Interviews

Episode 1:  Mark Summer   We couldn't be happier to be interviewing the great Mark Summer from The Turtle Island String Quartet! In this amazing interview, Mark dishes on his gear, how he blends mics and pickups, and his personal journey as a creative string player.  This interview has so many pearls of wisdom... definitely a must listen!

Episode 2:  Christian Howes In this extraordinary hang with one of Jazz and Rock's greatest violinists, Christian talks gear and his approach to effects and amplification.  Come join us on a deep dive with one of the best in the business.

Episode 3:  Kevin Olusola We were so proud to have Kevin on this interview!  Kevin is a member of the grammy winning vocal group The Pentatonix and his youtube covers which feature his beatboxing have made him a global youtube sensation!  In this episode we discuss Kevin's unique musical journey which included leaving the cello for a while only to rediscover it after living in China!  KO is an incredibly genuine person and this video is sure to inspire you.

Episode 4:  Tina Guo Check out this inspiring interview with cello metal mistress and entrepreneur Tina Guo.  In this episode Tina dishes on her rig, Touring with the Michael Jackson Cirque De Soleil show and jamming with John 5 and Al Dimeola amongst others.  Tina also talks about some new gear she's been testing and gives some fantastic career advice to aspiring creative string players.  Enjoy!

Episode 5:  Paul Dateh In this episode we talk with hip hop violinist and youtube sensation Paul Dateh.  Paul has worked with Lady Gaga and many of the top names in pop music.  He's also an amazing guy who's creative journey is one that many of us can really relate to.

Episode 6:  Zach Brock Jazz violinist extraordinaire Zach Brock talks about his gear, his signature sound, and his incredible career as a creative violinist/artist. This interview is longer than our usual hangouts, but the information is simply incredible. Our interviews videos are usually for subscribers only, but we're so excited to share this one, we wanted to give it away. Thanks again to one of the great violin players in the world for this amazing interview, and hope you enjoy it as much as we did LINKS: For all things Zach, check out: www.zachbrock.com AND for you creative cellists out there, look for a special salute to Zach this week on the ImprovisorsGuide.com

Episode 7:  Tracy Silverman 

Whether it's his work with peak-era Turtle Island Quartet, his awesome trio and duo albums, or his work as a soloist with orchestras, including as the dedicatee of perhaps the most compelling piece for electric strings and orchestra yet writtem (John Adam's The Dharma At Big Sur), Almost all of you reading this will know who Tracy Silverman is.

In this discussion we cover:

*Performing and designing sounds for different types of ensembles
*The evolution of Tracy's Tone and particular his distortion sound
*His distortion "Morphing Pedal" and how he uses it
*How working with orchestras and chamber ensembles has shaped his approach to playing wit bands
*Digital vs. Analog gear
*Advice for dialing in your tone
*What it means to find your sound as an electric violinist
*A secret new mic/pickup blending concept we've never even heard of

Episode 8:  Jon Fields

If you are a violin, viola, or cello player who's serious about getting the most realistic sound from a pickup in 2023 you need to get serious about using impulse responses. It's why The Pickup test has been on the forefront of teaching, shooting out, and testing every major player in this space for the last 10 years! In this amazing conversation with engineer, musician, semiconductor mogul, and programmer Jon Fields we discuss everything a bowed string players need to know about IRs including: -What is an IR? -Does IR length matter? and what other metrics are important? -How to get the most out of IR's in live performance -Jon's opensource (free) software for making IR's that you can get below All bowed string players From beginner to experienced professional will get their money's worth out of this conversation.

Justsoduo.com- Jon's music and bio here

http://justsoduo.com/?page_id=1956- To learn more about his software