No bigger than a standard overdrive pedal or shown above next to a can of soda, this 5 watt amp head can save the day with enough juice to get you through the gig. Now don’t get me wrong, this amp doesn’t always need to play second fiddle. Below I’ve got some pretty convincing sound clips. I will think twice about lugging a big old tube combo out of the house to go jam with friends when this fits nicely with my cables in my gig bag.

Let’s take a closer look. First things first; this operates the same way an amp head would. This is NOT an effects pedal. If you plug this into your current amplifier you could do some damage, some dirty, loud, feedback screaming, you’ll need-a-new amp kind of damage! Plus for the next few gigs your Little Smasher will be telling everyone how he beat up an amp 10x his size.

Controls from left to right: Bass, Treble, Gain and Volume. The Treble and Bass knobs have a +15 to -30db range. It can operate safely into any cabinet between 4-16 ohms. Please use a speaker cable or once again the Little Smasher will run his mouth to all your friends that you can’t tell the difference between an instrument and a speaker cable!

The power supply is included with the amp along with optional rubber feet grips and an instructional manual. The Little Smasher runs on a 9v 600ma power supply. It cannot be ran on batteries. There is an On/Off switch.

Clip one is a Les Paul plugged into the Little Smasher then sent to a 1×12 Celestion equipped cab. My heavily Thin Lizzy influenced demo was an attempt to copy the classic Les Paul into a Marshall rock tone.

Clip two is a Strat plugged into the same setup. My goal was to copy that classic maybe a Vox AC30 tone where the amp is clean, yet on the brink of overdrive. It’s up to your fingers and your guitar’s volume knob to decide how clean or dirty the output is.

Web: diago.co.uk
Street Price: $189.99

Hey Everyone, thanks for tuning in again this month. Let’s get right to the point, shall we? Today I’m going to demonstrate examples of jazz coordination using Ted Reed’s book “Syncopation”. Just to give you a little history lesson before we get started, the book wasn’t written with these exercises in mind. What you’re about to hear and see are the now famous exercises designed by legendary drummer and teacher Alan Dawson. For those of you who don’t know who Alan is, look him up on wikipedia – he’s arguably the most influential drum teacher of all time, and the former educator to other legendary drummers like Tony Williams, John Ramsay, Bob Gullotti, and Terri Lynn Carrington to name just a few. Unfortunately, I never studied with Alan, but rather it was Bob Gullotti who passed most of this information along to me. (with the exception of Examples 10, 11, and 12 – which I thought of as a result of working with John Riley’s books) And now I’m passing it along to you. Keep in mind that most of these patterns have the traditional “jazz ride cymbal and stepped hihat” played throughout. You will notice that pattern immediately in my hand written version of example 1.

Since there’s a lot to cover, why don’t we jump in. But before we do that, take a look at the actual page from Syncopation. The page is written as just a snare rhythm, which varies from line to line, and eventually from measure to measure. Remember, the pages you’ll use are 33 through 44 in an older copy, and 34 through 45 in a newer copy. There’s a quarter note bass drum pattern written throughout, but you will ignore this bass drum pattern, and only focus on the snare rhythm for these exercises. Since it’s written this way, and you’ll play it quite differently from what you see, I’ve included my own hand written examples of how you’ll decipher each style.

Hand Written Examples 1

Hand Written Examples 2

Example 1 – This style is called snare drum reads. You’ll play the traditional ride and stepped hihats, but you’ll add the snare drum rhythm from the syncopation book. In the video you may notice that I played the snare line with a “natural accent”. This is my natural way of articulating the snare line. You should try to play it without articulation at first.

Example 2 – This style is called long and short. The way to decipher it is to play the 8th notes on the snare, (short sound) and the quarter notes on the bass drum. (long sound) Remember, you’re ignoring the quarter note bass drum pattern written along the bottom of the staff. The quarter note bass drums that you’re playing are written as part of the snare line.

Example 3 – You’ll begin with the traditional ride cymbal and stepped hihats. But to this you will add the last two partials of a triplet played on your snare drum. Then, the bass drum reads the rhythm written in the snare line. In the video, I begin this example by playing two measures of this without adding the bass drum part, then I play another 4 measures with the addition of the bass drum. (sorry, there’s no name, that I know of, for this style)

Example 4 – This style is called filling in the triplets, bass drum reads. It’s kind of a derivative of the above example. Again, the traditional ride cymbal and stepped hihat continues. To that you will read the snare line with your bass drum, and add all of the missing notes that would have made up a triplet with your snare drum. This is complicated to understand, which is why I added the hand written example. Please refer to that if you’re confused.

Example 5 – This style is called filling in the triplets, snare drum reads. It’s the exact opposite of the above style. Snare drum reads, bass drum fills in the missing triplets.

Example 6 – This style is called hihat reads, snare drum fills in the missing triplets. And, it’s played exactly as it sounds. You’ll begin with the traditional ride cymbal pattern. But this time you won’t include the stepped hihats on beats 2 & 4, and that’s because the hihat foot will read the notes written in the snare drum line, and you’ll fill in all the missing triplets with your snare drum.

Example 7 – This style is called snare drum reads, hihat fills in the missing triplets. And, it’s the exact opposite of the above style. Read the snare drum line with your snare drum, and fill in the missing triplets with your hihat foot.

Example 8 – This style is called hihat reads the 8th notes, bass drum reads the quarter notes, and snare drum fills in the missing triplets. It plays exactly as it sounds in the description. Basically, within every measure you will find a combination of 8th notes and quarter notes. Again, you will play the traditional ride cymbal pattern. And to that you will add the stepped hihat wherever you see an 8th note, a bass drum wherever you see a quarter note, and the snare drum fills in the missing triplets.

Example 9 – This style is called bass drum reads the 8th notes, hihat reads the quarter notes, and snare drum fills in the missing triplets. And, it’s the opposite of the above style.

Example 10 – This style is called long and short movements around the toms. Basically, it’s example 2 from above where the snare drum plays the 8th notes, and the bass drum plays the quarter notes. However, this time you’ll move around the toms. The way I designed it is to use the bass drum notes as a signal to move your hand off the snare and around the toms. Each time you play a bass drum note, or succession of bass drum notes, you’ll then move to a tom of choice. In the video, I gave you examples of clockwise, counterclockwise, and other options. But you should be the master of which sounds you want based on melody. Given that each tom has it’s own pitch, you would select the tom to move to next based more on that. The examples I show are simply to get you moving around the toms.

Example 11 – This style is called bass drum reads, snare and toms fill in the missing triplets. In a nut shell, it’s the exact same style as example 4 from above. The difference is that it employs the concept from example 10. Depending on tempo, you’ll have to move around the toms at a much faster pace to fit all 12 notes into a measure. Please refer to the hand written page if you’re confused.

Example 12 – this style is called hihat reads the 8th notes, bass drum reads the quarter notes, and snare and toms fill in the missing triplets. Again, this is the exact same style as example 8 from above, but you’ll use the same concept as examples 10 and 11. In the video I play an up, down, and back motion. But again, you can decide on the motion to move based on pitch.

These exercises are just some of the ways to learn jazz coordination. Your body and ears will remember the movements and sounds when you’re playing on the bandstand. However, they’re not meant to be your voice as a jazz musician. But rather, they’re designed to get your body coordinated. Once you obtain all this new found ability, we’ll then need to begin learning how to phrase it. That will be the topic of another article in the near future.

We previously discussed sliding 6th chords. A Maj 6th chord is built with Root, Maj.3rd, 5th, and 6th notes of the related major scale. We wanted more of a triad sound, so we will discard the 5th of the chord. For an E6 chord, we would have E, G#, and C#, having discarded the B note.

The E6 chord can slide down two frets to D6. If the bass note remains E, then we have the notes F#, B, and D. These can be considered the 9th, 5th, and lowered 7th note of the E7 chord.
However, let’s talk about the “other” 6th in this scenario: the 6th interval. When we invert a 3rd interval from a chord, we put the bottom note of this interval on the top.
When we think of the Major 3rd from E up to G#, we may raise the E an octave and consider the new interval, G# up to E, to be a 6th interval. In relation to the E6 chord, we can discard the 6th of the chord(C#)and we’re left with only the Maj.3rd of the chord and the root of the chord. We’re outlining the EMaj chord, or E. We can also invert minor 3rd intervals into 6th intervals. Let’s move our 6th interval up to the next diatonic notes in the key of A Major. That means the A-to-F# 6th interval. There are only two 6th intervals available, the Maj.6th and the Min.6th. We can harmonize the A Major scale with them:

We’re harmonizing the A Major scale because we’re talking about the E7 chord, and this chord is diatonic to the key of A Major. These 6th intervals will all sound good over an E7 vamp. This scale may be considered the E Mixolydian mode of the A Major scale. We’ve harmonized the E Mixolydian scale, which could also be considered the E7 scale. It’s the diatonic scale for E7, although there are other scales which can stem from the E7 tonality, so it’s best to be more specific than “E7 scale”, and call it by the actual name, E Mixolydian. Modes of the major scale will be covered more in depth at a later date.
In particular, the 6ths with the E note on the top will sound strongest over this E7 chord, which are the first and last intervals in the above example. Notice that sliding between the “Bm” and “C#m” voicings will sound good over the E7 chord, just like the D6 and E6 chords work over the E7 chord previously. Additionally, notice that the “G#m” voicing contains the 3rd and 5th of the E7 chord (G# and B, respectively). The “F#m” and “A” voicings will sound better as passing notes, mainly because scale tone 4 clashes with the 3rd of the chord.

So, for each triad, we have two sets of 3rds: root ascending to 3rd and 3rd ascending to 5th. That’s also to say that there are two sets of 6ths, as we invert the 3rd to a 6th. 3rd ascending to root, and 5th ascending to 3rd.

For a 7th chord, we have 3 sets of 3rds, which can be inverted to 6ths: root ascending to 3rd (inverted: 3rd ascending to root), 3rd ascending to 5th (inverted: 5th ascending to 3rd), and 5th ascending to 7th (inverted: 7th ascending to 5th). We could also add the 7th ascending to 9th (inverted: 9th ascending to 7th). Work these through different keys and alternating through string set 1 & 3, as well as 2 & 4. Also change octaves where desired/necessary.

Use your ears and have fun!

Ernie Ball sent along 2 sets for me to try. There was so much buzz surrounding these strings I had to wait a few weeks for them to restock after NAMM. I checked out the 50-105 gauge set of 4-string bass strings as well as the 45-130 gauge set of 5-string bass strings. My weapons of choice for this trial were; a 90s Fender California Special Precision bass and my 5-string OLP copy of a Musicman.

I put the strings on with ease, nothing crazy, new or exotic here. I did note the strings were packaged well. They come in a sealed foil wrapper and inside the wrapper the strings are coiled up in individual, well-marked envelopes. I had plenty of slack for both of my 34” scale basses.

My expectations were that the strings would be incredibly bright, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. I don’t want to say they are dark, but well you’ll be able to hear them in a second. Very full and midrange focused. Not that they are lacking anywhere, these strings just say, “Hey man, this is a bass!”

Here’s the strings on my P-bass. Nice fat lows and crystal clear harmonics at the end.
PBass

Here’s the Cobalts on my 5-string. You can really hear the mids. I way overplayed the open Low-B string. If you want to get thrown out of a band, this riffs a good start!
5 String

The feel reminds me exactly how I remember any other set of Ernie Ball Slinkys. Smooth, not too slick and very easy on your fingers. I have just under a month on the strings and haven’t noticed any wear of the strings construction, tuning or tone.

Web: ernieball.com
Street Price: $29.99 for the 4-string set and $35.99 for the 5-string set.

In this week’s training session I want to cover the Ab major scale and exploratory exercises. For beginner players, focus on memorizing the notes of the scale and where they are on your fretboard. More experienced players can play through the exercises, the scale in 5ths, rhythmic variations and sample bass line as well as add the scale exercise ideas from last session, ie: the scale in 3rds and 4ths. If you need more help with the rhythms, please refer back to former lessons in which I have covered 8th and 16th notes. I also recommend being comfortable with lessons covering the other major scales up to this point as I will continue to build on such material. You can locate these articles in our previous issues.

Ab Major Scale
This scale begins on Ab and contains 4 flats total. The first 4 in the order of flats to be exact: Bb Eb Ab Db

Ab Major Scale in 5ths
This exercise focuses on playing each scale degree and the diatonic 5th above it. Every 5th is a perfect 5th, except for the 7th degree which is a diminished, AKA b5.

Ab Major Scale with Rhythmic Variations
I like to switch up the rhythms, especially when covering similar material on each scale. In this exercise you get to flex your 16th note muscles (and remember, being able to account for the smallest measurement of rhythm in any measure helps to make your timing rock solid) as well as practice the scale in 2 octaves.

Sample Bass Line in Ab
This is where we get to see why it’s helpful to learn all this information. I have used this bass line in many blues tunes before.

Have fun with these but don’t forget also to allow yourself plenty of PNT……Personal Noodling Time. It’s good to shred these exercises but give yourself some time every practice session to just play whatever you want, no rules! Connect with your instrument so you can remember why you started this in the first place.

Enjoy your BASS!!!

Cactus Picks designed their picks strictly with grip in mind. The made in the US picks are made from a tough material called Delrin. It feels and weighs like most other picks it just has a tough grip that doesn’t wear easily or well so far for me it doesn’t wear at all. For better, smoother contact the picks come slightly beveled.

I received 4 different sizes to try; Light, Medium, Heavy and Extra Heavy. Light is 0.5mm, Medium is 0.75mm, Heavy is 1mm and Extra Heavy is 1.5mm in thickness. The grip, well the grip is just second to none. There are some picks with a gritty sandpaper feel, these one up them with actual tiny bumps and ridges up top for your fingers to easily grab.

As you can see in the picture, (this is an Extra Heavy) these aren’t smooth and glossy picks. I HATE smooth and glossy picks. The initial attack from from the string with a glossy pick is brittle and sharp. Once you wear down that brittle, bitey tone guess what? You move onto the chew up your strings phase. The Cactus picks offered a nice mellow tone. Mellow tone along with an unprecedented grip, you’ve got nothing to lose. I spent about a month trying to beat these picks up from normal playing wear and am seeing no signs of it. Need a new pick? Are you dropping yours? Checkout Cactus.

Web: cactuspicks.com
Street Price: $12 for 100, $4 for 20 and $2 for 5 picks.

To follow up from my last article on musicians seeking endorsements, I thought it might be helpful to talk about some items that are essential for a musician’s “publicity toolbox.” One of the most basic items a musician should always have is a musical example – plain and simple. I know this might sound a bit silly, but while working in artist relations, I often received unsolicited requests from musicians who were interested in becoming endorsing artists. My first question to them seemed pretty elementary in my opinion, and it was, simply, “Can you send me an example of your playing? An MP3 file or video clip?” It was surprising to see how few people actually had something to submit. I’d often get a link to a grainy YouTube video where the musician is in the back of the ensemble, obscured by a lead vocalist, additional band members, and various pieces of equipment.

Oddly enough, I used to spend hours scouring YouTube for the next greatest star, and I was amazed at the number of videos out there – from kids. So, it seems to me that if today’s youth can create engaging and creative videos, professionals should be able to as well. If you think about it, when you were in high school, you probably had all the time, talent, and creativity – yet little on the side of monetary funding. I know this was the case when I was that age, so I think it is safe to conclude that the production of a video to post on YouTube is quite achievable.
Do it! If you are performing, you may need to have a friend videotape you, but in this day and age, it is possible to videotape with everything from the most expensive semi-professional video cameras to one’s very own smartphone or Blackberry. If a video is not possible, you should at least consider recording yourself. I could sit down and record a practice session on the same MacBook Pro that I am using to write this article. It is amazing how accessible these resources are.

So, think simply and be resourceful. Get together with friends to get your music recorded. If you are looking for something a bit more professional that is also cost-effective, you may want to collaborate with students in photography, video, and sound engineering programs. Check out the local colleges in your area. If they have these programs, research the name of a program chair to help you contact the students. This is a very cost-effective and mutually beneficial solution. When I was a graduate student at Eastman, I was taking a public relations course where the final project was to create a press kit. Our assignment was to contact students in the photography program at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). It was a perfect solution to help us acquire the materials for our press kits while providing the RIT students with a chance to build their portfolios.

Also, think about using as many social media platforms as possible to gain visibility. Social media seems to constantly change and evolve, but the one steadfast element is free accessibility. You can create a “band/musician page” on Facebook, a Twitter account, blogs, a YouTube channel, a Tumblr page…and the list goes on and on. Remember the days when everyone asked you for your band’s website address? That may still be the case, and if you can build your own page at little to no cost, you definitely should. I would recommend connecting yourself to the free social media channels previously mentioned, because the potential for quickly expanding visibility is incredible. Since our favorite legendary rock bands are out there Tweeting and on Facebook, it makes sense that rising stars should as well!

Today we’re going to take a look at linear drumming. The style certainly isn’t new, but it’s used so often in everyday playing that it would benefit all drummers to study it regularly. Linear, in drumming terms, refers to a line of single notes played one at a time. In other words, there are no stacked notes such as a bass drum and hi-hat played simultaneously etc. One of the best examples of linear drumming is the famous groove to 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover played by Steve Gadd. If you don’t have it, you can find it on a Paul Simon greatest hits CD. Check it out, as it should be on every drummers list of must-know grooves.

This article, as well as the accompanying pages and video will serve merely as an introduction to linear drumming. It can be expanded far more than what’s here. But perhaps that’s another article for another time. To get started I would suggest purchasing the book “Time Functioning Patterns” by Gary Chaffee. I’m using the very first example in the linear section of this book in the accompanying video. The main reason for the video is to show you some of the ways to apply the basic part that’s written. This is also why I included the “Translation And Variation” page as well – because in Gary’s book it’s written as just a group of hands and feet – nothing else. (note, I included more options in the page than I’m playing in the video, but I am playing the original, variation 1 and 4) The way Gary explained it to me is to always play the hands part as alternating rights and lefts regardless of whether the hand pattern is broken up by a foot or combination of feet. If you’re a lefty drummer, then reverse it to be lefts and rights. This is important because often times it will feel more natural to resume with your off hand after playing a foot note. Keep the rules in tact at first, as you can always break them after you’ve developed the style.

You’ll notice that Gary has grouped each groove into sections labeled as 8, 4, or 5 and 3 etc. These numbers represent the grouping of notes up to where the next group begins – usually ending with a foot note. To practice these effectively you must place a couple, or few, accents into each pattern. Of course, place them over a hand, and not a foot. You can choose where the accent goes, and each accent will make the pattern sound different. Given that you’re always playing alternating hands, you will need to move the hand you play hi-hat with down to the snare to cover some of the accents. It’s better if you choose at least one right hand accent, and one left hand accent in each pattern. Refer to the original groove in both the page included and the video for further explanation. It’s important to play all the patterns in this section of the book in the original format before moving on to the variations.

The accompanying “Translation And Variation” page, and the video, will give you some of the ideas for spicing up these patterns, as well as expanding around the drums. The accents and variations that I chose to use in the demonstration are just one example. You can be the master of your own destiny by putting your personal touch on the basic patterns. The accents you choose, the movements you create, the spaces you include, and the choices of sounds you have available on your kit will make a big difference towards defining your style. And believe me when I say this stuff will find its way into your everyday playing. As I said in one of my other articles “Sum Of All Your Parts”, everything that you include in your practice routine will ultimately find its way into your playing. Thus creating a more complete musician capable of many musical languages.

Finally, I would suggest checking out some drummers who use the linear style to great effect. Listen to Vinny Colaiuta, Steve Smith, (both of whom studied with Gary Chaffee) Dave Weckl, Carter Beauford, Lenny White, David Garibaldi, Steve Gadd, and Billy Cobham to name a few. If nothing else, you will certainly hear some of the greatest drummers at their craft just in this list alone. As always, enjoy.

Is a lightweight capo for you? That is something you need to decide for yourself. If you are playing an acoustic which tends to be neck heavy this could surely help you out. If you’re using a clip-on tuner that’s more gravity you’re fighting, so why not give it a shot?

The capo itself is made from aluminum which makes up the difference compared to a steel capo. Since it’s aluminum, Shubb is able to finish the capos in some eye-popping colors. Check out their website for purple, green, pink, blue and silver capos.

The small footprint offers you plenty of, how should I professionally put this…oh yes, dancing room. The “dancing room” lets you angle the capo if necessary if you run into any minor intonation problems.

Will it fit my instrument? There are 6 different models for everything from steel string guitars, 12-strings, ukulele, mandolin, banjo, classical guitars, a vintage 7.25” radius neck and whatever the heck a bouzouki is! (The bouzouki is a greek instrument similar to a mandolin.)

The tension screw is for your preference of tension. Most generic capos are spring loaded and you get what you get. With the self-adjusting tension I think the Shubb offers a hair more realistic tone similar to what your fingers would give when barring.

Finally whenever I get a product that is made in the US I am happy to make a note of it. The capo is assembled and packaged in the US, I believe the company is in California.

Web: shubb.com
Street Price: $26.95 on the Shubb website.

If you’re anything like me, you’ve always wondered what the differences are between the various wood species offered in drum manufacturing today. In years past the industry standard was always Maple, and still is for the most part. Eventually other wood types such as Birch and Mahogany began showing up. And now you can get anything from African Bubinga and Purpleheart to Zebrawood or Half Caf Double Shot Espresso Wood with Skim Soy and a dash of Himalayan Sea Salt on top. Okay, so I’m exaggerating with this last one, but you get the picture. Just take a look around these websites and you’ll understand what I’m talking about – eamesdrumshells.com – jtpercussion.com – artisandrumworks.com Now, If you were confused standing in line at your local Baskin Robins and trying to figure out which one of their 31 flavors would be best for you, then good luck selecting a wood species for your next kit. And we haven’t even begun talking about construction methods, bearing edges, and hardware choices yet – perhaps that’s another article for another time.

Obviously, there’s a dizzying array of choices out there seemingly designed to mess with your mind and ears. Well fear not ladies and gentlemen, that’s why I’m here – or at least to some extent. It just so happens to be that I own a few different species of wood, (4 to be exact) and I’m including a video of these drums so you can hear for yourself the differences. Now bear in mind that the video is not enhanced with any special microphones or pro tools designed to make me sound like Vinny Colaiuta. So what you see, or hear in this case, is what these drums sound like recorded by a decent camera in a generic room without any room enhancers.

All four drums are the exact same size, (12″ round by 8” deep) and all of them are tuned identically using my trusty drum dial – 84 top and 82 bottom. The drums have the same heads on both sides – Remo Coated Ambassadors. And all of them feature the same 2.3 triple flanged hoops. The only difference is the wood species, the construction methods, and the lugs.

A quick glance at the menu will find this selection of drums on tap: 1) Sonor Designer Series Maple Lite, 2) Eames 6 Ply North American Birch with a 6 Ply Bearing Edge, 3) Joshua Tree Percussion Cherry Stave Shell Drum, and 4) Joshua Tree Percussion African Bubinga Stave Shell Drum. Hopefully this demonstration will provide you with insight into the different sounds generated by these various woods.
If you’ve ever been to a 12 course dinner tasting at a fine restaurant, you know that everything begins to taste the same after a while – especially when you choose to include the wine pairing. If Baskin Robins offered a sample of each of its 31 flavors before buying, eventually you’d be eating coconut cream and asking yourself if it’s double dutch chocolate. So, with some hesitation, and after sampling each one of these drums several times without the wine pairing, I can vouch safe to you that I do have a favorite. And that favorite is the North American Birch Eames drum. I guess you could say it’s Zagat Rated. But thankfully you don’t have to wear a suit jacket just to play it. The Eames had the purest tone to my well worn ears. In addition, it projected a clarity that the others did not – especially out in the audience. I’ve often heard Birch described as a “Naturally EQ’d” sound, and I wouldn’t disagree. But I will leave you with this bit of information to choke on. All of these drums sounded great, and all seemed to sound identical as the other if tuned differently. So, in closing, watch the video, taste the sounds, and decide for yourself which one you like best. If nothing else, you’ll probably have a blast checking out all the different flavors. As always, enjoy and be creative.