14
Check it out…
http://news.harmony-central.com/Newp/2008/G-L-Introduces-Tribute-Comanche-Electric-Guitar.html
That was my first thought. I have no other insight on this guitar. 
31
The Fender Custom Shop has announced plans to release a David Gilmour Strat. For those who might be under a rock ( ) David Gilmour is a Guitarist for Pink Floyd. I love listening to Pink Floyd play and furthermore, I love the guitar in their songs…
Shine On You Crazy Diamond is the song that is coming to mind right now; wonderful guitar licks in that song. Wonderful song overall, also.
As a quick summary, it appears there will be two editions of the Fender Custom Shop Guitar. One will be priced at $3999.99 and the other “relic” one priced at $4799.99 (MSRPs, I assume).
As much as I’d like to have one, I won’t be buying one of these due to price (and how clumbsy I am). I chipped my electric guitar the first day I had it.
26
I can’t believe I missed this, but the TuxGuitar team has released the first whole version of their software. I’ve been using their software for a while but it has been listed as 0.9.1 as they’ve been completing the software.
TuxGuitar is a lot like Guitar Pro. You can tab out different songs or different tracks and it will play back the song that you’ve tabbed.
Below are some screen shots that I quickly took [Click on them to view big versions]:
Give TuxGuitar a try… It’s Free!
18
![Best Buy [Logo]](http://www.understandingguitar.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/bestbuylogo.jpg "Best Buy")
I work around Downers Grove, IL and there is a very good deli [map for deli^] right in a shopping center off of Butterfield road. I sometimes go there for lunch. Next to the deli is the Downers Grove Best Buy, so I decided to stop in and walk around (the Deli Serves huge sandwiches, I love that place!)
Anyway, so I was wondering around the Best Buy and noticed that they had something blocked off… As I walked, slowly what came in to view was a bit surprising. I saw Guitars in the room hanging on the wall like a Guitar Center.
These were real guitars. You know, like you are learning to play. Not Guitar Hero guitars.
I asked the bunch of employees that were standing around talking (common at best buy) when that section opens, and they said tomorrow — well that was yesterday! So it opened today.
I guess they are only doing this in a select few stores. I intend to stop by on Monday when I’m back in the area.
But the question stands, Why is Best Buy selling guitars? I have a theory and I’m going to share it… Why? Because I pay each month to have this blog and I have an opinion so I’m going to share it.
With the craze of the Guitar Hero came the “Guitar Hero Effect” (I just made that up, I hope it sticks). Anyway, what I call the Guitar Hero Effect is where people (mostly kids? [yeah, right]) play the game for a while and then decide that they enjoy the game and then decide that playing a real guitar must be just like the game. They can become a rock guitar hero just like JoCo! And hence, they want to learn guitar. (So they go buy a guitar… etc, etc).
Well, this is Best Buy’s attempt to get in on those sales. I can’t blame them. If I was in their executive team I’d probably would start selling them too. (Wait, I am — I own stock; it sort of like being on the executive team, right? Ok, fine, no.)
Leave a note on what you think. Oh, and would you buy a guitar from Best Buy? I’m on the fence. I don’t think it’d be any different from Guitar Center or Sam Ash… The same mis-information (whether accident or not) would and will proabably be used.
16
A while back, I posted that I wanted a “Epiphone Les Paul Ultra-II Electric Guitar.” You can find that post here: http://www.understandingguitar.org/2008/05/01/i-want-one/
I wanted to share that I’ve stumbled upon some more information about the guitar. It appears that Harmony Central (I tend to follow their news) also has a section of their site dedicated to product reviews…
They have a ton of reviews of everything from guitar, to amps, to who knows what. Obviously, the first thing I wanted to check reviews for was the Les Paul Ultra-II. I found it rather easily within their pages.
The reviews are all positive, but there are only two reviews. I was hoping for a lot more. Still, the two reviews are both positive. Both reviews are not “Perfect 10s” indicating that the authors put some though in to the reviews, but both reviews average about 8.5 (out of 10).
You can find the reviews here: http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar/product/Epiphone/Les+Paul+Ultra-II/10/1
01
Let it be known that I want one: Epiphone Les Paul Ultra-II
Though, seariously since I’m posting this does anyone have any thoughts on this guitar? I want a better electric but something a bit more then basic. This has some features such as the ability to sound like acoustic that I desire. And its price isn’t too bad, though it is a bit more then I wanted to spend…
I primarily play an acoustic. I have a starter Electric Guitar but am looking to get a better, higher quality Electric Guitar.
Does anyone have any suggestions as an alternative to this guitar? Perhaps similar features but a little less money?
Update: I’ve posted another blog entry about the same type of electric guitar. You can find that at: http://www.understandingguitar.org/2008/05/16/epiphone-les-paul-ultra-ii-electric-guitar/
03
Have you ever heard of the TASCAM MP-GT1 Portable MP3 Guitar Trainer? It is basically an iPod (MP3 Player) that has the ability to slow down what it is playing.
Why might this be useful? When you are learning to play a new song! The TASCAM MP-GT1 sells for $179.99 to $199.99 at GuitarCenter.com. At some point I had considered purchasing this device; I thought it’d be a wonderful practice aid.
But then I stumbled upon PickStroke.com which in turn referred me to a OpenSource project called “BestPractice.” It is a software MP3 player which has the flagship feature of slowing down what is playing. It’s Free! You don’t need to spend a penny to use it.
I found BestPractice very easy and intuitive to use and I look forward to utilizing it to learn to properly play Staind’s Excess Baggage. I know how to play it, but I need to get my timing down.
Please see the website for detailed information on BestPractice. I’d encourage you to check it out! http://www.xs4all.nl/~mp2004/bp/
05
I hate it when I go in to a music / guitar store to find an accessory and the store doesn’t carry the exact item I’m looking for and (to further frustrate you) they don’t even carry something like what you were looking for.And then on top of it, they offer to “get” the item for you or to order it for you. See, here is the thing, if I was willing to wait for the item, I would have ordered it my self from one of the many big-name online music stores retailers as opposed to have gone to a music store to (1) look at and play with the item, and (2) purchase it on the spot.
I like to look at what I’m going to buy before I buy it and I like to leave with something when I spend money - it’s just how I am. Is that bad?
What I’ve been looking for is the Chordmaster II by Planet Waves. It is a simple device that tells you how to play different chords different ways. I wanted to use it to help with the song (or chord progression, at this stage) I’ve been working on…
I have a book, but feel it is sort of incomplete, and I understand that the Chordmaster II has 7,400 chords contained within it… That is a lot more then my two books…
18
A while back, when I was first starting out with Guitar, my wife got me a book as a present. The book is called “The Gig Bag Book of Guitar Complete.” I’m almost sure anyone who has gone past the music isle in a Borders or Barnes and Noble has seen this book.
I see the book all over the place. The book contains, among other things, scales and Chord diagrams. Both of which I have found useful overtime. I’m very glad my wife purchased the book for me.
However, there is a diagram within the pages that I do not understand. I’m sure that I’m not the only newbie guitarist who is lost when looking at the diagram.
With all respect to the publisher (and I truly hope they don’t mind) I’ve scanned an example of this diagram. It is below:
Can anyone explain the area that is outlined in Red? Click here for a bigger version of the same image. I’ve included the scale above it in case that is somehow related to the diagram, but I’m not sure it is…
Thank you all!!
04
I decided to buy myself a holiday present - a Zoom H2 “Handy Recorder.” It is indeed, handy! As little background, I’ve been looking at buying a field recorder for quite a while (about 6 months). I first went with a MicroTrack II, which I decided to promptly return. The $299.99 price tag was a bit steep for what it provided and what I needed. Instead decided to go with either the Zoom H2 or the Zoom H4.
After reading the several reviews, I was pretty confidant that I would be purchasing an H2 or but wanted to consider the H4. I had read all of the articles that are below and then some and was confidant that one of those two units would serve me best. The only question now was which unit?
Luckily the store had a demo of each unit though at the time neither had batteries or an SD card (the data storage medium). So, in reality all I could look at was the physical unit — I couldn’t test them. I looked at the two units (keep in mind, they are built by the same company) and I felt that the H4’s center navigation dial was a bit flimsily (I think the O’Reilly H4 article touches on this). I had also read (in the same O’Reilly H4 article) that the 4 track functionally of the H4 was a bit clunky. Though, I don’t/didn’t need this functionally, I’d still be paying for it. Don’t get me wrong, it’d be nice to have - but it is not needed. In the end these two things didn’t help the H4…
The final aspect of my decision (a contributing factor, if you will) was the fact that I could not return the Zoom H4. In conclusion, I’ve come across both negative and positive feedback on the H4 and for my money I couldn’t take the chance…
In the end, after reviewing the features of the H2, learning what it has to offer, inspecting the demo unit, considering the $199.99 price tag and the articles I’ve read I decided to go with the H2. From what I could remember, all of the articles were fairly positive.
To be fair to M-Audio and the MicroTrack II, it isn’t that I didn’t like the unit. The audio it recorded was fabulous. However, I didn’t feel that the unit completely suited me. It truly was not the unit I had come looking for. The salesmen suggested it. I’m not a field recorder or sound expert; and hence made a decision to the best of my ability. I suggest you read any articles you can before selecting one for your use. This is why I’m posting this article about the Zoom H2, I want to share what I know about it.
The following are some of the articles I’ve read on Field Recorders and Multi-Track Recorders:
Buying Guide: http://www.sweetwater.com/shop/studio/recorders-players/buying-guide.php
H4: http://digitalmedia.oreilly.com/2007/02/01/review-zoom-h4-handy-recorder.html
H2: http://digitalmedia.oreilly.com/2007/09/13/review-zoom-h2-surround-recorder.html
MicroTrack 24/96: http://digitalmedia.oreilly.com/2005/11/30/m-audio-microtrack-review.html
Edirol R-09: http://digitalmedia.oreilly.com/2006/08/31/edirol-r-09-digital-recorder-review.html
http://www.bradlinder.net/2007/10/m-audio-microtrack-ii-available-for-299.html
I found these articles while writing this article. I had not seen these before making my purchase.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H4_Handy_Recorder
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoom_H2_Handy_Recorder
Note: These are not all of the articles I have read, I this is all I can re-find. Had I thought about it, I would have saved each article.
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