First Acoustic Guitar video on Great Wall of China - Don Alder

[BiGreDNoSecoMpAny]

really nice playing but why in the world do old people always have these completely awful moves when they're playing guitar :D

[Liquidization]

Nice dude

[Calvintattoo]

love the guitar but hate the camera ....fucking dizzy!

[TheFitz02]

@Calvintattoo hahaha like a really played out music video from the 90s

[miguellevesque]

love it

[zaxzo1997]

Amazing guitar who cares about the camera man 5/5

[patrickhufschmid]

pure genious, gorgeous melody

[partialcapo]

its ashame people are giving him 4 stars because of the camera man shut the fuck up and enjoy the music assholes

[partialcapo]

bass notes are so catchy

[fijikomu]

I'm going to vomit. Make the camera man stop spinning in damn circles. Feels like a bad helicopter ride with amazing music.

[logician008]

whoever filmed this was on drugs but wtvr haha,

amazing guitarist!

[Fireprodude]

I like this verison better than the new years one. Wish there was the whole video for this one.

The wall just sounds better in that different tuning

[Fireprodude]

Sweet i wish i was half as good as don alder!

Real amazing stuff he does!

[dtguitars]

didn't know anyone yanked your chain.

[doob776]

this guy was at my school =/

[quick41]

what school's that? in Vancouver?

[123Cookie321]

The Don alder G4 cant be tuned to standard.

You could try =P.

But is says you cant on the Greenfield's site.

EADGBE is not really what its built for.

[dtguitars]

You would be correct that the guitar is not built for standard tuning, but that has nothing to do with it being fanned fret. It does have to do with the stability of the bracing system to withstand the tension of a 27" scale length on the bass side being tuned to standard. But, fanned fret guitars, when the box is braced accordingly, can be tuned to standard tuning. The G4 is one of the only cases I have ever encountered where the guitar is not recommended to be in standard.

[dtguitars]

continued from previous post...

It has nothing to do with the fact that the guitar would not play in tune being brought up to standard. But most likely, the guitar wouldn't take the tension, and could be apt to body and neck distortion, or even worse, coming apart at the seams.

[dtguitars]

continued yet again...

Provided the scale length is right, it doesn't matter what pitch you tune to, the string will still be divided into proper semitones for that particular string pitch. And when I do a fanned fret guitar with the 24.62 treble and 25.7 bass, it plays well in standard tuning.

dtguitars dot com

[DOCBROC2]

Just heard you on CBC. Congratultions for your well deserved victory. You play with passion, finess and skill. Keep going, man!

[Foley55]

I love the joy with which he plays.

[frozenfrogz]

Very nice! But please shoot the cameraguy :-/

[vanillabloos]

See, it's guy's like this who are extremely talented, that do not get noticed in the music industry.

[smkmfdm]

Yep, instead the majority embrace American Idol. I for one no longer listen to, or watch- mainstream anything.

[VengefulTikiGod]

Whoa. This guy is in the same league as Andy McKee, that was really beautiful

[Neelo5000]

Beautiful melody. I really like Alder's style of playing.

[guitarmusicrocks]

the guitar is a Greenfield G4 Don Alder model and is a 2 in fan fret so tunes from d-d sort of the inbetween of a baritone and std guitar. The new complete version of "THE WALL" is now online at

[guitarmusicrocks]

see the video response for the real version of the song.

[Neelo5000]

I could be mistaken here but I thought fanned frets were just an ergonomic feature.. designed to accommodate for the way your fingers naturally cross the fretboard. I don't believe it affects tuning..if thats what you mean.

[MrFinger8r]

The real reason to get an instrument with fanned frets is that they have a profound effect on the tuning, altering the scale length for every single individual string. The Greenfield G4 Don is playing here has a scale length of between 25 and 27 inches, and can't be tuned to standard concert pitch EADGBE. For more info on fanned frets check out the Novax site, or Mike Greenfield's, or Jimmy Doolin's sites.

[dtguitars]

I would beg to differ that a fanned fret guitar cannot be tuned to and played in standard tuning. While the scale lengths of each string are different, that has no effect on the pitch up and down the fret board as each fret is divided into proper semitones (12 to be exact) and the saddle should be intonated properly to each scale length.

dtguitars dot com

[dtguitars]

Don does not play this song in a standard tuning, but, the guitar itself can be played in standard tuning. The profound effect is not on the tuning itself, but on the tone, allowing a longer scale length for the bass strings giving the guitar deeper low end while still maintaining strong mids and highs across the full fundamental.

dtguitars dot com

[josh9533]

that's some really good finger picking

[Guitarman504]

Great song. You get a better sound out there on the great wall then most of us at home with all our effects and electronics.

[kcirtap6075]

maybe i'm mistaken, but i think it's fair to assume that this is just a video played over a track recorded in the studio.. the sound quality is too good for being outside

[Guitarman504]

Yeah, I'm sure you are right, but it is a great sound. I like the melody.

[kcirtap6075]

yeah, definitely.. he's amazing

[Poopfemur]

he is really playing