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Topic: Ben Harper on his Montelone - flatpick style |
Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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Scott Thomas
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Posted 10 Apr 2021 8:51 am |
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| I have to think John Montelone didn't see that coming! Nice playing. Still wrapping my mind around a fine archtop used that way. |
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Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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Posted 10 Apr 2021 9:04 am
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It was built for Harper as a lap steel, not converted from a Spanish guitar. Note its square neck.
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Steel Guitar Books! Website: www.volkmediabooks.com |
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Scott Thomas
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James Knox
From:
Phoenix, Arizona, USA
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Posted 10 Apr 2021 4:54 pm
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| This new guitar and new album create a nice new space for Ben. Thank you for sharing this! |
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David Matzenik
From:
Cairns, on the Coral Sea
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Posted 11 Apr 2021 2:35 pm
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I don't get the left hand technique at all. He's going to end up with a cramp in his pinky.
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Don't go in the water after lunch. You'll get a cramp and drown. - Mother. |
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Mark Eaton
From:
Sonoma County in The Great State Of Northern California
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Posted 12 Apr 2021 4:58 am
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I don’t get the bar hand pinky thing either - but he’s been doing that for many years so apparently cramping is a non-issue.
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Mark |
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Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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Posted 12 Apr 2021 5:02 am
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There are some players who "do it all wrong" but it comes out right. Wes Montgomery is one famous example. Everyone's hand is different and it if it sounds good, who can argue? Listeners don't care if Harper blocks behind the bar with his trailing fingers or not.
I've noticed that a bunch of players I admire on both steel and standard guitar tend to anchor their right hand pinky on the instrument. My hand just won't do that. If we want to hear the music badly enough we all find a way.
_________________
Steel Guitar Books! Website: www.volkmediabooks.com
Last edited by Andy Volk on 12 Apr 2021 12:07 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Baron Collins-Hill
From:
Portland, OR
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Posted 12 Apr 2021 5:48 am
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Thanks to Mr. Harper for making my instrument acquisition tendencies look like only a drop in the bucket.
Baron
_________________
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Quilter TT15
Free Online Mandolin & Fiddle Tune Lessons
http://www.mandolessons.com |
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Mark Eaton
From:
Sonoma County in The Great State Of Northern California
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Posted 12 Apr 2021 6:15 am
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I wonder what this instrument cost? Out of curiosity the other day I was looking at some used Monteleone arch tops (roundneck of course) on Reverb. The least expensive guitar listed was $95,000!
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Mark |
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Brian Evans
From:
Nova Scotia, Canada
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Posted 12 Apr 2021 6:43 am
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| The guitar is the subject of an article in the current Fretboard Journal, covered in extreme detail. It has a round neck and a leg support. It's very similar to John's normal archtops (hence round neck) but has a raised nut and different neck joint geometry so the bridge height and break angle are right. Even pictures of the inside of the top, bracing, etc. |
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Bill Leff
From:
Santa Cruz, CA, USA
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Gerard Ventura
From:
Texas, USA
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Posted 25 Apr 2021 8:30 am
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| Ben Harper is one of the best known lap steel players who uses no fingerpicks, maybe not even a thumbpick. Curiously, I haven't read any interviews where people ask him about technique & preferences. |
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Mark Mansueto
From:
Michigan, USA
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Posted 25 Oct 2021 10:02 am
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| I finally got around to listening to Ben's latest album and was pleasantly surprised that it is just him playing acoustic. Can't hide behind the band when your playing alone, especially clean acoustic. That said his new guitar sounds great on the recordings and his playing is flawless to my ear. I watched the two videos in the first post and he was blocking behind the bar in the second one. Interesting technique but he's been playing a long time so I definitely won't question it. |
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Gene Tani
From:
Pac NW
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Posted 25 Oct 2021 12:27 pm buying Dumbles
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One of my favs, 2018, BH on his Asher solidbodies and how to get a few Dumbles in your garage
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yS6Q_uN_C1s
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- keyless Sonny Jenkins laps stay in tune forever!; Carter PSG
- The secret sauce: polyester sweatpants to buff your picks, cheapo Presonus channel strip for preamp/EQ/compress/limiter, Diet Mountain Dew |
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Mark Mansueto
From:
Michigan, USA
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Posted 26 Oct 2021 4:14 am
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| That's a great interview and gear review. It's interesting that he's using one of Lindley's old Dumbles. Thanks for sharing that. |
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Mark Mansueto
From:
Michigan, USA
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Posted 26 Oct 2021 4:22 am
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Regarding the Monteleone, I noticed that it has a leg riser/pad device that I've never seen but I've always thought about adding something like that to my acoustic 12 that I converted to a 6-string lap steel. I currently use a riser under my left foot (like a classical guitarist) to get my leg up to support the neck but what Ben has looks like it might work better. I think I need to mock something up.
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Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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Posted 26 Oct 2021 5:04 am
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I interviewed Ben in September about this new guitar and his lap steel playing for the soft bound reissue of my Guitar Dreams book coming out soon. John Monteleone shared some cool photos from the build.
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Steel Guitar Books! Website: www.volkmediabooks.com |
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Mark Mansueto
From:
Michigan, USA
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Posted 26 Oct 2021 5:37 am
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| Excellent. Let us know when it's out because I'd like to read your book. |
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Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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Posted 5 Mar 2022 1:13 pm
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It's out now! Available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, volkmediabooks.com, and many other places.
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Steel Guitar Books! Website: www.volkmediabooks.com |
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