How do you get to places that you wanna go? Yeah, you get in the car or take the bus, or even walk… you move forward to where you ARE WANTING TO GO. So, in other words, you have a goal, you know what you want or where that thing is that you want and you go towards it.

Learning to play the guitar and accelerating your guitar playing is no different; you can make it but you have to know what you want to achieve. Yes, I know, we all want to play the guitar better, but what do you need in order to achieve that goal? Think about it… All the things you need to achieve in order to learn to play the guitar better are your goals.

So, to make this clear let’s name a few things that you need to achieve in order to play the guitar better:

• Play chords
• Know the main notes on the fretboard
• Music theory – knowing how chords are formed
• Scales
• How to use a pick
• Technique

and some more…

Accelerating the process.

So once you have determined your objectives, you will need to think about how to approach them; keep in mind that these objectives may change as you progress. Have you learned to play chords? Well, now focus on how to change chords and so on.

Accelerating the process of learning is easy, but it requires maximum concentration and knowing exactly what you need to work on for the different steps of learning the guitar.

You can start by forming good study habits, if you need some help with that, make sure you check out the 7 tips for positive practice habits and discipline in practice.

In six steps, what really accelerates your learning is:

1. Lay out your work routine. This can be done by planning your practice routine, for example: 15 minute warm up; then play a couple of easy songs you have learned, then learn new chords, scales, techniques.

2. Avoid distractions. Forget about T.V. while practicing the guitar, you do not exist to the rest of the world for at least 20 minutes.

3. Make sure you feel comfortable and don’t practice when you’re tired. You’ll only end up feeling worse for it. This one is pretty obvious, but basically don’t push yourself too hard.

4. Environment. Do you have enough lighting? Maybe you are in a noisy environment? Your practice space is like your temple; decorate it, put posters on the wall if you want. The main thing is to make it yours.

5. Is your workplace big and comfortable enough for you. Similar to number 4, but this one focuses more on the comfort of the space rather than on the look or feel of it.

6. What materials do you lack? Lessons, courses, materials, DVDs, CDs… you name them.

Can you tick all of the above? If so, you’re moving in the right direction… If you are missing something, work on it. To be honest, it is not that hard to accomplish these six steps and believe me, you will feel way better when playing and learning the guitar. If you do so, you will start speeding things up. Hang in there, you’ll see!

Luis Tovar

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If you walk the streets you will find some amazing artists doing excellent things on every corner in the city; it can be a circus guy, a guitarist, a trumpet player, a drummer, etc.

And the best thing is that seated in front of a computer we can find talent from all around the globe, isn’t that fantastic!? Remember, talent is everywhere and inspiration comes from it.

Are you in need of some truly talented guitarists, someone just like you or me who plays super well but is not a Rockstar just yet? Well, check these guitarists out!

Let’s start with this street guitar player who looks like some Viking playing a mix between Classical guitar and Speed heavy metal, check it out:

Now let’s jump to the North Island in New Zealand to calm things a bit and hear a well known street muso called Andy Blue, playing on Wellington Streets:

And this guy, Estas Tonne, who seems to be quite popular plays the classical guitar like no one else! A bit modern, a bit classic and a lot of Flamenco guitar going on here:

Amazing stuff isn’t it? If you’re wanting some more melodic and rhythmic patterns, this street musician is Brisbane, Australia is definitely something you need to check out:

And to wrap it up, a guitarists from Africa that a good friend of mine shared with me a couple of days ago:

I think you’ll agree with me about talent is everywhere… don’t forget about the talent you have inside you, that talent that only needs a bit of work to pull it out… practice, more practice and a little bit of more practice is the only thing you need.

What are you waiting for?

Luis Tovar

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I mentioned in another post that I had found a number of well-known and respected Argentinian Luthiers and I want to talk about one such man, Ezequiel Galasso.

Galasso guitars are really well known not only in Argentina, but also in the rest of South America, the U.S., Europe and even Asia.

Galasso has made some great guitars, ranging from classical guitars for Lito Nebbia (an Argentinean blues guitar player and singer); electric and mind blowing guitars and bass for a great Argentinean band called PEZ (link to myspace site or other informational site), and even a gigantic double guitar for the guitar virtuoso David Fiuczynski and more lately, the famous Skate guitar.

I was impressed when seeing the Skate Guitar in action not so long ago when watching a Pearl Jam show on the T.V; it was in the hands of Mike Mccready when playing a Ramones cover during a music festival in Buenos Aires. Well it was straight to google to find some more info about the guitar and I found out that it was build by this guy Ezequiel Galasso, a luthier I know about thanks to a good friend of mine.

The next morning, the skate guitar was all over the place, facebook, youtube, google+ and even newspapers.

Galasso has been a busy luthier making guitars for many artists (well known and not so), receiving emails from all over the globe, so if you are wanting a customized guitar to be made for you, Galasso is a great option but you better act quickly because this guy is gonna get super busy, if he isn’t already.

For the skate lovers: If you’re interested in the Skate Guitar, the price starting point is the $1,000 USD + shipping.

If you want to check Galasso’s work, have a look around the following sites – prepare your eyes to see some amazing stuff.

Galasso’s Behance profile and Galasso guitars on Facebook.

Would you like to see the Skate Guitar in action on the hands of Mr. Mike McCready from Pearl Jam, check this video out:

Another video here of the Skate Guitar:

And something that CANNOT be missed is the guitar that Galasso made for David Fiuczynski:

So, now you know… Galasso guitars are going to rock the world!

Luis Tovar

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The innovative, virtuoso and seated guitarist – pioneer of avant-garde rock.

It is kind of hard to explain or show the life of an amazing guitarist who has pioneered not only a music style but also a particular way of playing the guitar – not referring to the fact that Fripp has been playing seated for almost all his career, but referring to the atmospheric-soundscapes that only he can create.

Two big names, previously mentioned on this blog: King Crimson and Adrian Belew along with Robert Fripp are some of the biggest pillars on the progressive rock history. Belew and Fripp are the masterminds behind King Crimson; but Fripp is the main one as he has been the only band member who has remained in the band since 1969.

Robert Fripp is probably best known for his work with KC, but he started his vast career with “The Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles and Fripp” in 1967 with only 21 years and having only 10 years of playing the guitar in his pocket.

Fripp also collaborated on Peter Gabriel’s first solo album. In 1977 Fripp worked with Brian Eno on David Bowie’s hugely successful album “Heroes” and since then Fripp has been involved in many different projects with some great and talented musicians like Peter Hammill, Jerry Marotta, Phil Collins and Andy Summers from The Police – to name a few.

Other important projects in the life of Robert Fripp includes “The League of Crafty Guitarists” which evolved from a job offer in Claymont Court, West Virginia in 1984, as teacher at the American Society for Continuous Education (ASCE).

His Frippertronics looping system which evolved from a recording sessions in the 60s and made popular by Brian Eno, and the unforgettable contribution with David Sylvian (singer-songwriter for english avant-garde band Japan) which feature some of Fripp’s most exuberant guitar playing.

If you are intrigued by Fripp’s music and what he has been part of, I recommend you check out his discography on a Wikipedia article.

Showing you every piece of music Robert Fripp has created could take a couple of weeks, so I will do my best and provide you with what I think can will help define exactly what Fripp’s magic is about!

Soundscapes and scary sounds with KC – Frippertronics in use!

Then you have “Fripp and frippertronics” from 1979 – A must listen!

The Robert Fripp and The League of Crafty guitarists:

And something more recent from a collaboration between Robert Fripp, Mel Collins, Jakko Jakszyk, Tony Levin and Gavin Harrison – “A scarcity of miracles”

A very interesting fact: If you are a Windows Vista user, you probably hear Fripp’s sounds every time you start and/or turn off your computer. Fripp worked at Microsoft’s studios to record new sounds and atmospheres for Windows Vista.

Well folks, I hope you have enjoyed this article about Robert Fripp! A very highly recommended artist!

Luis Tovar

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Jon Coursey

See what you think about this… 5 simple, easy, but personal questions to be answered by each Jamorama team member.

This could possibly become some sort of weekly or monthly interaction, perhaps something to start implementing on our Facebook page… five simple but powerful questions that won’t do anything but to get to know each other.

This time is the turn of Jon Coursey, RSR´s managing director to get into the confessional and tell us all his secrets! Let the game begin!

So tell us Jon:

1. How do you discover new music?
Back before the Internet revolutionized everything, I’d spend hours down at my favorite music store, flipping through the cd’s and listening to them on the ‘listening post’. While I feel a certain amount of nostalgia for those days, I love how the Internet has made finding new music so much easier.

These days I mostly use grooveshark.com’s similar artists feature to find music that suits my tastes. It’s a great tool because it gives pretty good matches to what you are listening to, and gives you the ability to listen to the artist’s music for free in your browser. I’ve found a lot of great new music this way.

I also check out the indie music site pitchfork.com on a regular basis. There are always new artists coming up there, and the site provides free streaming songs so you can discover music you like.

2. What is your dream guitar?
I don’t really have one, but I love the old National tricone resonator guitars. If there was one must have guitar it would be one of those.

3. What was the first album you ever bought?
Dire Straights – Sultans of Swing, on cassette tape. My first cd was Guns n Roses – Use your illusion I and II.

4. When did you start playing/learning music?
Piano was my first instrument. I started learning around the age of 13. At age 15 I picked up a cheap drum kit and decided I was going to become a ‘drummer’. At age 19 I bought my first guitar, an acoustic Fender Balboa, and have loved every minute I’ve spent playing guitar since.

5. What band you most want to see that you haven’t seen yet?
Easy, Jeff Buckley circa 1994. You didn’t say they had to be living right?

So there you have! Interesting way of discover new music, taking advantage of technology on the era we are living – I totally agree on that one!

Next time, another Jamorama team member will be chosen to answer these 5 questions! BUT, We also want to know you… what are your answers? Heaps of space to write them out on the “comments” section!

Thanks for sharing them!

The team!

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This post is about some good information found on musicradar.com – where there is some sort of top 18 for “best mid-range acoustic guitars” going from $700 – $1,600.

The search I did was caused by a customer who got in touch through the Jamorama members area asking what would be the best guitar for him; a beginner looking for a decent sounding guitar with a good craft quality.

Musicradar chose these guitars based on the following characteristics:

1. Reviewed guitars.
Every guitar in this guide was reviewed within the last three years and has got a minimum of a 4.5 star rating. Which basically means that their build quality, sound, playability and value for money are not in question at their relative price points.

2.Scale length.
A guitar’s scale length is important because it has a direct effect on the tension of the strings and therefore how the instrument feels to play: the longer the scale length, the higher the tension of the strings for a given pitch. In terms of tone, all things being equal (which they rarely are!) a longer-scale-length guitar will tend to have more pronounced string separation and clarity to single notes; compare a Martin 000-28 with an OM-21 for example. To measure a scale length, measure from the inside edge of the nut to the centre of the 12th fret, then double it.

3. Nut widths.
They quoted the nut widths for every guitar, as it’s a significant factor in playability. To the right are common widths in both metric and imperial sizes – different makers use different units. You’ll be amazed how different a millimetre or two across the nut can feel!

4. A note on prices.
The quoted prices are the manufacturers’ suggested retail prices, correct at the time of the original review. Some official SRPs will have gone up slightly, while many advertised/web prices from retailers will be lower.

The list

So now you get an idea of what is out there for you.

Luis Tovar

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I know John Mayer, but I knew him as a more pop orientated singer, I wasn’t even aware he could play the guitar to be honest but he definitely can play and even better, he can feel it and makes you feel it too.

I am not a big follower of his work, but I definitely admit that his 2006 Continuum album is a must listen. I guarantee you will like it from beginning to end – I didn’t, not so long ago but it is definitely on my playlist now.

If you are not very acquainted with his work, check out a couple of videos from his live in L.A. DVD called “From where the light is”.

Luis Tovar

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Due to popular demand, Mark McKenzie aka “the guitar guy” and a full time member of Jamorama has created a series on beginner guitar chords, which is nothing else but simple chords shown, played and explained the easy way – simple doesn’t mean boring, but keep in mind these chords are for beginners.

I know some of you are probably already shredding the guitar, but let’s be patient and bear with our beginner guitarist readers – we all have been a beginner once and we know how hard can it be to play basic chords for a beginner.

This time, the Guitar Guy teaches you how to play four simple, basic but powerful chords that can be used to play heaps of songs! The chords are: D major, G major, A major and E major.

Easy? Yeah sure, give them a go!

Let’s start with the D major chord:

Moving onto the next, the G major chord:

How are you getting on? Ready for the next one? The A major chord:

And finish this series up with the E major chord:

Mark is working hard on more video series for the Beginner but also for the more advanced player. I suggest you to check out the guitar guy Youtube channel and subscribe to it if to receive an Email update every time a new video has been loaded to his channel.

Enjoy and learn!

Luis Tovar

The post Beginner Chords appeared first on Jamorama Blog.

The “Layla” guitar – not the type of brownie you have in mind boy.

I am not a big fan of “tribute” guitars, Fender can say whatever about it but I’d rather go for a normal Strat and get the sunburst color I want… however, the Brownie is super cute and let’s face it, it’s a replica of one of Clapton’s weapons – I’m sure some of you might be interested to know about this guitar, if you don’t already.

So Clapton came into the Fender Custom Shop with his “brownie” in hand and you know, this guitar has story! A second hand guitar purchased at Sound City in London on May 7, 1967, a few days before Cream flew to New York to record their second album, “Disraeli Gears”. It was a 1956 Strat with a two-colored sunburst finish and a well-worn maple neck and fingerboard.

Fender now tells you that getting a ride with the Delorean is not needed anymore if you wanna go to Sound City just a few hours before Clapton got in there… you can now go to your nearest music store and try it out if you are lucky enough as there are only 100 worldwide!

The guitar comes in a special black textured vinyl Derek and the Dominos “Fragile” case that also contains several extras, including a numbered certificate of authenticity hand-signed by Clapton, the 40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition box set of Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, a Fender Custom Shop story and photo album booklet, and a Crossroads Antigua brochure.

Each “Brownie” Tribute Stratocaster is hand-built by Clapton’s personal Master Builder, Todd Krause. The guitar is a meticulously crafted replica of the sunburst Stratocaster seen on the back cover of 1970 album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, and on the cover of Clapton’s eponymous 1970 debut solo album.

Price… mmmm… I better not tell you as it is probably SOLD OUT! But check out this beauty!

Luis Tovar

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Sound that travels!

The Fender Passport series has been around for a number of years now. It goes from portable audio systems to wireless microphones… every product is backed up by Fender, so you know you’re getting the good stuff.

This time, Fender announced its new addition to the Passport family, something for the guitar or singing student or street musician who needs a small, portable, yet great sounding guitar/instrument/vocal amplifier.

The Fender Passport Mini is a very affordable option, and very convenient for any instrument or microphone. It can go anywhere thanks to its dual AC or battery powered capabilities.

The Passport Mini comes with two inputs, an ⅛” auxiliary input for an MP3 player and an ⅛” headphone jack. You’re probably thinking that the Fender Passport is a very simple wee amp, and it is, however, it comes with a few controls that you might be surprised to find in and amp this small. So it has the usual volume, tone and reverb level for the vocal channel. And volume, preset, effects and Tap tempo button for the Instrument channel.

The effects included in the Fender Passport are Chorus, Flanger, Phaser, Vibratone, Vintage tremolo, Slasp Back echo, Reverb, Tap delay and more. So as you can see, this little amp is very complete and you will be pleasantly surprised by how good these effects sound for a little 7 watt amp.

The Passport Mini in one sentence: A great option if you need a portable little amp for your guitar and/or microphone that can actually run on batteries – for around $200 bucks it’s definitely a great deal for what you get.

Check it out!

Luis Tovar

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So, a few things about Ronnie; he is an American blues guitarist and music instructor. He studied American History and Special Education and Education, but not until he saw Muddy Waters at a Jazz Workshop in Boston, did he start taking a serious interest in the guitar.

He has a quite an extensive discography and has been active since 1983, with around 25 LPs and one DVD. Although there isn’t much of his music available online you can still find jewels like this one if you look hard enough:

And this track recorded live in Bremen, Germany back in 1993 – this is “Ronnie Earl & The Broadcasters”

So, what do you think about Ronnie’s playing – has he got your attention?

Luis Tovar

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But for those of you who don’t yet know who the ‘Guitar Guy’ is, let me introduce you to Mark McKenzie; one of the heavy weights when it comes to teaching the guitar; he was on hand during the creation of our Beginner Skills Techniques and Introduction to lead guitar free lessons (currently offered as a free series when you sign up for our JamEdge Newsletter) And he is also the frontman of our Jamorama Lead Guitar course as well as the Lead licks video course (included in Jamorama Deluxe)

Mark is a busy guitar guru. He has been all over the place in the last couple of years performing with the New Zealand Army Band in places like Australia, Hawaii, The United States, Scotland and Turkey, just to name a few. But, the good news is that we’ve managed to secure Mark and lock him in to do some fresh new (not to mention HD) video guitar lesson content and we’ve locked him in a room with Dave and Eugene to pump out some great new guitar lessons. In fact I can hear him warming up for another session just next door.

Pretty soon there will be some brand new video courses to help you improve your guitar playing. And the best part of it is that we have already released some of those lessons on youtube for free. So go check them out right now, subscribe to The Guitar Guy Youtube channel and get amongst them. Comment if you like it, tell Mark if there’s anything that could be improved or if you didn’t quite understand something he covered.

Mark, The Guitar Guy is gonna show you all the tricks, techniques and teach you all he knows in simple and easy high quality video lessons that you’ll definitely love! But beware, Mark is armed to the teeth with his Line6 Variax electric guitar, his enviable Takamine electro-acoustic guitar and his super powerful Line6 Spide Valve 112 guitar amp.

What are you waiting for? Visit The Guitar Guy Youtube channel.

PS: Make sure to subscribe to his Youtube channel to get the best of Mark The Guitar Guy!

Written by Jon Coursey

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A good investment to improve your guitar skills!

What else are you using to improve your guitar skills besides your Jamorama Guitar course? Perhaps you own a few more guitar courses, or you visit your guitar tutor once a month? Are they any other options out there? Yes, Master Classes and Guitar clinics which come in DVD format or even better, live!

Have you attended to a guitar clinic? If you have, congratulations… keep doing it! They definitely help your playing and firing up your motivation to get better. But if you haven’t, you must go! Guitar clinics are a great way to learn from an experienced guitarist-musician.

A good guitar clinic is not only a “show off” and it is not only about seeing this experienced guitarist tearing up their fretboard… It is more like a sharing of experiences.

You of course will see amazing stuff being played by great musicians, but this type of information always inspires you to do more and believe it or not, you’ll always learn something from a clinic. For the ones who have attended a guitar clinic, don’t you always want to get home and practice more than you have before, after attending a clinic? I’m sure most of you will be in agreement, and the reason is because at a guitar clinic or master class you receive a lot of input without even asking for advice… it’s like you absorb more than you actually hear.

What is also good about a guitar clinic is hearing the about the guitarist’s experiences. How they started playing the guitar, what the most difficult part in their learning process, what they struggled with the most and the link. That type of information is really inspiring for anyone; you basically get to see that your favorite guitarist is also a human, with feelings and problems, just like you.

My advice is to start looking for guitar clinics or master classes near you. Even if you are just starting to play the guitar and can play the G chord, go to clinics. A great way to see what is going on in your town is to visit the music shops and see if they are bringing any guitarists out this year. Music shops are generally the ones who organize these type of events. And of course, you can always browse the web searching for DVDs. There are a lot of DVD clinics available for purchase online. And remember, you’re worth the investment!

Luis Tovar

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The man with more than 100 recorded albums!

Let’s get a bit jazzy today…nothing wrong with that I say. So grab a martini or a glass of your favorite drink and enjoy the music of Kenny Burrell.

Kenneth Earl Burrell, known as “Kenny” was born in 1931. He is an American Jazz guitarist and his playing is grounded in bebop and blues. He has performed with the greatest jazz players in the history for music.

His music catalogue sees him collaborating with amazing jazz players such as Dizzy Gillespie, Bill Evans, John Jenkins, Gene Ammons and Sonny Rollins to name just a few.

He has recorded about 106 albums, but the one I want you to listen to is Midnight Blue from 1963. It’s one of Burrell’s best-known works for the record label Blue Note and features Stanley Turrentine on tenor saxophone, Major Holley on double bass, Bill English on drums and Ray Barretto on conga.

Midnight Blue is definitely one of his best albums! See it for yourself…

Luis Tovar

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A pick holder is a great invention that has been around for years and years and you’ll find different types and versions created by many well known brands, and the best thing is that they are cheap and of course really useful.

So what are the options?

You’ve probably seen a few options around, let’s say that there are two main different types of pick holders, the ones that go on a mic stand and the more practical ones which stick onto your guitar’s body which is the way to go for the ones of us that do not sing and just rock hard with our guitars.

You probably have seen the mic stand pick holders, they are everywhere, in every show and yes, it is super easy to use and practical – Only if you sing or have a mic stand near you in every show.

For the non-singer guitarists, there are two different types that I’m aware of… the classic Dunlop 5005 Pick Holder and the Wedgie guitar pick holder.

The Wedgie pick holder is pretty cool as it can be placed on your guitar strings, just above the neck (in the headstock). What is good about this pick holder is that it is a flexible and soft material and doesn’t use any adhesive material. The Wedgie pick holder is suspended in the strings and of course, this won’t affect your guitar tuning or tone. The only bad point is that you can only hold 2 picks. But, do you need more than that?

If you do, Dunlop has another option which is made of plastic has an adhesive backing so you can place it wherever you want on your guitar. The good thing is that you can hold up to 10+ picks. Dunlop has also improved this model with its not so new pick holder which has a couple of improvements like, high impact plastic and a delrin spring system and reusable non-marring adhesive to preserve your guitar finish.

So those are your options; limited I’ll concede but either option will get your picks out of your mouth and safely stored away for when you need them. Job done!

Luis Tovar

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Your sound set up is a must if you are wanting to go pro. You have to be really careful about how you sound and what your levels are… so let’s start with how to get a basic amp set up.

The Amp. The following instructions may vary according to which guitar amp you own, but in most cases this is how it will be. Your two main knobs: Volume and Gain.

To start getting a nice sound out of your amp, you have to start by shutting it down… so turn your volume and gain (sometimes called Drive) all the way down to zero.

Almost every amp nowadays comes with at least 3 EQ knobs. Low, Mid and High (treble). Set your EQ knobs into a flat position which would be to have them all at 12 o’clock. If you have done a few live shows, maybe you have heard the sound engineer saying the word “flat” in regards to EQ or sound. Basically this means to set your EQ up in a way that you get the real or true sound out of your amp… no highs, lows and mids.

When looking for a new sound it’s important to start with a flat EQ, so you get the real sound first and from there you can start tweaking the frequencies.

These knobs are the basic ones, now that everything is where it should be…

Let’s start by bringing the volume knob up a bit to say level 1 or 2, depending on the room where you are playing or until the sound is comfortable for you…. The sound of your guitar should be completely clean at this point.

Getting some bass. We all want a fat sounding guitar, we want body in our sound, this is where the bass comes into play. Turn the bass knob up a bit to increase the bass on your sound. You will notice a thicker-lower end on your guitar sound.

SUGGESTION: bring bass up and down and take note of the difference between a flat EQ and a “bassy” EQ until you find a sweet spot.

The Mid frequency. This frequency is often a headache when working on the sound. The mid range is what will bring your guitar sound up on the mix with other instruments, in other words, it is what will make it “cut-through”. I am not a big fan of mid frequencies, I always tend to go for the minimum of it. Also a good thing to know is that the vocals usually sit in these frequencies and you don’t want to mess with that, so keep that in mind.

The treble or high frequency. This is what will bring the “brightness” into your sound. If you are looking for a warmer sound, you will need to work only with your bass and maybe, just a pinch of treble. However, finding the right balance of bass and treble with only a bit of mid will provide an awesome sounding guitar

Don’t forget about the gain or drive knob. Would you like some distortion on your sound? This is where the gain or drive comes into play. Basically the more gain/drive you have, the more distorted your guitar will sound.

Well that’s a wrap of the basics of guitar amp sound. For the guitar effects lovers out there we’ll take a look at that in a later post because that’s a different story altogether!

Luis Tovar

The post Getting a basic guitar sound out of your amp appeared first on Jamorama Blog.

I am sure you have your own picks and you might disagree with some of mine but you will also discover some great stuff on my top 5 guitar albums of the year.

*This list does not include albums released this year, but rather the albums that were always playing on my iPod and iTunes. I hope you like some or all of them.

1. Twisted Blues, Vol. 1 by Oz Noy – Oh my gosh, what can I say about Oz Noy and this AMAZING album? Let’s see, groove, virtuosity, groove, great technique, groove, amazing guitar voicing and oh yes, heaps of groove!!! Man, there are some big names on this record including: Vinnie Colaiuta, John Medeski, Eric Johnson and Anton Fig just to name a few.

This album is by far, my favorite one. Find out why:

2. Bill Frisell’s Beautiful Dreamers – Ambient, atmospheric, jazzy, crazy noises every now and then… that would define Frisell’s album Beautiful Dreamers. This is one of those albums that you can only play when you are alone doing something, it could be cooking or doing some type of homework, highly recommended if you are into Frisell’s experimentational craziness.

3. Side One by Adrian Belew – No words are needed, Belew is the mastermind behind the prog rockers King Crimson. On Side One Belew joins forces with Les Claypool from Primus and Danny Carey from Tool creating a super power trio that unfortunately has not continue since.

Every place Belew is present, you will hear odd time signatures and hypnotic guitar riffs and weird spoken words. A great album for whenever you feel like listening something unknown and strange. *If you feel like stopping the album after the fourth track, don’t worry, that is totally normal but don’t do it, the rest of the album is pretty awesome.

Get hypnotized by this track called Matchless Man:

4. David Gilmour’s, About Face – As I have mentioned before, I am a huge fan of Gilmour’s style. However, I never got into this album until this year, when I played it while chillin at home and I was like, “wow, just gilmour…”.

I am a big fan of the album called On an Island but this one has that retro sound, duplicated voices followed by his soft distorted Stratocaster accompanied by synthetic sounds. What else can you ask for?

5. Wayne Krantz Lefebvre by guitarist Wayne Krantz, bassist Tim Lefebvre and excellent drummer Keith Carlock. I am a huge fan of Fusion music. You know when a handful of amazingly talented players come together and have some musical fun, I love that! Hearing some good muso’s jamin´ is probably one of my favorite things in which to listen.

This is a great example, of course, there are ideas behind each track but you can feel that everything or almost everything came from a Jam session. Again, GROOVE comes into play on this album, Keith Carlock on the drums is in charge of that and believe me, he knows what he is doing.

Remember, it’s not fun not to like pop!

So what’s your take? What albums would make your Top 5 list for 2012?

Luis Tovar

The post My Top 5 guitar albums of 2012 appeared first on Jamorama Blog.

We’ve been providing guitar learning resources for almost ten years now and we will keep doing so for as long as the Internet exists (can you imagine a world without internet?).

But for all the good information that is available on the Internet there is just as much bad information, so I’ve decided to put together a few online resources that can definitely help you on your journey to become a better guitarist.

To start with, online music stores are worth visiting and not just when you’re purchasing goods online but also to find out what is happening in gear land; the good, the not so good and what you can expect to pay for goods.

Online music stores always tend to have reviews by other users about the range of products they sell and sometimes the store staff can be seen reviewing the latest release. So to start this list these two stores are the ones I always end up visiting:

1. GuitarCenter.com – Great deals and a vast catalogue.
2. zZsounds.com – Always great reviews about most products on this website and they also have the lowest price available on the web, don’t ask me how or why.

Now, lets get into the learning resources field… which is where I wanted to get!

3. Jamorama Chordbook – I’m a Jamorama member and I learned to play guitar with the course we provide, so I can assure you, you will definitely learn to play the guitar basics with our Beginners course, but one unsung resource we offer is our super helpful-high quality online Chordbook, which you can also download as a PDF.

4. MetronomeOnline.com – What is a better learning and practicing tool than a Metronome? If you are using our Jamorama Beginners to Advanced course you probably are using our Jamorama Metronome, however, if you are hunting out there for the free stuff, this metronome is by far the best free metronome online. It is very accurate and easy to use, I have to admit that if they could add a TAP option that would be super helpful when you are wanting to find the tempo of a particular track. But, overall, a great metronome online!

5. Guitar Chords and Scales – Something very similar to our Chordbook is the super easy to use All-Guitar-Chords.com. I found that this is a great learning tool for chords and intervals but also guitar scales which I am learning at the moment and believe me, this resource might not be nicest to look at but it does help you a lot; it will definitely advance your playing skills and knowledge.

6. A free guitar tuner – For those of you struggling to get your guitar in tune, here is a very complete online tuner with the theory on how to tune your guitar and also its popular Tune-O-Matic, where you can learn to tune by ear – extremely easy to use, check it out.

7. Songpond.com – There are heaps of learn-to-play songs sites out there but for those of you who are of a classic rock persausion, Songpond.com is probably the best one out there as it contains only the classics! Zeppelin, Eagles, Pink Floyd and Hendrix just to name a few. Free trial available, so definitely worth checking out.

8. Tab site. Tab and more Tab, Songsterr is probably the best TAB site on the net. It has a huge TAB library for free but also has its Songsterr plus with some great advantages. If you are a TAB reader wanting to expand your repertoire, Songsterr.com is probably the best place to go.

Do you have another learning resource not listed here? Please share it on a comment, I am sure it will help other guitarists!

Enjoy and Learn!

Luis Tovar

The post 8 Internet learning resources for guitarists appeared first on Jamorama Blog.

Dick Dale is a pioneer of the Surf Music style, or surf rock. Chorus and Reverb were his biggest and closest friends to achieve the sound he had in mind; a similar sound to the sea waves?! Crazy but true! He worked closely with Fender to produce custom made amplifiers that included reverb, helped created his sound.

Dick Dale is a loud player, he probably blew a dozen Fender amps back in the ‘60s until Fender created the first ever 100 Watt guitar amplifier. Thank you Fender!!

I grew up listening to surf music, my father has always been a HUGE fan of The Ventures so I learned to dig this style since I was a kid.

If you can’t wait to listen to some nice tunes, check this Hendrix’s cover by Dick Dale, it all starts with a “Jimi, I’m still here, wish you were…”:

And listen to Dick abusing the Reverb:

Hope you enjoy this post… If you are into Surf Rock, comment out your favorite tracks or bands!

I will be super keen to check them out!!!

Cheers to all!

Luis Tovar

The post Dick Dale appeared first on Jamorama Blog.

During all these years of providing guitar lessons and resources for the beginner guitarists, we have had hundreds of emails from guitarists saying that their fingers are too big for the guitar they are using.

Unfortunately there aren’t many fixes for this issue. You could try finding a guitar with bigger frets, or get a Classical acoustic guitar or simply get used to the guitar you have. At some point though, you will end up finding a way to make your chords sound right…that is of course, before now.

Finally one smart company has come up with the right solution for all those fuller sized fingers out there.

Zarley Wide Neck Guitars introduced its line of wide neck guitars back in April, 2012. These guitars are of course designed for those musicians with bigger hands; the wide neck guitars are built on a classic single cut design.

The Wide Neck Guitars have three different categories:

1. Player Series – which are similar to a Fender Stratocaster model.
2. Standard Series – which are Telecaster models.
3. Reserve Series guitars – which are Les Paul’s models.

Remember, all these guitars are Zarley and the factory price range goes from $349.00 up to $400.00 usd.

But why wide neck?

Wide Neck guitars come with an extended 1 7/8” (47.625mm) nut width and .315” (8mm) string spacing. These two characteristics alone will make your chords and single note runs, sound right.

So if you complain about how small your guitar frets are, there is now an easy and affordable solution. Zarley Wide Neck Guitars have thought about you and they probably will make a lot of money as there are heaps of enthusiast guitarists fighting against their guitar frets.

For more information visit ZarleyWideNeckGuitars.com.

Luis Tovar

The post Frets for the bigger hands appeared first on Jamorama Blog.

Finding time to practice is probably one of the biggest challenges in our life, unless we are a full time muso which not many of us are lucky enough to live from music at the moment.

We have talked about a practice routine and how to create one, We have also mentioned the importance of being disciplined with your practice. But, do you really have the time to practice?

I know each of you will have different schedules and each one will decide how to spend your spare time, if any. But I wanted to bring this up after reading something in our Jamorama books. “Practicing at least 30 minutes a day is enough…” but do you have 30 minutes a day?

The rule is: The more often we practice, the better we get… there is no point in practicing for 5 hours once a month. What really works is to practice as often as you can, no matter if it’s only 10 minutes per day.

I think there is a time of the day where all of us can sit down and practice the guitar for at least 15 or 20 minutes… those glorious 20 minutes would be our connection with what we love and with what we enjoy doing the most. Do you use those minutes to play your guitar?

I know there are some “enemies” that fight against our will of wanting to learn to play the guitar, be it TV, computer, video games, phone, couch, kitchen…the list goes on.

My idea here is to push you to leave or sacrifice some of those pleasures for another pleasure that we know we want to do but usually don’t pay it the attention it deserves. Do you get the idea?

We have to try and become better friends with our lovely guitar. If you are chillin on the couch, why not have the guitar with you? It doesn’t matter if you’re watching TV, you can always play some chords or a tune during the ad breaks.

Or even better, why not chill out in your backyard or on the porch? Take your guitar with you and build a connection with it; relax when playing it, make your guitar playing and routine a part of your life, not because you have to, but because you want to. It is not a job.

I really hope you get my idea. I would love it if you share how you combine your spare time with your guitar playing.

Happy Holidays!

The post How to find time to practice? appeared first on Jamorama Blog.

When it comes to jazz music, Metheny is there whether its in a jazz group, a duet or as a solo guitarist.

Metheny’s music style involves elements of progressive and contemporary jazz, post-bop, latin jazz and of course, jazz fusion.

With three gold albums and 19 grammy awards in his guitar case, he is probably one of the busiest guitarists in the jazz scene. He is constantly touring the US and Europe.

Metheny entered the wider jazz scene back in 1975 when he joined Gary Burton’s band, where he played alongside resident jazz guitarist Mick Goodrick. Goodrick was a 1967 alumnus of Berklee, who had held a teaching post there in the early 1970s.

He has a very complete and updated website with tour dates, audio, live performances, writings and recommendations. You can even purchase tickets and listen to PM radio station.

Check out this amazing performance from his latest DVD ‘Speaking of Now Live’ – this line up is like the the Dream Team of the new jazz music:

And don’t miss this amazing and beautiful performance on an acoustic guitar, a must listen:

Luis Tovar

The post Pat Metheny appeared first on Jamorama Blog.

Part of what makes the guitar so appealing is the fact that it has played such a major role in the development of music over the last hundred years and subsequently has become a very accessible instrument to play and enjoy.

Whether you realize it or not you will develop your own approach to the guitar. Regardless of the training material you use or the teaching method of the people you learn from, the way you think about the guitar is ultimately defined by you. This is why the guitar can become such a personal instrument for people and why there is so much enjoyment to be had with minimal focus on theoretical aspects of the guitar.

By Moses Robbins

The post Your personal map to the fretboard appeared first on Jamorama Blog.

A guitar to play anything but the heavy stuff!

Epiphone does great things at affordable prices. The first impression when looking at a Wildkat Royale is smooth jazz, funky and groovy guitar I wanna jam with… Is it really like that? Yes sir! And of course, you can still play Rock and anything else you want, however it has a very distinctive sound that probably fits better with certain music styles… but that is really up to you.

The Epiphone Wildkat is truly an Epiphone original! This smaller-body, semi-hollow guitar creates great vintage sounds and is remarkably comfortable to play! Now the Wildkat is new again. Our stunning Wildkat Royale has been outfitted with a pearl white finish, gold sparkle binding, and gold hardware to make a guitar totally unlike anything Epiphone has offered before.

Specs

The Wildkat body material is Mahogany and the top material is maple, these two things combined in a beautiful manner to create the amazing warm and low tone of this awesome guitar.

The neck is mahogany, Slim Taper “D” Profile, Glued-in. The guitar has a 24.75” scale.

Neck Pickup: P-90R Dogear Classics
Bridge Pickup: P-90T Dogear Classics
Controls: 1 Master Volume, 2 Pickup Volume, 1-Tone
Headstock: Gold vintage-style Epiphone Badge
Binding: Gold sparkle on body and fingerboard
Frets: 22 medium jumbo
Bridge: Locktone™ Tune-o-matic/SpotBar
Tailpiece: Bigsby™ B70 Vibrato
Hardware: Gold
Machine Heads: Grover® 16:1
Color: Pearl White

The Epiphone Wildkat Royale is covered by the famous Epiphone Lifetime Limited Warranty featuring Gibson 24/7/365 Customer Service and guarantees the instrument against defects of materials or workmanship. Turn this Kat loose at your favorite Authorized Epiphone Dealer!

This beautiful guitar is also very affordable, You can buy it for only $349.00 from MusiciansFriend.com

Check out this video from lmsjr Youtube user to see it and hear it:

Do you dig it?

Luis Tovar

The post Epiphone Wildkat Royale appeared first on Jamorama Blog.

For beginners it usually occurs shortly after they have managed to string their initial chords together and established their first strum. The strange thing is many people become discouraged during this period because it feels like they are just playing the same thing over and over and not getting any better, when in actual fact it is in those moments that the real progress takes place.

Here is the crucial point where you have to keep practicing and playing the same chords or strum patterns over and over again without getting frustrating, or even worse, getting bored of playing the guitar.

But how can you do it? How can you keep going?

Keep these three things in mind:

1. Remember. Always remember why you started to learn to play the guitar.
2. Inspiration. Search your best source for inspiration; keeping track of your favorite guitarists and listening to all kinds of music is a great way to get inspired.
3. Routine. Build your own practice routine, a routine that best suits your needs and what you are wanting to achieve.

Good luck with this!

Ben Edwards

The post How to play yourself out? appeared first on Jamorama Blog.

No better Rock classic than this one!

Who hasn’t seen this guitar monster around? You probably remember it in the hands of Jimmy Page delivering the intricate studio arrangements on “Stairway to heaven”, or maybe you saw it on tour with Alex Lifeson from RUSH and perhaps Elton John’s guitarists, Davey Johnstone.

From the Gibson family, a near-perfect recreation…

An iconic symbol of rock and roll’s power and possibility, the EDS-1275 has always been a jewel in Gibson’s Custom crown, acting as both a tribute to incredible guitar building, and historic guitar playing. Today’s EDS-1275 features a traditional solid mahogany body, with a Nashville Tune-o-matic bridge and period-correct stop-plate tailpieces. Both necks are made from maple and fitted with 20-fret rosewood fingerboards with single-ply white binding and pearloid split parallelogram inlays.

Other standard appointments include Gibson’s 1960 slim-taper profile on both necks and vintage tulip tuners. The neck position humbucker pickup is Gibson’s 490R, which delivers the tonal characteristics of an original PAF, with a slight increase in upper mid-range response. The Gibson 498T is the bridge pickup, and the 490’s ideal complement. Taking the 490 one step further, the 498 swaps the Alnico II magnet to an Alnico V, thus making it slightly hotter with emphasis on mid-ranges and highs. The pole pieces on the 498T are also aligned a little further apart to accommodate the spacing of the strings at the bridge, which is different than the spacing of the strings at the neck.

The EDS-1275 is available in a Heritage Cherry finish with chrome hardware, or Alpine White finish with gold hardware. All come with a specially designed Gibson Custom case and certificate of authenticity.

Present time…

The guitar is currently offered only through the Gibson Custom Shop as a special order model. It features two volume and two tone control knobs, a three-way pickup-selector switch, and a three-way neck-selector switch. It has vintage tulip tuners, pearloid split parallelogram inlays, black pickguards and pickup rings. The Custom Shop also makes a Don Felder “Hotel California” signature model.

This Gibson guitar is really a classic and I am sure everyone would love to have one. Getting one is not an easy or cheap exercise, however I think there is a little brother created by Gibson within its Epiphone line, the G-1275.

If you’re drooling over what you see, as I am, watch these videos:

Played by Jimmy Page on Stairway to heaven:

And of course, in the hands of the migthy Alex Lifeson from RUSH:

Visit the Gibson Custom Shop if you are curious about getting a monster like this.

I hope you enjoy it!

Luis Tovar

The post Gibson EDS-1275 double neck appeared first on Jamorama Blog.

A truly free jazz player!

Sonny Sharrock was an American Jazz player, one of few guitarists in the first wave of free jazz in the 60s. He was known for his heavily chorded attack and his highly amplified bursts of feedback.

A peculiar thing was having a saxophone playing in harmony with the guitar line on a lot of tracks, something that sounds really awesome.

Sharrock was semi-retired for much of the 1970s, undergoing a divorce from wife/occasional collaborator Linda in 1978. In the intermittent years until producer/bassist Bill Laswell coaxed him out of retirement, he worked as both a chauffeur and a caretaker for mentally challenged children.

The first music I heard from Sonny was from his ‘Ask the ages’ album from 1991, the track was Once upon a time which starts with some kind of tribal drumming, and then Sonny comes into place with some strange riffs. At first I was… man, this is too weird… and it is, that whole track is super strange, but then I found that that is what free jazz is about. And then I listened to Who does she hope to be and that was a completely different story – super mellow track with brushes on the skins and a beautiful melody played by the guitar and saxophone, simply beautiful.

Check it out:

This is a good one too, The past adventures of Zydeco Honeycup – Great drumming there too!

Sonny was a unique character, he had the nicest songs ever, like the ones above, but he also had something more, something totally different and not enjoyable for most people. I’ll be honest, I don’t really like it but I know some people might. This track is considered to be avant, free-jazz – not my cup of tea really but here it is anyway:

What do you think? Only Sonny Sharrock eh?

Luis Tovar

The post Sonny Sharrock appeared first on Jamorama Blog.

A very interesting and entertaining video from GHS strings

Have you ever wondered how your guitar strings are made? Or where they come from? Let me introduce you to “A Day in the Life of a Guitar String”. From raw material to packaging, shipping to stringing, and tuning to rocking!

And as suggested by Youtube, how they are made… Guitar Strings

Luis Tovar

The post Guitar Strings III appeared first on Jamorama Blog.

If you’re a guitar pedal effect lover, you’ll know only too well the hassle of trying to remember that pedal set up you got one day that sounded so sweet. It is very common to set up your pedals with the sound you love, and then when going to your gig, your pedal configuration has magically changed. You can blame it on the roadie or yourself… but, now with Pedal Labels, this problem will no longer happen!

The Pedal Label system came about after viewing the necessity of the touring guitarist to maintain their settings on their pedals or pedal boards gig after gig.

When touring or carrying your gear extra crew might be helping out. Even if you are not a professional touring guitarist, if you play every week in a pub, some friends might offer to help carry your gear and this is when your pedal configuration can be messed up.

Not a problem anymore!

With the Pedal Label System you would simply mark the settings on the sheet, then peel the label and apply it to the pedal.

If you like to use different settings according to different venues or practice spaces, you can easily replace the old settings with a new label… it is as simple as that. So basically, you can have an already set up label for each venue or band you play with.

A very clever idea!

The pedal label system comes with multiple “styles” of pedal labels. A combination of labels could be used for complex pedals. Also, the pedal label system pack comes with individual knobs as well as toggle labels.

Each pack comes with 6 individual 9”x4” sheets. You will get all of the following labels in a pack:

3 Ibanez 4 knob labels
3 Ibanez 3 Knob labels
3 MXR Wide 2 knob labels
3 MXR 1 knob labels
9 MXR 2 knob labels
12 MXR 3 knob labels
9 BOSS 4 knob labels
9 BOSS 3 knob labels
6 Toggle labels
54 single knob labels

Pedal Labels is simply a great solution to get your sound set up the in a fast and simple way.

If you would like to try them out, click here to go to the Pedal Label System website.

Cheers,

Luis Tovar

The post Pedal Label System appeared first on Jamorama Blog.

He is also involved with many different projects and bands such as No-Man and Blackfield, among others.

Wilson is a self-taught producer, audio engineer, guitar and keyboard player, playing other instruments as and where required including bass guitar, concert harp, hammered dulcimer and flute.

Wilson’s main and greater influence has always being Pink Floyd, and you can really see it on Wilson’s earlier recordings.

If you are into recording studio situations, you should definitely check out the latest studio work that Wilson is doing with his band for his upcoming album “Luminol”:

If you dig Wilson’s style and compositions, make sure to check out his band Porcupine Tree, my recommendation is a song called Trains:

If you like what you see and hear, check out Steven Wilson’s full discography.

Luis Tovar

The post Steven Wilson appeared first on Jamorama Blog.

The analogue pedal features separate Sub Octave and Octave Up Fuzz ‘voices’, the first of which can be run dry or switched into the 70s-style ‘shag’ fuzz circuit.

There’s also the option to run the pedal as a straight fuzz unit and to separately blend both the Sub Octave and Octave Up effects into your tone via dedicated control knobs.

In addition, the MXR Slash Octave Fuzz pedal comes emblazoned in the by now customary Slash ‘R N Fn’ R’ graphics and features true-bypass switching.

Check out the Demo video by Jim Dunlop:

And some more samples here.

Luis Tovar

The post MXR Slash’s Octave Fuzz appeared first on Jamorama Blog.

One guitar, four men and one woman…

What can five people do with only one guitar? Can you and four more friends play like Walk Off the Earth do?

Walk Off The Earth is a band that has become famous over the past year thanks to Youtube and of course, their great renditions of popular songs. This time, I want to show you something that you probably have heard already… Gotye’s Somebody that I used to know performed by Walk off the earth.

A version where five people plays one guitar and make it sound like a full band where percussion, bass, lead guitar, rhythm guitar and even a harp becomes one.

This video besides being a good thing to watch, is also very inspiring, everything is possible!

Luis Tovar

The post Walk Off The Earth appeared first on Jamorama Blog.

Getting a guitar tutor can really advance your playing, but getting the wrong instructor can be costly and even destructive to your learning.

We think that there are 5 things to look for in a guitar tutor, have a read through them and see what you think.

1. Patience and honesty

Reliable, honest feedback is critical to your advancement on guitar or any other instrument. And the best person to give you this type of feedback is an experienced tutor who knows what they are listening for when it comes to good playing.

Also, vitally important is that this person is patient and knows when such feedback is useful and when they should just let you figure it out for yourself. It’s a fine balance and one that only a few ever really master.

The best way to find someone with both these qualities is to ask around at your local music store and see which names keep coming up. People recognize good teaching when they receive it and won’t hesitate to recommend someone who has taught them well in the past.

2. Pays attention to your progress

Anyone can run through a guitar lesson with you, but it’s how the tutor reacts in response to your progress that really sets a good tutor apart from a bad one. A good tutor is able to see exactly where you are with your progress and advance your learning accordingly.
The key to finding this in a tutor is to check on their experience. The more experienced they are at teaching piano, the more likely they are to get it right when responding to your progress.

3. Passionate about teaching the subject

Probably the worst thing to strike in a guitar teacher is a lack of passion for teaching guitar. If you have an instructor who you feel is just there for the money, and who doesn’t really care very much about teaching you, then it is time to get out of there!

Signs that a guitar instructor is not really in it for the reward of teaching include: clock watching, lack of attention to your playing and most obvious – a lack of ongoing musical development in their own life.

The old saying rings true: You should practice what you preach. Make sure your guitar tutor is actively studying music too before committing to ongoing training with them.

4. Teaches songs and theory behind them

It’s the thing that people most want to learn – how to play their favorite song. And it’s very easy for a tutor to just become a guitar lesson jukebox, teaching song, after song, after song, week, after week, after week and never really delving into the theory behind the song.

To be clear, there’s nothing wrong with learning songs – but neglecting to learn the theory behind what you are playing WILL be detrimental to your long term development. Make sure your tutor has a good grounding in music theory and can teach it in the context of the songs you are learning.

5. Brings structure to your learning

The most important thing a good instructor will do for your guitar learning is bring structure to it. There are so many things to learn, so many directions to go and so many ways to go wrong.

A good instructor will be able to bring the necessary structure to your learning to enable you to see results up front and know that you are headed in the right direction with your long term development.

If lessons with your guitar tutor are lacking structure then suggest they begin teaching you from a structured curriculum as it will bring focus to your lessons and enable you to develop much quicker in the right direction.

This is why so many tutors opt to use our Jamorama course as a basis for their teaching – because it brings structure to the learning process.

Keep these things in mind when you go looking for a tutor and you can’t go wrong.
Remember, you are well within your rights to try a few different tutors before you settle on the one that is right for you, just let them know that’s what you are doing up front.

All the best!

The Team!

The post Finding a guitar tutor appeared first on Jamorama Blog.

“Progressive dreamy acoustic guitar”

If you live in Seattle, you probably already know Danny Godinez, I have heard that he is pretty famous out there… and after seeing his touring schedule, I can see he is a busy guitarist around the Seattle area.

I can’t see why he wouldn’t, he is a guitar freak! A super talented guitarist who pushes the envelope with his guitar playing which is really inspiring!

Acoustic guitars, wah wah pedal, loop station, percussive fingers and lots of harmonics…

Danny Godinez is a Seattle based guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is also a solo performer and collaborates with the legendary drummer Michael Shrieve (Santana) in a project called Spellbinder.

His solo performances range from intricate finger style guitar, to vocally driven pieces, to experimental soundscapes using real time samples and innovative guitar style.

Check him out in a solo performance:

Enjoy!

Posted by Luis Tovar

The post Danny Godinez appeared first on Jamorama Blog.

The Kid´s dream!

I think that 80% or more of my musician friends have always dreamed of having their own home studio. Have you? I dream about it everyday.

Imagine walking in from your backyard, into a nice, comfy room, shutting the door and setting up some microphones, turning on your amp and pressing the record button. That would be amazing!

Now, is it easy to create your own home studio? I think it is, of course, you need some space at home to set up your studio in… and do not forget about some cash to get some gear. You do not need to go for the expensive gear though, there are lots of options that will work a treat!

Every year, companies create new programs and improve old ones, creating higher quality interfaces with more features. Recording can be a difficult thing, it is a science in itself, however, everyone can do it with a little know-how and some reading. Basically, anything is possible if you have the right tools.

I think the money factor often scares people a little and stops them from investing in a home recording environment. At the very least, this has been an obstacle in the past. But things are changing and you can now get a pretty decent recording in a home studio from as little as a couple of hundred dollars. You can of course spend more, but it always pays to think big, start small.

The reasons:

Why would you like to have a home studio? For me, I want to be ready when inspiration strikes. I’ve found inspiration can hit me at any time and I would love to be able to capture those ideas in my own home studio. I can continue working on that idea later and more importantly, not forget it.

So what is your reason? Depending on your answer, you can find out how much you are looking to spend on your gear. Are you wanting to record yourself just to analyze your playing? Then you do not need to spend a lot of money, you can even do it with a good/modern cell phone or with a nice computer microphone… but perhaps you are wanting to create a band demo or yourself, or produce a CD, then you will need to spend a little more cash on gear.

Which brings us to the business side of things.

The gear:

If you are subscribed to our JamEdge Newsletter I can assume that you already have a home computer or laptop, which is the first step for creating your home recording studio. Your computer is what brings life to your sounds – your computer is what will run the software you need to record your instrument signal (guitar, bass, drums, piano, etc.) so you can then transform it all into a song or even share the music on the Internet, easy isn’t it? You will come to see it is!

Plugging your gear into your computer – An interface.

An interface is the bridge between your guitar or microphones and your computer. You can buy a nice interface for a $100 bucks, of course, you can get a more expensive one… remember, it all comes down to what you are wanting to achieve – The purpose.

Most of the basic and newest interfaces can be plugged to your computer via USB or via Firewire (recommended options). Remember, the interface is the bridge between your instrument and your computer so think about how many inputs you will need – would you like to be able to record a whole drum kit at some point? Then you will need an interface with at least 4 inputs. If you are only wanting to record yourself playing the guitar, the minimum of 2 inputs will do you just fine.

Most interfaces also come with software, so you will be killing two birds with one stone. You’ll get the hardware (interface) and software to manipulate what you record. You are now ready to start recording! One important thing to mention is that the interface has everything you need to record, it has the inputs for microphones, MIDI and of course the outputs for your monitors or speakers.

Getting the sounds out!

A pair of nice monitors is always a PLUS! You could of course use your laptop speakers (not recommended) or your stereo sound system, however, the quality is not the same.

Buying a pair of nice speakers or monitors can be a really good investment and believe me, your ears will appreciate it. You will be looking at spending around $200 bucks on a basic pair of speakers.Brands to look out for include: M-Audio, Behringer and Yamaha who all have a few low cost options with good quality. If you want to spend some more money, look out for some KRK, Genelec or ADAM.

1-2, 1-2… The Mics!

I want to avoid getting into any technical stuff, if you are really keen on the recording studio topic, you might need to do some more research, anyway here are the basics: Buying a microphone is a crucial thing, there are basically two kinds, dynamic and condenser mics. Dynamic mics are good for recording high sound level instruments such as a guitar or bass amp, wind or brass instruments, percussion and of course, a drum kit (snare drum, kick and toms).

Condenser mics are basically more sensitive and are used more for cymbals and vocals. Condenser mics are of course a bit more expensive than a dynamic microphone.

My advice is to go for what works, for the classic stuff… if you do some research you will find out that everyone recommends having at least one or two SHURE SM57s in your arsenal. This one is probably one of the most famous dynamic mic in the world. It offers superb sound quality and is often used to record amps, wind and brass instruments as well as drums.

The Software.

As I mentioned in the interface section, some interfaces come with a recording software as part of the bundle. However, you might also want to do some research in this field; the software is basically what you will use to do the recording. Some of the most popular software out there is Logic, Cakewalk, Cubase, Nuendo and Sonar, but there are hundreds of great options in the market.

The room.

The room sound is as important as all the things listed above. Lets do a recap: computer, speakers, microphones, guitar amp… mmm… not a lot of things, it definitely can fit in a small bedroom, not a problem. Now, remember that the quieter the location is, the better results you will get.

A very important aspect for any room is the acoustics. How live is your room? A simple test is to go into your room and clap. What do you hear? Can you hear any resonance? If you can, then that room will probably need some acoustic treatment. The rule is simple, the more acoustically dead your room, the better your recording will be.

Get into it!

Let’s be honest here… what I have just told you about creating your home recording studio is only a small percentage of what’s out there. There are many technical details and setup issues that have to be solved, some help from an experienced head is always beneficial. However, I didn’t want to get into any more detail, because I think that anyone can start a home studio at a very low cost, if you have an interest in it. And of course, the more you get into it, the more information and experience you will get,

Would you like to know more?

If you would like to get into home recording… do some research on the following topics:

- Microphones
- Recording software (read the manuals)
- Acoustic treatments for rooms
- Experience from recording studios

If you have already started to build your own home studio, we would love to hear about your experience building it and maybe some pictures? Share the knowledge, share the music!

All the best!

Posted by Luis Tovar

The post Creating your home studio appeared first on Jamorama Blog.

Integrate your iOS with your pedalboard!

For the first time, guitar and bass players can integrate their favorite iOS signal processing apps with their existing live pedalboard setup for enhanced tone shaping and effects processing using an iPhone/iPod touch or iPad.

iRig STOMP is based on the widely popular AmpliTube iRig interface and is compatible with any iOS guitar / amp / instrument app.

iRig STOMP – With a very MXR pedals look and feel.

• Compact, durable yet lightweight, aluminum-cast enclosure integrates easily with any traditional pedalboard.
• Can be used inline with other effects pedals, or directly connected to amplifiers or PA systems using regular 1/4″ guitar cables, with no need for adapters.
• Allows precise adjustment of the signal for perfect guitar and bass levels with its large input gain knob.
• Active battery-powered output circuit improves headroom, especially when used with high-gain amplifiers in the AmpliTube app, reducing feedback and crosstalk when recording.
• The bypass switch allows engaging or bypassing the AmpliTube app chain of effects – like a traditional stompbox – for seamless integration into any existing rig.
• Ultra-compact form-factor can be easily carried on the road.
• Features a 3.5mm/1/8″ jack for silent practicing with headphones.
• Includes AmpliTube FREE app and can be used with any other guitar processing app that uses the iOS mini-jack
• Has an ultra-small, compact profile that can be carried anywhere with ease.
• Compatible with iPhone/iPod touch/iPad.

What is it?

Well, it’s basically a stompbox interface for your iOS device that allows you to use your iPhone/iPod touch/iPad with your existing pedal board. Or, you can use just the iRig Stomp. It’s constructed from durable military-grade aluminum for indestructible performance (unless you run over it with a tank), and has the same switch you find on today’s most popular foot pedals.

The iRig Stomp is an active circuit powered either by a 9v battery or by your pedal board power system. Both ways provide a high quality active system signal with lots of headroom.

Check out this presentation video from the IK Multimedia team:

Posted by Luis Tovar

The post iRig STOMP by IK Multimedia appeared first on Jamorama Blog.

Are you enjoying your practice routine?

As the time passes you by you earn more and more years of experience playing music and you do not only get to find out what type of routines you need but you also get to enjoy it and have fun while practicing.

Now – after more than 15 years playing drums I can say that I really enjoy learning technical stuff and more complex beats, I know that they help me with some other stuff and I actually enjoy the challenge and the “boring” routine. I am at a point where I could play the same lick for hours or read same slow and boring exercise for 40 minutes and still enjoy it, but only because that is what I want to learn at the moment, while 10 years ago I only wanted to learn to play songs I liked.

But are all these type of exercises fun for a beginner? For someone who is only starting to play or learning guitar as a hobby? Man, if you think about it, approaching learning the guitar this way is quite insane for a beginner. I can really see why some people can’t pass the beginners phase; perhaps they have the wrong tutor who is only teaching the boring stuff at the beginning and making them repeat the same boring exercises over and over again. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that is bad, what I am saying is that there can be a better way to practice, even when learning technical stuff, which can be fun.

Look at it this way, if you practice something that is boring, your playing will sound boring too and of course, repetitive. What can you do to have fun? I guess freedom is an important take home term.

Play whatever you want to play! Learn whatever you want to learn!

If you play what you really want to play, you will play more often and for a longer time. Playing longer hours and more often will make you a better guitarist… it is a cycle, but a nice and enjoyable cycle which will actually bring good results for your guitar playing.

By playing what you want to play, you will end up learning a lot of technical exercises and you will learn them when you feel like. Perhaps you heard a song on the radio this morning, and liked what you heard. Look up the TAB and learn it… or perhaps you like a complex guitar riff or solo, spend hours playing your guitar trying to play that riff.

What I am trying to say is that in order to learn to play the guitar, or any other instrument, there is a path to follow, there are topics that help you for certain things, but I don’t think there is necessarily a particular order in which to learn them. I think you can go with whatever you feel like learning or finding about first – of course, YOU DO NEED a guide of topics to work with.

What we are trying to achieve is to learn to play the guitar and it doesn’t matter how we do it, what matters is that we actually do learn to play it!

So, if technique and complex exercises are what you are into, practice that, burn your brain and fingers with those exercises. If you are into songs, get the TAB and play them over and over again. If you’re into scales, the same goes for you!

What I do recommend keeping as part of any routine you adopt, is warming up. No half decent athlete would just walk out onto the track without first warming up. The same applies for us guitarists.

I hope you get the idea!

Posted by Luis Tovar

The post How to have fun with your guitar practice? appeared first on Jamorama Blog.

So what is it exactly? Not a guitar amp!

The Hanwell Speaker is basically a combo guitar amp but with the tiny difference that you won’t be able to plug your guitar in… it is specifically made to pump out your records or mp3 collection!

The Marshall Classic look… the cabinet is made out of wood and vinyl and it has an analog power switch which looks real badass! Plus of course the controls you need to crank your sounds out: volume, bass and treble. It comes with a single 3.5 mm jack so you can plug in your favorite music or media player.

The Hanwell cabinet is not for sale yet but Marshall announced it will be ready to market sometime in November, 2012. You better start saving but you will also have to be fast as Marshall has also announced that there will be a limited amount of this pretty little marshall monster.

Who wouldn’t like to have one in their living room? Imagine cranking all your music through a Marshall Cabinet? That is gonna be awesome, if you get to buy one please invite us to hang out with you – would you? We can bring some of our Jamorama Jamtracks!

For more info and to keep updated about the Marshall Hanwell cabinet, check out Marshall Headphones web site.

Posted by

Luis Tovar

The post Marshall Hanwell speakers appeared first on Jamorama Blog.

Before the song finished I ran to my computer to see who the guitarist was. His name – Edgar Cruz. First of all, I didn’t know who he was or how his music got into my collection, perhaps it was a divine sign? Anyway, since that day I have been listening to a lot of classical guitar, more flamenco orientated and I am loving it! It really is beautiful and worthwhile listening for any musician!

Who is Edgar Cruz?
He’s an independent classical and finger-style guitarist from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Having recorded over a sixteen albums in styles ranging from Classical to Flamenco, Pop to Jazz, Cruz has played it all. It is perhaps his finger-style arrangement of Bohemian Rhapsody for which he is best.

Check it out:

If you are into this type of music, I would love if you shared some of your favorites!

If you want to watch more videos of him and find out about his discography, visit his Media section, on his web site.

I hope you enjoy it!

The post Edgar Cruz’s Bohemian Rhapsody appeared first on Jamorama Blog.

20 MORE tips to improve your playing!

1. Learn to play with a pick as well as your fingers.
2. Watch guitar players you know are good and the ones you also like. Focus on what they do with their body as well as their fingers, the way a guitarist looks when playing is also an important thing.
3. Store your guitar in a safe place. If you don’t have a stand, keep it in it’s case. Preferably in an area that doesn’t have huge temperature fluctuations.
4. Play with other guitarists and/or musicians. Playing with other people will give you insight into your own playing.
5. Don’t try and force yourself, it will only make it worse.
6. Record yourself. This will give you some direct feedback. Remember, you don’t need a home recording studio, you can use your cellphone or your computer’s built-in mic.
7. Check out guitar magazines and of course, guitar blogs. Heaps of information and interesting topics are always discussed there.
8. Share guitar licks and riffs with your friends.
9. Create your own exercises. This is pretty easy to do. You can also modify other exercises you find in books or online.
10. Study music theory. I know music theory can be boring and also difficult, but having at least the basics will help you so much in creating your own music.
11. Learn how to read guitar TAB.
12. Learn about music history. Another thing that can be boring, read about musicians you like, read biographies, that will be interesting.
13. Train your ear. Nobody is born with a musical ear; training your ear is the only way you can develop one. The benefits of ear training are immense. You will be able to hear chord progressions and solos and play them back note for note by ear.
14. Build an extensive repertoire. Developing a repertoire involves memorizing dozens of songs, this of course includes chord progressions, solos and different parts, a great exercise to improve your playing and memory.
15. Practice at a steady pace. Always learn slow, it will make things so much easier and you will understand much better.
16. Learn a blues scale and then learn how to improvise with it.
17. Learn different rhythms. Reggae, rock, ska, metal, blues…
18. Learn barre chords and barre chord patterns. Altering the pinky on a bar chord can make lots of different chords, like sixths and sevenths.
19. Buy a capo. Capos can be great if you get bored of playing in standard position all the time.
20. Learn different tunings. If you get bored of your guitar tuning, try using different ones, Drop D is a very popular one and fun to play with but there are heaps more.

So there you are, another 20 tips that will hopefully help you somehow! Keep them in mind!

If you missed the first part of this series, click here.

Cheers!

Luis Tovar

The post 20 tips to improve your playing II appeared first on Jamorama Blog.

Esoterik guitars launched something like this, they announced their fully customizable ESO-C guitars with options of different woods, pickups, hardware, knob placement and much more.

For those who are wondering who and what Esoterik guitars are…

Esoterik guitars started as a high end, custom guitar manufacturer in 2010. They met up with the extremely talented and technical guitar player Dave Reffett. They signed Dave on as their first endorsement and now offer a full line of signature (DR) models. For those of you who still like customizing your own ax they now offer the ESO-C model where you can mix and match your choice of select woods, hardware and knob placement. Esoterik Guitars is dedicated to making the most practical, comfortable and best sounding guitars imaginable. Simply try one and you won’t turn back.

A young company which knows what and how to do what they want!

Esoterik guitars have a very Heavy Metal look, and yes, they are awesome for playing heavy music, from black metal to hard rock but they can also throw out a more warm but solid sound for blues or jazz, so you can go anywhere you want with these guitars!

So if you would like to create your own ESO-C, you have the following options:

- Body: Mahogany/Alder
- Neck: Walnut/Maple
- Headstock Overlay: Ebony/Rosewood/Koa
- Pickups: EMG/Seymour Duncan
- Knob Placement: Out of the way/Close volume
- Hardware: Floyd Rose/Kahler/TonePros with GraphTech nut and saddles
- Fret Board Pearl Dots: Centered/Bass Side/None
- Cover Plate Laser Engraving: E logo/Sun logo/Embryo logo/None

This model also features 24 Jumbo Frets, Neck Through Design, 25.5” Scale Length, Unique Body Contours, Dual Truss Rods and a Natural Oil Finish. All Esoterik Guitars are designed and handcrafted with the highest quality standards in San Luis Obispo, CA.

If you would like one, you would be looking at spending around $3,800. Visit Esoterik guitars website, they also have 3 more different models available, the DR1, DR2 and DR3. Check them all out.

Now get your earplugs on and check out this demo from Dave Reffett:

Luis Tovar

The post Esoterik Guitars appeared first on Jamorama Blog.

More than 30 years of progressive Rock and still going!

Alex Lifeson is one of those guitarists that were, are and will be a very important part of music history and especially Rock and Progressive Rock. Who doesn’t know the Canadian band called RUSH? If you don’t, well, boy you are missing something very important, especially if you are a rock lover.

Lifeson can be considered a virtuoso, not because of his fast fingers but because of his musicality. He indeed is a very musical guitarist. RUSH is a trio, bass, drums and guitar and Lifeson does know how to fill every gap between the bass and drums. He comes up with the nicest chord progressions and very colorful textures that you simply cannot like them as a guitarist.

Lifeson’s style of playing has always been influenced by technology, in other words, pedal effects. He is very meticulous about his sound. I always compare Lifeson and Gilmour, they both know how to sound freaking amazing! They do use pedal effects but they use them well! Like we all should!

Lifeson’s playing has been always represented by Gibson guitars, he also did use PRSs at various times in his career but he has been a proud endorser of Gibson.

Alex Lifeson three best guitar solos – From Gibson.com

When MusicRadar.com’s Joe Bosso caught up with Rush’s Alex Lifeson, they asked him the question on everybody’s mind: ‘So what are your three best solos, Alex?’ And then MusicRadar.com kindly shared Lifeson’s answers with us!

The legendary guitarist reportedly needed only a moment before answering:

Limelight (1981) – “I love the elasticity of the solo. It’s a very emotional piece of music for me to play. The song is about loneliness and isolation, and I think the solo reflects that. There’s a lot of heart in it. It’s a feel thing: you have to feel a solo as you play it, otherwise it’s going to sound stiff. I never had that problem with Limelight. The first time I laid it down in the studio, I feel a real attachment to it and I could tell it was special. Even now, it’s my favorite solo to perform live. I never get tired of it. Each time I’m about to play it, I take a deep breath and I exhale on that first note. I guess that sounds corny, but for me, it releases something.”

Kid Gloves (1984) – “That song is from our Grace Under Pressure album. What I like about the solo is, it’s the opposite of Limelight: it’s got a hip, kind of slinky attitude, a little goofy humor. When I play it, I feel a certain confidence, also like a prankster, which is not the way I am in real life at all. What’s funny about it, too, is that it has a plot to it, and I only realized that after I recorded it for the first time — I never have a plot in mind when I’m recording solos; I always just kind of wing them. The Kid Gloves solo guided me; it’s like it knew what it wanted to be and I just had to allow myself to follow.”

Freewill (1980) – “It’s a really hard solo to play. I think I feel a certain amount of pride in that fact alone. Every time I play it, I’m amazed I got through it. It’s so frenetic and exciting. The rhythm section too — Geddy and Neil are all over the place. It’s probably one of the most ambitious pieces of music Rush has ever done. In a sense, everybody’s soloing at the same time. Recording it, I didn’t have anything planned; I was just responding to what the other guys did. Basically, I was just trying to keep up! But I think it worked out pretty well. I’m rather happy with it, and I can usually find fault with everything I do.”

Posted by

Luis Tovar

The post Rush´s Alex Lifeson appeared first on Jamorama Blog.

The recording process is really cool. Well, for first timers it can be scary, it was for me a few years ago. Perhaps I was musically well prepared but just the simple fact of being in a studio environment, headphones with a click track and trying to play perfect made me a bit stressed. I was thinking too much instead of trusting all my hours of practice and feeling the groove. I think I have now learned to enjoy the recording situation way more and I am really looking forward to recording with my band in a couple of months.

The other night, while being in the studio where we are going to record I started to create a to-do list in my mind before going into the studio. If you wanna have a successful recording session, you have to fight for it and be prepared.

So this is my list – as a drummer, translated for you as a guitarist:

The Gear: Your guitar amp will be surrounded by at least 2 high quality mics, your sound will be captured at a 150%, whether it’s red hot or not-so. Perhaps your amp has a little problem that your ear cannot detect, well, the microphones will and you don’t want this in your recording.

So you definitely need to check out:

1. Your guitar or guitars. Having a couple of different guitars would be ideal to get different sounds, perhaps a track needs a more rock sound, or a more classic blues sound, having an extra guitar with a different pick-up configuration is never a bad thing. Once you have your guitars sorted, make sure your intonation is accurate and that every guitar stays in tune. You don’t want any type of noise from any of the controls or buzzing frets.

GET NEW STRINGS, this is crucial, you want your guitar to sound at its best and a new set of strings will help you achieve this. But please please, don’t put on the new strings 10 minutes before getting into the recording studio. The strings have to stretch and settle, I would say that putting new strings on a day or two before getting into the studio would be ideal.

2. Amplifier and speakers. Most studios have their own gear such as Amps and speakers, make sure to have a chat with the Studio managers and see what is available. Perhaps what they have has a better sound that your amp? Most studios offer you their gear for every session at no extra cost, in other words, what they charge includes the use of their gear, but ask them first.

If you love your amp sound, check it out… make sure it doesn’t have any noisy tubes. Check that everything functions as it should and play it everyday before getting into the studio in case something fails and needs to be fixed or replaced. Again, your amp will be mic’d and these mics will capture noises that perhaps you don’t notice while playing on stage or at rehearsal, so check out your speaker cab, open it up just to make sure your speaker mounting bolts, back panels, handles and whatever else are tight.

3. Guitar effects and accessories. Your best mates! What defines your sound! Make sure all your pedals are in good shape. This involves putting in new batteries or getting AC/DC converters that do not create any unwanted noise. Also cleaning your pedals is a must – mics will capture everything, even the scratching noise of a Wah pedal. Are your cables and inputs in pristine condition? They totally should!

The performance: Gear in perfect condition is very important but it is nothing if you are not prepared and ready to record. Unless you have your own home studio or you have an unlimited budget for recording you can take it slow and even go to practice in the studio. But most of us have to pay hundreds to get just a few hours of a recording session, so make it count.

Practice with your band as if you were in the studio already. Always try to get perfection in your playing. Practice extra hours at home on your own, practice and play every song at least a couple of times everyday. It won’t take you long and you will thank me once your recording is sounding amazingly well played.

Get a piece of paper and write down your parts, solos and ideas for every track, write down all the arrangements and have them all ready for when the time comes – this will be really helpful to nail things better.

It goes without saying, ALWAYS PRACTICE WITH A METRONOME.

Positive and open attitude: It doesn’t matter if this is your first or 10th time in a professional recording studio, always have a good attitude about what you do and also about what others suggest you might do.

A recording engineer has experience, he or she has listened to many bands, many great, good and not so good guitarists. If someone suggests you do something, try it out; they are doing it to help you achieve a better sound. PLEASE DO NOT be offended if he or she tells you to change something with your playing or your gear, it is always worth trying every suggestion out! The results can be way better than what you expected.

Have fun. Recording is an amazing experience that will be captured on audio for the rest of your life, make it sound nice. Be happy while recording it, create a nice vibe between you, your playing, your sound, the studio and of course, your band. If you are positive and happy, your music will be influenced and will be heard like that!

I know recording can be stressful, you are paying money and spending a whole day in a room but try to love it! Experiences like this don’t happen everyday.

These are the things I always keep in mind and of course I do before getting into the studio. You should start preparing maybe a month or two before getting into the studio. You won’t regret it!

Hope this helps and don’t forget to let us know about your recording experiences. Any questions or problems you would like to share? Please comment them out!

Cheers!

Luis Tovar

The post Getting ready for recording appeared first on Jamorama Blog.

To start with, we often learn to tune the guitar to itself. Thankfully though, tuning your guitar to itself is no longer necessary – although I think you definitely should know how to do it – technology is on top of things and there are now more options besides the typical guitar tuners. There are floor pedals, rack units and even mobile apps so you can always have your guitar or bass in tune.

Are you happy with your current tuner? Perhaps you are looking for a new one… if you are, you should check out the “Clip on” tuners. They are super handy and super accurate.

At first, I didn’t think they were that good, but after seeing many guitarists using them, including the three guitarists I play with, I discovered they are the best! Another great thing is that there are heaps of brands/options out there and you can buy a good one for less than $20 bucks.

So just to give you a few examples of what is available:

KORG Pitchclip PC-1 clip on tuner

You know KORG and KORG tuners have always been great. Their highly accurate rackmount tuners and compact tuners are popular among seasoned pros and everyday musicians alike—in fact, many players’ first tuners bore the Korg name on their plastic housings.

- Tuning Range: A0 – C8
- Extremely compact
- Single chromatic tuning mode for guitar and bass
- Reversible display readout, easy to read
- Korg rates precision +/-1 cent

Price: $20.00

SEIKO STX2 Clip-on chromatic tuner

I know, Seiko is more recognized for their wristwatches as well as for the countdown clocks on some Olympic games. Seiko’s Clip-On tuner has an old-school, classic look which I like and of course, its accuracy is simply as perfect as a clock ticking.

- Tuning Range: A0 – C8
- Calibration: 435 Hz – 446 Hz
- Compact design for portability
- Excellent, precise tuning
- Sensitivity-Modulate function blocks out background noise when tuning in noisy areas

Price: $45

Fishman FT-1 Digital Tuner

This one is a beautifully small clip on tuner with a downside, its movability is not that handy when needing a quick tune while being on stage.

- Tuning Range: A0 – C8
- Calibration: 435 Hz – 445 Hz
- Modes for chromatic, 6- and 7-string guitar, bass, and ukulele
- Easy to reach controls
- Built-in switchable mic
- Extremely vibrant display

Price: $25

So now you know about Clip-On tuners. They are small, super handy and of course accurate. What else can you ask for? These are only three options among the dozens available in the market.

What to look for?

When looking for a Clip-On tuner you definitely should check out where it can be positioned on your guitar without getting in the way. Some of them could create problems for some headstocks. So my suggestion would be to go to your local store and check them all out.
It is hard to go wrong with a tuner these days in terms of accuracy, so focus more on its durability and portability.

Keep always in tune!

Luis Tovar

The post Guitar tuners appeared first on Jamorama Blog.

Did you know that making a Flamenco guitar takes about 300 hours of work? Obviously a lot of knowledge, love and passion for wood, guitars and MUCHO FLAMENCO!!!

I found this beautiful and excellent video on Vimeo, created by DeepGreenSea, a multi-disciplinary group of artists that combine exceptional creative capabilities with a deep knowledge of technology.

The ‘Art of Making’ series aspires to display and highlight people who go against the spirit of today’s pessimism and desperation. They dare to dream and create with zeal and imagination. Armed with passion for knowledge and emotion, they attempt to combine the precision of science with the elegance and resourcefulness of art. We thank them wholeheartedly for their contribution.

This video contains 300 hours of work compressed in only 3 minutes and 22 seconds, check it out, you won’t regret:

If you like what you see, you should check out the luthiers website.

Enjoy!

Luis Tovar

The post Alma Flamenca appeared first on Jamorama Blog.

Interested in his sound and gear?

His main guitar is a slightly modded Tyler Studio Elite w/ Suhr Vintage single coils, Duncan Full Shred in the bridge. Krantz is amped with Marshall 2553, 2×12 or 4×12 Celestion V30s and his main pedals are Crybaby wah, Moogerfooger ring mod, Boss DD-3, Boss OC-2, Blues Driver w/ Analog Mike mod, Looper bypass box, D’Addario EXL 110, Fender medium picks.

If you are into Wayne Krantz style and you would like some help or lessons from him, you should check out his livekrantz.com site. The site contains a number of lesson for download and a new feature: hour-long lessons over Skype.

There are dozens of amazing videos of Krantz on Youtube, but I think this one is the best way to introduce you to him, in case you haven’t met him already – a very recent show with one of the latest duo he has performed with, Tim Lefebvre on Bass and the amazing Keith Carlock on drums, check it out:

Luis Tovar

The post Wayne Krantz appeared first on Jamorama Blog.

A lot of users have mentioned that they don’t feel comfortable or they don’t seem to be able to relax when they play the guitar, especially when pressing down some chords … Do we have a solution to this?

More than being a solution or a simple yes or no type of answer, it is more about being aware of a few things.

Relaxation can really improve or affect your learning. Not only in terms of speed but also with how you hold the guitar and more importantly, how you ‘hold’ the chords.

When we start playing the guitar, we always push to get a clear and bright sound out of our chords. But most of the time we forget about other important things, such as staying relaxed. Not only do we need to keep our strumming hand loose (think shaking water of your hand) but we also need to keep our fretting hand relaxed..

Being not relaxed has two major downsides:

1. Sounding out of tune:

It is very common for us to receive an email from players who want to know why they sound out of tune, even after they’ve checked their guitar’s tuning and intonation – the answer to this question is often another question: How hard are you holding the strings down?

When you hold a string down toward the fretboard it comes in contact with the desired fret. If you then apply too much pressure to the string, you essentially stretch the string over the fret causing the note to go sharp. How sharp the notes goes depends entirely on the height of the frets on your particular guitar. Higher frets will cause the note to be sharper than lower frets. Scalloped fretboard will also have more of a detuning effect. So ease up on the pressure a little. Experiment with finger position within the fret to see where you can get a clean sound while staying relaxed.

2. Fretting hand slow speed:

Many players feel like they cannot achieve the necessary speed to play the music they want to play. Again, the culprit is “how hard you hold the strings down”. When you are holding the strings to the fretboard too hard it is much more difficult to move your fingers quickly and smoothly. This can often be the cause of cramping in the hand and forearm.

Furthermore using too much force is going to cause fatigue in your fingers, wrist and forearm muscles causing you to slow down even more. If you learn to have a lighter touch you will have much more success in achieving speed and you will be able to play longer and more relaxed.

Are you experiencing any of these two things with your playing? Now you know what it can be!

So keep this in mind and be conscious when practicing and playing the guitar.

Luis Tovar

The post Getting the grip appeared first on Jamorama Blog.

Everyone knows PRS guitars, yes they are amazing, not only because of the look but also the sound. Who uses PRS? Carlos Santana, Al Di Meola, Mark Tremonti, Paul Jackson Jr. and Mike Akerfeldt just to name a few.

So, are you feeling like investing some cash in a new guitar? Would you like to get one fully customized by PRS? Check out PRS Artist Package.

PRS Artist Package is an exclusive platform for PRS core electric guitars that offers expanded features, options, and colors on select models. Available for the first time since 2008, the PRS Artist Package has been updated with a completely new option-based platform that results in the most distinctive instruments available from the PRS Core production line.

It is a 3 simple step process:

1. Choose your model from the seven available options + Artist package

• Artist Grade Maple Top
• Select Mahogany Back
• Premium Mexican Ebony Fretboard
• Ebony Headstock Veneer with Inlaid Signature
• Ebony Truss Rod Cover
• Artist Bird Inlays
• Artist Case

2. Adding extras

Want a quilt top on your McCartney 58? A quilt top and back on your Hollowbody model? A figured maple or East Indian rosewood neck on your Studio? Nickel, gold, or hybrid hardware? 57/08, 59/09, or 53/10 pickups?

3. Choose your favorite color from more than 65 amazing colors!

Interested? Check out the photo gallery to be convinced that your next guitar has to be a custom PRS.

Now, good things cost money, well, bad things do as well… if you’re keen on one of the offered PRS models you would be looking at spending something between 6,000 and 9,000 – If I had the money, I totally would have a go at creating my own PRS Artist Package. Wouldn’t you?

Luis Tovar

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Richie Kotzen played the guitar for both bands. He recorded one album with Poison in 1993 and five with Mr.Big.

Kotzen is not only about hard rock, he is actually a great blues and fusion guitar player. He is great, I personally prefer his fusion side at the moment. And he is an excellent singer and songwriter.

He started to play guitar at the age of 7, inspired by KISS. He recorded his first solo album by the age of 19, after being discovered by Shrapnel Records but he was already playing in a band called Arthurs Museum.

If you ask me, Richie Kotzen’s album, Change is probably one of the best ones as well, of course, as the fusion album The Inner Galactic Fusion Experience with Richie Kotzen – Please check it out!

If you dig it, you will love this guitar solo by Kotzen:

Luis Tovar

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20 tips that can help your current guitar playing situation.

1. Always learn new things: There are hundreds of different techniques that you can learn on guitar, research, ask and try.
2. Learn a new chord every day. There are more than 200 chords and chord progression suggestions here – Learn some chord variations to spice up your playing.
3. Buy a guitar course, either an online course or books and DVDs.
4. Try learning another instrument too, drums, harmonica, piano, anything that you like or have an interest in. It will help you to improve your skills as a guitarist and mould you into a more rounded musician.
5. Do you hate dancing? Make it your friend, it will help you to improve your rhythm.
6. Try to play songs you like by ear . It doesn’t matter if you make mistakes, an error always equals a new learning. Trying to play songs like this will help improve your chord recognition.
7. Don’t stress when playing your guitar. Playing the guitar is fun. Love it!
8. If you play electric, try acoustic. If you play acoustic, try electric. If you’ve tried everything, learn some latin jazz or Flamenco.
9. Read and research for guitar websites like this and always post questions or comments on blogs or forums.
10. Give your instrument some love. Always clean and maintain your guitar so it’s always at its best.
11. Air your questions and doubts to other guitarists you know.
12. Something we have mentioned here hundreds of times, listen to music! Not only your favorite style but every style.
13. Learn guitar scales. The repetition will help develop consistency and technique.
14. Practice consistently. Try for at the very least 1 hour every 2 days, 40 minutes everyday would be ideal!
15. Always warm up. This is very important, every time you practice make sure you warm up for at least 10 or 15 minutes.
16. Become a guitar geek. Learn everything about the guitar, technical aspects, what type of set-up you like; strings, amps, pickups, etc. The internet is the best source of information for this.
17. If you are going to get serious about your guitar playing, buy a decent guitar. Never make a guitar buying decision hastily.
18. Use a metronome when practicing. Enough said!
19. Pay attention to your strumming hand once in awhile! Most guitar players spend way too much time focusing on their fretting hand.
20. Don’t try and take on too much. If a song or an exercise is too difficult for you, you may end up getting frustrated and giving up on the whole learning guitar thing. Not cool!

I think 20 tips are good for now. Read them all, once, twice or more but most importantly, put a few into practice starting now!

I will continue throwing out some more tips over the next few weeks!

Hope this helps!

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So what’s new in the market today? PocketStrings – Meet your guitar’s best friend!

PocketStrings is the ultimate “play everywhere” guitar practice tool. As its name suggests, it is extremely portable, fits in your jeans pocket and does have a very useful function.

PocketStrings allows you to practice and improve your guitar skills in guitar-unfriendly spots such as: cars, airplanes, the office, school, dinner table, and virtually any other place your pocket will fit, but your guitar won’t.

Built for guitarists of all skill sets, from rookies to rock stars, PocketStrings has a 4 fret model built for practicing chords and a 6 fret model made for both chords and scales.

PocketStrings is:

1. Portable: Take it anywhere and everywhere
2. Weightless: Sleek, thin design that makes it easy to put in your pocket
3. Durable: Engineered to be rocked on
4. Real Frets: It does look and feels like a real guitar
5. Real Strings: Build your finger strength and calluses while practicing.

If you wanna get more info and how to buy it, visit PocketStrings.com

This product is very similar to ShredNeck, which we have blogged about. So now you have two options to choose from!

Check out Pocket Strings video presentation:

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1. Being a guitar tutor
2. Becoming a Luthier
3. Playing in a covers band

I agree, those three things can help you make some cash, for sure. The Luthier one could be a more long term cash income, but becoming a tutor and playing in a covers band can definitely help you to start making money with your guitar playing, fast.

Are there any other options out there? I think there are a couple more, but one that I think is available for any guitarist is becoming a session guitarist. Of course, you need a lot of experience on your instrument and music in general – sight reading, technique, versatility among others.

Probably becoming a session guitarist wasn’t in your mind but I think that it’s a good option to have, but know that a lot of work is involved to become one.

Do you know what a session musician is and what it involves?

Let’s start by saying that being a session guitarist is probably one of the best jobs in the world, besides being in a famous band of course. What can a session guitarist do? It can be anything, from going into recording sessions for artists/bands you don’t even know or have heard of, to playing in live shows with superstars or not so superstars – it involves every aspect of music, rehearsals, recording sessions, lives shows, T.V shows, radio shows – and of course, getting paid for each session. Wouldn’t that be great?

It’s not an easy career though…

Being a session guitarist can be as serious as any other type of work. It is not sex, drugs and rock n roll, no way!

I have read, from many session musicians that it is a tough job indeed. Learning 30 or 50 songs a day, or getting the music charts and getting into business – that is tough!

Some session musicians, like the ones who play for American Idol or The Voice type of T.V. shows work more than 10 hours per day, play around 50 songs with different singers and there isn’t any margin for error.

So being a session guitarist is a great thing to be, you can make money, you can play with great artists and you can even put your art into recordings that might be remembered forever and become a part of Rock history. However, to be one, you have to work hard, you have to be prepared for everything and be ready to handle the pressure that session musicians are faced with.

If you are seriously thinking to become a session guitarist and you think you can be good enough to get into that business, keep these four things in mind:

1. Be versatile: Listen, study and play all types of music. You never know who you are gonna end up playing for, so be prepared. Know all music genres and play them well. Being a fluent sight-reader is a must have so you can play with the rest of the band after plugging in.

2. Be reliable: A golden rule! Basically, always be on time and do your best! If you always keep this formula in your pocket, you will be successful. Also, this formula involves having high quality gear – no more dodgy cables, broken inputs – always have the best gear in the best conditions, and don’t forget to carry spare cables, strings, etc.

3. Be easy to work with: This is easy, be sociable. Be friendly with everybody, not only the producers or artists, but with all the staff. This will build trust and is more likely to get you more work.

4. Be tooled up: Pro gear = pro musician? In this case it all comes down to not knowing what type of work you are going to be doing, so being prepared with different options for different situations, in terms of sound is going to mean you can quickly adapt your rig. Unfortunately, having good gear says a lot about a musician. Of course you have to be as good as your gear to really impress.

So how do you get started? Calling American Idol?

No way..well, you could try but that is going to be a hard one to get. Although, if you know there are auditions for session musicians, go to all of them if you think you are ready.

Another good way to start is to go to local recording studios, leave some business cards there, meet the staff there and use step 3 above – be sociable, friendly, offer your work as a session guitarist there. Also try with local bands, some of them might need a guitarist to record a demo, that is always a good way to start.

These days, the Internet can be a great tool as well. Record yourself and promote yourself on the World Wide Web! You never know who is out there waiting and listening for what you have to offer.

I really hope this helps, let us know your thoughts about being a session guitarist.

Cheers!

Luis Tovar

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