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Posts Tagged ‘guitarists’

Pedals Anyone?

Posted in Guitars, tagged , , , , , , , , on April 5, 2010| Leave a Comment »

I was perusing the Gear Page this morning and came across an interesting post where someone shared that they didn’t understand why there was so much activity in the pedals forum as opposed to the amp forum. Several people responded with different reasons, but it brought to light an interesting turn to the conversation regarding the debate between using pedals and not using pedals.

There are many people that I know or know of that use no pedals, save a tuner. On the other hand, I know and know of lots of players who use lots of pedals. Some of these folks have very strong convictions on the use or non-use of pedals. But I think Doug Doppler, guitarist extraordinaire, Mr. Guitar Hero (yeah kids, Doug tracked for the game “GUITAR HERO Encore Rocks the 80’s”), and author of the DVD series “Get Killer Tone,” said it best in the thread when he replied, “I personally feel that too many of the players I encounter (myself included) just get caught up in what gear/style of set-up they’re using and their gear radar gets a little short ranged in the process. Seeing Kenny Wayne Shepherd at the Experience Hendrix show really reminded me about how the marriage of the right guitar, pedals and amps can just create an outstanding tone.”

Doug made an excellent point. It’s easy to fall into a trap where you get this sense of proprietorship, and form convictions so strong that it’s difficult to consider anything outside of what you’ve defined as the “right” combination of equipment. Doug should know. His house is absolutely crammed with gear on loan from manufacturers, and he puts them all to the test, demonstrating various combinations of the equipment in his DVD set. According to a close friend who has been to his house (I hope to get there very soon for an interview), Doug has so much gear that you have to watch your step! Talk about being a kid in a candy store!

In any case, to drive home the point, your tone and the gear that creates your tone is purely personal. It’s fine to recommend gear (hey! I do it here), but in the end, there’s no right or wrong. There’s only what YOU hear and what pleases YOU, and in turn, what music you make with it. Rock on!

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First Impressions: VOX Big Bad Wah

Posted in Guitars, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 3, 2010| 8 Comments »

VOX Big Bad WahThe one thing about pedals is that eventually, they wear out; especially pedals that have moving parts like a wah. It may take years, but they do wear out. It’s a fact of life.

My Dunlop Cry Baby has been on the fritz on and off for the past few months. Not wanting to take the time to replace it, and considering that it is easy to clean and adjust, I’ve occasioned to just do a DIY job on it and get it working again. No problem. But I finally just got tired of doing that, and decided to look at a new one.

About a year and a half ago, I evaluated several wah pedals but finally just went with a used Original Cry Baby, figuring it would tide me over for my wah needs. It certainly served me well, and I got a lot of mileage out of it. At the time of my original search though, the VOX Big Bad Wah hadn’t come out, so I really couldn’t consider it. But time went on, and I completely forgot about it until I saw the announcement for the new VOX Ice 9 overdrive pedal. Then suddenly, a light went off in my head, and I just nodded to myself, “That’s right. Joe helped design a wah pedal.”

So I did a bit more research, and saw an excellent video on YouTube with Joe discussing the idea behind the Big Bad Wah, and I knew I had to try it. So I immediately hopped into the car and went down to my local Guitar Center to try it out. I spent about an hour in the GC isolation room playing around with the different settings, and I have to say that Satch and VOX really did well putting their heads together on this wah pedal.

One thing that struck me before I played it was a comment that Joe had made in the video and how he described how Jimi Hendrix used a wah-wah pedal as an “extension of the music,” and the notes that were being played, and not something that was merely a rhythmic effect within an ensemble. That really spoke to me because even though I couldn’t hope to have their chops, I’ve always looked at the wah pedal in that light. So it was with great hope that when I did play it, I could use it in that way.

To make a long story short, the Big Bad Wah (“BBW”) lived up to my expectations and even more! I was thoroughly impressed! The sweep is perfect on this pedal, and unlike other wah pedals I’ve tested, doesn’t have a “breaking point” where the wah effect comes on suddenly. It’s nice and gradual. The total physical sweep of the pedal was also well-though out. It’s wide enough so you can add subtle portions of the effect in, but not so wide that you have to travel a lot to create a dramatic wah effect.

The one thing that used to irk me with my Cry Baby was how it would sound REALLY thin when I got to its full extent. Not so with the BBW. It gets trebly at the top, yes, but not so much that it’ll shatter glass, which means that in the middle of a lead, you can peg the pedal and get some great trebly voicing! On the other end of the spectrum, the lowest setting didn’t put a complete muzzle on my tone. It’s more of a compression effect, with a bleeding off of the highs. That means that your notes still stay fairly clear. Very cool!

Another thing that got me diggin’ the pedal was the different voicings. It has two: Vintage and Modern. The Vintage is a classic VOX wah tone, while the Modern includes the Vintage voice and adds a 10 db boost which is controllable via a Drive knob. Not only that, the Big Bad Wah also has an inductor switch that allows you to choose between a classic UK type of inductor, or a more modern USA type of inductor. The tone shaping possibilities with the BBW are immense!

Needless to say, I walked out of the store with the pedal. 🙂 Once I got a chance, I got a backing track going from one of my songs called, “In the Vibe,” and recorded a quick clip. I realize that I could probably have been a bit more dramatic with the wah effect in certain places, but I’m still getting used to the sweep. I’ll have better clips once I do a full review. In any case, give it a listen.

Also here’s the video I was talking about earlier:

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New Gear: VOX Joe Satriani Ice 9 Overdrive Pedal

Posted in Guitars, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 3, 2010| 8 Comments »

Debuted at Musikmesse 2010, the Ice 9 is the newest member of the VOX Joe Satriani line of pedals, named after a song with the same title on Joe’s “Surfin’ with the Alien” album. While it uses the same box and layout as the Satchurator, this is a completely different animal. The Satchurator is a distortion box, while the Ice 9 is an overdrive. Okay… so it’s yet another overdrive pedal entry into the already – excuse the pun – saturated overdrive pedal market. But the Ice 9 has some interesting features that are worth noting.

First of all, it has a Vintage/Modern switch. This switch provides different overdrive voicings. According to VOX, the Vintage circuitry models the classic Tube Screamer tones, while the Modern circuitry adds a bit more top-end bit and a bit of compression. In addition to the Vintage/Modern switch, the Ice 9 features a Bass knob for dialing in more bass response; perfect for getting really scooped, modern drive tones. Finally, like the Satchurator, the Ice 9 has the JS line’s signature “More” toggle, which adds a 10dB clean boost when engaged.

Pretty cool features, IMO. The Ice 9 is slated to be shipped in June. I don’t have any pricing information on it yet, but I don’t doubt that it’ll be reasonably priced if the rest of the JS line is any indication. Here are a some videos:

VOX Ice 9 Introduction Video

VOX Musikmess Demo

Musikmesse Demo from PremierGuitar

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Gear Review: Wicked Woody “Original” Pedal Board

Posted in buying gear, effect pedals, Effects, GAS, gear, gear reviews, guitar, guitar accessories, guitar effects, guitar gear, guitar pedals, guitarists, Guitars, pedalboard, pedals, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 31, 2010| 7 Comments »

Click on the picture to see an enlarged view.

 Wicked Woody “Original” Pedal Board

Summary: Handmade with carpentry-grade wood, this is one gorgeous pedal board. Nothing like making something so utilitarian a virtual work of art!

Pros: Completely handmade with high-grade wood that doesn’t only look great, it’s lightweight as well! Platform is reversible so you can configure the board to have your volume or wah pedal on either right or left sides. Lots of space under the platform to fit a power brick and stow your plug, and the routing on the top makes it easy to run your cables.

Cons: Could use some rubber or silicon feet to protect the bottom from scratching and elevate it above possible spills (think bar gig).

Features:

  • Elevated pedal platform. With an elevated platform, it is both easier to see, and easier to reach all of your pedals.
  • Handmade, of the highest quality certified hardwood plywood. Durable finish that will protect your woody for life.
  • Easy cable management, with the cable chanels routed into the platform it is a cinch to place your pedals in any configuration you desire, and wire them however you would like.
  • Alternative storage, under the platform for your power supply or other storage needs.
  • Measurement: 24″ X 15″

Price: $80 direct

Tone Bone Score: 4.75 ~ I’ve never seen a pedal board that looked so nice. Despite its looks though, I really would’ve liked to see some “feet” on the bottom for some extra protection. Something that looks this good should be really protected. That said, it’s easy to get some hardware that’ll do the job with minimal effort. But if it had that right off the bat, I’d give this puppy a 5.0!

For Goodness’ Sake! It’s Just a Pedal Board!

I would venture to guess that most players don’t really put to much thought into the “look” of their pedal board other than if the cables are nicely arranged and out of the way. But lots of players obsess over the look of everything in their rig; even down to their pedals’ paint jobs. So why not put them on a platform that really shows them off, as well as being useful? Aesthetics are a good thing. Myself, I tend to be far more practical to even consider something like this, but hey! Cool is cool in my book, and although I may not normally consider having a board like this, that doesn’t take away from the fact that this is one gorgeous piece of functional hardware!

From my point of view the Wicked Woody pedal board is like a nicely shined pair of shoes. Most people wouldn’t normally notice them, but they do notice that there’s something “nicer” when you wear them. Such is the case with the Wicked Woody. It’s not a showy and sparkly, but it just looks well, nice. Besides, there’s nothing sweeter-looking to me than nicely grained wood, and all Wicked Woody pedal boards are made of high-grade woods, with a nice, smooth finish. In other words, the provide a sweet presentation platform for your pedals!

Setting Up the Board

When I received my evaluation board today, I was amazed by how lightweight it was, but it was absolutely solid. The plywood used would not bend or give at all! But in addition, it looked fantastic! I know, it’s kind of hard to be excited by something so utilitarian, but this board looks so good – it kicks ass!

Luckily, my evaluation board also included some velcro strips, so it was a simple matter of attaching them to the board. I got a fairly long length, so I just cut it in two and laid the strips straight across the board. If I were to actually keep the board, I’d be a lot more meticulous and place strips so the they don’t show at all. But for my evaluation, I just wanted to be able to easily arrange my pedals.

I have to say that I’ve never seen my pedals look so good. 🙂 Here’s a picture:

A very cool thing that I liked immediately was that the platform fits my back line of pedal risers perfectly! Four pedal risers fit exactly flush to the edges of the platform. The folks at Wicked Woody say you might not need pedal risers, and based upon the space between the front and back lines and the nice angle of the platform, I’d tend to agree with that. But with my clumsy, double-E feet, I need every advantage I can get, so it’s very convenient that the platform fits the pedal risers so perfectly.

You can clearly see the route in the center. There are actually two routes, but the upper one is obscured by my pedal risers. But both are very conveniently placed. The platform has a round hole on each side to run cables through as well. That is very convenient as I was able to run the power and connector cables underneath the wah. Then to connect the wah to my next pedal, I ran the connector through one side hole, then out the other side hole to connect to my CE-2. When all was said and done, I was impressed by the arrangement. Plus, the big base board really creates a nice spacious effect.

Now I know there’s a lot of debate with the placement of a wah pedal. Should it be before or after the drive pedals? I happen to prefer mine to be placed after my drive pedals, so the default arrangement, with the wah pedal on the left was perfect for me. However, for those who prefer it to be on the other side, the platform is reversible. You just have to unscrew the platform from the bottom of the board, turn it around, and you can place your wah (or volume or expression pedal) on the right side.

I didn’t take a picture of the back of the platform, but there’s plenty of room underneath. I placed a fuzzy strip underneath the platform, and put my Dunlop DC Brick there then ran the power connectors to the pedals through the routes. Having those routes is a real nice feature because it keeps your power cable runs nice and neat – and hidden from view. There’s also plenty of room underneath to place a spare pedal or two (as long as they have a low profile), and of course, you can stow your plug underneath during transport.

The eval board didn’t come with a case, so I’m not sure if there is one available. Hopefully there is one available because I’d definitely want one to transport the board to and from gigs if I owned one of these beauties.

So… overall impression? I dig this board. It looks fantastic, but it has some very nice features that make setting up your pedals a breeze. It literally took me less than 10 minutes to get everything hooked up. Granted, if I owned one of these, I’d take a bit more time to make everything perfect, but one could do a lot worse.

Update: April 1, 2010

Just got a message from the folks at Wicked Woody. They don’t have a case for their boards yet, but should have one as an option within the next couple of weeks. This is great news!

For more information, go to the Wicked Woody site!

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Gear Review: Radial Engineering ProDI Direct Box

Posted in accessories, buying gear, GAS, gear, gear reviews, guitar, guitar accessories, guitar gear, guitar gear reviews, guitarists, Guitars, Music, musicians, tagged , , , , , , , , , on March 28, 2010| 2 Comments »



Click on the picture to see an enlarged view.

 Radial Engineering ProDI Direct Box

Summary: Need to plug your acoustic guitar or bass directly into your mixer or DAW? Don’t do it without one of these units.

Pros: Completely passive DI, requires no internal or external power sources. Super-transparent, the ProDI adds no artifacts to your tone. Used with an acoustic guitar, it makes your guitar come alive!

Cons: None

Features (from the Radial web site):

  • Full range passive direct boxes
  • Isolation transformer eliminates noise
  • Very low harmonic and phase distortion
  • Compact and rugged design
  • Ideal for live sound and studio
  • Mono (ProDI) or stereo (ProD2) models

Price: $99 street

Tone Bone Score: 5.0 ~ Talk about having my acoustic guitar just come alive! If you’re not using a DI when plugging into a board, you need to get this!

For my solo acoustic gigs, I’ve been using my DigiTech Vocalist Live 4 for the last couple of years, and it has been terrific. But back when my Ovation got damaged (which I’ve since fixed with a little wood glue), I’ve been using my Fender Stratacoustic with the Vocalist. Unfortunately, the Vocalist doesn’t like input gain of the Stratacoustic, and driving hard on the strings would cause the Vocalist to overdrive, and cause a pop in the PA system. Not good. Luckily, the Vocalist Live has a Guitar Thru jack, so I could route the signal to another channel on the board.

But that meant that I was going to be plugging direct, and I knew that plugging an acoustic directly into a board doesn’t sound very good at all. Not only is the sound muddy with way too much midrange “goop,” there’s also a huge loss in dynamics, ultimately making the guitar tone flat and lifeless. While I don’t completely understand the electronics, the problem apparently lies in the impedance mismatch between guitar and board; and if I’ve learned anything impedance mismatches from working with attenuators, impedance mismatch is a big culprit for loss of tone and transparency. Enter the DI, or direct input box.

The main purpose of a DI box is to take one type of electronic signal, convert it to a magnetic signal, then convert it back to an electronic signal again. The  device used for this is a transformer. With a DI, the unbalanced, high-impedance signal coming from the guitar goes into the transformer, which “transforms” the signal into a balanced, low-impedance signal on the other end. The net result is that impedances are properly matched on both ends, theoretically retaining your tone. Now, enter the Radial ProDI.

I knew I had to get a DI, but wasn’t sure about which one to get, as there are many to choose from. But a quick call to Jordan at Gelb Music got me on track right away. I’ve been buying gear from him for years, and he knows my rig. So when I explained what I wanted to do, he had an immediate recommendation: The Radial Engineering ProDI.

Jordan told me, “I just recorded some acoustic tracks directly into a board, and used the ProDI. I was blown away by the tone. It totally made my guitar come to life – even plugged in! And at $99, it’s totally worth it.”

That was enough of an endorsement for me. Yeah, you could say it’s just another sales guy trying to make a sale, but I’ve been dealing with Jordan for awhile, and not only is he knowledgeable, everything he recommends, he plays. That’s Gelb’s shtick. They have an unsaid policy that their sales guys can’t make recommendations on anything they haven’t played, so you can be assured that their recommendations are reliable. I’ve been buying gear from them for years, so I’ve experienced that first-hand, AND benefited from that policy!

How It Sounds

I put together a couple of quick audio clips to demonstrate the difference between going direct into my DAW vs going through the ProDI.

Guitar straight into the DAW

Guitar into the ProID then into the DAW

One of the reasons I chose the Stratacoustic was because of the fantastic Fishman pre-amp and dual pickup system it uses. Plugged in, it sounds incredible. But even plugged in, there’s a detectable (at least to my ears) muffling of the tone, whereas with the ProDI, the guitar sounds richer.

I realize that with these recordings the differences are subtle at best. However, the difference was far greater plugged into the board at the restaurant I played at on Friday. I did an A/B test during sound check, and I couldn’t believe the difference in clarity between going direct into the board, and going through the ProDI first.

Overall Impressions

This is yet another piece of gear that I cannot live without for going direct. It’s a simple box for sure, but at $99, what it brings to the table is so much! For more information, check out the Radial Engineering ProDI page!

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Joe Satriani uses an attenuator!!!

Posted in Guitars, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on March 26, 2010| 9 Comments »

The Aracom PRX150-Pro to be exact. I’ve actually known about this for awhile, but Jeff Aragaki, owner of Aracom Amps asked me not to say anything until someone else had mentioned it. Jeff told me the news right after Joe purchased it, but I respected Jeff’s wishes to wait to mention it. So I did. And none other than Doug Doppler, guitarist extraordinaire and author of “Get Killer Tone,” happened to mention it in a thread on the The Gear Page recently about how Joe had told him about the unit. So the cat’s out of the bag! Joe Satriani is a proud owner of a PRX150-Pro, and his words to Jeff were “Great unit. I like it a lot.”

That’s about all the information I know other than how he raved about it to Doug who, in turn, contacted Jeff to get a unit; and since he got it, Doug has been raving about it on The Gear Page, and will be featuring it in his DVD.

This is not so much a plug for the PRX150-Pro as it is meant to underscore that even guitar heroes like Satch see the virtues of using an attenuator. Speaker breakup aside, some amps just don’t hit their sweet spot until they’re cranked up and played wide open. Unfortunately, the volume level at that point is too high to be comfortable for most human ears. With an attenuator – and a great one in the PRX150-Pro – players can crank their amps to their sweet spot, and not worry that their ears are going to bleed.

I know, there are several people who eschew attenuators as being tone suckers. But the new breed of attenuators such as the Aracom PRX150-Pro are so much more transparent than the older attenuators on the market; and yes, they are particularly more expensive than their older counterparts, but how much is great tone worth? We gear sluts think nothing about spending a few hundred bucks on a pedal. For what a great attenuator gives you, it’s totally worth the investment.

For more information on the Aracom PRX150-Pro, go to the PRX150-Pro product page!

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Gear Find: Marble Amps

Posted in Guitars, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 24, 2010| Leave a Comment »

I was perusing The Gear Page today, and while in a thread, happened upon a post where a guy mentioned he had recently purchased an amp made by a company called Marble Amps. He said they specialized in Fender-style reproductions with tweed covering, all hand-wired for a reasonable price. He wasn’t kidding. He got a used head for $800! Oh well… we all can’t be that lucky.

However, I did a little digging and found their web site. Talk about oozing classic Fender mojo! They apparently have a US distributor, the Alternative Guitar and Amp Company in Southern California, but they don’t have any information on them (although I left them a message).

Very cool stuff!

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What is so special about the sound of a Plexi?

Posted in Guitars, tagged , , , , , , , on March 24, 2010| 2 Comments »

In a word, lots. Admittedly, I’m a recent Marshall convert, having been primarily a Fender guy for years. I blame Jeff Aragaki, owner of Aracom Amps for this. His amps, that are steeped in Marshall mojo got me craving for that type of sound. BUT, it wasn’t until I got the PLX18 BB, a Plexi “Bluesbreaker” replica that I “got” that Plexi vibe.

At least to me, the response I get is visceral. When I hear a cranked up Plexi, there’s something that just sparks within me. I literally sink into the tone! A bit dramatic? Probably, but to me, there’s nothing that defines classic rock more than a cranked Plexi. Here’s a video I found of some classic Cream with Eric Clapton, playing “Sunshine of Your Love:”

Mm, mm, good….

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Gear Review: Yamaha APX900 Thinline Acoustic-Electric Guitar

Posted in buying gear, GAS, gear, gear reviews, guitar, guitar gear, guitar gear reviews, guitar reviews, guitarists, Guitars, Music, musicians, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on March 23, 2010| 7 Comments »



Click on the picture to see an enlarged view.

 Yamaha APX900 Thinline Acoustic-Electric Guitar

Summary: Yamaha got it right with its Acoustic Resonance Technology (ART) pickup system. Plugged in, the tone shaping possibilities are amazing. If you’re looking for a mid-range performance guitar, this is a guitar you have to consider.

Pros: ART pickup system rocks the house! Incredibly playable guitar with a great-feeling neck. Action out of the box was just right.

Cons: A little bright and thin-sounding unplugged, but this is a thinline, so that’s expected. But despite that, it has a nice, rich tone.

Features (from the Yamaha web site):

Top Solid Spruce
Back & Sides Flamed Maple
Neck Nato
Fingerboard Rosewood
Bridge Rosewood
Tuners Die-cast Gold
Body Style Thinline with Cutaway
String Scale 25 9/16″
Body Depth 3 1/8″ – 3 9/16″
Nut Width 1 11/16″
Colors Natural, Mocha Black, Ultramarine, Crimson Red Burst
Finish Hi-Gloss
Preamp System57 (3-way A.R.T.)

Price: $699 street

Tone Bone Score: 5.0 ~ This guitar offers the best of both worlds: Fantastic plugged in tone, and rich (though bright) unplugged tone.

My very first brand-new guitar was an old Yamaha FG335 that my dad gave me for my birthday. Up to that point,  I had been playing hand-me-downs from my cousins. Not complaining about those old guitars, but getting a brand-new guitar is always special. That FG served me well for 15 years before it had a bit of an accident, and I had to retire her (I had named her “Betsy”).Since owning “Betsy,” I’ve always been partial to Yamaha acoustics, though the FG was the only one I’ve ever owned. They make great-sounding and -playing guitars at an affordable price. What’s to complain about that? 🙂

As you may know, I just purchased a BOSS RV-5 Digital Reverb that I recently reviewed. At the shop where I did my evaluation, I just happened to do the evaluation with an APX900; hence, this review that you’re reading. But before I continue with the review, this is my next acoustic guitar! For what you get for the retail price, you just can’t beat it!

Fit and Finish

Even with the “cheap” product lines, I’ve always been impressed with Yamaha’s build quality. No errant coating, nice and straight joints, and well-dressed frets. The APX900 was no exception in this department. The frets ends were rounded off nicely, the action was perfect – not too low, not too high. I dig the “bookend” triangular mother-of-pearl inlays on the neck. It’s a real nice touch; and the binding about the sound hole and body add nice definition to the look of the guitar.

Playability

With a nice “C” shape neck, the APX is a very comfortable guitar to play. Cutouts are must for me to play high up on the neck and the action is such that high notes are easy to fret. I detected no buzz at all anywhere on the neck, and the intonation was perfect – at least from what I could tell. The neck is a bit on a narrow side, much like an electric guitar, but that’s the way I personally like it, so whether playing chords or picking individual notes, the key word with the APX900’s playability is “comfort.”

How It Sounds

As I mentioned above, as a thinline guitar, its natural, unplugged tone is a bit thin. But that doesn’t mean it’s tinny. It just happens to sit a bit higher up in the mids, which could actually be very useful when playing with larger acoustics. And despite its thinner body, the solid spruce top really helps to project the sound out, so it produces more natural volume than you’d expect.

Plugged in is a completely different matter, and this is where the ART pickup system comes into play. As I understand it, the ART system isn’t your traditional EQ. It is a system of three individual pickups placed at specific points in the body that produce or emphasize different EQ frequencies. Unlike traditional tone controls that act as frequency cut or boost, each slider for low, mid and high is a volume control, and your output signal is a mix of the three pickups.

How does it work? In a word, AWESOME! I took several minutes to play around with the controls, and just fell in love with the system! Where traditional EQ controls may muffle or muzzle the tone if you turn down, this doesn’t happen with the ART system. Clarity is retained, no matter what you do because after all, all you’re doing is adjusting a volume control. I have to admit that it was a little unsettling at first because I was expecting the tone to muffle, especially as I bled off some highs. But that didn’t happen at all. For instance, when I first started playing, I thought the tone had a bit too much high-end. So I adjusted it down. The cool thing was that the high-end was still there, it just wasn’t as prominent as it was before I made the adjustment. I found that to be incredibly cool! I also set up the ART so I could play an arrangement of Sting’s “It’s Probably Me” where I play sort of a bass line on the 5th and 6th strings. With that, I brought down the mid and high, and turned up the bass. I was rewarded with a rich, bassy tone that was not boomy at all.

Overall Impressions

The ART system makes this guitar a winner in my opinion. If it worked this well with the APX line, I can only imagine how well it works with the top-of-the-line LX series. I’m duly impressed!

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Who says guitar is just for the guys?

Posted in Guitars, tagged , , , , , on March 22, 2010| 3 Comments »

That’s BS of course, because throughout history there have been several formidable female guitarists. But one that isn’t mentioned much is Sister Rosetta Tharpe. I learned of her a long time ago, but was recently reminded of her when a friend posted a video of her on Facebook. Folks, this lady had chops! I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see her listed as a musical influence on blues and rock musicians the world over.  Check out this video of her playing the song “Up Above My Head.”

Damn! Her rhythm chops in that song were incredible. She had a great since of playing just the right thing at the right time.

Here’s the video that served as a reminder… She’s playing a Gibson SG in this clip!

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