Dolphinstreet Guitar Blog

Blonde Telecaster

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Blonde Telecaster

What is the best purchase you can make if you want a blonde telecaster? If you are looking at value vs money spent, I think there is an easy answer - the Squier Classic Vibe Telecaster '50s. It is one of the best budget guitars you can buy. Naturally, there are better Telecasters if you go up in price. Let's take a closer look at the Blonde Telecasters that Fender currently sells.

The Squier CLASSIC VIBE Telecaster Vintage Blonde! The reason I call it the "best" is because it is probably the best blonde Tele you currently can get for your dollars.

The Classic Vibe 50's has a body made out of pine, and you can see the wood grains through the lacquer. It doesn't look like a butterscotch blonde, since it's not as yellow, but it looks very nice indeed.

The Squire Classic Vibe 50's isn't the cheapest one either. That award might go to the Squier Affinity Telecaster Butterscotch Blonde, a decent guitar as well, but not quite as good as the Classic Vibe 50s, neither in sound or build quality.

If you are looking for a more high end blonde Telecaster, the Fender Vintage Hot Rod 52 Telecaster Butterscotch Blondeis a very nice guitar.

A real high end Tele is the Fender Custom Shop Limited Snake Head Telecaster Electric Guitar White Blonde- this as good as it gets, and you pay a premium as a result.

This is a classic blonde telecaster which is very popular - Fender American Vintage 52 Telecaster Electric Guitar Butterscotch Blonde- the classic Fender Vintage Tele.

Finally, for a middle of the road tele (price-wise) and with noiseless pickups, the Fender Standard Telecaster FSR Ash Electric Guitar With Vintage Noiseless Pickups Butterscotch Blonde is a great choice. This guitar gives you a lot of bang for the buck, and the noiseless pickups are great for stage use, since they eliminate that single coil hum that often shows up at a gig.

If you want a killer aged look, feel and mojo without breaking the bank, then the Fender Road Worn 50S Telecaster Electric Guitar 2 Tone Sunburst is the Tele for you.

The Fender Classic Player Baja Telecaster Blonde is slightly more than the FSR As Tele, and it is one of the most popular Fender Blonde Telecasters today. Very nice guitar indeed.

There you have it - some options for you if you are looking for a blonde Fender Tele. Let me know if I missed any obvious ones. My advice would be to get either the Squier CLASSIC VIBE Telecaster Vintage Blonde since it is so affordable. If you want to go up a step, I would personally pick the Fender Classic Player Baja Telecaster Blonde. It's a very nice instrument indeed.

You can win a PRS guitar here

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Enter this contest - you may win a PRS guitar

Here is good opportunity for you. Jon from guitarnoize.com has launched a blues guitar competition, where the first prize is a PRS guitar.

How this works is, you download the backing track, and record your solo and upload your video to YouTube.

What you can win - The amazing prize pool is as follows:
1st Prize: A PRS 25th Anniversary SE Custom 24, Dunlop Max Grip Picks and a BMF Leather Strap.
2nd Prize: An Electro-harmonix POG2, an Electro-harmonix Big Muff Pi with Tone Wicker, Dunlop Max Grip Picks and a BMF Leather Strap.
3rd Prize: Suhr Riot pedal, Dunlop Max Grip Picks and a BMF Leather Strap.

Give it a go! You've got nothing to lose, do you? Get all the info about the CONTEST Here.

Let me know too, if you decide to enter the contest! I would love to hear you play over this backing track.

Mack Amps Now Selling Factory Direct

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Mack Amps Now Selling Factory Direct

Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada (August 17, 2010)
Effective immediately, MackAmps boutique guitar amplifiers are available only at www.MackAmps.com. Until now, Mack amps were sold via its own web site and several online and storefront dealers.

"Exclusively selling direct to guitarists means we can reduce our prices," said Mack Amps founder Don Mackrill. "That's important because enabling as many guitarists as possible to own a boutique amp is what Mack is all about."

Mack's new direct selling strategy takes full advantage of the company's very low overhead costs that had only a limited effect on pricing when selling through dealers. "Mack has great relationships with some excellent dealers," Mackrill said. "However, we could no longer ignore how much selling direct would benefit our customers."

Plus, selling direct fits perfectly with why Mack Amps was created in 2005. "I've never been able to justify the high price of traditional boutique guitar amplifiers, so I started Mack to make boutique amps that are as affordable as possible," added Mackrill. "By selling direct, Mack Amps has taken a big step closer to reaching that goal.

"Located near Toronto, where all manufacturing takes place, Mack Amps offers three model lines: the Gem, Heatseeker and Skyraider. All Mack amps feature hand made quality and great tone. The result is a loyal and growing following of guitarists who love their Mack amps.

The result for us guitar players, is that the prices have been lowered! Check out www.MackAmps.com and get yourself a Mack. I love both the GEM and the Heatseeker - great amps!

Learn blues guitar free

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Learn blues guitar free

Over the years, I have posted many video lesson here on dolphinstreet. Hundreds, actually. There is no hiding that blues guitar is my passion, although I play and teach many other styles as well. It seems blues guitar is something a lot people enjoy; I know I do.

So I thought it would a good post this time to list some of my most useful blues guitar lessons. There are so many ways you can learn blues guitar, and I hope my free and premium lessons may help someone, and provide some inspiration a long the way.

Without further ado, here are some blues guitar video lessons I have gotten particularly good feedback on. Let me know what you think.

385

Pedal Juice

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Pedal Juice

Sanyo has created a unit called Pedal Juice, and it is a rechargeable power source for 9 volts guitar or bass effects pedals. It can also power multi-effects units.

It looks very nice too - reminds me of the Apple style of design. Not surprisingly therefore, it's white.

How it works? You use the included AC adaptor to charge the battery unit. After 3.5 hours, you can power a small pedal board of two pedals or a multi-FX unit plus another pedal. Depending on the units being powered, the battery lasts for up to 50 hours.

The unit is quite small - just a tad smaller than a Boss pedal. Two 9V DC cables are included, as well as polarity conversion cable. The Pedal Juice can power a 10mA effects pedal for up to 50 hours, or a 100mA pedal board for up to 27 hours.

There is an ON/OFF power switch which allows the you to easily turn the power of all connected devices ON or OFF at once. This is a handy feature, since some effect units don't have on/off switches.

Low and behold - it is also water and shock resistant. It certainly is build to withstand a lot of abuse for gigging musicians.

I have tested the Pedal Juice on some of my pedals, and it works very well. It is definitely very quiet, and the battery lasts a loooooong time. This is a clever idea, and it works beautifully. I have had many experiences over the years with noise and hiss when using adapters with my pedals. This just doesn't happen with the Pedal Juice.

I am highly impressed by the Pedal Juice, and definitely recommend it.

See the Pedal Juice Website.

My backing track Billy Was Bad gets used

Sat, 07 Aug 2010 00:00:01 GMT

My backing track Billy Was Bad gets used

I recently received an email from a guitar player by the name Greg Lingus. He liked my backing track "Billy Was Bad" enough that he used it to create a demo song out of it. He wrote lyrics and added vocals and guitar to the original track. The result is called "Billy's Being Bad".

Have a listen to Greg's track and let me know what you think. I think it's awesome! I love the lyrics. You know, it's exciting for me to hear someone use on of my backing tracks (or any of my guitar lesson materials) and come up with a whole new, unique approach. I love hearing this, and I hope there are more people out there who can do something similar.

I also think it is wonderful to see how music reaches people. I know there are a lot of people downloading my backing tracks, but I have no idea what they do with them, so when I get an email out of the blue with a finished tune based on one of my backing tracks, I get a big smile on my face.

You can find original backing track here - "Billy Was Bad".

Check out Greg's website too.

If you want to use any of my backing tracks to create your own tunes to post online and share with friends, please go ahead. I only ask for a link back to my website. If it is for commercial usage, you must contact me first to get my permission.

Getting into midi guitar

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Getting into midi guitar

I have decided to take my first steps into the world of midi guitar. I recently bought a Roland GI-20 guitar midi interface and a Roland GK-3 pickup. I hooked it all up yesterday and took it for a test drive with Logic Pro.

I was worried it might be difficult to learn all this midi stuff, but so far, it hasn't been all that hard.

The most work was installing the Roland GK-3 Guitar Pickup. This is a divided pickup and it's designed to send individual signals from each guitar string to a midi device like the GI-20. It also has a Select Switch to change from synth, to normal guitar tone, or both of them mixed.

I put the Roland GK-3 Guitar Pickup on my Squier Standard Telecaster, and I didn't quite get it perfectly set up. The height from the pickup to each string should be 1 mm, but some strings ended up farther away, and some perhaps less than 1 mm. The reason for my problems was that I couldn't figure out how get the pickup to have less of a curvature. I would need it to curve less, and even though there is a knob for adjusting curvature, it didn't seem to be enough. Oh well. By the way, there are GK-3 installation tips here.

I wanted to try ASAP of course, so late last night, I plugged in. The GI-20 hooks up to your computer via a midi cable, and I had to get new drivers from the Roland website. After installing drivers and rebooting the computer, I was ready to test.

Using a guitar equipped with a GK-3, the GI-20 can be used to trigger virtually any MIDI-compatible synthesizer or sampler, as well as outputting your "natural" guitar sound. Very cool indeed.

Using Logic Pro 9, I added a new virtual track, and picked a virtual piano. Wow - there we are! I could now play a great sounding piano on my guitar! I tried organs - sweet too! I am going to find a use for a nice sounding organ for some blues tracks. I continued testing many Logic Pro sounds, and it was all very much fun.

Logic comes with a cool program called MainStage, where you can easily tweak synthesizer and virtual instrument sounds. I spent a lot of time there, testing these amazing sounding instruments and wacky tones. Great stuff.

I didn't spend time tweaking the GI-20, but the tracking of notes were already quite good. Next step is to fine tune the note tracking, and perhaps adjust the Roland GK-3 Guitar Pickup again.

I have been wanting midi guitar equipment for decades, to be honest. Now I am very excited to finally have it. I am quite sure today's technology is much approved from decades ago, so perhaps it was a good idea to wait so long!

You'll see more midi guitar information published on dolphinstreet from now on - be sure of it. I am already hooked on this.

Roland GI-20 overview

Super Looper

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Probes Pedals Super Looper

If you have a lot of pedals, you may experience signal quality loss, especially if they have bad buffers. Perhaps you have noticed this if you used some cheap pedals, and when they are off, the clean tone seems to be dull.

What you can do then is to use a looper to move them out of your signal path when you are not using them. The Super Looper is a good one for this.

Looper or Looper? By the way, I know it is confusing to sometimes hear the term "looper" used in two different contexts - one is for what I just mentioned, but sometimes people mean a device that loops and audio clip over and over (Line 6 JM4, Digitech JamMan, etc). That's a completely different kind of looper, and that's not what this is.

The Super Looper true bypass strip is designed to take your non-true bypass effects and make them true bypass without modifying them. Another great feature of the Super Looper is that it simplifies how you switch between effects. It allows you to move the on/-off switches of your pedals to a small strip across the front of your pedal board. You no longer have to tap dance in order to switch between effects.

Video

Specifications

12" by 2. 5" by 1. 5"
- Standard -9v power supply for illuminating LED's
- Buffer free circuit to keep your tone pure and uncolored
- Sturdy aluminum chassis
- Neutrik Jacks
- Chrome LED Bezels

Guitar fretboard notes

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Guitar fretboard notes

How well do you know the fretboard? I have to admit, it took me a long time before I really knew my way around the fretboard. I didn't use a structured method for learning the fretboard, and I freely admit it took many years before I felt comfortable soloing over any key. It doesn't have to take that long, if you follow a structured course.

If you need a hand in finding your way around the fretboard, I have a recommendation for you. Craig Bassett has created a very successful 48 page e-book called Guitar Note Mastery. This is a fretboard training course, where you practice exercises, step by step. You will have to work on the assignments on your guitar - you will not learn the fretboard if you read the book passively.

Many students are reporting they find this book and the method of teaching to be very effective for learning the fretboard.Guitar Note Mastery is priced at a very reasonable $17.00. Currently, you also get a bonus, in the form of a 62-page e-book entitled Guitar Note Accelerator, which gives you more techniques and exercises to augment the main course. I don't know how long this bonus will be included with Guitar Note Mastery.

Guarantee: Guitar Note Mastery comes with a No-Risk, 60-Day, Ironclad, Money-back guarantee. This is excellent. 60-days is plenty of time to determine if you are satisfied with the product. If you don't think this course is for you, just let Graig know, and you get your money back.

Click on this link - Guitar Note Mastery - to take advantage of what this course offers.

Crossroads Guitar Festival 2010 on DVD

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Crossroads Guitar Festival 2010 on DVD

If you missed the Crossroads Guitar Festival in Chicago’s Toyota Park in June, you can order it on DVD. This fantastc concert sold out in minutes, and featured legendary guitarist Eric Clapton along with a long line of musical greats, such as Robert Cray, Jimmie Vaughan, Derek Trucks, Sonny Landreth, BB King, Buddy Guy, Sheryl Crow, Doyle Bramhall II etc.

The sold out crowd endured for twelve hour, withstanding the extreme heat which reached nearly 100 degrees this day. This was a great show, and a must-have on DVD for blues lovers.

This DVD will be released on November 9, 2010, but you can already pre-order it.

Order the Crossroads Guitar Festival 2010 today.

Performers: B.B. King, 84 Hubert Sumlin, 79 Buddy Guy, 73 James Burton, 70 Jeff Beck, 66 Albert Lee, 66 Bert Jansch, 66 Johnny Winter, 66 Eric Clapton, 65 Stefan Grossman, 65 Steve Winwood, 62 Jimmie Vaughan, 59 Sonny Landreth, 59 Keb’ Mo’, 58 Robert Cray, 56 Earl Klugh, 56 David Hidalgo, 55 Cesar Rosas, 55 Pino Daniele, 55 Vince Gill, 53 Sheryl Crow, 48 Doyle Bramhall II, 41 Susan Tedeschi, 39 Joe Bonamassa, 33 John Mayer, 32 Derek Trucks, 31 Jonny Lang, 29.

iRig Review

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 00:00:01 GMT

iRig Review

The iRig, made by IK Multimedia, is a very cool Audio Interface Adapater for the iPhone, iPod or iPad.

I just got one, and I admit, I am impressed. Last night, I took the iRig for test spin for the first time, while my video camera was running. See the resulting iRig video demo below.

The iRig design

It's very easy to hook up - you plug the iRig into your headphone jack on the iPhone, and then plug your guitar cord into the adapter. There is a headphone/line-out jack on the iRig.

It is small and sturdy, and it's not likely to break any time soon. The only possible drawback I can think of is that it's small, but then again, that's one of the benefits!

The AmpliTube Software

The Amplitube app comes in three versions. - Free, LE and the Full version. The free version includes 3 stompboxes, 1 amp+cabinet, 2 microphones. The LE version includes 5 stompboxes, 1 amp+cabinet, 2 microphones for $2.99 USD. More gear can be added to FREE and LE through an in-app purchase of a-la-carte models with stompboxes costing $2.99 USD each and amplifiers+cabinets for $4.99 USD each. AmpliTube FULL includes the entire collection of available gear with 11 stompboxes, 5 amps+cabinets and 2 microphones for $19.99 USD.

You can create 12 presets, of up to 3 pedals and 1 amp and cabinet at a time. You can bring up these 12 presets on a keypad type of interface. To turn a preset on/off, you tap the number of the preset. It's functioning like a foot switch, in other words.

Included in this app is a chromatic tuner and a metronome. This is a great idea, and very useful.

What about backing tracks to jam along to? It can be done. You import songs or backing tracks into the app, and you can jam along while you are listening to a song at the same time.

I like the look of Amplitube. The user interface is easy to use too. Great graphical representations of pedals and amps.

Sound quality

So far, I have only used the FREE version, which has a Marshall type of amp in it. For a virtual amp coming out of a cell phone, it's hard to not be impressed. I could coax out some sweet tones with my Suhr Classic, and adding a bit of delay gave me a great guitar sound. I found myself playing for a good while when I made the demo below - that means I was definitely inspired by the tones!

There is a setting for Latency (Low or Ultra-low). I set it to Ultra-low, and it felt more "direct".

You get a distortion stompbox included as well, but you have to register with IK Multimedia to get it. I hadn't done that at the time of my demo, but it's a good sounding stompbox indeed.

The overall sound is impressive, I will have to say. Through my cheap, powered studio monitors, I could get some convincing guitar tones happening. It's not going to replace my Line Pod Farm - it's quite at that level, but hey - it runs on a cell phone! How cool isn't that?

My conclusion

If you have an iPhone and you play guitar - BUY THE iRig. It's not expensive ($39.99 USD) for what you get - a miniature virtual guitar amp with lots of flexbility and good sound - right on your iPhone. It's perfect for travel or for practicing late at night. Talk about a minimalist guitar rig! Give the iRig a try - I think you will like it.

IK Multimedia iRig - Audio Interface Adapater for iPhone/iPod/iPad

The IK Multimedia AmpliTube iRig combines an easy-to-use instrument interface adapter with guitar and bass tone software for your favorite Apple mobile device.

With AmpliTube iRig, you can plug your guitar into your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad and jam anywhere with top-notch guitar and bass tone right in the palm of your hand.

At the core of the AmpliTube iRig System is AmpliTube—a leader in gear modeling software for professional recording studios. AmpliTube for iPhone gives you the same incredible ultra-realistic sound and modeling accuracy of its Mac/PC applications in a convenient mobile platform app.With AmpliTube for iPhone, you’ll have an entire guitar/bass rig at your fingertips, comprised of 3 recombinable simultaneous stompbox effects, an amp-head plus cabinet and a microphone.

With AmpliTube for iPhone fully loaded, you will be able to choose between 5 amps (clean, crunch, lead, metal, bass) with full controls, 10 stompbox effects (delay, flanger, phaser, overdrive, distortion, filter, wah, fuzz, octaver, chorus), 5 cabinets and 2 microphones (dynamic and condenser).Plus, AmpliTube for iPhone features a chromatic digital tuner and a metronome. You can also import and play with songs or backing tracks with realtime effects; and create, save and recall up to 36 presets on the fly.

Video Demo

Free Blues Guitar Licks

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Free Blues Guitar Licks

You probably know that dolphinstreet is a place to get free blues lessons. I also provide lessons in other styles, such as funk, rock, country, etc.

Here are 2 free blues guitar licks in a lesson video. Have a look. You can get the PDF and Guitar Pro files for this lesson if you want - just sign up for my newsletter. You will then get a link to download the PDF and Guitar Pro files, as well as the video in High Definition.

This lesson shows 2 good blues licks, and they are not too hard, I hope. There's a quick move in the first lick where you need to have a bit plectrum technique for playing those five 16th-note triplets smoothly. The 2nd lick is easier - it's almost like a vocal line.

Let me know how you like this little free lesson!

Music Store in Camrose

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Music Store in Camrose

If you are looking for a good music store in Camrose, make a stop at Music Centre Canada. They are located at
51 Street Camrose, AB T4V 1S2
and their phone number is
(780) 672-9901.

I work part time there as a guitar teacher, and I buy most of my gear there as well. They have a great selection from beginner to fancy, so to speak. If there's something you can't find there, pretty much anything can be ordered in for you.

Many of the demos of guitars, amps and effects you see on this website came from Music Centre Canada in Camrose.

The prices are good too, I must say. You'll find about the same prices as if you go to a bigger city. The brands are many - Marshall, Orange, G & L, Schecter, Michael Kelly, Hagstrom, Ibanez, etc - and they have got Martins and other nice acoustics too.

If you are in the Camrose area and you're looking for music gear, do yourself a favour and stop by and see what you can find. Tell them Robert sent ya!

Macbook battery exploded

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Macbook battery exploded

I wore out my Macbook Pro battery in just over two years. I wasn't sure what would actually happen once a laptop battery wears down. Well, I did find out. The Macbook batteries are great, but they don't last forever.

And, it didn't explode - it just grew like a mushroom.

I took the battery out in April, since the Macbook Pro was having major battery issues. The battery was bulging and the laptop looked like it was pregnant. This is what it looked like in April:

After April, I put the battery in a drawer and forgot about it. I found it again yesterday, and the swelling has grown. This what the Macbook Pro battery looks like in July 2010.

I guess I will take it to the recycling place and get it recycled properly. Or perhaps I should keep it a few more months to see how much the battery cells will continue to expand and demolish the casing of the Mac battery?

You can read more about Apple's Lithium-in batteries at www.apple.com/batteries/. One important thing to note is to not use it in temperatures higher than 95° F (or 35° C), since that will damage the battery.

Prince 20Ten Review

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Prince 20Ten Review

I have been a Prince fan for over 25 years, because he is simply a musical genius. He has always gone his own way, and his music has been a source of inspiration and admiration for me, as well as countless others. He's done the potty mouth thing, he's done rock, soul, pop, jazz, blues, you name it, and guess what? He plays a mean guitar.

The one show that made the biggest impression on me in my life so far was seeing Prince in 2001. It was simply, incredible.

Now, Prince hasn't had many hits in recent times. I am not sure why, because he has continued to write a lot of good songs. Same with the brand new album 20Ten.

The album 20Ten is very interesting. In many ways, this album can be viewed as a return to his 80’s sound. The old drum sounds and cool synth sounds from a previous era are back. I love it! The album sounds like it could have been recorded 30 years ago.

What about the songs? They are good. There are lots of good pop tunes, and the ballads are okay - not his best but still good. There's some good funk tunes too, but I would have liked more of them. The last tune Laydown is a real killer tune that should have come earlier in the sequence.

Top songs are in my opinion Compassion, Laydown, Beginning Endlessly and Lavaux. The tune Everybody Loves Me might appeal to teenagers, as it is certainly catchy. The rest of the songs are decent but they don't stand out that much.

I give the album a 7 out of 10. If you like Prince, give it a chance. The more times I listen to it, the better it gets. At 52 years old, Prince is still going very strong.

Gotta love that old school pop sound!

Grace Potter & The Nocturnals - Paris (Ooh La La)

Sat, 17 Jul 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Grace Potter & The Nocturnals - Paris (Ooh La La)

Check this out - a killer vocalist, slinging a Flying V, and a killer sounding band. This is so very cool. I think there is still hope for Rock'n Roll.

I really like this tune. It's old school rock, and it's catchy and raw sounding. I don't know if bands like this usually get a lot of success, but this band is getting some attention. Perhaps it helps to look great, sing great and play a white Flying V? Whatever it is, I am glad it is working, and hope this band's success continues for a long time.

Egnater Tweaker is cool

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Egnater Tweaker is cool

The Egnater Tweaker 15W Tube amp is a really cool amp. This is a 15W tube guitar amp head, which is both compact and incredibly versatile. What's special about is that you can achieve a wide variety of interesting sounds, via the onboard "Tweaker" selector switches.

This is amp uses a pair of 6V6 power tubes, and it's small but powerful. You can play gigs with this little amp if you mic it, no problem.

Do you like tweaking your amp? Well, you will like this amp then. The gain, EQ, and master sections each have their own Tweaker switch. You can go from smooth and laid back to fully over-driven and distorted lead tones.

It is quite unique, this amp. Each of the 5 toggle switches on the front changes the sound of the amp. The Tight and Bright switches affects the low and high end greatly - from soft and smooth to punchy and aggressive.

You can go from a punchy clean tone to high gain lead tone by adjusting the Gain switch. The EQ switch lets you achieve classic American tones to old school Brit over to the Vox AC30 type of sound.

The Classic/Modern switch will let you create a soft tube tone, or a more edgy power tube sound. All these interesting tone shaping abilities are in this amp. If you like to have a lot of tonal variety in your amp, the Egnater Tweaker 15W Tube amp is the amp for you.

Good Reverb Pedal - blueSky Reverberator

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Good Reverb Pedal - blueSky Reverberator

Strymon are the makers behind this classy reverb pedal called blueSky Reverberator. I produced this video demo last night, so have a look. I purposely set the knobs all the same, and then switched between modes and types of reverbs, without altering the knobs in between. This way, you get an idea of what the pedal sounds like for a set-it-and-forget-it scenario. Be assured however, there are lots of options for tweaking the pedal in many ways.

The types of reverbs are Plate, Room and Spring. They are all very usable, and by working the Decay and Mix controls, you can come up with great reverb sounds. You can also store your favorite setting since the unit has a Favorite footswitch.

The dedicated pre-delay knob is very useful, and this pedal also has low damp and high damp controls, for further tweaking the reverb sound.

The modulated reverb is very classy, and I found myself drawn to playing lush chord progressions over and over as a result. Just beautiful.

The shimmer mode is intriguing. It adds a pitch effect to the end of the reverb, and it provides some very cool textures for chording work.

Video

Features

Hand crafted, computationally intense spring, plate and room algorithms
Normal, Mod and Shimmer modes for each algorithm
Super low noise, high performance 24-bit 96kHz A/D and D/A converters w/ 115dB typical signal to noise
Analog dry path for a zero latency dry signal that is never converted to digital
High performance DSP stuffed into a compact form factor
Favorite footswitch to save a favorite sound
Dedicated pre-delay control
High and Low damping controls for uber-flexible reverb tone shaping
Mod mode for a beautifully modulated spring, room or plate reverb
Shimmer mode for infinite pitch effects “in the tank”
TRUE BYPASS (electromechanical relay switching)
Selectable “trails” mode with high quality analog buffered bypass
+/- 3dB adjustable boost or cut when the effect is engaged
Stereo input and output
Powered with a standard 9V center negative DC supply. Compatible with all major DC supply brands. Current consumption 200mA
Premium analog front end and output section
No-nonsense user interface
Strong and lightweight sky blue anodized aluminum chassis
Crafted with love in the USA

Learn more about this unit at www.strymon.net/products/bluesky.

Practice Makes Perfect

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Practice Makes Perfect - My Personal Experience

Note: This is a "guest blog post" written by Alex Bonari, and Robert had nothing to do with the content of this post.

When I first started playing the guitar, I was so excited about being able to play my favorite songs and impressing friends and family, then reality set in. After the first lesson, I realized that this dream of whipping out my guitar and playing requests effortlessly was going to be tougher than I thought. The realization of how much practice it would take to get really good became more and more apparent with each session with my seasoned pro.

Teaching your hands to do two things at once

There is only one way to train your brain to do two totally different and extremely difficult things at once and that is to practice, practice and practice some more. Getting one hand to consistently work the neck of the guitar and transition strings into an myriad of chords all as the other hand keeps perfect rhythm, strumming fluidly, can only be achieved through consistent practice.

Calluses ARE your friends!

Another surprise was the pain! Many beginners don't think about having to use your soft fingertips on metal strings causing such soreness and tenderness. This is all part of building up calluses so you can play for long periods of time without stopping. The only way to get these coveted calluses? You guessed it, practicing regularly!

Turning frustrations into something fantastic

Of course, by the third lesson, after not getting my hands to cooperate, I was ready to throw my brand new guitar through a plate glass window. Instead, I pressed on and after a month was able to play a full song without one mistake, it was as if something clicked and my brain had finally caught on. Practicing guitar regularly, is unfortunately, the only way to improve as a player so you too can impress your friends and play like a rock star!

Bio: Alexis Bonari is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She is currently a resident blogger at onlinedegrees.org, researching areas of accredited online degrees. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.

Squier Classic Vibe Telecaster '50s

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Squier Classic Vibe Telecaster '50s

I recently purchased a Squier Classic Vibe Telecaster '50s, and ladies and gents, this is the real deal. I had a Squier '51 a few years ago, but unfortunately I sold it. I have missed it ever since - it was a very cool guitar. Fast forward. After recently trying the Classic Vibe Telecaster, I was hooked. I tried both the custom tele and the '50s Tele, and for that vintage tone I tend to seek, the '50s Tele won easily. However. the Custom sounds great too - it just has a more modern tone. Both these guitar are available for around $350 - $380 USD at most Fender dealers.

The has a body made of pine. Who would have thought a pine body guitar could sound this good? I am quite surprised over how good the tone is in this guitar, since it is a budget guitar. It's remarkable. I do think it sounds even better than the '51 I had.

My 50s Tele had a slight buzz on a couple of frets. After tightening the truss rod slightly and changing the stock strings to 10s, it's all good. The setup was good straight out of the box otherwise.

The vintage-tinted and glossy maple neck has a maple fingerboard with 21 medium-jumbo frets and a modern 9.5” radius. The neck is very comfortable. The only thing I would have wished for are slightly taller frets. That would make it easier to do bends.

For pickups, you get custom alnico III single-coil pickups, and boy, do they ever sound good. There is NO REASON to change these pickups - that's how great the sound. They have that clear, bell like tone, and all 3 pickup positions are all great sounding.

I find it's mainly a blues guitar for me. I have small fingers, and playing that fast country picking stuff is a little hard on it. It's probably because the frets are quite small. My older Indonesian Squier Standard Tele has frets that are a little bit taller, and also a thinner neck, so it is easier to play fast on. However, the tone in the Classic Vibe '50s Tele is far above the tone from the Indonesian-made Standard Tele.

This guitar is a winner! I will say that I found the Classic Vibe Custom Tele to be easier to play, but it did not sound as cool to me. By that I mean it does have the same vintage vibe sound. It has a more modern sound but it is still a very good guitar - it all depends on what tones you like.

In summary, this guitar is one of the best deals in recent times, and that goes for the Custom Tele too. I can not believe these sell for under $400, considering how well they are made and how great they sound. The Classic Vibe Stratocasters are nice too, and the Classic Vibe line also has the Thinline, Duo-Sonic and electric basses as well. All very worth a try, I would say!

Demo

Photos of my

It looks great with my tweed Fender Pro Junior!

Where to buy

$349.99 at Musician's Friend - Squier CLASSIC VIBE Telecaster 50s Electric Guitar
$349.99 at Guitar Center - Squier CLASSIC VIBE Telecaster 50s Electric Guitar
$349.99 at Zzounds Squier Classic Vibe 50s Telecaster Electric Guitar

Sinister 7 2010

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Sinister 7 2010

We had a great time in Crowsnest Pass this last weekend. Our team, completely unexpected, won the Sinister 7 relay! So what the heck is Sinister 7? Let me explain. Sinister 7 is a 146 kilometer ultra marathon race. The course takes the runners through the most rugged and beautiful terrain in Alberta's Rocky Mountains. Because the course has over 5,050m of elevation gain across the course, this race will punish those who have not done their home work. Racers have 27 hours to complete the course, and the relay is split in to 7 stages.

So, our team, Cool Running, finished first of the teams, and it was a complete surprise. We started out moderately quick, and were somewhere around 60th place after the first 2 stages. Then our marathon star Brendan ran the 33 km long stage 3, and when he handed over to me, we were in 5th spot. Yeah, Brendan is a monster runner! However, we were still 1:30 behind the leaders, and there was another team way ahead of us too. So, we were thinking that perhaps 3rd place could be a possibility.

I started chasing the two runners ahead of me, and it didn't take that long until I went by them. At the first water station, they said I was the first runner to come by. I was thinking, hmm, you must have just started your shift, since I know the two top teams went by here an hour and a half ago.

This was a long, hot and hard stage to run - 32 km in mountainous terrain. I struggled a bit at the end, and my feet were hurting from running over the hard rocks. When I finally saw the end of my stage, I was very happy to have it over with. As I passed the timing stick to the next runner, they announced me as the first runner to come in. It turns out that both the top two teams took the wrong turn at the first water station, and ended up running half of leg 3! Ouch. That meant a 50+ km run for them, and several hours added. This meant we were now in first place.

After all of us being a bit nervous during the next 3 stages, our last runner came into the finish in Blairmore in a comfortable lead, and we ended up WINNING the Sinister 7 by a margin of 20 minutes or so. It was so surprising, and it shows that when it comes to relay events, anything can happen. We received gift certificates and the team earned a $1,000 check for placing 1st. A good weekend, I tell you! By the way, Crowsnest Pass is a beautiful place to be at. Fantastic scenery. Go there.

Best Wah Pedal

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Best Wah Pedal

What is the best wah pedal on the market? Wah-wah pedals seem to never fall out of fashion. It is one of the first effects many guitar players end up buying, and there is doubt that Jimi Hendrix is a big reason for this.

A wah pedal is for sure a fun effect to have around. You can always find a way to fit in some whacka-whacka in a song! It's also a very expressive effect, if you learn how to use it well (hint: Jimi Hendrix...) and you can play both rhythm and lead playing with a wah pedal.

I have tried many, many wah pedals over the years. I have had Fulltone, Morley, Dunlop, etc, and I have also tested a large number of wah pedals in guitar stores.

I'm going to list some of the best wah pedals you can find. First though, here are a couple of video demos I did a while back. I really liked the EVH Wah, and the Clyde Deluxe is a pretty classic sounding wah too.

With a Michal Kelly Patriot Humbucker guitar

With a Suhr Classic

Which one is best? My personal choice is the Dunlop Original Crybaby Wah Pedal. Maybe that comes as a surprise - it is quite inexpensive compared to the boutique wah pedals. Well, the reason simple is - I like how it sounds, how it interacts with gain pedals, and the tone it produces. I have found that I prefer a shorter sweep on the wah pedal, because I don't have to move my foot up and down as much. As a result, I find it is easier to use the wah pedal - I just move my foot a little bit up and down, in order to create the type of wah effect I need. The Original Crybaby is the one to get!

Dunlop Original Crybaby Wah Pedal
Dunlop EVH95 Eddie Van Halen Signature Wah
Dunlop Crybaby 535Q
Keeley Modded Dunlop Crybaby With Mello Wah Mod
Budda BudWah
Fulltone Clyde
Fulltone Clyde Delux
Teese RMC Picture Wah
Vox Clyde McCoy
Vox V847
Vox V845
Rocktron Utopia Wah
Boss PW-10
Dunlop Standard Crybaby
Fulltone Clyde
Morley Bad Horsie 2
Morley Classic Wah
Area 51 Wah
Zakk Wylde Signature Wah
Snarling Dogs Wonder Wah
BBE The Wah
George Dennis GD45 FTB
Ernie Ball 6185 Wah
Digitech EX-7

Let me know which wah pedals you think belong on this list - just a comment here below. Also, have a look at the list of best fuzz pedals, best overdrive pedals and best distortion pedals.

Shopping for guitar gear?

For more great guitar gear, check out the good deals - Everything for Guitarists, at the Best Prices in Town! from Musicians' Friend. That's a great place to buy guitar gear from, and their prices are always as good as it gets.

Youtube comment of the month - June 2010

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Youtube comment of the month - June 2010

I do play pieces of crap from time to time, because I bought some very cheap guitars over the years for just a few quid. But am I really Slash? Hmm, I better wear different shoes when I make guitar demos?

Did you know that real blues men don't use their middle finger when playing? I may not really be a blues man, because I use all my six, uhh I mean five, fingers on my left hand when playing guitar.

real blues men only use their index and ring finger!

Posted on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eR1rRwRbTbc"

Nice try Slash but your shoes can't disguise for the guitar playing.

Posted on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAUvJjX_hkk

Let me go to A pawnshop and buy A piece of crap amp and give it to this guy and Ill bet he can plug in that guitar with the tone built into his fingertips and you will all want to go and buy it.But it does sound very good to me. Technology is gaining ground rapidly.

Posted on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dXNy68wPfQ

Blues guitar backing

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Blues guitar backing

Here is a good, fun blues backing track I recorded recently. This blues backing is not a shuffle - it has a straight groove. I called it Straight Fordish, since I thought it sounded a bit Robben Ford inspired. It is a fun track to jam along - download it and jam over it! It would be fun if you posted your take on this somewhere, and let me know about it.

Download the Straight Fordish Backing Track

I have also posted a bunch more backing tracks on my backing tracks page.

How is the guitar and bass sound? You know, I have discovered a very good way to get great tones for recording guitar and bass. Miking amps is hard to beat, once you get it right. But that's just it - getting it right. It is so much hassle to set up your amp, testing microphone placement, and all that. Takes forever, and often the result isn't quite what you wanted.

So the secret here is using amp modeling software. I have been using Line 6 Pod Farm 2 for a while now, and it impresses me to no end. The things you can do with it is mind blowing. There's a huge selection of amps, both for guitar and bass, as well as effects.

What I do, is record the tracks via the Pod Farm 2 plugin in Logic Express. This way, I record my tracks using the amps I think sound good. Now, the cool thing is, if I want to try some other guitar amps for the track, I don't have to re-record my guitars! I just open the plugin, select a different amp model, and voila - there's a whole new guitar sound. This is so useful for me, and I imagine it would be very useful for anyone. This way, after you have the guitar parts recorded correctly, you can experiment with the software until the cows come home - it doesn't affect what you played. Change effects, amps, eq, etc - you can be in the producer seat, so to speak, not having to worry about the actual guitar playing part.

You can read more about Pod Farm 2 on the Line 6 website. I think it is fantastic, and I highly recommend it.

What motivates people

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 00:00:01 GMT

What motivates people

I recently came across a really interesting video about the factors that motivate us. This video is a promotion for a book by the title "Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us."

What motivates you? According to studies mentioned in this video, engagement, autonomy and mastery are great motivators.

What is perhaps surprising for most of us is that for complex tasks that require cognitive skills (i.e., thinking), money is NOT a good motivator.

I can relate to this, and I am sure most of us can. We do best when we are engaged, have a degree of autonomy and a sense of mastery of the task at hand. How about we relate this to playing guitar! That is exactly what we are involved with as guitar players! The video even mentions playing guitar - I smiled when I noticed that.

I am not sure when this book is coming out, but I am buying it. It seems very interesting.

Fender Super-Sonic 22 watt amp

Sat, 26 Jun 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Fender Super-Sonic 22

The new Fender Super-Sonic 22 is a new interesting amp, coming in July 2010. It's part of the Pro Tube series amps, and along with the Super-Sonic 22, there's also the Super-Sonic 60 Combo, Super-Sonic 60 Head and Super-Sonic 212 Enclosure.

I have played the earlier 60 watt combo, and I really liked the tone from it. I think it is a good move by Fender to provide a 22 watt combo version, since there's a lot of players who prefer amps with less power than 60 watts.

The Super-Sonic idea is to produce the legendary Fender clean and overdriven tones, but in addition, also provide more modern high-gain distortion, all in one amp.

If you like the Deluxe Reverb amp (I certainly do), you will probably like the feel and sound from this versatile combo. The “Vintage” channel provides that classic Fender tone, whereas the “Burn” channel gives you the ability to go between a gritty overdrive to aggressive distortion.

The amp has an Accutronics reverb, and it is the same design as the long-spring tank in the '65 Deluxe Reverb.

The 1x12” Super-Sonic 22 comes in either classic Black/Silver or the 1961 Blonde/Oxblood design. The amp has the cool looking ivory “radio” knobs and that stylish 1960s script logo.

The reports I've heard so far are very positive. The Fender Super-Sonic 22 satisfies the need for classic, clean Fender tones. Thick and dynamic tone and manageable volumes. Kick in the Burn channel, and you get a rich gain - enough to cover most blues, rock, and country needs. You can even get hard rock tones out of this amp. It's a versatile amp that would work excellent for a gigging musician, and it takes pedals very well.

Line 6 Pod Farm 2 for killer guitar sounds

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Line 6 Pod Farm 2 - killer guitar sounds

Getting a good recorded guitar tone can be difficult. I should know. I have messed around quite a bit with micing my amps the last few years, and it's been very educational but also quite frustrating, to be honest. I never knew it could be so difficult!

There is, however, an easier way to get good guitar tone. All you need is a Line 6 audio interface, such as the POD Studio, and the Pod Farm software. Now, the big news is that Line 6 has recently released POD Farm 2 - a very nice upgrade to original software package.

I am going to be honest here. For all my backing tracks and lesson recordings - I only use Pod Farm 2. The reason is because it is EXTREMELY flexible and simple to use, and it sounds VERY GOOD. I have asked many pro musicians for feedback on clips I have recorded with Pod Farm 2, and guess what? Most of them ask me what amp I was using, since the guitars sound so good. When I tell them I used Line 6 POD Farm 2, they have trouble believing it. It's like it's too good to be true, or something.

Perhaps some people are thinking that modeling technology and software for creating guitar tones is a bad thing. Perhaps they think a realistic and good guitar tone can't be had this way. Well, I would say they are wrong! The sound quality from POD Farm 2 is in my opinion stunning, if you think about how cheap this stuff is. Instead of buying dozens of boutique amps, you have all these sounds and a lot more in POD Farm 2.

So what can POD Farm 2 do then? Well, I don't know where to start. One really cool thing I want to mention right away is that you can record your guitar track with a certain model, and then later change it to something else. This is very useful. I might record a rhythm guitar with an AC30 amp model, but then later when I listen back to the finished track, I don't like how that guitar tone sounds in the mix. I just go into the Pod Farm 2 plugin in my recording software and try something else, perhaps a Fender Deluxe Reverb. Instant changes, and I don't have to re-record the track! I just love this feature. As long as you played your guitar track as you want it to be played, you can sit and experiment with amp models, effect models, cabinets, etc. The amount to which you can customize and combine all these things is mind blowing. This feature of recording once and changing sounds later is a life/time saver for me. I can never complain about not getting the right sound anymore, since the tonal options with Pod Farm 2 are endless. The only problem is it is so much fun to keep trying new guitar tones, that it becomes hard to decide!

So overall, you get an arsenal of historic amps and effects, for both bass and guitar. There are plenty of vintage and modern amps, cabs, studio-standard effects, classic stompboxes and colorful preamps. I personally have POD Farm 2 Platinum, which provides a comprehensive collection of more than 250 models. Lots of fun can be had here! I really like the Marshall amp models. They sound fat and rich. The Vox AC30 is another model I find myself using often, because it sounds so realistic (and I can't afford a real AC30...).

The POD Farm 2 interface has a carousel-style gear browser that puts every model at the front of the user interface. You can easily pick amp models and effects by dragging and dropping them into the signal flow to find the sound you want. It's so simple to rearrange the routing of the signal. Want the distortion before the phaser? Just drag and drop to rearrange, and the changes are instant. You can arrange any thing you choose the same way, whether it's an amp model, effect, preamp, or whatever.

Another cool feature is the ability to split your guitar signal and create two separate and simultaneous amp and effect signal chains. You can create a very big sound by placing (up to) 10 effects models per chain. You can do this in any order, before or after your amp and cab models. You can even add post-cabinet mic preamps! Both chains can then be controlled by the virtual A/B/Y box. Very slick indeed.

I want to share with you this backing track I created with POD Farm 2. Both the electric bass and the electric guitar were recorded with POD Farm 2. I used Ez Drummer for drums. Have a listen - would you think the guitar and bass were recorded with software modeling? I will post more examples in the future of how nice sounds can be had from POD Farm 2, including high gain stuff of course!

Straight Fordish using a Suhr Classic
Slow Blues in A (70 bpm) using a Hagstrom Swede

Have a closer look at the Line 6 POD Farm 2 over at the Line 6 site. If you already have the first version of POD Farm 2, I definitely recommend the upgrade, because the user interface is better now - more flexible and quicker to get going with.

Youtube comment of the month - May 2010

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Youtube comment of the month - May 2010

Do you have to almost blow the tube amp in order to get a good tone? That's was asked of me in May. Blow your tube amp? I think that would give you no tone at all?

In my video with the title being Michael Kelly Patriot Shadow, someone asked what guitar it is. Could it be a Shecter?

im prty new with this "tube amp" thing, is it true that i have to almost blow the tube amp to get some good sound from it? cuz if its so i cant buy it.

From http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SriHvaztzAU - don't blow your tube amp, my friend!

What kind of guitar is that? It looks like the Shecter Solo-6, but it's not.

From http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRXQg7ZQ79w. Well, it ain't a Shecter, I can tell you that! :)

Jaywalkers Jamboree 2010

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Jaywalkers Jamboree 2010

I had a great weekend. On Friday and Saturday, I played at the 53rd Annual Jaywalkers Jamboree here in Camrose. This event is one of Alberta's longest running annual street carnivals/festivals. It was fun to play some blues again, on live stage. Myra, Al, Brandon and I played for about an hour on Friday, and we even had a small crowd for the whole set. The weather was really hot on Saturday, and a bit cooler on Friday with mosquitoes chewing on me.

For this gig, I brought my Suhr Classic and my Mack Heatseeker. The pedals I used the most were the Rc Booster, Maxon SD-9 and the Line 6 M9. I got a wicked good tone through my Avatar 2x12 cabinet.

Here is a tip for you. If you want a great tone, the kind of tone where you can really hit the strings hard on a Strat and get that woody, rich tone, you need to have HIGH action. It's definitely harder to play the guitar this way, but you won't get string buzzing issues. If you don't have a high action, you'll have hit your strings carefully, or else you get that annoying raspy buzz happening. I am mentioning this because that's what I did for this gig. I raised the action by quite a bit, and my tone was incredibly good, even when I pulled on and hit the strings hard.

On the Saturday, Myra and I did an acoustic set, under our duo name, Fundamental Things. We played softer music, but even a couple of blues tunes snuck in there. I used my old SX acoustic, which still has the original strings on! I know, that is lame - to not change strings after several years! Well, I guess I just don't end up playing acoustic very much, so I've never really worried about changing strings.

I also used my Line 6 Relay G30 wireless unit for the first time in a live situation, and it was fun. I walked into the audience at one point during a song, because our little 6 year-old daughter was watching me play. As I walked over to her, she had a million things to tell me, not realizing I was actually still playing with the band! It probably didn't look like it to her. The G30 Relay is a killer unit, sounds incredibly good and it's reliable. Highly recommended.

Some Photos From Saturday

Guitar instruction book

Thu, 03 Jun 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Guitar instruction book

There are a myriad of guitar instructions books on the market, and I certainly know how hard it can be to pick which one to buy. I have bought and read many, many guitar instruction books, and today I want to mention one book that I find very useful for learning guitar in a structured manner.

The book is called Foundations For Guitar and is written by Mark Wein. Mark is a guitar teacher in Orange County, California, and he has many years of experience teaching and playing guitar.

This 96 page guitar instruction book starts by covering posture, instrument mechanics and basic explanations of theory. The book then progresses very quickly into actually playing guitar, with clear instruction.

This book has the beginning player strumming open position Major chords and also picking notes on the top 3 strings. There's good coverage of both right hand and left hand technique mixed in.

As a guitar teacher myself, I find this book has a good mix of theory, practice, examples and exercises. I particularly like that Mark constantly emphasizes playing in time. That is a topic many forget. Furthermore, the note reading sections with exercises are very good and useful. Note reading is an important skill which all musicians should learn at an early stage. This book gets you going on this right away.

So, there you have it - a book that provides just what it promises - it gives you the foundations for playing guitar. It's a book that you probably won't finish in a week or two, and that's a good thing. I think you will have good use for it for a long time, as it provides both thorough knowledge and good exercises. You can also visit Mark Wein's website for more materials. He posts video lessons regularly, and he has an active forums as well.

Description

Foundations for Guitar is a modern method for learning to play the guitar. Beginning and Intermediate guitarists will learn "foundation skills" that are usable in all styles of music. Topics covered include: Music Theory Rhythm Theory Note Reading Single Note Guitar Skills Open Chords Power Chords Barre Chords Partial and other movable chord shapes 7th and 9th Chords Chart reading Rhythm Guitar Strumming in Eighth and Sixteenth Note Rhythms Arpeggiated or "Broken" Chords Alternate Picking.

You can buy the book from Amazon.

Book Preview at Google Books

You can also get a preview of this book at Foundations For Guitar - Google Books

Fender Pro Junior and Classic Vibe Telecaster

Mon, 31 May 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Fender Pro Junior and Classic Vibe Telecaster

I tested some inexpensive but great sounding guitar gear on the weekend. I drove down to Calgary for the Calgary Marathon weekend, where I ran the half-marathon and placed 1st in the Master category. That was fun! My fastest half marathon in over 10 years.

After the race, I went to Axe Music, where I tried the Fender Pro Junior and the Blues Junior. I also tried a Squier Classic Vibe 50s pine tele, as well as the sunburst alder model.

My impressions - good grief, what a good sounding amp the Pro Junior (PJ) is! To me, it sounded way better than the the Blues Junior (BJ). Sure, the BJ has more options for tonal "enhancements", but the tone from the PJ is much more glassy, and dynamic. Simply, better sounding. To my ears, it's not only slightly better tone - it is MUCH better tone. Use some good pedals with the PJ, mic it up and you have a killer rig.

I have tried so many tube amps over the years, and I've never been this impressed by a low powered tube amp before. I just have to go buy one now!

The Classic Vibe 50s Telecaster is also something else. It is oozing with quality, and the TONE! Incredible, from a 300 something dollars guitar. The sunburst model DID NOT sound as good to my ears, although it was not very far off. Definitely also a great guitar, but my number one pick of the guitars I tried yesterday is hands down the Classic Vibe 50's Tele.

Get the Classic Vibe Tele from Musician's Friend

Half marathons

Sun, 23 May 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Half marathons

Today, I ran a half-marathon (13.1 miles or 21.1 km) in Red Deer, Alberta. I placed 3rd overall, with the time 1:15:21.

Two weeks ago, I ran Vancouver half-marathon in 1:15:23 and was first Masters runner.

I enjoy half-marathons, because they are hard but not too hard. It's a distance I can race pretty hard the whole way, and usually I recover fairly well too. I'm an experienced racer, and this distance seems to suit me well, since I have some speed, and I have some endurance.

Marathons have never worked well for me. I guess either I've never trained properly for marathons, or I'm just not designed for racing that far. I tend to hit the wall after 30 - 35 kilometres, and the rest is just a struggle. This never happens for me in half-marathons.

Nevertheless, I have decided to try Edmonton Marathon this year. I am going to try and train a little harder/more this time, to see if I can go under 2:40 this time. I should be able to.

Next up is Calgary Half-Marathon, where I definitely want to go under 1:15. It is a flat and fast course, so I really think I can dip under that goal time by a bit. We'll see next week!

New electric hollow body guitar

Fri, 21 May 2010 00:00:01 GMT

New electric hollow body guitar

I just received my new electric hollow body guitar - a Hagstrom Viking. First thing I did was to take a few photos so you can see what it looks like. It looks very classy.

I then took it for a short test drive with my Marshall JVM 100 watt head. I set the amp to clean, semi-clean, dirty, distorted and super-distorted. The guitar sounds great on ALL of these settings! Impressive. I played only at low volume, so I don't know yet about possible feedback problems when play loud.

I've wanted an electric hollow body guitar for a long time now, and when I found out they were blowing these guitars out, I figured this would be a good time to get one of these.

I have played Hagstrom Vikings before. A friend of mine has one, and I once I borrowed a Viking for a gig. I've always liked how they feel and how they sound.

Have a look at the pictures - isn't it beautiful? I am very happy with it so far.

The Hagstrom Viking is extremely versatile. I can use it in many different ways, since it sounds great clean AND distorted. I have a feeling I will be using this guitar on a lot of future blues gigs - it is a perfect guitar for that!

Videos will of course come - just give a few days to get something together.

Contest Winner - Line 6 Relay G30 Digital Wireless

Thu, 20 May 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Dolphinstreet Line 6 G30 Relay Winner

We have a winner! A lot of submissions were received, and the contest was a success. Hopefully, there will be more contests like this coming in the future. Thanks everone who entered.

I would like to congratulate the winner,
K. Amrhein - may your cable-less freedom take you far!

Personally, I find the Line 6 Relay G30 Digital Wireless Guitar System very exciting, and very good. It's an important part of my rig now, and I use it for any and every gig I do. Do check it out if you have a chance - I think you will be impressed.

Get a G30 from Musician's Friend

Line 6 Relay G30 Digital Wireless Guitar System

Apogee Duet Review

Fri, 14 May 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Apogee Duet Review

After having been using an old USB audio interface for a few years, I started realizing my weakest link in my recording chain was my audio interface. After doing some research, I decided on the Apogee Duet.

The Apogee Duet is a small, bus-powered, FireWire 400 2-channel audio interface designed purely for Mac computers. It is incompatible with Windows PC. If you are not a Mac user, you can stop reading now.

The Duet can simultaneously record and play two channels of up to 24-bit, 96 kHz audio, and Logic Pro, Soundtrack Pro, and GarageBand all have direct support for the Apogee Duet.

The Apogee Duet is designed to connect to a MacBook or MacBook Pro. It certainly looks like an Apple product, with a sleek design; aluminum casing and rounded corners. It is actually a lot smaller than I envisioned.

Features

Two channels of Apogee D/A and A/D.
Stereo Headphone output and I/O LED metering.
Stereo XLR Inputs, 1/4"Instrument Inputs, 1/4" Outputs to speakers.
+48V for mics that need Phantom Power.
Powered/connected by an included FireWire 400 cable.
Large rotary knob controls both output volume and mic preamp levels, as well as muting function.
Two Channels of Apogee mic preamps with +48V phantom power, phase reversal and up to +75dB of gain.
Works with Apple computers only at 44.1, 48 and 96kHz sample rates

The tests I have done with Logic Express and my guitar gear have shown me, without doubt, how much better the Apogee Duet really is, compared to my old USB audio interface. In fact, everything sounds better - even just listening to songs on iTunes! The analog to digital conversion is astounding. Only when I heard it, did I realize what I've been missing out on. Now my guitar amps really come to life, when I use my Shure Sm57 and Golden Age Project Pre-73 mic preamp. However, the mic preamps built in to the Duet are really good too - you will be able to create really good results without having to buy an external mic preamp.

A closer look

On the front panel, we have a quarter inch headphone jack and a pair of LEDs for indicating whether phantom power is active or no. On the rear panel, we have the FireWire 400 port and a DB15 connector, connected to a breakout cable. The breakout cable provides six jacks on separate 18-inch cables - two balanced XLR mic/line inputs, two unbalanced quarter-inch high-impedance inputs, and two unbalanced -10 dBV quarter inch line outputs.

The Apogee Duet has a very elegant and simple design. The largest control you find is the large, rotating aluminum knob. Everything is controlled from this one knob. Pressing down on the knob lets you scroll between the list of devices you can control.

Maestro

The software Maestro is a simple configuration program, which you use to set up your preference on the Apogee Duet. The mixer page enables low-latency monitoring, and you can select 48V phantom power and phase inversion with the Maestro software. Maestro is very easy to understand and use, and it makes great sense once you start using it.

Summary

The Apogee Duet is a really good product, and the sound quality is nothing but excellent. It is very easy to use, and it comes in a small, affordable package. I have to say - I love it. I give the Apogee a hearty recommendation and for those looking for an affordable quality audio interface for their Mac - the Apogee Duet is one of the best you can find.

Buy the Apogee Duet FireWire Interface from Musicians Friend

The Duet is a 2-channel FireWire audio interface that features the amazing sound quality that made Apogee Electronics famous. With control functions built directly into Apple's Logic Pro, Soundtrack Pro and GarageBand software, Duet empowers you to create professional recordings effortlessly on your Mac. With Duet, you can plug in guitars, keyboards, and microphones to record your music, or simply experience how much better your favorite tracks in iTunes sound. The Duet is compact and powered by FireWire, so you can pack up your studio and go anywhere your music takes you.

Bugera V22

Thu, 13 May 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Bugera V22

Bugera is creating some buzz with their line of amps, especially the 333 and the V22 models. A friend of mine bought the Bugera V22, and he is very impressed and happy with it. I can understand why. Very appealing price point, great tones and lots of flexibility. It's hard to not like that!

The Bugera V22 is a 1x12 Tube Combo Amp and its 22 watts makes it a good choice for practice, home recording, or smaller club gigs. The 2 EL84 power tubes gives the amp a nice, fat tone, with a little bit of early breakup without having to crank the amp all the way up. The preamp section has three 12ax7 tubes.

This amp has a Mode switch for switching between Pentode and Triode operation. In Triode mode, the amp behaves as a tube amp with less power, which means you get a different sound. Very interesting and impressive that an inexpensive amp comes with this option.

There are 2 channels on the Bugera V22 - clean and lead. You also get 2 inputs - Bright and Normal. The V22 has knobs for Bass, Mid and Treble, as well as a Presence control.

The speaker in the Bugera V22 is a 12 inch speaker, and you can also hook up an external cabinet if you want. The V22 has an impedance switch for adjusting it to 4, 8 or 16 ohm configurations.

With this amp, you also get a built-in digital reverb, and it's a reliable, good sounding reverb.

Included with the V22 is also a sturdy footswitch, for switching between channels and turning the reverb on and off.

The Bugera V22 is definitely worth a closer look. For those looking for a small and great sounding tube combo at an affordable price, this amp is a strong contender.

Youtube comment of the month - April 2010

Wed, 12 May 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Youtube comment of the month - April 2010

April didn't have too many hilarious comments, for some reason. I got some nasty ones, but I am not posting those in public... although I probably deserve them, due to the poor playing on certain videos of mine!

The first one is from someone liking my Hendrix influences. The second one is from someone who liked our blues jam at Scalliwags.

Hendrix powa !!

From http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ft6hSqMDnQw

Yeah, that was so cool! I loved your playing Robert, it's like blues flows in your veins :) Your friend on vocals has a great voice for such music.

From http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6zJF2UUr4E

Ordered a Marshall Class 5

Sun, 09 May 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Ordered a Marshall Class 5

Well, after reading about this amp, and more specifically, the comments about this amp in the online guitar communities, G.A.S struck me again. This 5 watt combo is getting rave reviews, and I'm really dying to try one out.

Not sure when I will receive mine - it could be a few weeks out still. When I get it, I will for sure deliver some demos for you.

The Marshall Class 5 is made in the UK. It is a five-watt, class A, all-valve combo with a very simple design, and with huge tone. It's powered by a two ECC83s in the preamp stage and on EL84 power tube. It has a 10 inch speaker.

Reports say this little combo sounds very old school, like the old Marshall Plexi amps. Now that's what is watering my mouth. That type of Marshall tone is the sound I love to play with. Since it's not that expensive and it's small, I'm thinking this amp could be perfect for my smaller gigs. It's still probably quite loud for 5 watts, from what I've heard.

It looks awesome too, I think!

How does it sound?

Marshall Haze 40 sounds great

Sat, 01 May 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Marshall Haze 40 sounds great

Today I met up with Don, a friend from thefret.net, and we ended up at a music store, not surprising. I tested a couple of guitars and amps. What really stood out was the Marshall Haze 40. It sounds great! What an inspiring amp. Both clean and dirty tones were rich sounding, even at low volumes. This amp is definitely worth checking out. I love it.

I also tried the Marshall MA amp, but I didn't like it much. Flat sounding.

The Vintage Modern is also a great sounding Marshall amp, if you dial it in right. Unfortunately, that means you'll have to turn it up quite a bit, and then we're talking LOUD.

I have to say, I am still very, very happy with my Marshal JVM 100 watt head. It is an amazing amp, and I think I'll keep it for a long, long time.

One amp I might buy in the future is a Fender Pro Junior, since I really like the way this amp sounds. Just a great, small combo. It sounds much better than the Blues Junior, I think, although the Blues Junior can sound great too, especially after some mods.

Going to Vancouver

Wed, 28 Apr 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Going to Vancouver

I'm heading out to Vancouver tomorrow morning with the whole family. We are going to see our oldest daughter, and also to run the half-marathon there on Sunday, well, 3 of us are. The littlest one will be running a 1.6 kilometre run!

I am actually listed as an Elite runner! Kind of strange in a way, but now since I've turned 40, I am placing much higher in my age category than I used to! Check out my bio on Elite Bios on Vancouver Marathon website.

I have never been to Vancouver before. Perhaps I can find some interesting guitar stores to check out while I'm there. If you know of any good guitar stores I should go to, let me know!

I'm hoping I will have time to meet up with some guitar friends online as well. I have a few days of just hanging around, and I'm looking forward to it. I'll bring my camera too - I like photographing when going somewhere.

Free online drum machine

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Free online drum machine

In case you need a simple to use drum machine for your computer, check out this online drum machine. It is a basic but fun little drum machine built with Flash.

It's great for those moments when all you need is a simple groove to practice to, or perhaps for trying out a song idea.

You can't do very advanced things with it, of course, but I like it still. It's completely free, so why don't you give it a try? Let me know what think of it.

You might also want to have a look this Java based Monkey Machine, although I don't like this one nearly as much. You try it too and let me know your thoughts.

Here is a drum machine designed after the legendary Roland TR-909. This one is pretty cool too!

The TR909 drum machine website also lead me to http://www.audiotool.com/ and boy, there's some advanced stuff here! Drum machine, synths, effects, mixer, etc - all sort of advanced studio toys - playing right in your web browser! Warning - this could keep you busy for a while... enjoy!

Guitar Pro 6 Review

Sun, 25 Apr 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Guitar Pro 6 Review

I am very happy to see a new version of Guitar Pro being released. I have been using Guitar Pro 5 for about a year now, and it has been very useful for teaching. It's great to be able to enter notes easily by clicking the virtual fretboard, and instantly be able to hear what it sounds like. For teaching, this has been a real time saver for me. However, over time, I have also discovered some issues and quirks, but the new version has dealt admirable with these.

I am a Mac user, and with GP5, only a single document could be open at a time. Closing the document would also shut down the whole program. The Virtual Fretboard had a major bug on the Mac - it wouldn't display properly at all. The most annoying thing was how the feature for notation correction worked. If you entered the wrong time values for notation, the correction feature would sometimes screw up royally, making the score look something like a message from a Marsian. Since writing notation is one of my weak spots, this has been very frustrating and annoying for me.

Now, Guitar Pro 6 has more or less removed, or solved, all these problems. I have only been using Guitar Pro 6 for a few days, but my impression is that everything works much better and makes much more sense than before. It doesn't crash as easily as the previous version either. The development team have taken a promising piece of software and turned it in to something solid and much more professional.

One minor complaint - it took several hours to get all the plugins and sounds downloaded. Their server must have been slow at that time, but it should have been quicker to get everything installed.

The user interface has gotten a big overhaul, and it is much, much better than before. You can have multiple documents open, and there is a new toolbar, which makes is much more convenient to use the program. It is much easier to enter notes, and the sounds are so much better.

Guitar Pro 6 now has Full Realistic Sound Engine (RSE) for non-rock band instruments (grand piano, strings, and so on.) You can also have multi-track lyrics, which can be handy.

There are also post-production sound features such as attack, and there is also a keyboard shortcut for making notes have longer duration - this can be very handy!

Do check out all the features at the Guitar Pro website - it's all explained there much better than I've done here.

Overall, the new Guitar Pro 6 is much easier to use, quicker to write notation and Tab with. The sound is much better too, with more realistic instruments. I definitely recommend Guitar Pro 6. It is not a small upgrade from version 5 - it is like a whole new program, and very much worth the cost.

You can try Guitar Pro 6 for free by clicking the banner below. The main limitation of the free trial is that you can't save files or open files outside of those provided in the download.

Macbook Pro battery problem

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Macbook pro battery problem

My MacBook Pro battery blew up. Kind of. See for yourself - it sure doesn't look too healthy, does it?

I have had my Macbook Pro (MBP) for over 2 years (2008-2010) and I have loved it the whole time. In fact, I still do. However, what I obviously failed to realize, is that the battery on a MacBook Pro (I assume the same goes for other brands too) doesn't last forever. A few months ago, my MBP started sounding a bit strange, and when the battery charge was down to 20% or so, it would just automatically shut off. Within a few days, this started happening at 35% charge, so I assumed the battery was not healthy.

I contacted Apple, and they asked me to check how many recharge cycles my MBP has. Turns out mine had 442 recharge cycles. The lady on the phone said "oh... that's a lot". I said really, is it? I've had it for over 2 years, and it is a laptop, after all. She said, "we always recommend leaving your MBP plugged in as ofter as possible. Warranty only covers 300 recharge cycles, so I don't believe you will be covered by warrant, since you have so many recharge cycles in only 2 years. However, I will connect you to sales person and they can take it from here. Needless to say, I was screwed on the warranty. The sales guys politely and apologetically said they will not be able to provide me with a replacement battery for free, but they could send out a new battery right away for $150.

Well, I realize a battery doesn't last forever, but I never felt informed about how long the battery would last, and I never really thought about it. I think Apple should have a big sticker on the box, or more prominent info somewhere about how to make the most out of the battery life. If I had been smarter or been informed about how many charge recycles the battery could handle, I would have plugged it in more often.

Macbook Pro Battery Explodes

I was typing on my Macbook Pro one day, and it was so wobbly. I thought the wobbliness was because of some cables and other stuff I had placed the laptop on top of. So, I took all stuff off the table. Still wobbly! I thought, uh oh, what's going on? I looked under the laptop, and I see a HUGE bulg where the battery is located. It looks like it's about to explode! Well, it didn't. I carefully disconnected the battery, and everything looked okay where the battery had been attached on my MBP. No leaks or damage there. However, the battery itself didn't look that great! Or what do you think?

Needless to say, I bought a new battery and all is now good. Now, I'm almost afraid to disconnect the power cord! Funny how one's perspective changes so fast... I am sure I will get more than 2 years out of this 2nd battery, now that I know what to expect.

Look at what the macbook pro battery looks like in July 2010 - only 3 months later.

How to check how many times your battery has been charged

Open Apple System Profiler (Choose About this Mac from the Apple menu and then click on the More Info button).
Click Power in the Contents list.
Cycle Count is listed under the Battery Information section.

Notes

A properly maintained Apple notebook battery is designed to retain up to 80 percent of its original capacity after 300 full charge and discharge cycles.

A charge cycle means using all of the battery’s power, but that doesn’t necessarily mean a single charge. For instance, you could use your notebook for an hour or more one day, using half its power, and then recharge it fully. If you did the same thing the next day, it would count as one charge cycle, not two, so you may take several days to complete a cycle.

Handheld digital recorders

Thu, 15 Apr 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Handheld digital recorders

It's both fun and useful to record your practice sessions and gigs, and these days it's not that hard to get good results, if you have a digital handheld recorder. Considering the price point and variety of handheld digital recorders currently available, you don't have a lot of excuse to not be recording. These handy little recorders provide you with high quality audio, and the recordings can also easily be transferred to your computer. There are a lot of products available on the market, and all of them provide good audio results. They differ mainly in number of features and options, like input and output jack configurations, file formats and sizes, etc.

Below I have listed a few of the good recorders I know of. I haven't tested them all personally, but I have sources who have confirmed the quality of these products, and I honestly don't think you can go wrong with any of these. You can click on the product to be taken to a product page where you can read more details and reviews for each. If you get one or have one of these, let me know how you like it!

Sony PCM-M10

Sony PCM-M10 Portable Digital Recorder Glossy Red

This is the smallest addition to Sony's family of portable audio recorders - the PCM-M10 portable recorder. It is a palm-sized compact recording unit designed to be the perfect musician's tool for composing music, recording voice, instruments, practice sessions, and performances—even for use as a personal music player.

The PCM-M10 is designed to faithfully capture even the most subtle nuances of live performances and events. It is conveniently small in size but packs in many beneficial features: a five-second pre-record buffer, WAV and MP3 format record and play, USB port for easy uploads and downloads, Digital Pitch Control, and a MicroSD/Memory Stick Micro slot. Providing 24-bit/96kHz recording, a 4 GB built-in flash memory, user-friendly operation, and electret condenser stereo microphones, the PCM-M10 hand-held recorder is the ideal choice for making live musical, nature sounds, and field recordings.

Key features of the Sony PCM-M10 recorder include a built-in speaker, cross-memory recording, digital pitch control, digital limiter, low-cut filter, track mark functions, a 5-second pre-recording buffer and A-B repeat capability. The PCM-M10 comes supplied with Sound Forge Audio Studio Recorder Edition software.The portable recorder includes a USB high-speed port for simple uploading and downloading of native WAV or MP3 format recorded files to and from Windows PC or Macintosh computers. The M10 offers durable metal construction and long battery life using conventional AA alkaline batteries.

Tascam DR-2d

TASCAM DR-2d Portable Digital Recorder Black

TASCAM's DR-2d Portable Digital Recorder brings high-resolution recording to a compact, affordable package. It offers up to 96kHz/24-bit WAV or MP3 recording to SD cards, and recordings can be transferred to computer through high-speed USB 2.0. A new dual recording feature records a copy of your audio at a lower level, so if the level suddenly jumps you have a backup instead of a distorted performance.

Record using the new built-in condenser microphones or plug in your own. You can slow down recordings without changing the pitch, and there's even a metronome and built-in speaker. The DR-2d provides hours of recording time using a pair of AA batteries. making it the perfect partner for songwriting, live performance, rehearsal or home studio recording.

Built-in stereo condenser microphones
Dual recording function records a copy of your audio at a lower level, so you always have a backup in case of overload
Up to 96kHz/24-bit WAV recording or MP3 recording modes
Records to SD or SDHC cards
Internal effects including reverb
Auto-recording function
Limiter, low cut filter and auto gain control for input
Metronome
Variable Speed Audition
Loop playback mode
USB 2.0 connection for file transfer
1/8" stereo microphone input
1/8" stereo line input
1/8" stereo headphone output
128x64 backlit LCD display
Powered by two AA batteries or optional PS-P520
Built-in speaker
Includes wireless remote control, 2GB SD card, AA batteries and carrying pouch

Edirol R-09 Handheld Recorder

Edirol R-09HR 24-bit/96KHz WAV/MP3 Recorder

Building on the success of the R-1, the R-09 takes many of the most desired features - 24-bit uncompressed recording and a built-in stereo mic - and shrinks it all down into a more streamlined, stylish, and affordable package.
Key Features

24-bit/48kHz (or 44.1kHz) linear PCM recording
Ultra portable, half the size of the R-1
Up to 320 kbps MP3 recording
Records to SD card
Isolated Adaptive Recording Circuit (I.A.R.C.)
High-grade stereo condenser microphone built in
Mic and Line audio inputs
High speed file transfer via USB 2.0 connection to computer
Easy operation, user-friendly graphic display
Time & date stamp
Long battery life (4 hour recording with 2 AA batteries)

Olympus LS-10 Linear PCM Recorder

The Olympus LS-10 Recorder brings you high-fidelity sound recording that's ideal for everything from live music to the singing of birds. The LS-10 delivers unparalleled sound quality, anytime, anywhere because it combines the advanced technologies derived from Olympus' decades of experience in the recording field. 24-bit/96kHz Linear PCM Recording - the LS-10 will let you capture it all exactly as you hear it. Up to 12 Hours of Recording Capability — 2GB Built-in Memory and SD Slot The 2GB built-in flash memory assures immediate recording, while the SD slot allows for expanded capacity. Long battery life allows you to record music, performances or lectures up to 12 hours with two AA batteries, so you can spend less time worrying about recharging or replacing batteries.

Three Recording Formats: WAV, MP3, and WMA The LS-10 Linear PCM Recorder makes it easy to record audio and play back the files in the format of your choice. With three compatible file formats, the Olympus LS-10 offers impressive versatility and enables longer recording capacity.

Zoom H2

Simplicity is a beautiful thing. It's a simple idea: provide brilliant stereo recording in an easy-to-use, ultra-portable device. Now everyone can record pristine audio in an infinite variety of applications. From seminars and conferences, to electronic news gathering (ENG) and podcasting, to musical performances, songwriting sessions and rehearsals, the H2 provides amazing recording quality. And no matter what kind of music you perform or the instrument you play, the H2 can effortlessly record it in high-quality stereo.
Features:

W-XY mic patterns with 4 mic capsules and signal processing allows Front 90 cardioid, Rear 120 cardioid and 360 polar patterns
Built-in USB 2.0 interface
Records in WAV 96kHz/48kHz/44.1kHz at 16-bit or 24-bit, MP3 to 320kbps and Variable Bit Rate (VBR) data formats
Time Stamp and Track Marker functions in Broadcast WAV Format (BWF)
512MB SD memory card included
Accommodates up to 16GB SD memory cards
Auto Gain Control (AGC) for pristine recordings
Auto Start function means you're always ready to record
Low-cut filter eliminates wind noise
On-board chromatic Guitar/Bass tuner

Harmony Central Total Disaster

Mon, 12 Apr 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Harmony Central Total Disaster?

After Harmony Central recently upgraded their website, the main reaction seems to be a very negative one. Total disaster, a joke, a terrible blow to members, useless, stupid, extremely disappointing - well these are some of the reactions I've seen on the forums there. In other words, a huge outcry from members against the sudden change.

I guess Harmony Central decided to completely change how their whole website was being managed (upgrade / downgrade - you decide). Forums, reviews, news, etc - the whole enchilada has been replaced by a completely new system.

The main problem is that it is confusing to use the website. The behavior and functionality is so different from what members are used to, and frustration follows. Since a majority seem to feel this is a huge downgrade, they are demanding that the old website gets put back.

I doubt a complete reversion will happen though. They had issues with the old format, and they have probably invested a lot of money into the new site, so what I imagine they will do is to try and "repair/improve" - keep fixing and apply the band aid treatment until the members accept it (or leave).

It is quite likely that some Harmony Central members will leave the site for good - at least that's what many are saying they will do unless the website gets a lot better very soon. If they do, I have a recommendation.

Become a member of TheFret.Net - the greatest guitar forum on the Net!

TheFret.Net is a fairly small guitar forum, but it has great, friendly, knowledgable members, and it's a place where everyone is treated with respect. If you aren't already a member here, come join us. I think you will enjoy the friendly atmosphere and the good information available.

I do wish Harmony Central all the best in their efforts. Sometimes things will have to change, but I do think they could have managed this change a lot better than what they did. Oh well, I bet the website management team are learning some valuable lessons right now! Sometimes you learn the hard way.

Youtube comment of the month - March 2010

Sat, 10 Apr 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Youtube comment of the month - March 2010

Time for some positive comments. I do not only get weird comments... in fact most comments are very encouraging. Thanks everyone who support what I do.

In fact, I get so many comments on my videos, that I don't have enough time to respond to them all. If you are one of those commenters I have not replied to, rest assured I really appreciate the feedback, and if you really need to get in touch with me, the best way is to contact me through my website www.dolphinstreet.com.

i wish i could give him more than 5 stars.

From http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc8E2LViNWw - from someone who enjoyed my wah pedal demo.

THis guy can jam! You know it once you hear the notes flying lol. I like Dano stuff and this Drive was definately worth a listen.

From http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HD4P2cHb-g - from someone who enjoyed the Danelectro Drive demo.

Kirk Fletcher is great

Thu, 08 Apr 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Kirk Fletcher is great

If you are anything like me, you love finding out about great guitar players. I do like many different styles of music, but blues always has a very special place in my heart. So when I discover a great blues player that I haven't heard before, I get all smiles. Guess what, that just happened to me! I am talking about a great guitar player by the name Kirk Fletcher.

I have a feeling Kirk Fletcher is not a player most people have heard. Now that is a shame, and I'm here to try and make a small improvement on that.

So who is this guy? Here are a few details I snagged from his website, http://www.kirkfletcherband.com.

Kirk Fletcher has worked established artists such as Janiva Magness, Charlie Musselwhite and The Fabulous Thunderbirds, as well as performing with James Cotton, Pine Top Perkins, Hubert Sumlin, Mojo Buford, Ted Harvey, Larry Carlton, Robben Ford, Michael Landau, Elvin Bishop, Ronnie Earl, Doyle Bramhall, Michelle Branch and many more… Kirk Fletcher is considered one of the best young guitar players on the blues scene today.

I just got his latest album delivered today, and it is really good. It's called "My Turn" and there is a lot of great music on this record. Kirk's guitar playing is very soulful, mature and tasty. He's got chops and groove, and is very inspiring to listen to. If you want to hear a great blues guitar player who's got soul and great tone, you should get this album. I've been enjoying it all day.

Kirk plays funky and groovy too. His music is blues based, but incorporates many styles, such as funk, jazz, hendrix, pop and rhythm and blues, etc. He's got a great voice too, a voice that is a little bit reminiscent of Robert Cray, but a little less polished, perhaps. I think it's just great - I wish I could sing like that!

I believe Kirk plays Suhr guitars and for amps the album booklet mentions Headstrong amps (I am not familiar with those amps personally). I have seen pics of him using Custom Audio Electronics too. His tone his huge and with great bite throughout the album. There are some slower cuts too, where a tasty Fendery clean tone is apparent.

Videos

Here's a few I found on youtube, so you can get an idea of what he sounds like. If you told me you don't like his playing, I would just not believe you!

You can get Kirk's latest album "My Turn" from AbstractLogix - click the banner below.

Buy great music from Abstract Logix

You can get Kirk Fletcher albums from here.

Google Personalized Search Irritating

Fri, 02 Apr 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Google Personalized Search Irritating

I do a lot of searches on Google and it is important to me that I am able to search without having my results customized by Google. I have recently learned how much Google actually does customize your searches, and I thought you might like to know too.

First of all, Google might customize your search results based on your past search activity. They track both what you have searched for in the past, and what search results you have clicked on. Now, the interesting part is that even if you sign out of your Google account, what you are searching for is still being tracked.

When you are signed out of your Google account, Google will still track all searches made with your computer's web browser. A log of what you have clicked on is also kept. This information is then used to provide customized search results. I am not a big fan of this. For example, if you do the same search on two different computers, you may get results that are quite different. What about privacy issues? If someone else is borrowing my computer to do a search, they might get results tailored to me. Not sure if this is a big deal or not, but I don't find the idea very appealing.

When you are signed in to your Google account, everything you search and click on is linked to your web history in your account. Google have been doing this for a long time, and up until now, I have thought that signing out of one's Google account will provide unbiased search results. I was wrong.

How do you disable these search personalization features? It's not too hard to do, so follow this link and learn more about how to turn off personalization at http://www.google.com/support/accounts/bin/answer.py?answer=54048.

This personalization tactic is making it harder for me to know how I am doing in search engines for certain key words. I guess I'm just one of those people who do not want any kind search personalization from a search engine.

I think search personalization as it currently is working with Google is one of the biggest changes Google has ever made, in terms of how much their search technology will affect people. Still, I don't think many people are even aware of this, and I'm wondering why this have gone so far under the radar. I think it's a huge deal!

Free Gear Giveaway - G30 Wireless

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Free Giveaway of a Line 6 Relay G30 Wireless

Through my website only! Line 6 has set up a special opportunity though my website. Subscribers and website visitors to dolphinstreet.com can enter this giveaway on Line 6's site and a Line 6 Relay G30 Digital Wireless Guitar System can be won. I think this is really fantastic and I give a big thanks to Line 6 for setting this up.

All you need to do is to enter at at the Line 6 Dolphinstreet Relay G30 Giveaway Page and you can win one of these wireless units.

I have been testing the Relay G30 Wireless for a while now, and I am very impressed by it. In fact, I'm blown away. Check out my demo below for an overview. I have used it at gigs, rehearsals, around the house and so on, and there just isn't any interference issues at all. The unit is somehow shielded in a very effective way so that you won't ever have to worry about cell phone signals, radio stations, etc. It just plain WORKS flawlessly.

Perhaps the most important thing is how it sounds. Well, I can tell you, it is incredibly clear. I didn't expect to notice that much difference, to be honest, but the difference is remarkable. My guitar tone sounds clearer than ever. As long as I have a couple of AA batteries handy, there's no reason for me to use guitar cable any more - I just lose tone (plus I can't run around like a mad squirrel on a caffeine boost either - not that I ever do, but just in case).

Running around the house with my amp turned up has been a lot of fun! If I'm recording my amp, it sounds exactly the same if I'm sitting right beside the amp as if I'm far away in the other corner of the house as I'm playing. Not sure of how useful that might be for anyone, but I had fun doing it, and you can imagine it would be great when playing on a larger stage, perhaps outdoor gigs.

The main things that really stand out are:

1) Simple to use - it is very easy to setup. You need 2 AA batteries for the transmitter which you put on your belt. The receiver sits on the amp, and it uses a power adapter. Once you are plugged in, turn both the receiver and transmitter to the same channel, and you're all set. Super easy! If you use Alkaline AA batteries, you should be covered for over 8 hours of playing time. Should last a gig for sure!

2) No issues - the Relay G30 avoids most kinds of signal interference by broadcasting over the 2.4GHz band, plus it employs exclusive signal protection technology for an additional layer of defense.

3) Sounds great - I am stunned by how clear it sounds. I have used good guitar cable for years, and the difference is that the G30 doesn't have any high end roll of (unless you want it to). Guitar cable take off a bit of the high frequencies of your tone, but since the G30 is a digital wireless device, there is no high frequency roll off. Well, that's not quite true, because if you like this kind of treble cut, the G30 does provide an option for it - I think that's really cool! There is a cable simulator built in, so you can set the G30 to simulate a 15 foot cable or a 30 foot cable (the longer the cable, the more high frequency roll off you get).

The G30 covers a 30 meter distance. If you need more than that, there is also the G50 and the G90, which can handle longer distances and have more channels.

Now, go and sign up at Line 6 Dolphinstreet Relay G30 Giveaway Page and you can win one of these cool Line 6 G30 Wireless units!

Video Demo

New Variax guitar

Mon, 29 Mar 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Variax Designed by James Tyler

This very interesting - a guitar that can reproduce the sounds of an entire collection of 25 vintage electric and acoustic instruments, as well as a dozen custom tunings.

Line 6 already have the orginal Variax modeling guitar, but when I found out the new one has James Taylor behind it, my interest went up an extra 20 notches. The reason being that James Taylor is well known as one of the best guitar builders on the planet. When these two companies partner together for a new Variax guitar, I am expecting the result to be something incredible.

However, these guitars will likely be quite expensive, so I don't think everyone will run out and get a Tyler Variax right away. Another interesting thing to note though, is that there is a new "budget Variax" coming too! This guitar will be made by a company called "World" and I've heard they make great products, and the price for those will be $1099 - $1299.

These guitars will be available some time this summer I believe. I can't wait to try one! See the official press release below.

PRESS RELEASE

FRANKFURT, Germany – March 24, 2010 – Line 6, Inc. (line6.com), the industry leader in digital modeling technology for music-creation products, announced today the next generation of Variax® modeling guitars: Variax Designed by James Tyler. This new line of guitars is designed to deliver the feel of the finest boutique instruments and the optimal tonal performance of Line 6 guitar modeling technology.

Through patented Line 6 guitar modeling technology, Variax guitars can reproduce the sounds of an entire collection of 25 vintage electric and acoustic instruments, and a dozen custom tunings. The modeled instruments include solid-body, semi-hollow guitars and hollow-body electrics with a variety of pickup configurations, six- and twelve-string acoustics, and other guitar-related instruments including a resonator, banjo, and an electric sitar.

This new line of guitars will be available in three styles. Each one reflects the innovative designs of James Tyler in each curve, component and control. Acclaimed for his attention to detail in making custom, hand-crafted instruments for the most discerning players, James Tyler has designed guitars for the world’s most respected guitarists and sought-after session players including Steve Lukather, Michael Landau and Dan Huff.

In a launch as creative as the instruments are innovative, Line 6 will be chronicling in real-time the design and development of the new guitars. At www.TylerVariax.com, the public is invited to participate firsthand in the evolution of these groundbreaking instruments.

Each Variax Designed by James Tyler will ship Summer, 2010.

About Line 6, Inc.

Based in Calabasas, California, Line 6 is a leading manufacturer of guitars, amplifiers, effects, effect processors, and recording interfaces. Line 6 is world renowned for its studio- and stage-standard gear featuring its patented amp and effect modeling and digital wireless technologies. Line 6 invented digital guitar amp modeling technology in 1996, and is currently the #1 maker of guitar amplifiers. Its award-winning products are used by musicians worldwide and have been featured on countless platinum and Grammy® award-winning titles. Line 6 is distributed in over 60 countries with operations in the United States, the United Kingdom, and China. For more information, visit www.line6.com.

New amp - Spider Valve MkII

Thu, 25 Mar 2010 00:00:01 GMT

New amp - Spider Valve MkII

Line 6 Spider Valve MkII is the 2nd version of collaboration between Line 6 and Bogner. You probably know that Bogner is well known for building incredible tube amps. So, when Line 6, with all their modeling technology experience, teams up with Bogner, the result is a pretty wicked amp. I have the 1x12 version, and it is 40 watts and it houses a Celestion Vintage 30 speaker.

I have been playing this amp every day now for quite a few days, and I'm ready to talk a bit about my impressions. First of all, it is very powerful. It's got a lot of volume and it can cut through pretty much any kind of rock I gig would ever do. There is a lot this amp can do, and see further down for a feature description.

The Line 6 modeling technology is somehow blended in with the all valve Bogner design. Exactly how this works, I have no idea, but there are 16 different amp models available. To be specific, there are 8 different channels, and for each channel, there are 2 different modes - indicated by the colors amber and blue.

The amp can be set to manual mode, where you turn knobs like any regular tube amp, but you can also, at the same time, add effects such as chorus, delay, pitch shift, compressor, phaser, tremolo, etc. You can of course save your settings into a preset. These presets can be accessed via a shortboard, and you can store up to 128 preset. This means it is very flexible for gigs where you need a variety of tones. You can easily do anything from jazz to metal, with ease. There's an expression pedal built into the shortboard, so you can control wah effects and much more with it.

A looper is also built in to the amp - very cool! It's very handy to have this in the amp, since you don't have to drag along a looper pedal to a gig, thereby saving floor space.

So what do I think? Well, I think it's hard to find a more versatile amp, to be honest. If you are wanting lots of different sounds of one amp and not have to use a lot of pedals - this is a killer machine.

However, this is not a plug and play amp. The sounds are not always easy to dial in. You need to sit down and experiment to find what works for you. One amp model can be very different from the next, in terms of how it responds to your style of playing and even your guitar. It's like being able to have 16 different amps on stage, so you really need to learn how each amp sounds and feels in order to best make use of it.

After you have learned how to handle the amp to best suit your needs, you have a killer amp that you can have a lot of fun with, and be very productive with. A real tube amp combined with cutting edge effects and modeling technology - a very exciting combination. No matter what style you play, you owe it to yourself to try out this amp. It may be the kind all around amp you will love and cherish for years to come.

For more information, see the Line 6 Spider Valve MkII product page

Videos

Amp Features

Brawny, boutique-style tube tone and the most advanced amp models with complete flexibility and deep editing; 40 watts; 12-inch Celestion® Vintage 30 speaker; two 12AX7 preamp tubes; two matched 6L6 power tubes; 4 channels; 128 user-programmable presets
16 world-class amp models based on vintage and modern heads and combos; 20 Smart FX including Smart Harmony, Pitch Glide, Auto-Wah, Quick Loop, Delays, Mods, Reverbs, more; up to 4 FX at once; tweak up to 6 parameters; route FX pre or post
Seamless MIDI integration; Performance Mode provides a direct signal that captures the interaction between tubes and modeling, Studio Mode provides a direct signal that captures modeling only
Built-in chromatic tuner; manual mode; 1/4-inch guitar in; XLR out; RJ-45 FBV foot controller in; MIDI in/out; 1/4-inch pre amp in; 1/4-inch power amp output; XLR output; 1/4-inch speaker outputs; tuned three-quarter closed-back cab for exceptional feel
Optional Line 6 FBV Shortboard MkII foot controller provides out-of-the-box Volume/Wah, Pitch Glide, preset control, Quick Loop control, Tap Tempo, chromatic Tuner display, simple channel switching and more.

Amp Models

Clean Amber One of the best-feeling clean tones we've ever made, Clean Amber is highly responsive to the player's touch. Scooped and boasting a beautiful high-end shimmer, it's inspired by* the clean tones of a Marshall® JCM-900. Clean Blue Inspired by* some aspects of a Hiwatt® Custom 100, Clean Blue emulates the classic clean tones of the late 60s/early 70s. This model is full-bodied with a creamy mid-range and a tight low-end. Twang Amber Twang Amber is inspired by* the sound of a 60s Fender® Blackface Twin Reverb® to produce a classic Nashville spank. Crank the Drive knob for some extra grit and growl! Twang Blue More aggressive than Twang Amber, Twang Blue has plenty of cut, punch and attitude inspired by* a 60s Fender® Blackface Deluxe Reverb®. NEW! Class A Amber Brilliant, singing tones with an addictive chime made famous by generations of Brit-rockers, Class A Amber is inspired by* a Vox® AC30 Top Boost. NEW! Class A Blue Terrifically dynamic, Class A Blue offers boutique-style feel inspired by* some of our favorite amps including the Divided by 13 9/15. Sweet tones on the edge of breaking up give way to seriously throaty Overdrive when the Drive knob is cranked. Blues Amber The vintage charm of Blues Amber is inspired by* the classic tones of a '50s wide panel Fender® Deluxe Reverb®. Blues Blue Voiced with more attitude than Blues Amber, Blues Blue delivers a more forward mid-range for a classic rockabilly sound inspired by* the bite of a pint-sized Gretsch® 6156. Crunch Amber A celebration of the tone used by numerous early metal bands, Crunch Amber was inspired by* the signature crunch of a '68 Marshall® Plexi 50-Watt. Crunch Blue Crunch Blue provides a rounded off British-style distortion with a cool mid-honk and great cut. Inspired by* the killer crunch of an Orange® AD30. NEW! Hi Gain Amber Hi Gain Amber is inspired by* the infamous brown sound of a '68 Marshall® Plexi 100-Watt with a Variac and jumped input channels. NEW! Hi Gain Blue A modern, scooped metal sound, Hi Gain Blue is a refined distortion inspired by* the high-gain mayhem of a Diezel® Herbert. Metal Amber A one-way ticket to high-gain heaven, Metal Amber is tight, punchy and inspired by* the high-gain tone of a Mesa/Boogie® Dual Rectifier®. Metal Blue Metal Blue delivers high-gain aggression with supreme versatility. Sweep the Mid knob to control the character of the distortion! (Set it to minimum for fuzz pedal characteristics; set it to noon for creamy, modern high-gain tones; set it to max to conjure Class A tones.) Insane Amber Dialed in for shredding, Insane Amber combines the intensity and impact of Metal Blue but it delivers more mid-range teeth for that bone-crushing grind. Inspired by* the tone of a Mesa/Boogie® Dual Rectifier® (red channel). Insane Blue Insane Blue delivers an obscene helping of distortion while still retaining tonal definition and character. As much input gain distortion as possible short of a complete meltdown!

Use the 6th in blues

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Use the Major 6th when improvising blues

Here is a quick tip for those who are stuck in the pentatonic or blues scale, when playing blues leads. Try using the Major 6th (often guitarists will call it just the 6th, even though there is also a minor 6th, which is not used nearly as much in blues).

Let's say you are playing in the key of A. If you play the A minor pentatonic backwards, the next note you arrive at is G. That's a good one when playing blues, because it's the minor 7th note, if we're talking intervals. It's a very strong note to end licks on.

Now, to find the 6th, just play the next available lower note - F#. This is the major 6th from the A major scale. It works great, because that note can be used in most minor and major scales, so it won't sound very out there. In fact, if you listen to blues players like BB King and Clapton, you hear they do it frequently.

It's probably not as strong as the minor 7th for ending licks on, but it works great as a lead-in note, or as a part of a good phrase. I use it all the time.

BB King example

Listen to the three notes at 0:13-0:14 into the video. That 2nd note is the 6th.

Clapton example

Listen to the notes at 2:34 into the video. Can you identify the 6th?

The 6th gives a slightly different sound to playing blues. I think it sounds happier, so to speak, or at least less static than the usual minor blues pentatonic. Use it to your advantage!

You can of course use the 6th in any kind of music; it's not just for blues. Try it when playing rock or funk or whatever style you play - it really works for almost anything.

Interval Reference

Wikipedia - http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interval_(music)

In case you are interested in lessons from me on this subject, I do offer web cam guitar lessons.

Tube Mic Preamp

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Tube Mic Preamp

The world of mic preamps is a large and confusing place for newbies. Questions inevitably come up. Should you get a tube preamp or solid state? Should get one with eq options on, compressor, class A, mono or dual preamp? Digital outs, phantom power, variable impedance? It can be confusing, to say the least.

I bought an ART Tube MP Studio Mic Preamp a while back, initially intended for voice overs on videos. I also tried it for my SM57 when miking my guitar amp.

This preamp is CHEAP, about as cheap as it can get. I knew it was not going to be stellar, but for 30 bucks, hey I'd like to try it, especially since I saw so many glowing reviews for it.

Well, I can't say it's a terrific preamp, and it should come as no surprise. Ever heard of the expression - you get what you pay for? Well, when it comes to this kind of technology, it is largely true.

On the good side, it does the job, and it made my microphone sound fine. Not stellar, but definitely not a bad sound. Lots of gain on tap in this unit, and the voice overs I made sounded quite alright.

The ART has decent features too:

Provides Superior Preamplification for: Microphones, Instruments and Line Level Sources
Analog VU Meter
OPL Output Protection Limiter
Hand-Selected 12AX7A Vacuum Tube
Variable Input and Output Gain Controls

On the bad side? Noise. Bad noise. I don't know why, but in one location, using a condenser microphone, the noise was acceptable for a video voice over. I later used the ART preamp for miking my amp in my studio, and boy - the noise was unreal. I could not dial it out. I tried many different ways, but in the end, a low humming noise destroyed any chance I had of making a good recording.

The tube in this preamp is more of a gimmick than anything else. It doesn't do a whole lot to improve the tone.

In summary, if you want the cheapest microphone preamp you can get, just to boost your signal, this one might work for you. If you want low noise, excellent sound, look elsewhere.

If you are interested in a high quality, great sounding mic preamp that doesn't cost a fortune, have a look at the Golden Age Project Pre-73 Preamp. This preamp is one of the better ones you can get at this price point, and it doesn't have any of the noise issues that the ART tube MP preamp has. I will write more about the Golden Age Pre-73 later, as it is one killer unit if you are interested in getting great sounding recordings.

New Dolphinstreet Logo

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 00:00:01 GMT

New Dolphinstreet Logo

I have created a new logo for Dolphinstreet. Check it out in the header at the top of the page.

It is quite simple, but that was my intent - a simple, effective logo for my website. What I had before was really just a mess. I'm hoping this will make the name of the website clearer, and the picture of me and my Suhr guitar indicates what this is all about.

New John Hiatt Album - Open Road

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 00:00:01 GMT

New John Hiatt Album - Open Road

John Hiatt just released a new album yesterday. I bought it on iTunes the very same day, and I've been listening to it today.

I have been a fan of John Hiatt for a long time now. He is a tremendous song writer, and it's always fun to check out a new album by him.

It is probably too early to give a good review after listening through to the album just once, but my first thoughts are the album could have had stronger tunes. The opening track Open Road is awesome, I really like it. After that, there's quite a few non-memorable tunes. In fact, I felt the same way after his previous album Same Old Man, which also seemed a bit weaker than most of his work during the last 2 decades.

The production sounds sloppy too. I mean, I like dirty, down to earth, rough recordings, but there are some tracks on this album which sound almost too unpolished, if you know what I mean. A bit more strong vocal harmonies would have helped too, to make the tunes more catchy and melodic.

Lyrics are great though. Hiatt has an amazing ability to write interesting lyrics about every day life. Hiatt has his own style, and I find him quite unique as a songwriter and singer. If you haven't heard him ever, you need to go check out the albums Perfectly Good Guitar, Bring The Family and Slow Turning. That's Hiatt at his best, in my opinion.

However, I will give the new album Open Road more chances. You know how sometimes an album gets stronger the more you listen to it? Always give yourself enough time to really listen to new material.

You can have a listen on John's Myspace page, and see what you think. I'd love to hear how you like the album.

Youtube comment of the month - February 2010

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Youtube comment of the month - February 2010

Ok, I admit I don't look like George Clooney or Cary Grant... so here are two funny comments, which share the award for February.

I am always entertained reading the youtube comments - and I do get a lot of positive feedback. Occasionally a few crappy comments pop up, but that's no problem.

Hey, I can take it! My skin is pretty thick.

Its only the glasses that give the creepy vibe.

From http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIJxv3WJocU

ur a funny lookin' fella

From http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQuVRnNfoeU

Darwin Quotes

Website Award from Jemsite

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 00:00:01 GMT

I won an award from Jemsite

Website Awards are something I don't win a whole lot of. The fact is, my website could use a face lift. I've been so busy with other things, and the task of making this place look a bit tidier has ended up on the back burner. So, winning an award is definitely flattering.

The website Jemsite is a cool guitar place too. They have lots of members and plenty of interesting topics to read. I imagine the website must have started out being focused on Ibanez guitars, but there's a lot more than just Ibanez on there now.

The Award

Jemsite contacted me and said:

... quite a few Jemsite members write to me to tell me about how much they enjoy your site and think its a great guitar resource. Thus, that has made to decide to award your site our new "Recommended Reading" medal (see below) and list you on our site's Recommended Reading page.

I'm honored! Here is the award graphic. I would like one made out of gold sent to me though! Haha!

Jemsite proudly awards
this site asRecommended Reading Please vote for itin the community!
Vote for us!

Hockey Fight Song

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Hockey Fight Song

A while ago, my friend Stefan in Sweden asked me if I was interested in adding a guitar solo to a "hockey fight song" he had written. This song was meant to be used by a hockey team in Sweden, and the thought of my guitar solo being heard by hockey fans and players everytime the team had a game must have appealed to my ego... so I did it.

I think it's a great hockey tune. Lots of whoooo's and distorted guitars. For the guitar solo, I used my Suhr Classic through a Line 6 Toneport. I think I used the SLO amp model, and I added some delay in Garageband. There's a lot of distortion on this guitar tone, more than I usually use. I also tried to play a bit differently than I usually do, in order to get the solo to fit the tune. I am not sure how well it worked.

Here is the tune, for you listening pleasure (or not). BHC hockey song - it is hosted on Box.net.

Another thing, which I will write more about at a different time, it is absolutely possible to get good guitar tone from software modelers. The Line 6 Toneport and Pod Farm combination is really good, and I highly recommend using this for practice and recording. It is also very affordable, and gives you most of what you'll ever need for home recording projects.

Youtube comment of the month - January 2010

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Youtube comment of the month - January 2010

You know, I get a lot of comments on my youtube videos. Some of them are really funny too, so I've decided to post the funniest or most interesting comment for each month here on my blog, from now on. This should be an interesting journey! I do have a lot to choose from, so it shouldn't be too hard.

Canada Blues

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Canada Blues Music

What, there are good blues artists in Canada? Well, yes there are! Although live music seems to have become more scarce in recent years, there are still great blues artists out there, and there are plenty of good ones in Canada.

The Maple Blues Awards is Canada’s national blues awards program. Its goal is to promote blues music across Canada, and to recognize outstanding achievement in the field.

As a fresh way to find out what award-winning Canadian blues sounds like, let's have a listen to some of the Canadian artists who were winners at the Maple Blues Award 2010. These are youtube videos I found of these artists.

Special mention - do listen to the late Jeff Healey clip - it's from another great album called Mess of Blues (2009). The award for Recording of the Year 2009 is for the album Songs From The Road. Jeff was an incredible player who is sorely missed.

Electric Act Of The Year & Entertainer Of The Year

Monkey Junk

Tiger In Your Tank

Acoustic Act Of The Year

Harry Manx

Female Vocalist Of The Year

Suzie Vinnick

New Artist/Group Of The Year

Blackburn

Recording Of The Year

The late great Jeff Healey at the Islington Academy in London, England 2007

Practicing Guitar vs Buying Guitar Gear

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Practicing Guitar vs Buying Guitar Gear

Are you someone who feels you are not spending enough time practicing guitar, yet you look on eBay and guitar forums everyday to see if you can score some new guitar gear? I'm not trying to make you feel guilty, but I think this is a common "problem" among many guitar players. I am guilty of this too, I openly admit it. How do you think I acquired all the gear I have listed on this website!

However, I have noticed this G.A.S (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) is an illness that comes and goes for me. Lately, it's been mostly "goes", and perhaps that's because I have enough stuff now to play with. Although I could always use one of this or that, my little devil on the shoulder tells me... and sometimes he wins, sometimes not.

Now, the easy answer here is of course - stop buying gear, start playing guitar - if practicing and improving your playing is important enough for you. If you'd rather just have fun with gear, well then there you go. But if you want to improve as a player, you need to schedule time in for practicing guitar.

There is no substitute for hard work and time spent practicing when it comes to playing an instrument. There are many studies on this topic, and here is a study regarding children where improvements were seen on tests measuring verbal ability and visual pattern completion (skills not normally associated with music).

Bottom line is - if you want to play better, play more! And stop buying gear all the time, if you are "one of those guys..."

I do think many of us put off practicing, because they think it won't do much for their improvement, and it's easy to find excuses to not work on things that require some level of structured effort. I am guilty myself! I am busy with running, family, video lessons creation, etc. I could practice more than I do, and in fact, that is one thing I intend to improve upon in 2010. I want to get a better. I am working on knowing the fretboard better, chord voicings, finger picking, soloing concepts, etc. By the end of the year, I hope to have a recording or two, where I'm happy with my playing.

So, which one of these two "stereotypes" are you?

Digital Wireless from Line 6

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Digital Wireless from Line 6

I have not used wireless systems myself, because I have not had a need to. I usually just stand in one spot, more or less, when I gig. I remember in the past, some friends of mine used wireless systems. They were going for that stage presence idea (read: jump around on stage like squirrels on caffeine) and needed that freedom of no cords.

What I also remember is that those guys didn't have good tone. In those days (80s), these rigs were pretty big and everyone was using lots of effects, so perhaps it didn't matter that much that their tone suffered. In any case, I was never impressed or interested in that technology.

Fast forward to today. I recently discovered that Line 6 has developed a system with a whole new idea. It's a digital wireless technology, which is said to not alter your tone at all. This sounds very interesting. Not having to worry about cables while still having a excellent signal going into one's gear certainly sounds appealing.

I have not yet tried this myself, but I have talked to some guys who use it, and they told me your tone is not suffering at all when playing through this system. It's just like playing through a quality cable. Wow!

This looks like a great product for those who are gigging lots and need that freedom on stage, without guitar cables. If you try this, let me know what your impressions are.

Have a look at the Line 6 Relay G30 Digital Wireless Guitar System, a killer unit for the price!

Video

Here is some information from Line 6 about this system.

LINE 6 LAUNCHES RELAY™ DIGITAL WIRELESS SYSTEMS WORLD WIDE

"Relay digital guitar wireless systems represent a revolution in wireless technology," remarked Darrell Smith, Category Manager of Guitar Wireless Products at Line 6. "They were built from the ground up, for guitarists by guitarists, to provide unprecedented performance on all fronts that matter to musicians: tone, dynamics, dependability, and ease of use. Plus, they’re approved and ready to tour all over the world."

The Relay line, which includes two stompbox-style systems and one rack-mountable system, delivers the kind of high-quality audio normally associated with expensive audio cables. The digital wireless systems provide full-range 10Hz-20kHz frequency response, exceedingly low noise with up to 120dB dynamic range (compared to the 50Hz-15kHz frequency response and >90dB dynamic range offered by comparable analog wireless systems), and studio-quality resolution with 24-bit A/D conversion.

The digital transmission is protected by a variety of proprietary technologies. VWT™ (Virtual Wire Transmission) ensures a cable-like performance, and DCL™ (Digital Channel Lock) technology ensures dependability by locking out all sources of interference. With all channels available all the time, complex channel co-ordination and searching are simply not required.

Built for worldwide use, Relay digital wireless systems broadcast in the 2.4GHz band. This avoids signal interference created by high-power sources and analog wireless systems. It also certifies that Relay digital wireless systems will operate with the same audio quality and ease in every country and region that they are used.

Other innovations featured in each system include cable tone simulation, out-of-the-box operation, and internally mounted antennas.

Relay G30, a six channel stompbox-style system released earlier this year into European markets, has garnered critical acclaim. The system was named "Guitar Accessory of the Year, 2009" by MusicRadar.com, the #1 website for musicians. "It's time to be brave and cut that cord," wrote MusicRadar.com. "The freedom afforded by a reliable and good-sounding wireless system shouldn't be underestimated. Line 6 has truly picked up the baton."

Steve Stevens, legendary guitarist for Billy Idol and others, remarks about Relay G30: "I am stunned by how amazing it sounds. Did [Line 6] make a pact with the devil? Because there are systems that cost well over $3,000 that sound nowhere near as good. It is also such a refreshing aspect that it uses a normal quarter-inch cable."

Billy Sheehan, in-demand bassist and songwriter whose resume includes David Lee Roth, Mr. Big and Steve Vai, offers "[Relay G30] sounds excellent! [It has] lots of great features nobody else thought of – like the 1/4 inch jack!"

"I just wanted to let you know how great I think the [Relay G30] wireless units are," wrote Alex Suarez, bassist for New York City synth-pop band Cobra Starship, in an email to Line 6. "I really couldn’t believe how compact the units actually were. And I like how simple and easy it all runs together. They sound and work great. Its compact size makes it really easy to bring overseas too!"

Relay G30 ($419.99 MSPR) is now available in the United States and around the world. Relay G50 ($559.99 MSRP), the 12-channel stompbox-style system, and Relay G90 ($839.99 MSRP), the 12-channel rack-mountable system, will be available worldwide March, 2010.

Hagstrom Swede Video Review

Sun, 17 Jan 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Hagstrom Swede Video Review

Or, "how many guitars does a guy need?"

My local music store Music Centre Canada has had this gold top Swede guitar on the wall for a long, long time. I played it in the store a few times, and every time, I was amazed at the sheer quality of this guitar. It's priced right too, and I've been sure next time I stop by, someone will have bought it. Nope, didn't happen. The store sold several white Swedes, so perhaps the gold top colour doesn't appeal to everyone. I think it's classy!

So, long story short - I bought it. I stopped by the store to pick up a book. I tried the Swede yet one more time, and felt like it spoke to me: get me, we'll have fun together!, or something like that. I do know guitars don't usually speak to people, but I promise - it got into my head somehow!

This weekend, I've been busy getting set up in my new studio (more on that soon), and of course, playing my new baby! I posted a video demo today of this guitar, so here it is for your viewing pleasure. Let me know what you think.

Hagstrom Swede Video

Musicians Friend has these

Hagstrom Swede Electric Guitar Gold Top

Marshall JMD amps

Sat, 16 Jan 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Marshall JMD amps

New 50 and 100 watt Digital Marshall amps? Yep, it's true. Marshall now introduces the JMD:1 Series. The Marshall JMD:1 integrates an all-tube power amp, advanced digital preamp and studio-quality multi-effects to deliver an amp with a lot of versatility, from what I understand.

The idea seems to be to combine the benefits of new technologies and the legacy of tube power. The Marshall JMD:1 is marketed as the ideal amp for the modern musician seeking an authentic tone.

Video Demo

Overview

The preamp offers 16 presets divided into clean, crunch, overdrive, and lead categories; all are easily accessed via a single knob. These 16 settings reflect tones from a wide range of current and historic popular Marshall amps. Patented technology, developed in conjunction with the Swedish developers Softube, provides a truly natural playing experience. Unlike preamps that simply mimic a certain sound, the JMD:1 uses complex algorithms to replicate amplifier topologies at the component level, providing a much more interactive performance. Featuring four fully-programmable channels, the JMD:1 Series also include Marshall's STOMPWARE® foot controller, providing instant access to 28 programmable sounds.

On the power stage side, the JMD:1 uses the acclaimed EL34 pentode vacuum tube to provide the distinctive Marshall sound. The 50-Watt models use two EL34 valves; the 100-Watt models employ four. External speaker jacks are provided in both 8-Ohm and 16-Ohm configurations. The amps??? design allows changes in the digital preamp settings to affect the valve power stage, creating a more musical and well-defined character for each sound.

The JMD:1 effects fall into three categories. Modulation Effects include a choice of Chorus, Phaser, Flanger or Tremolo. The Delay offers Tap-Tempo timing, as well as Hi-Fi, Analog, Tape or Multi voicings. The custom-voiced Reverb operates independently. The Series/Parallel FX Loop offers a dedicated Dry/Wet Mix control.

The back panel provides a balanced XLR line output featuring emulated speaker cabinet characteristics. This can be used live without the need to mic up the amp's speakers. The Standby/Silent Recording mode allows this output to be used while muting the speakers, for recording in a confined space. A Headphone Output, Line Input, and unbalanced (1/4") Line Output are also provided. MIDI ports allow up to 128 sound memories to be accessed via MIDI.

Hmm... my thoughts? Dunno, really. If it sounds good and doesn't break down, well then brilliant. However, the price point seems to be fairly high, compared to the competition. I guess time will tell how this pans out!

What do they cost?

JMD100: 100 Watt Head MSRP: $1500.00 Availability: February 2010 JMD102: 100 Watt 2 x 12" Combo MSRP: $1650.00 Availability: February 2010 JMD50: 50 Watt Head MSRP: $1350.00 Availability: February 2010 JMD501: 50 Watt 1 x 12" Combo MSRP: $1550.00 Availability: February 2010

Joe Bonamassa - great guitar player

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Joe Bonamassa - great guitar player

Joe is a great guitar player and a fairly young one too, but he's certainly no newbie. He's been around for many years already. I've seen an old clip of him on youtube as a kid with Danny Gatton. Awesome.

Joe is in some circles known as the new master of the Les Paul, although he's played Strats and Teles earlier in his career. It seem the Les Paul is his main love nowadays though.

He is also known for his amazing guitar tone, and he certainly is a guy who knows good tone. He's always got several amps running together, and his tone is always fantastic and inspiring. Marshall Jubilee, Van Weelden, Bogner, Carol-Ann are some of the amps he uses.

Oh, I forgot something important - he kicks ass on the guitar too! Great chops and feeling. I guess you could call him a rock player with great blues knowledge and feeling. Or perhaps a blues player with great rock chops? Hardly matters how you label him. I find him very inspiring to listen to, and I like his rock influences, as well as his amazing tone.

One more important thing to mention - he sings really good too. Not many great guitar players can sing well, but Joe is a great vocalist. Oh man, I wish I could sing like him!

Enough small talk - here are some cool clips for ya, including his amps, guitars and effects:

Scale Practice Tip

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Scale Practice Tip

Practicing scales while practicing finger stretches

Sometimes I get asked about how to practice scales and exercises. In fact, one of my guitar students asked me yesterday about finger exercises and whether they are worth doing.

That is a good question! What do I think? Well, if we are talking about playing random notes on the fretboard in a myriad of ways, I highly question the value of this. Think about it this way. If you have the option between these two:

playing something that makes musical sense while still giving you finger stretching practice.
playing random notes with random fingering and sounding completely pointless at the same time.

Which do you pick?

Subtle Hint - the answer is Option 1 ! Always try to make music as you practice. Music is, to most of us at least, not about random notes - it's about playing something melodic and musically interesting. So how do you do this then?

Well, it's simple, really. What you do is to practice a scale, arpeggio or perhaps even a short lick. Something musical, that you don't already know inside out. Learn this in several position on the neck, using different sets of strings.

It's important to not try to learn everything in one sitting. Only take on a little bit at a time, something you can handle without getting frustrated. Focus on memorizing the fingering, visualize the notes on fretboard before you play them, as well as after. It just takes time, and patience. Over time, you'll find yourself being able to play useful scales and lines effortlessly. Naturally, your fingers have been practicing these stretches in a way that makes sense - by playing music, which means the question about working on finger exercises can be thrown out the window. Finger exercises is exactly what you get when you practice scales and lines as I described.

For a practical example, try this. Go to Chordbook scales and decide on a key. Let's go with C for now. Next, pick a scale. Let's try C major scale. You immediately see how the black dots appear on the fretboard? Below the fretboard on the left is a play button. Click it. That is how the C major scale sounds like for that position on the neck.

Next, click on one of the scale variation buttons, numbered from 1 to 8, located to the right of the fretboard. Now, the C major scale is displayed somewhere else on the neck, probably using different sets of strings too. Practice that position for a while.

See the point with all this? You are practicing the C major scale, and you do get to practice stretches as well, while at the same time you learn where to find the scale in several places on the guitar. Very useful! You can continue this process now by picking different scales and keys in the dropdown list on that web page.

Last thing - don't try to do several positions/scale variations in one sitting. Take your time, because you can't rush memorization. Work on one position until you think you know it. Work on the next one, and when you think you know that one, go back and combine the first one with the second one. Do you still know them both well?

Hope you find this useful. Remember, we are learning for life, and there are no shortcuts or secrets to getting good at this stuff. Put in the time and the effort, and you will be rewarded by being able to play better and better, for the rest of your life.

Jet City Amps

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Jet City Amps

People are talking a lot about Jet City Amps lately, I've noticed. I can see why. These guitar amps are "designed by Soldano", but they are inexpensive. Furthermore, from what people have told me, they also sound very, very good.

There are so many good guitar amps out there today. The market seems packed with great amps, so it's not easy for new amp brands to stand out. The Jet City Amps already have the guitar community talking, so they must be doing something right.

The idea with these amps is to us a simple design, a cool look and a great price (KISS - Keep It Simple, Soldano). The amps are hand-built, although I don't really understand how that goes along with the low price tag. Either they are super fast to build or perhaps the person building them is working for peanuts?

The company themselves says - " Each amplifier is hand-built and rigorously tested, ensuring 100% legit tone, and unflinching reliability. When other brands snap like toothpicks, Jet City Amps eat it up and ask for more — no mods necessary. Welcome to Jet City Amplification."

I have not had a chance to test any of these amps yet, they are so new on the scene. It is very interesting that Mike Soldano is involved - he is a respected amp builder and knows how to build killer amps.

A friend of my bougth the JCA20 watt tube head, and he is very impressed by it. So is Guitar World, who gave this amp the Gold Award.

Videos

To get an idea of what tones these amps can deliver, have a look at the following video from Guitar World Magazine.

Jet City Amplification Product Line

JCA20H 20 watt all-tube head JCA100H 100 watt 2-channel all-tube head JCA2112RC 20 watt combo with reverb and 1x12” Jet City Custom Eminence driver JCA12S 1x12” extension cabinet with Jet City Custom Eminence driver JCA24S 2x12” extension cabinet with Jet City Eminence drivers JCA48S 4x12” extension cabinet with Eminence drivers
Pico Valve

http://www.jetcityamplification.com (really cool website!)

You can get a Jet City Amplification JCA20H 20W Tube Guitar Amp Head Black/Blue from Musician's Friend

Jet City Amplification JCA20H and JCA12S Half-Stack

The Jet City Amplification half-stack built on the 20W JCA20H tube guitar amp head and the 1x12 JCA12S guitar speaker cabinet, delivers killer tube tone in a nicely priced package.JCA20H 20W Tube Guitar Amp Head The Jet City JCA20H tube amp head delivers pure tube tone from a single-channel amplifier with absolutely no gimmick features to dilute the all-tube signal path. Elegance of design both inside and out deliver unflinching reliability in a guitar amp good-looking enough to make a girlfriend jealous.

With full EQ control and separate Preamp and Master volumes, Jet City JCA20H can deliver spanky cleans through crunchy overdrive.JCA12S 1x12 Guitar Speaker Cabinet The Jet City JCA12S guitar speaker cab is a straightforward tone box. The cabinet packs 70 watts of power, pumping through a 1 x 12" custom Eminence driver for killer Brit-inspired tone. Part of the "Design by Soldano" series, this extension cabinet features multi-ply hardwood cabinetry, 16-gauge steel chassis, custom transformers, and 2 oz. copper traces on thick printed circuit board for durable, roadworthy performance.

Happy New Year!

Thu, 31 Dec 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Happy New Year!

On behalf of myself and my imaginary friends, we would like to wish you a very happy, healthy and successful 2010!

Thanks for all your support in 2009. We hope you learned something useful at Dolphinstreet.com, while having fun and getting inspired at the same time.

2010 will be an active year here on Dolphinstreet.com, so to speak. I have big plans for several upcoming lesson series, and I will keep you informed about this as the time gets closer to the products being finished and released.

Wishing you much success and happines in the year ahead and all the best to you and your loved ones…

Here's to an awesome 2010…

Streamlight Stinger

Camrose on Boxing Day

Sat, 26 Dec 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Camrose on Boxing Day

Amalia and I went down to Mirror Lake in the afternoon on Christmas Day. It was a beautiful winter day, around minus 5 and lots of people out on the ice; some skating, some playing a game of hockey.

I was spinning around the ice with Amalia, and I also took a few photos of this beautiful day. Have a look here below.

I used my Olympus E-410 with a Zuiko 45-54 mm f/2.8-3.5 lens. I am really liking this lens!

Avatar is a great movie

Fri, 25 Dec 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Avatar is a great movie

The movie Avatar is impressive, grand, beautiful and powerful and visually stunning. James Cameron knows how to create movies that have a strong and long lasting impression.

Story

The story is set in the year 2154. The people on Earth have used up most of the natural resources by wasteful living. The humans now plan to use military force to conquer a planet by the name of Pandora. This planet, about the size of Earth, is inhabited by peaceful people called the Na'vi. The Na'vi have blue skin, and are considerably larger than humans. They have wise and deeply respect nature. Pandora is rich in a kind of natural resource that people on Earth really want badly.

The people from Earth send in special forces and mercenaries with powerful weapons, with the intent to conquer Pandora, even if that means killing and destroying the Na'vi and their culture. The diplomatic attempts so far have not achieved much in getting the natives to relocate as the earthlings want. However, the Na'vi are no direct threat to the people of Earth in any way.

It is not possible for humans to breathe in Pandora's atmosphere, so the military have developed mind-controllable "avatars", which look identical to the Na'vi. One of the Avatars, a Marine soldier with missing legs, get very close to the Na'vi and helps them in every way to defend their land from their attackers.

Criticism

This story has received some interesting criticism so far. Looking at the story line, it's not surprising. It is not too hard to relate to the real world anti-war movement and environmentalist thinking. For example, see the Yahoo write up about the hidden messages of Avatar.

Yes, I believe it has a green/environmental as well as anti-war message. James Cameron is hardly denying his political views. I also think it's destined to develop a cult following, for several reasons. It has a pro-environmental and anti-war message, and it is also technically extraordinaire. The visuals in this movie are completely incredible and immediately made me want to go watch this movie again.

Personally, I love the message, I love the way Cameron develops the story and and the characters. Technology and effects are not used only to impress, but to better communicate the passion and beliefs of the Na'vi vs. the humans. There is a lot to see in this movie, and if you haven't seen it yet, trust me - it is a must see. It is one of the best movies of 2009 without a doubt - quite likely the best one, in my opinion.

Silent Night Guitar Melody

Sun, 20 Dec 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Silent Night Guitar Melody in PDF and GP5

I wrote this simple arrangement of Silent Night for my students. It's a way you can play the melody by using (mostly) just 2 strings at a time.

When you play a melody like this, by harmonizing the original melody, you the effect that you can almost "hear" the chords.

This is also a good way to familiarize yourself with a major scale, in this case the G Major scale.

I will be posting a video of this really SOON! I am getting my studio built right now, and currently I have no place to record decent videos. Soon, I will have my own studio however, which means I'll be working more on new videos and other materials.

Let me know how you like this arrangement.

Line 6 JM4

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Line 6 JM4 Looper Pedal

Line 6 has come out with an interesting looper pedal. It has powerful looping capabilities, and it is also an amp modeler, effects unit, as well a composing and practicing tool. Have a look at this device if you are interested in a looper pedal that has a combination of high-quality jam tracks, built-in effects and tones and easy recording capabilities.

What it can do

The JM4 Looper features over 100 jam tracks and drum grooves in more than 10 styles. The tracks are actual recordings by professional musicians. These are useful for coming up with song ideas or for practicing.

This unit provides up to 24 minutes of recording time, and storage for up to 100 recorded jams. A 2-GB SD card provides additional space. You can also transfer the .WAV files to your computer or recording software. You can of course also use the SD card to import your own material into JM4 Looper. This way, you can loop, transpose or time-stretch to your heart's delight.

The looper has dedicated foot switches for Record/Overdub, Play/Stop, Half Speed and Undo actions. It also has a built-in tuner.

Guitar Tones

The JM4 comes loaded with twelve Line 6 amp models; from clean to insane, and it has seven "smart control" effects and reverb. There are over 200 artist-created guitar tone presets.

Ins and Outs

Ins - separate instrument, aux and mic inputs, as well as an input for a CD or MP3 player. Outs - outputs for an amp, stereo headphones and stereo line out. A Master Volume knob controls the output, and there is also a trim knob to adjust the gain of the mic input.

Where to get one

Musician's Friend sells the JM4

Line 6 JM4 Looper Guitar Effects Pedal Silver

The Line 6 JM4 guitar looper pedal features over 100 jam tracks performed by A-list studio players including Jason Bonham, Tony Franklin, Carmine Appice, Gregg Bissonette and many more slamming the drums, thumping the bass and hacking away at guitars. It's a fully featured looper pedal with sound-on-sound loop recording.

Along with looping capabilities, the JM4 contains an instant collection of amazing tones including 200+ artist-created presets, 150+ song-based presets, 12 original Line 6 amp models, seven guitar effects, vocal effects and 36 banks for saving user-created tones.

It's a portable, heavy-duty, all-in-one effect pedal with an enormous amount of features, tones and opportunities for inspiration. Casual and serious guitarists in search of jamming, practice and performance helps will find the JM4 looper invaluable.

The JM4 supplies you with awesome Line 6 tones and effects. It provides a backdrop for players to explore different musical styles and jam with studio-quality musicians. The guitar pedal features exciting, energized jam tracks. It's like playing with a real pro band, because you are playing with a real pro band.

Can you help? Google Autumn Photo Challenge

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Google Autumn Photo Challenge

I am a finalist!

I submitted a photo to the Google Autumn Photo Challenge a while ago, just for fun. To my surprise, I received an email stating I am now one of the 12 finalists! This is sure a surprise for me, as I'm just a hobby photographer and this is actually the first time I've ever entered a photo contest.

I now need your help. The winner of this contest is decided by the number of votes each photo receives. Voting is now officially open, so if you like my photo, please go to Picasa Autumn Challenge Contest and vote for it. To vote, simply click on the Like link below the photo. Voting ends on December 21st, 4p.m. PST. The picture with the most "like" votes wins the challenge. Create a Google Account if you don't have one, so you can vote!

Thank you for the support. I took the photo when I was out walking with my camera in November. I was lucky to get a nice shot of the golf course here in Camrose, when the weather was just right to capture this type of photo.

The Picasa Autumn Challenge Contest .

I'm 40 years old today

Sun, 13 Dec 2009 00:00:01 GMT

I'm 40 years old today

Wow, time flies, eh?! I have now lived in Canada for a few months over 10 years, and a lot of things have happened in my life. Things that I am very grateful for. I have a wonderful family and I live in a great small city and I have a great job. I couldn't really ask for more.

Some people have asked me if I'm experiencing any mid-life crisis or if I'm starting to feel old. What, old? Heck no! The only thing I am noticing is that I'm not able to run as fast as I used to, and it takes longer to recover from hard workouts. As a result of turning 40, I'm now entering the Masters category as a runner, and I hope can place well in this category in 2010, seeing as I'm the "young pup" in this category now...

Musically speaking, I have learned quite a bit during the last 10 years. The reason for is that I have been teaching guitar more, which forces you to learn new things all the time. This has been great to me, as I've improved as a player, musician and teacher. There haven't been so much gigging or composing in a long while now, but my goal for the next decade is to work more on this. I have a brand new studio being built right now, and it should be ready around Christmas.

I'll likely play a few more gigs in 2010 as well, since me long time friend Jaron Rovensky is going to be around for a while. He is a great performer, and we work really well together, so we'll want to play some gigs together in the new year. If time allows, we may also write and record some new original material together.

Today will be a relaxing day. I would like to be outside a bit with Amalia, but that is not really an option today, since it's around minus 37 C (-35 F) today and it is going to get even colder over night. Brr! My car wouldn't even start yesterday.

We are going to the matinee today to see a good family movie. Looking forward to this (that is, if I can get the vehicle started - it's refused so far..). The day already started great - I received a bottle of 12 year old single malt whiskey! After that, we'll go out of for supper and perhaps I'll have time to play guitar through my amps a few times too.

Best Overdrive Pedal

Sat, 12 Dec 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Best Overdrive Pedal

What is the best overdrive pedal? Not an easy answer, since the number of good overdrive pedals available these days is mind boggling.

I have started a top overdrive list here, and I am trying to stick to pedals that deliver overdrive more than distortion, although many pedals cover both territories. It's also sometimes difficult to distinguish between overdrive and distortion. I have written about the difference between overdrive and distortion on this site, and you may want to check it out.

My personal favorite overdrive is the Zonkin' Yellow Screamer Mk II, built by my friend at Duhvoodooman.com. It is based on the BYOC overdrive, but Bob has added some very cool features to it, which makes it flexible and great sounding.

Best Overdrives - the LIST

Here is a starting point for checking out some great overdrive pedals. Some may cover both distortion as well as overdrive tones, so keep that in mind. Feel free to add your comments if you think I missed some! Note: The order of the pedals listed has nothing to do with how good I think they sound, so a higher number does not mean it sounds worse than a pedal listed with a lower number. Only YOU can decide which you think sounds best.

Here is a great deal on the Cool Cat Pedals

Danelectro Cool Cat Series Cat Pack Guitar Effects Pedals Package

Now get 3 Danelectro Cool Cats effect pedals in one hot package with the Cat Pack—the CV-1 Vibe, CT-1 Tremolo, and CTO-1 Transparent Overdrive effect pedals.Cool Cat CV-1 Vibe: Gives you a metal stompbox for the price of plastic. Dial in your Mix, Speed, and Intensity for organic, swampy, trippy tone.Cool Cat CT-1 Tremolo: Better tone than your vintage amp. You'll dig the Square Wave setting.Cool Cat CTO-1 Transparent Overdrive: Adjust your Treble/Bass and Gain for anything from clean boost to glassy crunch. It has a durable metal construction, like all its Cool Cat cousins.

Zonkin' Yellow Screamer MK II
Maxon OD-9
Way Huge Pork Loin
LovePedal Eternity
Menatone Red Snapper
Danelectro Transparent Overdrive
Danelectro Drive
Hermida Zendrive
Hermida Mosferatu
Analogman TS-9/808
Keeley TS-9/808
Maxon 808
Ibanez TS9
Ibanez TS808
BYOC TS808
Analogman TS-9
Analogman TS-808
Analogman King of Tone
Electro-Harmonix XO Germanium OD Overdrive Guitar Effects Pedal
T-Rex T-Rex Twin Boost Overdrive
Hughes & Kettner Tube Factor Overdrive Pedal
Krank Krankshaft Overdrive Pedal
DOD 250
Boss OD-3 OverDrive Pedal
Carl Martin PlexiTone
Plush Noxious Overdrive
Fulltone GT-500
Radial Bones R800-7110 Texas Overdrive
Lovepedal Purple Plexi
XOTIC BB Preamp
TREX Alberta
Digitech Hardwire Tube Overdrive
Timmy
Tim
Delta Labs Tube Driver
MI Audio Blues Pro
Klon Centaur
Fulltone OCD
Barber LTD
Damage Control Womanizer
Visual Sound Jekyll and Hide
Reverend Drivetrain 2
Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive
Keeley TS9DX FLEXI-4X2
Boss Blues Driver
Keeley BD-2
Radial Tonebone Hot British
Blackstar HT-DUAL
Blackstone Mofset Overdrive
Hughes and Kettner Tube Factor
Banzai Cold Fusion
Crowther Audio Hotcake
Digitech Bad Monkey
DigiTech Screamin Blues
Vox Cooltron Big Ben
Boss FBM-1 Fender Bassman
Behringer VT999

Have a look at the list of best wah pedals too.

Musician's Friend has most of these pedals

Have a look at the selection from Musician's Friend.

M9 - great stompbox modeler

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 00:00:01 GMT

M9 is a great stompbox modeler

I just got this stompbox modeler called M9, made by Line 6. This modeler has a variety of vintage and modern tones all packed into one convenient package.

The M9 Stompbox Modeler provides brilliant tones, ease of use, and portability. The M9 (or its bigger brother, the M13), can absolutely be the all-in-one stompbox solution for every guitarist, replacing most or all of your other pedals.

The M9 has all the effects from best-selling Line 6 pedals and other units. Here are the famous sounds from the DL4, DM4 Distortion Modeler, FM4 Filter Modeler, MM4 Modulation Modeler, Verbzilla, Echo Pro and even more.

The M9 is built like three side-by-side effect units, and you can run any three effects simultaneously. You have complete control over the placement of effects as well as the type of effect. You can go for the common set ups many guitarist use, or you can follow your own creative path and come with completely original tones.

I was immediately impressed by how the M9 Stompbox Modeler is so incredibly easy to use. You can tweak your tones on the fly using the dedicated knobs. All you need to do is turn the knobs, and that's it. The settings are automatically saved, even if you unplug the unit. No hassle with holding 2 buttons at the same time in order to save, etc.

The Line 6 M9 also comes with a full-featured 28-second looper. It has all the necessary looper controls via dedicated footswitches. There are functions for Record/Overdub, Play/Stop, Play Once, Undo/Redo, Half Speed, and Reverse, and they are all very simple to use.

The unit is built very tough, with all-metal construction. No flimsy plastic here. It also has a built-in chromatic tuner - no need for an extra tuner pedal!

I can say right now that this is a heck of a steal at $399.99. You get so many great sounds in one unit, and it's portable, cool and small. Quite possible the ultimate solution for pedals and effects! The M13 has a bit more flexibility, but it's also quite a bit bigger. Either one is highly recommended. It's killer, I tell ya.

Get one from Musician's Friend

Line 6 M9 Stompbox Modeler Guitar Multi-Effects Pedal

Wah pedals reviews

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Wah pedals reviews

A comparison (or maybe just a demo) of the Dunlop Crybaby, EVH Crybaby, Fulltone Clyde Wah, and EX-7 with 2 wah models (Crybaby and Vox McCoy). Using a Marshall JVM 410H. Guitars were my Suhr Classic and my Michael Kelly Patriot Shadow with Rockfield pickups.

I suddenly felt like I needed to look into playing with wah pedals more, so I started by digging up my Fulltone Clyde Wah and my Digitech EX-7. I also went to Music Centre Canada and they were kind enough to let me take home a regular Crybaby and an EVH Crybaby by Dunlop for testing.

I played these pedals for quite a bit over the weekend, and they all have their own thing going for them. The EVH Wah surprised me. I thought it sounded really good, especially with some gain. The regular Crybaby didn't seem to suck tone and have any drawbacks really, although I have read comments about how some think it's poorly made and a real tone sucker. Didn't notice.

The EX-7 wah models on the default settings did sound a bit so-so, in comparison to the other pedals. However, these wah models can be tweaked quite a bit, something I didn't do this time.

So can you guess which of the Dunlop Wah pedals I bought?

Videos

Here's what my messing around with da Wahs sounded like. Let me hear which pedal you think sound the best!

Zuiko 50mm Macro Lens

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Zuiko 50mm F/2.0 Macro lens

I did quite a bit of research about recently, about digital SLR cameras. I was thinking about switching to Nikon or Canon. Those are the most commonly used camera brands on the market today, or at least that's what it's seems like to me.

Long story short, after reading and reading about Olympus, Canon, Nikon and some other brands, I've decided to stick with Olympus. I have a very basic Olympus E-410, but I like it and I really like the Olympus lenses. I believe it is too easy to get caught up in the hype about what gear to get. It's just like guitar gear - it's easy to forget how important it is to use the gear well! I think the Olympus lenses are of really great quality, and that together with capable hands is in my view more important than what brand the pro photographers use. There's so much hype and misconceptions out there about gear, whether it's about guitars or cameras or whatever. I'll rather spend time using what I have than just sitting around wanting something "better".

With that in mind, I bought a Olympus Zuiko DIGITAL ED Macro lens - 50 mm - F/2.0. This is a dedicated lens for macro photography. The 2.0 maximum aperture makes it excellent for available-light shooting while the attachment of macro flash systems is also possible.

This lens is amazing. It produces incredibly crisp and sharp images and I love it for portraits of the kids. It also works really great in low light, especially compared to the kit lens that came with the camera.

You can of course get really, really close with this lens, and I intend to post some examples soon so you can see for yourself. Great for professional looking food and candy photos! It's quite amazing the amount detail you can get. It is extremely sharp, and I love how much detail I can get of a flower or insect when stopped down to around f6.3 - f8. As well, you can get a wonderful limited depth of field when set to the f2 aperture.

For doing portraits, this lens is simply brilliant, it captures so much detail. People you take photos of might even complain that it captures too much detail!

The only drawbacks I've found are the AF is slow and it does not have internal focusing. Other than that, this is close to being a perfect lens. The Zuiko 50mm f2.0 macro lens takes incredible photos. If you have an Olympus DLSR and don't yet have this lens, do yourself a favour and get it. Just get it, and you'll be amazed at how great and useful it is.

Is learning guitar licks bad?

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Is learning guitar licks bad?

How to really learn from guitar licks

I sometimes end up in discussions with guitar players about playing and learning how to play, and I have noticed that some players who have been playing for a while often frown on learning guitar licks or copying other players ideas (often referred to as transcribing, especially when the notes are written down). Their attitude is that learning guitar licks is a bad thing. I hear statements lie, "You only memorize something somebody else came up with, which is bad. You won't ever remember it anyway. Come up with your own ideas instead, develop your own voice, etc." So what's the truth here really, are they right by saying these things?

Well, I will tell you my view. Learning licks is NOT bad. In fact, learning by copying other is one of the BEST things you can spend time on as a musician! Yes, I stand by that statement. I think it is very simple. Humans learn by copying, and we do it in many areas of life. As small kids, we learn by copying our parents; we learn to write by copying the instructions from our teacher, etc. It is in our nature to observe and imitate. The same goes for music, we learn from what we hear, and I do find this perfectly natural.

So will copying other musicians make you sound like a copy cat with no style of your own? NO! It won't, not if you get your inspiration from several sources! The reason is because if you spend time learning from a variety of players, you will inevitable develop your own style in the end. You may learn a few ideas about bending from Jimi Hendrix, some ideas about vibrato from B.B King, a few cool octave tricks from Wes Montgomery, etc. In a way, you are take pieces from your musical environment, building a " better you", so to speak, if that makes sense.

Now, what you need to realize is that you should analyze what your transcribe or learn from others, in order to really take advantage of it. Find out what makes that guitar lick work. Is it that major 3rd over that dominant 7 chord that makes it sound cool, or perhaps it is that triplet that makes it groove? Or maybe it's the whammy bar or bending technique, etc - you get the idea. After that, do practice this lick in several different ways - at a different tempo, over a different chord or chord change, with a different guitar tone, in a different style of music, etc. Get to really "know" this lick, and twist and change it until you have found "your own" way of playing it. This is really important and valuable, I cannot stress this enough.

If you don't take the time to learn from licks and ideas, you are mostly wasting your time. If I sit down and transcribe a musical idea or lick that I don't understand or perhaps have trouble being able to play well because it's technically too difficult, it's a terrible use of my time. Instead, I transcribe little things all the time, and I learn from them. I may only be focusing on 2 notes by Stevie Ray Vaughan or David Gilmour, but I take my time time to figure out why those 2 notes sound so good, and how can take those 2 notes and put them into a kind of guitar lick or phrase that I like to play. In other words, I'm copying a little here and there from others, but the end result is another cool line with has "my sound" all over it. If you do the same and continue this same process, you will end up with many good ideas and a large vocabulary of licks and phrases. The only problem is that you will need take the time to study other musician's solos and phrases as I've mentioned, which can be difficult and time consuming, of course. But you know what? There is NO BETTER WAY TO LEARN! That's how most of the jazz giants like Charlie Parker and others learned - they jammed and listened to each other and took a bit here and a bit there and came up with amazingly creative material in the end.

If you have never sat down and really learned by listening to other musician's recordings, it can be hard to know where to start. If you have a guitar teacher, I would recommend you ask your teacher to help you with this. Perhaps take a simple blues tune and find a couple of good sounding licks and ask your teacher to help you transcribe them. Ask also with help in analyzing and understanding the lick, which could mean you talk about intervals or chord notes, etc. You try to figure out why it sounds good, and learn from that. Ear training is also an important part here, because you need to be able to hear a note, and find it on your guitar.

If you don't have a teacher, find a tune with some guitar parts that are simple enough for you to handle. Let's say it's a pentatonic sounding lick that has 4 notes. Slow down the lick by using Quicktime or Windows Media player and listen for one note at a time. As soon as you hear the note, pause playback and immediately try to find that note on the fretboard. Play the lick again, now this time listen for the second note and find it on your fretboard. Then play it yet again, and play along with your guitar. Did it sound right? If so, continue with the 3rd note, and so on. If it didn't sound right, go back and play it over and over again as you play along with it. Which note is wrong? How much off is it? Are you playing it wrong in time, etc. This is a process of repeating and repeating until you get it right. It can be a lot of repeating before you get it right... be this is great practice. Be patient, and take your time. It's going to be worth your time.

Once you get it down so you can play along with it, you need to understand it. What's making it sound good - is it perhaps very melodic, has a certain rhythmic figure, or perhaps certain intervals such as the minor and the major third are repeated several times? Whatever it is, make a mental (or written) note, and now try to play this lick over a backing track of some kind. Maybe you find you want to add or remove a few notes to better suit you - that's great! Tweak it, understand it, own it. Make it part of you and put it in your musical toolbox, so that you can pick up some version of this lick at any time you want.

I hope this made some kind of sense to you. If you are a complete beginner,then this may be a bit over your head. However, if you are an intermediate guitarist who may be thinking your soloing all sounds the same and you feel stuck in a rut, then you NEED to start transcribing other players. I say it again - it's the best way to learn and improve. You are in fact teaching yourself, at your own pace, and you will probably be much more motivated than if your teacher gave you some homework that didn't inspire you, or those DVDs you bought just aren't interesting enough.

Now, run off and transcribe something and come back and tell me what you learned!

Rock on, brother.

Steviesnacks.com is a great site

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Steviesnacks.com

If you are interested in playing blues in the style of Stevie Ray Vaughan, I am sure you know of Steviesnacks.com. If you don't, well then you are missing out on some really cool stuff.

Steviesnacks.com is run by Anthony Stauffer, a guitar player, web designer and guitar teacher. I have communicated with Anthony a few times, and he's a nice guy with a passion for what he does. We obviously have a few things in common, and although some people may think we are "competitors", in that we both offer lessons for sale our respective website, I highly recommend you go check out the lesson material he produces. It is of high standard and the videos are available in HD. Furthermoe, the videos look very professional and you can easily tell he puts in lots of hard work in creating his lessons.

I believe in giving credit to any sources or tools that can help people play better. After all, I think that is what we all strive for in the end.

I also have some good resources on my links page, so have a look there too if you haven't already.

To have a look at what Anthony has available on his website, just go to Steviesnacks.com and have a look.

Changing guitar strings

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Changing guitar strings

Ok, I admit it, I am lazy. So lazy, that I haven't ever changed strings on my SX acoustic yet... and the Michael Kelly I bought in January still has factory strings on! That guitar hung in the store for a good while before I bought it, so these strings qualify to be called really old by now.

And why do I so rarely change my strings? Well, I guess I don't care that much. Especially since I haven't been gigging much lately. However, when I have an important gig or want to record something where I really want a good tone, I will use a guitar with fairly fresh strings.

How often do YOU change strings? If I played gigs regularly, I supposed I'd want to change strings every week, but as of now, I'm mostly doing video lessons and gear demos on video, and it's not imperative that I have fresh strings every week. Plus, it's so boring to change strings, I don't really enjoy it much!

Speaking of changing guitar strings, I thought I'd mention how I do it. On my Suhr, I have locking tuners, and with these, I stick the end of the string through the hole, tighten the locking screw and cut off the leftover piece of string with some clippers. Then I just tune like normal, and the guitar stays in tune beautifully, even though the string may not even go one lap around the string post. Effective those locking tuners are, Yoda would say.

On a guitar with a hole through the string post, I just stick the string through the hole, leave some slack and the leftover piece of string goes under and then over the string. As you then tighten the string, it will nicely lock that leftover piece. Tune the string and then cut off that leftover piece of string.

When I now read that description I just wrote, I realize it's pretty hard to understand! Some things are just hard to describe in words, so ain't it handy that I have a video camera close by! I'll demonstrate how to change strings as described above through a video. Here it is below, using my Michael Kelly Patriot Shadow.

How to wind the strings around the tuning peg

The Woodstock Amp

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

The Woodstock Amp

I recently got a very interesting low wattage amp. This a hand-built, Class A boutique amp built by TT Amplification, and it is available to a very reasonable price. The amp delivers about 5 to 7.5 watts output and is plenty loud if you want it to.

The amp has toggle switches for on/off and for on/standby. There is 5K to 7K switch on the back, which only changes the amount of available headroom by changing the input impedance. It does not change the output wattage of the amp, that remains constant. There is also a speaker out and a chicken style know lets you switch between 4, 8 and 16 ohms. I have to say it is very nice to have this option. On the front, you have a volume knob and a tone knob.

The Woodstock amp has a single-ended output section, so it is true Class A. The amp is point to point wired by hand; there are no circuit or turret boards being used. It is both simple and elegant. It looks cool too!

After having tried this amp for a few days now, both with and without pedals, I have to say I am very impressed. I will soon put up some demos so you can hear for yourself. In the meantime, I'll tell you my impressions.

First of all, the clean tone is very rich and has nice bottom end. It's sort of a Blackface tone but with richer mid-range. Very touch sensitive and it brings out the tone of the guitar you are playing nicely. I have played many low wattage amps, and many of them sound a bit thin, because they don't generate enough bottom end, which results in a flat sound. The Woodstock amp sounds more like an 18 or perhaps 30 watt amp in this regard - much more oomph.

Secondly, since it is a Class A amp, I expected a fair amount hum and noise. I nearly dropped my jaw when I cranked up the amp and heard no hum. What!? Was it broken? I hit a chord and LOUD IT WAS, yet hardly any hum or noise! Truly remarkable. I can't understand how that's even possible, but it sure is a very useful feature - the quietness of the amp.

Thirdly, the amp takes pedals well. I have tried 4-5 different kind of gain pedals, and it strikes me that each pedal sounds very different from any of the other pedals. If I am not crazy, I think this amp brings out the true sound of a pedal better than my other amps. I need to test this more, but this is my first thought. For example, I can often get a tubescreamer type of sound with my SD-9 in other amps, but with the Woodstock, the SD-9 sounds very different from my tube screamer I have plugged in next to it. If this assumption is truly correct, you can be sure that your overdrive pedal WILL sound quite a bit different than your distortion pedal, etc.

Other things to note. The amp starts to overdrive when you go beyond 2 o'clock. It's a nice, compressed and dynamic slightly overdriven tone. A great tube amp tone to base your overall sound around. If you crank it all the way, the amp goes a little over the top and it starts to sound a little muffled and unclear. I like the amp best between 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock. There is quite a bit of volume difference too between those two settings. I can easily do smaller gigs with this amp without any problems. I can also be played at low volume for practicing, but I find it sounds best when the amp is pushed up a little bit more.

In summary, a very fine amp indeed, and if you are interested in great sounding small amp heads, you definitely need to look at this amp. It works great for blues, country and it can rock and heavier tones easily if you add a gain pedal. The amp takes any kind pedal very well indeed.

Video

So what does it sound like? Well, I have prepared a couple of videos so you can hear for yourself. The first clip is using a 2x12 Avatar speaker cabinet with Eminence Wizards. I am using my Suhr Classic and a few different gain pedals as well, so you can hear how the amp sounds with and without pedals.

On the 2nd video clip, I am using a 1x10 Mack open back speaker cabinet, which has an Eminence Ragin Cajun in it.

Features

1- 12AX7, 1 EL-84, 1-6X4 tube compliment.
On / Off and Standby switches.
Point to point hand wired.
Volume and Tone adjustments.
Clean classic 60's blackface tones to juicy, sustained overdrive.
Switchable Input Impedance Toggle Switch to add headroom.
Switchable speaker impedance 4, 8 or 16 ohms.
5 - 7.5 watts output.
Ideal for home and studio use.
Optional carrying case.
Approximate dimensions –
10” wide X 7.5” high X 6 1/2” deep.
Weight 8 1/2 lbs.

The website for the Woodstock Amplifier is http://www.ttamplification.com

Guitars in Vegas

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Guitars in Vegas

I am taking a trip to Las Vegas in December with my wife. We are going to run the marathon, and I'm going to check out some guitar stores as well!

The guitar stores I have found so far are, Vegas Guitars, Cowtown Guitars, Las Vegas Guitar Works, Fremont St. Guitars, Las Vegas Guitars, Ed Roman Guitars, Guitar Center. Did I miss any?

So, while I am in Las Vegas waiting for the marathon run and later, being completely exhausted after the 26.2 miles of pounding roads, I plan on visiting some guitar stores and see what cool guitar stuff Vegas might have for a guitar player like me. Any tips, suggestions?

While in Las Vegas, we have so far planned to go to Red Rock Canyon, to see the Cirque du Soleil show "O" at the Bellagio. I also want to go to Mario Batali's restaurant B & B Ristorante - I heard it's great.

What else would recommend to do and see in Las Vegas? Any good blues or jazz joints?

If you live in Las Vegas or happen to be there during December 4th - 7th, let me know and maybe we can hook up for a coffee or jam a chord or two at a music store!

Low wattage guitar amp - Mack GEM

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Low wattage guitar amp - Mack GEM

The new Mack GEM is out, and I have played it quite a bit over the weekend. This low wattage tube amp is very cool. First of all, it looks killer! My friend asked if it had been built my smurfs. Well, it sure is small. Our daughter thought it was a lunch box. Keep the jokes coming if want, but it delivers plenty of grit and volume; even the smurfs might have to run for cover when you crank this baby.

The Mack GEM is available as a head, or as a combo. I have the head version, and I also have a matching Mack 1x10 open back cabinet, which houses an Eminence Ragin Cajun. This cabinet is very well built, and super handy. I will likely use this little cabinet with other amps as well, since it's so portable and sounds really nice.

Mack Gem Specifications

4 watts switchable to 0.4 watts
1 - EL84 cathode biased, Class A
1 - NOS 6AC10 triple triode preamp tube
Solid state rectifier
Switchable preamp gain stages
Volume, gain, tone controls
Speaker output: 8 ohms

Gem Head

Anodized aluminum, red cabinet
8" W x 5 1/2" H x 4" D
117/120 VAC, 60 Hz
4 lb

Gem Combo

10" Eminence Ragin Cajun ceramic magnet speaker
Medium density fibre board (MDF), glued, screwed and power nailed
Black tolex
117/120 VAC, 60 Hz
14" W x 16" H x 8" D (same cabinet as the 1x10 OB speaker)
20 lb.

The Gem has a power switching circuit that changes its single EL84's power output from 4 watts to 0.4 watt. You might be thinking, 4 watts must be too "weak" for most people. Well, I will tell you, this 4 watt tube amp can be LOUD, if you want it to. I can easily play smaller gigs with this amp.

I have so far played this amp with 3 guitars - my Squier Tele, my Michael Kelly Patriot Shadow and my Suhr Classic. I get classy tones with all three. I find that I can coax some big EL84 tones out this 4 watter, very similar to my Mack Heatseeker 18 watt amp, only at lower volume. The Mack GEM has big tones, even though it is small.

Another particularly interesting feature in this amp is the switchable pream gain selector. The Gem features a NOS 6AC10 preamp tube, which is a triple triode tube. The three tube sections in the Gem's 6AC10 provide some interesting preamp flexibility:

Low gain mode. Two of the sections are paralled and cascaded into the third. This provides warmth and touch sensitivity with extra gain from the third stage.
High gain mode. Flip the Preamp switch and the three triode sections are cascaded one into the other. This produces higher gain rock tones quite different from any other Mack amp.
Power amp AND preamp distortion. As you turn up the gain control, adjust the volume control and you can dial in preamp distortion or power amp distortion or both at the same time. This is available at any volume level.

Video

Enough talk, you probably want to hear what it sounds like? So, I recorded a video the same they day I received the amp, have a look. This is me playing the amp for the very first time. I wanted to capture the moment on video - I had no idea what to expect, and you can see how I'm turning knobs and finding tones as I go. I used my Suhr Classic, plugged straight into the GEM, without using any pedals or effects.

This video below features my Zonkin' Yellow Screamer MkII pedal, and a Boss DD-20 delay. This amp takes pedals well. I think this gain tone is really good. Realize that the volume is really low. You can hear me flicking the pickup selector switch as I holding a distorted note or chord. You can even hear the guitar strings acoustically sometimes, if you listen closely, while a good overdriven guitar tone is still being produced. Sweet!

In the next video below, I demonstrate how the sound doesn't change as you switch from 4 watts down to 0.4 watts. It just gets quieter, and the tone remains unchanged. Very cool. I am using my Squier Tele and Michael Kelly Patriot Shadow on this video.

Marshall Class 5

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Marshall Class 5 amps

The Marshall Class 5 amp is a simple five-watt, class A, tube combo It uses ECC83s in the preamp stage and one EL84 power tube for power. It's a very simple guitar amp, meant for smaller gigs or practice.

The front panel has a Plexi look. The knobs you find here are Volume, Treble, Middle and Bass. Super simple! This is a Class A design, and even though it is simple, you can get a lot out of it. It is touch sensitive and responds very well to pedals and adjustments to the guitar's volume or tone knobs.

This little thing looks cool too. Nobody is going to laugh at you, even though it is small!

The price? About 400 bucks for a five watt tube guitar combo. Expensive? Nah, this is a different animal than the cheap solid state or modeling amps. You get serious tone and lots of volume and oomph for the price. I don't think it's expensive, considering the quality.

The speaker is a 16 ohm 10 inch Celestion G10F-15.

By the way, there is a headphone out, which mutes the amp's output for when you want to practice silently. There is also a 16 ohm speaker output, so you can even hook it up to a 4 x 12 cabinet if you so wish.

How does it sound?

It is very hard not to like this little amp! Thumbs up.

Victoria Marathon 2009

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Victoria Marathon 2009

The weather was perfect for running on Sunday's Victoria Marathon. First place went to Hilary Cheruiyot with 2:19:26 and in second place, Steve Osaduik in 2:22:42, and in third place with 2:24:43, Lameth Mosoti.

My friend David and I got to the start in the last minute (several reasons for this), but it was all good. We started out at a relaxed pace. David pulled back at about 2km, and I continued with my plan, which was to try and run 38-39 per 10km. I passed 5km in 19:07 but I felt like it was work. I had been feeling great this last week before the marathon, but on race day, it seems the legs didn't want to work as I had hoped.

I passed 10km at 38:12 and it wasn't any easier. By 15 km (57:38), I started to try and pick up the pace a little to see how it would feel. I wasn't really going faster, due to some hills, but I was working fairly hard. Still, it seemed okay and I passed halfway at 1:21:10. This was slower than I had wanted, but I was really doing all I could at this point.

I kept up the pace for a while further, and it actually felt better now (1:43:33 for 27 km). I saw a guy in front of me, and I was slowly catching up to him, so I was certainly motivated.

Then a few hills came, and my pace started slowing. By 30 km, I was hoping I could get it back on some of the downhills, but I knew it was over. My legs started giving up on me, and there was nothing I could do about it.

I was down to 4 min/km now, and I hoped I could hold this up for a good while, but nah, that wasn't going to happen either. Still, I passed others who had gone out fast and blowed up. So, I was in good company, you could say...

From 30 km to 40 km, I had the blazing split of 42:30. The last 2 km was at 5 min/km pace, and a few people passed me, notably they were mostly women! One guy came up on my side with 200 meters to go, but then my competitive mind flared up, and I put on a big kick and kept him off. I finished in 2:48:20. My previous 2 marathons this year were both faster than this, but on the other hand, before this year - this time would have been my 2nd fastest marathon ever.

I was hurting after. My legs were spaghetti, and I felt completely drained. My friend David came in some 13 minutes later, and I think he was in about the same boat as me this time. Some days, things are not going like you want them to, but you have to take it with a smile and come back stronger some other time.

I surprisingly enough placed 4th in my age category, and received a plaque for that. I have already signed up for Las Vegas marathon on December 6th, and I plan to get some good training in for that. I am going to try and run well there - I know I can do it. I also will check out some guitar stores in Vegas and have some fun! If you have any tips for things to do in Las Vegas, let me know!

My wife and daughters also ran this weekend. The wife did the whole marathon, and it was tough for her too, mostly because of lack of training. Our 16 year-old was 8th in her age category in the 8 km race, and our 6 year-old blasted through the 1.2 km race with a big smile on her face. It was a beautiful and enjoyable weekend even though the run was hard. Honestly, I am grateful to be able to run at all. There are others who can't do what I do, and I know it. I almost gave up on running after a knee injury, and I'm really just happy to be able to do what I do, regardless of speed.

Marshall MA Amps

Sat, 03 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Marshall MA Amps

Marshall has a new series of amps out called the MA Series. They are entry level all tube amps, so they will cost less and have fewer bells and whistles than other Marshall amps like the JVM or VM amps, while still not sacrificing tone. Classic Marshall tone in a simple, affordable way. Sounds like a great idea to me!

There are 50 watt and 100 watt combos, and 50 watt and 100 watts heads available. All models have the same features and controls.

The amps have 2 channels, clean and overdrive. There is also a switch for boosted overdrive, which is almost like having a 3rd channel.

The clean channel has eq for bass, treble, middle and volume.

The overdrive channel has eq for crunch balance, gain, bass, middle, treble, volume.

The master section consists of reverb, resonance and presence.

This amp doesn't use digital reverb - it comes with a spring reverb instead.

There is an effects loop available as well, and the MA amps also come with a 2 way footswitch.

The boosted overdrive switch will take the overdriven tone into higher gain territory for solos and heavy riffs, a nice feature and it makes the amp very versatile for gigging musicians. The included footswitch will let you switch between clean and overdrive, as well as between normal overdrive and boosted overdrive.

On the rear panel, you will find speaker outputs, effects loop and the amp uses ECC83 preamp tubes and EL34 power tubes.

This is an interesting move by Marshall. I think it is a good move, since the good sounding powerful tube amps by Marshall tend to be quite expensive, until now, that is. So much are they? Well, I wish I knew. At the time of writing, I have not found any pricing information, so keep your eyes peeled on the online guitar stores or ask your local dealer.

Floating bridge guitar setup

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Floating bridge guitar setup

Here is a tip for those who have a non-locking style floating tremolo bridge on a Stratocaster type of guitar, and are having trouble staying in tune. Most of us know that you need graphite or pencil lead in the nut of the guitar to help with tuning stability. That sure helps, as it allows the string to travel more freely over the nut, and it's doesn't get "hung up", so to speak. However, there is another potential problem. More specifically, I have noticed that when the bridge is set to float, and you pull down or up on the whammy bar, some strings actually go sharp! What's that all about? Is the the springs, or the bridge screws aren't set up right? Well, in my case, and perhaps in yours - neither!

The answer came from Master guitar builder John Suhr. I asked him about this problem, and he gave me some very good advice. His customer service is fantastic, by the way, and John builds some of the finest guitars on this planet. What John recommended is to try some lubricant where the strings sit on the saddle. I have some Big Bends Nut Sauce Tuning Lubricant, which I applied under the strings, right where they sit on the saddle. I then tried pushing the whammy bar up and down a few times, and normally this leads to some strings going sharp. After applying the Nut Sauce however, it is perfect! I am amazed at how well this worked.

So the lesson to learn here - if you have your tremolo bridge set to float and it is a non-locking system, you probabaly have noticed this problem with strings not staying in tune (they go sharp) - apply some lubricant where the strings sit on the saddles. I recommend Big Bends Nut Sauce Tuning Lubricant because it is well known and doesn't turn into rubbery goey stuff after a while. However, there are other similar products that would work just as well. The goal is to make it possible for the string to glide over the saddle as smoothly as possible.

I am so happy now that I have learned how to deal with this issue. I especially noticed this "strings go sharp" problem was even worse just after I had changed strings. So, from now on, I ALWAYS apply a lubricant where the strings sit on the saddles, everytime I change strings. What a world of difference this makes... I guess should have known this a long time ago, you might think, but as with anything in life, sometimes there are things you miss.

Oz Noy Schizophrenic

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Oz Noy Schizophrenic

I am a big fan of Oz Noy. He is one of the most exciting guitar players out there today. His playing is very tasteful and he is a real virtuoso guitar player, without being a showoff. As I was browsing iTunes, I noticed this album Schizophrenic just came out today. So of course I had to buy it. You know what? I am glad I did!

This album is awesome! Please excuse my inability to hold back my excitement. Truth is that Oz Noy is playing some truly wicked and inspiring guitar here. His tone is better than ever, and his solos are jawdroppingly fantastic. Dang, this guy can do it all I think. As for the tunes, they are really nice. Oz Noy is known as a groove player, and he does not disappoint in that regard. Funky grooves with intelligent and inspiring use of effects, as well as ballads and some rockier material. I am floored. Schizophrenic is his fourth release by the way.

Description from Amazon: Oz Noy, one of the most proficient, fluid, and inventive contemporary instrumental guitarists in the U.S., unleashes the sonic equivalent of a high-performance sports vehicle that hugs the highway and cruises in the fast lane. Helping Noy realize his musical visions is a stellar cast of musicians such as guitarist Steve Lukather (Toto, Michael Jackson), drummer Dave Weckl (Chick Corea, Robert Plant), drummer Keith Carlock (Sting, James Taylor, Steely Dan), drummer Anton Fig and bassist Will Lee(both of Late Show with David Letterman)and bassist James Genus (SNL).

Oz Noy's way of using effects is right up my alley. It's often effect in - effect out. He doesn't overdo effects, even though he uses lots of them in his music. What he does however, is to use effects in the right spots in compositions. He may add a fast tremolo stutter or an octave fuzz tone in certain places, and soon there after there's a fat distortion tone for a few seconds. In the end, it never sounds overdone or too much to me. No, it's tasty and makes me go "whoa, what was that unearthly cool thing he just did?". Needless to say, his way of using effects really inspires me.

If you like Oz Noy, you must get this album now. Never heard of him? Well, let me entertain you then. Here are some youtube videos.

You should also have listen here www.myspace.com/oznoy - there's music from this last album there.

Robben Ford has a new album out!

Robben Ford's new album "Soul On Ten" is worth a look too. Eight of Soul on Ten's ten tracks are live from two nights at San Francisco's The Independent, but the closing two tracks—the ambling, jazz-centric "Don't Worry," featuring a saxophone solo by Karl Denson and bluesier "Thoughtless," with guest spots by B-3 organist Larry Goldings and bassist Jon Button—are live-in-the-studio recordings.

Oz Noy Videos

Tremolo Pedal

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Tremolo Pedal

Tremolo is a nice, simple and useful effect I like to use when playing guitar. I find it sounds best with a fairly clean guitar sound. I also think tremolo is underused as a cool effect in many styles of music.

What kind of effect is tremolo anyway? Well, all the tremolo effect does is turn the volume down and back up repeatedly.

Most Tremolo pedals have several characteristics which will shape the sound. The Depth controls how extreme the volume change is. If you set the depth low, you can an effect like turning a volume knob back and fortt just a little bit. A higher amount of depth would be like turning your volume all the way up and down repeatedly.

The Rate controls the speed of the volume change. This rate is controlled by a knob, and some pedal makers even have a tap tempo function, which makes it possible to sync the rate with the beat of a song.

The Waveform shape affects the type of tremolo too. The two types of common waveforms for tremolo are sine and square waveforms.

A Square waveform is abrubt like a lightswitch - it can only be either on or off. This means the volume is either on or off, and there’s no transition between of and off. The effect is a very choppy sounding tremolo effect.

A Sine waveform is similar to a dimmer switch, because it has a smooth transition between all the way up and all the way down. This setting is less abrupt and extreme, and sounds more pleasing.

Some pedal makers have other options too, for example tap-tempo and the ability to mix Square and Sine waveforms, for more control of the tremolo.

Cool Cat Tremolo

Personally, I have settled for the inexpensive Cool Cat Tremolo. It has a "soft" and "hard" switch, which refers to the sine and square tremolo effect types, respectively. If you are looking for a good, affordable tremolo pedal, you've got to try the Cool Cat Tremolo. I love it! Here is a demo I made, using a Suhr Classic through my Mack Heatseeker 18 watt tube head.

Musician's Friend has Cool Cats

Danelectro Cool Cat Series CT-1 Tremolo Guitar Effects Pedal

For some other examples of good use of tremolo in music, have a listen to "Feels Like Rain", by John Hiatt:

Creedence Clearwater Revival also used the Tremolo effect quite a bit in their music. Here is an example.

See also a tremolo pedal article in Guitar Player Magazine from Feb 2008, where they tested 11 different tremolo pedals.

Fretboard visualization

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Fretboard visualization

Would you like to be able to you play what is in your head? A recent discussion brought this topic forward, and I would like to share my thoughts on this subject.

Most of the time when I play something, there isn't much thinking involved - the notes just kind of come out by themselves. Sometimes it sounds pretty good, sometimes, well not so good. When it doesn't sound good, I notice and try to determine what the problem is and make corrections as a result. The point is that I usually don't think ahead much regarding what I am about to play, even if I have a good idea what I want to play next.

Over the years, I have developed good ears for finding notes, both in my head and on the guitar. However, these are two different things. I can put it this way, if you develop a good ear and can "hear" the music in your head, you can also get to the point where you are able to "transfer" this music or these notes onto the guitar, without thinking.

Sounds too good to be true? Well, it is true, but it involves both spending time doing ear training, as well as practicing how to find notes on the fretboard effortlessly.

The first step is to focus on ear training. There are courses you can buy on DVD for this; there's software you can buy, and there are also websites that provide tools for ear training. I believe it is extremely useful to be able to instantly determine any of the 12 intervals in western music. Can you tell the difference between a Perfect fourth and a Perfect fifth? Are you able to pick out a b7 immediately? How about a Major 7 or Major 9 chord, can you hear this right away without having to go to the guitar or piano to try and figure it out?

The key to being able to understand a melody in your head is being able to know/hear all these intervals instantly. Why? Because you can break a melody down into intervals and make specific sense out of it that way. Once you can do this in your head, you can then transfer this knowledge to the guitar.

Learning the intervals on the guitar is a different beast in itself though. Here the problem becomes where are these notes and how can I possibly remember where everything is? Well, the way I do it is to see "shapes" of notes. You can learn to visualize a Major 3rd or a Perfect 5th (a Power Chord!) on the fretboard, and once you have these down, you can actually play what's in your head!

Okay, perhaps this sounds confusing, so let's try an example. I am assuming you have some knowledge about intervals, but if you don't, have a look at Wikipedia's Interval entry or see the resources below.

Let's check out "Itsy Bitsy Spider", I am sure know this one. It starts on the root note, until the "y" in "Bitsy", at which point the interval is a Major second. On the word "Spider", the interval is now a Major third. We can continue analyze the whole melody this way. Because I have learned how to find all intervals on the fretboard, I actually visualize these notes in my head (call it a mental fretboard) as they are being played on the guitar fretboard. When I later pick up the guitar, it is simply a matter of playing the notes I have already visualized. At this point, you are actually performing the easy part.

Now, the more you practice ear training and fretboard knowledge, the easier this process becomes. However, this visualization process is of course more difficult when the tune or melody is more complicated. Still, the more you do this, the better you will become at it.

You can do this too, but you will have to have patience, as this usually takes some time to learn. For some it can be a matter of months, for others it could be years, it all depends on how much you practice and how easily you learn. No matter what, do believe in yourself and know that this is not impossible or will only work for musical geniuses. Not so! Patience, brother - practice, stay focused and never give up. Words I try to live by as well.

Ear Training Resources

Good Ear - free ear training website.

Fretboard Learning Resources

I, Flathead - Ry Cooder

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 00:00:01 GMT

I, Flathead - Ry Cooder

I have always liked Ry Cooder. He has always been a great musical storyteller, whether it's a film score or a folk of blues tune. His latest album, I, Flathead, is the last installment in the Californian Trilogy, beginning with Chavez Ravine and continuing with last year’s My Name is Buddy.

The final CD, I, Flathead, is billed as the product of fictional musician Kash Buk and his band, The Klowns, their exploits further detailed in a 95-page novella.

It's a quirky album - it is both vintage and futuristic as the same time. There's country, rock, blues, roots, swing and jazz in here. There's also plenty of humour all throughout the album. Cooder brings out the slide as well, and Pink- Boogie is a killer tune, that's for sure.

I like this album, because it's very different. It's not guitar music of the kind I often buy. This is Ry Cooder, a man who is a fantastic guitar player and songwriter and who doesn't always go in the direction you might expext. However, he is in many ways returning to his good old self, if I dare to say so. He plays lots of great guitar on this album, and he sings great and it seems he is really having fun with this.

I give this album about 3.5 to 4 points out of 5. Ask me in a few weeks, and I might have upped it by then. It's definitely different, and I LIKE different.

Good guitar straps

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Good guitar straps

I've been looking for some great leather guitar straps for a while now, and there is never anything good in the local stores. After looking around online and checking reviews, a few names have come up. Moody straps, Levy's Leather, Eldorado straps, and Italia straps.

I imagine all of those mentioned are good quality. However, I settled for an Italia strap, and it just arrived the other day. I got the Black - Black strap as seen on www.italiastraps.com/black-guitar-strap.html.

I can not stand those cheap nylon straps you get for free when you buy a cheap guitar. They are thin and uncomfortable, really worthless to me. I am unable to wear such straps more than 5 minutes.

First impression of this Italia Strap - this is a very high quality leather strap. It is made out of finest Italian leather. I was pleasantly surprised to see how thick and soft the leather is. Very impressive indeed.

There is a lifetime guarantee on these straps, and I particularly like that there is not any hardware that can dig into my shoulder or my guitar.

I set the strap to be very short, as I am a short guy who prefers to wear my guitar high. Since the leather is so smooth and soft, it is very comfortable with any guitar.

If you want a custom-made strap, Italia straps have you covered. The company listens to their customers' needs, and will make you a strap to your specifications.

This strap is now my main strap, and I use it on my main guitar - my Suhr Classic. A great match! The white guitar and the black strap, perfect contrast.

In summary, if you want a quality leather strap, look no further than Italia Straps. I can not give anything but a big thumbs up for this strap! I will probably order another one, to use with my guitar number two.

Jeff Beck Live

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Jeff Beck Live

Jeff Beck is one fantastic guitarist. He's got chops and feeling and is just different than anybody else.

The thing is, I personally did not discover Jeff until fairly recently, can you believe it?! Well, I had heard him and knew some of his famous tunes, but I hadn't really listened, if you know what I mean? I have some of his studio albums, and they all feature some really cool guitar playing, although I may not dig all the tunes themselves, but Jeff's playing make it all worthwhile listening to anyway.

Jeff's technique is very interesting. He constantly uses his whammy bar in very creative ways. Playing like that is hard; it's easy to mess up notes, but Jeff is in complete control. In addition, he is constantly adjusting his tone by adjusting his volume knob. This style of playing is extremely difficult to master.

He also doesn't use a pick - just his right hand fingers. I really like his tone. You always get a much better tone by using your picking hand's fingers instead of a pick. Jeff uses 50 watt Marshall amps too, from what I have read.

I have friends who have seen Jeff Beck live, and they all say the same thing - wicked and brilliant. I sure hope he comes this way sometime, because I do think, as a guitar player, experiencing Jeff Beck live would be one fantastic event. I've looked on youtube a bit, and there is some great Jeff Beck stuff available. If you haven't heard any of his live playing, check out these videos below. Quite the guy, isn't he?! He seems to completely excel at live playing - just like a great player should. The live performance of Jeff Beck Live at Ronnie Scott's is another must-have. Both CD or DVD can be purchased. Here is a review.

Goodbye Pork Pie Hat / Brush With the Blues

Cause We Ended As Lovers

A Day In The Life

From Crossrads 2007

Marshall Haze

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Marshall Haze

Marshall has come out with a interesting new amp, called Haze. Currently, there is a 15 watt head and a 40 watt combo available.

The Haze15 has 3 ECC83 preamp tubes and two 6V6 power tubes, but the Hazel40 has two EL34 tubes for the power section.

Both amps come with digital effects and reverb.

It is a great idea by Marshall to offer real tube amps with a bit lower wattage, as many players today opt for smaller rigs. A Marshall stack is never wrong, but not everyone likes hauling around a 100 watt head with accompanying 4x12 cabinets to every gig.

Both the 15 and 40 watt amp have two channels. The "normal" channel handles clean to crunchy, and the "overdrive" channel goes from crunchy to high gain. The combo also has a boost function that is available for both channels.

With the Haze 15 and Haze 40, Marshall is providing a simple, good sounding low powered tube amp to an attractive price. I think many players have been missing what the Haze amps offer - good Marshall tone at lower volumes and a reasonable price (without any need for pedals). The 40 watt Haze combo is currently selling for around $700.00.

Lately, there hasn't been that many competitors to Fender's Hot Rod amps in this price range, at least not amps with the British Marshall flavor. This is a REAL Marshall, of course!

This could become a very popular amp, because of the reasons mention above. I think Marshall is doing the right thing here. Take one for a test drive if you have the chance!

Marshall Haze demos

Marshall Haze MHZ15 15W Tube Guitar Amp Head Black

The Marshall Haze MHZ15 tube guitar amp head is brimming with 15W of power, iconic looks, and most of all, exemplary Marshall tone. This compact all-tube head features effects, reverb, and classic looks without a big footprint. The Haze is covered in a vintage-style vinyl and fitted with protective corners. The hand-stretched baffle fretcloth, with its white piping finish, matches the complementing Haze cabinets, meaning you can combine it with 1 or 2 of them to create one cool-looking mid-sized stack. Just because the Marshall Haze head is smaller than a standard tube head doesn't mean that it's quiet or lacking in power or tone that you expect from a Marshall amp—its 15W of all-tube power guarantees you the full Marshall experience. The head is driven by an ECC83 preamp stage and 6V6 power amp stage, combining to create fantastic tube tone that belies its size. The Haze 15 has both normal and overdrive channels with a shared EQ and onboard effects, providing a versatile sound set and delivering an all-tube tone in a compact package that performs just like an all tube amplifier should. Designed in the same style as traditional Marshall Head amplifiers, the 2 distinctive footswitchable channels of the 15W Haze amplifier offer a variety of tonal possibilities. The Normal mode has bags of headroom and provides a rich and organic clean sound. With the Overdrive channel the Haze amp head delivers a warm overdriven tone, and its separate Gain control makes it possible to dial in preamp drive, distorting your tone before it reaches the power stage to deliver a more gritty rock tone. A Bright switch is shared between both the Normal and Overdrive channels. When engaged it lifts the overall sound achieved adding extra bite and sparkle and defining the edge of your tone when you need it. Both the Normal and Overdrive channels use a shared 3-band EQ, allowing you to adjust the treble, middle, and bass response to suit your taste. The effects section of the Haze 15 contains custom-voiced effects and reverb that have been specially designed by Marshall to complement the feel and tone of the amplifier. Each effect selected on the channel will be remembered when you return to the channel, meaning you can set up your clean and overdrive sounds and return to them over and over again without having to readjust your settings. The warm emulated spring reverb has its own independent control, allowing you to add as much or as little reverb as required. For those who want to completely remove the reverb circuitry from the equation, the reverb control is fitted with a positive off switch. Rotating the control counter-clockwise you will feel a click indicating that the reverb circuitry is disengaged. The 3 selectable effects in the Haze 15 reflect the overall feel of the tone available and have been designed to work with the tone of the amplifier to ensure that every one feels rich and satisfying.

Marshall Haze MHZ40C 40W 1x12 Tube Guitar Combo Amp Black

The format and versatility of the 1x12 40W Marshall Haze combo makes it the perfect partner for guitarists looking for a gig-worthy compact workhorse with enough features, power, and tone capabilities to handle a wide variety of situations. The cabinet is finished in high-grade vinyl with protective corners. Its vintage-style baffle is covered in a hand-stretched, acoustically transparent fret cloth, and the cabinet is finished with white piping and hard-wearing cabinet furniture to ensure your Marshall MHZ40C looks great.With its EL34 power stage and ECC83 powered preamp, this portable 40W combo is designed to deliver to the guitarist's expectations through the power and feel of its tubes. Laid out in a top-loaded format, the Marshall Haze sports 2 distinctive footswitchable channels. In normal mode the tone circuitry of the Haze 40W provides low-gain sounds that are crisp and honest, providing a really nice clean tone. Dialed from a single volume control, the normal channel provides ample headroom to play at volume without losing the definition of your guitar. The amp's boost switch in normal mode pushes the lower shapes of your tone by adding more gain and extra punch in the lower midsection for a fuller sound, perfect for fattening up thinner-sounding single coil pickups. The bright switch delivers added sparkle enhancing upper range of your guitar's sound and adding a crisper edge and more defined, brighter feel. Combined, the boost and bright switches will allow you to push the normal channel so that it stands out above the unmodified normal sound. The overdrive channel of the Marshall Haze 40W delivers a classic tone option with a separate gain control. It's possible to dial in preamp drive that distorts the sound and makes it easy to access that more aggressive rock and blues attitude without losing the definition of your guitar. The addition of the boost switch to the overdrive sound really pushes you into lead territory with sustain to spare, ensuring that you can access that extra punch when required. Both the normal and overdrive channels on the Marshall Haze amp use a shared 3-band EQ, allowing you to individually adjust the treble, midrange, and bass to suit your taste. The effects section of the Haze MHZ40C combo contains custom-voiced effects and reverb that have been specially designed by Marshall to complement the feel and tone of the amplifier. Each effect selected on the channel (normal, overdrive and overdrive boost) will be remembered when you return to the channel, meaning you can set up your clean, overdrive, and lead sounds and return to them over and over again without having to readjust your settings. The warm emulated spring reverb has its own independent control, allowing you to add in as much or as little reverb as required.

Anthem Guitars

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Anthem Guitars

Anthem make really nice and affordable guitars

New guitar day! In my hands, I have a black Anthem WTR30TBK guitar, a high gain shredder guitar with 24 Frets, floyd rose tremolo, zebra style humbuckers and jumbo frets. It even came with a cable, nice strap and strings as well. The body is made out of basswood, and it has a 3 Piece Bolt-on Canadian Maple Neck. The scale length is 25.5 inches. It is a joy to play! I am very picky about guitar necks, and this one is really, really nice. It has a flat but solid 17" radius; it is very easy to play fast lines on it, while at the same time it is not annoyingly superthin either. I really like this neck.

I plugged in this guitar into my Marshall JVM410H and set up a high gain tone. Wow. The pickup must be good, because it sounded FAT! I will produce some video demos of this guitar, but my first impression is that this guitar sounds very good. It is light weight, and it looks really cool. I have the Transparent Black, but it also comes in a Metallic Platinum.

This is not a complete review, as I have yet to set up the Floyd Rose and play the guitar through several amps. I can tell you though, that a high gain amp like my Marshall and this Anthem guitar are one fine match. What a fat and rich tone!

Anthem Guitars are relatively new on the guitar scene. What they are doing, is making quality guitars similar in pricing to Mexican Fenders, Epiphone, etc. They are made in China, and the first impression when I picked this up was, wow. Very nice quality for a Chinese guitar. In fact, this guitar is similar to Ibanez, Michael Kelly or Schecters, but I feel the this Anthem guitar is built with the attention to quality and detail than many of the competitors lack. You won't find any any sharp fret edges or crackling pots, etc., something I find far too often when I try guitars in this price range at music stores.

Most of the Anthem guitars are in the price range of $500 - $600. If this WTR30TBK is any indication, I think Anthem guitars have a good future ahead of them, because of the quality you get for this price. If you see an Anthem guitar in a store, grab it and see what you think. I suspect you might pleasantly surprised.

I also have my eye on the PST20, which is more of a Les Paul design, and it comes in pretty and colorful finishes. For more information about these guitars, go to Anthem Guitars Website.

Music on Main

Sun, 09 Aug 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Music on Main

Our band played at Music on Main this last Thursday here in Camrose. It's a nice program, supported by Martha's Music and the local businesses downtown Camrose, and we appreciate the opportunity to play at this event.

It is a great idea, where the local businesses stay open late, and people can shop a bit, listen to live music a bit on a nice summer evening. There could be more people coming out though, not sure what is keeping people from a great program like this.

We had rehearsed a bunch of new tunes for this gig, and it mostly went well. Some new SRV tunes, BB King, Joe Bonamassa, ZZ Top and other stuff, and it was great fun to have some (for us anyway) "new" material to play.

I used my Reverend Hellhound with a Blues Driver and a Maxon SD-9, and I of course used my Suhr Classic most of the time. Such a great sounding guitar. The reason I brought the Hellhound is because it's easiest to haul around. I usually bring my Mack amp, but then I need my cabinet too and sometimes it's too much to haul around when we have to set up quickly, like this time.

This band loves coffee, as you can tell from the picture below. Maybe we should call ourselves the Java Bean Band or something, haha!

Hideaway - Freddie King

Fri, 07 Aug 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Hideaway - Freddie King

I've always loved playing blues guitar, and one great blues player that has influenced me quite a bit over the years is Freddie King. He had such a great feel in his playing - very tasty player, he was. I can also hear a lot of Freddie when I listen to Stevie Ray Vaughan since it wasn't just Albert King who influenced SRV. Hideaway is a song many associate with Freddy, and here is clip from 1966. Really cool ideas in this one. Notice how he doesn't use a flat pick. I've read he often used a plastic thumb pick and a metal index-finger pick. His guitar of choice was a Gibson ES-335.

Freddie had a great voice too. Really growly and with lots of feeling. His guitar style is the same way - very melodic and expressional. Going Down is a great tune, and saying that Freddie does it justice is an understatement. Have a listen.

It's too bad Freddie left so early. He passed away in 1976 from a heart problem, only 42 years old.

If you want to hear more, search for more clips of him on youtube; there are quite a few available there. I have the album "The Texas Cannonball" and it's great. All of the albums he recorded are well worth buying.

Gibson stole my photo

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Gibson stole my photo

Stealing is bad, and it has happened to me before. This time however, the thief ended up being the mighty Gibson,
and I'm not happy about this.

Here's the story. A little while ago, I was browsing Google news, reading about guitar related news. I spotted a little thumbnail photo that I immediately recognized. Hey, wasn't that... my pedals? How could that be? The article was not something I had written. So, I clicked on the link, and it took me to http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Lifestyle/Features/back-to-basics-603/ which is a page written by Dave Hunter about using effects pedals. The first thing you see on that web page is - my photo. There is no doubt about that, since the photo is from my page at http://www.dolphinstreet.com/guitar_pedals/pedal_board/ where I wrote about how I built my pedal board out of a suitcase. This is the photo in question:

So what is the problem here? Well, I was never contacted by the author of the article. I am not credited as the source of the image either. He blatanly saved the image from my website and posted it on the Gibson website, without checking with me if that was cool. My website even has a copyright notice at the bottom of the page. Even so, any original artistic work is automatically copyrighted by law. Have a look at the this page about Copyright Law in the United States. I reside in Canada, and the Copyright Act protects original artistic works here in the same way.

I would not have minded if I was asked if it would be okay to put my photo on the Gibson page. In fact, I would have been flattered and would probably have said something like "yeah sure, as long as you also add a link back to my website, or reference me by name." since that would be proper, and I would get some website traffic in return.

The Correspondent page for the author also shows my picture, but this time it has been cropped. I don't recall having told anyone it's okay to not only steal my photos, but also tamper with them and post them on a different website.

When I noticed this photo theft, I sent a polite email the very next day to the Gibson webmaster email address. I mentioned that I had not given permission to the author to use my image on the Gibson website, but I said I would not mind as long as I was credited in return. I receive no reply from Gibson. This was on June 8th, 2009.

Personally, I'm not hurting really bad or anything because of this. Photographing pedal boards isn't my livelyhood, but on the other hand, it's never too late to make things right. I would not have a problem if Gibson contacted me (albeit late) and said they will credit me for using the photo. I would just say thanks for doing the right thing.

I am disappointed that the author of the article was not professional enough to do the right thing, which would have been to just ask me before taking my photo. I am also disappointed that I didn't hear back from Gibson.

I guess it's also possible that Gibson would have just removed my photo and used a different one instead of mine, if I had ever gotten through to Gibson. That might have been the end of the story. As it is right now, my photo is still sitting on their website.

What are your thoughts on this? Maybe it's not a big deal, but I do think professional writers and one of the biggest guitar companies in the world should respect copyright laws. If you have any suggestions or ideas, let me know. Feel free to spread the word about this, if you think it will help.

By the way, I also immediately saved the Gibson page as PDF document, in case their web page gets removed or modified. :)

Update - July 27, 2009

Today, Gibson suddenly removed my photo from their webpage. I have not, at any time, been contacted by Gibson or the author about this whole issue. I was hoping for an apology or explanation, but it looks like that won't happen.

Update - July 28, 2009

I added a comment to the Gibson page yesterday, and today I am noticing there are no comments displayed at all on that page. They seem to have been removed - perhaps because they were mostly critical comments, pointing out the copyright violation? Wait a minute, now the comments are back again - strange. One minute there are no comments, next minute the comments are there.

Update May 20, 2010

I am sure Gibson didn't know about this, but someone involved in publishing the article must have. I was also disappointed that I didn't even get a reply from Gibson when I emailed them. They could have responded back and said something, but no, not a word from them.

The article picture of my pedal board was one day gone from their website. The complaints via email and in the comments on that web page must have finally reached Gibson.

The Article in PDF format - with my picture

You can see for yourself - here is a PDF of that article when it had my photo there.

Cheap Studio Monitors

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Cheap Studio Monitors

I have been putting off buying studio monitors for way too long. Instead of using some real studio monitors, I've been using headphones when mixing and recording. Not so smart. It is tiring for the ears with headphones, and it doesn't sound the same as through monitors.

So, what studio monitors to get? There are a lot of options out there, and depending on your budget, you can spend thousands or under a hundred on decent, good or professional monitors. I did some research and found interesting studio monitors by M-Audio, Yamaha, Edirol, Alesis, Behringer and others. Some are cheap, some cost a fair bit, but as always, you get what you pay for. A higher end studio monitor is necessary for those who want really good sound for mixing, recording, etc.

So, I talked to my local music store, Music Centre Canada, and they had just gotten some Eden EM-3 in. I hadn't heard of these before, so I headed over there and had a listen. You can see more details about these monitors at www.eden-electronics.com/products/monitors/index.asp. Recently, they had a sale on their website, and then a pair of EM-3 monitors were sold for $69.99! Incredible. Well, the price has now gone up.

The Eden EM-3 studio monitors are really small, but they are quite powerful. The sound is clear and they sound "flat", which means they don't boost the bass or other frequencies - a neutral sound, so to speak. This is just what I wanted. Even though they are only 10 watts, it's more than adequate for my needs, which is record and mix at low volumes at night.

These Eden studio monitors are really cheap, but for they money, the do the job well. I am frankly quite impressed. The sound very clear and crisp, and there is enough volume for guys like me. The flat eq is good, I think, because it suits my style of music. If you are into techno and such things, you might want monitors with bigger bass response. They are also very small, kind of cute actually (!), and don't weigh much.

If you can't find Eden speakers close to you, here are some other good studio monitors, available from Musician's Friend. I do recommend you test before you buy, especially if you are investing serious coin into this. The ones I have listed below have received good reviews and are all excellent choices.

Edirol MA-7A Stereo Micro Monitors

The MA-7A Reference Speakers are the ideal solution for musicians and computer users who must have the best audio quality possible in a very confined space. They are extraordinarily small reference speakers, yet are capable of producing incredible sound. ÿThe MA-7A has a built-in bass enhancer that operates on psychoacoustic principles. It converts low frequencies into a series of overtones that the human ear cannot distinguish from the original low frequencies. Thus you don't overdrive the speaker yet hear bass frequencies that are outside its normal range. If you need more low end, the MA-7A offers a sub-out jack for connection to a subwoofer.The MA-7A offers conveniently placed volume and tone controls on the speaker's front panel. You can also connect 2 different sources directly into the MA-7A, such as your computer and your stereo, so can hear either source without switching cables. You can also plug headphones directly into the MA-7A. Plugging in headphones automatically defeats the speakers, allowing you to monitor without disturbing anyone.The MA-7As are magnetically shielded for close proximity to your computer monitor.

Fostex PM0.4 Powered Studio Monitors - Pair

l studio use with an internal digital-audio interface. M1Active 520 USB is a pair of active, bi-amplified, two-way reference monitors that play from 20,000 Hz all the way down to 56 Hz to cover nearly all frequencies audible to human ears. You can take digital signal out of your computer via USB and input it to M1Active 520 USB thanks to their digital input. Priced attractively for any studio's budget, M1Active 520 USB perform with linearity, clarity, and neutrality typically reserved for monitors that cost much more. Reference Monitoring>Br> Alesis has built M1Active 520USB around their popular five-inch polypropylene low-frequency driver for full, smooth response in the low end and a one-inch silk dome high-frequency driver for absolute clarity in the highs. A custom crossover avoids the crucial vocal midrange, ensuring that your mixes sound the way you recorded them. The low-resonance bass reflex cabinet features radiussed edges to reduce edge diffraction and a tuned port for bass extension. A bass boost switch offers low-frequency enhancement to further accommodate for room conditions requiring a little more output in the low end.