventually want
to do with it. Many people gradually adjust the way they hold the
pick as they progress and as they determine what kind of sound they
want out of the guitar. Minor variations in the way the pick strikes
the string have a lot to do with the tone that is produced, and
varying right-hand attack is usually easier, more productive, and
cheaper than buying a new guitar. So yes, if it feels and sounds
good to you, you’re doing it right!
—Scott Nygaard
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