Hi everyone,

First let me say thanks to Manny for rebuilding Stickist.com.
Hope everyone finds their way back again.

I've just released my new solo Stick CD called "Closer".
For more info visit:

http://cdbaby.com/cd/andysalvanos2
http://www.myspace.com/andysalvanos

Finally, I would like to wish everyone on the forum a safe, happy holiday season, be it Christmas or whatever else you wish to celebrate.
It's a good time to remember that most of us are in an extremely fortunate position, irrespective of our age, income, ethnic background and even health. We can afford to play these beautiful instruments and are allowed to communicate our thoughts freely on a global network. To millions of people around the world, having drinkable water on tap and a daily meal on the table are still only dreams.

All the best,
Andy Salvanos

Hi Andy,

I like how dynamic the tracks are. Nice to hear someone taking advantage of the instrument and the medium in that way.

I also like the filter use on the bass side.

Good luck with your record.

Hi Greg,

I appreciate your comments very much.

The filtered sound was used on the bass side on a few songs where I "heard" a fretless-type bass part instead of the brighter Stick bass sound. It's part of an ongoing learning process, looking for sounds that work with my music on the Stick. There are a lot of things I'm not sure about yet, such as the use of reverb on the bass side of the instrument (a good discussion topic, if someone wants to run with it).

Dynamics are an interesting subject. In terms of volume and timing, they are very powerful in a live setting. It's one of the elements that tends to get lost when great "live bands" move to the recording studio. I agree with a lot of people that there's way too much hard limiting going on in the mastering process these days, and I must admit to having my own music "squashed" just like everyone else. If some dynamics can survive this process, I guess we've succeeded to a point. I also think there's an almost religious reliance on click tracks in some studio environments, which isn't always beneficial to the musical performance.

BTW, the recording of my CD was finished before the Sydney Stick seminar in November, and when I came back I was tempted to scrap the whole thing and start over. I felt like I had changed and improved in so many ways in that short period of time. In the end, the album was always meant to be a reflection of my live performances in 2007, so I decided to leave it alone and move on.

Cheers,
Andy