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Location: atlanta | This week Australian National Radio is featuring a concert which my daughter Kaki King performed in Sydney in January. Although listed second, she's actually first on the program:
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/musicdeli/
A big reason that she loves her Adamas II 1581 can be heard 10:50 into the broadcast. The ABC audio engineers who recorded the show really nailed the low tones generated by the 1581's composite fiber top and deep bowl. In case you listen to the entire broadcast, she does the first two songs with her Hamer Newport electric, next is the 1581, followed by a song done by looping her Gretsch lap steel, and the Newport again on her encore.
She will return to Australia in November for her third tour there this year.
Kindest regards to everyone--
Dave King
Kaki's dad |
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Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | She's gotten better as a performer ... If that's possible, and her stage patter has gotten even better.
I have to agree with her about australian audiences. (But don't tell anyone I said that, shhhhh) |
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| Great performance. |
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Location: Copenhagen Denmark | Popcritic,you have a talented daughter,not only can she play well (very well indeed !!), but she "sees" a world of music that I can n`t see, I wish I had that imagination... :)
Vic |
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Posts: 153
Location: New Jersey, USA | Any clue what brand and gauge of strings KK uses on her Adamas?? I am sure she tunes way down for that floppy, piano bass sound she sometimes gets, and that must affect her choice.
Just wondering. |
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Posts: 2491
Location: Copenhagen Denmark | Originally posted by rpguitar:
Any clue what brand and gauge of strings KK uses on her Adamas?? I am sure she tunes way down for that floppy, piano bass sound she sometimes gets, and that must affect her choice.
Just wondering. ------------------------------------------------
I did Not dare to ask...but now that I`m not alone on this...is there a chance that Kaki might write-up an article for us "string fellows.. :)
Vic
..could it be a "mix"..maybe flat-tops, or even chromes for the A and low E.. |
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Location: Copenhagen Denmark | ...or maybe that would be asking too much.. |
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Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | I don't think it's so mysterious, I hear regular tuning, not way down. Maybe down a step and a half.
And as I recall from a Guitar Player article, besides regular tuning DAD and CGD, really not far removed from normal tuning, exler lights, with the E and B replaced with slighter heavier strings. |
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Posts: 584
Location: atlanta | Thanks for the kind words everybody.
I'd say an4340 has a pretty good memory. Here's an excerpt from a Sept. 2003 Frets magazine cover story interview where she discusses Adamas and her strings:
Q: Does the Ovation's round back tilt the fretboard toward you and make it easier to tap the strings?
A: That's certainly one of the advantages. But the main attraction is that the Adamas has an ability to hold incredibly low notes. I often tune my sixth string down to B-flat. Other guitars just can't carry that deep sound, but because of its carbon-fiber top, the Adamas really sings when it's detuned. I just love it.
Q: What tunings did you use on the album?
A: I used C, G, D, G, A, D for most of the record, but nowadays I drop that down a whole-step, so it's Bb, F, C, F, G, C.
Q: How did you find this tuning?
A: It's like DADGAD with the sixth and fifth strings lowered a whole-step. It's similar to a tuning I learned from Steve Baughman, a fingerstyle guitarist I met at the Swannanoa Gathering [an annual folk-arts festival and workshop series held in Asheville, NC]. He was really excited about what he calls Orkney tuning--C, G, D, G, C, D. It has a real Celtic sound. My tuning differs only on the second string.
I also use E, B, D, F#, B, D-- that's a cool sus2 tuning--as well as DADGAD. At the moment, one of my favorites is C, G, C, G, C, D. If you drop the first string a whole-step, you get a unison on the top--C, G, C, G, C, C; I was using that for awhile. There's other stuff I do that I couldn't possibly explain, because my theory isn't strong enough.
If you fall in love with a particular tuning and use it all the time, every song starts sounding similar. A good way to keep yourself from getting into that hole is to keep moving from tuning to tuning, so I'm still exploring. Open tunings feel natural to me because I grew up listening to Alex de Grassi and Michael Hedges.
Q: Do you use different string gauges for these various tunings?
A: Wouldn't that be nice! If a sell a few more records, maybe I'll be able to afford to change my string gauges, but right now, that's a dream. I use Elixir lights, which are .012-.053, but I put a .013 and a .017 on the top two strings. So it's light-gauge wound strings with medium plains.
Q: It's amazing you can take a .053 all the way down to B-flat.
A: Yeah, it's not a heavy string. It's the Adamas, I'm telling you. My strings are really loose, but they've always sounded fantastic. Plus they feel good--like playing an electric.
@2003 New Bay Media, LLC.
Frets Magazine
Guitar Player Magazine |
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Location: New Jersey, USA | Thanks; very interesting. That low string is down a tritone. Not exactly "regular tuning!" Kaki's playing style definitely demands different ergonomics. With a normal sixth string tuned down that low, either the action is reasonably high, or it's not and that's what allows her to tap easily.
The open tunings really are the secret to this sort of playing and composing. Perhaps it's hardly a secret... but I have never explored that territory so it is to me! |
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Location: atlanta | Guys, you need to check out Roger and his 1587...he can really play!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRNntBd6phI
Dave K. |
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Location: Copenhagen Denmark | -------------------------------------------------
I so Agree, with Dave K., and on top of that Roger is playing above the 12th, an area I prefer to leave well alone, unless I wear a tropical helmet, and elbow protectors, Well done Roger..!! :)
Vic
Thank you for your Kind and Swift reply Dave, I appreciate it.. :) |
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Location: New Jersey, USA | Geez, thanks guys... still trying to figure out the best way to get "my" sound outta the Adamas. It's such a unique guitar, and I thought I had tried almost everything (Yeah right. Guess not!).
Appreciate the kind words. And look for more O vids from me as the inspiration strikes. And Dave, I've been listening to lots of your daughter on U-Toob and I just bought two of her CD's. So she has another fan!
Regards |
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Why Kaki loves her Adamas II
