Amazing acoustic player... Jon Gomm

Started by MCK-fgn, February 26, 2012, 05:55:27 PM

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MCK-fgn




Just came across this guy... Pretty amazing technique. Loved what he does with his tuners. Enjoy.






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simont-fgn

What a coincidence. I was at the Lowden factory last Wednesday and we we're discussing the very man!!
What a talent!
Came home with serious gas and a fan fret has been purchased.    ;D ;D ;D

photonutalan1-fgn

Absolutely brilliant! Thanks, MCK. BTW, aren't those Keith/Scruggs banjo tuners for his 1st and 2nd strings?

MCK-fgn

#3

Quote from:  simont on February 27, 2012, 12:52:01 AM
Came home with serious gas and a fan fret has been purchased.    ;D ;D ;D


I look forward to hearing your work with the fan-fret. I'm sure it will be no less brilliant!!!

Quote from:  photonutalan1 on February 27, 2012, 09:41:34 AM
Absolutely brilliant! Thanks, MCK. BTW, aren't those Keith/Scruggs banjo tuners for his 1st and 2nd strings?


You're most welcome of course. Yup. I do think they are banjo tuners. Clever way to use them.


I must say... he's got quite the pedalboard going there for him as well. Anyone can identify the first processor in his chain? Looks like a GR55 but I'm guessing its not.
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MCK-fgn

Look at this video. You can see glimpses of something attached to the back of his guitar. I can also see 2 cables going out of the guitar and then routing to the back and then 1 cable goes down to his pedal board. Curious!


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woodinblack

Its not something mysterious, it is a 'fake beer gut', a wedge that holds the guitar out (as he is fairly skinny).

Wilma (his guitar) has quite a few pickups to pickup the strings, ambient sounds and tapping, they go to not many effects, but principally a loop station.
Jon is a nice guy and very talented, and also quite a good laugh in person. I am glad he is finally getting hte attention he has deserved for so long

MCK-fgn

Thanks for sharing your insight. Now I not only envy him for his talent but also for his ability to stay that skinny...  ;D


So that explains the mystery of multiple cables coming out of the guitar. Extraordinary talent in every regard. To be able to play at this level in studio would be a great feat alone but to do it live and manage all the other production aspects (ie looping etc) is just unbelievable. He seems like a very down to earth person. Wilma seems to have survived through a lot. I think I saw a video of Jon with her as early as 2007... Considering the abuse she is taking on a regular basis that is one strong lady!!!
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woodinblack

I have some videos of him that are on youtube somewhere which were taken at the end of 2006, and she was a bit beaten up then. She has just had a service apparently.
Has very resilient machine heads, thats for sure!


Zummooz-fgn

WOW  :o  Thats some serious playing !! 
Q... What kind of advice can you give me ?   Tommy Emmanuel's reply ....

You move your hand Up and Down that long bit and the music comes out of that Big Black Box behind you !!

woodinblack

Well, if you like him, he has just announced his first tour of Australia:


Zummooz-fgn

Quote from:  woodinblack on March 04, 2012, 12:06:59 PM
Well, if you like him, he has just announced his first tour of Australia:

Cool thanks  ;D

I see he's playing at one of my old stomping grounds.
Plus some others around my area ..... might just get down there to see him.

Man this guy is gunna be fully drunk after every show downunder .... Why ?

I read a message somewhere where he said .....
If you don't like the show he'll give you your $$$ back. (don't think that will happen)  :P
But if you like the show, Buy him a beer ....   

Does he know how we drink down here in Oz ..... look out Jon Gomm !!  ;D ;D
Q... What kind of advice can you give me ?   Tommy Emmanuel's reply ....

You move your hand Up and Down that long bit and the music comes out of that Big Black Box behind you !!

warmingtone-fgn

I have not been around for a bit, but I did see JG when he was in Oz (melbourne) and what a great show. There is no synths or loops (though his support act Andy Sorenson di all that and more live on keyborads with a peter gabriel like sound that was also fantastic).

After a flawless show, he pulled the plugs and sound whole cover off, strode into the audience and sang and layed the song 'high and dry' byt radio head acoustically with all that technique...and as it happens...2 feet from where I was sitting (almost got elbowed in the head with that percussion technique of his LOL) Not only a great player but a really nice guy who was waiting in the foyer when everyone left and met us all for photos, signing stuff and answering questions!

The guitar has mics in it to do that percussion stuff and his technique goes well beyond even the clips of YT and such. He does have a lot of effects but used subtly. He occasionally plays with a plectrum and can play a 'shredding' like style and uses a bit of distortion and that kind of thing. A larger processor may be to do some of his vocal effects which you might notice provides and octave 'harmony' occasionally for his voice, but generally it is acoustic like sound.

Anyway, very impressive in everyway and well worht the 300kms to get there that night!

GuitarBuilder-fgn

Tommy is very proud.....

Sounds like there's some processing on the voice?
2005 Brian Moore iGuitar i81.13 Emerald Green (BM iMs + RMC Piezo)

GuitarBuilder-fgn

What's really cool is that he posts (OK, sells) the tabs to his songs:

http://jongomm.com/tabtechniques
2005 Brian Moore iGuitar i81.13 Emerald Green (BM iMs + RMC Piezo)

MCK-fgn

I wish I could see him live. Definitely a treat!
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Johnnyurq-fgn

He is very good and he posts fairly regularly as performingchimp on the Music Radar forums. He seems a really nice dude and is very sharing of his work and time.

http://www.musicradar.com/forum/showthread.php?t=101367&highlight=Jon+Gomm


warmingtone-fgn

I might check out that site on him, he won a fan, though I don't attempt half of his technique nor bash my guitar like that LOL...he's put in the time obviously as he was playing that style a decade ago or so it seems...



Above is a pic from his encore, standing on a chair then later getting down right in front...a great way to end the show and proving that it can be done acoustically without 'tricks' I guess and get up close and personal with the audience.

I recalled a couple of things. Yes, the thing stuck on the guitar is to hold it at an angle, seems to be some foam stuck with gaffa tape when I saw him, he also uses a kind of 'split' guitar strap over both shoulders, this is what that gaffa is on the top there...the result is the guitar will stay in place and angled, important when there is a lot of two handed tapping or percussive stuff going on I would imagine. Looking in the sound-hole when I met him, you could see there was a bit of circuitry in there, likely a microphone or perhaps some piezos to pick up ther percussive sounds, and he has a lot of them which he demo'ed in a little 'lesson' on stage he does. There are banjo tuners, a bit like adrian legg pioneered, on the two top strings.

The technical things though are only a portion of his talent, his song-writing and alternate arrangements of songs are very good and unlike a lot of 'alternate tuning' or 'percussive' players that can be a bit of a fad, there is strong melody and bass lines and the tune or song always wins out. Mesmerising to watch, but sounds great on the CD where you can forget that it is technically difficult and just enjoy the music and the humour.



The song 'gloria' above is a good example of his humour and song-writing ability.

I've been impressed by his 'business' models too. The first CD recorded in his bedroom was a demo to get gigs and sounds great. He has rejected approaches by a few 'labels' and even blew the 'gaf' on 'UK's got talent' who apparently contacted him after auditions and such had closed to 'spike' the show and use him like a novelty...well, likely a career keeler anyway. Playing down under, he finished the show around midnight, everything needed to be packed up and put on a bus and driven over 8 hours to the next gig the next day...so doing it the 'tough way' in that respect. But it just goes to show what can be achieved with talent these days, there was only a week or two's notice that he was coming and very low key, yet I believe all shows were sold out without much in the way of advertising! (I found out through FB).

His series that includes the fantastic instrumental cover 'ain't nobody' and several others he is recording lately is a 'pay what you think it is worth' kind of deal. I have the TAB for that song, does not make it playable LOL, even the opening fading in tapping intro is a technical feat...



There is no looping, occasionally some voice effects (on that tune I think it is a simple but subtle octave below harmony thing) but there is a few effects used. He occasionally uses a pick too...on the song 'the weather machine' there was quite a few effects, largely distortions and 'vai' like shredding sections of sorts (tricky to do as a solo guitarist)...so something for everyone in his style. There are delays and that kind of thing, though not for looping and most of that stuff is controlled by him on stage as required, but you don't notice him tap dancing about on effects.

...

Anyway, a tribute to what can be done and the perseverance to just keep at it and perfect an idea. It is from a tradition of course, you can see by his 'ariel boundaries" tattoo on his arm where his influences lie.

Oh, and since he has gone 'viral' you tube wise, he has been contacted by a number of musicians to record songs with him, including vocalists like Rod Stewart and 'yes' vocalist Jon Anderson amongst others...who knows what will come of these kinds of things. He is a bit of a flavour of the month. But, he has a good attitude and realistic about all this kind of thing, and was amazingly surprised to suddenly find him touring down here which was organised on a bit of a 'grass roots' effort...he's since gone to quite a few other places including Portugal before returning to the UK.

Certainly a talent and a 'must see' and a special evening in april this year.

oh, and if into what one can do with live looping and 'machines'...I would also check out Andy Sorensen, australian keyboard player and support act for the tour. He has mad a 'mini-grand' piano that has a keyboard controller and a lot of drum machines and looping switch and effects and the like for the instruments and voice and layers everything in real time while singing and playing. http://andysorenson.com/fr_dl I think you can hear a track from his album that is essentially a recording without overdubs of what he creates live and really does sound that good.