As a new student of Gypsy Jazz I have two guitars at my disposal, one of which is a National Tricone. My notes sound great on this instrument, but since I'm changing my way of picking to the "rest-stroke," I can no longer dampen the strings with the side of my hand as I could with my other technique. So when I play single note leads I hear lots of unwanted overtones.
I know Oscar Aleman used a Tricone in his earlier days, but his picking technique was obviously not traditional gypsy since he used fingerpicks. What can I do to reduce the resonance of the strings that are not being played? Any suggestions from Tricone and non-Tricone players will be appreciated.
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When I play an archtop, I can't help but play Charlie Christian riffs, or Allan Reuss chord solos. When I play a Selmac or a Tricone, I can't help but play Django-y stuff. (By the way, I have no problem with the muting of open strings on resonator or any other guitar, but I also do not use the rest-stroke technique)
Let the guitar be your guide, and don't worry about the orthodoxy. Or, play a different guitar.
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I've got a single-cone new-National myself, and was a fan of both Aleman and Django when I got it. Trying to play it with rest-stroke technique and Django's idoms did prove frustrating to me, and eventually I decided I had to get a Selmac. The ringing strings and overtones were a problem, as was the 'biscuit' cover getting in the way. Also, with my singlecone, sometimes sophisticated chord harmonies and ballad playing are hard to get across as sweetly as I would like. On the other hand, nothing barks out like my resonator guitar, and in the hands of a talented player, it would probably kill on uptempo rhythm tunes.
Aleman was playing his tricone before electric jazz guitars were commonly owned by pros, much less commonly owned period. (George Barnes, Les Paul, maybe Eddie Durham and one or two others were using them professionally). Resophonics were (like Maccafferi's D-hole with internal resonator) an attempt to solve the volume problem guitarists were having in the 1930s. As cool as they are in contexts like blues and Hawaiian music, they haven't been taken up by any swing guitarists save Aleman that I've heard of. And Aleman himself did not return to playing tricones after he left Europe.
I agree with Jonathan S. that if you want to swing out on your tricone, don't limit yourself to Gypsy picking and the floating right hand. You'll have to work with the limitations of the instrument and come up with some hybrid technique.
Neil
That's why I own more than one guitar anyway. Not only for different sounds, but even different set ups are important; high action for my slide guitar and lower action for more traditional playing. So until I get my first Selmac, I will use my flattop for gypsy playing
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I'm a fan of both Oscar Aleman and Ikey Robinson, who played jazz on resophonic instruments, and I've been considering buying one.
So I need somebody to talk me into it, or perhaps out of it!
Will
Edgar Degas: "Only when he no longer knows what he is doing does the painter do good things.... To draw, you must close your eyes and sing."
Georges Braque: "In art there is only one thing that counts: the bit that can’t be explained."
I love the sound of a reso. damping on a round neck would better done with the left hand more a la rhythm if you flat pick although it is possible to right hand damp just in front of the bridge cover.
They sound better to my ear with metal finger picks but thats just a personal thing.....and that is how I suspect I would choose to play one.
What kind of tricone are you looking at?
I have one of those Asian cheapos which is actually pretty cool but I never play it.
What type of strings would be best on a tricone?
My first question is: which would,sound better for flat picking, a metal body or a wooden body?
Second question: I notice some models have a cutaway so you can reach the higher frets... is that a desirable feature?
Will
PS Michael, I did a google image search hoping to see Greg Ruby's custom reso, but no luck...
Edgar Degas: "Only when he no longer knows what he is doing does the painter do good things.... To draw, you must close your eyes and sing."
Georges Braque: "In art there is only one thing that counts: the bit that can’t be explained."