In a Facebook contest, Libby Lindgren Koch said:
We would love to know more details about your personal instruments. My 3
year old keeps asking me how many guitars Laurie has. I would love to
be able to tell him all about them.
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Laurie has been a musician for most of her life, and she has had a number of instruments throughout the years.
Currently, she has four guitars that she records with and/or plays for the LBB's live shows:
- A Purple Taylor Grand Auditorium 614ce
- A Blue Taylor Grand Concert 612ce
- A Sunburst Taylor Grand Auditorium 914ce
- A Taylor Grand Concert 712c (this was her first Taylor, purchased 20 years ago)
She also owns a Baby Taylor and a an Ibanez semi-acoustic (hollow body electric) with a double cut-away.
The Gear:
Keeping a guitar safe and functional takes a lot of gear, maintenance, and attention!
1) Cases: Laurie and the band all have very sturdy, comfortable cases for their instruments. Because we travel with them so much, they must be able to protect the instruments and feel good to carry for long periods of time.
One of Laurie's Reunion Blues guitar cases
The blue guitar fits snugly inside
2) Strings: Guitar strings break often, so Laurie always travels with lots (and lots... and LOTS) of back-up strings in case one breaks before or during a show. Laurie likes to use phosphor bronze lights.
Another bag with even more back-up strings
3) Cables: In order to make Laurie's guitar loud enough for all the people who come see shows, she must plug the guitar into a sound system so the music comes out of speakers. Although she has a wireless system for most shows, we always bring a back-up cable!
4) Tuners: There are MANY different types of tuners (to make sure the strings all sound right). Laurie travels with a few different kinds. We have one that plugs into the guitar, several that pick up the notes when a string is plucked, and one that plays the correct notes when you blow into it.
5) Capo: This is a device used to shorten the strings and therefore raise the pitch. Laurie uses a capo for some of her songs.
PItch pipe, cable, and capo (small metal piece)
Another cable, more strings, a different kind of capo, and a tuner
6) Humidifier: The wood that a guitar's body is made out of is very vulnerable to the humidity in the air. It's important to keep the guitar at a steady humidity. Laurie uses a simple guitar humidifier called a Damp-It, made from a small sponge that sits inside the guitar to keep the wood from drying out.
7) Fast Fret: This is a cleaner for strings. Guitar strings often get "gunked up" after being played for a while, which can slow the musician's ability to move his or her hands along the fretboard and dull the sound of the strings.
Fast Fret: the end of the wooden part is rubbed along the strings and then wiped clean with the small cloth to the left
8) Picks: We travel with a little fish-shaped case filled with picks. Picks are held in the guitar player's hand and used to pluck the strings for a much louder strum. Laurie likes the blue ones you see coming out of the case. They are dunlop tortex standard picks, 1.0mm
9) Nail clippers/file: Laurie needs to keep her hands in good condition to play the guitar the best she can. She always travels with a nail file and clippers to keep her nails nice and short so she can move her fingers easily along the fretboard.
Picks in the fish pouch and a nail file
Although my son pointed out to me that Laurie used an Epiphone Acoustic on "We are the Dinosaurs" and "Victor Vito" videos. Does Laurie no longer own that?
Posted by: Mark DiSciullo | 03/31/2010 at 07:51 PM