"Albatross"

James Kerr · Post by **James Kerr** » 25 Jan 2009 7:22 am

Here is my latest recording, "Albatross" by Fleetwood Mac. As before it is performed on my 1954 Tiesco Lap Steel, I love this thing so much, I may never go back to pedals.

Played through a Vox Valvetronix, recorded by a Zoom H2, and put together using Adobe Audition 2.

I hope you enjoy.

To listen in Stereo go here :-
http://www.myspace.com/jameskerrsteel

To watch the You Tube video in Mono go here :-
http://uk.youtube.com/profile?user=kerr ... iew=videos

James.
Scotland.

Tom Pettingill · Post by **Tom Pettingill** » 25 Jan 2009 8:04 am

Good job James ... a great tune and that Tiesco sounds sweet.
What settings are you using on the Vox?

James Kerr · Post by **James Kerr** » 25 Jan 2009 8:12 am

Tom,
The setting I used on that one was the first position " Boutique" with the Preset button engaged. I didn't make any further adjustments, just took what that Preset brought me. I love this Guitar and Amp.

James.

Rick Alexander · Post by **Rick Alexander** » 25 Jan 2009 9:02 am

Very nice James!
I see by all your videos that you've been a busy guy.
It sounds wonderful - good work!

James Kerr · Post by **James Kerr** » 25 Jan 2009 9:05 am

Thank you Rick,
After hearing you play, I wrote to you and said "That's it, I have to have one of those" and so here I am enjoying myself among friends, nothing better to my mind.

James.

Paul Kemper · Post by **Paul Kemper** » 25 Jan 2009 3:56 pm

James,

That is beautiful. I enjoyed all your U Tube songs. I am thinking of buying a Vox Valvetronix and have a couple of questions.
What model are you using and is it modified?
Do you use a volume pedal and if yes, what brand/model.

Thanks,
Paul

James Kerr · Post by **James Kerr** » 25 Jan 2009 4:14 pm

Paul Kemper wrote:James,

That is beautiful. I enjoyed all your U Tube songs. I am thinking of buying a Vox Valvetronix and have a couple of questions.
What model are you using and is it modified?
Do you use a volume pedal and if yes, what brand/model.

Thanks,
Paul

Paul,
I'm using the very smallest of the range, the Vox Valvetronix VT15, The output from this Amp is truly astounding, it can imitate any Amp sound on the market just with the turn of a switch or press of a button, it sits on top of my Peavey Session 500, which is now gathering dust. It is not modified in any way, and at present I don't use a Volume pedal on the Lap Steel, although I'm looking for a good one right now, I use a Volume Pedal on the Pedal Steel Guitar..

I paid £56 on Ebay for the Amp, it was only months old and had never been out of the bedroom.

If you saw one of the bigger models, you would get the same Effects as I have, only with more headroom if you intended going onstage and needed more power, I can't speak too highly of these Amps.

Thank you for your interest.

James.

Iain Carmichael · Post by **Iain Carmichael** » 25 Jan 2009 4:52 pm

Much enjoyed your playing, James. I sent you an email.

Iain.

James Kerr · Post by **James Kerr** » 25 Jan 2009 4:53 pm

Thank you Ian, I will be in touch shortly.

James.

Ray Langley · Post by **Ray Langley** » 26 Jan 2009 9:47 am

Very smooth, James.

A complete transcription of this Peter Green tune (notation and tab) appears in the Warner Bros. publication, "Fleetwood Mac Guitar Anthology Series.

James Kerr · Post by **James Kerr** » 26 Jan 2009 10:34 am

Paul Kemper wrote:James,

That is beautiful. I enjoyed all your U Tube songs. I am thinking of buying a Vox Valvetronix and have a couple of questions.
What model are you using and is it modified?
Do you use a volume pedal and if yes, what brand/model.

Thanks,
Paul

First of all, thank you Ray, I value your opinion.

Next, I don't think I answered Paul's question properly.

With regard to the Volume Pedal, at present I don't use one on the Lap Steel, I am looking for one and it is likely to be one of three, a Vox, a Fender, or an Ernie Ball. Whatever it is will be stripped and fitted with a 500k Allen Bradley pot, of which I have a few spares.

I do use a Volume Pedal on my Pedal Steel, its one I built myself 30 years ago (see photo) it clips onto the pedal board and is not really portable for use on another instrument, it too is fitted with a 500k Allen Bradley pot, the original one I fitted 30 years ago, it became a bit scratchy once and I lubricated it which cured the fault.

Paul Kemper · Post by **Paul Kemper** » 28 Jan 2009 12:20 pm

James,

Thank you for the info, I really enjoy your music and the sound of your steels and Vox Valvetronix. I'm thinking of buying the VT30 as it appears to be about the right size/volume for most of the gigs I play and the price looks good too.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do about a volume pedal. The cheap volume pedal I have is a real tone sucker so I quit using it. The real good pedals for steel are quite expensive. Which of the pot pedals do you like the best?

Thanks again,
Paul

James Kerr · Post by **James Kerr** » 28 Jan 2009 12:40 pm

Paul,
I'm not an authority on Pedals, but as far as I know the most important thing is the Pot, it has to be 500k, the rest of the Pedal is not important. The Pedal I made for myself used the Rack and Pinion from a cheap old Pedal, all I replaced was the Pot, I put in an Allen Bradley. I think those might be hard to find now, but I have seen posts here recommending a good alternative from Tom Bradshaw.

James.