Man of Constant mumbled Sorrow

Hi Mike,

First time doing one of your song tutorials (I am a Man of Constant Sorrow) and already a big fan. Your teaching style is clear and unambiguous, which I very much appreciate.

You appear to be playing an acoustic-electric guitar. Are you playing that into an external mic or are you plugged in and modulating the sound?

The reason I ask is because when I play the song on an acoustic, the low E string just drowns out everything else, especially in that opening lick. I switched to an electric with a compressor pedal to tame the low end but the overall sound loses that stripped down raw feel of the original. Nevertheless, I'm content to continue playing it on an electric since I'm just performing it for an audience of two hound dogs who start howling every time I play the song. It's hilarious.

Anyways, if would be helpful for me to know if you're simply playing an acoustic guitar into an external mic, in which case I would know that the problem is my weak legato technique and the like.

Sascha

Hi Sascha, thanks for the kind words!

In the tutorial, I'm using an acoustic with a built-in pickup system. So I am plugged in direct. I usually plug into an audio interface connected to my laptop, and use plug-ins to shape the sound a bit. I'll use some EQ to fliter out some of the lows, and some compression to even out the dynamics a bit. 

I'm sorry to hear your acoustic sounds a bit boomy with the low string. I'm not sure if you're acoustic has electronics in it. If so, maybe you could try something similar as you have with your electric. If not, perhaps lighter strings or trying a lighter low string might help? Your comment about the hound dogs howling made me smile - I think that adds to the overall vibe of the tune haha!

Good luck with it - let me know how it goes!

Mike

Thanks for the response, Mike.

I do have access to an acoustic-electric and will give that one a try. Adding an equalizer is a great suggestion. I never even thought about independently changing out the low E string with a thinner one. I'll try that too. I suspect that these changes will remedy the problem, although I'll undoubtedly still need to contend with the howling. You're right, there probably isn't a more fitting song to accommodate the input of one guitarist and two hounds. I'll try to shoot and post a video of our cacophony once I've mastered the song.

Sascha

I look forward to that!

Cheers!
Mike

Hey again Mike,

My problem ultimately stemmed from the fact that the low E string was buzzing when I had the capo on. I put a tad more relief in the guitar neck and the buzzing stopped. I finished the tutorial but there's a lot of practice ahead of me.

Also, I started your "Spooky" tutorial and once again very much enjoy your teaching style (and killer playing!). My two lazy hounds apparently aren't feeling the funk and have no interest in accompanying me on this one, so the vocals are all on me.

I was blown away at the total number of song tutorials you've done! Approximately how much time does it take to produce one of those tutorials, from first listen to end scene?

The first time I recall hearing this song was in the film "O Brother, Where Art Thou" and the kid who played the guitar part had to sell his soul to the devil in order to acquire the requisite skills. You haven't made any questionable deals with any nefarious spirits, have you?

OK, last dumb question. Is that a G7th brand capo you use in the video?

Sascha

Sascha!! Great news you were able to get rid of the low E buzz! And thanks for the kind words about (houndless haha) Spooky - glad you're digging it.

In general, once a month I'll travel to the LA area to film GT tutorials, and I'll usually prep between 4-6 songs at a time per trip. So that gives me (more or less) 3 weeks of prep time for each batch of songs. I also create the backing tracks for the songs. Once it's filmed, it's all handed off to the editing and transcription teams, so it's usually 3-6 months before a song will appear on the site.

And yes, that is the G7 capo - I bought a few many years ago when they first came out, and they're still holding up!

Cheers!

Mike

From nothing but a sound in your ear, to polished performance, six times per month. In addition to packing gear, travel time, setups, rehearsals, recording, rerecording... Sounds like a lot of work, Mike. Well, I for one am very glad that you do it. Thank you!

I have owned one of those G7 capos for a couple years now. It's so easy to use and... practically indestructible. I know because I recently ran over mine with a car (don't ask). Other than a few scratches it still functions perfectly. Sadly, the guitar to which it was attached did not fare as well 😮.

Sascha