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Monday, May 31, 2010

Dave Martone - Clean

Artist: Dave Martone
Album: Clean
Country: Canada
Genre: Shred, Guitar virtuoso, Metal, Guitar Instrumental
Year: 2008
Tracks: 10
Tracklist:

1. The Goodie Squiggee Song (3:51)
2. Nail Grinder (4:24)
3. Bossa Dorado (3:42)
4. Dinky Pinky (5:57)
5. Coming Clean (5:35)
6. Hard Wired (4:03)
7. If I Was A Piano (3:27)
8. Moron Face (4:17)
9. Turn On The Heater (4:17)
10. Angel Flash (3:46)
11. Fading Into Change (2:52)

Featuring: Joe Satriani, Greg Howe, Billy Sheehan, Daniel Adair (Nickelback)

Martone has played, hosted clinics or performed with 3 Doors Down, Steve Morse, Jennifer Batten, Paul Gilbert, Yngwie Malmsteen, Marty Friedman, Seymour Duncan, Greg Howe, Joe Satriani and drum greats Chester Thompson, Mike Portnoy, Greg Bissionet and Gene Hoglan.



Download #1 (LetItBit)

Joe Satriani - Live In Paris - 2009


Artist: Joe Satriani
Album: Live In Paris
Format: mp3 VBR ~224 kbps
Tracks: 22 (12 +10)
Size: ~92 Mb + ~102 Mb
Tracklist:


CD1:
1. I Just Wanna Rock (3:53)
2. Overdriver (5:17)
3. Satch Boogie (4:36)
4. Ice 9 (4:37)
5. Diddle-Y-A-Doo-Dat (4:14)
6. Flying in A Blue Dream (5:39)
7. Ghosts (4:52)
8. Revelation (6:30)
9. Super Colossal (4:25)
10. One Big Rush (3:37)
11. Musterion (4:53)
12. Out of the Sunrise (6:28)


CD2:
1. Time Machine (8:45)
2. Cool #9 (6:06)
3. Andalusia (6:49)
4. Bass Solo (6:31)
5. Cryin’ (6:42)
6. The Mystical Potato Head Groove Thing (5:52)
7. Always with Me, Always with You (9:01)
8. Surfing with the Alien (6:15)
9. Crowd Chant (3:26)
10. Summer Song (8:04)


Download #1

Dave Martone - Shut Up 'N Listen


Shut Up 'N Listen (re-released for 2004 as a Video Enhanced CD with bonus live and studio footage) features the fast 'n furious fingers of Vancouver-based guitarist David Martone, who has produced an all-instrumental release packed with emotion, impressive solos and controlled mayhem. Shut Up 'N Listen documents Martone's flawless guitar technique over the speed metal breaks in "@$%! Up", the blazing solo section in "Pigeon Walk", and the sweeping chorus motif of "Lips Tulips." Fans of contemporary instrumental rock will find plenty to like in this exciting release. Includes the bonus track, "It's About Time". 

Artist: Dave Martone
Album: Shut Up 'N Listen
Country: Canada
Genre: Shred / Guitar Instrumental / Guitar Virtuoso 
Format: mp3 160 kbps
Time: 33:25
Size: ~40 Mb 
Tracks: 8 
Tracklist
1. Pigeon Walk (3:41)
2. Playing Between The Molecules (3:34)
3. Lips Tulips (4:01)
4. Waves of Emotion (5:34)
5. Palpitation (6:21)
6. Party In The Cockpit (3:47)
7. Shut Up (4:52)
8. A.M.D. (1:35)
 


Download #1 (LetItBit) 

The Paradox of Tone

There is an interesting book by Barry Schwartz called "The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less". In it, Schwartz discusses the ironies that surround people today in terms of the perceived value attached to the ever-increasing abundance of choices. The more I thought about this, the more I started to think that as guitarists, we face a similar paradox.

It will become easily apparent here that I am dating myself. But regardless of your age or how long you have been actively playing, I think most will find that in your time with the guitar, there have been changes and the trend with many products is to offer more value for the same or a lower price.

This argument probably holds the most weight with regards to electronic devices as nano technology makes it more and more possible to squeeze more sounds, parameters and other options into smaller chips. But even with guitars, there is an increase in the array of materials being offered; stainless-steel vs nickel frets, various exotic woods for neck back and fingerboards, locking vs vintage-style tuners, sophisticated switching that allows three pickups to offer more than five sounds, etc...

Here comes the part where my wrinkles and Grey hair start to show.

When I was first getting into and over-dosing on electric guitar around the mid-‘70s the choices were few:

  • Guitars: You saved for a Gibson or a Fender, and settled for anything else, unless you really wanted an Ibanez or Epiphone and had a good reason for it.
  • Pedals: You saved for months, just to buy one pedal that pretty much made one kind of sound that was rarely a sound anyone in your band wanted to hear for more than a few seconds. And then you lived with that crummy effect for another six months or whenever you could afford another one.
  • Amps: If you were lucky enough to have an amp with a Master Volume you still wished you had more drive and wished it sounded better at lower volumes.

I'm being overly general here, but I have few memories that involve me or any of my friends not wrestling with these issues. Then, In 1984 someone showed me a Sholz Rockman and that was pretty cool; at least you could feel like you were playing loud wihtout driving everyone nuts. There were three settings; "Clean", "Semi-Driven" and "Driven", plus chorus and a little echo. I thought that it would have been nice to be able to really dial in the amount of drive or chorus you wanted, and I never really went out of my way to save for one, but I still thought that it was a pretty big breakthrough. Then in 1990, Zoom came out with a simialr unit called the 9002 that allowed you to change the amount of any effect, and there were several (including compression, which I just thought was awesome), and you could save 4 or 8 patches for later recall (can’t remember exactly how many). This unit sounded pretty good and again, you could pump this all through the headphones for late night jamming with the T.V. or four-tracking.

I could go on and on in my guitar-ish time-travels through the’70s, '80s and '90s, detailing each major breakthrough in guitar technology, but I think you get the picture; as time goes on, we have more options for a few more bucks, maybe even less. Now here we are with amps like the Line 6 Vetta II and Fender Cyber Twin SE. Both amps sound pretty amazing, and that is coming from someone who is generally against mixing computers and guitars. In my opinion, the Vetta II is a real stand-out. But just as with Multi-Effects Processors , I often have had mixed feelings about the end-result:

Do we really need / want so many choices, or do we think we do, simply because we can have them and they are affordable?

My experience has been that I, and most guitarists I speak to, have three critical sounds that the need when performing. Of course it differes from person to person based on your genre. I have played mostly Blues, R&B, Funk and some Rock for the last 20 years. So, I always need a clean sound, a slightly driven sound that I can tweak depending on the song, and a lead sound. I almost never need more. Whether you play Metal, or Polka or Jazz, do you honestly always have to have 9 or 10 different sounds, or is it really a matter of two or three sounds that need to be great, and you need to be able to toggle between easily?

Whenever I have to use a back-line and sound-check time is at a minimum, I simply make sure I can get my main three sounds reliably out of whatever amp I have to use, and make sure that switching between them is not gonna blow a fuse or introduce local police transmissions into my sound.

Needless to say, there are many exceptions to this. An obvious one would be if you are in a working cover / club date / wedding band and really have to "Nail" a certain tone for a certain song. I once saw a good friend playing in an Isley Brothers tribute show and he just nailed the phase sound on "Who's that Lady?" using his Boss GT 6. It was perfect. In such a case, lots and lots of sounds and choices are rarely a bad thing.

OK Kevin, what exactly is your point here?

In his book, Mr. Schwartz makes reference to the loss of certain dynamics that used to be a staple of human life and often came from families and relationships. Instead he states, we are fed concepts and and imagery that suggest our lives could be a certain way if we "Just do it..." (Nike), or similar concepts. But in the end, wearing a certain brand of clothes or drinking a certain energy drink will not change our lives. I think that for the most part, our lives are changed by events / decisions / actions / etc.. that usually involve interacting with other people. Same for guitar tone.

"Uh.. um… Really Kevin... are you friggin' serious all this?"

Actually, Yes. I am.

I think there was a time when guitarists spent countless hours on the edge of their bed, trying to coax a certain tone out of their instrument. I know I sure as heck did. I think many out there have too. it is very common when you are young; you simply do not have enough money to go out and buy whatever pedal / amp you think is guaranteed to to give you "That Sound...." whatever sound it is you are looking for.

Even when I was a bit older and had jobs, and could actually afford to go out and buy two pedals in one day, or almost any amp I wanted, it never really turned out to be that quite simple. It seems to me that great tone, just like great relationships in life, take time and work. You can't really just dial-in a "Magic Patch" and "Wham!", you have your holy-grail tone. Granted, some of these digital modeling amps / pedals really do give you the tools to nail someone Else's tone for a certain song... and as I mentioned, there are situations where that is just perfect. But at the end of the day, don't we all really want our own tone? Wasn't it just the coolest feeling in the world the first time someone walked up to you after a gig and said "Wow, I love your tone..." I always preferred that to compliments about my playing. And believe me, I'm not saying I've gotten so many of either. But the few times when I was fortunate enough to have someone remark about my tone in a positive way, it always felt very good… much better than “Hey Great solo on Voodoo Chile…”

"hmmmmm…..Ok Kevin, so what you are saying is that the only way anyone can get a really great tone is to toil away at it for years and endure a certain amount of suffering in order to get to that point?..."

Uh... kinda.. but not really.

Q: Is it possible to pick up the guitar for the first time and after only one year, you find an awesome tone that you love, everyone else loves, and never ever give it another moment's thought for ever and ever?

A: Yes. But it is unlikely.

I think that most players who have found a sound (or a few sounds) that they like, and that others like as well, have spent some time cultivating that sound. they tried many different guitars / pickups / amps / speakers / etc... to really find that magical combination. I can describe every inch of my favorite guitar, the two pedals I cannot live without, my favorite pickups, and the two amps that I'd prefer to be stranded on a deserted island with. But the actual details are not the point. The point is that because I spent so many minutes / hours / days / weeks / months and years with a soldering iron in my hand, or locked in a room with several patch cords and pedals and amps, trying to get the sound that I heard in my head to come out of the amp, because of all this time... when I woke up one day and really said, out loud: "Yeah, that's the sound I was looking for. I'm done”….it was a feeling that I don't think I could have gotten by simply choosing "Patch # 32"... it felt like a kid that I had raised for 20+ years and today was the day that he / she graduated from University with excellent grades.

In Summary: I have nothing against digital modeling at all. In fact, I have many positive things to say about it and will in the near future. It's the same way I feel about Cable TV; sure, I miss the romance of the Rabbit-Ear antennae, having to fuss with them in order to get my favorite show to come in and the feeling of accomplishment when I did, but I certainly do enjoy clicking around the 3,000 channels I have now for $50 / month. The title of this post, and the very long journey through my feelings about tone here are merely to point out that while it is very cool that all this excellent technology makes is so incredibly easy to sample / loop / model / 8-track / mix / tweak, etc... and do so many very (and I do mean very) cool things for very little money, there is (in my opinion) nothing like seeing a really good guitarist up there on stage getting a really great tone with mostly their fingers, their instrument, a few choice pickups / parts / pedals, and not much more... and knowing that it it took some effort and time to really arrive there. It just sounds different. Better? we can argue that for days, but it is a sound that I feel we all know when we hear it. And I don't think it always comes from having another 64 pre-sets of classic amp / pedal models of added value in your “Jibloom EtherCrest-5000”. It takes time and effort to discover and nurture. Just like most things of real value in life.

Kevin Chisholm

what one can do with a Firebird?


Who ever said that the Gibson Firebird has a unavoidable southern rock feel? (I know, I know, this is an old rant of mine!)

Here is a video of The Jai-Alai Savant with guitarist Ralph Darden playing on is white Firebird a mix of reggae, ska, post-punk with a hint of dark psychedelic (I prefer this kind of 80s revival than the current boring dance-rock)...


Bertram


Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 9th year! 

Gregg Bissonette - Submarine



Gregg Bissonette is a journeyman rock and jazz drummer with a resumй that includes work done with Carlos Santana, David Lee Roth, Maynard Ferguson, and more. A diverse and hardworking talent, he telescopes those incredibly different styles and interests into this eclectic solo album. This is Bissonette working with ten world-renowned guitarists. Among the guests are Joe Satriani, Robben Ford, Steve Vai, and more. The tracks vary from jazz fusion to modern rock. Bissonette also contributes lead vocals, trumpet, and percussion outside the kit drums. ~ Tom Schulte

Personnel: Gregg Bissonette (vocals, trumpet, drums, percussion); Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Frank Gambale, Doug Bossi, Gary Hoey, Steve Stevens, Robben Ford, Tim Pierce, Mike Landau, Richie Kotzen (guitar); Matt Bissonette (trombone, piano, acoustic, fretted & fretless electric basses, background vocals); David Garfield (piano, organ); Kathy Bissonette (background vocals).

Artist: Gregg Bissonette (and various artists)
Album: Submarine
Year: 2000
Tracks: 11
Format: mp3 320 kbps
Tracklist:

1. Marbles - (featuring Frank Gambale)
2. Submarine - (featuring Doug Bossi)
3. No Hay Parqueo - (featuring Gary Hoey/David Garfield)
4. Lum Lum - (featuring Joe Satriani)
5. Train to Willoughby - (featuring Steve Stevens)
6. Noah's Ark - (featuring Steve Vai)
7. Cloudy Day - (featuring Robben Ford)
8. Son Man, The - (featuring Tim Pierce)
9. Sasquatch - (featuring Mike Landau)
10. 12 to 3 - (featuring Matt Bissonette)
11. So Many Notes & So Little Time - (featuring Richie Kotzen)

Dave Martone - Zone



Zone finds ace guitarist David Martone stretching himself towards a more progressive sound compared with his first release, "Shut Up N' Listen", incorporating jazz and industrial influences, while continuing to provide the trademark Martone shred soloing and heavy rhythm work throughout the CD. Zone also features some beautiful slower interludes, such as "Harmonix" and "Missed Birthday", while instrumentals such as "B52" and "Free Bop" pack a furious punch -- air guitarists will tie their fingers in knots trying to keep up. An essential instrumental release marked by its celebration of musical diversity.

Artist: Dave Martone
Album: Zone
Country: Canada
Genre: Guitar Instrumental / Shred / Guitar Virtuoso
Size: 75 Mb
Time: 01:01:20
Format: mp3 ~224 kbps VBR
Tracks: 13
Tracklist:

1. B52 (6:30)
2. Harmonix (2:25)
3. 7th Dimension (11:20)
4. Missed Birthday (1:55)
5. The Fan (5:57)
6. Fish To L.A. (6:59)
7. Tap Thang (1:24)
8. Free Bop (5:19)
9. Jazzanada (1:31)
10. Victoria (4:43)
11. Bach-Tone (3:51)
12. Dave Martone - Eight Notes (7:01)
13. Dave Martone - Lets Dream (2:25)
 

Sunday, May 30, 2010

1967 Guyatone LG-350T Sharp 5

guyatone


I've wanted to show this Guyatone LG-350 T Sharp 5 for a while now but couldn't find a good opportunity so far... Today I was happy to find this one in an elegant metallic dark blue (standard finish of the model it seems) that really enhances its very special line combining vintage Japanese pointy horns, German carve and Jaguaresque asymmetric curves. Other interesting features are the big vintage tremolo (I'm a fan) and the pickguard and its elegant curls covering the whole front of the guitar...

The Sharp 5 was a famous Japanese surf band of the 60s for which this guitar was created. Though I love these kinds of guitars, for a continental European like me, surf music is an enigma, I only heard of that because of Pulp Fiction's soundtrack and cannot make the difference with rock...


Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 9th year!

John-5 - Requiem - 2008



Artist: John 5
Album: Requiem
Genre: Shred, Guitar Instrumental, Guitar Virtuoso, Metal, Industrial
Year: 2008
Tracks: 10
Size: ~58 Mb
Tracklist:

1. Sounds of Impalement 04:17
2. Heretic's Fork 03:51
3. Noisemaker's Fife 05:23
4. Pity Belt 01:36
5. Cleansing the Soul 05:40
6. The Judas Cradle 04:24
7. Pear of Anquish 01:01
8. The Lead Sprinkler 05:35
9. Scavenger's Daughter 06:46
10. Requiem 04:26


Download Links

Steve Vai - Where There Other Wild Things Are - 2010

Artist: Steve Vai
Album: Where The Other Wild Things Are
Genre: Guitar Instrumental, Guitar Virtuoso, Shred
Year: 2010
Tracks: 12
Size: ~104 Mb
Format: mp3 320 kbps
Tracklist:
1. The Crying Machine (7:46)
2. The Audience Is Listening (5:49)
3. The Murder (5:54)
4. Juice (4:32)
5. Whispering A Prayer (10:15)
6. Apples In Paradise (7:16)
7. I'm Becoming (1:56)
8. Beastly Rap (2:50)
9. Earthquake Sky (4:56)
10. Liberty (2:15)
11. Answers (5:46)
12. For The Love Of God (10:37)

Steve Vai - Where There Wild Things Are - 2009



Artist: Steve Vai
Album: Where The Wild Things Are
Year: 2009
Size: ~172 Mb
Tracks: 15
Format: mp3 320 kpbs
Tracklist:


1. Paint Me Your Face (1:59)
2. Now We Run (6:37)
3. Oooo (5:07)
4. Building The Church (8:35)
5. Tender Surrender (6:18)
6. Band Intros (2:27)
7. Fire Wall (6:02)
8. Freak Show Excess (11:00)
9. Die To Live (6:30)
10. All About Eve (5:08)1
11. Gary 7 (0:48)
12. Treasure Island (1:54)
13. Angel Food (6:23)
14. Taurus Bulba (6:47)
15. Par Brahm (2:14)




Download #1 (Depositfile)
Download #2 part1 (LetItBit)
Download #2 part2 (LetItBit)


Joe Satriani - Guitar Tab Books (16 books)

Quality: high as for tabs (it's not a fashion magazine ;)) 
Total size (all-in-one file): ~300 Mb
Format: pdf
Guitar tab books list:
Joe_Satriani — Guitar Secrets
Joe_Satriani — 5 Of The Best
G3 — Joe Satriani / Eric Johnson / Steve Vai
2007 — Signature Licks (+ audio)
2006 — Super Colossal
2004 — Is There Love In Space
2002 — Strange Beautiful Music
2000 — Engines of Creation
1998 — Crystal Planet
1995 — Joe Satriani
1993 — Time Machine
1992 — The Extremist
1989 — Flying In A Blue Dream
1988 — Dreaming11
1987 — Surfing with the Alien
1986 — Not Of This Earth

Chad Smith's Bombastic Meatbats - Meet The Meatbats - 2009

Artist: Chad Smith's Boombastic Meatbats
Album: Meet The Meatbats
Genre: Fuision, Jazz, Instrumental
Year: 2009
Tracks: 11
Time: 01:06:13
Format: mp3 VBR ~320 kbps
Size: ~109 Mb
Tracklist:
1. Status Spectrum (Bonus Track) (10:07)
2. Need Strange (5:22)
3. The Battle For Ventura Blvd. (5:35)
4. Oh! I Spilled My Beer (4:09)
5. Tops Off (6:31)
6. Death Match (5:56)
7. Night Sweats (6:00)
8. Pig Feet (4:18)
9. Lola (5:48)
10. Bread Balls (5:39)
11. Into The Floyd (6:48)



Download 1 (LetItBit)

Jeff Beck - Emotion And Commotion - 2010





Artist: Jeff Beck
Album: Emotion And Commotion
Genre: guitar instrumental
Year: 2010
Tracks: 10
Time: 40:19
Format: mp3 192 kb/s VBR
Size: ~55 mb
Tracklist:
1. Corpus Christi Carol
2. Hammerhead
3. Never Alone
4. Somewhere Over The Rainbow
5. I Put A Spell On You featuring Joss Stone
6. Serene
7. Lilac Wine featuring Imelda May
8. Nessun Dorma
9. There s No Other Me featuring Joss Stone
10. Elegy For Dunkirk featuring Olivia Safe



Download (LetItBit)

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Burns Steer

Burns

The Burns Steer is a strange guitar indeed, first because its design seems to have been conceived to avoid any kind of glamour - not that you can't appreciate the central rectangle metal plate with the O shaped soundhole on a acoustic guitar body or the beetle headstock, but it takes a certain sense of second degree... Actually the body is not so big as you'd expect, it's a thinline and has the scale of a regular electric guitar.

All the reviews about this guitars are really laudatory for its sound, its split bridge humbucker and a singlecoil in neck position allow a great versatility and as one review states: 'all the sound you can have are interesting'. This is far from being true for all the guitars with plenty of pickup combinations! The O-hole, the chambered body and strings-through-body bridge contribute also to its powerful sound.

Conceived in 1979 by Jim Burns but actually issued by Burns London only in 2001, there is also a later version with a small cutaway that is slightly less bizarre, but all the finishes are sunburst (the green one being the main one), that is a pity, I'd love it in a sober transparent black...



Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 9th year!

Friday, May 28, 2010

John McGee's Corvus

guitarz.blogspot.com:
We recently looked at a Danelectro-inspired guitar built by Guitarz reader John McGee. He hinted that there was more where that came from, and as good as his word, has sent us photos and details of a guitar he based on one of the lesser-known models from one of the guitar giants, the Gibson Corvus. I'll let John explain in his own words:
Here's a Corvus I made last year. I know the Corvus is something Gibson would rather forget, but I loved them then and I love them now.

The original was unbalanced (there's a shocker - a poorly balanced Gibson!), so I lopped off the headstock. That cleared everything right up. Steinberger tuners made it all possible. I also modified the contouring to suit my tastes. It now balances very nicely and is REALLY light and comfortable. It's one of my favorite guitars to play.

The body is poplar, the neck is maple/rosewood. The pickup is a Kramer quad-rail, coming in at around 15K.

The only regret I have is the color. It kinda looks like an upside-down whale with teeth, or a Goldfish cracker. Then again, that only adds to the silliness of the whole thing.
Thanks again for that, John! We always enjoy seeing one-offs and self-builds here at Guitarz. It's interesting to see a lesser-known guitar like the Gibson Corvus used as inspiration. The shape of the body could have been originally designed to have the tuners located where you put them!

G L Wilson

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 9th year!

Prototype Eastman El Rey ER-F

Prototype Eastman El Rey

This Eastman El Rey is exactly the kind of guitar I love: an ultra-classic archtop jazz guitar design smartly distorted to personalize and update its line in an extremely elegant way, and a few killing details, like the round cutaway and the ebony tailpiece and pickguard on a white finish...

For some reason Eastman never released this F-holes version of their El Rey series designed by Otto d'Ambosio, so this prototype is a one-off so far...






Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 9th year!

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Hondo All-Star H-702

guitarz.blogspot.com:
Once again we have an eBay seller claiming a guitar is much older than it is. So, he thinks this Japanese Hondo All-Star H-702 is from the 1970s (or even the 60s judging by the listing title)?

Well seeing as it is very obviously a copy of the Fender Bullet MkII series from the early 1980s, I don't see how this is possible. Unless those crafty Japanese had access to a time machine.

"Let's nip into the future and steal a design from Fender's budget-guitar series."

I mean, if I had a time machine I think I'd do something better with it than that.

So, it's an eBay seller not doing his homework. Even the logo is copied from the Fender Bullet! Jeez! Some people!

G L Wilson

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 9th year!

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Convertible Stratocaster

guitare modulable

Found this strange guitar today, a convertible stratocaster with a removable front allowing to change the pickups and all electronics in a quite simple way. The guy who sells it is a French luthier who gives no information at all about it, I'm not sure if it's his creation, a new line, a one-off, a prototype, or the last Chinese gadget! A quick Internet check gave no result, so if anybody has a clue, it's welcome.

It looks like another attempt to reach the ultimate guitar versatility, something that always makes me perplex, because, you know, the less versatile a guitar, the more guitars I must have and the happier I am...


Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 9th year!

DiMarzio DP408 Virtual Vintage '54 Pro

Sometimes I don't know who is more particular about the particulars; physicists, art collectors, or Blues Guitarists. I can't even begin to count how many times I've had to referee a near bare-knuckle brawl over which was better; "Ceramic" Capacitors or "Paper in Oil". Holy Moley, the level of detail that is debated about guitars.... so, am I completely out of my mind to even bring up the topic of "Best Blues Guitar Pickup" ?

Totally.

But first, we must take a moment for my disclaimer: Discussions of guitar pickups are more subjective than that of lovers and football teams. Everything that follows here is merely my opinion. I do not claim to be right, smarter than the average bear or more experienced than the next civilian. I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on T.V.

Ok, disclaiming done.

That all said, I am much more of a 25 1/2" scale kinda guy; hence my Les Paul with hardly a scratch on it, and my pile of Tele & Strat bodies that look like they go back to the Johnson administration. So, my taste in pickups tends to meander more into single coil territory. Although, a pair of early to mid '70s T-Tops are also very very nice to sprinkle on your Cocoa Puffs in the morning. But I digress.

Today I ask permission to rave about the DiMarzio DP408 Virtual Vintage '54 Pro. I have gone 'round and 'round on the subject of Dimarzio pickups ever since I bought my first X2n in 1979...or 1980... it's all getting a bit fuzzy... and what the heck was I thinking buying an X2n? (answer: I was young and stupid), but I digress again. After all the back and forth with
Dimarzio pickups, never hating, just flip-flopping on how much I liked 'em, I came across the Virtual Vintage series. I stopped, stomped out my cigarette, got down on one knee, and proposed on the spot.

I just can't find anything to not love about these puppies. Loud, Snappy, Crisp and no hum.... my kinda girl. And when I say no hum, I mean 4-trackin' late at night,
plugged into your overdrive, pro-tools fired-up, your guitar a mere one inch from the monitor... no hum. Now that's a bit extreme.... but y'know, there you are on stage, playin' louder than you know you are supposed to, you stomp on your favorite OD, kick into your big solo, and no screech, no hum, just really great tone. Sold, I'll take two... no wait, I'll take three.

I think these are particularly outstanding because while they do nail the vintage thing, they also handle serious drive with no problem. They are excellent in a set and play well with other kids too. Some say that all the members of the Virtual Vintage series are too bright. Well, I have always felt that it is a bit easier to darken up a bright pickup than it is to accomplish the opposite. Personally, I don't think it's an issue at all. These darken up very nicely and I believe that most amplifiers built in the last 70 years have at least one or two knobs that allow you to adjust your tone.... unless I'm missing something.

I know... someone is gonna chime in here that "XYZ Bonker Rails" or the "Acme Jilbo 5000" is a better pickup for Blues. See my rambling disclaimer at the top of this post please, and then come back. Of course I love a bunch of other single coil pickups for Blues. I've only written about a gazillion articles about how great Fender Texas Specials are, as well as the very cool Seymour Duncan SSL-5, Maybe "Best" is to much, who knows. I will admit that I get a little over enthusiastic about pickups sometimes (yet if you ask me when is my Sister's birthday is I will will draw a blank). That is my cross to bear, I just love pickups.


In summary, I do hate to sound like a paid endorser of this Staten Island marvel, but what a great pickup. Bell like chime? you got it. Thick / Leathery / Creamy molasses? You got it. Serious Grindage when you pull the tap off the keg? You got it. Not every pickup is gonna be everyone's cup of tea, but if you are still in search of one damn fine vintage & noiseless Strat pickup for Blues, this one is definitely worth a try. If you don't love it, fine, just throw it up on eBay and you'll get most if not all of your bucks back. You gotta really try pickups before you know if they are right for you. If you are looking for a new one (or set of three) to try, these are highly recommended. And if you want a low-maintenance way of dippin' your toe in the water, check out pre-wired assemblies, they really make your life a lot easier when experimenting with Strat or Tele pickups.

Kevin Chisholm

50s Supro Dual Tone

Supro Dual Tone

I've been introduced to the Supro Dual Tone by its reissue by Eastwood a few years ago, but at the time I was into their more spectacular guitars, like the Wandre Doris, the Tokai Hummingbird or the Airline 59 Custom... Now my taste gets more refined and I enjoy the original humble Supro with its old gold mock-humbucker - actually big singlecoils -, art deco stop tail, 4 knobs in a line and double pickguard (one would say a scratchplate on top of a pickguard, but that's a lot of vocabulary!)

Supro, like Airline and National, other brands reissued by Eastwood, was a sub-brand of Valco, a US company active in the 50s-60s, that eventually merged with Kay before bankrupting. They are at the core of the vintage guitars hype, with people like David Bowie, Jack White or Robert Smith having taken them out of attics and played them on stage again!


Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 9th year!

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Groucho plays guitar

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Here's Groucho Marx singing and playing guitar in the 1932 Marx Brothers movie Horse Feathers. Note how he does the old switcheroo with the guitar towards the end of the sequence.

G L Wilson

Additional: Dave Brown points out that the guitar is a Gibson L5 and you can read all about it and Groucho the guitarist here.

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 9th year!

Segera "Composer Guitar" Era Romantic & Golden Age

Best Performance Mei 2010





Best Perform Bln Februari







Download Partitur :
Suite Cello No 1 : http://www.classicalguitarschool.net/music/1006.pdf"
Violin Sonata Fugue BWV 1001 : http://www.sendspace.com/file/znm4c1
Channone - Bach Transcript Segovia : http://www.sendspace.com/file/s7e4zb

ARIA GR-2010 Goal Rush 2010 / FIFA World Cup Limited soccer guitar

guitarz.blogspot.com:
Now, I'm not the biggest fan of football (no one calls it "soccer" here in the UK, or even Europe as far as I know), but even I must admit that this official licensed World Cup 2010 guitar from Aria is a clever piece of design, espeically when you consider that it could so easily have ended up looking like a banjo! The middle pentagonal-shape is in fact a speaker, for this little guitar has a built-in amp. I like the headstock that looks like a football boot - complete with tuners as studs!

Thanks to Scott for bringing this guitar to my attention.

G L Wilson

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 9th year!

Monday, May 24, 2010

Gibson Firebird V reissue

Gibson Firebird V



Back to the Firebird series, to show this beautiful combination of wood used for this Firebird V in natural finish.

If you click on the link you'll find several instructing close ups showing how the wings are connected to the neck-through.




Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 9th year!

Badly-strung Tele

guitarz.blogspot.com:

It looks like someone was in a hurry!

But, really, how difficult is it to string up a Fender Telecaster especially one like this example with the slotted machine heads? I mean, that is going to be so confusing.

It's bad enough when people put the string around the wrong side of the tuner so you have to turn the head in the opposite direction from usual when tuning but to transpose two different strings is almost laughable. If I was that eBay seller I would have been ashamed to even show this photo. Having seen this, I don't think I could trust his claim that this is (even in part) a 1968 example of a paisley Tele rather than a later Japanese reissue.

G L Wilson

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 9th year!

pre-MIDI Roland guitar synth GR/GS 500

roland 500

What I like with the guitar controller GR 500 of this very first guitar synthesizer proposed by Roland in 1977 is that it's a very classic wooden Les Paul model in sunburst finish, not a Star Trek prop. Not that I don't find the Roland G-707 that came later one of the coolest guitar design ever, but this one looks as good as a late 60s Czechoslovakian LP copy (I love writing Czechoslovakian, don't you?) with even more knobs that a vintage Eko and really weird pickups (it's actually also equipped with an early sustainer...).

The perfect companion for progressive rock's debuts!



Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 9th year!

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Meet Kevin Chisholm

St. Patrick's Day 1978 is a day that I'll never forget; that was my first "Official" guitar lesson. While I had been tinkering with the instrument for a year or two at that point, this Saturday afternoon was the day that I had my first lesson and I don't remember thinking about too much else since then.

If I had to sum myself up as a guitarist, I'd say that I have at times been more obsessed with taking guitars apart than playing them. I do love to play, and have spent a bit of time roaming the world with various Blues / R&B / Soul acts. But while not on stage, I can often be found hovering over a telecaster with its guts out, soldering iron spewing resin in my eyes, a bag full of pickups to my left, a pack of Marlboro Reds to my right, some crappy re-run on the television and a big smile on my face.

I do a great deal of writing for BestCovery.com, HumbuckerSoup and AllExperts.com. Samples of my playing can be found on my MySpace page, as well as some photos from the road.

I am honored to have the opportunity to write for Guitarzblog and hope that you will enjoy my posts.

I can be reached at: kevin212@pobox.com

Kevin Chisholm