Tacoma - Herschel Sizemore

  1. bbcee
    bbcee
    Back with another terrific Herschel Sizemore tune. This one grabbed me as soon as I heard it, and Mr. Sizemore considered it one of his best tunes.

    It definitely falls in the Bit Off More than I Can Chew department - let's just say that it took a good long while to learn how to hold a candle to his fast, accurate and expressive tremolo. The good news is that anything less than 32nd notes is going to be a doddle now!

    The tune captures the feeling of the gritty, blue collar Tacoma I remember from the 70s, the down-at-the-heels neighbor of more prosperous Seattle to the north.

    Hope you enjoy.
  2. John Kelly
    John Kelly
    Good to see you posting, Bruce. An interesting tune and certainly one with plenty of challenges for the player. Well played and recorded. I listened first on the laptop's speakers and then got the headphones on and the recording really came alive.
  3. bbcee
    bbcee
    Thanks John, I hadn’t gone anywhere, simply working on this, with the usual work, family and ability limitations keeping me from kibbitzing here.

    You mentioned the difference between laptop speakers vs. headphones before, and I don’t seem to have a good way to make it more translatable, given the tonal differences between the instruments and the sparse arrangements. Maybe adding guitar would help glue it together better. Anyway, thanks for listening!
  4. John Kelly
    John Kelly
    Hi Bruce. I think it is not so much a recording problem but more of a "what is it going to be heard on?" dilemma. You obviously have recorded your tune well and it is not your fault that many listeners will be hearing it on speakers which do not do justice to the frequency range. Built-in laptop speakers just cannot deliver that bass line you have in the tune, and mobile phones are little better.

    I think all of us who record at home then post here or on YouTube or elsewhere are aware that what we have created will not be heard to advantage by a good many listeners. I mix by listening to my tracks over headphones and also a set of Samson studio monitors which are designed to have a fairly flat response. Many home stereo systems and quite a few headphones have enhanced frequency responses, often favouring a heavier bass. We adjust our sounds to give as wide a range of frequency response as we can then when playing it back are very aware that the listening experience depends so much on what we are playing the tunes through. I have several of my tracks on an iPod in my car and can compare them with all the commercial recordings also on the iPod. Here again the sound is different from listening at home and any panning tends to sound different as I am sitting well to one side so the stereo balance is affected, the left track being quieter as it is coming from the passenger door! (Right-hand drive in the UK).

    As long as you keep posting you are giving pleasure to many others.
  5. bbcee
    bbcee
    Well said, John. In my past life sitting behind a recording console, the consoles all had a little mono speaker built in so that you could get an idea of what a mix would sound like over AM radio. Always a balancing act between lush stereo fidelity and the brutal compression used by the radio to squash everything down.

    All fidelity aside, this group especially gives all of us a chance to hear music which might not normally cross our paths. I’ve certainly benefitted!
  6. Don Grieser
    Don Grieser
    Hey Bruce, you and the Gatti sound great on this fine Herschel Sizemore tune. Especially great job getting in and out of the tremolo from the melodic phrases. Nice tone and playing and good improv on the mandola. Enjoyed the video and pics of old Tacoma. Everything sounds especially good on my headphones.
  7. Jairo Ramos
    Jairo Ramos
    ¡Beautiful!
  8. bbcee
    bbcee
    Thanks Don and Jairo! You got it, Don, the whole trick is to get in and out of the surrounding phrases smoothly.
  9. Frithjof
    Frithjof
    Very enjoyable!
  10. Christian DP
    Christian DP
    Very smooth playing, Bruce.
  11. bbcee
    bbcee
    Thanks very much, Frithjof and Christian!
  12. Frankdolin
    Frankdolin
    That was a great rendition Bruce! After the hearing first notes I was very impressed with the sound of your mando. And after seeing Dons' post about the Gatti, I was glad to have heard one. Very interesting and beautiful. I've never played or heard a Virzi equipted mando, but this has something going on that the notes seem to "sparkle" more than any of my carved mandos. And while it is mostly the player and I've heard you play your other mandos just as well, this mando Mmm
  13. bbcee
    bbcee
    Thanks Frank! I know what you mean, the notes seem to have something nice around them that is just in the character of the instrument. And as the first new instrument I've owned in like a zillion years, it's been interesting to hear it change and develop as I've been playing it. I would agree on the "mmm" factor - it's got a lot of tone for the buck. the Rigel I had before this was a very good mandolin, but this one has more of the sound I was after.
  14. Bren
    Bren
    Sounds great on my computer speakers Bruce!
    They are Harmon Kardon sound sticks though.

    The sparse accompaniment is ideal, really allows your playing to shine
  15. bbcee
    bbcee
    Thanks Bren, appreciate it.
    I used to have that system - pretty darn good, and I loved that the subwoofer looked like a terrarium!
  16. Bren
    Bren
    Or a giant alien jellyfish.

    I don't like the middle tonal range filling up too much when mandolin is playing. I like Sparse guitar, maybe some bass.

    That's what I enjoy about Shetland bum-chick guitar style. There's air space between the bums and the chicks.

    I enjoy playing at pub sessions but can get dispiriting when the guitarists are thrashing and the bodhrans are bashing, and you're sitting in between them.
  17. Pierpaolo S.
    Pierpaolo S.
    Beautiful, I like how you play, the sound of the mandolin and the arrangement. Thanks.
  18. bbcee
    bbcee
    Thanks a lot, PP, and it’s good to see you posting as well!
  19. Ginny Aitchison
    Ginny Aitchison
    Very nice Bruce. Your hard work paid off well. I like the mix of real video and photo video - but the tune itself is quite arresting and yes, a challenge few mortals would tackle.
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