Category Archives: gear

Fender Kurt Cobain Jaguar Guitar

February 3, 2012 — Leave a Comment

Fender has struck again. This time at the hearts of early-90s, Nirvana loving guitarists with a penchant for hard rock…the way rock ought to be.

Carefully crafted to exacting precision, they’ve reproduced Kirk Cobain’s “battle-hardened left-handed Jaguar” including all the unusual details and the unique electronics that were on-board when Cobain first acquired the guitar in 1991.

Just some of the unique features included is the Stratocaster® Headstock, the Volume, Volume, Tone Control configuration, Adjusto-matic™ Bridge and Road worn aged finish. All this adds up to a very authentic copy of the axe used by Cobain, the left handed guitarist who “led a musically stunning and culturally subversive movement.”

newsletter28 gear kcjaguar Fender Kurt Cobain Jaguar Guitar

So why would you want a copy of something like this if you want to do more than merely emulate a bygone musical era? I think the reason is two fold. First, inspiration. We take our inspiration from people that have been successful in the past. Perhaps secretly, hoping that some of their magic will rub off on us. Inspiration is quite different to taking something old and making it new. It’s about taking the essence of something old and creating something new with it.

And second, tone. Every guitar ever made has a unique tone because of the natural qualities of wood. A tree, when cut down, continues to ‘live’ as it changes with age. And while each Kurt Cobain Jaguar will have its own unique tone, unable to be replicated by the next one, each one will have within it an aspect of the tone that Cobain made famous.

Yes, there are guitar effects that color a guitars sound, but switch them all off and what you have is something raw. Something stripped back and complete. Something…unique.

Check out the sound of this beauty with BrewersArcade video:

ab4e2097d32a3cfb2d407817c82c42dd Fender Kurt Cobain Jaguar Guitar

Posted by Dan Orr.

Posted in Artists, buying guitars, Electric Guitars, Rock

IK Multimedia VocaLive App

February 3, 2012 — Leave a Comment

We’ve written about IK Multimedia products in the past and they just continue to set the bar for portable recording software for iOS as well as breaking new ground for DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) software.

As previously mentioned, the iRig interface adapter enables guitarists to plug their guitar into their iPhone and not only apply great sounding effects to their guitar via the FREE Amplitube application, but also record those great sounds.

The VocaLive app for iPad is yet another release, following on from the success of the iPhone version and provides a one stop shop for singers or songwriters. Touted as being the “first professional performing and recording vocal processor for iOS”, the app just oozes ease of use and is packed with essential effects to bring to life your next performance.

newsletter30 gear ik vocalive IK Multimedia VocaLive App

It comes with a suite of 5 dedicated vocal effects (pitch correction, choir hamonizer, voice doubler, vocal morpher and de-esser) that can be applied to your voice in real-time along with a further 7 effects specific to vocal processing (reverb, EQ, compressor, delay, envelope filter, chorus, phazer) that can be combined in a 4 processor chain.

The single-track recorder is expandable to a full 8-track recording studio through an in-app purchase which will give song writers plenty of scope to record new and interesting tracks.

For the novice vocalist, there are enough preset functions to enable you to get up and running quickly leaving plenty of room for more advanced features and effects as you become more familiar with the application and confident with your recording.

VocaLive can be used with the iPads in-built microphone, headphones with a built-in mic or IK Media’s very own iRig mic – the first quality hand-held condenser mic for iOS.

As you will see in the following videos, using VocaLive is both easy and fun to use as well as producing really professional sounding recordings.

With the continuing development of technology and the ability for users to create their own music, VocaLive and applications like it place the tools firmly in the hands of the user to capture their own creativity. There’s little wonder that the internet is bursting with quality user content and there are no signs it will slow down. Have you got yours?

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ab4e2097d32a3cfb2d407817c82c42dd IK Multimedia VocaLive App

Posted by Dan Orr.

Posted in computing, guitar effects / pedals, music

Marshall Headphones

February 1, 2012 — 1 Comment

If you’ve had your headphones for as long as I have and they’re only just hanging on by a thread, it might be time for a new pair. Now you have a new problem – having to choose a new pair. Well, for the musically minded, Marshall (yes, the same company that make great amps) has come to the party with their own line of ‘cans’ to keep your music moving when you are.

Taking their style inspiration from their amp selection, the Marshall Major Headphones (in a variety of colors – including eye-popping white) are a stylish set of cans that reproduce your music with pronounced bass and crisp treble.

The earcups are soft, comfortable and fit snugly over most ears letting very little, if any sound out, for less disturbance when in the company of strangers. The head band has the same rugged good looks and bears the same Marshall Texture.

True to vintage stylings, they come with a stretch cord which helps considerably with the portability factor, eliminating the need for the unwieldy, tangle prone alternatives. When it comes time to take them, they’ve been designed to be fully collapsible for easy storage and safe travel.

They also come equipped with an in-line microphone and remote for use with cell phones or Skype calls incorporating the 3.4mm standard. A 6.3 mm adapter comes with the Majors for use with your amplifier, stereo or any sound source requiring a 6.3 mm jack.

Admittedly, you are paying a little extra for the Marshall name on the headphones which doesn’t necessarily correspond to much better sound for your dollar, but if you’re willing to shell out a little extra for great looks, you won’t be disappointed.

If you are looking for someone else’s point of view, check out this great review made by Unboxtherapy.

ab4e2097d32a3cfb2d407817c82c42dd Marshall Headphones

Posted by Dan Orr.

Posted in computing, Guitar Tools, music, recording

ShredNeck

January 31, 2012 — Leave a Comment

If you’ve ever found yourself in a situation where having your guitar with you to practice or warm up on just wasn’t possible, the Shredneck might solve that in future instances. Touted as the ‘ultimate practice and warm up tool for guitarists’ if frees you from the need to have your ‘full sized’ guitar with you at all times.

It’s small enough to tuck into your bag and whip out on the train, bus, at the office, in front of the TV when you have a moment to spare to work on your guitar techniques. Kitted out with strap knobs it also allows you to warm up when gigging so you’re ready to rock when it’s time to go on.

newsletter27 gear shrednecksm ShredNeck

While it does have tuning pegs, they’re not intended to be used like those on a standard guitar. Instead, you use them to alter the string tension to replicate the feel of your guitar in effect allowing you to practice on your guitar without actually having your guitar with you.

This headstock also doubles as the body of the guitar so you can grip the Shredneck, keeping the neck steady while you practice your licks. As you can tell it’s not your usual guitar but with the first 7 frets of a guitar neck, you’ll have plenty to work with.

You can work on your fingering techniques, from those lightning quick lead runs, chords or just simply warming up in anticipation of playing your ‘real’ guitar. However, it’s not really set up for working on your picking technique as there is no place to pick the strings in the same way you would on a standard sized guitar.

The guys at Shredneck are passionate guitarists and as such don’t make claims as to any medical benefits of using the Shredneck – as other ‘hand exercisers do’. Instead they see it as the closest thing to playing the guitar without actually playing the guitar. With the ability to always have a guitar on hand, you can continually work on your playing techniques to increase your effectiveness when it comes time to play the real thing.

Check out this video to see Sonny Lombardozzi run through some exercises he uses on the Shredneck to stay primed.

ab4e2097d32a3cfb2d407817c82c42dd ShredNeck

Posted by Dan Orr.

Posted in Artists, Guitar Tools, guitar zen, learning

Harmonic Capo

January 24, 2012 — Leave a Comment

If you’re into alternate tunings and experimenting with new and interesting sounds on your guitar, then you’ll love the Harmonic Capo created by Bob Kilgore. Unlike a regular capo that presses the strings down at the desired fret effectively changing the placement of the nut, the Harmonic Capo gently rests on the strings.

newsletter26 gear bobkilgore hc Harmonic Capo

The effect is what you would get if you lightly placed your finger over the strings at a harmonic node and struck the strings. The most common and strongest harmonic nodes are at the 5th, 7th and 12th frets (and 17th if you can reach it).

Also, unlike conventional capos that allow you to only play in-front of where the capo is placed, the harmonic capo, allows you to play both in-front and behind the capo opening up a whole range of possibilities worth exploring.

The harmonic capo works in tandem with open tunings such as open C (Low to high: CGCGBE) open G tuning (low to high: DGDGBD) or open D tuning or DADGAD. With an open chord being played with no fingers being placed on the fretboard, this enables you to explore different melodic runs while adding in colorful harmonics throughout.

Of course, if you’re new to open tunings, it’s worth taking some time to familiarize yourself with the different shapes to produce chords of one tuning, before moving onto another. It might be helpful at this point to write down all the notes of the fretboard as they have changed with the tuning to get a better picture of what your working with.

newsletter26 gear harmonicapo Harmonic Capo

With all this in mind, use of a Harmonic Capo really benefits finger style playing but that shouldn’t really stop anyone, who is interested in exploring the possibilities the Harmonic Capo offers from having a go. If you’re intrigued to hear some examples, head over to Bob Kilgore’s site and watch a few of his videos. Check out the video below, a number of excerpts from his latest CD offering.

His playing is sure to inspire you to push your playing in a new direction, even if you return having decided that it’s not the path you wanna take.

Enjoy!

ab4e2097d32a3cfb2d407817c82c42dd Harmonic Capo

Posted by Dan Orr.

Posted in acoustic guitars, art, Artists, fingerpicking, Guitar Tools, music | Tagged , , , ,
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