scrape the bod, make the guitar hero move

some people take their guitar playing seriously, and when i say seriously, i mean seriously. ok, so maybe these guys are playing make belief guitar via the ps2 game, guitar hero, but busting your leg while trying out a rock and roll air guitar move, is taking guitar playing seriously! and dig they even built thier own website to commemorate the event! wins the 'scrape the bod, make the move' play of the year!

guitar tab site shut-downs hit the big time

further to the NMPA (National Music Publishers' Association) and the MPA's (Music Publishers' Association) legal efforts to shut down all the guitar tab sites currently up on the internet; the New York Times has posted a story on the actions being taken against the tab sites and provides a good background article.
thanks to theconglomerate.org for the link, who also has a good article posted.

guitar tab sites disabled

searching through the tab sites on the internet today; OLGA is not the only site that has been contacted by both the NMPA (National Music Publishers' Association) as well as the MPA (Music Publishers' Association) threatening legal action if they continue posting tab. the claim is that sharing tab constitutes copyright infringement. here is guitar tab universe's splash screen;

guitartabs has also posted that they have received a letter from a law firm which is acting on behalf of the NMPA an MPA. guitartabs has posted the letter here .
wow, there really seems to be a concerted effort right now to bring down tab sites!

building a guitar with ted

ted's guitar is a great site wherein said ted shares the process of building an acoustic guitar. great pictures - showing a real insight into the steps involved in building your own guitar - and good write ups really help to get a sense of the work involved in crafting a guitar. ted's enthusiasm really shines through! it really is a labour of love. good luck to him, and thanks, ted, for taking the time to share your insights!

manouche modele orchestre gypsy guitar

checked out djangology , and found a great review on his newly delivered Manouche Modele Orchestre guitar. that is one serious guitar, and monterey writes a good review/insight into this - and generally gypsy - guitar. check it out here .

the guitar blog community

i really like the sense of community that blogging brings. there are a lot of voices out there, and i like reading other guitarist's thoughts and ideas. it's kinda like having a guitar coffee shop just around the corner that i can drop into anytime to chat about guitars and guitar stuff.
a couple of good reads are guitarz , and theguitarist .
guitarz is based out of england and posts quick, brief links to interesting guitar articles, and theguitarist is a common man guitarist based in San Diego who posts longer, personalized views on guitar related issues. they are both worth a click, so check 'em out!

OLGA on holda!

unpaved roads, a great guitar oriented site just posted that OLGA - the mother of tab sites, and one which a lot of guitarists use - is down. i went to OLGA's site and seems OLGA received a "take down letter from lawyers representing the NMPA and the MPA" (to quote OLGA's own splash page).
the guitar is a unique instrument when it comes to learning to play, most of us learn a chord or two from a friend, and from that point on, we're kinda on our own. sites like OLGA serve an important function; it allows a great avenue for most guitarists to discover chord progressions, song structure, licks, etc on their own, and have certainly been a big part of my growth as a guitarist. OLGA come back!

waltons guitar festival of ireland

steve kaufman

paco pena

john williams and paco pena discuss guitar

pena and flamenco dancers

williams giving a masterclass


these are recently posted pictures of this summer's walton guitar festival of ireland which was held this July in venues throughout dublin, ireland. a tremendous line up of guitar talent performed and held master classes including; paco pena, john williams, steve kaufman, john feeley, xuefei yang, and more! this looks like a great festival!

no island media

came across this great no island media site, featuring gibson acoustic, a limited edition dvd which is released as part of no island media's the search for the perfect guitar tone series. gibson acoustic has been made with the input of accomplished motion picture photographer erik l. brown of the horse whiperer, o brother where art thou?, ali, the black dahlia.
great looking website, and it looks like a beautiful dvd!

squier's top of the line; the squier master series

the squier master series guitar line is the best of the squier line. they include the m80, m-80 special, the esprit, the thinline tele hh, and the chambered tele hh.
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these guitars include duncan designed humbucking pickups, special binding, special inlays, metallic and satin finishes, set necks, and platinum hardware. all great guitars; each have unique features which set them apart. check them out!

yamaha sa503 tvl troy van leeuwen signature guitar

the sa503 tvl (troy van leeuwen) signature model from yamaha is a cool blend of old time es335 and post rock yamaha vibe. it's got three single coil soapbars, a real chrome bisgby, maple set neck, maple body, a kinda short 24 3/4" scale, and a rosewood fingerboard. it walks a great line between the obvious nod to the semi hollows of old, and a cool retro new look and sound. this is a great guitar, and i think it fills a great niche; it's modern enough to open the doors for new sounds and approaches, but it still feels like putting on a favorite t shirt!

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the artist:

troy van leeuwen

guitarist troy van leeuwen joined the queens of the stone age 2002 after playing in a perfect circle and, before that the band failure. a multi instrumenalist, he's played bass, keyboards, and lap steel in qotsa, and he's also done session work for depeche mode, limp bizkit, and korn. his gear includes the yamaha sa503tvl, yamaha aes1500s, a gibson les paul and various other gibsons, and a chandler
lap steel.

dream theater's john petrucci video

found this cool link on cyberaguioboy, a guitar enthusiast who also blogs about blogs and tech. he linked off of youtube, which is a very cool site in itself. i'll have to check it out. the video clip is of dream theater's john petrucci, and it's cool. cool band, great guitarist.

purple and orange

prince with an amazing back line of orange amps! courtesy of orangeamps which links back to prince.org

a little orange with bite

orange amps have gotta be one of the coolest looking amp lines out there. how can you beat an entire line drenched in that orange hue? and the sound of orange has always been totally and instantly identifiable as soon as you hear that great retro crunch and that new/old bite of their clean sounds.



orange amps has released this little cool amp; the crush 30r, it's part of the crush amp line up. the 30r is 30 watts of power, loaded with a 10' speaker, and has reverb built in (i'm thinkin that's what the r stands for), and is the most powerful of the line.
these are cool little amps, and although the line is trani, they sound like there are tubes hiding inside. a lot of small amps are transistor based, and many of them sound like it. that's a cool sound sometimes in itself, but sometimes these small amps come off as kinda fizzy and tinny sounding. this little orange comes across really well; not a lot of that small amp sound.
very cool.
and i gotta admit it; i like the look, too.

a guitar teacher's notebook

Rob Hampton, a guitar teacher just up the street (web wise, that is) in seattle posts A Guitar Teacher's Lesson Notebook. it's always a lot of fun, and the guy has a great attitude; i really enjoy reading him. make sure you check him out!

mccartney's first guitar sold for 614,000.00

macca's first guitar has sold for a staggering 330,000 pounds (614,000 bucks) to a craig jackson...link to Now Public.

Happy Canada Day Guitar

So, today's Canada Day; and to celebrate there's always a big shindig held in the nation's capital city of Ottawa, where a bunch of speaching and music playing ensues. At this year's celebration there was a special guest; Canadian luthier George Rizanyl's Six String Nation Guitar will be played on stage. What makes this guitar so special are the materials that were used to construct it. Example; bridge pins made out of Canadian hockey player Paul Henderson's hockey stick, Narwhal tusk, and one from Wayne Gretsky's stick. Every material in the instrument is from a uniquely Canadian material.
From the Canadian Press;
"•THE NECK: Decking from the Bluenose II; Papineau Manor (built by Louis-Joseph Papineau who led the Lower Canada Rebellion); a bagel shibba from Montreal; oak from St. Boniface Museum (in the building where Louis Riel went to school).

•INSIDE: A piece from Fan Tan Alley (Canada’s first Chinatown in Victoria); Olympic medallist Nancy Greene’s childhood skis; Pierre Trudeau’s canoe paddle.

•MAPLE LEAF PICK GUARD: Part of cowboy John Ware’s cabin; part of basketball inventor John Naismith’s house; an inset of a wooden nickel made out of the third Maid of the Mist built in 1885; red ochre stain from Newfoundland; Paul Henderson’s stick; Wayne Gretzky’s stick; a seat from the Montreal Forum.

•BRIDGEPINS: Henderson and Gretzky’s sticks; slate from a slave chapel in St. Armand, Que.

•THE HEAD: Decorated with a diamond-shaped inset of B.C. jade.

•FIRST FRET: Stone from the monument to Shu-kwe-wee-tam/Almightyvoice (Saskatchewan aboriginal hero); raw silver from Cobalt, Ont.; a piece of the oldest rock in the world (Acasta gneiss, found at Great Bear Lake, believed to be nearly 4 billion years old).

•THIRD FRET: Decorated with labradorite; moose shin; copper from the roof of the library of Parliament

•NINTH FRET: Decorated with moose antler from Pick River First Nation on Lake Superior; blue labradorite from Nain, N.L.; a gold dot from Rocket Richard’s Stanley Cup ring of 1955-56."

Burns Guitars of London

Wow! I've always been kind of attracted to ugly beautiful elements of guitar design, and the Burns London line of retro modern cool guitars definitely fit into the category. Burns is actually well known on the other side of the pond, but not so much here in North America. But what a bunch of cool guitars! Check out the "Shadows Bass 1964", Sonic"", and the Jet-Sonic'" (all below). Cool.

Fender Pro Tube Series Super-Sonic audio samples

I really like audio and interactive displays that showcase new guitar products. The web has many unexplored possiblities to allow consumers to get a better feel for their next possible purchase. The better you're informed, the happier you'll be when you finally slap that cash down on your local music store's glass counter.
Fender has embraced macromedia technology to bring us this great interactive, sound generating device which gives me a good look at Fender's Pro Tube Series Super-Sonic Guitar amplifier. It's great. As for tones; even on my Mac's built in speakers, you can't mistake that distinct Fender twang and sparkle. What a great tone. Try the "Bassman Baltimore" for a great, pure Fender clean sound, the "Texas Tea" for SRV sting, and the "Lo-Fi Fuzz' for instant - well, for instant Lo-Fi cool.

Free guitar!

Acoustic Guitar Magazine is a great read, and now their giving away a Martin Special Edition OM-28JM John Mayer Signature Edition Guitar. This is a serious instrument; Engelmann spruce top, East Indian rosewood back and sides, scalloped bracing, herringbone, and a Spanish cedar neck. You can enter at Stewarguitars.com/stowaway