Truefire has a post featuring some helpful tips for recording your guitar with a digital audio workstation. The article is written by Rich Tozzoli who has apparently done a fair amount of work creating the audio for commercials. Here is an excerpt:

"7. Split 'em up
One great way to get maximum flexibility on your recorded tracks is to split the guitar’s signal on the way into the DAW. Using a splitter, or even a pedal with two outputs, you can run one clean signal directly into the computer and one to an amp for miking. Send the signals to separate tracks. Once the two tracks are in the can, you can add a processor/plug-in on the clean channel and blend it with your amp sound for a thicker, nastier tone. And what could be better than that?"

- Sure I can name a couple types of moustaches off the top of my head: the "handlebar", "fu manchu", etc. But you really need an extensive list to correctly describe the variety of moustaches out there. Luckily Thumbarella has found this ukulele featuring drawings of different soup strainers all over the body of the instrument. On the "Illustrated Guide to the Moustaches of the World" ukulele you'll find the "the sad cowboy", "the imperial", and "the Shirley Temple". In addition to the moustaches the head of the instrument has the following quote:

"There are three kinds of man you must never trust: a man who hunts south of the Thames, a man who has soup for lunch; and a man who waxes his moustache." -Sir James Richards

- Guitar Noize has come across a helpful Mac application for guitarists. Capo lets you pinpoint sections of songs you're trying to learn. You can then listen to that section on loop and even at different speeds.

- Guitar Research has compiled a list of the 50 Greatest Guitar Albums. The list is a little heavy on the metal for my taste but it's definitely a good selection of material if you're trying to find good and fun guitar parts to play.

We have over 150 free video lessons online, but it's no substitute for hiring an actual instructor. And what's better than hiring an actual instructor? Getting a free one. And that's exactly what Billy Farmer does as the Gig Harbor Farmer's Market every Saturday.

"Farmer was spurred on to give guitar lessons when he had a young student drop out of one of his classes because he couldn’t afford the lessons.

“That’s just the tip of the iceberg,” he said. “For every one that you see, there’s a whole bunch of other kids that would like to learn but can’t afford it.”

That’s a sad scenario, Farmer said, because a lot of the children who want to learn have talent.

“I am able to see it right away,” he said. “It’s like turning on a light switch. Then you see the whole self-esteem thing, and it just goes from there.”

Well that's just awesome. I immediately thought of parents having something to distract their kids while they shop. But helping kids in a situation that couldn't otherwise afford it is a great thing.

- Flatpicking Lesson on Tennessee Wagoner featuring tab and .mp3

- Six tips on buying guitars at garage sales or at pawn shops. Most pawn shops are internet savvy at this point, but garage sales can still be a good bargain.

- And the tale of someone who struck guitar gold at a garage sale. Crazy, crazy, crazy amount of guitar gold.

- The New York Times has a simplistic but fairly neat flash graphic showing the design process of a Martin guitar.

- Somone in Atlanta posts a Craig's List guitar lesson ad with a twist. The lessons are free for women who agree to be topless during the lesson. But not just any women: "Also, the free/topless offer only goes for attractive, not overly fat females. Seeing fat girls topless does not make my day better. Fat girls are welcome to take guitar lessons, but you have to pay just like any dudes." I'm assuming he doesn't get much of a response.

A few cool links from Gibson:

- Video lesson on learning how to play the guitar riff from Green Onions. You may not recognize the name of the song but you'll recognize the tune of this instrumental from the 60's.

- A gear guide on recreating Wilco's live sound. If you haven't been keeping up with Wilco, there music has taken a guitar heavy turn with the addition of Nels Cline. Their last album "Sky Blue Sky" has at times a Grateful Dead/Phish type jam band sound. But with fuzzier guitars. Check the performance of "You Are My Face" below. It's starts off mellow and then kicks it up a notch.

Guitar Lifestyle found an old BBC video (below) of Eric Clapton explaining how he makes the "woman tone" that he used on Sunshine of Your Love and other tunes. Gibson.com also has an article on the same subject:

"Zeroing in on “Woman Tone” isn’t rocket science. That would be easier. There’d be a precise formula that would work for everyone, and no mojo factor. Nonetheless, a powerful neck-position pickup is essential. Start by turning your guitar’s tone dials all the way off. Next, place the pickup selector switch in the middle position. Now roll the bridge pickup’s volume to about six or seven, and crank the neck pickup all the way up to 10.

Amp choice is crucial too, although a carefully selected high-quality distortion pedal can turn some tiny practice rigs into snarling monsters. Clapton used heavy artillery: a Marshall 50-watt head through a 4x12 cabinet with 25-watt Celestion greenback speakers running full out – volume, bass, midrange and treble all set on 10. And while an electronic amplifier – especially one that emulates tube distortion – can get the job done, one of “Woman Tone’s” key elements is the smooth, creamy distortion that only tubes provide."

The Guitar Site has the lowdown on the Heineken Beer Keg amp. Sadly I don't think it actually contains any beer.

On Tuesday the music blog Stereogum hosted Death Cab for Cutie as guest bloggers. If you're a Death Cab fan you can find all of the posts here. But any musician should find the following two posts entertaining.

Quit Your Day Job: Drummer Jason McGerr and bassist Nick Harmer discuss the jobs they had before becoming full time musicians. Jason worked in construction and then as an instructor at an interesting music school. Nick worked with the Tacoma Sanitation Department. Read the article for gory descriptions of the pitfalls and also the highlights of both jobs.

"It's amazing how much more of a student I became when I was teaching that much. Going over really basic fundamentals everyday for hours on end. It was like simple stretching that eventually allowed for total flexibility. Consider that my job was to get someone to do achieve a goal every time they sat down. Or, to feel comfortable and inspired, even embarrassed, no matter what their abilities may be. Sometimes a kid would come in just want to talk for a half hour before picking up the sticks and I'd be totally cool with that. Again, this was more or less the attitude at the school and the reason I did what I did for so long."

Playing Chops vs. Mental Chops: Most importantly, this post contains a youtube video of Animal from the Muppets in a drum showdown vs. Buddy Rich. But I also enjoyed this insight:

"On the stage setting, a musician is usually only susceptible to a taxed mind at the start of the show. Once he or she gets going though, they usually level out and begin to focus and enjoy themselves. When it comes to the recording studio, I sometimes find it to be the opposite. A player can be really optimistic and clear at the beginning of the day but may tire after several attempts of the same song, which means thinking about it too much, and eventually their performance suffers."

The Black Cab Sessions is a British website where they make a music video by recording a band playing a song while riding around London in a cab. What transpires is usually a stripped down version of the song and some real genuine moments. They've done over 40 sessions at the point and featured some bigger names like The National, Spoon, The New Pornographers, and The Raveonettes. They've also featured some bands that I wasn't as familiar with. One of those artists is Seasick Steve. A raw and gritty acoustic bluesman. After watching this video I went to youtube and found several clips from his appearances on the Jools Holland show. And I gotta say, Seasick Steve is thoroughly entertaining. Check out his Black Cab Session below...




If you wanna learn how to play some acoustic blues licks check out our Acoustic Blues: Intros & Endings lesson by Jody Worrell.

Thanks to the IG Blog we came across this post by Dave Jacoby. It's Chapter 2 in his series on how to not suck at guitar. The basic idea is to occasionally pick out a popular tune and try to figure out how to play that tune on the guitar. It's easy to fall into a habit of only practicing technique and speed and forgetting about understanding the guitar. It's certainly quicker to do a google search and pull up the tab for a favorite song. And there's nothing wrong with that, but some of my favorite practice sessions have been either intentionally or semi-accidentally figuring out how to play a song. Dave suggested Happy Birthday, the IG Blog went with the 007 Theme and then recorded it. Try your own. I like the theme song idea. How about the Jeopardy theme?

I'm not sure who is responsible for this list of amp settings for popular songs and guitarists but it's a cool collection. Here are a couple of examples:

JIMI HENDRIX - PURPLE HAZE

drive at 8
treble at 7
mid at 9
bass at 6
reverb at 3
with overdrive

SULTANS OF SWING SETTINGS

presence at 4
treble at 5
nid at 5
bass at 5
reverb 2/3
master at 10

ERIC CLAPTON

gain at 7
treble at 5
mid at 7
bass at 7
presence at 8


We have our own series of lessons that will teach you how to play like the guitar greats. Check out our Mark Knopfler Style Lesson to get that Sultans of Swing sound or you can learn a few Eric Clapton Style Blues Turnarounds

First we have an iPhone guitar tuner web app. Which basically works more like a tuning fork than a tuner. But I guess in a pinch this could come in handy outdoors somewhere.

We came across the next video thanks to iphonenewsblog. There's apparently a web app for the iPhone that simulates a guitar. You get all six string and a few frets to play with. You use one hand to simulate strumming or plucking and the other hand to fret the notes. It even can simulate slides.

The Mad Stratter tips us off to this anonymously written list of ways that guitars are better than women.

# Guitars don’t get pregnant.
# You can play your guitar any time of the month.
# Guitars don’t have parents.
# Guitars don’t whine… unless you want them to.
# You can share your guitar with your friends.
# Guitars don’t care how many other guitars you’ve played
# Guitars don’t care how many other guitars you have.
# Guitars don’t care if you look at other guitars.
# Guitars don’t care if you buy guitar magazines.
# You’ll never hear, “Surprise, you are going to proud father of a new guitar!” unless you go out to buy one yourself.
# If your guitar is flat you can fix it.
# Your guitar doesn’t care if you never listen to it.
# Your guitar won’t care if you leave up the toilet seat.
# You don’t have to be jealous of the guy who works on your guitar.
# If you say bad things to your guitar, you don’t have to apologize before you play it again.
# You can play your guitar as long as you want and it won’t get sore.
# You can stop playing your guitar as soon as you want and it won’t get frustrated.
# Your parents won’t remain in touch with your old guitar after you dump it.
# Guitars don’t get headaches.
# Guitars don’t insult you if you’re a bad player.
# Your guitar never wants a night out with the other guitars.
# Guitars don’t care if you’re late.
# You don’t have to take a shower before you play your guitar.
# If your guitar doesn’t look good you can refinish it or get new parts.
# You can play your guitar the first time you meet it, without having to take it to dinner, see a movie, or meet its mother.
# The only protection you have to wear when playing your guitar is a decent thumb pick.
# When in mixed company, you can talk about what a great time you had the last time you played your guitar.

And the Guitar Site directs our attention to Grover Allman's Chicks on Picks series. Which may be not safe for work since it features scantily clad women on guitar picks.

I'm not sure I'll believe it until I use one, but Gibson claims to have a self tuning guitar. Surely it can't be this easy?

"Simply activate your guitar’s Master-Control Knob (MCK), strum the strings lightly, and within seconds the Powertune’s digital brain and Powerhead tuners work together to put you perfectly in tune. Or to achieve any open or alternate tuning, rotate the MCK to the desired preset, strum, and you’re ready to play in Open E, Dropped D, Double Dropped D, DADGAD, Open G, Hendrix Tuning (half-step down), or any of your own custom tunings. In the time it takes you to say, “Hello, Cleveland—we think you’re gonna like this next one…” you’re back in tune, and ready to rock."

The article also takes some jabs at Fender's attempt at creating a self tuning guitar.

Which also leads us to the news that Gibson has retooled their site with a more entertaining approach. When you now head to Gibson.com you are given the choice of heading towards "Products" or "Lifestyle". The Products section gives you what you'd expect from a guitar manufacturer website. From the lifestyle section you'll immediately get a blog like layout, but also choices for interviews, downloads, podcasts,lessons, and more.

- Hometracked.com has an excellent post that includes audio examples of 10 recording bloopers that appear in famous songs.

- Guitar MX has a how to guide on makin your own guitar picks

- Gibson has an interview with Emmylou Harris about music, her guitar, and well... her love of the Atlanta Braves.

- All About Jazz has an interview with guitarist John McLaughlin

- Interesting article on Mel Bay from the Indianapolis Star.

- Mark McGuigan posts his favorite guitar related Youtube videos of the past month. Which includes the video below entitled "Tomatito Bulerias"

The interesting and intriguing picture above is of a guitar made from a cigar box by Daddy Mojo. You can check out their site to learn more about cigar box guitars and even purchase some. You even get your choice of cigar boxes to use for your own custom guitar. Here's an excerpt from their site:

"Skeptics be warned: a Daddy Mojo Cigar Box Guitar is all you need for super fat authentic slide work. Tune it how you want -- we ship most of ours tuned in open G, but you can try E5 or open D for a great Delta Blues vibe or perhaps G6 or C6 for a more laid back Hawaiian feel. There are just loads of variations! Experiment! On a cigar box guitar your technique gets stripped down to a bare-bones simple approach for both chord and melody work, reminding us of the fat sounds of the olden days."

The guitars were originally built in poor rural parts of the country who didn't have access to the money or tools required to build a high quality guitar. To this day it remains a cottage industry that only a select few know about. For a cheaper selection of cigar box guitars and also a few instructional videos check out Blues Boy Jag's cigar box guitar site.

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."

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.

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