I have been using the new Guitar.com for a day or so now and I feel I have experienced it enough to give you my initial impressions.

It really really wants to be a Web 2.0 site, but sadly, it’s not. The site has a very Cliché CSS look, but the feel is lacking. The problem is the website is full of content that looks like you can edit it inline, but in actual fact you can’t. When you hit update it submits the information old-web style and refreshes the page. Because of this, I really don’t like the way the profile editing is setup. If you click edit beside more than on field, and then click update, it will only update the last one you edited – this is annoying and time consuming if you want to update more than one thing at once.

Don’t get me wrong, I do like how you can create a complete profile full of all your favorite artists, music, videos, and gear. I think this is the essence of what the site is supposed to be about. Guitar players love to talk about gear and music. The fact that you can earn money from suggesting gear to others is interesting too. The problem is the whole site feels like it is focused on selling first and being a community second. An example of this is when you are adding all your gear to your profile, it clearly just searches Musician’s Friend. So if you have gear that is not currently available for purchase, you can’t add it to your profile. Despite the fact that my 81/85 EMG Pickups and Line 6 Spider II amp are very popular, they are not available on musiciansfriend.com, so I couldn’t recommend them. This is problem with the music recommendation section as well. If you do a search for an album that is not currently available on iTunes or Amazon.com you wont be able to add it to your profile.
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I know, in my previous post I bashed the Logitech Z-2300 speakers for not being as crisp and clear (and cheap) as the superior Creative GigaWorks T20. In all honesty I do believe the T20s have a better overall sound. However, there is one area where Logitech’s THX 2.1 speakers excel and that is volume. I’m not exactly sure what the specifications are for THX certification, but I think there is a rule in there that says they must maintain a specific level of sound quality at a high volume. The thing I love about these speakers is whether I have them just loud enough to hear or cranked to 11 the sound quality is the same.

I think my one complaint is the size of the subwoofer. Although it’s size is nice for playing games because you get that rumble when things explode and whatnot, I find music sound quality is slightly diminished. Because I have the speakers above the desk and the sub below there is that separation of the sound. Also, because the speaker cables are only a few feet long your are limited with how far you can move the sub.
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Creative has a great product on their hands with the GigaWorks T20 speakers. To be a serious guitar player one thing is usually true… you have to love music. If you really love music then you’ll want it to sound as good as it can when you listen to it.

Now I know what you are thinking: “they don’t even have a sub”. Well it doesn’t matter. I bought these speakers for my girlfriend’s Mac Mini and they have better sound then my 200-Watt Logitech 2.1 THX-Cirtified Z-2300s. Creative has incorporated this new feature that they call BasXPort which basically puts a sub in both of the two speakers.

From the Creative website:
BasXPort™
Acoustically engineered to enhance the lower mid range tones. This is done by efficiently channeling sound waves from the inner chamber to the soundstage, for fuller, more encompassing sound.

This BasXPort technology means the speakers can produce better bass then possible with a 2.1 setup.
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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.

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. (more…)

As we all know ESP is pretty much the guitar when it comes to metal. The company has 17 different signature models and most of them are for metal guitarists. The first thing that catches my eye about the Ninja is it has this classic flying-v look with an edge. The guitar was introduced like many others at 2006’s NAMM show. It comes in black and has chrome hardware and chrome pick guard.

Some of the features of the guitar include a set neck, 2 volume controls, a 3-way pickup switch, and Seymour Duncan pickups with a JB at the bridge and a 59 at the neck. For the shredder in us all the headstock sports Sperzel locking tuners and 22 XJ frets. To add that extra signature look the rosewood fingerboard has X shaped ninja star inlays. (more…)

Yngwie Malmsteen is sort of in a genre of his own. To call his music metal is sort of a stretch by today’s standards. Regardless, the guy can shred better than 90 percent of the players today, and without him, shredding wouldn’t be the same.

Inspired by to pick up guitar by powerful footage of Jimi Hendrix sacrificing his axe, Yngwie (Ing-vay) started playing with Hendrix and Deep Purple as his influences. Later he would become interested in classical composers like Beethoven, Bach, Mozart, and Vivaldi. Studying classical music, Malmsteen developed his own style of neo-classical metal. (more…)