Byzantine - Oblivon Beckons review (by: Chad Bowar)

When you hear that someone is from the backwoods of West Virginia, certain stereotypes come to mind. That's where Byzantine is from, and they completely destroy any preconceptions you might have about their fine state.
Oblivion Beckons is the band's third CD, and the one that should propel them to a higher level. Byzantine blends modern and technical metal with old school thrash. Complex, precise riffs are punctuated by extended guitar solos. Brutal and aggressive songs evolve into lengthy progressive jams. This is a band that has the discipline and chops to play very technically, and the creativity to explore their more experimental and progressive side.
With a CD that is so diverse, the vocalist needs to keep up, and O.J. Ojeda has no problem moving from angry screams to yells to melodic vocals. Oblivion Beckons is an impressive display of musicianship and songwriting, and Byzantine's ability to pull off thrash, technical metal, prog and even an acoustic instrumental makes it a memorable and very well done CD.
(released January 22, 2008 on Prosthetic Records)

Enemy of the Sun - Shadows review (by: Chad Bowar)

Waldemar Sorychta doesn't have much spare time. His skills as a producer are in high demand, and he has worked with tons of bands including Moonspell, Lacuna Coil, Tiamat, Tristania, Samael and Borknagar. He's also a talented guitarist and former member of Grip, Inc. His gothic metal band Eyes Of Eden recently released Faith, and his harder edged project Enemy Of The Sun has just completed their debut CD.
Shadows has a thrash metal base, but branches off in all directions. There are modern, industrial style influences along with more unusual and avant-garde sections. The songs start with a base of creative guitar riffs and strong melodies, then the other elements are incorporated, creating a unique and innovative style.
Enemy Of The Sun's vocalist is Jules Naveri (Profane Omen, Misery Inc) from Finland, and he has the versatility to pull off the intense thrash style vocals along with melodic singing. Shadows veers off course from time to time, but Enemy Of The Sun always rights the ship and this is a solid debut CD.
(released January 22, 2008 on The End Records)

Derek Trucks Biographical Info

At age 23, Derek Trucks has already accomplished more than most musicians do in a lifetime. The gifted guitarist has been touring since before he was a teenager, has three solo albums to his credit (his latest, Joyful Noise, is his first for a major label), is the leader of a highly talented band, and has performed with renowned groups such as Government Mule and Phil Lesh and Friends. And, oh yeah, then there's his other gig: he's one of the guitarists in the Allman Brothers Band.
While many players Trucks's age are more concerned with partying and the perks of the road, he appears to be focused squarely on his music. In an era in which image is king and musical integrity and skill are secondary, Trucks is the anti-Britney. He's on a mission to put musicianship back into popular music, and he's leading by example.
Trucks describes his group as "a Delta-blues jazz band playing soul music with a bunch of other things mixed in," and indeed, Joyful Noise (Sony Music Entertainment, 2002) bears out that description. The record offers up an eclectic combination of blues, rock, jazz, and various world-music styles. The roster of guest vocalists testifies to its wide musical range; present are Ruben Blades, Rahat Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Solomon Burke, and Trucks's wife, blues singer Susan Tedeschi.
Trucks was raised in Jacksonville, Florida, and began playing guitar at the age of nine. Within a year, he was playing out. "I learned a lot by ear," he recalls, "I took about a half-dozen lessons with one of my father's friends. I just started sitting in with local blues bands, and then touring with them. It was definitely a trip."
Despite his almost instant success, the joy of playing was purely a musical one for Trucks. He was not at all comfortable relating to the audience. "I wasn't drawn to being in front of people," Trucks says. "It was definitely the music that got me in, and not the scene." In fact, Trucks was so shy at first that he didn't even face the crowd. "When I first started playing, the only guy onstage that I knew was the drummer, so I faced him for the first month or two."
The first thing you notice about Derek Trucks when you hear him play or listen to one of his records is the gorgeous, fat tone he gets when playing slide. He achieves his sound with about as minimal a setup as you'll find. A Gibson '61 Reissue SG (sometimes he uses a Washburn E300) into an old 1964 Blackface Fender Super Reverb. That's it. No effects, no fancy preamps; just a guitar into an amplifier.
The only things that aren't stock about his setup are the Pile Driver speakers in his amp. Trucks's tech, Joe Main, tells the story of how Trucks started using them. "He blew his speakers out on a Saturday night, and so on Sunday his father and I were looking for speakers, somewhere, anywhere. We couldn't find anyplace open. So we went to a car-stereo store and found those speakers, and we put them in the amp, and Derek won't let me change them. They were designed to be in a car stereo; they weren't designed to be in an amplifier."
Part of Truck's distinctive sound also comes from the fact that he plays everything - not just slide - in open-E tuning. "I started playing open tunings at about ten years old and just never went back," he says. Playing slide in open tuning is common, but playing nonslide guitar parts when tuned that way is extremely unusual. When he started doing it, Trucks had to relearn all his chords and scales. "There are definitely some chords that are really stock for normal guitar players that are a little bit difficult in open E, but there's vice versa," he says.
These days, Trucks is influenced less by guitarists and more by horn players and vocalists. "There's always the obvious like Wayne Shorter and John Coltrane. John Gilmore, who played with Sun Ra for a long time, is one of my favorite tenors. There are so many, though. That whole Blue Note era in the '60s, almost any record you pick up is amazing. We burn out a lot of those. Clifford Brown is another favorite."
Trucks and Haynes, both master slide players, have to divvy up the parts and decide who will handle the "Duane" parts and who will handle the "Dickey" parts. "There are certain songs that we [trade] every night, every time a certain song comes along," says Trucks. "On Tuesday, it's Warren's [turn to play a particular song]; on Wednesday, it's mine. There are some tunes like that and there are other tunes where we just decide 'this is yours, this is mine.'"

Billy Gibbons Biographical Info

Billy Gibbons was born december, 1949 in Houston, Texas, and would eventually grow to be one of the most defining forces behind the raunchy Texas blues sound.
Billy lead a series of combos during his teens, all setting the ground work for the later formation of ZZ Top. Prior to ZZ Top, Billy fronted the band The Moving Sidewalks, who produced only one album, "Flash" in 1968. A psychedelic LP, it is currently available on CD and is worth seeking out. The Moving Sidewalks opened a series of Texas tour dates for Jimi Hendrix. Hendrix once proclaimed that Billy Gibbons was one of the most promising new guitarists of that time. Billy has certainly lived up to that accolade. Billy has also done his fair share of studio work for other artists, but received little credit for it. He has also written tunes for Johnny Cash and Dave Edmunds.
Billy is a man of many layers. As well as being a gifted musician, he also collects vintage guitars, African art, and cars, like his famous 1933 Ford 'Eliminator' three window coupe, the 1946 Cadillac 'Cadzilla', the 1950 Ford business coupe "Kopperhead'. Also, there is the lowered 1962 Chevy Impala 'Slampala' and the 1965 Chevy Impala convertible 'El Dorado Bar'.
Initially ZZ Top joined a swell of southern boogie bands and toured heavily around the southern circuit, firing up a strong following along the way. Their first album, while bending and distorting traditional blues, was firmly rooted within the blues genre, However, Rio Grande Mud showed the boys had a wider flexibility. The Rolling Stones cover, "Francene" gave the trio their first hit and introduced them to a much wider audience.
Other albums would follow, each adding to their now classic repertoire, based on blues structure, rock distortion, modern synth, saucy attitude, and tongue in cheek lyrics. This infectious combination made them a heavily recruited band for writing songs for, and borrowing existing songs in numerous movies, like Back to the Future, and Striptease.
Over the years, one of ZZ Top's greatest strengths has been their consistently high-standard live presentation and performance on numerous financially record-breaking tours around the US.
One of rock's maverick attractions, Gibbons, Hill and Beard have retained their eccentric, colourful image, dark glasses and Stetson hats, complete with an almost casual musical dexterity that has won over hardened cynics and carping critics. In addition to having produced a fine (but sparse) canon of work, they will also stay in the record books as having the longest beards in musical history (although one member, the inappropriately named Frank Beard, is clean-shaven). Whether by design or chance, they are doomed to end every music encyclopedia.
We invite you to check out some of the hottest blues guitar in the world, and punch your own playing up a notch with Billy's crowd-rousing style.
Perhaps most notable is that while ZZ Top is hugely famous, Billy Gibbons the man prefers to remain anonymous in his work as he donates money, time and support to charities.

Michael 'Flea' Balzary Biographical Info

Best known as an integral member of one of the '80s-'90s most popular rock bands, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Flea (real name Michael Balzary) is widely regarded as one of rock's most talented bassists. By combining funk-style bass (à la Funkadelic) with psychedelic, punk, and hard rock, Flea created an original playing style that has been copied numerous times. In fact, the 'copy cat' syndrome got so out of hand that Flea refused to use his popular 'slap' technique for the Peppers' massive 1991 hit Blood Sugar Sex Magik.

Born on October 16, 1962 in Melbourne, Australia, Balzary and his family relocated to Los Angeles while he was still a youngster. Unlike other teenagers, Michael's first musical love was jazz (instead of the expected hard rock), as he concentrated on mastering the trumpet while attending Fairfax High School. It was around this time that he met two other Fairfax students who would eventually change his life -- guitarist Hillel Slovak and poet Anthony Kiedis. The trio soon became inseparable, as Slovak taught Balzary (who around this time was rechristened 'Flea') how to play bass and eventually turned him on to the wonders of rock music via Jimi Hendrix and punk rock. Flea landed the bass playing slot in the confrontational L.A. punk band Fear by the early '80s, but decided to form a band with Slovak on guitar Kiedis on vocals, and another friend, Jack Irons, on drums. The band eventually became the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and automatically attracted a large following in California, with their explosive, high-energy stage show.

The Peppers eventually signed to EMI/Capitol, issuing a string of albums that expanded their fanbase with each subsequent release, eventually leading to their big commercial breakthrough with their aforementioned 1991 multi-platinum hit, Blood Sugar Sex Magik (their first for Warner Bros.) The band didn't have an easy ride however, suffering the drug overdose and death of Slovak in 1988, and a subsequent revolving door of guitarists, but the Peppers have remained one of rock's most popular and enduring bands. In addition to his duties with the R.H.C.P., Flea has dabbled in acting -- including cameos in such popular flicks as Back to the Future Pts. II and III, My Own Private Idaho, The Big Lebowski, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, amongst others. And due to his musical versatility, Flea has also become a much in-demand session musician, appearing on such albums as Mick Jagger's Wandering Spirit, Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill, Johnny Cash's Unchained, Jewel's Spirit, and Porno for Pyros' Good God's Urge.

Queen: Rock Montreal & Live Aid DVD Music review by R. David Smola

In Late 1981, Queen was huge worldwide. They had topped the singles and album charts in the States, conquered the UK singles, albums and video charts, and played for over 131,000 people in Brazil. They were at their worldwide commercial apex. This release features a film released originally in 1984 as “We Will Rock You.” According to the commentary included by Roger Taylor and Brian May, the band was quite aggravated with the director and cameramen. Freddie Mercury especially felt as if the cameras were intruding on him. Queen recently won control of the product and, in typical Queen fashion, built a better airplane. In the original film, some of the music did not match the visuals (they were mixing audio from one night with video from the other), and they really cleaned up the picture. The film looks fantastic, if you can stand the ‘80s fashions, particularly of the audience. It also sounds fantastic. It’s raw -- four musicians doing everything, with no additional musicians or tricks. Later, Queen added a full-time keyboardist to the road show, but here it is just the four original members, blasting out tracks from their catalogue through The Game.

If anyone doubted their brilliance as a unit, the Montreal footage should put that to rest. Sinewy versions of “We Will Rock You (Fast),” “I’m in Love With My Car,” and “Keep Yourself Alive” are joined by the beautiful balladry of “Save Me,” an underrated track from The Game. “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” and “Another One Bites the Dust” get excellent workouts, as does “Somebody to Love.” Unfortunately, two tracks from the “Flash Gordon” soundtrack didn’t make the film, but are available on the CD. A lot of music these days is created with studio wizardry and tricks; Queen, in contrast, could pull off most of the stuff they did on album in front of an audience. Obviously, the operatic middle section of “Bohemian Rhapsody” is re-created from tape, but everything else is live without a net. What a frontman Freddie was, and Brian May, while perhaps not the greatest technician, but has a feel and a unique signature that puts him in the company of the great rock guitarists.

Additionally, their 20-minute-plus awe-inspiring performance at Live Aid is included. There were some tremendous performances at that concert in 1985, but I would argue that this one stole the show. Later that night, Freddie and Brian came out and did “Is this the World We Created” from The Works. Considering the occasion, the performance and song were quite poignant. The video and audio from Live Aid isn’t as strong as the Montreal concert footage, but the performance is absolutely superb. They blast through “Hammer to Fall,” “Radio Ga Ga,” and “We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions.” They were on their game that day, and this only confirms their status as one of the greatest live bands of all time. Bonus features include some rehearsal footage (with rehearsal audio) intercut with a pre-Live Aid interview and a 1982 fluff piece from an American TV show called “PM Magazine.” This is a monstrous live band, and this release absolutely confirms it in blazing fashion. Long Live (the) Queen!

Testament - The Gathering review by Chad Bowar

With their first new studio CD in nearly ten years set to hit the shelves in 2008, Testament fans are eager to hear what they have to offer. In the meantime, Prosthetic Records have remastered and are re-releasing Demonic and The Gathering.

Their last studio CD prior to this year, 1999's The Gathering was a welcome return to form. This was one of Testament's strongest lineups, with vocalist Chuck Billy, guitarists Eric Peterson and James Murphy (Death), bassist Steve DiGiorgio (Death) and drummer Dave Lombardo (Slayer). It saw Testament incorporating more of their thrash metal roots with faster songs and some shredding solos.

In addition to thrash, there were modern metal influences and traces of the death metal grooves from 1997's Demonic. The songwriting is really strong on this album with razor sharp riffs and focused, yet memorable hooks. The musicianship is also excellent with the rhythm section of DiGiorgio and Lombardo providing the rock solid foundation that allows Peterson and Murphy the freedom to strut their stuff.

Billy's vocals are also improved. He shows a lot more range and diversity than on the previous album and showcases everything from melodic singing to aggressive yells to death metal growls. At one time it appeared that The Gathering would be Testament's swan song, and if it was it would have been a strong one. But fans have a whole new era of Testament to look forward to.

(released January 8, 2008)

Dillinger Escape Plan - Ire Works review by Chad Bowar,

With a Dillinger Escape Plan CD, you expect technical and complex mathcore/grindcore. Ire Works delivers that in spades. It's DEP's angriest album yet, and this is a group with a lot to be angry about. Health problems, drummer Chris Pennie quitting the band to join Coheed and Cambria (he was replaced by Gil Sharone from Stolen Babies) and a few other issues left the future of the band in doubt.

The brutality begins with the opening track "Fix Your Face," which features a guest appearance from the band's former vocalist Dimitri Minakakis. But Dillinger Escape Plan shows they are about a lot more than technicality and anger. Songs like "Black Bubblegum" are as mainstream as the band has ever done, with melodic vocals and a catchy, radio-friendly chorus.

In addition to the melodic songs and the mathcore/grindcore tracks, DEP also explores a more experimental and eclectic side with jazzy, electronica influenced instrumentals and songs. Greg Puciato's screaming ability has never been questioned, and his melodic singing is more than capable. In addition to Puciato and Minakakis, Mastodon's Brent Hinds lends his talents to the song "Horse Hunter."

Dillinger Escape Plan will always draw criticism from fans who want them to sound exactly like they did on their early CDs, but they've evolved, matured and have a lot of different members in 2007. Ire Works is a diverse and extremely engaging album with creative songwriting and great musicianship.

Factors To Consider In Buying A Sound Card (by: Daniel Travers)

Computers are stepping in the multimedia entertainment zone more and more each year. They have begun to take over from the video player, the stereo, the karaoke machine and the television.

The motherboard of a computer comes with a basic sound component but because of the nature of the tasks involved these computers need higher quality components when it comes to sound and video cards.

Digital format

Before the eighties all audio was analog but with the advent of CDs on the market, the digital format began to take over. All information from a computer is digital including the audio. In order to hear a song it must be changed into an analog signal. Although there are attempts to improve the quality, the digital format has gaps in its information due to conversion.

An average CD contains 44.1 KHZ per 16 bits. That is every analog signal makes up one step and there are 44100 steps every second. The steps are given a number. This number ranges up to 16 bits (65536). A DVD has about 96khz at 16 bits and a DVD audio has 192 khz at 24 bits.

The digital audio is changed into analog using the Digital Audio Converter or DAC

The quality of the DAC is one of the determining factors when buying a sound card.

Types of Audio Cards

The motherboard has a sound processor called the AC 97. It can support a DVD at 96 kHz, 16 bits six channels but the quality is lacking. The sound is noisy and cannot support more complex applications.

It is better to get an external sound card that can be inserted into a PCI slot on the motherboard. The card you select will depend on the function it serves. If you want to watch DVD’s a basic card will suffice. If you are looking for something that will help you record music, or add a microphone you will probably need something more sophisticated and if you are a professional musician or video editor it would be best to get a card with multitrack recording and high sound quality.

What to look for

Take a look at the specifications of a sound card to find more about its quality. One number to take not of is the S/N or signal to noise ratio. This is the ratio between the audio sounds versus the background noise in a room. The higher this ratio is, the better the sound card quality. This number is measured in decibels (db). A db of 90 is good and for the professional it should be more than 100db.

The number of channels a sound card supports can be important. They can come in configurations of 5.1, 6.1, and 7.1. The first number indicates the number of satellite speakers you can place near the computer and the .1 is the subwoofer channel which is for low frequency sounds.

For those who are looking at professional grade sound cards, the input amount is important. A basic sound card has one for each stereo pair but a professional sound card will allow for ten.

Price

Prices vary; you can get a poor quality basic card for ten dollars. Most of the better cards are at least fifty dollars and if you are a professional the cards you are looking for can be four hundred dollars or more.

Understanding Surround Sound Systems ( by: Mitchell Medford)

Surround sound is the concept of expanding the spatial imaging of audio playback from 1 dimension (mono/Left-Right) to two or three dimensions. It is often employed for a more realistic audio environment, actively implemented in cinema sound systems, technical theatre, home entertainment, video arcades, computer gaming, and a growing number of other applications. Many popular surround sound formats have evolved over the years. They include ambisonics, quadraphonic, Dolby 5.1 Surround sound, DTS, and MP3 Surround.

Surround sound can be created using several methods. The simplest to understand uses several speakers around the listener to play audio coming from different directions. Another approach involves processing the audio using psychoacoustic sound localization methods to simulate a 3D sound field using headphones. The third approach, wave field synthesis, uses a very large number of speakers to generate the "audio hologram" of the original audio in the whole room (as of 2004 the only commercial implementation of this is Iosono). Surround sound is not limited to placement of speakers along a flat (2-dimensional) plane. Vertically-located audio sources can be considered.

Dolby Digital (DD) uses the AC-3 file format, which any Dolby Digital Decoder can decode to produce 5.1 audio. Dolby Digital is the technical name for Dolby's multi-channel digital sound coding technique, more commonly referred to as Dolby 5.1. A six-channel sound coding process originally created by Dolby for theaters, AC-3 was subsequently adapted for home use and is now steadily becoming the most common sound format for DVD.

Six discrete audio channels:

•3 for speakers at the front - left (L), center (C), and right (R)

•2 for surround speakers at the side or rear - surround left (SL) and surround right (SR)

•1 low-frequency effects (LFE) channel carries supporting deep bass sound effects, ranging from 10 Hz to 120 Hz, which can for example be used by a subwoofer. (This is the '.1' in '5.1'.)

DTS is an encode/decode process that delivers 5.1 channels of "master quality" audio on CD, CD-R, and DVD. Each DTS encoded disc represents a sonic "clone" of the original film soundtrack.

The difference between Dolby Digital (AC-3) and DTS is:

•DTS provides a deeper and tighter low frequency presence

•DTS allows the sound to breath - transparency

•AC-3 leaves the impression that something is missing from the mix

•At lower bit-rate AC-3 starts to sound like MP3's encoded at a low-quality 96kbps (artifacts)

DTS is more three dimensional. The sound actually moved forward from the individual speakers to sound more full. This fullness was most apparent with the music. Instead of simply coming from the speakers, the DTS filled the front soundstage not only side to side, but with more depth as well. Bass reproduction was also more defined in the DTS version, leaving the DD edition sounding muddy.

Dolby Digital incorporates dialog normalization, which alters the decoded level of the soundtrack. The typical setting reduces level by 4 dB; other reduction levels are possible. In most decoders, this leads to a reduction in signal-to-noise and dynamic range.

Dolby Digital also provides a "stereo down mixing" feature as a substitute for a dedicated stereo mix. However, many production engineers have admitted that they often have to modify the original 5.1 mixes in order to attain acceptable stereo down mixes. Therefore, the 5.1 mix on many Dolby Digital DVDs may differ from the original master.

5.1 Surround Sound Headphones:

While the traditional method of surround sound described above uses numerous speakers to produce the entire sound field, the surround sound mix is limited to a two-channel stereo mix when using headphones. That is why recent developments in surround sound technology include 5.1 surround sound headphones, to allow you to have the same sound quality and surround sound experience without waking the neighbors or disturbing roommates.

So You Want To Play Bass Guitar? (by: Carlie Marriott)

The bass guitar is both the pivot and the drive of many pop, rock and jazz groups. Most times the bass is what holds it all together, but then sometimes it just emerges from the mix and seems to pulse through your whole body. The bass is one of the most emotive instruments around.

While the bass is versatile, the instrument tends to take a backseat in a group. Few group leaders play the bass. Take Paul McCartney, who's a bassist predominantly. Also, Thin Lizzy's Phil Lynott covered bass duties and Level 42's Mark King is the singer and bassist. However, these examples defy the rule. The role of the bass guitar in a band in comparison to a regular guitar is very different since most bass guitars are never heard solo, except for a few short breaks or in jazz arrangements. One reason why bass guitar solos are rare is that most folk singer voices rarely blend will with just the bass sound.

Offering an exact explanation for preferring a bass guitar is very difficult for most players. Still, lots of bassplayers are quick to ID their favorite bassists since so many great players have influenced their style. One player often mentioned is The Who's John Entwistle who has led many bass solos. Bassist and lead band member Jack Bruce of Cream is another frequently mentioned top bass player. Eric Clapton, another famous guitarist, has recorded with Cream. Red Hot Chili Pepper's Flea, Adam Clayton of U2, and (sometimes vocalists, sometimes bass player) Geddy Lee of Rush are other bassist popular with young players. On top of some lists for their funkier bass playing style are Bootsy Collins and Donald "Duck" Dunn.

These examples of fine bass players are just a sampling of some great artists who've inspired many men and women to pick up the bass and to influence their techniques. As with any instrument, if you truly want to be good, you first have to love the sound (as played by the greats, which isn't you just yet). Not only that, you also have to appreciate the music created by the bass. These starting points and examples of great players just scratch the surface. Many more great players come from the Jazz world and deserve exploration, especially the greats from early modern Jazz.

This is the point where you get to begin playing. It's child's play to get the notes from an electric bass since basic bass playing is mostly single-note action. For this reason, bass is considered one of the easier instruments to play. So, even though it doesn't take a lot to get down the basics, it does take a lot of practice (like with anything) to make it sound great. In order to progress in playing the bass, you have to not only grasp the fundamentals but also possess an instinctive ability to keep time. This is why it's so important to begin bass playing with a great teacher so your technique doesn't suffer. If finding a teacher is out of the question, then get your hands on lots of books and study their instructions so you can work on your style. Above all else, observe other bassists whenever you can and listen to their music. Then, listen to more music. And, then, listen some more...

Learning How to Play the Guitar - Obstacles and Solutions ( by: Scott Brooks)

Recent years have brought about the addition of so many musical styles and as a result, many people want to learn how to play guitar. Unfortunately, most of these want-to-be guitar-playing hopefuls who lost sleep over the idea of playing all their favorite riffs never make it past learning three chords. As a guitarists myself, I know the challenges of learning to play an instrument. I also know how to overcome most of these challenges. In this article I will be addressing a few challenges to learning the guitar and their solutions.

1. Learning to play guitar takes hard work.

The only place that success comes before hard work is in the dictionary. No matter how much God-given ability you have, you are not exempt from hard work. If you really want to learn how to play the guitar or any instrument for that matter, except for maybe the Kazoo, you must develop a habit of practicing. It takes the average person 21 days to develop a new habit. One thing that will help is to set aside a certain time everyday to practice and stick to this schedule even when you don't feel like it. Don't just plan on finding time to fit in a practice because it will never happen. You must schedule a 30 to 60 minute block of time each day. If you already have a full schedule, you may have to quit something else. It really just depends on how badly you desire to learn how to play and how much you are willing to sacrifice to accomplish this goal.

2. Learning to play guitar means sore fingers.

During the first few weeks of learning to play guitar, your fingers will be quite sore until you have developed calluses on your fingertips. This is an unavoidable reality of learning to play guitar and many people unfortunately quit due to soreness. The great news is that it's only temporary considering you are practicing regularly. The more you practice, the sooner your fingers will stop hurting.

3. Learning to play guitar requires playing songs and chord progressions you may not enjoy.

Most people want to learn guitar because they were inspired by someone or by some really cool riff. Unfortunately, most of the songs you love and desire to play are just out of your league in the beginning. You must first take the time to learn many basic fundamentals like chords, simple chord progressions and scales before you can tackle your favorite solos. Many people quit trying to learn guitar because they are so bored with the basics. Most worth-while endeavors in life will require the discipline necessary to endure the baby steps. One thing that will help you endure these baby steps is to keep the vision in front of you. Keep thinking about that really awesome riff that you will be able to play one day. Remember that you have to crawl before you can walk.

4. Learning guitar requires good teaching.

There are some good guitar instructors and some bad ones. Before spending your hard-earned money on just any person who claims that he or she can teach you to play guitar, check this person out. It's a good idea to ask for references. A good teacher should be able to provide these for you. Another option, and certainly a cheaper one, is to teach yourself via books and videos. Some of the best guitarists I know were self-taught. If you are a self-motivated type of person, I would highly recommend this latter option to you. There is a plethora of resources to help you learn how to play guitar.

Playing guitar is very fun and rewarding; however it will take hard work and patience. If you really desire to play, keep dreaming about playing your favorite song or riff and keep this vision in front of you. This goal will keep you motivated and determined on those days that you just don't feel like practicing. If you have been dreaming of playing the guitar, go for your dreams. There is no better time than the present.

The History of the Electric Guitar ( by: Paul Smith)

When most people think of electric guitars, they think of rock music. But electric guitars are more versatile than you’d think. You can find them in jazz, blues, country music, New-Age compositions, and even contemporary classical pieces. Electric guitars are intimately associated with many famous musicians of the twentieth century—and may be the iconic musical instrument of our time.

The demand for electric guitars came during the Big Band Era in the 20’s and 30’s. The big brass bands of the time were very loud, and other instruments had to be artificially amplified to stand up to their powerful sound. Performers experimented with attaching microphones to acoustic guitars. The first manufactured electric guitars were made in 1931 by the Electro String Instrument Corporation.

The first time an electric guitar is known to have been used in performance was in 1932. Bandleader Gage Brewer of Wichita, Kansas, received two electric guitars directly through Electro String Instruments, possibly for publicity purposes. Brewer wrote about the guitars in an article in the Wichita Beacon before the performance.

The earliest known recording of an electric guitar performance was produced in 1938. George Barnes, a jazz guitarist, recorded two songs with the guitar, called “It’s a Lowdown Dirty Shame” and “Sweetheart Land.”

The earliest electric guitars were essentially hollow-bodied acoustic guitars equipped with Tungsten pickups. The problem with hollow-body electric guitars is that the hollow space within the guitar produces vibrations when the strings are plucked or strummed. These vibrations account for the unique tone of an acoustic guitar, but they produce harsh feedback when they interact with the pickups in an electric guitar. Early electric guitar players used to stuff rags and newspapers into their hollow-body instruments in an attempt to get rid of the feedback.

One of the earlier solid-body guitars was an aluminium instrument known as the “Frying Pan” or “Pancake Guitar.” These guitars were said to have produced a sound similar to that of modern electric guitars.

Several other well-known luthiers experimented with solid-body guitars during the early history of the electric guitar. In 1940, during his time at Gibson Guitars, Les Paul attempted a solid-body instrument called the “log guitar,” so called because it was a simple post equipped with neck, strings, and pickups.

The electric guitar did not hit commercial success until the 1950’s, when Fender released its first solid-body model: the Esquire. The Esquire was followed by the Telecaster and finally, in 1954, the Stratocaster. The “Strat” was hailed in professional musical and luthier circles alike, and became a signature instrument of such famous musicians as Jimi Hendrix, George Harrison, David Gilmour, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, and many others.

The electric guitar produced an aggressive sound very different from the melodic and lyrical tones of its ancestor, the acoustic. The sound of the electric guitar became characteristic of rock and roll in the 60’s and 70’s. It was a high-profile instrument during this time, appearing on stage with hundreds of famous bands and musicians.

This created demand among the general public for affordable electric guitars. In the 60’s and 70’s, electric guitars were very expensive—too pricey for a buyer who wasn’t a famous musician. Although some companies attempted to fill the gap with cheap imitations, the sound of these guitars did not compare to the real thing.

It wasn’t until the 1980’s that Japanese manufacturers stepped forward with affordable electric guitars capable of professional-quality sound. This put pressure on American companies such as Gibson and Fender to provide their own affordable lines. Electric guitars became more and more successful in the consumer market as quality improved, and prices went down as new manufacturers entered the market. Soon, electric guitars were more accessible than they had ever been.

Today, the electric guitar is one of the most prolific instruments in popular music. You can find it in a wide variety of genres, from metal to New Age. You can also buy an electric guitar like the rock stars have—without paying the prices they pay. Because it’s so common in contemporary music and in the hands of amateur musicians, there’s little doubt that the electric guitar is one of the most successful instruments of the twentieth century.

Simple Steps to Better Guitar Tone (by: Beth Miller)

Great guitar tone is something that every guitarist wants. The quest for tone is one of the biggest reasons guitar players drop so much money on amplifiers and effects.

If you've found yourself spending a lot of money lately on various 'sound tweaking' gadgets, take note: the solution to your sound problems just might be closer (and cheaper) than you think!

Whether you want killer distortion or country-twang, the secret of great tone begins with a pure, clean signal.

In other words, no matter how many effects you intend to use, you've got to make sure the basic, unadulterated “dry signal” coming through your amp sounds just as good as anything else.

The reason for this is simple: every effect you add to that signal brings in a little bit of noise. So, you need to start with as clean a signal as possible so that the cumulative impact of noise and signal degradation from your effects is kept to a minimum.

The first step here is as easy as proper maintenance of your guitar. Not only do you need to keep your strings fresh, and your neck in alignment, you also need to eliminate any sources of buzz or hum coming from faulty cords or poor electrical wiring in your pickups or input jack.

The second step is to run the same maintenance check on your amplifier. Now, the fact is, some amps are just noisier than others. If you can find nothing physically wrong with your amp, it may just be that you need to do upgrades for better tone.

For example, your amp's factory-installed speakers are probably not top-of-the-line. In the case of tube amps, especially, this can make a HUGE difference.

Along similar lines, you might also consider upgrading your tubes and/or the transistors used in the pre-amp stage.

Why?

Because your amp's sound is greatly influenced by the way each of these components responds to the guitar signal. Cheap parts have a slower dynamic response, and can also add unwanted coloration to the signal. This is one reason why some amps will sound great at a lower volume, but start to break up and distort as soon as you turn things up.

Last, but not least, take a look at the effects pedals you currently have in your arsenal. Maybe you've purchased 2 or 3 different distortion pedals, for example, in an elusive quest for that perfect 'crunch'?

There's nothing wrong with owning multiple pedals for the same type of effect; but, if you still aren't getting the sound you desire, it could be that you need to add something very basic into the mix, like an EQ pedal.

A good EQ pedal will allow you to shape which frequencies are emphasized. You can, for example, cut the mid-range for a heavier tone, or boost the highs so that your treble notes punch through.

Try mixing and matching EQ and Volume pedals in different places along your effects chain in order to boost or limit the characteristics of other effects. You'll be amazed how many different sounds you can create with a little experimentation!