Robben Ford Discussion

[AndyR]

jconstant wrote:

[frank0936]

One website I was looking at suggests playing in front of a mirror and watching for signs of tension. It suggested you play something you really know well enough so you don't have to think about what you're playing, you can just watch. I'm going to try that. I am getting better, but I have to constantly remind myself at the gig to relax and play lightly. Sometimes, it even works!
Frank

[Aeolian]

Dewane has some interesting techniques. He also tends to fret with his index finger alot while muting with his other fingers. After all the Chris Squire "piano" sounds, this upright like bass thump is coming back into vogue. This does mean that Dewayne has to move his hand around a lot since he is effectively playing with one finger but when you watch him, he isn't even looking. Myron Dove plays with his thumb and palm mutes in a manner more familiar to guitarists. The guy who followed Myron in the local group Spang-a-lang, David Jones, has the wildest thump technique of all. He puts his finger right on top of the fret. So a little flesh is on the vibrating side of the string. This lets him get the muted thump even when doing the bicky-boom thumb thing on the right hand. A really interesting and percussive effect.

On strangling the neck, tone production has to be learned and practiced like anything else. Start slow, with simple licks. I used to sit playing the line from Beck's Bolereo for hours both intonating the bends and trying to get a sound I liked. Practice gets this into muscle memory and it becomes part of how you play. I've started fooling around with Robben's flatter fingering technique and now it's creeping into my regular playing. Of course the intensity of a hot evening tends to raise the stakes, and the longer the night goes on, the harder I find myself digging into the guitar. I put super giant frets on it so it doesn't wimp out when I get like this, but at the end of a night of endless soloing on a trio gig, my high E string is dented where it goes over the frets. Is this why Daved changes Robben's strings every set?
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[kirk95]

I believe Robben had his Les Paul coverted over to the BF system. Does anybody know what that costs?

What about Robben's Tele?
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[FordFan]

I had my 72 strat w/ customized Warmoth neck fitted with the Feiten system. It cost me around $200.00. Well worth it! Hugh difference. Those 70's neck are horrible trying to get them intonated correctly.