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<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<The Acoustic Guitar Wire<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
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1. Welcome to the Acoustic Guitar Wire No. 7
2. News and Notes: Dylan, R.E.M., Welch, and more
3. New at Acoustic Guitar Central
4. Win a free Dean Markley Pro Mag Plus guitar pickup
5. More guitar myths: straps, strings, and pressure
6. Highlights from upcoming issues of Acoustic Guitar
7. RainSong jumbo guitar giveaway
8. Vintage Guitars: An essential new book from SLP
9. Win a free CD!
10. A.G. Wire archives
11. New mail server: unsubscribe info

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Welcome to the Acoustic Guitar Wire No. 7.

Enjoy the latest acoustic music news, information
about happenings on-line, advance notice of special offers
and giveaways, and previews of new publications from String
Letter Publishing. You'll also get tips and advice about
guitars, gear, and playing, plus a few jokes and the chance
to win a free CD.

This newsletter is best viewed in 10-point Courier.
Our hyperlinks are formatted to be "hot" in most mail
readers. If your reader doesn't support click-through
linking from e-mail, just cut and paste the URLs into your
Web browser.

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News and Notes

Bob Dylan turned 60 on Thursday, May 24, and "Like a Rolling
Stone" was blasting out of radios all over the country.
There are several new tomes about the life and times of the
tousled bard, and among the best is "Positively 4th Street:
The Lives and Times of Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Mimi Baez
Farina, and Richard Farina,"by David Hajdu. Look for it at
your local book shop. You can get "Tangled up in Blue" with
a trip to http://www.bobdylan.com. The site hosts a catalog
of officially released Dylan albums and songs and a
searchable database of his published lyrics, accompanied by
45-second audio clips from all the official recordings of
each song. Who the heck was Johanna, anyway?

REM recorded an all-acoustic concert for MTV Unplugged this
month. The show will air June 19, and will feature Peter
Buck and Mike Mills playing an array of acoustic guitars,
mandolins, and banjos behind Michael Stipe's sublimely
inscrutable lyrics. Find out more at
http://www.billboard.com/billboard/livereviews/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=873009

We are very sorry to note the passing of Scottish singer-
songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Davy Steele, who
succumbed to cancer on April 11. Steele had a long and
varied solo career, but is perhaps best known for his
contributions to six major folk groups. In recent years he
performed with the Battlefield Band, Scotland's premier trad
ensemble. Those wishing to post memorial messages or learn
more about Steele are invited to visit
http://www.mcclellanweb.com/davytalk/.

Gillian Welch and David Rawlings are co-presidents and sole
artists of the new Acony Records label. They will re-release
"Revival" and "Hell Among the Yearlings" on this new
venture, and will follow up with a new studio recording
sometime this summer. In addition to her new status as a
record-company magnate, Welch is enjoying her success as
associate producer of the number-one, platinum-selling "O
Brother Where Art Thou?" soundtrack.

Founding Nitty Gritty Dirt Band member John McEuen is
reuniting with his old cohorts Jeff Hanna, Jimmie Fadden,
Jimmy Ibbotson, and Bob Carpenter for some summer and fall
tour dates. Catch the complete story at:
http://www.billboard.com/billboard/daily/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=872822

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New at Acoustic Guitar Central

The wildly successful Guitar Talk open mic series continues
with the first-ever east-coast event. The gathering at
Bailey's on Canal Street in Salem, Massachussetts will
commence on Saturday, June 9, from 12 noon and will continue
until everyone calls it quits. Everyone is welcome to
participate. If you want to learn more about the event or
sign up for a performance slot, go to:
http://www.acousticguitar.com/ubb/Forum8/HTML/000005.html

We added a new, free, on-line guitar lesson with Gary Joyner
entitled Great Classical Guitar Exercises. These classical
finger workouts are a wonderful way for any fingersyle
player to build strength and dexterity. As always, the free
lesson includes, tab, notation, and audio examples. Check it
out at:
http://www.acousticguitar.com/lessons/classical_ex1/1.shtml

David Hamburger in now hosting a new on-line forum
especially for guitar teachers. This will be a great place
for teachers to put their heads together, compare notes, or
blow off a little steam about some of the issues teaching
brings up. Meet your colleagues at:
http://www.acousticguitar.com

The man in black has been the headliner at
www.acousticguitar.com this month. Our exclusive story on
Johnny Cash is the main feature, and you can read it at
http://www.acousticguitar.com/issues/ag102/featureA102.shtml

We also added the latest CD reviews, new artists' gear
profiles, and more. See it all at
http://www.acousticguitar.com

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Win a free Dean Markley Pro Mag Plug pickup

There's always a good discussion about guitars, players, and
acoustic music going in the Guitar Talk forums. Register to
participate and automatically get a chance to win a magnetic
pickup for your acoustic guitar. Sign up today at
http://www.acousticguitar.com/ubbcgi/Ultimate.cgi

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More Myths: Straps, Strings, and Atmospheric Pressure

The "Acoustic Guitar Owner's Manual" is packed with handy
information for keeping your instrument in good playing
condition. In one chapter, contributing editor Richard
Johnston of Gryphon Stringed Instruments debunks common
myths about the acoustic guitar. We've been sharing these
tips with A.G. Wire readers each month. Here are three more
shocking revelations.

Myth No. 10:
Tying your strap to the peghead (instead of a strap button
on the heel) can warp the neck.
This myth is based on the belief that a guitar neck is in a
state of fragile balance against the evil influence of
string tension, and any additional tension must be avoided.
But steel-string guitar necks are made to withstand over 150
pounds of pull from a set of light strings, so the slight
weight from hanging a strap on the neck isn't enough to
worry about.

Myth No. 11:
Change the strings on your guitar one at a time.
Here's that fear of "upsetting the delicate balance" again.
There's just no evidence that removing all the strings
causes any harm or loss of tone. Removing the strings may
allow you to clean the fretboard, making strings last a bit
longer since they won't pick up grunge from around the
frets. On the other hand, changing strings one at a time
allows you to tune up the new string to the rest of the set,
avoiding the embarrassment of breaking strings or being
hopelessly sharp or flat if you don't have an electronic
tuner, tuning fork, or pitch pipe.

Myth No. 12:
Don't fly with your guitar or ship the guitar without
loosening the strings, because of the changes in atmospheric
pressure.
Presumably folks are referring to checking the guitar as
baggage when they solemnly intone this one. It's the
delicate balance issue again, but this time the myth results
in sound advice given for the wrong reason. Though lots of
manufacturers now ship their guitars tuned to standard
pitch, it's not a bad idea to loosen the strings. This is
not because the guitar is in danger in an unpressurized
cargo space at 30,000 feet, but because when guitars get
thrown around or dropped while in the case, the peghead
often cracks around the nut, sort of a whiplash injury.
Loosening the strings and packing the neck and peghead
within the case so they cannot move is cheap insurance
against the most common type of damage to guitars in
transit, whether by airplane or oxcart.

For more tips and advice, be sure to check out the
"Acoustic Guitar Owner's Manual":
http://www.acousticguitar.com/books/Guidebooks.html#agom

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Highlights from upcoming issues of Acoustic Guitar magazine:

The July issue will be hitting the newsstands soon. This is
our Classical Guitar Special issue, with feature stories on
the latest innovations in nylon-string lutherie, topflight
contemporary players, and a photo essay on building a
rosette. Plus a profile of fingerstylist Pat Donohue, an
inside look at Neil Young's "Harvest" sessions, and more.

Coming Soon:

-Emmylou Harris graces the cover of our August issue, and
look for stories on Ralph Towner, yoga for guitarists, and
more
-In September we present features on jazz wizard Al Di
Meola, blues legend Big Bill Broonzy, and the latest live
recording techniques
-October brings you our exclusive interview with Shawn
Colvin, a look back at John Fahey, and special story about
guitars in the classroom
-Gear, gear, gear! (Did we mention gear?)

Don't miss out on any of these great features! Subscribe to
Acoustic Guitar today. Sign up on-line at
www.acousticguitar.com/service/service.html#subscribe or
call toll free (800) 827-6837.

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Giveaways

Enter our to win a great new JM1000 Jumbo guitar from
RainSong. The deadline is looming for this, so send in your
entry form right away. Get the details at
http://www.acousticguitar.com/giveaway2/rainsong/index.html

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New from String Letter Publishing

Learn the fundamentals of acoustic guitar chords--your first
chords and beyond--with the newest book from the publishers
of Acoustic Guitar magazine: ACOUSTIC GUITAR CHORD AND
HARMONY BASICS.

Whether you're a beginning or an intermediate acoustic
guitarist, chords are the foundation for the songs you play.
Here's a book that teaches you the real world chord
voicings, shapes, and progressions used by today's top
acoustic players. Not a chord encyclopedia, ACOUSTIC GUITAR
CHORD AND HARMONY BASICS shows you what you really need to
know, along with valuable tips and tricks to help you
understand and master the sounds of bluegrass, blues, folk,
rock, and roots music.
http://www.acousticguitar.com/books/LessonBooks.html#chord

VINTAGE GUITARS: The Instruments, the Players, and the Music
Reserve your special limited-edition copy at a savings of
20%

VINTAGE GUITARS: The Instruments, the Players, and the Music
is the first pictorial reference work to offer guitar
enthusiasts, players, and collectors an opportunity to
explore the eventful, perpetual give-and-take between
musicians and instrument makers that produced America's
popular music and its quintessential instrument.

--Generously illustrated with more than 150 photographs of
players, instruments, catalog pages, and other memorabilia.
--Features everything from the elegant American guitars of
the 19th century to the evolving dreadnought, jumbo, 12-
string, archtop, resophonic, and more--the original
instruments as well as contemporary incarnations and
reissues.
--Spotlights the guitars of Leadbelly, Jimmie Rodgers, the
Everly Brothers, Tony Rice, Emmylou Harris, Ben Harper, and
others.

**You are invited to acquire the limited edition now, in
advance of publication. If your order is received before
July 1, 2001, your price is $80.00, a savings of 20%. You
will receive your book in July 2001.**

**Only three hundred hardbound volumes will be produced and
will not be reprinted. Each slip-cased limited edition is
individually numbered and signed. These are selling fast, so
get your order in soon to ensure delivery.**

Vintage Guitars, Limited Edition (152 pp.) #21330781
$80.00 (if ordered before 7/1/01)

http://www.acousticguitar.com/books/Guidebooks.html

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Win a Free CD!

We're giving away a free CD of acoustic guitar music to the
contributor of the best music joke or gig story. To enter,
simply send your favorite music joke or anecdote about a
gig from hell to mailto:jokes@stringletter.com. Be sure to
include a mailing address in case you win. We'll award a
new prize with each edition. Our prizewinner this month is
Sandy Simmons, who offers this tale from the trenches.

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The Show Must Go On

I had a two-hour gig at a small coffee shop recently, and
when I got there I noticed that there was only one
individual there to listen. After waiting an extra ten
minutes to start, I decided to do my set even though no on
else had shown up. I also was determined to really give my
one-person audience the best performance I could muster.
This guy was an incredible audience! He clapped and hooted,
laughed at my one-liners, showed interest in my guitar,
wanted to learn about some of my techniques, and put a $20
bill in the hat when I finished.

I thanked this guy profusely for being such an incredible
audience, and for staying and participating throughout my
gig. "That's OK," he replied, "I'm on next."

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Free back issues of the A.G. Wire are available on-line at:
http://www.acousticguitar.com/wire_archive/index.shtml

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