Question: Best year of strat ?
1964. Something about the neck profiles. You have a better shot at a magical '64 than any other year.
Q: Have you ever named any of your guitars?
The only reason I name guitars is so that I can request them from tech/storage. So they end up being really intuitive names. Black 1 is from my saying "Can I get the black one?" Other names: 64, 52 tele, Super Eagle Solid, Pink Jackson, Silver 594. But never been like "I'll name you 'Bruce Lee!'"
Q: Tips on how to bend to the perfect note
Bending is one of the few things you can't master without hundreds of hours of it. Listen while you play. Keep trying to hit the right pitch. Your ears will get better as your playing does. Your should always be leading your playing. My ears are waaaay better than my hands. My ears know where my playing should be. My ears are very seldom satisfied.
Q: cheap guitar and good amp, or good guitar and cheap amp?
The answer isn't up for debate: good feel is good tone. Give me the good guitar.
Q: Have you ever kissed one of your guitars ?
This is a brilliant question. YES. It's not all that uncommon. I have also been known to lovingly pat them. That's so funny. Yes. I have kissed my guitars. Some of them have been around the me for 20 year.
Q: Why vintage radius over 9.5 of compound?
I don't care all that much. Most players I talk to don't either. My two favorite guitars at the moment have a 7.25" and a 14-16" compound radius! I can switch between them and not miss a beat. I just found that I liked 7it .25" on more guitars than any other radius.
Q: Do you ever sand down the neck of your guitars?
Sometimes when I'm feeling crafty. 400 grit sandpaper helps take some of the tack down if the lacquer is a little too thick.
Q: What inspired the change to using a pick less?
Several years ago I realized I could get more touch sensitivity using a certain combo of finger tip/nail. But i switch off with pick all the time. Sometimes I'll play a whole @deadandcompany show without a pick and not even realize it.
Q: Favorite scale and key?
It took me years and years to figure out that my favorite keys are based on the string tension. I LOVE the middle of the neck where the string has the most even "give" on either side of the note. A through D. I bet you might say the same
Q: What is the best decision you made on the Silver Sky and what would you change now?
Best decision: pickguard shape. I worked on that for a long time.
Okay let's real-talk this: if I knew the radius was gonna turn some people into a spec-wreck, I probably would have gone 9.5" radius? It seems to matter to them more than me?
Q: Do you have perfect pitch?
I have perfect relative pitch. I can hear a note in my head like a high E and then work from there. I can sing almost any song in the right key without having to hear it. But as for calling out notes in a chord, nerp.
Q: Do you normally improvise your live solos or are they rehearsed?
Always improvised. I try ad practice enough to know where the places I want to go are and how to get there. I do advance scouting.Pit it that way. But the top of the mountain is speaking in fluent improvised melodic expression. That's the final chapter in the workbook. I'm still studying that.
Q: When your tone is too trebly do you Turn the treble down or Turn the bass up
GOOD QUESTION
This is a problem that has plagued no people for zero years. You would take down the thing you have too much of.
[in a later post]
Okay one more post. I thought about this question more. All ribbing aside...
If you have too much treble and turn up the bass you'll still have too much treble. They affect different areas of the frequency spectrum and adding one doesn't pull from the other.
Because if you have too much treble and bring the bass up to compensate, well now you don't have enough mids. This issue comes up a lot in mixing. You can't just keep turning everything up.
This is called the Henderson-Flannery Principle.
Okay fine I made that last part up
Q: How would you describe playing on stage with the Dead?
Art class
Q: What new material are you work on?
I'm using the studio as a bit of a research lab. Lots of failed tests. Been driving home with the radio off staring out at the road all straight faced and bummed. But I'm determined to find that next level of expression both in the way the music sounds and what the messafe is. It's a funny time in the world and there's a lot of spiritual and intellectual radio interference. It's a challenging time to make honest art, because if there was a song that summed up the collective consciousness of the world it would be called something like "Can't We All Just Fucking Cry Already?"
Just looking for FRESH WOW
I'll get there
Thanks for playing!
Genuinely appreciate you