guitar | Andy Roberts

At The Bastille In Paris for Guitar Strings

http://distributedresearch.net/blog/2012/05/08/bastille-paris-guitar-strings

Seeing pictures of young Socialist Party supporters celebrating their Presidential Election victory in Paris at the Bastille, reminded me of the few occasions I visited the Bastille myself. Paul Beuscher la librairie musicale de Paris When I lived in Paris the only time I ever came out of the Metro at Bastille would have been to go to the big music shop, Paul Beuscher. It’s still there today, not covering quite so many shop fronts, and specialising more in pianos than guitars, but still there. The first time I went on the advice of somebody who had told me it was the best place to buy replacement guitar strings, because you could buy singles instead of having to buy a new set every time one broke. Breaking strings was an occupational hazard, we didn’t have portable amplifiers in those days, played purely acoustically, so there was a tendency in noisy corridors or streets to get maximum volume by hitting the strings hard. You know that if you go just a little bit too far a string will break, but every so often you get carried away and it happens. I was asked very recently why I don’t cut off the ends of the strings like most guitar players do when restringing, and it’s for that very reason. If a string breaks near the bridge, which is the most likely place, you can sometimes put the same string back on again, by retrieving the little nipple end that’s fallen inside the hollow guitar body, threading the end of the string through the ring, tying a knot in it and then tightening the string back up to playing tension again. But you can only do that if there is enough leftover string beyond the machine head to pull back through a couple of inches at least. If it works, then that’s great – you can carry on playing the same pitch without having to go away and find a replacement. Of course you could always carry a set of spares around all the time, but that would have required a certain organised resourceful lifestyle which just wasn’t possible in the 1970s! I had more than most, though, which meant that other guitarists often asked me if I could lend them a spare D string or more likely a top E in passing. I couldn’t afford to do that very often at all of course, otherwise it would have just been me all the time having to make the trek to Paul Beuscher’s music shop at Bastille to replenish everybody else’s supplies. The Mazet Paris One occasion was a more sever emergency than just a string break. I had a guitar stolen from underneath the pinball machine in the cafe Mazet. Having the means of earning a living suddenly disappear is quite a scary position to be in. As luck would have it, the music shop had a big sale on which included a bin full of broken guitars at next to nothing prices. After rummaging around I was able to find an Epiphone six string guitar that was only damaged by a large split on the side of the body. So it was perfectly playable and the sound quality seemed oddly unaffected by the broken wood too. A snip at 150 French francs, equivalent to about £15 then and maybe about £150 in today’s money. Musical instruments and most other thing were generally more expensive in France than in England, particularly so in Paris. Still are. Mid range guitars are probably quite a bit cheaper now than they were then, you could probably buy a playable guitar brand new and undamaged for the same amount, it wouldn’t be as good as my old Japanese built Epiphone though. A few years later Epiphone moved production of their guitars from Japan to Korea and the build quality suffered. Now they make cheap guitars in China, nothing to do with the original Epiphone. I kept and played that old broken Japanese Epiphone for many years afterwards, until the fixed bridge broke and I didn’t get around to having it fixed, what with the broken side as well. Then somebody persuaded me to sell it to them, which I should never have agreed to. Nearly all the guitars I’ve ever sold, I wish I still had. That’s life. Thanks for subscribing to Andy Roberts blogAt The Bastille In Paris for Guitar Strings

May 8 2012, 7:00am | Comments »

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Waiting youTube http www youtube com watch v=r582hMCvbPg

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Waiting youTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r582hMCvbPg

February 12 2012, 1:52am | Comments »

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Winter In Andalucia - Andy Roberts at Haverfolk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SC8wCm680VU&feature=youtube_gdata

February 7 2012, 10:23am | Comments »

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Clean Livin' Woman Blues

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlWKgpnek_0&feature=youtube_gdata

February 4 2012, 11:03am | Comments »

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Narrowboats

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRE_2szTHxo&feature=youtube_gdata

February 4 2012, 6:55am | Comments »

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Hold On Below - Andy Roberts

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWA6x9q4_5s&feature=youtube_gdata

February 2 2012, 5:53am | Comments »

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I only came for my Suitcase - Andy Roberts at Romford Folk Club

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GALWVQM0z3c&feature=youtube_gdata

November 16 2011, 1:22pm | Comments »

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Cajun Cooking Song with Haverfolk Band

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9Vq5jcdWPo&feature=youtube_gdata

September 29 2011, 7:50am | Comments »

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Mondura Dam - Andy Roberts original song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3C0E3aTLDc&feature=youtube_gdata

June 13 2011, 6:02am | Comments »

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Winter in Andalusia - Andy Roberts original song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Td9ZZrf9gg0&feature=youtube_gdata

April 9 2011, 12:55am | Comments »

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Yellow is the Colour - Donovan cover or arrangement

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMF_phY-sJU&feature=youtube_gdata

April 9 2011, 12:53am | Comments »

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Podcast 38 Clean Living Blues

http://andyrobertsmusic.blogspot.com/2011/03/podcast-38-clean-living-blues.html

Andy Roberts Podcast Episode #38 comes out a day late, sorry about that. Here’s the download and play link etc: podcast 38 [30:00] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download Subscribe to the podcast RSS or get it from iTunes Download MP3 to save – 40.00 Mb in size, playtime 30 minutes 0 seconds :- 38 Andy Roberts Podcast Episode 38.mp3 Andy Roberts Podcast #38 Shownotes Show Notes for Podcast 38 The Streets of Paris – Andy Roberts Clean Living Blues – by Linda Hartley and Andy Roberts Winter in Andalusia – Andy Roberts (abridged version) Now that I’m Living Here – Andy Roberts Cajun Cooking Song – Andy Roberts Just Like A Woman – Bob Dylan Song via andyroberts.me

March 24 2011, 11:19am | Comments »

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The Dream Is Over - Andy Roberts original song

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March 12 2011, 2:35am | Comments »

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Come A Long Way

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March 12 2011, 2:08am | Comments »

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Sitting On Top Of The World - Andy Roberts original song

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February 19 2011, 9:08am | Comments »

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Memphis Tennessee - Chuck Berry cover by Andy Roberts

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February 19 2011, 9:07am | Comments »

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Two New Songs in Podcast #33

http://andyroberts.me/andy-roberts/two-new-songs-in-podcast-33

There are two new songs in Andy Roberts acoustic guitar podcast episode 33, one of which is a collaboration with fellow Songwriters Circle member Daryl P Hall. Here’s the link and stuff:

Subscribe to the podcast RSS or get it from iTunes Download MP3 to save – 24.4 Mb in size, playtime 25 minutes 24 seconds :- 33 Andy Roberts Podcast Episode 33.mp3 Shownotes for the Episode 33

Time for the music – Andy Roberts The Nutmeg Tree – Andy Roberts When The Waters Rise – Andy Roberts Never Was To Be – Daryl Hall & Andy Roberts Blue – Andy Roberts Work Is Done – Andy Roberts

Work is Done appears here as the first ever recording of the song. The lyrics were originally written as text messages saved on a mobile phone while out walking in the French Pyrenees.

February 16 2011, 9:52am | Comments »

Andy Roberts

At The Bastille In Paris for Guitar Strings

Waiting youTube http www youtube com watch v=r582hMCvbPg

Winter In Andalucia - Andy Roberts at Haverfolk

Clean Livin' Woman Blues

Narrowboats

Hold On Below - Andy Roberts

I only came for my Suitcase - Andy Roberts at Romford Folk Club

Cajun Cooking Song with Haverfolk Band

Mondura Dam - Andy Roberts original song

Winter in Andalusia - Andy Roberts original song

Yellow is the Colour - Donovan cover or arrangement

Podcast 38 Clean Living Blues

The Dream Is Over - Andy Roberts original song

Come A Long Way

Sitting On Top Of The World - Andy Roberts original song

Memphis Tennessee - Chuck Berry cover by Andy Roberts

Two New Songs in Podcast #33

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