Sunday, November 22, 2009

Gibson's Nashville Factory Gets Raided By Feds

I read about this over at Premier Guitar,Gibson's Nashville factory was recently raided by the Fed's...
Nashville, TN (November 17, 2009) – Agents with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and Nashville police conducted a raid at Gibson's corporate headquarters and one of its Nashville manufacturing facilities this afternoon. Various news agencies report a number of guitars, computers, files and wood used in the manufacture of the company’s guitars were seized.
This is centered around the law,The Lacey Act,which is described by a comment on the article....
The Lacey act isn't really about protecting trees or wildlife or anything like that, though that may have been the original intent. Getting a species listed has really nothing to do with it being endangered, but nore to do with how much the proponents scream and yell and which congressmen you can get in your pocket. So, what the lacey act is really about is the papertrail. If Gibson has a papertrail back to when the tree was originally cut then their fine. If there is a break in the trail (like if the tree were illegally sold to some middleman along the way) then their screwed. And of course, the papertrail is all about government fees and taxes they impose paid for their stamp of approval on the shipping form....
http://www.premierguitar.com/Magazine/Issue/Daily/News/Gibson_Facilities_Raided_by_Law_Enforcement_Officials.aspx

Friday, November 20, 2009

The Reddi - Tube Direct Box


Want to get that clean,smooth and natural sound when recording you instrument.Check out the Tube Direct Box from Reddi.The reviews are in and,well,they are all-good.This box can be used on a variety of instruments.If you know about the warm and fat sounds of the past(analog),this helps bring those sounds back.
With wider bandwidth and just the right amount of gain, the REDDI stands clear and clean above the competition.

Great for Basses, Guitars, Synths and electronic instruments that require a direct box for recording, the REDDI is READY to give you unsurpassed sound for that perfect recording or live performance.

If you are serious about your sound and tone...check it out..
http://www.adesignsaudio.com/index.html
review... http://www.proaudioeurope.com/index.php?id=22&entryId=959&catId=8
and the site this review is on,has some REAL "eye candy" for the "vintage" enthusiast :-)
... http://www.proaudioeurope.com/3/home

Danny Gatton...The Man,His Music,His Equipment


Danny Gatton has always been a favorite of mine,his "redneck" jazz style is even funny at times.But for all seriousness,he was a smokin player,a players player!I recently found a video i had not seen,of Danny Gatton.It was over at 300guitars.com.Along with that,i am including 2 post i did ,in the past.that spoke of Danny Gatton,his videos,equipment and other goodies :-).
http://www.300guitars.com/2009/11/danny-gatton-live/
My earlier post of Danny Gatton...
http://guitaranswers.blogspot.com/search/label/Danny%20Gatton?max-results=10
http://guitaranswers.blogspot.com/2008/10/mandanny-gatton.html
Danny Gatton web site...
http://www.dannygatton.com/guitars.html

Recording Guitar


A good article over at Sweetwater's,Guitars and Gear section ...
Recording Guitar with Ken Scott...
Recording engineer/producer Ken Scott knows a thing or two about recording guitar. Check out just a few of his credits:

The Beatles (Magical Mystery Tour, The White Album) Jeff Beck (Truth, There And Back) Pink Floyd (Apples And Oranges, A Saucerful of Secrets) David Bowie (with Mick Ronson; Aladdin Sane, The Man Who Sold The World, The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust) Mahavishnu Orchestra (with John McLaughlin; Birds of Fire) Dixie Dregs (with Steve Morse; Night Of The Living Dregs, What If) George Harrison (All Things Must Pass, Wonderwall) Gamma (with Ronnie Montrose; Gamma 1) Kansas (Vinyl Confessions)
I was fortunate to be able to spend a chunk of a day with Ken, and along the way, I asked him a variety of questions about the artists he’s worked with. (You can see the full interviews in two episodes of the Sweetwater Minute videos I host on Sweetwater’s YouTube and Facebook pages.)

But I also asked him how he records electric guitar.....
http://guitarsandgear.sweetwater.com/2009/11/feature-recording-guitar-with-ken-scott/

Monday, November 16, 2009

Want A Record Deal


Read this article by Steve Albini and you just may not want that record deal.In fact,just take a look at breakdown of the expense sheet and....you would be stupid to sign that contract.This is the cold truth about some and most record deals....
...Steve's words...Whenever I talk to a band who are about to sign with a major label, I always end up thinking of them in a particular context. I imagine a trench, about four feet wide and five feet deep, maybe sixty yards long, filled with runny, decaying shit. I imagine these people, some of them good friends, some of them barely acquaintances, at one end of this trench. I also imagine a faceless industry lackey at the other end holding a fountain pen and a contract waiting to be signed. Nobody can see what's printed on the contract. It's too far away, and besides, the shit stench is making everybody's eyes water. The lackey shouts to everybody that the first one to swim the trench gets to sign the contract. Everybody dives in the trench and they struggle furiously to get to the other end. Two people arrive simultaneously and begin wrestling furiously, clawing each other and dunking each other under the shit. Eventually, one of them capitulates, and there's only one contestant left. He reaches for the pen, but the Lackey says "Actually, I think you need a little more development. Swim again, please. Backstroke". And he does of course......now read on and check the musicians pay out...in the end of all others "profits"...
http://www.negativland.com/albini.html

Sunday, November 15, 2009

The Guitar Players Motto....should be


"In learning you will teach, and in teaching you will learn"...

Isn't it funny that once you begin teaching,you yourself learn :-)

Steve Lukather Showing His Chops and Soul

Steve really shines on this video,my favorite from him.Steve has the chops and is so soulful and full of expression ....
also an earlier post i did on Steve Lukather,a great interview...
http://guitaranswers.blogspot.com/2008/07/steve-lukather-interview.html

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Led Zeppelin Black Dog

Always fresh...

Friday, November 13, 2009

Open Source For Guitar Stomp Pedals

Coyote-1

Eric Moyer,geek per se,along with interest in music.Combine the two,and what do you get?A stomp pedal with open source architecture :-).
Open Source:To release the source code of; Of, or relating to a product which is licensed to permit modifications and redistribution of its source code
What a concept Eric has,open sourced,making it possible for the musician to code or build the elements required to produce effects!This can be only limited to your knowledge and imagination :-).
In the guitar world, analog purists typically look at digital proponents with a wary, disdainful eye—these are the people, after all, that believe technology can trump tradition, a touchy subject in the guitar world. Eric Moyer, the California-based creator of the open source OpenStomp—a device so unabashedly digital and computerized that many of its deepest functions require a technical degree— shrugs it off with in Huntington Beach surfer style. “I love digital effects pedals. The sound quality of analog stuff is great, but there’s a versatility with digital stuff that I just adore,” said Moyer
Simply put, any user can use Moyer’s homegrown software, called OpenStomp Workbench, to build patches and assign functions to the unit’s four top-mounted knobs and two sturdy footswitches; more intrepid users....read on at Premier Guitar... https://www.premierguitar.com/Magazine/Issue/2009/Nov/OpenStomp_Open_Source_Meet_the_Guitar_World.aspx

Don Was Discusses Music Production


There are some good clips with Don Was/producer,being interviewed by Stephen Webber,over at Berklee Music.
Everyone can afford a studio now,it's not for just the rich and famous anymore!

Don Was
...About Don Was

Over four decades as a record producer, Don Was has worked with artists such as Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt, the B-52s, Amos Lee, Ziggy Marley, and the Rolling Stones. He won the 1994 Grammy Award for Producer of the Year and he produced a documentary about the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson. Plus, the Detroit native is co-leader of Was (Not Was), a band that fuses funk, r&b, rock, soul, pop, dance music, and other styles in a seamless blend that has yielded hits like "Walk the Dinosaur" and "Spy in the House of Love."
Interviewed By Stephen Webber ...
Stephen Webber is the course author and instructor of Berkleemusic's Music Production Analysis. In three decades as a record producer, engineer, session player, music director, recording artist, DJ, and studio designer, Stephen has recorded with Ivan Neville, Meshell Ndegeocello, the Manhattan Guitar Duo, and the Turtle Island String Quartet, and performed with Bela Fleck, Mark O'Conner, Grandmixer DXT, and Emmylou Harris.
Berklee Music ... http://www.berkleemusic.com/welcome/music-production-clinic

Gotta Stay Healthy To Be Able To Play The Music

This is a funny video,not really pertaining to music,but in a way is....
Posted by: Dr. Mercola .... http://www.mercola.com/

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Orange Dual Terror Giveaway


Head over to Premier Guitar and enter to win an Orange Dual Terror amp.I've heard good things about this little beast :-) !I'm lovin the EL84's...
The lowdown...
The Dual Terror switches from 30 to 15 to 7 watts for lower volume without tonal compromise and comes complete with a padded travel gig bag. CHANNELS: 2, Fat Channel and TinyTerror Channel CONTROLS: Independent Volume,Tone and Gain one each channel,channel switch FEATURES: Power Switch, Output valve switch,1.5mm Zintec Chassis w/ steel vented top case, Padded Gig Bag Included VALVES: Preamp = 4 x ECC83, Output = 4 x EL84

.... http://www.premierguitar.com/Survey/66/survey.aspx,

Friday, November 6, 2009

Top 100 Jazz Albums and Top 10 Jazz Guitarist List Now At JazzGuitar.be



The members at JazzGuitarist.be site have voted and turned in their list of the Top 100 Jazz albums and Top 1o Jazz guitarist.It is interesting to see "who" is popular at the "moment".You also may discover some new nuggets in this list too.Here is the 11- 20 listing of the 100 Jazz albums....
I am glad to see Danny Gatton on the list :-)

# Bucky and John Pizzarelli - Contrasts

# Charlie Byrd - At The Village Vanguard
# Charlie Byrd - The Guitar Artistry of Charlie Byrd
# Charlie Christian - Genius of the Electric Guitar
# Charlie Christian - Solo Flight
# Charlie Hunter - Bing Bing Bing
# Danny Gatton - Untouchable
# Django Reinhardt - Djangology
# Django Reinhardt - Quintet du Hot Club de France
# Earl Klugh - One on One
... http://www.jazzguitar.be/top-100-jazz-guitar-albums.html

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

PRS Discusses What Is Involved In Getting A Good Guitar Sound


Paul Reed Smith/PRS discusses what is involved in getting a good guitar sound.This a a 3 part video,only at Harmony Central.He gets really in depth about this subject,beginning with the fingers!This is a must see 3 part video....
http://www.harmony-central.com/theater/video/instructional/instructional_video.html

Monday, November 2, 2009

Learning and Playing The Modes On Guitar...Lesson 2


O.K.,this is lesson 2 of "Learning and Playing The Modes On Guitar...and More".To recap,we talked about three of the 7 modes.They were the Ionian,Phrygian and the Lydian.These were all shown in the key of A Major.The reason being for the key of A is simply to maybe make it easier for the average guitarist.Most guitarist can strongly identify with this key :-).
...I highly recommend you try and visualize,in your mind,the pattern,of the notes,on each string,for each mode.And along with that,memorize the formula for each mode.And most strings have 3 notes,or 3 notes per string.Like i said,try and remember the pattern,then visualize it in your mind,this will help tremendously....
We are adding two more modes,they are the Lydian and the Mixolydian.
The Lydian is really just like the Major,but with a flatted 5th.It fits nicely over a Majorb5 chord,or a Major7b5,or a Major6add9b5.You see the common denominator?They all have the b5 in them,and they are all Major chords!
Now lets talk about and look at the Mixolydian mode.Like the Lydian,it is just like a Major scale with only one note difference,that note is the 7th,it is flatted.The chord that fits nicely with this mode is the dom.7th.It's formula is a 1/ Major 3rd/5,and a b7.So you are now seeing a common denominator in these modes/chords,i hope ;-).





...And are you seeing a pattern to the move of each different mode?We started on A,then to G,then to F,then to E,then to D :-).We are simply moving backwards from a C Major scales...notes,but beginning on A.So can you figure out what the next mode(s) in lesson 3 might be(after the Mixolydian)?
Hope this is helping you to learn,and see,the modes on guitar.Stay tuned for lesson 3,will be coming up soon.
And...do not move from each mode until you have learned/memorized the formula for it,and can see the pattern on the fretboard for it!
And try and get a grasp on what mode goes with what chord or chord progression.More on that later.Be patient and easy on yourself,and by all means keep pickin.
Lesson 1... http://guitaranswers.blogspot.com/2009/10/learning-and-playing-modes-on-guitarand.html