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Guitarist
Interview
with Jim Walker June 2012 Bands: Tim & Jim, JVA Websites: www.jvamusic.com QRD – What was your first guitar & what happened to it? Jim – 12 years old. Epiphone Les Paul. I often wonder what happened to that guitar. QRD – What’s your typical set-up from guitar to effects to amplifier? Jim – Norman acoustic guitar (just a beater). I don’t want to take a really good guitar out on a gig. I have a 1965 Hofner acoustic at home for recording. The Norman’s just something I can pound on. I have a BOSS pedal board that contains; BOSS Tuner, BOSS reverb, BOSS delay, BOSS octave divider, BOSS tremolo. That gets plugged right into our Peavey PA head. QRD – What’s the most important part of your rig - guitar, amplifier, or effects? Jim – Guitar. The Norman has a lot of bottom end. The other guy I play with is Tim Ellis. He plays much more of the top end & color notes. I just brace myself to the guitar & hold down the rhythm, steady as I can. QRD – What’s your main amplifier & why? Jim – I rarely play electric live, but in the studio I use a Fender Deluxe reverb I bought in 1982. QRD – What’s your main guitar & what are the features that make it such? Jim – See above. In the studio I have a Fender Telecaster from 1982 (bought it with the amp!). It’s always had an intonation problem that no one seems to be able to fix. So I also have a Stratocaster for other things. QRD – If you had a signature guitar, what would it look like & what would some of its features be? Jim – I don’t think about things like that. :) QRD – How many guitars do you own? Jim – 5. QRD – How & where do you store your guitars? Jim – In a safe, dry place. QRD – What do you wish guitar cases had that they usually don’t? Jim – I think they work great. QRD – What features do you look for when buying a guitar? Jim – Bottom end that’s not woofy, just warm & feels good. I rarely play above the 5th fret, so my concentration is on the low notes. I should have been a bass player, but the guitar feels better to me. QRD – How much do you think a good guitar should cost? Jim – They should be cheap enough so every kid in the world can afford one. Everybody should be able to make some music. QRD – Do you upgrade & customize your guitars or just stick with what you get? Jim – I have certain pickups I like for acoustic guitars. Every one of my guitars eventually needs a fret job because I beat them unmerciful. QRD – How thoroughly do you research or test a piece of equipment before buying it? Jim – Every guitar I own has been an impulse buy. I’m also the guy that buys Chap Stick & Sharpies while standing in line at the market. QRD – Do you change your rig around often? Jim – Rarely. If it ain’t broke.… QRD – Are you after one particular guitar tone & locking into it, or do you like to change your tone around a lot? Jim – I lock in to the sound with my front teeth & never let it go. QRD – What are some guitars, amps, & pedals you particularly lust after? Jim – A sunburst Les Paul like Jimmy Page had in The Song Remains the Same. A sea-foam green Fender Mustang like Elvis Costello’s. QRD – What do you think are some important features to be on a person’s first guitar that aren’t always there? Jim – Fingers, as often as possible. QRD – What have been the best & worst guitar related purchases you’ve made? Jim – I bought an acoustic/electric bass for recording purposes that felt & sounded great at the store. I brought it home & found that the whole thing had terrible intonation. I put it in a dry, safe place & have never looked at it again. Just ate shit on that one. QRD – What are some effect, amp, & guitar brands you particularly like or dis-like & why? Jim – I’m not very brand loyal. If it feels & sounds good, there you go. QRD – What’s the first thing you play when you pick up a guitar? Jim – G Major chord. QRD – How old were you when you started playing guitar? Jim – 11 years old. QRD – At what age do you think you leveled up to your best guitar playing? Jim – About 25. Been downhill ever since. QRD – Why do you think a guitar fits you more so than other instruments? Jim – I’m a songwriter first & foremost, way more so than a guitar player. The acoustic guitar fits my mood. QRD – Do you think guitar should be people’s first instrument as often as it is? Jim – I’m not sure how to answer that. QRD – Do you see your guitar as your ally or adversary in making music? Jim – Ally. QRD – Who are the guitarists that most influenced your playing & sound? Jim – David Gilmour, Mike Campbell, Jeff Baxter, Elliot Randall, Steve Howe. QRD – Do you think people anthropomorphizing their guitars is natural or silly (e.g. naming their guitar)? Jim – Whatever floats your boat, man. QRD – What’s the most physical damage you’ve done to a guitar & how did you do it? Jim – In my old electric band, my bass player & I used to do something we’d introduce as FRICTION. I’d turn on my distortion & the bass player & I would rub the necks of our guitars together, sawing away, making an ungodly racket. We thought it was funny. The audience thought it sucked. QRD – What do you do to practice other than simply playing? Jim – I play so many gigs I don’t have time to practice. If I’m going to spend my time doing anything, it’s memorizing lyrics. QRD – How many hours a week do you play guitar & how many hours would you like to? Jim – About 16-20 hours a week. I think that’s enough. QRD – What type of pick do you use & why? Jim – A Clayton 1.26mm. Because it’s the thickest & largest pick I can find. Like I said, I pound on the guitar. QRD – What gauge strings do you use & why? Jim – Acoustic - D-addario Jazz Medium. Electric - Ernie Ball Super Slinkys. QRD – How often do you change strings? Jim – Before every gig. QRD – How often do you break strings? Jim – Once every couple of months. QRD – Which do you feel is more proficient, your strumming hand or fretting hand & how does that effect your style? Jim – Strumming hand. I’m a rhythm guy. QRD – Do you set-up your guitar yourself or send it to a guitar tech (or not set it up at all) & why? Jim – To a tech. I don’t know anything about the guitar other than how to play it. QRD – What tunings do you use & why? Jim – Standard tuning, because if I used other tunings, I’d have to tune more, & I hate tuning. It’s a good way to watch your life seep away. QRD – Do you prefer tablature, sheet music, or some other notation system for writing down your own ideas? Jim – Used to be I carried a little mini cassette player back in the day. Now I use the voice memo app on my Iphone. Sounds great. QRD – How high do you hold your guitar when playing (strap length)? Jim – Tit height. QRD – What’s a bad habit in your playing you wish you could break? Jim – Playing a G Major chord every time I pickup a guitar. QRD – Playing what other instrument do you think can most help someone’s guitar playing? Jim – Piano. It’s a whole different muscle set to use. QRD – What’s a type of guitar playing you wish you could do that you can’t? Jim – Old jazz; Charlie Christian, Joe Pass, Barney Kessell. It’s just not in me, but I love to listen. QRD – What’s a guitar goal you’ve never accomplished? Jim – Playing above the 5th fret. QRD – What’s the last guitar trick you learned? Jim – That a pick rake sounds better when you rake UP the neck, but looks cooler when you rake DOWN the neck. QRD – What’s your favorite guitar gadget (ebow, capo, slide, string cutter, etc)? Jim – Ebow, definitely QRD – What’s a guitar technique you’d like to master, but haven’t? Jim – Ragtime blues like Rev. Gary Davis. QRD – Did you ever take guitar lessons & if so, what did you learn from them? Jim – I took one year of classical guitar, & one year of jazz guitar. I learned all the fundamentals of music. I forget what they are now, but I’m sure it was very educational. QRD – What would you teach someone in a guitar lesson that you don’t think they would generally get from a guitar teacher? Jim – How to play a song. That’s what people want to learn. The fundamentals will come eventually, but to be able to play a song is so damn empowering when you start off. Being able to do that makes you want to learn more. QRD – What’s something someone would have to do to emulate your style? Jim – Lock the guitar in place with your forearm & pick the low strings like a machine gun. QRD – What’s your take on tremolo systems? Jim – Sure I’ll take one. QRD – How often do you adjust your tone knob? Jim – Endlessly. QRD – What do you see as the difference between lead guitar & rhythm guitar players? Jim – Girls, versus less girls. QRD – If a band has good guitar work, can you ignore the rest of the band not being good? Jim – No. If it sucks there’s no ignoring it. QRD – What famous musician’s guitar would you like to own & why? Jim – Frank Zappa’s SG. Because Frank is my hero. QRD – Who do you think is currently the most innovative guitar player & why? Jim – Buckethead. Because he’s a great guitar player, but he also has a bucket on his head. He’s taken it to a new place, see? QRD – Where can people hear your best guitar work? Jim – I have 17 CDs out. You can hear samples of everything at my website; www.jvamusic.com QRD – Anything else? Jim – Always bring a book, there’s always a line.
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