SongGet.com

The internet is a truly wonderful resource. It is often said, but still very true, that young people today don’t know how lucky they are to have easy access to the worlds knowledge on the internet.

I’ve been playing guitar for well over thirty years having started out with the classic Bert Weedon’s ‘Play in a Day’ book, way back in the 1970’s. I couldn’t afford guitar lessons so I would avidly watch the fingers of every guitarist I could, trying to pick up playing techniques, riffs and licks.

Modern technology has revolutionised the way that people learn to play the guitar. Tuition DVDs, for example, can be played repeatedly, unlike face to face guitar lessons. And the internet provides an ideal platform for the presentation of guitar tutorials.

There are an abundance of guitar teaching websites but my favourite place for guitar tutorials is Youtube. You can find instructional videos on everything from choosing guitars to making your own electric guitar. There are videos for every level of learner from beginner through to old guys like me who want to learn a few new tunes and techniques.

Learning new licks, techniques and tunes from Youtube has become one of my favoured pass times. If the weather is bad then you will generally find me learning a new tune or two from Youtube. I can safely say that I have learned more from the internet over the past five years than I learned from books and from watching other guitarists in the preceding twenty years.

Another useful feature is that the system is interactive. When I find a video that I like I will always make it one of my favourites and maybe drop the performer a comment to say thanks. Also, I like to ask the odd question and invariably the person who created the video will respond with an answer. It’s a bit like having every online guitarist in the world available as a personal guitar playing consultant.

These days I find myself feeling a little bit envious of the young people learning guitar with all these great resources available to them. I like to fantasise that if I had been learning to play using all of these excellent resources who knows, I might have become the next Eric Clapton.

Digg

Stumble Upon

Del.icio.us

Buzz

There are mixed feelings in the guitaring community about signature models -they are customized for another person, not you, and cost a lot more because of the name on them. Here are just some of the metal signature guitar model that are available.

Dimebag Darrells razorback range from Dean guitars. Instead of just the one guitar the man has a whole range of 33 guitars dedicated to his honor. The Pantera guitarist died tragically in 2004, and since then Dean have supplied us with a whole range of Dimebag guitars, shaped as flying Vs or Explorers. When the guitar was made will determine which pickups you get in it -either the ‘Dimebuckers’ in the newer models, or ‘EMG’s in the older ones. If your after a Dean just choose with pickups you like better and then go for which guitar looks good to you. If Dimebag was your hero, this is the range to look at prices range from the ‘dimeblade’ at £219 to the ‘rebel razorback’ at £3500 -so choose wisely.

The BC Rich Kerry King (Slayer) range. Also having more than one signature guitar is Slayer Guitarist Kerry King. Available as either a flying V or Explorer shaped guitar as well, painted with tribal designs to match his head tattoos, these guitars look as mean as their owner, but how do they sound? These guitars will give you the guitar tone needed to do songs such as ‘Angel of death’ and ‘Dead skin mask’ justice.  With BC Rich’s special pickups to, you can see that some thought has gone into these guitars.

Jackson guitars Demolition model. Created with help from Phil Demell of Machine head, this guitar is truly a beast to be reckoned with. A classic flying V shaped guitar with EMG pickups, this guitar is going to rip your head off the minute you plug it in. Expensive, but to say at the least, if you have that kind of money I suggest you buy you now -those that don’t, sell your organs online to get the money.

Looking for electric guitars? Or maybe you prefer acoustic guitars? See these guys.

Digg

Stumble Upon

Del.icio.us

Buzz

The almighty Fender Stratocaster- the guitar most people think of when they hear the word ‘guitars‘. A mainstay in the music industry since its invention, and will continue to be for a long time. Lets talk about some of the players who helped ensure the guitar went into legend.

• Iron Maiden. All three members of Iron Maiden have at one time or another played with a Fender Stratocaster. Other than Steve Harris, Dave Murray is the only other founding member of Iron Maiden that is still with the band. Throughtout the years he used a Fender Strat, which up untill 1990 he was using Paul Kosoff of the band ‘Free’s Stratocaster. Fender have released a signature model of the guitar, with Hotrail pickups and Floyd rose tremolo system, two items rarely seen on any Fender guitar. The two other guitar players in Iron Maiden, Janick Gers and Adrian Smith also play Strats, yet Smith seems to always be photographed with a different guitar in his hands.
• Eric Clapton. Ol’ ’slow hands’ as hes known, has played as many guitars as most people have had hot dinners, using everything from a Gibson Les Paul from his days in Cream and a Telecaster when he was in the Yardbirds. Clapton is most well know for using a Stratocaster – nicknamed ‘Blackie’ which was used up until 1985, when it was retired. In 2004 Clapton sold ‘Blackie’ for just less than one million dollars at auction, using the money to fund his Crossroads rehabilitation centre. Clapton swapped over to Fender Strats in 1969, and never looked back.
• Jimi Hendrix. Jimi is considered the greatest guitar player ever after changing the way we use a electric guitar. Hendrix took to playing Strats in 1966, using them for recordings and gigs. Hendrix also tried out many different styles of guitars before choosing a Fender Strat, much like Clapton. Hendrix was also the first well known left handed player to take a right handed guitar and string it in reverse order and play it upside down, as left handed guitars cost alot more back then. Eric Clapton’s birthday present to Jimi was supposed to be a left handed Strat, which Jimi never received due to his death. The guitar he famously set fire to at the 1969 Monterey international pop festival was a Strat.

After a Fender guitar now? See these guys.

Digg

Stumble Upon

Del.icio.us

Buzz

If you’ve decided that you want to take up the guitar, but prefer to live in the engine room of any band by playing the bass, then you are obviously a lover of rhythm, rumble, and live musical atmosphere. The bass guitar, together with the drums, forms the rhythm section of a band and so it will be important to develop a good sense of timing and beat.Choosing the correct instrument is important, as is practicing in order to become an accomplished bassist.

Iconic bass guitars like the Fender Precision not only drove many a jazz, rock and surf band but became as recognisable as the screaming lead instruments.  Unlike lead guitars, where most novices are advised to start out with an acoustic, prospective bass players will probably go straight to a four sting electric bass guitar. Some great brands for starters include Washburn, Squier and Epiphone. These companies produce guitars that look good and play great for the price. Fretless, acoustic and five-string basses each have their own type of sounds and can be very powerful and sonorous, but they are very hard to learn compared with the four string electric bass. Most tutorial books or CDs for beginners are written for the four-string fretted bass.

You can buy a cheap, second hand bass guitar.  Most used equipment drops in price over the years and can offer better quality and sound for the same price as a new bass if you are lucky.Many other used instruments have poor sound quality and setup with unreasonably high action, or simply do not hold tune correctly.  Always check a used instrument for damage, and play it (or have someone else play it) before buying it.   The time and effort you would have to put into carefully selecting a used bass guitar is substantial, and it’s probably safer to look at some of the quite reasonably priced electric guitars and bass starter packages from well known brand names.

The Behringer bass guitar pack for example includes the guitar and a dedicated bass guitar amplifier, padded gig bag, cable, an adjustable strap and picks. The Ibanez GSR190J four -string Bass guitar pack also includes a 10 watt amplifier and accessories at a very affordable price.Or you could move straight to Squier Precision bass guitars.They are the worlds best-selling bass thanks to their excellent value. They feel good, sound good and fit any bass player on a budget.

Whichever route you take, always try before you buy.  Most guitar shops will let you plug in and play around with any instrument so you can see if you like how it sounds, looks, and feels in your hands. Do not buy something second hand without playing it first unless it comes from a reputable dealer and has some sort of return policy. There are very reputable and well established Internet-based music stores that can generally offer better prices than high street retail but be very cautious about buying instruments on internet sites such as eBay.Bring someone along who is an experienced bassist and get them to play any instruments you are considering buying.

Digg

Stumble Upon

Del.icio.us

Buzz

So we all think all certain guitars when we hear the word – a guitar that just to us, symbolizes what our favorite players uses to achieve that sound and look damn cool while doing it. These be the guitars that made guitarist become more than just musicians and become rock gods.

The Fender Strat. Made back in 1954 by guitaring genius Leo Fender, the Stratocaster must be THE guitaring icon. They are many imitators, but very few have the great tone of the real thing. Mainly a blues and rock guitar, this guitar has been in the hands of thousands of rock and blues players, who seemingly once they discover it they never go back. Buddy Holly, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Richie Blackmore are the names that come to mind when thinking of Strat player. The Strats reputation has gotten stronger and stronger.

Fender Telecaster. Considered more of a country guitar than anything else, it may surprise people to know that the telecaster also has its share of rock players. Jim Root of the metal band Slipknot, and John 5, Marilyn Manson’s former guitarist being two of them. Created again by Leo Fender, but before the Strat, the Tele was originally known as the Broadcaster. A law suit saw the name change to Telecaster, and the rest, as they say is history. Famous players include Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, Andy Summers of the Police and Joe Strummer of the Clash, which shows just how versitile the guitar is.

The Gibson Les Paul. Created by Gibson with Les Paul, the guitar was created in 1952. The original Les Paul had single coil pickups, which were changed in 1957 for humbucker pickups to achieve the les Paul tone as we know today. More players than you know have played a Les Paul at some stage -some may surprise you -Clapton, Hendrix and others. Famous Les Paul players are Zakk Wylde of Black Label Society and Slash of Velvet Revolver.

Gibson SG. in 1961 this was going to be a new Les Paul guitar -the only problem being that the man himself didnt like the design. Renamed ’sg’, which stands for solid guitar, it is much lighter than the Les Paul guitar. Famous SG wielders include Tony Iommi, the father of heavy metal and Angus Young of rockers AC/DC.

In the mood for buying Fender Guitars? Go here.

Digg

Stumble Upon

Del.icio.us

Buzz

So, your obsessed with guitars to an almost unhealthy point – there the first and last thing you think about during the day. Every time you dont play you get shakes and you’ve stopped eating because food money needs to go towards buying your guitar’ve sto. But you want to now have a go at building your own axe -so just what do you have to consider when making one?

• The expense of building it. This wont be cheap -think about the prices of the good wood for the guitar, then the prices of the electronics if building an electric and then the paint job. Then there is the tools you are going to need for the job, cutting out the bodies shape is going to require specialist tools.
• Practice. If you’ve never held wood cutting tools before, practice is really something you should be considering. Your not going to be good at this straight away, and you dont really wanna to start on expensive wood, and make a mistake that cant be fixed. So by practicing on cheaper wood will save you time and if you make a mistake, its all part of the learning experience. When you start cutting the body and doing all of the woodwork, you’ll be glad you took the time to perfect this stage.
• Wiring. Mainly a concern for the electric guitar builders, because once the woodwork is done your going to have to deal with the electrics. Electrocution can be a risk here, so making sure the wiring has been done correctly is vital. Always have a qualified electrician take alook at your work before you put it into the guitar just to be sure.

These are just a few things to consider, but if thats too much work you can always just buy electric guitars from these guys.

Digg

Stumble Upon

Del.icio.us

Buzz

The guitar can be tuned in different ways. There are some easiest ways of tuning but the effects of each tuning are slightly different. Beginners should follow a way of tuning that is convenient to him. Experts can easily choose the appropriate way of tuning by hearing the sound of it.

The standard tuning method is followed to tune a guitar. The strings are numbered simultaneously. The strings are numbered from the lowest to the highest string. The thinnest string is the first string that sounds high and the sixth thickest string corresponds to the lowest pitch. The standard tuning is E-A-D-G-B-E. So the sixth string corresponds to the lower E, fifth string-A, fourth string-D, third string-G, second-B and first-High E.

Pitch pipes are inexpensive and easy to use. Pitch pipes can set the right pitch for every string by making the sound of both strings equal. Electronic tuner is very costly but it can set the right tuning. It is better than pitch pipes. Electronic keyboard or piano sounds high and accurate and so they are used for tuning your guitar. Individual tuning fork is used to tune different strings. It is inexpensive and easy to carry. Harmonics is the method of tuning which is hard to use but it brings a clearer and resonating sound.

The easiest method of manual tuning is called Basic Tuning. At first place a finger on the fifth fret of the sixth string and play the fifth and sixth string at the same time. The two notes should sound similar. If the notes sound different then adjust the tuning peg for the fifth string so that when played open it matches with the fifth fretted sixth string. Repeat the same with fourth and third string. Place your finger on the fourth fret of the third string to adjust the tune of second string. Play the fifth fret of the second string to tune the final string. The acoustic electric Ibanez  is a basic choice provided to a new guitarist.

You have to tune your guitar frequently to check your guitar from going out of tune.

Digg

Stumble Upon

Del.icio.us

Buzz

Some great guitar players have used Gibson guitars to tear up the fretboard and entertain the masses. Here’s a few of the players that have used Gibson guitars to bring rock & heavy metal to the people.

• Angus Young -AC/DC. Perhaps the most famous Gibson player on the planet, Angus Young has been donning the school uniform and strapping on the Gibson SG  ever since before most of us were born -and hes still doing it. Angus has rarely ever been seen without his Gibson SG, although he also owns a Gibson Firebird & a 335.
  Classic tracks: Highway to hell, Back in Black, Let there be Rock
• Slash. Otherwise known to his family as ‘Saul’, Slash has been playing a Les Paul since the recording of classic album ‘Appetite for destruction’. But what isn’t known is that the Les Paul on the album is a copy job, and not a Gibson model. It didn’t seem to matter, as Slash’s use of the Les Paul increased sales in the 80s and made the instrument even more iconic. Gibson has released a Slash signature model, but he still plays his 1987 Les Paul standard as his main guitar playing live.
  Classic tracks: Welcome to the jungle, Sweet child of mine, Slither
• Tony Iommi. The father of heavy metal, Iommi and his band Black Sabbath gave us the gift of heavy metal. Iommi lost his middle & index fingertips in an industrial accident and had to relearn to play guitar all over again -inspired by Django Rienhardt, who had limited use of his 3rd and 4th fingers. Iommi has been playing with a Gibson SG since the recording of the first Black Sabbath album when his Fender’s neck pickup broke and hasn’t returned to them since.
  Classic tracks: Paranoid, Black Sabbath, War pigs
• Zakk Wylde. Hired by Ozzy to replace Jake E Lee at the age of 19, Zakk has been Ozzy’s mainstay guitarist since 1987, leaving for a period in the late 90s, but remaining faithful to the singer for many years. Zakk also has his successful ’side project’ Black Label Society, which tours and records in Ozzy downtime. Wylde’s guitars are recognizable by their ‘bullseye’ paint job, which are on his signature Les Paul range.
  Classic Wylde tracks: Still born, Mass Murder Machine, In this River

Digg

Stumble Upon

Del.icio.us

Buzz

Metal has a huge string of guitar players who completely destroy and own the stage as though nothing else mattered. Lets talk about three guitarists who influenced the sound of heavy metal, and how they still impact on the genre even today.

• Randy Rhoads. Known more for his work with Ozzy Osbourne, rather than his earlier work with LA band Quiet Riot, Randy Rhoads helped bring classical playing into metal. Randy Rhoads was instrumental in the writing of Ozzy classics ‘Crazy train,’ and ‘Dee’. Randy’s classical influence and background can be seen on the first two solo Ozzy albums which he played on. 1980’s ‘Blizzard of Oz’ album and 1981’s ‘diary of a madmen’. It is much discussed what Rhoads would’ve done after that, it is widely thought he would’ve gone on to further down the classical route and was looking to study at UCLA. The specialist guitars that Jackson had made for him are extremely popular with metal guitar players. Rhoads lost his life in a plane crash in 1982 and guitar playing and character has been paid tribute to numerous times throughout the years.
• Chuck Schulidner. Main songwriter, vocalist and guitarist of pioneering metal band ‘Death’. Although hailed as the father of ‘death metal’, it was a term the man himself didn’t agree with. Chuck had a great impact of the playing and sound of modern extreme metal. Death’s first release, ’scream bloody gore’, could be said as setting the tone for death metal, but each album featured not only different line ups, but changes in song writing and direction. Death release a further 4 albums with the band, ‘Human, ‘Spiritual healing’,'Symbolic’ and ‘The sound of perseverance’ before folding Death to play guitar for ‘Control denied’, which released ‘The fragile art of existance’ in 1999. Chuck Schulidner died in 2001 after a long standing battle with brain cancer, which had seen the metal community rally round to try and raise funds for his operations.
• ‘Dimebag’ Darrell. The guitar player of Pantera and Damageplan, who also played guitar for the ‘rebel meets rebel’ project. Pantera started life in 1981 as a glam metal band in Texas, but adopted a heavier, more groove laden approach for the 1989 album ‘Cowboys from hell’. Their next album 1992’s ‘Vulgar display of power’ was the band breakthrough album, featuring the songs ‘this love’,'walk’, and ‘a new level’. Next album ‘Far beyond driven’ jumped to the top of the US charts on its release, proving at the time that metal was still ‘alive’. Pantera brought out 2 more albums before a breakdown in communication split the band into two camps, never reconciling before the guitarists death. Dimebag was tragically shot while performing onstage with Damageplan in December 2004, which saw the metal community grieve as a collective once again.

Inspired to get playing some electric guitars? Come to these guys to get a great deal on guitars

Digg

Stumble Upon

Del.icio.us

Buzz