I have always been a fan of great music and playing instruments. For many years I was a massive fan of the guitar and still have a great collection of acoustics and electric guitars including 2 Stefan Sobell acoustics and Collings I35 electric as well as two Parker Flys. These are all top notch instruments made with great precision and capable of producing some great sounds.
Of course with electric guitars the amplification is equally important and I have some great amps including Egnater M4 hand wired modules, Two Rock, Marshall and Fender combos. Of course the tubes or valves used in these amps also make a massive difference. Old classic British tubes made by Mullard and Phillips can make a fantastic difference in how an amp can sound and I have dome many tests that demonstrate this.
Ukulele Sounds
In terms of ukuleles I have also found there is a huge difference in how these can sound acoustically and when amplified. I have a growing collection of ukes, some of which I talk about in these clips.
All these instruments have the potential to create a terrific variety of music. In terms of amplification I have already blogged about the terrific Henriksen Bud amps and how choice of cables, strings and DI boxes/pre amps can make a massive difference in the final listening experience.
There’s an old saying “You never get a second chance to make a first impression”
This is true when creating and performing music. I have realised the value of practice, practice, practice when developing a body of work. The Small Change Diaries are in the middle of recording the second album which has a number of well respected seasoned musical guests. We spend a lot of time refining and developing tracks and many folks would be amazed at the amount of time involved. The role of a producer is vital in creating recorded material and we are fortunate to have a really excellent one to work with.
Original Ukulele Artists
The OUS platform continues to gather together artists from all over the globe. The FB page has a huge variety of artists and the video and audio varies massively in quality. The official site www.originalukulelesongs.com has a page for original artists, but not everyone who applies is automatically added to this page. We look at the quality of video and the quality of the performance as well as the creativity of the artist. I always advise artists to pay attention to making sure they get the best sound and vision when submitting to the OUS site if they want to be listed.