Showing posts with label Guitar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Guitar. Show all posts

Friday, June 22, 2018

How to Restring an ELECTRIC GUITAR

Music's mistery
Electric Guitar - Photo by angelocesare 
For a newbie, this may seem a little intimidating.  But with the right tools, a little knowledge, and some practice, you'll be able to restring an electric guitar like a professional guitar tech.  When I was gigging regularly, I would restring my guitar every week.  My body chemistry is acidic and the sweat and oils from my hands would tend to dull the brightness of the strings as well as make them feel "dirty".  For me, the bright sound and smooth feel of a new set of strings would inspire my playing.  It became a ritual for me the night before the weekend's gigs started.  I would sit in front of the TV and restring my electric guitar; my acoustic was much less frequent.

OK, so you've decided you don't want to pay the guys at the music store and you want to know how to restring an electric guitar yourself.  Here is the list of tools and supplies you will need:

· A new set of strings (naturally!) Click here for info on string sizes
· A string winder (not required but very handy)
· A pair of wire cutters
· A guitar tuner (again, not required but helpful)

You will need to set aside about an hour of time to do this correctly, but as I stated earlier, with practice you will know how to restring your electric guitar in about 20-30 minutes.  

The first thing to remember, do NOT remove all six strings at the same time.  The guitar neck is designed to withstand the tension of the strings and if all of the tension is removed for any significant amount of time you could damage your guitar.

Also, there are some guitars that are literally held together by the string tension. I remember reading a story about a guy who had recently gotten hired as a guitar tech for the Ramones.  Wanting to make a good impression on Johnny Ramone he decided to restring his guitar for him right before the show.  He removed all six strings and Johnny's Mosrite guitar literally fell apart in his hands.  The string tension held the whole guitar together!  What's worse, the bridge of the guitar bounced across the floor and fell down the air conditioning duct.  

If I remember the story correctly, they spent quite some time using a coat hanger and chewing gum trying to rescue the bridge from the duct.  He retrieved it and managed to keep his job, living to restring the guitar another day.  But not all six strings at once!

But I digress.  Some people work in pairs of strings at a time, I prefer to work on individual strings.  You will quickly decide what works best for you.  Use this article as a guideline to get you up to speed quickly.  

OK, let's get down to it.  I always start with the high E string (personal preference); it helps keep me organized.  

If your guitar has a locking nut tremolo (whammy bar) system you will have to unlock it.  It works best if you remove the clamps completely and work with just the nut until the restringing process is done and the strings are stretched and tuned.  Then replace the locking clamps and fine tune using the tuners on the tremolo bridge.

· Use your string winder and loosen the string until there is enough slack that you can unwind the string from the tuning post by hand. 

· Use your wire cutters to cut off the curled end of the string and discard.  Do this to minimize the chance of scratching the finish of your guitar.  Push/pull the string back through the bridge slowly making sure it does not drag across the body.  You don't want to restring your guitar to result in refinishing your guitar!

· Next, unwrap the appropriate new string.  Insert it through the bridge of the guitar, over the saddle, up the neck, over the nut and into the hole in the tuning post.  Again make sure the trailing end of the string doesn't drag across the guitar body.

· Start turning the tuner by hand making sure the string wraps over the top of the tuning post.  Ideally, you want to have 3-4 wraps of the string around the tuner, but this is nothing to stress over. 

· Turn the tuner until the slack is out and the string is properly seated in the nut and over the bridge saddle.  

· Next clip the excess string off close to the tuner and use your string winder to bring the string up to pitch.  

· Use your digital tuner and tune to pitch.

· Next, grab the string with your picking hand halfway between the bridge and the nut and lightly tug the string away from the fretboard.  Do not pull real hard, just hard enough to pull the stretch out of the string and tighten it around the tuner post.

· Tune to pitch and repeat the stretching process until the string stays in tune.


Now repeat the entire process for the remaining five strings.  Know that the pitch of the new strings may fluctuate as you work on the remaining strings.  This is especially true with a Floyd Rose or similar type floating bridge. When you have replaced and stretched the last string make sure all six strings are still in tune.  If you have a locking tremolo system, replace the clamps for the locking nut, tighten, and use the bridge fine tuners to get the proper pitch.

The final step is the best one; sit back, crank up your amp and enjoy. Make sure you play something with lots of note bending in it and make sure the stretch is all played.  

Take satisfaction in knowing that you now know how to restring an electric guitar.


Friday, May 18, 2018

Easy GUITAR SONGS

English: Mick Taylor with the Rolling Stones
Mick Taylor with the Rolling Stones (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Playing guitar is just about one of the most enjoyable things you can do. Ask any guitar player and they will tell you that. The trouble is, when you are first starting out, the learning curve can be pretty steep, which makes it pretty tough to reach the enjoyment stage. It's hard to enjoy something when your fingers are sore and you don't really know how to play anything! For this reason, you'll find a few easy guitar songs below. Enjoy!

Please bear in mind that there isn't space or the scope to give you an in-depth explanation of rhythms and strumming here, so the best thing to do is to play along with the record until you have at least a basic idea of how it should sound.

Song 1- House Of The Rising Sun, by the Animals
A great song, tremendously well known and very popular. You?ll find that simply knowing this song will cause some people to give you great acclaim as a guitar player, which can be pretty odd when you are just starting out!
Chords: Am, C, D, F, Am, E, Am



Song 2- Freebird by Lynrd Skynrd
This tune is an all-time great, and guaranteed to cause legions of beer drinking men all over the world to lock arms and hoist their lighter?s in the air! Obviously, the guitar solo at the end takes some time to master, but if you forget about that and just go with the chords you can build up a pretty convincing version of this classic song.
Main Verse Chords- G, D/F#, Em, F, C, D
Chorus- F, C, D
Fast Part at the end- G5, A#5, C5, (cycle all 3 over and over)

Song 3- Knockin On Heaven's Door, Bob Dylan/Guns n Roses
One of the easiest songs to learn and get sounding really good. Just one thing to note, if you want to play along with the Guns? version, note that they tune their guitars down a half step, so the chords you play will need to be one step flat to sound the same as their recording.
Chords: G, D, Am7



Song 4- For What It's Worth, Buffalo Springfield.
Ever wonder what Neil Young did before he was old and grizzled? He was in bands like this. This song is possibly the easiest song to learn for a beginning guitar player, as it's just the same two chords cycled over and over. Songs like this prove that you don't have to be Steve Vai or someone like that to write and play good music.
Chords: E, A, E, A etc etc

Song 5- Sympathy For Devil, The Rolling Stones
An excellent song and one that many people are surprised to find is so simple to play.
It sounds excellent whether played on a beat-up acoustic or on an electric, so go to town!
Chords: E, D, A, E over and over
Chorus- B, E, B, E over and over

Learning simple guitar songs like this is a great way to build up your confidence and experience with the instrument. Once you get these songs down, you'll be ready to go on and tackle more and more difficult songs each time!



Thursday, May 3, 2018

The Development Of The Electric BASS GUITAR

7-saitiger HeKe E-Bass "Goliath"
7-saitiger HeKe E-Bass "Goliath" (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Although the concept of a bass guitar was first developed in the 1930s, it wasn't until the 1950s that mass production met with popularity and the concept of an electric bass guitar became mainstream. Once the idea of an electric bass guitar took hold, and was used widely in groups and bands performing across the world, many companies began developing new styles and methods to create some fantastic ideas for the instrument, and help its popularity grow. Today the electric bass guitar has stepped forwards from the dark shadows of the back of the stage to take a much more prominent position at the front - and has become known as a very popular and stylish instrument to play. Not forgetting, of course, that the quality of sound and versatility have come a long way too.

Since it took about twenty years for the idea of an electric bass guitar to become a mainstream popular idea, it is unsurprising perhaps that it took another twenty years for the next big jump in design and innovation. It was in the 1970s that the company known as Music Man was founded by Leo Fender. It was this company that designed and created the StingRay, which was the first bass guitar to include active electronics. Although these active electronics can sound quite complex, the simple effect was to increase the range of high and low notes, and enhance the crispness of each.

In the early seventies a company called Alembic created the basic design for the high end bass guitars, known as boutique guitars. These were crafted using the highest degree of expertise, with the most highly skilled craftsmen using the finest quality materials. With unique, custom designs, the most premium woods available and some of the most innovative electronic gadgetry included, these boutique bass guitars became well known as the top guitar to have - and brought bass guitars from the back of the stage to the very front - an equal to the standard electric guitar.

Over the next thirty years the designs of electric bass guitars have varied, with new innovations, odd and unusual features and designs, including a headless bass by Ned Steinberger, who also introduced the Trans-Trem tremolo bar. A few years later the Guild Guitar Corporation introduced the astonishing fretless bass, known as the Ashbory. Quite how a guitar would work without frets would challenge any sane thinker - but the Ashbory used silicone rubber strings, with a piezoelectric pickup. The result of this was a sound more like a double bass than an electric guitar.


It was in the nineties that five string basses became popular, and prices began to reduce quite significantly, seeing pre-amplifiers built in to most bass guitars - previously something reserved for the higher end guitar. Today we see electric bass guitars include digital modelling circuits actually built in to the guitar - almost like having a computer built in to the body of the guitar, and able to enhance, distort, amplify and altar the voice of the guitar in such a way that it is possible to program the guitar to sound like any of the well known types of guitar available previously.


    Victor Epand is an expert consultant for guitars, drums, keyboards, sheet music, guitar tab, and home theater audio.
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Wednesday, April 18, 2018

An Alternative Way To Adjust Your GUITAR Nut

Truss rod adjustment bolt visible from the sid...
Truss rod adjustment bolt visible from the side of the headstock
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Most new guitars arrive from the factory with the nut just barely playable. Older guitars may have the nut filed or worn down so much that fret buzz cannot be eliminated by neck or string height adjustment. If you have a new guitar, or you are replacing the nut with a new one, here is an alternative method to file and adjust the nut material to make your guitar play like the professional's guitars play.

Before adjusting anything, make sure your guitar is strung up correctly and that your neck is straight and not bowed or warped. If your neck is bowed you first need to adjust the truss rod. If your neck is warped it will require a more extensive repair. For the lowest possible action or to avoid fret buzz all across your fingerboard, it may be necessary to have your frets levelled and crowned first.

You will need a set of nut files (available from Stewart MacDonald), and a good set of feeler gauges as well. Different grades of sandpaper are very useful too.

Fret each string individually, starting with the High E, between the second and third fret, use your feeler gauge to check the amount of space between the bottom of the string and the first fret. You should have approximately .005" of space between each one, with the string barely touching the second fret. If this measurement is close or dead on then move on to the next string right up to the Low E string. You may want to record the gap on a scrap piece of paper as you move across the fretboard, to see the nut slot's height in relation to the fretboard as you do so.


For most players, a string height (also known in guitar slang as “action”) of 3/64" of an inch is considered normal. Some players choose a higher string height such as 4/64" of an inch while players which tend to have a light touch and want the fastest action possible strive to lower the action as close as possible to 2/64" which in many cases's is very hard to setup and maintain without fret buzzing somewhere on the fingerboard.

Of course, you can use the traditional method to set your string height in relation to the nut, by using multiple feeler gauges below the nut and filing down to the factory depth and width. However, I have found this method to provide a better and more consistent feel while playing near the nut.




Thursday, March 22, 2018

COUNTRY GUITAR Lesson, Blues Guitar Riffs, Metal guitar and the BEATLES Effect

English: Photograph of The Beatles as they arr...
Photograph of The Beatles as they arrive in New York City in 1964  (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Country Guitar Lesson, Blues Guitar Riff´s, Metal Guitar and the Beatles effect; what has the Beatles got to do with it? I hear you say.

Well firstly the Beatles incorporated and used all the different styles in their music, and in their songs, but not only that, they also changed what was acceptable in music and what was not acceptable.

Paul McCartney´s father was a concert pianist, and when Paul was sat at the piano composing a song, his father would come into the room and say to him “Paul, you can’t do that, it´s against the rules of music”, and Paul would say in return “well I don´t care it sounds good to me”, so he did it anyway.

A lot of what the Beatles did at the time was considered unacceptable by the musical academic´s, but it was obviously acceptable to the record-buying public. It was not unusual for the Beatles to have more than one record in the top ten in England at the time, and not only that but they often occupied number 1 and number 2 positions as well.

Paul and John were real innovators of music; they used unusual key changes together with unusual chords and complex chord changes, as well as total shifts in tempo, and sometimes two songs were mixed together, for example, “A Day In The Life” was two totally different songs, one written by Paul and the other one written by John, but it worked, it has to be heard to be believed.

In the song Hello Goodbye, the ending was achieved by playing the song backward which again works. They introduced guitar feedback although it was by total accident, as George Harrison had left his guitar leaning against his amplifier whilst recording I Feel Fine, they left it on the record as they felt it was unusual and they liked the effect it had. Also in I Feel Fine was a great guitar riff that George played throughout the song which was again unusual.

Although Paul and John overshadowed George and Ringo, this was not intentional; in fact George was a good songwriter in his own right, just think of songs like Something (in the way she moves) and Here Comes The Sun, and quite a few other songs including While My Guitar Gently Weeps, on which he had his friend Eric Clapton play lead guitar.

George Harrison was also a perfectionist; he would practice his guitar parts until his fingers bled on occasions. It was also George Harrison that inspired me and many others to learn guitar, and play it in his style of using mainly bar chords.

The Beatles also inspired many other bands and musicians around the world, even T.V. shows were inspired by the Beatles, think of the Monkeys who show ran for quite some time. The Beatles were also the first ever British artists to make it big in America, and no other British artist has topped that to this day.

Yes, the Beatles were controversial at the time, particularly when John Lennon commented that they were better known than Jesus Christ, which was wildly misinterpreted, and it led to people burning their Beatles records and memorabilia in the streets.

In my opinion, the Beatles were a landmark in music, they changed what was acceptable and what was not, and they changed the way that country guitar lessons are now being taught as well as blues guitar riffs, and they led the way forward in metal guitar music.

No other band or artist has been able to influence music, to the degree that the Beatles had, in particular, guitar music, and in the way, that guitar playing is being taught now. So hopefully you can see what I mean by the Beatles effect!

I hope that you have enjoyed this article, and indeed you may even want to comment on it, as I know that some people may feel strongly about the Beatles both, in a good way and sometimes in a not so good way; however I will welcome all comments, and also say that the things written here are only my opinion.

Keep on playing,



Saturday, March 10, 2018

The Lure Of The NYLON STRING GUITAR

Classical guitar
Classical guitar (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
As a fan of the electric guitar and an enthusiastic player of acoustic music, I would like to share some of the most fascinating aspects of the nylon string guitar to give you an idea of the beauty of this instrument as a stepping stone for beginner guitarists or as the subject of a lifelong devotion. Although a nylon string guitar fan can go on and on about the wonderful mellow sound and the potential for extracting new meaning from music, maybe we can focus on the more practical aspects of the nylon string acoustic like the different styles of music played on it and the advantages it can hold for an amateur or professional guitarist.

First, let's talk about the types of guitars using nylon strings. Many experts say the flamenco guitar with its dry sound is more typical of  what a guitar was like before the emergence of the sonorous and lyrical sound of the classical guitar which evolved in the first half of the twentieth century. The flamenco guitar has always been common in some areas of Spain, and it is simply the musical instrument used by a family or group of friends to play the local folk music. The classical guitar was developed to play the classical style compositions which became popular in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. A descendent of the classical guitar is the basic nylon string acoustic guitar you see in music stores today. It lends itself to the accompaniment of all types of songs and was made popular in the 1960's folk boom by artists like Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan and Peter, Paul And Mary. These artists captured the public's imagination with their songs and planted the sound of the nylon string guitar firmly in the realms of popular music.

The sound of the nylon string guitar is much more peaceful compared to the brighter sound of the steel string acoustic. Another major advantage of the nylon string guitar is that it provides musical accompaniment to songs without distracting attention from your vocals.

By the way - did you know that players of electric guitars or steel string acoustic instruments need to develop callouses on their left hand fingers? Nylon strings are generally a little kinder to your hands. You will find that your nylon string guitar is easy to tune and you can just pick your guitar up and play it at any time of day or night without disturbing anybody in the immediate environment. Also the wider fret board allows you to play chords and single notes without accidentally touching the wrong string.


Nylon string guitars are kinder to finger picking guitarists. Anybody can learn finger style guitar on nylon strings without running too much risk of breaking fingernails, plus you will be pleased at how your first finger picking efforts are rewarded by the more beginner-friendly tone of the nylon acoustic.

Now you have some idea of the attractive aspects of the nylon string acoustic guitar, I do hope you will find some time to devote to this beautiful and, in recent times, neglected instrument.





Thursday, March 1, 2018

GUITAR LESSONS - The Secret To Improving Your Playing Fast

Broke the guitar out today. She hit for the cy...
Broke the guitar out today. She hit for the cycle on music - recorder, piano, and guitar. Nice.
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
A core aspect of guitar practice is goal setting.

To put it bluntly – you must set goals!

Let me explain why this is so important. Hopefully, my explanation will show you just how important, and incredibly powerful, this technique is if you want to be constantly improving as a guitar player.

If you set goals you give your subconscious mind something clear to focus on.

When you write down your goal and commit to doing it, you have set something in motion. By writing it down, you’re making it much more likely to happen.

So, you must set some goals and write them down.

I know this may sound unimportant to you at the moment, especially if you have never used this technique before.

But trust me on this…Before I set goals to work on in my practice I was highly frustrated with the lack of results I was getting.

Goal setting keeps you focused and makes you get what you want from your practice.

Also, if you don’t set goals, you don’t have anything clear to measure how well you’ve progressed. This can mean that you don’t progress much at all, or you don’t notice your progress.

This can lead to lack of desire to play guitar and lack of desire is a 100% guaranteed route to failure.



That’s not what you want, is it?

So, in summary:

You must cover each of these points:

• You must set long-term and short-term goals.
• You must read & review your goals before you practice.
• You must focus on completing these goals while you’re practicing.
• When you finish practicing, review your goals and tick off the goals you have completed.
• If you miss a goal, don’t worry! Review the goal and decide if it was realistic enough. If it wasn’t realistic, change it until it is. If you still feel it is realistic, leave it there and work on it next time.
• It helps to make your goal time limited. (E.g. Within 30 days) This will help keep you focused and accountable.




Sunday, February 18, 2018

How to Play Slide Guitar.

Slide Guitar - Photo: Wikimedia
Don’t you just love the distinctive sound of a slide guitar, whether it’s on a country tune or the down and dirty blues?  There has been a renewed interest in slide and bottleneck guitar playing in the last few years, and the new country music has adopted the sound big-time.

I was intimidated when I first put a slide on my little finger, it was awkward, and the sound I made was horrible. I did not have anybody to show me how to dampen the strings, what scales sounded good in standard tuning, and not a clue as to all of the “open-tunings” that are available to both fingerstyle and slide playing.

Actually playing with a slide can be very easy, and beginners can get some really cool sounds with a bit of practice.  I would recommend tuning to an open D or open G at first.   The open tuning approach gives nice major chord sounds up and down the neck, and allows for some easy fingering and ability to play songs right away.  That’s the reason for playing right?  Exercises and scales have their place but most people I know that started to play guitar, want to learn some songs.

First, start with a slide or “bottleneck” as many refer to when describing the tube that you wear on your finger.  The choices are many, the material is endless, and the type of tone they produce is just as varied. You will be the ultimate judge of the tone and sound you create. 

The two basic materials are either glass or metal, with ceramic coming in a distant third. Can’t really say I have a favorite type of slide. I have just about one of every kind you can think of, I prefer glass on electric guitar and steel or brass on acoustic guitar.

One tip that is guaranteed to help give you better TONE is going for very dense material.  Get a thick or heavy glass slide, as this will increase sustain and fatten up your sound.  My preference is hand blown leaded glass, but very hard to find in the US, as it is illegal to use leaded glass for manufacturing. I got mine from a vendor in the UK. 

The preferred finger is the pinkie on your fretting hand, but lots of players use their ring or even the middle finger. The advantage of using your little finger is that it gives you the most fretting possibilities, but some claim you give up some control.  The main thing is just try on a bunch of slides and go for what feels good to you!

Once you have found a slide just have some fun running it up and down the strings.  More than likely you can make some awful noise, the task is how you can quiet down all of that excessive noise and get some soulful sound coming from your guitar.

Let's start with an open tuning; my preference is open G tuning. 
Drop your fat or lower E string down to a D pitch.  You can use the 4th string or D to tune to. Then tune the A string down G and you can use the 3rd or G to tune to as well. The last string you have to detune is the bottom E or 1st string.  Tune it to D as well, then when you strum your guitar it plays a G major chord and sounds really sweet.

Your guitar sound now is tuned D-G-D-G-B-D as opposed to the regular tuning of E-A-D-G-B-E.
Open G tuning. It's a favorite among slide guitarists, because it gives you a wide-open major chord on any fret, and it allows an easy alternating bass because the root (the main note of the chord, G if it's a G chord, for example) is on the fifth string while the fifth (D if it's a G chord, for example) is on the sixth and the fourth.  Both slide and non-slide players also appreciate the fact that open G also enables you to play a standard blues line with relative ease!

One of the most crucial aspects of getting good clean sound is the use of damping behind the slide.  Master this technique and you will be amazed how good the sound of you slide on steel strings will be.



I suggest that you lay your fretting fingers flat on the neck just behind the slide, and use slight pressure on the strings with the slide.  Not too heavy, as you do not want to hit the fret but not so light that you get no sound either. Just experiment a little and you will find the right pressure to use.

You also want to play just over the fret and not behind as this will give you the best intonation.  This also takes some practice but with some careful listening, you will know when you are on the pitch.  Mater this technique and you will be beyond most occasional players.

I have a website devoted to slide guitar and links to many resource and reviews of video lessons on slide playing.  I think the sound of slide guitar is the most human-like of any instrument and allows the guitarist to express an amazing range of emotion and feeling on the guitar.

Peace   
Author: Dennis Tryon



Tuesday, January 30, 2018

MANDOLIN BANJO - Music-Instruments of the World

Mandolin Banjo - Music-Instruments of the World




Friday, January 19, 2018

BASS GUITAR Tabs And Their Place In The Circle Of Life


Tapping on a bass guitar
Tapping on a bass guitar (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Bass guitar tab is an extremely popular way of writing bass guitar music. If you are interested in becoming a bass guitarist you need to get familiar with bass guitar music by playing the bass lines of some of your favorite songs before you let your inner bass player off the chain. Utilizing this handy tool you can learn how to be the bass player in a band quickly without getting too much into boring theory.

The bass player's job is simply to keep time. Nothing could be easier. Until you try to do it. So what is actually involved? The bass guitar player keeps time by playing a 'bassline' which is usually a rhythmic' sequence of notes. The bass player brings together the rhythmic playing of the drummer with the melodies and chords played by the lead guitarist. Do you need to be a talented musician to do this? Yes, you do. The bass guitar player is the guy who switches off his brain and becomes one with the flow of the music. He then switches his brain back on and become the designated driver for the rest of the band.

A novice bass guitarist may not immediately be able to follow (or lead) the rest of the band right from the start. You might need some material to work with while you ease into the job. Bass guitar tab gives the guitar player written directions on what to play to give the bass line to a song. Tablature is a written representation of the strings of the guitar using numbers to show the frets. If you want to learn the bass guitar quickly tab will help you.  It is easy to pick up and to remember, and it enables you to learn the riffs and phrases you need to give structure to your band's music.

A bass guitar tab is a picture of the fretboard which can be drawn using Notepad on your computer or, if you like, by hand. The frets are numbered on lines representing the guitar strings. If you have a four string bass, the upper string is the G string, next to the D string, the A string, and the E string. The numbers below the lines are the frets where the notes are played. If there is zero below the line it means the open string is played. A chord is represented in bass guitar tabs by two numbers, one above the other. Most bass guitar tabs contain a legend which explains any unfamiliar terms.



With the history of rock music going back for generations, tabs are available for any song you can think of. The internet is by far the best source for bass guitar tabs. Just do a Google search and you will have more material than you will ever need. All you have to do is learn and practice. Learn and practice your favorite songs first. Bass guitar is not a musical instrument you can approach without passion. Bass guitar riffs can be learned from tab books but should be played from the heart.




Saturday, January 6, 2018

Guide to the Types and Styles of the UKULELE

English: A Red Mahalo soprano ukelele
A Red Mahalo soprano ukelele (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The ukulele is a very small guitar that originated from an island in Portugal called Madeira. This instrument was called "braguinha" in Portuguese. In 1879, travelers took a ship from the island of Madeira to Hawaii. Craftsmen who witnessed this instrument being played was fascinated and began producing it for Hawaiians. The instrument was nicknamed "ukulele," which actually means, "jumping flea." It is also called "uke" for short.

Ukes are different from guitars in several ways. They are usually very lightweight and easy to carry. Original style ukes are easier to learn to play because they have fewer strings. They are also easier on the fingers. Ukes are, however, limited in the range of notes that can be played. They are great for musicians who want simplicity!

Today this instrument is still very popular in Hawaii and is being shipped to music lovers around the world. Let's take a look at the types and styles of ukuleles.

Four Types of Ukuleles

There are four standard types of ukuleles, which are concert, soprano, tenor, and baritone. The most commonly used type is the soprano ukulele. Each type, except the baritone, is tuned using the well-known tune/phrase "my dog has fleas!" This involves hitting the keys G, C, E and then A. The tenor type is one octave down from the soprano. The baritone's tuning is accomplished using this order of keys: E, B, G, D.

There are also hybrid ukuleles being produced today, such as the banjulele (banjo body), taropatch (eight-stringed instrument) and ukelin. These specialty instruments are usually developed by individuals or specialty musical instrument companies. Some are even highly collectible today.

The soprano uke is the smallest at about 21 inches long. The concert uke is about 23 inches long. The baritone uke is 30 inches long, and the tenor uke is 26 inches long. The baritone and tenor ukes are more similar to regular-sized guitars, only with just four strings.

Styles of Ukuleles

Ukuleles may also come in a variety of styles, colors, and shapes to reflect the personality of the musician. Some examples of style variety are the Bushman ukuleles, which come in styles such as Jenny Soprano, Jenny Pineapple, Jenny Concert, Jenny Tenor, and Jenny Baritone.

A ukulele maker might use a variety of high-quality woods to produce the instruments such as Mahogany to give the instrument a brilliant finish. The shapes of the instrument may vary as well. Some resemble the regular guitar shape while others might be completely oval-shaped, similar to a pineapple shape, or have a piece "cut away" at the neck.

With prices ranging from $169 and up, anyone can own a ukulele. They can be ordered online for music fans that live in areas where the ukulele is not readily available locally. There is also a wide variety of ukulele strings and accessories such as felt picks, tuners, amplifiers, shoulder straps, strap buttons, tuning machines, ukulele humidifiers, and more. Whether one wants a cheap ukulele to keep around the house for fun or an expensive one for professional concerts, it's easy to find just the right style online.




Thursday, December 28, 2017

How GIBSON GUITARS Are Made

Nice #1973 #Gibson #hummingbird #guitar
Photo  by welcometoalville 
The Gibson Guitars Hummingbird model is one of their most loved guitars.  Players of Gibson guitars often wonder how the great Gibson Guitars Hummingbird model is made.  Made in Nashville, Tennessee, the Gibson Guitars Hummingbird model is made much like their other models.  To begin with, the wood is chosen for the Gibson Guitars Hummingbird model.  

The top of the Gibson Guitars Hummingbird model is glued up into 2" thick block, and most of the backs are solid.  Machines put the front and backs together for the Gibson Guitars Hummingbird model.  Most are surprised by the machine assembly of the guitars, however, the Gibson Guitar Hummingbird and all other models have been built by machines for over 100 years.

The Gibson Guitars Hummingbird model's neck is made of up to three different pieces.  The pieces of the Gibson Guitars Hummingbird are laminated and cut.  The wing blocks are added to the Gibson Guitars Hummingbird and the fingerboards are assembled.  Most of the fingerboards on the Gibson Guitars Hummingbird are made of rosewood or ebony.  The Gibson Guitar Hummingbird, like all other Gibson guitars, is hand-fretted.  When everything is put together, the Gibson Guitar Hummingbird is ready to go.

Many musicians have loved the Gibson Guitars Hummingbird over the years.  The Gibson Guitars Hummingbird is one that offers the signature Gibson sound and quality.  Durability is one thing that draws artists to the Gibson Guitars Hummingbird.  The Gibson Guitars Hummingbird model is a lovely instrument that is also a piece of art.



Friday, December 8, 2017

Life Story on JIMI HENDRIX

Jimi Hendrix cor 11
Photo  by Luiz Fernando / Sonia Maria 
Who was the greatest rock and roll guitarist ever? Always and forever the name of Jimi Hendrix will be nominated answering that question. A vastly talented musician and instrumental technician, the legendary Hendrix combined the Blues, Soul, R & B and Rock & Roll into an innovative and mold-breaking style. Coupled with flamboyant stage antics and uncharted mixing arrangements, Hendrix became an international, Rock & Roll and pop culture star. 

Unable to read music, and largely self-taught, Jimi became a virtuoso who could play, compose and introduce spell-binding magic that will rock in musical posterity. The life story on Jimi Hendrix played like the comet he was; flashing across the heavens, burning hot, intense and bright - attracting attention, adulation, curiosity, and then suddenly flaming out.

Johnny Allen Hendrix was born in 1942 in Seattle, Washington; the son of seventeen-year-old Lucille Jeter and Army soldier James Allen Hendrix. Jimi's early childhood was marked by poverty and personal tragedies. Of the five Hendrix siblings, three were given up to state custody due to physical disabilities and blindness. Jimi became a shy and reserved boy, isolated and withdrawn. But he loved music and would strum a broomstick as if it were a guitar.

When Jimi was 15 his mother died and he bounced between relatives for a time. The sensitive boy was deeply affected and carried within him a burden of sadness, abandonment, and neglect. Sensing his son's detachment and loneliness, Jimi's father paid five bucks for a used acoustic guitar to replace a one-string ukulele Jimi had bonded for a number of years. At age 17, with his talent blossoming, Jimi received his first electric guitar and thereafter the life story on Jimi Hendricks changed forever,

Jimi began his formal musical career playing with local Seattle area bands, some paying gigs, some not. He was fired more than once for over-the-top stage stunts, but his talent was without question and he played left-handed, behind his back and with his teeth.

Still, in high school, Jimi was an indifferent student who curiously received an "F" in music. He was eventually expelled for attendance and discipline problems and soon found himself in minor trouble with the law. The solution; Hendrix was ordered to enlist in the Army. But he was a poor soldier and was discharged within a year.

After his Army stint, Hendrix went on the road playing small towns, honky-tonks, warm-up, and background for larger, better-known acts. Ever expanding, Jimi was soon playing with notable acts such as the Isley Brothers, Ike and Tina Turner and Little Richard.

With his star rising and reputation growing, he traveled to London where he was introduced to the British rock scene. With the help of a few English musical luminaries, Hendrix formed the Jimi Hendrix Experience, a band that would soon hit the top of the charts and plays to sellout crowds. Their first album, Are You Experienced, became a mega-seller, second only to the Beatles epic Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Back in the United States, The Experience, now a rock and roll wonder very much in demand, played the Monterey Pop Festival, Fillmore East, and headlined venues coast to coast. Hendrix's fame grew exponentially and in the "sex, drugs, and rock and roll", a culture of the times, he was an accomplished practitioner, or if you like - victim.

Legal and personal entanglements mounted including a drug possession arrest and contractual disputes. During this time of high flying success and excess, The Experience broke up. Other notable musicians joined Jimi and as his schedule excelled and his popularity peaked, so did his use of drugs and alcohol, sometimes affecting his work on stage and in the studio.

Hendrix's signature performance was at the famous, iconic, epic, historically footnoted Woodstock Musical Festival in August of 1969. Jimi and his group played a two-hour set, climaxing in Hendrix's solo rendition of the Star Spangled Banner, which has become a representation and marquee of the turbulent times of the 1960's.
Hendrix played his last concert in the contiguous United States in August 1970 at Seattle's Sick,s Stadium, blocks from his childhood home. He didn't like the area or his memories growing up and he cursed the rain and played badly. He left abruptly, did a show in Hawaii and returned to England. The next time he would be on American soil would be for his funeral. The life story of Jimi Hendrix was over.





Jimi died September 18, 1970, at the age of 27 in the London flat of friend Monika Danneman after drinking heavily and taking a handful of sleeping pills. His sudden, shocking demise engendered speculation and innuendo. Some rumors claimed suicide, others hinted at murder, still, others espoused that he was not dead at all, that reports of his death were only a publicity stunt.

The life story of Jimi Hendrix will be memorialized every time one of his songs is played, replayed, copied, re-copied, stolen or new renditions attempted. There was only one Hendrix and though his legacy may be clouded by his risky, showman's lifestyle, he was truly a man for his times. After all, Jimi was one of the first black Rock and Rollers to capture a predominately white audience while incorporating, mixing, and modifying culturally identifiable genres of American Music and turning out his own unique sound.




Wednesday, December 6, 2017

Top 20 Guitarists Of All Time - GUITAR PLAYERS

It was a dark and rainy night. The courthouse clock struck midnight; a stray dog howled. It was all too beautiful when the staff of Gear Vault convened for their semi-annual secret meeting with the confines of the beloved cinder-block chamber they call their "office." Their agenda? To decide the 20 most important people on guitar.

English: Jimi Hendrix performs for Dutch telev...
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
1. Jimi Hendrix
Widely recognized as one of the most creative and influential musicians of the 20th century, Jimi Hendrix pioneered the explosive possibilities of the electric guitar. Hendrix's innovative style of combining fuzz, feedback and controlled distortion created a new musical form. Because he was unable to read or write music, it is nothing short of remarkable that Jimi Hendrix's meteoric rise in the music took place in just four short years. His musical language continues to influence a host of modern musicians, from George Clinton to Miles Davis, and Steve Vai to Jonny Lang. Hendrix was the revolutionary guitar god, enuff said!

2. Edward Van Halen
Edward Van Halen once likened his guitar playing to "falling down the stairs and landing on my feet." Eddie's had thirteen albums' worth of such happy accidents and in the process has changed the way people play, hear and think about the electric guitar. With his unorthodox technique, dare-devil whammy bar antics and fearless experimentation, Van Halen revitalized heavy guitar after it had run its course in the Seventies. Espousing an I-just-play-that's-all-I-do attitude and favoring basic gear like stock Marshalls. Peavey 5150s, homemade, slapped together guitars and simple, minimal stop box effects, Van Halen became guitar's greatest hero by becoming its unassuming anti-hero.

From the jaw-dropping gymnastics of Van Halen's "Eruption" to the eerie, tidal crescendos of "Cathedral" on Diver Down, through his 1984 chart-topping synth experiments and spirit of 5150 and For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, Eddie has remained innovative throughout his career. Never one to wait around for the electrician, Van Halen prefers building his own gear-and if it doesn't always look pretty, well, beauty is in the ear of the beholder. By "Frankensteining" his first striped guitar from $130 worth of parts, Van Halen launched his quest for the elusive "brown sound-"big, warm and majestic"-and gave rock guitarists a new holy grail of tone to seek in the post-Jim-my page era. His single-pickup and volume control innovation changed the way guitars looked and sounded, popularized the previously obscure Kramer Guitars, and inspired the do-it-yourself guitar gear industry. Eddie's custom-designed Peavey amps and his with Sterling Ball on his Music Man guitars prove that Van Halen still believes the artist should retain creative input on his equipment.

As a player, Van Halen single-handedly-well, dual-handedly-introduced millions of rock players such exciting techniques as two-handed tapping and harmonics. Before 1978, the guitar just had to be loud and fast. Eddie's playing is also tasteful and always in context, a fact that distinguishes him from his legions of imitators. While he's unimpressed by the copycat syndrome, it cannot be denied that many players first picked up a guitar after Van Halen's dazzling licks. But none of them can fall down the stairs with such brilliance.

Deutsch: Eric Clapton in Concert am 02.04.2004
 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
3. Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton has successfully reinvented himself dozens of times: Rave-Up King with the Yardbirds; Holy Father of the Anglo-blues with the Bluesbreakers; a free-form improvisational genius with Cream; chameleon rises to every musical occasion.

By 1965 the 20-year-old Clapton was already a legend. He'd introduced the blues to the masses, interpreting and updating what had been a largely unknown form for the rock generation. Simultaneously, his lush, Les Paul-driven tone marked the absolute turning point in the history of rock, transforming what had been a good-time twang instrument into a vehicle for profound expression.

Ultimately, the most enduring image of the great guitarist will be of Clapton the bluesman, standing on a corner of a stage and exposing his psychic wounds to the masses. It is interesting, though, that, while "bluesy" in feel, his most memorable songs-"Layla," "Tears In Heaven"-do not utilize the blues structure.

While most of Clapton's contemporaries talk reunion and revival, he never retreats behind memories of his "good old days." His Unplugged album, which was enormously successful-both for him and acoustic guitar manufactures-included a radical remake of "Layla." Clapton is one artist who has learned how to grow up.

English: Photograph of Paul McCartney as The B...
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
4. Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney has spent very little of his career playing six-string guitar. But as a bassist, he almost single-handedly made guitar players' jobs a whole lot easier.

When the Beatles first arrived on the scene, rarely was the bass even heard on most pop records; players seldom attempted anything more adventurous than a root-fifth accompaniment. But McCartney, who not only played bass, but sang, enlivened the Beatles' material with dynamic, moving basslines on his famous Hofner and, later, a Rickenbacker 4001. By the time the Beatles began work on Sergeant Pepper's, McCartney as pumping out bass melodies that carried entire songs, with the result that the Beatles' guitar parts often became sparser, more subtle. Within months-and, to this day-bass players, the world over was unshackled.

5. Pete Townshend
Before Pete Townshend came along, feedback was something guitarists shunned like halitosis. Pete turned it into one of rock guitar's most powerful sonic resources.

Soon after The Who debuted in 1964, Townshend became legendary for violently slamming his guitar into his Marshall stack (a form of amplification he was the first to use) and smashing his instrument to splinters at the end of each show. All of this had a profound influence on Jimi Hendrix (aka The Guitar God #1) and just about every other rocker who ever picked up a guitar. Pete's trademark "windmill" strum was actually swiped from Keith Richards. But Townshend made it even bigger and more dramatic-which is what he and The Who did with just about everything they touched. Having mastered the art of the three-minute pop song, Townshend turned his attention to 15-minute mini-operas and, with Tommy in 1969, the worlds first double album rock opera. Townshend's songwriting genius and theatrical flair tend to obscure the fact that he is also a fine guitarist, as capable of supple lyricism as he is of angry mayhem.

6. George Harrison
When George Harrison strummed his first chord during the Beatles' historic appearance on the Ed Sullivan show 44 years ago, he became the catalyst for the electric guitar's metamorphosis from stringed instruments to a tool of teenage liberation. And, as the folks at Gretsch and Rickenbacker will readily attest, it didn't exactly hurt sales, either.

While Harrison has never been a virtuoso guitarist, he was an innovator-constantly pushing the limits of studio sounds and stylistic boundaries. In many ways, he also was the first modern session musician, his chops as diverse and far-reaching as Lennon and McCartney's songwriting. He could dish up brilliant Scotty Moore-style rockabilly ("All My Loving"), heart-rendering gut-string lines ("And I lover") and sheer fuzz and fury ("Revolution")-always adding something memorable to the material. Later in his career, he developed an original slide style that is more melodic than bluesy. Like the Beatles as a whole, Harrison never settled into a comfortable groove. He glided across the musical spectrum-from country and western to spaced-out psychedelia to smooth and sweet slide-shattering conventions and then moving on.

7. Angus Young
Two decades after Angus Young first emerged AC/DC's ax-wielding dervish at age 14, we Scottish Aussie remains one of the sturdiest bridges between young metal-ists and rock's blues roots. Although he did great work before and since Young will always be best known for 1980's Back In Black, a blue-collar masterpiece which, with killer classics like "You Shook Me All Night Long," remains an all-purpose primer for riff writing and tight, scalar lead playing. Never mind the fact that the man does it all while spinning around like chinchilla on speed. Though he may be dwarfed by his signature oxblood SG, Angus Young is a giant among men.

8. Jimmy Page
Arguably the most emulated guitarist in rock history, Jimmy Page has additionally assured a place in the music's pantheon of greats for his roles as a musical director, produce and all-around guru of Led Zeppelin.

His Rampaging, blues-based work on anthems like "Whole Lotta Love," "Communication Breakdown" and "Rock And Roll" defines heavy metal. His real genius, however, was his ability to expand the parameters of the genre to include elements of traditional English folk, reggae, funk, rockabilly, and Arabic classical music.

Page the guitarist has never been facile as Edward Van Halen or Steve Via, but few players in rock history have been able to match his restless imagination or visionary approach to guitar orchestration. Whether he was exploring the exotic joys of open tuning on tracks like "Kashmir" and "Black Mountain Side," pioneering the use if backwards echo on "You Shook Me," or coaxing otherworldly sounds from his '58 Les Paul with a cello bow on "Dazed And Confused," Page consistently transcended the limitations of his instrument and the recording studio.

More than 30 years have passed since Page recorded the seminal Led Zepplin IV, but the album's gigantic imprint can still be detected in the work of such cutting-edge bands as Jane's Addiction, Stone Temple Pilots, and Soundgarden, to name a few. Page, of course, remains active. His dense, multi-layered work on the Coverdale/Page record demonstrated his refusal to rest his laurels.

9. Kurt Cobain
Kurt Cobain was the intense and unkempt grunge lord who brought Nirvana from obscurity to the top of the charts, was all the rage-literally. The king of the guitar anti-hero, he didn't play his Fender Jaguars but he mauled them in a chord-crunching fury. Inevitably, he smashed his guitars, littered stages around the world with his splintered victims.

Cobain was a guitar pioneer because he managed to fuse into one dynamic style the aggression of Seventies punk rock, the speed, and simplicity of Eighties hardcore and the bottom-heavy crunch of Nineties metal-and done so without a trace of silliness or bombast to which all three genres are prone.
There's little doubt that scores of new players have been inspired to plug in by the chugging chords of Cobain's "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Segovia, he wasn't. But Segovia never captured the angst of an entire generation with one burst of ungodly feedback.

10. David Gilmour
What makes David Gilmour truly remarkable is his uncanny ability to marry two seemingly contradictory genres-progressive rock and blues. Perhaps the most dramatic example of this unusual union can be heard on one of Pink Floyd's biggest hits, "Money" (Dark Side Of The Moon). As the song begins, Gilmour slowly builds a delicate network of spacious, effected guitars, only to topple them with a series of emotionally charged, vibrato-drenched solos, whose rich, shimmering tone and impeccable phrasing recall B.B. King, rather than King Crimson.

Gilmour is the rarest of rockers. Like Jimi Hendrix, he has the natural ability to balance the cerebral with the emotional, the technical with instinctual, while keeping an eye on both the past and the future. It is this awesome juggling act that is the secret to Pink Floyd's lasting appeal.

11. Keith Richards
Keith Richards is the archetypal rock outlaw, the quintessential skinny English rock guitarist in a tight black suit. He's filled that role since the Rolling Stones first established themselves as the dark, dangerous alternative to the Beatles in 1963. With his deep love of the blues, Keef initiated a generation of white, middle-class kids into the wonders of Muddy Waters, howling' Wolf and Chuck Berry. His unique five-string, open-G tuning lies at the heart of such all-time power chord classics as "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and "Street Fighting Man." As a soloist, Keef has worked a few miracles; witness the icy, amphetamine mesmerism of his licks on "Sympathy For The Devil" and his buoyant bending on "Happy." And he is the author of the most-played riff in all rock: the tritone mating call of "Satisfaction." Much has been made of Richards' fondness for controlled substances, but his ultimate drug is music; his knowledge of rock, blues and reggae is encyclopedic, his passion for them boundless. They have sustained him through imprisonment, addiction, tempestuous lines of his leathery face, the history of rock and roll is etched.

12. Eric Johnson
In a realm often dominated by ham-fisted machismo, Eric Johnson stands apart as rock guitar's elegant poet laureate. He has managed to create an original style from such radically dissimilar sources as country chicken picking, Jimi Hendrix, and jazzman Wes Montgomery. A legend long before he became famous, Johnson's seemingly endless, melodious lines and distinctive "violin" tone made it an absolute requirement for guitarists stopping near the Texan's hometown of Austin to attend his show there in the early/mid-1980s.

After turning down numerous offers to tour as a sideman, he rose to prominence in 1986 with his critically acclaimed, Grammy-nominated album, Tones. His follow-up, Ah Via Musicom, thrust the self-effacing innovator further into the spotlight, yielding one Grammy-winning cut ("Cliffs Of Dover") and eventually going gold. Combining passion and lyricism with what can only be described as an overwhelmingly positive vibe, Johnson's music is progressive without being academic, uplifting without stooping to sentimentality.

13. Buddy Guy
"Part of my reason for forming Cream have I suddenly had this mad idea about being English Buddy Guy; my goal was to be Buddy Guy with a composing bass player... And to this day, when he's on I don't think anyone can touch him. He takes you away to somewhere completely different." -Eric Clapton

"Buddy Guy is as close as you can come to the hear of the blues." -Jeff Beck
"He plays one note and you forget about the rent." -Carlos Santana
"Nobody can get out of tune as cool as Buddy Guy." Stevie Ray Vaughan

14. Yngwie Malmsteen
Two schools of thought have sprung over the years regarding Yngwie J. Malmsteen. On the one hand, the Swedish native's incredibly precise, rapid-fire playing has earned him as a profound and brilliant artist, the founder and most important exponent of the neo-classical guitar. From the point of view of this school, the effortless blend of raw speed, finesse, and passion that has characterized Malmsteen's style since his 1984 solo debut, Rising Force, represents the pinnacle of fretboard achievement. Yngwie is also credited with popularizing the scalloped guitar neck.

But Yngwie is also scorned by many in the guitar community, who loathe him with an intensity that matches the ardor of his most dedicated boosters. To the group, Malmsteen was the architect of cold, empty guitar style, which emphasized technique over art, speed over feel. They rejoice over the apparent demise of neo-classicism. And how do you plead-for Yngwie or against?

15. Dimebag Darrell
This authentic, crimson-bearded lone star madman had rewritten the book on heavy metal riffing in the short space by many major-label releases. By combining the virtuosity of Edward Van Halen with the rhythmic drive of a glue-sniffing punk rocker, the legend Pantera guitarist had created a highly individual sound that that appeals to classic rockers, fans of death metal and industrial headbangers. On Pantera's March 15, 1994, release, Far Beyond Driven, Darrell solidified his reputation as one of metal's true originals on tracks like "Good Friends And A Bottle Of Pills," which combines hell-and-damnation riffing with the kind of abrasive avant-garde noodling that put Sonic Youth on the map.

16. John Petrucci
Known as Dream Theater, John Petrucci is proud to be progressive. "Our style is completely different from grunge and alternative music," says the 41-year-old Berklee-trained musician. "But I think our music has as much attitude as any of those bands."

Dream Theater is known for a complicated, textured style of hard rock that embraces flawless musicianship, lengthy improve sections, daring arrangements and other flashy elements made popular by Yes, Kansas, Rush and other old-school rockers. Leading the progressive charge is the technically masterful Petrucci, whose playing encompasses angular melodic phrases, liquid chromatics and manic displays of speed-picking into an exciting, coherent style.

Despite his reputation, the Ibanez-wielding shredder remains modest; "Being looked at as a guitar hero is very flattering, but being singled out away from the rest of the band doesn't appeal to me," says Petrucci. "I'd prefer to have people view me as a talented musician in a good band-not as some flashy soloist." Not a chance.

17. B.B. King
As the universally hailed ambassador of the blues, B.B. King has introduced his favorite music to more people the world over than all other artists combined. In fact, he's so highly visible-popping up everywhere from ads for Northwestern Airlines and McDonald's to an episode of "Sanford And Son" and "Married With Children"-that it's easy to take for granted and forget why he became so revered in the first place.

B.B. King has an incredibly expressive, vocal vibrato and an unmistakable, ringing tone, both of which have been imitated by legions of admirers. He is also the master of the perfectly placed bent note, stretching his strings with eloquence, brilliant timing and consistently perfect intonation. But what is perhaps most impressive about B.B. King is that despite hanging over 300 nights a year for decades, and despite having attained cultural icon status long ago, he has avoided slipping into complacency. He never plays the same solo twice and to this day stretches himself, demonstrating night after night exactly why he is the King Of The Blues.

18. Joe Satriani and Steve Vai -- Both rockers are equal careers and talent.
Starting with Joe Satriani, a walking warehouse of virtually every rock guitar style and technique ever developed. From delicate, classical-style finger-picking to the most profane vibrato-bar molestation, Joe knows it all. He elevates the level of whatever he's playing with his passion for sonic adventure and dead-eye sense of song and orchestration.

Like a human melting pot, Satriani has managed to integrate such disparate influences as surf guitar, world beat, and Jimi Hendrix into his playing. His much-lauded 1987 breakthrough album, Surfing With The Alien, almost single-handedly rehabilitated instrumental rock as a mainstream genre and help bury the myth that a thoughtful, educated player couldn't rock. In the manner of the Blow By Blow-era Jeff Beck. Satriani employs his superior technique and seemingly inexhaustible vocabulary of licks, riffs, and styles in the service of memorable songs (rather than the other way around). And he continues to do this exhibitionism, traps that have foiled too many of his peers.

Steve Vai's unparalleled technique and effortless flash made him rock's paramount pair of hired hands in the 1980's. He rendered PIL more accessible, empowered David Lee Roth, gave Whitesnake artistic credibility and even shredded for the Devil in a sensational performance in the film Crossroads.

But it was with 1990's Passion And Warfare-perhaps the most anticipated guitar release of all time-that Vai crystallized his technical skills, incredible drive, and explosive vision into a sensitive, acutely personal guitar statement. He shifts gears with the greatest of ease, gliding from delicate lyricism to the back. Like a demented circus master, Vai has the power to amuse and frighten with his most dangerous menagerie of sound.

19. Joe Perry
For 35 years, though not one or two, but several climbs to the top, Aerosmith's Joe Perry has been a living testimony to the power of a Bad-Ass Attitude. Perry's perpetual sneer is expressed not merely on his chiseled face, but also through his guitars and overdriven amps. Of course, he's also written some pretty decent riffs, the best of which completely defines their song; it's impossible for even non-guitarists to think of "Walk This Way" or "Sweet Emotion" without humming Perry's etched-in-stone guitar lines.

20. Zakk Wylde
Zakk Wylde's hellacious guitar playing and charismatic stage presence made him a keeper of the heavy metal flame with Ozzy Osbourne for many years. But you ain't heard nothin' yet. Zakk started a few bands of his own, Pride & Glory and his most recent, Black Label Society (BLS), frenzied, high octane slab of guitar mayhem. It's a molten mix of Zakk's two selves: his heavy, energetic Ozzyfield side and the hell-bent Southern rocker and ruthless side. Step out of the way and make peace with yo' maker, son.

    Chaz is a passionate music lover and guitar player. He's been playing guitar for over 25 years. Chaz is also the owner of one of the most respectable guitar review websites on the entire internet. Read his professional and comprehensive guitar and amplifiers reviews before you buy your next guitar or piece of musical equipment. If you are a Dimebag fan like I am, then check out a history of the Dimebag Dean ML Guitar.
    Article Source: EzineArticles