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The "Orkney Tuning"
The Orkney tuning, oddly enough, has nothing specifically to do with the Orkney Islands. The C-G-D-G-C-D (going low to high strings) is so described "Orkney" because its promoter, Steve Baughman, inferred a Scottish feel to its deep, textural sensibility. According to Baughman (who discovered the tuning through independent experimentation in 1987) Martin Simpson, Brian Gore and Tony McManus use it, as well as Baughman himself, a fine guitarist and renditioner in a genuinely traditional mode.
About this recording
This is, in no uncertain technological terms, is a hybrid project. Space and economy suggested using a Fishman pickup... off a vintage Harmony Sovereign acoustic (built no earlier than the mid- 1960's). The signal was then boosted via an "A.R.T" tube preamp into a modest SoundBlaster PC 128 card. Mastering was done at Muscletone Studios in Berkeley, California under the astute scrutiny of Derek Bianchi.

Listen now to a selection from the "Orkney Serenade"



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