I was going through my iPhoto collection last night and I came across some interesting pictures and videos.

This one video I could not understand. We were closing out a rehearsal before an evening event. My son, who was 16 or 17 at the time was on bass.

And he started jamming on an MJ tune. Was it the hall? The balloons? What caused this bizarre behaviour?

What troubled me most is why I chose to encourage him by playing along. My amp never sounded the same after that song.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3m5xiMKtzL4[/youtube]

Roger Linn sent me an email yesterday. He has released the AdrenaLinn III. Hard to describe this little unit. The AdrenaLinn III is part guitar effects, amp simulator and drum machine all wrapped up into one box. Not the sturdiest device for a floor box but an interesting unit to have for studio work.

I can upgrade my existing AdrenaLinn II by switching out a few chips. More information about the AdrenaLinn III here.

There should be a law against the G sharp diminished 7 chord. I am playing acoustic guitar this coming Sunday. And I have to play that chord. Yuck. Other awkward fingerings for this chord can be found here.

I have agreed to take on a student. At least for a little while. And not a second engineer. I am helping a musician on bass guitar.

I remember when I first started working at a recording studio. I was an apprentice serving as a second engineer but in reality I was a gopher. I did all of the heavy lifting when it came to documenting console and outboard settings, running tape and a myriad of other activities. But I learned a lot from the recording engineer. He helped to accelerate my knowledge of recording. How to get the sweet spot of an instrument with a microphone. How to capture the best possible sound.

I was playing with a bassist last week and it was clear to me that he had a passion for the instrument and that he could really benefit from some teaching. The problem is that there are so few good bass teachers in our community. So, I asked him to come out to my recording studio this week-end and I will spend some time helping him to improve on his instrument.

To me, a strong intermediate bassist has achieved the following objectives:

• Tone: the ability to use their hands and their equipment to produce a musical sound
• Technique: the ability to leverage the fretboard
• Tempo: the ability to play in time and in the pocket
• Taste: the ability to enhance and create excitement in the music
• Team: the ability to be part of a unit and to pull a groove together

I’ll be starting with a passionate beginner and I will hopefully give him a roadmap to develop his talent in these five areas.

I have recorded some of the best bassists in Canada and I find that these advanced players are able to achieve a voice to their instrument. They have an amazing ability to bring an instrument to life.

Bass guitar is a wonderful instrument. And the Pedulla Thunderbass pictured below is also a wonderful instrument.

Andy McKee is an amazing fingerstyle player. I have been spending the last two weeks getting myself up to speed with some of these accomplished fingerstyle guitarists. I decided to work on a couple of pieces and, even for the advanced player, some of these arrangements are very challenging.

One of the tunes I am working on, Drifting, is available on YouTube here. For those of you who play, you can try the tab here. Be warned however. He makes it seem easy to play the song. But learning his tapping and fingerstyle technique is a little more involved.

A friend passed me a note on a fingerstyle player named Pete Huttlinger. You can see him play a live version of Stevie Wonder’s Superstition here. Very nice.

He is quite accomplished with an impressive bio. You can learn more about Pete and his music here.

Lots of guitar players putting themselves up on You Tube. This one is worth a listen if you enjoy a groovin’ acoustic guitar instrumental.

See it here.

I was reading through Taylor’s Wood and Steel newspaper and I came across an interesting bit of trivia: how many logs are used to build acoustic guitars?

Turns out a very small number.

An average spruce tree can provide between 2,500 to 5,000 guitar tops. Taylor, Martin and a few other guitar manufacturers, go through about 150 spruce logs a year. That accounts for 80 percent of the North American acoustic guitar industry.

A lone lumber sawmill in the Northwest will cut the same number of logs in one shift for furniture, cabinets, construction, etc.

In addition to about 150 spruce logs a year for the tops, add another 300 or so logs for sides and backs.

In terms of volume, Taylor made 62,000 guitars last year.