Bill Dutcher – Modern Acoustic Guitarist

Welcome to my site!  I’ve tried to take a more ‘blog-based’ approach in describing my experiences as a performing musician as well as different situations I’ve encountered while playing in various venues.  You’ll find many tips on how to handle ‘in-the-field’ repairs and fixes for equipment as well as how to handle certain ‘business’ aspects of performing and dealing with venues.  I’ve always been one who tries to be prepared for any situation and I hope you gain insight from what your read here.  I’ve also posted some performance videos as well as background information about my playing history.  I love to talk about gear and am always experimenting with different equipment and am constantly searching for new sounds and tones.  Please feel free to email me with any questions as I value your input and responses.

Bill Dutcher

Let’s face it…. We’ve all been ‘cornered’ and asked to play the typical ‘top ten’ requests that every ‘John Q. Public’ wants to hear, right?  The running joke with just about every working musician I’ve talked with about this is that there is this handful of tunes that are OVER PLAYED TO DEATH!  After all we’re all here as players to ‘broaden your listening horizon!’  I have nothing against Van Morrison, and while he’s laughing all the way to the bank every time the radio stations play that ‘tune about that girl with the certain colored eyes’, it takes a shotgun held to my head to get me to play it!  But what if you forget all the the words when your put on the spot for a request?…Ah…Modern technology!  Read more… Read more »

Throwing your guitar…well, not really throwing it… in the back seat of the car and going to the gig is commonplace, but what about flying to a gig and bringing your guitar?  We’ve all heard horror stories of instruments getting demolished and even stolen through major airlines, but there are some common sense things you can do to protect your guitar. Read more »

It’s always great when I get a call to play a new venue.  My mind starts racing and I think, “I wonder what the stage and room is like?”  “How much gear do I need to bring or do they have P.A?”  “What’s the load-in like?”  There’s lot’s of ‘unknowns’ in these new situations but there is a great checklist that I like to go over before I head to the venue… Read more »

The more I play the more I try to see how ‘scaled down’ I can make my equipment.  I’m waiting for the day when they can put all this great technology into a package the size of a soup can!

I travel with a road case that has all my pedal, cables and such in it and I always travel with a big roll of black ‘stage tape’…Keep in mind it’s not the typical grey-colored duct tape we all see at the local hardware store.  That stuff leaves a nasty residue on anything it touches.  Stage tape is more of a cloth based material and leaves no residue on stages or gear.  Most music stores should be able to get it.

The problem is that I don’t seem to have room to keep the whole roll in my case so…… Read more »

If you play in alternate tunings and switch between tunings alot,  it’s hard to keep your guitar in tune…unless you have multiple guitars.   If you have a backup guitar this can help to some extent but there’s a secret that will help make things easier… Read more »

My friends gave me the nickname, “Billy MacGyver”. … Give me a paperclip, a tubesock and some duct tape and I’ll fix anything!  My Motto! -  Always have one of everything and two of most! 

I’ve played a few rooms that had elevated stages that had wood plank flooring and as fate would have it I broke a string in the middle of a song and the bridge pin popped out of the guitar and fell between the cracks of the stage and was forever lost!  Sure I had strings but…uhh….another bridge pin????

Here’s the tip of the week!!! (See picture)

Take some stage tape and tape an extra bridge pin to the front of your guitar strap near the end that connects to the heel of the guitar.  If you break a string and you hear a richocet off in the dark…good luck finding the bridge pin!  At least you know you have a back-up and if your thinking like me….You have an extra set of strings within reach.  You can have all the chops in the world and the best gear, but are you truly prepared for ANY situation?

I use to teach for years and was always asked, “What’s the best way to learn new tunes and commit them to memory?” People would often say they were frustrated because they could not make it all the way through the piece of music and felt lost….Well that’s the problem! The best way to start with a new song is to… Read more »

There’s lots of choices when it comes to strings for acoustic guitars.  The two most popular are Phosphor Bronze and Bright Bronze or 80/20.  Phosphor Bronze tend to have a more rich full-bodied tone – great for fingerstyle.  Bright Bronze or 80/20 (80% bronze – 20% tin) tend to have more brightness.  Phosphor Bronze will sound just as bright for the first day or so then they tend to mellow out.  If you use a magnetic sound-hole pickup you may consider using Nickel or White Bronze.  These have more magnetic content to them.  The core is steel and so is the wrap.  Therefore the pickup ‘hears’ more of the string.  When using 80/20′s or Phosphour strings the magnetic pickup only ‘hears’ the core of the string as the wrapping has no magnetic quality.  If you have an older fragile instrument you may consider silk-and-bronze or silk-and-steel.  These use a thinner core that is wrapped with silk (to make up for the mass of a regular sized core – but without the tension), then it’s wrapped with the winding.  These type of strings have less tension and are easier on the hands and on the instrument.  Gauges depend on your style.  Yes, you’ll get more tone and volume with medium guage strings but with that comes more wear and tear and tension which can shorten the life of the guitar.  If you use low altered tunings medium gauge are a great choice as they tend to hold the lower notes better without flapping about.  Your choice depends on what you like and your style.

Applying effects to your sound can add a whole new dimension.  I like using big reverb sounds but sometimes the guitar can get lost in the mix.  If you have ever run across a parameter in your reverb unit called pre-delay you should try this.

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