Picking Up The Pieces with David Wilcox

We recently had the great pleasure of chatting with fingerstyle-songwriter virtuoso David Wilcox about his complex (to say the least) journey through the world of guitar amplification. Years of teasing out the proper application of each kind of pickup have resulted in a system that employs over five pickups--for one guitar!
You'll want to listen with a pair of good headphones in order to hear the subtle variations David demonstrates here, but even regular earbuds will go a long way.
David has upcoming shows at the Songbirds Guitar Museum in Chattanooga, TN on Friday 4/27/18, and at Eddie's Attic in Decatur, GA on Saturday 4/28/18. David's new record "The View From the Edge," will be released on May 11th. People can pre-order the digital download version and listen to excerpts from the record here: smarturl.it/hawa3q
The first two videos here:
• David Wilcox - SANTIAG...
and here:
• David Wilcox - Land A ...
David will (busy guy) also be doing a Facebook Live session on Friday (4/20/18) at 6:30 PM eastern time with Jorma Kaukonen, live from Jorma's Fur Peace Ranch in Ohio. Find out more here: davidwilcoxmusic

[@deanmass]

One of the very best. A pioneer who should be far more famous than he is. A hero and influence to me.

[@mragunathan1627]

I think he ended up buying back that 1996 Olson he talked about in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/l5nRZKetor6eh68 , it looks a hell of a lot more beat up now lol

[@direwolf6234]

incredible .. the sound of wood and steel augmented by high tech innovations ..

[@ttiger9780]

He is amazing. What a talent. Love him.

[@smokinmoose2]

I have a Martin D35s circa 1970 that I experimented on with several different pickups. A few years ago I installed a K&K Trinity system that has an under bridge pickup and an internal mic with a stereo jack. Normally one uses an outboard preamp/mixer to the board which allows you to blend the two and add a little EQ. I played at the Rio Grande Theatre in Las Cruces, NM and didn’t have time for a sound check and the sound tech, who sat in an enclosed booth with a glass front at the rear of the theater, just plugged a cable straight from the guitar into the snake and I started to play. My God the sound was fantastic, it was HUGE! After the show we walked up to each other and before I could praise him on his mixing skills he said “that was the best sounding guitar I have ever heard. I didn’t touch the board, it was perfect as it was”. Since then I have never used the pre-amp and just plug it in. David, I love you but sometimes less is more.

[@stephane7789]

So good to hear that ! I've always loath pickups for acoustics and considering always putting microphone in front of the guitar. Now I can say that maybe, MAYBE, we could try something different like that. And Dav, good guy, love him.

[@JulienKozak]

i love this guy

[@sevross77]

Cole Clark guitars in Melbourne Australia employ a very similar idea to this in their pickup system & have done for a while now. Piezo, body sensor pickup under the face of the guitar which covers the mid-range, & internal mic which only reproduces highs.....all blended yourself in the onboard pre-amp system.

[@jakemarlow8998]

"Ganky" is what I will be saying for the next year.

[@lenray3429]

What‘s the tuning of the Olson?

[@koolkat808hawaii]

I'm not sure Tommy Emanuel has this problem with his Maton.

[@WysteriaGuitar]

This man is a guitar prophet!

[@TheCigarscott]

Dave! Get a freaking TONEDEXTER!

[@steveassante6797]

Sorry Dave, I don't know what it is but Dreadnought Steel String Acoustics just don't seem to sound tonally balanced to me. They always sound a bit "Boomy" to me. I'm not going to do anything silly like comparing them to your Olson, but the "Dreads" have a slightly metallic bite to their string tone (even the 'Martin's') that just doesn't work for me

[@gijsbertuslaurensvandevooren]

Youre right, try a folk guitar.

[@TheCigarscott]

Olson plus a ToneDexter will fix all his issues. I’ve played all the carbon guitars and they SUCK!

[@catwhisperer911]

:)

[@gunkylol]

“He’s a Sick Man!”...😜

[@crazylegslife]

that is the way an acoustic guitar should sound.

[@thecolonel2044]

I'm frankly worried about you...

[@andybowen1249]

Lol he took the same theory re Capos

[@harvey1954]

The Average White Band tune or maybe even Poco.

[@maplebones]

That rainsong sounds poorly.

[@jakemarlow8998]

I've been a fan of David for over 20 years and have seen him live about 6 times. I stopped going to his concerts when he started performing with his Rainsong. That thing sounds so bad that I'm too distracted and annoyed to enjoy his performance. Seriously, that Rainsong he plays is hideous.

[@DreamGuitars]

Thank you for watching!

[@maplebones]

Indeed it is. Hideous that is.

[@gijsbertuslaurensvandevooren]

Awfull plastic Guitar.

[@Terry3Gs]

Funny doesnt look like the same david wilcox I know .... you might want to clairify that your having the AMERICAN one .. NOT the canadian one I know whom is a canadian bar legend whom also plays rock/boogie/country/blues & several other styles of music. :)

[@Terry3Gs]

@@ethancaine1646 Ah no .. considering the Canadian David Wilcox is in his 60's .. so .. no usa one needs to ..

[@Toofer69]

Shouldn't everyone have a David Wilcox?