This CD represents the reuniting of a musical
partnership that started in 1985 in Ithaca, NY.
In 1988 Scott & Tom established a record label
that released over a dozen instrumental albums
including the very popular, Acoustic Traditions
(1996). A couple of years later, the two headed in
different directions, but still maintained their
friendship and musical connection. 2007 marks
the start of an all-new collaboration, which their
collective experience only enhances. Acoustic
Intersection brings two guitarists to a mutual crossroads,
but maybe more importantly it brings
together two good friends.
Tom Rasely plays a Yamaha 245s classical guitar.
His guitar was mic’ed using a stereo pair of AKG
C1000s. Tom performed all of his parts “fingerstyle”
(no picks). His style is derived from classical
techniques, although you will hear a “bent-note
vibrato” occasionally to give a different character to
certain notes. Tom uses double-stops (playing two
notes at the same time) as a way to not only vary
the melody, but also to augment the chord structure;
the result is the lovely, thick texture that permeates
this CD.
Scott B Adams plays a Taylor 414ce steel string
acoustic guitar. His guitar was mic’ed using a
stereo pair of AKG C3000s. A direct line was run
from his Fishman pickup system and through a
Daedalus S-82 acoustic speaker cabinet which was
mic’ed using a AT4050 large diaphragm microphone.
Scott’s style is a hybrid of traditional finger
picking with Celtic, world, pop & blues influences.
Most songs were played finger style, but he uses a
pick on “Drunken Sailor”, “Frankie & Johnny” &
“Minstrel Boy”. His thumb becomes the bass player
in much of the CD. The combination of this
style & the enhanced bass response from the speaker
cabinet give this CD a rich bottom response that
doesn’t lack for the absence of an added bass guitar.
These performances were recorded “live” with very
minimal editing used. This method allows the
musicians’ greater attention to detail, as well as a
heightened awareness of the texture and character
of each song. The result is a guitar duet album that
captures all the exciting dynamics of a live performance
but with a quality obtainable only in the
studio. Only digital reverb (Lexicon MPX 550)
was added to the performance.
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