Saturday, February 27, 2010

A Cool Blues Rhythm Lesson


There is a nice video lesson over at the Premier Guitar site.It discusses adding extra bass notes to a progression,adding dominate 7th chord with fills and a "rake" thrown in (cool one),and
finally,an arpeggio style but also adding the thumb to play the bass note.
A cool blues lesson for the beginner to intermediate.
Andy Aledort's Blues Rhythm Embellishments - Premier Guitar:
http://www.premierguitar.com/Magazine/Issue/2010/Mar/Andy_Aledorts_Blues_Rhythm_Embellishments.aspx

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Reverend Horton Heat...Zappa Goes Country...Sort Of


This guys a player,and in the style of well maybe,Frank Zappa goes country :-).There is an article at Guitar Player on this guy and his equipment,and did you notice the "head bangin" on the "acoustic" bass player :-)....
TEXAS HAS A KNACK FOR CRANKING OUT bodacious guitarists. From T-Bone Walker to Dimebag Darrell, Freddie King and Billy Gibbons to the venerable Vaughan brothers, the Who’s Who is as long and winding as the Rio Grande. One Lone Star 6-stringer you can add to the list is Jim Heath, a.k.a. Reverend Horton Heat. With a career spanning 25 years and 11 albums, Heath has forged a style that is a shotgun marriage of feral psychobilly guitar madness and perilous country, blues, swing, and surf licks.... http://www.guitarplayer.com/article/reverend-horton-heat/February-2010/107363
Web Site... http://www.reverendhortonheat.com/theband.php

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

The Boss GT-10 Pedal Board



OK...i mentioned doing a review on the Boss GT-10 pedal board.I have since found a great series of videos that really does a great job of demoing this unit!The guy has nice playing skills and some thorough knowledge of effects and skill in presenting this in a great way.SO,enjoy :-).
I have discovered the "rectifier" setting on the pre-amp,to me,is the key to a great overdrive/distortion!And the "A/B Channel" function is a great plus to your sound for recording!Will be updating my discoveries on the GT-10.

Monday, February 22, 2010

Resetting Neck Angle On Martin Acoustic


I recently came across a good article at Frets.com.He has some great shots of resetting a 1935 Martin 000-28.This is not a job for the faint hearted!I do some luthier work and can tell you straight out,working on guitars can be a lot of fun but can also be challenging and tedious work.Tools are a critical part to doing a good job,and often can be created by the luthier for a specific job....
***resetting the neck angle,along with bridge adjustments,allows for proper/better playing ability

A fine instrument indeed! It's a 1935 Martin 000-28, made in the first year after Martin abandoned the use of bar frets in favor of the modern T-frets. This guitar has been in the family of the original owner and has suffered no real damage in its life. It has never had any repair work that I could detect, and needed only to have the neck reset to restore the original geometry and allow for good playing action.
..
Again thanks to Frets.com for this fine article.

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Quick Music Fact...New Effects Pedal...Make it Simple


Here's a Quick Music Fact...when you have purchased a new "toy",say an effects pedal board,make it simple and easier on yourself.Select a patch that is close to what you are wanting to create and simply alter it to your liking.Then once you have learned how to get around on the pedal,start a patch from 'scratch" and build it.
I recently purchased the Boss GT-10 pedal effects and will be doing a review/post on my discoveries,likes and dislikes of it.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Guitar Amp Buying Guide



Amplifier classes explained (A,AB,B,D,H)
Class A - When an amplifier's stage devices are passing current at all times, including when the amplifier is at idle (no music playing), whether the amplifier is single ended or push-pull, the amplifier is said to be biased in Class A. Because the current is flowing at all times, an input signal causes the current to be immediately diverted to the speakers, and therefore, the sound is very "fast". In the case of a push-pull amplifier, there is also less crossover distortion when the signal passes from the positive to the negative or negative to positive, since each side of the push-pull section is already "on". If all stages of the amplifier are biased in Class A, and the amplifier operates in Class A to full output (enough current flowing at idle that could be required for full output), it is said to be a "Pure Class A" amplifier. Pure Class A designs are understandably expensive to build and are usually only found in high-end boutique amps.

Class B - Class B differs from Class A in that there is no current flowing when the output devices are at idle, and as a result, they have to turn on from a zero current state when signal is present. In a push-pull Class B design the output devices would each produce half of the audio waveform (one set for the positive half, and another for the negative half) and would not have any current flow when the other half is operating. Class B designs tend to have a slower slew rate and more crossover distortion but are less expensive and require less robust power supplies.

Class AB - As its name implies, this is sort of a combination of Class A and Class B operation. If an amplifier operates in Class A mode for only a portion of its output, and has to turn on additional current in the devices for the remainder of its output, it is said to operate in Class AB. Most amplifiers are in this category since they operate in two classes. In class AB and B, the amplifier is slower than in Class A because there is a finite time between the application of the input signal and when the devices are turned on to produce a flow of current to the speakers. However, Class AB and Class B are more efficient than Class A and do not require such large power supplies.

Class D - A Class D amplifier is one in which the output transistors are operated as switches. When a transistor is off, the current through it is zero. When it is on, the voltage across it is small, ideally zero. In each case, the power dissipation is very low. This increases the efficiency, thus requiring less power from the power supply and smaller heat sinks for the amplifier. These are important advantages in portable and battery-powered equipment.

The “D” in class-D is sometimes incorrectly said to stand for “digital.” The Class D amplifier is based on analog principles; there is no digital coding of the signal.

Class H - If an amplifier has more than one voltage rail (DC voltage delivered by the power supply), then it is designated Class H. This is a very efficient type of amplification. The output transistors of an amplifier have to dissipate, in heat (watts), the difference between the rail voltage and the voltage across the speaker terminals, multiplied by the current (as stated in Ohm's law). So, when there is a low rail voltage for use during periods of low volume, and a high rail voltage for use during loud volume, the output transistors don't have to dissipate very much power when the volume is low. This causes less drain on the power supply and makes it possible to build a very lightweight design. The drawback is distortion at mid-volume when the amplifier has to go back and forth between the two (or more) rail voltages.
Thanks Sweetwater Music,for the technical stuff on amps... http://www.sweetwater.com/shop/guitars/guitar-amps/buying-guide.php

How to Lock the Guitar String into the Tuning Post


This is good advice for beginners who do not know this.I also use this technique on electrics...

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Some Funky Junk


Ah....the excitement of going into the local pawn shops to see what hidden treasures and funky junk might be there,just waiting to be played and then taken away to their new home :-).
Let's face it, most of us won't ever own a '59 Les Paul—or any other true Holy Grail. That's why, in your brand-new March issue of PG, we look at a growing class of vintage instruments that even we can afford: funky, department-store brand guitars that can be surprisingly good.
Explore yesteryear's whacky creations from Harmony, Danelectro, National/Valco, Teisco Del Rey,EKO , and more...
Premier Guitar - March 2010 - Page 108-109: http://digital.premierguitar.com/premierguitar/201003_1/#pg115

Friday, February 12, 2010

Top 100 Non Guitar Jazz Recordings


JazzGuitar.be did a poll of favorite jazz recordings without a guitarist.This is a good heads up for guitarist wanting to branch out and study additional chordal and melody playing from other players, other than jazz guitarist....
http://www.jazzguitar.be/top-100-jazz-albums.html