Bill Frisell
There are several guitarists for whom an introduction is unnecessary. Bill Frisell is at the top of that list. He’s pretty much written a brand new chapter in music and in doing so has influenced not only guitar players and musicians, but also what we all expect from music - technically, emotionally, artistically. AND…he’s a great friend.
I sent Bill one of my newer guitars, Sidekick, to play with during the days of COVID-19 lockdown to just enjoy. Bill sent me these beautiful recordings he made on his own, illustrating what he was experiencing when playing Sidekick.
Here is Bill’s note back to me:
Hi Ken,
I’m no genius recording engineer…
There are 10 little tune-pieces. 8 are totally acoustic, recorded with a Neumann KM 184 right close to the body of the guitar in my small room. Totally flat. Nothing added. No reverb or anything.
What’s amazing to me about that is it sort of sounds like it’s in a bigger room ....there’s this reverb thing in the body of the guitar ...overtones ringing and stuff.
Also. It’s kind of wild how the low notes sound like open strings. Like a low F sounds like an open string. Lots of other guitars go “thud” down there (which is ok too ...but). It’s like whatever note you play rings out like an open string ....so ...the harmonies all ring ...any kind of chord rings.
There are 2 pieces I recorded with the pickup (Darn that Dream and Moon River) .... A Shure SM 57 right on the amp. Again no reverb or anything. The pickup is awesome too. It sounds beautiful…but ...You don’t hear all the overtone ringing stuff.
I hope the recordings are of some use ...or fun to listen to. I didn’t edit anything or fix anything – it’s just whatever I played at that moment. Mistakes and all. Some are just free associating...whatever... improvisations... And then some tunes. It’s cool to play one or 2 notes and then stop and just sit there and listen to what the guitar does.
Man. Thank you so much. What a far out instrument. Talk more soon. Whew. Stay safe. What a world!!!
Love.
Bill