Showing posts with label guitar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label guitar. Show all posts

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Songstarr : A Formidable Online (Flash Based) Guitar Pro Alternative

Guitars

The guitar, like many instruments, is easy to learn but very hard to master. There are, however, plenty of books, teachers, and websites designed to help budding guitarists move from Guitar Hero to something a little more challenging :)

Songsterr is one of those sites that seems very simple on the surface; instead of just displaying chords, Songsterr plays them as well so you can get a feel for a song before having a go yourself. You can even control when the song moves on to the next chord if you want to go at a different pace to the default.
Now, I know other sites exist that do a similar thing, but most of the ones I have found expect you to pay for the privilege – whereas Songster is free. Yes, I’m Scottish, so “free” is always a bonus in my mind!

What are the big advantages to Songsterr then?
  • It’s free! (to certain extent)
  • It’s simple – just a press of a button moves you on to the next chord
  • It sounds decent – each song sounds vaguely like it’s meant to, as opposed to some terrible, cheesy, generic sound
  •  A decently large song library
And the disadvantages?
  • “Proof of concept” – that phrase always worries me, because the site looks good but what if it never gets beyond the “proof of concept” stage?
  • Still undergoing development – not all of the features are up and running yet (more on this later)
  • Most features are not free
What about those developing features? Well, these will be very handy if they materialise. A song editor, to let you create your own songs… Guitar Learning Assistant, to help you with fingering, picking style, and so on… and an audio recorder so you can sing along and get an mp3 of your performance. Not too shabby.
Songsterr markets itself as a service for guitar players, songwriters, and for just playing around with (a la Guitar Hero). It remains to be seen whether the service will take off, but I can certainly see it appealing to all three demographics.
Check it out, and keep checking back for new features. This could be one to watch!

Monday, June 22, 2009

Bob Westbrook's Handy Diagram For Stringing A Guitar


Bob Westbrook has done repair work for the C. F. Martin Guitar Co. for years. He is no ordinary luthier. My favorite story about Bob's legendary ability to make guitars is a short one. Bob has told me more than once, "when people found out I work out details to the thousands of an inch, they would laugh. Until they saw my first guitar.
Bob's extensive machining background prepared him to become a master craftsman and work with very tight tolerances. He built his own car which he took to the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, and set the land speed record years ago, (I saw his speed tickets verifying this).
I have talked to many people who own guitars Bob has worked on, and he always exceeds expectations, no matter what the case. I have seen guitars that I never thought would be playable again, only to be astonished at the results.
When Bob was my neighbor in Boulder CO, I would occasionally notice guitarists walking in front of my house with a broken instrument. At the time, I didn't realize they were mostly highly experienced guitarists on tour that would carry around a broken guitar until they played Boulder. Then they would walk over to Bob's house and drop it off.
Bob Westbrook is a master luthier and his advice should be taken seriously. Here then, is how Bob suggests you string a guitar so it will not easily go out of tune. I have done this for years and it works.
Thank you Bob!
Bob's business card-back
Bob's workshop
Bob's business card-frontSetup example

Wednesday, May 06, 2009

Guide to buying a used guitar : Learn where to look and what to look for when purchasing a used electric or acoustic guitar



Where to look:

  • craigslist > musical instruments
  • Kijiji > buy and sell > musical instruments
  • Other online classifieds

What to look (out) for:

Take a look at the sample ad below. On the first look it looks like a really good deal. It comes with a cool box. Only few scratches and chips? No biggy. And all those cool sounding specs. This is the best deal in the world!

Lets take a dive into reality now. The cool box, which is obviously not very portable because of its weight, is a bait for potential customers.
The ad fails to mention that each scratch and chip can cost the potential customer $50-$100 to repair. Yes, even the small one may cost that much to repair. Also don't take the advice to cover up those cracks and chips by yourself. That will cost you more when repairing the finish, since the repair guys are paid by the hour on top of labor. It takes hours to repair a small chip, and when you cover it up it makes the job harder and more time consuming for the repair guy.
And those cool specs are standard on most guitars.



Here are some really good and elaborate guides on buying a new or used guitar:
http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/how-to-buy-a-used-acoustic-guitar/
http://www.essortment.com/all/buyusedguitar_rmfh.htm
http://exclaim.ca/musicschool/needtoknow.aspx?csid1=86
http://musiced.about.com/od/beginnersguide/qt/buyguitar.htm
http://www.sweetwater.com/shop/guitars/electric-guitars/buying-guide.php
http://www.sweetwater.com/shop/guitars/acoustic/buying-guide.php
http://pages.ebay.com/buy/guides/vintage-electric-guitars-buying-guide/
http://www.guitarimports.com/acoustic-guitars.htm
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/document?doc_id=99234
http://www.guitarbitz.com/buyersguide.asp
http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/columns/the_guide_to/beginners_guide_to_buying_an_acoustic_guitar.html
http://www.guitar-resource-center.com/beginners_electric_guitar.html
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/52426/the_complete_guide_to_buying_the_guitar.html