Electric vs. Acoustic

You don't need to play acoustic guitar for forty-two years to know that electric is better. Here are 112 reasons why ツ

TraqFreq

Introducing TraqFreq™: the world's first musical instrument activity tracker that monitors playing, climate and supplies!

TraqFreq automatically tracks playing time, passages, songs, sets and much more. And it works on virtually any musical instrument that generates notes and some degree of sound.

New Fingerpick Day!

It's New Fingerpick Day! That after 15 years of usage, no filing and still perfectly fine!

So today I tried a fingerpick from my new supply. They are narrower than before, which makes them difficult to mold in hot water. I re-mold them so that I am free to touch the strings directly for multiple harmonics, tapping, percussion, etc. Yes, I wear them "wrong" - I have done so for 35 years without regret :)

That said, several years ago I switched to using bare flesh. Initially, it took more effort to project notes and produce tone, but the benefits are truly astounding. Now many fast, single note lines are easier and far more defined than when using a thumbpick. The increased exertion also greatly improves technique. And with virtually no risk of damaging the guitar top, you extend the life of your Golden Era '45 ;) It is a wonderfully liberating experience, and I have no intention of ever reverting.

Still, I just had to try these new fingerpicks for old times' sake ;)

Laguna de Cuicocha

This is Laguna de Cuicocha, an inactive caldera situated at 10,070 feet above sea level, with the Cotacachi volcano overlooking at 16,220 feet. The lake is about fifteen minutes from the center of Cotacachi.

João Pedro Grácio Bandolim

Many years ago a man in his 90's honored me with a renowned João Pedro Grácio Portuguese bandolim that was made between 1920 and 1950. I recently featured this stunning instrument in a TraqFreq product movie that was shot at lakes, mountains and above the clouds in the Andes. Below are some photographs and a rough recording of this gorgeous bandolim!

1926 Hand-painted Royal Worcester China Set

Here is my rare and exquisite 58-piece Royal Worcester porcelain set, masterfully hand-painted by Ernest Phillips and Paul Stanley in 1926, the pinnacle of the Great Gatsby era. Each individual hand-painted bouquet of flowers is enveloped by an equally elaborate gold Renaissance revival rinceau pattern, fastidiously completed by a different Royal Worcester gold decorating artist.

Here is also a close-up video of this magnificent China:

Cotacachi Videos

Announcing two new Cotacachi videos!

More Cotacachi videos

Cotacachi, Jora 2015, Pregón de Fiesta

The Uher Tapes

I am currently digitizing the audio tapes my dad recorded with his two 1964 (my birth year) Uher 4000 Report-L recorders, one of which is displayed in the photo below. I also have his second 4000L and Uher Mix-5 mixer, all of which are in perfect working order. I used this equipment many times myself while growing up, including on one of my dad's albums. In addition to a long family history this Uher also has incredible German engineering, that distinctly warm analog sound, and a built-in speaker second to none!

Akai X-330

Here is a photo of the 1969 4-track Akai X-330 that was used by the infamous Cotacachi band, Rumba Habana (1949-1979), to produce their records. This recorder is now in one of two new rooms that were opened in their honor during an event which I had the privilege of attending today at the Cotacachi museum.

Cotacachi on flickr!

Introducing a new Cotacachi flickr group! Come see my wonderful hometown :)

Nothing

First there was nothing then came the "Big Bang", so they say. While ordinarily indicative of the theory of evolution, to me that term only agrees with the moment that everything was powerfully created as the Bible reveals.

Offshore Faith

I happened across this little test recording I made while setting up one of my project studios in 2002. This was my private musical retreat situated a safe distance away but still on the same premises as the Cancer hospital my mother and I ran for eighteen years. I laid down the instrumentation with wires coming out of everywhere, tracking the improvised guitar solo in one take while bending about 45 Degrees over the studio workstation. This is as close to distortion as any unplugged acoustic guitarist can get ;)

Process: Taylor 510 > AKG C 1000 S > Logic Audio > Nuendo, with
Timeworks ReverbX on the guitar and Waves TrueVerb on the drums > sampling and MIDI programming.

► More Recordings

Martin 000X1 Review

[Updated November 2019]

In 2008 I chose a Brunner Outdoor Guitar Deluxe over the 000X1 for travel purposes, but I still maintain that this could be Martin's best fingerstyle guitar below $1k and even somewhat higher. Regardless of the HPL back and sides and absence of finery. To my ear it is very well balanced with sweet and substantial first and second strings, making it more ideal for fingerstyle. Strong fundamentals from these two strings with enough overtones are mandatory for me nowadays, and the primary reason I consider the 000-28EC, OM-42 and 00-28 to be the ultimate fingerstyle guitars in Martin's lineup. The updated 000X1AE also has a more comfortable 1 3/4" nut, as does the new 2020 000-X2E equivalent, with more refinements.

Music on a Biblical Scale

Call it open honesty or religious ideology, here are my theological views on "secular music".

Copyright ©2010 by Earl Goedvolk. All rights reserved.

Permission is hereby granted to freely read, copy, distribute, print and store this material with the express condition that without written permission from the author, (1), neither this article nor any portion thereof be sold or associated with any product, service or work; (2), this work remains fully complete and unmodified; (3), this dissertation is circulated, held in reserve and reproduced only in its entirety and original form. If you wish to incorporate portions of this manuscript where distribution conditions are different, please write the author to request permission.

Scriptural quotations are from the King James Version Bible. Italic, underscore and upper-case letters have been added for emphasis by the writer.

My Name

It's much easier than it looks! 

In case you're wondering, I am posting this because Ecuadorians generally struggle to pronounce my name when in fact it's really simple... compared to my surname ;) So for clarification, below is a recording of me pronouncing my name in English and Spanish. By the way, "Earl" is "Conde" in Spanish.