What is the best beginner guitar? OK, theres no such thing. There are hundreds of entry-level guitars, all basically doing the same job, in pretty much the same way, with most of them sounding pretty darn good. But today I put forward the proposition that the best beginner electric guitar is the Fender Squier Affinity Strat.
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Figure 1 – The Seagull Entourage mini jumbo
Seagull (by Godin) produces some of the finest acoustic guitars for under $500. The Seagull Entourage Mini Jumbo is currently priced at $349. Not bad at all.
This guitar was hand crafted in LaPatrie, Qu’bec Canada. Lets take a look at the features:
Body: Mini Jumbo
Top: Solid cedar
Back: Wild Cherry
Sides: Wild Cherry
Neck: Silver Leaf Maple
Fretboard: Rosewood, 21 frets
Bridge: Rosewood
Finish: Rustic Burst Semi-gloss
Nut: Tusq®
Saddle: compensated, Tusq®
Nut Width: 1.72″
Upper Bout: 11.59″
Lower Bout: 16″
Waist: 9.53″
Body Length: 2.0″
Body Depth: 5″
As stated above, the top is solid cedar! Although it does produce a nice sound, it is fairly delicate and will easily scratch and dent. The finish is a very thin semi-gloss. I don’t mind this. I actually like it this way – You just have to be extra careful if you don’t want tons of dents and scratches in your guitars body (which WILL happen). The action on this thing out of the box was just perfect. It came with fairly low action which made it a breeze to play. The mini jumbo body style is one of the main reasons I purchased this guitar. The bigger dips in the body make it feel much more comfortable than a standard dreadnought guitar as it rests on your thigh. The rustic sunburst finish is also candy to the eyes.
The neck is a little bigger than most acoustics but isn’t as wide at the nut as the Seagull S6. I hear some people say that the headstock on the Seagulls are ugly. Sure, it’s a little smaller than a lot of other headstocks but in my opinion it still looks great. The smaller size does not affect tuning stability or anything else, but it does feel better from the players point of view. The Seagull Entourage Mini Jumbo stays in tune better than my Takamine and my Ibanez acoustics.
I’m willing to say that it is the best 6 string acoustic guitar for under $1k. I played much higher priced guitars at the music store, but none of them had the mojo that this one did. Highly recommended!
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Nearly 40 years after Hendrix’s death, he still remains as the most influential guitarist of all time. “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” has been voted for having the best guitar riff of all time.
Here is the top 20 greatest guitar riffs of all time (according to musicradar.com)
1. The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Voodoo Child (Slight Return)
2. Guns N’ Roses – Sweet Child O’ Mine
3. Led Zeppelin – Whole Lotta Love
4. Deep Purple – Smoke On The Water
5. Derek and the Dominos – Layla
6. AC/DC – Back In Black
7. Metallica – Enter Sandman
8. The Beatles – Day Tripper
9. Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit
10. The Rolling Stones – (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction
11. Black Sabbath – Paranoid
12. Muse – Plug In Baby
13. Eddie Van Halen – Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love
14. The Kinks – You Really Got Me
15. The White Stripes – Seven Nation Army
16. AC/DC – Highway to Hell
17. Led Zeppelin – Heartbreaker
18. Black Sabbath – Iron Man
19. Led Zeppelin – Black Dog
20. Michael Jackson – Beat It
Only two songs from the past decade made the list – “Plug In Baby” by Muse and “Seven Nation Army” by the White Stripes. What’s your favorite guitar riff of all time? Post your comments.
Figure 1 – The Fender PT-100 chromatic guitar tuner
I think i’ve found one of the most useful pieces of equipment any guitarist can own! Such statements shouldn’t be made lightly, but in this case I stand by it. If you need a new tuner you really should consider this one. In the PT-100, Fender have a solid, durable and, most importantly, easy to use tuner that works for guitar and bass. It does the job, and it does it well.
Figure 1 – The John Lennon 1965 Casino
In the 1960s Epiphone Casinos were ‘in’. And John Lennon wasn’t the only Beatles to own one. In fact Paul McCartney and George Harrison both had Casinos, as did Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones. But it was Lennon who became most associated with the instrument, most famously playing it on the infamous rooftop appearance of 1969.
Fast forward to November 1997, and a team from Epiphone visit “The Dakota” in New York to examine John’s Casino. They took measurements of the neck and body, studied the components and photographed everything, in order to create a guitar as close to Lennons original as was possible to acheive.
As a result and in cooperation with Yoko Ono, Epiphone proudly introduced the Limited Edition John Lennon “Revolution” and “1965″ Casinos.
The “John Lennon 1965 Casino” is a reproduction of the guitar as John originally purchased it with the sunburst finish and stock hardware.
The “John Lennon Revolution Casino” is a reproduction of the “stripped” guitar featuring one coat of nitro-cellulose lacquer, gold Grover tuners and no pickguard.
Figure 1 - The Dave Grohl DG-335.
2007 has seen a wide range of guitars leave the Gibson factory doors; from the standard instruments that are the companys bread and butter, to limited-number special-edition instruments: the Guitar of the Week range, numerous historical reissues, and of course the Inspired By range.
This is a series of instruments “inspired by and built to the exact specifications of passionate musicians and artists” – among them are Les Pauls (John Lennon and Warren Haynes), Flying Vs (Jimi Hendrix and Zakk Wylde) and three thinlines; the Roy Orbison ES-335, Keither Sutherland ES-336 and best of all the Dave Grohl DG-335.
So its a 335? Not quite…… Read the rest of this entry »
A new set of strings can do wonders for a bass. If the old set have been on for a while, the sound they produce will be dull and lifeless. Old strings can be the cause of fret buzz and intonation problems, and in a worse-case scenario could snap during performance.
How long a string takes to become ‘old’ depends on several factors: how much it is played, whether it is wiped down after use, and even how corrosive the perspiration of the player. Top players may change their strings nightly; only fresh strings give them the sound they want, whilst a bass that spends very little time in use - perhaps avoiding gig situations – will be fine for months or years.
So, now you’ve decided to treat your beloved bass to a new set, how do you decide what to buy? There are a lot of choices, but which ones are right for you? Long scale? shortscale? roundwound? flats?
This article describes some of the main types, to help the reader identify the best bass strings for them…
Some designs just don’t go out of fashion. Its been 46 years since Gibson redesigned the Les Paul, giving it those batwing cutaways and characteristic translucent cherry finish – and they haven’t looked back. Be it guitar or bass, the SG has attitude, and plenty of it.
Although the shape has seen continual use on guitars, Gibson didn’t produce a bass version for over 20 years. That was until 2005 when they launched the SG reissue bass.
But it hasn’t stopped there – as well as Cherry, White, Ebony, Canary Yellow, Coral Pink, Coral Blue, Silverburst, and faded finishes, there is the maple flamed-top SG Supreme, and a Supreme Fireburst.
Its not just looks that make a guitar; the SG reissue bass is proving a big hit for its sounds and playability too.
Time-based distortion pedals (we’re talking flange, echo, an chorus) are less widely used as other types of distortion, but are still the best option for some of the more unique sounds that come from distortion pedals. Much of these effects are great for solos, but some practical uses that the everyday guitar player would experience exist as well. Even rhythm guitarists are cashing in on this less popular type of distortion, but there are a few things to look out for when buying them.
Figure 1 – When it comes to time based effects, don’t be surprised to see Boss pedals take the lead in most categories. (Pictured on the left)
Not a whole lot of guitar players cash in on the benefits of a pop filter, but no one can blame them. Most of the affordable pop filters break or fail within weeks of having them- or don’t even work at all. This has led a lot of innovative guitar players who are looking to record vocals to become creative- everything from putting a shirt over their mouth to making makeshift pop filters from tennis rackets.
Figure 1 - They may resemble tennis rackets, but pop filters can mean the difference between a professional sound, and just another home-made recording.
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