Jools Holland, one of the UK’s most popular pianists, has put his tour piano, a Yamaha GT7 digital piano, on auction. It’ll be auctioned at the Bonhams’ Autumn sale of Fine Pianos without reserve, and all proceeds will go towards the Drake Music Project.

FYI, production of this particular Yamaha GT7 model has been discontinued, so you’ll be getting a potential antique as well. On a related note, Holland has announced that he will be replacing this piano with a “similar upgraded model”.

[News via Yamaha Europe]

yamaha+gt7, jools+holland, auction+for+charity

The 10 finalists are:

• David Powers (Brewster, New York)
• Sergei Roudzinski (Russia)
• Patrick Woods (Winona Lake, Indiana)
• Joe Cefalu (Boise, Idaho)
• Ed DeGenaro (Seattle, Washington)
• Trey Alexander (Lancaster, Pennsylvania)
• Josh Karickhoff (New York, New York)
• Anton Tsygankov (St. Peters, Missouri)
• Ron LoCurto (Kenmore, New York)
• Nathan Hahn, (Waxahachie, Texas)

If you’re interested in watching the event, you might want to book tickets online.

[News via Guitar Player]

guitar+hero+2006, guitar+player, joe+satriani

As a diversion from the ornate guitar-track into a more natural style, the Samick Remington OM13-CE does a great job. At least, according to GuitarGearHeads in their review of the acoustic guitar.

Construction was deemed solid, with clear tones and balanced sound – though only for light and medium strumming. Like most orchestra model guitars, higher tones were overly accentuated during aggressive strumming.

Overall, the sub-US$500 cedar top guitar was touted as a “great intermediate guitar”, and was awarded GGH’s Rig Ready and Approved Awards for 2006.

samick+remington, remington+om13-ce

Some people might consider destroying pianos as art, but we can assure you that we’re not part of them. And apparently, most aren’t either. The Arts Queensland-sponsored (Read: Tax-payer money) chainsawing has received backlash from a variety of music-loving people – from piano teachers to concert organisers.

After all, that’s AU$3000 of public money down the drain – all of which could have been channeled to more productive uses. Heck, there are tons of children from lower-income families who would have loved this particular piano.

Art? Probably. Worth it? No way. But if the artist, Rebecca Cunningham, used her own money, this would be a whole other story altogether.

[News via The Courier Mail]

chainsawed+piano, chainsaw, art, arts+queensland

Charles Walter’s recently (relatively) unveiled a brand new grand piano model, the ebony-polished 5′ 10″ Charles Walter 175.

It is still in the mass production stage, but it has already made some good first impressions on the experienced guys over at the Piano World Forums.

An important point to note is that it’s only US$1000 cheaper than the 6′ 4″ CW190, though it is really hard to say what this price differential is supposed to mean until you get a chance to test the piano out, and compare the two yourself.

charles+walter, charles+walter+grand+175

You might think only older and established things can be masterworks. But after reading this review on the new Alvarez Masterworks MD350C acoustic guitar, I’m certain you’ll be cleared of that misconception.

Well, with a recommended price of US$1699, I guess quality would have been expected, but even for guitars in this price range, the MD350C seemed to have performed admirably.

It may not be a guitar for a beginner whose passion for guitars has yet to be confirmed, but if you’re an experienced amateur or professional, I’m certain GuitarGearHeads’ final verdict with take you to the store:

The MD350C was a pure pleasure to review. I really enjoy playing this guitar and I will be adding it to my own personal guitar arsenal. Because of this, I award the MD350C the 2006 Rig Ready Award as well as the 2006 Guitar Gear Heads Approved award.

alvarez+masterworks, masterworks+md350c

Two months back, the guys over at GuitarGearHeads got a chance to review one of the cooler guitar innovations this year, the JetSlide guitar slide. Unlike conventional guitar slides, this one doesn’t impede normal chord playing.

When you reach a portion of a song where a slide is required, you can easily “flip the slide into place” and you can reverse this when you don’t need it. Moreover, it seems that the thin bar on the JetSlide provides more control than normal guitar slides, and thus more accuracy.

Overall, the ~US$20 slide got lavish praise, with the reviewer concluding that, “The JetSlide™ has become my slide of choice and I am looking forward to becoming a more skilled and competent slide guitar player. My only suggestion would be to figure out how to fit a piece of glass to the ring – then JetSlide™ would own my whole slide arsenal!”

P.S.: There are currently two variants of the slide. One is made of brass, while the other is made of stainless steel.

jetslide, guitar+slide, brass+slide

There’s now one, or more accurately, four more reasons to get an Epiphone Les Paul Studio or Les Paul 100 electric guitar. According to a recent news release, Epiphone will give out an Electric Essentials Pack free with any one of the two guitars, from August 1st to September 30th this year.

The pack will contain a premium 20′ cable, a nylon guitar strap, a 12-pack of picks and a Masterbilt acoustic video. Admittedly, these are nothing to die for, but they are free.

P.S.: I wonder whether they’ll be giving out this pack to those who win a Les Paul through their recent sweepstakes.

epiphone+electric+essentials+pack, les+paul+studio, les+paul+100

Yep, this post was supposed to have been published around a month back, but after checking the post listings, it seems it never got out of the door. But better late than never, right?

The Yamaha DGX620 Digital Portable Keyboard – with a wooden-style design and all – was brought into the market not too long back, with all the standard keyboard features you might expect from one of the top piano and keyboard vendors in the world. To be more precise, it comes with Yamaha’s Graded Hammer action, 400 instrument voices and onboard effects, a pitch bend wheel and sustain pedal, plus stereo speakers and a 6-track onboard sequencer.

Software-wise, you’ll be looking at the Easy Song Arranger (which comes with 150 styles and 267 songs), Performance Assistant technology and the Yamaha Education Suite.

If you’re interested, you can get one now for about US$799.

yamaha+ypg, digital+keyboard, yamaha+dgx620

Yeah, you’re not dreaming. Rhythm-action gaming with Guitar Hero just got to a whole new level with the TAC Freedom V Guitar Hero wireless controller. Did we mention “wireless”? Okay, maybe that’s just too much hype, but the controller did get a clear thumbs up from the guys over at IGN.

I’m not surprised. Who wouldn’t want to jump, spin, whirl, and swing your guitar “once in a while”, eh? It’s a pity, however, that the included guitar strap is pretty flimsy, so your big stage fantasies will have to be toned down.

Overall, IGN says that, “While purists among the editors preferred the clicking strummer and deeper keys they have grown accustomed to with the standard Mini SG, few could deny that the wireless freedom of the *TAC Freedom V was an exciting new feature. Jumping, spinning, and general metal-insanity took on new levels of awesomeness while we went head to head in Guitar Hero with the new controllers. With an MSRP of $49.99, the The Ant Commando’s Freedom V is a viable and expansionary alternative to the standard Guitar Hero Mini SG for a second controller, or for a complete wireless solution.”

tac+freedom+v, guitar+hero, wireless+guitar+controller