Led Zeppelin Reunion

Guitar News

• Guitar Maintenance

  By: John Brown Any serious guitarist respects his instrument as something very high in value to him. He does not treat it as a toy that is thrown around and left lying around if it is slightly inconvenient for him to put it way. What entails taking care of your guitar in the proper way? Well, let me tell you! I always like to keep my instrument well taken care of. I'm even a little hesitant to let other people play in fear they may accidently chuck it across the room or set it on fire. Well, maybe not but I definitely don't want them to drop it and knick it. I'll start with the first thing you should do, even before you pick up your guitar. Wash your hands. I'm serious here. The oil from your hands not only corrodes the strings but it shortest the life of the guitar neck (the wood). You're also going to want to wipe the guitar strings down when you are done playing to remove any dirt or oil from your hands that was left on the guitar when you played. This will greatly increase the lifespan of your strings, which is recommended to be changed about once a month but will always differ depending on how often you play and how clean you keep your hands and the strings Keep you guitar in an environment that will be free of constant temperature and humidity change. That means don't keep it in your garage because it clutters up your room, as it can warp and damage your guitar. Every time I change my strings I like to wipe it down with a nice coat of wax that I bought at a guitar center. This will help keep it clean and will also give it a nice shine to show off its beauty. It will also give it a semi protective coat. If you're looking to keep all the scratches off your guitar I'd suggest investing in a back guard. When you stand up and play the back of the guitar rubs all over what you are wearing, and if you're wearing a metal belt buckle that could result in some nasty gouges on the back of your guitar. Considering guitars can be very expensive, that would be most unfortunate. It can also be good every once in a while to put some type of oil on your fret board when you're changing your strings. I've seen some older guitars with dry dry fret wood, and it isn't a pretty sight. Try to keep it moisturized with a lemon oil to keep it from becoming rough or even worse, cracking. Other than keeping all the nuts and bolts snuggly tightened, that about does it for basic guitar maintenance! Keep those guitars in good shape so they can keep on a blazin'. About the author: For more information on saving yourself from guitar mistakes and frustrations, visit http://www.readguitartabs.com - 2 months ago

• Warped Tour 2009

  Warped Tour 2009 opens tomorrow, 4/2 in Los Angeles. Here's the lineup: A Day To Remember, Aiden, Alexisonfire, Anti-Flag, Architects, Bad Religion, Bayside, Big D and the Kids Table, Bouncing Souls, Chiodos, Dance Gavin Dance, Dear and the Headlights, Escape the Fate, Flogging Molly, Forever the Sickest Kids, Gallows, Hit The Lights, I Set My Friends on Fire, Less Than Jake, Lovehatehero, Madina Lake, Monty Are I, NOFX, Outernational, P.O.S., Saosin, Scary Kids Scaring Kids, Senses Fail, Silverstein, Streetlight Manifesto, The A.K.A.s, The Ataris, The Devil Wears Prada, Thrice, Underoath, Valencia, Westbound Train, A Skylit Drive, Attack Attack, Black Tide, Breathe Carolina, Brokencyde, Cash Cash, Dirty Heads, Every Avenue, In This Moment, Innerpartysystem, Ivy League, Jeffree Star, Lights, Longway, Meg Dia, Millionaires, Red Car Wire, Settings, Shad, Shooter Jennings, Sing it Loud, TAT, TV/TV, The Maine, The White Tie Affair, There For Tomorrow, Therefore I Am and Versa Emerge. - 3 months ago

• Kirk Hammett Guitar Lessons

  - 3 months ago

• Tips For Buying Guitars and Equipment

  By: Dave Long A guitarist's equipment is an important investment for someone that wants to learn to play blues guitar. There isn't a "best" of anything, it all will come down to personal preferences. In the end, it really does come down to trying things out and finding what is best for you. Acoustic Guitars Acoustic guitars are one of the easier things to purchase. All you really need to do is pick it up and see if it feels good and it sounds good. Even if it has pick-ups (usually piezo), generally an amplified acoustic guitar is only done so to make it louder, not as an inherent part of the instrument, which makes the interaction between the guitar and the amp less important of a factor. Electric Guitars Electric guitars are a bit harder to try out than acoustic guitars. For one thing, the amp is actually just as big a factor in the tone as the guitar itself. A guitar plugged that sounds great in a high end boutique amp at the store isn't going to sound the same when you take it how and plug it into a practice amp. Comfort is still important and should be the main thing you look for when getting an electric guitar. If it isn't comfortable to you, it isn't worth worrying about whether it sounds good. Also, unlike an acoustic guitar, it is possible to change the sound of the guitar by putting in new pick-ups. Amps As a note, there are separate amplifiers designed for acoustic and electric guitars, while they can be switched, generally you want to match them up because they are designed slightly differently. With an acoustic guitar amp, basically you are looking for something that retains as much of the original acoustic guitar's sound, just a louder version of it. Electric guitar amps, on the other hand, are just as important a part of the sound as the guitar itself. Playing around with the amp before buying it is quite important to get a feel of if the tone is one that suits your needs. One thing to keep in mind is amp wattage only vaguely reflects the approximate volume, it isn't an exact measurement of it. Despite the rumors, tube amps are not louder than solid state amps with the same wattage. Changing volume does have an impact on tone, and on many tube amps, the more desirable tones tend to be at higher volume settings than on solid state amps, but they are not actually louder. Other Pieces of Equipment There are two more pieces of equipment that every guitarist that wants to learn to play blues guitar really should have. The first is a metronome, which is important to developing a good sense of timing, a skill important to any musician. The second is an electric tuner (as a note many have microphones so they can be used with acoustic guitars as well). Playing in tune is critical, especially early on. Tuning by ear still requires carrying something around for a reference pitch, an electric tuner simply saves time and reduces the amount of error for a starting guitarist. About the author: Don't miss out on more great guitar tips at a href="http://www.learningacousticguitar.net/buying-guitars"Buyin g Guitars Dave Long is a contributor to http://www.LearningAcousticGuitar.net where he provides free guitar tips and advice. - 9 months ago

• Jamorama Acoustic: 7 Top Tips On How To Be A Better Guitarist

  By: Jem Rhodes Article: Teaching yourself to play the acoustic guitar can seem like an impossible task at times. Find out how you can turn the boredom of practice into fun learning by using Jamorama Acoustic. You'll be amazed at just how fun practising the guitar can be. Read on to find out more about my 7 quick tips on how you could become a better guitarist today... Jamorama Acoustic: Quick tips to becoming a better guitarist... 1) Think about what sort of guitarist you want to be. Do you want to play in a band? Become a singer songwriter? Or simply play the guitar for fun? It's always a good idea to have a clearly defined goal before you start to learn, so you know what you're aiming for. 2) Play with other musicians, especially those who are better than you. You'll find that you'll instantly pick up new techniques and sounds. Playing with others is often a great way to stretch yourself as a musician, as you'll be taken you out of your musical comfort zone and forced to perform in front of others. 3) Use you ears. I know this sounds obvious, but you'll be amazed at how many musician who don't. Your ears are your most powerful tool as a musician, so make sure you really listen to the Jamorama Acoustic audio clips and try to recreate the sounds as accurately as possible on your guitar. 4) Practice. Again it sounds so obvious, but many guitarist simply don't practice and then wonder why they don't ever get any better, dumb huh? Try not to play the same old things over and over again. In order for you to improve, you must learn how to stretch yourself as a guitarist. Jamorama Acoustic will add structure to your practice schedule and vary what you practice so it doesn't get boring. 5) Record yourself as often as possible. When you listen back you'll either a) be amazed at how good you sound, or b) be shocked at how terrible you sound. Listening back to your own playing is a great way to identify the parts of your playing that need more practice. If you regularly record yourself you'll also be able to see how much and how quickly you improve. Many musicians fall to pieces when the record button is pressed, because of the pressure that's instantly added. If you regularly record you'll never be afraid of the record button even if you are in a recording studio. 6) Listen to a wide variety of music. The more you hear the guitar the better your understanding will be. Don't be afraid to try and work out some of your favourite songs on your guitar, even if it means you have to listen to them over and over again to figure them out. The Jamorama Acoustic game GuitEarIt will teach you how to use you ears to their full potential and make it so easy to learn your favourite riffs by ear. 7) Using a Guitar Program like Jamorama Acoustic will always make learning the guitar much easier. You'll learn the things most self taught guitarist miss out on and you'll always have something new to practice or play along to. There are so many games, audio clips and video clips that you'll never be bored again, ever. About the author: To find out even more Click Here to read the a href="http://www.jamoramaacousticreview.com"Jamorama Acoustic Review - 10 months ago