john etheridge's new fret king

Apologies here first of all, this post is for the guitar freaks out there.
Ex-Soft Machine guitarist John Etheridge told a funny tour story once, actually John will often tell you a funny story about life on the road, but on this occasion it was how he'd then recently been loaned a very expensive acoustic guitar to take with him on tour. It was one the makers were very keen for him to use on these particular world tour dates. Very specialised if you get the drift.
On him describing this wonder of craftsmanship you had to marvel at the idea of what it would actually be like to use something only a few musical mortals ever get their hands on. Well those that deserve it, rather than those that just chuck thousands of dollars for the purchase of an instrument because they can. Which is more common than you'd think.
Anyway after cooing over this description of the said preciousness the obvious question was "well what was it like to play on tour".
"A nightmare" replied John "it was like taking royalty out on the road".
There was first and foremost the continual worry of the thing being damaged in transit, and then the other major concern being it was built with such fineness it needed continual attention. It seemed any little thing could effect it's performance. Temperature. Which way the wind was blowing. Day of the week. Whether the stars were aligned.
"It was like a highly bred pedigree dog" he said with a laugh.
A case of careful with that axe Eugene it could be your reputation in small fragments.
The guitar did make it home safely.

John's just had a new electric model made for him. It's a signature 'Fret King Black Label FKV3JE Elise John Etheridge Model.'. Which is a big gob full of a title but it looks and sounds superb.
But then it would in Eth's hands.
He'll show you how it's built and then tears off a couple of solos. This "axe" is obviously not misbehaving.

guitar for geeks

Jeri Ellsworth is a self taught computer chip designer and hardware developer formally employed by Valve, famous for the Half Life games and Steam digital distribution platform. Jeri has historically had an interest in the famous 1980's computer the Commodore 64 with her own development career focusing largely on C64 based platforms.

Although Jeri is not necessarily musical by nature, it is one of her own projects that may be of more interest. In 2012 Jeri revealed what could be considered the holy grail for geeks and musicians from the early era of home computing.

Here is Jeri Ellsworth with her Commodore 64 bass guitar! The guitar is made out of a genuine Commodore 64, utilising the computer's own sound chip which processes signals sent from the strings by piezo pickups and electronics that she designed herself. The keys on the computer are used to alter the sound into different waveforms, each giving its own retro tone via the C64's 6581 SID sound chip.

Check out this great video of Jeri demonstrating the guitar.

johnny winter blues lesson

Around 2010, Guitar World recorded an interview with blues legend Johnny Winter, and if that wasn't joy enough to have the rare chance to hear the man talking about some of his early days in music he then goes on to give a demonstration of his mastery on the slide guitar.
Guitar World obviously originally accompanied the video with actual tab illustrations of the chords and they're referred to during the 10 minute film.
Although no matter how well meaning this is you can't help but feel despite these most useful diagrams when it comes to actually seeing Winter's technique in action with his classic cover of 'Highway 61' there'll be every chance you will sound nothing at all like the Texas White Lightnin'. Don't be disheartened though.. neither does anyone else.
But it is a unique opportunity to have a close up look at one of the worlds great blues players and listen to him talk about starting out at a young age and being influenced by Clarence Garlow and B.B. King, his memories of Freddie King, and then onto the meaty matters of thumb picks, open tunings and slides, finally finishing off with a quick blistering run through of Highway 61 and an example of Elmore James' style of slide playing.
Guitar World have high hopes for everyone viewing and called this a 'Johnny Winter Blues Lesson', but the reality is by most peoples mortal standards, it is a 'Johnny Winter Demonstration' and riveting viewing none the less.
Johnny Winter begins his 2013 European tour dates from April.

the trower power

After yesterdays post on Robin Trower's last album 'Playful Heart' it was super good to find a video of the man himself explaining his foot pedal set up for the album and that incredible big voice sound he achieves and has had for decades.
To add to this pedal array his modern amp setup is two Marshall Vintage Modern 2466 heads. One audience member who had heard him a few months ago described.. "He had 2 sets of stacks (Marshall), 1 on each side of the stage. When he played it was a really earie.. It was like the sound totally enveloped you. You have to be there to appreciate it"
Trower's a great guy to explain this stuff, his south London accent and straight talk explains simply with a light touch, and unlike some other guitarists he doesn't hide any of the techniques he uses from the viewer.
At last someone has had the good sense to capture this for future players.
It's a short video at about 2 minutes but it does explain a lot.

hendrix strat

Jimi Hendrix's 1965 Fender Stratocaster, which was famously set alight on stage during a performance at London's Finsbury Astoria in 1967, is going under the auctioneers hammer.
On the 31st March, 1967, Hendrix set fire to his Fender with lighter fuel for the first time when he was appearing at The Astoria in London, England.
It was the first night of a 24-date tour with unlikely headliners The Walker Brothers, Cat Stevens and Engelbert Humperdink (yikes!). The Fender was last sold in 2008 for a cool £280,000.
This time it's expected to be half a million!

Video below is a different Stratocaster he set fire to. Wonder where that one went?

joe bonamassa

Got to be said, Joe Bonamassa is one of the blues players for the 21st century. No secret of course to those that have already heard him, but this guy has all the right sounds and a voice.

"In an interview in Guitarist magazine he cited the three albums that had the biggest influence on his playing: John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton (the Beano album), Rory Gallagher's Irish Tour and Goodbye by Cream. He also stated that Stevie Ray Vaughan's Texas Flood was a big influence at a young age."

The New York blues man tours the UK in March 2012. Watch out !
Here he is recording "Ballad of John Henry"

How does he make the guitar sounds? Joe demonstrates his Effects pedals.
So now you know exactly what to do.. just go and do it.

joe strummer's telecaster

Strummer's main guitar throughout his career was a 1966 Fender Telecaster, he acquired the guitar in middle of 1975 while playing with London band the 101ers. After joining the Clash, the guitar's body and pickguard were refinished in grey auto primer and then painted black. By 1979, the word NOISE was stenciled on the upper part of the body, a rasta flag sticker was placed at the horn of the pickguard, and an "Ignore Alien Orders" sticker was placed above the bridge. By the release of Give ‘Em Enough Rope, the guitar was fitted with a bridge with individual saddles and the original Kluson tuners were replaced with later model tuners and a large question mark was spraypainted on its back. The guitar would remain in this configuration throughout his career with the addition of different stickers on its body.

Here's Joe playing the telecaster with the Mescaleros playing Brand New Cadillac, live in Cologne, Germany (1999). Joe died 22nd December 2002.

rory gallagher's strat

One of the most iconic guitars in rock and blues belonged to Rory Gallagher, bought for just shy of £100 in 1963 and played throughout his life.
(next section unashamedly edited from wikipedia where the facts are well recorded)

The guitar was extensively modified by Gallagher. The tuning pegs are odd (5 Sperzel pegs and one Gotoh), and all of these have been found to be replacements.
The pickups—none of which are original—were also changed. The final modification was that of the wiring: Gallagher disconnected the bottom tone pot and rewired it so he had just a master tone control along with the master volume control. He also installed a 5-way selector switch in place of the vintage 3-way one.
The most notable effect that years of touring have had is the almost complete removal of the guitar's original sunburst finish. When the Strat was stolen it was left abandoned in a ditch, in the rain, for days. This is not believed to have caused any effect. All of the wear is caused by playing, not misuse.
It also had a period of time of having a replacement neck, with the original bowing due to the amount of moisture it absorbed during continuous touring. The neck was taken off the Strat and left to settle, and was eventually reunited with the Strat after returning to its correct shape. Other quirks include a 'hump' in the scratch plate which moves the neck pickup closer to the neck on the bass side, and a replacement of all of the pickups, though this replacement was due to damage rather than a perception of a tonal inadequacy.

(above photograph : taken in Paris where it was exhibited for a short period with 4 other Fenders)
Here is Rory playing it with Taste in 1970.
A classic combination of the Stratocaster (Rangemaster) through a Vox AC30 amp.

gibson

October 10th 1902, The Gibson Mandolin guitar company was formed. Gibson's first and the worlds first commercially successful electric guitar the ES-150 was produced in 1936.
The ES-150 (pictured) was an electric guitar made with a "Spanish" neck. The ES stands for Electro-Spanish. 150 because it cost $150 (along with an EH-150 amplifier and a cable).
The most important player of the ES-150 was Charlie Christian. His flowing solos and warm sound revolutionized the jazz guitar influencing countless players there after..
Here's Charlie Christian live in small club. Even this 1940 's electric guitar solo has the first strains of 1950's rock and roll.
(There is no recorded film of Charlie Christian!)