Fleury, a vArranger user, sent me a DVD on which he is filmed with the intent to give an overview to other guitarists what can be done with a MIDI guitar and vArranger.

At almost 80 years, he rocks!

You deserve to know this extraordinary person

The VIDEO here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gL7DiF6pV18

Enjoy,

I moved to Florida in 1984 – I had been playing keyboard for two years; not good enough to cover a job. So I bought a midi pick up for my guitar. The midi single went into the Roland receiver and then via midi, into my Yamaha keyboard. I played chords on the guitar and the keyboard’s rhythm track followed with the style. That was in 1984; the new units must track better.
I’m for any guy who is 80 (smile)
John C.

Like us hey John ?
Bebop

That is a Godin Multiac guitar. Nylon string. They're GREAT, and yes I have one. Player used a capo... in this case, an indication of his abilities (or lack thereof).

Made in Canada.

Russ

Whats wrong with using a capo...I see many pros in concert & on TV using them all the time..

Donny, capos have uses. They are great for acoustic players who need an open bass note in an accompanying setting ("pickin and grinnin").

You will NEVER (or rarely) see a competent lead player using a capo. That generally is the sign of an amateur who simply does not know who to play power chords, or a "picker and grinner" who uses the same basic fingering and a capo to put songs in an appropriate key.

I would bet that the players you see using capos are NOT instrumentalists, but singers who accompany themselves on acoustic guitar. And I'll bet, if you look closely, there is a player on the bandstand doing all the hard parts without a capo.

I have 300 plus guitars and wouldn't be caught dead using a capo...don't even own one, even though I sometimes use one in a studio to use open bass acoustic chords on backing tracks.

I think on the piece I posted last year, I played in 5 or six keys...no capo and probably only one open bass note. But that has as much to do with my style of solo playing than anything else. And, frankly, I choose to play in, say B flat instead of A (one fret down to an open A) because I can (LOL).

Generally, except for the acoustic player needing the open bass note on relatively simple songs, pros just shake their heads and smile when they see a capo.


Russ

Russ thanx for the explanation and your opinion...but for me I really couldn't care or look down on how anybody plays music ro or Amateur, capo, smf, stomp box, or whatever gizmos are used...all I care about is what it sounds like & what I hear.
Life is too short to care about "HOW"

enjoy what you play

Dan wrote; “At almost 80 years, he rocks!
You deserve to know this extraordinary person”.

I think Dan is right but the use of “extraordinary person” makes some eyebrows go up. Now if you are a good guitar player you know he demonstrated his set up properly but showed no real guitar ability. There are many keyboard players that fall into that category. If you are not a guitarist the video was impressive, after all there was so much was going on.

Russ made his statement and it was factual no need to go further the demonstrator was effective in his demo. If fact I am giving thought to buying a set up like his.

John C.
PS, At 80 no one is allowed to touch him his has already earned his way.

Dan, Thank you for your post it was a good one, John C.

Donny, you have your right to an opinion, but here, we couldn't disagree more.

That's OK...that's what makes the world go round.

I'm making a point that, when it comes to all things guitar, I can make a claim of being somewhat of an authority.

And I'll bet if you ask accomplished guitarists, you'd hear the same thing from the great majority of them.

Our differences go way beyond just capos. I don't use or even listen to players who use tracks of any kind, and recently stopped using arrangers for "live" performance. You'll NEVER see a laptop on my bandstand.

Different strokes, for sure. And I'm not implying that there is any high road here. There is only what's right for each individual.

Just for curiosity, check out the capo thing with real players. And listen carefully to the playing and level of difficulty of the material played by those who use them.

They generally are self accompanists; not soloists or players of tunes with more than three chords or so.

But, I enjoy some of their performances. It's just not what you'd hear on my bandstand.

Be well (hope your eyes are better).


Russ

Dan, you're right...the gentleman ROCKS; understands the equipment and was demonstrating it; not necessarily trying to dazzle anyone with his playing. I bet the capo was to put chords in his vocal range with a strong open bass note (eg, a capo at the 4th fret would make a C chord an E flat).
There are lots of midi guitars; he chose one of the best. He knows what he's doing. COOL DUDE!
R.