The Freeguitarvideos.com Blog

Guitar Forum Spotlight: Taylor Classical Guitars

2009-10-13T10:38:00.000-07:00

There is a post on the Acoustic Guitar Forum serving as a buyer's guide for classical guitars. The original question is posed by an experienced acoustic guitar player who suddenly was compelled by a classical guitar in the store recently. The store in question happened to have Taylor Classical Guitars and thus begins the thread:

Question:"I have never played a Taylor classical which is really what this thread is about. Do Taylor nylon strung guitars match up to Spanish made ones? Are they value for money or are you paying for the name?"

Answers:

On Taylors:

"The short answer is, no, Taylor nylon string guitars are not much like a Spanish classical guitar. They are heavier built and sound like a nylon string guitar vs a classical guitar. They have a narrower fingerboard than traditional classical guitars. This is a good thing for some players and not so good for others. It may be good for you if you are used to playing steel string guitars."

On Classical Guitars in General:

"I bought a classical guitar about 4 years ago. I tried out pretty much every classical guitar (up to about $3500 - I did not consider the more expensive small builder classicals) in a quality shop that has a lot more classicals than most places do.

I carefully tried out Bernabe, Loriente, and some others. I ended up with a Burguet, which was about a third the price of many of the others, and really seemed to me to be the best of the bunch regardless of price. I tried out about 7 of these Burguets and they varied quite a bit. There were some that did not impress me, and others that were good, but there were two that stood out, and I went with what I thought was the best of these two. It is a great guitar that I have played a LOT. Wonderful tone, good volume, very responsive. And it was not expensive, as these things go. I have recently heard though that they have tripled in price since I got mine.

If you are not wanting to go into those sorts of price ranges, there are a variety of decent less expensive classicals that can be found in a GOOD guitar store (most guitar shops I have been in have pretty poor selections of classicals). A brand that stands out in my mind is LaPatrie, made by the same folks who make Seagulls. Like the Seagulls, these are much nicer guitars than their very reasonable prices would suggest. They don't sing quite like my Burguet, but they are darn nice instruments that are set up well, play well, and sound good, especially considering the price.

I have read on the Web (and everything on the Web is true, right?) that unless you are going to go with a very expensive classical, you will probably get a better classical guitar if you go with a cedar top than if you buy a moderately priced spruce top classical. This web site suggested though that in the more expensive classicals, some of the spruce top classicals are the best. I don't know how valid this is, but I do know that in the price range I was looking at the cedar top classicals were indeed sounding better to me than the spruce top ones. Or maybe this cedar vs. spruce thing is a bunch of baloney. I don't know.

The cedar vs spruce decision probably mostly comes down to what sound you want. In general, I don't think it would be correct to say that one is better. They are just different."

View the full thread to read all of the responses

Robin Trower Interview

2009-10-12T08:49:00.001-07:00

Check out this recent interview with guitarist Robin Trower. I've included a few of my favorite excerpts below. Also take a look at our Robin Trower style lessons.

“Albert King is my all-time favorite guitar player,” Trower said. “I listen to a lot his stuff in the car and Howlin’ Wolf is the other guy that I still (listen to) alot.

“Albert King’s playing and Howlin’ Wolf’s music and singing still have a great effect on me. As far as rock and roll goes, Pete Townshend is a giant to me. (Townshend) plays guitar to support the song, and I think he and I have that in common.”

Trower said he also listens to alot of popular music from the 1930s and 1940s.

“I quite like the music of Dinah Washington and Al Bowlly,” Trower said. “I really like early American and British popular music.”

History of Jazz Podcast

2009-10-08T08:26:00.000-07:00

If you haven't check out iTunesU yet, they have a lot of cool free podcasts of lectures up. One of the coolest being a history of jazz podcast. The lectures are by Dr. Gordon Vernick who is an Associate Professor of Music at Georgia State University in Atlanta. "Each segment is intended to shed light on important individual creating jazz musicians and specific movements/genres within jazz canon. They are intended for jazz lovers and those that are merely interested in this important American musical art form."

Each episode was originally broadcast on 1690AM in Atlanta. If you happen to live in the Atlanta area, that is possibly the greatest radio station I've ever heard. It sounds like someone with the best record collection in history is just randomly playing songs that they like. Everything from 1950's R&B to Elvis Costello. When I'm listening to it, I use Shazam at least once an hour.

Guitar Pick of the Week: Without and With Guitar

2009-09-23T09:52:00.000-07:00

from Digg

Digital Recording Tips for guitar

2009-09-22T08:58:00.000-07:00

Truefire has a post featuring some helpful tips for recording your guitar with a digital audio workstation. The article is written by Rich Tozzoli who has apparently done a fair amount of work creating the audio for commercials. Here is an excerpt:

"7. Split 'em up
One great way to get maximum flexibility on your recorded tracks is to split the guitar’s signal on the way into the DAW. Using a splitter, or even a pedal with two outputs, you can run one clean signal directly into the computer and one to an amp for miking. Send the signals to separate tracks. Once the two tracks are in the can, you can add a processor/plug-in on the clean channel and blend it with your amp sound for a thicker, nastier tone. And what could be better than that?"

B.David: Believe

2009-09-09T10:03:00.000-07:00

We previously featured B.David after he came into our studios to perform a special live performance. His song Believe has become a hit single and they shot a video for it. B.David is a former guitar student of Peter Vogl's and the song features guitar work from Peter as well. Be sure to check out B.David's website and his twitter feed.

Jody Worrell on Stage with Mitch Ryder

2009-08-25T10:39:00.000-07:00

Our own Jody Worrell recently had the pleasure of performing with Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels. Jody and his guitar joined Mitch on stage at Hippiefest in Peachtree City on August 15th. Below are three excerpts from the show along with an additional video that I can't help but think of every time I hear Mitch Ryder mentioned.

Devil With a Blue Dress

Sock It to Me, Baby!

Jenny Take a Ride

And a scene from High Fidelity. This clip contains some NSFW language.

Using Effects Pedal to create Synth Sounds

2009-08-11T11:12:00.000-07:00

The following video is a performance and partial explanation of guitarist Bill Ruppert playing the Kraftwerk song "Autobahn" using only his guitar and EHZ effects pedals. For the full breakdown on pedals used and exact settings go here.

For comparison's sake, here is the original video for "Autobahn". It's pretty freaky

Scott Henderson answers your questions

2009-07-14T12:20:00.000-07:00

The Strat-O-Blogster has tipped us to the announcement that Scott Henderson will begin answering questions from fans over at Online-Discussion.com. Below I've included some of my favorite questions and responses from Scott's last answer session on June 24th as well as the youtube version of Guy Fenocchi's "Scott Henderson Style Lick" lesson:

Question: Is touring work or fun for you? I mean you gig almost every day, so do you get tired of it after some gigs in a row?

Scott: I love playing every night even though I wish I had more new tunes. The only part I hate is flying because it fucks up my ears and just sucks in general. When you add up the playing hours vs. the travel, setting up/tearing down hours, it does sometimes feel more like the moving and storage business, but a great night on stage more than makes up for the hassle and I feel like I'm lucky to do what I do.

Question: ...and do you agree that Simpsons started to suck after season 9??

Scott: What I heard was that they were using the A team writers for the movie and the B team for the show, but now that the movie is over, I've seen it get a little better. Still not as good as the classics though...

Question: How many "fusion" standards do you know? I mean things like Actual proof, Havona, Humpty Dumpty...can you please name a few that you think are interesting and fun to play?

Scott: I can think of more than a few, if you're like me and consider about 50 Weather Report tunes as great fusion standards. You can find a lot of them in various Real Books.

Documentary featuring Jimmy Page, The Edge, & Jack White

2009-07-13T11:17:00.000-07:00

Here is the trailer for It Might Get Loud. This is a documentary about Jimmy Page, The Edge, and Jack White in which they basically just talk about electric guitars and it looks awesome. There is some good stuff that pops up on the cable arts channels but this looks like it's on a different level production wise.

(HT: Huffington Post)

Acoustic/Electric Guitar T-Shirt

2009-07-13T11:02:00.001-07:00

Get this cool looking "Living in Harmony" t-shirt from Threadless. Available as a Men's T, Girly T, or hoodie.

How Auto-Tune Works

2009-07-08T12:26:00.000-07:00

You've probably heard many artists use Auto-Tune without realizing it. And then there are the obvious users such as Cher and T-Pain. This short video by Nova shows you how Auto-Tune actually works. The piece starts out a little cheezy but there is some interesting information in here.

Guitar Forum Spotlight: July 7th 2009

2009-07-07T13:43:00.000-07:00

- Over at guitarforums.com there is a discussion over whether you should practice sitting down or standing up. Like many of these questions, the answer depends on your goals as a guitarist. If you intend to play live a lot, it would probably serve you well to also have frequent practice playing your guitar in the standing position. For more tips, our own Peter Vogl has free videos on the seated guitar position and standing position

- Trying to decide between the real deal and a knock off? Take a look at this post on Gibson Les Pauls vs. a copy. Take a look especially at dspellman's comments:

IMHO, Gibson doesn't start making a really good Les Paul type guitar until you get to the $3000 mark. Even at that price point, there are guitars that are far less expensive that easily compete with Gibsons in terms of playability and build quality.

At the low end, Rondo Music's Agile AL3000 series (AL3XXX, actually, since there are 3000M and 3100's) are real contenders, and normally run about $389 - $599 (if you want a 3/4" solid maple top). The pickups in these are Alnico V's that actually sound and respond very much like Gibson's '57's. The controls in these are serviceable, but it would certainly be cheap to shake these out and replace them with the best availalbe. But these guitars come with multi-layer binding around the body and headstock, single-layer binding on the fretboard. They have ebony fretboards and real abalone inlays. The fretboards have a 13.7" radius (Gibsons are 12", the frets are hand-dressed, the necks are a bit thinner than Gibson's '60 series (you can also get necks that are wider and thinner) and very comfortable. The bodies are SOLID mahogany (I think there's one series that has chambered bodies available) and the result is a guitar that measures up very well against what Gibson tosses out there in the sub-$3000 range.

- And finally we have a thread debating Rosewood vs. Maple fretboards. Two arguments come into play. Does the type of wood that the fretboard is made from make a difference? And if it does what are the differences.

Guitar Links for June 8th

2009-06-08T10:11:00.000-07:00

- Sure I can name a couple types of moustaches off the top of my head: the "handlebar", "fu manchu", etc. But you really need an extensive list to correctly describe the variety of moustaches out there. Luckily Thumbarella has found this ukulele featuring drawings of different soup strainers all over the body of the instrument. On the "Illustrated Guide to the Moustaches of the World" ukulele you'll find the "the sad cowboy", "the imperial", and "the Shirley Temple". In addition to the moustaches the head of the instrument has the following quote:

"There are three kinds of man you must never trust: a man who hunts south of the Thames, a man who has soup for lunch; and a man who waxes his moustache." -Sir James Richards

- Guitar Noize has come across a helpful Mac application for guitarists. Capo lets you pinpoint sections of songs you're trying to learn. You can then listen to that section on loop and even at different speeds.

- Guitar Research has compiled a list of the 50 Greatest Guitar Albums. The list is a little heavy on the metal for my taste but it's definitely a good selection of material if you're trying to find good and fun guitar parts to play.

Les Paul Outline T-Shirt

2009-06-02T10:39:00.000-07:00

Kapoww T Shirts has this nifty little shirt available in twenty different t-shirt colors. Not a bad little logo. They are based out of Great Britain but the price with shipping converts to about $28.

Pay for the Fruit but Get the Guitar Lessons For Free

2009-05-28T10:46:00.000-07:00

We have over 150 free video lessons online, but it's no substitute for hiring an actual instructor. And what's better than hiring an actual instructor? Getting a free one. And that's exactly what Billy Farmer does as the Gig Harbor Farmer's Market every Saturday.

"Farmer was spurred on to give guitar lessons when he had a young student drop out of one of his classes because he couldn’t afford the lessons.

“That’s just the tip of the iceberg,” he said. “For every one that you see, there’s a whole bunch of other kids that would like to learn but can’t afford it.”

That’s a sad scenario, Farmer said, because a lot of the children who want to learn have talent.

“I am able to see it right away,” he said. “It’s like turning on a light switch. Then you see the whole self-esteem thing, and it just goes from there.”

Well that's just awesome. I immediately thought of parents having something to distract their kids while they shop. But helping kids in a situation that couldn't otherwise afford it is a great thing.

The 5 Greatest Guitar Playing Movie Characters

2009-05-26T13:34:00.000-07:00

Earlier this month, the I Heart Guitar Blog came up with 5 Fictional But Awesome Guitar Players. And really it's hard to argue with any list that features Janice from the Muppet Show's Dr Teeth & The Electric Mayhem. But their post lead me to reflect on some my favorite movie characters that played guitar. So I went through the list in my head and found the evidence on Youtube. I've stayed away from real guitarists like anybody featured in Blues Brothers or Jeff Healey in Roadhouse. If you have other suggestions or comments leave them in the comments.

1. Drew from Deliverance. Earns points for being so dedicated to playing guitar that he decided to bring along a six string for a white water canoeing trip.

2. Clint Eastwood in Honky Tonk Man. Because it's Clint Eastwood. Enough said.

3. Tommy Johnson in O Brother Where Art Thou. I know that Chris Thomas King is actually a musician, but I'm making an exception because 99% of America wouldn't know about him if it wasn't for this movie. Tommy Johnson deserves props for not only being the soul selling bluesman, as he's featured below, but also for doubling up and playing the flatpicking lead guitar part for "Man of Constant Sorrow". That's range.

4. Russell Hammond in Almost Famous. "I AM A GOLDEN GOD"

5. Dusty Bottoms singing Blue Shadows (On the Trail) in Three Amigos.

New Free Guitar Lesson: Blues Lick in E

2009-05-22T08:52:00.000-07:00

Jody Worrel has a new video lesson teaching you a blues lick for an intermediate to advanced player. This lick is in the key of E and would sound great over a slow blues groove. You can watch the Youtube version below and click here to view the tab

We also have new premium lessons that will teach you how to play Sweet Home Chicago, an an acoustic country solo, and help you work on acoustic country rhythm guitar.

Blind Boy Grunt on Bob Dylan

2009-05-19T12:39:00.000-07:00

Bob Dylan's recent release of Together Through Life has brought some attention from the media. I've found two things especially interesting. First is a quick rundown of the pseudonyms that Dylan has used over the years. Rolling Stone went through 30 years of interviews to pull Bob's opinions on the same subjects from different stages in his career. I dug this quote on performing live:

"Ask Muhammad All why he fights one more fight. Go ask Marlon Brando why he makes one more movie. Ask Mick Jagger why he goes on the road. See what kind of answers you come up with. Is it so surprising I'm on the road? What else would I be doing in this life — meditating on the mountain? Whatever someone finds fulfilling, whatever his or her purpose is — that's all it is."
[From Issue 278 - November 16, 1978]

SRV on Unplugged

2009-05-18T10:12:00.000-07:00

In the early days of MTV Unplugged they'd often try to fit several performers into one 30 minute episode. Such was the case with Stevie Ray Vaughan who had to split time with Steve Vai. For some reason, these early episodes never really got shown as reruns. You can apparently find the performance on this dvd. The video below shows all three songs from the performance : Rude Mood, Pride and Joy, and Testify. You can also watch a short outtake of Life Without You

New Country Jam Tracks

2009-05-06T11:02:00.000-07:00

We have a new collection of jam tracks with a country rock feel. The Let's Jam! Country Vol. 2 Download is a collection of seven .mp3 tracks that were recorded by professional studio musicians. These rhythm tracks play recognizable country progressions that you can use to practice leads part over with you guitar, bass, banjo, mandolin, fiddle and more. The collection also comes with a .pdf that features the chord progression for each song and a few tips for soloing.

Play sample track: Over the Limit

Guitar Links May 5th

2009-05-05T08:33:00.000-07:00

- Flatpicking Lesson on Tennessee Wagoner featuring tab and .mp3

- Six tips on buying guitars at garage sales or at pawn shops. Most pawn shops are internet savvy at this point, but garage sales can still be a good bargain.

- And the tale of someone who struck guitar gold at a garage sale. Crazy, crazy, crazy amount of guitar gold.

Twenty Album Covers recreated with Legos

2009-04-27T14:17:00.000-07:00

The Toy Zone has twenty album covers that have been recreated using lego parts. Some are just legos superimposed into backgrounds and some are the real deal and just use legos. I've included my favorites below. And while we're at it, why not just take another look at the White Stripe's awesome lego video for "Fell in Love with A Girl".

Guitar Links April 24th

2009-04-24T09:48:00.000-07:00

- The New York Times has a simplistic but fairly neat flash graphic showing the design process of a Martin guitar.

- Somone in Atlanta posts a Craig's List guitar lesson ad with a twist. The lessons are free for women who agree to be topless during the lesson. But not just any women: "Also, the free/topless offer only goes for attractive, not overly fat females. Seeing fat girls topless does not make my day better. Fat girls are welcome to take guitar lessons, but you have to pay just like any dudes." I'm assuming he doesn't get much of a response.

A few cool links from Gibson:

- Video lesson on learning how to play the guitar riff from Green Onions. You may not recognize the name of the song but you'll recognize the tune of this instrumental from the 60's.

- A gear guide on recreating Wilco's live sound. If you haven't been keeping up with Wilco, there music has taken a guitar heavy turn with the addition of Nels Cline. Their last album "Sky Blue Sky" has at times a Grateful Dead/Phish type jam band sound. But with fuzzier guitars. Check the performance of "You Are My Face" below. It's starts off mellow and then kicks it up a notch.

Jeff Beck's New Blog

2009-04-22T12:27:00.000-07:00

Jeff Beck has started posting blog entries on his site. He started April 1st and has posted three thus far. So 1-2 posts a month should be about what to expect. I haven't watched a ton of Jeff Beck interviews so I'm not familiar enough with his personality to figure out how to interpret some of the statements. I'm assuming they are jokes but you never know.

"In Cleveland we met up with a group of FBI people who showed us around. In return we invited them to the concert. They seemed to have a really good time but ended up putting my manager in handcuffs!!"

Below is Jody Worrell's free lesson on some Jeff Beck style bending techniques. Jody also has a lesson on learning a Jeff Beck style solo

(HT: Strat-O-Blogster)