Learn Guitar

Gibson Guitars have announced the world’s first self tuning guitar which is rather unimaginatively called the 'Gibson Robot Guitar'. Basically its a Les Paul with a modified control knob that enables the tuning of the instrument with a simple push or pull. Each tuner is equipped with specialised servo motors and as the motorized tuners adjust the pitch of the strings they are monitored by means of a Tune-Control Bridge. Gibson say that the guitar weighs the same and playability and tone isn't effected in any way.



To be honest you really need to see this to fully understand how clever this is. Check out the video below for a full demonstration.



I'm not sure whether I think this is a good idea or not to be honest. Whilst it is undeniably an ingenious piece of engineering I think it could also encourage guitarists to be lazy. Learning to tune your guitar is in my opinion a fundamental skill that all guitarists should master and helps develop your ear for music.



Whilst the Gibson robot guitar will be out of most guitarists budgets I suspect we will see a raft of cheaper copy cats before long and I'm not sure this kind of feature will help beginners and intermediates in the long term.

Having said that I think the preset range of alternate tunings is a great feature and this will probably impress more experienced guitarists. This could represent a massive time saving feature for those gigging guitarists how want to add more tonal colour to their playing.

Labels: guitar news, guitar reviews, guitars

I firmly believe that you don't need to spend a fortune to get a really special guitar nowadays and £500/$1000 should get you a really professional instrument now matter what style of music you play. Check out the following guitars when your next in your local guitar store.

Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plus

The Epiphone Les Paul has fast become a mini classic. It has an arched, figured curly Maple, carved top in faded sunburst finishes for that great LP look. And like all Les Pauls, features a solid glued neck joint for great sustain and stability. They are even built to 100% Gibson specifications which is hard to believe considering the price. A great rock guitar for the beginner!

Fender '72 Tele Custom

The Telecaster by Fender is often referred to as the guitarist's guitar and its a real work horse, make no mistake. The ’72 Tele Custom improves on this classic design with a "Wide Range" humbucking neck pickup and a traditional single-coil bridge pickup and sexier design. This guitar would suit variety of styles and with the humbucker it can rock out with the best of them.

Ibanez Joe Satriani JS100

The Joe Satriani endorsed Ibanez JS series are outstanding rock guitars as you would expect from such an accomplished endorsee but for some time they were out of the reach of most budgets. However the introduction of the JS100 changed all this and it features great playability, tone and flexibility. It looks the business too!

PRS SE Custom - Sunburst Hardtail

I'm considering picking one of these up, I don't really need one but the thought of owning a Paul Reed Smith for less than £500 is too good to resist. The SE Custom features a solid mahogany body with a visually stunning flamed maple top, a glued-in mahogany neck, two PRS designed SE standard humbucking pickups with Zebra coils, and a PRS designed hardtail bridge. This guitar is class through and through.

Jackson DK2S Dinky Electric Guitar

Jackson equal Rock n Roll. Period! If you want a great looking and tone filled rock guitar that doesn't hurt your wallet look no further.

Schecter Tempest

This is what I'm playing at the moment and its without doubt the best guitar I've owned. With a carved top, striking appearance and tone to back it up, the Tempest Custom is built for players who want a guitar with real flexibility.

This is a set-neck guitar with a bound Mahogany/Maple body and a tune-o-matic bridge. It's neck is Maple with a 22-fret, bound Rosewood fingerboard. The inlays are split-crowns and the frets are medium in size. Other features include Grover tuners and gold hardware on the black model and chrome hardware on the sunburst. This is my top recommendation in the sub £500 category.

Labels: guitar, guitar reviews

As you start learning the guitar you'll realise one of the first things that will slow you down is lack of finger strength (and sore fingertips of course). So as well as practising those chords and scales you'll seriously need to build up some strength before you can really enhance your playing. Whilst this does come with practise I've come up with a top tip for you to improve your finger strength quickly.

Simply nip down to your local guitar shop or visit an online guitar store and buy yourself a GripMaster. This handy exercise tool helps develop total conditioning to each individual finger as well as the entire hand, wrist, and forearm and aswell as being invaluable to musicians is often recommended for those recovering from sports injury's to this area.

Of course if you wanted to do it on the cheap then why not squeeze a tennis ball for the same length of time. You can do it anytime, while watching tv or at work in the office. Just 30 minutes a day should improve both your finger and forearm strength which is always a good thing whether its to improve your guitar playing or doing DIY jobs around the house.

Labels: guitar reviews, playing guitar

Following on from my last post about Christmas present ideas for guitarists those cool chaps over at Music Store UK have some more excellent ideas in there Christmas gifts section.

I particularly like the JHS Guitarist's Christmas Stocking for the beginner guitarist which includes strings, capo, glass bottle slide, picks, pick holder, guitar machine head winder amongst other things.

The Planet Waves Guitar ToolBox also caught my attention and I think I'll be picking up one of those myself. It includes a five-pack of the new Planet Waves SurePick, which has an overmolded rubber grip that keeps it from slipping in the player's hand, The Headstand string-changing stand, which holds a guitar's neck in place during re-stringing, the Pro-Winder 4-in-1 peg winder that also has a string cutter, string stretcher, and bridge-pin puller built in, and a thick, soft, black tubular nylon strap. As Borat would say "Its Nice!"

Visit the Music Store UK website.

Labels: guitar reviews, guitarists

Hi Dudes,

Just added a review of the line 6 Guitarport. I've been a big fan of the Line 6 digital modelling amps and have had a 1x12 Spider for some time now. I personally think this is one of the best practise amps you can get so if your looking for a decent bedroom amp have a look over at Music Store UK. The rest of the series kicks ass too!

Anyway, this little piece of kit blew us away so check it out. Read the Guitarport review.

Labels: guitar reviews, learn guitar online