Wow - Time Has Gone Fast....

Wow, I have been so busy writing and recording that I can't believe how fast the time has gone by.  I have been keeping up with my twitter (Guitaremh) and my Facebook page, (Ed Hermann Guitarist) but have not updated this site in a while.  Not good....  So, I will be posting regularly here again along with my other media sites.  No, really...  

So, what's been going on?  As you know I released Testing Testing in January 2018 and afterwards never stopped writing/recording.  The new album called "The Grey Area" is more than half way done as of this post.  I have 11 of the 14 songs recorded and ready for the next steps.  I have only one instrumental on the album called "Time" but would like to get another one or two.  There is an industrial rhythmic piece called, "Chain Of Reason" and the rest are vocal pieces.  I'm writing lyrics and getting ready to record the vocals soon.  This album is heavier than Testing Testing but still varied. 

I also created a sound production company called ECZ Productions with my good friend Jim  running sound for bands at clubs, and outdoor/indoor events.  The next "sound" gig is on Aug 17th at the amphitheater in Princeton, NJ.

OK - stay tuned for more posts tips and gear reviews coming soon.  I will try to get something up every week.

Keep rocking .  Ed~

Stone Guitar Picks...

Hey Folks,

I wanted to tell you about the picks I use for playing guitar and some bass.  I use 4.0mm to 4.5mm traditional shaped stone guitar picks.  You may think that using such material on guitar strings would be thin sounding.  They are anything but...  Because of the polished surface the picks do not hang or catch on the strings while playing.  They make picking much easier than with a traditional plastic type pick.

There are many thicknesses but for me I like them really thick.  Here are a couple links to check them out.

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http://www.solidrockproducts.com/

http://realrock.us/

Tell them I sent you...

Ed~

Guitar Tip Boosting Solo Volume Quickly.

Hey Guys,

I have posted this one before but have been getting a few questions on boosting guitar volume during solos.  Here is my blog on that again....  

Here is a quick guitar tip that will help all the lead guitarists out there.  Whether I'm in a single or multi-guitar type band, I always use a clean boost pedal such as the MXR Microamp to boost my solo volume quickly.  Once hit of the switch, play my solo, hit it again to go back down to regular volume.

To do this, run your clean boost pedal in the effects loop of your amp.  The effects loop is normally placed between the pre-amp and amp sections of your guitar amplifier.  So, no matter what sounds you have dialed in, you can boost that volume for your solo.  Works great and lets you be heard instead of buried in the mix.

Normally another distortion in front of the amp to boost your volume only makes it more distorted.  

Try it out...  

Guitar Tip #949

Hey Gang,

Here is a quick tip for soloing.  Instead of me using connecting patterns to go from one scale to another (going through each scale form on one string), you can slide from one scale all the way up to the next one.  I do this a lot to get a dynamic vibe.  Continue your phrasing without any gaps after the slide to make it seamless.  

Stay tuned for more tips as I will be posting more now that my new site is up and running.  Keep rocking no matter what.

New album news~

Hey everyone! I've been in the process of recording my next solo album titled, "Testing... Testing...".  It will be a full length 14 song album and will hopefully be released by December this  year.  All the music has been done now just 7 songs left to record vocals.  Then mixing and mastering/pressing.  Stay tuned for more details soon.  

Are You Too Loud???

I was running sound a few weeks ago and came across a situation where the guitar & bass amps were not miked and the vocalist was not singing loud enough. Yes, the guitarist's amp was too loud and was drowning out the other musicians in the band. Basically, it was an impossible thing to fix at the mixing board for the most part.  I was able to tweak the vocalist's channel but I was at the point of the PA feeding back... Here is the tip...  Before you perform your show, how ever long that may be, make sure that everyone's volume is balanced. Stand out about 20 or 30 feet from the stage and let everyone play a brief piece of music. "Please, very brief".  You will get a better idea of what the audience is hearing. Remember, the sound man cannot fix or adjust any amps that are not going through the PA. If you don't help the sound man out, he or she can't make you sound awesome...  Yup, pretty much...