Killer Guitars Blog

Young Guitar Phenom!

2007-03-07T07:27:00.003-08:00

Here's a video Paul Harris of Violation fame sent me. He says, "This is a young kid from Asia that has no interest in being famous, etc. (as he hides his face with a hat) He put this on youtube and within a short time it had 15 million hits. Check it out. He’s no Eddie Van Halen but he sure has the right idea for a young kid...

Manyon~

13 Year Old Guitar Phenom!

2007-03-07T07:27:00.002-08:00

Here's a video Paul Harris of Violation fame sent me about a kid in Asia who's about 13 years old...

Manyon~

13 Year Old Phenom!

2007-03-07T07:27:00.001-08:00

Here's a video Paul Harris of Violation fame sent me about a kid in Asia who's about 13 years old...

Manyon~

2007-03-07T07:27:00.000-08:00

Here's a video Paul Harris of Violation fame sent me about a kid in Asia who's about 13 years old...

Manyon~

First New Van Halen Line Up Photo!

2007-02-20T12:59:00.000-08:00

Here's the first new Van Halen picture to come out of the VH camp.

For all the early talk about this new line up, and as much as I think Michael
Anthony should be in it, I think Wolfy looks pretty cool in this shot.

Manyon~

Free 80's Oline Metal Radio Station

2007-02-19T14:30:00.000-08:00

They're playing SAXON right now so you know they're cool!
http://www.bigrradio.com/2007/

Jim Hintzen~

TRIUMPH (2 ACOUSTIC JAMS FROM RICK EMMETT)

2007-02-11T22:06:00.003-08:00

I can't believe I found this one. My Pal Troy Boyer used to play this album back in 1980 and I would always ask him to play this solo.

We first heard about Triumph in the SF Bay Area when the great rock promoter Bill Graham ran one of the coolest TV commercials showing Triumph playing live while advertising an upcoming concert. Of course we went and they really did blow us away with their show.

Here were 3 guys that not only sounded great, but Rick was running all over the place and filling the stage. Here's to knowing how to come into town as unknown rockers and leaving as stars...

Fastway "Say What You Will"

2007-02-11T21:52:00.002-08:00

Terry Bozzio Drum Solo 1988

2007-02-11T21:23:00.001-08:00

I love drums as well as guitars and there's no drummer better than Terry Bozzio.

Check out this solo where he displays his "Independence". That's where different appendages are playing in different meters.

Thanks to the great drummer Steve Quartarola for turning us on to this one!

Motorhead - Ace of Spades ( Live 1980 )

2007-02-11T21:07:00.000-08:00

I saw Motorhead a few years back. Lemmy came out and before they started playing said, "We're Motoheard, we're a rock and roll band", as if we didn't know. They then went on to kick Killer Ass and my buddy Roy and I were in metal heaven!

About half way through their VERY LOUD set, in between songs Lemmy turns to the side of the stage and says to the sound man, "Fuck'em! Turn it up!" I thought that was one of the greatest things I had ever heard at a concert! Lemmy had the whole crowd eating out of his hands and then he turns on us. Now THAT'S Rock-And-Roll!

Manyon~

Black Sabbath - Neon Knights with Ronnie James Dio

2007-02-11T21:04:00.000-08:00

It just doesn't get any better than "Neon Nights" by Black Sabbath with Ronnie James Dio...

L.A. Guns - Sex Action (Live 1990)

2007-02-11T20:40:00.000-08:00

For those of us old school types that love Killer Raw bands, there's nothing better than L.A. Guns! Here they are on Rick Dees show. (Hard to believe that Rick is the one who recorded "Disco Duck"!)

Jason Becker Guitar Solo

2007-02-07T15:38:00.000-08:00

Check out Jason in the beginning of this solo as one hand is shredding on the neck while the other hand is playing with a Yo-Yo!

It's one thing to think that up, and another to do it. But leave it to Jason to pull it off and look cool in the process!

Salute, Don Becker...

Jim Hintzen~

The Donnas Live in New York

2007-02-03T12:09:00.001-08:00

The Donnas Live on SNL

2007-02-03T12:04:00.000-08:00

Being an 80's rock fan, I love The Donnas who were obviously influenced by that era. I love the Ace Frehley licks and Ted Nugent vibe at times. Their juvenile lyrics are perfect for the mentality of this listener.

Keep up the Killer Rocking girls!

Manyon~

Van Halen 1977

2007-02-03T10:28:00.001-08:00

Check out Eddie using the same guitar from the cover of "Woman And Children First"...

Brian Setzer Orchestra - This Cat´s on a Hot Tin Roof

2007-01-26T08:21:00.000-08:00

Here's a live performance by the Brian Setzer Orchestra on a European TV show. There's about a 1.5 minute intro in German, but it's worth the wait.

Also, after the band is done, Brain plays a solo by himself that's Killer!

If you've never seen this band live, it's a must see. They have a Killer Christmas Show that I can't recommend enough!

Manyon~

David Lee Roth Set To Rejoin Van Halen For Tour!

2007-01-26T07:52:00.000-08:00

A Van Halen reunion tour, with David Lee Roth back in the fold after 22 years, is in the works, with a Las Vegas launch looking good.

A late April date at the Palms' new venue, The Pearl, is "99 percent" likely, a source said.

It would be the latest coup for Palms owner George Maloof, who will open the 2,500-seat venue with a lineup that includes Tool, Evanescence, Gwen Stefani and possibly Van Halen, all in the first month.

A 40-date tour is being discussed.

Roth fronted the band from 1974 to 1985 before going solo. He was close to rejoining about 11 years ago, but a blowup caused another rift.

Van Halen's last tour, in 2004, grossed about $40 million, with Sammy Hagar as the lead.

Ron Freschi~

P.S. I can't wait to hear them play Jump!

Van Halen To Get Set To Announce Summer Tour!

2007-01-25T15:26:00.000-08:00

A deal is almost set for David Lee Roth to return to the Van Halen fold for a summer tour of amphitheaters, sources told Billboard.com

They said a contract could be signed as early as Wednesday for tour promoter Live Nation to produce a 40-date trek, which would mark Roth's first outing with the rock band in more than 20 years.

Spokeswomen for Roth and the band said they were unable to provide any confirmation.

Guitarist Eddie Van Halen's 15-year-old son Wolfgang has stepped in for original bassist Michael Anthony in the new incarnation of the group, which also features Eddie's brother Alex Van Halen on drums.

Van Halen last toured in 2004 with vocalist Sammy Hagar, Roth's replacement, grossing nearly $40 million, according to Billboard Boxscore. Hagar refused to collaborate further with the Van Halen brothers after the tour's completion, although he has consistently played live with Anthony in recent years. The warring factions may wind up meeting in public in March when Van Halen is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Reuters/Billboard

Thin Lizzy - Gary Moore, Phil Lynott, Scott Gorham, Cozy Powell, Don Airey Live!

2007-01-25T07:33:00.000-08:00

I saw Thin Lizzy back in 1979 at Day On The Green back in Oakland, California and Gary Moore wore a gold lamay jacket and was quite the Killer Guitar God!

Manyon~

Eddie Van Halen at the "Fender Reception"

2007-01-22T08:57:00.000-08:00

This is Eddie at the "Fender Reception" Friday January, 19th, 2007. Fender is making a replica of Ed's famous first guitar, and the prototypes look and sound incredible. Even Ed couldn't tell which one was his original guitar.

He looks good, plays even better, and I'm ready for Dave & the rumored summer tour. Bring this s#*t on!!!

Steve Quartarola~

300 of these Frankenstein knock offs are being made and are slated to be offered between $25K-$30K. That's around $9 million all totaled.

I guess Ed's getting the last laugh...

Spicoli~

David Lee Roth - A Little Ain't Enough

2007-01-20T02:20:00.000-08:00

I only saw this video back in the day but always dug it. Great to hear Jason Becker's sweet guitar. As you all may know, Jason has ALS. There's a terrific interview with him in the March 2007 issue of Guitar World Magazine.

From all of us here at KILLER GUITARS, we think you're the greatest Jason!

Aki Yashiro Live with Marty Friedman Of Megadeath

2007-01-19T10:28:00.000-08:00

This has to be one of the most unique things I've ever seen. My hat's off to Marty for being in this type of performance and still looking nothing but Killer Cool!

After a little research, turns out Marty is currently living in Tokyo.

One of Marty`s idols, Japanese living legend Yashiro Aki joins him here in the performance. For those who don`t know who Yashiro Aki is, she is a singer of `Enka` music, and Marty was very influenced by her voice in his formative years as a guitarist. Some of the `exotic` sound in Marty`s playing can be traced to her vocal style.

For more info on this show (and to see some really crazy pictures)...

http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/heavy-metal/

Kenny~

Marty Friedman - Audition Footage with Megadeath

2007-01-19T10:18:00.000-08:00

Before joining Megadeth in Feb.1990, Marty was in a band called Cacophony, which released 2 albums and toured the U.S. and Japan. This band highlighted the potent guitar playing of Marty and fellow guitarist Jason Becker (who was to join David Lee Roth's band and record an album with him in 1990).

Killer Guitar Blog contributor Steve Quartarola was friends with the boys in Cacophony back in the 1980's SF Bay Area metal scene days. I can remember him talking about this Killer Band and how cool they all were. Great to see Marty has gone on to reknowned greatness since then!

Manyon~

Buck Cherry "Ridin" Video

2007-01-19T09:51:00.000-08:00

My buddy Troy Boyer turned me onto Buck Cherry when he was the bands guitar tech around the time their album "Time Bomb" was released. He played me the video above that he had and it blew me away because of the tone and Killer Attitude! That was the only time I'd ever seen the video and I must admit I've been Jones'n for it ever since. I'm THRILLED to have found it for you to enjoy here!

They aren't know for shredding guitars, but their grooves make up for it and Josh Todd's voice is Killer Shredding enough.

And besides, having the king of hearts tattooed on your entire back means you almost always have to win at strip poker which is what rock and roll is all about Baby!

Manyon~

Eddie Van Halen Sighting!

2007-01-16T08:27:00.000-08:00

"Not With Eddie"

By TED E. GRAU

On a recent morning, as I was driving my beloved to work in Century City from North Hollywood, we stopped at a gas station on the corner of Coldwater and Ventura to load up on supplies (coffee, smokes, Bratz press-on tattoos, etc.) before heading up the canyon to parts better known and vastly overpriced.

Tapping my toe to the hottest of Hindi hits lilting softly through the burnt-coffee-scented air, I noticed a small commotion at the front of the line. What I saw was a frail, hunched man, with longish, stringy hair and gnarled, shaky, “hard work” hands, wearing a loose-fitting long-john shirt, faded jeans and expensive track shoes. While the cashier waited, the man muttered to himself as he arranged six packs of smokes into a stack on the countertop — three packs of American Spirit heavies, three packs of Marlboro Light 100s (the chica smoke of choice). He was too well dressed to be a bum, but also too unkempt and “lived in” to be anything other than a burned-out roadie or an out-of-work roofer. He’d obviously seen too many late nights, but he also seemed like a scrappy sort who could mix it up, work with his hands, create... Hmmm... What’s this Hessian dude’s deal? And what’s with the smoke stacking, you goddamn smoke stacker?

As I watched him futz around with the cigs and thought to myself, “This is one chain-smoking mother fucker,” he turned his head to the side, giving me a brief glimpse of his profile. All at once, I realized that he looked very familiar, like an old friend who didn’t look the way I remembered but was still very recognizable based on a strong memory deeply rooted in the lizard brain of my youth. Then it hit me, like the first strains of “Runnin’ With the Devil,” the midpoint of “Eruption,” the last note of “Ice Cream Man.”

This was Eddie Van Halen.

Muttering to himself. Stuffing change into his wallet with shaky, gnarled, hard-work hands. Stacking six packs of smokes on a countertop. Two brands. Three a piece.

This was Eddie Van Halen, my first guitar hero, the blistering virtuoso with the striped guitar, the fuel behind the first great American arena-rock supergroup.

Eddie Van Halen, the musical whiz who was described as “coming from a planet where everyone plays guitar.” The guy who taught us about the “hammer on” move and the tremolo, and who took fretwork to a whole new stratosphere — or maybe just back to the planet he came from. The icon who invented the tennis-racket air guitarist. The effortless genius who grinned that laconic, dopey grin while blowing the doors off of guitar convention when not blowing the embryonic matter off of MTV. The man who married childhood boner queen Valerie Bertinelli.

The guy we all once knew as just “Eddie.”

And now here he was, at 9 a.m. in the Valley, gathering up his smokes and shuffling past me, eyes down, smelling of three-day-old liquor, and out the door to the dirty Toyota Land Cruiser, and the young, moderately pretty woman (certainly no boner queen) who waited for him behind the wheel, smoking her long, chica Marlboro Light 100 and yammering into her cell phone. Didn’t she know who this was? He’s a Guitar God, you jabbering skank! Pay some respect and at least open the door for this faded titan.

But she didn’t pay respect, nor did she even notice as my boyhood hero walked to the front of the Land Cruiser, banged his head a few times on the thin metal hood, and then mock collapsed, before slogging wearily to the passenger door, as if it was all too much effort. Like he was exhausted from the smoke stacking, from the journey, from the memories of what he once was and what he will never get to be again.

By this time, I stopped looking, for maybe the same reason that Eddie’s female friend stopped looking, as we all want to remember our Gods and Monsters the way we did as children, when all seemed possible, and men could be made giants, and giants into the infinite.

I didn’t even look to see where he went, or in which direction, because I already knew, and didn’t need to know the truth. At least not this time.

Not with Eddie.

Victor Wooten Awesome Thump Battle Live Video!

2007-01-15T06:35:00.000-08:00

My Pal Gary Mears of GMP Productions turned me on to Victor Wooden and I was amazed! There's nothing more Killer Fresh than being turned onto something new.

Gary says, "that’s his older brother on the $199.00 Squire Strat guitar. He started teaching Victor to play that style slap when Victor was two years old. This video is taken at a bass players convention in New York City; the whole audience is bass players. There’s a Question and Answer segment where he shows his technique and the whole place is tripping out."

Thanks G!

Manyon~

Michael Angelo Live Video - Speed Kills

2007-01-12T16:27:00.000-08:00

You not going to believe his over the neck playing in the middle of this video!

That's it, I'm stomping on my Ukulele now!

Manyon~

Rusty Cooley's "Betcha Can't Play This" (Slow, Then Blazing!)

2007-01-12T11:43:00.000-08:00

I'm officially destroying my ukulele now...

Manyon

Paul Gilbert & Andy Timmons Ibanez Promotion Playing Red Rooster Live!

2007-01-12T11:39:00.000-08:00

Shawn Lane: Lane's Legato Innovations. AWESOME!

2007-01-12T11:33:00.000-08:00

To learn more about his AMAZING playing and career go to
http://www.shawnlane.com

Joe Satriani Live Video - Surfing With Alien!

2007-01-12T10:33:00.000-08:00

I remember years ago a friend of mine took lessons for Joe Satriani. He told me that Joe had commented about something my friend was playing by asking him why he chose that to play. He encouraged him to think outside the box when it came to solos. I never forgot that and think about that logic whenever I listen to Joe play.

OCMF~

Stevie Ray Vaughan with Brother Jimmie Playing The Same Killer Doubleneck Guitar!

2007-01-11T15:49:00.000-08:00

It doesn't get any better than this!

Bonnie R~

Y&T Live Video "Black Tiger"

2007-01-11T09:56:00.000-08:00

Roy~

Jimi Hendrix Live Video Playing "Fire" at Woodstock!

2007-01-11T09:01:00.000-08:00

I recently went to the rock and roll museum up in Seattle, Wa. where this very guitar is on display in front of an old TV that's playing Jimi Hendrix live at Woodstock. Now when I watch this video, I look at that Killer Guitar setting the pace for guitarists for the following decades. Jimi, you were among the few that recreated cool...

Thanks!

Manyon~

Slash - Live Solo!

2007-01-10T16:10:00.000-08:00

Q. ~

Yngwie Malmsteen - Blitzkrieg Live CLOSE UP Video!

2007-01-09T17:39:00.000-08:00

Talk about making it look easy! Leave it to Yngwie Malmsteen!

Manyon~

Eddie Van Halen - Panama (Letterman '85)

2007-01-08T11:46:00.000-08:00

Guitar World's "The Art of Shred in 2007"

2007-01-08T11:41:00.000-08:00

Marty Bingo~

George Lynch Recording Live!

2007-01-08T11:35:00.000-08:00

Here's George in the recording studio putting a solo track over music that had already been recorded by the band. This is often how many of the albums are made. It's funny because you'll be in your car with the tunes cranked picturing the Killer Guitarist in front of the band ripping it up, when he's actually standing or sitting next to the producer in the sound room recording while many times the other guys in the band are nowhere to be seen.

Doug T.~

Zakk Wylde Solo on LES PAUL live on WBUZ RADIO with Zman!

2007-01-08T11:26:00.000-08:00

Here's a live Killer Radio Interview with the one and only Zakk Wylde as he tears it up!

The thing that kills me when Zakk plays live is how he can stand there, legs totally far apart while at the same time moving his body all over the place while he plays such Killer Guitar! I'm telling you, the man should have his face on Mt. Rushmore!

Manyon~

Nuno Bettencourt

2007-01-08T11:11:00.000-08:00

Nuno Bettencourt is probably best known for being in the 80's rock band "Extreme". As anyone who's heard his music, he's got a very funky side to him.

Here's a video where he sits on the couch and plays some Killer Sweet Sounds...

Bogdan~

Cry Wolf featuring Steve McKnight & Timmy Hall

2007-01-07T08:39:00.000-08:00

Being a product of the S.F. Bay Area hard rock scene in the 70's and 80's, I was blessed to be exposed to some Killer Talent that unfortunately didn't always prevail to stardom.

Timmy Hall had one of the best voices the angels ever bestowed on us. I always thought he was the best singer in the Bay Area at that time.

Then you had Steve McKnight who was brilliant as a teenager after only picking up the guitar.

Fast forward some years and these 2 Killer Players hook up and move to L.A. where their band "Cry Wolf" was regularly packing in the crowds at the best clubs on the Sunset Strip.

Let me go on to say, these weren't only 2 great players, seriously they were 2 of the nicest guys I've ever met. My admiration for their talent an humilty makes me very proud to be able to share this video with you...

Mark Walters~
Killer Guitars

Accept - "Balls To The Walls"

2007-01-07T08:22:00.000-08:00

Killer Guitars isn't just about Killer Leads. It's also about Killer Tone and Killer Grooves. NOBODY made more fists pump in the air like the band Accept.

I was first turned on to them by my buddy and Tech for famed 1980's S.F. Bay Area metal band "Lust", by the name of Greg Goss. I'm forever grateful Greg!

I saw a reunited Accept with all the original in Phoenix, AZ in 1992. The show was in a small club that was a last minute thing. There were about 100 people there. The stage was about one foot so they were right in front of you. It was more like a private party. Accept played like pros and cranked all their Killer Classics! It was like being in Killer Heaven! So from me to you, let the party continue...

Manyon~

Babylon A.D. featuring Ron Freschi

2007-01-07T08:16:00.000-08:00

Ron Freschi is one of those guitarist that can play any style. He has a Van Halen tribute band where he takes Eddie Van Halen's orginal licks to a whole new Killer level. Here's Ron on his first single and video back in the day...

I hear the chicks on the road want you to come back French...

Manyon~

Steve Vai Live Video!

2007-01-07T08:10:00.000-08:00

Here's some really groovy Steve Vai that shows him having fun with Killer Tone!

Seve Quartarola~
"The Might Press"

Steve Stevens Live playing Dementia!

2007-01-07T08:04:00.000-08:00

I saw Billy Idol with Steve Stevens a few years back and was blown away by Steve's staccato on the acoustic guitar. Here's a video of Steve playing live that's very well produced. It's departure from his rocker stuff, but I think you will surely appreciate this Killer Guitarist...

Manyon~

Racer X Live Video Playing Godzilla

2007-01-04T07:53:00.000-08:00

One of the greatest bands of all time is Racer X. They ruled the L.A. club scene in the 80's and their members went on to great acclaim in such bands as Mr. Big, Judas Priest, Badlands & The Scream. Here's proof that one band CAN hold all the talent cards!

Mark Walters~
WDFA

More Van Halen Reunion News

2006-12-21T09:15:00.000-08:00

MORE ON THE VAN HALEN RE-UNION FROM ROSS HALFIN:

This just in from photographer Ross Halfin's website diary:

www.rosshalfin.co.uk/diary/december-2006/diary-december-2006.php.

"Head off to meet up (for photo shoot) with Edward Van Halen. It is hot today and I'm in black which doesn't help my thumping head. I feel like I'm being cooked in the sun - tortured...

Edward is in a great mood, he's easy to work with. And I'm not saying who or what I shot, but I will tell you Edward played a couple of cds which I thought were from 1978 (it was from two days ago) of Van Halen rehearsing with Wolfgang Van Halen on bass. It was jaw-droppingly amazing. They played On Fire, I'm The One, Atomic Punk. I'm not listing the rest, but I will tell you the band sounded untouchable.

On Jamie's Crying they did a long bass-lead jam on the intro - the band rocked. I don't like that word (too American) but the band rock - really rock. It was as exciting as the first time I saw them. They will come back and destroy the world.

One of the tightest, freshest sounding groups ever. I want to go and play the first album as soon as I get home. Had a blast listening to them, it made me remember why I liked music in the first place. Having Edward's son on bass has rejuvenated them.

They were rehearsing later that afternoon. I was invited - I wish I was staying...Got to LAX and got moved to the front of the plane. I was going to shoot the night sky, but couldn't get motivated. I'm still feeling ill - I should have stayed and watched Van Halen."

Original Lynyrd Skynyrd Live Video Playing Freebird!

2006-12-18T18:13:00.000-08:00

Watch the great Allen Collins in this close up video that
begins with the solo...

My first concert was at a Day On The Green in Oakland California
featuring Lynyrd Skynyrd. I was 12 and had no idea what encores
were all about. When they left the stage without playing Freebird
I couldn't believe it. When they came back out and played it I thought it
was a miracle!

I later saw Rossington Collins and Allen was wasted but still rocked.

I will always think Allen was the best and had the coolest hair!

Craig~
http://killerguitars.ning.com

ACDC Live Video with Bon Scott 1979!

2006-12-18T17:39:00.000-08:00

Here's ACDC with Bon Scott playing "Whole Lotta Rosie" right before Bon died...

I saw them this tour and have to say they were at the top of their game and Bon still put Angus on his shoulders and ran through the sold out crowd in Oakland California.

Troy~
http://killerguitars.ning.com

Kiss Live On The Mike Douglas Show!

2006-12-16T10:32:00.000-08:00

Here's Kiss in 1974 on an afternoon talk show scaring the crowd...

Gene had just been interviewed while 2 other guests wondered
what this thing was sitting next to them. Classic!

S. Tweed~
http://killerguitars.ning.com/

Judas Priest Live Video - "Victim Of Changes"

2006-12-16T10:25:00.000-08:00

Here's classic Priest from their "Screaming For Vengence" tour in 1993.

It really doesn't get any better than this...

Tony C.
http://killerguitars.ning.com/

Ratt Video "Round And Round"

2006-12-16T10:19:00.000-08:00

Not only one of the best 80's songs, the video features Milton Berle...

Angelo Dragonetti~
http://killerguitars.ning.com/

Ratt Live Video from The Whisky A Go Go

2006-12-16T10:14:00.000-08:00

One cool thing about this video is that it has the GREAT Dick Shawn introducing them.

I once saw his one man show and during intermission he jast laid on the stage asleep. When the 20 minute break was over, Dick got up and contunied his show...which was AWESOME.

That being said, heeeeeeere's Ratt...

J. Winters~
http://killerguitars.ning.com/

Scorpions Live Video at The Us Festival 1983

2006-12-16T10:08:00.000-08:00

I was at this show with 300,000 of my closet friends and can tell you
that the Scorpions were the best on metal day. (Although Babylon AD
would have given them a run for their money).

This was the ULTIMATE Rock Party...

Ron Freschi~
http://killerguitars.ning.com/

Motely Crue Live Video at The Us Festival 1983

2006-12-16T10:04:00.000-08:00

Considering there were over 300,000 people at this show, Motely says it was the show that broke them into the big time...

Terrie H.~
http://killerguitars.ning.com/

Van Halen Live Video from The Us Festival

2006-12-16T10:01:00.000-08:00

I was at this show and will forever be grateful my folks bought me a plane ticket to attend this historic event.

Here's some Van Halen with classic Diamond Dave doing some
schtick before the song "So This Is Love"...

Of course this show landed Van Halen in the Guiness Book Of World Records as the highest paid performance of over $1 million!

Jerry~
http://killerguitars.ning.com/

UFO featuring Michael Schenker Live Video - "Lights Out"

2006-12-16T09:56:00.000-08:00

Nothing is better than classic UFO. This looks to be
live footage from around 1977 of the boys playing
"Lights Out". The sound is great...

Ben~
http://killerguitars.ning.com/

Michael Schenker Group Live Video 1981

2006-12-16T09:41:00.000-08:00

There's nothing like MSG and here they are playing
their first hit titled, "Armed And Ready"...

Jake~
http://killerguitars.ning.com/

Pat Travers Live Video - "Boom Boom Out Go The Lights"

2006-12-16T09:39:00.000-08:00

This is Pat Travers in 1999 with full horns kicking it
big time in Orlando...

Ginger Pig~
http://killerguitars.ning.com/

Pat Travers Live Video Playing "Rock and Roll Susie"

2006-12-16T09:31:00.000-08:00

I used to watch the great Paul Harris of Violation play this
one back in the SF Bay Area in 1979. They grooved major!

I must say Pat sounds better than ever on this one...

Manyon~
http://killerguitars.ning.com/

Pat Travers Live Video from 1976!

2006-12-16T09:25:00.000-08:00

Yep,

Here's classic Pat Travers before Tommy Aldridge and
Pat Thrall playing "Hooked On Music".

Marty Bingo ~
http://killerguitars.ning.com/

Randy Rhodes Live Video

2006-12-16T09:12:00.000-08:00

Crazy Train LIVE Video featuring...

Ozzie Osbourne

Randy Rhodes

Tommy Aldridge

Rudy Sarzo

Wait for the short commercial to end and then
the song will begin. You're going to LOVE it...

Jim Chasen ~
http://killerguitars.ning.com/

Eddie Van Halen Live Video with Jan Hammer

2006-12-15T18:15:00.000-08:00

Eddie, Jan Hammer & Tony Levin at the Les Paul Tribute Show 1998...

Jim Chasen ~

http://killerguitars.ning.com/

Altar of the King

2006-12-15T17:46:00.000-08:00

Altar of the King is possibly one of the most aggressive
80’s metal bands to come out of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Underground musical assassins by choice, they choose when and
where they strike and their victims never seem to be able to stay
away from the chaulk outline.

To find out why, watch their latest video…

Jim Chasen~

http://killerguitars.ning.com/

The Great Van Halen Tribute band "WDFA"

2006-12-15T17:42:00.000-08:00

Here's WDFA live...

To visit their Official Van Halen Tribute website...

http://www.geocities.com/wdfa_rulez/

What is WDFA???

Is it a dessert topping? Is it a floor wax? Those who know aren't saying. What is known is that
someone, or something, called WDFA is heading our way, and it promises to change civilization as we know it.

Concern For Women and Children

“I don’t think the general public is going to be able to handle WDFA”, said General Thomas Bloward of the National Security Agency. “We have every indication that there is going to be an eruption that will light up the sky and set the world on fire.”

The NSA has been feverishly tracking WDFA since last week, when agents began intercepting transmissions between unknown parties. The exact nature of those conversations were not disclosed, but it is believed it was during these conversations that WDFA was conceived. In conjunction with the CIA, KGB, and Interpol, officials from around the world have been scrambling to learn as much as they can about this unidentified threat.

President Bush is said to have put top priority on uncovering those behind WDFA. “We want to give the people fair warning”, said Bush. “If this thing becomes unchained, and we experience a loss of control, I’m the one who will most assuredly hear about it later.”

Everybody Wants Some Explanation

“I’m frightened. I have been unable to sleep I’ve been crying so much”, said Jamie, a University of Virginia student who declined to give her last name.

“I’m already packed and have one foot out the door”, said Dan Galen, an ice cream vendor from Panama, Florida who is a member of the Air National Guard. “If push comes to shove, I’ll jump at the chance to do what I can to defend my country and our way of life”.

Memories Of The Past

This is not the first time that a story about some unknown object or being has been so hot. For teacher Romeo D. Leight, this episode has brought back frightening memories. “This is just like waiting for Halley’s comet in 1984”, he said. “We didn’t know what was going to happen? Would it bring with it aliens from another planet? Would it knock out all power and communications? In hindsight, all of the panic seems silly, but at the time the fear was very real.”

The Waiting Is The Hardest Part

As the world holds its collective breath, leaders from around the world struggle to make sense of it all. Who, what, when, and where is WDFA? And, most importantly - why? As one anonymous highly placed source said, “I can’t tell you for sure what will happen when WDFA makes its presence known, but I can tell you that the world, and humankind, will never be the same again.”

Jim Chasen ~
http://killerguitars.ning.com/

Eiddie Van Halen Speaks!

2006-12-12T10:46:00.000-08:00

Eddie Van Halen spoke to Guitar World magazine about the current status of VAN HALEN following the departures of vocalist Sammy Hagar and bassist Michael Anthony.

Rumors continue to swirl that original singer David Lee Roth, who was replaced by Hagar in the mid-1980s, will return to the fold, despite years of enmity. Roth, who has recently worked as a radio DJ and a paramedic, told Billboard.com in May that he saw it "absolutely as an inevitability."

"I'm telling Dave, 'Dude, get your ass up here and sing, Bitch! Come on!'" Eddie told Guitar World. "As it stands right now, the ball is in Dave's court. Whether he wants to rise to the occasion is entirely up to him, but we're ready to go."

Eddie has brought his 15-year-old son, Wolfgang, into VAN HALEN as the veteran rock band's new bass player. Father and son, along with Eddie's drummer brother Alex, have been rehearsing for a 2007 tour.

"Wolfgang breathes new life into what we're doing," said Eddie. "He brings youthfulness to something that's inherently youthful. He's only been playing bass for three months, but it's spooky. He's locked tight and puts an incredible spin on our shit. The kid is kicking my ass! He's spanking me now, even though I never spanked him. To have my son follow in my footsteps on his own, without me pushing him into it, is the greatest feeling in the world."

36 RULES FOR BANDS

2006-11-23T06:34:00.000-08:00

1. Never start a trio with a married couple.

2. Your manager's not helping you. Fire him/her.

3. Before you sign a record deal, look up the word
"recoupable" in the dictionary.

4. No one cares who you've opened for.

5. A string section does not make your songs sound anymore "important".

6. If your band has gone through more than 4 bass
players, it's time to break up.

7. When you talk on stage you are never funny.

8. If you sound like another band, don't act like
you're unfamiliar with their music ("Oh, does Rage
against the Machine also do rap-rock with political lyrics?")

9. Asking a crowd how they're doing is just amplified
small talk. Don't do it.

10. Don't say your video's being played if it's only
on the Austin Music Network.

11. When you sign to a major label, claim to have
inked the best contract ever. Mention "artistic
freedom" and "a guaranteed 3 record deal".

12. When you get dropped insist that it was the worst
contract ever and you asked to be let go.

13. Never name a song after your band.

14. Never name your band after a song.

15. When a drummer brings in his own songs and asks to
perform one of them, begin looking for a new drummer
IMMEDIATELY.

16. Never enter a "battle of the bands" contest. If
you do you're already a loser.

17. Learn to recognize scary word pairings: "rock opera",
"white rapper", "blues jam", "swing band","open mike", etc.

18. Drummers can take off their shirts or they can
wear gloves, but not both.

19. Listen, either break it to your parents or we
will: its rock 'n' roll, not a soccer game. They've gotta
stop coming to your shows.

20. It's not a "showcase". It's a gig that doesn't pay.

21. No one cares that you have a web site.

22. Getting a tattoo is like sewing platform shoes to your feet.

23. Don't hire a publicist.

24. Playing in Portsmouth and Nashua doesn't mean you're on tour.

25. Don't join a cover band that plays Bush songs. In
fact, don't join a cover band.

26. Although they come in different styles and
colors, electric guitars all sound the same. Why do
you keep changing them between songs?

27. Don't stop your set to ask that beers be brought up.
That's what girlfriends/boyfriends are for.

28. If you use a smoke machine, your music stinks.

29. We can tell the difference between a
professionally produced album cover and one you made
with the iMac your Mom got for Christmas.

30. Remember: if blues solos are so difficult, why can
so many 16 year olds play them?

31. If you ever take a publicity photo, destroy it.
You may never know where or when it will turn up.

32. Cut your hair, but do not shave your head.

33. Pierce your nose, but not your eyebrow.

34. Do not wear shorts onstage. Or a suit. Or a hat.

35. Rock oxymorons: "major label interest", "demo deal",
" blues genius", "$500 guarantee", and"Fastball's second hit".

36. 3 things that are never coming back:

a) gongs,

b)headbands, and

c) playing slide guitar with a beer bottle.

Now get out there and show us how it's done!

How To Change Strings on a Floyd Rose

2006-11-16T09:31:00.000-08:00

Place a rubber block underneath the bridge and between it and the guitar. This is to hold it in place and protect the knife-edges of your tremolo. ( 1 )

Loosen the locks on the nut. ( 2 )

Adjust all the fine-tuners halfway between low and high. ( 3 )

Loosen the lock on the bridge of the low E-string. ( 4 )

Completely remove the low E string from the guitar.

Thread the new low E string through the tuning post on the headstock of the guitar. It will go all the way through and then stop when the ball-end of the string reaches the tuning post. ( 6 )

Hold the string down the length of the guitar and use a wire cutter to cut the string just a little past the end of the Floyd Rose bridge.

Make sure the locking nut on the bridge is completely - and not partially - loosened. ( 4 )

Feed the string into the string lock insert on the bridge. ( 9 )

While holding the string firmly in place, tighten down the lock on the bridge. ( 4 )

Tighten string using tuners on headstock. ( 11 )

Repeat for each additional string.

When all strings are replaced, remove the rubber piece from underneath the bridge.

Tune the guitar. As each new string is tuned, others below it will go out of tune. Especially on the lower strings. Tune low E, A and B, then retune E, A and B.

You will have to do this several times. And again when you have all strings tuned, go back to the low strings and check to see if they need tuning again. Eventually, all strings will be in tune.

Tighten down all the locks on the nut. ( 2 )

Make any additional tuning adjustments necessary using the fine-tuners on the bridge. ( 3 )

Rolling Stones / Alice Cooper Review

2006-11-14T05:06:00.000-08:00

Concert Date: 11/8/06

Well, it has been a week since my Rolling Stones concert experience. Still can't believe how the evening unfolded, but I am forever thankful.

Last Wednesday started like any other. I went to work with plans of going over to my buddy Marks house after work to jam on some songs. Our guitar player Jim could not make it, but Mark and I were going to lay some tight rhythm sections down. After making noise for a couple of hours we would retire to his TV room and watch good ole' metal videos from MTV's heyday and reminisce about rock and roll past.

I stopped at Panda Express on my way to Marks. I was really craving teriyaki chicken so I got 2 dinners to go. I arrived at Marks ranch about 5 pm. We were eating outside enjoying the awesome fall weather when Mark called his Phoenix Coyote hockey club ticket rep. She is really cool and she often hooks us up with really cheap hockey tickets. Somewhere during the conversation she asked Mark if we wanted 2 free tickets to the Rolling Stones concert that evening. The only catch was that we needed top pick them up at her office and we had 20 minutes to get there. After 2 bites of food we were on our way to her office. Battling 5 o'clock Phoenix rush hour and the seemingly never-ending road construction we finally made our way to her office. The tickets were in the upper deck, but they were FREE!!

Deciding that we should head to the stadium and not go back home to eat we made our way to Cardinals Stadium. On the way there we stopped by a Circle K to get a quick cheap bite. Mark got a hot dog and squeezed liquid onions on it. It looked like jism. Disgusting. He took one bite and threw it out. We were gonna go hungry.

Walking into the stadium there was NO vibe at all. No music playing over the PA. The crowd was not very excited, but the age of the crowd were varied. From small children to older people (70 -80's) the place quickly filled up. We made our way up to the assigned seats in the upper deck. Man, they were high, but again they were FREE!!
After about 10 minutes of rest we decided to get as close to the stage as we could. Hell, if we were thrown out it was no big deal. They were free.
We surveyed a seating section of the crowd that did not seem to be filling in and headed down. Surprisingly we were never asked to show a ticket and we made our way to row 13!!

Alice Cooper was the opener. Mark happens to be good friends with Alice Coopers old guitar player Ryan Roxie, but Ryan married a Swedish model and he left Alice and now lives in Sweden. Would have been cool to see Ryan again. Alice was really good, but he had absolutely NO interaction with the crowd. I was disappointed with that. He played all his hits and the crowd was appreciative. Just the same, even though Alive really never spoke to the crowd, he put on a good show as usual and the band members he has are young and all great musicians, especially Eric Singer on drums who also plays for Kiss.

After a 1/2 hour wait the house lights went out. A spotlight then guided Keith Richards to the center of the stage and he plowed into the opening riff of Under my Thumb. Fireworks went off, Mick danced and the Stones were off. For the next 2 hours they were on top of their game. Mick looked great, sounded great and got along well with the crowd and NEVER stopped moving. Keith absolutely looked like Jack Sparrows father and there were no signs of coconut damage. When Keith spoke to the audience it was as if a 60+ year-old Jeff Spicoli was up there, “That’s my skull…I’m so wasted”! Ron Wood looked healthy and Charlie Watts was ever the utmost professional.

In the middle of the set the stage moved from one side of the arena to the other, giving people on each side a chance to get a close up look at the band. The electric, 5-story stage/backdrop looked like a psycodelic Times Square and never stopped recreating it’s visual self. Absolutely mesmerizing while at the same time making it obvious that you were seeing a show that you’ve never seen before at any other concert. But that’s what icons do after all.

Again, we were 13 rows from the 5-story high stage set up. AWESOME! What a great show. It is really cool to see REAL LEGENDS. I may never see them again, but hey, they have been doing farewell tours since 1981 so who knows. GREAT SHOW!!!

Roy Hughes
Bass Attitude

Great Drummers & Racer X

2006-11-13T10:37:00.002-08:00

I was recently asked which drummers I liked from the 80's rocker era and it unexpectedly led me to talking about the legendary L.A. rock super group Racer X...

"OH Boy, I'm sure I'm going to miss a bunch, but the guy whose in Journey now is incredible, Terry Bozzio from Missing Persons / Frank Zappa is the best, Tommy Aldridge from Pat Travers / Ozzie / White Snake and others is the best, the guy whose now in The Scorpions is awesome and a super showman, any guy who plays with one arm is the greatest, Eric Singer from Alice/ Kiss, The guy from Judas Priest is incredible and his name is Scott Travis...

(Here we go...) Scott Travis was in one of the greatest rock bands of all time that no one knows about. Their name was Racer X. My friend Troy Boyer, who began his illustrious career roadieing for bands I was in, whose gone onto to roadie for many big names and was also Anthrax's stage manager for 5 years, was the roadie for Racer X and a guitar player by the name of Paul Gilbert. That's how I first heard about them.

There were all L.A. phenoms in this band. My friend Troy, the roadie, created a drill for Paul that had 3 picks on it (Sound familiar?). He played with this during his solo. The first drill Troy built merely glued the picks on and they fell off (I have one of those picks!). Then Troy drilled a hole in the middle of the end of the drill bit and screwed them into the drill so they wouldn't fall off. That worked and was a hit. Racer X had a bunch of albums that were AWESOME and their playing ability was unparalled by any band I've ever heard.

OK, here's some proof in the pudding. Racer X was one of the biggest L.A. bands in the 80's, but they never broke out. Judas Priest was friends with the singer and JP GAVE them a song which if you heard it, you would notice how much it sounds like a JP song.

So, when Racer X broke up here's what happened: The singer became the DRUMMER in Jake E. Lee's band, the bass palyer and guitar player named Bruce (whose one of my all time favs) started a band called The Scream which were great. Their singer, John Corabi replaced Vince in Motely (and sang at Eddie Van Halen's party recently) the drummer went into JP and I believe was also in one of Halfords bands (Fight). He's still in JP. The other guitar player, Paul Gilbert, started Mr. Big!

Oh, and that drill that Troy originally created, the bass player of Mr. Big by the name of Billy Sheehan (he was also in David Lees first band with Steve Vai) had a drill made and both he and Paul would solo TOGETHER with them. They were later endorsed by Makita Drills if you can believe that, and when they played on the Tonight Show, they GAVE one to Jay Leno. Because Troy is a VH head like myself, I think his biggest joy over this was when Eddie used a drill with no picks to get feedback on I believe Poundcake. I told Troy he enfluenced Eddie Van Halen!

And all fo that because someone asked a scatter brain who their favorite drummers were!"

Mark Walters~
Lead Vocals for Van Halen Tribute band WDFA
http://www.geocities.com/wdfa_rulez/

And The Mighty Chonch Brothers
http://www.geocities.com/mightychonch/

25 Greatest Guitar Players From SF Bay Area

2006-11-10T08:12:00.001-08:00

The San Francisco Bay Area's 25 Greatest Guitar Players From Carlos Santana to Bob Weir, hot licks are the standard for these legends By Jim Harrington and Tony Hicks, MEDIANEWS STAFF WRITERSArticle Last Updated:11/07/2006 08:53:17 AM PST

Whatever the reason, the guitar hasn't lost one iota of its appeal in the decades since Robert Johnson allegedly made a deal with the devil down at the "Crossroads." Correspondingly, there definitely hasn't been a shortage of lists ranking the best guitarists of all time. Some have been scribbled on napkins by fans, and others have been published in magazines.

In a likable twist, Guitar One magazine recently rated the "101 Greatest Guitar Solos." It's a great list, and we couldn't agree more with the high ranking of David Gilmour's string-bender in Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb" (No. 2, just behind Jimi Hendrix's "Machine Gun"). But we take issue with the Top 10 selections of the Eagles' "Hotel California" and Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird," since they are both actually duets, not true solos.

Now, we provide our own twist on the topic and take a gander at the Top 25 guitarists in Bay Area history. That tactic keeps our focus local, which makes our bosses happy and provides folks with a list worth reading. (Nobody needs to see another list with all the usual suspects — Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Trey Anastasio...

The Top 25

1. Carlos Santana
Santana possesses the most instantly recognizable sound and style of any rock guitarist in the Bay Area — if not the entire world. He's also proven to be as relevant in the 21st century as he was in the'60s. His fingers haven't lost an ounce of their potency.

2. Lowell Fulsom
During his time in Oakland, Fulsom pioneered what would become known as the West Coast Blues sound. He was also a highly versatile player, comfortable with R&B, funk and pop, and had an eye for young talent, stocking his bands with such promising rookies as Ray Charles.

3. Kirk Hammett
His guitar playing in Metallica anchored a rock revolution. His tone and ability make him the template for thrash lead guitar players, whether he's showcasing his dramatic neo-classical finger-picking or making like an overheated powertool in what was once one of the fastest bands in the land.

4. Jerry Garcia
One doesn't have to be a Deadhead to appreciate Garcia. Captain Trips boasted one of the truly signature sounds in all of rock, often recognizable with a single note. He was also capable of producing utterly mesmerizing leads.

5. Dave Meniketti
Meniketti is an oft-overlooked master of blues-rock who seems always to play exactly what a song needs. He's almost out of place working in hard rock. He's more of a throwback to the old blues players who used both voice and guitar to convey an array of feelings.

6. Jorma Kaukonen
As a member of Jefferson Airplane, Kaukonen defined psychedelic rock for an entire generation with his electric work on "White Rabbit" and "Somebody to Love." He's also a sensational acoustic guitarist, comfortable with folk, country and blues.

7. Neal Schon
Who suffered the most when Journey went from guitar rock to syrupy ballad band? Probably Schon, who came up as a teenager trading progressive, Latin-fused riffs with Carlos Santana. He simply adjusted and became the master of the weepy solos that made girls cry at the junior prom.

8. Joe Satriani
An incredibly influential guitarist, Satriani helped usher in a new era of instrumental, prog-rock and opened the door other greats like Eric Johnson and Steve Vai. He also taught guitar to three other guys on this list (Hammett, Charlie Hunter and Alex Skolnick).

9. Charlie Hunter
Hunter's work on his custom-built eight-string guitar, which allows him to pick both bass notes and guitar chords, truly has to be seen to be believed. Listening to the Berkeley High grad on record just isn't the same.

10. Brad Gillis/Jeff Watson
If Night Ranger had not focused on mass-market material, these guys could've been America's answer to the twin-axe attack of English metal. But like NFL All-Pros who happen to be teammates, Gillis and Watson could play with anyone in the game — because they first had to deal with each other.

11. Bonnie Raitt
While splitting her time between SoCal and Mill Valley for the last 16 years, this stellar slide player released some of the best work of her career, including 1994's "Longing in their Hearts" and 2005's "Souls Alike."

12. Freddie Stone
Stone may seem high on this list, if only because of the shadow cast by his big brother and musical genius, Sly. Freddie Stone nonetheless helped develop the chunky-funk that fueled bands like the Commodores and P-Funk in the'70s.

13. Neil Young
The Woodside rocker's style, especially as witnessed on electric, is hardly textbook. Yet, he puts more soul into his playing than basically anyone in the business.

14. Ronnie Montrose
Montrose was a giant in both sound and influence on subsequent hard-rock players. If not for band turbulence, he could've been one of the greats of American rock. There's no better air-jamming guilty pleasure than "Bad Motor Scooter."

15. John Lee Hooker
Although he recorded his signature work while living in the Midwest, "The Hook" had a renaissance period during his later years living on the Peninsula and released such fine efforts as "The Healer" and "Mr. Lucky."

16. Alex Skolnick
While in Dublin's Testament, he was possibly the greatest thrash player in terms of pure ability and technical mastery. He has since gone on to make a name in jazz-fusion and has played with Les Claypool, New Age pianist Dave Eggar and progressive holiday outfit TransSiberian Orchestra.

17. John Cipollina
The Berkeley native, who died at 45 from emphysema, was as important as either Garcia or Kaukonen in defining the San Francisco Sound in the'60s. Cipollina's guitar work, more than anything else, was what made Quicksilver Messenger Service's first two albums so great.

18. John Fogerty
Here is one of those guitarists who uniquely carved a niche with his own sound: bluesy, chunky Southern swamp rock that stood out like a midnight spotlight in the psychedelic'60s. Rolling Stone named Fogerty the 40th greatest guitarist of all-time; no arguments here.

19. East Bay Ray
Jello Biafra got all the press. But it was the guy beside him in the Dead Kennedys — East Bay Ray — who had the bigger hand in drawing up the blueprint for the second wave of American punk.

20. Larry LaLonde
It can't be easy playing second fiddle to Les Claypool, a man who certainly ranks as one of the top five bassists in Bay Area history. LaLonde, however, was a prime contributor in Primus' demanding prog-funk music.

21. Elvin Bishop
Bishop is a sneaky-great blues and slide player who lives the genre and understands the emotions that prompt the playing. He received his early education in the Chicago blues scene, moved on to the Bay Area after a stint in the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and played with everyone from B.B. King to Clapton to Hendrix.

22. Mimi Fox
In a four-star review of Fox's "She's the Woman," Down Beat magazine exclaimed that the CD is "everything jazz guitar is supposed to be." To that we'd like to add that Fox is everything a jazz guitarist should be.

23. Billie Joe Armstrong
The aggressively catchy riffs of Billie Joe Armstrong were the most important thing to happen to '90s rock next to Kurt Cobain. A thousand pop-punk bands owe him their chops. Though not the most technically gifted player, Armstrong is still pretty darned good. And it's what he chose to do with his playing that made such a difference.

24. Steve Miller
By the time Miller was 12, he was getting pointers from family friend Les Paul. Though his success in the' 70s was of the radio rock variety, Miller started as a blues player in the '60s and knows his way up, down and around a guitar. He's responsible for some of the most famous riffs of the time.

25. Bob Weir
One astute critic (probably Bill Walton) once referred to Weir as the Scottie Pippen to Garcia's Michael Jordan. And the Dead have the championship rings to prove it.

Write music critic Jim Harrington at jharrington@angnewspapers.com. Write music writer Tony Hicks at thicks@cctimes.com.

2006-11-10T08:12:00.000-08:00

How To Keep Your Tremolo In Tune

2006-11-03T11:38:00.000-08:00

Special Thanks to Jim Hintzen for providing this article.

When I decided to customize my first guitar, I figured that since I was going to eventually replace everything on it anyway, all I was concerned with was the body and the neck. I found a shockingly sweet Fender Squier from China that played like a dream. I planned to put a Floyd Rose on it, but the price tag of an Original Floyd Rose bridge and the installation charge put me off this idea.So I began a quest to mod it into a guitar that would stay in tune.

Right off the bat, this guitar stayed in tune fairly well, so that was a good start. I paid my guitar tech a lot of money to put in the much-vaunted Hipshot Tremsetter, and still my guitar didn’t stay in tune worth squat.

In fact, it was way worse than when we started.About this time, a friend of mine graciously ( and bravely! ) loaned me his Peavey Strat copy to practice my fret leveling and dressing skills.

While I had it, I started doing some of the same things I had seen the guitar tech do to my Strat, I played around with it for hours, and by the time I was done, it stayed in tune perfectly! Much better than my Strat, which I had spent well over a hundred bucks on just having the Hipshot system installed, etc.

When I realized how well his cheap Strat copy stayed in tune, I ripped the Hipshot out of my guitar, tried the WD Trem Stabilizer, with similar dismal results, and started tinkering. Many hours later, I was rewarded with an extremely well working tremolo system. And, I felt like the guitar was truly mine after doing the work myself.

Here’s what I did...

1 ) Tune In, Turn On, Drop Out – I didn’t have any problems with my tuners on the Strat – they were fairly decent quality and held a tune well. You’ll want to check your tuners out before you start working on the tremolo system. If they keep the guitar in tune while doing bends, etc., you may not ever need to replace these. Needless to say, if you have cheap tuners that don’t hold a tune, you’ll have to replace them.

You don’t necessarily need to go buy $80 Locking Sperzels, though. Just ones of good quality. Every guitar tech I know disagrees with me on the next part – but MY guitar stays in tune, so go with what you know, right? They say only use a turn or a turn and a half a winding when putting on new strings, but I say have as much extra string length as you can get on the string poles.

I string them like this then wind the excess underneath, making sure each succeeding length is snug and that they each exert upward pressure on the lengths above them. My thinking is that this works to “lock” the string in place. Note: This is the technique BB King and a number of other famous players use.

2 ) Forestry 101 - Remove the “second” string tree from the neck of the guitar. It’s the one that holds the G and D strings. According to the experts, you don’t need this one to hold those strings to the proper angle, and I don’t believe Fender even includes it on their Strats anymore. The strings sometimes get hung up on the string trees, so this is an improvement.

3 ) Slippery Nuts – The Nut is a major source of hang-ups for strings. If you don’t want to retro-fit an LSR or Wilkinson roller Nut, make sure your string channels/ grooves in the Nut are cleanly filed and just wide enough to ensure smooth string sliding across them.

Be really careful about this though, you can easily take material away from the nut, but you obviously can’t add any back. I’m sure a competent guitar tech would do this for you for a couple bucks.

4 ) Lube N’ Oil - Now here’s the big trick that Eddie himself used to use before he met a guy named Floyd Rose. Take a small amount of Vaseline and rub it into the string channels in the Nut. Then, take a regular pencil with a sharp point and rub the point thru the string channels until the Vaseline turns black.

The graphite from the pencil provides lubrication so the strings don’t get caught in the nut, and the Vaseline holds the graphite in place. After you finish this step, apply the same way to the underside of your remaining string tree. You don’t need to re-lube the nut every time you play the guitar, but you will need to re-lube every once in a while. At least as often as you change strings, or whenever needed.

5 ) Pretty in Pink – I used Ernie Ball Pink Slinkys strings. .009 to .042 gauge, and they worked really well in both setups. I don’t know if other brands of strings stay in tune better or worse, but these are what I use on all my guitars, so that is how this system is set up.

6 ) Bridge of Sighs – The other place strings often get hung up is on the bridge saddles. The saddles with my Squier were cheap, and developed a burr almost immediately. Light sanding took it out, but it would have just occurred again, so we replaced them with graphite saddles for about $30 and that solved the problem.

There are two schools of thought on bridge setup – floating and flat. I’ve had luck with both setups, you’ll have to decide which you like and which works better on your guitar. Floating worked best on the Peavey for me, and flat worked best on the Strat.

The whole principle behind a tremolo that returns to “Zero-Point” is that you want to have equal pressure pulling a ) from the strings and b ) from the tremolo springs. That way, after you dive-bomb like a crazed kamikaze pilot, the bridge will come back to the exact position it started from ( where the strings were in tune ).

Another thing you’ll want to do if you have a “Vintage” six-screw tremolo system is to loosen the middle four screws which connect it to the guitar, effectively making it a “two-point” tremolo system.

7 ) Hope Springs Eternal - When you open up the Tremolo Cavity Plate in the back of your guitar, you’ll see the “Claw” and 3 to 5 springs. With the Pink Slinkys, you’ll only need to use 2 springs, or possibly 3. Remove any others. Mine were installed in the “Tent with a Pole in the Middle” configuration. I removed all 3, then re-installed two of ‘em straight up and down, one on either side of the claw going in a straight line down to the bottom of the bridge.

Now you’re going to start experimenting. This will take lots of patience. Trust me. If you get discouraged, feel free to take a break. I got disgusted during this phase and left to get something for dinner ( pricing Floyd Rose systems while eating ).

I came back home – and Voila! The system was suddenly working! During this step, you’ll try different sizes and strengths of tremolo springs, and different tension on from the claw – until you find the magic equilibrium which results in a “Zero-Point” tremolo system.

8 ) Floaters - If you want a floating bridge, you’ll need to buy a small ruler for small measurements ( I got mine at Radio Shack for two bucks ). For a floating bridge, you want the end of the bridge to sit about 3/16” above the surface of the guitar. You’ll adjust the two screws that hold in the Tremolo Claw until you achieve this height. The advantage of this system is that you can do upward bends on your Trem bar.

9 ) Flat as a Pancake - If you want a flat bridge, you’ll adjust the screws that hold in the Trem Claw until the bridge rests flat against the guitar. During this step, I would just take the screwdriver with me, play the guitar, and then adjust the Trem Claw screws accordingly.

If it seems like if the guitar comes back in tune sharp – that would mean there’s too much pull from the springs – so you would loosen the Trem Claw by screwing the Claw screws counter-clockwise.

Conversely, if the guitar comes back FLAT – you have too much pull from the strings, and want to tighten the Trem Claw screws clockwise. Continue this step until you can do whammy bar bends that come back into tune. ( Yours may well be different, but I ended up with the screws on my Strat screwed almost all the way into the guitar. )

10 ) Keeping it Stiff – If you’re using a Fender Tremolo system like I am, you’ll notice two things quickly – 1) The screw-in tremolo bar wiggles back and forth in its’ screw cavity, and 2 ) it continually comes loose, and you have to screw it around another turn to tighten it up so it stays in the same position.

The way to cure both of these is to get Tremolo Bar Springs from Fender. You should be able to find these at any guitar repair shop, or you can order them on the web. You drop them into the Trem Bar hole, and they exert an upward pressure on the Tremolo Bar - keeping it stiff and in position. If you’re using a Vintage Tremolo Bridge like me, it has a hole in the bottom and the spring just falls through.

You take your guitar down to Ace Hardware, ask them to help you find a set screw that will fit into the Tremolo Bar Hole. Use the Allen Wrench to screw it all the way in so that it can’t go any further, and it makes a “bottom” to the hole and holds the spring in. It does take up a little of the room in the hole, though, so just snip a little bit off the end of the spring and it’ll work just fine.

11 ) A Short, Sharp, Shock - If your guitar does occasionally come back sharp or the G string is out of tune or whatever, give the whammy bar a quick slam down towards the body and back, and it will snap back into tune.

12 ) Stretching Exercises – The strings will not stay in tune until you’ve properly stretched them out by playing them for at least 15 – 20 minutes, so you need to do that BEFORE starting this work.

Guitar Chords: How To Solo Over Chords

2006-11-01T17:19:00.000-08:00

Soloing over guitar chords is easy when you know how to use the minor pentatonic scale. Add spice and power to your solo's with these simple but highly effective techniques.

The humble minor pentatonic scale is what most guitar players start with when learning to solo. Trouble is, they don't learn to use the scale to it's best potential.

Here, I'll show you an easy way to use the pentatonic scale to solo over the three most common guitar chord types: Major, minor and dominant 7th chords.

1. Major Chords

A Major chord always has a relative minor chord. The easy way to find the 'relative' minor of any major chord on a guitar is to take the note three half-steps (3 frets) below the root note of the major chord.

For example: a C major chord - the root note is C. On a guitar, the note 3 frets below a C note is A. Therefore, A minor is the relative minor of C major.

So to solo over a C major chord, use the A minor pentatonic scale and you can't go wrong.

Another example: F major chord - three frets below the root of F, you will find D. So you use a D minor pentatonic scale over an F major chord.

Another example: G major chord - three frets below the G root note you'll find E. So... you use the E minor pentatonic to solo over a G chord.

Now, you may have noticed that I listed C, F and G major chords there. Coincidentally, They are the 1, 4 and 5 chords of the 'KEY' of C Major. This applies to all instruments, not just guitar.

More about this later...

2. Minor Chords

These are easy... just use the minor pentatonic of what ever the minor chord is. E.g. Use D minor pentatonic for a D minor chord, an E minor pentatonic for an E minor chord, an A minor pentatonic for an A minor Chord.

Now, did you notice I used D, E and A minor chords as the example? Did you also notice that these chords are the 2, 3 and 6 chords of the 'KEY' of C Major?

More about that later, too...

3. Dominant 7th Chords

You have a couple of choices here. But basically, you would use the relative minor pentatonic, or, the minor pentatonic a tone below the root of the dom7 chord.

For example, over G7, you could use either E minor pent (relative minor), or D min pentatonic.

The reason you could use the D minor pentatonic over a G7 chord is because the Dmi chord and G7 chord often go together in chord progressions. Forcing a Dmi sound over a G7 chord gives a G7sus sound.

4. Thinking From a KEY Perspective

OK, what we have looked at is the KEY of C Major.

Basically, you can use just the A minor pentatonic alone for ALL the chords in C, or you can also use the D and E minor pentatonics to add some color and more conformity to the chords being used at the time.

Remember, these principles apply to whatever chord you are playing at any time, but can also be applied on a KEY basis,which is a more encompassing picture.

The Key of C Major has these chords: C, Dm, Em, F, G7, Am, Bmin7b5.

Ami pent can be used over them all, or just the C and Am chords.

D min pentatonic can be used over the F and Dm chords.

E minor can be used over the Em and G7 chords.

We didn't mention the 7 chord (Bmi7b5) because it's not used very much. But a good choice is the Dm pentatonic. In fact, though, you can use either of the three pentatonics from the C Major scale - Am, Dm or Em. Try them, see which you like best.

I hope you enjoyed this article. You can find more information about guitar chords at my site below...

The idea of using pentatonics for different chords is a powerful one, don't overlook the cool sounds you can create with such a simple device.

Also, in a future article, I'll be discussing 'Pentatonic Substitution' where I'll show you how to use substitute and altered pentatonics for even more sound choices.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

John Bilderbeck is a professional guitar teacher. His website shows beginner and intermediate players the importance of mastering the basics to slash learning time in half. Claim your free Pentatonic Guitar Magic eBook now by visiting Free Guitar Chords now. http://www.free-guitar-chords.com/pentatonic-guitar-magic.htm

How To Change Your Electric Guitar Strings

2006-11-01T17:17:00.000-08:00

Many guitarists, especially beginners, struggle with changing electric guitar strings. But it really is a simple exercise. Here's a straightforward guide you can follow:
Tools.

You will need a small needle nose pliers to cut and bend the strings, and a string winder to help you wind the strings quickly.

Remove the string.

You should change each guitar string one at a time. That way, you will avoid warping the guitar neck, and you will be able to quickly tune the new string to the other strings.

I usually remove the 6th string first. Use your string winder and turn the tuning peg until the string becomes very slack. Now cut off the twisted end of the old string so that it slips easily out of the guitar. Then wind the top section of your string out of the tuning peg.

What you do next will vary depending on the type of electric guitar you have. The one I'm using, the strings go through the body. Remove the old string. Pay close attention to the way your old string comes off, and do the opposite when putting a new one back on.

Replace the string.

Now let's put back a new string. Feed the string through a hole in the body of your electric guitar, or the tail piece. As said earlier, it depends on your particular electric guitar. Get the ball end of your string in place.

Now pull the string over the bridge, over the nut of the neck, and up past the tuning peg. Make sure it isn't slack. The new string is very long so you will have to cut some of it off. Leave enough string for a few winds around the tuning peg. Two inches above the peg should work.

Pull the string through the hole of the tuning peg and begin winding it. The string shouldn't be slack. To keep the tension, place your fingers under the string. With the guitar facing you, wind the tuning pegs on the left side clockwise. Wind those on the right side anticlockwise.

To speed up the winding process, place your string winder over the tuning peg and wind until the string becomes tight. Then take off the peg winder and use the tuning peg to tune the string.
Now that you've changed and tuned your 6th string, you can just repeat the process for all the other strings.

Breaking in.

Since the strings are new, they can stretch and go out of tune easily. They need to break in. You can speed up the breaking in process by stretching the string yourself. Give the strings a few gentle pulls or do some spirited strumming.

You will find yourself having to tune your guitar quite a bit after replacing your strings. But after one or two days everything should be okay.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mantius Cazaubon offers a buying guide to helping you choose an electric guitar that meets your needs on his site, http://www.electric-guitars-guide.com/. Visit http://www.electric-guitars-guide.com for electric guitar lessons, tips, and reviews.

Getting Rhythm - Three Tips for Guitar Beginners

2006-11-01T17:14:00.000-08:00

If you are just starting out learning guitar one of the hardest things can be getting a good rhythm and keeping that rhythm going while you change chords with your left hand.

When I first started learning guitar I would strum along happily until the chord change and then my right hand would stop while I changed the position of the left.

This makes your playing sound terrible. In fact if you can keep that right hand strumming or picking the sequence, you will sound good. If you are a bit slow with your chord changes and strum some open strings in between you will still sound good. But lose that rhythm and everybody knows that you are messing up.

Here are my top three tips for getting past this learning stage.

#1 Play open strings for the last beat in the bar so you have time to change chord shape. For example if your are to play G G G G D D D D C C C C instead play G G G O D D D O C C C O where O is a strum of the open strings. Listen carefully and you will notice a lot of guitar players do this. And it sounds just fine.

#2 Move your body to the rhythm. When I started out I was told to tap my foot to the rhythm.

1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 I just couldn't do it. It seemed like one more thing to remember and overloaded my system. Then I learned to move my head to the rhythm and immediately my timing improved. I would nod to the beat and move side to side a bit as well.

I guess it's just horses for courses. You need to find what works best for you but if you can't tap your foot try nodding your head or even bouncing the whole of the top half of your body. Get the beat rattling through your bones!

Increase your tempo gradually one beat at a time. You can use a metronome to keep time but I prefer a drum machine. I need to really hear that beat in order to know that I'm with it. You can get Metronomes and Drum Machines to download to your PC.

For an excellent free drum machine visit http://www.just-jammin.com/ . Once you have your drum machine, set it up so that there is a heavier beat on the first beat in the bar. Then set a nice easy tempo. If need be start as low as 70 beats per minute. When you can play your piece smoothly at this speed play it again at 71, then 72 etc. You'll be surprised at just how quickly you can get up to full speed.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Darren Power is your host at http://www.just-jammin.com/ where you will find the best price on your new guitar along withreviews, news, competitions & articles.

A Guitar Lesson To Help You Test Your Note Knowledge

2006-11-01T17:12:00.000-08:00

In this guitar lesson we look at a great way to test your note knowledge of the guitar fretboard. But before we look at that, why even bother learning the notes?

Knowing the notes on your guitar fretboard is an essential skill. Here are a FEW of the benefits that you'll gain if you have fantastic guitar fretboard knowledge…

1. You'll learn how to apply music theory to the guitar much more quickly. In my opinion there's no point learning music theory if you can't PLAY it!

2. Your creativity will increase. You'll be able to think of new and unique ways of playing chords and scales. If you don't know the notes on the guitar fretboard, you'll be stuck playing the same chord and scale fingerings that everyone uses.

3. You'll become a better musician. Great musicians don't just think in terms of chord shapes or scale fingerings. They think in terms of NOTES.

4. You'll save yourself hundreds (if not thousands!) of hours of frustration. By knowing the notes on the fretboard you'll be able to understand, learn and memorize things faster.
Pretty powerful benefits right?

So…how do we know if our note knowledge is good enough? Here's a great way of finding out…

Note Knowledge Test:

Step 1: Please turn on your metronome and set it to 120 beats-per-minute.

Step 2: Decide on a note that you will work on.

Step 3: Find that note on the thickest string in all possible locations. (One note location per click of the metronome).

Step 4: Without pausing, repeat the process on all the other strings.

Step 5: Repeat steps 2-4 for all the other notes.

How did you go? Did you find it hard or easy?

If you couldn't do it easily, then you have some work to do. I would recommend setting aside 10 minutes a day to work on memorizing the notes of the fretboard. Within a few short weeks, you should have it nailed. Good luck!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Craig Bassett (The Guitar Solutions Expert) is a professional guitarist, guitar tutor and author who lives in Auckland, New Zealand. To get a free high-quality lesson e-mailed to you once a month, please go to: http://www.pentatonic-guitar-lessons.com/

How To Mic An Electric Guitar Amplifier

2006-11-01T17:04:00.000-08:00

How To Mic An Electric Guitar Amplifier

Improve the quality of your electric guitar recordings in 5 minutes. Electric guitar recording does not have to be difficult. With a few simple concepts you should be on your way to recording great guitar sounds.

With modern music (especially pop/rock music) production demands are greater than ever. The average listener expects the recording quality of your music to be the equivalent of those amazing productions you often hear on the radio. Since this discussion could take weeks and weeks and page after page, I've decided to narrow the focus of this guide to recording the electric guitar.

With any recording, getting the source right is 99% of the ballgame. This means that a great singer with great tone will sound good through pretty much any microphone. This means that a great sounding violinist with a great sounding violin in a great sounding room will sound this way through any functional microphone. Granted, some microphones will impart their character onto the source (for better or worse), but with any operating microphone a great musician will still sound great.

So with the guitar (and anything else you intend to record), it's important to get the instrument doing exactly what you want before you even bother putting a mic in front of it. You should walk around the room the amp is setup in to hear exactly what is going on. You might find sweet spots in the room. You may try actually moving the amp in a few different places in the room.

In my first recording room (which happened to be very small and very unideal for recordings), I noticed that moving an amp just a few inches had a dramatic effect on the low end coming out of the amplifier. I later learned that this was quite normal for small rooms with no acoustic treatment. (Just a side note, if you are planning on doing treatments for your room, skip the foam stuff. It probably won't help. In many instances, it will make the problem worse.

Try a search for "bass trap" or visiting http://www.recordingreview.com/).

So exeriment greatly with the amp before you get serious about microphones.

In fact, I recommend that you mess with the tone quite a bit just to see. You could always settle for the tone already on the amp, or you could push the highs up too high to see where they end up. You could pull the highs down too far to see where the tone ends up. Eventually, you'll find a middle ground that keeps your perspective out of the way.

The type of guitar you use makes a big difference on how the amp will sound. This is no secret. However, many people get in a rush when recording and think that adding some sort of effect or plugin on the computer will get them what they are looking for. If you find that you are not happy with a given guitar, maybe you should try plugging in a different guitar just to see. Try doing something off the wall or downright wrong.

You'd be amazed at what kind of recordings you could get with a Telecaster through a Mesa Boogie Rectifier. I've heard success stories of acoustic guitars running through cranked Rectifiers.

When you have a tone that you are pretty confident about, it's time to pull out the mics. There are a few methods to trying out mics. You could slap every mic you own on the amp to see it it's happening for you. The problem with this approach is mic placement.

Did you take the time with each mic to make sure you found the best sounding spot on the amp? You could do this with each mic, but the spot that just sings for each microphone will probably be in a different spot for each mic. I tihnk your time could be spent better.

If you are just starting out and have no idea what mic would be best for a given job, start with an SM 57. They are cheap and everyone has one. If you don't have at least one, get one used off of Ebay or something. In the meantime, grab whatever dynamic you have and give it a try. There are a number of SM 57 clones that are essentially the same microphone. Even if they are not the same mic, try them. You never know.

One trick to help choose the best spot to place the mic I read in a forum years ago. It said to unplug the instrument cable from the guitar amp, crank the amp up to very high levels, and put the SM 57 (or whatever mic you are using) in front of the speaker.

Next, run the mic through some loud heaphones with good isolation. Then, with the headphones on, start moving the mic in front of the speaker. You will be amazed at what you are hearing. You will hear all sorts of changes in the tone simply from moving the mic around. The users of the forum recommended putting the mic on the brightest spot.

I have not had much luck with putting a mic exactly at the brigthest spot because it can get a little bit too fizzy at times, but feel free to try it and see what works. The brightest spot may be perfect with a darker sounding amp.

My favorite trick when recording guitar amps is to use two different microphones on one speaker. You have to be aware of phase cancellation.

(If you are not familiar with phase cancellation, check out my website, http://www.recordingreview.com/.) However, when you get the mics in phase, you will have much more control off your recordings. I find that what I'm looking for when mixing is much different when I'm tracking. Sometimes I wish I could go back and change something on a tone.

One rememedy for this is recording the two mics from one speaker to two seperate tracks that will allow you to blend them differently to create different tones on the recording.

I start out by placing one SM 57 on the cone. This means I put the mic in the dead center of the speaker. This sound is almost always fizzy and thin. With very few exceptions, I've found it to be a crappy guitar sound. As crazy as it may sound, that's exactly what we want. We want a track in the mix that is bright, thin crap that we can use as much or as little as we feel the mood for.

The second mic should sound the opposite. We want it to be big, meaty, and full of chunky low end. This mic ends up in different places with every amp that I use, but most of the time it can be found 2"-3" from the first mic in any direction. Sometimes angling the mic towards the edge of the speaker helps, too. This mic should sound a little dull by itself.

Now record both mics and see what you get. Listen to each mic by itself first. Then listen to both of them together. Assuming you like the sound that each mic makes (Remember, you want one to be too bright and the other to be too dull) you will experience one of three things.

1) The sound will be extremely thin sounding as if you rolled off all the low end with a parametric equalizer. This means the mics are almost totally out of phase. The solution is to push the phase button on your preamp or mixing software. This is what you want.

You want the combined sound of the mics to be so thin that it isn't usable. Then when you push the phase button on one track, the tone comes to life. This is what I always go for.

2) The sound will be big and full. This sound almost means good things. If you push the phase button, it should sound like what you may have experienced in #1. If the tone totally dissapears and all you can hear is some fizz, you've got the tone down. Push the phase button back to your big guitars again.

3) The sound is weird. You are not sure what it sounds like. It's not bad, but it's not right either. Pushing the phase button only changes the tone in the mids and does not have make a big impact on the low end. In this case, some other frequency is out of phase and the low end is in tact.

You need to use your ears on this one. I usually don't like to leave the mics like this. I go for #1 or #2.

However, many great engineers use phase cancellation as a way of eq'ing the amps. This is highly advanced engineering, and not for the faint of heart However, if you stumble on a sound that you really like, by all means, go with it.

Well that gives you food for thought. You'll notice that we didn't talk about different microphones. The truth is if you master the techniques above, you won't have too much need for more mics.

If you want to expand your mic collection, go ahead. There are a number of mics that work great for electric guitar amps. Check out my website for details.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Brandon Drury has spent more time in his home recording studio than most people have spent sleeping. He has a home recording website jam packed with with recording tutorials at http://www.recordingreview.com/

Making Quality Home Recordings

2006-11-01T14:05:00.000-08:00

Making Quality Home Recordings
by Sangram Rakshit

Can you make good recordings at home? Yes, you probably could, and a lot of succesful demos have been recorded out of a setup no more than a garage or basement. All your demos need are a bit of basic knowledge of acoustics, and a good knowledge of the equipment you'll be using to record your music. Right, now I'm going to make some assumptions: You're on a budget.

You're looking to make a CD (as opposed to other formats like vinyl or tape). You know how to edit and mix, and are familiar with or possess some knowledge of operating a console. 'Home' means a place with a quiet environment, both inside and outside, and some level of acoustic insulation: not very pricey, but at least enough to keep some surrounding noise out. You shouldn't be jumping up every time your neighbor's wife yells 'Honey!' You don't have any intentions of starting a studio, so you don't want any pricey equipment that ends up in your basement ten months a year.

There are many types of equipment available to you to record your song, starting at a Tascam Portastudio and going all the way up to a $40,000 home setup which is basically a mini-studio. Of these, a digital recorder (DAT) is a good bet: you might want to check out ActiveMusician, Musician's Friend or Sweetwater for models available and prices.

I'm biased, so I'll start off with what I consider to be the most versatile piece of equipment: the personal computer. It is probably not the best solution for recording, as it does not come close to a high-end studio, but for the kind of versatility and power that you get at about the same price at what a halfway decent DAT costs, it's a bargain.

The downside is you'll need some knowledge of computers, and how to communicate with the basic interface (PC or MacOS or whatever). Wait a second, what are you reading this on?

I'm no real fan of Windows, but the ready availability and relatively lower prices of both software and hardware for the platform makes this the more attractive option. The best performance of any editing suite or recorder comes emerges with Windows NT, but getting peripherals and drivers that are compatible with this OS is a little difficult.

The next best performance is exhibited by systems running Windows 98, second edition (SE), followed by Win ME, Win98 and Win95, in decreasing order. You could get started for as little as $400 and go all the way up to $1500 for a top-spec computer with the necessary hardware.

While shopping, check out both the actual specs of the product (more on that in a moment) and after-sales support and backup. If the PC costs a little more, but offers onsite maintenance, go for it. Try and look for a vendor who will offer support for all peripherals, not just the motherboard, RAM, etc.

So what are you looking for? Depends on your budget, but look at a reasonably high-spec machine: you'll be glad later. A suggested configuration is an AMD Thunderbird Athlon, Pentium III or Pentium IV, upwards of 1 Ghz, with about 128 MB RAM, and a CD-writer (I've heard very good reviews of the Plextor line of drives) to burn your own CDs. A good soundcard is a must.

Look for one that gives you full support for 24/96 (24-bit recording and playback at 96 kHz; CD quality is 16-bit, 44.1 kHz. The extra bandwidth comes in handy because the soundcard works more efficiently at the lower CD quality spec) and has a full-duplex capability, which basically means you can record and playback at the same time. Look for one that has a digital output (not strictly necessary) in case you want to connect to a DAT or other digital equipment later.

A good video card is also recommended: a GeForce with about 32 megs of onboard RAM is a good bet. Why? Because it will load the processor less, and the more you can unload the processor (audio processing is a major CPU resource hog), the smoother your playback and effects will be. Get two hard disks, ideally the UDMA type which operate at 100 Mhz.

Keep one for your operating systems and programs, the other exclusively for audio files. It helps. You'll be looking at the new 43 gig drives for a top-spec machine.

A software multitrack editor puts out a large amount of visual information, so look for a 19" or 21" or in a pinch, a 17" at least. A puny 15" monitor will fill up in no time, clogging up the screen with a huge number of information windows. You'll also need a Mixer with built-in Mic preamps or Mic preamps separately, depending on the soundcard.

Resist buying a soundcard that gives you a microphone input with onboard preamp. They sound disgusting.

Having said that, is your computer suitable for recording as it is? Well, maybe it is and maybe it isn't. My computer is a pretty old machine, over two and a half years now and not really one-tenth of the above spec.

But it works pretty well, and I'm able to create freely within certain limits. The higher the spec, the larger the limits. A Pentium 200 with about 32 MB of RAM and a 2 GB hard disk could also work, and the limits you'll face will be in the number of tracks and the number of simultaneous effects.

But it will work, so it can do.

For software, you'll probably need:

A good multi-track recording program. Try n-Track Studio (http://www.fasoft.com, shareware, about $40 registration), or SAWPro (http://www.iqsoft.com, about $950 I think). I personally don't like either SoundForge (www.sonicfoundry.com) or Cakewalk but they're far more popular. Cubase VST is another application with a reputation.

Lots of DirectX plugins for effects (http://www.thedirectxfiles.com is a good place to start). Try to get at least equaliser or tone controls, some reverb and/or delay, and noise gate and compressors. Anything else is up to you. The number and variety of effects is mind boggling, and full effects packages (http://www.dsound1.com) now come to about $300, about the price of a good meal.

Accompaniment programs if applicable. Acid Pro (www.sonicfoundry.com) or its siblings, Acid Music and Acid Style, available in Rock, Pop, DJ, Jazz and Strawberry (OK, maybe not Strawberry yet). These are loop sequencers and can double up as quick and dirty multitrack editors.

A wave editor maybe, but not absolutely necessary. ACIDWav is a very good wave editor, and offers many manipulation capabilities. I did some work on it initially, but did away with it altogether later.

Most importantly, make sure that all the correct hardware drivers are installed on your system.
Microsoft DirectX. I recommend version 7.0a. The move to 8.0 is not recommended until manufacturers release drivers certified to work with 8.0. This is still underway. So, now that all your equipment is working, how do you start recording?

The process I normally follow are getting the band together (wishful thinking, I work alone), miking up everyone (this is a tough one), putting down my tracks one after the other, tweaking the tracks for optimum sound, mixing the tracks down and finally, burning the CD.

A process not too dissimilar to one done in the studio. Principles of recording are very similar to those in a studio. Sound insulation and the right choice on input can have major effects on how your tracks turn out. Instruments may be miked or (in the case where amps are available) DI'd into the soundcard (not a good idea, but it's worth a shot). When miking, ensure that there's very little ambient noise (and if you're recording at late hours, the neighbor's yells don't sound good on any track!)

Depending on your choice of software, you should be able to tweak tracks very extensively. During the actual work on the tracks when you've got them all laid out, try to use an objective approach. Don't overuse effects. Digital effects aren't particularly kind to the sound files. Try to keep away from the console for at least a day or two before the mixdown, so you have a fresh set of ears. Some compression, especially on vocal and drum tracks, will help the overall recording. Pops on vocals can be ironed out easily using volume drawings.

Don't overuse effects. Don't overuse effects. Use a brickwall on the final mixed down track to increase overall loudness, but be careful: too much limiting can ruin a good recording. A bit of reverb is also helpful, but please try to stay away from enhancers, echos and chorus unless you really know what you're doing. They can ruin your track in a moment. Make backups of all your original tracks and after important changes, so you can 'Go back' if required.

Burn the final track onto CD using a mastering (not to be confused with the CD mastering process) software like Adaptec Easy-CD Pro, mostly bundled with the CD-Writer and hey, presto, your CD is ready.

For posting on the net, you can convert the recorded file into MP3 (most recorders will allow you to compress the track into MP3 or WMA, both very popular). However, try not to use the MP3 as your demo format as the inherent lossy nature of these formats do subtract from the overall sound.

It is possible to produce great recordings in the comfort of your home. All you need is a bit of patience and judgement, and a good set of ears. The last should be a foregone conclusion, but the ears must be objective about the overall sound and not just the guitar. In the next part of this article, I will post an MP3 (once I find a place where I can host), and give a step-by step look at the process by which the song was created, recorded and edited, along with a full description of equipment and software used. That is, once I begin to learn how to play :-)

Performing at Open Mic Venues

2006-11-01T14:00:00.000-08:00

Performing at Open Mic Venues
by Alan Horvath

Many local clubs feature an "open mic" venue, where songwriters and musicians of all kinds can get their feet wet. It's a great way to find others with which to co-write or to form a band, duo, or trio. Perhaps, most importantly, it's a great way to perform for an audience and see what it takes to pull off a show of your own. Note: Coffee Houses and Churches make the best settings for creating an appropriate atmosphere.

Clubs, or venues serving alcohol, are usually bad for "intellectual art," which is what open mics are, in my opinion. Let's face it, alcohol doesn't exactly put people in a state of focused awareness, eh? So, if you have a choice, or if you are thinking of starting your own venue, avoid the places that are offering alcohol.

Of course, this isn't always true, and often it isn't avoidable. But it is worth noting.
Open mics are a lot of fun! Instrumentalists, poets, solos, duos, trios, bands, you name it, will usually perform 3 or 4 pieces at a time - which makes it palatable for any audience to enjoy. If you don't like the act that's presently up, well, in 20 minutes they'll be gone and you can enjoy the next surprise. And, often, it is a surprise! You never know when some real talent might step up and do something uniquely from the heart.

If you're just observing, you'll find yourself thinking how well you would do in comparison to all that you've witnessed...but be forewarned: This is not as simple as it looks!

You may have done all your homework, practiced to the max, compiled songs that are pure hits, with vocals and parts worked out to dazzle any audience. You're sure you're better than anything you've seen at the local open mics.

But on your first try, you will most likely drop a bomb as big as any you've seen - and in total disbelief! And, these will be the excuses you find dripping off your bottom lip: "The room was too noisy - I couldn't focus!", "I couldn't hear myself! That sound guy is a real jerk!", "The guitar wasn't loud enough.", "The vocal mic wasn't even turned on!" and I could keep on going, but what's the sense?

Fact is, you didn't know what you were doing, and did a poor job. You didn't really think you'd pull it off perfectly your very first try, did you? Of course you did! You worked hard at this! You prepared thoroughly! So what went wrong? Distraction. Unfamiliar surroundings. Lack of experience. That's what.

So, what to do? Go back next week, and do it all over again. Simple as that. This is what open mics are for! Let's face it: until you pull this gig off, you aren't gonna' be touring or getting paid for what you do. But if you focus, keep at it, and figure out all the little things that go on in a club atmosphere, it won't be long before you're a popular and welcomed face at the local open mic scene.
Rule Number One:Understand this: Absolutely every person in the audience ... in any audience ... wants to see you do well. Really well. They are rooting for you from the moment you get on stage. Think about this for a minute, okay? The audience is not sitting there judging your talent. And, the audience is not sitting there waiting for the next big thing to strike America like a bolt from heaven, either.

They don't care how "great" you are, or how wonderful you think you are. They are very simply out to have a fun evening, and when you get up on that stage, they are hoping you will be wonderful! If they see you struggling at all with anything, they are secretly praying for your success, sending you their energy and their precious love.

Why? Dig this: because they are putting themselves in your shoes, man! They are being "you!" Isn't that what you do when you are watching and listening to an act? Meditate on this concept. It's a true concept - and it's a healing one, too. When you get up in front of an audience, you start with them on your side.

If you get up there trying to prove how good you are, you're likely to do just the opposite. Try to let go of your ego. This isn't easy, because it takes quite a bit of ego to get up there in the first place, eh? But get this straight - you are there for them - they are not there for you. The performers who have this one twisted around are very obvious, and it's offensive, not entertaining.

Now here comes Mr. Dichotomy: forget about the audience and just do your thing. Don't think about them, or how they are going to react. Just do what you usually do - you know, when no one's around - and let them witness that. Go inside yourself, focus on what you love, and let it happen. If you are thinking about the audience, you are not going to be focused about what you are doing, and you are going to make a mistake.

And then you'll be thinking about what the audience is thinking about you for making that mistake. And while you are concentrating on that dilemma, you'll make yet another mistake and then - oh, man.

In short, it all becomes a matter of what you really care about. If you care about what an audience is thinking of you, you are bound to blow it. On the other hand, if you care about what you are doing, it'll show as a sincere presentation of whatever talent you have, and that is all anyone can ask for - including you.

But know that any audience, from the very start, is on your side. So be there for them by focusing on your song and giving yourself over to that. It's not easy to develop this kind of trust in yourself, let alone a room full of strangers, but you may as well, because in the end that's the way it's going to be - or you won't be playing in front of people for very long.

Rule Number Two:Now for the technical side of things. This is tough at first, but after a few times it gets real easy: the first thing you do when you get up in front of the mic, is plug your guitar in. Test it in conjunction with your mic, and get a happy balance happening. Don't get all flustered, and don't expect anyone to know what you need! You are the only one who knows that. Simply say, "A little less guitar, please."

Or, "A little less vocal, please." Notice I said "less." Amateurs tend to ask for "more." Wrong idea. Less is more, as I'll be pointing out. The only time I ask for "more" is in reference to my monitors. Those are the speakers (usually on the floor, right at your feet, pointing up at you) that let you hear what you are doing. If they aren't loud enough, you might wind up playing in one key and singing in another without ever knowing it!

The audience will though, and they'll think you're some sick cow who never should've gotten up there in the first place! Be sure your monitors are comfortable for you.
Okay. You've got a nice balance happening. You can hear your guitar and you can hear your vocal. Now you are ready to play. If you ever start playing before applying this discipline (and you probably will), you will know - and you will never forget - why it is so very important. If you can't hear yourself in those monitors, you are going to do a lot of very silly things, and, like I said, you probably won't even know it...but the audience will.

Rule Number Three:Relax. Pull back. I'm tellin' you - this is a hot tip! Play your instrument and sing your songs...quietly! Don't be fooled! This applies to rock and roll bands too! I repeat - pull back and play softer than you think you should, especially in a noisy room! There is something that happens when you do this. It cannot be explained, but you'll see what I mean when you successfully apply this technique. It seems to create a controlled tension that adds magic and professionalism to any performance.

There was an open mic I use to hate playing. It was a long narrow room with the stage all the way back at one end. The acoustics in this room sucked so bad it was unbelievable! In addition, the place was usually packed with loud, drinking, partying college students. I honestly dreaded the thought of playing there, but went faithfully every week. I knew it was one of the most important gigs I could play ... because it was the toughest.

I use to say, "Man, if you can play this room and pull it off, you can play anywhere." And that's why I did it. And, the first time I conquered that room was the first time I played that room. I followed a popular rock band who had the place filled with their fans.

No one knew, or cared who I was, and with just me and my guitar, I got on stage and set up. By the time I was ready to play my first song, the room was so packed and so loud I couldn't hear anything that mattered! I focused and started playing way softer than usual, and with a quiet ballad, to boot! By the time I reached the end of the first verse, I had the attention of the entire room. And, man ... I can't tell you how good a feeling that is!

The next song was upbeat, and from then on, they were all "mine." And, afterwards, every time I played that room I had their attention, because "first impressions are lasting ones." If I would've tried to beat the noise of the room, instead of creating "my own quiet, private party," I would never have done it.

Learn how to apply "controlled tension" by pulling back and focusing on having your own private party on stage ... and everyone will want to join you!
Some Other Stuff:If you are using a mic on your guitar, don't place it directly in front of the soundhole. Place it just slightly below the centerpoint of the soundhole, pointing up at a 45 degree angle.

I prefer using a pickup for the same reason I prefer using a headset mic: I like the freedom to move around, and I don't like seeing a "silver stick" in front of my face and body.
Try and get there early, and place your guitar/equipment near the stage ... there's usually a designated area - find out where it is, and when you are called to play, be organized and quick about your setup without sacrificing your satisfaction with the monitors and sound.

When you feel your performances are up to snuff, ask the club owner to listen to your sets and let him/her know you're interested in a paying gig - be ready, also, with a promo package for her/him to look at and listen to, and be sure your name and phone number are on everything.
Be supportive of every act that performs ... no matter what your opinion may be. Everyone needs encouragement - especially those who may *seem* to be wasting your time. If they have the guts to get up there, they deserve your attention and applause.

While you are on stage, keep an eye on the head-honcho-in-charge for any signals: he/she may want you to do another song, or they may want you to wrap it up. Act like a pro.

Don't make excuses about or for anything. No one wants to know whether or not you have a cold, etc. There's nothing so unprofessional as making excuses about your voice, or rambling on about some other unrelated issue. If you have a cool story to relate about a song, tell it like a friend, and it can truly add to the show ... but keep it to the point and, for the most part, let your music speak for itself.

Last, but certainly not least, don't play any song you haven't practiced to the hilt. As my other tutorials point out, you should know your stuff backwards, forwards and upside down if you ever expect to let the muse have it's way.

Good luck ... and remember what Kevin Welch says:"If you ain't killin 'em, maybe your point ain't sharp enough!"

Or ... as I always say:"It don't happen till you do."

Check out Alan's music and other goodies at http://www.AlanHorvath.com

Acoustic Instruments and Amplification

2006-11-01T13:56:00.000-08:00

by Dave Wendler

We will need to define the operating parameters of our acoustic amplification system; let us first name the parts. The acoustic guitar itself(or whichever is your acoustic weapon of choice).
The input transducer(pickup, microphone, etc.) This is much more than the term used to commonly describe the "piezoelectric transducer" (how many of these would the piezo manufacturers have sold if they called them "crystal pickups"?).

The input stage preamplifier. This brings the relatively low output current of the input transducer up to a level that is compatible with all of our tone shaping stages, and the power amp. I cannot emphasize this enough…this is THE most important component in your chain, after the instrument itself…more important than the type of pickup. On a modern, saddle ‘ducer equipped guitar, this is usually onboard the instrument. The FIRST amplification stage, so it had better be right…or nothing else that follows will be.

The tone controls section(EQ). This is where we try to put back the damage that is done to the signal from our innaccurate pickup systems, inadequate speaker systems, and cheesy sounding guitar. Or, we use it to help control the feedback that generally occurs from our better sounding instruments. We have a tendency to try to "fix" our tone from this part of the amplification chain(fix it in the mix), rather than having it right in the first place.

EFX loop. It seems we always need to have that reverb, or chorus, on our "natural" instrument. That is one side of the coin…the other type of EFX we use is in transient control(limiting)…either to "smooth" out our playing, or to keep our power amp from clipping.

Power amp. This is where we make it loud…and, as long as we have enough power, solid state power amps are pretty much the same. But, the fly in the ointment is that acoustic guitars have a HUGE attack transient, and the power supply in our amps is usually not up to the task.
The speaker system. Accuracy within the response range of the guitar is important here, as is efficiency. Wide frequency response(20hz to 20khz) is not nearly so important as we might think.

The guitar itself… As acoustic guitarists, we want to have as much of an "acoustic" tone as is possible, to have that harmonic sweetness that we hear in our living rooms….and have it at gain levels that immerses us in the center of the sound. We’ve paid $2000 for this guitar…and that is what we want to hear! Now for the reality. That resonant guitar, with all that harmonic richness, responds to your every touch, every subtle nuance…of course, it responds to sound waves in the performing environment also.

The more resonant the guitar and the higher the sound levels in the performing environment, the more the instrument will react and the tone, along with the playing response, will change.
We can have three basic reactions to this axiom. The first, and most common, is to believe the advertising hype, ie, "this pickup will give you the acoustic sound of your guitar"…and then hide our ears in the sand when we hear the result.

The second is to spend a ton of money on gear, mistakenly trying to correct the inadequacies of the pickup system, not realizing the guitar itself is part of that system. Or third, buy a guitar designed to play loud, realizing we will give up some of that response in the process. Once we get past that first reaction, we are left with the two remaining compromises, and then we can begin to grow as musicians again, taking control of our situation.

If you do thorough research on what the pros use…you will soon discover that most of them use a different instrument on stage, than what they keep at home or use in the studio. That is, the right tool for the job. In general terms, the less boomy the guitar, and the higher the resonance frequency, the less problems we will have with feedback and resonance exaggeration.
The first feedback frequencies are in the lower end of the spectrum.

The size of the body, and the diameter of the soundhole will determine the box resonant frequency. Essentially, the acoustic guitar is a Helmholtz resonator. It’s a big bottle, and when the air in the bottle is disturbed, it resonates at a particular frequency or group of frequencies. Here’s an experiment for you….

Get a compressed air hose and blow it across the top of the guitar at a low angle(keep the air pressure low, about 30 or 40 lbs.), much like you would across a bottle opening…the ensuing note is the box resonant frequency…and the note that will give you the most initial feedback problems.
The thickness, stiffness, and wood species will also contribute to the amplitude and color of this resonant frequency. A large rosewood guitar will have more bass response(and feedback problems) than a mahogany parlor guitar.

This is not to say that the parlor guitar will be easier to amplify since the smaller guitars(at least the good ones anyway) tend to have much lighter woods and bracing systems, which opens them up to resonance exaggeration in the upper registers. And that brings up the top resonant frequency. With the guitar up to pitch, gently tap on the bridge with a knuckle, right behind the pins…this is the top resonant frequency. The good designer will try to keep this frequency within a "5th" of the box resonant frequency, and at a bit lower amplitude. So we have found two resonant peaks within the two lowest octaves of the guitar. A D-28(which we will consider as the "standard" guitar) has a box frequency of about an Ab, an octave and a major 3rd below middle C. And all dreadnought sized guitars will be within a couple of tones for the box resonant frequency, depending on wood choice and top/bracing dimensions.

A stiffer, thicker top will yield a higher top resonance, which in turn brings up the box resonance a bit while lessening the feedback tendencies somewhat. Accordingly, a smaller box raises the resonance frequency, and can reduce the feedback.

Lets consider the style of guitar we are looking for:

Do you really need the bass response of that rosewood dreadnought? If you are playing bluegrass, or are the only rhythm instrument…then yes, probably. But particularly when amplifying, too much bass response can not only cause feedback, but muddy up the "bottom line" of your sound. If you have a bass player, then you may want to consider at least a lighter guitar, such as mahogany.

If you are playing solo, you can probably get by with that big box, but you probably don’t need to. A smaller instrument usually has better articulation. Of course, Mike Hedges used a D-28 and tuned it low. He needed that bass response.

Again, playing solo, you love the resonance and harmonic complexity of you expensive guitar…just beware that the more responsive it is to your touch…the less gain will be available to you before the guitar begins to resonate with the speaker system and your tone will change.

At higher gain levels, such as used in a loud rock band or a "postage stamp" stage in the typical country roadhouse…the guitar should probably be small, laminated…and, well, use a pickup that isolates the tone of the guitar from the amplification system…. This brings up basically two different "attitudes" when amplifying…either you want to capture the sound of your guitar…or you want to get a "reasonable" acoustic tone.

The former can be very expensive…the latter much less so, but you won’t want to listen to your guitar out of the live sound format…it just doesn’t sound natural. To cope with these attitudes, the pickup and mic manufacturers have come up with 3 different ways to look at amplifying your instrument.

A mic or soundboard transducer that attempts to capture the "whole" sound, an "isolation" pickup, such as a saddle ‘ducer or soundhole pickup that essentially captures the tone of the strings, or a "hybrid" system that uses two or more sources.

To learn more about Dave and the guitars he builds, please visit http://www.electrocoustic.com/

How to Start a Band, Part I

2006-11-01T13:54:00.000-08:00

Choosing the right personnel and style for growth, happiness, and success
by Christopher Sung

OK, so you've turning out to be a pretty good musician. You've been banging on your instrument for a little while now, and things are starting to come together. One of the natural urges at this stage of development is to want to share your talents and passion with other people.

In short, it's time to start a band. In a series of articles, I'll be outlining some of the more important concepts that you should keep in mind along the road to starting, growing, and promoting your band. In this installment, I'll be covering the initial steps, such as choosing personnel and deciding on a style. There's a large overlap between the people you choose, the creative "vision" of the band, and what music you'll eventually play, so each section contains references to all of these concepts when appropriate.

How do you know if you're ready?

There's no right or wrong time to start. While it is obviously easier to get your band stage-ready if all its members are experienced and good players, some of the best bands started at a time when none of its members had any real grasp of their respective instruments.

They simply had a desire to make some music and see what happened. Along the way, they obtained the necessary skills to progress into a tight-sounding, professional musical unit. This is an important point to keep in mind because as vital as practicing your instrument is, it can be equally beneficial for your playing to simply rehearse and play music with others on a regular basis. Pat Metheny has often said that for him, playing a 1-2 hour show is the equivalent of 7-8 hours of practice time. Your mileage may differ.

Who will be in your band?

Finding band members is not the easiest thing. You might find them in other aspects of your life - a teammate in a sport you play, a friend from math class, or a co-worker who works in another department. Keep in mind that when you start up a band with someone, you are essentially committing to spending a decent portion of time with them on a weekly basis.

If you can't stand them in other situations, it's going to be even worse during rehearsal. The people that you choose should have the type of personality that promotes friendship, because ultimately, creative differences will arise, and things can get ugly if there's a lack of respect in the band.

"If you're skeptical about this notion of 'band dynamics', ask someone in a band how hard it was for them to agree on a name..."

More often than not, bands start because of informal jamming between friends, until they meet people who play other instruments and decide to hook up. When I was 14, I started jamming Zeppelin tunes with a fellow guitarist. We played together for almost a year before we met someone who was a drummer. He had a friend who thought he could sing, but it turned out that he was a better bass player.

We used the classifieds to find a singer, and six months after meeting the drummer, we were playing parties. In general, everything is pretty loose and fun in the beginning because there are no expectations. But if or when you decide to address more serious questions like developing a repertoire or playing out, then the group dynamics of the band can become an issue.

If you're at all skeptical about this notion of "band dynamics", ask someone you know who's in a band how hard it was for them to agree on a name - then you'll see what I mean.

Equally important is how well your potential bandmates play their respective instruments. If one member is far more advanced than the others, this can be both a good and bad thing. My experience has been that the better a player or songwriter one is, the more they feel the need to dictate the musical and creative vision of the band.

If you find someone like this and you like their vibe, then stick close to them. However, if you have very definite ideas about what direction the band should take, starting a band with this type of person can be a formula for dissension and bitterness. In general, most bands have one member who provides the bulk of the musical vision.

In the Smashing Pumpkins, this is Billy Corgan; in Oasis, this is Noel Gallagher. Some musicians can function in this type of environment, some cannot. It's up to you to figure out if this type of situation is likely to exist, and if so, who's going to be playing what role, and how happy they're going to be playing it.

These are just a few things to keep in mind regarding personnel. Obviously, some of these issues are dependent on what kind of state your band to be is in. Absorb the relevant info and tuck the rest into the back of your mind. You might need the insight at a later date.

What type of music will you play?
There's a common ground that needs to be reached by all members of the band in order for everyone to be happy, and for the band to be successful. There needs to be a common musical vision about the type of music your band will play. This is perhaps the hardest part.

This goes hand-in-hand with what your repertoire will be (I'll be covering repertoire in another installment). Again, if you're just starting out, make sure there's a couple of tunes that you can agree on. If you're already thinking that you're going to be an originals-only band, you might want to still start out by playing some covers to get acquainted musically.

It's hard enough to evaluate how well you sound as a band, and it's harder when you're starting off with someone's original tunes and don't even know how they're supposed to sound.

Another thing to keep in mind is that whenever possible, you should play to the strengths of your band members. If there's a good lead guitarist, then hard rock or metal might speak to their strengths. If the bass player is good at slapping, you might think funk or funk-metal.

The more comfortable your band members are with the musical genre you're going to play, the better the band's going to sound. This is another thing to keep in mind when choosing the right members for your band.

Well, that's it for this installment. Hopefully, you've found these tips and insights to be of some value. In the next installment, I'll be covering the process of choosing repertoire and alerting you to some of the band politics that inevitably ensue. Till then, stay on the lookout for great musicians you'd like to play with, and ask them if they feel like jamming some time...

So I Didn't Become a Rock Star But I Still Love To Play Guitar More Than Anything Else

2006-11-01T13:48:00.000-08:00

So I Didn't Become a Rock Star But I Still Love To Play Guitar More Than Anything Else
by Bud Sloniger, bsloniger@juno.com

In 1976, I wanted to be a rock star. I was filled with energy and teenage angst and saw those Marshall Stacks and hard ear-splitting stretched E-strings as the only relief from it. Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Kiss, Peter Frampton, REO Speedwagon, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bad Company, Boston, Santana, Journey, and some punks from Pasadena named Van Halen.

Rock and roll guitar was it. I was saved from a life of glum boredom. I loved the electric guitar, and still do! It is a very large part of who I am. But I'm not a rock star. I'm just a guy that plays guitar, IMHO pretty well. But I'm also a husband, a father, friend, member of the community, Technical Systems Architect...
I'm a rock and roll guitar player, and a rock and roll singer.

The reason I'm writing this seemingly disjointed soliloquy is that learning to play the guitar has been the single most important factor in my life. Period. Absolutely no doubt about it. It's the only thing I've done consistently for the last 25 years. Girls (and wives), children, jobs, cars, friends, houses have all passed away or have been replaced. But not my guitar.

"Never spend your guitar or your pen." was a line written by Pete Townshend. It is so true. For those of you that are new to this journey, vocation, skill, hobby, obsession that we call "playing the guitar", all I can say is you're in for quite a treat if you continue with it.

I travel a lot for work, and a guitar is a companion I take along with me whenever I can. Even when I'm too tired to play, it's just a comfort to have it around. Like a sentinel in the corner to remind me that my work is not all that I am. I was on a long weekend recently and my mother was along with us. In the evening I came out to the patio by the pool carrying my guitar, and then sat down and softly began to play "Norwegian Wood".

he asked "Do you still play very often?" And I said something like "Well, whenever I can get a chance." She said "That's good. It's nice to see something that you learned as a child has meant so much to you and the people around you for so many years." Gee...Mom...don't get me all misty-eyed here.

But she is right. Even my mother, who stomped on the kitchen floor and yelled down the basement stairs "Turn that thing DOWN!" But also sat on the beach with me and the rest of the family and sang old Beatles songs until we were hoarse.

My guitar playing started out as a frantic obsession. Lessons, friends to jam with. I couldn't learn too much too fast. Songs to write and arrange and record. Songs to learn, bands to form.

The bands turn into an extended family, albeit somewhat dysfunctional in nature. But family just the same. I did, for a short while, play professionally. My only job was to play guitar and sing. Those were some of the most memorable times of my life, and I don't regret it for a second.

But, life got in the way of all that, as it does with young men. And life begat school and girlfriends became wives and became young mothers and school became budding careers more profitable than playing guitar in bars. And yes, my mother did at times ask me when I was going to get a real job. And eventually I did, and I don't regret that I didn't become the next Gary Richrath or Ted Nugent. Well, not too much.

And the reason I don't regret it is that in spite of all the tumult that life throws at me, I still play guitar. I play with friends in little pick-up rock bands and blues jams. Open mic nights or jamming with friends from work. I play at church, accompanying myself, or the choir, or groups of little children singing like cherubs (see my Gibson EDS1275 review).

I've played and sang at weddings and funerals, in lonely motel rooms and crowded airport concourses. I have played and sung love songs to a pregnant wife, then lullaby’s to a fussy infant. I've played guitar to accompany my young son's squawking on a harmonica, and my daughter's beautiful voice.

So, get your axe out of the case and grind it a while. Play a new song you learned for one of your friends. Get your kids to dance and sing. Make your spouse roll her eyes and shake her head while observing the expression on your face while trying to master a Satriani riff or something! Play guitar. It's always the best thing to do.

Scales, Who needs them? Why and What For, Anyway?!

2006-11-01T11:18:00.000-08:00

Scales, Who needs them? Why and What For, Anyway?!
by Jamey Andreas

Somewhere along the way in our development as guitar players, we start to get the idea that it would be a good idea if we learned some of those things called scales. If we are new to the guitar, and new to music, we are probably not even quite sure exactly what a scale actually is, which certainly adds to the aura of mystery that begins to surround the subject.

The next thing that happens, as we continue along in our development, is that we begin to get the unsettling impression that there seems to be an awful lot of those things called scales. In fact, there seems to be hundreds of them.

We may even run across an encyclopedia of scales, and realize that there could be thousands of these little buggers out there! The very prospect of learning all those scales begins to make us weak in the knuckles!

It is at about this point that we start to get a little suspicious, a little curious about this whole business of scales and what they really have to do with us, and what we want to do on the guitar. "How many of these things do I have to learn, anyway"?, we ask, "and what do I do with them once I learn them"?

Then we go and try to find the answer to our questions. We read magazines and hear a lot of advanced and professional guitarists talk on the subject, and it leaves us even more confused.

One guy says we must know a hundred ways to play a major scale, and then we should learn a hundred minor scales, and then start on the more exotic type of scales. Another guy, who is also an advanced player, perhaps professional and perhaps rich and famous, says he only uses a few scales.
So after all our agonized searching, we are even more confused than when we started!
What gives?
Well, I am going to try and provide some clarity on the subject. I am going to lay out an overall view of the subject, and provide you with an understanding of what scales are, what they are used for, and how the way scales are used is DIFFERENT for different types of players.

Once you understand these things, you will be in a much better position to achieve some clarity on the subject, and make your own decisions about how you are going to include the study of scales into your practice regimen.

What Scales Are, Musically, and Why We Practice Them

Musically speaking, a scale is simply a series of notes, following one after the other. The really important thing about any scale is the SPACE between the notes, and by space, I mean the space in terms of PITCH. It is the distance in pitch between two notes that contains the EMOTIONAL CONTENT of music.

This is one of the most important concepts that any musician can know, and most do know it, if only on an intuitive level. For those wishing to develop an understanding of music theory, this concept should be pursued and understood.

I cannot go into it in the depth it deserves in this essay, but I will lay out the essence of it, and you should pursue it with your teacher, and in books.

If I play a note on the guitar, and then play the same note again, there is no distance in pitch between the two notes. If I play a note, and then play the note on the very next fret, the distance in PITCH, (which is the "highness" or "lowness" of a sound), between those two notes is called a half step.

If I play a note, and then play the note two frets away (a note on the first fret, then the third), that is called a whole step, and the effect is very different than a half step. If I play a note and then the note three frets away, that distance is called a minor third.

All of these different spacings in pitch between notes are called INTERVALS in music theory. In the interval of a minor third mentioned above, you can really hear what I mean by the "emotional content" of the interval.

The minor third interval is contained in the minor chord, and this particular "spacing" between notes is what gives a minor chord it’s dark, minor sound. When you play a blues scale, it is the sound made by the first two notes, and gives the blues scale it’s bluesy feeling (or at least contributes to it, as do some other intervals).

That is as far as I want to go with Intervals for now. I just want you to know they exist, and that they carry the "emotion" of music. I want you to know that every scale not only contains notes, but that the SPACES, or Intervals between the notes are what is really important.

Scales come in different "types", major, minor, diminished, etc.. Each type of scale has its own peculiar spacings between the notes, and these spacings give each type of scale its unique emotional feeling or "color".

You will see later that players of different styles use different types of scales in their playing. A lifelong blues/rock player may never need to play a major scale.
Because each type of scale has the same intervals between notes, each type of scale has the same "feeling", even if it has a different letter name. In other words, if you play a C major scale, or a D major scale, or a G major scale, they will all have the same pattern of spaces, or intervals between each of the notes, as well as each containing the same number of notes, so, they will all sound "the same" in terms of the "emotional content" or feeling of the scale.

In fact, you could say they all have the same "color". Minor scales have a different spacing between the notes than major scales, and it gives them a "dark" color.

Using this analogy, you could think of a scale as a palette of colors. If a composer wants to write a sad piece, he will pull out a minor scale, and use those notes to write it. In this sense, we could say scales are the building blocks of music.

What Scales Are, Technically, And Why We Practice Them
Musically speaking, we have seen that scales are the "building blocks" of music. Many times in playing all types of music, we find ourselves simply playing scales, backwards and forwards, and in lots of other patterns. So it would seem natural that it would be a good idea to know how to play them, and it is!

If we think about scales in terms of technique, in terms of what it takes to actually play them on the guitar, we realize that simply because a scale is a string of notes, the simple act of playing a scale is quite a demand on the player. And the faster the scale, the greater the demand.

In fact, for guitar players, scales are a whole lot more difficult than they are for most other musicians. A piano player only needs one finger to play one note, but a guitar player needs the co-coordinated action of TWO fingers (or finger and pick) to produce one note, and that has profound implications. As a guitar player, you would be wise to reflect on and appreciate this fact.

Almost all guitar students are unprepared for effective scale practice when the first scale comes along. The concept of truly independent finger action must have already begun to become a physical reality in the hands in order for scales to begin to be practiced with benefit, and not harm.

Segovia wrote, in his famous collection of scales for the classical guitarist "the study of scales will solve a greater number of technical problems in a shorter amount of time than the study of any other technical exercise." In other words, if you are able to successfully play scales, and get one finger after another to do what it needs to do to get those notes, then there are a whole lot of other things you will also be able to do.

So this means that the study of scales is one of the best things we can do in our practice sessions to develop and maintain our technique.

And this is one of the main points I want to get across here: scales are, at the very least, a primary technical exercise for all types of guitarists. For non-improvising guitarists such as classical guitarists, this is, in fact, their main purpose.

A classical guitarist does not need a million scales at his fingertips. Since scales are serving only the purpose of providing excellent exercise for the fingers, we only need to select and practice the ones we feel give us that exercise.

In fact, in Segovia’s collection, most of the scales are simply the same finger patterns moved around the neck.

Of course, there is a world of things to know about the CORRECT way to practice scales so that our fingers actually do learn to play them well, and so that the practice of scales helps us technically, rather than hurts us. For far too many students, scale practice gets them nowhere.

That of course, is a whole other subject which I have addressed in other essays. At the least, you should realize that practicing scales successfully is a complex matter, not to be underestimated, and not to be undertaken without a lot of effort to understand HOW to practice them correctly.
With this is mind, we could interpret Segovia’s statement to mean "if you can figure out how to learn scales well, you can figure out a lot of other technical challenges that playing the guitar poses".

What Scales Should You Know? How scales are used musically by Guitarists

As you probably suspect by now, exactly what scales, and how many scales a player should know, depends on the style that player is playing. Here are some general guidelines to help you figure out what YOU should be doing about scale practice in your own playing.

ALL players should learn and practice major scales in the first position in the common keys of C, G, D, A, E, and for the ambitious, the relative minors of these major keys.

ALL players should learn movable scale patterns. Major scales that begin with the 2nd finger on the 6th string, as well as the pattern that begins with the 2nd finger on the 5th string should be learned. After that, the major scale pattern that begins with the 4th finger should be learned, first from the 6th string, then the 5th.

Ambitious players should then learn the major scale that starts with the first finger on the 6th and 5th strings. Having these scales in your fingers (six major scales) also puts all the arpeggios and modes into your fingers as well.

For those wishing to play blues and rock, you should learn the first pentatonic scale inside and out, backwards, forwards, and various patterns. There are 5 pentatonic scale positions in all, and you should gradually learn them all. Of course, you must learn the licks that come out of them as well, and how to use them in improvising in the common keys (A & E first).

For players wanting to improvise in the more sophisticated styles, such as jazz, or fusion styles, all the above should be learned. After that, you are a prime candidate for one of those gigantic, monster scale books we talked about earlier!

Of course, there is a whole lot more to know about the subject, but I hope I have provided the basis for a little clarity, especially for those new to the instrument. Good luck finding which scales are right for you!

For more information like this, simply subscribe to The Principles of Correct Practice for Guitar Newsletter found at http://www.guitarprinciples.com/

Killer Guitars Rule!

2006-11-01T10:02:00.000-08:00

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