Category Archives: News & Thoughts
Blues Music on Sitar? You asked for it!
A while back I asked everyone to suggest sitar videos I should make.
The overwhelming favorite idea was to record a song playing Sitar and Guitar together.
This is the resulting video!
Want to learn more about the “Sitar Guitar” in the background? Watch this video: https://youtu.be/ZSJn_k-FGFQ
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Dweezil Zappa Teaches Frank Zappa’s Improvisation Techniques
Check out this great video of Dweezil Zappa teaching Frank Zappa’s improvisation techniques. So much good stuff going on here!
The Five Best Guitar Effects Pedals for New and Pro Players
If you or someone you know is looking to build a collection of the best guitar effects pedals then let me start by saying, “Welcome to the best club ever.”
I love guitar gear. It’s an obsession for me. I spend so much of my free time researching gear that it only seemed logical that I should start putting some of this passion into a website. So, if you want information, I have already done the research.
Why trust me? I have been playing guitar for over 20 years and I have experimented with tons of pedals. During my lunch breaks, I sneak off to Guitar Center and New York City’s boutique guitar shops to try out all the new (and vintage) toys. I have the product lines practically memorized for all of the major guitar companies. My brother is also a gear head and it’s all we talk about. Did I say that I love gear?
Now is perhaps the best time to buy guitar effects pedals because there are tons of options, quality is at an all time high and prices are cheap.
Below is my list of the five perfect pedals to start with. I tried to keep prices in the $100 range with one pedals as low as $49. (Click on the links to check the prices on Amazon.)
I have strived to suggest pedals that are easy to use, sound amazing (duh) and have stood the test of time.
Anything you pick from the list below will be cool today and something you will still use years later. Many of these pedals appear on the boards of touring rock stars.
I’ll list these in the order I think you should buy them and then I’ll list the order you should connect them once you hook them all up together. Here we go!
1: Tube Screamer – Classic or Mini (click links to see prices):
This is the most famous overdrive pedal and with good reason. The Tube Screamer has managed to remain in constant use by professional guitarists for decades. Everyone from your weekend warrior to Stevie Ray Vaughn have used a Tube Screamer to define their sound.
The Tube Screamer is now available in a less expensive “mini” option, making it easily fit onto a pedal board. Please note that if you buy the Mini you will need an external power supply.
If size isn’t a concern, I would suggest getting the full size Tube Screamer because you can run it off of a battery. You can see the size difference in the video above.
Why start with this as your first pedal?
2017 Les Paul Gibson
Pretty solid video breaking down the new features on the 2017 Les Paul range. Thoughts?
I think the new blue is ugly. I do like all the switches and I would like to hear all the internal dip-switch options.
Guitars made from old skateboards!
These guitars are super cool!
In-depth interview
Roland Introduces JC-22 Jazz Chorus Guitar Amp
I can’t yet tell if I love this or hate it. I do like the idea of a smaller brother to the amazing JC-120 and the smart & sensible JC-40.
This might be the perfect practice amp for Jazz guitarists and those playing small “coffee house” sized venues.
What I wish it had:
- USB out for direct digital recording (Yes, I realize this amp has line out and USB might really jack up the price… But that doesn’t mean I can’t still WANT something.)
- 10″ Speakers. 6.5″ speakers feel really out of sync with the rest of the specs on this amp, especially because the big selling point is the huge multi diminutional 3D sound it is supposed to provide… From 6.5 inch speakers? hummmm. I would really like to hear this in person.
Check prices on Amazon for the JC-22, and the larger JC-40 and JC-120
Boss announces AD-2 Acoustic Preamp & BOSS CP-1X Compressor
Boss CP-1X Compressor
CP-1X is a new type of multiband compressor for guitar. AKA: Yes, we need this! I really like the idea behind this pedal & it’s simplicity.
Boss AD-2 Acoustic Preamp:
This is an interesting new pedal from Boss. I’m not sure how much this demo excites me, so I’ll be curious to hear what pops up on youtube in the next few months as people start to try them out. Thoughts?
Blues Lunchbox Head Shootout
As someone who likes to think of themselves as a blues player and a fan of amps that facilitate that tone, I really enjoyed this video by Andertons Music demoing a bunch of Blues sounding Lunchbox sized amps.
I would have liked to see the Fender Super Champ X2 Head in this shoot out. It’s 15 watts, fairly low cost and the cleans sound amazing. It takes pedals really well too!
I own the Super Champ combo version with a 10 inch speaker and it’s great for playing small club shows. But, having it as a head and just showing up and using the house back line cabinet would be great. And, hell, having that much less to carry in a NYC taxi would be amazing.
Here is a nice video comparing the Super Champ x2 to the very beloved (and expensive) Fender Princeton RI.