Recording a father-son duo was a special treat for an old-time guitar picker like myself. Their vintage instruments had excellent tone, and the best of them had a bold blue finish instead of the traditional light brown. The exceptional thinness of the top gave it enhanced sensitivity so that very little effort was required to produce a lot of sound.

For most of the tunes, Dad played rhythm and sang lead, with the son adding harmony and lead guitar.

They were almost too well prepared for their session, and needed very few re-takes. When they finished so quickly I had to joke with them about it: “Hey! I charge by the hour. How d’you expect me to make any money with you finishing so soon?”

I still think about that blue guitar, and how wonderful it sounded. It reminded me of a guitar I’d heard when I was a coffeehouse manager.

A Martin D-28, that guitar was special. In the dressing room I asked permission to play it and, after just three chords I was in love!

“John,” I said, “I’d love to buy your guitar. I’ll give you $350.

“No,” he said quietly, “I can’t sell that guitar.”

Thinking it was just a matter of money, I raised the ante. “How ‘bout $400, then?”

“No, I’m sorry, but I really can’t sell that guitar.”

I kept on increasing my offer. When I reached $1000, he was still shaking his head. Finally, he explained.

“Y’see, there were three of us, all close friends, who shared this guitar.  One of us died, and this guitar is part of his memory. That’s why I can’t sell it.”

That was a useful reminder that not everything in this life is for sale!

The disk record was the smallest I’d ever seen – even smaller than the old 45-rpm singles that were popular in the 1950s.

Made of aluminum with a coating of cellulose nitrate, it was a unique, one-of-a-kind sound recording of a long lost relative of the client.

On the turntable, experimentation determined the playing speed to be 78-rpm. Based on that, I used a stylus (needle) specifically made for recordings in that format. Although most of the sound could be recovered, I made a second attempt with a more modern stylus and got slightly better results. Digital technology – and years of practice – allowed removing some of the more offensive surface noises before transfer to compact disk.

Four open reel tapes made fifty years ago arrived here, delivered by hand – from Ukraine!

Recorded at very slow speeds, each tape ranged from two hours to nearly four hours in length.

The content was a fascinating mix of professional music captured from records and radio, plus homemade recordings of family life.  Although I couldn’t understand the language, the music was widely varied and extremely well done. I heard traditional Ukrainian folk music, Ukrainian rock ‘n roll – even Ukrainian disco! I found all of it most enjoyable.

What impressed me most of all was the quality of the singers. Regardless of the style of music, each vocalist demonstrated excellent technique and sang with real passion. Compared to much of the current popular music here, I was reminded that sometimes the old ways were better.

After extensive digital processing, the music was transferred to multiple compact disks for nearly twelve hours of enjoyable home listening!

While Jim was studying to be a recording engineer, he worked on an impromptu session with legendary classical guitarist, George Sakellariou. Accompanied by fellow guitarist Gary Davis, they played beautifully complex melodies that inspired me and made me want to practice more!

Maestro Sakellariou has an interesting history. Beginning in Athens, George went on to the Athens Conservatory of Music where he graduated with honors. From there, he studied with the great master, Andrés Segovia. A successful career of teaching and performing followed, earning rave reviews from nearly every major concert hall in the world.

Time passed, life moved on, and Jim finally found an opportunity to record his own music. Using a sound-on-sound recording technique, he was able to create duets and add his own lead guitar parts. In normal playback, however, the two stereo tracks seemed out of sync, with the music from one speaker slightly behind the other.

Sophisticated software allowed separating the stereo mix into two separate monaural tracks. Then, by advancing the late track in increments of 1/1000th of a second, the two tracks could be brought into perfect alignment. The music was worth the effort!

“Packaging” is the term used here for CD or DVD labels, covers and tray liners listing song titles. The digital files on original templates can take a long time to create, but are quite small. For that reason, it’s simpler to save them for the occasional reorder.

This happened recently with a request for a single copy of something originally completed here nearly ten years ago. Having the label, full color cover, and detailed liner notes still on file allowed completing the order in minutes.

The primary recording system at King Street Recording Company has been upgraded with a new, larger hard drive for added space and increased speed.

After more than forty years of writing, I’m now able to offer my articles and editorials for sale to you. They all offer handy hints, timely tips and detailed instructions for your business and for your life. The first three titles are

Why you’re paying the same and receiving less.

To Order Paste This In Your Browser:

* * * * *

A little careful work with Photoshop® allowed lifting a single frame from an original video and using it for a custom DVD cover.

Q: What do you think of electric pickups in acoustic guitars?

A: I don’t like ’em. Although “plugging in” gives the musician greater range of movement on stage, as well as freedom from feedback, the original sound of the instrument will be altered. A microphone will accurately reproduce the original tone of the guitar while allowing the musician to control both volume and tone by skillfully interacting with the mike – provided, of course, that the musician knows how to do that.

Professional quality guitars are expensive, with some costing more than $10K. The new Martin jumbo lists for $15K! At that price range, the sound quality is extraordinary. Why pay so much for tone, and then change it with electronics?

Q: What can new songwriters do to promote their music?

A: The best way I know is to perform live. Audience response gives a songwriter useful feedback on the value of a new tune. Performing live also helps to develop self-confidence. Just this last year I worked with two outstanding songwriters who hadn’t been playing anywhere. It took a little coaxing but I finally got ’em to show up at Central Wayne Arts Gathering in Wayne – that’s in the lower level of Central Wayne Baptist Church. Their material was excellent and their audiences liked what they heard. I hope they’ll come back again. NOTE: That’s the third Saturday night of the month at 7:00 PM. Use the rear entrance on West Wayne Avenue and come early!

I remember my grandmother’s Victrola. Manufactured in the very early 1900s, it was powered by a spring that was wound by hand with a crank. The music came from a horn built into the tall wooden cabinet.

It was completely mechanical in operation, and played the thick 78-rpm recordings of Louis Armstrong, Enrico Caruso, Marion Harris, Billie Holiday, Scott Joplin, Harry Lauder, John McCormick, Jelly Roll Morton, Bessie Smith, and Esther Walker – names that are forgotten today, but who led for decades in the performing arts.

I didn’t mind the scratchy sound of the records. In fact I didn’t even notice ’cause I was so focused on the music.

Since then the recording industry has taken a huge step forward in improving the process of recording and reproducing music.

In recent years, we’ve taken a few steps backward with high-quality recordings reduced to compressed mp3 files listened to with ear buds. After so many years, and billions in R & D costs to perfect recording and reproducing audio, we’ve suddenly traded quality for convenience. Funny, isn’t it?

Chet Atkins, Country Gentleman, written by Bill Neely. Learn the inside story of one of America’s best known and best loved guitarists who grew to be a powerful executive with a major record company.

For those who remember the original Main Point coffeehouse in Bryn Mawr, my 400 page autobiography, Little Boy Found, will list my experiences with the singers, musicians, comics and actors I worked with in my ten years there as general manager. Final editing is in currently progress, with publication planned for June.

The first issue of my newsletter for musicians, Stagecraft 101 is now available. The term,Stagecraft, by the way, refers to everything you say and do after the emcee says your name. If this is of interest to you, please give me a call at 610-647-4341.

But didn’t know how to get started?

Where: Paoli Library, 18 Darby Rd., Paoli, PA

610-296-7996

When: Thursdays from 12:30 to 2:30 PM

Contact: Walt Trizna: wtrizna@comcast.net

For lovers of contemporary coffeehouse music, Central Wayne Arts Gathering hosts an open mike and one-hour concert on the third Saturday night of the month featuring talented musicians

from all over the Delaware Valley.

Where: The Hall, Central Baptist Church

106 West Lancaster Avenue, Wayne, PA

(Enter through doors on West Wayne Ave.)

When: Third Saturday of each month at 7 PM

Admission: Free-will offering

This month: Larry Ahearn, engaging singer, songwriter, humorist and former co-manager of the Main Point

Meet, Greet and Learn Inside Tips and Tactics

from Fellow Job Seekers at

Where: Panera Bread, Routes 30 and 29, Malvern, PA

When: Mondays at 9 AM

General Contact: Emmet Robinson, King Street Recording Company