Search Results for Guitar

A Tremolo primer from Fender

Tremolo systems first started appearing on guitars in the 1930s and have evolved multiple times in the ensuing decades.

Utilizing tremolo can be an integral aspect of your sound—see: Duane Eddy, Jimi Hendrix, David Gilmour, Jeff Beck and Eddie Van Halen—or add a splash of color to your style.

But what is a tremolo system, how does it work and what are the benefits of one system over another?

Some of my favorite guitarists used a tremolo a lot, but I never really used it that much in my own playing. Using it properly is definitely an art.

Review: 15-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar

For the past couple of weeks I’ve been using three new MacBook Pros: A 13-inch entry level model; a 13-inch with Touch Bar; and my favorite, a 15-inch with Touch Bar. As with all of my reviews, I’ll give you an idea of how I use the MacBook Pros in my daily life, but I’ll also give you a look at how it performed while working on some pro music projects. […]

Wherefore art thou Macintosh?

Horace Dediu, on some remarkable business achievements of the Mac over time:

  • The product is in its 32nd year of market presence. A longevity that in unmatched by any other PC maker.

  • Apple reached a top five position in the ranking of PC vendors. This was achieved for the first time only this year, far along in the evolution of the market.

  • With about $23 billion in revenues per year, Apple places among the top four PC vendors in terms of revenue.

  • With an estimated $5.5 billion in operating margin Apple is the most profitable PC vendor, capturing over 60% of the available PC hardware profits.

  • The product has retained an average selling price of over $1200 for at least a decade. At the same time the average pricing of Personal Computers has more than halved.

Then, following some charts to lay out his thesis, Dediu gets to the heart of the matter:

Mobile has been foreseeable as a disruption to computing a decade ago–at least to some of us.

And so what do you with the Mac?

To answer this we have to ask what exactly is the purpose of the Mac in the age of the Mobile device?

And:

The same way keyboard shortcuts are hard to learn but pay off with productivity, touchbar interactions are fiddly but will pay off with a two-handed interaction model. They are not something you “get” right away. They require practice and persistence for a delayed payoff. But, again, that effort is what professionals are accustomed to investing.

This is a leap forward and a big deal. For 32 years the UX model of the Mac has been two-handed typing with one handed gesturing. Now we have the option of two-handed indirect manipulation: one hand on the touchbar and one hand on the touchpad. Imagine you’ve been playing guitar with one hand for years and then someone lets you use your left hand. Holy cow.

This is a great read. Be sure to look at that third chart, the one that contrasts Mac, Windows, and iPhone sales.

Eric Clapton sued over incorrect song credit on album

The song is “Alberta,” which the album’s liner notes credit to blues guitarist Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter. The suit notes that the song is actually based on the blues song “Corrine, Corrina,” which was written by singer Armenter Chatmon, popularly known as Bo Carter, who recorded it in 1928.

I don’t even know what to think about this. Clapton is being sued for $5 million.

First Look: 13-inch MacBook Pro

After attending the Mac Event at Apple’s Cupertino headquarters yesterday, I met with company executives to get a closer look at the new MacBook Pro. It is more impressive in person than the demos were able to portray. […]

Blistering footage of a young AC/DC from 1978

This is phenomenal footage. The venue is a small hall at the University of Essex in Colchester, England, in October of 1978. Angus Young’s guitar-work truly is blistering. Hard to believe he’s only 23 here. Great to watch. Turn it up!

Welcome to the Machine, cover by Danny Godinez

I love this cover of Pink Floyd’s classic, Welcome to the Machine. Give it a few minutes for him to get into the groove. Amazing that this is all done on an acoustic.

Be sure to stick around for the guitar change around 7:27 in.

Frank Zappa’s estate goes on the auction block

Up for bid will be a slew of speakers and speaker boxes, more than half a dozen recording and live sound consoles, various vintage effects, analog and digital tape machines, guitars, drums and more. The full auction, “Property from the Estate of Frank and Gail Zappa,” will be held by Julien’s Auctions on November 4; the company will hold a public exhibition of the items October 31 through November 3.

His house was sold to Lady Gaga. There’s a lot of history in these items.

Fender stickers for iMessage

Have fun with your friends and celebrate the awesomeness of some iconic guitars and basses with the Leo Collection. 50 different styles and colors available, rendered in beautiful detail. If you have friends who like music, they’ll love the amazing selection of electrics, acoustics, and basses. A quick tap on the orientation toggle, and you can even swap from right to left-handed models, for all the south paws out there.

Everyone needs some guitar stickers.

John Gruber’s iPhones 7 review

There’s just a ton of chewy goodness here. And that plural in the title, mwah, love it!

If you are at all wrestling with the jet black versus matte black finishes for the iPhone 7, your answer lies within this review. Personally, I find the micro-abrasion issue inviting, in the same way I think of a new leather pair of sandals, jacket, or guitar strap. I prefer a worn in look and feel. It makes the leather feel like part of my life.

If you are anal about the finish of your iPhone, steer clear of the jet black or get a case. Me, I went right for the jet black, no regrets, no looking back.

Eddie Van Halen talks about building the Frankenstein, crash testing an amp

From the interview, starting when EVH was a kid:

When I first started playing guitar, I was at the local music store, which wasn’t even a music store, it was kind of like a Radio Shack that also sold musical instruments, it was called Lafayette Music.

I fell in love with this hollowbody 12-string because of the neck, and the first thing I did was I took six strings off, because it was a 12-string, and I didn’t want 12! They didn’t have what I wanted in the store, so it had already started there!

And:

I saved the money from delivering papers for two and a half to three years, and bought my first real guitar, which was a ’68 Goldtop Les Paul with single-coil P-90 pickups.

So what do I do? I take the chisel to it right away! Because I wanted a humbucking pickup! But in Pasadena, there were no Les Pauls with a humbucker in them. There was one store in northern Pasadena – a Les Paul came in and they called me right away ‘Hey, we’ve got a Les Paul!’ I walk in and I go, ‘Ah, shit! It ain’t the kind Clapton plays!’ It didn’t have humbuckers.

So, of course, I hunted down a humbucker, took a chisel and made the hole bigger and crammed it in there. I was lucky enough to solder it back properly, then I painted it black and added binding. I did all kinds of crazy shit to it.

So much more. This is a great read.

Zakk Wylde on Ozzy, Dio, and Axl

Zakk is the reason I picked up the guitar again after a few years away from playing. He is an incredible guitarist—acoustic and electric— and having met him a number of times, he is a great person. I learned how to play almost every song he released, just so I could see how he did chord progressions and timing.

AC/DC bassist Cliff Williams calling it quits after current tour

Guitar Player:

Cliff Williams has played bass in AC/DC since 1977. By the time the group’s current tour wraps up in September, he’ll have logged nearly 40 years with the Australian rockers.

AC/DC has been through a lot this year: Malcolm had to retire due to dementia; Brian had severe hearing loss; and Phil had legal trouble. The only one left that wants to keep going at this point is Angus.

First look: macOS Sierra

I’ve been using macOS Sierra on a 13-inch MacBook Pro for about a week now, and I’ve been very impressed with the improvements Apple has made to the OS. Instead of giving you a walk through of all of the features in Sierra, I want to focus on Apple’s strategy and attention to detail in the new OS. […]

The lightning headphone adapter

Rumors are circulating that Apple’s next-generation iPhone will drop the 3.5-millimeter headphone jack, with new iPhone headsets relying on the lightning port or Bluetooth instead.

Whether or not this is true, there is another report of a Chinese accessory maker advertising a series of Lightning-to-headphone adapters with separate volume controls.

Queen’s Brian May makes VR device

If Brian May could capture one moment from his life so that others could step inside that moment and experience it, it would be the time he strode onto the roof of Buckingham Palace alone except for his guitar and played to 200 million people.

“I’d love people to know what that felt like,” said the Queen guitarist. “It was a whole life-changing experience for me.”

I can’t even imagine what that was like. Brian is one of the most humble, and talented, people I’ve ever met.

How to take anything apart

This web site is a crowdsourced effort to collect disassembly instructions. As an example, this link walks through the process of completely taking apart a Strat-like electric guitar. Lots of pictures. Everything comes apart.

Springsteen’s very first radio performance

[VIDEO] John Vettese, writing for WXPN Music Notes:

there was once a time when The Boss was just a young dude with a guitar and a dream. We hear that in this recording of his first-ever radio appearance, on WBCN in Boston on January 9, 1973. It might just be my favorite Springsteen rarity – I love how giddy and unsteady he sounds, the breezy saxophone commentary from Clarence Clemons, the way they effortlessly play off one another. Does this outdo the album version on Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.? Perhaps.

A Springsteen fan? Then you’ll love this.

Gibson in financial trouble

There are signs that Gibson’s move to diversify isn’t working out as planned. Moody’s Investor Service has downgraded Gibson Brands (formerly Gibson Guitar Corporation) credit to junk status, and according to reports, the company has put up two of its Nashville warehouses for sale as a result.

Gibson has been in trouble for a long time. I’m not sure if they tried to buy their way out of it or tried to ignore it, but either way, it seems to be getting worse.

The story behind Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water”

This is an old story, but I just encountered it, found it fascinating. All guitarists (at least of my generation) learn, at some point, the chords to Smoke on the Water. It’s just one of those foundational songs.

The words tell a story, something about a flare gun, Frank Zappa, a gambling house, and a big fire. The post is an interview with the person who owned the concert hall/casino where Frank Zappa was playing when the whole disaster went down.

David Gilmour on Jimmy Kimmel performing Wish You Were Here

[VIDEO] Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here stands as one of my all time favorite albums, and David Gilmour one of my favorite guitarists. This performance of the album’s title track, his first on live TV in ten years, does not disappoint.

Zakk Wylde debuts new video for “Sleeping Dogs”

Zakk is one of the most amazing guitarists I’ve ever had the pleasure to spend time with. As his new acoustic album shows, he’s also one of the most versatile singer/songwriter/guitarists in the business.

Today’s world music: Heavy Metal

Today’s “world music” isn’t Peruvian pan flutes or African talking drums. It’s loud guitars, growling vocals and ultrafast “blast” beats. Heavy metal has become the unlikely soundtrack of globalization.

YEAH!

The Dalrymple Report with Merlin Mann: At the Mountains of Beardness

Jim and Merlin talk about guitar amps, TaskPaper, and Metallica’s “Too Heavy for Halftime” show.

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The Dalrymple Report with Merlin Mann: Settle Down

This week, Jim and Merlin talk about Apple’s software struggles and their wish list for Apple Watch updates.

Also, some fun #heytdr, including listener questions about iOS text editors and easy songs to learn on guitar.

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