Another Prodigy

[Uncle Al]

This kid has the chops! He is 11 years old and I think
he lives in Germany-Not Sure

Enjoy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsI2rehVFtI

Uncle Al
Duncanville, TX

[Since1982]

I'm more of a "play it the way it's supposed to be played" guitarist. That's a plugged in (electric) with catgut strings, pick using mixed up guitar. I've played guitars all my life and catgut guitars are supposed to be acoustic only, (no electric) played with either fingers or finger picks, not a single triangle plastic pick made for steel strings.

He's very good, his parents should either buy him an electric guitar or unplug the Spanish guitar he's using. The way he's using that is sort of like someone who plays a violin with finger picks like a guitar, instead of a bow. The electric is why it has that slightly metallic sound to it. If you're going to play an Electric guitar, think Les Paul or Paul Harrison and do it that way with steel strings, If acoustic catgut, think Andres Segovia and do it that way. Mixing the equipment and methodology is like sewing cats ears on a Pit bull. It could hear great but its meow would sound odd.

[r1g0r]

video smacks of SOME degree of fakery, sorry to say.

i first noticed that the lad is strumming, yet most of the music is picking.
plus, how does he manage the snare-drum sound?

i smell fertilizer...

[JRMILLER]

I play guitar and can tell you part of what you hear comes from the kid in the pic. There is also someone unseen providing a steady strumming and probably a snare drum too. The kid is doing the picking and an occasional strum.

Even with that, he's pretty damn good. Can't help wonder if he can play anything else. There are a lot of one-trick ponies out there.

[crfriend]

I'm more of a "play it the way it's supposed to be played" guitarist. That's a plugged in (electric) with catgut strings, pick using mixed up guitar. I've played guitars all my life and catgut guitars are supposed to be acoustic only, (no electric) played with either fingers or finger picks, not a single triangle plastic pick made for steel strings.

I haven't seen the video clip, but I suspect the kid is using an electro-acoustic guitar with an internal microphone pickup rather than a "conventional" electric guitar's magnetic pickup. Gut (or *any* non-ferrous) strings won't work with a magnetic pickup because of the way the technology works, however amplified (or, more technically, "readily amplifiable") acoustic guitars are somewhat common for certain styles of stage-work. Gut strings on a conventional electric guitar would sound horrible and be useless for any sort of performance work because there's no sounding-board.

I wonder whether copper or bronze strings would work with a magnetic pickup.... It'd make for an interesting coupling; whether it'd produce enough voltage to be useful, however, I have no idea..

[Since1982]

With his finger picking skill he needs a big body Martin "Segovia" model gut strings acoustic guitar. And THEN he'll be a Prodigy.

[r1g0r]

I play guitar and can tell you part of what you hear comes from the kid in the pic. There is also someone unseen providing a steady strumming and probably a snare drum too. The kid is doing the picking and an occasional strum.

Even with that, he's pretty damn good. Can't help wonder if he can play anything else. There are a lot of one-trick ponies out there.

i guess then that i'd like to hear him WITHOUT the additional instruments playing. it's too easy these days to make a moderate talent look/sound like more than it really is.

i immediately think of the juggler that "played" one of those piano keyboard floormats (like in the movie "BIG") by bouncing the balls he juggled off the keyboard. it later turned out he wasn't playing the notes, but the keyboard was programmed to play the tune. it didn't matter which keys he hit on the mat, the CORRECT note would play.

this kid might be good, but i'd like to judge that without him having background assistance.

[Since1982]

Watching his fingers move tells me he's good. To a guitarist watching, I think it would be fairly hard to fake correct string presses and slides. There are small idiosyncracies involved in proper neckwork. I haven't seen him miss any.

[Jack Williams]

Sounded and looked pretty spot on to me. No, only ferro metal will work with electric guitar pickups which are small coils where the strings induce a small voltage. Like miniature electric generators.