Hey Al, what sort of weird addicted/obsessive fan would fly around the world to attend concerts?

You'd have to be a right nutter.

If you have a method of minimising cost, then you'd take it wouldn't you? You'd be made to pass up a legend concert if it doesn't take much money to go see it.

Hey Abdul: All I can say is "Build in and they will come"...

Not sure if any of them will bring a guitar from Joe, but I'm pretty sure someone will go there.

Skippygirl: use TAB (Tablature) notation to start with. It's a whole lot easier.

With "normal" notation, the notes are important, but they typically refer to a certain note that in most instruments can only be played one way (ie: a piano has only 1 middle C). For a guitar, it doesn't really matter which "middle C" you hit when you are starting off.

Skilled guitarists (not me!) choose the particular middle-C they want to hit depending on a whole bunch of things. It could be right after a long slide up, so it may be right up the fretboard near the body, or maybe they want a different tone, or they have a particular run they want to play in one hit, or combine with an open string. The latter cases are more likely.

I've also seen heaps of examples where "official" tab for a song doesn't match what the artist plays. Take the official tab for Super Colossal album - for Ten Words, the second "echo" of the tag line is shown on the first 3 frets around the high E string, but if you listen carefully it sounds wrong. When I saw Joe play it on videos and live, I saw it around the 9th to 12th fret on the middle strings, and when you play it there it sounds so much better.

So the "correct" note is really a matter of expression, and or convenience or necessity... :)

mind you, I'm still a beginner, so that's all I've managed to work out so far.

You can also learn to "Sight read" tab a whole lot quicker than standard notation. At least that's for me. I guess the side effect is you become lazy and don't learn the notes as you should.

PS. Did you consider my email any more Skippy?

Skippygirl,

Sounds like tab off the internet?

I'd agree that 8/10 looks like a slide, I'm not sure if it's a hammer-on. I thought they used a different symbol for that.

Or 10b(12)r(10)?

_I'd take a punt as a bend and release, that is, play the 10, 1 step bend to the same note that would be played if it was fretted at 12, then release the bend down to the fretted 10 again.

Or 5-8/12?

Maybe that is hammer then slide? not sure of that one. The hyphen (-) might just be the line between the 2 notes. so it could be play 5th fret, then 8th slide up to 12th.

Anyone else?

Skippy: I grabbed my camera and asked Joe to give Skippygirl 10 personal tips directly aimed at helping her improve bends, hammers and all sorts of fun stuff!!

So here you go: Personal tips for SkippyGirl straight from Joe.

Actually, that's utter crap... I just found it on youtube... But it useful anyway..

burly: I'm not sleeping, just resting my eyelids....

skippy: are you trying this on an acoustic????!?!?? Bends, slides and hammerons are NOT easy for beginners on an acoustic. Just your comment about the "need a hearing aid" made me think you were.

hammer-ons are exactly that, you do need to whack the string a bit to make it work, but on a distorted electric its very easy, much easier than a clean electric and worlds ahead of an acoustic, same with slides.

Bends just take a bit of muscle.

My latest venture is the wonderful world of vibrato... Woo bloody hooo... Anyone got some good tips for me? I am trying to work out the whole locked finger, drive from the wrist and forearm/elbow, but I just cannot seem to get a natural "wobble". My vibrato was always sub-standard.

Hey Joe, I went into Gary's tiny shop to ask him to strip some guitars and had no idea he did a lot of work with you... LOL!

I found the place on the internet as I was heading to the states only for a few days.. When I get there, I went in and thought "bloody hell, I'm not leaving my guitars here", it looked so run-down and a dodgy operation! HA HA HA...

Then I saw some of the framed albums around the place, got talking and the penny dropped... DOH! that's who he is!!!

That was funny. Do you still do work with him? Fernando (I think it was) was telling me about being at the 20th anniversary replay gig of "surfing" at the original studio. I wish I could have got to that.. Surfing was the album that got me hooked.

Did anyone have a boot video or cd of that whole gig?

Burly: actually it's funny, some of the crocs are MASSIVE! Steve was a nutcase getting that close... I went to the Australia Zoo (in QLD - the one owned by the irwins) it is very cool, specially the croc show.

The funniest thing is when people from other countries come to live here. My daughter made friends with an american family who recently moved here. We were chatting and have a great laugh because they don't realise we have like 10 times more deadly common spiders and snakes and stuff. It's not uncommon to regularly hear of people being bitten, eaten or stung around here. You really do have to listen when you are told to wear long pants and firm footwear when you walk in the bushland even just across the road.

And I live 7 minutes from the centre of the city!

what with red-bellies, brown snakes, redbacks, funnelwebs, stonefish, sharks and everything else crawling and flying around here, it's almost like eat-legged freaks to get your car out of the garage.

And I'm arachnaphobic! :(

lluuuuuuuuucccaaasssssssss:

I think that's just a bit annoying.

I logged on and thought some major news had happened, but I was wrong, someone just thought it was groundhog day.

Burly: girls are only referred to as "Shielas" by yobbos!

Talking about deadly things. I found out the other day that a while back (2002) we had a few fatalities occurring up north Queensland coast on a regular basis, and they couldnt work out what was happening for a while.

Turned out it was a tiny jellyfish called Irukandji we get here (add this one to your list), that is about the size of a fingernail! But it has incredibly venomous stingers on it's tendrils and all over it's body.

elpp: welcome back!

Hey, a Time Machine VOX turned up at our music shop recently, I'm gonna go in and play with it tonight.

I've noticed a few big bad wahs on ebay too.

Did anyone here pick up the Surfing 20th that went on eBay earlier today? Good bargain whoever snapped it up, well done. Apparently it was brand new being sold as "second hand" to move the stock! Sold for just over 1/2 list price. I almost bid on it.

Skippygirl, don't confuse OWNING lots of nice guitars with an ability to PLAY them. I am still very much a self professed amateur.

I can get some music better than others but keep being foiled by my complete lack of technical ability....

FINALLY! an art form we all can appreciate!

go manualist go

That's MESSED UP! :)

LOL. A mate of mine is seeing Coldplaigerists in concert tonight. Taking his boy.

I found out and said "do me a favour, boo Viva la copy for me".

He said, as I was walking out later, "I'll be sure to shout out 'Santana' "... HAhahahaha ???!?!!??!!

I'll point out he was deliberately baiting me, the b-stard.

Guys (and wabbits), I finally got time to get into the store, and decided to have a go with the digitech whammy first, took it in the sound room, grabbed a 1000BTB and had a bloody ball! I got so carried away I loved playing the triplet part and stomping on it! It was wicked! I got completely lost in time. I was laughing my head off trying the divebomb and up and down modes and the harmonies. The door opened AN HOUR LATER with another guy wanting to try something and I came out with a smile from ear to ear. WOW! I gotta get me one!

The guy said - oh, were you in there all that time? I forgot about you! LOL HAHAHAHA...

Man, I totally went over time and didn't get a chance to even try the time machine.

:)

:)

Hey Joe, thanks for the update on Chickenfoot. I am dead serious about making one of your first shows. It's gonna go OFF! and it will be a major point in music history. I also might need to pick up some souvenirs! ;)

So please make sure you give me plenty of warning so I can plan the trip.

MAY has a big red circle on my diary now.

If there's chance of a small warmup gig, It'd be INCREDIBLE to see that!

Roo

maritime: LOL : just had an enormous homemade lasagna! woohooo <burp> !

Yummy.

hey Webby, you're doing an awesome job mate, keep up the great work. Haven't spoken in YEARS, or is that now DECADES?

Scary isn't it?.....