Guitar Pic of the Week: Trapped

For a larger version of this photo click here. You can also check out erikrasmussen's photo of the miniature musician

PRS Guitar Contest

Head on over to PRS Guitar's "Be an Instant Star" contest page. You can enter a video performance of yourself playing guitar and possibly end up with some big time promotion. Or more specifically:

"BE AN INSTANT STAR AND WIN A PRS GUITAR

Do you dream of being discovered and being an instant star? How about being featured on a DVD set that thousands of people will buy? Enter the “Be an Instant Star!” contest and win all of this plus a PRS SE Singlecut guitar and a script signed by the cast of The N network’s hit show “Instant Star.”

One lucky winner will have their video performance featured on the “Instant
Star” season 2 DVD in addition to receiving seasons 1 and 2 “Instant Star” box
sets, seasons 1 and 2 “Instant Star” sound tracks, a Paul Reed Smith SE
Singlecut guitar and a cast-autographed official “Instant Star” show script.

Enter the “Be an Instant Star!” contest by filling out the official contest
entry form and uploading three to five minutes of video footage showing you at
your musical best (music video, live performance, you and your buddies in the
garage-original music only) by July 8th. Video performances will be judged based
on the following: originality, stage presence, videography, creativity, music
style and vocal talent."

Ask a Teacher: Acoustic vs. Electric

Bill: Is it a good idea to practice with both the acoustic and electric guitar at the same time? Or, should I concentrate on one or the other. I am not an experienced player, but I am not a total beginner, either

The reason why I ask is because I find that playing the acoustic guitar has a different feeling than the electric guitar I have. And, going back and forth seems to be harder than staying on one guitar. Or, is it good for my development to go back and forth?

Also, when I try to play songs that I like that famous singers have made (like Vince Gill, etc) the quality of the sound I get out of the electric guitar isn’t as good as the recordings. Is that because the amp that I’m using is a cheap amp (I just have a small student amp)? Also, would buying a pedal improve the sound quality?

Peter Vogl: A bunch of good questions here. It is fine to work on both guitars learning the touch required to play both. Using a good tube amp is the first step to good tone. Guys like Vince Gill are also using a compressor pedal, sometimes a delay pedal, and at times a chorus. You can buy them in one good multi effect if you like. Remember they are going through super expensive processing in the recordings you are listening to. The mixing board alone could very well be worth a million dollars. Best of luck.

Guitar Solos Quiz

MentalFloss.com has created a guitar solo quiz so you can test your rock knowledge. Just listen to the .mp3 clip and match it up with song name. It's not terribly hard, but it's always good to be reminded of some of the best guitar solos ever.