Some questions about Chet Atkins

[kwakatak]

Please recommend some of his essential material. So far I have heard and gotten tab for 2 of his songs thanks to Fingerstyle Guitar magazine and want to hear (and possibly learn) some more. I'm having a ball flubbing my way through "La Vie en Rose" and his rendition of Don McLean's "Vincent (Starry Starry Night)".

 

My second question is what type of acoustic is best suited for playing his music? I've seen pictures of him with what looks like either a parlor or a 000/OM though I believe that the majority of his recordings were done with either arch-tops or hollow-body electrics.

[Mike Crixell]

The key to attempting Chet's stuff is to use a guitar, ANY guitar, with very low action. His is not only an intricate and elegant style, but also a very technical one. Chet was very, very fast in his line work and chord changes and inversions.

 

Tommy Emmanuel is one of the proteges, if not THE protege, of Chet. He learned at the master's knee and built upon his teachings to reach even higher heights, IMO. Anyway, one of the things Tommy told me he learned from Chet was to keep your action as low as possible, because, as he said, "Just playing guitar is hard enough."

 

Those words seem simple and obvious, but they come from two inarguable masters, and they're words worth taking to heart.

 

Low action, i.e., ease of playability allows you to play whatever you want with the least amount of resistance. Of course, if you have a right hand like a jack hammer, you might have to raise your action a skosh to accommodate that. But whatever the case, keep your action as low as you can play without string buzzing, then all you have to do is practice Chet's (and/or Tommy's) stuff like hell. Nothing works like plain old sweat and time, but low action makes it all a little easier.

 

Take care,

 

Mike

 

P.S. Check out Stefan Grossman's site for some videos taught by Chet himself.

[TaylorFishin']

Kwak,

 

I think every fingerpicker should have to at least be able to play two Chet songs!! He done so much for the guitar world that words can't describe.....

 

Since you are a Chet fan, make sure and also check out Jerry Reed. Chet recorded more than 30 songs written by Jerry Reed.

Jerry is also a wonderful player. He has the same basic style as Chet but adds a little more FUNK to it. He just has a vibe that Chet didn't quite get.

 

I'm not saying that one is better than the other; they are both wonderful players with a little difference in style. I think you would enjoy Jerry as well as Chet.

 

Chet has some videos available and Buster B. Jones also has a few videos that cover songs and styles of both Chet and Jerry.

 

Good luck in your search,

 

Scott

[TaylorFishin']

To continue with my prior post.......

 

I got my mind on Jerry Reed and forgot to ask the question that Kwak's post brought to mind.

 

The only CD's and Video's I have of Chet's playing are all on electric guitars. Does anyone know of or have any Chet recordings played on acoustic guitar?

 

I never really thought about it before, but I have never heard or seen Chet play an acoustic guitar.

 

 

Scott

[orsino]

Originally posted by TaylorFishin' To continue with my prior post....... I got my mind on Jerry Reed and forgot to ask the question that Kwak's post brought to mind. The only CD's and Video's I have of Chet's playing are all on electric guitars. Does anyone know of or have any Chet recordings played on acoustic guitar? I never really thought about it before, but I have never heard or seen Chet play an acoustic guitar. Scott

 

I have a greatest hits type of compilation that has what I think are some acoustic recordings. Although there is a LOT of UST quack in the sound. Come to think of it, maybe it was an electric? Hollow body?

[USian Pie]

 

Originally posted by kwakatak Please recommend some of his essential material. So far I have heard and gotten tab for 2 of his songs thanks to Fingerstyle Guitar magazine and want to hear (and possibly learn) some more. I'm having a ball flubbing my way through "La Vie en Rose" and his rendition of Don McLean's "Vincent (Starry Starry Night)". My second question is what type of acoustic is best suited for playing his music? I've seen pictures of him with what looks like either a parlor or a 000/OM though I believe that the majority of his recordings were done with either arch-tops or hollow-body electrics.

 

 

I have a two-CD set called something like, "Chet Atkins, Guitar Legend -- The RCA Years." It's great because it contains his early recordings where it's mostly guitar and minimal production. It contains a lot of what I consider "essential Chet": "Yakety Axe", "Windy and Warm", "Blue Ocean Echo", and his way-cool versions of "Mister Sandman" and "Black Mountain Rag".

 

As far as a particular acoustic, my impression is Chet kind of favored nylon-strings and hollow-body electrics. Later, he seemed to use his Gibson signature solid-body nylon-string piezo thing (which might be the UST "quacker" orsino mentioned).

 

I'd say just find an acoustic that plays well and sounds good to you.

[kwakatak]

 

Originally posted by USian Pie I have a two-CD set called something like, "Chet Atkins, Guitar Legend -- The RCA Years." It's great because it contains his early recordings where it's mostly guitar and minimal production. It contains a lot of what I consider "essential Chet": "Yakety Axe", "Windy and Warm", "Blue Ocean Echo", and his way-cool versions of "Mister Sandman" and "Black Mountain Rag". As far as a particular acoustic, my impression is Chet kind of favored nylon-strings and hollow-body electrics. Later, he seemed to use his Gibson signature solid-body nylon-string piezo thing (which might be the UST "quacker" orsino mentioned). I'd say just find an acoustic that plays well and sounds good to you.

 

 

Thanks for your replies everyone!

 

I was thinking of twisting the wife's arm and getting a parlor or OM, but until then I will probably continue as I've been - yammering away with a dreadnaught which requires a little finesse or else the bass line just overpowers the melody. Until then I could probably dial in a suitable tone with my Strat, but acoustics are just more fun to play IMO!

[drmlabs]

 

Originally posted by USian Pie Later, he seemed to use his Gibson signature solid-body nylon-string piezo thing

 

 

It was a poorly-kept secret that Chet actually played a Kirk Sand guitar. But he had Kirk add a Gibson logo on the head stock, because he had committed to the Gibson sponsorship deal. This was told to me by a frequent attendee to the Chet Appreciation conventions in Nashville.

Dan

[Cortfan]

Many top players have an independant builder create a guitar for them, and then their factory endorsed sponser makes "copies" for the general public. I know Stever Cropper has his Peavey "Tele" especially made for him, and then Peavey started mass producing guitars that are quite similar. There is a guy at the Fender Custom Shop that makes a lot of the signature guitars for the various artists, and then they send them to the factory floor to imitate. Chet Atkins was meticulious about the playability and tone of his guitars. The Gibson SST was redesigned by the builder many times before Chet put his signature on it. The last video he made was well worth the price. Every time I replay it, I want to put all my stuff on ebay and quit.

[Beagle1]

I have "The Guitar of Chet Atkins" DVD and I would highly recommend it for insight into Chet's playing style. He goes through some of his more well-known arrangements like "When You Wish Upon a Star" and "Mr. Bo Jangles." Also, the CD Chet did with Tommy is great ("The Day Fingerpickers Took Over the World").

 

As far as guitars, I think Mike Crixell makes an excellent point about low action. In addition, Chet had a preference early on for guitars with fairly thin necks. This is to accommodate his use of the left-hand thumb to fret notes on the 6th string...an essential part of Chet's style, and of course Tommy's too.

 

PS - I've seen those Kirk Sand guitars and they are awesome...and expensive too!

[Carle]

I am a fan of Chet's. I have a little over 65 LP's and CD's of Chet's. I have never seen one of his guitars but according to Paul yandell and others that were around Chet he had the action on his guitars higher than standard. When he bought a guitar he would have his setup man set the action higher. His theory was that he got better tone with a high action. It is said he had a grip like a vise with his left hand. As I said, this is info gleaned from the Chet forum and books and talking to people that knew him. He played Gibson Country Gents and Gretch's mostly. Ray Cummins told me he kept a Martin 000 in his office to play on and when Ray played my L20 he said Chet would have loved the L20 as much as he did the Martin and he loved that little Martin. He liked small body acoustics according to Ray. He recorded with acoustic on many of his LP's and CD's. Visit MisterGuitar.com to log on to a Chet forum or see his discography. There are a lot of his tunes in tab on www.milaresolsimi.com/fgrc/tab_chet.htm to choose from. Have fun.

[TaylorFishin']

 

Originally posted by Carle I have never seen one of his guitars but according to Paul yandell and others that were around Chet he had the action on his guitars higher than standard. When he bought a guitar he would have his setup man set the action higher. His theory was that he got better tone with a high action.

 

 

I have read this same imformation somewhere but can not remember where I read it. I was thinking it was John Knowles but it could have been Paul Yandell.

 

High action or low action, there will never be another Chet Atkins.

 

 

 

Scott

[proax]

Gibson has 2 Atkins signature models.

[S~R~O]

Site....Thank You Carle:D

[kwakatak]

Originally posted by Carle I am a fan of Chet's. I have a little over 65 LP's and CD's of Chet's. I have never seen one of his guitars but according to Paul yandell and others that were around Chet he had the action on his guitars higher than standard. When he bought a guitar he would have his setup man set the action higher. His theory was that he got better tone with a high action. It is said he had a grip like a vise with his left hand. As I said, this is info gleaned from the Chet forum and books and talking to people that knew him. He played Gibson Country Gents and Gretch's mostly. Ray Cummins told me he kept a Martin 000 in his office to play on and when Ray played my L20 he said Chet would have loved the L20 as much as he did the Martin and he loved that little Martin. He liked small body acoustics according to Ray. He recorded with acoustic on many of his LP's and CD's. Visit MisterGuitar.com to log on to a Chet forum or see his discography. There are a lot of his tunes in tab on www.milaresolsimi.com/fgrc/tab_chet.htm to choose from. Have fun.

 

That is a wealth of information, Carle - thanks so much!

 

BTW - I'm of the mind that higher action (within reason of course)and heavier strings are better for tone and with practice anyone can overcome the initial difficulties. I actually don't mind dead strings, either!

[thisllub]

The definitive Chet webpage is http://freddie.spb.ru/rock/chet_atkins/ It has a huge collection of his stuff in a low res format. I don't know if it is legal but it is out there. I could spend hours listening to the jukebox.

 

I recommend the Jerry Reed song La Madrugada. There are 2 versions on the site. I will have it down some time this year.

 

I have heard the high action story as well yet I know Tommy Emmanuel likes his low. I suspect that Chet liked his electric guitars relatively high and his acoustic guitars low - i.e. about the same height.

 

There are at least 4 Gibson Chet Atkins signature guitars The CE, SST , Country Gentleman and Tennessean.

[Cortfan]

I saw Chet play on TV, when I was 11 years old. By the next year, I owned a '63 Gretsch Tennessean. I'm still trying to figure out how he does it. Just incredible.

[LittleBrother]

I spend hours going back and forth to that site last night. Great one ! You can really see which albums you would like to buy that way.

[kwakatak]

 

Originally posted by thisllub The definitive Chet webpage is http://freddie.spb.ru/rock/chet_atkins/ It has a huge collection of his stuff in a low res format. I don't know if it is legal but it is out there. I could spend hours listening to the jukebox. I recommend the Jerry Reed song La Madrugada. There are 2 versions on the site. I will have it down some time this year. I have heard the high action story as well yet I know Tommy Emmanuel likes his low. I suspect that Chet liked his electric guitars relatively high and his acoustic guitars low - i.e. about the same height. There are at least 4 Gibson Chet Atkins signature guitars The CE, SST , Country Gentleman and Tennessean.

 

 

Thanks for the great link! "La Madrugada" is just probably the most beautiful guitar piece I've heard yet! I have to learn this one too - where did you find the tab?

[thisllub]

The tab for La Madrugada. I think this the one that got me started. You really need to get the timing right by ear.

 

The tab file is a tef format so you will have to rename it, I couldn't post a tef file as an attachment.

[TaylorFishin']

 

Originally posted by thisllub The tab for La Madrugada. I think this the one that got me started. You really need to get the timing right by ear. The tab file is a tef format so you will have to rename it, I couldn't post a tef file as an attachment.

 

 

What is tef format? I am unable to open the file. Any advise?

 

 

Scott

[kwakatak]

Originally posted by thisllub The tab for La Madrugada. I think this the one that got me started. You really need to get the timing right by ear. The tab file is a tef format so you will have to rename it, I couldn't post a tef file as an attachment.

 

Thanks for the tab, thisllub - but I'm with TaylorFishin' and at a loss too - what software do I need to open a .tef file with? I already have PowerTab installed but it doesn't recognize the file.

[Mike Crixell]

A .tef file is for TableEdit. It can be downloaded for free, but a full-feature version is worth springing for. It allows you to display high-quality tabs and play them as MIDIs of whichever tab you download, and there are tons of those, too.

 

Do a Google search for "TableEdit" and you should be in good shape.

 

Mike

[kwakatak]

Originally posted by Mike Crixell A .tef file is for TableEdit. It can be downloaded for free, but a full-feature version is worth springing for. It allows you to display high-quality tabs and play them as MIDIs of whichever tab you download, and there are tons of those, too. Do a Google search for "TableEdit" and you should be in good shape. Mike

 

Thanks Mike - I got everything installed and ran the file once already. It looks like a lot of right hand technique to digest! It should be fun and is sure to be another song for my wife to loathe as I practice it endlessly!

[BOC]

Originally posted by Mike Crixell

Low action, i.e., ease of playability allows you to play whatever you want with the least amount of resistance. Of course, if you have a right hand like a jack hammer, you might have to raise your action a skosh to accommodate that. But whatever the case, keep your action as low as you can play without string buzzing, then all you have to do is practice Chet's (and/or Tommy's) stuff like hell. Nothing works like plain old sweat and time, but low action makes it all a little easier.

 

 

Also, people who've never attempted to play any of his arrangements don't realize that Chet was doing right hand tapping and fretboard harmonics before Eddie Van Halen had problably even been born. So I'd have to agree with the idea that he probably used guitars with a low string action. I've had difficulty pulling off sections of certain songs by him because the string action wasn't quite low enough. Of course Chet has *perfect right hand tecnique and you don't just develop that overnight.