Kaos held our annual recital for our students yesterday at the Assembly Hall. Although the recital is a lot of work for the staff, myself included, it is always a rewarding day. Rewarding because we get to see the students efforts come to fruition through their performance. As a (wannabe) musician it is always inspiring to see the performances from kids, teens and adults of all talents and genres. For them to overcome gitters and perform in a venue in front of dozens of people is very encouraging. The broad range of music and instrumentation makes the recital a diverse and engaging experience. This year’s recital seemed to go exceptionally smooth with few glitches and finer than usual performances.

As most people would know, the recent scheduled Radiohead show in Toronto was cancelled due to a tragic accident when part of the massive stage complex collapsed. The accident claimed the life of Radiohead’s drum tech, Scott Johnson. This was the last show on their North American tour. I ,like forty thousand others, was on my way to the concert when I heard the news and was left in disbelief. In the days after, one is left with a lot of ‘what if’s and ‘how could’s’. What if the band had started the show? How could this have happened on a beautiful, clear and calm night? It’s also easy to get frustrated on not getting the chance to see one of the best live bands.

Collapsing stage complexes have happened in the past, usually at outdoor events when a stage is being modified for a non-traditional type venue such as Downsview Park. However, they are rare and usually the result of unforeseeable circumstances or a freak accident. Radiohead have always tried to push the boundaries with their music, mediums and live shows including the venues they play. I believe this tragedy shouldn’t impact trying to hold these events at outdoor venues, as they usually end up being tremendous shows free from the stuffy and poor sounding confines of a stadium. Obviously something needs to be learned from this, but stopping or banning these shows would be futile.

In the end one is left to reflect on the tragedy, the loss of life, the unpredictable perils of a job someone had done countless times before.

I thought I would do a short blog on the capo. Capo is short for the Italian word capotasto - ‘head of fretboard’ and dates back to the early 17th century. James Ashborn is known to design the first patented capo in Connecticut. The main use of the capo is to raise the pitch of the fretted instrument with the intention of using different fingerings in a certain key than would be played in an ‘open’ position. This can make chord and fingering changes easier while also providing a different tonal character.

There are a few different styles of capos and various different mechanisms used to clamp it to the fretboard. The most common types consist of a rubber covered bar that presses against the strings towards the fretboard while being clamped on the neck with either a strap (‘strap-on’ capo), or by a screw clamp or tension clamp (‘clamp capo’). The size will also vary according to the instrument being used such as a banjo capo, mandolin capo, classical capo (will be slightly longer and flatter than an acoustic capo), electric guitar capo, etc.

Some popular capo manufacturers include Kyser, Shubb, Dunlop, Planet Waves and G 7th.

Summer is the ideal time for the acoustic guitar as it’s great to strum it in the backyard, on the balcony, at the campfire or on the dock. With the growing popularity of the ukulele it seems our summer could become the time of the uke. Hawaii is the birthplace of the ukulele so we associate it with a laid back, easy going attitude in a hot and tropical climate. Because they are so portable the ukulele makes an ideal instrument for bringing on a road trip or packing it for the cottage or camping. They are also a load of fun to play in groups.

We recently received our order of Kala and Makala ukuleles from California. This is a popular brand due to the quality, price point and extensive range in styles. They come in a variety of colours and designs as well as a variety of tone wood choices.

Happy uke playing .. Jay

I recently picked up a used ipad 1st generation to fool around with and have been quite pleased with it. My main application for it will be to record music ideas on the go. I have been researching music apps and was a bit overwhelmed by the choice. The app choices seem to be (at this time anyways) to be catered towards the novice musician or hobbyist wanting to do basic recording with minimal pro features. The other is for the hip hop/dj person wanting to create beat driven songs with loops, synths etc. These programs range from a scaled down Garageband to MusicStudio and Beatmaker. There are a number of great standalone programs for drum machines, synths and dj tools. The problem is integrating these with the host program to put together a complete song. It involves a lot of importing and exporting of files and using multiple programs.

For someone like myself looking for a more pro app with all the recording, instruments and fx built into one app we are out of luck at the moment. This is due to a lack of development and the limitations of the power and technology of the ipad. There are some developers that will be introducing a more sophisticated music app in the near future. These apps promise to integrate pro daw features with VST technology built into the app. Auria is one app that I have my eye on that promises to deliver all of the above. It won’t be long before the likes of Steinberg, Logic and Avid produce similar products.

Looking forward to that .. Jay

Yamaha has updated two of the world’s most sold acoustic electric guitars in the APX500 ii and APX700ii. This thin-line series offers a comfortable, easy top-fret access guitar that is perfect for the stage with bright clear mids, balanced highs and controlled lows. They have a surprisingly full and natural tone for a thin body acoustic with a specially designed non scalloped bracing design that allows the guitars to sing.

The big difference between the 700 vs the 500 is that the 700 has a solid Spruce top and an upgraded pickup system in the A.R.T. which is designed to capture the guitars full body resonance.

APX 500ii specs: Under $300!
APX 700ii specs: Under $600!

Top: Spruce
Back: Nato
Side: Nato
Neck: Nato
Fingerboard: Rosewood
Bridge: Rosewood
Body Depth: 80-90mm (3 1/8" - 3 9/16")
Nut Width: 43mm (46mm APX700ii)
String Length: 634mm
Tuners: Die-Cast Chrome
Preamp: System 65 (System 64 1-way ART)

Yamaha classics that will continue to amaze.

Over the past five years or so the harmonica or harp has made a comeback and is as popular as ever. Many guitar players are taking it up as an accompaniment with their guitar playing ala Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, etc. A common question asked is what harmonica key they should get. Ideally you would have a number of diatonic harps in different keys to accommodate different songs. Diatonic versus chromatic harps are more common as they are a bit easier to play, less expensive and easier to master as an accompaniment to guitar. The below chart will give you an idea for a key selection guide.

Song Harmonica

E A
A D
D G
G C
C F
F Bb
B E
Bb Eb

Looking at this guide you can see why different harps would be needed, but it is important to remember that the majority of singer/songwriter songs, especially songs that one would be playing say acoustic guitar with a harp would fall into a few common keys: E, G, C, and A. The trouble with this is that as soon as a capo is used the key gets shifted to more uncommon keys such as F# or Bb for example. Thus again the need for more than one harp to accommodate.

We recently received the new DCPA5K acoustic guitar from Martin that we are excited about. It follows in the same series as the CPA1, 3 and 4. It is an affordable performing artist series guitar that still has a great sound with quality electronics on board. It has a solid Sitka spruce top with Koa pattern HPL back and sides. The neck is Martin’s trademarked high pressure neck that is very stable and the pickup system is a Fishman F1.

Fantastic guitar!

Jay ..

Ukuleles have seen a resurgence in popularity in the last few years. This has been due to a number of youtube uke playing sensations as well as elementary schools starting to use them in music class in place of the dated recorder.

Martin are obviously well known for their fantastic acoustic guitars but they also happen to make outstanding ukuleles as well.

The S1 is a soprano sized uke with top, back and sides crafted with solid genuine mahogany. It also has a dovetail neck. It has a very warm and rich tone for a soprano.

The C1K is a concert size uke that features top, sides and back with solid Hawaiian Koa, a wood native to Hawaii and a favourite among the great Hawaiian players. It has a dovetail neck joint as well. It is a beautiful sounding ukulele with great punch and even tone throughout.

The T1K is the bigger sister of the C1K with matching specs but in a bigger size giving it more bass and a louder sound.

All three of these Ukes are priced under $600 making them an affordable top quality ukulele.

Jay ..

There are various types of guitar humidifiers on the market. They range in type, price and form. It is just a matter of picking the right one for your application and preference.

The most common type are:

Planet Waves GH Stringed Instrument Care

Planet Waves’ acoustic guitar humidifier keeps your guitars from drying out, even in the driest conditions. The moisture reservoir is suspended inside the body. The system releases moisture evenly and slowly without touching the instrument. A high absorption sponge maintains proper humidity levels and is quick and easy to refill.

Protects your guitar from drying out without damaging the finish.
Suspended by the strings, never touches the guitar body.
No clips or fasteners which can scratch the guitar finish.
Exclusive non-drip design releases moisture evenly and slowly.

Oasis OH-1 Original Guitar Humidifier

The Blue Oasis Guitar Humidifier is made from a specially designed fabric that allows water vapor (but not water) to pass through it. As water evaporates, the Oasis shrinks to compensate for the loss of water. By monitoring the shrinkage, you will know when it’s time to refill.

You can see when Oasis is ready for refill.
Long lasting humidification.
Won’t leak due to overfilling.
Two levels of leak protection.
Stabilized to never touch the guitar’s body.

Panet Waves Humidipak System

The Planet Waves Humidipak Kit lets you maintain a constant 45% humidity level for your instrument, giving you peace of mind and an easy-to-use system. The Humidipak Kit gives you a true "2-way" humidity control, keeping a steady percentage by adding or depleting moisture as necessary.


Planet Waves Humidipak Kit Instrument Humidifier Features:
True two-way humidity control
Maintains constant 45%RH within instrument case
No water, no drips, no mess
Long lasting, maintenance-free design

Herco Guitar Humidifier

This guitar humidifier is a clay-filled plastic container that is ideal for guitars, clarinets, violins, cellos, and any other wood instrument that needs help to prevent drying out and cracking.

A common misunderstanding with customers at Kaos is the importance of proper humidity levels and your guitar, especially solid top or all solid acoustic guitars. Due to our drastic temperature and humidity changes here in Ontario it is especially a concern. The ideal recommended humidity level for your guitar is between 45 and 55 percent. Below 40 percent and your guitar is in danger of being too dry and this can lead to a number of problems from fret buzz and sharp frets to cracks in the wood. You should be concerned with this from September to May, as these tend to be our driest months. The best way to deal with this is to keep a humidifier in the case or in the soundhole of the guitar. Alternatively, you could keep a humidifier unit in the room with the guitar(s) if you keep them on a stand. Having a humidity gauge will help you keep the proper humidity level. Overall, being concerned with humidity will not only prolong the life or your guitar but keep it playing at an optimal level.

Next blog I will go over some specific humidifying options for your acoustic.

Last Friday Lou and myself were lucky to see Daniel Lanois and Brian Blade perform at the Great Hall basement in a recorded show by the CBC. It was a show to cap off his introduction into the Canadian Hall of Fame the week before. Lanois, as most of you will know him, is the producer behind countless master albums by U2, Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, the list goes on. He is also a great songwriter and accomplished guitar and pedal steel player. Brian Blade has become his go to drummer and is simply one of the best there is. It was an intimate show that featured a lot of Lanois’ classic songs from the past (the Maker, Marie Claire, the Messenger) as well as some of his new instrumental pieces that push the boundaries of music.. He always puts on an incredible show that leaves everyone amazed and thinking about the show for weeks after. This show, because of its intimacy and importance, was especially amazing. If you haven’t seen him yet, it is worth making the effort as you will become a fan for life.

Also, thanks to one of our customers Stuart Foran (who worked with Lanois briefly at Grant Ave. Studio in Hamilton) we got a chance to meet the man after the show. He is a sweet guy, very modest and humble. A true genius and a Canadian icon.

http://music.cbc.ca/#/blogs/2012/3/Video-Daniel-Lanois-performs-Fire-live-at-the-Great-Hall

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One of our favourite guitars at Kaos is the Sheryl Crow signature Country Western guitar. The story behind this guitar is that back in 1999 she brought her 1962 Country Western to Gibson and wanted them to recreate it for her with some modern appointments. Gibson decided to take it one step further and issue a signature series model in the Gibson lineup. The result is a modern recreation that morphs the designs from the Country Western as well as the Hummingbird and J45. It’s a square shoulder style with a sitka spruce top, mahogany sides and back, X bracing, indian rosewood fretboard, 20 frets, vintage white buttons and L.R Baggs element pickup.

It has a great look and plays and sounds like a dream. We stock this guitar regularly but because it is so popular we sometimes find ourselves waiting for our next one to come in. Nonetheless, please drop in some time to try it for yourself, it really is fantastic. You can get a better look and sound of it on our website from a product video I did on the guitar. Click here to view

Thanks .. Jay Read More...

Three of Martins’ most famous guitars’, the legendary D28, HD28 and the HD28V, are models people often compare and sometimes confuse. They are all exceptional guitars with top of the line features and the amazing sound you expect from Martin. The differences are in the fine details. All the guitars have solid sitka spruce top with solid east Indian rosewood sides and back and solid black ebony fingerboard. The main difference between the three are in the bracing patterns. The D-28 has a stiffer standard ‘x’ pattern which produces an even, mid level volume, while the HD28 has a more flexible scalloped pattern in a stiffer location (compared to the HD28V) resulting in a slightly louder and boomier sound. Finally, the HD28V has a scalloped bracing pattern shifted up towards the soundhole (found in vintage models) making the top even more flexible resulting in an even louder tone. The different bracing patterns do not necessarily make one model better than the other, just different and will depend on the player and his/her preference in sound.

The HD28 and V come with a herringbone top inlay that gives the two a more fancy look than the more simple D28. The HD28V also comes with Gotoh nickel open geared tuners with butterbean knobs (as opposed to standard chrome closed tuners on the D28/HD28) to give it more of a vintage look.

All three are fantastic guitars that have become classics.

Thanks for reading .. Jay

In this blog I am going to list and discuss some pickups available from Seymour Duncan. Seymour Duncan are more known for their popular electric guitar pickups but they also make quality acoustic pickups. They offer both quick mount and installed/removable and installed/permanent systems as well as both active and passive types. Each has advantages/disadvantages. It really depends on the player/guitar and price range. Obviously the more features and higher specs (as well as being active) will be significantly more expensive but will also sound a lot better.

Seymour Duncan

Putting a microphone in front of an acoustic guitar live has always been a troubling way to amplify the guitar. Inconsistencies in volume, feedback and muddiness usually result. The best way is to put a pickup in the guitar. This is the easy part, the hard part is deciding what pickup is right for you and the guitar. These days there are a number of pickup options from active and passive pickups to installed and quick mount pickups.

Passive pickups will have no preamp and therefore will not require a battery, while active systems will have a preamp section either in the tail end at the input or,if it is a sound hole pickup, in the pickup itself. These will require a battery. The benefits of the active system is that it will have a volume control and will generally have more output and clarity. They will also cost more.

Quick mount pickups are acoustic pickups that can be slotted in and out of the sound hole as desired with no modifications to the guitar. The benefits are that no modifications need to be performed on the guitar and it can be removed when not needed. The negatives are that they tend not to be as nice or detailed sounding (with the exception of some costly top end models) and a dangling cable has to be dealt with. Quick mount pickups are almost exclusively passive.

Installed pickup systems are the most common and can either be passive or active. The pickup is either a sound hole type or an under saddle type. The input jack needs to be mounted at the bottom of the guitar (usually where the strap button is) and a small hole needs to be drilled under the saddle if it is an under saddle type.

Next blog I will talk about some specific systems.

Two new guitars that we are excited about are the GPCPA4 and the DCPA4 from Martin. They are less expensive sister models of the amazing GPCPA1 and DCPA1. They are a slightly scaled down version but still have the solid construction, playability, and sound that one expects from a Martin guitar. Martin has made a push to enter the electro-acoustic market that has taken off in the past 5 years. By using more sustainable woods like the sapele (very similar in tone to mahogany) and a more streamlined Fishman pickup system, they are able to bring a more affordable guitar to market that will please the beginner looking for their first electro-acoustic or the seasoned player.

Featured Specs:

Solid sitka spruce top, solid sapele back and sides and select hardwood neck. Bracing pattern is a hybrid ‘x’ scalloped. Electronics are a Fishman F1 analog pickup.

Jay Stradiotto

Kaos has a bunch of great Martin guitars coming that Bill has ordered for the store. These include the standard D28 and D16 as well as some new models that were introduced at this years NAMM show. I will be discussing some of these models in the next few blogs. In this issue I want to talk about the newly designed D18. Martin used to have two main versions, the regular D18 and the D18v. Martin has decided to discontinue the D18v and instead bring some of it’s design into the regular model. What this means is that the new D18 has become a truly amazing guitar. It will continue to have the dovetail neck joint, solid sitka spruce top, solid genuine mahogany back and sides. The D18 now has forward shifted scalloped, X bracing, a nut width of 1 ¾ in., with a slimmer 2 ⅛in tapper at the 12th fret and 2 3/16th bridge string spacing. The polished top now comes standard with aging toner to give the guitar a great vintage look. All of this means a great playing and sounding guitar. Sure to be a classic.

To read more about this guitar, click here.

Til next time .. Jay Stradiotto

Godin announced a new acoustic guitar line under the Seagull name at this years NAMM show titled the Natural Elements Series. These guitars have similar body shapes and specs to the usual Seagull line but use eco-friendly woods that normally would have been destroyed or sourced out to other industries. They are still desired tone woods like spruce, rosewood, silver-leaf maple and wild cherry. The guitars have a very natural and rustic look to them and take on a lot of character with the markings and interesting grains that normally would have been overlooked. The models are accentuated by wood binding, flame maple veneer headstocks and a custom polished finish. The result is a great playing guitar with a full, rich and woody tone and an inexpensive price tag.

Watch for these guitars to arrive in our store over the next 6-8 weeks. In the meantime, if you'd like to read more about them click here.

Jay ..

Bill, Lou and I just finished attending the 2012 NAMM music trade show in Anaheim California. It is one of the largest music trade shows in the world in which manufacturers and distributors show off existing and new products to dealers and visitors from all over the world. It is always an impressive show due to its hug scale and exciting ambience. This years show was no exception even though the quantity of new products introduced didn’t seem to be as high as in past years (although the quality of them made up for that a bit).

Over the next few weeks I will be talking about some of the products I saw at the show, focusing mainly on the acoustic guitar side of the show but I will also talk a bit about some other products that caught my eye.

Jay.

We often get asked at the store what the difference is between acoustic phosphor bronze strings and 80/20 bronze strings and which is better. The difference in terms of the material is that the 80/20 strings have 80% copper and 20% zinc (thus the 80/20) and the phosphor bronze strings have 92% copper and 8% zinc. What this relates to in terms of sound is that the 80/20 strings will have a more brilliant, bright brass sound at the start, eventually becoming more warm sounding over time played as the strings wear in. The phosphor bronze strings offer a bright, but not as brilliant bright, and are also characterized as being more rich and warm from the start. Neither is necessarily better, it depends on the players preference and technique as well as the guitar. Some people prefer a brighter, more brilliant sound, and some a warmer, more rich sound. The guitar will also be a factor as the model, the wood, the build quality, etc will all play a part in on how the strings will sound.

All the best .. Jay

Yamaha is well known for their entry level to mid level guitars, but what a lot of people don’t know is that they make a series of very high level instruments that rival any guitar manufacturer out there. The LS and LL series guitars use the best woods available combined with hand craftsmanship in a small Japanese facility to produce these amazing playing and sounding acoustics. The tops are solid Engelman spruce, backs and sides are solid Rosewood. The tops of the guitars go through a process called Acoustic Resonance Enhancement (A.R.E.) that manipulates the molecular structure so they sound more like a well aged and played guitar. This is the desired sound that most players search for. The non-scalloped 90 degree X-bracing style gives the guitars a thick well focused tone. Fantastic guitars that deserve a closer look.

I did a short review video a little while ago on these guitars. Click here to watch it. Read More...