Ira Ingber - Here Is Where

While my own music project is moving slowly forward I want to take a moment to point your attention at Ira Ingber. To quote musical luminary Van Dyke Parks, "Ira Ingber's debut album isn't really his debut album. The 'Man-Behind-The-Curtain' for artists such as Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson, Van Dyke Parks, and... 'your name here' emerges as singer/songwriter in his own right."

Ira's CD, Here is Where inspired me to pick up my own guitars after a long layoff. He sounds like he is having sooooo much fun and he makes it all seem deceptively simple. Trust me folks, it ain't as easy as it looks. It takes talent to make something extremely difficult and complex appear to be as easy as falling off a log. Follow the link above to Ira's website and listen for yourself.

You can purchase Here Is Where at CDBaby.com.

New Beginnings Sprouting From Old Roots

I was looking through my scrapbook photo album and ran across this old picture of me holding Ramblin' Jack Elliott's guitar. (You can see Jack over my shoulder reading the newspaper.)

Well, after some years away from it I find myself returning to music. I gave it up for a while to start a photography business and settle down. About the same time this picture was taken, Townes Van Zandt introduced me to a Houston lady named Rutherine. She educated me in what she called, "The Rules Of The Road." Well, I was never much good at rules but Rutherine steered me around a few obstacles with her down home wisdom. I wish just she had also warned me about the perils of New Mexico real estate... especially water issues... it's a long story... It always makes me smile when I think of Rutherine and her Rock and Roll Hotel. Sometime soon I'll do a post devoted the her "Rules of the Road" lesson.

Been getting restless to play some folk music and maybe ramble around the globe a little. Guess the wanderlust has grabbed ahold of me. No telling where it's gonna take me. In the meantime I've been doing a bunch of song writing. I'll be doing some recording soon as I get up to speed on digital audio technology. Check back here once in awhile and there may be something new here that all y'all can listen to... or maybe even a video... ya never know...

Oasis Follow Up - A Cold Dry Winter

A couple months back I wrote a review of the new Oasis guitar humidifiers. I just want to follow up here by saying that the darn things work exactly as promised. We're having the coldest driest winter in memory here in Santa Fe, New Mexico and my acoustic guitars are happy and healthy.

The guitars have even been doing some song writing recently and are rumored to be working on a CD with the artist formerly known as Alan Rogers. More on that soon. Or as my pal Ramblin' Jack Elliott says, "To be continued..."

Review: Oasis Guitar Humidifiers

Here in Santa Fe we live in the high desert. The altitude is about 7,000 feet and the humidity is generally around 20 percent. If you own an acoustic guitar you'll find it a challenge to keep it sufficiently humidified so as to prevent it from cracking. Guitar builders advise keeping your acoustic guitar in an environment of about 45 percent humidity.

The other day I observed that my 1963 Gibson LG1, an old friend, was showing a hairline crack opening up along the seam in the top of the guitar. I had been using a popular soundhole humidifier, but it failed to do the job. This motivated me to search the internet in a quest for an effective guitar humidifier.

My efforts paid off and I found the website for Oasis Guitar Humidifiers. The website features a new kind of guitar humidifier developed by guitarist Dave Hepple. I read the material on his Oasis website and also Googled the products. I found some satisfied owners recommending Oasis humidifiers in some of the guitar discussion groups on the internet. So I placed an order.

I had a question regarding my order so I called and spoke with Dave. I'm glad that I did because I learned something valuable. In addition to the standard and Plus+ (for dry climates) humidifier, he also makes a Re-Hydrator for professional use. It is for restoring badly dehydrated guitars... just the thing for my Gibson. Dave kindly included one in my order along with the Plus+ humidifiers that I purchased.

I first used the Re-Hydrator to restore the moisture in my Gibson. It took about a week and I had to replenish the moisture in the Re-Hydrator several times during that week. The crack disappeared and the top of the guitar now shows that slight arch or "belly" which is the sign of a healthy acoustic guitar. After restoring the guitar I switched to the Oasis Plus+ humidifier and it is doing an excellent job of maintaining the humidity level in the guitar.

I won't attempt to detail the technology of the Oasis guitar humidifiers here because Dave does a splendid job of that on his website. If you read his info and instructions you will have no problems. The humidifiers are safe to use with any guitar and doubly safeguarded against leakage. They utilize a special membrane which allows water vapor to pass through in such a way that the humidifier shrinks as it dries out. A quick glance will tell you when it needs to be refilled.





I highly recommend the Oasis Guitar humidifiers and also recommend the Oasis Hygrometer which is a miniature humidity gauge that fits nicely inside your guitar case. It's easy to read and accurate. If you are interested in learning more about guitar care and humidification I recommend the excellent instructional videos available free on the Taylor Guitar website.

It's a pleasure to find a product that is so well conceived and constructed with such integrity. I've used every guitar humidifier
on the market today and the Oasis Guitar humidifiers are by far the easiest to use and most effective available.

Demeter Tube Direct - A Review

The Demeter Tube Direct is a veritable sonic Swiss Army Knife for musicians. For those of you who aren't acquainted with this mainstay of studio and stage, I'm talking about the original vacuum tube direct box as designed by audio nerd par excellence and lead guitar slinger of The Heaters, James Demeter.

The DTB was originally conceived as a studio direct box. During the design process James came down with a bad case of the flu. He found himself wondering what would happen if he used a 12AX7 vacuum tube in his circuit. Sometimes delirium is the mother of invention. And so a modern pro audio classic was born.

Demeter's brain child has often been imitated but never equaled. Before he manufactured equipment Demeter paid his dues as tube amp guru to the likes of The Eagles, Bonnie Raitt, Ry Cooder, David Lindley, and many others. He knows how vacuum tubes work. I've been a tube direct user since the early days and I can't help but wonder when I see something running off a low voltage wall wart power supply and claiming to be a vacuum tube preamp. I guess there are folks who will believe anything...

My own love affair with the DTB began one day when I asked James if I could use my preamp with my newly acquired Sunrise Guitar Pickup given to me by our friend James Kaufman. Some folks will find this hard to believe but I'll swear on a motel full of Gideon Bibles that it's true... that's the first time anyone paired a Sunrise Pickup with a Demeter Tube Direct. Now it's become the reference standard for acoustic guitar amplification.

Open Mic Cancelled

After a trial month of open mics at the PD Bean we decided to abandon the project. It's a good idea and could work. It would take more time and effort to promote than I have available. If you're interested in taking over, stop by the PD Bean and talk to Dan about it.

Thanks to everyone who participated. Wish I had the time available to promote the event. It was fun for a short time, but I need to focus my time and energy on my photography business.

Open Mic at the PD Bean

Alan Rogers' Open Mic, Santa Fe's first and best open mic, returns after a long hiatus. We're thinkin' of it as the Alan Rogers Open Mic Comeback Tour.

The event kicks off July 9 at 6:00pm at the PD Bean Coffeehouse at 2411 Cerrillos Rd. in Santa Fe. Sign-ups start at 5:30.

Just like in the good old days Alan Rogers will provide sound for the talent and will fill in as needed with music and atrocious funny jokes.

Folksingers and songwriters are welcome. Because the PD Bean is a cozy venue the open mic will be limited to acoustic instruments (acoustic pickups are OK). Sorry, no drums or Marshall amp stacks.

The event is scheduled for the second and fourth Monday night of each month. Stay tuned to this blog for pictures and reports. The picture below shows your genial host and coffee bean wrangler, Dan. Come down and visit us Monday night.