I was just going to post a comment on his blog, but I thought I’d just write a post on here in response to IG’s My top 5 music passions post. So here it is in reverse order:

5. Writing Music
I’m in the same boat as IG, I haven’t been blessed with the natural songwriters gene. I wish I could just pick up a pen and pour my soul out in rhyming meaningful metaphors and smilies, but it just doesn’t work for me. I am just not very good at expressing emotion through words. When it comes to writing guitar, I guess I’m an over achiever. I write one thing and spend too much time comparing it to other works instead of just being content with it. In the end I discard it. However, I am getting better with writing (the music portion at least), and I am passionate about it, so here it is at number five.

4. Talking about music.
I love to chat it up about my favorite music. I like talking about songs, riffs, solos, jams, concerts, guitars, history, legends, and rock gods. I can’t get enough of the social aspect of music.

3. Discovering Something New
The great thing about talking about music is it always leads to something new. Most of the great music I have discovered in my life has been by “hey, have you ever heard of” or “if you like that, you’ll love this”. How many of my favorite artists and songs would I not know about if I didn’t love to talk about music? I could have missed out on so many different styles too. Blues, flamenco, metal, could be on the list of genres I might have never gotten into if someone had not recommended some kick ass music.

2. Pure F%*#ing Metal
I love the extreme. I love over the top gore filled horror movies and I love metal music. I’m talking about harmonizing guitar, screaming vocals, pummeling drums, shredding keyboards heavy-metal. It allows me to vicariously live the image of a hard core lifestyle. It is so against my personality, and most people wouldn’t know it was my favorite music by looking at me, but it is.

1. Playing my Guitar!
I picked up the guitar out of the blue when I was 16. I never had a desire to play it until that one day, and then all of a sudden I did. The next day I started playing, and I haven’t stopped since. I love playing all sorts of music on my guitar. I love jamming and teaching and learning. This is a lifestyle I will never give up.

What things are you passionate about in music?

PS, I dont know why I used that picture above, I just liked it.

Gibson has released their second Guitar of the Week and man is it stunning. Gibson announced the Les Paul Classic Antique at this years NAMM Gibson has been making it for years. Look at the amazing finish on this guitar. Gibson calls it Fireburst and I think it is just freaking amazing.

Like I said the guitar is a run of the mill Classic Antique complete with ‘57 humbuckers, ’60s slim taper profile, rosewood fingerboard, and antique binding. The Les Paul is no different from others keeping the 3-way pickup toggle switch and volume/tone controls in their standard positions.

Obviously we can’t expect Gibson to be putting out a totally unique Custom each week, but I hope we get to see some more variations from their standard product lineup in the future. Again though, I am all about this finish. I think it’s stunning.

Cary from Electric Guitar Review has just announced a new guitar forum that he is hosting called Tube Freaks. Cary says the forum is geared towards vintage guitar and equipment enthusiasts but stresses that all guitar and music lovers are welcome.

The great thing about getting into a forum early is you can take part in developing it. Cary has a thread right now in the feedback section asking members for category suggestions. I think this shows he is really interested in making it an open community for guitar enthusiasts. I have already signed up and have made my mark on the show us your gear thread. By the way, another good thing about getting on a forum early is you get first dibs on the user names.

The forum is just getting off it’s feet now, going by the quality and popularity of his weblog I’m sure in no time it will be a busy site.

Well, it’s that time of year again and NAMM Show has come and gone…. and I missed again. It’s not like I missed the actual show, because I’m not a NAMM member, but I did miss all the fresh news about products and such.

For those of you not in the loop, NAMM used to stand for “National Association of Music Merchants”. These days they have dropped the full name and just go by the acronym. Basically they are a global organization for the musical equipment industry. Each year they hold a trade show that exhibits all the great new music making products from every company. It is not open to the public, you have to be a NAMM member to attend and to be a NAMM member you have to make, buy, and/or sell musical instruments and products. Right now I am just playing a little catch-up, so lets see what I can find about this years show.

On the official NAMM Show website they have a recap of each day including pictures.

Play Guitar Now has a load of great pictures from each day of the show.

Cary at Electric Guitar Review linked to another NAMM 2007 picture gallery at Modern Guitars Magazine that also has a whole bunch of great shots.

Line 6 unveiled the Floor POD Plus basically combining a POD 2.0 with a huge list of premium effects in a portable stomp box floor set.

Gibson announced 11 new guitar models including the digital HD.6X-Pro. Modern Guitars Magazine has all of the details.

Fender showed off the VG Stratocaster, a modeling guitar. It is equipped with a digital pickup, a modeling dial with 37 different models, and a tuning knob that allows you to select from 5 alternate tunings.

Eddie Van Halen and Fender announced a signature EVH Frankenstein replica. The replicas play like a dream but physically feature every nick and mark the original has.

Man, I could probably go all day reading up on all the great stuff to come out of the show… I guess I still have a lot of reading to do.

If you try and visit guitar.com right now you will see that the site is completely down while they do a redesign. I haven’t been to the site in quite a while and thought I’d visit it the other day when to my surprise I was greeted with the following message:

The new guitar.com is in production. We hope you’ll come back to see what we’ve done, it’s pretty exciting. The new guitar.com will be a place for guitarists to interact musically and socially. We’ve developed Rype, a desktop application that allows musicians to record, edit and produce music. Rype has a social network built around it to allow musicians to collaborate, send each other music files, projects for collaboration, video chat, voice chat and instant message via Skype. Form virtual bands on guitar.com, then launch Rype, produce your songs and post them for sale on iTunes.

So it looks like guitar.com is jumping on the web 2.0 bandwagon and implementing some more social networking aspects. I am excited to see that the new site will be. As of now the forums are still up, so you can swing by there and take a look.

Also in production is a new Guitar One Magazine website, but they are not planning on being up until late March. That is a long time to have your website down if you ask me. I would think you would want to just keep the old one up while you were working on the new one.

We have all heard it a hundred times before: the Internet is a vast base of information. It is an unprecedented collection of professional and amateur documentation and advice. Chances are virtually every topic ever has been discussed in some form on the Internet. Well, lucky for us guitars are a very popular topic and there is an endless supply of learning material for beginners on the Internet. I am one of the thousands of people who are living proof that you can learn to play guitar using only yourself and the Internet.

What you will need to learn guitar on the Internet

Everyone’s situation is going to be different. Some people may have some musical experience under their belt already. In their case, learning the musical theory behind the guitar might be a good course to take. For someone like myself who didn’t know squat about music before I picked up the guitar, diving straight into learning songs was the best method. Learning songs allowed me to get a taste for music and made me want to learn more. When learning songs I would be required to study new chords and practice them in order to play the song. This is how my playing progressed. Eventually you will want to write music or play with others and you will get into things like scales and keys.

Regardless of whether you have previous knowledge or not you will need some basic personality traits to teach yourself to play guitar.

1. Patience - Learning any instrument requires patience. Because there is both a mental and a physical aspect to playing the guitar practice is essential. It won’t come easy and sometimes there will be things you wont be able to play.
2. Determination - Learning chords, scales, picking techniques, and fingering techniques will take regular practice. Since you will be learning on your own, you will require the determination to teach yourself these skills.
3. Passion - Finally you will need an interest or a passion to play. If you aren’t passionate about playing what is the point of learning at all? Passion can be the number one factor in determining the speed that you learn.

How much of each of those qualities you need depends on what level of playing you wish to achieve. Metal guitar gods like Zakk Wylde and Alexi Laiho have said that they would spend up to 12 hours a day practicing their playing. Their level of playing is a direct result of that determination.

How I learned to play guitar

I would consider myself an experienced guitarist. I have strengths in a lot of areas, but like every other guitarist there is always something new to learn. It didn’t happen over night. However after 8 years I am playing at a level now that I didn’t even know was possible when I started. Here is how I learned to play the guitar.

Continue reading How to use the Internet to Learn to Play the Guitar

The Schecter C-7 Blackjack is essentially a 7 string version of the Schecter C-1 Blackjack. The 7 string solid body guitar was originally introduced in 1990 by Steve Vai and Ibanez. Steve experimented with adding a high A string to the standard guitar, but ended up going with a low B as the A was prone to breaking.

Since Steve Vai’s original guitar, several other manufacturers have introduced their own 7 string guitars. This one along with the Schecter 007 are both used by Nevermore’s Jeff Loomis. Like any high quality guitar the construction is the same, the body is made with mahogany, the neck with maple and the fingerboard with rosewood. As with the C-1, this guitar has 24 X-jumbo frets for better range and bends. The fingerboard is accented with black pearl dot inlays.

Continue reading Schecter C-7 Blackjack Guitar

We have all had our Iron Maiden phase right? I know I have… It came just slightly after my Metallica phase and just before my Zakk Wylde phase… Although, I don’t know if I can call it a Zakk Wylde phase if it never ended. Anyway… back to Adrian Smith. Maiden was always known for their harmonizing guitar licks. So lets see what Adrian uses today to bring his music to the ear.

Adrian Smith’s Guitar Rig

Adrian uses a combination of Marshall all tube heads (30th Anniversary) and digital effects to create his sound. One thing that is uncommon is for a guitarist to go both ways… thats right, I’m talking about Fender and Gibson. Adrian uses both American Fender Stratocaster’s (with Floyd Rose) and Gibson SG Standard’s. He has two of both, a main and a backup. The SG is usually tuned to drop-D and is stock. The Strat has SRV Texas Special pickups in the neck and middle pickups with a DiMarzio in the bridge and is in standard tuning. Adrian says that he prefers to use a patch cable to connect his setup to his guitar as opposed to wireless. In fact, he usese a 60-foot Peter Cornish patch cable. He says that he just prefers the sound, whether it actually makes a difference or not, he’s not sure.

Continue reading Guitar Gear: Adrian Smith of Iron Maiden Guitar & Amp Setup

There are many different guitar tuning tools out there ranging from chromatic tuners to self-tuning guitars. The String Master Robotic Guitar Tuner falls somewhere in between.

For the guitarist who doesn’t want to tune his guitar, but doesn’t want to buy a whole new bridge and nut system that’s required for a self-tuning guitar, the Robotic Tuner is here for you. The tuner acts the same way a standard chromatic tuner does, but comes with a tuning peg attachment that tightens your strings for you.

All you have to do is plug your guitar into the tuner, put the tuner over a tuning peg on your guitar. Then pluck the string and the tuner will do the rest. The tuner’s motor turns the tuning peg up to pitch and then will beep when it is in tune. The unit runs off of a 9-volt battery.

I know this is a few months old but Popagadget has a post about the new digital internet enabled guitar by Fender and Intel.

Fender and Intel have partnered to create a concept of an internet-enabled super guitar. The new revisited Fender Telecaster will incorporate Intel Centrino mobile technology to allow Internet access on the go. The TELECASTER guitar contains a Hewlett Packard TC1100 tablet laptop with 1.25ghz RAM and an Echo Indigo I/O soundcard.

With the new Fender every musician will be able to download music directly on their “super-guitar”, record new ideas on it and email them directly to whoever they want. It is supposed to even incorporate a webcam, so you can stream yourself rocking onstage to the whole Internet world.

The guitar has a full computer in it with the LCD screen in the back of the body. Watch out for those belt buckles, cause that’s right where the display is.

It sounds like an interesting enough idea to me, but I don’t think it is really innovative enough to sell. I am much more interested in the Gibson digital guitar.

Here is a link to the Intel/Fender Telecaster Concept Guitar on Fender’s website.

Schecter is another popular manufacturer of guitars used by metal guitarists. The C-1 model is one of their nicest aesthetically. As of late I have been really thinking about purchasing a second guitar. I currently own an Epiphone Les Paul standard which is a great guitar. However, sometimes I feel limited with its classic design. I am looking for a guitar that has 24 frets and a tremolo bridge. Also the design of the neck is very important, something with better access to the higher frets is important. This is one of the guitars that I have been looking at.
Continue reading Schecter C-1 Hellraiser FR Guitar

John Petrucci is one guitarist that until lately I haven’t paid much attention to. I knew of him and of Dream Theatre but had never had much exposure to his music. I recently got my hands on his instructional DVD Rock Discipline and I can’t believe what I have been missing all of these years. The guy is a god.

One of John’s many guitars is his own Ernie Ball Music Man John Petrucci Signature guitar. Petrucci worked very closely with Ernie Ball Guitars to develop a guitar that had a new level of style and practicality. The guitar comes in both 6 and 7 string versions and can be purchased with or without a piezo bridge. The body of the guitar has a sculpted neck joint for better access to the high frets and a contoured top for better picking arm support.
Continue reading Ernie Ball Music Man John Petrucci Signature Guitar

When Fender bought out Jackson Guitars Alexi was told it would take 1 year for them to build him a new signature guitar. When ESP told him it would only take them 3 months it was a no-brainer for him to switch. The Alexi Laiho signature is basically a Jackson RR Custom clone with some added visual flair.

The design of the guitar plays on the black pinstripe on white look that the Jackson RR1 Rhoads has, but with a more stylized look. The shark fin points on the body are straighter and slightly curved as opposed to the true edges on the RR.
Continue reading ESP Alexi Laiho Signature Guitar

Dimebag had always been a Dean player in his youth. His first Dean was a cherry sunburst ML bought for him by his father and his second a Dean that he won in a playing competition. The guitar he won later became his most popular guitar, the custom lighting bolt painted Cowboy from Hell.

When Dean went out of business in the mid 80’s Dimebag became a Washburn promoter. In 2004, not long before Dime’s death the Dean company was reopened by Dean Zelinsky and Dimebag was brought back on as an endorser. The Razorback Tribute has been released along with a range of reissued ML guitars in Dimebag’s name.
Continue reading Dean USA Razorback Tribute Dimebag Darrell Signature Guitar

The Zakk Wylde Signature Les Paul is one of the most popular signature guitars from Gibson. The original features a stunning black on antique white bulleye trademark paint job and a raw oiled maple neck. The Zakk Wylde CAMO is an alteration of that 80’s Les Paul using a black on camouflage for the bullseye.

The body is a 1 piece mahogany back under a carved maple top decorated with gold hardware. For sound it sports the signature EMG ZW (81 neck/85 bridge) active pickups for playing those heavy screaming Black Label Society riffs. I have the ZW set in my Les Paul and I couldn’t imagine another pickup for playing metal. Active is the way to go if you ask me. The sound of the overdrive is unmatched and the sustain is infinite.
Continue reading Gibson Les Paul Zakk Wylde CAMO Signature Guitar