Category: Guitars & Gizmos
What Vintage Guitars Can Teach You Sometimes, becoming a better guitar player isn’t all about practice time or techniques. Sometimes, it’s about what kind of guitar you’re playing. For me, one of the biggest learning opportunities for guitarists at any skill level comes from old, beat-up and worn-out vintage guitars. But what is it that […]
The great thing about acoustic guitars is that they don’t need a volume knob or an amplifier to be heard – the guitar’s own resonant body naturally amplifies the sound. But what if you need to turn the volume up? Whether you want to perform gigs, jam with other musicians, or just play louder, the […]
As a guitar teacher, I’m often asked to give advice and recommendations about gear to students. One of the more common questions from intermediate to advanced guitarists is which route to take to pursue their tone. The options presenting guitarists are to go analogue (tube/valve amp and analogue effects pedals), digital (effects pedal / guitar […]
Luke Sharples Guitars Let’s start at the beginning. Well, not the very beginning, but with the inception of the steel-strung acoustic guitar in the United States: the acoustics’ spiritual beginning. C.F.Martin, The Larson Brothers, George Washburn, Orville Gibson, Bob Taylor and everyone in-between (who, by the way, are too numerous to list) set about sculpting […]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fj9pR9lzhsc Minarik Guitars If you want to see something outrageous that combines edge of your seat designs with flamboyance and creativity, a Minarik custom guitar could well be for you. To be fair, as soon as we saw the racks of multi-shaped, multi-dimensional, multi coloured rack of guitars, we weren’t really bothered about the sound […]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yScK_bLimfg Roadie Tuner Following another successful Kickstart campaign that has help fund over 2 years of research and development, June 2014 sees the production of a piece of kit that will not only wind your strings when replacing them, but also tune your guitar (or any other instrument with machine head tuning pegs) and, unbelievably, […]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjCCLYwVGQ4 Bohemian Guitars Want to read about something funky that is yet another brilliant Kickstarter product? Well look no further than Bohemian Guitars, who successfully funded their project to create fully functional guitars made from oil cans and recycled spare parts from other guitars. Based out of Georgia, the guys at Bohemian Guitars took their […]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CC-dXczomyY Freshman Guitars Always on the lookout for your smaller guitar manufacturers, we were particularly pleased to bump into a couple of fantastic guys working out of Scotland from the manufacturers of Freshman Guitars. These aesthetically pleasing acoustic guitars varied in price range from approx. $300 right up to $2,200, which we thought was impressive […]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vb4xDjPE0pM Beatbuddy NAMM always surprises you with the unexpected as you wander around with your lower jaw dragging along the floor as you marvel at the technology and constant advancements in the world of guitar and guitar accessories. However, we actively sought out David Packouz, (Founder & CEO) and his team, as we had been […]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbGO-Zasa_g The Lennon Bus Following the news that Art Alexakis (singer and guitarist with Everclear) along with some students, would be writing, playing, recording and videoing a new original song within a day, with The Lennon Educational Tour Bus at the centre of the action, we climbed aboard to find out what the bus was […]
Sugar Mama. Introduction Teach Who recorded it? Nine Below Zero are an English Blues band who were at their height in popularity in the early 1980s but continue gigging to this day, having built up a cult following throughout Europe. Sugar Mama is a departure from their normally hi-energy style, but is an introductory riff that the majority […]
Robert Cray Phone Booth. Introduction Teach Backing Now this isn’t a riff, it is the beginning of Robert Cray’s beautifully played solo from his hit Phone Booth Why Choose This? Andy really wanted to bring you something different and, in just a couple of bars, you can make out the distinct Robert Cray soloing style. This particular solo is […]
E Minor Pentatonic improvisation
E Minor Pentatonic improvisation. Introduction Practice Riff 1 Riff 2 Riff 3 What Have We Achieved So Far? The first improvisation session covered the E minor pentatonic scale in the open position and gave you an idea of what you can achieve as you learn the magic of improvisation. We are now going to start progressing further by giving […]
Best Beginner Electric Guitars
Best Beginner Electric Guitars Video review of the best beginner electric guitars. We look at the top brands for beginners to see what they offer and how they differ.
ZZ Top Guitar Riffs We had such an overwhelming response to our David Bowie riff videos (playing three patterns, one after the other) in the last issue, that we have decided to do the same again with some classic ZZ Top guitar riffs; but this time we’re upping the ante and including a kick drum backing track so you can execute […]
The Eagles Lyin Eyes. Melody Line
The Eagles Lyin Eyes Following on from the rhythm intro lessons to Lyin’ Eyes by The Eagles in issue 4, we have now put together tuition videos for the lead guitar intro so you can start to experience playing all aspects of the song. Teaching Video As is typical with The Eagles, this intro is not as simple as it […]
