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Vicente Amigo
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gj Michelob
Posts: 1531
Joined: Nov. 7 2008
From: New York City/San Francisco
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RE: Vicente Amigo (in reply to tk)
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I agree with all of the above, but I concur with tk's disenchantment with Vicente's sound as of lately. I believe that we all love many aspects of his playing, virtuosity, creativity, along with the Reyes that he contributed to make legendary, with that characteristic sound he alone used to have, even live, as the acoustics of honey dripping on the strings of a grand piano, with intensity and a lyrical depth I had never heard before or since. Regrettably, as much as I tried to persuade myself otherwise, I lost him a bit on his last record which, charming as it may be, is but a far cry from the Vicente Amigo that made me fall in love with flamenco guitar, with Tio Arango, Morente and even the orchestrated work such as Amor Dulce Muerte. This new amplification system he is now using is also corroding that elusive measure of perfection in sound and tone that (to my ears) all other guitarists chased but never achieved, as only Vicente did. And please, do not get me wrong, I don't hold any of it against him. He is obviously trying to reach a larger share of listeners, to impress with his talent. In the process, he will acquire more fans and disappoint a few, but we all love him and respect him for the wonders he is created and shared.
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gj Michelob
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Date Nov. 7 2014 0:13:18
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Ricardo
Posts: 14743
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC
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RE: Vicente Amigo (in reply to tk)
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Well, lets be honest for a minute. He is basically copying the PDL live show format, that is do a couple of flamenco puro solos, then add other insttrumentation to your arranged falsetas then finally, perhaps. some all out fusion. THe problem is and always was that the guitar does not compete volume wise with other instruments. Only the voice, un amplified, and still, only in an intimate venue. So as much as they try to find new ways to use monitoring, the guitar is simply a quiet instrument and we are limited as to how loud we can make it heard on stage before bleed and feedback start. In extreme conditions it can be done but the player can not move an INCH or it changes the sound. It is VERY uncomfortable to sit in such a way you can't move the guitar an inch. I have seen both Paco and Vicente move in their chair and get feedback live. In Vicente's case it was always in the same spots in the show. Now he wants even more instruments involved. The trade off is the quaility of tone, but you get expenentially higher volume before feed back and no bleeding etc. It is a see saw, a lesser of two evils type of decision when you get to touring. Even harder when you have to deal with different sound engineers every show. I have struggled with live sound for years and unfortunately the concept is very simple. If you want pure natural guitar, intimate venue or no monitoring. If you want to hear yourself on stage with other loud instruments, you have no choice but to use a pick up. Pretty simple. Ricardo
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CD's and transcriptions available here: www.ricardomarlow.com
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Date Nov. 7 2014 3:20:36
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Mark2
Posts: 1862
Joined: Jul. 12 2004
From: San Francisco
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RE: Vicente Amigo (in reply to tk)
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Fully agree with Ricardo about the compromise. I've done tons of gigs using a pickup(RMC) blended with a mike. The pickup is needed to project over other instruments when playing single note solos, but I always favored the mike when playing rhythm. I use a volume pedal to bring in the pickup when playing lead. But I was never satisfied with the pickup sound. In fact, it sucks. I was not regularly playing halls like VA or Paco, but clubs. When playing bigger places with pro sound, the results were much the same. When I'd go see Paco, he used a mike, and it sounded great. First time I saw VA, it was the same. He got an amazing sound, but there were two moments in the show where he got really annoying loud ear killing feedback. They were clearly pushing the limits of amplifying his guitar with a mike. the gig I did recently was with pro sound, and I had hoped to get away with just a mike, but it's amazing the lack of volume you get through monitors when playing with a group. I always have found the use of a pickup when playing a flamenco guitar to be very depressing. I mean, your SOUND is everything. A great sound and you play much better. A crappy sound, and you are fighting the whole time. You have a reyes or conde or whatever guitar worth 10k, you put on new strings, and then you plug in a tone destroying pickup? Compromising your sound is so messed up. Electric guitarists fuss over their gear to an obsessive degree-tube amps, pedals, strings, etc. So do horn players, string players, etc. the idea that a flamenco guitarist has to destroy the quality of his sound to be heard is horrible IMO. I think VA is making a huge mistake playing with that sound. I guess many people don't notice, but from this thread it seems many of his greatest fans do. I really love his music and his playing. Really he is my favorite living flamenco guitarist. Unlike some, I think Tierra is a masterpiece. I hope he brings that show to SF. But I hope like heck he doesn't use a pickup.
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Date Nov. 7 2014 16:14:19
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