Speakers: 40% of Your Tone – Premier Guitar
May 28, 2009
Forgot to blog this when the June Edition of Premier Guitar was published, luckily the RSS feed just popped up with the article 
.
Informative post from Tony Pasko talking about how speakers affect your overall sound as well as the common wattage vs volume problem:
The thing you want to consider is that what you like or dislike about your guitar tone could very well be the speaker—it is after all 40 percent of your tone. Picture your amplifier as a sports car. Now picture your speakers as the tires. The wrong speaker in an amp is like having bicycle wheels on your sports car. That’s how important the speakers are.
Wattage vs. Volume
This is a huge misconception among musicians. These two ratings are not the same. 50 watts isn’t half as loud as 100 watts. Wattage really comes into play when you start considering your function—how many watts is going to produce the level of volume you need for band practice, or playing a club?
A Look at Guitar Neck Wood
May 20, 2009
Great post up on the Rock House Blog looking at the different types of neck woods:
Rule 1: Good wood is paramount in achieving good tone. Always select quality pieces, if the wood is cheap the tone will suffer, and you will run into neck stability problems.
Rule 2: Wood is a living thing and the grain is telling a story of how it was cut, how it will dry, and how it will age. Knowing how to read the grain will save you from purchasing a lemon, or selecting the right piece that will bring you a lifetime of performance.
Online digital version of Guitar Player Magazine
May 19, 2009
Via Guitarnoize, you can now read through an online digital version of Guitar Player Magazine called GP2.
GP2 presents those expansive tutorials from GP’s “All About…” series that details the science and applications behind essential tone tools such as speakers, tubes, pickups, whammy bars, and effects processors. And while every issue of GP2 offers current interviews with legends, hit makers, and new and edgy hot shots, we’re also including classic articles dredged up from the exhaustive 42-year-old Guitar Player archives. Here, guitar zealots can peruse the first “tone and technique” discussions with Hendrix in 1967, or Clapton when he was in Cream, or Jimmy Page when Led Zeppelin was just starting to explode, or even one of the only guitar interviews George Harrison ever gave.
As a resource for gear news and reviews, artist interviews, guitar lessons, and comprehensive how-to’s, the monthly GP2 digital magazine offers a stunning bounty of data to help guitarists sound better and play better. It’s like a massive warehouse of guitar goodies delivered to your computer screen each and every month!
And the really cool thing here is that GP2 is absolutely free.
Here’s what’s in the inaugural issue of GP2…
COVER STORY
- Roundup – Five affordable flat-tops
ARTIST FEATURES
- Rock: George Lynch
Metal: MeshuggahCLASSIC INTERVIEWS
- George Benson, 1974
- Jeff Beck, 1975
GEAR
- Egnater Rebel-20
- Roland Mobile Cube & Cube Street
- EVH Wolfgang
- Richmond Belmont & Dorchester
- All About… Pickups
MASTER CLASS
- ‘80s Rock Boot Camp
SESSIONS
Interactive guitar lessons powered by TrueFire.
Great news! Guitar Player articles are always top quality.
Free Transcription of Greg Howe’s jam on ‘Sunny’
March 28, 2009
Recall when greg Howe posted up his very cool improv over ‘Sunny’?
Well the fantabulous Adrian Clark has posted his transcription of Greg’s solo for FREE!!
Bless his outboard ‘brane’.
NB: Powertab file available too
The Endless Quest For Distortion!
March 21, 2009
Nice short article from Premier Guitar looking at ‘The Endless Quest for Distortion’.
… there are many ways to get to that nirvana of singing leads, crunchy riffs and swirling jangle. I find it interesting that we’ve had the tools to create killer distorted guitar tones since the fifties, yet it wasn’t until a bit later that a few brave souls really began pushing the limits of amplifiers and defining the sounds that we still use today. When guitar amplifiers were first created the idea of “distortion” was considered a bad thing.
Very handy for the ‘teenage’ years of buzzy ‘wasp in a jam jar’ tone. I know I was that teenager many many years ago with a RAK Distortion Pedal plugged into a Solid State Marshall reverb 12 
.
All praise the Valve.
Greg Howe Premierguitar ‘Fierce Guitar’ Column
March 21, 2009
New Premier Guitar column from Greg Howe called ‘Fierce Guitar’. First article asks ‘What Is Shred?’
Actually, shred is still a term that confuses me. Perhaps I’m missing something. I’m pretty sure it refers to an approach to soloing or lead playing that relies heavily on the use of fast passages. Great! Easy enough (I always do well up to this point). So why, then, do I get strange looks when I point out my favorite shredders? Is there something odd about being a fan of Oscar Peterson, Charlie Parker or Niccolò Paganini?
At this point in a conversation, as it becomes apparent that my choices don’t seem to qualify, I usually find myself seeking clarification. After all, the above-mentioned artists certainly fit the definition. And right about at this point, I’ll find myself responding to some remark about guitar exclusivity. I am reminded of my blatant oversight, and respond appropriately with something like, “Ah-ha, now I see the light… the term only applies to guitar playing. Great! I think I’ve got it!”
Okay, so let me make sure I’m clear. Playing fast on the guitar is called ‘shredding’ and playing fast on the piano is called… ‘playing fast?’ ”
Am I really the only one who thinks there’s something odd about this?
No! I totally agree.
Greg Howe: Guitar Channel ‘Sound Proof’ Review
July 17, 2008
Great review of Greg Howe‘s ‘Sound Proof’ over on the Guitar Channel.
