CUSTOMER FEEDBACK
(Karl transcribed various instrument parts from several Warren Zevon recordings. He then arranged the parts for three horns.)
"Karl helped transcribe my most basic head arrangements into three perfectly harmonized horn parts for my performance fronting a thirteen piece band. There was only one run through just prior to the show and so the notation had to be correct, and it was. His experience as a musician playing in many different styles makes him especially easy to relate to conceptually and I would recommend him for any project requiring a keen ear and an accurate transcription."
David Kitchen
There is a ton of guitar tablature available on the web, as you probably know. My students bring in tablature all the time, wanting me to help them learn guitar parts from records. Some of the online free tab is accurate; occasionally it's excellent. However, the vast majority of it that I've seen is flawed. I've seen everything from small mistakes to huge ones; some of the tab online is so wrong it actually works against you. (An awful lot of it is posted by novice players; in many cases I wonder why the person thought they were qualified to post tablature at all.)
The main problem is, unless you already are a pretty good player with a good ear, you're not going to have any idea whether you're looking at good tablature or lousy. Another problem is that most of what's online is current mainstream stuff-- this is not a problem if you're 15 years old and only know the music that's sold to teenagers. The rest of us are aware of an endless avalanche of other music out there, new and old, much of which is not transcribed online anywhere.
That's where I come in-- I have a music education degree, and 25 years of professional playing experience. When I transcribe a guitar solo, I know what I'm doing.
If you're serious about playing music correctly, I'm available to provide quality transcriptions of whatever you're interested in. please contact me at karlstraub@hotmail.com.
PRICING
My base price for a transcription is $30.00. This can vary depending on various elements.
MORE EXPENSIVE
Complicated music, such as chord voicings on a jazz record, 3-part harmonized lines such as you'd find on a Bob Wills record, Chet Atkins fingerstyle arrangements, etc.
These kinds of things take a long time to transcribe. It also takes much longer if you want notation, as opposed to tablature. Notation includes rhythms, adding a lot of extra work. I can also provide a video clip of me demonstrating how to play the parts, or certain techniques. That takes a lot more time, of course.
LESS EXPENSIVE
Single-note solos and fills are easier to transcribe. It's also easier for me to transcribe using tab only, and not notating rhythms. I prefer notation myself, because it's more accurate than tab, but if you don't read notation or rhythms, I can do tab-only quicker for you. The tablature will tell you frets and strings, but you'll have to figure out the rhythms on your own.
BULK RATE
If you are interested in an ongoing service, like taking lessons, I may be able to offer a discount.
SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT THE VALUE AND COST OF THIS WORK.
I've had some customers tell me my prices are too high. Naturally, I understand the concept of "what the market will bear," and I don't expect anyone to pay more than they want to. I also understand money is tight in this economy-- this is part of the reason I'm trying to augment my income with transcribing. If you honestly can't afford what I'm charging, please tell me what you can afford and we may be able to work something out. However, if you think I'm overcharging, please consider the following information, presented as cheerfully as possible--
If you take a guitar lesson from a qualified professional, you would very likely pay more than my transcribing price for just one lesson. (note-- I recognize that I live in a large metropolitan area-- lesson rates may be cheaper where you live.) If your teacher has to write down something he's figuring out by ear, that takes additional time. This is assuming you can find a teacher you trust to figure things out accurately. If you think of one of my transcriptions as a guitar lesson, maybe it won't seem overpriced. (In my view, learning a solo by a master like Oscar Moore, or Eldon Shamblin, or Peter Green, is really the equivalent of a whole bunch of lessons.) Please keep in mind, I encourage customers to ask questions that will enable them to play the transcribed music more easily.
If you have a trained professional come to fix something at your house, in many cases they charge more than $30.00 just to walk in the door.
Transcribing is not like raking leaves-- it's very complex work, and not everyone can do it. I have a music degree and years of experience teaching and performing many different styles. I think sometimes people have trouble thinking of musicians as qualified professionals who should be paid well. Part of the problem is that there is so much free tab and online information. This conditions people into thinking they should be able to get tab without paying for it. Some of the free stuff is good, but much of it is worthless. There is also an awful lot of music you will never find free tab for.
I provide a service for people who are serious about music, and want their transcription to be accurate. I also am doing this for people interested in music that's hard (or impossible) to find in tab form. If I charged my hourly teaching rate for my transcriptions, my price would be much higher! I'm charging less than I think I'm worth because I'm trying to establish an online reputation and not scare people away.
PAYMENT POLICIES
I ask my customers for a 50% down payment before I begin a transcribing project. Customers interested in samples of my work can find some on this site, listed on the right side of the site.
If a customer would prefer to see a brief sample excerpt from the work they have in mind, I can post or email them a few measures before they decide. Please note-- I sometimes get emails from customers reluctant to pay me anything until I've finished the job. I can understand their concern, of course. I don't know if any of you have paid money upfront to someone and then been burned; I do know that quite a few students have taken lessons from me and then told me they would send me a check, but somehow never got around to it (even with numerous reminders from me.) From now on, I require a down payment as a gesture of good faith. (note-- I'll probably have a paypal option pretty soon, so you won't have to mail a check if you don't feel like going through the extra hassle.)
At this time, I ask for payment by mailed check at the conclusion of the work. My address is Karl Straub, 406 Cloverway, Alexandria, Virginia, 22314. I can post the transcription while it's in progress, in case a customer wants to give suggestions for me to do it differently in some way.
MY TRANSCRIBING SYSTEM
I can email a file with the transcription to you. I usually post it on my private site, where you can watch it in progress, and print it out for your own use.
WHAT I NEED FROM YOU
Customers must make the recording available to me in one of the following ways.
1. Mail me a burned CD of the music.
2. Email me an mp3, using YouSendIt (www.yousendit.com/) or similar program. (Note-- if you have ITunes program, it's easy to make an mp3, drag it to your desktop, and send it it to me in an email using YouSendIt. My email address is karlstraub@hotmail.com.)
3. If the song is on YouTube, send me the link. I can usually transcribe from a YouTube clip.
I also need very clear information from you about what you want. This means a clear description of which parts, solos, chords, etc. I also need to know the timings of where a part comes in. (i.e. if you want a guitar solo, I need to know that it is 1:40 to 1:58.)
Here is a partial list of players and styles I've transcribed in the past--
- Chuck Berry
- Bo Diddley
- Freddy King
- Clarence White
- Norman Blake
- Tony Rice
- Dan Crary
- Jimi Hendrix
- the Beatles
- Keith Richards/Rolling Stones
- Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin
- Black Sabbath
- Angus Young/AC/DC
- B.B. King
- Albert King
- Eric Clapton/Cream/Bluesbreakers
- Roy Nichols/Merle Haggard
- James Burton
- John Cipollina/Quicksilver Messenger Service
- Magic Sam
- Otis Rush
- Jeff Beck/Yardbirds
- George Barnes
- Hank Garland
- Eldon Shamblin/Junior Barnard/Tiny Moore/Bob Wills
- Charlie Christian(Benny Goodman)
- George Benson
- Mick Ronson (David Bowie)
- Nokie Edwards (Ventures)
- Marc Bolan (T. Rex)
- Peter Green/Danny Kirwan (original Fleetwood Mac)
- Hubert Sumlin (Howlin' Wolf)
- Don Rich (Buck Owens)
- Grady Martin (tons of old country records)
- and tons more!
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