30 Days to Better Jazz Guitar - Dr. Matt Warnock

My good friend and fellow blogger, Dr. Matt Warnock, is doing great things for the guitar community. Through his work on the Guitar International website and his own personal website, Matt has been challenging us all to be better guitarists, and his recently published eBook – 30 Days to Better Jazz Guitar – is his latest contribution.

For those of us (myself included) learning to play jazz, figuring out what we should practice and what we need to learn can become a very daunting endeavor. Fortunately, 30 Days to Better Jazz Guitar provides us with a great set of tools to improve our playing.

Right off the bat, the first thing I love about this eBook is the 30-day format. Let’s be honest, these days it’s very difficult to keep an organized practice regimen. Matt solves that problem in a very easy yet elegant way – start at Day 1 and keep going for a month. Each day’s lesson is different, so by the end of the 30 days you’re getting an excellent variety of things to work on. (It is the spice of life, after all.) From Dominant Cycles to the Pentatonic b9 scale to Sight Reading and chord studies, you are getting a massively essential jazz education.

If you are not a jazz guitar player, don’t let the title turn you off. Yes, there are “jazz” concepts in this book. But Matt has gone much further than that. There are guitar concepts in this book. You don’t have to want to be a jazz player to benefit from the content. As you know, I’m a firm believer in learning what you can from anyone and everyone. Even the most metal of the metal heads will find information to work on that is applicable to whatever they want to play.

As I worked through the exercises, I both hated and appreciated how many holes it exposed in my playing. Things I thought I had down – simple things – quickly became apparent to me that the material goes much, much deeper. These exercises are not incredibly difficult, but they will make you work. In some cases you will learn new material, in other cases you will get a better understanding of some things you already know.

And just when you thought 30 days of material to work on wasn’t enough, how about five bonus lessons? Yes, Matt is that generous. He is also extending the special offer price ($14.99) for a limited time, so I encourage you all to pick up your copy now. As 2012 approaches, there is no better way to kick start your playing for the new year by picking up 30 Days to Better Jazz Guitar.

30 Days to Better Jazz Guitar by Dr. Matt Warnock is a post from: Fretterverse.com: Guitar Blog | guitar news & reviews, amps, effects, guitars, music theory, guitar lessons. If you are reading this on a site that is not Fretterverse.com, it's been ripped. Please come to the real Fretterverse.com.

Dramatic, Indeed!

It is often said that our biggest periods of growth come after the most traumatic events.

If that’s is true, then progressive rockers Dream Theater recently received an Olympic-sized injection of HGH when in 2010 it was announced that drummer and band patriarch Mike Portnoy was no longer with the band. It would be fair to say that Portnoy’s exit was the biggest hard rock/metal story of last year, and continues to be highly controversial – at least to Portnoy and his fans.

And with much fanfare and publicity, DT recently released their latest CD, (not so) ironically titled A Dramatic Turn of Events. Being a long-time DT fan who over the past few years has struggled to stay a die-hard fan, I was cautiously optimistic about what it might sound like. It’s no mystery that Portnoy was the driving force behind the band. So much so, however, that it became obvious to all that he was so much in control that it often placed him at odds with the rest of the band, especially when it came to songwriting, engineering, and production. That also set up ADToE (DT fans are big on the acronyms) to possibly be a huge failure now that the rest of the band had to fill that hole. The question is, how does the new CD fare?

The Pros

Let’s get to the good news first. DT fans are going to love the songs on ADToE. They are very well-written, offer tons of the great shredding you’ve come to love (and expect) from the band, and especially for us guitarists, John Petrucci delivers the goods as only he can.

Missing from the past few CD’s were the great interludes where it was all about the virtuosity. Thankfully they brought it back in full force for all of us to enjoy and salivate over. Lost Not Forgotten offers a great example of the band’s ability to piss us older folks off while relegating the younger generation to their bedrooms to try and be the first to show their cover song abilities on youTube.

New drummer Mike Mangini does a fine job of handling the material and, thankfully, not overplaying. A younger, less experienced drummer would probably have tried too hard, but Mangini does a very respectable job of simultaneously holding down the fort and tearing it up.

Fans of DT’s Scenes From a Memory era will be happy to hear some familiar riff writing showing up here, as well as a few nods to Opeth and Porcupine Tree. Personally, I’m a little tired of the SFaM riffage, but it’s a part of their sound now and so I’ll have to live with it.

I also liked that there is more diversity in this record that previous outings. Where Black Clouds & Silver Linings was all-out metal and Systematic Chaos was, well, not, Dramatic Turn has a nice mixture of the two. I think this has a lot to do with everyone having more of a say than in the past, and I also like that Petrucci, keyboardist Jordan Rudess, and bassist John Myung are playing off each other with different parts, rather than having all three playing in unison all the time.

One huge plus was that I could finally hear Myung! In most DT CDs he’s barely noticeable, which is a shame considering his immense talent. But on this CD he can be heard well and plays brilliantly.

Petrucci does a very nice job of getting back to “good” guitar solos instead of the mindless wanking that plagued the last few records. On a few occasions it sounded like he resurrected the ghost of himself from his Images and Words guitar solo days. That is the Petrucci guitar solo era I enjoy most, and I hope that moving forward he gets back to the melodic shredding instead of the notes-per-second speed tests.

The Cons

First and foremost, and I hate to jump on the bandwagon like everyone else, but I’m not the biggest fan of vocalist James LaBrie. I don’t think it’s his vocal quality so much as his melodic choices. DT’s breakout CD Images and Words had melodies that were iconic, albeit pyrotechnic. I’m not suggesting that LaBrie try to make dogs go nuts again, but it seems like he’s almost a little too comfortable with his current range. The melodies simply don’t come to life for me.

My biggest complaint still remains — the lyrics. DT’s lyrics have pretty much been god-awful from the beginning of their careers and they continue to suck. I really, really, really, really wish bands would spend more time writing great lyrics instead of just throwing shit together that they think sounds cool and rhymes. All bands should take a cue from Kevin Gilbert and learn how to write a good lyric. Yes, I know, DT is and always has been a band that puts the instruments in the forefront. But, as far as I’m concerned, if you’re going to have a singer then you need to make an effort! Case in point:

Somewhere overhead,
Distant thunder roars,
The Revolution has begun,
The war to end all wars,
As I welcome death,
I hear the battle cry,
Bullets fall like fire raining from the sky.

Oy vey!

These are lyrics from the song Outcry. Musically, Outcry is one of the strongest song on the CD, but these lyrics are so childish and phoned-in that they almost ruin it for me. I’m assuming that they are talking about the Arab Spring and all of the political turmoil going on in the Middle East. In theory, it’s a very strong topic that certainly deserves some attention, but these lyrics almost trivialize what’s going on over there.

Perhaps it’s just me, and perhaps on a guitar blog I should just shut up and only comment on the guitar playing, but for f*&#s sake, guys, your’e in your mid-40s; you should be able to put together something better than ” bullets fall like fire raining from the sky.”

*sigh*

Okay, the lyrics suck ass… rant over.

Though the production on the CD is very good, I think at times the mixing is a bit uneven. I can especially hear this in the drums, where in some parts the drums jump out to the front of the mix very prominently. I found this a bit distracting and wasn’t quite sure why it was mixed that way.

Thumb Up or Down?

All in all, the pros far outweigh the cons on A Dramatic Turn of Events. The lyrics are never going to improve (I’m resigned to that fact) and mixing is, to a point, certainly subjective. The music is great, they are all playing as well as ever, and there is more than enough kick-ass material to keep the listener enthralled for quite a long time.

From a guitar-only perspective, it’s all Petrucci. The guy is simply amazing and you will not be disappointed.

CD Review: Dream Theater – A Dramatic Turn of Events is a post from: Fretterverse.com: Guitar Blog | guitar news & reviews, amps, effects, guitars, music theory, guitar lessons. If you are reading this on a site that is not Fretterverse.com, it's been ripped. Please come to the real Fretterverse.com.

Volume 1: Scale Mastery

We hinted about it here — and was a bit more blatant about it here — so it’s not really a surprise announcement by conventional standards. But, we (Fretterverse) are quite pleased to announce the release of its first eBook — Scale Mastery.

Over a year in the making, Scale Mastery takes you way beyond the typical scale-learning methods available on the market today. I promise this eBook to be an original solution to an old problem.

Whether you are a beginning guitarist just starting out, an intermediate player having trouble getting certain sounds under your fingers, or even just a player who’s bored with his playing and wants a fresh approach, Scale Mastery will open up your eyes and ears to new possibilities.

The best part is, we’re selling the eBook (along with accompanying audio backing tracks) for $10. Yes, only ten dollars USD. That’s a bargain.

Please visit our Products page for more information about Scale Mastery, as well as a link to purchase and download the eBook instantly.

Buy a copy, tell your friends and family, or just buy them copies, too!

Fretterverse Releases First eBook in Series is a post from: Fretterverse.com: Guitar Blog | guitar news & reviews, amps, effects, guitars, music theory, guitar lessons. If you are reading this on a site that is not Fretterverse.com, it's been ripped. Please come to the real Fretterverse.com.

Hear ye! Hear ye! This eBook will revolutionize the world!

It’s taken me a year to finally be able to make this great announcement.

I’m happy to tell you all that I am now putting the finishing touches on the first volume in the Fretterverse Guitar Concepts eBook series, which will be available for sale very soon! Volume 1 is called “Scale Mastery” and, obviously, details a new method for learning scales and modes.

Surely, there have been hundreds of books, videos, and Internet websites dedicated to learning how to play scales. Everyone has an opinion, and everyone has a “trick.” So what makes this one so special? Why should you check out my eBook when you’ve probably already spent way too much money on everyone else’s?

If you really want to know, keep reading…

I’m not going to give away the farm just yet, but what’s important to know is that Scale Mastery is first and foremost not a book with a list of scales showing pictures of all of the available notes on the fretboard. (That, in my opinion, is not a good way to learn scales.) Nor is Scale Mastery a book of licks that hints at a certain “sound” that you can throw into your bag of tricks. Licks are great – everyone should have some – but again, not a great way to learn scales correctly.

No, Scale Mastery is a system of exercises that will teach you how to Deep Learn a scale; how to really get the sound in your ears and under your fingers so you can use it freely as opposed to shoving into your favorite line. There are no tricks, no secret hints that can shorten your learning curve so you sound like Pat Metheny in two days. No tricks, just a method for honest, hard-working guitarists to become better players and better musicians.

I will be releasing more information about the book in the next few weeks, so stay tuned. I promise it will be good, and I promise it will be more than affordable.

If you like reading Fretterverse, please spread the word. Sales of the eBook will help support this blog and keep it running.

Cheers!

The eBook is Coming! The eBook is Coming! is a post from: Fretterverse.com: Guitar Blog | guitar news & reviews, amps, effects, guitars, music theory, guitar lessons. If you are reading this on a site that is not Fretterverse.com, it's been ripped. Please come to the real Fretterverse.com.

Is loving stitched vinyl a bad thing?

It’s funny how when you want something you think there is an overabundance of companies out there making exactly what you are looking for, and how you think you’ll be able to walk into any store and just pluck it off the shelf. Such has been my feeling for the past few months as I’ve struggled to find a high-quality gig bag that wouldn’t cost me one of the arms I need to play my guitar with.

After acquiring a beautiful Sadowsky semi-hollow from a dear friend, I have been looking for a nice gig bag for the latest addition to my guitar arsenal. (I only need three or four more guitars, honey, I swear!) Well let me just tell you; finding a nice gig bag is not nearly as easy as you think. I had been to every music store in my area — from the big chains to the mom-and-pops — and none of them carried a bag even remotely worth putting my guitar in. It’s truly a shame that music companies today have sunk so low in pandering to the commonfolk. Such is the way of the world I suppose.

But it was one trip to a Sam Ash that was along the way to somewhere else I was going that proved to be one of the most fruitful trips I had taken to a music store. One, I’m happy to say, that gave my Sadowsky a new home.

Walking into that Sam Ash was definitely a welcome surprise. Up on the wall amongst the flimsy tissue paper concoctions they try to pass off as gig bags was something I have never seen before… a gig bag that actually looked sturdy and had a bit of mass to it. A gig bag that looked like I would actually want to put a guitar in. The bag in question is a Reunion Blues Semi-Hollow Electric gig bag.

As taken from their website (I hope they don’t mind):

• 1 thick shock-absorbing Flexoskeleton w/ reinforced impact panels
• Neck Brace suspension system w/ adjustable, locking security strap
• Knurled Abrasion Grid on top and bottom resists scuffing
• Non-slip rubber side rest
• EVA-reinforced laptop-compatible multipocket
• Musician-friendly storage
• Zippered quick stash headstock pocket
• Rubberized foam headstock grip
• Adjustable, hideaway padded backpack straps
• Interior protector pads at headstock and endpin

I’m telling you, this is a beautiful bag. The interior padding is super thick, the neck brace suspension system should be an absolute must for all gig bags, and you just know that your axe will be protected when you put it in. There are plenty of pockets for your accessories, including a very nice velcro strap for your cable. Although just a bit of a pain to adjust, the backpack straps are quite comfortable, and their position distributes the weight nicely so your guitar isn’t spanking you in the ass every time you take a step.

I also really liked the “handle” they put on the back of the neck area for lifting. It’s located more towards where the neck meets the body of your guitar and is sewn directly into the bag like a little flap rather than a loop of nylon. It’s a very small feature, I know, but it says to me that the folks at Reunion Blues really put some time and effort into the design.

The bottom line is this; if you are looking for a gig bag that will actually protect your guitar, spend the money and buy a Reunion Blues bag. You wouldn’t put your wife in the back of a go cart and head out on the interstate (well, I wouldn’t at least…) so why do the same for your guitar?

Someone Finally Created a Great Gig Bag is a post from: Fretterverse.com: Guitar Blog | guitar news & reviews, amps, effects, guitars, music theory, guitar lessons. If you are reading this on a site that is not Fretterverse.com, it's been ripped. Please come to the real Fretterverse.com.

Who has the worst biography of a musician, ever?

Sometimes a guy just has to cut through the witty banter, joking titles, and say what’s on my mind.

I have, unfortunately, just finished reading what I believe to be the absolute worst biography of a musician ever in the history of print.

The worst part is that I was really looking forward to reading it.

But alas,  I had to suffer through it.

Keep reading if you want to know which book to avoid…

Wost. Book. Ever.

I’m sorry, everyone… I simply won’t have witty commentary or engaging thoughts on this one. This is a straight up rant on a really bad purchase. The book is called Grant Green: Rediscovering the Forgotten Genius of Jazz Guitar.

Things start off badly right from the get-go with the simple fact that the author is the ex-wife of one of Green’s sons. I’m sorry, but from the first few sentences it became apparent to me that the author, Sharony Andrews Green, was trying to elevate herself just as much as her subject. Sharony spent a lot of time in the beginning talking about herself, even to the point of her plugging her 1st book! I mean, I’m sorry but I didn’t buy this book to hear about Sharony’s life. But it felt like I was going to hear just as much about her and her husband as I did Green.

This went on for quite a while. It got better towards the middle, but then the timeline got screwy. In one paragraph she was writing about Green’s life in the 70′s, and then all of a sudden we’re back to the 50′s. I had a very hard time keeping track of what point of Green’s life was being discussed.

This went on for most of the book. But the absolute WORST offense came in the section that described the death of Wes Montgomery. Sharony, as the author, had the audacity to frame the event that was Montgomery’s death as to intimate that Green was somewhat relieved “now that his competition was gone.” (My paraphrasing.) I mean, could you be any more disrespectful? I’m sorry, but no matter what you think of Grant Green as a player, he was never, EVER, any competition to Wes Montgomery. Even if that might have been the case in his own head, Sharony never met Grant and never indicated that Green said (or felt) that way towards Wes. At the very least it was an incredibly insensitive thing to say about the greatest jazz guitar player who ever lived.

And so the book goes on and on like this for a while. Very disjointed, very hard to read. The most disappointing art of the book was when she spoke about Green’s funeral. Now, this isn’t necessarily the author’s fault, but I find it very odd that no one seemed to be able to accurately describe the funeral. Some people said it was taken over by militant Mulsims, other say no. Some say it was largely attended, some say not. Some say only the family was at the cemetery, others say not. It’s more sad than anything that a guitar player as great as Green, who Sharony went out of her way to hype up (deservedly or not) as a very popular and respected member of the guitar, St. Louis, and Muslim communities, was not able to be remembered accurately even at his own funeral!

The last straw for me, honestly, was the end of the book where Sharony went back to talk to herself to mention that she divorced from one of Green’s sons. You know what? I don’t care! I mean, I’m certainly sorry that for whatever reason it didn’t work out, but what does that have to do with Grant?

Simply put, the book was poorly written. The author interjected herself into the subject’s story, the timeline was screwy, and the disrespect to Montgomery’s memory was all just too much for me to bear. I strongly recommend that you NOT buy this book. Everyone’s mileage may vary, but for me the mileage on this book was very short.

What I would love to see is someone do a much better job about the life of Grant Green. I don’t think his story has been sufficiently told, and it should be.

The Worst Musician Biography, Ever is a post from: Fretterverse.com: Guitar Blog | guitar news & reviews, amps, effects, guitars, music theory, guitar lessons. If you are reading this on a site that is not Fretterverse.com, it's been ripped. Please come to the real Fretterverse.com.

Power your pedals without the mess!

If you are a guitarist that likes to use pedals, you know very well how much of a pain in the butt it can be to get them all set up and, more importantly, all powered up. Between the extension cord, the power strip, and all of the misshapen wall warts, it can be a nightmare!

To be honest, one of the main reasons why I was so turned off by pedals for the longest time was a direct result of the amount of crap I needed to have with me in order to use them.

But there are just a few pedals that you just can’t substitute. For example, my Keeley compressor simply kicks massive booty and has become a must-have for everything I do. A good tuner has also become a necessity. So what am I to do? If I can’t live without these pedals and yet I abhor all of the B.S. that comes with it, I’m pretty much stuck, right?

I certainly thought so. But…

with the help of the Sanyo Pedal Juice rechargeable 9V power source for effect pedals you can power your pedals without the mess.

I have to admit, I was skeptical at first. Whenever I think of rechargeable batteries I just think of all the times I bought a bunch of rechargeable AA batteries that would work for about a month and then just stop working. They were simply too unreliable for anything important.

Powering my compressor and tuner

So you can imagine my cynicism for something that was supposed to power my effect pedals. But I have to say, I was very pleasantly surprised to test the Pedal Juice.

How Did It Fair?

I charged the Pedal Juice up (it didn’t take too long) and plugged in my two pedals. My first concern was whether or not it was going to fully and properly power my gear. I mean, to be honest the Keeley compressor isn’t exactly cheap and I would have been seriously pissed if something would have happened to it.

No problems at all.

My second concern was sound quality. Was I going to hear a bunch of buzzing or clipping or anything crazy. Well, I didn’t have any problems there, either.

Two for two is a pretty good start.

Most importantly, my third concern was how long the Pedal Juice was actually going to power my pedals. I have to tell you, again I was very surprised (and happy) that the pedals stayed working for several hours. I mean, a lot of hours. I honestly couldn’t tell you how many in total, but you would have no problem playing several sets — probably even several days worth of gigs — before having to recharge the supply.

What Can You Power?

Here is a chart from Sanyo’s Pedal Juice website that shows a few different pedal configurations and approximate hours of play time:

Their website also explains that the Pedal Juice can power other objects as well, such as a pedal board, synth, or other 9V electronic device.

Power Indicators

You get all this with your pedal

One great feature of the pedal is that the LED shows three different colors to let you know how much juice you have left; when the light is green you’re good to go; an orange light means you have 30%-60% of power left; and, a red light means less that 30%. No light means you’re done!

The LED is bright and you will have no trouble seeing how much power is left.

The pedal is also very light and is the same size as a regular effect pedal, so it will easily fit on your pedalboard.

The package comes with the pedal, a charger, two cords for connecting to your devices, and an adapter for other connections.

All in all I think the Pedal Juice (available on Musician’s Friend) is a great find, and excellent buy, and well worth the price! ($149.99 at the time of this review.) If you want to get rid of the pedal mess, you absolutely must invest in a Sanyo Pedal Juice pedal.

Product Review: Sanyo Pedal Juice is a post from: Fretterverse.com: Guitar Blog | guitar news & reviews, amps, effects, guitars, music theory, guitar lessons. If you are reading this on a site that is not Fretterverse.com, it's been ripped. Please come to the real Fretterverse.com.

Come Together Move Apart

I would like to get things rolling again here on Fretterverse by talking about a new CD from one of my friends, Nat Janoff. I have known Nat for a while now, and I was very happy when he sent me his latest CD – Come Together Move Apart.

One of the things I love the most about “the scene” is that there seems to be a never-ending supply of great music out there. Sometimes you have to look for it; other times, like in my case with having a friend of tremendous talent, it comes to your doorstep.

And so, without any further delays, I want to pick right up where I left off and get the ball rolling again while talking about a great new CD from a great jazz guitarist.

Nat Janoff

Come Together Move Apart can be appreciated as both music to listen and chill out with, as well as music for the serious jazz enthusiast. For me, I like to listen both ways, so this is a great CD for me. And I’m not just saying that because Nat is a friend (would I lie to you guys?). Accompanied by John Escreet (piano), Francois Moutin (bass), and Chris Carroll (drums), Come Together Move Apart is one of my favorites of 2010.

So let’s dig in, shall we?

The CD opens with Mood. I am quickly reminded of Pat Metheny. I honestly don’t know if Metheny is an influence of Janoff’s, but it definitely has that vibe. Janoff’s lines are smooth and lively on this track, with excellent comping highlights from Escreet.

Shorter Times opens with a nice drum solo from Carroll; very musical and expressive. It sets the mood quite nicely for the head, played by both Janoff and Escreet in unison and harmonized. Carroll takes the first solo, and it’s quite evident that the song is taking it’s cues from saxophonist Wayne Shorter (song title notwithstanding). Carroll rips it up with angular lines and great chords. Janoff knows well enough to stay out of the way until it’s his turn to solo. He really goes for it on this one, and it results in a very raw but ripping solo with some nice augmented triad arpeggios. The songs breaks into a bass solo by Moutin that is more “out” than the rest of the song, but unlike most bass solos it doesn’t slow down. Moutin and Carroll play very well together, especially on this song.

Song #3 – For Now – slows things down quite a bit, with a very nice guitar intro and 6/8 vibe. I am reminded of Peter Bernstein and a bit of Brad Mehldau piano work. Janoff’s songwriting maturity shines through here. I think “vibe” is definitely the right word. It has a nice mellow groove that flows throughout, even when Janoff is displaying yet another one of his excellent solos. Some great blues/pentatonic flavor in his solo on this tune!

Hope Fills My Heart is my favorite song on the CD. It retains a lot of the mellower vibe and is a great follow-up to For Now. More of the Metheny sound can be heard. (I really do need to ask him if he’s a Metheny fan.) I think it’s not only Janoff’s lines and melodies, but also the ride cymbal work of Carroll that reminds me so much of Paul Wertico. Moutin takes another great solo on this song.

Sketch 1 starts off almost as if it was going to become a free jazz romp, but quickly slows things down and evens out to create a really nice ballad ambiance, again reminiscent of Metheny and Mehldau. This is the least favorite of mine on the CD, but that’s not to say it’s a bad song. It just didn’t quite grab me as much as the others.

Moutin sets up an interesting bass line to start off Sunday Morning. This song has a nice mixture of vibes to it, from mellow ballad-like melody to slightly atonal and more angular soloing from Escreet. It’s a bit hard to define exactly what this song sounds like, as it mixes a bunch of feels together. But it’s also one of the most interesting songs on the CD, so well done to Janoff and crew.

Sketch 2 is, understandably, familiar sounding. I get the impression that this, as well as Sketch 1, were loosely written and mostly improvisational. Like Sketch 1 it’s towards the bottom of my favorites on the CD, but the piano interlude towards the end of the song is an excellent moment in the CD.

My second favorite song, Partly Cloudy, sounds like a very good spring or summer song to me. A nice punchy drum beat and catchy melody keep the song bopping along. It has nice punch and is one of the better vehicles for Escreet’s great piano playing.

The CD closes with Transit, a song that is in the same vein as the first few, which makes it a great closer. Janoff breaks out the rotovibe/tremolo for his solo, and throws in a little distortion to spice things up. This is perhaps Janoff’s best solo on the CD; he really puts it all out there and gives it all that he’s got. I love this solo, and you will too!

All in all, Come Together Move Apart is a great CD. If you are a jazz fan, guitar fan, or just good music fan, you will enjoy this CD. I don’t just say that because Nat’s a friend, but because good music is good music regardless of who’s playing it.

For more information on Nat and purchasing his CD (I recommend you do so), you can visit Nat’s website.

Nat Janoff: Come Together Move Apart is a post from: Fretterverse.com: Guitar Blog | guitar news & reviews, amps, effects, guitars, music theory, guitar lessons. If you are reading this on a site that is not Fretterverse.com, it's been ripped. Please come to the real Fretterverse.com.

The P-Whammy Tremolo

Ever since starting Fretterverse I’ve been on a constant lookout for new and interesting products. There are so many guitar blogs out there that get all of the cool gear shipped to them for review, and I get left out in the cold.

(Here is where I tell you my “walking to school uphill both ways in the snow” story for sympathy.)

But seriously, while these other guys – whom I wholeheartedly respect and look up to – are checking out amps, guitars, and pedals, I’m scouring the web and guitar magazines for those smaller gems. When one comes along I get excited.

So it was a small victory for me when I opened up the latest issue of Guitar Player (December 2010) and saw a small ad on one of the back pages for a product that I think has great potential to change the way many of us play guitar; it’s called the “P-Whammy” tremolo.

Tremolos are cool. I remember back in the 80′s when it was Floyd Rose vs. Kahler all day, every day. Whereas players like Jeff Beck were able to master the use of the standard Fender tremolo, others like Brian Setzer ruled the Bigsby-like whammy bars, and players like Satch and Vai turned the dive-bomb harmonics to an art form, many of us were content just to add some subtle vibrato now and again.

(Okay, so I wasn’t one of those guys. I admit, I was a dive-bombaholic for many years. Yeah, yeah…)

There were two inherent problems I saw with typical tremolo arms; first, if the arm was too loose it was sometimes impossible to find when you needed it. Second, if it was too tight it seemed to always be in the way.

Well, apparently machinist Mike Parillo felt similarly because he went into his shop and came up with the P-Whammy – a very inventive tremolo bar substitute that sits unobtrusively on the bridge of your guitar and still gives you (most of) the flexibility of a traditional whammy bar.

Here’s a demo video of what it can do:

It looks very cool. The only limitation I can see – and I admit that I have not played with one yet – is that if you are a dive-bomb lover you might not be able to pull them off like you can with a standard bar. But, for most players that is probably a very small sacrifice to make.

I do plan on getting my hands on one of these and checking them out for myself. For more information, you can visit the P-Whammy website.

P-Whammy: The Next Generation Tremolo is a post from: Fretterverse.com: Guitar Blog | guitar news & reviews, amps, effects, guitars, music theory, guitar lessons. If you are reading this on a site that is not Fretterverse.com, it's been ripped. Please come to the real Fretterverse.com.

Chicken Pickin by Erik Halbig

I done luvs me some country chicken pickin’. Seriously, I’m a huge fan. I don’t know a ton about the country guitar scene, but when I hear Scotty Anderson or Danny Gatton or Johnny Hiland I get all warm and fuzzy on the inside. There is little better in my opinion than listening to a great country guitar player rip out some sick line that drops my jaw.

I have always wanted to be able to throw out a few country licks during jam sessions. Not necessarily master the style, but have just a few licks under my belt to whip them out when the hell hounds are on my trail and Steve Vai seemingly has me down for the count. (That one will catch you on the way home.)

I picked up the book Chicken Pickin’ (Over 100 hot country guitar licks) by Erik Halbig during one of my frequent music store excursions, for the specific purpose of getting a few of these equalizers into my jam repertoire.

I wasn’t sure what to expect. When I’m checking out a new jazz guitar book I know exactly what I’m getting into, so the purchasing decisions are easy. But country guitar is so foreign to me that I had no idea what to expect. Chicken Pickin’ looked like as good a place as any, however, so I bought it to give it a shot.

Halbig’s book is very straightforward. At only 40 pages (and an accompanying audio CD) he wastes no time getting right down to business. Every page has several examples – it is a “licks” book, after all – to get you started. The chapters are:

1. Scales
2. Bending
3. Open-String Licks
4. Double-Stop Licks
5. Repetitive Sequences
6. Chromatic Licks

I have to tell you, these licks are cool! The problem is that I suck at them!  They aren’t incredibly difficult from a technical perspective, but obviously you need to get the feeling down to sound convincing. I think I’m partial to the open-string licks the most.

There is not a lot of explanation in the book, which in this case works well. The concepts are rather simple, so there is no need to waste time reading long-winded descriptions. Just listen to the audio CD and spend the majority of your time working through the examples (in standard notation and tab) and you’re good to go.

As time goes on I would like to explore the country guitar thing in more detail. For now, I need to get some of these licks under my fingers first! If you want a great introduction, this is the book to start with.

Chicken Pickin’ by Erik Halbig (book) is a post from: Fretterverse.com: Guitar Blog | guitar news & reviews, amps, effects, guitars, music theory, guitar lessons. If you are reading this on a site that is not Fretterverse.com, it's been ripped. Please come to the real Fretterverse.com.