Albert Upside Down (Albert the Tortoise)

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In an interview in 1982, King stated that he predominantly chose the V for its feel and playability, rather than for its tone. I suspect the choice also had something to do with the Flying V’s visual appeal. Albert Upside Down is the fourth book in the series, and features the adventurous tortoise escaping from his garden home but becoming entangled in some balloons. As Gibbons recalls: ‘Albert asked to play my guitar. He had it upside-down and played a little bit. Then he asked, “Why are you using these strings?” I told him because I wanted to have that bluesy sound. He said, “Why are you working so hard? Get something light!”

Luthier Dan Erlewine, who made King one of the Flying V guitars that he played throughout his career, had a few occasions to witness the Velvet Bulldozer in high dudgeon.Garner, Bonita. "Albert King: A Biography". Mississippi Writers and Musicians . Retrieved April 19, 2022. Ian said: “Unlike the Albert books, these are rhyming stories. Also, we don’t have a pet yeti at home.” King was left-handed, but usually played right-handed guitars flipped over upside-down. He used a dropped open tuning, possibly more than one, as reports vary: (C#-G#-B-E-G#-C#) or open E-minor (C-B-E-G-B-E) or open F (C-F-C-F-A-D). [33] Steve Cropper (who played rhythm guitar on many of King's Stax sessions), told Guitar Player magazine that King tuned his guitar to C-B-E-F#-B-E (low to high). [34] The luthier Dan Erlewine said King tuned to C-F-C-F-A-D with light-gauge strings (0.050", 0.038", 0.028", 0.024" wound, 0.012", 0.009"). The lighter-gauge strings, and lower string tension of the dropped tuning, were factors in King's string-bending technique.

Why King chose to tune in this way is somewhat unclear and I definitely wouldn’t recommend it. The tuning he used is not common. In fact, there are various stories of King turning up to a gig or the studio, playing out of tune and insisting that everyone else tune to his guitar! His huge two tone bends, vocal playing style and sheer power influenced a whole generation of guitarists, including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and most notably, Stevie Ray Vaughan. His influence on many of the world’s most revered guitarists is sufficient to make him a national treasure of American music. But in many ways, his own achievements outshine those of his acolytes. After all, he did it first. And he certainly did it his way. From a practical perspective – Flying Vs are light guitars, especially when compared with Les Pauls. They also have great access to the upper frets. The event, taking place on February 13 from 2pm, will see children enjoy a story time session and have the chance to meet Albert.

ALBERT IN THE AIR - When Albert escapes from his garden home, he discovers the highs and lows of life beyond.

Sometimes bad gear can give you a good idea! I’ll go with whatever’s around. There are no rules”: Code Orange’s Reba Meyers on writing “pure evil” riffs and why she’d rather play a guitar that “sounds a little sh**tier” than a studio classic Ian said: "Albert seems to be taking all this in his stride. He has become a bit of a diva but that might just be his age. We've all been amazed at how his popularity has grown. The violin can be learned in either hand, and most left-handed players hold the violin under the left side of their jaw, the same as right-handed players. This allows all violinists to sit together in an orchestra. For amplification, King used a solid-state Acoustic amplifier, with a speaker cabinet containing two 15-inch speakers and a horn ("which may or may not have been operative"). From the 1980s onwards King was also known to use a Roland JC-120. Later in his career he also used an MXR Phase 90. [30] Influence [ edit ]

They have been a great supporter of the books and I hope people will take to them as they have the previous stories. I also hope people will continue to support great local assets – libraries and our bookshops.”

Opting for a solid state amp eliminated this problem and gaveKing greater control over his tone. Amps to sound like Albert King Albert King was a left handed guitarist. At the time when Albert was learning guitar, left handed guitars were almost non existent, certainly none in production. To compensate, Albert flipped his right handed guitar and played with the thin strings on top. The high E being where the low E traditionally is. The B string being where the A string traditionally is, and so on. It truly provides for an interesting take on the electric guitar. This is because now you are bending the high strings down as opposed to up. At around 6ft 4 (194cm) and 250 lbs (110kg) and with a personality that matched his size, King had a formidable presence on stage, and the Flying V certainly added to his image.Pushing a tube amp that hard would have undoubtedly produced heavy levels of distortion, beyond the scope of what King wanted. In doing so, he rejected the typical choices amongst bluesmen – the Gibson Les Paul, Fender Stratocaster and the Gibson ES-335/ES-345.