This month’s lesson is based on Picking Pattern #2 from the Gypsy Picking book. This pattern uses strict alternate picking to play an even number of notes per string (in this case four notes per string).

Lesson 3 uses Picking Pattern #2 to play enclosures around a G major arpeggio. An enclosure is when you play a note one step above and a half step below a chord tone. Django used this idea often and it has become part of the vocabulary of most contemporary Gypsy guitarists. At slower tempos eighth notes are too slow, so you’ll have to double-time it so its all sixteenth notes (listen to Django’s performance of Del Salle). Because this pattern uses straight alternate picking, you can play it extremely fast.

This idea can work over a variety of chord progressions. Try this idea anytime you’re playing over a Major or Dominant chord for several measures. It also sounds nice over Rhythm Changes tunes like Swing 42. Sometimes I use it over the A section to Djangology and Oh! Lady Be Good. You can also transpose this idea to work over other chords (minor or Dominant). Have Fun! -Michael

Audio Example

Moustache Picks made in Holland by Thijs van der Harst.

Moustache Picks

This is yet another mini disc recording from one of my lessons with the immensely talented Gypsy guitarist Paulus Schafer. On this recording he demonstrates how to play Gypsy style Rhythm Changes by tearing up the Reinhardt composition Babik.

I will soon be receiving some copies of Paulus’ CD Into the Light . They will be available for purchase here. Enjoy! -Michael

Babik MP3

Schertler Piano Transducers: Good Vibrations
By Ed Enright
Published in Downbeat Magazine, April 2002

Schertler Audio Transducers of Switzerland has put an end to the nightmare of miking pianos. Schertler’s DYN-P piano transducer mounts onto any piano’s soundboard. It sounds infinitely better than the piezo pickups typically used in live situations and approaches the supersensitive quality of high-end studio mics.

The transducer itself works kind of like stethoscope, picking up the acoustic vibrations of the instrument’s body via direct contact. As a result, you get a very natural sound with virtually no feedback or bleeding, no matter where you are in the studio or on stage. This gives musicians and engineers a surprising amount of freedom. You can put the piano as close as you want to the rhythm section or horn players and still achieve total signal separation. You can even keep the lid completely open if you choose so your fellow musicians can hear you acoustically on stage-just make sure the piano isn’t bleeding into somebody else’s microphone for a change.

In essence, the DYN-P is a no-brainer. The only real “work” required is to secure the pickup properly (using a small amount of provided putty) and to locate the best placement on the soundboard. You’ll need to do a little experimentation, trying various positions until you locate a hot or sweet spot that gives you the balance you’re looking for. The DYN-P works best when mounted close to the soundboard’s walls or borders. A grand piano version, the DYN-GP, uses two pickups to achieve a stereo effect that’s even richer.

The DYN-P/GP has a flat frequency response and requires little or no equalization (the owner’s manual notes that some gentle parametric tweaking can add transparency to the sound). The pickup operates on low impedence, reducing the potential for hum and interference. And it plugs directly into any mixer, amp or PA with balanced XLR inputs.

The DYN-GP sounded great on a friend’s well-maintained grand, responding flawlessly to a wide range of dynamics. But, because it’s so sensitive, it can reveal the flaws of a piano itself. On my old console, for example, the sound was slightly clangy, seemingly the result of hammer noise and poor string quality.

The DYN-P/GP should be kept clean and handled with extreme care (a welldesigned carrying case helps protect it). After all, once you try it, you’ll come to rely on it like your best friend.

Does Schertler Make the World’s Best Mandolin Pickup?
By Steven Stone
February 2004, Stereophile’s Guide to Home Theater

About nine months ago I reviewed a new Martin D-16RE with a built-in Schertler Bluestick pickup system. Since I play a lot more mandolin than guitar, after the review I asked Schertler to send me their DYN-M pick-up which is made specifically for mandolins. I’ve been meaning to do a short review for several months now, but kept putting it off, primarily because once I finish the review I must either send the pick-up back or buy it. The DYN-M pickup system is decep-tively easy to use. Merely attach it to your mandolin and plug its XLR output jack into either a Schertler’s Pre-A II pream-plifier, onstage DI box, or directly into a mixing board microphone input. It attaches to the top of a mandolin with special putty that leaves no residue, but stays put.

The pickup is a miniature moving-coil condenser microphone that works just like any microphone – it picks up sound waves. The trick is that the putty cre-ates a seal around the DYN-M so it is isolated from extraneous sounds; it only hears your mandolin. The DYN-M’s physical de-sign makes it very resistant to airborne feedback.

Finding the right placement spot requires a bit of trial and error, but with most mandos somewhere slightly below and behind the bridge works nicely. In the last couple of months, I’ve only had one chance to actually use the DYN-M on stage. Since my group plays using a single-mic setup, most times I haven’t needed to have a direct feed for my mando, yet when I did use the DYN-M onstage, it worked great. I plugged into a DI box, which ran into the mixer. The sound man had no problem getting ad-equate gain, and the final result was I sounded like I usually do, only louder. I’ve used the DYN-M at home on several high-end mandolins including my Gib-son F5 fern, Hilburn F, and Weins F5. In every case, the resulting sound was very close to the way the instrument sounds without a pickup, and when I removed the DYN-M there were no signs of its presence on the mandolins’ finishes.

You could use the Schertler DYN-M on an acoustic guitar, but Schertler has a special version called the DYN-G specifically designed for guitars. The DYN-G looks identical to the DYN-M, and the principle is certainly the same; perhaps only the name has been changed to protect the innocent.

The retail price for the DYN-M mando pickup is $395. While not inexpensive, it accomplishes what no other mandolin pickup can – supply good sound along with easily installation and clean re-moval. With a DYN-M, mando players can be assured they’ll be heard in any stage situation. And unlike other fine pickups (i.e. the Pick Up The World), one DYN-M will suffice for any number of mandolins, as long as you only play one at a time!

My personal debate is whether I need a DYN-M enough to spend $395 for some-thing I’ll only use once in a blue moon. I’ll probably buy one, just because when I do need a mandolin (or guitar) pickup, the DYN-M can do the job so elegantly.


Steven Stone is a contributing editor to Stereophile’s Guide to Home Theater.