[DiscostewLA]

Hey Braden – really great job on this. Still super impressed with the harmonica rig and playing. I think I’d hyperventilate and pass out on my guitar. Lovely guitar too! Rock on and hope you’re doing well!

[DiscostewLA]

Happy St Patty’s day KevinZ – thanks for all the great music. Keep it up and rock on!

[DiscostewLA]

This is amazing. Way to push yourself! This is exactly the kind of thing that gets me frustrated when I try doing it at home. You are inspiring and motivating. Great job on the music too!! 🙂 I had to look up OBS – I use iMovie but maybe I should try that instead? Thanks for sharing – congrats on your new skills and can’t wait to see the next one!

[DiscostewLA]

Yes it gets easier with practice. There are a bunch of great exercises out there to get better at picking. Here’s one of Tony’s skill courses with a bunch of good tips and exercises. Keep at it and rock on! https://tonypolecastro.com/courses/flatpicking-jumpstart/

[DiscostewLA]

I’ve gone through a bunch of picks and my go to for the past few years is a .88mm Dunlop Primetone with the raised font texture: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/510R088–dunlop-510r088-primetone-standard-grip-guitar-picks-88mm-12-pack

I like the tone and the tactile feel of the raised print. If I’m picking I’ll hold it normally and if I’m strumming I’ll usually hold it sideways and use the blunter end to strum for a more mellow tone. Rock on!

[DiscostewLA]

Awesome job – the first one is the hardest. Sounded great, rock on!

[DiscostewLA]

Hey – in the ‘skills’ section look for the ’30 days to play’ and then after you complete that come back and start the daily challenge (preferable on a Monday).

https://tonypolecastro.com/skills/

[DiscostewLA]

Thanks – yeah I should probably just record them and then post them over the course of a few days, but I’ve never been good with delayed gratification.. I ate the marshmallow.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_marshmallow_experiment

en.wikipedia.org

Stanford marshmallow experiment - Wikipedia

Stanford marshmallow experiment - Wikipedia

[DiscostewLA]

Thanks Philb!!!

[DiscostewLA]

Love it! Thanks so much for the kind words and support. I truly appreciate it and the positive vibes and comments really have a big impact. Thanks again and hope you have a great week ahead. Rock on!

[DiscostewLA]

Thanks so much! It was a good thing to have to work on and pass the time during the holidays at the in-laws. 🙂

[DiscostewLA]

Thanks philb! I’m not sure how appropriate it is to post electric stuff on an ‘Acoustic Challenge’ website but I figured why not. FYI here was my last/first post with my LP (it’s a 2019 r9 in ‘factory burst’). https://tonypolecastro.com/family-forums/topic/althea-grateful-dead-cover/

The quality on this video is way better – not sure why, it’s the same camera on my macbook. I guess just better lighting.

Also just FYI I’m playing through a Spark2 amp (which is awesome for learning about different amps and effects), and recording with a Rode NT1 mic about 6-inches in front of the speaker. I see other folks in studios that have the mic just sitting right in front of the cabinet but I get a bunch of distortion with the mic that close and couldn’t figure out how to clean it up. “Damnit Jim I’m a guitar player not a sound engineer!” (little star trek reference there – if you know, you know)

Rock on and hope you have a great week ahead!

tonypolecastro.com

Althea – Grateful Dead cover - Play for Us! - Tony's Acoustic Challenge

Althea – Grateful Dead cover - Play for Us! - Tony's Acoustic Challenge

[DiscostewLA]

Thanks so much for the continued encouragement and support!! I really appreciate it and it helps keep me motivated. Rock on!

[DiscostewLA]

Thanks so much. Was on a Dylan kick for a while and now seem to be in a grateful dead phase. Hope you have a great week!

[DiscostewLA]

Hey thanks so much. I’ve been around, just got out of the recording phase and took some effort to get back into it. I got my first electric guitar last April (I can’t believe it’s been almost a year!) and I’ve been spending more time with that than on my acoustic stuff this year. But acoustic is still my first love. Regarding the recordings, I struggle with the production quality and then get frustrated when the recordings don’t turn out well which then makes it a challenge for me to get motivated to record stuff knowing it’s going to be a battle to get all the sound set up right. And then when I do get it set up it often takes me a few takes to get through a song cleanly without messing up. That’s why I tend to do a couple of recordings in a row when I finally get things set up. Maybe I’d be better served just setting up my iPhone and recording on that – would be faster and get a lot of the recording hassle out of the mix. That was probably more than you cared to know, but thanks as always for listening and sharing some positive vibes and reinforcement. It is truly appreciated! Rock on and I hope you have a great week ahead!