Guitar Blog

How To Play A 12-String Guitar

2022-10-23T07:24:00.004-07:00

This guest blog post is presented by our friends at Deplike Guitar FX

If you're a fan of the sound of an acoustic guitar, then you're probably listening to a song that features two guitarists playing together seamlessly.

Various models on the market can accommodate different budgets. With various features and options, 12-string acoustic guitars can provide a unique and authentic sound.

The sound of 12-string electric and acoustic guitars has captivated listeners for decades. Whether you're looking for an electric or acoustic guitar, there's something special about this versatile instrument.

This guide will walk you through the steps needed to learn how to play a 12-string guitar. Although it's commonly considered the same model as a six-string guitar, the small differences can make it hard to transition seamlessly.

What is a 12 String Guitar?

Before the electric guitar became a common instrument in rock music, 12-strings were a staple in folk music. These instruments' added power and resonance made them an ideal choice for artists who wanted to perform without amplifiers. The jangle and shimmer of these instruments also added a more appealing dimension to their voices. For solo acoustic performances, 12-strings had an advantage.

Due to the emergence of the electric guitar industry during the 1950s and 1960s, companies such as Danelectro and Rickenbacker started making electric versions of 12-strings. While these instruments were no longer necessary for volume, their unique vibrations and choruses became more apparent with the addition of electric pickup systems.

The 12-string guitar is not equipped with 12 strings specifically tuned to different notes, such as those used in seven- and eight-string models. Instead, it has six strings that are the same as those used in a regular guitar. These are then paired with six other strings tuned to the same standard. The resulting strings are then tuned to unison.

Unlike other extended-range models, the 12-string guitar doesn't open up any notes on the fretboard. Its appeal is due to the added resonance and the jangle of the additional six strings. Also, since their bodies and necks are close to the size of six-string models, the learning curve for these guitars is shorter.

Like other six-string models, the 12-string guitar can be played similarly. Just like with regular six-string models, the finger is placed on the bridge so that the body covers both the original and the matched strings simultaneously.

What Does a 12-String Guitar Sound Like?

Due to the extra strings, some 12-string models are referred to as "shimmering" and "bright." This type of guitar has a natural tone often used by rhythm players and lead guitarists who need a more balanced sound. The extra weight of these strings makes them ideal for players who need a more accurate and fuller sound.

Besides being more balanced, 12-string models also have a deeper and more harmonically rich sound. This is because there are double the strings that are typically found in a six-string guitar. These extra strings create a more balanced sound when compared to a standard 12-string. Besides the notes that your guitar produces when it plucks a string, these are also the notes that are added to the instrument's body. With flatwound strings, you can achieve a more vintage sound by adding a more balanced tone.

A 12-string model can provide players with greater sustain than a six-string guitar. The increased vibration helps the sounds carry longer, and it also adds to the overall playing experience. The world's most famous 12-string models are acoustic or hollow-body instruments.

Semi-hollow and hollow-body models provide a more balanced sound than standard 12-string models. They also offer a warm and woody tone. Some companies, such as Taylor, make exceptional 12-string models. The 150e 12-string is an example of their finest acoustic models.

How Do You Tune a 12-String Guitar?

Although 12-string electric guitars are more painful to play than normal ones, they follow the same tuning rules as six-string models. The lower four strings have pairs of higher notes, while the top two have double-coiled strings at the same pitch.

Some 12-string models follow a different arrangement. For instance, the standard 12-strings place the higher string on top, which means that if you strum down, you can hit the "pair" first string. However, this setup is only slightly different from other setups. You can use Deplike Guitar FX for good and strong tuning.

Neck Tension on 12-String Guitars

Adding six strings to a 12-string guitar increases the tension on the body and neck of the instrument. This is especially true for acoustic models, which have thinner soundboards and are more delicate. If you're planning on tuning a 12-string guitar, remove all of the strings from one side at a time.

Doing so will cause a drop in tension that can affect the neck and body of the instrument. This can lead to various issues, such as cracks and pulling.

One of the most important factors you should pay attention to when tuning a 12-string guitar is the high-octave G string. This is the highest string on the body and neck of the instrument, and it has the most tension of any other string. You might accidentally snap this string while trying to pitch it if you're not careful.

The heavier gauge strings are more likely to resist breaking and should be tuned gradually. You should also avoid using a string winder to speed up the process, as this can cause the tension to drop. To minimize the risk of flying strings, keep one hand over the neck while working with these strings.

After you've cut the old strings off, replace them with new ones as quickly as possible. Doing so will allow you to free up some space between the tuning pegs, which will allow you to insert a new string. To avoid jarring shifts to the neck, ensure the tension is balanced on both sides of the instrument.

After a while, the re-treading and tuning process will become easier, as it will allow you to get the most out of your 12-string guitar. It may take a couple of hours to re-tread a traditional model, but the enhanced tone will be worth it.

How to Play a 12-String Guitar

A 12-string guitar is similar to a standard ax in terms of playing it the same way. It can be used for all of the parts that you usually play with just six strings.

Contrary to popular belief, a 12-string guitar is not a replacement for a traditional instrument. It has a unique sound and characteristics that allow players to create their unique style. Besides its unique sound, the 12-string also has a variety of other factors that contribute to its distinct playing style.

Besides its unique sound, the 12-string also has a variety of other factors that contribute to its distinct playing style. One of these is the traditional techniques and styles that are associated with it.

Before you start playing a 12-string guitar, most guitarists have already experienced playing six-string instruments. This doesn't mean that they need to re-learn anything in order to play it well. While most players will be able to carry over their knowledge, there are some techniques that dozen-string players can use to improve their playing.

Techniques

Although 12-string instruments are similar in terms of their body size and shape, there are some notable differences. These include the unusual features that make them an ideal choice for players who are familiar with the techniques used on six-string instruments.

Some of the tricks commonly used on 12-string instruments are focused on the hand technique, while others are on the arm and picking. To make the transition from a six-string to a 12-string guitar as smooth as possible, keep these tips in mind.

The width of the neck of a 12-string guitar is slightly wider to accommodate the extra strings. Many players are not used to the extra weight when they first pick up a new instrument. To keep the instrument in tip-top shape, you may need to purchase various accessories. One of these is a capo, which is designed for nylon-string instruments.

The addition of extra strings can also be a challenge for guitarists. Manufacturers of different types of instruments provide varying spacing between the strings, which means that they can be pressed down with one hand at the same time. If the strings are close enough, you can still play the same way if you have a six-string model.

Fretting

Due to the complexity of playing both strings simultaneously, many guitarists struggle to maintain a consistent tone when they fret both instruments simultaneously. To solve this issue, some 12-string guitarists use a flatter fret technique. Instead of pressing down on the strings directly with the tip of their fingers, they flatten their hand and fret them with a larger portion of the finger.

Keep your fingers on the palm to maintain a proper hand position and not lean over the fretboard. The additional surface area helps ensure that both the standard and the matched strings ring properly. Also, ensure you don't accidentally mute the other strings on the sides.

Picking

When it comes to picking a 12-string guitar, the extra strings can sometimes make it feel a bit more difficult to play. This is because the body of the instrument tends to feel stiffer.

Since adding extra strings can make it difficult to play, 12-string guitarists must avoid accidentally skipping any notes while they're playing. To achieve the full potential of this instrument, they must practice all 12 strings simultaneously. Having a consistent practice routine can help improve this skill.

To improve this skill, it's important that you keep your hands and wrists moving as you strum. Doing so will allow you to carry out all of the work while you're playing. Having a compact strumming motion will also help you perform better with single-note lines and chord progressions.

Who Plays 12 String Guitars?

The 12-string guitar has been a prominent part of guitar history, both in terms of its popularity and in other genres. Some of the most prominent individuals who have played this instrument are some of the most famous musicians in the world. Their techniques and innovations have helped shape the instrument that we play today.

Although there are many famous players of the 12-string guitar, it might be hard to choose a list that is representative of all of them. This page aims to provide a list of some of the most inspirational individuals who have played this instrument.

Most people know Roger McGuinn for his work with The Byrds, but he is also known for his contributions to the development of the electric guitar. Among the many people who play the instrument, he is regarded as one of the first individuals to use a 12-string. Take a listen to the song "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better" by The Byrds. The song's rhythm guitar makes the song's pulse move forward.

Although McGuinn was one of the first guitarists to use a 12-string, George Harrison from The Beatles started using it before he was even given a prototype model in 1964. He would go on to play numerous historical recordings with the help of his 12-string. One of the most prominent songs that Harrison would play with his 12-string was "A Hard Day's Night." Here, he demonstrates how he uses his instrument to carry the song's weight by strumming the opening chord.

After Harrison and McGuinn established a trail for the use of the 12-string in popular music, Peter Buck started to expand its sonic possibilities. His style became more prominent during the 1980s and 1990s. Most of his work was influenced by the extra shine and tone that the 12-string provided. Buck was the only guitarist in R.E.M., and he was able to create his own unique sound by blending the various elements of his instrument.

The 12-string version of the standard six-string axe is one of the most popular variants. It has been used in the development of various forms of music, such as rock and roll and indie rock.

Although it's easy to play for guitarists who are familiar with standard six-string models, the 12-string model offers a unique tone and feel. If you're interested in learning more about this type of guitar, take the time to experiment with it.

When playing 12-string guitar, you can use Deplike Guitar FX to get a more effective and saturated sound or to get better sound outputs. You can click here to get information about Deplike Guitar FX, see how to use the application, and download it.

Change Your Guitar Playing In 5 Steps - 097

2019-11-10T10:05:00.002-08:00

Are you ready for a big change?

Sometimes it takes drastic measures to pull yourself out of a playing rut.

Today, I’m outlining the process that I’m putting into place to transform my own guitar playing.

If you are unhappy with your playing, or want to be able do play a certain way, but aren't sure how, this process I'm using can be very helpful for you.

These ideas may seem simple, but unfortunately they are seldom used to get real results on the guitar. By following the 5 steps in this podcast, you will keep your self focused and ready to achieve your goal by the date you set.

You can also watch my progress over the next three months on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/playguitaracademy), as I document my progress to become a better blues guitarist.

Slayer's Kerry King Endorses Dean Guitars

2019-11-10T10:03:00.000-08:00

Dean Guitars

Slayer's Kerry King has joined Dean Guitars' artist roster.

In addition to beginning their partnership with a run of 50 King-signed, USA-made guitars, Dean also announced that the company will work with King to create a new, never-before-seen guitar design.

“I'm super-stoked to be part of the Dean Guitars family," King said. "This has been an insane[ly] long time coming!

"Together we're going to create some amazing guitars that Dean, Slayer and Kerry King fans will be as excited as I am to play. It's gonna be a wild ride for years to come!"

In the meantime, be sure to keep an eye on deanguitars.com. We know we will!

Stealing Guitar Solo Ideas from Miles Davis

2017-03-11T21:19:00.000-08:00

Miles Davis' 1959 album Kind of Blue and his song "So What" often represent a gateway into jazz for many musicians with rock, pop or blues backgrounds.

But while some of us are drawn to the opening chords of "So What" and learn them on the guitar where they fit nicely on the fretboard, we might stop there rather than dig into making single-note shapes out of these same chords.

In today’s lesson, you’ll learn how to take the classic "So What" chord shapes and turn them into single-note soloing ideas in your improvised lines and phrases, bringing a bit of Davis and Bill Evans onto the fretboard at the same time.

The "So What" Chords

As a review, here are the opening chords played by pianist Evans on the classic recording of "So What." The chords are built by stacking 4th intervals until you hit the top two strings, where there is a 3rd between those last two notes.

Also, there are two different chords going on here under the written Dm7—an Em7 and Dm7 shape that, when combined, outline the intervals written in the last two bars of the example.

Before going on to the next part of this lesson, one thing to take away from the "So What" chords is that when you see Dm7 on a lead sheet, you can move between Dm7 and Em7 in your comping ideas in order to play on the given chord, as well as add color by outlining the R-9-11-5-13 when playing the Em7 chord.

After you’ve reviewed (or learned, if they are new) these shapes in your practicing, it’s time to move on and take the first step into breaking these ideas up and making single-note melodies out of the "So What" chords.

Breaking Up "So What" Chords

While playing these full chord shapes will get the "So What" chords under your fingers, they can be a bit bulky and hard to move around the fretboard, especially at quicker tempos. So the first thing we’ll do is break up these larger chords into smaller shapes that you can then use in your comping ideas and to create single-line melody lines in your jazz guitar solos. Here's how those shapes would look for both the Em7 and Dm7 "So What" chords, where both have been broken up into three-note groups to make them easier to move around and build single-lines out of.

Now that we’ve broken up the "So What" chords into three smaller shapes for both the Dm7 and Em7 shapes, you can arpeggiate these forms in order to create single-line versions of these chords. You can see an example of this in the following example, where I’ve picked each three-note from the lowest to highest notes in order to create single-line versions of each shape.

Try working these in all 12 keys around the neck to get them under your fingers and into your ears on the fretboard. From a picking perspective, you can use economy picking such as down-down-up for each shape, sweep picking such as down-down-down, or hybrid picking where you would use your pick and fingers to pick each shape.

To keep things simple on the page, I’ve written ascending versions of each shape only, but you can also play down each shape as you work up and down the fretboard using these three-note shapes to break up the "So What" chords on the neck. Once you’ve got these shapes in Dm7 under your fingers, try putting on a Dm7 backing track and soloing over that chord using these shapes as the basis for your lines. From there, you can take these ideas to other keys and tunes when applying them to a soloing situation.

After you have worked these shapes all ascending in the woodshed, move on to the next section of this lesson where you’ll be learning how to add a few variations to these three-note shapes in your practicing.

"So What" Chord Variations

Once you have worked on breaking up the "So What" chords into single-line shapes on the fretboard, you can work these shapes with a few common variations in your practice routine. Here are a few of the variations that I like to use, but feel free to come up with your own after you’ve worked on these in 12 keys in the woodshed. The first variation focuses on playing each three-note shape descending from the highest to lowest note, then moving to the next shape on that chord until you’ve reached the top note. In the second variation, you play the first three-note shape ascending and then the second shape descending until you’ve reached the top of the chord you’re on.

For simplicity, I’ve written these variations out over the Dm7 chord shape we learned earlier, but you can also practice these variations over the Em7 shape as well when moving forward with these ideas in the practice room. You can also put on a Dm7 vamp, or other chord progression, and practice soloing over those harmonies using one or both of these variations to create your improvised lines and phrases when taking these variations to a musical situation.

Now that we’ve looked at a few variations when breaking the "So What" chords into single lines, let’s move on to a sample lick and see how this idea can be applied to a ii V I chord progression.

"So What" Chords Lick

To help get you started with these ideas in a soloing context, here is a sample lick that you can check out and work in the given key of C major, and then in all 12 keys as your work it around the fretboard. As well you can practice applying this lick to tunes you are working on, and when it’s comfortable, begin altering the lick by changing the rhythms, adding in notes, taking notes away, playing bits of the lick, and so forth as you personalize this phrase in your playing.

I’ve used the "So What" chords in the first measure, and then finished the idea with some bebop techniques from there. When you’ve got this lick worked out with the above variations, then try writing out a few of your own as sometimes composition can be a great way to work on improvisation in the practice room.

Do you have any questions on this lesson? Share your thoughts in the COMMENTS section below.

Matt Warnock is the owner of mattwarnockguitar.com, a free website that provides hundreds of lessons and resources designed to help guitarists of all experience levels meet their practice and performance goals. Matt lives in the UK, where he is a lecturer in Popular Music Performance at the University of Chester and an examiner for the London College of Music (Registry of Guitar Tutors).

Who is Mel Bay?

2017-02-18T08:24:00.004-08:00

Dodd's Music was in the white building

I started taking guitar lessons when I was 13 years old; first at the YMCA in a group setting and then at Dodd’s Music Store, in Covington, Kentucky.

One of the acts on WLW radio

My teacher at Dodd's was an old guy named George Olinger. George made a living playing guitar in Country groups around town as well as being a staff guitarist on WLW radio, back in the days when the station played live music.

George taught me the basic chord patterns mainly from the books he had me purchase, which seemed to all be written by one man; Mel Bay.

Tommy Flint

Last week I learned that a fairly well-known guitarist named Tommy Flint had passed away. It seems that Mr. Flint was not only an excellent finger-style guitarist, in the style of Chet Atkins, but also an author of guitar instruction books that were published by Mel Bay.

This got me to wondering, who was Mel Bay?

Mel 1928 with National Triolian

Mel grew up in a small Missouri town in the Ozark Mountains. He bought his first guitar at the age of 13 from a Sears and Roebuck catalog. Within months of acquiring the guitar, he was playing in front of people. Mel Bay never had a guitar teacher. He watched other guitar player perform and memorized their fingering on the fretboard.

That is the way I learned to play guitar. I stood in front of bands and watched the lead guitar player and copied his fingerings. I am certain many of you reading this article honed your skills in much the same manner.

Bay was not satisfied to just learn the guitar. No sir. He went on to learn fingerings on the tenor banjo, mandolin, ukulele and Hawaiian slide guitar. This was all back in the 1920's when he was still a young man.

D'Angelico with "Melbourne Bay"
engraved on the pickguard

Mel Bay became hooked on playing in front of audiences and decided to make a career out of being a professional musician. So he moved to St. Louis in 1933 and joined numerous local and traveling bands. He also was hired by several radio stations as a staff guitarist.

He put together The Mel Bay Trio, which consisted of him, a bass player and a drummer. And this became his steady gig for the next 25 years. His career was briefly interrupted by a stint in the US Army during WWII.

His custom D'Angelico New Yorker

As a working musician he had extra time and was able to teach guitar to others. In fact Mel Bay taught as many as 100 students a week. During those years he found out there was not a lot of instructional material available at the time.

He determined some of the material availabe was flawed. It only offered students chord patterns; not the ability to learn notes on the guitar.

So Mel began writing his own instruction books. These books became the basis for the Mel Bay Publication House.

Mel Bay's 1st Book

After getting out of the Army, he published his first instruction book in 1947 and called it The Orchestral Chord System for Guitar. This book was the first of many to be published it under his own business; Mel Bay Publishing Incorporated. Amazingly this the book is still in print, but now it is titled The Rhythm Guitar Chord System. This book has been used by countless students to learn how to play guitar.

Mel Bay's 2nd Book

By 1948 another book was published called Modern Guitar Method. Through the years Modern Guitar Method has sold more than 20 million copies in its original version.

Mel teaching guitar to
high school students

By the mid 1950’s Elvis Presley's career was the talk of the nation, and this caused the guitar to experience a surge in popularity. During these years Mel Bay traveled around the country talking to guitar teachers and their students about his publications with the goal of selling them as texts.

In doing this he came to know most every guitar teacher in the United States on a first name basis. Guitar Player Magazine dubbed him as The George Washington of Guitar.

Mel Bay playing a mandolin

Since first publishing guitar instruction books, his company has branched off into publishing method books for violin, banjo, mandolin, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, harmonica, folk instruments, and accordion. His books for guitar include methods for differing styles, including folk, jazz, classical, rock, blues and jazz.

Mel Bay Book by Tommy Flint

Getting back to Tommy Flint, who I mentioned early on; Mr. Flint was the author of Mel Bay’s books on Finger Style guitar, Chet Atkins style picking, as well as Bluegrass Guitar and Christmas Songs for Fingerstyle Guitar. In all, Tommy Flint wrote over 40 books for Mel Bay Publishing

Mel Bay received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Guitar Foundation of America from the Retail Print Music Dealers Association and he also received the Owen Miller Award from the American Federation of Musicians.

Bay received a Certificate of Merit from the St. Louis Music Educators Association, as well as a resolution from the Missouri House of Representatives honoring his achievements. He ever was sent a letter of commendation from President Bill Clinton, and was honored by St. Louis mayor Freeman Bosley Jr. Making October 25, 1996 “Mel Bay Day” for citizens of that fair city.

Mel's D'Angelico New Yorker

I often wondered about the image of a D’Angelico guitar on the cover of the Mel Bay instruction book that I purchased so many years ago. A similar guitar image also shows up on the cover of other Mel Bay guitar instruction books. It seem that Mel used to sell D’Angelico guitars and kept a half a dozen D'Angelico guitars at his home that were for sale to perspective students.

One of Mel's personal guitars was a New Yorker model with a cutaway and a slightly thinner neck custom made for him.

Mel Bay

Mel Bay kept playing guitar every day until his death at age 84 in 1997.

From St. Louis WOF Inductees

On June 30 of 2011, the city of St. Louis, Missouri honored him one more time by inducting him into the St. Louis Walk of Fame. There is also a Mel Bay Jazz Festival held annually in DeSoto, Missouri; the town where he grew up. The music center at the town’s high school is named in his honor.

Ode To Mel Bay

A song was written by Michael “Supe” Granda of the Ozark Mountain Daredevils called “Ode to Mel Bay”. It is featured on the album by Tommy Emmanuel and Chet Atkins called The Day Finger Pickers Took Over the World. It sort of makes fun of Mel’s instruction books.

Mel Bay Books

Today Mel Bay Publications offers hundreds of books for a variety of instruments that were written by many different authors including Mel’s son, William Bay, who is a very proficient guitarist as well as an author and runs Mel Bay Publications

Legacy drive

2017-02-18T08:22:00.000-08:00

Folks, Commander Vai has this new Legacy Drive pedal for those into his tone & tube lovers alike. Yes, a 12AX7 tube is in there for em, tube-likeness 😜 My personal experience with tube-equipped pedals- they aren't quite like what they are in amps. Some of them are next to awful. Regardless, here's the Commander himself playing through the Legacy Drive & you just might agree with me that this is one of the worst playing by him:

11 Most Innovative Guitar Brands You've Never Heard Of

2017-02-18T08:19:00.002-08:00

By Theleaguelady - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=49183958

In a world dominated by Les Paul knockoffs and endless variations on the strat and tele designs, it’s natural to feel like the guitar will remain largely unchanged until the end of time. After all, there’s nothing left to take away or add to a guitar that can make it any better, right?

Wrong.

We’ve found 11 of the most innovative guitar brands in the world right now that are challenging the long held standards of what a guitar should be. The big guitar brands in the world should start taking notice unless they want to find themselves lagging behind in a world of endless innovation.

Thunder Eagle Guitars

Thunder Eagle guitars design custom guitars, creating some of the weirdest and wonderful looking instruments around. It’s primarily the work of Jeff Ritzmann, who’s taken his experience as an artist and combined it with a passion for guitars to make some truly unique guitars that are both beautiful and sound amazing. Their guitars have been found in the hands of many celebrities, and they’ve gained a strong following in recent years, but despite this, and appearing in Guitar World Magazine, Thunder Eagle Guitars remains a relatively low key brand.

http://www.thundereagleguitars.com/index.htm

IKON Customs

Much like Thunder Eagle Guitars, IKON Customs are a US based brand making a name for themselves on the metal scene as creators of outlandish and beautiful guitars. They use proprietary resin to craft designs that wouldn’t look out of place at a black mass, and their customers rave about the inspirational results.

http://www.ikoncustoms.com/

Stewart Guitars

All guitarists will be familiar with the struggles of packing up seemingly endless amounts of gear and dragging it around from home to gig and back again over and over. If you’re not quite famous enough to hire on a few hands to help out with the labor, Stewart Guitars have developed some extremely useful designs that make guitars much more travel friendly. Their primary innovation is the ‘clip-joint’, which allows the neck to be easily removed. They combined this with a sheath on the back of the guitar for safe storage, with the added benefit of allowing you to imitate a samurai whilst you’re on stage.

http://www.stewartguitars.com/

Blackbird Guitar

Blackbird builds guitars built with the hazards of traveling in mind. Unsatisfied with the weakness of travel guitars, they developed incredibly strong and weather-resistant guitars that can take any amount of punishment. They favour single-piece bodies, and their carbon fibre construction grants them a level of indestructibility rarely found in musical instruments. For guitarists who are playing in humid areas, or are paranoid about the damage caused to their instruments by uncaring flight crews, a Blackbird guitar has you covered.

They’ve also made some stunning innovations in resonance too. In 2009 they appeared on guitarplayer.com with their Super-OM design that featured asymmetrical designs, an offset sound hole, a hollow neck and multiple cutaways for playing comfort, plus the aforementioned carbon fibre construction.

https://www.blackbirdguitar.com/

Greenfield Guitars

The main force behind the harp guitar design at this moment. Their most famous user is likely Andy McKee, who took the internet by storm with his unusual percussive playing styling and use of the bizarre, yet beautiful instrument.

http://www.greenfieldguitars.com/

Fusion Guitar

Smart technology has changed the way we live, and for guitarists it’s no different. Most of the big brands have been slow to adapt to these changes, utilizing the power of the now ubiquitous smartphone only in the margins of their technology. Fusion Guitar have taken the opposite approach, and have made the most common place of items, the iPhone, one of their central components, and the results are unbelievable. They integrated the phone by turning it into a battery, modelling amp, speaker and recording studio - without the need for any cables.

See it in action here:

https://youtu.be/y9UO8QXjbok

The only real possible upgrade at this point for travel guitars would be to combine it with the incredible strength of a Blackbird carbon fibre construction, and we’d be set to take a guitar anywhere in the world without fear of damage and still have access to all the tools we’ve come to rely on for electrics.

Although there are a few other guitar brands that are trying to bring about a smart revolution for their instruments, none have done it in such an elegant fashion that fits so seamlessly with modern living. It’s also one of the few smart guitars that don't look like a novelty item that’s just for show, and instead seems like a genuine progression of the guitar.

https://www.facebook.com/fusionguitars/

Tronical

Although not a manufacturer of guitars, Tronical have unleashed one of the biggest game changers guitarists are going to see for a while in terms of what they are capable of doing in a live situation.

The Tronical Tune device auto corrects the tuning of a guitar, meaning that it will never go out of tune whilst the battery is charged. It is easily fixed to most headstocks, and also allows you to change from one tuning to another within a few seconds. Accomplishing this in a live playing scenario is technically possible, but doing it in the middle of a song without having to worry about getting it exactly right is quite a challenge.

The Tronical Tune has been picked up by a few legendary players such as Steve Vai.

https://www.tronicaltune.com/

Pitch Key

Like Tronical, Pitch Key have developed a method of quickly altering tunings whilst in the middle of playing. The difference between their approach is in the execution of the idea. With a Pitch Key, a screw like device is fixed to a guitar string, which changes the string to a different pitch when fully turned. The most common application is being able to go from standard to drop D tuning in less than two seconds, and unlike the Tronical it doesn’t rely on battery power, and it’s also much cheaper.

https://www.pitch-key.com/

Babicz Guitars

Babicz most creative addition to the Guitar is the split bridge. It allows the bridge to be easily repositioned, allowing for perfect intonation. Furthermore, the bridge will never need to be repaired due to the seal between it and the guitar breaking, and it reduces stress on the body of the guitar by altering the way the strings apply pressure to the body.

http://www.babiczguitars.com/

Hufschmid Guitars

Hufschmid Guitars are the work of a single master artisan at the peak of his game. Although the guitars are works of art in themselves and sound amazing, the real innovation is the unique humbucker pickup design. They’re solid cast resin, coated in a patented photoluminescent pigment that causes them to glow in the dark, uses military grade capacitors and high quality pots with an engraved design. They’re only available as part of a Hufschmid guitar, so you won’t be able to get hold of them separately as an aftermarket pickup.

https://hufschmidguitars.com/

Odd Guitars

Olaf Diegel, the force behind Odd Guitars, is a professor of Mechatronic and a leading expert on 3D printing. He combined his knowledge with a passion for music and started creating some of the most intricately design guitar bodies in the world. Every guitar is one of a kind, and full of detail that will take a long time to fully appreciate. They are true works of art derived from cutting edge technology, precision engineering, and deep creativity.

http://www.oddguitars.com/

So there we have it. 11 of the most innovative guitar brands on the planet today. One thing is clear: innovation in guitar manufacturing has never been in a better place. Which one do you fancy trying out?

Ged Richardson runs his own music blog at Zingstruments.com and has a special thing for guitars in general. Check out his stuff over there.

INTERVIEW: Trivium’s Matt Heafy

2017-01-23T00:32:00.000-08:00

Trivium’s 2003 debut Ember To Inferno is a landmark release that led to the band’s signing to Roadrunner Records and the worldwide success that followed. Out of print for several years, the band and 5B Artist Management have partnered with Cooking Vinyl to re-release the album, along with a deluxe edition titled Ember To Inferno: Ab Initium that includes 13 additional demos that have never been previously available. It’s a hugely important release for Trivium fans, filling in some gaps in the story of how they became one of the hardest-working and most self-reinventing metal bands in the world. I caught up with voclalist/guitarist Matt Heafy to chat about it.

What would the Matt Heafy of today have told the Matt Heafy of 2003 about what to expect from a career in music?

If I could look back and talk to myself now I would say ‘be prepared. There’s going to be a lot of good, bad and ugly. You will have good things happen and you will have bad things happen, but all those things will bring you to who you are today.’

How did you grapple with the attention being so young?

Back on Ember, we didn’t have fans at that point. When that record came out, with the distribution deal it had, you couldn’t really find that record anywhere. So we were excited to get signed but when we went to our local record stores, we couldn’t find Ember. When the release first came out it was kind of cursed from the beginning. That label eventually did get their distribution sorted out, but by the time it was sorted, Ascendency was coming out. Ascendency completely eclipsed the release of Ember. And when Ascendency first came out we still didn’t have fans yet. I remember going on tour doing Ozzfest and having people not knowing who we were. The first time we went somewhere new and had fans who were waiting for us was the UK. That was the first time we really experienced ‘Oh wow, people are into our band!’ But in the Ember days, from the beginning up until the Ascendency days, we’d play a couple of local shows in Orlando once in a while, maybe play a dive bar and get five or seven people.

One of the most revealing things I’ve heard in an interview is when Metallica came to Australia in 2013 and an interviewer on the radio asked James Hetfield ‘Did you imagine in 1983 that in 30 years’ time you’d be headlining arenas in Australia?’ and James’s answer was something like ‘Yes, of course. You have to have goals like that and believe they’re going to happen.’

For Trivium the goal from the very beginning has always been to be one of the biggest metal bands in the world. To be the kind of band that makes an impact on the music scene. It’s something that takes a lot of time and it’s always been the goal. When we first came out, when people first started hearing about Trivium and reading about us in magazines, we were known as that band with the cocky ambitions of world domination. People were taken aback by that because we were 18, 19 years old and they weren’t used to people talking like that at that age, but people have got to understand that I’d already been in the band for six or seven years at that point. I’d already been living with that goal of wanting to be a massive band. It’s been that same way since day one.

Take me back to the demo days.

With the Ember reissue it has the Red, Blue and Yellow demos. At the time of Red, that was our first time recording in a decent bedroom-converted local studio. When we went to do the Blue album with Jason Seucof, that was the first time recording in something a little bigger. It was Jason’s garage converted into a little studio. And for us that was the biggest thing we’d ever been in in our entire lives. We did Blue, Yellow, Ember, Ascendency, The Crusade, I did Roadrunner United and Capharnaum, this technical death metal band I have with Jason, and it’s really like a DIY home-made studio. Jason pulled off some amazing things. So by the time we were doing the Blue album it was familiar with us to be with Jason.

At what point did you feel that you guys found your voice as a band?

That’s a good question. From the beginning we always made the kinds of music we wanted to hear as fans of metal. We made the kind of music that we felt was either missing or that we specifically wanted to hear at that point in time, and I don’t recall exactly when we were thinking ‘Oh we’ve really hit our stride now,’ but I can say that looking back now and listening to everything very intensely, I used to love Ember as being a record that was similar to Ascendency, in the same style. But looking back now, it really isn’t. It’s so different from Ascendency. Yes, there is screaming and singing but musically it’s approached very differently. And what’s so cool is it truly is seven records of Trivium that are very different to each other. Some have a little more in common with each other than others but I feel like Ember falls into that category as well. It’s great to see the scale and breadth that the band has, with so much different material that can still fit together. Like today we can play a song like ‘Until The World Goes Cold’ and go immediately into ‘Pillars of Serpents’ and it makes sense. That’s a really great thing and it’s not a contrived feeling.

You guys are in a category that I would put an artist like Devin Townsend in too, which is that you have fans who trust you with their ears, y’know? Whatever you do, they’ll find their personal way to connect with it and they don’t necessarily want it to be the same thing all the time. You’ll always get the people who latch onto one album and want you to make it over and over but they’re probably not the ones with Trivium tattoos.

Exactly. And one of the cheeky things we always say about us not making the same record every time is, there are enough bands that do that, where it’s pretty much the same record every time. We would never be content to do that. And if you even look at Red to Blue, they’re very different to each other. Blue to Yellow, very different.

How have your gear preferences changed over the years since doing Ember?

I know the Blue album, we recorded with something weird. What was that gold BOSS rack preamp thing?

The GX-700!

Yeah! I think we used that into an Alesis PA power amp or something really bizarre. I think that was the sound of the Blue album. I could be wrong. With Ember I want to say it was maybe some version of a Peavey 5150 or a XXX head. If I think of all the record it’s always been some form of a 5150 I, II or III into something with V30s or something similar. It’s always been that with an overdrive in front, whether it’s been Ibanez or Maxon or MXR. It’s always worked for us.

It’s so interesting that when Eddie and James Brown designed the 5150, the genres it went on to be used in didn’t exist yet but it’s such a perfect amp for really extreme metal.

It’s crazy! Y’know, there’s actually a scene in Full House where Jesse and the Rippers were trying out new guitar players and there was a 5150 there. And there was a 5150 onstage with Jesse and the Rippers in a lot of scenes! But every record we’ve done has been some version of a 5150 head. I think with Ascendency, Sneap used maybe a Mesa Dual Rectifier for the leads.

Ember To Inferno is out now.

- See more at: http://iheartguitarblog.com/2016/12/interview-triviums-matt-heafy.html#sthash.aH39o7lA.dpuf

Mod Garage: Four Ways to Configure a 4-Conductor Humbucker

2017-01-23T00:30:00.002-08:00

Fig. 1 — illustration courtesy of singlecoil.com

This month we’re going to explore four ways to configure any humbucker that has 4-conductor wiring. (Note: These wiring schemes are not intended for an old-school humbucker with 2-conductor wiring, but rather the modern humbucker that allows coil-splitting and other wiring mods.)

For starters, let’s review our terminology. Looking at a humbucker from the front, we call the lower coil “south” and the upper coil “north.” The south coil is always the “screw side,” while the north coil is the “slug side.” The latter is named for the type of magnetic material used on this coil. Each coil is wrapped with very fine wire, and this wire has a start and a finish. This results in a total of five wires coming from the humbucker:

• North coil start plus north coil finish.

• South coil start plus south coil finish.

• Ground.

The bare wire or braided shield always goes to ground—there’s no exception—so that leaves us with four wires to play with. Having access to the start and finish of each coil wire not only makes it easy to solve potential out-of-phase issues (a subject we’ll cover in another column), but it also gives you the option to wire up your humbucker in one of four different ways. If you’re ambitious, you can use a switch to put several options at your fingertips.

The south coil is always the “screw side,” while the north coil

is the “slug side.”

Every pickup company uses its own color-code scheme for these four wires. This makes discussing humbucker wiring a little more confusing than necessary, but that’s the way it is. As usual, I’ll use the Seymour Duncan color code as a quasi-standard. You should be able to get color-code information for your pickups from their maker, and there are several charts available on the internet that let you compare color-code schemes from different manufacturers. You can use such charts to translate the following wirings into whatever color code corresponds to your particular brand of humbucker. Fortunately that’s not too hard—you only need to know which color wire on your pickup indicates the start or finish of which coil. Once you have that info, you can draw up a reference chart to decode this column’s wirings.

Here’s the Seymour Duncan 4-conductor humbucker color code:

• North coil start is black; north coil finish is white.

• South coil start is green; south coil finish is red.

• Ground is bare wire.

Fig. 1 sums up what we’ve covered so far in the Seymour Duncan format. Now let’s walk through the four ways you can wire up a humbucker. Ready?

Standard humbucker wiring: both coils connected in series. This is the default wiring in almost every guitar loaded with one or more humbuckers because it produces a warm, fat tone with maximum output while offering hum-cancelling capability. (It’s also the factory standard for all humbuckers with 2-conductor wiring consisting of only hot and ground.)

Fig. 2 — illustration courtesy of singlecoil.com

Here are the connections for series wiring (Fig. 2):

• North coil start is the hot output.

• North coil finish and south coil finish are soldered together and taped off (this is the series link).

• South coil start is soldered together with the bare wire going to ground.

“Single-coil” humbucker wiring: both coils connected in parallel. This option gives you a single-coil-like tone, but still retains hum-cancelling capability. It doesn’t deliver a crystal-clear Strat or Tele tone, but to my ears it at least resembles a single-coil pickup—maybe closer to a P-90 than to a standard single-coil. Every type of humbucker sounds a little different when wired this way, so it’s simply a matter of giving it a try to determine if you like the sound.

Fig. 3 — illustration courtesy of singlecoil.com

Parallel wiring (Fig. 3) requires the following connections:

• North coil start and south coil finish are soldered together as the hot output.

• North coil finish and south coil start are soldered together with the bare ground wire.

Coil-splitting humbucker wiring #1: splitting to the south coil. This wiring splits the humbucker in half, shunting one coil to ground and leaving the other coil engaged like a true single-coil pickup. In this mode, the hum-cancelling function is no longer active, so you’ll get the hum and noise of any single-coil pickup. But don’t expect a true Strat or Tele tone: If that’s your goal, investigate the special breed of humbuckers that are made out of two real single-coil pickups. The downside of this type of pickup is that it doesn’t sound great in full humbucker mode, so, as we’re so often reminded, it’s about compromise.

Splitting to the humbucker’s south coil, which is the screw side, is only recommended for neck pickups. (You’ll learn why we’re excluding the bridge pickup when we get to our fourth wiring scheme.) Let’s also remember that in most guitars with neck humbuckers, the south, screw-side coil lies closest to the neck.

Fig. 4 — illustration courtesy of singlecoil.com

For this coil-splitting wiring (Fig. 4), you need the following connections:

• South coil start is the hot output.

• North coil start, north coil finish, and south coil finish are soldered together with the bare ground wire.

Coil-splitting humbucker wiring #2: splitting to the north coil. This wiring follows the same concept as our previous coil-splitting recipe, but leaves the north coil active—that’s the slug side. This version is recommended for a bridge humbucker because pole-piece slugs deliver a fuller sound than pole-piece screws.

Fig. 5 — illustration courtesy of singlecoil.com

Here are the connections for our second coil-splitting wiring (Fig. 5):

• North coil start is the hot output.

• North coil finish, south coil start, and south coil finish are soldered together with the bare ground wire.

Well, that’s it. In a future column we’ll explore how to integrate and control all these options with the help of a switching device. And, of course, we’ll learn how to compensate for possible out-of-phase issues that can occur when you combine several humbuckers or a humbucker with a single-coil. But next month, we’ll dig into a proje

Secrets of Shred: Eddie Van Halen-Style Speed-Picking Technique.

2017-01-23T00:27:00.004-08:00

In this lesson, I’ll be showing you a relatively unknown picking technique used by my favorite guitarist, Eddie Van Halen.

It can be heard in countless Van Halen songs, including "I’m the One," "Spanish Fly" and "Jump."

This technique is based on a combination of hammer-on notes and alternate-picked notes. Eddie likes to take a fingering pattern and hammer on the notes on one string, then alternate pick the same pattern on an adjacent string. This creates the illusion that he’s picking every note, when he’s really not.

It allows him to rip up and down the neck with minimal effort from his picking hand. The technique is shown in EXAMPLE 1 below and is demonstrated as a simple pattern in the key of B minor.

Now, let’s take a look at EXAMPLE 2. This example takes the picking approach from EXAMPLE 1 but extends the scale up the neck in the key of B minor. This time, the pattern utilizes only the B and E strings. This scale pattern allows you to quickly transition up and down the neck and not get caught in complex fingerings or picking. Even though a few notes are not completely diatonic, they provide color and sound great in many musical contexts.

EXAMPLE 3 is the exact same pattern as EXAMPLE 2, just moved down an octave to the D and G strings. This is a great trick that every guitarist should know. Whenever you have a lick on the B and E strings, you can move it down an octave simply by sliding it down three frets and playing it on the D and G strings. For precision, make sure to use the same left-hand fingering so that it feels the same in both octaves.

Expanding on this idea, EXAMPLE 4 is the same pattern as EXAMPLE 3 just moved down two more frets to the E and A strings. Remember to use the same EVH picking pattern: three hammer-on notes on the E string followed by three notes using alternate picking on the A string.

Once you have the scale down on one grouping of strings (EXAMPLE 2), you should be able to play the scale at the same speed on the other two groupings of strings. (EXAMPLE 3, EXAMPLE 4) Finally, in EXAMPLE 5, we’re going to move back to our original position and play a run that combines patterns from all of our previous examples. This illustrates how you can take these patterns that move vertically up and down the neck and use them to create runs that stay in one position. If you play it quick, you’ll notice it sounds eerily similar to EVH.

Once you have these examples down, try using this approach to create runs and different scale patterns of your own. Combining the EVH picking technique with these scale fingerings will hopefully open up some new doors for your playing, creativity and technique. Cheers.

Sammy Boller is the guitarist for the Detroit rock band Citizen Zero. They’re touring and recording their first full-length album with Al Sutton and Marlon Young (Kid Rock, Bob Seger, Uncle Kracker). In 2012, Boller was selected by Joe Satriani as a winner of Guitar Center’s Master Satriani competition. He studied music at the University of Michigan. For more about Boller, or to ask him a question, write to him at info@sammyboller.com or follow him on Twitter.

Martin Howe

2016-06-22T02:36:00.002-07:00

Something to look forward to- Carl Martin's Lick Box. It's a signature pedal as indicated. I'm a sucker for a stackable overdrive arrangement, especially one offered in a single housing. Pedal will debut this 1st August.

Going Unplugged

2016-06-22T02:35:00.004-07:00

Nirvana did it. Eric Clapton did it too. So did Pearl Jam, Jimmy Page, Bob Dylan, KISS, R.E.M. and Springsteen. These artists and many others, who are known more for their electric performances than they are acoustic, have all at some point unplugged and gone bare bones with their music.

Now, we're not talking "unplugged" in the literal sense, as in no amplification. What we're referring to here is when a musician plays a stripped-down version of their electric repertoire on an acoustic instrument that is amplified, but to a lesser degree. If you remember MTV Unplugged, you'll recall the series wasn't actually a showcase for artists playing their instruments without amplification, but rather for bands performing their songs on acoustic instruments that were plugged in to smaller, less powerful amps.

Going unplugged adds a degree of intimacy to a song that approximates playing in one's living room or around a campfire. It can sometimes feel a little too personal for comfort though, like Eric Clapton's "Tears in Heaven," which he wrote to cope with the pain of the tragic loss of his four-year-old son, Conor, and Nirvana's haunting, legendary Unplugged in New York performance, which was recorded four months prior to Kurt Cobain's death. Especially poignant is Cobain's rendition of Lead Belly's "Where Did You Sleep Last Night."

When you take a song unplugged, you can't simply play the same song, note for note, on a different instrument and expect it to sound as good as or even better than the original. In most cases, it won't. Average will be as good as it gets. The challenge in going unplugged then doesn't concern trying to be heard, but involves the ability to take an electric song and make it translate as an acoustic one. Compare the plugged-in version of Eric Clapton's signature song "Layla" with the unplugged version, which he completely reinvented. Same song, very different sound.

The key to reworking heavier songs as acoustic numbers without sacrificing the power and passion of the song is to keep in mind the differences between electric and acoustic guitars as well as the context of the original song. Are you playing unplugged as part of a band or in a solo situation? If you are creating a solo acoustic version of a song that's played by a whole band, you'll need to compensate for what the band provides.

The following are some tips to help you adapt an electric piece to an acoustic guitar and make it every bit as compelling as the song it's based on:

Add bass lines to your chord progressions. Learn the existing bass line to the song you're creating the acoustic version from and include elements of it in your arrangement, especially if you are creating a solo version where it's just you, your guitar, and a vocal. This will help fill out the sound more and create movement within your chord progressions.

Swap out power chords for open and barre chords. For a bigger, fuller sound on your unplugged song, replace the power chords in the electric version with open and/or barre chords. This can be a great way to build the intensity and dynamics in your acoustic song when you don't have the distortion of the electric guitar at your disposal. You don't necessarily have to replace every power chord, it really depends on the context of the song. Whether you go with open or barre chords will also depend on the situation in regard to chord picking, embellishments, strumming approaches, etc.

Strum more. Another way to compensate for the loss of distortion, sustain, and lack of other instruments (assuming you're playing without a band backing you) is to strum more in your acoustic version. Strumming can have a very percussive effect on your acoustic guitar, providing you with a cool groove, and can be a great tool for compensating for the lack of other instruments if you are playing solo. It's also great for building intensity and dynamics in your song.

Add bits of melody to chord progressions. A very effective way to round out and add interest to your sound, especially if you are creating a solo acoustic version, is to include hints of the song's melody in your chord progressions. In doing so you will end up with some really sweet embellishments and extensions to your chords. This approach will fill out the progressions of your acoustic song more, and can even provide a nice instrumental break within the song.

Try fingerpicking. Fingerpicking allows you to play more than one note simultaneously. Using your fingers also provides a different tone compared to that of a pick. It comes in especially handy at times when you're walking the bass line and want to put in the chords on the upbeat, and when adding melody lines to the song. Fingerpicking is also useful for arpeggios and embellishment techniques such as hammer-ons and pull-offs, all of which help beef up your sound and make it more captivating.

Incorporate percussive elements. By introducing slaps, knocks, raps and other hands-on-wood effects into your playing, you can enliven and add greater sonic interest to your unplugged performance. Percussive elements are a great technique to emulate the feel of a rhythm section in a solo acoustic song.

Use slides. Certain techniques are harder to execute on an acoustic guitar than they are an electric. String bending is one of them. Due to the extra tension in the strings of an acoustic, it can be difficult to bend them. Sliding is a good substitute. Sliding to your note instead of bending to it will provide a slightly different sound. It's nuances like this that will give your unplugged song that acoustic sound.

Try double stops. Double stops are a great tool to consider when it comes to soloing on your acoustic guitar. Double stops are when you play two notes together at the same time. They help to add intensity to your solo lines. A nice contrast is created between the double stops and your single notes when you use them, and they also thicken up the sound of a riff. This provides you with yet another way to compensate for the lack of distortion and sustain of the electric guitar.

These are just a few ideas to help you get started stripping down your songs. If you play a lot of solos, be sure to dig deeper into the techniques for soloing unplugged.

Have fun experimenting and retooling some of your old favorites. Of course, while you are learning to rework your electric songs as acoustic numbers, it helps to carefully listen to some artists who have done it. Compare their unplugged songs to the original versions to see what those artists have done, then take those ideas and implement them into your own unique takes of songs on your acoustic.

Gretsch Tom Petersson Signature Basses!

2016-06-22T02:34:00.002-07:00

This is the douchiest, namedroppiest thing I’ve ever posted here but this one time I was hanging out with Duff McKagan outside the Fender booth at NAMM (an awesome publicist introduced us to each other to do an interview while we were both in town) and Duff introduced me to Tom Petersson, who proceeded to hilariously mock my Australian accent for a solid five minutes or so. I liked him before that but now I love that guy. Okay, namedrop over, here are Tom’s new Gretsch basses.

Buy Gretsch guitars and basses here

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (June 21, 2016) Gretsch will officially unveil two new Tom Petersson signature bass models during the Summer NAMM show this week in Nashville, Tenn.

The members of Cheap Trick have reigned as the high priests of hard-rocking U.S. power pop for more than 40 years, with an influential and infectiously ever-youthful sound. The band has recorded countless hits, performed over 5,000 shows and recently released their seventeenth studio album. On April 8, Cheap Trick was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, solidifying their legendary status and entering a new realm amongst their inspirational peers.

On the heels of this pinnacle moment, Gretsch is proud to honor the Cheap Trick co-founder and bassist with the USA Custom Shop Tom Petersson Signature 12-String Falcon Bass and G6136B-TP-AWT Tom Petersson Signature 4-String Bass.

Both models will be available in early 2017.

USA Custom Shop Tom Petersson Signature 12-String Falcon Bass.

Petersson pioneered the creation of the 12-String bass and has become synonymous with the unique instrument that heavily impacted the bands dynamic sound, especially enhancing their live shows. The Cheap Trick bassist has been playing his custom 12-String prototype live during the development process, and it has already garnered great admiration and attention.

Everywhere I go now with my Gretsch bass, people are in shock, said Petersson. Thats really why Gretsch has always stood out so much because they are like the Cadillac or Rolls Royce of guitars. They are the flashiest, coolest looking You show up with that and people are like Oh my god! I dont even care how that thing sounds, thats the coolest looking instrument Ive ever seen. But then you plug it in and its like, Oh my, whoa, what is going on here? So its the best of every world. I couldnt think of a company Id rather work with than Gretsch.

Stunning in style and utterly seismic in tone, it puts Peterssons distinctive stamp on the classic White Falcon Bass design. This first and only Gretsch 12-string bass model is surely the most powerful Falcon ever. Premium features include a laminated maple body, a 12-radius ebony fingerboard with 22 vintage-style frets and mother-of pearl inlays that sits atop a C shaped maple gloss-finished neck, a shorter scale length (30.3″) for comfort and fatter, sweeter tone, dual custom Seymour Duncan® SuperTron pickups, a specially designed 12-string Space Control bridge and Gretsch Cadillac tailpiece, gold hardware and pickguard, and more.

Available in Vintage White.

G6136B-TP-AWT Tom Petersson Signature 4-String Bass

Additionally, Gretsch will offer a traditional 4-string model. The G6136B-TP-AWT features a laminated maple body, 12-radius ebony fingerboard with 22 medium jumbo frets and mother-of pearl inlays, short scale length (30.3), Adjusto-Matic bridge and Gretsch Cadillac tailpiece, gloss-finish maple neck with U profile, gold hardware and pickguard, and more.

Per Peterssons specifications, the typical bridge pickup has been replaced instead with a middle pickup (Seymour Duncan® SuperTron) that pairs with the all-new RumbleTron in the neck pickup for an extra bold statement.

You can get this big, thick sound if you just want that neck pickup sound but if you want more clarity, youve got that one in the middle its in the perfect position and then the combination of the two is just great, noted Petersson. “Thats different than most.

Available in Aged White.

Petersson will make a special guest appearance at the 2016 Summer NAMM Gretsch booth for a one-hour autograph session at 4:30pm on Thursday, June 23.

Gretsch also introduces two beautiful new limited edition models to the lineup.

G6112TCB-WF Limited Edition Falcon Center Block Jr. with Bigsby®

With style and feel as pure as its Vintage White finish, the G6112TCB-WF Limited Edition Falcon Center Block Jr. with Bigsby® combines vintage Falcon power with modern Gretsch sound and playability. Its smaller 14 center block body design is only 1.75 deep and enables snarling high-gain power while offering remarkable ergonomic comfort and control. Dual TV Jones® TV Classic pickups deliver pure Gretsch power, with Squeezebox paper-in-oil capacitors under the hood for even smoother vintage tone. It also includes a no-load tone control for smoother tonal taper while unleashing full-throttle FilterTron power, the classic Falcon vertical winged headstock logo, and a String-Thru Bigsby® tailpiece.

Available August 2016.

6120T-59CAR Limited Edition Nashville® with Bigsby®

Stunning in look and sound, the 6120T-59CAR Limited Edition Nashville® with Bigsby® takes a classic 1959 Gretsch design and mods it in supremely cool style. The gorgeous Candy Apple Red finish is complemented by a matching headstock and aged binding. Dual TV Jones® TV Classic pickups deliver pure Gretsch power, with red inserts that match the body finish and “Squeezebox paper-in-oil capacitors under the hood for even smoother vintage tone. The G6120T-59CAR also includes a rosewood fingerboard (with aged inlays) and pinned bridge for warmer, silkier tone, and a String-Thru Bigsby® tailpiece.

Available August 2016.

For more information, visit www.gretschguitars.com

Worthy Plus-es

2016-06-20T03:42:00.000-07:00

The Schecter C-6 Plus is new for 2016.

If you are looking for a sub-$500 player which isn't shabby with much visual attraction...

... they are now available at Davis GMC in various colours.

Keeley Neutrino Review: A Versatile Small-Size Envelope Filter for Jam & Funk

2016-06-20T03:40:00.002-07:00

The Keeley Neutrino, released in 2014, is a pedal that caught many people’s attention as a boutique alternative to the bigger Mu-Tron III envelope filter pedal which started it all back in the 1970s. Why is it so appealing? To start, it’s small and will save space on your pedalboard. Second it sounds excellent and is easier to trigger than other envelope filters. Third, the current re-issue (from Haz Laboratories) is not even the original design by Mike Beigel (creator of Mu-Tron effects). After stopping production of the original Mu-Tron III, he worked with Electro-Harmonix to use his design and create the Q-Tron, which is much closer to the original Mu-Tron III. Read about it here.

Fast forward to the present. In 2014 Mike Beigel released the (now sold-out) Tru-Tron, his newer version of the original Mu-Tron III, for the purists who wanted to get as close to the original design as possible. Trey Anastasio famously took this pedal on the road with the Dead & Company tour. One problem remained: it still took up a lot of pedalboard real estate. This problem, however, helped to create a market for smaller envelope filters inspired by the Mu-Tron III, namely the 3Leaf Audio and Keeley Neutrino, which are arguably the front-runners in the small-box envelope filter market.

The differences are minimal, but we get the sense from recent forum threads that guitarists seem to favor the Neutrino due to it being a little bit easier to trigger the filter effect (especially with single coil guitars). Some also think the Neutrino sounds a bitt fatter than the Proton. Whether this is actually true or not is up for debate and your own testing. There are so many variables with your individual gain structure that your experience may be different.

One thing to consider with any envelope filter is that you need to keep your guitar’s output maxed in order to properly trigger the filter effect. Jerry Garcia, famous for his use of two Mu-Tron III effects with the Grateful Dead, actually had an effects loop running from his actual guitar, before his guitar’s output jack, to ensure that his effects saw maximum gain. He also used a boost in his guitar (Alembic’s Stratoblaster) to help ensure his gain stayed strong through long cable runs to his effects. So, you really need to learn how to play an envelope filter, and how to best incorporate it into your rig.

Comparing the Keeley Neutrino to the Mu-Tron/Tru-Tron Design

This is one of the best videos on YouTube to help you hear how the Keeley Neutrino sounds compared to the original Mu-Tron design…well, it’s actually the newer Tru-Tron from Mike Beigel. Pretty damn close. When you listen to these clips, it’s very clear that in the Low modes, the Neutrino and the Tru-Tron sound nearly identical. Robert and his team did an incredible job getting those classic Mu-Tron tones with the Neutrino.

Putting the Neutrino Through its Paces

This video from Mike Hermans is an excellent resource to help you hear how the Neutrino sounds when played in various applications with various guitars. He does a good job showcasing the quick filter response of the Neutrino, using it with overdrive for more aggressive tones, and of course…getting those classic Jerry Garcia tones.

Isolating the Various Settings of the Neutrino

We produced our own video to help you hear how the Neutrino sounds without any other instruments or effects. Running through the various settings, you can really hear how versatile the Neutrino is. Many guitarists favor the Low Pass settings for those classic 70s Grateful Dead tones, however it is also easily used for more “mainstream funk” tones when using the Band Pass and High Pass settings.

Exploring the Features, Controls & Up & Down Modes

The Neutrino is true bypass, offers a 9V center negative AC power jack and features the following controls on the top of the pedal:

Selector knob for Low Pass, High Pass or Band Pass
Selector toggle switch for LO or HI frequency range
Input Gain Knob
Peak Knob

For warmer envelop filter tones (ala Jerry Garcia), you’re going to want to focus on the lower frequencies (Low Pass, LO range) and keep the Peak knob around 9:00 – 10:00. As the peak knob is turned up, the filter will “peak’ at a higher frequency and you’ll lose the warmth.

For snappier, edgier and brighter filter tones, experiment with Band Pass and High Pass modes depending on how thin you would like your tone to be. Switching to the HI range allows the filter to stress the higher frequencies.

The Neutrino also comes with a switch on the side of the pedal that allows you to switch between upward filter and downward filter modes. You can hear the tonal differences in the video above. What really stands out to me is that you do not need to change the settings of your pedal when switching between up/down modes. Not all pedals make it this easy, which is especially helpful when playing live.

Final Verdict

The Neutrino is a winner if you’re looking for classic 70s envelope filter tones in a small box enclosure. When set early in your pedalboard chain, it can trigger easily due to the addition of the Input Gain knob, and the Neutrino sounds great with light overdrive, fuzz or distortion after it. Too much dirt will result in a loss of the filter effect. The only suggested upgrade that many guitarists would like to see from Robert Keeley in the future is to move the Up / Down switch from the side of the pedal to the top, so it’s easier to switch between modes. Still, at $209, the Neutrino is a great buy.

BONUS: Keeley ME-8 Multi-Echo

While we’re covering the awesomeness of Robert Keeley’s pedals, we’d also like to point out that the ME-8 (Multi-Echo) is an incredible pairing with the Neutrino for creating more spacial envelope filter effects. The ME-8 offers two ADT (double tracking) presets, three delays and three reverbs. All have separate parameters that can be controlled with the knobs. While there’s no videos on YouTube of both pedals together, this review from Mike Hermans showcases the 8 presets of the ME-8. In short, they are:

ADT Vintage
ADT Modern
Tape Delay
Analog Delay
Subdivision Digital Delay
Room Reverb
Chamber Reverb
Hall Reverb

Walton’s c.1900 Baritone Harp Guitar

2016-02-13T11:06:00.001-08:00

Here’s an interesting one!

My friend Guy DeVillez sent me pics of this awhile back and I had to admit I’d never heard of the maker, F. W. Walton. It looked like a questionable homemade one-off, and at first glance I thought it might simply be a doubleneck guitar, as most of Guy’s friends did. Of course, the bridge was the dead giveaway – it would be kinda hard to intonate your second neck frets with that slant! So was it a mistake? Or was this just one of those occasional “fretted harp guitars”? Neither, it turned out – just a design choice.

Guy brought it over to show me over a year ago, kindly leaving it for me to photograph, as it was far more interesting than I had predicted. It came from the estate of his late friend R. C. Allen (who was subsequently profiled in Fretboard Journal #33), found in a forgotten trailer full of odds and ends. Incidentally, Guy is selling this (quite inexpensively) if anyone is interested.

Nothing is known about its provenance, nor have Guy or I found any info whatsoever on Walton. Did Walton make other instruments or cabinetry/furniture? Note his stamp burned into the center strip.

There was a Trenton, New Jersey full-service musical instrument company from 1896-on named C. H. Walton & Co. – any relation? One strange addition to the puzzle is this c.1900 mandolinetto below (from eBay some years ago) that has a very similar wood-burned stamp, but reads “H. A. Walton” as opposed to the harp guitar’s “F. W.” Yet, clearly they share the same background – the similar massive quantity, size and style of pearl inlays is unmistakable! Perhaps two brothers in the same shop? Or father and son? Note the stamps burned into the center strip of the two instruments.

For now I’m imagining Chicago for F. W., and around 1900 – when Walton might’ve come across one of Bohmann’s outrageously humongous “contrabass” harp guitars. It seems too coincidental that the body is such a close match to Bohmann’s unique body design. I didn’t realize how close until I happened to lay them down together side by side (“spooning,” as it were).

Walton made his with a flat back as opposed to Bohmann’s heavily domed one (heat-pressed over a giant iron mold). Bohmann’s is made from his typical 3-ply sandwich (maple between Brazilian rosewood), while the Walton looks like walnut.

Though Bohmann’s domed back adds a bit more volume (5-3/4″ Walton’s 5″) to , Walton’s top is slightly larger – owing to its wider waist. Top dimensions are 14″ wide upper bout, 12″ wide waist, 18-3/4″ lower bout and 24″ in length! He adds a larger soundhole a bit further down on the face of the X-braced top (you’ll see Bohmann’s bracing in a later chapter). Note how he locates the bridge further down to center on the body. He does this by having the neck meet at the 11^th fret (as opposed to Bohmann’s 12^th) and providing a staggering baritone-worthy scale length of 29-and-change inches! Bohmann’s is a normal 25”. It’s almost as if Walton was thinking – like me – Wait a minute! Why is Bohmann building a giant guitar, calling it a “contrabass,” then only giving it a standard scale length and pitch?!

Here, I’ve placed my Dyer behind the two just for a size reality check. Those suckers are huge!

Getting back to the bridge, check out Walton’s interesting individual dowel bone saddles for each string – something else Bohmann may have inspired with his many bridge inventions.

As you can see, Walton’s second neck “frets” are inlaid bone and were obviously intended to create a visual duplication of the playable neck, as were the intentional “symmetrical” matching fret markers. But what a piss-poor job! They’re just inexplicably thrown on, without remotely bothering with measurements or simple visual alignment. How odd to perform all that extra work without even laying it out!

His inlays also seem to be inspired by Bohmann’s own aesthetically dubious inlays.

He similarly does otherwise fine work, especially in the guitar’s wood fit and finish. I wonder if maybe F. Walton built the instrument and then let a hypothetical F. Walton, Jr. do the neck and head decoration…

For more on Walton’s instrument, why not restore it yourself and tell us what you learn? Just send Guy a note through FB here – he’d love to find it a good home!

Credit: Home

The Guess Who "American Women" Isolated Percussion Track Read more: http://bobbyowsinski.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-guess-who-american-women-isolated.html#ixzz407SkE7su Under Creative Commons License: Attribution Follow us: @bobbyowsinski on Twitter | bobby.owsinski on Facebook

2016-02-13T11:01:00.003-08:00

Percussion is the secret weapon that producers use to give motion to a song. Sometimes the percussion is obvious in a mix, and sometimes it's almost imperceptible (like the shaker on Tom Petty and the Heatbreaker's big hit "Refugee"), but it almost always makes a big difference how the song feels.

For decades now garage bands have been playing The Guess Who's "American Women" and wondering why it didn't sound like the record, and the reason is they're not playing the percussion that's an integral part of the song.

Take a close listen to the following video and you'll realize why it's almost a different song without the conga and tom hit.

Note that they're not playing totally in the pocket, but that was the state of production for the era, when timing wasn't scrutinized as closely as it is today.

Ibanez: Iron ash (Part 1)

2016-02-13T10:58:00.002-08:00

First for 2016- Ibanez RGDIX7M. If the manufacturer's intent was to steal the show with visual attraction, this was a highly successful outcome. The instrument was made to manifest a very pleasant physique, even the lack of gloss overcoat did not bother the buyer much (at least true for yours truly, in fact, he prefers an organic satin finish any time). The tinted top there is a poplar cap which is absolutely negligible if you think it was going to contribute to any tone performances. The idea of masking the flat top with a different wood type isn't new; Carvin/ Kiesel was there, they've done that. From an up close perspective, this isn't a costly manufacturing procedure, the reason why this guitar is neither a Premium nor a Prestige offering.

Flip side look- an absolutely normal guitar. Ash grains, maple neck- a good colour combo for a 'pleasant' visual encounter. FYI, the RGD sports a longer scale length of 26.5" so it may not be everyone's cup of tea.

George Massenburg On Recording Drums

2016-02-11T11:36:00.002-08:00

George Massenburg is not only a legendary engineer, but he's one that likes to experiment.

Here's a video where George breaks from the norm when recording drums and tries some different and interesting techniques.

As always, there's a lot of thought behind everything that he's attempting to do.

Trash

2016-02-11T11:33:00.003-08:00

This is a bad one.

I am currently acquiring budget guitars to keep kids occupied & away from trouble after school hours. I chanced upon this online, was going for cheap so I bought it.

The instrument's neck was warped but the real nightmare- no truss rod for adjustments. Darn. The strings were corroded & a re-string revealed chipped nuts. Bridge pins won't stay put as well, kept popping out during tuning. Only 3 were functional. The tuners seemed OK till the low E was tuned- it stopped working after a few turns.

Considering I would be spending more than the instrument's asking price to rectify the issues, this guitar was trashed.

7 Rarely Used Pro Tools Features

2016-02-09T23:01:00.000-08:00

For those of you who use Pro Tools, you'll enjoy this video by Paul Maunder. It's all about 7 rarely used PT features that could save you a lot of time during your next session. If you use another DAW, you might be able to find a similar function as well.

The rarely used features are:

1. Plug-in Settings Auto Increment
2. Restore Last Selection
3. Consolidate Clip 1kHz Tone
4. Rectified & Power Waveform Views
5. Metadata Inspector
6. Slip/Grid Mode
7. Cursor Location Indicator

Very cool. Thanks, Paul!

Weeding them out

2016-02-09T22:57:00.002-08:00

Good day ladies & gentlemen. In this little episode, I'd like to highlight some of the unbecoming behaviour of netizens in buy-sell engagements. Some of the situations mentioned might strike a little chord with you which proves that such incorrigible pedigree are largely recalcitrants who require some ethic pointers. Here we go.

Can nego?

More often than not, once you specified a final price for your item, there will be a sizeable number of morons who think it's still negotiable price-wise. They are trying their luck. In any case, a gambling den would be a more apt place for doing just that. Joining the 4D queue would be another option. Please understand the term 'final'.

You are so far away...

In attempt to segue into another negotiating segment, buyers would cite proximity as an issue. These are the very people who don't mind going to the guitar store located far away in the commercial district rather than travel to your specified meeting venues which are very much nearer. I have ever travelled for 40min just to sell a $30 item because I am a nice guy who respects the buyer's acquisition urgency. I did this for too may times already, maybe it's time for me to stop & let others suffer (a little bit).

I'm doing you a favour

The other sneaky, below-the-belt citation for price reductions- the buyer telling you he's doing you a huge favour by helping you clear your long overdue items. Dear friends, if your listed items take a little longer to clear, please understand it's a demand-supply situation. Do not yield to ridiculous offers just to feel relieved in clearing that space-robbing item of yours. The real relief is that sensation when one finally gets to pee after holding it in the bladder for too long. Nothing else is relief-worthy. Please give it some thought.

I pay you half first, we settle the remainder later.

Instalment plan- was this a consideration you specified? In my honest opinion, only sizeable cash transactions are worthy of such a gesture. That's probably because there is an interest consideration in there to compensate your waiting. For such minor transactions, it's simply not worth it. In any case, it's a real assessment of how credit-worthy your potential buyers are.

So expensive, no ________________ (fill in expected accessory)?
There are also dweebs who think you owe them more than just the sale item per se just because they paid a 'premium' for your branded product. This is a sheer case of ignorance. For instance, some Les Pauls (yes, the American ones) don't come with a hard case. The buyer will provoke you into some price reconsiderations since it was below his expectations. If one buys a Rolex watch, it's so costly, it's supposed to come with a spare battery, no?

All in all, I believe the average online buyer is a lazy chum, he couldn't bring himself to click the details of your sale items. The tittle of your ad is to them a very comprehensive guideline of what you have put up for sale. They get offended when you reiterate the fact that his queries were all addressed in the ad details. They will mark you down as unreasonable for ignoring their queries as well but ignoring such people is indeed the right thing to do. These people have only themselves to blame for misunderstandings & further provocations; poor self-awareness, that's all there is to it.

Cyberspace is a gift to mankind & in a learned context, it should foster good relationships between individuals. If you think you can get away with being anonymous online, your wayward ways will catch up with you in due time.

Star relic

2016-02-08T11:47:00.002-08:00

Ibanez has these to offer for 2016- the Artstar Vintage models.

We know it's nothing fresh in terms of ideas & we note that Ibanez did not offer relic/ vintage selections in its other models. In my opinion- not a good move. The Ibanez brand wasn't one to be known for its relic or road worn feel. Wouldn't be surprised if they are discontinued next year because all this relic business reeks of novelty more than value-for-money. What fans want from Ibanez in the mean time is the re-issue of those glorious '80s models. Bringing back the Talman- now, that's a good move.

Primate greetings

2016-02-07T11:52:00.000-08:00

Lunar New Year greetings to all! Enjoy the break, expect some monkey business along the way.

Big Jim Sullivan - His Career - His Guitars

2016-02-07T11:50:00.002-08:00

LA had The Wrecking Crew.

Motown and Stax Records had The Funk Brothers.

Alabama had The Muscle Shoals Sound Rhythm Section.

But who played on all those recordings from Britain? You know, all those wonderful songs from the 1950’s, ‘60’s and ‘70’s.

During these days the music industry kept a tight lid on it but. more often than not the groups you loved; those groups that made the records which you played over and over, did not actually play their instruments on their recordings.

Olympic Recording Studio, London

Recording time was expensive in the U.S. and in the U.K., so studios hired professional musicians to play the instruments. The voices of the singers in the band would be heard on the records, but it usually was someone else playing the instrumental part.

Someone that could get the job done quickly and efficiently was needed. By working this manner, studios and record companies could crank out mistake free recordings in a just few hours.

Big Jim Sullivan

Big Jim Sullivan, born James George Tomkins, was probably the most in demand session guitarist in Britain.

Sullivan or Tomkins as he was known at the time, began playing guitar at age 14 when Skiffle Music was popular. Within a few years he was giving lessons to the neighbor kid, Ritchie Blackmore.

By the time Sullivan was 19 he became the guitarist for a group known as The Wildcats. At the time they were a warm up act on a television series called Oh Boy.

The Wildcats

This group went on to tour with Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent in 1960. The group’s leader, Marty Wilde, had purchased a gold top Gibson Les Paul guitar from Sister Rosetta Tharp. Marty gave this guitar to Sullivan. You can view it in the above picture.

1960 Gibson ES-345

Shortly after this, Sullivan sold the Les Paul and purchased another Gibson guitar. This was a brand new cherry red Gibson ES-345.

Marshall Music West London

In the early 1960’s, guitars and amplifiers imported from the United States were still very expensive. Sullivan, Ritchie Blackmore, Pete Townsend and other players would hang out at Jim Marshall’s Music Store in the West London town of Hanwell. It was Sullivan, Blackmore and Townsend that convinced Marshall the UK needed a more affordable and louder amp.

The rest is history.

The Wildcats had a few hits in England with covers of Donna, A Teenager in Love, and Sea of Love, which were all produced by Jack Good. Good was a music and television producer and a pioneer in British television. Mr. Good took note of Sullivan expertise on the guitar and introduced him to studio work.

The Krew Kuts

After working with The Wildcats, Sullivan went on to join a band called The Krew Kuts and recorded a few songs with them, including the Chet Atkins song,Trambone. By this time he had a whole other career as a session guitarist.

It may be hard to believe, but we hear his guitar on more #1 recordings than either those recorded by Elvis or by The Beatles. His name may not have been mentioned on the label, but Big Jim Sullivan’s guitar is heard on fifty-five #1 records.

Big Jim with Led Zepplin/Jimmy Page

Sullivan got the nickname of Big Jim, because of his size and stature and also because, the other well known session guitarist at the time was Jimmy Page. Page was known as Little Jim and Sullivan was known as Big Jim.

Big Jim Sullivan has the distinction of being the first guitarist in England to use a wah-wah pedal and a fuzztone. His use of a DeArmond wah-wah dates as far back as 1959. He put the Maestro fuzztone to use in 1964 on an Everly Brothers recording.

In the early 1960’s he played on hits by Dave Berry, P.J. Proby, Billy Fury, Frank Ifield, Adam Faith, Frankie Vaughn, Helen Shapiro, Johnny Hallyday, and Freddie and the Dreamers.

He can also be heard on recordings by Herman’s Hermits, Cilia Black,Tom Jones, Shirley Bassey, The Tremoloes, Peter and Gordon, Joe Meek, Brian Poole,Lulu, Gerry and The Pacemakers, Los Bravos and Dusty Springfield to name but a few.

His guitar was heard on such songs as It’s Not Unusual (Tom Jones), Downtown (Petula Clark), Space Oddity (David Bowie), Goldfinger (Shirley Bassey), You Really Got Me (The Kinks), Itchycoo Park (The Small Faces) and that is his distinctive guitar you hear on the solo in Alone Again (Naturally) (Gilbert O’Sullivan).

From the mid 1960’s and ‘70’s he had played on recordings by The Walker Brothers, Donovan, David Bowie, Benny Hill, The New Seekers, Thunderclap Newman, Long John Baldry, Marmalade, Small Faces and even played on George Harrison’s Wonderwall soundtrack.

Big Jim also backed up the Everly Brothers on their live album recorded in Paris called Live in Paris.

He backed Little Richard on a 1966 LP called The OKeh Sessions. That same year he was featured on Bobby Darin’s live album. The following year he backed up Del Shannon on his album.

Sullivan was also the resident guitarist for a couple of British television series; Top of the Pops, Ready, Steady, Go and The Saturday Club.

During the 1970’s his playing was featured on the soundtrack for Frank Zappa’s movie, 200 Motels.

Big Jim Sullivan wrote the orchestral arrangements for The Who’s rock opera Tommy.

Sullivan even learned to play the sitar with his friend George Harrison when Harrison was taking lessons.

Big Jim & Nancy Sinatra/Getty Images

During his prime working period, most studio sessions called for two guitars. Jim would work three sessions a day, seven days a week. He was in demand because he was so versatile. Sullivan could play rock, pop, country and was even called in for symphonic orchestra recordings that needed a guitar part.

Tom Jones & Big Jim

From 1970 to 1974 Sullivan was the touring guitarist for Tom Jones. At this time he got to meet Elvis while Jones was performing in Las Vegas.

When the tour ended he started his own company, Retreat Records, and put together his own group. This group recorded three LP’s under Big Jim Sullivan's name and toured large venues to packed houses.

As the 1980’s approached he linked up with some other musicians and played small venues and clubs.

Big Jim & Patrick Eggle guitar

By the 1990’s he was approached by luthier Patrick Eggle. Eggle built the Big Jim Sullivan Legend Model for Sullivan with Jim's input. This is the guitar Big Jim used for the rest of his life. This guitar was designed to be compatible with the Axon AS100 SB guitar to MIDI controller, which was state of the art at the time..

A few of the guitars Sullivan used to earn his living included a Gibson SJ-200, which he loaned to Jimmy Page for the first two Led Zepplin albums.

Sullivan seemed to favor Gibson guitars. We’ve already mentioned his original Gibson ES-345.Later in life he owned a Gibson ES-335.

He also played a Gibson gold top Les Paul (not his first).

Big Jim was also fond of the Gibson Howard Roberts model guitar.

On The Crying Game he used a Gibson EDS-1275 through a Maestro Fuzztone.

On early studio sessions he is seen playing a Gibson B-45 string guitar

While touring with Tom Jones, Sullivan played an Ovation Balladeer acoustic/electric guitar.

He played a Fender Telecaster while he was with Jones..

And Big Jim used his Rickenbacker 360 on that tour. At one time Big Jim Sullivan was a Rickenbacker endorser.

Sullivan also favored a couple of unique and unidentifiable guitars.
This one looks similar to a Gibson ES 335, but appears to be solid.

He is also seen in several photos with a Jazz archtop guitar that says SFX Legend on the pickguard. (I do not believe it is made by Cort, although Cort does offer a SFX series of guitars).

He is pictured at the top of the page playing this beautiful James D'Aquisto guitar.

Note the MIDI connection

And of course Sullivan's favorite electric guitar which is the aforementioned Patrick Eggle model.

Aside from the 55 hit songs he played on, Big Jim Sullivan played guitar on over 750 charting singles throughout his career.

Big Jim Sullivan passed away at age 71 on October second of 2012.

This is a long video, but interesting. Toward the middle of the video, Big Jim discusses working with Gilbert O'Sullivan and his well known guitar solo on this song.