Dolphinstreet Guitar Blog

Fender Greta

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:01 GMT

Fender Greta

Hey, it looks like a vintage table top radio! Well, it's not. It's actually a Fender amp, believe it or not. It's the Fender Greta.

The new Pawn Shop Special Greta model is one of the most unusual tube amps Fender has ever made. The Greta (love the name) is a 2 watt table top cutie with a 4 inch Special Design speaker. Just look at it - isn't that cute?

The Fender Pawn Shop Special Greta features a vintage looking VU meter with “clean to overload” indicator display, which is so retro - I simply love it. It also has basic volume and tone controls, and a 1/8” back-panel aux input, which is perfect for mp3 players or other media player use, so you can play along to your favorite tunes.

This unusual looking amp has the “Greta” script badge on the front panel. Under the hood and on the back panel, Greta features a single 12AT7 output tube and 12AX7 preamp tube, with a 1/4” instrument jack and 1/4” line out jack (for preamp use with another amplifier).

Because the amp is constructed with a wooden front and back, finished in bright red, with contrasting metal sides and top, you get the impression that the rounded-corner design was inspired by the rock'n roll of the 1950s.

Buy this cool little amp!

BUY the Fender Pawn Shop Special Greta from Musician's Friend.

This amp is perfect for the bedroom players out there - loud enough to be exciting to play, yet quiet enough to not bother your neighbours.

Video

Squier Mikey Way Bass

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:01 GMT

Squier Mikey Way Bass

Probably the most exciting bass guitar released at NAMM 2012, the Squier Mikey Way Bass has got everyone talking about it, especially My Chemical Romance's hard-core fans, for obvious reasons. It is predicted to be very successful due to its looks and characteristics and its safe to say it’s a very cool guitar.

Obviously the Squier Mikey Way is based on the Fender Mustang Bass guitar, which was first, introduced way back in 1966 as a shorter scale student instrument. Like the Jaguar and the Jazzmaster the Mustang has an asymmetric waist but is smaller and slimmer. The Mikey Way Mustang Bass share this short scale with a length of just 30”. The basswood body is combined with a maple neck and 9.5-radius rosewood fingerboard. Unusually it is loaded with a high output, single humbucker rather than a split coil pickup like older Fenders. Completing the on-board electrics is a single tone and volume controls; the bridge is a string-through-body design with adjustable saddles and at the top vintage style tuners.

The guitar was designed in coherence with Mikey Way's Custom Shop instrument.. Visually it’s a stunner, it is finished in Large Flake Silver Sparkle and black racing stripes. It has a matching black and white scratchplate and black headstock completed with Mikey Way’s signature on the underside.

I'm expecting big things from the Squier Mikey Way Mustang; it looks and sounds very rock and roll. I just hope the fact that it it's a signature doesn’t put people off from a great guitar because they don’t like My Chemical Romance. On the other hand maybe it can spark an interest into the bass guitar, which in my opinion is unfairly under populated, and this could quite possibly be the attention-grabbing guitar that the Bass needs.

Guest article by Steven Williams

Fender Excelsior amp

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:00:01 GMT

Fender Excelsior amp

The new Fender Excelsior tube combo amp is getting a lot interested looks from guitar players. No doubt - the Fender Pawn Shop Special Excelsior looks incredibly cool, and it produces some great tones as well. The Excelsior amp has brown textured vinyl covering, a stylish "E" grille design and an impressive looking crossed-swords front-panel badge. It reminds me of WW2 radios, only it sounds a lot better!

This amp is produces 13 watts of power. The Excelsior comes with a single 15" Special Design speaker. The amp controls are at the top, and it is powered by two 6V6 output tubes and two 12AX7 preamp tubes. This amp has very little amounts of amp noise.

Some cool features on the Fender Excelsior include "instrument," "microphone" and "accordion" inputs; a tremolo circuit with speed control; a tone switch for bright/dark tone and a quarter-inch internal speaker disconnect, which lets the amp drive an external speaker cabinet.

If you don't need a lot volume, the Excelsior is a real class act . I wouldn't bring it to a rock gig, but for smaller gigs and for recording, the Excelsior is a great little amp that makes you go WOW when you see it and when you play it.

And the price? Only $299!

Well done, Fender!

Order the Fender Pawn Shop Special Excelsior amp today!

By buying from my sponsors and through these ads, you help support running this website.

M-Audio Venom Review

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 00:00:01 GMT

M-Audio Venom Review

M‑Audio are best known for their hardware controllers and their audio interfaces, so a synth seems like a great idea.

The M-Audio Venom is a very interesting 12 voice virtual synthesizer, that also works as a midi interface and USB 2 audio interface. The Venom has sample-based synthesis engine capable of getting down and dirty...

Features

The M-Audio Venom 12-Voice Virtual Analog Synthesizer has a white and grey color, and looks modern. However, the panel text can be hard to read in low-light conditions, especially those parts that have grey text on grey background.

This keyboard spans 4 octaves and is velocity sensitive. The controls are logically arranged. In the top-left corner, you will find separate gain controls for the mic and instrument inputs, each with level and clipping indicators.

You will also find an arpeggiator, tap-tempo controls, octave-transpose buttons, a mod wheel and pitch-bender plus a front‑loading headphone socket. Next, we have the Performance Controls, which consist of a matrix of six rows of options, four continuous encoders and a button. These encoders are great for quick adjustments of the filter, envelopes, LFOs and other parameter selections. There are 512 single patches arranged in four banks (A‑D). It is also possible to stack or split the patches into their own keyboard regions, and the results stored in 256 Multi patches.

Sounds

The sounds are generated by a 3 oscillator sound engine. The sounds are generated digitally, mostly from sounds samples from classic analogue synthesizers.

There are 94 different waveforms, 6 resonant filter types, and three 5 stage envelopes. The envelopes can also be rerouted. The 16 node modulation matrix, with 3 programmable LFO's and a 4th devoted to auto-pan and tremolo.

The Venom has mostly nasty sounds, very cool ones too. If you are into techno style of music, you will love this one. You can get some more mellow sounds too, but it's the biting sounds that is its glory, and it does this very well.

The Venom is easy to play right out of the box. I should also mention that there are some FM and digital waveforms too, as well as TR808 and TR909 drum kits. It has tons of arpeggiator patterns and four banks of 128 factory patches each. The included software editor really opens up the power of this synth.

The factory patches are very good and will get you up and jamming right away. It is easy to tweak the sounds to your liking. Try layering patches in multi mode, because this leads to some real fun. The ability in the software to blend and mix and morph patches is a lot of fun too, and a quick way to create new and unexpected sounds.

You can also use it as an effects processors, since it has audio inputs. This is very handy!

Have a listen at the sound samples in the video below, the audio examples start towards the end of the video.

The Venom is a unique sounding unit that is fun to play. The added value as an audio interface or effects processor makes it a very good buy.

You can Buy the M-Audio Venom Synthesizer from B&H Photo Video Store.

Video Overview

var Qoof_AC = '8517'; var Qoof_AID = '9531'; var Qoof_WidgetId = 'ef2f6ace-ab32-4571-9582-0b6fdaec7924'; var Qoof_widgetWidth = '300'; var Qoof_widgetHeight = '250'; QoofWriteWidget();

New Squier Vintage Modified Guitars

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 00:00:01 GMT

New Squier Vintage Modified Guitars

Squier has announced the debut of the revamped, all-new Vintage Modified Series. The new Vintage Modified series introduces new model types fully outfitted in retro-inspired, chop-shop looks, along with rich, roaring tone. The new series includes five models.

I am personally going to look at the '70s Stratocaster, because it looks a perfect backup strat for me! The Lipstick one is also a beauty. I have always liked quality for the money when it comes to Squier, so definitely keep an eye on these new models from Squier.

New to the series is the Vintage Modified '70s Stratocaster, a sweet-looking model that delivers the distinctive look of the 1970s workhorse Fender guitars. Available in all-Black maple-fingerboard and Vintage White rosewood-fingerboard, both models feature a large headstock, vintage-tint gloss neck and black plastic parts typical of that era.

The all-new Vintage Modified Telecaster Special puts a special spin on the model with truly modded and hot-rodded features, including a full-sounding Jazzmasterneck pickup, and a vintage-tint maple Jazzmaster neck. This killer-vibe guitar is available in White Blonde and Butterscotch Blonde.

Also new to the series is the Vintage Modified Surf Stratocaster, a guitar made to crest the perfect wave of Squier sound. Features include highly distinctive tube-style pickups and classically colourful Surf Green, Sonic Blue and Candy Apple Red finishes that evoke the sand, sun and fun vibe of Fender's early-'60s golden age.

The Vintage Modified Stratocaster HSS comes roaring back with new features, including a vintage-tint gloss neck, '70s-style large headstock, powerful humbucking bridge-pickup tone and a striking new Charcoal Frost Metallic finish option in addition to timelessly cool Black and Three-color Sunburst.

The revamped Vintage Modified Stratocaster arrives with all-new stylish features and its classic triple-single-coil tone. Other features include a vintage-tint gloss neck, '70s-style large headstock, and an alluring new Vintage Blonde finish option along with the timeless Black and Three-color Sunburst finishes.

Previous Models - also cool!

Line 6 Mobile Keys

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 00:00:01 GMT

Line 6 Mobile Keys

ANAHEIM, Calif. – January 19, 2012 – Line 6 (room 212A/B) is showing Mobile Keys™ premium keyboard controller for iPad®, iPhone®, Mac® and PC at Winter NAMM 2012.

Mobile Keys 25 and Mobile Keys 49 are a pair of new, lightweight, ultraportable keyboards designed to control iOS music apps and do double duty as USB MIDI controllers for Mac® and Windows® computers. Both models have full-size keys and solid keyboard action. The keys are velocity sensitive, allowing them to accurately interpret the nuances and subtleties of a keyboardist’s playing. Both Mobile Keys models are compatible with any iOS app that supports the CoreMIDI standard for input, including GarageBand® and numerous drum machines, synthesizers and virtual instruments.

“With Mobile Keys 25 and 49, not only do you have two extremely portable options for playing and recording on the go with your iPhone and iPad music apps,” says Line 6 co-founder and digital audio innovator Marcus Ryle, “but you can move seamlessly between your iOS music apps and your Mac or PC, as well.”

The keyboards require no additional hardware to function—they plug right into an iOS device’s dock connector. They’re bus powered, so they need no external power supply or batteries. The two keyboards are equipped with pitch bend and modulation wheels for additional sonic control, and they also have a pair of 1/4-inch TRS jacks for plugging in sustain and expression pedals. Both keyboards also have USB jacks and are USB class-compliant, allowing seamless connection with Mac and Windows desktop and laptop computers. Suggested retail price for Mobile Keys 25 is $149.99, and Mobile Keys 49 is $199.99, and both are shipping early 2012.

Mobile Keys 25 and Mobile Keys 49 are compatible with iPod® touch (3rd and 4th generation), iPhone® 4, iPhone® 3GS, iPad® 2 and iPad®, as well as Mac® and PC computers.

For more information, please visit http://line6.com/mobilekeys.

How To Record Music

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 00:00:01 GMT

How To Record Music

I often get asked about audio recording and music production. There are many things to learn for a newcomer to this topic, and although there is a lot of free information about this topic on the Interent, it can be quite difficult to find a source that explains in simple steps how to go about it.

Well, look no furter. I have located a very nice book about this topic. Sound engineer and musician Björgvin Benediktsson teaches you how to record music with whatever equipment you've got.

The author breaks down the essential facets of audio engineering and recording into easily consumable chapters, and gets you up and running by covering everything from buying essential audio equipment to using reverb effectively in your recordings.

If you've been thinking about learning how to record music, then grab a copy of this book and start learning how you can record great music with whatever equipment you have available. It's a very useful book that you will find good use for over and over as you get into audio recording.

Each chapter covers:

What Makes a Good Sound
How I Record Great Music
An Introduction to Microphones and Mic Techniques
The Recording Workflow
The Audio Mixer
Audio Editing

Here is the link to the How to record music book - it is a downlodable PDF eBook. A sample from the book is available too.

Free Joe Bonamassa Song Download

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 00:00:01 GMT

Free Joe Bonamassa Song Download

Further On UP the Road - Joe Bonamassa

I assume you know who Joe Bonamassa is? A hard working guitar player, who also sings really well. He knows how to play the blues! He also plays great rock and blues-rock material.

He's no stranger to covers, and he does them well. Check out this free download - doesn't do a fantastic job with BOTH vocals and guitar?

Bonamassa often gives away free songs. Keep your eyes open for more free stuff from him - he's doing a great job marketing himself.

» Get It Here!

Joe ROX!

Robbins Roost Creations Guitar Strap

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 00:00:01 GMT

Robbins Roost Creations Guitar Straps

I have looked at some handmade quilted guitar straps, from Robbins Roost Creations. They are comfortable, since have double-padding over the collarbone.

Because the strap is quilted, it can be a little hard to get the material through the buckle, but I managed to adjust the strap after some pulling on the material.

The straps are made of cotton, with heavy duty plastic buckles and the ends are made out of real leather. The length of the guitar straps is about 60 inches long, hole-to-hole, fully extended.

Each strap has a "CARE CARD" which I thought was neat. It has care instructions, and the date when the strap was made, the type of material, and Stacy Robbins' signature.

» Check them out at Robbins Roost Creations and see the many designs available.

JamUp Pro JamPlug Review

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 00:00:01 GMT

JamUp Pro JamPlug Review

Perhaps you recall I made a video review of one of the first guitar interfaces for the iPhone, the iRig. Since then, several other companies have jumped on the guitar interface and iPhone app bandwagon.

I recently came across the JamPlug and JamUp Pro app, made by Positive Grid, and I have tested it briefly on my iPhone. I'm quite impressed.

The JamPlug itself is a light little thing. It's about as thick as the iPhone, and it's plastic. It has a 1/8″ headphone, and a 1/4″ instrument jack, and the stereo jack that goes into your iPhone. I don't know how well it will hold up, but with something like this, you'll have to be careful so you don't wreck your phone or input jack - these things are not as sturdy as a real amp!

The JamPlug has a lego design underneath, not sure why, but it looks kind of cool that way.

After I plugged in the JamPlug, I started the JamUp Pro app that I had downloaded on the app store. The software is impressive overall. It's easy to find an amp and an effect. I have the old 3GS iPhone, and it's a bit slow with the latest iOS installed, but it still worked quite well for this.

When you want to adjust an amp's setting, you tap the amp icon once and you get an up-close view of the settings. It works the same with the pedals. You can put pedals in any order you want, and you can also drag pedals in or out of the chain. If you want to change the pedal or the amp, tap it twice. This will take you to a screen that has all the pedals or amps.

Also included is a metronome, and you will find an input volume slider available as well.

As for the tones, I was quite impressed. The Plexi tone was fun to play with! For a guitar amp in a phone, it's pretty darn good! The AC30 sounded nice too. The Fenders were okay, but I liked them the least.

Compared to the iRig? Well, both sound good. There is no way to say which sounds better, in my opinion. They are different, and the software interface is a main difference. I found that I like the JamUp Pro interface better - it seems more intuitive to me.

Buy The JamPlug

Get it on iTunes

You can get it on iTunes by clicking here.

You can also get it via Amazon.

How Does It Sound?

Check out this band - Heavy Manic Souls

Fri, 30 Dec 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Heavy Manic Souls

I just found out about an interesting band from France called Heavy Manic Souls. There is some great blues-funk-rock on this album. The guitar work is sweet - great tone and very Hendrixy style of playing. Excellent guitarist.

The vocals could be better, I think. However, it's still a lot of fun to listen to these guys. There are some wicked grooves happening here. I would love to play guitar in this band!

If you are into blues and blues rock with a modern sound, while still honoring the past, check out this band. I bet they will sound awesome live!

Check them out at http://www.heavymanicsouls.com/

Biography Four guys from different styles of music (from Rock to Jazz, from Blues to Metal) gathered in "Heavy Manic Souls" to play a Blues-Rock based music with a lot of other influences like Grunge, Funk, Country, Psychedelic and more ... We're so proud to release our first album included 11 tracks with a great variety of tones and colors.

For the heavy/blues guitar freaks who like cats as SRV/ J.Hendrix, Lance Lopez, Philip Sayce, Michael Landau you will find that kind of vibe.

Heavy riff of "Juggernaut (Fury Road)", roots blues of "Uncle Pirate Blues", Psychedelic grunge of "Cigarette", raw Texas Blues shuffle of "Rollerball" and all of the other songs, you will find something special.

Tommy Emmanuel Christmas Guitar Music

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Christmas Guitar Music

Tommy Emmanuel is one of the finest guitar players on the planet. His technique is mind blowing, but even more importantly - he's plays with the kind of feeling and superior timing that most of us only dream of.

Tommy has just released a new Christmas album, and is it ever wonderful. I never get tired of Christmas songs, if they are played well.

As for this album, well it doesn't get much better than this, people! Check out this video where Tommy Talks about the album and plays a stunning version of Jingle Bells.

Jingle Bells Finger Style

All I Want For Christmas

All I Want For Christmas is the name of this album. You can Preview the songs on Amazon.

Click here to go to Amazon, where you can play excerpts of the whole album. For us guitar players, this is THE album to choose for Christmas!

Jon Bon Jovi Dead

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Jon Bon Jovi Dead

Nope, that is not true. The reports of his demise are greatly exaggerated and untrue. Apparently, a blog post somewhere claimed that the New Jersey singer had died from cardiac arrest.

Bon Jovi replied by posting a photo of himself on Facebook holding a hand-written sign where it said, "Heaven looks a lot like New Jersey."

The 49-year-old rocker had also added the date, Dec. 19, 2011.

The fake blog post reported that Bon Jovi was "pronounced dead today after paramedics found him in a coma at his Empress Hotel." The post claimed that a 911 call had been made from the rocker's home, and when paramedics arrived, he wasn't breathing. According to "sources," the paramedics performed CPR and Bon Jovi had suffered cardiac arrest.

These kind of faux stories about undead celebrities is not uncommon. Other famous people such as Lady Gaga, Justin Beiber, Eddie Murphy, Morgan Freeman, Harrison Ford and Jeff Goldblum have also received this kind of treatment in the past. Just makes me wonder what kind of individuals feel need the need to post such information online. Perhaps it's some nut case wanting to create a lot of buzz in their sad little life.

Prince in Edmonton

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Prince in Edmonton

The Purple One put on a classy show on December 13th at the Rexall Place. I could have had a better seat, but it was still a very inspiring way to celebrate my birthday. How nice of Prince to show up for my birthday!

It took a long time before he started playing. The start of the show was delayed more than an hour, and there seemed to be some glitches at the beginning, since the lights started flickering and smoke bellowed, but no Prince or band appeared. Oh well, on the 3rd try, the show was on!

Prince started out with a rocking version of Let's Go Crazy, and the whole arena was jumping up and down. Prince is such an amazing performer - it's hard to sit still when he does his thing. He came out onto the stage from a platform under stage. He walked out front and said, "Dearly Beloved...:", and the crowd just screamed. Now that was a cool way to open the show! Amazing.

The show was full of Prince's older hit material, for example, When Doves Cry, 1999, I Would Die For You, Cream, Delirious, Controversy, and so on. He even did a couple of covers - Play That Funky Music and a song by KC and Sunshine Band - Get Down Tonight.

At one point, Prince asked, "Do you know James Brown? Well, Maceo Parker knows James Brown too!" And Maceo blew his horn as the master he is, while Prince walked around him digging it, being just as impressed as we were.

He came out for 3 encores, and he kept people waiting for each. Quite a few actually left after the 2nd one, not thinking there would be a 3rd one! Nothing Compares 2 U was beautifully performed, and Prince had people singing along with ease. Another big hit, Kiss, was received with a roar from the almost packed Rexall Place. After just over 2 hours, the fun was over, sadly enough, but it was steaming and cooking while it lasted. And oh, what a band he brought along! Stunning musicians and happening grooves. Yes sir!

All in all, an amazing way to spend an evening, let alone a birthday! Prince is completely amazing live - you should make an effort to see him if you ever have the chance to. He effortlessly goes between ballads and pop songs to rock and funk, like the true Master he is.

Simply put - Nothing Compares 2 Prince - call it cliche, but it is true.

Transcribe - great tool for transcribing music

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Transcribe - great tool for transcribing music

The Transcribe! program is a form of assistant for people who are interested in working the detail from a piece of music from a recording. The purpose would be to write it out, or play it themselves, or both.

This program doesn't do the transcribing for you, but it is essentially a specialized player program which is optimized for the purpose of transcription. It has many transcription-specific features not found on conventional music players.

It is also used by many people for play-along practice. It can change pitch and speed instantly, and you can store and recall any number of named loops.

Give it a try - Transcribe! for Linux, Windows and Mac.

I found out about this tool from one of my students. He said he found it to be best value of all the similar programs he had tried.

Make light from a water bottle?

Fri, 25 Nov 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Make light from a water bottle?

Here is a brilliant idea. Yes, really. By placing a one litre water pop bottle filled with water in the ceiling, it turns out that it is bright enough to brilliantly light up a room. Brilliant!

A clear one-liter pop bottle is filled with water, chlorine is added, after which the bottle is attached to the ceiling, through a hole in a piece of corrugated tin. A hole is also cut in the tin roof of a house, and he tin-and-bottle is secured over the hole so that the bottom of the bottle hangs down through the ceiling. Lastly, caulking is applied to prevent rain from getting in.

Here is the really cool part. When sunlight hits the roof and the top of the bottle, its rays are carried down through the water and dispersed into the interior of the room. This provides about as much light as a 55-watt bulb.

This system produces light during daylight hours, and it also diverts bottles that might otherwise end up in a landfill. Event though the bottles don't provide light once the Sun sets, homeowners do at least have the option of performing indoor activities that require illumination during the day, when the light is available.

The videos below show the installation process, and the effectiveness of the bulbs.

Black Friday Week 2011

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Black Friday Week 2011

This week, stores are getting ready for the biggest sale of the year - Black Friday. This year, one store in particular is aiming to ensnare even more shoppers by promising price cuts on twice as many products including fashion, beauty, books, music, electronics, home and sports items.

Which store? Yes, it's that big one.
Amazon's Black Friday Week means you can get some really good deals, so keep an eye their website.

Guitar Center, Musicians Friend and others will have also have great deals coming up this Friday.

Free update for LINE 6 POD

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 00:00:01 GMT

FREE UPDATE FOR LINE 6 POD® HD, POD® HD PRO AND POD® HD500 ADDS MORE CONTROL AND NEW FEATURES

Enhanced MIDI control, faster gating and more new features mean greater flexibility and tonal control for POD HD, POD HD PRO and POD HD500 multi-effect processors —

CALABASAS, Calif.—November 17, 2011—Line 6, Inc. (line6.com), the industry leader in digital modeling technology for musicians, announced today a free update for their POD® HD multi-effect processors. Firmware update v1.4 will give guitarists additional features including enhanced MIDI control, faster gating, variable input impedance and new input flexibility.

"This latest update reflects our mission to make POD HD extremely intuitive, even while offering an extraordinary range of features," said Elliot Chenault, Product Manager at Line 6. "Firmware update v1.4 provides new ways to sculpt and control your tone, while improving ease of use.”

New Variable Input Impedance gives guitarists eight selectable options to enhance their tone. When set to "auto," the impedance matches that of the first amp or effect in the chain, creating the same response as plugging into the modeled original. Seven discrete resistor values (22k, 32k, 70k, 90k, 230k, 1M, 3.5M) can also be selected to further sculpt the sound, actually changing the analog circuitry. Impedance settings are saved with each preset.

New Global Input Selection mode means guitarists can play through any combination of effects and tones from a single input source. When guitarists need their POD® HD multi-effect processor to remember different input sources, they can simply toggle Preset Input Selection mode.

The new Hard Gate is an advanced gate capable of extremely quick response. With controls for hold time, decay rate, and separate open/close thresholds, Hard Gate is ideal for any genre including Metal. It can even be used to create erratic “sputter” and “splat” effects.

Enhanced MIDI Control enables guitarists to control POD HD500 and POD HD Pro with external MIDI controllers. A variety of functions including Footswitch 1-8, Tap Tempo, Tuner, Looper Controls, and Expression Pedals can all be accessed via standard MIDI messages.

(Note: MIDI control is available for POD HD500 and POD HD Pro only.)

To get Firmware update v1.4, just connect your POD HD via USB to your computer, run Line 6 Monkey™ and follow the instructions. Learn more about the v1.4 update and POD HD multi-effect processors at line6.com/podhd.

About Line 6, Inc.

Based in Calabasas, California, Line 6 is a leading manufacturer of guitars, amplifiers, effects, effect processors, recording interfaces and digital wireless systems. The company 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, China and Japan. For more information, visit www.line6.com.

Line 6 Mobile

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Line 6 Mobile In and Mobile POD

November 15, 2011 - Line 6, Inc. (line6.com), the industry leader in digital modeling technology for musicians, announced today the shipment of Mobile In™ premium digital guitar interface and Mobile POD© guitar tone app. The new hardware and app allow guitarists to connect an electric guitar to their iPhone or iPad, which gives them the same high-quality sounds they'd get if they were playing from a wide variety of famous guitar amplifiers, speakers and effects including distortion, chorus and reverb.

Mobile In and Mobile POD turn your iPhone or iPad into a fully functioning Line 6 POD multi-effect complete with tweakable tones, simultaneous effects and legendary Line 6 guitar amp and effect modeling" remarked Line 6 Co-founder and SVP of New Business Development, Marcus Ryle. Line 6 pioneered digital modeling technology and, in 1998, released the first POD© multi-effect processor. This introduced countless guitarists to digital modeling, a technology that gives them access to wide varieties of amp and effect tones within one device. Ryle continues, "Mobile In is designed to be the best possible guitar tone solution for mobile devices. Other iOS guitar interfaces are rife with issues like headphone feedback, latency and poor sound quality. Mobile In solves all of these issues to deliver the best iOS guitar playing experience."

The new Mobile POD app brings famous Line 6 tone and technology to its most portable level. The free app includes generous collections of 64 models of celebrated modern, vintage and boutique guitar gear including amps, cabinets, stompboxes and rack effects.

Users can mix and match the fully adjustable models to build a virtually unlimited variety of tones, which can then be saved as presets. Also included with the app, free of any in-app purchase, are over 10,000 hand-crafted presets created by artists, Line 6 and other guitar players.

Unlike competing analog interfaces that plug into an iOS device's headphone jack, Mobile In digital guitar interface plugs into the 30-pin connector on the bottom of the iOS device. This digital connection enables the digital guitar interface to offer pro-quality audio specs for guitar tones that are exceptionally rich and clear. Mobile In supports up to 24-bit/48 kHz digital audio. The Guitar input features 110 dB dynamic range. The stereo Line input, which is perfect for sending keyboard audio or any other standard mono or stereo line-level audio source to your iPhone© or iPad©, has 98 dB dynamic range. Mobile In is the perfect digital guitar interface for use with any CoreAudio guitar apps including GarageBand© for iPad©.

Mobile In includes a high-quality 6-foot guitar cable. Mobile POD is a free download from the App StoreSM. Mobile In and Mobile POD are made for iPhone© 4, iPad© 2 and iPad©.

Learn more about Mobile In and Mobile POD at http://line6.com/mobilein

Mobile In and Mobile POD are available now.

Apple, iPhone, iPad and GarageBand are trademarks of Apple Inc, registered in the U.S. and other countries. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc. Apple is not responsible for the operation of this device or its compliance with safety and regulatory standards.

Halloween MP3

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Halloween MP3

Our band played at a local pub last weekend, and it was Halloween Party Time!

It is always fun to play Halloween gigs, because everyone in the crowd is dressed up, even the servers. A Halloween gig is never boring, and this was no exception.

In order to get everyone in the mood ahead of time, I took the time to record this little Halloween Intro MP3, which we started the gig with.

After that little scary intro, we went in to the Ghostbusters theme, and it worked really well.

The gig was a success and we had a blast. I was dressed up as a Pirate, and told bad pirate jokes all night... at least a couple of people laughed - haha!

Book - British Rock Guitar

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 00:00:01 GMT

British Rock Guitar

The first 50 years, the musicians and their stories

"The definitive, if not the only, book on early British rock guitar – a great read."
Hank B. Marvin, The Shadows

"A personal and often very funny account of how the early rock stars grappled with the fact that nobody had the faintest idea of how to go about becoming a rock star because no-one had ever done it before."
Miles Kington, journalist and broadcaster

The guitar is the most emotive musical instrument of the last 50 years of rock and roll, but there was a time when the future guitar heroes of the Rock and Roll world were cobbling together their instruments from wardrobes, cigar boxes, tea chests, pencil cases, fuse wire and bread toasters and guitar picks were fashioned out of ice cream containers.

Perfectly evoking the atmosphere of the 50's and 60's Mo Foster draws on his own recollections and those of the greatest exponents of the rock guitar, from Hank Marvin to Eric Clapton and Brian May, and the many others who, before they became famous, started out rehearsing in pigeon lofts and their mum's kitchen.

The stories in British Rock Guitar chronicle the formative period during which the excitement of discovery, the naïvité, and the insane struggles gave birth to the rise and development of rock guitar in Britain, and helped to shape the way in which we perform and record today. These stories are idiosyncratic, charming, and optimistic, but above all, they are very funny. British Rock Guitar is also devoted to the rise and eventual demise of the London studio session scene: an insider's view of this creative world, and the wonderful absurdity of musicians' humour in general.

Mo Foster's career as a renowned and prestigious contemporary bass player has spanned over 40 years. He is now established as a top session musician, solo artist, producer, composer, and now author. Among the hundreds of artists with whom he has recorded or toured are Jeff Beck, Phil Collins, Brian May, Ringo Starr, Joan Armatrading, Gerry Rafferty, Annifrid Lyngstad (Frida of ABBA), Gil Evans, Van Morrison, Cliff Richard, Gary Moore, Hank Marvin, Roger Glover, and The London Symphony Orchestra.

In British Rock Guitar: the first 50 years, the musicians and their stories Mo Foster brings together many of their recollections and stories and has written the definitive history of the importance of the guitar in the development of British music over the last 50 years.

From backstage to touring to recording, Mo Foster has seen it all and provides an intriguing insider's view of the music business.

For a copy of the book, further information or to arrange an interview with Mo Foster, please contact Linda Macfadyen:

Tel: 0191 280 1080
Mb: 07768 390172
Email: npress@virginmedia.com

British Rock Guitar: The first 50 years, the musicians and their stories

Published by Northumbria Press: www.northumbriapress.co.uk

ISBN: 978-0-85716-000-3

Price: £24.99, hardback, various b/w and colour images

Ry Cooder Pull Up Some Dust & Sit Down

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Ry Cooder Pull Up Some Dust & Sit Down

I have been listening to Ry Cooder's album Pull Up Some Dust & Sit Down a lot this last week. I am a big admirer of Ry Cooder, not only for his amazing slide guitar work, but also because his ability to hit the target with words and groove.

The theme on this album is the new depression, where topics of politics and wealth gets fair attention.

As always, the production is great for this type of music. Great guitar work and tones, and a variety of instruments and you get terrific boogie, blues, country and folk all in a package.

There is a lot of dark humour on the album - the financial people gets a nod on No Banker Left Behind, and soldiers returning home from war with body parts missing are featured in the joyful Christmas Time This Year.

The best song on the album is John Lee Hooker for President. Imagine what it might be like with Hooker at the White House - Everyone gets one bourbon, one scotch, one beer, three times a day if they stay cool. Ry's playing and singing here is nothing but spectacular. The groove, the feel, the honesty - it's some of the best work I have ever heard from Ry Cooder.

In another tune, Jesse James thinks about returning from Heaven to visit some Old West justice on Wall Street in the waltzing tune El Corrido de Jesse James.

The ballad Simple Tools covers the benefits of the simple life, and the tune If There’s A God delivers a powerful warning about the potential return of segregation following the implementation of strict immigration laws in Arizona.

There a lot to explore in Pull Up Some Dust & Sit Down. I encourage you to listen to the album, and listen again, and take in the lessons. This is a masterly collection of dusty roots, blues, country and boogie that is as good as anything Ry Cooder has ever recorded in his long career.

Available on Amazon

Line 6 DT25 amps

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Line 6 DT25 amps

Line 6 have revealed their new DT25 family, a range of amps that combine reconfigurable analog components and HD modeling technology to deliver boutique tone, feel and touch response, and multiple amplifier voicings. This looks like a very interesting amp. The Press Release is below.

PRESS RELEASE: Line 6, Inc., the industry leader in digital modeling technology for musicians, just shipped the DT25 family of amplifiers, which includes DT25 112 Combo, DT25 Head, DT25 112 Extension Cab. The new 25W/10W tube amps deliver boutique sound and performance via a uniquely versatile design by renowned amp designer Reinhold Bogner and advanced HD modeling technology from Line 6.

The DT25 is like four boutique tube amps in one, remarked Elliot Chenault, Line 6 Product Manager. "Bogner's innovative design applies reconfigurable analog components to provide incredible sonic flexibility and the rich tone, feel and touch response his amps are known for."

The new amplifiers provide guitarists with four guitar amp voicings, or sonic signatures: American clean, British crunch, Class A chime and modern high-gain. Each voicing is the perfect combination of negative feedback loop topology and HD preamp and tone stack modeling. Add to that the reconfigurable operating class (Class AB/25 Watts/Fixed Bias or Class A/10 Watts/Cathode Biased) and power tube mode (Pentode or Triode) and guitarists can dial in classic vintage tones or highly customized originals of their own creation.

The simple, two-channel design provides uncommon flexibility. Each channel is independent – not "clean" or "dirty" – and any configuration of voicing, operating class and power tube mode can be dialed in to either channel. A flick of the A/B switch (or a tap of a latching footswitch) is capable of causing a full analog and digital transformation.

DT50

I tried the DT50 last year, and it is a wicked good amp.

Brand-new Line 6 HD amp modeling technology seamlessly integrates with Reinhold Bogner’s uniquely (and extremely) versatile tube sections
DT50 goes further than any other amplifier to produce great amp tones. Many amplifiers offer either modeling technology or reconfigurable analog circuitry, but DT50 offers both to deliver something bigger than the sum of its parts
Reconfigurable analog circuitry: negative feedback loop, operating class (class A, class AB), power tube mode (pentode/triode); low-power mode; 2-channel design
(2) 12AX7 preamp; (2) EL34 power amp; 12” Custom Celestion G12H90 speaker; 12” Celestion Vintage 30 speaker
Front panel: (Channels A and B) Drive, Bass, Mid Treble, Presence, Reverb, Channel Volume; Channel switch; Voicing switch; Pentode/Triode switch; Class A/Class AB switch; Master volume; Power; Standby
Back panel: MIDI I/O; Channel footswitch input; L6 LINK in and out/thru; FX loop with Level control; Balanced direct out; Speaker outs (4 ohm, 8 ohm and 16 ohm)
Connect a POD HD multi-effect pedal to control all DT50 Voicings and parameters from the floor while taking advantage of the enormous collections of FX and HD amp models in POD HD

DT25 amplifiers feature L6 LINK™ jacks for connection to new Line 6 POD® HD multi-effect processors. When connected, the POD HD adds effects, additional amp voicings, foot control and instant scalability (including stereo operation with multiple DT25 amplifiers). The amplifiers' back panels also feature MIDI I/O, a serial effect loop, multiple speaker outs and a direct out with cabinet simulation, which provides the rich DT25 tone without having to mic the speaker.

DT25 amplifiers feature one 12AX7 and two EL84 tubes, custom-voiced Celestion® G12H90 speakers, and modeled spring reverb with individual level control per channel.

Learn more about DT25 at www.line6.com/dt25.

Information taken from official press release, for more visit Line 6

LONG... video, but very informative

Rock Solid Guitar Stands Review

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Rock Solid Guitar Stands Review

I've now had this multi guitar stand that holds 6 guitars for about a week. My overall impression is very favorable, and I find this product more than worthwhile for us who own half a dozen guitars or so.

When I opened the fairly small package, I found 5 pieces of wood, a bag of screws and plugs, and the rubberized bottom of the stand. The small pieces for holding the guitars' neck were neatly packaged together.

I will admit I had some trouble assembling the stand. The instructions could have been a bit more clear, for an old and stupid guy like myself. There were drawings instead of pictures for each step, and I was thinking to myself as I tried to figure it out - it would have been so nice with a video showing exactly which way to hold the pieces. Oh well, I went to the website and looked a real picture, which was helpful in understand which way to turn a wooden piece.

It didn't take long until I figured it all out, however. There are very few parts to worry about, and the whole stand is way lighter than I expected. I honestly thought it would seem unstable, because it's really minimal. I will say it is a clever design, because it is really very sturdy.

The wood color on mine is classy dark red. It must be Dark Cherry, or is it Honey? I am not sure, but it certainly looks very nice.

After you have put the stand together, you have two rubberized bars as at the bottom, so this is what your guitars will sit on. The neck of the guitars will lean on an angled wooden piece, which is also rubberized. The maker of these stands have told me this rubber will not create any problems with the finish on a guitar. The rubber chosen has been tested thoroughly, so no worries there.

It's a simple but elegant design. You can fit 6 guitars in this stand, both electric and acoustics. The space between each guitar is just right - the guitars won't interfere with each other but they are not very far apart either. The result is a multi guitar stand this seems small, considering it can hold 6 guitars.

The end result is I now have very convenient way to have the guitars I used the most easily accessible. I used to hang guitars on the walls, but that means making holes in the wall, and you want to find solid studs for hanging each guitar. Many walls where I live are fairly small, and hanging 6 guitars on the walls meant spreading them out around the house quite a bit. Not idea. With this Rock Solid Guitar Stand, I have 6 guitars in a corner of my room, looking absolutely awesome and inspiring, as well as being conveniently accessible any time I want to play.

In summary, this multi guitar stand is a very, very good idea if you have 5-6 guitars and you want them easily and safely accessible. The bonus is it makes for a sweet looking piece of furniture, and you can show off you guitars to friends and family. I usually don't care much about looks, but I have to admit that my current 6 guitars look KILLER where they sit in a row! It actually makes me want to play more, which is NEVER a BAD idea!

Thumbs up from me.

Learn more at RockSolidGuitarStands.com.

Video

LINE 6 POD HD PRO out now

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 00:00:01 GMT

LINE 6 Announces the POD HD PRO

September 2011.

The new POD HD Pro features 22 HD guitar amp models and 22 HD guitar preamp-only models, suited for driving a tube amp's power section. Amplifier behaviour including single-ended class A tube stages, class AB push/pull interactions, power supply behavior and more are emulated.

"As the flagship product of our new POD HD line, POD HD Pro is the best of the best," remarked Elliot Chenault, product manager for Line 6 POD HD products. "It's got all the features, connectivity, flexibility and tone that today's professional guitarists and producers need."

POD HD Pro is loaded with an arsenal of 22 HD guitar amp models and 22 HD guitar preamp-only models, which are perfect for driving a tube amp's power section. HD models are a quantum leap forward in modeling quality, giving digital signal processing all the feel, dynamics and playability that makes guitarists passionate about great tube amps. Detailed amplifier behavior including single-ended class A tube stages, class AB push/pull interactions, power supply behavior and more are emulated with incredible nuance. The result is exceptional warmth, feel, sustain and articulation.

Over 100 M-class effects, which are descended from legendary Line 6 pedals DL4™ Delay Modeler (the storied "green box") and the M13®, M9® and M5 Stompbox Modelers, as well as eight new mic models and 16 new cab models also come stock for a variety of modern, vintage and boutique-inspired tones perfect for any pro player.

An extensive digital and analog I/O makes POD HD Pro flexible, powerful and ready for any studio or stage application. The AES/EBU out doubles as the L6 LINK™ jack which, when connected to a Line 6 DT-series tube amplifier, creates a boutique amp factory capable of producing a virtually unlimited variety of tones with boutique warmth and feel. There's also a Variax® Digital Input jack for connecting to a Line 6 James Tyler Variax® modeling guitar. No matter the environment, POD HD Pro fits seamlessly.

POD multi-effect processors have long been a cornerstone of professional studio and stage guitar rigs around the world, and POD HD Pro rack multi-effect is set to raise that standard even higher.

This would make for an excellent recording tool, no doubt. I use my HD500 for recording, but I may move up to the HD Pro, because I would like this format much better than a pedal board. Makes is much easier to work with in the studio.

For more information and complete spec listing, visit www.line6.com/podhd/pro.

MSRP - $979

Going to Toronto - 10K Road Race Championships

Fri, 16 Sep 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Going to Toronto - 10K Road Race Championships

I'll be in Toronto Sep 23-27 2011 for tghe 10K road running championships. I have had a great running season so far, and won the Timex Road Race Series in Alberta. That got me on a trip to Toronto to run the 10 km road race championships, representing Alberta. I even get some money to help with flights and hotel! Quite unreal.

I am a Masters runner now (soon 42) and I guess I'm a competitive old fart. I'm enjoying the ride, so to speak, which won't be many more years!

If there are any Toronto readers here, perhaps someone would like to meet up for a beer or coffee on Sat or Sun night? Let me know if you are around and want to hook up!

I am going to look around to see if there's a good show I could catch. Let me know if you have any ideas.

I have never been in Toronto before. It's a big town, so I should be able to find something to do, aye!?

Multi-guitar stands

Sat, 10 Sep 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Multi-guitar stands

New multi guitar stands from ROCK SOLID GUITAR STANDS - Two new models coming in October 2011.

If your studio, family room, or living space is too crowded with guitar cases or single stands, then you might want to consider these multi-guitar stands.

Rock Solid Guitar Stands are makers of multi-guitar stands, which are very nice. They compliment your space, showcase your collection at the same time and keep your guitars safe. These multi guitar stands are peciﬁcally designed for the home or studio and designed by a collector.

Rock Solid Guitar Stands says these stands ﬂow quite well in any decor in your home or studio. They are also very stable. For more information visit http://www.rocksolidguitarstands.com.

In October of 2011, they will be introducing “The Classic 4,” and “The Show 5.” These two new multi-guitar stand models will offer an alternative for players with guitar collections of various sizes.

The Classic 4 is designed for someone with limited space. It is only 33” wide x 28” high x 18” deep.

The Show 5 is truly a unique design. I am sure most of usu want to show off our favorite guitar and have it accessible at all times. That's why The Show 5 has a specially designed ﬁfth slot which let's your most precious guitar stand out and get some extra exposure.

Find out more by visiting Rock Solid Guitar Stands on the web in the following places:
Ofﬁcial website: http://www.rocksolidguitarstands.com
Store: http://shop.rocksolidguitarstands.com Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/rocksolidstands Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rock-Solid-Guitar-Stands/178352512182913

AT875R Review

Thu, 08 Sep 2011 00:00:01 GMT

AT875r Review

I recently purchased the Audio-Technica AT875R for my video camera. I use a Panasonic AG-HVX200, which is a great video camera, but the onboard microphones on it are not so great. The upgrade to the AT875R has been well worth the investment. If you are looking for a short, phanton-powered XLR shotgun microphone for your video camera or camcorder, this one is a fantastic buy, because of the sound quality and the price.

The AT875R is designed for video production and broadcast audio. This is the shortest shotgun microphone that Audio-Technica has. It is easy to mount the microphone on a DV or HD camcorder, and since it is quite small, it doesn't add so much extra weight. It is the perfect XLR shotgun microphone for smaller video cameras.

This microphone offers a narrow acceptance angle of line + gradient design. It also features smooth, natural-sounding on-axis audio quality and excellent off-axis rejection of sound arriving from the sides and rear of mic.

I find it works very well for capturing good quality sound in front of the camera, while minimizing the sounds from the side and behind the camera.

The sounds quality is in my opinion stellar. It is clear and crisp, and I do not think you can get better sound quality for a microphone in this price range. In fact, most microphones costing more than twice the price don't sound any better.

Features

Designed for video production and broadcast (ENG/EFP) audio acquisition
Extremely short length (under 7") ideal for use with compact digital cameras
Provides the narrow acceptance angle desirable for long-distance sound pickup
Excellent sound rejection from the sides and rear of mic
Tailored response minimizes camera and handling noise
Operates on phantom power only
RoHS compliant-free from all substances specified in the EU directive on hazardous substances

Summary

My take - the AT875R is the perfect camcorder mounted short shotgun. It's small, inexpensive and the ideal candidate for on-camera use. After adding this microphone to my video camera, the improvement in sound quality for my video work is truly remarkable.

Buy the AT875R from Amazon

How to get a good recorded electric guitar tone

Wed, 07 Sep 2011 00:00:01 GMT

How to get a good recorded electric guitar tone

This is a topic that often comes up among my students and on guitar forums. It's of course a very subjective topic - some people are after a high gain, saturated distortion for rhythm "chugga-chugga" sounds, where as others may be looking for that Albert Lee country picking tone, or SRV blues tone, etc. Nonetheless, there are several ways to record your guitar. I'm going to give you my perspective and advice, based on what I find works best for me.

Using digital technology

Back in the day when I started playing, many of my friends used Marshall and Peavey combos, and tried micing them best they could. When you get set up right, this method will sound absolutely great. Then digital processors started showing up in the late 80s. I tried a few back then, and I was young and easily impressed by all the effects. Truth is, most of them sounded like crap .I just didn't know it at the time. I had no understanding of good guitar tone, and I openly admit that. I had a Roland GP8 at one time, and it was quite awful indeed.

I do remember that the Rockman headphone amp sounded quite good. It only had one tone really, but it was not bad. Truth be told, I thought it sounded better than most of the Roland and Zoom units that came after it, at least until the mid 90s.

Nowadays, we have an amazing variety of quality processors and software, from companies such as Line 6, Zoom, Apogee, Apple, Boss, Peavey, Fractal Audio, Avid, etc. Most of them are capable of very good guitar tones.

My choice of processor today is the Line 6 POD HD 500 and the Line 6 POD Studio UX1 because of the flexibility they provide for me.

Using a real tube amp and a Shure SM-57

Personally, I do prefer the sound from a good amp, like an old vintage Fender or Marshall, with the volume turned up real loud. Then, add a Shure SM-57 about an inch from the grille, placed 50-60 percent from the center axis to the outer rim of the speaker. Now what's wrong with this picture? It's going to get LOUD! Furthermore, I find it to be inconvenient to be micing my amp, for a few reasons. Firstly, I do not have a dedicated studio for recording my amp, with an amp booth and all the cables and hookups ready at any time. For me, it's just a hassle, because I have to spend plenty of time rigging up the gear every time I record, and test mic placement, and yadda, yadda. Frustrating I would say, if recording is something you don't do every day.

The other thing is the volume. I scare away all pets and family members, if I sit and record a few hours of my 100 watt Marshall being turned up! The other possibility is they kick ME out! If you have a studio set up for loud sounds without interfering with other people, good for you. Unfortunately I don't have that luxury.

Which option to choose

It is probably not going to surprise you to hear that I vote for using digital technology when recording electric guitar. The main 2 reasons are 1) volume is a non-issue (I can do it all through headphones if I need to) and 2) it is very convenient. I don't have to worry about spending time testing mics and mic placement, tube amp choice, tubes, mic preamps, recording room, etc. I have my favourite sounds stored, and I plug my guitar into my unit, and then into the computer. The sound is going to be the same as last week, because the variables involved do not change, like they do with the amp scenario described above. I admit that my digital tone may not be 100 percent as good as micing my best sounding amp, but boy, is it ever more convenient and quicker to get set up! Working faster means for me less frustration and more productivity. The more I have to fiddle with stuff, the lesser my inspiration to actually play will be. It's just how I am.

Now, do remember this is only my personal view on recording electric guitar. I have chosen my way of recording based my physical set up and my preferred way of working. Both ways can lead to great guitar tones - you just have to find what you prefer, and you will also need to learn how to get the best possible out of your gear. That's where you can learn from others. Ask on guitar forums, stores and perhaps even pro players. The more you learn, the better your tone will be.

My choice for recording guitar tone

I use Line 6 gear, because they make really good sounding gear, and it is not super expensive either. They are also very forward thinking. They come up with ingenious solutions to guitar players' needs, and they don't rest on their laurels. I applaud them for that.

There are of course other manufacturers worth checking out too - I mentioned some of them earlier in this article. I have not tried many of them, but I have extensive experience working with Line 6 gear, and that is why have settled for Line 6 products.

There are 2 different ways I record the majority of my sounds. Either I use the Line 6 POD HD 500 or the Line 6 POD Studio UX1 with Pod Farm 2 software.

I like using Pod Farm 2, because with it, I can record my guitar tone dry, and then simply try which ever guitar tone as I listen to the recording. This is a fantastic way of doing it, I find. Because the guitar is recorded dry, I don't ever have to re-record it! If I don't like that Marshall patch chosen, I simple go to a menu in the software and pick a Hiwatt or Fender amp tone instead. How cool is that! That is for me a super effective way of doing things. Why do I need this you may wonder? Well, it could be I chose a Marshall 800 type of tone when recording, but when I listen back to the final mix, the guitar tone doesn't fit, for whatever reason. I could spend time eq-ing and messing around, or, if I use Pod Farm 2, I could simply choose a different amp model (perhaps a Plexi) and instantly hear the difference. I love this approach. This way, I never need to re-record my guitar!

Now the HD 500 has some wicked features that makes it special. It uses that special "HD" technology that Line 6 spent so much effort developing. The end result is more natural sounding amp sounds, and more natural and responsive feel when you play through one of these units. The smaller brothers, the HD400 and HD300 are great too, but the HD 500 has the upper hand - it allows for dual amp models. This means you can blend 2 amps together, and it is very cool indeed. For example, a Plexi Marshall amp model run together with a Hiwatt amp model sounds very fat and is loads of fun when recording. The drawback is that you can't record dry and add effects and amp models later, the same way you can with POD Studio and Pod Farm 2.

I find that for most of the time, I am recording through the HD500, because I'm usually working on video lessons or smaller projects where a quick and good basic tone is all that is needed. The fastest way for me to record is to plug my guitar into the HD500, the HD500 into Logic, and hit record. It's that simple. I have all my tones saved both on computer and in the HD500 itself, so I can load up my favourite tones in seconds. I even have my HD500 tones online for you to grab.

For recording projects where I want to try different guitar tones, and spend time mixing and testing things until I'm happy, then the Line 6 POD Studio UX1 + Pod Farm 2 solution is the best choice. It gives me the ultimate flexibility. It takes me a little longer to get set up with it (not much longer though) and it doesn't have the HD technology. Truth be told - in a song mix, I doubt anyone could easily tell an HD unit from Pod Farm 2 technology.

One more thing, all the great effects from Line 6 are of course available too. Sweet modulation, fat overdrive, delicious delays and reverbs, etc - it's all there with the Line 6 gear. I find the Line 6 effects are fantastic overall.

Lastly, the cost benefit of using any of the above mentioned Line 6 solutions is going to cost a lot less than buying dozens of vintage amps and killer stompboxes... even one great Marshall amp will cost more than the HD500, which has an insane amount of guitar tones in it, ranging anywhere from brutal metal tones, to clean country and jazz tones.

Differences between HD500 and POD Studio

Keep in mind that with the HD500, you can plug straight into an amp, the power section of an amp, into a PA, into a computer, or just use it with headphones. It's completely standalone that way. It has a looper built in as well, and it even has an effects loop, in case you want your favorite pedal in a certain position in the chain of effects. It comes with an expression pedal built in, and you can also add an extra expression pedal if you want to. Super flexible is the word.

The POD Studio is not standalone - you need a laptop or computer for it to function at all - that's important to realize. It is a device meant for recording, and it does this beautifully with an enormous flexibility due to the dry/wet scenario I described above.

So my recommendation is you decide on how you want to work, and then get the Line 6 POD Studio UX1 + Pod Farm 2 combo, or get the HD 500 unit. Either way, you will be able to record killer tones. I guarantee it.

The Proof Is In The Pudding

So they say. I have recorded dozens of videos with my HD500, and here are a few of them. You can decide for yourself how you like the tones.

POD Farm

BHC hockey song - check out my solo, that's the only thing I did on this tune. The rest of the recording was done by my friend Stefan in Sweden.

Dolphinstreet jazzblues in F.
I used a clean amp model with a bit of tubescreamer stompbox model added in for extra grit.

Groovin with Dolphinstreet.
On this funky jam, I used the Marshall Super Lead model with gain cranked and a distortion stompbox model added for more gain.

One more thing! I almost forgot to mention - the HD 500 sounds I use for my recordings, they are all available online. Just go to line6.com/customtone/profile/dolphinstreet/ and download some of my patches I created. This means you can get the EXACT same patch I used for a guitar tone you heard on one of my videos. No need to tell you how I miced my amp, what tubes I used, etc - just download the patch, load it into your HD500 and voila - you have the same sound as me. Even if you think many of my sounds suck, you can search for certain tones and styles on the Line 6 Customtone website. There are tons of great guitar patches shared by the Line 6 community on Customtone.

HD500 Videos

You can buy the POD Studio or HD500 from Amazon

From Musicians Friend

Line 6 POD HD500 Guitar Multi-Effects Processor

John Hiatt Album - Dirty Jeans & Mudslide Hymns

Tue, 23 Aug 2011 00:00:01 GMT

New John Hiatt Album - Dirty Jeans & Mudslide Hymns

I haven't listened to all of it yet, but here is a song from the album. Pretty song. The production is far better than the previous album, which I thought sounded very rough. Might have to buy this album - I like his songwriting. Dirty Jeans & Mudslide Hymns is an appealing album for sure.

I am happy to see Train To Birmingham is on here - I believe it is a song he wrote a long time ago, and it's very nice indeed.

John Hiatt has been one of my favourite songwriters for many years. He combines excellent song writing and story telling with the unique ability to connect with people of all ages and backgrounds.

If you like Springsteen, Steve Earle and the likes, but haven't listened to John Hiatt - do yourself a favour and get this album, as well as Bring The Family, Stolen Moments, Slow Turning, Walk On and Perfectly Good Guitar.

Porter Vintage Telecaster Pickups

Mon, 01 Aug 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Porter Vintage Telecaster Pickups

Brian from Porter Pickups sent me this set to try out. See my video demo below.

These are Telecaster pickups of Vintage specs. This set features vintage type plain enamel wire in the neck (43AWG) and bridge (42AWG). The neck pickup comes standard with a brushed nickel cover for a vintage look.

The bridge features a steel baseplate and is wrapped with black string. This set is lightly wax potted.

With these pickups, you get classic old school tones in both positions, and balanced for a nice middle position sound. Both neck and bridge have AlNico 3 magnets and vintage cloth hookup wire.

I find this set to be very balanced, and the tone is definitely of vintage character. Perfect for rawer country and blues tones. I could not find anything to complain about here - the workmanship is top notch, and the sound is great.

These pickups turned my already good sounding Squier Classic Vibe 50s Tele to another level - better balanced between the two pickups, and a significant improvement in overall tone. This modern guitar really sounds like an old (expensive) Fender now!

Learn more at Porter Pickups Telecaster Pickups.

Video Demo

Oz Noy is a fantastic guitarist

Sun, 31 Jul 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Oz Noy is a fantastic guitarist

If you haven't heard Oz Noy, you are missing out on hearing a fantastic guitar player. I am a big fan of his music and style of playing. His funky style is very cool, and his improvisation is super cool. Sort of like bebop meets blues and rock with lots of weird and interesting tones.

He also has a new website up - Visit Oz Noy.com.

Oz was born in Israel. He started playing guitar at the of 13 playing jazz, blues, pop and rock music. By age 16, he was playing with top Israeli musicians and artists. By age 24, he was one of the most established studio guitar players in the country. Oz was also a member of the house band on Israel’s top-rated television show for more than two years.

He arrived in New York in 1996, and since then Oz has made a huge impact on the local and international music scene. He has worked with great musicians such as Keith Carlock, Anton Fig, Vinnie Colaiuta, and Dave Weckl often contribute on drums, with bassists Will Lee, James Genus, and Reggie Washington.

Oz Noy just launched his new website, and it's really good with lots of things to check out.

Visit Oz Noy.com and learn more about this fantastic New York City based guitar player.

Oz Noy has performed, toured and recorded with Richard Bona, Chris Botti, Gavin DeGraw, Harry Belafonte, Cyndi Lauper, Clay Aiken, Akiko Yano, Wonder Girls, Toni Braxton, Phoebe Snow, Nile Rogers, Mike Clark, Jeff ‘Tain’ Watts, Dave Weckl, Mike Manieri, The East Village Opera Company, Roger Glover, Bill Evans, Warren Hayes, Gove’t Mule, and others.

Our Band Played At Music On Main

Fri, 22 Jul 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Our Band Played At Music On Main

Myra Marshall band played in Camrose on July 22, and I had a lot of fun. The weather looked like it was going to rain any minute, but miraculously enough, no rain came. Last year, a thunderstorm came through when played this gig.

For gear, I brought my trusty old Reverend Hellhound, and I used my Hell Zerodot guitar. Weird how the names of my gear turned out! Hellish combination.

I got a lot of complements for my tone. I have found that the Line 6 M9 is a fantastic gig tool. It has all these great tones in it, although I usually just use very few of them. The Screamer with my Hellhound and Hell Zerodot produced some of my best blues tones I think I've ever had. It was great to hear people saying, more than once, that my tone was stellar.

MIDI MOBILIZER™ II - PORTABLE MIDI INTERFACE FOR APPLE© IPHONE© AND IPAD©

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 00:00:01 GMT

MIDI MOBILIZER™ II - PORTABLE MIDI INTERFACE FOR APPLE© IPHONE© AND IPAD©

Here's a useful tool - you can connect any MIDI keyboard to GarageBand© for iPad© and other music apps—

Line 6 just indtroduced MIDI Mobilizer™ II, its latest portable MIDI interface that connects all classic and modern MIDI equipment to Apple© iPhone© and iPad©. Descended from the first-generation MIDI Mobilizer (the world’s first MIDI interface for Apple iOS devices), MIDI Mobilizer II is the ideal MIDI interface for GarageBand© for iPad© and other CoreMIDI music apps.

“MIDI Mobilizer II makes portable music production easy,” remarked Chris Grigg, Line 6 mobile products manager. “Anyone with an iPhone or iPad and a MIDI controller can connect MIDI Mobilizer II and be recording and playing music in seconds. And with new apps being developed all the time, users can access an incredibly wide variety of instruments, software and more.”

MIDI Mobilizer II is compatible with CoreMIDI, the new standard for iOS music apps. This allows users to connect their MIDI gear to the latest crop of music apps like GarageBand for iPad and many other exciting music creation and education apps from developers all over the world.

MIDI Mobilizer II plus MIDI Memo Recorder, an app created by Line 6 that’s free on the App StoreSM, allow users to record, play and back up any MIDI data. MIDI Memo Recorder features a streamlined interface for easy storage and recall of MIDI recordings, patches and more. Users can back up and transfer MIDI data into replacement keyboards, classic and modern MIDI equipment and a variety of Line 6 guitar amplifiers and multi-effect processors. MIDI recordings can also be opened in any digital audio recording software that supports the SMF (Standard MIDI File) format.

MIDI Mobilizer II is compatible with iPod touch (3rd and 4th generation), iPhone (iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4), iPad and iPad 2, and is powered through the device – no batteries required.

The first-generation MIDI Mobilizer interface is still available and the perfect choice for older iOS devices. It is compatible with iPod touch (1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th generation), iPhone (iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS), iPad and iPad 2. MIDI Mobilizer does not support CoreMIDI.

For more information, visit www.line6.com/midimobilizer.

Suggested retail price $69.99

Apple, iPod touch, iPhone, iPad, and GarageBand are trademarks of Apple, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc. Apple is not responsible for the operation of this device or its compliance with safety and regulatory standards. Line 6 and POD are registered trademarks of Line 6, Inc. MIDI Mobilizer is a trademark of Line 6, Inc.

Line 6 Spider Online

Tue, 19 Jul 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Line 6 Spider Online

Line 6 has announced a very cool site, called Spider Online, a new free online resource for owners of any Spider® amplifier. Spider Online offers of over 500 lessons, jam tracks and tones created by Line 6, artists and fellow Spider modeling amplifier owners.

“Spider Online is a lot of fun for anyone who owns a Spider amplifier,” remarked Line 6 product manager Scott Waara. “Players can share tones, play along to great sounding jam tracks, and access a terrific variety of lessons in a wide range of styles. We’re grateful that over a million guitarists own Spider amplifiers, so to thank our customers and keep them inspired musically, we’re excited to make this resource available to them!”

Spider Online offers over 300 lessons covering all genres, styles, theory and application, and techniques. Every lesson includes tabs, audio samples and tones. Users can also play along to over 100 jam tracks, bass and drum grooves, and drum loops played by L.A. and Nashville’s top session musicians. Spider owners can access hundreds of new tones that can be downloaded directly to Spider amplifiers or displayed on screen.

All Spider Online tones, lessons and jam tracks are free for registered owners of any Spider amplifier, including Spider® I through IV, Spider Valve™, Spider Jam™ or Micro Spider™.

If you are a Line 6 Spider customer, have a look at line6.com/spideronline/, it's an awesome site!

How to string a guitar

Fri, 15 Jul 2011 00:00:01 GMT

How to string a guitar

I admit it, it took me over a decade to learn how to string a guitar properly. I used to just wrap the string 5-6 times around the capstan (or pole), and then tighten. It can work pretty good that way actually, but sometimes I got "slipping problems", because I didn't always get all those laps around the capstan really tight.

There is a better way to string a guitar, and I have made a video for you showing how it's done. I used an electric guitar in this case, but this method works the same for any kind of guitar that has a hole through the capstan. There some tuners that have just a groove instead of a hole. This same principle applies, but you'll have to make sure the string doesn't pop out of that groove, by keeping it pushed down as you wind up the string again.

If your guitar has locking tuners, you don't need to wrap the string around several times - tightening the screw will secure the string.

One thing to add, that I didn't cover in the video - the first thing to do when stringing a guitar is to remove the old strings. Never cut them off - unwind them with a simple tool like this one - Planet Waves Pro Winder String Winder and Cutter. Cutting the strings results in a very sudden change in tension, which can damage the neck on your guitar.

If you are REALLY paranoid, the best thing is to remove and replace one string at a time, instead of taking off all strings at the same time. The reason for that is the tension on the neck is only loosened a 1/6th at the most, (because you have 6 strings), which is (theoretically) better for your guitar's neck. I always remove and replace one string at a time, just because I'm paranoid and I've always done it this way.

I also recommend you use an old t-shirt or cloth over the guitar's body when you change strings, just to protect the finish. You never know when things go wrong.

Finally, make sure you pull on the strings hard after you have tuned up. I always do this, several times too, to get all that stretchiness out of the strings. Play a bit, do really huge bends, pull on the strings a bit, and re-tune. After doing this a few times, the strings should not stretch any more, and if you have followed my instructions, your guitar will now be in tune.

How To String a Guitar

Fender Tele-Bration

Thu, 14 Jul 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Fender Tele-Bration

Love Teles? Then perhaps you need to look at Fenders Tele-Bration. Back in 1951, when the Telecaster was introduced, the Telecaster was a revolutionary instrument.

The Tele has ever since been a very popular guitar, used in anything from country, rock and roll, punk, to blue blues, funk and jazz. Now fast forward 60 years. Fender is now celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Telecaster, with 12 very special "Tele-bration" models that are built with respect to the Telecaster style, while still offering the finest and most interesting takes on the Telecasters history.

The first one I noticed was the Modern Thinline.

Modern Thinline

The Modern Thinline Telecaster gives a nod to the 1990s as a chambered Thinline model with modern hardware and features. Its Olympic White finish and double binding in tortoise shell impart a sharp and stately look.

http://www.fender.com/features/telebration

Get Close Solo by Student

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Get Close by Student

One of my students, Frans, sent me another audio clip of him playing a lesson, this time, the lesson Get Close. It sounds great! The timing is great, and it flows nicely. Perhaps you have noticed how we as players often change things around to fit them into our own playing? That is a GOOD thing! I copy licks note for note sometimes, but I end up changing them around to fit my style and my approach. Copying (and changing around what you copied) is one of the best ways to learn, and you can do that same thing with any of my lessons.

Have a listen to Frans playing this solo. He plays it very well, I have to say. Thank you, Frans!

Remember that I also teach one-on-one via webcam lessons, in case you are interesting in learning from me directly, in real time. I do cover a wide range of styles; country, rock, blues, jazz, funk, improvisation, scales, modes, technique, harmony, ear training, etc. Just let me know what you are after, and I'll help you out.

By the way, if you have a clip of yourself playing anything from what I've been teaching on my website, do send it in and I will get you featured on this website. Thanks!

Here you can find more information about the 12 bar solo Get Close. It's a fun little solo! My students all enjoy this one a lot.

6 Steps To Learning Guitar Scales

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 00:00:01 GMT

6 Steps To Learning Guitar Scales

Many of my students struggle with knowing scales and modes, and when to use them. There are also many who get stuck in just playing scales up and down, when playing lead. The result is that solos sound like scale practices and flat out boring to listen to.

As you are learning scales and modes, there are a few things I recommend you do, in order to learn effectively.

Take small steps. Don't try to learn several positions across several strings in one sitting. Take it slow, and have patience. The faster you go, the quicker you will forget.
Visualize. Scales will create patterns (I often call them shapes) for your fingers. As you play slowly through these patterns, make a point of making a STOP often. Try to see these patterns on the fretboard before you play them. It helps to follow tip 1 above.
Say it. Say it out loud - which fret you are on, and the name of the note. This will help you learn faster. Follow tip 1 and 2 above.
Memorize. By taking small steps, visualizing and saying note names out loud, you will start to memorize scales. Now you can test yourself by playing only the first 3 notes of a scale in a certain position, or the last 4 notes, and so on. Test and develop your knowledge by memorizing, following tip 1, 2 and 3 above.
Variation. Play the scale in as many different ways you can, instead of just up and down the scale. Since there are 7 notes in the major scale, start on any of those 7 notes, and use the tips above to memorize. Play on different sets of strings, in different positions on the neck, etc. Your goal is to know the scale anywhere on the fretboard.
Play Music. This is the most important aspect. Nobody likes to listen to scale practicing, so as you learn the scale, try to also make music with it. Put on a jam track, jam along and try to use the scale to create nice melodies and hooks. Mix it up with other "tricks" you might know, such has some cool double stops or hammer-ons/pull-offs, etc. You can for example use the scale to

There you go - 6 ways to practice a scale. The idea here is not to work on just one tip for a long time, before moving to the next. You should work on all of these every time you practice scales - they all work together. Just have patience, and discipline. Repetition is the key to learning anything.

If you need help learning scale patterns and shapes, there is a website called Guitar Scale Patterns, that provides a cheatsheet. Go and check it out. They have useful products for helping you learn faster.

Most of all - have fun playing music!

Midi Drum Patterns

Thu, 09 Jun 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Midi Drum Patterns

I have been using EZdrummer for a while now, and it's great. In case you don't know what it is - it's a multi-microphone drum sampler designed for musicians and producers in need of a compact, affordable, easy to handle plug-in. In other words - a kick ass drum machine on your computer!

By the way, another great similar tool is Addictive Drums - I like i very much too.

Now, if you get any of these virtual drum machines, sooner or later, you'll be wondering how easily get good drum grooves. What I mean is, you may want to have realistic sounding drums for your songs or backing tracks. By realistic, I don't mean the sounds, but how the drums are actually played.

Here's what I'm getting at. You'll be wanting great midi drum patterns for your virtual drummer. Sure, you can sit and edit and mess around for a few days and get a decent sounding drum track. But if you are like me - a guitarist or bass player without years of experience playing drums - how easy is this do you think? I can tell you - it's bloody hard! Plus, it's time consuming and frustrating. So, what to do?

The answer is midi patterns for drums. There are several places to buy these online, but the one I use is called Groove Monkee. This company has many years of experience in creating professional sounding drum loops.

Groove Monkee provides premium MIDI drum loops in a wide variety of styles and popular formats: GM, Addictive Drums, BFD, BFD2, GURU, EZdrummer, Groove Agent, IMAP, Larry Seyer, Live Session Drums, Reason, Session Drummer, Steven Slate Drums, Superior Drummer and MIDI Groove Clip.

If you are in to blues, country, metal, rock - there are great packages of loops to buy from their website, and the PRICES are GREAT! It's super easy too - just put the folder with all the midi loops where your virtual drum machine will be looking, and you are all set.

For me, this has been a huge time saver. Frustration-saver too, I should add. Now I can easily load up a 12 bar blues or 8 bar rock groove, and build my tunes and backing tracks from that. You get tons of fills too, so can easily add fills and groove variations at any time and anywhere in your project.

Go to Groove Monkee - excellent drum loop patterns.

And also EZdrummer - great virtual drummer!

These 2 programs have been a very worthwhile investment for my backing tracks, and for my song writing. If you need good drums but can't afford to hire professional drummers - get Ezdrummer and Groove Monkee. You'll be happy you did.

Effortless Mastery

Mon, 06 Jun 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Performance Anxiety and Feeling Inadequate

Have you ever had stage fright? Do often feel like you suck at playing? Worried you might screw up your solo or in the intro to the next song? I can relate. I remember when I was starting out playing live - I played so terrible in front of people, because I was terrified. Then when I was practicing at home, I played much, much better. This happens to a lot of musicians, so you are not alone.

Performance Anxiety is the fear of public failure when performing. It affects the physical and cognitive processes involved when performing - in this case, we are talking about music. Naturally, this can happen with other types of performances too - speaking, sports, sex, etc.

One thing that can help with performance anxiety is being very well prepared. Make sure you have done your home work well.

As for myself, what happened was that I played more and more gigs, going from playing utter crap to half-decent performances, and eventually, I developed a certain amount of confidence, that helped me relax and perform better. I honestly don't know why the guys I played with didn't kick me out of the band initially... because I was the worst in the band.

Perhaps they let me stay because our band members were all great friends, and we enjoyed practicing and writing our own music together. I learned so much during the 1-2 years playing with this local band, all of whom were better musicians than me, and also more experienced in performing live. It's possible I wouldn't be where I am today, if I hadn't had the luck to get in with them.

So what can you do on your own? Well, I have a hearty recommendation for you. The book Effortless Mastery: Liberating the Master Musician Within, written by master jazz pianist Kenny Werner, puts forth the idea that mastery of music is available to everyone. With the right attitude and hard work, you can achieve that mastery yourself.

It is a very good book, that makes you really take a look at yourself. We all need to read this book, if you are a musician, whether you play guitar, piano, vocals, whatever. I think we are all trying to break through creative frustration or a personal plateau. So many musicians feel inadequate, especially when we look at our heroes perform. It happens to me too now and then, I listen to Scott Henderson and feel like throwing my guitar away.

The book Effortless Mastery contains exercises that are focused on removing these fears of being inadequate. Kenny Werner states that negative programming becomes an obstacle to growing as a musician unless it is reversed. In other words, positive programming must be imposed on yourself, the musician.

As we grow as musicians, there are many obstacles to overcome. One of the biggest one is the fear of not being good enough. The mental processes that Kenny describes in this book ring so true for myself. I have learned the hard way through trial and error, and it did take a long time. I wish I had this book when I was starting out playing. It would have helped me understand better what was going on.

Pick this book up if you care about becoming a master on your instrument - it is really a great read and toolbox. The exercises will help you grow and develop, if you follow through with it.

One suggestion you can do right away is to focus on a song or a section of a song or solo, and really practice it in and out until you know it so well that you have no problem playing it in any situation. That is a very important and fundamental exercise that most people do not follow through with. If you are sloppy when learning, your performance will be sloppy too.

When I practice and learn new things, I spend enough time on it that I can play it slow, fast, in different time signatures, swing/straight, etc. I learn it inside out, in other words. I don't stop practicing it until I have it down completely. Why? Because otherwise I'm wasting my time and I'm not developing and learning new things that will stay in my vocabulary.

There are no shortcuts to Mastery - only focused and disciplined work. The more you practice with a real focus, the more you will enjoy practicing and the better musician you will become. I promise you that.

Here is a link to Effortless Mastery by Kenny Werner. Read it, do the exercises, and grow as a musician. You can do it.

EQ Tutorial

Thu, 02 Jun 2011 00:00:01 GMT

EQ Tutorial

Do you know the ins and outs of eq (equalization) for audio?

I want to share with you some great videos for learning more about EQ. These videos were made with drums in mind, but never mind that. What you learn in these videos is applicable to any instrument. The explanations and demonstrations are very thorough and clear, and very understandable. The information gathered in these videos is in many ways, UNIVERSAL. I highly recommend that you have a look at these videos if you want to get a better understanding of EQ when recording and mixing in your DAW.

The videos mention Ableton Live, but again, don't let that get in the way here. He is just using Ableton Live to demonstrate and teach - the information in the videos are applicable to any DAW - whether it be Logic, Pro Tools, etc.

I openly admit I learned quite a few things myself from watching these videos! I have never taken any courses when it comes to mixing. I have just learned along the way, through experience. These videos gave me some great knowledge and I'm better prepared for my next recording project.

The teacher is Craig McCullough, certified Ableton Trainer. The lessons are published via Groove Monkee, who make excellent midi drum loops, which I personally like and use a lot.

Enjoy these videos, and let me know what you think!

The next videos in the series focus on drums, so have a look at them if you want to learn more about this topic. At the end of any of the videos about, it shows related videos, and there you can click on EQ lesson 4 (A, B, C, etc)

EQ Basics

Here is another good tutorial for learning more about EQ.

Barcelona Guitars

Mon, 30 May 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Barcelona Guitars

Bet you never heard of Barcelona Guitars? Thought so. Well, they are not usually mentioned in the same sentence as Fender, Gibson or Paul Reed Smith. No, these are mainly made for children and beginning musicians. As such, they are very affordable.

Barcelona also produces accordions, pianos, wood wind instruments and so on. Even banjos!

You may be wondering if it's all junk? Well, you may be surprised! They are not that bad actually. Perhaps you remember how poor the guitars made somewhere in China/Indonesia/Taiwan were, some 8-10 years ago. Well, things have changed. An inexpensive guitar today doesn't mean complete trash any more. Nope. Barcelona instruments are more than adequate for kids and beginners, and hey - they are affordable! I'm not saying they are up with Fender Standards or similar - those guitars cost hundreds more. Barcelona guitars cover the beginner group of players, with good quality for what you pay for.

Just have a look at this beauty:

If you are thinking about giving a child a guitar, do give these a try. They are of better quality than many other starter guitars I have seen. I wish I had one of these when I started out! I had some insanely crappy brand called Kasuga... oh man, don't get me started.

Here are some links to the Barcelona Guitars.

Barcelona Les Paul Cherry Sunburst

Barcelona Kid's Electric Guitar Set with Amp, Gig Bag and Accessories - Blue

Barcelona Kid's Mini Electric Guitar with Amplifier Combo - Red

Amazon.com Widgets

DVD with 30 lessons for $8.95

Thu, 26 May 2011 00:00:01 GMT

DVD with 30 lessons for $8.95

I have been asked over and over, how to get my free lessons on a DVD. So, for a limited time, I have a 30 lesson DVD available, for only $8.95.

I have burned a number of DVDs for people who don't want to view these on my website.

This super low price for this DVD will go up in June, to $15.00, so you might want to order this one immediately.

If you prefer to watch lessons on a TV instead of using your computer, you will enjoy this. High quality video and simple and to the point.

To order this DVD, go to my website store:

www.dolphinstreet.com/download_store/#dvd2a

The DVD is packed to the rim - 2 hours of Dolphinstreet guitar lessons will be a lot of fun to play along with.

Maybe a good Father's Day present?

These are the lessons on the DVD

2 blues licks 500 ways rock solo Acoustic Blues Strumologic 1-5-6-4 Acoustic Progression Blues Jazz over C7 Short Blues Scale Lick Blues Shuffle Vamp Improvising over A7, with B Minor Pent and A Minor Pent Camera Angle Inquiry Lick Clapton Style Lick Funky Blues with Upwards Sweep Angus Young Style Hammer-ons and Pull-offs That Hendrix Chord All Along The WatchTower Hendrix Lick Hendrix Style Major Chords Lead Blues Ideas Pentatonic Exercise Box 1 Raking Minor Lick Rock Guitar Lick C over G "Slash" Chord Slow Blues Shuffle Pride & Joy Lick - SRV style Sweep Picking & Tapping TripLit Blues Lick We Swing Jazz Blues Lick The Wind Cries Mary Hendrix Lick Open Power Chords Mixolydian Run 3 Note Solo John Scofield Lick

Line 6 POD HD DESKTOP now shipping

Fri, 20 May 2011 00:00:01 GMT

LINE 6 SHIPS THE NEW POD® HD DESKTOP MULTI-EFFECT

CALABASAS, Calif.—May 20, 2011—Line 6, Inc. (line6.com), the industry leader in digital modeling technology for musicians, announces today the shipment of POD® HD desktop multi-effect, the latest addition to the award-winning family of POD products.

The next generation of iconic “bean”-shaped direct-recording effects processors features HD amp modeling, over 100 M-class effects and an essential array of ins and outs —

“POD HD adds the truly exceptional tube-like tone and feel of new HD amp modeling to the classic POD benefits of convenience, simplicity and flexibility,” remarked Michael Murphy, Category Manager for POD and Effects Products at Line 6. “Plus, POD HD features over 100 M-class guitar effects and ins and outs that are perfect for any project studio.”

POD HD features all 22 of the new Line 6 HD amp models. The high-quality models offer a wide range of tones from sparkling cleans to mid-gain crunch to full-bodied, high-gain distortion. The models are based on famous modern and vintage amps including Fender® Twin Reverb®, Hiwatt® Custom 100, Supro® S6616, Gibson® EH-185, Divided by 13 JRT 9/15, Dr. Z® Route 66, Vox® AC-30 (Top Boost), Marshall® JTM-45 MkII, Park 75, Mesa/Boogie® Dual Rectifier®, ENGL® Fireball 100 and more, and deliver all the tonal nuances of each. (Amplifiers recognized as having being modeled for earlier POD products were re-modeled for POD HD using the new HD amp modeling technology.)

Fully adjustable guitar preamp, power amp, speaker cab and mic preamp models are featured in POD HD as well as over 100 M-class effects featuring tangy choruses, syrupy-sweet reverbs, distinctive delays and much more. Up to eight effects can be run simultaneously and in any order.

The large display shows quick, at-a-glance review of the entire signal chain. All parameters of all models are easily edited directly from the homepage.

POD HD features a studio-ready I/O with a 1/4-inch guitar input, stereo 1/4-inch balanced outs, USB 2.0, S/PDIF out, 1/4-inch headphone jack, an XLR mic input and an FBV™ jack for connection to a Line 6 foot controller.

Countless guitarists have chosen to direct-record with POD since the debut of the original bean-shaped desktop multi-effect over a decade ago. Many prefer the tactile, amp-like experience of POD instead of moving virtual knobs in a plug-in. Others choose POD for the outboard processing instead of bogging down their computers with processor-intensive software. Guitarists, who record, perform and travel for gigs value POD for its convenience, portability and reliable tone.

Learn more about POD HD desktop multi-effect at line6.com/podhd/desktop/.

All product names used herein are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or affiliated with Line 6. These trademarks of other manufacturers are used solely to identify the products of those manufacturers whose tones and sounds were studied during Line 6’s sound model development. Fender and Twin Reverb are registered trademarks of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. Hiwatt is a registered trademark of Fernandes Company Ltd. Supro is a registered trademark of Zinky Electronics, LLC. Gibson is a registered trademark of Gibson Guitar Corp. Dr. Z is a registered trademark of Dr. Z Amps, Inc. Vox is a registered trademark of Vox R&D Limited. Marshall is a registered trademark of Marshall Amplification Plc. Mesa/Boogie and Rectifier are registered trademarks of Mesa/Boogie Ltd. Engl is a registered trademark of Ausflug, Beate and Engl, Edmund.

# # #

About Line 6, Inc.
Based in Calabasas, California, Line 6 is a leading manufacturer of guitars, amplifiers, effects, effect processors, recording interfaces and digital wireless systems. The company 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, China and Japan. For more information, visit www.line6.com.

Order Your POD HD Desktop Now!

From Musician's Friend

Line 6 POD HD Desktop Guitar Multi-Effects Processor

From Amazon

Throbak Stone Bender

Wed, 18 May 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Throbak Stone Bender: A “Mark” Above the Rest

Dirt pedals. We all love them, we all use them, and one might venture to say we all NEED them. Look at most any touring guitarists’ live rig and you’ll see at least one overdrive, one distortion and one fuzz, and if you’re looking at John Frusciante’s board you’ll most likely see more than one of each! So, we search high and low for the king of tone. Rarely will you find a pedal that encompasses what you need from all three gain stages and you’ll most likely have different brands fulfilling these roles. Recently, I was diving into the ocean of fuzz pedals in search of “the one” that would deliver what I needed.

After some quick YouTube video reviews I decided that my fuzz would be a Tone Bender, or a Tone Bender clone rather. After some more reviews I had narrowed my search to the Skinpimp MK II, the Throbak Stone Bender and the D.A.M. MK II.

I know most players out there would say that the D.A.M. is the clear winner and that it is the most accurate clone of the Tone Bender. It may be the most accurate, but my ears don’t care for accuracy, they care about tone. Not to mention that at around $500 for the D.A.M. I could just as easily purchase a vintage Tone Bender. My search quickly narrowed to the Skinpimp and the Stone Bender.

The Skinpimp MK II is a nice little beast. The custom graphics add extra flair and make every single pedal totally unique. You may find one on eBay for a bit less with custom graphics, but they are now made in a smaller casing with standard graphics and usually run around $300 on prymaxevintage.com. The tone is great, and has more gain on tap for some searing lead tone. However, my ear and attention was quickly diverted to the Stone Bender.

Throbak has been putting out some really great pedals in recent years. Most of their pedal builds are geared (no pun intended) toward a more vintage sound which is exactly what I was after. The Stone Bender is an extremely accurate clone of the Sola Sound Tone Bender MK II. Like most TB clones, the SB has the normal Level and Attack controls, but they also add in the added versatility of a pre gain switch that can turn the SB from a great overdrive pedal to a high gain fuzz pedal with TONS of sustain. I was able to go from Zeppelin growl to the searing lead tone of Gilmour with the flick of this mini switch. I was in sonic heaven as I pounded through “Whole Lotta Love” directly into the lead of “Comfortably Numb” by flipping the mini toggle!

Another added bonus is the Tone Color Switch. When activated, this switch takes a smidge of treble off the tone and takes the tone in the direction of the original 3 knob Color Sound Tonebender. The internal bias pot can further shape this monster to fit well with your current setup. I was able to score a used one on eBay, but you can find the Stone Bender at the Throbak site (as well as sound clips) or at pedalgeek.com for around $229 plus shipping cost.

The only problem I see with the Stone Bender is that it cannot be powered through a daisy chain. It was not a problem for me since I use a Voodoo Labs Pedal Power, but if you have a multi-power unit, make sure the power outputs are ISOLATED, or simply power the Stone Bender through a separate, dedicated wal-wart.

If you are looking for a great sounding, vintage fuzz the Throbak Stone Bender is an amazingly versatile pedal with great sounds. Also check out Throbak’s other great pedals and vintage pickups!

Austin is a guitar gear nut who has been playing guitar for 17 years. He loves to travel, play music and write on his personal blog at www.technected.com.

Line 6 Pod Farm 2.5 out!

Tue, 17 May 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Pod Farm 2.5 is out!

Line 6 just released POD Farm 2.5 and POD Farm 2.5 Platinum, the latest updates to their premium tone plug-ins that add world-renowned POD® tone to any digital audio workstation. A new, free trial version is also available.

POD Farm 2.5 is the latest offering in the Line 6 POD and Amp Farm modeling software legacy. Its new features include compatibility with any USB audio interface, 64-bit support, standalone capability and the new free trial version. Upgrading to POD Farm 2.5 is free for owners of POD Farm 2.

“With POD Farm 2.5, guitarists get an amazing collection of amps and effects – the kind that gear fantasies are made of – plus the convenience of being able to use it alone, outside of their recording software,” relates Mike Murphy, Category Manager for POD and Effects products at Line 6. “Its vintage and modern amps, cabs and effects make it an absolute must-have for any guitarist’s studio.”

Each software plug-in boasts an arsenal of historic guitar and bass amps, cabs, studio-standard effects, classic stompboxes, colorful preamps and a virtual A/B/Y box. POD Farm 2.5 offers hand-picked recording essentials for guitar, bass and vocals while POD Farm 2.5 Platinum delivers more than 250 meaty models. The simple, carousel-style browser lets users drag-and-drop models into the signal flow to build the perfect sound. Enhanced routing with flexible digital signal processing allows for a broader range of tones. One signal can be split into two separate and simultaneous amp and effect signal chains with one click.

Included in POD Farm 2.5 are POD Farm Elements, plug-ins that streamline workflow and conserve CPU horsepower by grouping POD Farm models together by effect type. Users can load single amps, preamps or effects instead of loading multiple instances of POD Farm 2.5.

POD Farm 2.5 and POD Farm 2.5 Platinum offer full MIDI support via any MIDI controller. Intuitive MIDI Learn functionality makes it easy to control model bypass, volume, mute, global tap tempo, the virtual A/B/Y box and more. All versions are Mac® AU/RTAS®/VST® and Windows® RTAS®/VST® compatible for seamless integration with all major recording applications. They offer 64-bit support for compatible DAWs including Cubase® 5, Reaper® 3.71, SONAR® 8.x or SONAR X1, Logic® 9.2 and others. iLok USB Smart Key versions are also available.

Pricing

POD Farm 2.5 - $99
POD Farm 2.5 Platinum - $299
POD Farm 2.5 for iLok - $99
POD Farm 2.5 Platinum for iLok - $299

Google Music Beta is coming

Fri, 13 May 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Google Music Beta

So Google is creating a very interesting solution for playing your music. It is only available in the USA at moment, but I am sure that will soon change.

What is Google Beta? It is a way to get to your personal music collection at home or on the go. You can listen from the web or any enabled device with the Music app available from Android Market. My question - what about iPhone and Blackberry, etc users?

Cool features. The songs you've recently played will automatically be available offline. You can also select the specific albums, artists and playlists you want to have available when you're not connected.

Key point - even though people can upload their music collections to the service in order to enjoy them online through a variety of Web-connected devices, they can't download the music. Nope, you can only stream it. It's possible this is because Google wants to avoid lawsuits from the music industry, which has a history of going after anyone it suspects of breaching copyright.

Google reserves the right to boot illegally downloaded songs from the collections subscribers upload to the service. However, it's not clear how Google will spot pirated tracks.

Once you have uploaded your music, Google Music will let you listen from the Web or any enabled device with the Music app from the Android Market.

Subscribers can upload music files from any folder or playlist or add their iTunes libraries to Google Music. New music downloaded to subscribers' computers is added automatically to their Google Music libraries. Once the music is online, it will always be available, and playlists are automatically kept in sync.

However, subscribers won't be able to shop for music through Google Music. Google has not yet made the agreements with major music labels to get into the business of selling songs.

Subscribers can stock tracks at any bitrate, and the service is reportedly free as long as it's in beta. File formats supported are MP3, AAC, WMA and FLAC.

See how it works

This looks all quite similar to Spotify, which has been a huge success in Europe. It will be interesting to see how this plays out for Google.

So, if you are an Android user, what are you waiting for?

http://music.google.com/about/

Us iPhone users? Hmm, well that remains to be seen, doesn't it. There are workarounds, but a native iPhone app would sure be nice! Will it happen?

DolphinStreet.com / Strymon Lex Rotary Giveaway

Wed, 11 May 2011 00:00:01 GMT

DolphinStreet.com / Strymon Lex Rotary Giveaway

Contest over! The winner was David C. from Albuquerque. Thanks to all who entered!

Strymon make great pedals. Now they have generously provided a Lex Rotary pedal for a Giveaway here on Dolphinstreet.com. This Giveaway is specific to my website right here, so you can only enter on this page.

Can you do me a favor? Click that Like button above, if you haven't already. I would really appreciate if could help me out that way. You see, it helps me reach out to people easier, if I have a good number of followers on Facebook. Thank you!

Spread the word! Tell your friends and other guitar players you know. All you will need to do is to provide your name and email address, and you have a chance of getting one of these great sounding rotary speaker pedals. Check my demo below for an idea of what this rotary pedal can do.

I used a Hell Zero dot from Hell Guitars for this demo.

Lex Rotary Review

CONTEST RULES AND TERMS

ELIGIBILITY
This contest is open to anyone 18 years of age or older, from any country, except where prohibited by law. Contest shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the United States. This contest is void where prohibited by law and is subject to all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations. Entry in this contest constitutes acceptance of these official contest rules.

CONTEST SPONSORS
DolphinStreet.com ("DolphinStreet")

No purchase necessary to enter or win.

ENTRY
Entrants may enter the contest by fully completing and submitting the contest entry form at
http://www.dolphinstreet.com/blog/lex-rotary-giveaway.php.

CONTEST PERIOD
The contest will begin on May 11, 2011 and ends at 11:59PM, PST, on June 1, 2011. Winner will be chosen by random drawing among all eligible contestants. All winners will be subject to verification and must meet all eligibility requirements before a prize is awarded. Prize winner will be notified by email, telephone or US mail within thirty (30) days of contest end. If a winner is unreachable for five (5) days after being contacted by DolphinStreet, or if that winner is unavailable for prize fulfillment, potential winner will be disqualified and an alternative winner will be selected by random drawing among all remaining contestants.

PRIZE
One (1) Lex Rotary effects pedal, $299 value. The odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entrants. Prize is awarded with the standard factory 1-year warranty. No substitutions, cash equivalents, or transfer of the prize is permitted. Prize will be shipped to winner at no cost. Winner is responsible for the payment of all applicable federal, state and local taxes, fees and duties.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
DolphinStreet is not responsible for typographical errors in any contest-related materials or for incomplete or illegible entries. DolphinStreet reserves the right to cancel or modify the contest if fraud or technical failures compromise the integrity of the contest. By entering, participants hold harmless DolphinStreet from any and all liability, from acceptance, possession, misuse or use of any prize.

WINNER LIST
To obtain a list of Contest winner(s) (available after contest end), send a hand-printed, self-addressed, stamped envelope to:

Dolphinstreet.com / Strymon Lex Rotary Giveaway Winner List
705 Lakefield Rd Ste A, Westlake Village, CA 91361
U.S.A .

Sennheiser EW 100-ENG G2 Review

Wed, 04 May 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Sennheiser EW 100-ENG G2 Review

Today, I received the Sennheiser EW-100 ENG G2 in the mail, a wireless system for video cameras, complete with all cables and a quality lapel mic as well. Here's what I have found after testing it for a few hours.

Initially, I had major problems. It was easy to set up, except I did have some difficulty attaching the clip to the receiver. I didn't realize right away that here is a little screw that you need to unscrew, before you can get that clip to go on. After that, you just slide it in place on your video camera and tighten the large plastic screw. Well that wasn't that hard, really.

What worried me was that after I took the cable from the receiver's AF out, into my Panasonic HVX200, all I got was a squealing feedback. Seriously bad!

Looking in the manual didn't give me an immediate answer, so I went looking on forums. Someone mentioned checking the output settings for the AF Out. It turns out, that Sennheiser's default setting for the AF out is at +12 DB, which was WAY too hot for my Mic level input on my Panasonic HVX200. I read the manual now, and figured out how to change the AF out to a lower number. In fact, I went all the way down to -30 DB, and of course the feedback squeals stopped. I did a test, and nice! It sounds very good.

I also realized that I have a switch on my camera, where I can go from Line level to Mic level. I will make comparison between these two, and see what will give me the best sound in the end - the Mic Level input with AF out sensitivity low, or Line Level input, with AF out sensitivity set higher.

The mic is good and doesn't give me too much trouble with pops and issues with "T" and "S", like some cheap microphones do.

I can go pretty far away from the camera without losing quality. The system is easy to use and to understand, so I'm feeling very good about this purchase.

Conclusion

If you need a quality wireless system for your video camera, the Sennheiser EW-100 ENG G2 is one of the best options available. I have had VERY bad luck with Samson and Aztek. It was complete waste of money - I wish I had gotten the Sennheiser right away. It would have saved me money (on not having to ship items back) and it gives me so much better sound. The EW 100 G2 system gets a big thumbs up and my personal stamp of approval.

Amazon has this system

MXR Badass Distortion

Tue, 03 May 2011 00:00:01 GMT

MXR Badass '78 Distortion

Dunlop has a new interesting distortion pedal out, called the Custom Badass '78 Distortion.

The MXR Custom Badass ’78 Distortion roars with huge amp stack tones and old school distortion. Dunlop took a classic distortion circuit and hot-rodded it to deliver over-the-top soaring leads and rich, saturated rhythms. With only three knobs, dialing in a bad-ass tone is easy. Engage the CRUNCH button to boost the harmonic content of the distortion. Under the hood, this high performance machine features top notch circuitry and hardware meant for a lifetime of use.

It sure looks like a cool and interesting distortion stompbox. I will for sure try one when I get a chance.

Get the Badass Distortion

You can get one right now at Amazon! Only 80 bucks!

Video

Why Get the Amazon Kindle?

Sun, 01 May 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Why Get the Amazon Kindle?

I admit it, the Amazon Kindle is pretty cool. It has some great things going for it. As a device for reading books, it works fantastically well. There is some serious competition for the Kindle, but the truth is, the Kindle does hold it's own. It was meant for text, and after a few iterations of the product - it simply does a wonderful job.

The Kindle DX Wireless Reading Device, Free 3G is a bit different from version 1 and 2. In particular, there are two features that stand out: the larger screen, and the native PDF reader. It is definitely possible to use the DX for work documents, because of the PDF reader. As well, the screen size and screen rotation provides a much better overall reading experience.

What appeals to me, is that the DX feels more like text and less like a device. This means it is getting closer to the stated goal of the Kindle, which is for the device to disappear, leaving only the joy of reading left. Are we there yet? I will say, we are very close.

What does the Kindle do?

Description from Amazon:

All New, High Contrast E Ink Pearl Screen: Our graphite Kindle DX display uses the latest generation E Ink Pearl technology with 50% better contrast for the clearest text and sharpest images Beautiful Large Display: The 9.7" diagonal E Ink screen is ideal for a broad range of reading material, including graphic-rich books, PDFs, newspapers, magazines, and blogs Read in Sunlight with No Glare: Unlike backlit computer or LCD screens, Kindle DX's display looks and reads like real paper, with no glare. Read as easily in bright sunlight as in your living room Slim: Just over 1/3 of an inch, as thin as most magazines Books In Under 60 Seconds: Get books delivered wirelessly in less than 60 seconds; no PC required Free 3G Wireless: No monthly payments, no annual contracts. Download books anywhere, anytime Long Battery Life: Read for up to 1 week on a single charge with wireless on. Turn wireless off and read for two to three weeks. Carry Your Library: Holds up to 3,500 books, periodicals, and documents Buy Once, Read Everywhere: Kindle books can be read on all your devices. Our Whispersync technology saves and synchronizes your Kindle library and last page read across your Kindle(s), PC, iPhone, Mac, iPad, Android device, and BlackBerry device Share Meaningful Passages: Share your passion for reading with friends and family by posting meaningful passages to Twitter and Facebook directly from your Kindle Global Coverage: Enjoy wireless coverage at home or abroad in over 100 countries. See details. Check wireless coverage map. Built-In PDF Reader: Carry and read all of your personal and professional documents on the go. Now with Zoom capability to easily view small print and detailed tables or graphics Auto-Rotating Screen: Display auto-rotates from portrait to landscape as you turn the device so you can view full-width maps, graphs, tables, and Web pages Read-to-Me: With the text-to-speech feature, Kindle DX can read newspapers, magazines, blogs, and books out loud to you, unless the book's rights holder made the feature unavailable Large Selection: Over 900,000 books and the largest selection of the most popular books people want to read, including 107 of 112 New York Times® Best Sellers, plus U.S. and international newspapers, magazines, and blogs. For non-U.S. customers, content availability and pricing will vary. Check your country. Out-of-Copyright, Pre-1923 Books: Over 1.8 million free, out-of-copyright, pre-1923 books are available to read on Kindle, including titles such as The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Pride and Prejudice, and Treasure Island. Learn more Low Book Prices: New York Times Best Sellers and New Releases from $9.99. Free Book Samples: Download and read first chapters for free before you decide to buy

The Kindle DX Wireless Reading Device, Free 3G is a great reading device. I am confident you will enjoy it.

John Mayer plays Sinatra

Thu, 28 Apr 2011 00:00:01 GMT

John Mayer plays Sinatra

On the Letterman Show, I saw John perform the famous song that Frank Sinatra recorded in the 1950s, called In The Wee Small Hours. Very nice work.

You know, I have a lot of respect for John. Here is a guy who is famous for his pop material, but he has the guts to step away from light weight music that made in famous. Instead, he embraces the timeless music of Sinatra, Hendrix and good old blues masters of the past. I give him all the credit for doing this.

I have noticed a lot of trash talking going on about John Mayer, and I think it's just lame. The guy can play, he can create and perform music in the way most people just dream about. Anyone who can do what he feels like and still end up on the Letterman Show and play sold out larger venues all across North America gets my nod of approval.

Enough rant about that - here's the tune he played at the Letterman show. John isn't a jazz guitarist, that's obvious, and he's not a jazz singer of the Sinatra school either. Still, this is pretty good, and I give him big kudos for just having the guts to actually do this. It did turn out well, and hopefully it can inspire other young artists, and make them aware of the quality of artists from the past. There is still music from yesteryears that just never will get old. I think this is a good example of that.

Amazing Blues Backing Track Download

Mon, 25 Apr 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Amazing Blues Backing Track Download

Heads up - my friend Johnny over at BluesBackingTracks.com has an amazing collection of blues backing tracks, called The Big Kahuna.

Would you be interested in 31 blues backing tracks, where each is over TWENTY minutes long? Well, that's what this download has. Gritty blues backing tracks, that are loads of fun to play along with.

These long tracks help you effortlessly get into the flow and really let go and get into your soloing, whatever instrument you play. New ideas tend to come, the longer you solo. Also, you don't have to keep stopping and starting all the time. Great fun!

Head over to The Big Kahuna and look the list of tracks, so you can have a look at all the thirty-one tracks included in this download.

Hell No.2

Mon, 18 Apr 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Hell Guitar No 2

After spending a few more days getting to know this guitar, I am really digging it. I had a bit of buzz on the low E string and the A string, so I raised the action. This didn't fix it, so I look at the neck. Do you know how to check the neck if it is straight? You hold it up and look along the neck, and it's easy to see if it's straight or not. I saw the truss rod had been tightened just a little bit too much, so I loosened it and problem gone. No buzzing anymore.

I wanted to get some tones recorded with this guitar other than what I have done on video so far, so I sat down and experimented a bit with my Mack Heatseeker and also with Line Pod Farm 2 (software). I wanted to see how the guitar would sound with 2 entirely different guitar tones, as well as recording methods.

Below you have 2 short clips, just to demonstrate what it sounds like. The first is with the Heatseeker, the 2nd is with Pod Farm 2.

Here is a short clip where I miced my Mack Heatseeker - no pedals used, just a bit of reverb added in Logic.

Hell No.2 with Heatseeker
Same here but in a BOX - Hell No.2 With Heatseker (BOX)

The second clip is a short high gain clip I recorded last night with this guitar and the loops in Logic for bass and drums. I used Pod Farm 2 for the guitar tones - the lead guitar is a variac'd Plexi with a Rat pedal.

Hell No.2 with Pod Farm 2
Same here but in a BOX - Hell No.2 With Pod Farm 2 (BOX)

What do you think?

For more information, see Hell Guitars and Mack amps and for Pod Farm 2, Pod Farm 2 software.

You can also get the first version of Pod Farm from Amazon.

Video Demo

Hell Guitars

Sat, 16 Apr 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Hell Guitars

Hell Guitars is a new brand of guitars currently being launched. I have been lucky enough to get my hands on a prototype, and I am liking what I'm seeing and playing. The model I have here is called the No. 2 and it is a Telecaster style guitar. I have taken some photos of it so you can have a closer look.

I am honestly quite stunned how it good sounds. I love the feel of it, but the TONE - it's wicked good.

The guitar features Bare Knuckle pickups, Grover tuners and very good bridge. The neck is very comfortable and the fretboard radius is quite flat, so it has a "modern" feel to it.

The frets are medium to thin; not quite vintage thin though. At first, I thought they were on the small/thin side, but after 30 minutes of playing, I started to really like the feel of the frets. They are nicely polished and the set up is just about perfect.

My first reaction after playing this guitar through my amps is that I have very few guitars that can compete in tone. In fact, I told the builder that I feel only my Suhr Classic can compare. Yes, that is how good I feel this guitar sounds. It rings very clear all over the neck, and it can go from twang to jazz to blues to rock, and anything in between.

I have recorded a demo for you, so you can hear what it sounds like through a Marshall JVM410 on the Crunch channel (orange mode) - no pedals used. I used an Avatar 2x12 cabinet with Eminence Wizard speakers. Keep an eye out for more videos of high gain and more rock tones.

For more information, go to Hell Guitars.

Video Demos

Check out these videos I made with this sweet sounding guitar.

Classic Vibe update

Fri, 15 Apr 2011 00:00:01 GMT

New Classic Vibe from Squier

Organic Gardening Tips

Thu, 14 Apr 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Organic Gardening Tips

If you're anything like me you probably don't love the idea of eating foods that may have been grown with chemicals. Not only that, but the foods you buy from the grocery store may have been hanging around for days or even weeks before you finally purchase them. Furthermore, if you're buying "organic" food, you are likely paying way too much for your fruit and vegetables. Can you really trust the person you're buying from - it is truly organic?

Think for a moment about how you would feel if you knew the fruit and vegetables that you put on the table for your family had basically no nutritional value and might even containig harmful chemicals.

What we can do instead is to produce fresh and good tasting food by ourselves - food that has health benefits. We can grow our own vegetables, free from pesticides and we save money in the process. It's great to be out in the fresh air and sunshine, and another good way to get away from every day stress situations. Does chemical free, vitamin filled, fresh, natural foods sound like something you would like to grow yourself?

I've just read a great book on companion planting, written by Julie Villani, a passionate organic grower, who has impressed me with her depth of knowledge on companion planting. Not only does her e-book reveal what to plant near what and what not to, but how to reduce your workload in the garden and all sorts of useful information.

Julie has a little e-book out is great. It covers things like:

How to choose the right plants to grow together
Which plants you must never grow together
How to protect your fruits and vegetables from insect attack
How much to plant for your family
How to save money by not having to replace sickly plants
How to reduce your gardening workload - let mother nature do it for you

If you're interested to find out more, click on this link 1stoporganicgardening.com to find out more.

Julie created this manual created to give you simple, concise steps to easily create the right organic food garden for your family.

Learning music theory

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Learning Music Theory

Are you afraid of music theory?

Don't be! Understanding music theory is very worthwhile, in my opinion. No, it's not a must, in order to play guitar well, but it certainly opens up your doors, so to speak. Being able to understand how chords, scales, intervals, etc work is very useful, for many reasons. One of the most important reasons is that you may want to play with others one day. Perhaps in a band. Then you will likely need to know a little bit of music theory, so that you can communicate with each other. Someone might say, "play a D minor 7 after the A7, and can you after bar 3 make sure you start the melody on the minor third, and not the root?" That's the kind of stuff musicians talk about, so it is very worth while learning the basics of music theory.

Some reasons for learning music theory

To enhance general understanding of music
To help you be able to read music
To help you learn how to play an instrument or sing
To assist you in composing music
To be able to communicate with other musicians

Music is a truly universal language; a language that transcends boundaries, cultures and races. Keep in mind, that once you have written a piece of music, any musician can play it, at any time.

I want to share with you two very good books for music theory. In my one-on-one teaching, I use the book Music Theory for Guitarists: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know But Were Afraid to Ask (see below) to teach my students the fundamentals of music theory. This is a very good book, and it covers quite a range. Still, it's easy to digest, and a great resource to have close by. I highly recommend it.

The other book, Fretboard Theory by Desi Serna, teaches music theory for guitar including scales, chords, progressions, modes and more. Hands-on approach to theory gives you total command of the fretboard and music's most critical elements by visualizing shapes, patterns and how they connect. This book overlaps with the previous one to some extent, but the areas on visualizing is very worthwhile studying, and really, really good.

These are great starters, but if you still find theory confusing, you would probably really benefit from a few lessons by a music teacher. I am available for web cam lesson, in case you are interested in that. So, here are the recommended books:

Ricci Adam's Music Theory

As you are learning from books, and perhaps from a teacher, I strongly encourage you to check out musictheory.net as well. This is a FREE website with a ton of great lessons, exercises and tools. It's one of the most popular music theory websites on the web today. And the amazing thing is that it is all free. Can't go wrong with that.

There you go, hope you become a Master at music theory now. It takes some time to get good at it, as with anything, but hey that's normal. We're all students of music, and as long as you keep learning new stuff, you will become better.

Lavacable Giveaway

Sat, 09 Apr 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Lavacable Giveaway

I am excited to announce that you, one lucky winner, can win a Lava Soar Cable, a Lava Solder-Free Pedalboard Kit, a Lava Retro Coil Cable, and 2 T-shirts! The Giveaway ends by midnight on May 1st, 2011.

Yes, this is a fantastic Giveaway! All I ask you to do is to ‘Like’ the Dolphinstreet Facebook page. The Like button is at the top of this page, or by going to Dolphinstreet Facebook Page.

The winner will be randomly chosen, via random.org on May 1st, 2011. You will not have to provide your address until you win. Just enter with your name and email address below and you have a chance of winning this amazing set of cable products from Lava Cable.

I have been using Lava Cables for over 5 years now, and they are my main cables I use when gigging. I just love them.

HEY! Why not contact Lava Cable and let Mark know you really appreciate this? I would be very glad if you did! Thanks in advance.

Giveaway Winner

The winner is.... David George. Congratulations, David!

New Marshall Class5

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 00:00:01 GMT

New Marshall Class5

There is a new Marshall Class5 in town! And, it is available in a head version, in addition to the combo.

The new Marshall Class 5 C5-01 features improved construction with thicker cabinet wood. This improves strength and the overall resonance of the amp. Additionally, a new low power mode is available to reduce the power output of the Class 5 so you can get blistering Marshall distortion tones at the kind of volume level that is suitable for a bedroom or flat.

Marshall Class5 5W 1x10 Tube Guitar Combo Amp Black

What you see is what you get with the Class 5 - a compact, portable, class A tube amp, based on the legendary Bluesbreaker design that has no frills and bags of tone at bedroom, rehearsal or gig volumes. The Marshall Class5 5W 1x10 Tube Guitar Combo Amp Black dishes out warm tube tone without needing to be blisteringly loud; but crank it up and its 5 watts go a long way at small gigs!

The Class5 has volume and 3-Band EQ on the control panel, and an all tube (2 ECC83 and 1 EL34) signal path. So, the Class 5 is a real purists amp. By turning just these 4 knobs, you can go from sparkling cleans, to crunch, to screaming British lead tones without having to endlessly fiddle with scores of gimmicky "whizzbang" controls!

The Class 5 features a specially designed, 10 inch Celestion speaker. The pairing of the G10F-15 speaker and semi-open backed cabinet delivers a surprisingly present low-end whilst retaining midrange bite and clarity. If you need to move a bit more air, there is a 16 ohm speaker output on the rear panel.

Conversely, if its still a little too loud, Marshall have equipped the Class 5 with a handy headphone output for those late night jams. Marshall tube tone in a single portable unit that can be used at home, at rehearsal, at the gig and in the studio. There is no doubht thatthe Class 5 is a real class act.

Order your Marshall Class5 5W Class5 today and let it rip!

How to improve your guitar playing

Wed, 06 Apr 2011 00:00:01 GMT

How to improve your guitar playing

As I was sitting at the airport today, I started thinking about how I have taught guitar for a long time now. Decades, actually. Most of my students have been beginners or intermediate. Some of them have become very good lead guitar players, and some of my students have been been content with being able to play a few campfire songs, using 3-4 chords.

I have found that there are many different approaches to teaching and learning guitar, and in the end, it all depends on the student's motivation, ambition and discipline. We are all different personalities, and the way you approach playing guitar is reflected in these aspects.

A good teacher will give you the tools and framework for learning guitar. However, you must keep in mind that it is YOU who must spend the time practicing by yourself, in order to really improve. There are no shortcuts or secrets that will magically make you a guitar player. Only by dedicated practice will you be able to reach your goals.

Speaking of goals - this is a key concept that will help you along the way. Set small goals, for example learning one chord in several inversions all over the neck. Don't make goals too hard, such as learning 300 chord shapes over a weekend. If you take on such tasks, you will become frustrated when you find you remember very little of what you practiced. The key is to take BABY STEPS. Learn a chord progression of say, 3 chords. Play the progression in one key, and learn perhaps another version of the 3 chords as well. Then, practice the progression in a different key. Use only the first inversion of the chords, and when you know it well, try the other inversion of the chords you practiced in the original key. You can then practice the same thing in a third key, or you can learn a third chord inversion over the first two keys. Do you know it? Go back and forth between different keys and chord inversion, checking yourself that you can play them without difficulty. Only then should you move on to something new.

You see, it is when we play things over and over, slowly and focused, that we really learn long term. I see too many guitar players who are not sure what they are doing, and that is because they THINK they know what they are doing, but they didn't practice each little thing long and focused enough. As a result, they make many mistakes, forget the chords and notes, and ultimate struggle and feel they suck. Don't be one of them. Instead, take your time and practice the "little things" and learn them well. That is something we all have to do, regardless of ability.

As an example from my own practice routine, when I practice improvising over a certain chord or chord progression, I focus on remembering a scale, part of a scale or maybe just a lick, and I do it over and over again. This could be just a couple of seconds long, maybe just 4-5 notes. Since I spend plenty of time repeating this "little thing" over and over, it will eventually stick and become part of my musical vocabulary.

I don't stop there, however. I think I know it, but experience tells me otherwise. So, a day or two later, I go back to it again, and I try to repeat what I knew so well earlier. What I find is that I sort of know it, but it's not as solid as earlier. So, I practice the same thing again. This time, I get it under my belt quicker, just because I have practiced it before. Then, perhaps I change somethning, like different chord inversions or playing it over different keys. Immediately, it becomes harder again, so I focus and practice slowly until I think I know it. Again, I come back to it a day or two later, and check up on myself if I REALLY know it. Do you see what I mean?

This is how all great musicians evolve as players. Some may be able to learn more in a shorter time than others, but the process is still the same - focused practice, taking on bite size of information as we practice our instruments.

I believe a guitar teacher can only give you guidelines and sign posts about where and how you can do things, but it is only you, the student, who can ultimately get there, by practicing often, and by practicing the correct way.

Never, ever, believe these people who promise you huge leaps in learning in a short time, by buying their products. Those sales people are nothing but scammers, because people don't work that way.

None of my guitar lesson products will take you from a beginner to a top act lead guitar player in a week or two. Not even a month or two. No, you should approach all guitar teaching products as small helpers along the way, because they teach you building blocks and concepts, which you then practice as I have described above. If you have discipline and motivation, you WILL as a result developer as a guitar player, and move closer to your goal of becoming good at playing guitar.

I do hope this does not discourage you. Playing guitar is a life long journey, and it is great fun. Enjoy it, and take advantage of the many great guitar learning products and sources out there, and stay focused. I am sure you can do it.

If you are looking for some ideas for learning scales, here is a good resource for scale patterns. This will help you to really understand when and where to use scales.

Orange Dark Terror

Tue, 05 Apr 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Orange Dark Terror

Orange Amps has announced a new addition to its Terror amp line up. It's called the Dark Terror.

The 15-Watt head is highest gain Terror made by Orange, so far. This amp will be available at the end of May 2011 and as the name suggests, it sports a black finish.

"Uncompromisingly brutal"

Menacingly small, easily recognisable, this aggressive little amp comes with a mind blowing sound which combines the shape control of the Thunder series with the weight and size of the monster Terror family.

This Frankenstein like amp has creepy amounts of gain on tap with disturbingly pleasurable responsiveness. It is uncompromisingly brutal, doubtless unhinged, even ferocious!

The Dark Terror is highest gain Terror amp ever and comes with:

New High Gain Preamp 3 x ECC83/12AX7
Valve Driven FX Loop 1 x ECC81/12AT7
Four Stages of Gain
15 Watts Class A, Switchable to 7 Watts
Weighs in at only 7kg/15lbs
A Gig Bag

The Dark Terror is available from the end on May 2011. Prepare to ride the Dark Terror storm! This amp will provide loads of high gain for you guys out there who need uber-brutal distortion tones.

Raw Guitars

Thu, 24 Mar 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Raw Guitars

There are so many guitar builders and luthiers out there these days. I have to say I am glad I am not in that business, as it seems so competitive. I got an email today about company called Raw Guitars. They look quite nice. The Texas Blue is a sweet looking Stevie Ray Vaughan tribute guitar.

Designing and developing a range of guitars were, according to company founder, Simon Raw, immense fun and very fulfilling. Throughout the Winter and Spring of 2009/10 his ideas took shape. Simon takes up the story of how one of his designs, Fusion, took shape:

"As my background is in product design and ergonomics, I needed advice from an experienced luthier. Jim Fleeting fitted the bill perfectly. His knowledge on building, wiring and setting up the guitars was essential, if my ideas were to get further than my sketchbook. I was extremely proud when my first guitar received positive reviews, but I knew I could design something better. My first build had an acoustic style bridge, so I thought why not utilise this feature and experiment with acoustic under saddle pickups and create a hybrid. I ran the idea past Jim and he said “why not, go for it”.

Simon believes that the electric guitar is more than just a stringed instrument, it represents all we love about rock n' roll: Rebellion, attitude and sex. His first priority when sketching a new idea is to make it look cool, sexy and beautiful, if he does not achieve that, the sketch goes straight into the bin and he starts again.

Best of luck with Raw Guitars, Simon!

Jack DeVille Mod Zero

Tue, 22 Mar 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Jack DeVille Mod Zero

When I was at NAMM in January 2011, I came across a very, very nice sound pedal called Mod Zero, by Jack DeVille Electronics. This is an all-in-one box that creates some fantastic modulation tones. I drooled a little when I heard it. Really. :)

It is pure analog modulation box, and you can get some seriously good sounding Flanger, Vibrato, Phaser and Chorus tones. It's very easy to use, and it has a True Bypass switching system. The switch is "click-less" - no popping at all with this true-bypass system.

Personally, I fell for the Leslie sounds. I have always loved the Leslie effect, and this multi-effect stompbox can do this tone really well. I was surprised about that, because units that try to do several things often end up being jack of all trades but master of none.

Have a look at the Mod Zero if you are interesting in an analog modulation pedal, that delivers classy chorus and flanger tones, as well as being able to pull off a great leslie and phaser sound. Definitely worth a try!

Go to the Jack DeVille Mod Zero web page. Please let them know you found out about this cool pedal from me!

Removing vocals from a track

Sun, 20 Mar 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Removing vocals from a track

Have you ever wanted to remove vocals from a track? The cool thing is this can be done fairly well, using free software. Here’s how to use remove the vocals from most music tracks in a few simple steps.

Usually, vocals are placed in the center. You probably know that sometimes the bass is pushed more towards the right channel, and rhythm guitar could be more towards the left, etc. Most often, the vocals are put right at the center.

By using Audacity (free software), we can split the stereo track invert one channel. This cancels out the vocals but leaves the rest intact.

Now, songs with a lot of vocal effects could be a bit messed up buy this process. Tunes that have plenty of reverb may leave an echo behind as well.

So how do you do this, practically speaking?

Luckily, there is a nice tutorial available that shows you the step by step process to remove vocals from a track. Have a go at it, and let me know how well it worked for you. To access the tutorial, go to this page -> removing vocals from a track with Audacity. One obvious drawback - if any other instrument is in the centre, it will also be canceled out.

Line 6 M5 Stompbox Modeler

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Line 6 M5 Stompbox Modeler

Line 6 announced today the launch of M5 Stompbox Modeler, a portable and powerful multi-effect that gives guitarists access to a comprehensive collection of historic stompboxtones in the space of a single stompbox.

M5 is a compact, professional-grade, super-easy super-stomp that will provide access to over 100 coveted guitar effectsin the footprint of a standard pedal, running effects one at a time, just like the classics pedals that inspired it.

“M5 Stompbox Modeler will become the secret weapon on your pedal board” remarked Mike Murphy, Category Manager for POD and Effects Products at Line 6. “It channels the souls of over a hundred modern and vintage stompboxes into a single pedal, giving you the ability to completely transform your rig with this one stompbox.”

The collection of effects packed inside M5 Stompbox Modeler includes plenty of velvety reverbs, tangy mods, sweeping filters, distinctive distortions, pitch effects, compressors and other essentials. Many of these effects come from the bestselling DL4™ delay modeler and other Line 6 products including M9 and M13. Guitarists now have the flexibility to add that one extra effect to their pedal board, many times over, without having to pack or switch out a variety of individual pedals.

M5 Stompbox Modeler is incredibly simple to use, just like a classic stompbox. Each effect parameter can be accessed in real time through the dedicated knobs and easy-to-read display. There’s no digging through menus, no saving and no hassles. A universal tap tempo feature controls all of the time-based effects.

M5 Stompbox Modeler has all the connections guitarists need to sync up with nearly all pedals and MIDI rigs. It features 1/4-inch mono and stereo inputs and outputs, MIDI in and out and an expression pedal input for added control and functionality. It also has a built-in tuner with an option to either mute or allow the dry signal to pass through when engaged. With rugged construction designed to endure and gig-bag-size portability, M5 Stompbox Modeler can withstand the rigors of the road and the demands of the working musician.

M5 Stompbox Modeler is now shipping.
M5 Stompbox Modeler - $279.99 MSRP

My Bar Blues 1 DVD on Sale 50%

Fri, 11 Mar 2011 00:00:01 GMT

My Bar Blues 1 DVD on Sale 50 Percent Off

I almost forgot to mention this on my blog - my Bar Blues 1 DVD is 50 % off until midnight between Sunday - Monday March 13/14.

If you have been thinking about getting this DVD, now's the time to do it. I am offering this sale as a way of celebrating I sold out my first batch of this DVD.

The feedback has been very good - it is clear that the people who purchased enjoy the idea behind this DVD, which is to learn a bunch of good and useful blues licks. Not only that, the licks are focused on 2 bars of the 12 bar blues, so you end up with 4 licks for every 2 bars of a 12 bar blues - that's 24 blues licks if you know your math!

There is not much time left on this sale, so act now if you want to get the DVD for only 17 dollars, instead of the regular price of 33.95.

Get it now » Buy Bar Blues 1 DVD for only 17 dollars - you also get TAB, Guitar Pro, Backing Track and mp3 of all 24 licks played consecutively. Oh not to forget - the instant Digital Download is also included in the purchase.

Use the discount code 50OFF after you have added the DVD to the shipping cart. You then get 17 dollars off.

Don't forget to let me know how you liked the DVD. Your feedback helps me improve and make better lessons, so know that I love to hear from you.

P2 cards price drop

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 00:00:01 GMT

P2 cards are getting cheaper

The prices seem to be coming down on P2 cards. These cards are fast and reliable storage solutions for Panasonic camcorders. I just got a 64 GB P2 card for my Panasonic HVX200 and what a relief. I used to only have an 8 GB card, which means no more than 20 minutes of shooting time.

The Panasonic P2 cards have always been quite expensive, but they are starting to get down in price. You can now get a 64 GB P2 card for under $700.

These prices on P2 cards went down on BH Photo and Video sometime in February. In other words, if you have been thinking about getting a larger P2 card, this would be a great time do so! Whatever you do, DON'T go on eBay and buy the 5-600 dollar 32 GB cards listed there, when you can buy a card twice the size for under $700.

Amazon has these

Rock Prodigy Awarded Appy Award

Fri, 04 Mar 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Rock Prodigy Awarded 2011 Education Appy Award

I was able to have a very early look at Rock Prodigy when I was at NAMM in January. Now I just found out that Rock Prodigy is named a winner in the "Education" category at the 2011 Appy Awards. Taking place during the two-day OMMA Global Conference & Expo, the annual Appy Awards honor the best mobile, social and web apps in a diverse range of categories.

Produced by the Way of H, Rock Prodigy uses polyphonic pitch-recognition and allows guitarists from every level to play alongside rock legends with the help of an Apple iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch.

“This award is a testament to how Rock Prodigy is changing music education and the way people learn how to play guitar,” said Harold Lee, co-founder and CEO of The Way of H, Inc. “It’s an honor to be recognized as a leader and innovator in the world of mobile technology literally weeks into the launch of our app.”

Rock Prodigy is available for free in the iTunes App Store, with premium feature packs starting at $9.99. More information at RockProdigy.com.

The Way of H, Inc. is a music technology company based in Los Angeles focused on changing the way people learn, play and interact with music. Rock Prodigy, the company’s first product, is a revolutionary interactive music app powered by patent-pending polyphonic pitch-recognition technology that allows musicians of all skill levels to use any instrument and provide instant performance feedback to accelerate learning.

For more information, visit www.RockProdigy.com

Giveaway - Pedal Juice

Thu, 03 Mar 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Giveaway - Pedal Juice

The Sanyo Pedal Juice is one of the most useful pieces of gear I encountered in 2010, no make that the last few years. It’s a rechargeable battery designed to power up to 2 pedals or multi-effects. This way you won't have to worry about buying batteries, or worry about power access at the next gig or jam session. You also lesson the environmental impact by not buying batteries and throwing them away when they are drained.

A single charge lasts for a very long time. You won't have to worry about pedals dying on you at a long gig.

I am happy to be able to, (thanks to Sanyo) give away ONE Pedal Juice on March 21, 2011. All I ask you to do is to ‘Like’ the Dolphinstreet Facebook page. The Like button is at the top of this page, or by going to Dolphinstreet Facebook Page.

The winner will be randomly chosen, via random.org on March 21, 2011. You will not have to provide your address until you win. Just enter with your name and email address below and you have a chance of winning one of these very useful Pedal Juice devices.

Winner: G. Farinha - congratulations!

Winner will be drawn on March 21, 2011.

Oz Noy Twisted Blues Band

Tue, 01 Mar 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Oz Noy Twisted Blues Band

I love Oz Noy - he is a great guitar player and he writes some seriously cool tunes too. Funky jazz with blues and rock influences - how can you NOT like that?!

Here is a clip I stumbled over on youtube - Dec 17, 2010 - The Oz Noy Twisted Blues Band Feat. Chris Layton, Roscoe Beck, Reese Wynans, Saxon Pub, Austin TX.

Who is Oz Noy? Well, Oz Noy is a guitar player from Israel, who started his professional career at the age of 13 playing jazz, blues, pop and rock music. At age 16 he was already playing with leading Israeli musicians and performers, and at age 24 he was one of the most established studio guitar players in the country, and played on numerous records. He was also a member of the house band of Israel's top rated Television show for more than two years.

Since his arrival to New York in 1996 he has made a big impact on the local music scene with his unique sound, compositions and style, bringing a mixture of pop, rock, blues, funk, and jazz, into a cohesive and intoxicating groove.

Cold today! Minus 38 C, minus -36 F

Tue, 01 Mar 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Cold today! Minus 38 C, minus -36 F

Minus 30 Celsius (minus 36 Fahrenheit). I couldn't believe my car started. It was whining and grumbling though, even though I left it plugged in overnight.

We get one or two cold spells every winter, when the temperature goes past the 35 mark. I think is the 2nd or 3rd time this winter it gets this cold, although we have had several days in a row with this temperature this winter. It's been the nastiest February I can remember.

One thing I tried this morning was to pour warm/hot water in a jug and throw it up in the air. I have seen on youtube where people have done this at around this temperature, and the water instantly freezes in the air. Didn't work for me, and I tried both hot, warm and luke-warm water. Any ideas why it didn't work? Perhaps it has to do with the hardness/softness of the water? Or perhaps it has to be at boiling temperature?

Don't believe me? See below!

New HD Camcorder - Panasonic HVX200

Mon, 28 Feb 2011 00:00:01 GMT

New HD Camcorder - Panasonic HVX200

I have been contemplating upgrading my video camera for a while, and now I have finally done so. I was having some problems with my lighting setup with my video camera. Lots of glares, especially when I was wearing glasses.

So, I found a used Panasonic HVX200 and decided to go for it. I love this camera. It's easy to work with, sturdy and the picture quality is a dramatic improvement compared to my old camera. The Panasonic HVX200A is their latest version of this camera, and it is even better, because it handles low light much better than mine. However, I use a lot of light for my work, so I should be fine with the older HVX200.

One great feature is that I have 2 XLR inputs on the HVX200. It makes it easier to capture good audio, and the sound quality on the camera is fantastic when I use external microphones. The built-in microphone is only so-so.

This video camera records onto P2 cards, which are solid state memory cards that are very reliable and powerful. The only drawback is that they are very expensive, although the prices on these cards seems to be going down.

The recording format is DVCPRO HD, and it can record in a variety of resolutions - High Definition 720/24p and 1080/60p/i being the most common. The HVX200 can also record in Standard Definition onto MiniDV tapes.

As a result of getting the HVX200, my work flow is now much improved, so I can quicker produce videos that both sound and look better than ever before. No wonder I am excited!

I will use the HVX200 camcorder for all my guitar videos and lessons from now on. The picture quality is much improved, as well as the audio. Anyone who buys my products and follow my youtube videos will definitely get much better looking and sounding videos!

I highly recommend the Panasonic video cameras. Panasonic build cameras that are a pleasure to use, and the picture quality and functionality is top of the line.

Turn a Shredder into a Slow Poke + Free Mp3 Player

Tue, 22 Feb 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Turn a Shredder into a Slow Poke + Free Mp3 Player

So, in case you missed this, I just concluded a drawing in conjunction with the folks at Song Surgeon where I gave away a 5 FREE copies of their terrific product Song Surgeon, which is a must-have tool for anyone serious about learning guitar.

While I was appreciative of their generosity... I was "blown away" when they told me that they would GIVEAWAY a Mp3 Player FREE to everyone that purchases a copy of Song Surgeon.

FREE Mp3 PLAYER OFFER

These are quite nice little units. Take a quick look...

http://songsurgeon.com/page.v271_65.html

TURN A SHREDDER INTO A SLOWPOKE

If you missed the drawing and don't have a clue as to what Song Surgeon is here... this brief video below shows you how you can use Song Surgeon to turn a Shredder into a slowpoke.

http://songsurgeon.com/page.v271_65.html

If you like what you see, better hurry on over to the site to take advantage of the FREE Mp3 offer mentioned above. Here is the link to the home page of the site.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
http://tinyurl.com/4vvqu37
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By the way, this app runs on both MACs and Windows machines, although the newest version (3.0) shown in the video is a WIN only product.

Eneloop Pedal Juice in Black

Thu, 10 Feb 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Eneloop Pedal Juice in Black

SANYO now has announced a black version of the eneloop Pedal Juice, which is a rechargeable DC 9V battery unit for effects pedals. I have one of these, and I find it extremely useful. Sometimes you just want to bring a pedal or two to a jam or a gig, and the Pedal Juice is the perfect tool for this.

I had a brief but good talk with one of the main guys at Sanyon when I went to NAMM in Janauary. Apparently, not everyone loves the white version, so now there is a black one available. I admit, it does look better! The white one kind of stands out like a sore thumb on a stage floor, although I am not one to care about looks...

The Pedal Juice is available at music stores all over the USA, and the black version will be available in late spring 2011. Both versions have an MSRP of $199.99. The black and the white Pedal Juice was displayed at the NAMM Show 2011.

Main Features

Portable, rechargeable lithium-ion 9V power supply (max output 2,000mA, or 1,000mA per port when using both power ports)
Stable voltage provides consistent, long-lasting sound quality
Three-stage power indicator shows remaining battery level at a glance, even during use
Easily turns on or off with one button
Can be used outside even in wet weather. Water-Resistant to JIS IPX3 compliance level (no damage when sprayed with water in vertical position at angles of up to 60 degrees on both sides)
No noise interference from surrounding electric equipment as occurs with AC power
Approximately 3.5 hour charging time
Standard usage times include approximately 50 hours for analog effects units (~10mA), up to 27 hours for digital effects units (~50mA), about 17 hours for digital multi effects units (~100mA), 7 hours for multi-track recorder or synthesizer (~300mA), and 2 hours for electronic drums or percussion (~1,000mA)
Built-in 3.7V, 7.35Ah Lithium-ion battery
Colors: White or Black

For more information about the SANYO ‘eneloop’ brand of products please visit http://us.sanyo.com.

About SANYO

SANYO Electric Co., Ltd. is a global company providing solutions for environment, energy and lifestyle applications. SANYO North America Corporation, a subsidiary of SANYO Electric Co., Ltd., is based in San Diego, and its products include solar, rechargeable batteries, digital solutions (such as digital cameras, projectors, home appliances), biomedical laboratory equipment, HVAC and refrigeration equipment, and Smart Energy Systems.

For more information on SANYO, please visit http://us.SANYO.com.

Line 6 HD500 JCM800 patch

Wed, 09 Feb 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Line 6 HD500 JCM800 patch

People have been asking me to share my Line 6 POD HD500 patches, so here is the first one. It is the patch I used for my 500 Ways rock solo lesson.

The patch uses the J-800 amp model, and Greenback 25 cabinet model. You'll find a Distortion pedal in the chain too, and digital delay. I only used those effects on the solo - the rhythm guitar on that recording is dry.

I have uploaded this patch to the Line 6 Custom Tone site - go to line6.com/customtone/tone/210153/ and download it.

Try it out, POD HD users, and let me know you like it!

Guitar Pro 6 for iPhone

Sun, 06 Feb 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Guitar Pro 6 for iPhone, iTouch and iPad

Finally, Guitar Pro 6 for the iPhone! As you know, I have been using Guitar-Pro 6 for my teaching for a long time now. It's very exciting that it is now available for the iPhone, iTouch and iPad.

The Guitar Pro 6 app is only a score reader and player, but it is very nice, and I find it very useful for teaching. I know the developers are already working on more features. Personally, I think it's definitely worth getting.

Main Features

- Supporting GP3/4/5/6 (GPX) and PTB formats - Load files from iTunes, wifi, e-mail, web - Library included, with search, filters, and favorites - Multi-track playback, with soundboard: volume / solo-mute / soundbank - Metronome - Visual countdown - 3-level zoom - Virtual guitar or bass fretboard (also for lefties), and keyboard

Guitar Pro 6 for the iPhone can also do this:

- On-the-fly adjustable tempo - On-the-fly global transposing by half-tones - Tablature (with rhythmics), standard, and SLASH notations - Send files via e-mail directly from the application - Loop-playback of any chosen section - Easy moving around sections

Guitar Pro is optimized for iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and iPad. An application for Android is in the works.

Click the image below to get it via iTunes.

Dust Bowl - new Bonamassa album

Fri, 04 Feb 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Dust Bowl - new Bonamassa album

Joe Bonamassa is a wonderful guitar player. I've been a fan of his for years. He plays blues and bluesrock with finesse, style and true grit. I like his rockier side as well.

He is known among guitar players for having a fantastic guitar tone on all his recordings. He sure does. I have most of his albums, and I listen to him quite often. A big inspiration for me for sure. He now has a new album coming out too. See below for how you can get it.

Any and all of Joe's albums are worth getting. This guy is the real deal.

Line It Up Solo by Student

Wed, 02 Feb 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Line It Up Solo by Student

A few days ago, I received an audio file that a student, Frans, sent to me. For me, it's great fun when I get to hear others play something I created. In this case, Frans had been working on my lesson Line It Up and sent me a recording of him playing this solo.

Have a listen to Frans playing this solo. I am impressed! It sounds very good. Awesome work, Frans!

For me, knowing that a student took the time to not only learn the lesson so well, but also take the time to record it AND send it to me gives me further confidence in that the lessons I provide are both useful and doable for guitar players out there. The lessons I have on my site right now are for the most time quite basic, although there are more advanced topics coming.

Remember that I also teach one-on-one via webcam lessons, in case you are interesting in learning something I haven't yet covered on my website. I can cover a wide range of styles; country, rock, blues, jazz, funk, improvisation, scales, modes, technique, harmony, ear training, etc. What I don't teach is classical guitar - I suck at that.

The advice I always give my students is to really make use of licks and ideas. When you learn something note for note, like a lick or part of a solo, take something along. What I mean is, use your favorite part or favorite lick of that solo, and apply it in other situations. Is it a rock solo? Try it over a blues or a jazz tune. Play it in a tempo and/or key different from how you learned it initially. If it's a blues solo, try it over a rock tune, etc. Get the idea?

It is great practice to learn licks and ideas in all 12 keys, or at least the keys you most often play in. This all means work of course - but hey, there are no shortcuts to being able to play great guitar. Always to try and learn things you can apply again in other situation - this means you are building your vocabulary, and are on your way to becoming a solid musician and guitar player.

Mack Gem 2G - new amp model

Mon, 31 Jan 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Mack Amps Launches Gem '2G' Guitar Amplifier

Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada (January 31, 2011) – The new Gem '2G' boutique guitar amplifier is now available at www.MackAmps.com.

The Gem 2nd Generation (2G), available direct for $449.00, features enhanced overdrive and distortion voicing, more clean headroom and its two gain stages can now be selected by a foot switch.

"The big news is the new preamp design and the foot switch feature that effectively makes the 2G a two channel amp," said Mack Amps founder Don Mackrill. "The re-voiced preamp has more clean headroom and still produces gorgeous crunch in the Hot setting and the Melt setting has even sweeter distortion than the original Gem."

The Gem 2G includes Mack's innovative power switching feature that lowers its output from 4 watts to 0.4 watts without changing tone. Unlike many low power amps that use a preamp tube in the power stage, the 2G's lush tones come from an EL84 power tube.

Behind the scenes, the Gem 2G's power supply also got some attention. "A sign of a well designed amp is how quiet it is," Mackrill said. "The original Gem was already quiet for a single-ended amp, but we continued to innovate and the 2G's hum is almost inaudible."

Mackrill had this to say about the Gem 2G's position within the crowded 'Under-10-Watt' amp market:

"Compared to a $200 to $300 amp made overseas that needs an upgrade kit for another $100 to even $300 and a bunch of your time to make it sound good, the Gem 2G sounds fantastic right out of the box, has way more flexibility and is hand made in Toronto for about the same price or even less."

Mack Amps hand makes boutique guitar amplifiers and sells them direct for prices much less than traditional boutique amps. The result is a loyal and growing following of guitarists who love their Mack amps.

The Gem 2G:

4 watts switchable to 0.4 watts
1 X EL84 cathode biased, Class A
1 x NOS 6AC10 triple triode preamp tube
Switchable preamp gain stages/channels - front panel and footswitch
Volume, gain, tone controls
Anodized aluminum, red cabinet
8" W x 5 1/2" H x 4" D
4 lb
117/120 VAC, 60 Hz

For more info, visit mackamps.com.

Line 6 POD HD500 Demo

Fri, 28 Jan 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Line 6 POD HD500 Demo

I've had my Pod HD500 for a few weeks now, and I must say I am impressed. The flexibility this unit provides is extra-ordinary, and the tones are really stellar.
There will be more videos coming from me, regarding the HD500, but before I post my videos, I would like to share with you this video that I took at NAMM 2011. This is a demo by Paul Hindmarsh, a great player from the UK.

You may be wondering if you should get this unit or the M13? Well, there are similarities, but also differences. The M13 is a collection of stompboxes, and you run it straight into an amp. The HD500, has that too, but it also has speaker modeling and amp modeling, so you can use it straight into your computer, or through a PA.

The HD500 also has more flexibility. You can for example move your selected stompboxes around in the chain, and you can assign any of the 8 pedalboard switches to any effect you want. For example, if want to have your delay in front of your Marshall amp model, instead of after it, you can easily move it with a couple of button presses. This flexibility with assigning stompboxes to any footswitch, and placing the effect anywhere in your signal chain is tremendously useful.

Personally, I have found it works best for me to only use a couple of different patches, but for each patch, I have 6-8 stompboxes available. I also put the delay on footswitch 7, reverb on footswitch 8, etc, and then I stick to the same conventions for other patches I make. I do this just to make it easier for myself to rembember where I have delay and reverb, etc, regardless of which patch I'm using. If you have the same favourite effects assigned to different footswitches among your patches, it can get very confusing when you need to use a certain effect. Be smart, and make it easier for yourself by using the same effect for the same footswitch among your patches.

Now, have a listen to Paul's great demo of the POD HD500. This will give you an idea of how useful and how good sounding the HD500 really is.

Buy the HD500 from Musicians Friend

Line 6 POD HD500 Guitar Multi Effects Processor

NAMM 2011 Video - Guitar Gear!

Wed, 26 Jan 2011 00:00:01 GMT

NAMM 2011 Video - Guitar Gear!

I used my video camera during day 1 at NAMM. I wasn't sure if it would turn out very interesting, but I think it worked out quite well?

I found some interesting subjects to film here and there... guitars, amps, effects, girls, etc... check it out!

This first trip to NAMM for me was a lot of fun, and I hope I will be able to go again next year.

For those of you interested but unavailable to attend the NAMM Show this time - enjoy this video!

Rock Prodigy - Learn Songs on iPod, iPad, iTouch

Sat, 22 Jan 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Rock Prodigy - iPhone app for learning guitar

During NAMM 2011, I met with the developers behind this new and interesting app called Rock Prodigy. It's a guitar learning tool that works on the iPhone, iTouch and iPad.

I was given an demonstration and I talked to the guys behind this app. They have created a free app that you can download from iTunes and use for learning songs, chord, etc. They are also working on more lessons, such as scales, arpeggios, etc - constantly expanding the library to provide you with a lot of good material to learn from.

What is Rock Prodigy

The idea behind Rock Prodigy - you connect your guitar to an iphone, ipod touch, or an ipad using the mic input, or a dedicated input like the iRig from IK Multimedia. What you do next is to hit the notes as the scrolling tab goes by. The app reminds me of Guitar Hero, except the idea here is to use a real guitar to learn real songs. Songs are $2.99 each and the developers are working hard on building a larger library of material.

You Can Use any guitar

Use your own guitar – acoustic, electric, etc – as long as you are in tune, you are ready to experience Rock Prodigy. You can either use the microphone-in or hook up with a standard instument adapter (such as the iRig).

How hard is it? Easy, Medium, Hard, Prodigy

The interface differs from traditional tablature, recordings, or sheet music. Rock Prodigy lets you play along with each song at four skill levels:

Easy – play one right note at a time to get a feel for the song.
Medium – fill in the song with more emphasis on the main riffs.
Hard – sharpen your skills by playing at least half of the notes.
Prodigy – master the song: play above and beyond the note-for-note transcription, learning practical approaches that incorporate more than one guitar part.

You can check out Rock Prodigy in the app store - it's a free download. You can also check out the Rock Prodigy website to learn more.

Photos from NAMM 2011

Sun, 16 Jan 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Photos from NAMM 2011

Here are the photos I took during NAMM 2011. I thought I had my photo taken with Joe Naylor from Reverend Guitars, but apparently not. Dang.

I played so much cool and awesome gear, and I talked with so many amazing people. It was so much fun!

Photo Slideshow from NAMM 2011

Marshall Yngwie Malmsteen Signature Amp

Sat, 15 Jan 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Marshall Yngwie Malmsteen Signature Amp

Marshall Amplification just announced the Signature YJM100 - a 100-watt, valve head that was developed in close conjunction with the legendary Swedish shredder, Yngwie Malmsteen.

The YJM claims to offer the perfect balance of vintage tone and looks, along with some more modern features.

I know that Yngwie has always liked old 50 watt Plexi Marshall, and then he just uses a DODF 250. He has used that set up for many years.

Based on the power and tone of the so-called Holy Grail 1959 Plexi head, the YJM100 provides the following features:

- Footswitchable* Boost with controls for Volume and Gain on the rear panel.
- Footswitchable* Noise Gate with rear panel Threshold control.
- Footswitchable* studio quality Digital Reverb with rear panel Level control.
- Footswitchable* Series FX Loop
- Half power switch which takes the output power from 100W to 50W when engaged.
- Built-in, infinitely variable Attenuator control which can take the output stage from 100% to 0.01% and anywhere in-between, while retaining the all-important tone and feel of the all-valve power section. This means the output power can be reduced to a staggering low of 0.05 Watts when in 50W power mode.
- Valve Failure Circuitry: meaning that if one of the output valves develops a fault, a visual indicator on the rear of the amplifier shows which one is working incorrectly. This "roadie friendly feature" will save valuable time getting the amplifier back up and running again, should a valve failure occur.
- Self-biasing circuitry to ensure proper power valve operation each time valves are changed.

* A four-way Footcontroller (PEDL-00046) comes supplied with the YJM100, facilitating switching of Booster, Gate, Reverb and FX Loop features. This Footcontroller has been designed using Marshall Amplification's patented STOMPWARE Technology, allowing the user to connect it to the amp using a standard 1/4" guitar cable.

The limited edition YJM100 was launched at NAMM 2011. Quantity, Price and ETA, To Be Announced.

I didn't get to hear it myself when I was there, but I took some photos and I really like the look. Here is a demo, but I would have liked to hear Yngwie himself demo this amp. The demo below sounds nothing like Yngwie's tone, in my opinion.

NAMM 2011 Day 3

Sat, 15 Jan 2011 00:00:01 GMT

NAMM 2011 Day 3

I only had an hour and half to browse around, before I had to leave for the airport. I did manage to test a few things in this short amount of time.

Tom Anderson guitars. Another top notch guitar builder, whom I have heard a lot about. I tried a SSH strat, a P90 equipped short-scale guitar, and a Les Paul style guitar. All of them were very nice, and I think I liked the P-90 one the best. The necks are very nicely done and it was a joy to play them.

I also got a few minutes with a Mad Professor 20 something watt amp. And, I used a Grosh Telecaster for that. Wow, that was great! I loved that guitar, incredibly cool looking (very vintage and aged look) and great sound. The amp was great - had some grit with gain turned up but could also be set up for a fairly clean tone. This rig was very pleasing to me! I also tried BJF pedals, and all of them sounded great. The Little Green Wonder is wonderful overdrive pedal - highly recommended.

I stopped by Zvex effects and explored some of their sick pedals. These guys make the some of coolest, wackiest and greatest pedals you can buy. You have to check then out if you haven't.

That's about all I had time for, before running back to the hotel to catch the airport shuttle.

I will post a bunch of photos I took from NAMM so stop by soon.

NAMM 2011 Day 2

Fri, 14 Jan 2011 00:00:01 GMT

NAMM 2011 Day 2

Day 2 at NAMM was even more interesting for me than Day 1. The day started by meeting with RockProdigy, a new interesting Apple app, from which you can learn songs and scales, etc. Check them out on the app store.

Next, I walked around a met a person from my little home town Camrose, small world! I took lots of photos of interesting gear today, and not so much video (I did that yesterday).

Bootsy Collins was around and signing autographs. The dude is tall! Frank Gambale was jamming with someone and there was big crowd and I couldn't quite hear what they were playing.

I then met up with Anthony from Steviesnacks.com, and I enjoyed that a lot. We have talked back and forth via email many times, and I have a lot of respect for what he has accomplished. It was great to finally meet and chat for a bit.

For the afternoon, I met yourreverend from theGearPage.net (very nice guy) and he walked around with me for a bit and used my camera to take some photos of myself and the cool gear I was testing. I'll post them when I get home.

I played a Six Gun guitar from Reverend Guitars, and it was wicked cool. I might just have to get one of these. I have always been a Reverend fan.

It was great to meet and talk to so many interesting people today. I enjoyed that more than checking out gear.

I had good conversations with Vinnie Smith (I have more picks to demo now), Johan Gustavsson (who builds incredible guitars), Joe Naylor, Ken Haas, and many more.

The gear I tried that really stood out today was Tyler Guitars, Two-Rock amps, Gustavsson Guitars, Reverend Six Gun, plus all the stuff I currently can't remember.

For the evening, I had a great time going out for dinner with Ken from Reverend Guitars and his wife, yourreverend and the guys behind Armor Gold Cables. I learned a lot about Reverend Guitars from chatting with Ken. Ken is a cool guy, I had a great time talking gear with him.

I go home today, but I will have an hour or two to explore the show before I have to head out to the airport. When I get home, I'll post videos and photos.

NAMM 2011 Day 1

Thu, 13 Jan 2011 00:00:01 GMT

NAMM 2011 Day 1

My first day at NAMM was packed with testing, viewing, chatting and just absorbing. There's so much to see, it's ridiculous.

I started by hooking up with a friend from an online guitar forum, and I really enjoyed getting to know a person behind a forum nickname. He builds guitars too, and they are very interesting.

I did a lot of walking around and talking to lot of people. I saw a very interesting pedal power supply by Molloon, and a wicked swirly pedal by Jack Deville. This one impressed me immensely.

I hooked up with Armor Gold Cables, and I bought some of their cables, which I will demo later. I also checked out the always amazing Reverend Guitars.

I tried the Gibson Firebird X, but I honestly could not figure out how this thing works. I might go back tomorrow and ask questions - it looks kind of interesting but it was far from intuitive.

The Fender booth didn't have a lot of new things for me, but I did try the Mustang amp, which I have read about. I used it with headphones only, and I was not that impressed. However, the guy demoing it did a good job and got great tones out of the amp.

Next was a demonstration of the latest Line 6 gear - the HD500, DT50 and the TylerVariax. I already know the HD500 is a killer unit, and I will make more demos of it soon. Combining the TylerVariax with the HD500 and DT50 is an incredible dream rig. This set up provides pretty much any and every tone you could ever dream of.

Gig FX has some cool pedals, and I enjoyed checking them out. I also had fun playing a tiny travel guitar designed by a Norwegian - G Sharp Instruments - very nice sounding tiny guitar.

Jammit is a very interesting app for Apple devices. You have to check it out if you want to learn songs. It really impressed me a lot.

Sanyo PedalJuice had a great demo of their battery solution for equipment - I really like what they are doing. I will demo this too soon.

I spent some time testing Diamond pedals, and boy these pedals are killer. Great, great tones to be had, and the digital and analog delays they make are spectacular.

Lastly, I finished the day by going to a jam with Mark Wein at the Juke Joint, where Paul Bigat was playing - awesome player. After that show, we jammed some blues, and I used Mark's nice Suhr Classic. Perfect way to end the day!

I didn't try that many guitars today, so that will be my focus tomorrow. Now it's bedtime. :)

Here is a video from this Jam!

Scott Henderson Guitar Lessons

Wed, 12 Jan 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Scott Henderson Guitar Lessons

As I'm typing this, I'm on a plane on my way to Anaheim for the NAMM show, the huge music gear tradeshow where all the new cool gear will be presented. I will be reporting back DAILY on my blog, on my Facebook page and on my Twitter page, so keep an eye on any of those to find out what's new and uber-cool.

Some of the things I know I will be doing is attend some very interesting Line 6 product demonstrations, talk to some other companies' product managers regarding new iPhone apps and other software, and test some new amps and guitars of course.

The other thing I want to mention to you is that you can now get lessons from the one and only Scott Henderson. In fact, when I found out he was offering video lessons, I was the first to buy a lesson from him! Scott is, in my opinion, one of the most incredible guitar players on the planet. If you think I am good player, let me tell you that Scott is about 4000 light years ahead of me. I don't have even half a percent of his knowledge and skill, and that's the simple truth. I'm already planning to buy another lesson from him!

Let me tell you a short background story. When I started playing guitar, I played heavy metal and rock, but I got tired of it and became curious about jazz and fusion music. One of my big aha-moments was listening to Chick Corea Electric Band when I was a teenager. These guys sounded so wicked, but I couldn't quite understand what they were doing. That's how I got into jazz. Scott Henderson was the guitar player in this band for a while. Ever since (20+ years), he has been my strongest influence among guitar players. So much of what you hear in my playing, I learned from listening to him. I used to listen to his music so much, that I had to proceed with caution, or I was going to end sounding too much like him.

Anyway, he has a fantastic 2 DVD lesson product out too, which is probably the only guitar lesson product I ever learned anything from. Incredibly good learning material, but also quite advanced, just so you know.

So, you can imagine my excitement that I was able to ask for a specific lesson from him, and he made it come true. I was floored when I received it. I asked him to give me ideas for improvising and comping over a jazz blues, and boy, did he deliver! I got a 38 minute video with so much advanced material in it, that it will take me years to absorb it all.

The reason I am telling you all this is that I want you to know that you can also get lessons from him. I do think his material is quite advanced, so if you are an intermediate to advanced student, and you want to learn more about certain topics as listed below, contact him directly and and order a lesson or two. I am sure he can also provide lessons at different difficulty levels - just let him know what you are looking for and he will tell you if he can help your or not. The topics he has mentioned already are:

major and melodic minor scales and their modes how to use diminished ideas how to use augmented ideas chord voicings chord melody rock and blues playing jazz phrasing dog training (not a good choice) motific development learning the fingerboard making money in jazz (really bad choice) playing outside recording and tone guitars and amps how to set up a strat how to use guitar polish (discounted price)

As you can see, Scott has a great sense of humor! I may be able to meet him at NAMM by the way, and I will try to do a mini-interview with him, if he agrees to such a thing.

Please, if you do contact him, I would be DELIGHTED if you could mention my name to him. I have told him I am going to spread the word about his lessons, not only because he is one of my main influences, but because he is a GREAT TEACHER and an AMAZING guitar player. I frankly view him and John Scofield as the best guitar players in existence. I would be very glad if he gets some more lesson inquiries as a result of me letting my subscribers know about him. If you could tell him you are contacting him because of my recommendation, that would really mean a lot to me.

I honestly think that very few people really know who Scott is, and what he sounds like. In short, he is a jazz player with a blues and rock background. He is somewhere in between, I guess, but he can play bebop and jazz standards with a jaw-dropping elegance and cool note choices and great feeling. He can also play straight ahead blues with a great tone and attitude that makes most guitar players wish they had an ounce of his talent.

You can email Scott directly at mango3@attglobal.net and he asks that you are specific - "jazz improvisation" is not specific enough. You can also visit his website at www.scotthenderson.net where you can also listen to some of his playing. Scott has his own youtube channel too, and I highly recommend you check out some the great live performances he has posted. This guy can PLAY! All this info is on Scott's website. Go check it out!

Talk to you soon,
Robert

Canon HF S200 Camcorder Review

Mon, 10 Jan 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Canon HF S200 Camcorder Review

The Canon HF S200 is an excellent camcorder for HD home shooting. It is full of Canon's top-notch proprietary components, and it provides very good picture quality. If you are looking for a great camcorder for making guitar videos like me, this is a very good choice. It would of course work great for live gigs too.

It features a 10x optical zoom lens, 8.6 megapixel CMOS still-image sensor, 3.5-inch hi-res LCD touchscreen, native AVCHD recording, and a host of other advanced features including Canon's Smart Auto, Relay Recording, Powered IS, HD-to-SD downconversion, and Advanced Video Snapshot.

The Canon HF S200 stores the data to SD/SDHC memory cards.

Specifications

1080p video
24/30fps modes
Dual SD card slots
Powered image stabilization
Relay Recording
Smart Auto Mode
8-megapixel still photos
HD-to-SD downconversion
Relay recording
SD/SDHC media cards
Rechargeable lithium-ion battery
Part Number: FS300BLUE
UPC: 013803121261

Pros: Easy to Use, Good Image Stabilization, Great Picture Quality, Great Zoom, Large Clear LCD, Zoom range/performance Cons: Could be better in low light Best Uses: Documentaries, HD Shooting, Home Movies, Travel, Weddings/Events

Canon Vixia HF S200Flash Memory Camcorder, 2 x SD/SDHC Memory Card Slot, Eye-Fi Memory Card Compatible, 1/2.6" 8.59MP CMOS Sensor, Genuine Canon 10x HD Video Lens, 3.5" Touch Panel LCD, Dynamic SuperRange Image Stabilization, 8MP Digital Stills, DIGIC DV III Image Processor, Native 24p, 24p Cinema, 30p Frame Modes, Microphone and Headphone Terminals HF S200 Consumer Video Camcorders VIXIA HF S200 Flash Memory Camcorder

Video Sample

Flash Memory Recording

The VIXIA HF S200 records high definition video to 2 SD memory card slots. With Relay Recording, the camcorder automatically switches video recording from one SD card to the other, when the first card becomes full. There's no need to worry about running out of recording time during a thrilling, once-in-a-lifetime shot

The advantages of flash memory go beyond the added recording time. You'll also appreciate the quick response time, because there are no moving parts. In addition, when you review, you'll have quick access to your footage. Another plus is the VIXIA HF S200's low power consumption rate, allowing your battery to last longer. And if your HF S200 happens to slip, or you accidentally knock it against something, you'll be happy to know that flash memory makes your camcorder more shock-resistant than other recording storage systems. It also minimizes the chance of data loss if there is damage to your recording media or to the moving parts found in other camcorders

Stunning HD Image Quality

A Genuine Canon 10x HD Video Lens delivers excellent image quality, while the Canon Exclusive 1/2.6" 8.59MP HD CMOS Image Sensor captures video at 1920 x 1080 resolution and photos with astonishing detail, while the Canon Exclusive DIGIC DV III Image Processor provides impressive color and imaging performance, with enhanced reproduction of difficult to capture purple and blue tones. Exceptionally life-like tone and detail are captured thanks to 24Mbps Recording, which offers the highest bit rate in AVCHD. The VIXIA HF S200 not only captures images in HD, but records and outputs at 1920 x 1080 as well, so you get Full HD from lens to screen

3.5" High Res Touch Panel LCD Screen

The VIXIA HF S200 features a 3.5" High Resolution Touch Panel LCD Screen which provides a large, expansive area for fast and easy menu navigation right at your fingertips. Boasting a resolution of 922,000 dots, the screen delivers exceptional detail and brilliant color for more accurate and enjoyable viewing. You'll also have Touch & Track, which allows you to get precise focus and exposure on any subject - whether it's people, vehicles, etc. by selecting your choice right on the touch panel LCD.

Built-In Digital Camera

The VIXIA HF S200, in addition to being a camcorder, is also an 8MP digital camera. The VIXIA HF S200's Dual Shot makes it easier than ever to capture both video and photos. Shoot up to 3 frames per second in the Continuous Mode, or a blazing 5 frames per second in the High Speed Continuous Mode. The versatile VIXIA HF S200 even lets you capture a still image from an already recorded movie. While playing the movie in your camcorder, simply press the photo button to capture a 1920 x 1080 photo onto an SD card. Additionally, the VIXIA HF S200 allows you to capture 30 photos from one second of video. And in addition to all that your VIXIA HF S200's built-in flash lets you capture superb photos indoors and in low light conditions, and also features red-eye reduction

Auto Intelligent Auto Focus

Auto Intelligent Auto Focus, AiAF, ensures sharp images and gives creative flexibility. Even when your subject isn't in the center of the frame, the VIXIA HF S200's 9-Point AiAF will automatically select from 9 metering frames on the screen to help bring images into sharp focus

Selectable Metering Patterns

For optimal still image exposure, the VIXIA HF S200 offers selectable metering patterns: Evaluative, Center-Weighted Average, and Spot

AE Bracketing Feature

The AE Bracketing feature of the VIXIA HF S200 automatically takes three versions of the shot, with 'dark,' 'normal' and 'light' settings in 1/2 exposure steps so you may choose the one that best suits you

Histogram Display

For the advanced digital photographer, the VIXIA HF S200 comes with a Histogram Display - a feature found in Canon's line of digital SLR cameras. The display allows you to see the brightness information of your still images, so you can adjust your exposures as you shoot

Dynamic SuperRange Optical Image Stabilization with Powered IS

The VIXIA HF S200 features Canon's proprietary Dynamic SuperRange Optical Image Stabilization which provides continuous adjustment throughout the entire zoom range to correct a broad range of motion. Extra compensation is applied at wide-angle focal lengths to eliminate unwanted shaking which is common when walking. Together with Powered IS you'll find an even higher level of compensation for subtle hand movement at the telephoto end of the zoom range. Powered IS can be engaged by pressing or holding the Powered IS button on the touch panel LCD

Instant Auto Focus

The VIXIA HF S200 camcorder features Canon's Instant AF focusing system which offers an improvement in auto focus speed and accuracy (compared to traditional auto focus systems). The Instant AF feature uses an external sensor, in combination with Canon's auto focus system, to help significantly decrease the time it takes to find focus, even in low light conditions. This system achieves focus instantaneously, reducing focus "hunting." This is especially beneficial in high brightness or night shooting situations. In addition, with Instant AF it's possible to capture fast, accurate focusing, even when following a moving subject

To further enhance focusing capability, the VIXIA HF S200 also features Focus Assist. This helps in capturing your subject in razor-sharp focus. It works by providing a 2x magnification of your subject, which is automatically cancelled when you start recording

Smart Auto

Smart Auto makes shooting great video easy. Using the power of Canon's DIGIC DV III Image Processor, the VIXIA HF S200 intelligently detects and analyzes faces, brightness, color, distance, and movement, then automatically selects the best settings for the scene

Touch & Track

Touch and Track delivers precise tracking of the focus and exposure on any subject: people, pets, vehicles, and more. Simply select your point of interest on the Touch Panel LCD and you will have your subject in sharp focus regardless of where in the frame it moves during the shot. Touch & Track is the default setting, ready when you turn your camcorder on. You can also choose to adjust focus or exposure independently by turning off Touch & Track, and turning on Touch Focus or Touch Exposure

Canon Face Detection

The same Face Detection technology used in Canon digital cameras is available in the VIXIA HF S200 high definition camcorder. Up to 35 faces can be tracked automatically, ensuring razor-sharp focus and natural, accurate exposure. Of the faces tracked, 9 detection frames can be displayed at one time. The system is in fact so smart that it will recognize faces turned downwards or sideways

In addition, a specific face may be selected as the main subject for continuous tracking. This feature can be used to search for clips featuring that specific subject's face. In search and playback, use of the Face Index will display frames with the chosen face as a thumbnail in each shot in which it appears. The selected face can be linked as a timeline to further identify footage containing that subject

Advanced Video Snapshot

Advanced Video Snapshot allows you to capture the highlights of your adventures with the same ease as taking photos. Simply record a series of short video clips - or select your favorite clips while in Playback Mode - and blend in your favorite background music to create an exciting movie that will grab everyone's attention. This version of Advanced Video Snapshot allows selectable recording time (2, 4, or 8 seconds). Additionally, audio from an external source such as an MP3 player can be played along with the Snapshot movie, and playback can be controlled from that source

Easy Web Sharing

HD-to-SD Downconversion allows you to convert recorded high definition video to standard definition files while safely preserving the original HD video. These standard definition files make it even more convenient to edit, share video online, or create a DVD. The downconverted video can be transferred to your computer via traditional methods - i.e. USB connection, card slot - or wirelessly to sharing sites with an Eye-Fi SD memory card

Eye-Fi SD Memory Card Compatible

The VIXIA HF S200 is compatible with the Eye-Fi SD Memory Card. It's possible to wirelessly transfer your down-converted video and photos to your computer, or upload them directly to online sharing sites in a few simple steps. Insert an Eye-Fi SD Memory Card into the SD card slot on the camcorder, configure your computer to select the target site (e.g., Facebook, YouTube, Shutterfly, Flickr) and you're ready to share your standard definition files with family and friends.

Native 24p Mode, 24p Cinema Mode and 30p Frame Mode

Native 24p Mode allows 24 frames per second - exactly the same capture rate as film - to be captured and recorded. This is a big advantage for serious filmmaking work enabling you to achieve a cinematic experience.

24p Cinema Mode enables all aspiring moviemakers to achieve a professional "film-look." You can change the camcorder's frame capture rate to 24p (recorded at 60i), which provides the appearance of the same frame rate as movie film. In addition, you can use the VIXIA HF S200's CINE setting, which changes the color and tonal characteristics, evoking the look and feel of a movie shown in a theater. For added flexibility, these settings can be used together or independently.

In addition to the standard interlaced video frame rate of 60i, you may choose to set the VIXIA HF S200 to capture video in 30p Progressive Mode, (30 progressive frames, recorded at 60i) which is particularly useful for footage to be used on the Internet. Excellent for action and sports shots, this setting gives enhanced quality to still images captured after recording

Terminals

To maximize the usefulness and versatility of the VIXIA HF S200, you'll find a range of terminals to extend the capabilities of your camcorder. A built-in LANC Terminal provides an easy connection to both Canon and third party wired remote controllers. The Mini Advanced Accessory Shoe allows you to attach optional Canon accessories such as the VL-5 Video Light, DM-100 Directional Stereo Microphone, or SM-V1 5.1-Channel Surround Microphone. Easy, one-cable connectivity to your HDTV is yours through the VIXIA HF S200's HDMI Terminal which also supports CEC and x.v.Color. The built-in Microphone terminal with manual audio level control and Headphone terminal provide exceptional audio flexibility.

Audio

For the ultimate home theater experience, 5.1-Channel Surround Sound allows you to capture audio quality that matches the stunning realism of your high definition video. Since sound is captured from all directions through five different pickup sensors, your home movies will look and sound more lifelike than ever before.

The Automatic Attenuator feature prevents high volume distortion and optimizes audio quality in situations when sound levels quickly change, such as when loud music plays in the background. It automatically keeps the audio clean and even

Video Editing Software

The Pixela ImageMixer 3SE video editing software allows for payback of recorded video on your computer and editing in which you can trim, reorder, and combine scenes, as well as add music, titles, and transitions. With the Pixela ImageMixer 3SE Software, you can burn a standard definition DVD to relive the memories on your TV. And to perfectly complement the Video Snapshot feature found on Canon flash memory camcorders, a music CD containing royalty-free soundtracks is also provided

Creative Control and Workflow Features

Built-in video light for shooting video in low light conditions
Color peaking enhances the edges of your subject to aid in focusing
Enhanced zebra pattern indicates blown out or high brightness areas
Intelligent Lithium-ion battery tracks remaining battery life for surprise-free recording
Burn DVDs of your video with the optional DW-100 DVD Burner and one-cable connection
Color bars with reference tone help to set proper color and audio levels with editing video
Gain control allows you to lower the dB value to ensure dark scenes can be shot with correct level of darkness
Approximately 100% area display gives you a complete view in the LCD of the scene being shot
Custom key allows functions of exposure, focusing, assist functions, mic volume, or AGC limits to be assigned to a custom key

You can buy the Canon HF S200 camcorder from Amazon:

Fender Mustang amp

Wed, 05 Jan 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Fender Mustang amp

There's a new cool little amp on the block, called Fender Mustang. There's actually several - Mustang I, II, III, IV and V. All made by Fender, of course.

These amps are getting good reputation quickly. So what are they all about?

The Fender Mustang guitar amp is a low-cost modeling amplifier that simulates a range of classic guitar tones and effects. Priced very low, the Fender Mustang is a guitar amp that most people can afford. The 20-watt Fender Mustang I is sold for around $100-$140, while the 40-watt Fender Mustang II goes for about $200-something.

Mustang Amp Differences

Mustang I and II contain 24 on-board amp presets with tones from vintage Fender sparkle to high gain modern metal distortion. The 24 amp presets are easily and instantly accessed right out of the box with a twist of a knob.

Mustang I is a 20 watt amp with an 8" speaker. Mustang II rocks a little more gut; it's a 40 watts amp with a 12" speaker and a slightly larger cabinet.

For more amp comparisons, check out the handy compare page at Fender Mustang amp page. As you can see, the IV is a powerful 150 watt amp that costs a bit more - just under $700.

Take one for a test drive if you can. These amps are really cool. Let me know your thoughts, if you have tested one. Everyone I have talked to who have tried the amps have been very impressed.

Yet another inexpensive all-around useful modeling amp, it seems. Truth be told - this market is saturated and I can only imagine how hard it must be to get a piece of the market. Line 6, Fender, Vox and Roland seem to be some of the strongest players in this field. I know what I am NOT starting - a business creating modeling amps! :)

Videos

Hand Wound Pickups - Porter Pickups

Tue, 04 Jan 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Hand Wound Pickups - Porter Pickups

I have come across an interesting pickup maker by the name of Porter Pickups. They provide handwound pickups, and I have a set of 50s Strat pickups I will demo soon.

The man behind the company, Brian Porter, is a firm believer in the tradition of making pickups how they used to be made - hand wound. Porter Pickups make is possible for the customer to have a pickup custom wound specifically for them, tailored to their preference and style of playing, and with the best materials.

Porter Pickups doesn't have dozens of pickup models, but they do have several custom options available with each model and pickup style. Each model of Porter Pickups includes several color, cover, or bobbin choices. You can also get a bridge pickup hotter in a set, or get one of their vintage clone pickups wound to a specific year, which is all included in the pickup price.

There are 3 types of single coil models available, but Porter Pickups do provide custom wind pickups to specific vintage year specs if you are looking for something speficic. All Porter Single coils feature a RW/RP middle pickup for hum canceling in positions 2 and 4 on a 5 way switch. Each Porter Single Coil model is wax potted unless otherwise requested, and features your choice of 4 different cover colors included in the price.

The set I have is the Porter 1950's Vintage Single Coils, featuring staggered AlNiCo 5 magnets and are wound with same spec heavy forvmar coated 42 AWG wire used on the real 50's pickups. These pickups aren't too hot and most find them just right for many classic single coil sounds that have become so famous in the old recordings. Our 50's set is a tribute to the single coil tones than have become legendary.

I am putting these 50s pickups in my old Mexican Squire Strat, and I'm quite excited about this. I am also upgrading the bridge on the Squier, so with both of these upgrades, I think it's going to be a great "backup Strat", so to speak. Not sure when I a demo will be made, but keep an eye out for this, okay?

Going to NAMM 2011

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Going to NAMM 2011

I am excited about going to NAMM for the first time. I will be there during Thursday and Friday that week. I am REALLY looking forward to this!

My plans are to take in as much as I can, and I will report back here on my blog whatever interesting things I encounter.

If YOU will be there, be sure to say HI if you see me! I've got a very short hair-cut these days... just in case if you're thinking that baldy looking dude could be me...

Oh, I almost forgot - Happy New Year!

Happy Holidays!

Wed, 22 Dec 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Wishing you a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a Fantastic New Year!

Dear friends, I really appreciate all the support and kind words I get almost daily from people visiting my website. I would like to say a big Thank You for your continued support of Dolphinstreet.

I have made several interesting gear demos and lessons on my site recently - Line 6 POD HD500 brand new demo, Mack Heatseeker and Skyraider demos, Jet City JCA20H amp and cab demo, Hendrix Chords, Sweep Picking and Tapping, etc. In case you didn't see this, here are direct links to them for your convenience.

By the way, I will be at the NAMM show in January 20114. If you are going too, and would like to meet up, send me a message and perhaps we can get together. I will there on the Thursday and Friday, full days. It's my first time going to NAMM, and I am really looking forward to it. I will be attending some Line 6 demonstrations for sure, and perhaps demo some of their gear too. Line 6 are very supportive of what I do - thank you, Line 6!

I sincerely wish you and your loved ones all the best this holiday season. Take care, and Happy Holidays!

iKlip for iPad

Tue, 21 Dec 2010 00:00:01 GMT

iKlip for iPad

If you use an iPad, you should be aware that IK Multimedia has announced the iKlip universal microphone stand adapter for the iPad. The new iKlip for iPad makes it easy for anyone to use an iPad in any live setting - on stage, in the studio, at school or in the boardroom. With the iKlip, you can securely position any iPad for optimal viewing and accessibility, while all controls, buttons and connection ports remain free from obstruction.

iKlip features:

Sturdy thermoplastic construction with six secure touch points holds the iPad without scratching or marring it
Universal stand clip securely attaches to virtually any microphone stand
Multi-angle adjustment allows precise positioning for optimal stage or studio viewing
Quick-snap clips provide fast, secure iPad insertion
iKlip installs on mic stand in seconds with the twist of a knob
All iPad controls, buttons and connectors are accessible
Provides both landscape and portrait orientation of the iPad
Can be mounted on the vertical part of a mic stand, or on a horizontal boom for limitless positioning
Designed and manufactured in Italy

iKlip can be used for:

Score viewing during musical performance and playback
Learning tool – with tablature and score apps to learn songs and riffs
Live playing and practicing with amps and effects apps like AmpliTube for iPad
Music creation
DJing – mounts to tabletop stands as well as standard mic poles
Karaoke or “play along” singing
Viewing lyrics, notes, speeches, lessons, presentations and more

Pricing and availability

The iKlip retails for only $39.99 USD MSRP (excluding taxes) and is now available from the IK online store, as well as from all select IK retailers and distributors worldwide.

Plexi Amps

Fri, 17 Dec 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Plexi amps

Marshall Plexi - the meaning behind this term seems to make guitar players everywhere drool and bring out their live's savings. So what exactly is this meaning? Well, that is hard to explain in words of course, but I want to mention a few things that might help clarify.

First of all, the name "Plexi", refers to the face plate and back plate, which were made by plexi glass, whereas the chassis were aluminum. The "Plexi era was from about 1965 to July 1969.

Plexi History

Marshall started with aluminium fronts in 1962, and for a period they also had plastic fronts. The plexi face plates came in 1965 and was replaced with brushed aluminium mid 1969.

The aluminum chassis were changed to steel chassis around 1967. Around that same time, tubes changed from KT66 to EL34.

The models in this period were:

JTM-45 (65-66), JTM-45/100 (late 65-66),
JTM "Black flag" or "reverse logo" (late 66-mid 67),
JMP (mid 67-mid 69)

JTM50 was the 50w 1963 Super PA (JTM MKIII)
JTM100 was the 100w 1968 Super PA (JTMV)
(The JTM MKIV was the tremoloversion of the JTM-45)

The super loud 200 watt amp - "The Pig" - was made only in '67, and were replaced with the Major in '68.

For the first year, the amps had plexi front panels and cream white back panels. Soon, the back panels also changed to plexi.

The Lead (50w, model 1987) and Super Lead (100w, model 1959), changed a lot after the Plexi area, and the metal face amps from the early 70's sounds very different.

So if an amp is made '65 - mid '69 and has a plexifront - it's a Plexi.

From Wikipedia: Other early customers included Pete Townshend and John Entwistle of The Who, whose search for extra volume led Marshall to design the classic 100-watt valve amplifier. Ken Bran and Dudley Craven, Marshall's developers, doubled the number of output valves, added a larger power transformer and an extra output transformer. Four of these amplifiers were built and delivered to Pete Townshend, and the Marshall Super Lead Model 1959, the original Plexi, was born. At the request of Pete Townshend, Marshall produced an 8x12" cabinet on top of which the 1959 was placed, giving rise to the Marshall stack, an iconic image for rock and roll.

Plexi amps are LOUD

They work this way:

A direct signal through the whole amp. No loop, no channel switch. Just the things that makes the guitar signal sound good.
Distortion from preamp tubes, power tubes, and speakers. It is that distortion chain that makes that Plexi sound. The good sound will come when the volume is at 6 or more. Guess what? It's prett loud at that point. That's why you may need an attenuator, or else get used to being asked to TURN DOWN.

Where to get a real Plexi amp

Now, to get an amp like those old loud Plexi Marshalls, there are some builders who can help you out. Look no further than George Metropoulos from Metro Amps. These guys build faithful reproductions. View the video on their site, and you'll understand how devoted they are to building these amps.

Another place where you can learn more about vintage amps (Marshall included) is Vintageamps.com.

Video Demos

Holiday shopping for guitarists

Wed, 15 Dec 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Holiday shopping for guitarists

Are you still looking to get something fun for the holidays? I have here below collected the best deals I could find for you, and also some interesting items for guitarists. Maybe a lesson book or DVD, or perhaps some new and interesting music would come in handy?

I will update this page when new deals become available. These store below send me information when they have sales or other promotions, and this page will reflect that.

But first, here's my recommendation for one of the most useful pieces of gear I have. For those of you who like to play along to backing tracks and grooves - the Line 6 JM4 Looper . This thing is amazing. It comes loaded with backing tracks and drum grooves, and there are a lot of variety in the style of music. Often when I'm practicing, I just randomly pick a song, and start practicing to it. Well, it doesn't have to practicing per se - you can just jam along and have fun with it! If you hit record, your jam will be saved. This is in fact a good learning aspect too - record your solos or your practice and listen back to it instantly, and find out where your weak areas are? Poor timing? Poor technique? Poor scale or fretboard knowledge? The Line 6 JM4 Looper will help you improve your practicing, and you will have lots of fun with it.

Here's my demo of the JM4 Looper - gives you an idea of how fun and easy to use this unit is.

Get the Line 6 JM4 Looper - guaranteed fun!

Amazon.com Widgets

Guitar Center

Musician's Friend

Musician's Hut

Zzounds

Do you like Joe Bonamassa?

I do too! If you don't have the latest album, Black Rock - it's time to get it! By the way, you can get a free digital download of Further Up In The Road Here.

Music and other gear from Amazon

Do check out Michael Burks - amazing blues player. Get this track below for FREE.

Perhaps you need a video camera?

Get a $20 B&H Gift Card when you buy a brand new Flip Video UltraHD Video Camera at B&H Photo

Shopping for Guitar Effects Pedals

Fri, 10 Dec 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Shopping For Guitar Effects Pedals?

I have almost all of the Danelectro Cool Cat pedals, and I have to say, they are some of the best deals you can find, when it comes to good, quality effects pedals. Yes, I stand by that. These pedals are built to last, and they sound very good. Metal casing, true bypass, and great tone. I have used the Tremolo, Vibe and Transparent Overdrive live for years, and they never let me down.

If you are looking for some classy sounding pedals that will give you more tonal options, then the Cool Cat Pack is a great choice. The price is right - dirt cheap really for what you get! Don't let that fool you though - I stand by my statement that these are solid and great sounding pedals. If you want pedals that sound better, you'll have to go the boutique route and pay many times more. In the end, the differences won't be that big either, from my experience.

Danelectro Cool Cat Series CP-2 Cat Pack

From Danelectro comes this sweet pack of Cool Cat effect pedals. The pack includes the CV-1 Vibe, CT-1 Tremolo, and CTO-2 Transparent Overdrive pedals.

Danelectro Cool Cat Series CV-1 Vibe

The Cool Cat CV-1 Vibe Guitar Effects Pedal from Danelectro gives you a metal stomp box for the price of a plastic one.

Danelectro Cool Cat Series CT-1 Tremolo

The Cool Cat CT-1 Tremolo Guitar Pedal from Danelectro gives you a metal stompbox for the price of a plastic one. If you're finicky about tone, the Cool Cat CT-1 Tremolo Effect Pedal will have you purring. Better than your vintage amp. Dig the square wave setting.

Danelectro Cool Cat CTO-2 Transparent Overdrive V2

The Danelectro CTO-2 Transparent Overdrive effects pedal from the Cool Cat series shines with all the classy crunch that you've come to expect from an authority on cool sound and stylish tone. The Transparent Overdrive lets more of your guitar's voice shine through, even at high overdrive settings. It's a very useful effect pedal for everything from modern Country to American and British Rock.

My choice for distortion pedal

The Maxon SD-9 is my favorite distortion pedal. It can't be beat, in my opinion.

Where to get good jazz and fusion?

Tue, 30 Nov 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Where to get good jazz and fusion?

I want to share with you, a very fine resource for getting new and old jazz and fusion music. Not only that, there's great blues and avant garde music too. This website is called Abstract Logix.

Abstract Logix specializes in jazz, instrumental, progressive and world music portal. Music with BALLS, as they say! For me, as a musician, it's one of the first stops when exploring new and exciting music. It's chock full of talents you've probably never heard of. I've discovered several incredible musicians on this website, such as Alex Machacek and Matthew Garrison.

You can also buy DVDs, which is awesome. John Scofield for example, just released a new live DVD, and you can get it from Abstract Logix.

I bought one of my all time favourite guitar albums at Abstract Logix - Michael Landaus double Live CD - wicked guitar playing on this album!

You can also find a good interview here with Souvik Dutta, the founder.

Do check them out, and support what they do. They help spread this kind of music, which needs all the help it can get. We need to educate younger players that there's more to music than what they hear on the radio stations or see on mainstream TV.

=> Go to Abstract Logix