I can not count the times that I have bought an amplifier only to find that the footswitch was sold separately. To add insult to injury, the local music store does not carry the footswitch and needs to order it. What about about the effects pedals that are designed to run on batteries or a power cord, but the power supply is not included. Often times the power supply will cost up to a quarter of the price of the pedal, and once again, it will need to be ordered.
While I do understand the position of the manufacturer who offers these parts as additional equipment so they can make more money, I also wonder if they realize how often such a minor detail can cost them the sale of the main item. For instance, if I am going to pay $1000 or more on a high end amplifier, I want to be able to use it to its fullest potential when I get it home. I don't want to wait for a footswitch to be shipped. Sure, I can change channels via the front control panel on the amplifier, but who really does that? You have to quit playing to reach down and make the change. It's just not efficient.
In the last few years I have found a few companies who have gone against the grain and included additional equipment in the package. A few examples would be "Crate" which includes footswitches with amplifiers that are designed to use them. "BBE Sound" includes not only the power supply for their effects pedals, but also a new battery waiting to be hooked up in the battery compartment. I recently received an effects pedal from "T-Rex Engineering" that even came with a power supply that had interchangeable blades to fit almost all power outlet styles from US to European styles. All of these mentioned companies offer their main products at around the same price point of their comparable competitors. In reality, there just does not seem to be a price increase for the extra options.
Here is my call out to musical instrument manufacturers around the world. If you build an amplifier that is designed to switch channels with a footswitch, then give me the footswitch. If your effects pedal is made to run on batteries or a power supply, then give me the power supply. It is my choice if I want to use it or not, but at least I have the option. I won't go so far as to ask you to throw in the first battery too, but I really appreciate that BBE Sound does that for me. You might want to think about that if you are trying to get my business.
There is a lot of good musical equipment on the market today that I find myself passing up because they are not fully functional out of the box. There are too many other companies that seem to understand this frustration of consumers like myself. These are the products that I find myself leaning toward these days. When possible, I will usually support the manufacturer that gives me what I need to use their product offerings to their fullest potential right out of the box.
Lately I have been feeling as if my practice time has been somewhat stale. It seems that no matter how hard I try, my fingers want to go back to playing the same old chord or note progressions. I have tried various guitars and effects trying to break habitual playing patterns to little avail.
Recently I was browsing the musical instrument section of the local CraigsList. It has seemed that in recent months there has been very little in this section that interests me. This time however, hiding between all the unimpressive items was an ad for a US build Fender Princeton Chorus amplifier. At $130 USD, it seemed to be a very good deal, so I did a little research to see what the going price on this amplifier was. I found a few that were around $250 USD, so I quickly sent the seller an e-mail and met up to pick up the amplifier a few hours later.
I have been looking for a good sounding clean solid state amplifier to add to my collection of mostly tube amps. I had heard good things about the Princeton Chorus, although I had never experienced one in action. Most reviews seem to hone in on the clean channel of the Princeton Chorus as being it's strongest character, but most also say the overdrive channel leaves something to be desired without spending a lot of time fidgeting with the limiter. I was not too worried about the overdrive, so I took it home and plugged it in.
I had spent many of my early playing years through solid state amplifiers, mostly because of their affordability, but once I got my hands on my first tube amp, I had never looked back. I have to admit that the Princeton Chorus has extraordinary sound and tone for a solid state. The clean channel is very smooth, and the built in chorus speaks volumes in its quality. What was the most interested was the fact that I found myself experimenting with chord patterns that were way out of my usual playing patterns in recent months. The new sound was actually inspiring me to push into different areas in my playing. A new amplifier with a new sound was really all it took to break out of my old routine.
Sometimes a new piece of equipment can inspire a person to take steps forward in their playing, no matter what instrument or style they play. Even more interesting is how these new inspirations can translate back to the equipment you normally play on. It is similar to the heavy rock guitarists that I read about who write their songs on acoustic guitar or piano.
Last weekend I decided to catch up on some guitar restringing. I noticed that the strings on my G&L ASAT Special Semi-Hollow Body were getting a little rough from the corrosion on the unwound high end. I grabbed a set of strings from my stash and proceeded through the changing process. As I got down to the last string (the high E), it became apparent right away that something was wrong. As I reached into the paper envelope to pull out the string, it didn't feel quite right. When I looked at the string, there were spots of rust colored corrosion in different areas along the entire string. This was a brand new string right out of an unopened package.
I have to admit that I was slightly frustrated, but not overly so. I realize that things like this can happen, even if I only had this set of strings for a couple months. Since I did not have another set of the same strings on hand, I unstrung the entire guitar and threw the whole set away. I am kind of a perfectionist, and I don't like to mix string brands or gauges. I grabbed another set of string of a different brand which had the same plastic sleeve packaging with paper envelopes holding two strings each.
I was getting these strings out of the package while thinking about what could have happened to cause such a rare case of brand new string corrosion. This time I didn't even get the flap opened on the paper sleeve when I saw it. I immediately noticed a somewhat circular rust colored stain on the outer packaging paper. I was stunned! I pulled the string out of the sleeve only to find that this one was even worse than the string from the previous set I had just thrown away. I went back to my music room and started going through the rest of the strings I had with this same unsealed plastic sleeve packaging. Out of the five sets on hand, only one set was good.
My music room is a very dry place, and there is not a lot of humidity in the area. There is no reason whatsoever that I can think of in which two month old strings would corrode like this, especially in the environment they were stored. I am not sure what went wrong, but I can tell you one thing. I will only use strings that come in sealed packages from this point on. I made this decision based on the fact that I have fifty or so sets of D'Addario strings which are packaged in vacuum sealed plastic bags. I have had some of these sets for over two years, and these were what I ended up using on this guitar in the end. They were in perfect condition, as if they had just come off the factory floor.
This blog is not meant to be an endorsement of D'Addario strings. I understand that there are a lot of great strings on the market, and many players prefer different brands. It is my opinion however that some string makers need to rethink their packaging methods. They need to realize that even though their product is relatively inexpensive in comparison to other guitar products, in the long run, an average player will probably spend as much on strings as they did on the guitar itself. No player deserves to open a set of bad strings unless they spilled liquid on them, or stored them improperly. I just threw out about twenty-five dollars in bad strings from two different companies. I have purposely not mentioned the companies here, but I assure you that I will be sending them my complaint in writing.
Hey everybody - just a little fun for the 4th of July. Here’s a tab for “America” by Neil Diamond. Grab you guitar and show some patriotic spirit! (You could also look up Hendrix “Star Spangled Banner” as well if you want something a little more hard core!)
When it comes to guitar playing and effects, compressors have been one of the most controversial issues for many years. Each guitar player has his own ideas on whether a compressor should be in the signal chain or not. One thing I have noticed is that no matter which side guitar players take on this issue, they are very passionate on their opinions. In fact they become so strong minded in their opinion that they sometimes come across as being very critical of other players who do not share their view. I should point out that this is not just a guitar player issue. I have read interviews with record producers and engineers where they came across as downright rude toward their colleges in the business who did not hold their personal belief. The key word here is "personal".
With these very strong opinions flying around, it can be confusing for a new guitar player to know what to do when they are working on building their effects pedal board or rack. It really comes down to personal choice, and what sound you are trying to achieve. I was fortunate enough to talk to a couple guitar players over the years that landed in the middle of the great compression debate. One player put it to me this way. "If you can use compression in a way that allows your sound to still be musical, and gives the results you are looking for, then by all means use it. If compression takes the musicality away from your tone and playing, then turn the dang thing off."
Taking this advice on my guitar playing journey, I have learned that compression like any effect is a tool that is not intended to define your sound, but to augment it. I use compression in some of my music, but I use it sparingly for the most part, and only when it enhances the sound. Compressors are a balancing act that is learned over time. They can be used to give more gain to a distortion or overdrive pedal, but they can also ruin many of the dynamics in your playing style. Finding that balance of dynamics and compression is something you learn over time, and sometimes you will find that compression just will not work for certain musical parts you create.
In my humble opinion, everyone should have a compression pedal in their signal chain, but they should also not be afraid to turn it off when the opportunity for more lively performance can be achieved without it.
Tonight I was messing around with my acoustic guitar and discovered drop D tuning. I know that a lot of you are probably thinking that drop D tunings are used on a lot of songs in popular music, but the drop D tuning I discovered tonight was not the tuning down of the low E string. It was the tuning down of the high E string. Let me explain.
I recently received some video lessons from the "Lick Library" for review. I was on their site watching some of the sample video's when I ran across one on how to play "Stuck In The Middle With You" by Stealers Wheel. This is a popular song with a very signature vibe, and as Mike Casswell was explaining in the video, the little known trick to getting this vibe is the tuning down of the high E to D on all guitars in the song. At the time I thought it was a pretty cool sound, so as I was just running through some of my own finger picking chord progressions, it suddenly struck me to try tuning down the high "E" string in this fashion for these progressions. The results were amazing. I was getting some very cool sounds with the open D, G, C, Am and other chords. I was able to play these chords and get cool sounding almost harmony type sounds from the higher D.
I know that some of you probably already know and use this tuning, but I also do not believe that this is as popular to most players as the drop D tuning on the low E string. I thought I would throw this out there for anyone who would like to give it a try and see what they can come up with. I will admit that it was inspiring to me to have this new tonal palette to play with, and I will use it more in my own personal musical journey. You can never have too many options for creating your own sound, and this is a very simple way to add to your playing arsenal.
I also encourage everyone to stop by the" Lick Library" and check out their sample videos. I have done a quick once through on the full version video's I have received, and I will admit that I am quite impressed with their lesson video's. My review on the lessons I received will be coming soon. Check them out at www.licklibrary.com /tutorials
This is the time of year when every kid (little ones and big ones) get a shiny new guitar and (maybe) and amp. They spend about 10 minutes with it, until they quickly realize that it is MUCH harder to play an actual guitar than to reach expert on Guitar Hero!
I’ve been around the block - and there are a TON of guitar lesson materials out there (sometimes called tuition) - most of them are not worth the download or the purchase.
Here are the ones I like - I’ll do this in a couple of parts so I have time to sort out what I like best. For this installation, I’ll cover DVDs. I’ll also cover books/CDs and websites in upcoming blogs. There are no affiliate codes here or anything like that - just my opinions.
1) Metal Method - Doug Marks has been doing this a long time and has recently redone the series - making it more modern and relevant to today’s player. It say “metal” on the cover - but the beginning stages apply to any style. It starts slow which is great, but QUICKLY ramps up. The DVD comes with a booklet with the tablature printed on it so that you can follow along with the video. They have a a forum there and Doug himself will often reply. In addition - what I like best is Doug’s focused motivational comments. It isn’t the typical - “you can do it” drivel - but hard won advice on how to be a successful guitar player and playing musician.
2) Green Monster Music - John Maurice Doyle does a great job with these lessons - combining excellent instruction with a high quality tablature booklet - that includes study outlines and lead sheets for all the backing tracks. The backing tracks is a nice bonus - they are well done and get you playing real music quickly - allowing you to practice rhythm or lead. John starts pretty slow and maintains a nice pace - no real big jumps from lesson to lesson. The lessons are suitably broad to cover all styles.
In both cases, a little bit of pre-knowledge is useful. Both Doug and John spend a little time on elementary mechanics - but the move very quickly into the material. A couple of introductory lessons with a live instructor - or at the least a buddy who plays - will keep you from struggling unnecessarily. It is important to set your expectations realistically - it’ll take time and practice to work through either of these DVDs.
MORE SUGGESTIONS
If you require more of an introduction to guitar before tackling these DVDs - I recommend Keith Wyatt’s Ultimate Beginner Series for Acoustic and Electric guitar:
The last series I’ve enjoyed is Rock House Method. They do a pretty good job - although it can be a little more disjointed than the above. Nevertheless, these are great and often provide many “real world” tips and tricks that you may not get elsewhere. Plus there are a number of style oriented DVDs that will give you more direction in your particular area of interest.
Almost all electric guitar players have encountered those pesky hums and just plain awful noises coming from our amplifiers. I found this video on the Taylor Guitars website, and I thought you might enjoy it. This is one of the best explanations I have ever found.
I hope you enjoyed this and got as much out of it as I did.
I recently had the chance to beta test a new version of Song Surgeon. This program has been around for awhile, but they are going to be releasing a tweaked version with more features in October. Song Surgeon is used to slow down the tempo of your favorite songs so that you can hear what the instruments are doing better. This is great for fast songs where you can not quite figure out all the notes the guitar player is playing. You are able to keep the original pitch of the song intact when slowed down making it east to figure out these parts in the original key.
The only thing that I found to be somewhat strange is the fact that music that has been mixed in the studio with reverb, delay, and other time based effects gets a little muddy when slowed down. This is because these time based effects become more pronounced at slower setting and it comes across as a lot of echo. Since these effects are basically encoded into the musical tracks, there is really nothing that can be done to combat this, but it is not really that big of a deal. You can still hear what you need to hear to learn the song you are working on.
Some of the new features coming in the new version are: 1. Slower tempo reduction, down to 10% 2. Finer Pitch control… one cent increments 3. A vocal reduction technology to dampen vocals. 4. Keyboard shortcuts 5. Zooming capabilities in the loop editor window 6. Ability to change tempo/pitch directly from a CD, without first ripping the song 7. Autoplay audio on Song select, without opening 8. Foreign language version in French, Spanish, German, and Dutch.
Song Surgeon is doing a pre launch giveaway where you can win a free download. Click the banner below if you would like to enter.
This is a really cool instruction book I bought a while back. It uses a clever “comic book” format to teach the fretboard. I really enjoyed it and it has opened up how I see the fretboard. Take a look - here’s a video of Kirk playing a “Little Wing” improve on slide using his technique.
