Endsongs 1

Three ES300's, December 2008

Information
After doing the recordings with the Three Martins I had the idea that I might record all my old guitars using a similar setup, so that I (and others with the interest) can compare the different qualities of the guitars. This might take a few attempts to get the correct setup but the only sonic differences will be by the guitars themselves.

This (first attempt) uses my three ES300's. A 1951 ES300 (small images are to the right and also over in the guitars section), a 1946 ES300 (one of the very first post-war ES300's) and a 1948 ES300N.

All the music is improvised. I simply start the MacBook running and twiddle away.

The Setup
I used a 1969 Fender Twin Reverb. I plugged into the High Gain Vibrato channel, the volume was on 2 (it IS a Fender Twin - if I'd had it much louder you could have recorded it yourself in whatever country you are in...), Treble on 7, Mid on 2, Bass on 3, Reverb on 2, Bright switch off. The guitar volume was on (about) 7 and the tone was also on (about) 7. If there are two pickups (only for the 1951) then the neck pickup was used. I play with fingers only (ie no pick - I use my thumb - and only with 2 fingers of my left hand thanks to a long term Ulnar nerve compression problem).

The microphone was an AKG C414, about 20 cms (approx 8 inches) directly in front of one of the speakers. I used a MacBook with Ableton Live and a MOTU UltraLite interface.

The MP3 files to download are:

ES300 1951 (8:34)
ES300 1946 (5:09)
ES300N 1948 (5:52)

Performers
Mark Macpherson - Guitar